Archive for December, 2008:
Ultima Creator Returning to Roots
With Tabula Rasa shutting down soon, legendary game developer – and Ultima series creator – Richard Garriott looks to be intent on returning to the fantasy genre that cemented his status in the gaming industry.
The designer told BBC News that his next project is “probably medieval fantasy and probably online,” adding that he is now “keen to get back into the fray and work on a new game.”
Garriott left his position at NCSoft earlier this year after returning from his space trip. It is not known where exactly he will pursue development on his fantasy project.
Phelps Game to be More Than “Just Swimming”
Michael Phelps rocked the Olympics this year – the swimmer won 14 gold medals and is now a national hero. And with that, a game is currently on the way, though it will be more than just swimming. In fact, it will be “pure action,” according to 505 Games president Adam Kline.
“We believe it’s the next Tiger Woods project… it could be here for the next 10 years,” he said. “Swimming will be a part of it, but it won’t be set in an Olympic pool going back and forth.”
Kline refused to talk more about the game, noting that the company is still investigating a few different solutions. The game is being developed for iPhone and unspecified consoles in Spring 2010.
Killzone 2 Demo News: Pre-order the Game
With the release date of Killzone 2 coming ever closer, word of a demo for the highly anticipated shooter has come out. However, if you want in on the action, you’ll need to pre-order the game, it seems.
Games retailer GameStop is offering “exclusive access” to the downloadable demo in exchange for a $5 pre-order, reports Joystiq. Those that reserve the game in-store will receive a card with a download code. Online customers will get the code emailed to them on February 3, suggesting that the demo will be released on that day.
Sony is yet to comment on the demo’s release date. Killzone 2 is due out exclusively on the PS3 on February 27.
Capcom Re-releasing Classics on PSN
Capcom has announced plans to re-release a number of its older PlayStation and PSP games through the online PlayStation Store in the coming year.
“You can expect to see a whole slew of downloadable PSP and PSone titles from our vault next year,” wrote John Diamonon, the company’s digital marketing head, on the PlayStation.Blog.
The games include the first three Resident Evil titles, two Breath of Fire games, Street Fighter and Darkstalkers titles, as well as Mega Man X3-6, Mega Man Legends and The Misadventures of Tron Bonne. PSP games include Monster Hunter Portable, Power Stone Collection, Street Fighter Alpha 3 and more.
No starting release date was given.
Nintendo Sixtyfree Lite R Is a Very Portable N64… or Not
How would you like to play around with your N64? Maybe transform it into something very portable? The Nintendo Sixtyfree Lite-R here is one of those custom jobs. It looks pretty good and you can start dreaming about using one in your car, or anywhere else. Congrats to the creator for his ingenuity The only problem with this mod is that the creator failed to include a battery pack. You’ll need cables to make this one work. Imagine if Asus created their first Eee netbook without a battery pack. How many Eee’s would have been sold?
via benhack forums
Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li Trailer Released
Sometimes games should remain left to be played only. Lately we’ve seen quite a few of them transformed into movies. And they will not all be box office hits. It’s now time for this Street Fighter movie. The Legend of Chun Li is directed by Andrej Bartkowiak, the same guy that transformed Doom into a movie in 2005. Kristen Kreuk plays Chun Li and the release date is February 27, 2009 in the USA while Japan will follow a day later. What do you think? Is it worth going to the cinema to watch it?
via streetfighter
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Download Ninja Blade demo early
Mjor Nelson posted on his blog yesterday that a demo version of Ninja Blade had hit the Japanese Xbox Live Marketplace. Well that doesn’t stop us from getting it. Below are the directions to download the demo of From Software’s Ninja Blade courtesy of PlanetXbox.
We must warn you we are not sure of the legality of doing the following procedure to approach with caution.
Creating your own Japanese Xbox Live Silver Account:
Head on over to Microsoft’s passport Web site (if you’re logged in to a current account, make sure to sign out). Sign up for a new, free Hotmail account.
When asked, remember to answer that you’re from Japan — don’t worry, you dirty liar, we won’t judge you.
The next part, which would be the “trickiest,” is entering some additional information about where you are from. You’ll have to enter bogus information. The following should work fine (the phone number is for a Domino’s Pizza near Akebonobashi Station in Tokyo):
Postal code: 150-2345
Province: Tokyo-to
Phone Number: 098-974-0604Once you’ve activated your new Hotmail account, it’s time to head on over to your Xbox 360. Switch profiles if necessary (the X button) and create a new profile, and a new Xbox Live account.
You’ll next have to sign in with your new Japanese passport. Keep the number for Domino’s Pizza Akebonobashi handy, because you’re going to need to enter it again. Also, you might get hungry.
Create a gamertag and the first screen once you sign in will have the Ninja Blade demo as the very first selection, click it and then select “Download Ninja Blade Demo” … that’s it!
LittleBigPlanet glitch causes deleted game saves
It seems that PS3Fanboy readers may have uncovered a previously unheard of glitch in the PS3 exclusive LittleBigPlanet.
Apparently, several readers are reporting that after running through part of the game, saving, powering off the console, and then powering it back on again causes some game saves to disappear before their very eyes.
Other than deleting game saves, users are also reporting that the glitch effects user created content. Some users have reported deletion of costumes, and saved photos.
We’ll keep you updated when a patch becomes prevalent.
Razer cuts 10% of work force
Chances are if you’re into PC gaming, you’ve heard of Razer, makes of high end gaming peripherals. Well, it looks like the gaming hardware industry isn’t exactly recession proof as it was recently announced they are being forced to cut 10% of their global work force.
This news comes in an email stating the company was forced to re-asses its cost structure and that an undisclosed number of employees have already had their contracts terminated.
Bummer.
Read (IncGamers)
Saint’s Row 2 PC DRM Revealed, System Requirements Detailed
Having recently played the game on the Xbox 360, I’m looking forward to the delayed PC port of Saint’s Row 2. There are many of you who might be waiting on what DRM is included – there’s good news for you: the PC port will use Valve’s Steam for its copy protection, going by a forum post by Volition community manager.
“We’re trying to use a very low impact DRM here, since we’ve seen some of the headaches faced by other major game releases in recent months,” said the manager.
The game is due out January 6, 2009 in retail stores as well as on Steam. Volition also announced the minimum and recommended requirements for the game, which are as expected. Hit the jump for the info. More »
New Rock Band, Guitar Hero DLC Out
New content for plastic instrument-playing gamers is now available for both Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour. First up are the Rock Band 2 songs: “Take Back the City” by Snow Patrol, “Space Truckin’” by Deep Purple “Funk #49” by James Gang and “Hymn 43” by Jethro Tull. The Guitar Hero songs are all from European bands: “Degenerated” by Backyard Babies, “Por La Boca Vive El Prez” by Fito Y Fitipaldis (uh, what?) and “Johnny” by Di-Rect.
As expected, the songs can be bought individually for 160 Microsoft points ($2), with the Guitar Hero songs available in a pack for 440 points ($5.50).
While Xbox 360 gamers can get the songs now, PS3 users will have to wait till January 8, 2009, as Sony is taking a seasonal two-week break from updating the PlayStation Store.
Kojima Working on Two Games, Restructuring Studio
Creator of the Metal Gear franchise Hideo Kojima has revealed that he is directing two new games, as well as restructuring his development team to be more competitive.
According to a 1UP translation of an interview in Famitsu, one of the two titles is being aimed towards western gamers. Seeing as how Kojima’s third-person action games have done so well around the world, many are speculating that the title in question is a first-person shooter, as the genre is popular in the West.
Kojima noted that the title will coincide with the restructuring of the studio, adding that it will be a “makeover from the ground up.” He hopes that the studio will be able to compete with top developers around the world.
No information on the other game is known. However, Kojima has stated that it will be formally unveiled first and will be developed in a more traditional studio environment, unaffected by the upcoming makeover.
Left 4 Dead DLC Announcement Coming
Many gamers have been waiting silently for more Left 4 Dead content, but so far Valve has remained quiet. However, the company was supposed to make an announcement before Christmas, which somehow never materialized, according to Shacknews.
The site reports that Valve writer Chet Faliszek confirmed that an upcoming download would add new scenarios which would be released on PC and Xbox 360 simultaneously. It would also add Versus support to the Dead Air and Death Toll campaigns; this would finally allow players to experience all four campaigns of the game in the fun competitive mode.
Faliszek wouldn’t reveal more, adding that this content would be the “first out – after that, I hate to speculate.” No pricing details were given, though it is expected to be free for PC owners, with Xbox 360 gamers having to cough up cash thanks to Microsoft’s greed.
Rock Band Wii DLC Coming Soon
Support for downloadable content on the Wii version of Rock Band 2 was promised by Harmonix, who noted that there would be at least 30 downloadable songs on the game’s release. Currently there are none in the Wii Shop Channel.
According to a post by community manager Sean Baptiste, the promised content is “in the final testing stages,” adding that the studio is working “as fast as possible to deliver the 20 free bonus songs for Rock Band 2, plus an additional 30 songs from the Rock Band DLC Catalog to fans as early in 2009 as possible.”
Baptiste also promises that Wii gamers will eventually be able to purchase and download the “entire back catalogue” of the series’ DLC, which includes hundreds of songs.