Archive for January, 2009:
THQ slashes more jobs
Another one for the economy is stanky catagorey, this time with THQ. It was recently announced that, while originally only slashing 250 jobs, 100 more positions in the mobile department will be terminated.
THQ exec Brian Farrell speaks of the decliming economy and it’s effects on the company:
Given today’s market environment, we believe our focus on the high-end handheld market is critical to strengthening our market position and achieving profitability. As a result, we will be downsizing our wireless group and will be closing our San Diego, UK and Germany wireless offices. Approximately 100 employees will be affected.
Read (VideoGaming247)
Steam offers 30% off Rockstar titles
If you still haven’t bought Grand Theft Auto IV, now’s your chance. Steam has recently announced that for this weekend only they will offer 30% off the entire Rockstar catalog.
Other than GTA IV, Manhunt, GTA: Vice City, Max Payne 2, and Bully: Scholarship Edition make the cut. That’s not all though, if you want to get the full list of Rockstar games offered on Steam head here.
Sure this is great for those of you who haven’t played these games before, but me? I prefer a physical copy of the game when I make my purchases.
Read (Steam)
Quick Picks
Vertu Ferrari Collection
Toshiba Regza 42″ LCD
scanU Will Reinvent Scanning for You
Kymco Agility 125
Exxon Mobil laughs at economic recession
Crysis Warhead gets 64-bit support
As if the Crysis games didn’t require a beefy enough computer as it is, Crytek has added another variable into the equation.
They have recently released a patch that, just in case your computer is godly enough, adds 64-bit support for Windows XP x64 and Windows Vista 64-bit version to Crysis Warhead. You can download the patch via the read link.
Full log below:
Windows Vista: Mouse cursor should no longer have an offset in the menu.
Windows Vista: Unrequested launches in windowed mode should occur less often now.
Timedemo can now be started from the command line.
Better dynamic texture support for enthusiast mode.New Features
Added 64-bit executables for Windows XP x64 and Windows Vista 64-bit version. In Windows XP x64 a new shortcut will be placed under the Crysis Warhead program group. In Windows Vista right-click the Crysis Warhead icon in Game Explorer and choose to run the game in 64-bit mode.
Known Issues
Games saved in 32-bit won’t work properly when running the 64-bit version and vice-versa.
Read (FilePlanet)
Introducing the Gate Game VU
Here is a product you will most likely never see in your entire life; the Gate Game VU. Recently revealed at the American Trade Exhibition International, the Gate Game VU is pretty much your run of the mill arcade station with an Xbox 360 or PS3 on the inside, and a slot for accepting coins.
Complete with a 32″ LCD, 2 controllers, another LCD screen seemingly to pick games on, and built in subwoofer, the Gate Game VU is a great idea, but will it deliver?
The cool thing about the old school arcades was for the most part, you couldn’t get those titles for your home system. Now, with an Xbox 360 or PS3 built in, you’re just paying to play games you most likely already have.
Although, I could see this being put to proper use if a bar or similar establishment had the latest titles up for play. Hell, you can even get one of these with a PC kiosk attachement.
Midway appoints new Chairman
Midway hasn’t been doing so hot for some time now, and the tough economical times don’t exactly help that. But that doesn’t stop them from making haste to fill their executive positions.
They have recently announced that Mathew Booty, current President and CEO of the company, will take up the position of Chairman of the Board.
Booty had recently secured the position of President and CEO of Midway when David F. Zucker resigned, now he’s the Chairman after Peter C. Brown resigned. Pretty soon it will be called Midbooty instead of Midway (insert chuckle here).
Read (Kotaku)
Nintendo releases 09 launch schedule
Previously it was pretty much a mystery as to what Nintendo had instore for us in 2009, but no more. Joystiq has recently gotten their hands on Nintendo’s official release list for 2009.
Unfortunately a new Zelda title is not to be seen, but that could all change soon enough:
DS
Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir (Feb 2 Europe)
Walk with me! Do you know your walking routine? (Feb 20 Europe, 2009 US as Personal Trainer: Walk with Me!)
Pokemon Platinum (2009 Europe, March 22 US)
Rhythm Paradise / Heaven (2009, Europe and US)
Mario and Luigi RPG 3 (2009, Europe and US)
Kirby Super Star Ultra (2009 Europe)
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (Feb 16 US)Wii
New Play Control! Pikmin (Feb. 6 Europe, March US)
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis (March 3 Europe, March US)
Punch Out!! (First half 2009, Europe and US)
Wii Sports Resort (2009 Europe, first half 2009 US)
Sin & Punishment 2 (2009, Europe and US)
Another Code R and Endless Ocean 2 (2009 Europe)
New Play Control! Pikmin 2 (First half 2009, Europe)
Street Fighter IV achievements released
Capcom’s Street Fighter IV is about 2 weeks from it’s release date and the achievements for Xbox Live are now just starting to pour out.
Below is the full list of achievements thanks to Associated Content:
Street Fighter IV achievements are listed in the format of Achievement Name – Gamerpoints – Achievement Details:
10 Years Too Early – 20 – Win 50 Xbox LIVE battles.
10 Years Too Late – 50 – Win 100 Xbox LIVE battles.
All Dolled Up – 10 – Set your Title and Icon.
Arcade Rat – 20 – Clear Arcade Mode with one character on medium or higher difficulty.
Challenge Expert – 30 – Clear all challenges in Challenge Mode.
Challenger – 10 – Clear a challenge in Challenge Mode.
Color Guard – 10 – Unlock all colors.
Crowd Pleasing Master – 10 – Perform 10 Personal Actions (Taunts).
Flight Simulator X Add-ons Coming
Although the Flight Simulator team has been shut down by Microsoft, Mamba Games, a new videogame publisher founded by former THQ executive Robert Neilson, today announced that it has acquired rights to distribute six add-ons for Flight Simulator X.
Developed by RealFlight, the new add-ons will be released over the course of the next two years. The first of this content will be a Grumman F6F Hellcat expansion, which will be available on March 27 for 19.99 Euros (roughly $25). It can already be bought as a digital download directly from RealFlight.
Microsoft recently closed the ACES development team, raising questions about the future of the Flight Simulator series. The company, however, has assured fans that it is still fully committed to the franchise.
Layoffs Hit Disney Interactive
The recession has officially hit publisher Disney Interactive, who confirmed today that just under 30 employees have been let go from Propaganda Games, the studio behind Turok.
The company added that Fall Line Studio – the developer of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian – will be rolled into Avalanche Studio. This consolidation will reportedly be responsible for less than 20 layoffs.
Meanwhile, Kotaku reports that the Propaganda layoffs coincided with the cancellation of a sequel to Turok, which wasn’t received well by critics.
Disney Interactive spokesperson Angela Emery would not comment on the rumor, however, but asserted that Propaganda is still a two-team studio with two unannounced projects in the works.
Tags: disney interactive
Unreal Tournament 3 Goes Steam-Crazy
Bracing itself for the large Unreal Tournament 3 patch that is due out soon, Valve today enabled free Steam registration for the game.
The registration is a simple matter of entering the CD key in Steam’s activation menu. Any CD key should be eligible for activation, including versions of the game purchased from other digital distribution services. However, the activation will require a new installation of the game, so if you don’t want hard drive bloat, be sure to uninstall your old version first.
The update will bring over 50 Steamworks Achievements, as well as new features and enhancements in AI, mod support, server browsing and more.
Y2K9 Strikes Gears of War
Those who bought the PC version of Gears of War are in for a treat, as the game has been entirely disabled since Wednesday when the game’s digital certificate expired.
The expiration date on the certificate was apparently set for January 28, and when the date switched over, the game became completely unplayable.
Epic knows of the problem, with programmer Joe Graf expressing his surprise on the company’s official forum. He writes that they are currently working with Microsoft to resolve the issue.
Other games have faced similar issues, most notably Lord of the Rings Online. Interestingly, there’s a simple solution to the problem that users found: set the system clock back to a date prior to the expiration to activate the game.
Deus Ex 3 Details
An extensive discussion of Deus Ex 3 is going on over at the Eidos forums based on a preview of the upcoming action-RPG sequel from Czech gaming magazine Hratelne. There a couple of new screenshots offered, but most importantly, the post offers a translation of the entire Czech article, but here’s a more concise list of what’s in there:
- The game takes place in five well-known metropolises, three of which were mentioned: Shanghai, Detroit and Montreal
- Bosses will be present and their difficulty will depend on your previous actions
- The events of the game will lead to the establishment of UNATCO
- The main villain will be similar to Jensen
- The world is ruled by megacorporations who are more powerful than national governments
- There will be squad-based combat AI with a visually identifiable squad leader
Deus Ex 3 is due out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
Oasis Album Coming to Guitar Hero
While many Oasis fans consider the band to have fallen far from their position as rock icons in the 1990s, the band still has a loyal following, considering that they’ve recently put out their seventh studio album. The album is now available for download on Xbox Live for Guitar Hero World Tour owners.
It’ll set you back 1520 Microsoft Points ($18.99 real world money) but make sure you check out what you’ve already downloaded, because three of the tracks from the album (”Shock of the Lightning”, “Bag it Up” and “Waiting for the Rapture”) were available for download in November. If you download the tracks individually they’re 160 MS points ($2). Here’s the full track list:
“Bag It Up”
“The Turning”
“Waiting for the Rapture”
“The Shock of the Lightning”
“I’m Outta Time”
“(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady”
“Falling Down”
“To Be Where There’s Life”
“Ain’t Got Nothin’”
“The Nature of Reality”
“Soldier On”