• Home
• Archives
• About
• Send news tips

Search:

• All news
• PC
• PlayStation 3
• Xbox 360
• Wii
• DS
• PSP
• Gear
• Featured stories

Subscribe to Newsfeed

NCAA Football 09 Completes Cover Athlete Roundup

In box art related news, EA sent out word that the final two cover athletes for NCAA Football 09 are former Cal wide receiver, DeSean Jackson, and former West Virginia Mountaineer Owen Schmitt. They will grace the covers of the PS2 and PSP versions of the game, respectively. Here’s a bit on them:

In three seasons at Cal, Jackson ranks third all time in receiving yards (2,423) and third in receiving touchdowns (22). He was rated as the #1 receiver in the nation by The Sporting News and Rivals.com going into his junior campaign. Jackson was a first team All-Pac-10 selection and led the nation in average punt return yards (18.2) in his sophomore season. In the recently held NFL Draft, Jackson was selected in the second round (49th overall pick) by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Schmitt, a tough-minded fullback, finished his West Virginia Mountaineer career as one of the greatest players in school lore. In his career, Schmitt earned 21 career starts and carried the ball for 1,003 yards, a 6.3-yard average, during his Mountaineer career.

The PS2 version of the game will feature authentic collegiate animations, an all-new Mascot Challenge and more. Meanwhile, the PSP version will feature arcade-influenced gameplay and simplified game controls.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game feature former Arkansas All-American Darren McFadden and Matt Ryan from Boston College as cover athletes, respectively. Also, Sparty the Spartan from Michigan State University graces the cover of the Wii version.

PSP Outsells DS 2-to-1

So far, 2008 has been the year of the PlayStation. Sales and popularity of the PS3 has reached new ground, and the PSP is doing quite well, too. In fact, it is doing better than the DS according to Reuter’s latest report. The agency quotes Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain as saying that the PSP has outsold the DS in the country by more than 2-to-1 in April.

PSP sales came in at over 380,000 units, with the DS clocking in at 170,000. However, Nintendo pretty much kicked Sony’s ass in the console market, having sold five times as many Wii units as the PS3 in the month.

The country’s best selling console game was Monster Hunter Freedom 2G for the PSP. It has been reigning supreme for two months.

No Madden in next Madden

Electronic Arts is looking to make a big change in the upcoming Madden game; John Madden won’t be the announcer for the game. Instead, Tom Hammond of NBC Sports and Cris Collinsworth of NFL Network and NBC Sports will be taking his place in Madden ‘09. We all knew that it would happen sooner or later, as the football legend is in his seventies.

Keep in mind that this is the 20th installment of the series, so it just wouldn’t be complete without the main man himself. The game is titled after him, so why not include him? Maybe at least a cameo would do justice.

Read (AOL Sports)

Hot Shots Golf Sequel Released on PSP

If playing golf on your PSP is what you want, then SCEA has announced just the thing for you: Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2. The sequel, already available in North American stores exclusively for the PSP, features new courses and characters, along with hundreds of customization options including clothes, accessories and equipment. Additionally, the game offers a wide range of multiplayer options including 16-player online tournaments and ad-hoc capability for one-on-one or Stroke Mode challenges.

“The Hot Shots Golf franchise has been a perennial winner over the years for PlayStation, and we are very excited to bring the game’s quirky golf experience back to PSP,” said Jeff Reese, director, software marketing, SCEA. “With greater online capabilities, challenging new courses, and a variety of gameplay modes, Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 is a stimulating portable experience that delivers all the charm and fun the Hot Shots Golf series has to offer.”

Games For Heroes Charity

Whether or not you agree with the United States’ aggressive military actions abroad, you have to admit that the situation for many soldiers is a rather poor one. Many servicemen and women are in relatively desolate places like Iraq and Afghanistan where along with the impending danger surrounding them there’s another severe adversary: boredom. There’s not much point to free time if there’s nothing to do, and as anyone with a basic understanding of military strategy knows, keeping morale amongst the troops high is a good thing. Peter Gallagher and Jack Wilson, both high school students, have started a charity intended to keep our troops spirits high and give them a break from the looming threats all around them. Called “Games For Heroes”, the website details the charity’s efforts to provide overseas soldiers (many of whom are young, generally 18-20) with handheld gaming devices.

Rumor: LittleBigPlanet On PSP

This would certainly explain some of the delays we’ve been seeing with the game. An inside source has informed CVG that LittleBigPlanet is also PSP bound, likely to also line up with the PS3 release in September. Link up options also would seem to be a very likely candidate, although nothing was given in great detail by the source, so the information is mildly lacking. The game is apparently being developed by the Sony Liverpool office, although they were obviously not forthcoming and have yet to comment on the story. I’ll bet it’ll be something along the lines of them not commenting on rumor and speculation. If indeed true, its certainly been held quiet for a while already, with September rapidly on the horizon.

We’ll keep you up to date if we hear anything more about this rumor.

Japanese Monster Hunter Fueled Hardware Sales

Capcom’s Monster Hunter is a really big thing in Japan. How big you ask, well 1 million units of software have easily been moved at this point in time, which in a short two week period in Japan, the smallest region and on PSP no less is a mild miracle. Perhaps the only bigger stunt would be to sell a million pieces of software on the 360 in Japan, which considering the .5 million install base would be slightly impossible.

As such, the PSP has seen another massive upsurge in the charts, putting shame to nearly everything else. The DS and Wii do nice non monster hunter numbers, but at least Sony has something worth celebrating as the other Playstation consoles seem to be doing fairly horribly. Even PS3, which has seen quite the nice little boost in recent days in other regions, isn’t feeling the same love. Perhaps word hasn’t gotten out to Japan yet that Blu-ray has won out, or perhaps they are too busy with Monster Hunter to care.

- PSP: 129,986
- DS Lite: 58,916
- Wii: 48,785
- PS3: 11,206
- PS2: 10,296
- Xbox 360: 1,547

R-Type Coming to PSP, PS3

The sleuths over at Gamespot have once again uncovered another ESRB rating that reveals two new games in development. The American classifications board has updated its database with a listing for R-Type on PSP and PS3 – the game has been rated “E for Everyone”, the same as previous entries in the series.

Interestingly, the game is listed with SCEA as its publisher, meaning that the game will go up on the PlayStation Network as a downloadable title. No further information on the title is known at the moment as it is yet to be announced.

No Gran Turismo PSP Likely Until 2009

It looks like Gran Turismo for the PSP is doomed for some major delays, as developer Polyphony Digital concentrates on the console space. The development on the PS3 is taking up significant resources as they try and pump out a finished product, and as such a PSP version while in the works, is for the moment being pushed to the side, likely until 2009.

“We had been developing the PSP version, but the problem was that the PS3 version took much more time and effort than we had first imagined. So that’s been delayed - I don’t think we’ll be able to make the end of this year for the PSP version, but we are working on it.”

From the sounds of things, the project is still in its infant stages, or remains vaporware, so I wouldn’t get you hopes up yet until we actually see something. For now Gran Turismo will obviously sit on the drawing board, but the focus for Polyphony Digital will be on the PS3 version, which really is where it should lie.

PSP Takes Number One Spot in Japan

The data for weekly hardware sales in Japan for the week ending March 30 has come in, and the results are weird: PSP at the number one spot. The release of Capcom’s Monster Hunter; Portable 2^nd G has had much effect on the PSP, significantly increasing its hardware sales. The console rose by more than double on its previous week, up by 70,513 units to a total of 129,986. Its competitor – the DS – came it at a distant second place with 58,916 units sold.

The third place went to the Wii, which sold a total of 48,785, almost five times that of the PS3, which sold 11,206 units only. Microsoft should feel ashamed of themselves, as the Xbox 360 sold only 1,547 units compared to the aging PS2 which sold 10,296 units last week.

Echochrome Ditches The Discs

When Echochrome finally releases here in North America, it will be doing so wthout the help of retailers, but strickly on the Playstation Network. PS3 owners have little to worry about, as this was always a certainty, but PSP owners may be in for a slight surprise, as the game released on a physical disc in Japan, albeit at a very steep 40 dollar price tag. The reasoning for the download only status behind the game is pretty obvious, the title likely would flop in the retail space, especially when available online and probably for a much cheaper pricetag. None the less, its a pretty unique situation for the PSP, being a download only title.

No word on whether you will be able to link Echochrome with just a single purchase between both systems, I’d imagine it would be a smart idea, given you won’t want to buy the identical title twice, but really, who knows at this point. We’ll have to wait for Echochrome to finally drop later this year to get the pricing and flexibility details.

Monster Hunter 2G Ships 1 Million In 6 Days

Capcom has just another title in their portfolio worth bragging about, as Monster Hunter Portable 2G, has shipped 1 million copies in just 6 days in Japan alone. Certainly a large feat all unto itself. Obviously we’ve known for a long time that as far as Japan is concerned, Monster Hunter is the biggest franchise running on the PSP. I think Seth Killian, Capcom blogger says it all, “This thing just shipped over a million units in under a week. On PSP! Yes, it’s that good.” Yes, 1 million is certainly amazing, but 1 million on the PSP stands in a league of its own.

The only thing Capcom has left to do is convince North American gamers to go as crazy at the Japanese do. While it might not happen on the PSP, even though we don’t consider Monster Hunter a mover and shaker on these shores, it just proves again what a big exclusive the PS3 lost as MH3 made the move to the Wii. And if those numbers are possible on the PSP, who knows what a numbered sequel for a console will move.

R-Type Command Demo Released

Atlus has released a playable demo for R-Type Command, the upcoming turn-based strategy game based on the action series, for the PSP. It is available exclusively at the PlayStation Store and offers a sampling of the missions available in the full game. The demo also offers a glimpse at the series’ new direction.

The demo is a 119 MB download that will require PlayStation Store credentials. The full game will be released on May 6.

Space Invaders, Arkanoid Resurrected

Bringing back memories of the good old times, Square Enix has announced plans to release Arkanoid DS and Space Invaders Extreme for the DS and PSP. To be available this Summer, the retro titles will be fully updated and enhanced for the aforementioned handhelds, featuring wi-fi multiplayer support as well as wide-screen content.

Space Invaders Extreme, the classic coin-op title, will feature futuristic, techno-inspired graphic design and a fully interactive sound scheme where sound effects are synchronized to match the beats of the music. Soundtrack will be provided by various musicians and DJs including Wall Five, DJ Aki, Atom & Masaki Sakamoto and Altz.

Arkanoid DS updates the classic block-busting gameplay of the 1986 original, offering over 140 levels to complete, a new Quest mode, customization of levels, power-up items and more.

Both games will be available this Summer.

Crisis Core Gets Special Edition

Already out in Japan for quite some time now, Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core is yet to set foot on Western shores. However, it will do so in style, as Square Enix has announced that a limited special edition version of the game will be available at the forthcoming release of the game in Q2 2008.

The special edition version will come with a hard-backed artwork book and high quality slipcase that will be available exclusively with selected online retailers as part of a pre-order program.

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix comments, “CRISIS CORE -FINAL FANTASY VII- is one of the most anticipated FINAL FANTASY releases of all time. We wanted to give something extra to the fans to thank them for their continued support of the series and to celebrate such a landmark title. I think the special edition makes this important release even greater.”

Crisis Core is a prequel to Final Fantasy VII - considered to be the best game in the series so far - that features CG cutscenes, an innovative real-time battle system, more than 300 side missions and more.

Retail Week: God Of War Reaches PSP

An excellent and already critically well received piece of software is headed for the PSP this week, and that actually follows another one (Patapon) released the week before. In fact, things seem to be on the up and up on the PSP lately, with more then enough incentive to dust it off and start picking up software. Otherwise, some other interesting things are worth investigating on pretty much all of the platforms. The 360 and Wii finally receive the Bully ports and Army of Two is also worth taking a look at. All titles should be available sometime this week in retail, call ahead to check if the shipment has arrived at your local store.

Xbox 360: Army of Two
Major League Baseball 2K8
Bully Scholarship Edition

Nintendo Wii: Major League Baseball 2K8
Bully Scholarship Edition
Ninja Reflex

PS3: MLB 08: The Show
Army of Two
Major League Baseball 2K8

PS2: Silent Hill: Origins
Major League Baseball 2K8
MLB 08: The Show
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw Superstar Series

PSP: God of War: Chains of Olympus
Major League Baseball 2K8
Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship
MLB 08: The Show

Nintendo DS: Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer
Ninja Reflex
Eco Creatures: Save the Forest
Imagine: Figure Skater
Petz Bunnyz
Homie Rollerz
Spitfire Heroes: Tales Royal Air Force
Chicken Hunter
Anno 1701
Lets Ride Friends Forever
Best of Tests DS

PC Games: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm
Company of Heroes Gold
Imperium Romanum
Build-a-lot
Artic Stud Poker Run
Stranger

God of Bundles

If slaughtering creatures and deities from Greek mythology is your cup of tea, you’re probably excited for God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP. Some people might even be so excited about the game they’re buying a PSP just for the sake of playing it. If you’re in that category, or maybe you’re looking to upgrade to a PSP slim, there’s a pretty good bundle offer coming out. It’ll include a copy of Chains of Olympus of course, along with a blood-red PSP that features Kratos’ face on the back of it, whose intimidating stare should discourage other passengers on airplanes, buses or other mass transit systems to peer over your shoulder while you play. In addition you’ll be getting a copy of Superbad on UMD to unwind after a long session of slaying mythical beasts and a voucher for a free download of Syphon Filter: Combat Ops. The only downside is that the game is coming out March 4th, , but the bundle won’t be available until June.

Sony Announces 80 GB MGS4 PS3 Bundle

Sony has announced a new PS3 bundle, this time, packing an 80 GB hard drive, includes Metal Gear Solid 4 and a DualShock 3 controller, all for $500. The new SKU will launch together with Metal Gears Solid 4 this summer. In addition, Sony revealed a new, red PSP, which includes God of War: Chains of Olympus, Superbad on UMD, and a free, dowloadable, Syphon Filter Combat Ops game. The PSP pack will be available in June for $200.

Warriors Orochi Dated for PC, PSP

Koei Today announced that Warriors Orochi will ship for PSP and PC on March 25. The game is already in stores for the PS2 and Xbox 360. A premier brand of action and strategy games, Warriors Orochi on the PSP will feature massive seamless battlefields of the console versions, including all 79 playable characters, as well as 2-player co-op play via local wireless connection. The PC version will feature enhanced graphics and will be available exclusively through digital download.

Without warning, the venomous Serpent King Orochi descended from the heavens. Using his unworldly powers to shatter time and space, Orochi kidnapped the strongest, wisest and most courageous warriors from Ancient China and Feudal Japan in a scheme to test his might against the heroes of these ages.

In Warriors Orochi the characters from both franchises must team-up to wage war against this new, yet powerful force. The game boasts an amazing roster of 79 playable characters, while four action-packed “crossover” storylines feature amazing team-ups and some long-awaited confrontations between characters from both series.

The game uses a new team battle system and weapon fusion to push tactical action to a new level. Players can create their own three-person tag-team at any given time.

Dead Head Fred Wins WGA Award

Following up on word that the game was nominated for an award, Vicious Cycle Software announced that Dead Head Fred has won the Writers Guild of America’s inaugural Videogame Writing Award. The 2008 Writers Guild Awards recognizes excellence in writing for screen, television, documentary, radio, promotion and for the first time, videogames.

“D3PA and the entire Dead Head Fred team at Vicious Cycle are all very grateful and humbled by this award,” said Yoji Takenaka, executive vice president and chief operations officer, D3PA. “We look forward to bringing fans many more top quality games and continuing to elevate the standard of game writing in the industry.”

WGA’s inaugural Videogame Writing Award aims to spotlight quality work by videogame writers, hoping to raise their profiles and validate their contributions to the entertainment industry. Dead Head Fred, a PSP-exclusive game, was written by Dave Ellis and Adam Cogan who painted a 1940s inspired world where the player is thrown into the role of a private investigator without a head.

Next Page »

Latest Headlines

• First Gears of War 2 Gameplay Footage
• Guitar Hero 4 At the Drive-In
• Mass Effect, Spore "Draconian" Online Check Removed (Partially)
• EA Gets $1B More for Take-Two Purchase
• Sonic Youth, Clash, Blondie in Rock Band
• Call of Duty 5 Announced
• No Tony Hawk Game This Year
• Burnout Paradise on PC, First Screenshots
• Bizarre: No PGR4 DLC From Us
• Codemasters Gets F1 License, Developing Multiplatform Game
• Battlefield: Bad Company Demo on June 5
• Bioshock Coming To Big Screen
• Everyday Shooter on Steam
• Vampire Rain Drizzling on PS3
• Activision Reveals Massive Profit
• Party Crashers on Wii
• Wrestlemania Game Announced
• The Mummy Game Announced
• THQ Gets Master Mind
• Coming Tonight: Gears Of War 2

All content Copyright © 2007 DigitalBattle | Privacy Policy | Contact | Log in