GTA IV DLC for Feb 17, titled The Lost and Damned
NXE launch "incredible" but niggles to be ironed out
Home beta invites ship, v1.0 hits test servers
November 20th, 2008 @ 21:22
The US PS Blog’s confirmed that Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will launch on PSN on November 25.
This almost certainly means that this November 26 date for the Live release is correct.
A good thing: it means we can stop typing Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.
Hit the link for a couple of new movies.
November 20th, 2008 @ 21:16
Back in June, Amazon.com sold out of the Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 bundle in just in just seven minutes flat for a price of $599. Now, just four months later, Wal-mart is selling the same “limited edition” bundle for just $399.
So, time to start weighing up whether buying a PlayStation 3 with Metal Gear Solid 4 four months ago was worth $200 of your hard-earned or not.
We’re not saying anything.
By Mike Bowden
November 20th, 2008 @ 21:13
Gamestop’s Black Friday sales catalogue has been leaked to Kotaku, and reveals massive savings on both software and hardware.
There’s 12 pages of offers to gaze at through the link, if you’re interested. Our favourite is the free Wii Fit shopping bag when you buy the game. Christmas has definitely come early.
By Mike Bowden
November 20th, 2008 @ 21:10
According to reports on the LittleBigWorkshop forums, Media Molecule has released an 11Mb patch which updates LittleBigPlanet to v1.04.
According to the site, the changes are simply that using Undo in Creator mode requires a network call and gluing can be un-glued from the ground. Awesome.
No official word from Sony or MM, though.
Thanks, PSU.
By Mike Bowden
November 20th, 2008 @ 21:08
According to this GI story, PEGI’s traffic light symbols are to go live in Europe this spring.
The ratings body will tweak it’s original design after the BBFC said it would take legal advise over the fact it all looked a bit “similar” to its own symbols.
“PEGI has agreed those changes and they will be implemented as part of the PEGI system in the new year, probably in the spring by the time the information has been transmitted to all publishers and incorporated as part of the approvals process for the format holders,” said ELSPA MS Michael Rawlinson.
Ratings: amazing. More through the link.
November 20th, 2008 @ 20:53
Speaking in an earnings call following a quarterly financial report today, Gamestop money boss David Carlson admitted some of the sheen was coming off the music sector in general.
“The overall category of the music genre is very healthy, and we expect it to be popular throughout the holiday season. But as I think everyone knows, it’s not as robust as it was last year,” he admitted.
Despite heavy sales for the likes of Guitar Hero World Tour last month, Carlson’s outlook was tempered with realism.
“The Guitar Hero band kit is selling extremely well and is out of stock in many cases, particularly the Xbox [360] and the Wii versions,” he added. “But again, we’re thinking it will moderate somewhat for the holiday.”
More on Edge.
November 20th, 2008 @ 20:45
GameStop’s announced a sales increase of 5.2% to $1.695 billion in the quarter ending November 1.
Comparable store sales were down 1.8 percent during the third quarter, due primarily to the difficult comparison to last year’s launch of Halo 3 - the largest in GameStop’s history, which drove comparable store sales up 43 percent in 2007.
Overall, the company, which has 6,066 retail stores in 17 countries worldwide, saw $46.7 million in profits, a decrease over the $52.0 million seen in the same period in 2007 - due in part to foreign currency fluctuations and merger-related expenses.
More on Gamasutra.
November 20th, 2008 @ 19:09
GRIN, the developer behind Capcom’s Bionic Commando, is working on Terminator Salvation - The Videogame, Warner announced today, to release alongside the next movie in the series next May.
Apart from a mention of “next generation consoles,” platforms for the game were not provided.
“The player will be led through a visceral story with extremely polished production values to create a fully interactive Terminator experience,” noted Cos Lazouras, president of Terminator license holder Halcyon Games.
The game will sport “an incredibly fluid and realistic control set,” Lazouras added.
More on Shacknews.
November 20th, 2008 @ 18:55
Sony, true to its word, has released Firmware 5.02 for PSP. It’s there for download now.
The update’s a minor one, adding stability to various apps, including the PSP Store.
Go fetch, obsessive upgrade fans.
November 20th, 2008 @ 18:49
S’alright this week. There’s Sim City 2000 for your PSP, if you’re bored, and some bits of LBP DLC for your Sackboy. Full thing below, courtesy of PS3F.
Playable Content
Add-on Content
Music
Videos
Wallpapers and Themes
Rock Band DLC
Dead Kennedys 3 Pack (£2.49)
Mission Of Burma 3 Pack (£2.49)
Century Media Girls of Metal 3 Pack (£2.49)
Individual songs:
Guitar Hero World Tour
November 20th, 2008 @ 18:44
Rockstar’s put out the first shots of The Lost and Damned, the now-confirmed first episode of GTA IV’s 360 DLC.
They feature men on motorbikes. Get them on IGN.
More details on the content here.
November 20th, 2008 @ 17:28
Square Enix US boss John Yamamoto has claimed the days of system dominance are done and dusted.
“Not so long ago the PS2 dominated the market so if we developed an exclusive game for PS2 then we could enjoy a very good profit. But that time is already over,” Yamamoto told GI.
“To maximise and spread our games to as many users as possible I think we have to go to multiformat - the Xbox 360, PS3 and also the PC as well.
“The Japanese market is very strong and back when we could concentrate on developing games for just one console, business was very good. But the one-console market is over.”
More through there.
November 20th, 2008 @ 17:01
Speaking to MCV, Xbox Europe boss Chris Lewis has claimed that 360 has seen a dramatic change in fortunes against PS3 sales across Europe since its price was dropped in September.
“We don’t fixate on the competition, but it’s a very important bellwether of our success,” he said. “In the UK, we’ve sold more than double PS3’s volume since the price drop in September.
“I would call out our success in the Mediterranean countries in the last few weeks as a genuine step change from where we’ve been. The investment we’ve made in the right campaigns, the right price point and content that truly appeals to those markets.
“In Italy, we were double PS3’s sales last week. In France and Germany we are at or better than PS3 consistently now. We dominate in Russia and the Nordic countries and in Spain – a traditional Sony stronghold – we’re now outselling PS3. It bodes incredibly well for our Christmas prospects.”
More through there.
November 20th, 2008 @ 16:27
Blizzard COO Paul Sams has told VG247 that the prospect of a Star Wars BioWare MMO in the shape of The Old Republic isn’t threatening to his firm.
“No, we don’t feel threatened by them,” he said. “We actually think that having additional players in the market is positive, because it’s going to introduce a broader group of people than maybe are available right now.”
Sams also said that, despite the fact EA has a “spectacular” developer-license pairing in BioWare and Star Wars, the logistics of bringing a large MMO to market are “easy to underestimate”.
“The good news that they have going for them is that they have a great development team, and they have a great license that they get to build their game around, so i think that’s spectacular,” he said.
“But, I think it’s really easy to underestimate how difficult the rest of it is. We went into this being the world leader in online games, and we still got our ass handed to us countless times.
“I think they’ve got a couple of the key foundational elements there, which is spectacular developer, spectacular franchise, and they should not underestimate the other items. I don’t think there’s anyone better at those other things than Blizzard. It’s going to be hard to do the catch up work on that.”
Both LucasArts and EA were very clear about the fact that they believe The Old Republic can have a userbase larger than World of Warcraft’s, speaking at the recent announcement event in California.
No date has been put on the launch of The Old Republic as yet.
November 20th, 2008 @ 15:51
Update: First shots here.
Rockstar’s officially announced GTA IV 360 DLC The Lost and Damned in a press release, confirming the game will have “new multiplayer modes, weapons and vehicles”.
The first of two episodes, the content will ship on February 17, as reported this morning.
“Making these episodes has enabled us to expand the narrative and the experience of interacting with a game world in really innovative ways,” said Rockstar’s Sam Houser.
“We hope fans of the game enjoy the new way of experiencing life in Liberty City contained in this first episode.”
The episode follows the fortunes of bike gang member Johnny Klebitz, in a plot that “intersects” the main game’s storyline.
New Music is to be included.
After the break.
