Monthly Archives: January 2009

Nintendo has sent word that the Mario Power Tennis Wii-make will be released on March 6th.

Coming out one month after its Pikmin counterpart, this old GameCube game has added Wii-mote support plus a few other tweaks.

On the subject of Pikmin, go here for loads of Wii-make screenshots.

Update: GI informs us that these Wii-makes will cost £39.99 at retail.

Thanks, Blerk.

By Mike Bowden

Square Enix has launched the official site for Star Ocean IV, dubbed The Last Hope, in America.

Lots of features are still labelled “coming soon” but you can meet the characters from the tri-Ace RPG.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope is rumoured to be released in Europe in April whilst the US and Japan get it next month.

Check it out.

By Mike Bowden

According to figures released by GfK Retail and Technology Australia, the Australian videogames market has experienced a 47 percent growth in 2008.

Record sales were recorded for the industry, with numbers up to Australian $1.96 billion ($1.30 billion) for the country in total.

Software was up 57 percent, console sales 43 percent and peripherals 68 percent.

“Sales figures for the past two years actually show that the industry has grown over 112 per cent since 2006,” said Ron Curry, Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia CEO.

“The industry has really witnessed phenomenal growth, which has largely been driven by people playing games together.”

“There is a huge variety of games now on the market, with a wide selection for the entire family as well as specifically for adults, and it’s a great way for people to spend time together,” he added.

Thanks, GI.

Sega has signed up with digital distributors Gamersgate so it can deliver its games directly to consumers, the company announced yesterday.

First off, you’ll be able to get Football Manager 2009 and Universe at War whilst Condemned: Criminal Origins, Rome: Total War Series and Outrun 2006: Coast to Coast are confirmed but not dated.

Sega also has digital distribution deals with Valve Software’s Steam service and IGN’s Direct 2 Drive.

Thanks, Edge.

Above you can see above, PSU has got what it reckons is the first image of Ubisoft’s nothing-to-do-with Jade-Raymond disaster-movie game, I am Alive.

I am Alive is being developed by Darkworks – Cold Fear and Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare – and follows the life of Adam Collins, a man who finds himself stuck in the middle of a major catastrophe, fighting for survival.

We’re checking with Ubisoft now.

By Mike Bowden

Midway has confirmed that Vin Diesel game, Wheelman will be released on March 20.

The game promises to combine “spectacular Hollywood-style stunts with a gripping storyline” and provide “an adrenaline-fueled, cinematic thrill ride guaranteed to leave you breathless. Weave in and out of traffic, engaging in intense vehicular warfare through the winding streets of Barcelona.”

News broke this morning that the game has been delayed amonth and this announcement confirms it.

Full release after the break.

By Mike Bowden

More »

Engaget is reporting that peripheral maker BlazePro has created a wireless keyboard for PlayStation 3 costing just $11 (approx. £0).

Sony’s own branded effort costs $50 (approx. £lots).

Admittedly the BlazePro model is not as curvaceous as its official big brother and there are no reviews for it as yet, but at that price it’s worth a try, right?

By Mike Bowden

Square Enix’s Yoshinori Kitase has told Famitsu that in order to increase that PS3′s attach rate, it needs to have attractive games, and that’s where the FFXIII demo plays its part.

Kitase also went on to say that as Final Fantasy XIII is such a long way away, the Japanese PS3-only demo will concentrate on the basics of the game.

Kitase added that completion is now in sight, so expect an announcement soon.

Thanks, PS3hyper.

Blizzard’s Wrath of the Lich King and EA’s The Sims 2 Double Deluxe swap places this week with the former regaining the number one spot.

Valve’s Left 4 Dead is third followed by EA’s Red Alert 3.

Last week’s chart here. Top ten below:

1. Wrath of the Lich King
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
3. Left 4 Dead
4. Red Alert 3
5. Spore
6. WoW Battle Chest
7. The Sims 2 Apartment Life
8. World Of Warcraft
9. Fallout 3
10. Call Of Duty: World At War

By Mike Bowden

VentureBeat has taken a long, hard look at the numbers and rendered a verdict. The site’s startling discovery: Wii is to PS2 as PS3 is to GameCube.

According to NPD data (U.S. only), Nintendo’s bid for the throne currently sits at 17.5 million units sold. At the same period during its legendary reign, Sony’s PS2 had only moved 15.9 million units.

Meanwhile, the PlayStation 3 is forging its own, decidedly less lucrative path with 6.79 million units distributed across the U.S. The GameCube, an odd duck in its own right, let Nintendo’s manufacturing facilities grow fat and complacent with a mere 6.75 million units sold.

As for the Xbox 360, well, you’ve probably already guessed; Microsoft’s second console is the spitting image of its first, moving only 18% more quickly at this point.

Any guesses as to who will snag the best horse on the merry-go-round next?

By Nathan Grayson

Sony has announced the new Killzone 2 bundle for the UK.

It will be price at £299.99 and will contain an 80Gb PS3, a Dual Shock controller and of course, a copy of Killzone 2.

Release date still TBC.

We’re checking with Sony to confirm whether this is Europe-wide.

Check out the box after the break.

Update: Sony has confirmed to VG247 that European territories are getting the bundle however no price has been set.

By Mike Bowden

More »

The Major’s updated his blog to tell us that the ‘Steve Miller Band Pack 01′ is now available for download from Xbox Live.

Similar affair as with the other DLC whereby individual tracks cost 160 MS Points and the track pack itself costs 440.

To see what’s on offer hit the link.

By Mike Bowden

X3F has noticed that new Gears 2 achievements have found their way to Xbox.com which would suggest that the new title update could be just around the corner.

Epic’s Mark Rein has promised the patch will focus on “fixing a whole bunch of online exploits” and are making “several small changes to improve the overall online gameplay experience.”

If you want to spoil it for yourself, the new Achievements are through the link.

By Mike Bowden

Ruffian games has announced it is now up and and running and is already working on a title for a major international publishing company.

The team is comprised of Climax, DMA Design and RealTime Worlds team members bringing with them the experience and ideas of games such as Crackdown, GTA, Fable 2 and Project Gotham Racing.

“Creative and talented people are the lifeblood of any studio and I am so excited to be working with the best the industry has to offer,” said studio head Gaz Liddon.

“It simply isn’t possible for any studio to have a better start than this.”

Although the company’s new project remains unannounced, it will focus on online and multiplayer gaming.

“We want to provide an online experience rivalling any other through co-operative and competitive multiplayer gaming,” stated creative director Billy Thompson.

“Online play is the future of gaming and we’re incredibly excited about where that is going to take us.”

Last month, we told you that RealTime Worlds devs had resigned from the company to form Ruffian Games. We also said that the new development house will be working on Crackdown 2. RTW the exclusively informed VG247 that talks with Microsoft about a sequel to the excellent open worlder were “ongoing.”

Let’s see what happens next.

Official site is here, and they’re hiring.

Thanks, GI.

By Mike Bowden

THQ has send word that Rainbow Studios’ arachnophobia inducing Wii game, Deadly Creatures, will be infesting US retailers on February 9.

The is a Wii exclusive, is voice by Dennis Hopper and Billy Bob Thornton and you can browse our scary screenshots here. If you dare.

Thanks to Shacknews for the tip.

By Mike Bowden

In this month’s Official PlayStation Magazine, SCE president Kaz Hirai says he believes Sony still offers leadership in the industry, he doesn’t see Nintendo Wii as direct competition, and Xbox 360 is a console that “lacks longevity.”

“I’d like to think that we continue official leadership in this industry,” said Hirai to the Killzone 2 laden monthly.

“It’s difficult to talk about Nintendo because we don’t look at their console as being competitors. They’re a different world and we operate in our world – that’s kind of the way I look at things.

“And with the Xbox – again, I can’t come up with one word to fit. You need a word that describes something that lacks longevity,” offered Hirai.

“Last time I checked, they’ve never had a console that’s been on the market for more than four or five years and we’ve committed to a ten year life cycle, so you do the math.

“And unless things go really bad there’s no way that at the end of a life cycle our competition is going to have a higher install base,” he concluded.

Thanks, CVG.

By Mike Bowden

Splash Damage studio director Paul Wedgwood has said that the fact some developers’ bonuses are dependent on a MetaCritic average is “ridiculous” and he feels the percentage scoring system on games reviews needs to be looked at.

“Personally I think it’s ridiculous,” Wedgwood told GI when asked about an instance where a dev team was require to get 9′s rather than 8′s.

“In the film industry, four stars is an amazing score. I think it’s a really good idea for a developer to go to a publisher and demand that they get an additional bonus for achieving a certain review score, but it shouldn’t affect their royalties or anything else. If you have a high-selling game, you have a high-selling game.

“We know that some websites score quite high and some quite low, but in general, all websites tend to score between 60 and 100. There’s never a 37. It’s as if that whole section doesn’t exist, so zero starts at 60, so three stars, and goes up to five. It’s just not really an accurate enough measure.

“I think that if anything, the games press should take the pressure off themselves, and just go across to star ratings, which for films is nothing more than a recommendation that you buy it, watch it when you get the chance, or rush out and see it straight away, and it’s your personal recommendation,” suggested Wedgwood. ”

It’s not a ‘score’. If that was all you did, nobody would hate you guys for it.

“Out of ten is a good start,” he went on. “Percentiles put too much pressure on a journalist to justify an exact score. It puts too much pressure on the developer to try and identify these criteria that lead to very specific point increases or decreases, which is not at all what the developer should be focusing on.”

More through the link.

By Mike Bowden

EA’s refused to get involved in a Forbes accusation that Rock Band is a Guitar Hero rip-off.

“Unfortunately we can’t comment on this,” a senior spokesperson told us yesterday.

Forbes claimed that Rock Band was a “shameless knockoff” of Guitar Hero in its latest issue, which featured Activision boss Bobby Kotick on the cover.

The article pulled no punches.

“EA… teamed with MTV to sell Rock Band, a shameless knockoff of Guitar Hero that added drums, bass and a microphone to the world of make-believe rock stars,” it said.

The piece also called Activision Blizzard “the world’s most successful videogame publisher”.

Go on, JR. Get on the cover of Fortune and call Bobby a girl, or something.

According to a listing on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission website, Australian videogame distributor Red Ant Enterprises is now in the hands of receivers.

Aside from distributing Capcom and Konami down under, Red Ant also handles Bethesda and Midway. Whether or not any future releases dates from those companies will be affected remains to be seen.

More over at Kotaku.au

Update: Aussie site Gameplayer is now reporting that Capcom has ditched the distributor, leaving release dates for titles such as Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5 TBC.

By Mike Bowden

Sony’s confirmed the imminent release of PSP Firmware 5.03.

SCEA’s released scant details on what’s included, saying only that it’s a “small update that improves system software stability during use of some features.”

Click furiously on that update button, PSP Firmware fans.