Monthly Archives: January 2009

EA has released seven new Skate 2 videos showing all kinds of different aspects of gameplay from tricking through bailing.

In case you didn’t know, a Skate 2 demo will release on Xbox Live this morning with PSN to join in on the fun on the 15th.

Head over to IGN for a veritable video-feast of Black Box’s Skate sequel.

By Mike Bowden

We’re pretty sure at least three of these are new, but don’t kill us if we’re wrong. Suffice to say, NintendoEverything has some images of Rockstar’s GTA Nintendo DS venture and if we’re being honest, it’s looking better the more we see it.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be released for DS in March 17 and 20 in North America and Europe, respectively.

By Mike Bowden

ThatGameCompany has released two new gameplay excerpts from its ethereal romp, Flower.

We’ve been after this one for quite a while and these videos (below) aren’t making the wait any easier.

We’ll check with Sony later today to see if there’s any new info as to when it will be on PSN.

By Mike Bowden

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THQ has announced that its rude boy shooter, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand will be hitting European shores on February 20 for 360 and PS3.

We couldn’t be looking forward to being Fiddy any more than we already are, and now this date gives us something to live for.

By Mike Bowden

In light of the recent lawsuit filed by Worlds.com, NCSoft told videogaming247 this afternoon that whilst it can’t comment on specific cases, it takes all legal action seriously and that the company intends to defend itself “vigorously”.

“We can’t comment on potential litigation except to say that NCsoft takes all legal action seriously – even if the company believes a lawsuit has no merit,” said the rep to VG247 today.

“We intend to defend ourselves vigorously.”

Worlds.com believes it has the patent on “System and Method for Enabling Users to Interact in a Virtual Space,” meaning all games featuring online virtual worlds – namely MMOs – are under threat.

If successful, NCSoft could be the first in a long line of MMO publishers to be faced with comparative legal action as Worlds.com will be buoyed by any success it might have in or out of the courtroom and will most certainly soon be banging on Blizzard’s door.

By Mike Bowden

THQs excellent open-world romp, Saints Row 2, was released for PC across the US today, retailing at $39.99.

The game is expected to ship to retail outlets in Europe on January 23, 2009 and Australia on February 5, 2009.

“Saints Row 2′s console release was met with heavy praise from press and consumers alike for delivering the kind of over-the-top, open-world gameplay gamers want,” said Kevin Kraff, THQ vice president, global brand management.

“Saints Row 2′s debut on Windows PC will introduce the truly unique, highly entertaining open-world experience to PC fans worldwide.”

THQ delayed the PC release back in October last year just before announcing that the console versions of Saints Row 2 had shipped 2 million units.

By Mike Bowden

In an interview with GameDaily, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime insists that despite criticism from some quarters, Nintendo listens to its fans “all the time.”

“We listen to our fans all the time,” said Reggie when confronted.

“Nintendo fans are some of the most passionate in the world, and believe me, they make their opinions heard. We’re not claiming our way of doing things is better or worse than anyone else – it’s just different,” he added.

“We listen very closely to what people have to say, both pro and con, and keep those feelings in mind as we plan ahead.”

Full Q&A through the link.

By Mike Bowden

The PSBlog writes that Creat Studios and TikGames’ puzzler, Cuboid, is coming soon and will be exclusive to PlayStation Network.

Players must navigate ancient ruins and lush environments, manoeuvring a rectangular block through mystical exits.

“Cuboid will bend your mind with its addictive puzzles and engage the senses with amazing graphics and soothing music, immersing you in a surrealistic puzzle world,” says the article.

Cuboid will cost $9.99 when released.

Full thing through the link.

By Mike Bowden

Konami has announced today that Bomberman DS 2 will be released on February 13 and to celebrate, CVG has whacked up 21 – count ‘em – 21 new screenshots for you to ogle over.

Konami has promised “a visual make-over and a wealth of new elements to the gameplay.”

Get your pre-order in now.

By Mike Bowden

In an interview with GI, Michael Denny, the senior vice president of Sony Worldwide Studios Europe, said that he sees network services as the next big challenge for the company adding that Sony has to learn what the LBP community needs.

When asked about about whether he could envisage a day where games were released on optical media and as digital download he said:

“Going back a couple of years when we launched a game on a disc, you developed it, you tested it, you put it on disc and marketed it, and that was the end of the game. Now, for some games it’s only the start of the game and the service.”

“With LittleBigPlanet’s user-generated content we have to service that correctly, we have to learn what the community needs and we have to make sure we’re providing additional content along the way. So it’s more about the network experience for us.”

Full interview through the link.

By Mike Bowden

A Lionhead spokesman has told videogaming247.com that a release date for the delayed DLC, Knothole Island, is “very close” and that applies to the patch, too.

“We’re very close to a release date for the DLC, plus the patch of course,” said the rep.

Knothole Island was put back from December to late January citing technical difficulties.

Lionhead has also updated its site today revealing that Fable II has gone platinum meaning it joins a “a select group of games that sell over 300,000 units in the UK.”

The update also revealed that the RPG “became the fifth-fastest-selling game ever in the UK, only topped by GTA IV, Halo 3, FIFA 09 and Call of Duty 4.” (not including games released after Fable II).

By Mike Bowden

Hello internet,

My wife delivered twin boys, our second and third children, yesterday afternoon. Both mother and babies are well and recovering. We are impossibly happy.

The birth’s the reason you haven’t been getting evening updates this week. Few things are more important to me than videogaming news on the internet, but my family members are most of them.

Mike’s going to be doing the day shift for the whole of January, so be patient while we get the chaps home from hospital and full of milk: you’ll get late news as soon as I’m physically able.

We’ll be back up to full power very soon, and we’ve got some exciting announcements to make in the coming months. So if you have a chair, feel free to occupy its edge.

In the meantime, though, please welcome my boys to the world.

I love you all.

Pat
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2K Games has just confirmed to videogaming247.com that the Bioshock Sea of Dreams “New Daddy” screenshot is actually some early concept work from the otiginal game and is therefore is not genuine.

“It’s basically an early concept screenshot from the [Bioshock 1] 2006 E3 press kit,” a 2K spokesperson said. “The guy that wrote it [the article] either didn’t know or did it on purpose.”

As to whether the game will be a prequel, the rep told us that “so far, nothing has been announced and more information with be released later in the year.”

Bioshock: Sea of Dreams will be released “late 2009″.

By Mike Bowden

A post on the Bioshock 2 forums seems to confirm that Bioshock: Sea of Dreams will be “mostly a prequel” to the first game.

The post also shows a picture of one of “New Daddy’s” “experimental suits” (pictured above).

Full entry below:

Seeming that Bioshock 2 is going to be mostly a prequel. One of the greatest things too look forward to is what to expect of the Big Daddy. In the picture you can see a sneak peak of one of the big daddy’s experimental suits. One of the new weapons that the Big daddy’s will have is an archaic looking wooden cannon. The tank on his back is a lot smaller than what we’re use to seeing, and the gloves and pants are more of a leather rather than the traditional Diver suits. And probably the most noticeable change that the “New Daddy” has is the helmet, it only has three sight holes, and they are all forward facing. Whereas the Big Daddy’s helmet has multiple sight holes and they give multiple angles of sight.

Update: It has been brought to our attention that this information might not be as reliable as first thought. Therefore, it’s filed firmly under “rumour” for now.

By Mike Bowden

EA has just issued a press release stating that Black Box’s Skate 2 demo will be released on PSN on January 15th.

The release confirmed that 360 owners can download the demo as of tomorrow morning.

Skate 2 will be released on January 21 in the US and worldwide on the 23rd.

Full release after the break.

By Mike Bowden

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The latest Media Create Japanese hardware figures are in and it shows Nintendo’s DSi storming forward selling a whopping 245,150 units from the week through December 22 through 28.

In a clean sweep for Nintendo, Wii came in second selling 134,958.

All this whilst Nintendo is presumably still celebrating over three million Wii Fit sales.

It really is a happy new year for some.

Full hardware list below.

• NDS 245,150
• WII 134,958
• PSP 118,765
• PS3 45,989
• 360 13,011
• PS2 10,404

By Mike Bowden

White Knight Chronicles débuts at number one in the latest software charts from Japan supplied by Media Create.

PSPs Dissidia: Final Fantasy and Wii’s Animal Crossing: City Folk came in second and third respectively.

Full top ten below:

01./00. [PS3] White Knight Chronicles (SCEI) – 206,954 / NEW
02./01. [PSP] Dissidia: Final Fantasy (Square Enix) – 176,385 / 666,000
03./04. [WII] Animal Crossing: City Folk (Nintendo) – 144,179 / 876,000
04./03. [NDS] Kirby Super Star Ultra Deluxe (Nintendo) – 140,934 / 920,000
05./06. [NDS] Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode (Nintendo) – 105,225 / 547,000
06./13. [NDS] Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo) – 84,515 / 1,445,000
07./00. [NDS] Phantasy Star Zero (SEGA) – 84,055 / NEW
08./08. [NDS] Pokemon Platinum (Pokemon Co.) – 78,653 / 2,231,000
09./17. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) – 71,347 / 3,051,000
10./19. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo) – 69,913 / 2,066,000

By Mike Bowden

Speaking to SI, a Koei rep said the company was sure that hack’n'slasher Warrior Orochi Z would find its way to European PS3s at some point.

“No definite plans yet but the Warriors Orochi games proved really popular over here so I’m sure it will,” said the spokesperson.

Warriors Ochi Z has been given a March 12 release date in Japan and up until now no Western release news has been forthcoming.

By Mike Bowden

CVG‘s rumouring that Ubisoft is set to reveal new iterations of its Tom Clancy shooters: namely Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six.

The article goes on to say that on top of the games being announced this year, we could also be playing them in time for Christmas.

Full thing through the link.

By Mike Bowden

In a video interview (below) CEO and president Level-5, Akihiro Hino, has confirmed that RPG White Knight Chronicles wil get a North American release.

However, when quizzed on whether US gamers would be able to share online components with Japanese ones he simply stated that it “hasn’t been decided yet”.

White Knight Chronicles was released on Christmas Day in Japan off the back of a 29/40 score from Famitsu, and although a Western release was always likely, PS3F says this is the first official confirmation that it’s definitely coming.

More through the link, video after the break.

By Mike Bowden

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