Monthly Archives: February 2009

Square Enix will release Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume for DS in the UK on April 3.

The RPG has an improved tactical battle system, multiple chapters and various game endings

It follows the story of young soldier Wylfred, who seeks revenge against the valkyries that took his father’s life.

Sounds dramatic.

Press release posted below.

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The ESA has filed a special report with the US trade representative outlining how “rife” piracy is in Western Europe.

According to the report, during December 2008 thirteen different titles were downloaded 6.4 million times — two titles accounted for 4.7 million of those downloads

“Piracy is the single greatest threat to the innovation, artistic commitment and technological advancements enjoyed by millions of consumers worldwide,” said ESA bossman Michael Gallagher.

“Piracy is a job-killer that the world economy cannot afford in these difficult economic times.

“Countries that skirt obligations to combat piracy need to understand the unacceptable damage they are facilitating —and those countries that invest in protecting intellectual property rights and ensure that piracy is not tolerated at any level should be lauded.”

Filed by the International Intellectual Property Alliance, the report lists copyright and piracy issues that have occurred in 48 foreign countries.

It is suggested that 40 of these countries be put on a “USTR Watch List” with Italy, Spain, France Germany and Poland being the biggest offenders.

ArenaNet’s Mike O’Brien’s written a open letter to fans on the official Guild Wars website, saying that Guild Wars 2 hasn’t been delayed as it was never dated in the first place.

The game was put in a 2011/2012 release window by a financial statement last week.

The full thing’s after the break. Thanks, Blue.

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Troubled publisher Midway has turned over its membership card with the Entertainment Software Association, reports GamePolitics.

Looking over the list of members, it was noted that Midway was no longer present, this most likely due to the fact that paying for a renewal was not in its budget.

The ESA has only 20 members left at this time, which has dropped from 28 members since 2008.

Midway filed for bankruptcy protection last week.

Valve has announced a set of new releases for Team Fortress 2, headlined by a Scout Update made available February 24.

Scouts will be able to use a bat that smacks baseballs at the other team: the farther the ball flies before hitting someone, the longer the unfortunate soul will be stunned.

Only flaw is that you can’t double jump when you’re carrying the bat,  but like Valve always says: “Double jumping never put anybody in a coma”.

Right you are there.

Full details here.

Call of Duty: World at War is number one in the latest Live play charts, beating off perennial favourite Halo 3.

Data for the week beginning February 9. Get all the community stuff from Nelson.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)

1. Call of Duty: WaW
2. Halo 3
3. Call of Duty 4
4. Gears of War 2
5. Halo Wars Demo
6. GTA IV
7. Left 4 Dead
8. Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X: Rio Demo
9. FIFA 09
10. RESIDENT EVIL 5 Demo

Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg seems to think that the RROD days will soon just be a horrible memory in the history of gaming.

Speaking in an interview with Edge, the Microsoft bossman says, “We’ve improved that [repair] process. It’s very quick, and they may upgrade your system with the latest technology. So that works really well.

“What it comes down to is isolating and figuring out the issue, fixing the issue, and the more that we can fix the issue, and know it’s fixed, then we’re good going forward. We’ve put the worst behind us on this, but we know there are a few lagging systems, and so we want to take those and make it right.”

What these hardware updates are exactly is unknown: Greenberg says isn’t at liberty to divulge the specifications.

Looking forward to Red Mile’s Sin City? Hope you’ve got a telescope. The company’s latest financial statement puts the game in “fiscal 2012″.

That’s if you’re lucky. The firm’s “currently in the process of negotiating revisions to the license agreement.”

Better, Red Mile hasn’t got enough money to carry on development. The game will only ship “if we can raise sufficient funds to continue operations.”

Amazing. Thanks, Destructoid.

To celebrate Dawn of War II’s release this Friday, Eurogamer ‘s giving away 500 sets of Wargear.

The site will award 100 per day away to the first readers to log in to get their key.

The DLC encompasses all of the pre-order offers, including the Chapter Command, Destroyer, Sniper, Sternguard and Vanguard.

Keys are all out for today, and because of a technical issue with THQ, the rest have been postponed until next week, starting the February 23.

Full details thought the link.

Robot Entertainment is developing extra content for Halo Wars, as well as providing community support for Age of Empires.

The news was confirmed via press release this morning after word broke over the weekend that ex-Ensemble co-founder Tony Goodman had formed the new company.

“The video game industry is in a state of upheaval,” explained Goodman. “Not just games, but the entire landscape. Everything is changing: where we buy games, how we buy games, how much we pay, how long we play, who we play them with.

“As a fast-moving independent team of game developers, industry leaders and market experts, Robot Entertainment is ideally positioned to play a transformative role in the industry’s future.”

The studio is currently at work on an original property, and employs 45 other ex-Ensemble staff members.

Press release below.

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Lego Universe has been delayed, and will not be released this year as expected.

Lego is also unsure if the MMO will arrive in 2010.

“Within the company we have made a strategic decision within LEGO to make a delay of LEGO Universe. It will not be coming out in 2009,” said business development bossman, Mark Hansen.

“The reason is, we have a luxury right now, the business is going good. We have products launching that are not digital, the physical products, with them going so well we don’t want to take focus away from them.”

Lego Group’s annual earnings report will be released on Monday.

The PC version of Tom Clancy’s EndWar will be amBX-enabled, Ubisoft said today.

For the uninitiated, amBX is an ambient system which adds external lights, speakers and rumbling to your games. Yep: rumbling.

“War gaming has taken on a new meaning with the arrival of amBX in Tom Clancy’s EndWar,” said amBX marketing boss Jo Cooke.

“What we’re offering isn’t just added in-game realism, it’s a totally new entertainment experience, in and out of the game screen, for what is widely considered to be one of the most revolutionary war games available today.”

More information on these immersion techniques through the jump.

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Lego game rumors are always out and about, and today is no exception, with news emerging of a Prince of Persia line of toys based on the upcoming movie in 2010.

When Disney announced that Lego would be releasing the toys, it only made sense that gaming sites would be buzzing about the possibility of a game connection.

Joystiq’s quick to point out that Warner Bros owned Traveller’s Tales has used licenses from other movie studios in the past, so it could be a possibility in the future.

Keep your fingers crossed.

BlizzCon 2009 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, on August 21 and 22, Blizzard’s just confirmed

“We’ve been amazed by the incredible response to each of our previous BlizzCon events,” said company boss Mike Morhaime.

“We’re pleased to be bringing the convention back to Anaheim this year, and we look forward to this new opportunity to meet Blizzard gamers from around the world.”

In addition to serving as a gathering place for Blizzard fans in general, attendees will be able to enjoy:

• Hands-on play time with upcoming Blizzard games
• Discussion panels with Blizzard developers
• Competitive and casual tournaments
• Community contests
• Commemorative merchandise
• A silent auction
• Other stuff, yet to be announced

Further details, including ticket availability and pricing, will be announced on the official BlizzCon website soon.

Press release after the jump.

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Destructoid has found ample evidence that a Zombie Apocalypse is in store for XBL and PSN users, all thanks to THQ and Nihilistic.

Reportedly, the arcade-style game will support online multiplayer, with players saving the masses from impending doom over several in-game days. Weapons will vary, but chainsaws and environmental hazards will be your friends, apparently.

Just how did Destructoid find all this out? Why, through programmer Mike Parsons’ online resume.

Way to go Mike.

Hideo Kojima will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2009 Game Developers Choice Awards at GDC next month.

The gong “recognizes the career and achievements of developers who have made an indelible impact on the craft of game development,” with previous winners being Sid Meier, Shigeru Miyamoto, Richard Garriott, and Will Wright.

“For years, Hideo Kojima’s contributions to game development have broken new ground and inspired the community to think about creating games in never-before-imagined ways,” said Meggan Scavio, event director of GDC.

“From giving birth to the stealth action game genre to showing game makers how to interact with their players by breaking the ‘fourth wall,’ Kojima’s achievements make him an obvious choice for an award.”

Kojima is keynoting GDC this year with a talk titled Solid Game Design: Making the ‘Impossible’ Possible.

Dattebayo! Naruto is coming to Europe via Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja 4, for PS2 only.

Expected to drop in May, this is the first game based on the Naruto Shippuden anime series and promises to be chock full of one-on-one ninja battles.

New characters will be debuted, as will play modes new to the Naruto franchise.

Storyline, characters, and other lovely gaming nuggets are revealed in the press release posted below.

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Yasumi Matsuno, designer for Final Fantasy XII has lent his hand to game scenarios on MadWorld.

Apparently, he and Platinum’s Atsushi Inaba are old pals.

Looks like more reason to give MadWorld a try: if you are a fan of Final Fantasy XII that is.

1UP has more on this, and while you’re hitting links, check out some new screens over on Kotaku.

The Lost and Damned is a big enough deal to warrant free Live play for a week for all that buy it, Rockstar has told VG247.

“The Live week is something that everyone feels is important for fans,” said a rep.

“The Lost and Damned is a significant piece of episodic content, and one we think will redefine what people come to expect from downloadable content.

“We feel that it’s important to do something big for the community.”

In an unprecedented move, Microsoft announced last week that Lost and Damned Live play would be free from February 17-22, regardless of Live status.

Both Silver and Gold members can now play the game online.

The Lost and Damned, GTA IV’s first piece of 360-exclusive DLC, shipped this morning.

GTA IV DLC The Lost and Damned has been passed without edits in Australia, IGN reports.

The contents features explicit sex scenes with prostitutes and full frontal male nudity.

The original GTA IV was originally refused classification in Australia by the ACB (formerly the OFLC) specifically because of the sex scenes with prostitutes.

The Lost and Damned has received a 15+ rating in Australia, the highest allowed.