Monthly Archives: February 2009

Nintendo may be cutting back on its profit forecast, but that didn’t stop the firm dropping $141,156,912 (12.8 billion yen) at the end of 2008 on sizable golf driving range close to Nintendo headquarters.

Nikkei.net reports that the company plans to use the site for new game software and hardware R&D, and will integrate its current R&D center with the new property.

Construction has not stated yet, but can only mean new titles are on the horizon.

Obviously.

Thanks, Kotaku.

Capcom has chosen the THQ Asia Pacific team IceStorm as its new partner for game distribution in Australia and New Zealand, following the closure of Red Ant in the territory.

THQ will not only handle distribution in Red Ant’s stead, but also all sales and marketing for Capcom, effective immediately.

Bethesda, Konami, and Midway were also clients of Red Ant, but no word on who they’ve chosen to represent them Down Under has been announced as of this post.

More from MCV.

First real details have surfaced on EA Redwood Studio’s multi-platform third-person action title, Dante’s Inferno.

Dante Alighieri’s adventures through the nine circles of Hell will be a mixture of God of War meets Dead Space, according to a PSM3 article, with the protagonist facing off against crosses spewing lava, demons and other nasty denizens as he searches for his lady love Beatrice.

Quick time events, such as climbing a 20-foot monster to battle its demon rider over control of the beast, should be familiar to any one who has played any of Kratos’s adventures, and even combo controls will be reminiscent of the Spartan’s lauded control scheme.

PSM3 has a 10-page spread on the game in the latest issue, and in case you have not seen the teaser trailer, head on over to CVG, and check it out.

Thanks, Blerk.

Collecting Helghast intel in Killzone 2’s single-player campaign will unlock bonus content when you connect to the game’s official site, according to this US PS Blog post.

Once you’ve done the in-game business, connect to Killzone.com to get printable versions of propaganda posters seen in the game, pages from a Helghast soldier’s secret journal or details on the wildlife present in the Maelstra Barrens.

Got good game? Then you can also unlock and download physical objects from the Killzone universe such as the “venerable art of papercraft” which can be viewed on the site.

More ways to interact between the game and the site will be coming in the months to come.

Wii owners who fancy the thought of ordering minions to set fire to things, slaughter sheep and cause evil mayhem wherever they go are going to be in luck when Overlord: Dark Legend arrives this June: it’s for the core, apparently.

Over the weekend at Comic Con, MTV Multiplayer spoke with Codematers’ brand manager Dan Robinson, who said that the Wii exclusive would be more of a hardcore game for the console.

“A lot of Nintendo fans are after a game like this on Nintendo. I think they’ve seen enough big-headed sports games and mini game collections for the Wii,” he said.

“Nintendo fanboys tend to be quite loyal to Nintendo, so the people who are playing Metroid Prime and Zelda and Mario, they’re kind of after a game like this that does more for them than picking up a Wii and just doing that action [flicks hand side-to-side] all the time.”

The casual crowd will not be left out of the equation either though, because according to Robinson consumers new to gaming will enjoy the interaction just as well:

“There are elements of it that are still fun [for casual players] and you can still get involved with it. But I think it’s definitely more of a hardcore game than you’ve got on the Wii at the moment.

“The other thing that the Wii’s done is opened a market for the people who perhaps weren’t into gaming before. So people who were bit scared because [gaming] was a bit too technical and a bit too geeky have suddenly been brought in because of the Wii. And I think this gives us an opportunity to show them that the Wii can actually do games like this, and it actually works and it can make good fun. So there are two distinct groups there that we’re going for.”

Good for Nintendo fans. Bad for sheep.

Following a note from a Guerrilla staffer on the US PS boards overnight that said promo copies of Killzone 2 won’t work online, the company’s officially said that it isn’t true.

Promo copies won’t work at the moment, SCEE told Eurogamer today, as the game’s servers aren’t yet operational. Killzone 2 launches on February 27.

The whole topic arose because promo copies are being sold on Ebay.

This doesn’t mean you should buy one. Wait and get a nice game with a nice box.

Hideo Kojima’s to deliver a GDC keynote, Think Services has confirmed.

The speech, “Solid Game Design: Making the ‘Impossible’ Possible,” will be Kojima’s debut appearance at the GDC.

The event’s scheduled for Thursday, March 26, 2009 from 10:30am-11:30am PST in the Esplanade Room of the Moscone Center’s South Hall.

GDC takes place March 23-27 in San Francisco.

Fancy the thought of a life-size Blood Raven Space Marine guarding your living room? UK residents should head on over to the official Dawn of War II Facebook page and sign up to be a fan: you may just win one of your very own.

Standing over 2 meters (6.5 feet) high, statues are now on-site at five different GameStation stores across the UK. All you have to do is walk up to the thing, take your picture with it, and upload your photo to Facebook page. Then you need to tag yourself and the Space Marine in the photo with the location of the store.

Pretty simple really.

On February 26, the GameStation store that received the most tags will form a panel and choose the winner deemed to be the “most entertaining”. The five participating GameStation stores are:

• Hull – 59-60 Prospect Centre, Hull, HU2 8PW
• Orpington – 79 – 81 The Walnuts, Orpington, BR6 0TW
• Edinburgh – 134A Princes Street, EDINBURGH, EH2 4AH
• Blackburn – 59-61 King William Street, Blackburn, BB1 7DJ
• Stratford Upon Avon – 13 Town Square Shopping Centre, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 6AU

More here.

EA claimed today that an average of 1.25 million online games of FIFA 09 are played every day, and that over 141 million online games have been played in total.

The average figure is a 321 percent increase over FIFA 08′s online stats, apparently.

“Online is the next great frontier in sports gaming. We are seeing a record number of individuals globally playing FIFA 09 online so we are focused on developing games that maximize the online experience,” said FIFA boss Andrew Wilson.

“A dedicated team developed FIFA 09 Ultimate Team and they have created a game within the game, delivering a strategic new way to play FIFA 09 that will create hundreds of additional hours of playing time.”

EA’s releasing a new online mode – FIFA 09 Ultimate Team – to help you get the best out of your million of hours of play.

Full details after the break.

More »

Activision UK’s confirmed a “June-July timeframe” date for Prototytpe this afternoon, telling VG247 that the June date announced last week is for the US.

The Radical Entertainment open world action game got it’s American release info from a Comic Con promo last Wednesday.

Activision used Comic Con as a platform to push the title, dropping new screens, a new movie and tons of preview coverage: get it here.

Prototype puts players in the shoes of “lethal shape-shifter called Alex Mercer,” Radical’s Tim Bennison told us last year, as he charges all over New York ripping it to bits.

Creative Assembly’s big control “thing” for console RTS Stormrise is a “whip select” system, as seen in the game’s latest trailer. Watch is on Shacknews.

The innovation allows you to swap quickly between units and control other parts of the battlefield from afar, essentially.

It’s out for PS3 and 360 in March.

Following the announcement of a 360 HAWX demo for February 11 by Microsoft last night, Ubi’s confirmed a PS3 version will hit a day later.

The air combat game’s taster does sound very cool, providing co-op for four players and unlockable planes.

It’s out on March 6 for consoles and March 13 for PC. Full details after the link.

More »

Following news this morning that Sega posted yet another loss for the nine months ending December 31, Kotaku’s reporting that 560 jobs and 110 of Sega’s arcades are to be wound up.

According to that piece, Sega’s now facing a $235,424,993 full-year write-down, which in real-terms is “pant-shitting” territory.

Sega Sammy currently employs 3,100 staff, but will make the jobs reduction as well as dropping 20 percent of all R&D in an effort to cut costs.

Good luck with that.

Microsoft’s making Live play available for all those buying GTA IV DLC The Lost and Damned later this month. Anyone will be able to play the add-on online, regardless of Live status, from February 17-22.

Great news if you’re still to make the jump to Gold membership.

The Lost and Damned required the full GTA IV disc to play and will cost 1600 MS Points.

Actor Andy Serkis – him what voiced Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movie – has called for a big investment to be made in games narrative. Why? Because games are the future.

“Games — there’s no heart in them,” he told Babble.

“They’re not about anything that is lasting. We put so much into the writing of film scripts and plays, but not into games.

And games are where the audience is going to be. In the next generation of kids, you’re going to see a lot of storytelling in games. And I think it’s important to invest in that. I absolutely think that gaming is a massive storytelling arena in the making and now the technology has arrived to do that. It’s a fascinating time.”

Listen to him, games-making people. Before he bites your finger off.

Rather obviously, Nintendo’s branded talk of DSi launching in July this year as “rumour and speculation” in an email to VG247.

GamePlayer kicked things off this morning by posting the date, apparently taken from an anonymous Australian retailer.

If the machine were to ship in July in Australia, it would be reasonable to assume Europe wouldn’t be a million miles away in terms of date.

You’ll just have to wait for the final info, though. Can’t think when this is likely to be announced.

Dead Rising 2, eh? We’re pumped. You’re pumped. Everyone’s pumped. How long are we going to have to stay pumped for before we play it?

We just asked Capcom PR and were told that nothing’s known about the game other than the information in the press release. There’s no release date, no detail. No nothing.

When’s it out?

“We haven’t announced it yet.”

Do you know when you’re going to announce it?

“No, I don’t. Sorry.”

Will we see it at GDC?

“Unconfirmed,” said the rep, who stopped us and said that the only thing he’d seen on Dead Rising 2 so far is the press release Capcom put out yesterday, the accompanying screenshots and an internal design doc.

The announcement caused muchos excitement yesterday, and rightly so. The press release carried virtually no detail, though, aside from the fact the game’s being developed by Blue Castle, is set years after the original and includes… zombies.

There’s no date, kids. Stay pumped.

After the break. As with every Codemasters racing game, FUEL’s graphics are knockout, and the variety and scope of the environments here looks significant.

The title features 5,000 square miles of terrain, apparently. You can believe it after seeing this.

It’s out in May – as you can see at the end of the video – for PC, PS3, 360.

More »

GamePlayer’s posted a rumour that DSi’s launching in Australia in July, a tidbit garnered from a retailer.

If true, this would likely put the console in a similar time-frame for Europe.

Nintendo’s yet to confirm a date for the machine’s release outside Japan, saying only that it’s going to come this year.

We contacted Nintendo for the traditional “rumour and speculation” comment.

Sega’s posted a $119 million loss for the nine months ending December 31.

This is actually good news. The firm was $173 million in the hole for the same previous period, the shortened loss for 2008 made despite overall revenues falling by 15.4 percent.

More on GI.