Monthly Archives: April 2009

Wii Fit’s top of the UK chart again this week, with Godfather II in second place for the second week running.

Next week: Wii Fit may be top again.

Data below for the week ending April 18. Last week’s chart here.

Eidos has just confirmed to VG247 the bad-ass batarang-loaded Arkham Asylum Special edition will cost £59.99 on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

A release date for the sexy-looking stealth action game still hasn’t been confirmed, but hit the link to find out why we can’t wait.

Better get saving.

The release date for the PC version of Street Fighter IV is to be announced on May 1, according to the game’s official Japanese blog.

Precisely no idea if there’s going to be any mention of when it’s due to come out it the rest of the world, but it’s the mystery that keeps us alive.

Thanks, Kotaku and 4Gamer.

D&D geeks the world over will likely half-drown in self-congratulatory semen this morning, as Atari just announced Mysteries of Westgate for an April 29 release.

The much-delayed add-on will be available only by download, and has been priced at €9.99/£9.99/$9.99.

Press release after the break.

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2K Games founder and president, Christoph Hartmann, has told GI that he believes Cloud gaming is to play a key role in the industry’s future.

“What we think the future will be is the market will shift to more server-based games – similar to the movie business where most people just rent instead of view films in the cinema,” said Hartmann, speaking at MI6.

“We’re looking into that. But given that we’re a boutique powerhouse and really only focus on one thing at a time, we’re not going to do it like other big people and place five bets. We’re going to pick the right opportunity and go after it. The whole market is shifting online and it’s the direction that we want to take.”

Maybe OnLive wasn’t so mental after all. Full thing through the link.

DVD.co.uk is now offering LittleBigPlanet for £10.89.

This is as cheap as the Media Molecule blue sky platformer’s gone so far in the UK.

Play and Amazon are both offering the game for £12.99.

Sometimes we pay more than £11 to use a car park. If you haven’t done already, you should probably buy it.

Thanks, MCV.

Gamespot went first with its Mafia II preview at the weekend, and was followed this morning by “the rest”. As you can see below.

• RPS
• Kotaku
• Joystiq
• Eurogamer

Can’t beat a good old-fashioned exclusive, eh 2K?

It’s out for PC, PS3 and 360 in the third quarter.

Old people play videogames now, EA. You’re going to have to find a new place to break the law. That is, if a lawsuit — headed up by NFL retiree Bernie Parrish — succeeds in landing the mega-publisher firmly on its hindquarters.

According to the jilted ex-player, John Madden has pulled in “over $100,000,000 in royalties” from the ungodly successful pigskin-tosser, while retired NFL players haven’t seen a single cent, even though the games allegedly use their likenesses. Parrish and co. plan to sue in response.

Last year, retirees scored $28 million in a similar suit against the NFL Players Association. EA and Madden are probably having one final, excessively passionate makeout session with their money before saying goodbye.

Thanks, GamePolitics.

Bethesda has applied for trademarks for, “Entertainment services in the nature of an on-going television program” and “motion picture films about a post-nuclear apocalyptic world” in relation to Fallout 3.

A Fallout TV show? We’re not sure what to think about that.

Via 1UP and DwellOnIt.

Don’t call Scottish people English. They turn blue and start shouting about “freedom”. Sega learned this to its cost at the weekend, when the Sunday Mail realised Scot tennis player Andy Murray had been labelled English in Virtua Tennis 2009 and asked some north-o’-the-border patriots what they thought.

They pretty much didn’t like it.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw this on YouTube,” said Murray fan Steve Johnstone.

“The BBC are always at pains to call Andy British, which is fair enough,” said Tartan Army spokesman Tam Coyle, “but this is a new low.

“You have to ask yourself what would be worse – Andy being deemed English or Tim Henman being made a Scot.”

Nothing could be worse than that, Tam.

Sega’s fixing the error. Thanks, Darkzero.

Introversion just announced a DS SKU of DEFCON, which is a pleasant thing to happen on a Monday morning. It’s out in the third quarter.

“With the DSi flying off the shelves recently, we believe that there will be particular interest in a finished DS product with such a great track record, especially as the RTS/Strategy sector is so poorly served on the platform,“ said Introversion director Mark Morris.

Good luck with it, Mark. Press release after the break.

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Daigo’s been crowned the world’s first Street Fighter IV champion, as you can see from this Kineda report.

Justin Wong won the US competition, but there was no stopping the Beast: he won 4-0 in the final.

Hit the link. There’s some beautiful photography through there.

SCEA’s about to hold a pre-E3 preview in the US, showing off some of its biggest stuff to “some media outlets”.

Line-up includes:

• Heavy Rain
• White Knight Chronicles
• MotorStorm Arctic Edge
• Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier
• SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

There’s more on the PS Blog. No confirmation yet of a similar European deal.

Gamasutra won the graph war. The site’s posted up its March NPD analysis feature, having acquired ex-Edge chart-man Kris Graft earlier this month. There will be no more silo face-off in the world of NPD analysis.

All that’s left is scorched earth. Scorched earth covered in coloured graphs. Take a look. Remember the good times.

SCEA’s released patch notes for a large Killzone 2 patch, scheduled to release on April 22.

An absolute ton of stuff’s added and tweaked in the update. Get the lot from the US boards.

Microsoft is to release a Games For Windows Live client update on Tuesday, April 21.

The mandatory update has been tested with “all released and in-cert GFW-LIVE games with no issues reported”.

Here are the details per Voodoo Extreme:

• Players who are logged onto GFW-LIVE will not be disconnected or otherwise affected when the update hits, unless they are on for more than 8 hours straight during the time when the update launches.
• Users will have to log out of GFW-LIVE and log back in after 2 AM to see the update, which will be mandatory in order to log back onto GFW-LIVE. This will have no effect on Xbox LIVE.
• Live Client for Windows setup has now been localized into 13 languages.
• Games For Windows and Games For Windows Live updates now available via Microsoft Update.
• Miscellaneous bug fixes.
• Support for larger premium downloadable content packages.

Amazon has unveiled the contents for the online store’s exclusive Slimer Edition of Ghostbusters: The Video Game.

For $130 you get the following:

• An exclusive Slimer bust designed and created by the original movie sculptor, Steve Johnson. Comes complete with a certificate of authenticity signed by the sculptor himself.
• Exclusive Ghostbusters Minimates. Only be available with the Slimer Edition.
• Exclusive Ghostbusters Gamer Graffix Console Skins.
• Exclusive Ecto 1 Key Chain with lights and sound.

Pretty hefty price tag, but serious collectors won’t care one way or the other.

Game’s out June 16 for everything but PSP.

Wii debut trailer is posted below.

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American? Have $140? Want an Xbox 360? Then your planets have aligned, friend. Woot’s selling refurbed 360 Pros for a ridiculous $139.99.

Buy one even if you’ve got one. Buy a few. Why not? Put one in the bathroom, or something. Just don’t put one in the bath.

The first, very shonky footage of Beatles: The Rock Band hit YouTube last night, courtesy of a live showing of video from the game at a Coachella Paul McCartney gig.

This could be the game that finally tips us over the Rock Band edge. Why would you not want to play this? The press scrum for the special edition’s going to be hilarious.

Look and see. It’s out in September.

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The first Dead Space: Extraction dev diary’s been released.

Written by senior designer John “JC” Calhoun, it mentions the storyline, what the prequel entails in general, and how you’ll see body parts flying relatively early on in the game.

The diaries will go live next week along with the new website.

Destructoid has it posted, so head on over there and read up.