Monthly Archives: April 2009

Resident Evil 5′s Versus mode is now available, according to this MSXbox story, and weighs in at, um, 1.86Mb.

At least it won’t take you long to download it.

The patch costs 400 Microsoft Points, or $4.99 on PSN.

Eurogamer.de’s reporting that Resident Evil 5′s Versus mode DLC won’t be released in Germany.

The content failed to get a USK rating, according to the site, despite the fact the game itself was released.

Versus hits both PS3 and 360 versions of Capcom’s horror today.

SCEA hardware marketing head John Koller has claimed that Sony’s first-party development division is as big as that employed by Nintendo and Microsoft. In total.

“Our development studios – the Worldwide Studios team – is as large as Microsoft and Nintendo’s combined,” he said, talking at GDC.

Koller said that Sony’s first-party roster for the coming years would feature a mix of fresh ideas and surefire successes.

“We have a tremendously creative group, and a line-up for the next few years that will bring a lot of new IP to the market, but will also being a lot of [tried and tested] franchises and new iterations to the PS3 in particular, but also PSP,” the exec added.

Koller didn’t give a figure on how many people were employed in Sony’s Worldwide Studio division.

Both PS3 and PSP’s first-party slate for 2009 is looking nice and healthy, with games like God of War III, Heavy Rain and inFamous already hoving into view for PS3, and a new MotorStorm, a LittleBigPlanet SKU and more on the way for PSP.

GI’s reporting that DSi sold 103,000 units at UK retailer in its opening weekend.

The machine outsold all other hardware platforms combined.

The upgraded handheld retails for £150 in Britain.

More through there.

BioWare boss Ray Muzyka has told VG247 that fantasy RPG Dragon Age: Origins marks the launch of a fantasy “platform” for the company, one that will last for “years”.

“We want this to feel like a living world,” he said, speaking at GDC. “Like a rich, deep, living world. We’re seeing this as the launch of a new platform for us. It’s a landmark in fantasy.

“We want people to stand up and take notice and really feel as though this is an event when it comes to market.”

As reported yesterday, extensive DLC is planned for the game.

“We’re planning to invest heavily in post-release content as well,” Muzyka added.

“People are going to be able to play this for years afterward.”

Dragon Age: Origins – dubbed the “spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate” by the developer – will release for PC, 360 and PS3 later this year.

NPDs? What about ‘em? They’re basically our gods.

Anyway, after all the hubbub surrounding Nintendo’s recent DSi launch, Ars Technica contacted the NPD group to find out whether or not gaming’s premiere abacus would be giving DSi sales their own space on its monthly report. The answer: Nuh-uh.

Well, mostly.

According to the NPD Group’s David Riley, separated data won’t be passed out to the press, but NPD clients will be allowed to witness the beginning of the DSi’s glorious conquest. Even money-counters need money, after all.

Guess we’ll just have to hope that Nintendo spills the beans in a moment of success-intoxicated honesty. Stranger things have happened.

Doublefine daddy Tim Schafer thinks you should stop studying the NPDs until you’re bloody and broken and get on with your life. His rationale: Publishers don’t give two flips about sales so long as you make great games.

“Fans worry too much about sales, to tell you the truth,” he told MTV Multiplayer. “As long as you make a cool game, publishers want to talk to you… [They say] ‘We liked Psychonauts and we think we could have sold it better’.”

Schafer doesn’t plan on breaking too many marketing teams, though. Speaking of his upcoming title, Brutal Legend, he said:

“[It is] a game that naturally has more commercial hooks, like hot babes and Jack Black.”

The man’s cracked the code, clearly. Brutal Legend will hit the Xbox 360 and PS3 later this year.

According to a report over at MCV, “Live in your world; play in ours” is a thing of the past. Now, with Sony Europe and Target Entertainment’s latest moneymaking scheme, you’ll be able to both live in your world and play in it. Videogaming as we know it is doomed.

Target’s first move: spicing up mundane objects like clothes, stationary, and toys with a dash of PlayStation chic.

“Many of Sony Computer Entertainment’s first party software titles and characters are now recognised by millions of people around the world – from the legendary Ratchet and Clank through to the iconic Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet,” SCEE’s licensing and peripherals manager Stephanie Freeman stated.

“We really want our consumers to have the ability to interact with our brands and characters in ways other than just on screen. We feel Target Entertainment Group has the vibrancy and experience to help us do this successfully.”

We’re hoping for a true-to-life replica of Nathan Drake’s almighty, gravity-defying half-tuck. How about you?

More through the link.

According to this inCrysis report, Crytek’s trademarked the names GFACE, CARVATAR and KINGDOMS.

That’s it. Fingers crossed we’re not going to be playing Crysis: GFACE any time soon.

Thanks, IGN.

DSi became the fourth fastest-selling console in British gaming history in its opening weekend, according to GfK-ChartTrack.

The handheld revision beat debut sales numbers of the original DS, but was outdone by the opening weekends of PSP, PS3 and Wii.

The machine sold more than all other hadrware formats combined over the weekend.

As is GfK-ChartTrack’s wont, there are no figures to illustrate any of this.

Thanks, MCV.

There’s some in-game footage of EA Sports’ Grand Slam Tennis after the break, and it’s all looking very great.

The supports Wii MotionPlus, and will no doubt be a must-have for the Wii Sports crowd.

Take a look. It’ll be out this summer.

More »

There’s a couple of hi-res shots of the PS3 version of Tales of Vesperia on Scrawl. Looks rather like the 360 SKU, amazingly.

The RPG was announced for PS3 last week, shocking less than four people.

It’s going to feature a new character over its 360 counterpart.

Microsoft chap Brian Seitz reckons there’s more Zune hardware on the way this year, if this Twitter post‘s the be believed.

Speculation was rife last year that the games format – if you can call it that – was to be dropped, and rumoured increased connectivity with Xbox 360 never materialised.

Still. New toys!

Thanks, Engadget.

Credit Suisse analyst Koya Tabata has claimed that Wii manufacturing costs have dropped 45 percent since the machine launched in 2006, the FT reports.

The seer offered up the claim as reasoning that Nintendo may cut the machine’s price to stimulate slowing growth.

PS3 outsold Wii for the first time in 16 months in Japan last month. Nintendo doesn’t give a fig.

“It is still the first few months of the year when sales are slow for the industry, so we are not particularly concerned,” said a rep.

Thanks, Kotaku.

BioWare boss Greg Zeschuk has told MTV that DLC for upcoming RPG Dragon Age: Origins may be spun out over as much as two years.

“You have to remember that video game consumers are some of the smartest, most connected people on the planet,” he said, speaking at GDC.

“You can’t trick them with anything, so don’t even try. I don’t think it’s so much as to trick them, as it is the strategy behind it has to be fully thought out.

“This is the reason that with Dragon Age, our DLC strategy is doing it in maybe a year and-a-half or two years, planning exactly when you’re going to do it and how you’re going to do it.”

There’s still no firm date on the anticipated game as yet, but it’s launching in the back half of this year.

EA Sports put out a video detailing the use of physics in Fight Night Round 4 today, and it all looks very detailed indeed.

Watch it after the break.

Glancing blows, “true inside fighting” and more are shown in the trailer, as is a lot of sweat. Yum.

PS3 and 360. There’s no date. Thanks, Kotaku.

More »

A video and website apparently related to upcoming Funcom MMO The Secret World have popped up, which is all very exciting.

There’s more on Eurogamer. No official word on any of this is true yet, but here’s a clue: it probably is.

No date on the game.

Ever wanted to sit in on an incredibly corporate meeting about Xbox Live “functionality” “issues”? Now you can! Sort of.

The Major’s using Twitter today to allow anyone with an internet connection to ask questions to a Live team meeting – via a screen in the meeting room – as it actions points and doubleclicks on the offline pipeline going forward.

Everything’s explained here. The shindig takes place between 3pm and 5pm PST.

Diarize some nettime, hot shot. You’re rolling with the a-team now.

Team17 said today that its PSN version of Worms will release in the Europe “over Easter”.

It’s already on sale in the USA for $12.99. The title – an expanded version of the out-for-ages Live Worms game – will retail for £7.99 or €9.99 in the UK and Europe.

Market research company OzToys has claimed that the Australian games market grew by an 47.8 percent in 2008 over the previous year, hitting a total value of AU$1.96bn.

The biggest rise of the year was the family entertainment category, which grew 137 percent compared to 2007.

Wii Fit was the best-selling Australian game last year.

More on MCV.