Monthly Archives: May 2009

After the break. It shows digital club “scenes,” a bit of dancing and some scratching. There’s no gameplay.

DJ Hero will make you the “life of the party,” apparently. The dream.

The video confirms the title for an October release. Have a looksee.

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BioWare’s put out a new Mass Effect 2 trailer, which probably means it’s E3 next week, or something.

Shephard’s in it. Or is he? Whatever, one thing you can be sure of is that we just got goosebumps from watching this. That’s a fact.

More from LA.

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Level-5 has released a sneak peak video for White Knight Chronicles, its RPG that will be on hand at E3.

Being called the first “true online-enabled RPG on the PS3″, the game has an active turn-based battle system, and looks rather, well, pretty.

The video after the break doesn’t really show much more than the last video we posted of it, but it’s something new at least.

Game’s out this fall.

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The ex-Relic devs who formed Smoking Gun Interactive announced today that it is collaborating with author Douglas Rushkoff on a new gaming title.

“Our vision at Smoking Gun Interactive has always been to deliver interactive entertainment content in new and exciting ways that push the medium forwards”, said CEO John Johnson. “We are delighted to announce our collaboration with Douglas. His astounding skill in creating compelling narrative is the perfect fit for the themes and scenarios we are introducing in our first property”.

No word yet on what it is, but Rushkoff will pen the storyline for the game which will span “across a range of media formats that can feed off one another and exist concurrently”.

“I’m going to get to work closely with them, writing narrative pathways that carry readers through the universe of the game world,’ added the author. “We’ll all be writing for and stealing from one another, developing plot points, set pieces, and characters that have both stories in the books, and purposes in the games.”

Alrighty then.

Press release is below courtesy of GI.biz.

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After announcing last week that Warner Bros had made a “stalking horse” agreement of $33 million for the company, Midway released a statement today saying the rest of the company is up for bid.

“Midway recently announced a stalking horse asset purchase agreement, which is expected to receive court approval, subject to higher or better bids, in a hearing on June 2, 2009,” reads the statement. “There will be a period during which Midway, through its financial advisor, Lazard, will accept binding offers up to June 24th, 2009, to acquire some or all of the Company’s assets.”

These assets include the TNA wrestling and Mortal Kombat franchises, four studios, European and North American publishing groups, open world and casual games, and the full classic IP library.

Any company that wants to acquire the development teams would have to go through a legally bound “separate acquisition” without taking on the debt incurred by Midway.

Joystiq has more on this, should you wish to read up a bit more on it.

The auction is expected to commence on June 29.

[UPDATE] Or you can just read the press release below.

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Holy gods of metal shining their light down upon us – 12 Iron Maiden tracks are headed to Rock Band on June 9.

All are master tracks and some are live ones from their tour documentary Flight 666.

• 2 Minutes to Midnight
• Can I Play With Madness
• Aces High (Live)
• Fear of the Dark (Live)
• Hallowed By Thy Name (Live)
• Iron Maiden (Live)
• Run to the Hills
• Powerslave
• The Clairvoyant
• The Number of the Beast
• The Trooper
• Wasted Years

Tracks are expected to cost the normal and be available individually and as a package deal.

Rock on, D’toid.

Prison Break’s Wentworth Miller has been rumored to be starring in the BioShock movie, but no one really paid much attention it until his latest tweet.

Prison Break may be ending, but I’ve got things in the works. Hint…one word: Bioshock.

Back in April, Variety was reporting that the film was put on hold due to huge budget concerns.

Looks like it might be back on.

Thanks, D’toid.

Natsume has announced its E3 line-up for next week, and attendees who love Harvest Moon or are excited about Afrika are in for a treat.

“We can’t wait to show everyone our outstanding lineup of titles for 2009, said Natsume president Hiro Maekawa.

“This is our biggest lineup ever! We have something for people of all ages and tastes, no matter which gaming console or handheld is their favorite.”

• Adventures To Go (PSP)
• Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition (Wii)
• Afrika (PS3)
• Cheer We Go! (DS)
• Harvest Moon: Animal Parade (Wii)
• Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming (DS)
• Harvest Moon: My Little Shop (WiiWare)
• Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands (DS)
• Reel Fishing: Angler’s Dream (Wii)
• Squishy Tank (DS)

All games are expected sometime this year, and more information about each is detailed in the press release below.
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SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 will have four-player co-op, according to SCEA’s Mark Rogers.

The mode is playable through the single-player campaign and is available in both Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure modes, allowing for 2-4 player action.

Co-op orders, quick join and spectator systems are in place with all campaign missions being accessible with tactical teamwork and firepower.

Sound like a plan.

More over on the US PS Blog.

EA CEO John Riccitiello was remunerated to the tune of a cool $11.1 million last year, a 36 percent decline over the previous year, according to an EA SEC filing this week.

Big John was paid $793,749 as a base salary in the 12 months ending March 31, a 6 percent increase over 2008.

Riccitiello’s performance-based cash bonus declined 36 percent last year, to $400,000 from $625,350.

The exec was also granted $9.9 million in stock and options, a 38 percent decrease compared to the year before.

EA lost $1 billion last FY, largely through special items, and announced 1,100 redundancies.

Revenue climbed 15 percent to $4.21 billion in the period.

According to a Bloomberg report, The Sims 3 has been pirated and downloaded approximately 180,000 times between May 18 and 21.

It’s not out until June 2, and EA says that the pirated version is not even the full thing.

“The pirated version is a buggy, pre-final build of the game,” said EA rep Holly Rockwood. “It’s not the full game. Half the world — an entire city — is missing from the pirated copy.”

Comparatively, EA’s Spore was pirated 400,000 last year in the matter of three weeks.

The game does not have DRM software attached, leading some to speculate EA left it off due to the hoopla surrounding the inclusion of it on Spore.

More through the link.

Thanks, GameDaily.

Remember 4mm, the firm formed recently by Rockstar Games co-founders Jamie King and Gary Foreman? Its first game is Def Jam Rockstar, according to this IGN piece.

What’s it about? Rapping. Fucking dope.

“There are not very many products out there that speak directly to the hip-hop consumer base,” said Def Jam marketing bod Lauren Wirtzer.

“More than just a music game, this is a game that really incorporates all of the crucial elements of this lifestyle. It’s not just about music, it’s about swagger.”

There’s a trailer after the break. Now platforms yet. E3 for more.

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Keighley just twitpiced the first image of EA’s E3 booth – it’s here.

We’re getting the E3 sweats. Jealousy’s an awful thing.

New DiRT 2 video shows cars speeding around, people walking, fans screaming and cheering, loads of dirt flying about. Generally what you would expect from a racing video.

If Codemasters is wanting to appeal to the “extreme-sports generation”, then video sure looks it.

Watch after the break.

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Warner Bros has announced that The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest will be the first in a series of games based on the Tolkien license.

As part of the franchise, Warner will publish multiple games across many genres designed to appeal to a wide range of gamers, and promises something for both hard-core RPG fans and their families.

“The Lord of the Rings franchise is world renowned for its captivating adventures, and we are creating new experiences in the game space designed to appeal to a wide array of consumer tastes from core to casual,” said Warner president Martin Tremblay.

“The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest is the first of many different types of games we will be developing with the film and literary rights.”

In Aragorn’s Quest, players can choose between various weapons, battle on horseback, and play co-op as Gandalf.

Hopefully this sort of thing will be implemented for adults as well.

We are crossing our fingers now.

Press release after the break.

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Dr Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, has said that he welcomes the lessening of restrictions on Indie developers and feels small companies like this need to be nurtured.

The game-development trade association recently made it easier for smaller groups to join, and Wilson says each need a helping hand due to expense restraints.

“It is much more expensive and it requires many more people to develop a video game today in comparison with 20 years ago,” he said. “At the same time relatively small teams can now develop flash games or games for mobiles and be very successful.

“It is crucial that we nurture small start-up businesses, which is why Tiga made the strategic decision to welcome small developers into our membership.”

He also says that higher education will play a big part in the industry, and the government needs to step up to the plate in order for it to compete with global markets.

“UK higher education has an excellent record and broadly speaking we are second only to the US in terms of the quality. However we don’t spend enough on higher education, the UK currently spends about 1% of GDP, whereas the US spends 2.9%.

“Unless higher education is properly funded UK game developers and businesses in general will find it hard to recruit good quality staff.”

More over on IGN.

IGN’s posted the entire Dead Space: Extraction E3 demo in video form. Get is after the break.

Cool, huh? Now you don’t have to bother seeing it in LA!

It’s out in September, Wii-only. Thanks, GoNintendo.

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Natural Selection 2 is scheduled for release this fall and the online FPS has a new teaser posted after the break.

Pitting aliens against humans, the strategic shooter allows two teams of up to 16 players to face against evolving environments that change as you play – so you supposedly never play the same game twice.

Hallways get deformed, flamethrowers become your best friend, power can be cut to enemy bases – loads of stuff’s possible.

Thanks, BigDownload.

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Buzz! is set to hit Home for both the UK and the US, and Sony is so excited, it’s posted a virtual tour of the space.

Users can meet up with other trivia fans in the lobby area or take part in a 64-player trivia showdown complete with leaderboards. To win your round, you have to run around the area on one big massive BUZZ! Buzzer and stand on the correct color before time runs out.

Those who land tops on the leaderboards more often than not, can win prizes.

The space is expected to launch soon. Hit the link for more details and watch the video below.

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IGN’s posted up a lengthy gameplay edit from the Marvel Vs Capciom 2 remake, showing off special moves and combos. Get it after the break.

Looks pretty much like Marvel Vs Capcom 2 to us. That is to say, “awesome”.

It’s out on June 29.

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