Monthly Archives: June 2009

A listing for a Modern Warfare 2 Collector’s Edition has popped up on the Gamestop website.

No details are provided regarding the contents, but apparently it’s worth $79.99.

Probably the usual collector’s edition stuff, we reckon.

Via BigDownload.

A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed a patent-infringement lawsuit brought against Nintendo by Guardian Media Technologies.

Guardian alleged that Wii infringed on one of its patents.

Judge Manuel Real of Los Angeles granted Nintendo’s motion for dismissal on June 8, approximately six months after the lawsuit was filed.

“We are very pleased with the Court’s decision,” said Rick Flamm, NoA’s senior vice president of Legal and general counsel.

“Nintendo vigorously defends patent lawsuits. At the earliest stages of this case, Nintendo convinced the Court to dismiss this case as Guardian’s patent had nothing to do with Nintendo’s products.”

Press release through the link.

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A pre-order listing for Assassin’s Creed 2 showed up on Play.com which got some people a bit excited.

However, cool your jets because Ubisoft says the game is not heading to DS, and the listing is an error.

“We have no information on that”, a Ubisoft rep told Electronic Theatre. “That’s an error on Play.com. That will be coming down.”

The original Assassin’s Creed was eventually released on DS a few months after launch, but there is no word on whether this will happen with the sequel or not.

More through the link.

Kikizo has a nice article talking about how Natal is a very big deal, how the demo given to the site at E3 went, and   its chat with Peter Molyneux, and Shigeru Miyamoto.

Microsoft’s Kudo Tsunoda spoke to Kikizo during the event, and explained the technology behind the peripheral, and it’s “really smart infra-red ‘radar’” that scans players onto the screen in 3D. The tech even tracks over 48 joints on your body and can draw your skeleton in real time as you move.

During a closed-door session, a more finely tuned mode was shown which depicted distance and the supposed ability to detect individual hand and finger movement.

When the site had a Mila demo given to it by Peter Molyneux, it was noted that the voice recognition software detected “changing intonations” in the players voice and caused Milo to respond accordingly.

Molyneux told the site that ‘emotional AI’ is something he’s has been working on for a long time (Project Dimitri) and when Natal was revealed to Lionehead, he knew it was perfect for his “flagship technology project”.

To further illustrate that Natal is awesome, the site spoke with Miyamoto as he was leaving his personal demo of it. “He said he liked it, nodding enthusiastically when I asked him if it was good”, said the site.

Loads more through the link.

The latest issue of Famitsu has an interview with Yoshikazu Matsuhara and Metal Gear Arcade producer Satoshi Uchiyama chatting about the new arcade game from Konami.

Featuring 5.1 surround sound, the cabinet has a special controller allowing separate movement and viewpoint controls, 3D goggles, and the ability to participate in 16-player matches against other players or CPU opponents.

The game also features character customization and mission modes for both solo and co-op.

It’s expected to arrive in Japan sometime this year.

Via IGN.

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days was number one again this week on the Japanese gaming charts.

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth held its number two position, while debuts Arc Rise Fantasia and Evangelion: Jo landed at positions  four and six, respectively.

Here’s the full thing courtesy of Gamaustra:

1. Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days – DS  (106,000)
2. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth -DS  (42,000)
3. Koei’s Shin Sangokumusou 5: Empires  – PS3  (27,000)
4. Arc Rise Fantasia – Wii (26,000) (NEW)
5. Sloan to Michael: Nazo No Monogatari  – DS  (26,000)
6. Evangelion: Jo  – PSP  (15,000) (NEW)
7. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G – PSP the Best  – PSP  (14,000)
8. Half-Minute Hero (Yuusha 30)  -  PSP  (9,000)
9. Wii Fit Nintendo - Wii (9,000)
10. Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou 2  -  DS (9,000)

New screens for Guitar Hero 5 surfaced earlier today and if you look at ‘em, you’ll notice there has been quite a change in how it looks.

The ability to play a combination of instruments has also been implemented, which means everyone can play guitar now if that’s the way you wanna go.

It has also been revealed that the Elton John, A Perfect Circle and Blink 182 tracks will be Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,  Judith, and The Rock Show, respectively.

Hit the links for more.

Thanks, Eurogamer, Shack.

CCP’s Hilmar Pètursson will be one of the keynote speakers at GDC Europe in August.

The CEO’s speech is titled “CCP: Winning the War”, which discusses the company’s success stemming from near obscurity to producing one of the largest MMOs out there, EVE Online.

“GDC Europe is gearing up to be one of the industry’s most essential events,” said Petursson. “I am honored to have this opportunity to share some of the valuable lessons CCP has learned with such a prestigious audience.”

Pètursson will also provide an exclusive first look at CCP’s latest project, which is currently in pre-production and could be any number of titles the firm is working on.

More than likely it’s either the MMO World of Darkness or the upcoming first-person shooter set in New Eden.

Press release through the jump.

Thanks, GI.biz.

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World of Warcraft players will not only notice some leveling changes when Patch 3.2 goes live, but some nifty things will change with mounts as well.

Training levels will be lowered, speed will increase, and price cuts in purchasing and training should make things cheaper and easier on you.

Here are some highlights with the full thing after the jump:

• Regular land mounts trainable at level 20 (was 30)
• Epic land mounts trainable at level 40 (was 60)
• Regular flying mounts trainable at level 60 (was 70)
• Regular flying mounts speed increased to a 150% gain (was 60%)

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The European PSN update this week is rather awesome.

VidZone, Wolfenstein 3D, loads of map packs and add-ons, plus the Team Ico costume pack for LittleBigPlanet.

Contain your enthusiasm long enough to download the stuff.

Full thing after the break courtesy of Joystiq.

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Some new screens for WipEout HD Fury have been released.

Very bright and colorful ones at that. Hit up the EU PS Blog to look at ‘em.

The DLC includes eight new tracks, 13 new ship models and three new game modes.

Still no date, though.

This won’t end well. Patrick Soderlund, senior VP of EA Games Europe and dev lead on Need for Speed: Shift, told VG at E3 that he’s baffled by Bizarre Creations’ Blur and that his game is “better” than Forza 3.

“Let me tell you this,” he said, sounding very pumped. “I think Split/Second looks great. I’m going to have a good time playing that. Blur to me is completely underwhelming. I don’t understand what’s up with that game to be honest. That’s an official statement.

“Forza, I’m very confident we have a better game than them to be honest. Talking to the press, looking at the nominations, that’s clear. So, I’m glad that they’re confident but I’m as confident as they are.”

Hot dog. Hit the link for more, assuming you’re man enough.

PopCap has released Heavy Weapon on PSN today.

The shooter has online survival mode, a “Survive 12 Minutes” Trophy, multiplayer with up to 4 players, and the PS3 exclusive ability to shoot down the supply helicopter to get power ups.

Michael Santora, associate producer at PopCap, says that Peggle and Feeding Frenzy 2 are expected before the end of the year.

Hooray.

More over on the US PS Blog.

Guerrilla has released the Flash and Thunder map pack for Killzone 2.

Players will notice re-designed versions of the Beach Head and Southern Hills maps from the original Killzone, but instead of taking place on Vetka the area has been changed to Helghan.

Beach Head has a tug-of-war style to it with factions trying to advance the front line from the other direction, and Southern Hills incorporates a Capture The Flag layout.

Both maps support 8-24 player with up to 32 for some “frantic fun.”

Thanks, CVG.

Xbox Live Marketplace’s update is pretty massive today.

Some you may already know about, some you may not.

Here it is anyway.

• Sega Genesis classics: Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Gunstar Heroes, Phantasy Star II, Shinobi, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 – 400 MS Points each ($5.00)
• Call of Duty: World at War: Map Pack 2 – 800 MS Points ($10.00)
• Burnout Paradise Big Surf Island – 1000 MS Points ($12.50)
• Burnout Paradise 1.9 – Free
• Saints Row 2: The Unkut Pack – Free (Gold Members Only)
• Lips: “Shake The World” – Free
• Dyntasy Warriors: GUNDAMN 2: Additional Missions 07-10 – Free
• Sonic Unleashed: Empire City & Adabat Adventure Pack – 250 MS Points ($3.12)
• Guitar Hero: World Tour: European Track Pack 06 – 440 MS Points ($5.50)
• Guitar Hero: World Tour: “The Bitter End” by Placebo – 160 MS Points ($2.00)
• Guitar Hero: World Tour: “Adrenalina” by Finley – 160 Ms Points ($2.00)
• Guitar Hero: World Tour: “Cadillac Solitario” by Loquillo y Trogloditas – 160 Ms POints ($2.00)
• Call of Duty: World at War: Zombie Swamp Premium Theme – 240 MS Points ($3.00)

Details for each are after the break, courtesy of Console Monster.

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Blizzard has confirmed details for the upcoming Warcraft Regional Finals at the KOMED MediaPark, Cologne.

The event will be held from June 26 – 28 with two European and North American Arena teams advancing to the Global Finals which will take place at BlizzCon 2009 in August.

Two Warcraft III players from North America, and three Warcraft III players from Europe will also advance to the Global Finals.

More information through here and via the press release posted after the jump.

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Warhammer Online’s final live event in the Call to Arms expansion, Rise of the Tomb Kings, will go live June 17 and end June 24.

At least it has a date now.

The winning Realm will have exclusive first access to the new Tomb Kings themed dungeon zone, and the the swag inside of it immediately following the conclusion of the live event.

Exclusive titles “Sky Captain” for Order, and “Master of the Air” for Destruction will be bestowed upon a lucky few and some may even get the ultra-rare Ravening Cloak.

You know about all the details already though.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

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Codemasters has revealed that PC and PS3 users can now get their hands on the Overlord II demo.

It’s up on PSN and PC users can get it from the official website.

Game’s out June 26.

Thanks, IncGamers.

The Unkut Pack for Saint’s Row 2 has arrived on Xbox Live.

Extra goodies contain 16 new tattoo options, 60 new customization items including bracelets, camisoles, hoodies, necklaces, T-shirts, tank tops, and Unkut watches.

In-game store Sloppy Seconds has added jeans and polo shirts as well.

Best of all, it’s free – but only if you are a Gold Member.

The US PS Blog is two today, as you can see here.

The Blog has become a cornerstone of Sony’s “core” PR effort, as, no doubt, will the EU PS Blog, launched by SCEE last month.

Congrats, chaps. Don’t get hammered and wake up with missing organs.