Monthly Archives: July 2009

Namco Bandai has announced a new DS title for the piano crowd.

Easy Piano comes with a keyboard peripheral, the game guides you through lesson and play-along modes, and allows you to be creative via creation mode.

Loads more about the title can be found in the press release below.

It’s out in November.

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Cryptic Studios has announced via its official website that those who sign up for the Champions Online Newsletter will receive an “action figure” that resembles your online character.

To get it, all you have to do is sign up by August 31, purchase the game and then log in to the MMO when it launches in September.

During the game, your miniature self will follow you around the game and will spontaneously break into fits of dance.

Hit the link to find out more.

Thanks, BigDownload.

A bunch of THQ games just got a 50 percent discount on Steam, with Dawn of War II now going for £17.49.

Company of Heroes is now only £6.99, as is its first expansion, Opposing Fronts.

It’s most recent update, Tales of Valor, now costs £14.99.

Hit this for the rest of it.

Xbox 360 Avatars will be available as playable characters in Guitar Hero 5, Activision just confirmed.

That’s it, really. It’s got 85 tracks, yada yada. IGN just posted a video of it all working: get it, and a press release, after the break.

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This is really, actually it. After four years, The Matrix Online will unplug itself today.

Everyone in the game’s been bumped to the level cap and given unlimited money so they can try out all the top tier stuff before the lights go out.

Check Giant Bomb for rolling coverage (1, 2, 3, 4) of the final hours.

Matrix Online: we salute you. Even though we never knew you.

Thanks, EvilAvatar.

EG’s reporting that studio director and executive producer Matt Wilson, art director Corey Dangel, and producer John Smith from SOE’s Seattle studio have all left to form a new company.

SOE’s northwestern outfit is currently working on MMO The Agency.

The posse have launched a new studio called Detonator Games, as confirmed here.

SOE’s assured the game won’t be affected by the moves, saying there’ll be no “reboot”.

Read the full thing through the link.

IGN’s go through all the teeny details of the latest Modern Warfare 2 trailer, this one focusing on Kill Streaks in multiplayer.

Watch it after the break.

There’s stuff in there on planes chaffing, or something, and a few of the new weapons. There’s also a bit of banter on the maps seen in the footage.

Take a look. The game’s out in November.

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Sony corp CEO Nobuyuki Oneda said in the company’s Q1 investor call yesterday that PS3 manufacturing costs have now been reduced by 70 percent.

“The cost reduction since we introduced the PS3 is very substantial and this is on schedule,” said the exec.

“We don’t disclose how much of the PS3, specifically the cost deduction was achieved during the past two years. But that is on schedule.”

When pushed, Oneda said the overall cost of making a PS3 had dropped “about 70 percent, roughly speaking”.

Price. Cut. More on TVG. Thanks, Robo_1.

EA’s trailered Driver’s Experience, its real-world Need for Speed: Shift show detailing drivers experiencing driving. As you’d expect. Watch the video after the break.

The show itself is releasing web-side this weekend. There’s more detail on Joystiq.

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Get the latest VG247 podcast at the link below. Topics for this week include Sony and Nintendo’s Q1 financials and the mass exodus of games out of Q4 to escape the horrors of Modern Warfare 2.

Things we’re going to do soon – allow you to subscribe to this on iTunes, and get guests and more audio interviews. We’re working on both, so fret not.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Unsurprisingly, US retailers have slapped a $200 price tag the Renegade edition of DJ Hero.

Both Amazon and GameStop are listing the DJ Hero Renegade Edition – which includes a shiny controller, a CD and a hard carry case – at $199.99.

Keep betting on the UK price. No one’s listing it yet, as far as we can see, and Activision’s refusing to confirm so far. We’re going for £180, minimum. £200 or bust. Why not?

Thanks, Destructoid.

THQ’s confirmed the worldwide 360 and PS3 release of the much-wanted UFC Undisputed patch. Full details here.

The update’s main thrust is assigning “loss” status to those that disconnect prematurely from matches. There can be no cheating in the octagon, kids.

Hit the link for more.

The reliable GTPlanet.net’s posted up what it reckons is final box art for GT PSP.

No confirmation, but looks rosy to us. It’s out on October 1.

Seriously, Square. We love you and all, but will you please fuck off with the fucking teaser timer clocks? Here’s another one. What’s it going to be this time? A dragon on a cat? A cat on a pig? A boy in a fucking chair?

Just show us the fucking game and shut up. Unless it’s properly awesome. In which case, great. But it isn’t really, is it? It’s a clock on the internet that we have to report on for the next thousand years while you drip tiny images at us like some kind of demented fucking jailer gently starving an interrogation subject. A cat playing with a mouse. A warped child burning the legs off an insect.

What’s the game? What is it? Seven days, it says. Seven days of fucking hell. It better hadn’t involve a fucking child and a dragon. Or a cloud. Got any coffee over there?

Thanks, Kotaku.

Major Nelson’s apologised on behalf of Microsoft for Halo Wars’ leaderboards being completely reset on Wednesday, saying the gaffe was “human error”.

Sounds as though there’s no chance of the boards being restored: Nelson said the “unfortunate incident” has “resulted in the loss of all data” related to the strategy title’s online portion.

In a word, “whoops”. Bet the “human” involved feels awesome.

id’s John Carmack’s told Edge that the Xbox 360 and PC versions of Rage currently have higher framerates than the PS3 version.

Apparently the Xbox 360 SKU – which uses id’s new Tech 5 engine – matches the 60fps framerate of the PC version, while PS3 runs at just “20-30fps”.

More on CVG.

Update: Edge has put up a story containing more quotes from the mag. Basically, the PS3 version’s lagging behind, but it’ll all be OK in the end. Phew.

“Everything is designed as a 60 hertz game. We expect this to be 60 hertz on every supported platform,” Carmack said.

“The work remaining is getting it locked so there’s never a dropped frame or a tear, but we’re confident that we’re going to get that.”

Shock of all shocks – looks as though you’re going to be able to buy extra levels for the PSP version of LittleBigPlanet.

Siliconera had a waz on a copy and found a “purchased levels” option on one of the menus – here’s the proof.

The game’s out later this year.

Capcom confirmed in its Q1 financial release last night that Bionic Commando’s shipped 550,000 units to retailers worldwide.

Note: shipped. Not sold. Sales in the US were less than inspiring, so don’t be too shocked if there’s some mumbling and coughing going on here.

Thanks, Kotaku.

Dragon Quest IX was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it? Back to the mire.

Last week’s chart here. Data below for the week ending July 26.

• DSi – 80,362
• PSP – 30,523
• Wii – 23,995
• DS Lite – 12,385
• PS3 – 8,997
• PS2 – 3,305
• Xbox 360 3,080

BioWare’s posted up final box art for Mass Effect 2. And here it is.

It’s pretty. It’s out next year. It’s very near the top of our list. Hit the link and get excited.