Monthly Archives: July 2009

Will there be a LittleBigPlanet 2? Well, let’s see. Media Molecule boss Alex Evans isn’t prepared to say.

“I’d love there to be a sequel, put it that way,” he told GI.

“But that’s not an announcement – although I will say that the entire team is working on LBP.”

LBP2 confirmed. There’s a full interview through there.

According to Inside-Games, Japanese Dragon Quest IX pre-orders have now exceeded 2 million units.

The game goes on sale in Japan later this week, with all indications pointing to the Square Enix RPG becoming one of DS’s lifetime bestsellers.

Via Andriasang and GoNintendo.

GTTV this week is to show a new Uncharted 2 level – named Ice Cave – as well as the PS3 exclusive’s first cinematic at over three minutes in length.

It’ll be shown in the middle of the night PST on Thursday. As ever, Europeans get to see the episode on Friday morning. Check out the promo after the break.

More »

Sony’s Eric Lempel has told PC World that the XMB glitch the causes the battery meter to cover PS3′s clock is going to be fixed.

“I personally don’t like that either, and it’s something that’s definitely being corrected,” he said.

Thank gravy for that. Lempel added that the major update coming to PS3′s UI later this year “won’t be like what the rumors say”.

That’s right, Eric. Nothing like the rumours.

ZeniMax raised $105 million in convertible debt and promissory notes in order to buy, id Software, VentureBeat reports.

The figure comes from an SEC filing – financials figures weren’t disclosed when the deal was announced in June.

ZeniMax previously raised $300 million in private equity funding in 2007.

Full thing through there.

Sony Corp head Howard Stringer has shrugged off threats from Acti Blizz boss Bobby Kotick that he may drop support for PS3 unless there’s a price cut.

“He likes to make a lot of noise,” Stringer told Reuters, speaking at the Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley, Idaho this week.

“He’s putting pressure on me and I’m putting pressure on him. That’s the nature of business.”

Kotick issued an eyebrow-raising warning shot to Sony last month, saying that unless the machine came down in price, “When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console.”

Asked about the logic of not cutting PS3′s RRP, Stringer added, “I (would) lose money on every PlayStation I make – how’s that for logic.”

Full thing through there.

Agetec has picked up the rights to distribute Way of the Samurai 3 on PS3 in North America.

UFO Interactive is still publishing the Xbox 360 version.

Both are expected to ship in October for the respective consoles with bonus content intact.

More through PS3center.

Atlus has announced it’s bringing Kenka Bancho 3 for PSP to the US and it wants gamers to help choose the name.

“Kenka Bancho 3 is a terrific brawler with all the action and humor PSP system owners crave,” said Aram Jabbari, Manager of PR and Sales for Atlus. “That said, the game is also called Kenka Bancho 3, which, without translation, may not be the most intuitive title for non-Japanese speaking gamers. Therefore, we’re going to open things up for our fans to help us pick the game’s new North American title.

“We wouldn’t be in this situation if my suggestion for the title, Buncha Banchos, had been accepted, but you know, whatever.”

Kenka Bancho 3 is scheduled for release in early 2010.

You can check out the naming survey here.

Zipper Interactive has released the last in the MAG Developer Diary series.

You can watch it after the break.

The final video details the command and control system within the game which involves eight-on-eight, squad-based combat.

It’s expected to arrive sometime in November.

More »

Satoru Iwata has a Q&A with developers who worked on Wii Sports Resort posted over on Nintendo’s UK site.

It’s a very interesting bit of chat regarding all things Sports Resort related, and but one of the more interesting bits comes from a part discussing Miyamoto.

Apparently, he told a reporter at E3 2008 that the game included golf, but it really didn’t.

Iwata: By the way, why did you decide to include golf in Wii Sports Resort?

Takayuki Shimamura: Well, after Miyamoto-san got back from E3 in 2008…

Miyamoto: Really? Is that right?

All: (laughter)

Shimamura: Right after getting back to Japan, he suddenly said: “You know we’re including golf now.” Apparently he’d stated in an interview that this time round golf shots would be determined by the backswing, even though at that time a golf game didn’t exist in any shape or form! (laughs)

Iwata: It’s a trick he often uses! (laughs)

Miyamoto: That’s right. I block off the escape route.

Iwata: I’m not quite as bad as Miyamoto-san, but I have been known to use the same trick on occasion.

Loads more goodies through the link.

Thanks, GoNintendo.

Warner announced today via a lovely mailer that the second episode for Watchmen: The End is Nigh will be released on PS3 and Xbox 360.

The breakdown on pricing and dates is a bit strange, but here goes.

• Xbox Live version of Part 2 will run you $15 Xbox and will release August 26.
• The Xbox 360 retail two-pack will sell for $30 on July 21.
• PS3 owners can get it on July 21 but need to purchase Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience (director’s cut of the film and both games) which will run $50.
• DLC for PC and PS3 will be released on July 30 for $15

If you are not still with us, the full thing is through the page fold.

More »

Jaramiah Severns, associate producer for The Conduit, has acknowledged some of the mutiplayer issues consumers have reported with the game, and promises that High Voltage is working with Nintendo on a possible fix.

“We have received a few emails from fans regarding multiplayer snags and I assure we’re working hard to fix those issues,” he said in a statement.

“It’s difficult to address “glitches” post-release, but we’re working closely with Nintendo to come up with potential solutions.”

Nintendo usually doesn’t allow developers to patch games after release, but the recent firmware update to fix Wii Sports Resort in Japan proves that it can be done.

Thanks, GoNintendo.

Ed Boon has confirmed via Twitter that Midway will not release the planned DLC for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.

Two characters were planned to be released as DLC for the brawler, but now it seems likely to never happen.

Boon posted an image of Quan Chi on Twitter and stated that while he’s excited about MK9 and Warner Bros. taking the helm at Midway, he wishes the DLC could have been released.

More over on BigDownload.

Got an idea for a horse design for Lord of the Rings Online? Then submit it to Turbine and become immortal in the sense that people will be riding around on your creation for many ages to come.

All you have to do is come up with the best looking one, and voila, Middle-earth will sing your praises over another mount option.

Personally, we have our own ideas, but it involves the horse actually being used as a weapon.

That won’t fly we reckon.

For more information on how to submit your idea, visit the official website.

Back in 2006, Techland announced that it was working on a open-ended modern-day FPS where players would take on the role of a freelance mercenary.

Now, three years later, that project has been put on hold after some delays and to concentrate on the release of Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood.

Now that the game is out, Techland brand manager Blazej Krakowiak has said that it’s time for the firm to relax a bit before it gets to work on anything else.

“A release of an ambitious and well-received title is always a good moment to unwind a little bit and reevaluate all the options,” he told Joystiq.

“It wouldn’t be a good idea for us to discuss them right now.”

Alrighty then.

More through the link.

EA Sports has announced two free DLC updates for Fight Night Round 4.

Slated for early August, the first one will add a new gym and equipment to PS3 and Xbox 360, while an updated version of Sugar Ray Leonard will be included, but exclusive to Xbox 360.

New gameplay sliders are also expected with the update and will allow players to “tun and tweak” Counter Punch Window, Boxer Stamina, and Punch Accuracy.

During the early part of September, the Total Punch Control will be updated, allowing face-button punch control for PS3 and Xbox 360.

“We strongly believe that the refined Total Punch Control is the most intuitive way to throw punches in Fight Night Round 4,” the game’s senior producer, Dean Richards, said in a press release, “But we also want fans of the franchise to have an option.”

More over on Kotaku.

Hi-Rez has announced that Global Agenda will go into closed Beta, tentatively, July 24.

If you signed up for the Beta, or want to, here’s the meat and potatoes of how to know if you were chosen:

Invitations for Closed Beta Phase 1 (CBT-1) will be sent in groups.

The first group was sent in late June and was primarily directed to existing Alpha testers. Subsequent invite waves will be sent during the weeks of July 8 and July 15, 2009.

In order to participate in the Beta, players that receive an Invite must RSVP by visiting the Global Agenda website and following the instructions in the invitation. Each invitation will include a date by which a player must confirm their participation prior to the invitation expiring. Once a player confirms their participation, additional information will be sent regarding the test program.

More through the link.

Thanks, Blue.

This week, Nintendo users will get three WiiWare titles, one for Virtual Console, and two for DSiWare.

Here’s the list:

• BIT.TRIP CORE – WiiWare (600 Points)
• BUST-A-MOVE Plus! – WiiWare (600 Points)
• Heracles Chariot Racing – WiiWare (800 Points)
• California Games – Virtual Console (500 Points)
• Art Style: BASE 10 – DSiWare (500 Points)
• Asphalt 4: Elite Racing – DSiWare (800 Points)

Extra details on each are posted after the jump.

More »

SCEA’s director of network operations, Eric Lempel, has said that there isn’t a NXE-like overhaul in PSN’s future.

“What we find is that people really like our current interface,” he told CVG. “We did redesign the PlayStation Store last April to make some improvements, make it faster, make it better, and we’re always listening to consumers. But right now the XMB is an Emmy Award-winning interface and people like it.

“They’re very comfortable with it. So we’re not looking to do anything radical. We’ll still do some research behind the scenes and see what can we do to make things better, or how can we make it so consumers find content faster, but right now we’re pretty happy with it.

“No plans right now to do anything like what the competitor has done.”

There ya go.

Capcom has announced that Bionic Commando will be released on PC next Friday, July 17.

The gameplay included in the PS3 and 360 copies will stay intact.

It will support both DirectX 9 and 10, online options, higher resolutions and remappable controls.

Thanks, Eurogamer