Monthly Archives: July 2009

A recent entry on Platinum Games’ blog explains exactly what effects are by showing us what Bayonetta looks like without them. For those who’d rather hear an explanation of all these visual flourishes using the clunky, unfitting art of language, effects are generally things like fire, smoke, and whatnot. Without them, Bayonetta looks kinda weird.

The movies are only a few seconds long each, though, so why not check them out? Both are after the break.

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Screenshots? Who needs ‘em? They don’t move, and if you’re a T-Rex, you can’t even see them. Lame.

Fortunately, GoNintendo has three glorious minutes of 720p Mario Galaxy in fluid, silky smooth motion.

Go check it out. Pine for what could have been.

Many of today’s best-selling videogames — from Gears of War to the latest hop ‘n’ bop based on a kids’ movie — are rooted in some form of violence. It’s the most tangible way of interacting with a videogame world, after all. BioWare’s Greg Zeschuk, however, believes the gaming industry’s at a decidedly nonviolent turning point, one at which story will take the throne violence once held.

“We talk a certain amount internally about whether you need to have combat as part of the experience. Are there possibilities to actually start separating pieces of the game and actually tailor it to the audience?” said Zeschuk, creative officer of BioWare, speaking with GI.biz.

“Certainly the core gaming experience, folks that are used to playing games over the last ten years, they want to have those battle moments, and the fighting. But there are different audiences that would maybe just enjoy the story.”

“I think it’s actually possible. I think the interesting thing about it too is I don’t know if it’s even necessarily a technology thing. I think once we’ve got the breadth of audience available to us, there could be really good opportunities created by different people coming to games that are story-driven.”

More through the link.

It appears that GTA: Chinatown Wars’ Japanese jaunt won’t be quite as uneventful as originally planned. According to Siliconera, the game will be the first to have its hide branded with a CERO Z rating, the equivalent of an AO in the US, or an 18+ in Europe.

Monumental though it may be, the news isn’t really all that surprising, as it’s only inheriting GTA’s Japanese mantle. Thus far, all GTA games have been rated CERO Z in Japan.

This doesn’t bode all that well for Chinatown Wars eventual sales in Japan, though. After all, the audience that visibly brightens every time someone mentions “Brain Training” probably isn’t much into splattering said brains on the pavement. Chinatown Wars, will you ever find a loving home?

Update: No word yet on a European release date. PR “isn’t sure what’s going on with European release at this time.” Bummer.

Sky Crawlers has been out for a bit in Japan, but for the rest of the world, playing the game has only been a pie-in-the-sky dream. Or, well, maybe pie that just fell on the ground, but only has a few hairs on it. Regardless, dream no more if you live in North America, because XSEED’s publishing the game.

Developed by Ace Combat pilots Project Aces, Sky Crawlers is due this holiday season. It’s about — what else — airplanes. You fly and shoot stuff using the Wii-mote and nunchuck. Should be good fun.

We’ve put in an email asking whether or not the game will be published in Europe, as XSEED only publishes games in North America. We’ll keep you posted.

Thanks, Joystiq.

Media Molecule’s giving away a real crown to whomever has the most happening pod in LittleBigPlanet. Just brainstorm a theme, apply it to your pod and Sackboy, and — boom — you’ve got a hat you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing in public. At least, not if you’re hip, fly, and stylin’ enough to win this contest, you wouldn’t.

Check out the LittleBigPlanet forums, if you’re interested. We’re working on a theme composed entirely of links to the VG247 Twitter feed, and maybe Pat’s too. Set phasers from stun to shill.

A new study conducted by research firm Nielsen found that gamers have recently started spending more time gaming, more money purchasing used games, and less purchasing new games. The study attributes much of this behavior to the current Rough Economic Climate.

In January 2009, gamers spent an average of 19 hours per week basking in the glow of their favorite games, compared to only 16.5 hours in January of 2008. May 2009, the study’s most recent month, saw gamers log 16.5 hours into their favorite hobby, while the corresponding month in 2008 saw less than 16.

Interestingly, Nielsen doesn’t believe hardcore gamers have had any significant impact on the study, attributing most of the upswing to “mainstream gamers.”

“Primarily, we believe mainstream gamers are playing more of the broadly appealing games (i.e Wii Fit, Guitar Hero and Rock Band) pushing their hours of gameplay up,” director of client consulting Michael Flamberg said.

Used game purchasing is also climbing more quickly than expected, reaching an all time high ratio of 0.36 in May 2009. This, of course, means that new game purchases are down, though Nielsen says that could be a result of a lack of “huge hits” at this point in the year. 2008 was already quite bountiful at this point, bringing forth both Mario Kart Wii and GTA IV.

Thanks, Gamasutra.

MTV Multiplayer got a chance to speak with Chair Entertainment about its upcoming Xbox Live Arcade side-scroller Shadow Complex. According to Chair co-founder Donald Mustard, his company’s game will be beatable in under two hours!

This, of course, conflicts with prior reports, which stated that running the game’s gauntlet would take anywhere from 10-15 hours. However, that’s also correct. As it turns out, Chair is including “sequence breaks” in its game. A sort of gaming artifact, sequence breaks allow players of games like Metroid to slip past sections of a game and acquire certain items before they’re supposed to.

Granted, sequence breaks are normally exploits discovered by players, but Chair claims it’s included the possibility of sequence breaks in the development of its game. Thus, the developer hopes Shadow Complex becomes the talk of the speed running town, and has even included an achievement for players who complete the game in under two hours.

Back in our day, we didn’t get any rashin-frashin points for speed runs, and we liked it. Kids these days.

More through the link.

This week’s SingStar SingStore SingUpdate is fairly huge, with phat beats from the likes of Coldplay, Radiohead, Kelly Clarkson, The Offspring, Cheap Trick, and more.

We’ve stored the list’s girth after the break, as we’re not even sure if Superman could leap it in a single bound.

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Speaking with Joystiq, LucasArts CEO Darrell Rodriguez was about as committal as one can possibly be about classic LucasArts games on the iPhone while still maintaining an air of mystery.

“On iPhone, you know Apple’s policy that we can’t talk about a release until it’s ready to release. But it would make sense that we would do something like that if we were to go in that direction … wink wink, nod nod,” he said.

For those that can’t comprehend basic human body language or have been smote with blindness, he means “yes.” To which we reply, “Yes!”

More through the link if you don’t prefer to quit while you’re ahead at this whole being more excited than you’ve been in years thing.

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus creator Fumito Ueda stated — in an interview with LEVEL (translated by neoGAF member “darkwings”) — that GTA IV and Mario Galaxy failed to blow him away.

Talking about GTA IV, Ueda said that “the biggest problem with the game is the lack of innovative things in the game. The graphic style impresses, but not the base premise, which is exactly the same as the predecessors.”

Next up, Ueda discussed Mario Galaxy, saying that he’d heard Miyamoto took some inspiration for the game from Shadow of the Colossus. Ueda, of course, brought the space-traversing plumber back down to earth.

“Yes I have played it, it was hard to not to since it was rumored that Miyamoto-san was inspired by me. But I had expected more, that segment, was like the rest of the game not so fun as it could had been. I think the fans made a big deal out of nothing when they said Miyamoto had stolen from me. The thing I am critical over isn’t that they didn’t borrow anything that isn’t unique for my game, but that they didn’t make more fun stages out of it,” he said.

Ouch. More through there, if you haven’t already torn down all your Ueda posters and burned them in effigy.

Last week, select members of the press received an actual, physical, gramophone-not-included BioShock 2 record from Take-Two. After scouring the MP3-ridden wasteland that is earth for a gramophone, Kotaku listened to the thing.

Its two sides contain what Kotaku describes as a “Rapture anthem,” interrupted only once by the sounds of a Little Sister wondering if Big Daddy will come and find her. Guess our dreams of Big Daddy starting an East vs. West coast rap feud will have to wait.

Apparently, this continues a story started in the first BioShock 2 promotional item, in which someone was searching for his “daughter.” Are these hints at the plot structure of BioShock 2? Probably.

Game’s out this fall. Click through the link if you fancy a look at the song’s lyrics.

Game sales in Japan are currently in a freefall, it would seem — with a 24.4 percent year-on-year drop in hardware and software sales since the beginning of 2009, according to GI.biz.

More specifically, hardware sales have fallen right off Mt. Fuji, losing 27.6 percent compared to 2008, while software sales have taken a 21.8 percent hit.

For the first half of 2009, Japan’s gaming market did a total of ¥218 million worth of business.

Click through the link for more depressing stats. We’re going to go buy some earplugs to block out the wailing and gnashing of teeth currently taking place on the streets.

The latest Star Wars: The Old Republic trailer has been commandeered by the Mandalorians. Apparently, they like combat, fighting the Jedi Order, and long walks on the beach.

Find out more by watching the trailer, which is after the break.

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After sales unbefitting of a GTA game in both Europe and North America, GTA: Chinatown Wars is taking its cel-shaded, dual-screened brand of automobile thievery to Japan.

Cyberfront’s publishing, but hasn’t announced a release date yet.

Here’s hoping the game’s plight fills Japan’s gaming population with sorrow, giving rise to a new influx of sales. Chinatown Wars is great, people. Please buy it.

Thanks, Tiny Cartridge.

During today’s press conference announcing Ubisoft Toronto’s opening, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said that 49% of Canadian gamers are female.

He also noted that Ontario’s slice of the gaming industry produces almost $1 billion each year.

Money, women, and maple syrup. Does it get any better? We don’t think so.

Ubisoft just announced intentions to open a new studio in Toronto, Ontario, a move that’ll result in the creation of 800 jobs in the next decade.

Ubi is to invest a net sum of a cool CA$500 million in the facility over the next ten years.

“Today’s announcement marks a strategic move for Ubisoft as we continue to expand our internal development force,” said company super-boss, Yves Guillemot.

“We are in an excellent position to grow and after extensive analysis we are thrilled to have reached an agreement with the government of Ontario to found our new studio in Toronto. The city is one of North America’s economic and cultural epicenters and our expectations are high. We’re excited to be able to count on the exceptional local talent, who will contribute to our accelerated growth and will have a profound impact on the video game industry with the excellence of their creativity.”

Press release after the break.

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LucasArts’ “amazing news” is that ten of its back-titles are to be added to Steam on Wednesday.

And they are:

• Armed and Dangerous
• Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
• LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure
• LOOM
• Star Wars Battlefront II
• Star Wars Republic Commando
• Star Wars Starfighter
• The Dig
• Thrillville: Off the Rails

“This effort is going to make it possible to introduce a whole new generation of gamers to LucasArts’ classic games,” said LucasArts boss, Darrell Rodriguez.

“It also gives more people a chance to play our games by making them available long after they’ve disappeared from store shelves. We hope our fans are as excited as we are about our plans and we can’t wait to share what’s coming next. This is just the beginning.”

So there you are. Amazing. Here’s the full announcement.

According to the Entertainment Merchant’s Association’s 2008 Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry, 87% of PS3 owners also use their Sony Living Room Devices as Blu-ray players.

An NPD survey last year claimed that 60% of PS3 owners didn’t even know their console played Blu-ray discs, so we imagine phrases like “Really? Cool!” and “Doh!” also reached an all-time usage high over the past year.

So, do you use your PS3 to watch Blu-ray movies?

Thanks, Engadget.

Square Enix’s back-to-the-basics handheld RPG Final Fantasy Gaiden isn’t just some ragged bone being thrown at fans of the company’s old-school fare. According to the game’s Japanese web page (as translated by Nintendo Everything), Gaiden’s being meticulously constructed by former Chrono Trigger dev Takashi Tokita, among others.

Also playing key roles in the game’s development are Tomoya Asano (producer), Akihiko Yoshida (art director), and Tomohiro Kamiya (sound director).

Additionally, the website lists multiplayer as one of the game’s features, but keeps mum on everything except player count, which will be four.

More info soon, we hope.