Monthly Archives: July 2009

Microsoft told EG today that 360 will have Twitter and Facebook functionality before the end of the year.

“It will be before Christmas,” said marketing chap James Halton.

“A lot of the background work’s been done for a lot of applications that are coming.”

So there you go. Follow us on other electronic devices in readiness for following us on your videogames consoles.

Digital distribution sales are on the up and up compared to retail sales, which took a dive for the month of June.

Sales for Steam increased 97 percent year-over-year and larger titles are planned for the service in the future. Direct2Drive sales increased 56 percent, and VP Jeff Steele expects “more of the same into 2010.”

Microsoft’s Xbox Live also saw a 73 percent year-over-year increase the last six months, but despite all the good news, Michael Pachter says that download sales only make up 5 percent of videogame sales.

“Downloads are probably $1 – 2 billion worldwide this year, compared to a $26 billion packaged goods market. Significant, but not enough to cause a 20% monthly sales decline,” Pachter told IGN. “Perhaps a 5 percent incremental impact in a given month, but not likely that the impact was more than that.”

NPD Analyst Anita Frazier agreed, saying in her monthly report: “While some of the decline in retail sales could be a migration on the part of consumers to acquiring content via digital distribution, our reports on downloads and subscriptions reveal that it’s not yet having enough impact on the console market to be an overly meaningful factor in the retail down-turn.”

Figures regarding digital sales may climb a bit more once more publishers start divulging revenue from download services.

More through the link.

Acti PR just told VG247 that pricing for the newly-announced DJ Hero Renegade edition “has not yet been confirmed.”

The SKU, which features a shiny turntable, a hardshell carry case that converts to a stand, and a double-CD of Jay-Z and Eminem tracks, was shown for the first time this afternoon.

The game’s normal edition costs £108 to pre-order in the UK, so you can start betting on how much the splendido version’s going to cost.

It’s out in November.

Blizzard just confirmed it’s to have a stand at Gamescom this year. You’ll be able to hook up with the WoW behemoth in Cologne on booths B21 and B23 in Halle 6.

There’s no detail on what’s to be shown by the firm as yet, but there will be a link-up between Cologne and Anaheim on the Friday night for Blizzcon’s kick-off in the US. You’ll need to be invited to get into that, though.

More soon.

NOA’s Denise Kaigler has admitted she’s unsure why Wii titles like MadWorld and The Conduit along with other games aimed at the core audience are not selling at retail.

However, she said that she is hopeful that things will start picking up soon, and that Nintendo will continue to support core players as well as the casual.

“You know, I don’t know. It’s hard to say. It could be titles have the same type of sales curve that a lot of Nintendo titles have,” she told Wired. “A lot of Nintendo titles don’t follow that traditional sales curve where they launch big and then that’s it. Our titles have a long tail. They build in popularity, and this could be the case with MadWorld and The Conduit. I’ve played both. I’m not a core gamer, and I found that they were challenging and fun.

“We’re hopeful that the titles will catch on and that consumers who already have those games will spread the word and others will follow suit there. They’re deep experiences, and they’re very challenging titles, and we certainly like them. But it’s our hope that the games will pick up in popularity and they’ll continue to sell.

“We certainly want to make sure that we’re putting games on the market that casual and core alike enjoy. It’s certainly one of our primary areas of focus. And based on the popularity of the Wii, the Nintendo DS and DSi, that tells us we’re doing something right. As you know, we’ve got a very passionate fanbase out there – very vocal and very passionate, so they definitely tell us when they’re not happy. But the good thing is, they also tell us when they are happy. And we definitely got some really good response out of E3.

“They were certainly very happy with Metroid: Other M, and some of the other titles we announced at E3.”

Via CVG.

Activision just announced a Renegade edition for DJ Hero, featuring a “premium Renegade turntable controller, hardshell turntable carrying case that converts to a performance-ready DJ stand, and an exclusive JAY-Z and EMINEM 2-CD pack featuring unreleased tracks.”

No date or price.

PR after the break.

More »

Downloadable content for Overlord II has arrived on PSN and Xbox Live today, according to a press mail from Codemasters.

The Battle Rock Nemesis DLC contains the ‘Battle Rock’ arena in the Netherworld which plays host to a series of new combat challenges as the player progresses through the game.

Gamers harvest life force as they wreak havoc upon Nordburg Hunters and Gnomes in practice rounds and then take on foes, including the Satyr, the Empire’s Champion, and the Phoenix in a series of boss battles. Successful battles will net players new rewards including more powerful spells and in-game items for the Overlord and his Minions.

On Xbox 360, players can earn Achievements worth 100 points through winning the boss battles.

The ‘Battle Rock Nemesis’ downloadable content will run you £3.19/$5.00 on PSN and 400 MS Points ($5.00/£3.40) with the PC version to be announced soon.

Battlefield 1943 players living in Ireland are a bit perturbed that the game fails to display the country’s flag on their profile pages and instead only flies the UK flag.

Apparently, if you live in Northern Ireland or Ireland, “EA won’t allow you to identify yourself as “Irish” despite the 1998 Belfast agreement saying otherwise”, according to Seenit.

When contacted, EA apologized stating that players game profiles cannot be altered because Ireland is “not listed distinctively and is included in Great Britain.”

Oh dear.

You can read the whole thing through the link.

Some more pretty pictures landed for Forza 3, and they are nice too look upon indeed.

Kotaku has ‘em up, along with Microsoft proclaiming 21-year-old Swiss racer, Natacha Gachnang as the European ‘Face of Forza.

Also, just in case there was any confusion out there, the racer arrives in Europe October 23 (not Oct 3) and in the US on October 27.

Done. No more wondering. It’s happening.

The only newness to the Xbox Live charts this week was the addition of 1 vs. 100 and the lack of Fallout 3 in the top 10.

Otherwise, it’s the same list as last week, and the week before, ad nauseum.

Live Titles

1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Call of Duty: WaW
4. Gears of War 2
5. Battlefield 1943
6. GTA IV
7. 1 vs 100
8. FIFA 09
9. Left 4 Dead
10. UFC 2009 Undisputed

Arcade Titles

1. Battlefield 1943
2. Splosion Man
3. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
4. Castle Crashers
5. Worms 2: Armageddon
6. Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers
7. UNO
8. Hasbro Family Game Night
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Classic Arcade
10. Sonic The Hedgehog 3

Community and Original stuff is after the break courtesy of the Major.

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Superannuation‘s found a dev CV claiming Junction Point’s working on something called Epic Mickey for Wii.

The guy involved reckons he’s a concept artist on the game, work which included “designing and painting concept/inspirational artwork” and “painting ‘boxouts’ for locations”.

Junction Point is Warren Spector’s Disney-owned company, in case you’d forgotten.

There’s more on Eurogamer.

Screenwriter Sheldon Turner is to take on writing duties for an inFamous movie, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

It’s a seven-figure deal, apparently.

“What excited me most about the game was it was the first of which I’ve come across that had a big idea and a character arc,” Turner said.

“It is, I believe, the future of gaming. The game, while big and fun, is at its core a love ballad to the underachiever, which is what our hero, Cole McGrath, is.”

There’s no date. More through there.

Ubi’s claimed Splinter Cell: Conviction was pushed into 2010 because a slip was the only way of achieving the firm’s “ambitions” for the game.

“After demonstrating the new vision for the game at E3 2009 we won many awards and got a lot of interest from fans and press alike,” said the publisher, speaking on the title’s official site.

“In order to live up to our own ambitions and your expectations, we strongly feel that giving our teams that extra time will allow us to present a game to you that will fulfil that potential.”

The company added: “This extra time will ensure Splinter Cell Conviction becomes every bit the fantastic experience we want it to be.”

Conviction will now release on the first quarter of 2010, as opposed to an originally planned late 2009 date.

Marvel Vs Capcom 2 is now up on Live, says the Major.

Blurb:

Fans asked, and Capcom listened! One of the most popular fighting games of all time returns! MvC 2 brings legendary characters from throughout Marvel and Capcom history to duke it out in an insane tag-team fighting experience. Featuring an unprecedented 56-character roster and now with enhanced HD graphics and online play, one of the best fighting games ever just got better! Buy it today!

Do it. You may as well. Yours for 1,200MSP.

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences said today that the DICE Summit – thus far restricted to Las Vegas – is to get an Asian version this year.

The new event will take place at Singapore’s Suntec Center, the same venue used for Games Convention Asia, on September 17.

GPG’s Chris Taylor and NanaON-Sha boss Masaya Matsuura are both to “feature,” apparently.

There’s a press release here. Thanks, Joystiq.

After the break. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 was thrown around with gay abandon at Comic Con last week, what with it releasing on September 15 for PS3, 360, Wii and DS.

Looks fun. Thanks, Kotaku.

More »

Square’s put out a bunch of new cut-scene stills from FFXIII: get them from Game Watch.

Images of the game appear to be freeing up a little now, ahead of a winter release in Japan. Famitsu bagged ten new screens of it earlier this week.

It’s out in the West next year.

Americans will be getting red and blue DualShock 3s this October, according to Engadget.

There are some pretty pictures through there as proof. No word on a European release.

Amazon’s offering a $10 rebate for those that pre-order Halo: ODST. Hit this to see how we’re not lying.

You get the cash as credit to your Amazon account when the game ships on September 22.

Thanks, CAG.

Remember Peter Jackson saying Halo Chronicles had been cancelled? When he said the project “fell apart,” “is no longer happening,” has “collapsed,” and that his “involvement with the project” has “ended”?

Microsoft has released a statement on the matter, using less final wording.

From Joystiq:

“Microsoft Game Studios is deeply committed to supporting and strategically growing the Halo franchise, and our relationship with Peter and his team is something that we greatly value. Given the bandwidth of both of our companies we’ve decided to put this joint effort on hold and prioritize resources against other projects like Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach and Halo Legends.”

So there you go, sci-fi hobbit fans. Cling to those ethereal syllables. Dare to dream.