Monthly Archives: August 2009

Koelnmesse has announced that this year’s attendance for GamesCom came in at a staggering 245,000 visitors.

Obviously, a lot more then Leipzig this year anyways.

They’ve also confirmed that next year’s dates will be from August 18-22 2010.

We already have the flights booked.

PR is after the jump.

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Assassin’s Creed II’s chances will not be hampered by the near-identical release date of Modern Warfare 2, creative director Patrice Desilets told VG247 at GamesCom, thanks to its difference in nature.

Did you know the original Assassin’s Creed went head-to-head with Modern Warfare in 2007 and sold 9 million units? We didn’t.

“The first game we released two weeks after Modern Warfare, and we still sold 9 million copies,” said the developer.

“People, when they want their first-person shooter fix, they buy Modern Warfare. If you want you a swords, running on rooftops, big open city fix, this is it.

“And there are people that want to play that, and they don’t want to play the game with guns.”

Desilets added that the sequel isn’t just a rehash, but will have the same allure as the original.

“It has the same appeal as the first one, but we got rid of all the frustration. And it’s much bigger. Really, we give a lot more to the player,” he said.

We sat through half an hour of Assassin’s Creed II gameplay at the show. In a word, instabuy.

Assassin’s Creed II launches November 20. Modern Warfare 2 launches November 11. Both look amazing, for the record. So buy both. Dur.

Lost Planet 2 producer Jun Takeuchi has told Joystiq that they are working on implementing split-screen co-op for the game.

“It’s not easy, but if we are confident that we can do it, we’ll let you know,” said Takeuchi, who was also producer on Resident Evil 5.

He also admitted though that if split-screen was added, some sacrifices were going to be needed.

“Technically, cycling between two split screens, you can actually say it took visual RAM. You still have to work with two sets of AI and physics and so forth at the same time.”

More through the link.

Huzzah!

Any Kojima diehards can die happy now: a patch for Policenauts to be playable in English is now available.

Get the patch from here.

We know you’re exci… what do you mean you haven’t heard of it? Fine, we’ll explain it to you.

This is the one game Hideo Kojima was involved in that never made it West, simply put. Policenauts was a sci-fi action game for the PlayStation 1, 3DO and the Sega Saturn, released over 13 years ago in Japan. A PC release happened earlier in 1994.

An English port was promised, but never materialized.

Mind you, Kojima did say at GamesCom last week he was working on several projects. Could a Policenauts remake for the West be in the making?

If you’re still confused about everything, read the Wiki.

Thanks, Kotaku.

Put this one in the “oopsie daisy” category.

The second Mass Effect DLC pack, long overdue from BioWare, has seemingly been released onto the Swiss and Swedish Xbox Live Marketplace.

From what is being said, the DLC is called Pinacle Station and comes in at 400 MS points.

The DLC has surprisingly not been pulled yet, considering the amount of attention – or lack of it – it has recieved.

If you’re Swedish or Swiss, queue it up here.

Sneak attack from BioWare or an accidental leak? We shall see what happens throughout the day.

DSi’s up in Japan. We don’t know why. We’ve still got pork poisoning from Cologne. Data below for the week ending August 16. Last week’s chart here.

• DSi – 87,936
• Wii – 47,732
• PSP – 39,882
• Xbox 360 – 9,162
• DS Lite – 7,921
• PS3 – 5,944
• PS2 4,907

The news never sleeps. Thankfully, neither do Nathan, Steph and Johnny. BlizzCon 2009 brought a huge amount of new detail on Blizzard’s portfolio over the weekend, including the announcement of a new Diablo III class and a brand new upcoming WoW pack in Cataclysm.

You could try to get everything from the “internet”. That would be stupid. Because it’s all here.

• BlizzCon 09 Press Panel: No charging for WoW mods, Blizzard iPhone games, more
• BlizzCon 09: Blizzard uses StarCraft II map maker to create third-person RPG, shmup, Super Zerg
• BlizzCon 09: Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer to play Kerrigan in StarCraft II
• BlizzCon 09: Diablo III Q&A panel
• Race changes coming to WoW
• A new hero class in WoW: Cataclysm? Don’t count on it
• BlizzCon 09: Release date for Diablo III yet to be announced, says Blizzard
• BlizzCon 09: Diablo III trailers featuring the Monk
• StarCraft II to support premium player-created maps
• Cataclysm Panel: Guild advancement system detailed, new race/class combos, Raganaros returning
• BlizzCon 09: Cataclysm and StarCraft II only titles for 2010 [UPDATE]
• BlizzCon 09: Cataclysm zones revealed, detailed
• BlizzCon 09: Diablo III in-game screens show off Monk class
• Blizzcon 09: Debut WoW Cataclysm trailer is live
• Blizzcon 09: First screenshots of WoW: Cataclysm
• BlizzCon 09: And here’s the WoW Catacysm logo
• BlizzCon 09: Goblins playable race in next WoW expansion
• BlizzCon O.C.: New World of Warcraft expansion announced, called Cataclysm
• Monk revealed as fourth Diablo III class [Update]
• BlizzCon 2009 Opening Ceremony liveblog

Sony Germany’s given GT5 a “4 Quartal 2009″ date in its official GamesCom paraphernalia, as you can see on GTPlanet.

The game was actual playable at the Cologne show last week. SCEE boss Andrew House told us that we’re going to see specifics on the game “very soon” in an interview at the event.

Polyphony head Kazunori Yamauchi also said last week that the game will release “very soon” after its little PSPgo brother on October 1.

Tokyo, innit. Hit the first link to see the brochure.

We just got back from a press-only BlizzCon panel, wherein all questions were answered. Blizzard spilled its guts, and we recorded every excruciating detail. See all the carnage below:

• Guild housing probably isn’t coming to WoW. It was talked about for both Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm, but Blizzard has relegated it to the backburner for now.
• Blizzard is “very interested” in the iPhone, but currently has “no plans” to develop games for Apple’s tiny marvel.
• Why only bump the level cap up to 85? Duh, because the game ends once people hit level 100, right? Wrong. WoW’s not ending any time soon, and certainly not when the level cap reaches 100.
• Blizzard mentioned that, conceptually, a WoW expansion that didn’t raise the level cap would certainly be possible. Instead, it could, for example, focus on unlocking hero class versions of current classes — or something like that.
• Blizzard does not plan to allow players to charge for WoW mods. “Why mess with a good thing?” was the basis of their reasoning.
• Though Worgen and Goblin starter areas were demoed at BlizzCon, players began at level 6. So, what lies behind the veil of secrecy that is levels 1-5? For the Worgen, it’s the process of becoming a Worgen. That’s right — you start as a human. The early goings for Goblins, meanwhile, simply were too early in development to be shown.
• The WoW movie’s script isn’t finished yet. However, WoW production director J. Allen Brack said that the movie will be “like Lord of the Rings” in that it’ll be a treat for fans, but accessible to people who can’t tell a Worgen from a Murloc.
• WoW: Cataclysm will alter Azeroth’s landscape “instantly” when the expansion comes out. The roll out of content will not be gradual, because Deathwing’s going to cut through the place like a knife through butter.

So there you go. We flipped BlizzCon over, shook it, and spilt the crumbs in your open hands. Hope you enjoyed our coverage.

If you thought Blizzard’s decision to let players to charge for created maps was the straw that broke the zergling’s back, you might want to reconsider.

During BlizzCon’s StarCraft II gameplay panel, Blizzard showed off three custom maps that a few developers had whipped up in their free time. One was  a third-person action-RPG, another was an old-school, top-down Galaga-style space shooter, and the third featured a custom-made mega-Zerg. Custom user interfaces and things of the like were used.

Why is this important? Because, using what is allegedly the vanilla map-making toolset, it’s fairly easy to leap into other genres and design enemies and levels that fit your particular game.

Also, because the mega-Zerg used a shockwave attack to kill, like, three hundred zerglings at once. It was wicked.

In theory, then, this toolset could certainly be used to design maps — or even full games — packed with at least four or five dollars-worth of fun. Or that’s the hope, anyway. And, of course, there will still be free maps. What’s not to like?

Straight out of Blizzard’s voice actor panel at BlizzCon, we’ve just found out that Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer will be playing Sarah Kerrigan in StarCraft II.

Helfer, who played the seductive Number Six on Battlestar, will be voicing Kerrigan in her creepy, twisted Queen of Blades form, and in flashbacks as good ol’ non-genocide-bent Sarah.

Also of note, Helfer described herself as a “videogame virgin.” However, talking about the game, she really seemed to know her stuff, and her enthusiasm was obvious.

BlizzCon rolls on. Stick with us for more.

Blizzard held a Q&A panel with the developers for Diablo III at BlizzCon, and BigDownload has the highlights for you, which we have posted below.

• While the team is not talking about Player Vs Player gameplay in Diablo III at the moment they did say they want to avoid the “go hostile at any time” type of gameplay that was a part of the first two games in the series. The feeling is that kind of gameplay ruins the co-op modes.
• The new Battle.net system will allow for a more sophisticated matchmaking system for Diablo III.
• The designers do have plans for more variety in quests in the new game.
• The dev team have some long term plans for the Diablo universe’s Paladins but they would not go into details (sorry, no word if it will be a playable character)
• They also want to support players who play the game “hardcore”
• There are no plans to support user interface add-ons.
• The gold system in Diablo III is planned to be improved and changed compared to Diablo III in terms of their use to buy items.
• Randomly generated items are at the heart of the Diablo universe, according to the dev team. Unique items may have some different properties in Diablo III but will still be prominent.
• Waypoints are returning and will be similar to Diablo II. However, teleporters may not be coming back. However the designers are looking for other ways to reduce travel time. For example dungeons now have exits rather than having parties go all the way down and then be forced to go all the way back up the way they came.
• There isn’t any technology to support things like changing the environments in Diablo III but they might put it in if it benefits the game.
• All monsters have a chance to drop items for any player in the game.
• Even though the game is fairly easy to play already, Blizzard does plan to make Diablo III easy to get into for any all new players.
• Blizzard is still not commenting if crafting of items will be in Diablo III
• Since environments in the game are randomly generated there will not be a map editor released for third party mod makers.
• Blizzard is still not commenting on whether Diablo himself will appear in Diablo III (but come on; his name is in the title).
• Some of the classic sound effects from previous Diablo games will appear in the third title.

Nathan is at the event now. Be sure to check in periodically to see what he has found out.

Update: The Behemoth has confirmed that the new Castle Crashers DLC will cost 160 MS Points ($2.00/£1.36/€1.86) and will be available on August 26.

Original Story: The Behemoth has announced that the upcoming DLC for Castle Crahers is called Necromantic.

It will add the chainsaw weapon and provides access to two new characters which are the Cult Minion and the Necromancer. A Dragonhead animal orb and the NG Skull Mace are also to be added.

Pricing and a date were promised “soon” by the developers.

More through the official site.

Thanks, Joystiq.

Analyst David Cole of DFC Intelligence has told Industry Gamers that it won’t be long before Microsoft released a slimmer version of Xbox 360.

“I think it is a question of when not if,” he told the site. “However, the when part is a big uncertainty … rumors have been going on for a long time. I think people were asking me the same question last year at this time. As cost efficiencies allow smaller and more reliable is always a good thing. However, you also have something like Project Natal which could also tie in with hardware redesigns.

“There are a lot of questions Microsoft must weigh internally and there are always going to arguments on both sides of the fence around timing. So I don’t know, but in our DFC forecasts we anticipated a major redesign in 2010….so I guess that was our bet.”

While the other three analysts the site spoke with, Tom Greenwald of Signal Hill, Arvind Bhatia from Sterne Agee and Broadpoint AmTech’s Ben Schachter, do not agree with him, each do foresee a new SKU redesigned with Project Natal for 2010.

More through the link.

Loads of World of Warcraft stuff is coming out of BlizzCon 09, but you knew that already.

We also told you about the new CCP game Dust 514 this week thanks to GamesCom, but there is other stuff that went on in the world of MMOs as well.

The Avaline service is now available in Second Life, Warhammer Online is having it’s Wild Hunt Event, an Aion has revealed the Cleric class.

More is through the break.

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Is your WoW character starting to look uncomfortable in its own skin? Has your orc warrior’s odd penchant for mooing and grazing about relegated him to the loony bin? Well, Blizzard’s got a solution for you.

During its WoW Q&A panel earlier today, Blizzard announced that race changes will be coming to WoW. The feature was always planned to go live after faction changes had been taken care of.

So then, consider that Q thoroughly A-ed.

When asked about the possibility of a new hero class during today’s WoW Q&A panel at BlizzCon, the developer was fairly blunt. Odds are, the panelists said, Cataclysm won’t add another member to what’s currently a Death Knight-only club.

Blizzard’s reasoning was thus: WoW isn’t racing to include “40 or 50 classes,” and would rather focus on fine-tuning a small number of unique, versatile classes. So for now, Death Knight remains the newest kid on the block.

Granted, the panelists’ statement wasn’t quite definitive, but with how often the word “probably” was tossed about, we’re certainly not getting our hopes up for a new hero class any time soon.

Activision has told D’toid that Guitar Hero 5 downloadable content is not compatible with World Tour.

This does not mean,though, that it will not be compatible with other Hero titles.

“Guitar Hero 5 downlodable content will be compatible with future Guitar Hero and Band Hero games,” a rep told the site. “However, the advancements and innovations made to the franchise do now allow for downloadable content to be backwards compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour.”

Previously purchased DLC is compatible, and it’s also possible to export songs from Guitar Hero World Tour and Smash Hits to play in Guitar Hero 5. But, you will need to download tracks with the updated Guitar Hero 5 features.

It’s out September 1.

More through the link.

Yesterday, there were two different time-frames -of sorts- revealed for Diablo III.

We contacted Blizzard to get some clarification on this, and were told by a company spokesperson that: “We haven’t announced a release date for Diablo III.”

It all started when Geoff Keighely tweeted that StarCraft II and the new WoW expansion, Cataclysm were to be the only Blizzard titles coming in 2010.

Then, Ripten reported that it had overheard Blizzard bossman Mike Mohaime telling DirecTV that the game was to be released this year.

While Blizzard’s response does not really clarify when between now and 2011 we can expect the game, at least we know that more than likely it will not happen this year — unless Baboon Demons sprout wings and start flying.

More through the link.

Spike’s Way of the Samurai 3 has two publishers bringing it to North America.

Agetec will handle the PS3 version and UFO Interactive the Xbox 360 one.

“During this economic climate, Agetec and UFO wanted to leverage our collective experience and knowledge to release a franchise title for both the PS3 and X360 platforms, while dividing up the total development cost,” a spokesperson told Siliconera.

“It’s a win-win situation for everyone, including the fans, who are able to get this title on the platform of their choice.”

Good to know, even though a release has yet to be finalized.

More through the link.