Monthly Archives: August 2009

Statistics citing the number of hours over two million Wii users play have surfaced over on Kotaku.

Looks like people really like sports related games.

As of August 1, these are the top ten sports titles people have played the most:

1. Wii Sports – 36 hours, 19 minutes
2. FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play – 29 hours, 44 minutes
3. Madden NFL 08 – 28 hours, 12 minutes
4. Madden NFL 09 All-Play – 22 hours, 58 minutes
5. MLB Power Pros 2008 – 22 hours, 41 minutes
6. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 – 20 hours, 55 minutes
7. Wii Fit – 18 hours, 47 minutes
8. Mario Super Sluggers – 18 hours, 22 minutes
9. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play – 17 hours, 46 minutes
10. NBA LIVE 09 All-Play – 16 hours, 52 minutes

Basically, from what we understand Wii Sports has been played at least 36 hours by each person who owns it since it was released in 2006.

The list is rather long, and to be honest, we had no idea there were that many sports titles available for the console.

Go have a look.

Nintendo has seen fit to release loads of screens, artwork and stills from Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box.

There’s around 100 actually, and ONM UK has ‘em.

It will land in the US on August 24 and on September 25 in Europe for DS and DSi with Level-5 releasing downloadable puzzles every week for 33 weeks.

Enjoy through the link.

Atlus has announced that Shin Megami Tensei: Persona will launch simultaneously on both PSN and in stores September 22 for $40.

The 1997 remake has a reworked interface, fully localized script, voice work exclusive to the North American release, an expanded soundtrack and faster battles.

PSP version features some balance adjustments and new animated sequences by Devil May Cry 3′s Kazuma Kaneko.

Even better, retail copies of Person include a two-disc score composed by Shoji Meguro – but as a boxed version, this will only be made available for a limited time.

Still, great news for fans of Persona.

Thanks, Gamespot.

The senior writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO has posted a new developer diary detailing the creation of the Smuggler class in the game.

Hal Hood says that BioWare really wanted a charming, humorous, and romantic rouge for the game to lighten up dramatic moments – basically a Han Solo.

“The Old Republic is the first Star Wars video game to let players truly live the dream of being Han Solo or Lando Calrissian,” he wrote. “Other games have let you engage in a bit of smuggling for profit or simulate “scoundrels” as a collection of stat bonuses, but none come close to delivering the humor, romance and just plain fun of being a wisecracking Smuggler who triumphs against all odds.

“Every member of The Old Republic team is committed to crafting the defining rendition of the Smuggler archetype. Of all the stories in our game, the Smuggler ones are specifically written with an emphasis on humor and romance. If you’re playing this class, you get to say the funniest things and are always on the lookout for people who find charming rogues irresistible.

“You’ll be flirting with or laughing at the most exciting personalities in the galaxy: crime lords, gamblers, Bounty Hunters, senators, nobles, spies, Jedi and even Sith.”

Hell yeah. More through the link.

Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling has told MTV Multiplayer says that just because two maps will be released for Modern Warfare2 post-launch, does not mean more will not come at a later date.

“As far as DLC goes, we love it and plan to support ‘Modern Warfare 2′ heavily with post-launch support,” he told the site. “We’ve confirmed we’ll be doing AT LEAST two map packs which were announced at E3 as a timed exclusive for Xbox 360.

“The fact that we confirmed at least two map packs doesn’t mean there won’t be more; honestly we plan on shaping our DLC based on community feedback from the full game, and first two DLC map packs.

“Therefore, the community will really determine what comes after that.”

Reports regarding Activision CEO Mike Griffith’s comment on DLC for the game surfaced earlier, suggesting only two maps total would be released.

Harmonix and MTV announced today that a three pack of songs from Gorillaz, with songs from Demon Days and the band’s self-titled release will land on Rock Band next week.

Also, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, The Band and Janis Joplin are also coming to the Rock Band Music Store.

The following tracks will be made available on Xbox 360 August 11, and PS3 August 13:

The Band- Chest Fever (LIVE)
Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood, Feel Good Inc, Re-Hash
Janis Joplin -Piece of My Heart
Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit
The Who – Magic Bus (Live at Leeds )

Gorillaz Pack 01 will run you $5.49/£2.49/€3.99 or 440 MS Points or individually for $1.99/£.99/€1.49 EU or 160 MS Points.

Below the break there’s an interview with Guillaume de Fondaumiere, co-CEO of Quantic Dream and executive producer of Heavy Rain.

Filmed in Dublin during an exclusive preview event for Irish media, Guillaume talks a bit about Heavy Rain.

Have a watch courtesy of the EU PS Blog.

Game’s out for PS3 early 2010.

More »

The official Wolfenstein website has listed the different preorder programs available for the game.

No word on if these deals apply to the PC version or not, but here’s what you’ll get with the console versions:

GameStop: Get a Day 1 Multiplayer Advantage: Preorder with Gamestop and get 2,000 Wolfenstein in-game gold pieces for use in multiplayer. Choose your own weapon or power upgrade.

Amazon: Unlock Wolfenstein 3D full game: Preorder now and get a free copy of Wolfenstein 3D for the Xbox Live Arcade or the Playstation Network

Hollywood Game Crazy: Wolfenstein Limited Edition Medal: Reserve Wolfenstein and receive an exclusive limited edition Wolfenstein collectors metal.

BestBuy: Unlock the Flammenwerfer: Normally available as a reward halfway through the single player campaign, if you purchase Wolfenstein at BestBuy you will have access to the Flammenwerfer from the very first level.

More over on the official website.

Looks like the teaser site launched by Square Enix was for a Lord of Vermillion title after all.

Lord of Vermillion II is an card-based arcade title with characters from Final Fantasy IV, Romancing SaGA II and Magic: The Gathering making appearances.

The game is expected to land in Japanese game centers this autumn.

Via Kotaku.

Shatter has sold 30,000 digitally over on PSN within just one week, and because of this, Sidhe is workibg on a playable demo.

“We will be making a demo available down the line for those gamers on the fence,” managing director Mario Wynands told Gamasutra. “Shatter is not exclusive to PSN, bBut Sony is offering the combination of good royalties, strong technology, and a well defined process for getting content to market.”

The team already has “working builds” of Shatter for PC and XBLA, due to the cross-platform functionality of Sony’s free PhyreEngine.

Wynands says the team is “reviewing the situation to see whether it makes sense to continue investing in those versions,” but other ports are highly likely.

Via Joystiq.

Starbreeze Studios’ Enclave, the 3D fantasy action game for the Xbox and PC, is coming to Wii.

As reported by Eurogamer, progress with the unreleased GameCube version may have made the Wii version happen, but instead of Starbreeze working on the title, German firm Village1 Entertainment is handling it.

The game does not have a publisher yet, but Village1 expects it to land sometime during early 2010.

Sony wants you to write an inspirational battlefield speech and the best one will be featured in the new trailer for MAG.

Ten will be picked, professionally recorded for use in the trailer and the authors will win a MAG prize that will be announced soon.

Things to consider when writing, according to Sony:

• MAG is all about multiplayer combat on an unprecedented scale, so think big.
• The game revolves around three private military corporations – Raven, Valor and S.V.E.R – so you could incorporate them and their personalities into your writing.
• Be original – we Google too so don’t borrow lines from Winston Churchill, Saving Private Ryan or anywhere else!
• Words are slippery things and just because they look good on the screen, they might not sound so epic when spoken. Try reading your entries aloud to make sure they roll off the tongue with ease.
• Keep it clean – sure soldiers swear all the time but this is a family blog, so all the normal commenting rules apply.

Sony will also post some of the best speeches on the blog.

More information over on the Euro PS Blog.

The US PS video store update has gone live, and for HD TV fans, it’s business as usual.

HD movies include 1991 Wes Craven horror flick, The People Under the Stairs, Obsessed, The Unborn, Hot Fuzz, and Transporter 2.

You can get the full thing over on the US PS Blog, with the movie list posted after the jump.

More »

Activison only plans to release two map packs for Modern Warfare 2.

Each will hit Xbox 360 first and then that’s all she wrote, according to Acti’s CEO Mike Griffith.

“We plan to launch two separate map packs for this title,” Griffith said during ActiBLizz’s recent conference call to investors.

He also added that over 8 million Call of Duty map pack downloads have been sold on PS3 and Xbox 360.

More over on Shack.

Disney’s upcoming game based on Tim Burton’s movie adaptation of Alice in Wonderland has a new lovely screen.

The game has no official release date as of yet, but more than likely it will launch with the movie in March 2010.

It’s only for Wii, DS and PC, apparently.

See the shot in full over on Kotaku.

Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley will be delivering a keynote at GDC Austin.

The event starts September 15 in Texas and runs through the eighteenth.

More than likely Smedley will be talking up Free Realms and the millions of players it has accumulated since launching on April 28.

Other keynoters include Blizzard’s J. Allen Brack and France Pearce.

Thanks, Joystiq.

Bizarre Creations’ Ben Ward has been talking up Blur and the tech the firm created so that up to 20 players can be racing around the game together via multiplayer.

Turns out, according to Ward, the developers will be using this same bi of tech in future games.

“Obviously there were new challenges that had to be taken on,” Ward told Kikizo. “20 cars on track for one is a pretty massive technical hurdle, and also networking, doing 20 player multiplayer is a really big deal.

“So we’ve achieved those with this new engine as well, and the next few titles that we churn out will be literally built on that tech as well.”

More about Blur though the link.

Thanks, dirigiblebill.

Square Enix has launched the official Final Fantasy XIV website.

It contains information on the storyline, gameplay, media, the difference between the races, and the armory system.

Loads there if you are excited for the game.

Go have a look.

Thanks, Gekidami.

A source close to the Activision and Double Fine proceedings has confirmed to the LA Times that Activision has likely received little to no compensation in the settlement.

Also, the source claims Activision agreed to the settlement to avoid losing its case in open court.

Brutal Legend would be released in October, as previously planned and now we can all relax and just wait for the game to come out.

Let’s hope the drama was all worth it in the end.

Thanks, Joystiq.

Wii Sports Resort has been out in Europe since July 24, and it has already sold 600,000 copies.

That’s 100,000 more than the States.

Topping the UK all-formats chart for two weeks running, during its first week the game became the fourth largest selling Wii title to date with second week sales growing another six percent.

The game comes bundled with Wii MotionPlus.

More over on GI.biz.