Monthly Archives: November 2009

Nintendo’s updated the New Super Mario Bros Wii site with a ton of new footage, as well as informarion on the game’s power-ups and various modes.

There’s a lot to get through there, and the game’s a no-brainer for Wii owners. Check it out to see why.

Thanks, GoNintendo.

You can consider this buried. GTTV’s just gone live with its Nintendo special, and Reggie Fils-Aime has said that Wii HD is a categorical no-no.

“Michael [Pachter] continues to be the only one that believes this is going to happen,” the NoA president told presenter Geoff Keighley.

“I don’t know how forcefully we can say that there is no Wii HD.”

Watch from 19.09.

Thanks to the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 including a mandatory installation of Valve’s Steamworks, Direct2Drive is boycotting the game. Like, it’s not selling it.

“We don’t believe games should force the user to install a Trojan Horse,” a rep told Kotaku.

The IGN-owned DD service isn’t the only one taking umbrage: Impulse and Gamersgate are also dropping the title.

Direct2Drive has said it’s now refusing to sell any game bundled in such a manner until Valve has “decoupled its retail marketplace” from Steam’s other services.

This could turn mighty. Hit the link for the full thing.

After the break. You have to squint a bit, but this first Kane & Lynch 2 trailer appears to show a naked man hitting a dog.

Whatever. Watch for a formal announcement soon.

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There’s a new movie of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks after the break, showing the Phantom from Phantom Hourglass possessing baddies in the name of progression.

The game’s Zelda kidnap scene’s also shown, so look away if you want to stay pure.

It looks absolutely beautiful, to be honest. It’s out in December.

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Milla Jovovich is making Resident Evil: Afterlife. We know, because in the last 24 hours she’s gone completely bonkers with her tweets, detailing loads of scenes and narrative moments.

Naughty Milla. This lot really is spoilertastic, but you can read a broad selection on Kotaku, should you feel the need.

The first proper SKATE 3 trailer’s stuck after the break, showing crews skating together and against each other.

Remember, the hook this time is the ability to get together in teams.

Everything else aside, this does look as though it’s put together by people that understand skateboarding. F’riggedyreals.

Out in May for 360 and PS3.

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But it might not even make that date.

Why? Because – even though Square Enix’s Yoichi Wada said during a recent financial briefing that the game’s on track to complete its localization before the end of Square Enix’s current financial year – development’s not the only factor influencing the game’s release date. While he didn’t mention any specifics, we’re guessing he was referring to marketing and things of the like.

However, according to Wada, “progress is good,” so here’s hoping Square Enix puts FFXIII on our plates as soon as its fit for consumption.

Thanks, Kotaku.

Hey there, PC gamers. How are you feeling? Is this a good temperature? Should we fluff your chair cushions a little more? Good, good. Alright, now take a seat. Again, you’re feeling nice and calm, right? And you’ll note that we’ve moved all throwable objects just outside your reach. Ok, here we go:

“It’s not cast in stone yet, but at this point no, we don’t think we will have dedicated servers,” id Software’s John Carmack told Variety concerning his next big-ticket title, RAGE.

“The great thing is we won’t have to be a pioneer on that,” he added. “We’ll see how it works out for everyone else.”

Have you been working out, PC gamers? You suddenly look abnormally muscular. And green. NO NOT THE FAC–

As Microsoft’s go-to mascot, Master Chief’s got his face iconic visor on everything from Slurpee cups to jewelry. But, believe it or not, Halo handler 343 Industries doesn’t want Master Chief mania to get out of hand. In fact, 343 boss Frank O’Connor’s quite frightened by the prospect.

“I worry about that constantly,” he told Joystiq.

Concerning Halo merchandise, he added:

“All of that stuff has existed in the past, and it exists because of one simple reason, which is demand. We wouldn’t make it if we weren’t continually being asked for it. We obviously turn down almost infinitely more stuff than we actually produce, but when we produce it there’s a good reason and a good plan and a strong demand.”

O’Connor offered Halo’s spin on the classic boardgame Risk as an example. Apparently, boardgame manufacturers had received requests for the twisted spawn of Halo and Risk, so 343 happily obliged. “Even if there is a demand,” O’Connor added, “if it doesn’t actually make sense and it’s completely crazy, we won’t do it.”

Now, would a Halo-themed version of one of those grabby claws – called, of course, “The Halo Reach” – be considered “crazy”? Because we’re willing to negotiate rights for the patent.

What do bigfoot sightings and Halo: Reach leaks have in common? Well, foremost, loads of skepticism, and – of course – visual evidence that’s just blurry enough to give non-skeptics plenty of ammo. Thing is, though, unlike bigfoot’s loyal fanbase, you might not get tossed in the loony bin for thinking these screens are real.

Other supposed Halo: Reach details (courtesy of NeoGAF user “Dani”) include a squad-based combat dynamic and perks like sprinting, cloaking, and hologram. Also, the Covenant’s apparently packing a new Needler-like heavy weapon. Oh, and the Elite strike is over, so those darn Brute bums are back on the streets. That’s right – Reach is an all-Elite affair.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s taken its usual “we don’t comment on rumors and speculation” stance on this one.

Weapon info and more screens are through the link!

Siege of Mirkwood is out on December 1, and there will be a new solo mode for players – like yours truly- who have not finished the epic quest line for Volume One due to being unable to find groups to tackle the content.

Because the game has been out for such a long period, higher level players not wanting to delve back into something they have already finished. Therefore, newer players or ones who have for one reason or another not finished the quest line – yours truly – are skipping it.

Riding in on a sturdy white horse from Book 15 comes Turbine to the rescue with the upcoming “Inspired by Greatness” mode.

The new mode enables players to solo these quests and in turn get a significant boost to morale/power, in and out of combat morale/ power regeneration, damage, and healing, according to MMORPG.

Great to hear, that.

In order to get you excited for the very large patch headed players’ way, new screens for the game are after the break, and feature the Ashenslades region deep in the forest of Mirkwood.

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Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime has said that it’s open to selling things online to enhance player experience but only items that will not affect player experience in-game or throw off the balance of it.

This bit of information was brought up in response to the new virtual pets that were announced last night.

“All value added services are not required, as they are optional only nor will they adversely impact the experience should customers decide not to participate or purchase them,” said Morhaime.

“We also expect digital sales to increase in the future, and plan to take advantage of it.”

Blizzard has said that StarCraft II is still on track for launch during the first half of 2010, according to the company’s Q3 financial call to investors.

The developers are continuing to polish the game, driving towards the Beta, and expected game launch during Q2 2010.

It will be massive when it launches though, Mike Morhaime said during the call that the StarCraft II series has sold 11 million units worldwide.

ActiBlizz’s Q3 monetary announcement is still ongoing, so it is quite possible we will hear more during the Q&A.

Blizzard has announced that new dungeons and maps are heading to World of Warcraft “in the coming weeks”.

We know it’s either Cataclysm or a patch, but Mike Morhaime didn’t mention or name exactly what bit it was.

The call is ongoing so it is possible this information will be expanded on a bit during the Q&A, along with more on moving everyone’s account over onto Battle.net.

Bobby Kotick has said during ActiBlizz’s call to investors that Modern Warfare 2 is expected to be the biggest selling game of the holiday season.

He also said that the Prestige Edition has sold out all over the place, what with having night vision goggles and all.

No surprise there.

He also talked about midnight openings at retail for the title in thousands of stores across the US. Activision plans for more than 10,000 midnight openings in the United States, including most of the 4,300 GameStop locations.

In all, 28 million “Call of Duty” games have been sold in the US.

No surprise there either.

We’ll keep you up to date as things happens.

Bobby Kotick, ActiBlizz bossman, has said during the company’s financial call to investors that during the Q3, Guitar Hero was the number one third-party console and handheld franchise in Europe, and for the first nine months of the calendar year, Guitar Hero was the number one third-party console and handheld franchise and in North America.

He also mentioned that sales for Guitar Hero 5 were on par with sale for The Beatles: Rock Band, which to date has sold 600,000 units for EA.

The call is ongoing, so we’ll keep you up to date.

ActiBlizz’s Q3 result have shown a small revenue drop year-on-year to $703 million compared to $711 million in 2008.

For the fourth quarter, the company now expects to deliver net revenues of $1.33 billion and loss per share of $0.04.

Full-year guidance remains unchanged at $4.05 billion revenue and $0.26 EPS.

Activision Blizzard’s financial call to investors is going on right now, and we’re listening for anything good.

In the meantime, while you wait for juicy goodness, the full financial press release is posted below.

Enjoy.

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GoG has added Psychonauts and Advent Rising to its online library for $9.99 and $5.99, respectively.

This is all part of a deal the company signed with Majesco, which plans to send BloodRayne and BloodRayne 2 along in the coming weeks.

“One of GOG.com‘s main goals is to bring games that were overlooked back into the spotlight”, said GoG managing director, Adam Oldakowski. “Games like Psychonauts perfectly embody the ‘Good Old Game’ and we’re thrilled to be bringing that game, along with other quality titles, to a new audience.”

Hit the site up to see for yourself.

Want to see Kratos slash a bunch of evil minions with his Blades of Chaos? Sure you do, and thanks to Gamespot you can.

On passed the break, there is a new video featuring just such a thing.

It’s lovely, delicious and brutal.

Come on March 2010. Hurry the hell up.

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