Monthly Archives: November 2009

Fox Business had a chat with EA’s John Riccitiello this past week, during which he discussed all things EA.

One thing mentioned was the fact that The Beatles: Rock Band has sold 600,000 units so far and that it’s currently the number one App for iPhone on the App Store.

He also told the news outlet that while sales are not where he wished at the moment, the holiday season is just around the corner, and while EA has not seen a jump in sales for the Christmas season yet, he is confident a steady rise in sales will hit once Black Friday comes and goes.

There are loads of stuff in there, some chat about the online market in China, Bioware, and Riccitiello admitting that Dead Space was his favorite game to play this past year.

Good to know there, John. The video is embedded passed the break and also through the link.

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Some environment shots for Final Fantasy XIII surfaced this morning over on UFFsite.

The site grabbed the images from the Japanese publication GameWatch, and each are in game screens, so these are no trailer grabs.

It’s out in Japan in December, and the region-free game is up for preorder on Play-Asia in case you just can’t keep your pants on any longer.

Grab the link for a look-see.

Heavy Rain creator David Cage has said that he would like to see the game’s industry grow up a bit when it comes to creating characters for videogames.

“As an industry we make games for teenagers and kids,” Cage told NowGamer. “So we try to make things very casual and as clear as possible.

“The bad guys have to be very baaaaad and the hero has to have big muscles and look fantastic, and the women have to have big boobs and be very sexy because to a teenager, this is what women are.

“I think we’ve passed that stage and we can go to the next one and say, ‘You know what, you can be a very evil character, but it’s not written on your face’.”

The part one of interview with Cage can be found through here.

BioWare just lifted the lid on its Mass Effect 2 Collector’s Edition, coming as it will in a tin box. Snazzy.

You will get:

• A “premium, tin case”.
• The game.
• A 48-page hardcover “Art of Mass Effect 2” book
• Issue 1 of the Mass Effect Redemption comic.
• A bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes and making-of videos.
• “Unique in-game weapons and armor that can only be obtained by purchasing this version.”

$69.99 on 360, $59.99 on PC. January 26 in NA, January 29 in Europe. PR and box art after the break.

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Filefront’s carrying the just-released Unreal Development Kit. This is Unreal Engine 3 pretty much the same tools used to create, you know, games.

Up till now the only way you could get hold of this was by buying a PC copy of UT3 or Gears of War. No longer.

Here’s the installer. Get with the making stuff.

Full PR below the break.

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SCEE’s dropped today’s EU PS Store update, and it includes a nicely discounted Siren: Blood Curse.

You can now buy the entire game for £14.99, or individual chapters for £4.79. The offer lasts until November 12.

That’s the best bit, to be fair. The rest of it’s a bit light. Take a look.

SCEE just said PlayTV’s been updated to 1.21. New stuff:

• It now lets you “watch, pause and record High Definition TV for DVB-T standard broadcast.”
• Aino remote play support added.
• Updates PS3 to Firmware 3.0. If you haven’t done it already, you’ll need it for the mobile functions.
• “Better” SD upscaling.

Amazatron. Hit the link for more.

Dragon Quest IX was the bestselling videogame across Japan, the US and UK in the third quarter, according to joint data from NPD, GfK Chart-Track and Enterbrain.

And yes: it was only released in Japan. Here’s the top five:

• Dragon Quest IX (Square Enix) – 3,925,000
• Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo) – 3,014,000
• Madden NFL 10 (EA) – 2,612,000
• Pokémon HeartGold And SoulSilver (Nintendo) – 2,068,000
• Halo 3: ODST – 1,847,000

The stats-tracker added that combined software sales in the three regions dropped 6 percent in the quarter.

Japan was up 15 percent, compared to a 20 percent drop in the same in 2008. That said, year-to-date sales in Japan are down 9 percent.

Thanks, Edge.

Assassin’s Creed: Lineage, the first part of the IP’s just-released live action short, clocked 1.7 million views in its first 24 hours on YouTube, Ubi said this morning.

All three Lineage episodes will be released online on November 13. Assassin’s Creed II hits on November 17.

The Hybride Technologies movies chart events leading up to ACII’s plot.

PR after the break.

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Namco’s just put out a statement confirming a Tekken 6 patch is on the way to “improve the online game experience” for the fighter.

Translated: it’ll knock out some of the online game’s well-documented lag.

Full thing after the break. No date on it apart from “soon”.

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Fuck us. Infinity Ward just released the Modern Warfare 2 launch trailer, and it’s a force 10 show-stopper. Watch it in HD on YouTube.

You can watch it after the break as well.

It’s out next week. Thanks, G1G.

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The second Splinter Cell Conviction dev diary’s after the break, containing new gameplay footage, plot details and a focus on Sam’s newly “enraged” combat prowess.

“The biggest difference between the previous Splinter Cells and Conviction lies in the character’s combat speed and brutality,” said Gilles Monteil, animation director.

“We had to find a martial art that fits the character and the situations he would find himself in.”

The team picked Israeli combat system Krav Maga. Think Bourne on killer crack.

“Krav Maga’s not a big flashy martial art. He’s not going to be doing spinning back kicks, or anything like that,” added Steve Masters, lead game designer.

“What he is doing is being extremely efficient in taking people down in a fast, effective manner.”

Check it out. It really does look wicked. Conviction releases for PC and 360 on February 26.

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A GAF poster’s rounded-up and compared features between the PC versions of Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2 following yesterday’s Best Buy chat, and it really doesn’t look great.

Things the first game had that the sequel doesn’t: dedicated servers, sub-40ms ping, console commands, lean, custom maps, mod tools, recording features, and tons more.

Hit the link. The game’s out on November 10.

Activision’s released a statement in response to No Doubt’s intention to sue it over the use of the group in Band Hero, saying it’s got a signed agreement that validates it position. Ring any bells?

The full thing, taken from Game Informer:

Some of the world’s most popular and iconic artists have been featured in Guitar Hero as playable characters, and we are proud to count No Doubt among them. Activision has a written agreement to use No Doubt in Band Hero – an agreement signed by No Doubt after extensive negotiations with its representatives, who collectively have decades of experience in the entertainment industry. Pursuant to that agreement, Activision worked with No Doubt and the band’s management in developing Band Hero. As a result, Activision believes it is within its legal rights with respect to the use and portrayal of the band members in the game and that this lawsuit is without merit. Activision is exploring its own legal options with respect to No Doubt’s obligations under the agreement.

Do you reckon No Doubt screams onto Twitter in nonsensical streams of consciousness at 3.00am? Hope springs eternal.

PS3′s on the up. Why didn’t it get crushed by 360? It was Blu-ray, games and an all-round services package focussed on media-playing, right? Not according to DFC Intelligence: it was Wii.

“The main danger Sony faced was that the Xbox 360 would become embedded as the system of choice,” says a new report from the agency.

“Instead consumers flocked to the Nintendo Wii. The Xbox 360 had solid sales, but they have not been enough to give Microsoft anywhere near a breakout market position.”

Should need for Wiis drop off this Holiday, PS3′s reduced price and the imminence of God of War III is likely to now make PS3 a viable choice for mainstream consumers, the report adds.

There’s more on Joystiq. Via CVG.

Nintendo’s posted up a video showing off a Sin and Punishment 2 player doing mental things with multipliers.

Have a watch. It’s out October 29 in Japan, Q1 2010 in the US and “2010″ in Europe. Thanks, GoNintendo.

Play.com’s guaranteeing you’ll have Modern Warfare 2 on launch day for £45, provided you buy the game by midnight this Sunday.

That’s £10 off the RRP for both the 360 and PS3 versions. The PC version costs £35.

Get to it. It’s out on November 10.

Wii-mote straps at the ready, people. Otherwise, you might just “Objection” point your controller clean through your TV screen. That is, if a listing from the German USK rating system is to be believed.

The listing says Phoenix Wright is coming to the Wii. That’s all, though. No release date. No details. And, in typical German fashion, it’s not even in English! The nerve!

We’ll shoot an email over to Capcom and see what’s what.

Thanks, GamerBytes.

Gamasutra‘s carrying a report from OTX’s Gameplan Insights that might just signal a changing of the multiplatform guard. Where once Microsoft took the meat and Sony choked down the gristle, things look to be flipping – starting with Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin’s Creed II.

According to OTX analyst Nick Williams, the two titles – which are the top-ranking games on OTX’s purchase intent charts – have PS3 owners ready to leave their Xboxes out in the cold. More specifically, 15 percent of players who plan to purchase the PS3 version of Assassin’s Creed II own a copy of the original stab-happy adventure on the Xbox 360.

Meanwhile, only seven percent of those who’ve prepped a place for Ezio on their Xbox 360s own the PS3 version of the original.

While Williams didn’t provide numbers for Modern Warfare 2, the story remains the same. “The PS3 seems poised to shift the ratio of Xbox 360 to PS3 sales for most major multi-platform releases in its favor among dual owners,” he said.

More through the link.

No Doubt has filed a lawsuit against Activision what it calls misuse of its likeness in Band Hero, according to a report from Rolling Stone, citing that the firm turned the band into a “virtual karaoke circus act”.

Complaints in the filing consist of not only “fraudulent inducement” but also to “breach of contract” and the group has said that it disapproves of their likeness being used to sing songs by other artists.

Another complaint is that players can isolate band members out of the group.

“No Doubt agreed to place avatars containing their name and likeness performing three No Doubt songs in the upcoming Band Hero game of the Guitar Hero series from Activision,” read a statement from the group.

“Without the band’s knowledge or approval Activision turned the group into virtual karaoke players by having them perform over 60 additional songs by other musical groups.”

According to the report, No Doubt asked Activision to honor its contract, but the request was refused due to the cost of fixing it being “too expensive.”

Oh boy. Here we go again.

Activison’s response is through the break.

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