Monthly Archives: November 2011

Sony has announced the imminent arrival of the latest major update to the PlayStation 3′s firmware, version 4.00.

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EA chief financial officer Eric Brown told the Baird Technology Conference yesterday that Battlefield 3 has been purchased 8 million times.

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“When we started making a game, we don’t tear anything from the headlines. Just like with the first BioShock, I’m not surprised to see that the headlines came back to align more closely with the game. There are certain themes just repeat over and over and over throughout history: it was common in the 30s, in the 50s with the Red Scare. You see these things over and over again, especially during tough financial times. It’s not something that we planned on, it’s just that we’re touching themes that are very core to America and to every country.”

– Ken Levine, speaking to the US PS Blog, on BioShock: Infinite’s highly topical political themes, reiterating their timeless resonance rather than specific parallels. BioShock: Infinite is expected on major platforms in 2012.

Grab a (small) tub of popcorn, sit back, and relax. The creator of Half-life fan film Beyond Black Mesa has put together another tribute to Valve’s influential shooter. Check it out through the break.

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Tactical, turn-based squad shooter Frozen Synapse comes with a second free copy for you to give to a friend – but half of them haven’t been used.

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The latest patch for Age of Conan: Unchained is live, with Funcom making a number of important changes. As well as the usual fixes, tweaks and balancing to gameplay mechanics, the developer has done some major fiddling with the game’s engine, Dreamworld. Changes to PhysX, damage and buff calculations among other optimisations are intended to improve server and client performance, resulting in a smoother online experience.

Check out the full patch notes for more information. Age of Conan: Unchained is a free to play MMORPG from the creators of The Secret World.

Thanks, TenTonHammer. [image]

This week’s US PS Store update isn’t huge, but it does pack in some highly-anticipated releases.

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Kalypso and bitComposer Games have announced that Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, the latest in the series of tactical turn-based games, will be released in February 2012 on PC. In it, players will be commanding teams of mercenaries as they attempt to retake the island nation of Arulco from an evil dictator. Players will take control of combat teams on the ground as well as manage the finances and the logistics of the long-overdue coup d’état.

Check out screenshots from the game below.

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Blizzard has announced the hardbound edition of Diablo III: Book of Cain will be released on December 13 for $35.00 in the US. A localized version for other regions will be released on February 7, 2012 internationally.

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This launch trailer for upcoming Magicka expansion The Stars Are Left really channels the Lovecraft vibe – right up until, in true Magicka style, it doesn’t.

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EA has released a new batch of holiday-themed screenshots for The Sims 3 Pets, which released in October as a stand-alone game for 3DS, PS3, Xbox 360, and as an expansion pack on PC and Mac. Pets allows Sims 3 players to use the Create a Pet tool and provide their furry kids with Karma Powers.

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Those looking to grab a Vita ahead of its Western release will be relieved to know there’s at least one import-friendly launch game. IGN reports the Hong Kong version of Uncharted: Golden Abyss will support both Chinese and English – it’s not clear whether this refers to subtitles or dubbing, but you will at least be able to understand what’s going on.

The Vita releases in Japan on December 17 and reaches Hong Kong and Taiwan on December 22 and 23; other international territories have to wait until February 22. Import prices have soared in response to limited stock and significant pre-order demand in both Hong Kong and Japan.

NPD has been doing a bit of math, and according to its figures for the 12 months ending October 31, the dance genre has grown 326% percent year-over-year. When compared to overall videogame sales, the later has only grown yoy by 3%. Last month, NPD noted that the dance category was up 135% when comparing October 2010 figures to the same period in 2011. Two titles which can help confirm the growth in the genre are Just Dance and Dance Central: the former is up 85% yoy in sales and the later passed the 2.5 million sales mark in August of this year. According to NPD, 8 out of every 10 players of dance games are female, the majority of which are teenagers or younger.

Thanks, Joystiq.

A wild rogue-like appears in the Humble Introversion Bundle as a bonus for pulling in half a million dollars.

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Register now for all the glamour of the inaugural IndieVisibility Awards in Waterloo next month. Attendees at the awards include Curve Studios, the team behind Stealth Bastard and Explodemon, Eufloria developer Omni Systems, Hello Games of Joe Danger fame, Rolando creators Hand Circus and Size Five, which picked up a BAFTA award for its game Privates and produced Ben There, Dan That.

Festivities kick off at 6:00 PM on December 10, at the Camel & Artichoke. If you’re serious about attending, visit IndieGames to find out how to secure your free ticket.

CD Projekt CEO Marcin Iwinski has said the firm estimates that The Witcher has been downloaded illegally more than 4.5 million times, and despite this, the developer standes behind its anti-DRM policy.

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The latest bundle of quality games to grace IndieRoyale brings with it some serious chops – Cthulhu Saves the World, Eufloria, Really Big Sky, and Runespell: Overture.

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Atari and Cryptic have released the second trailer for the Neverwinter MMORPG, based on the Dungeons & Dragons lore. In Neverwinter, players choose to become one of five D&D classes who will in turn form five-person co-op groups with other players or AI. Players can also create their own storylines and quests by utilizing the game’s content generation system, presently codenamed Forge. Neverwinter for PC is scheduled to release in Q4 2012, and will be part of a multi-platform release event, which includes a book trilogy from R. A. Salvatore and a tabletop RPG from Wizards of the Coast.

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Sony has announced its 12 Deals of Christmas PS Store sale, which starts December 1 and runs through Christmas Day. Each sale offering will only be available to redeem from the PS Store for 48 hours. The list of sale days are posted below the break, each one starting at 12.00pm GMT. Stick close to the EU PS Blog for a list of gaming deals heading your way.

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Microsoft has announced that it sold 960,000 consoles in the US last week during the Black Friday sales promotional period, making it the “biggest sales week in the history of Xbox,” according to the firm. During Black Friday week in the US, Xbox 360 moved 800,000 units with a 24-hour period, and over 750,000 Kinect sensors were sold in the US when combining standalone and bundled units. “We have seen tremendous excitement from customers for our hot holiday gaming offers,” said Chris Homeister, SVP and GM of Home Entertainment at Best Buy in the press release. “Xbox 360 was among the best-sellers at Best Buy this Black Friday, and is a testament to the continued popularity of the gaming category this holiday.”

Last week, Nintendo announced 3DS sales were up 325% for Black Friday week, and that Wii moved 500,000 units during the period.