Kotaku: countdown

Sony Japan Teasing Next Siren Game?

Mike Fahey — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:00:00 MDT

Several of our readers have pointed us in the direction of a new countdown taking place at Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's website. Our hatred of countdown clocks borders on the legendary, but at least this one has a little kick to it. It involves the sound of rain, horrific noises, people panicking, and red water droplets. My money is on a new Siren game. Both the first and second game were focused on blood-red water and both were scary as hell. Hit up the site and listen to the audio a bit and see if you don't at least get a few heebies, and possibly a jeebie or two. Well be back to you with Siren 3 news in 53 hours from now.

Spooky SCEJ Countdown [Sony Computer Entertainment Japan - Thanks Everyone!]

Microsoft Joins Countdown Fun With Something Brutal

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:40:54 MDT

Microsoft joins Sega, Treasure and Valve this week in hyping up their pre-Tokyo Game Show reveals, relying on the trusted Flash-based countdown clock to stoke the hype train flames. So what's going to be so "Brutally Fun"? That's an excellent question we'll know more about within the next 40 hours. Our best guess so far is Luke's suggestion that it's a Brute Force party game in which I will absolutely have dibs on Brutus the token lizard man.

Your best guesses are welcome in the comments. Thanks for the heads up, Matthew.

Brutally Fun [Xbox.com]

GTA IV Trailer

Brian Crecente — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 08:00:46 MDT

In theory, through the use of arcane arts and technology, this countdown should magically metamorphose into a living, breathing second trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV when it hits zero. Now if only some of the magic can be injected into Rockstar to force them to give us some substance in the vid this time around. Brian Crecente

Godzilla Unleashed Countdown Ends

Mike Fahey — Wed, 23 May 2007 11:20:26 MDT

Finally the long wait is over! Atari has unveiled the meaning behind the mysterious countdown that's been ticking away towards May 23rd on their Godzilla Unleashed Wii website. I know you've all been hanging on the edge of your seats on this one.

Yeah, I didn't know there was a countdown either.

I guess it just got lost in the horde of other countdowns that have been popping up, like Smash Bros., StarCraft, Fallout 3 and the like. Does it lessen the news that Godzilla Unleashed will feature 23 monsters - the largest stable of Godzilla critters ever to grace a video game, including two specifically designed just for the title? Not at all. It just feels like that birthday party I had when I was 10 where my mother decorated the whole house, set up party games, cooked for hours, and then only one kid showed up.

He was crying and left immediately after handing me my present.

It just goes to show that if you're going to countdown to a major event, you need to hype it up a bit, or in my case, remember to hand out invitations. Michael Fahey

Atari Reveals 23 monsters on the roster for upcoming godzilla®: unleashed

Who: Atari, Inc announced today the meaning behind the mysterious countdown on the official Godzilla®: Unleashed web site. It was revealed today that there will be 23 monsters in the upcoming Wii™ title, many of which are making their debut in a game for the first time. This is the largest number of playable monsters ever in the popular series and features two entirely new monsters created specifically for this title.

What: Godzilla: Unleashed immerses players into a world where monsters are larger than life and the mother of all giants reigns. Specially designed for the Wii controllers, the game stars the legendary Godzilla and a slew of the most renowned monsters to control, destroy and fight. Gamers are challenged to ultimately save the planet from mayhem and complete annihilation. Godzilla: Unleashed provides an environment perfect for epic worldwide obliteration with interactive 3D cityscapes, an innovative non-linear storyline, big destructible buildings, soaring skyscrapers and towering alien formations. The title is also being developed for Nintendo DS™ and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system.

When: The title is set to launch this Fall.

Where: For more information, please visit www.atari.com/godzilla.

Mysterious Simpsons Countdown Site

fdemarco — Sat, 05 May 2007 12:00:00 MDT

It seems that EA is putting out a new Simpsons game in what I can only assume will be a tie in with the upcoming movie. Going to this page on EA's website, we are presented with a classic Simpson's yellow screen featuring the title "XXII" done in a mock GTA IV style. Underneath is a counter using the now famous Matt Groening font that is counting down the time, which at the writing of this article was down to exactly four days. So, by Wednesday afternoon we should be treated to some kind of announcement having to do with this mysterious game.

This better not be some sort of Island of Rhodes fiasco where on Wednesday the clock just rolls over to add two more days on. Although, if that did happen it would be pretty damned funny and I'm sure I would laugh heartily after throwing my laptop across the room. Flynn De Marco

Mysterious God Of War Countdown Site

fdemarco — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 14:00:00 MDT

Sony has apparently found yet another way to plug it's uber popular God of War series, this time in the form of a mysterious website featuring a countdown clock and a picture of Kratos looming in the distance. No one is really sure what this is all about, but IGN confirmed earlier this week that it absolutely does not have anything to do with the PSP version of the game. IGN's query to Sony was met with an answer as puzzling as the website itself.

The website is for true God of War fans...Think of the original God of War.

The URL for the site, islandofrhodes.org, was allegedly discovered by a player after completing a 999,000 hit combo. The video, which is waiting for you after the jump (and for God's sake turn the volume down), shows the player's score climbing higher with little messages popping up like "Your destiny awaits" and "The secret is near" until finally, the URL appears in large letters.

What is this all about? Is it yet another marketing gimmick like yesterday's LARP game or will this site hold something truly substantial for fans of the game? I leave it to you, dear readers, to speculate in the comments... Flynn De Marco