New Zealand

Australia And Friends Added To Warhammer Online Launch

The worldwide launch for EA Mythic's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning just got a bit more worldwide. Recognizing the legion of Warhammer fans in Australia and New Zealand, the two countries along with Southeast Asia will bet getting the game the same time those of us in Europe and North America do, complete with their own servers so they don't have to mingle with dirty Americans. EA Mythic VP Mark Jacobs breaks out 'down under' so I don't have to.

"Warhammer is a world-wide franchise with a strong following in Australia and New Zealand. By placing our own server down under and running customer service out of EA Mythic, we can ensure that when we launch WAR, Oceanic players will experience the same quality of game play and customer service as North American players"

While players in the region will still have the option of connecting to North American servers, I'm hoping they stay on their own side to keep them from propagating their drop bear propaganda. I made a special spiky hat, you lying bastards!

More »

11:40 AM on Fri May 16 2008
By Mike Fahey
1,457 views, 38 comments

Latest by Aimless: The worst type is the Golden Honey Drop Bear. You typically find it in lighter trees - they blend in well. Particularly dangerous on sunny days, their coats shine with a malevolant gloss. You go for shade, under a tree... and next more »

grand theft auto

Kiwi GTA Modder Might Face Real Cops

Interesting story out of New Zealand. Modder Stacy O'Callaghan, "sick of all this American rubbish" in the GTA franchise, set about modding his PC version (doesn't say which) to include official New Zealand police insignia on the cops and the cop cars.

Now here's a familiar story, modder cooks up something and gets in legal trouble, although it's usually from the software publisher. In this case, "unauthorised use of a police uniform" is an offense under New Zealand's Police Act. And even though it's unclear whether this really fits the definition of that offense, the cops are looking at their options. A cop spokesman said the police are looking into the matter.

Honestly, what the fuck is it with Australasia and Grand Theft Auto? I'll just leave it at that. I've never been to either Australia or New Zealand, but crikey, their collective pants-wetting over American video games, this series in particular, makes them look like the schoolmarms of western democracy.

Gamer's Real Brush with the Law [stuff.co.nz.] [pic by Robert Kitchin, The Dominion Post]

2:00 PM on Sun Apr 20 2008
By ogood
6,315 views, 111 comments

game violence

Don't Blame Sonic For Hedgehog Violence

We have to nip this story in the bud before the mainstream media get a hold of it, though it may already be too late! There is absolutely no connection between Sonic the Hedgehog and the New Zealand man who allegedly assaulted a 15-year-old boy with a flying erinaceus europaeus.

"It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks," said Senior Sgt Bruce Jenkins, in the North Island town of Whakatane.

The suspect has been charged with assault with a weapon (the hedgehog) and faces trial on April 17th. Police cannot tell if the hedgehog, found on the ground dead after the assault, was alive pre-flight. The gaming community needs to distance ourselves from this incident quickly, before another gaming icon comes under fire from major media outlets. Gamers don't mildly injure people. Crazy men flinging small pointy mammals mildly injure people.

NZ man 'used hedgehog as weapon' [BBC - Ninja Girlden]

11:20 AM on Mon Apr 7 2008
By Mike Fahey
4,921 views, 88 comments

Latest by The Great Aussie Evil: Jack Thompson will be all over this, I know it. more »

new zealand

Halo Fever

If you couldn't tell, Halo Fever is in full force right now. The game may not be perfect (sorry Eurogamer) but it certainly has its selling points and I think Microsoft's boast that they want to dethrone Spider-Man 3's mammoth opening weekend with a mammoth Halo 3 launch day aren't that outlandish.

We've sent our very own Fahey over to New York City to check in on the Halo-mania going on later on tonight. Remember at the stroke of midnight you can pick up a copy of the last in the Halo trilogy... unless you picked it up at one of the many places that seemed to have sold the game early. Once you play through the entire game I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

In the meantime sit back and check out these pictures from New Zealand, the first place in the world where Halo 3 launched. Nicole Sinclair and Ryan Marsden, both 19, were the first two in the world to pick the game up from a retailer.... who didn't break embargo.

New Zealand Microsoft also celebrated the launch by freezing 50 prize discs in a one ton block of ice. Gamers have until 6 a.m. to melt the ice with water guns and get the prizes.

2:00 PM on Mon Sep 24 2007
By Brian Crecente
5,307 views, 68 comments

Latest by Tei: I would pay 90$ for a game where you kill Halo fans. more »

microsoft says

Peter Jackson Will/Won't Be Doing Animated Halo

Peter Jackson's Halo movie may be on ice, but that doesn't mean he's not doing Halo stuff. In an interview with game site GameSpy, Microsoft's Shane Kim apparently said the filmmaker is making an interactive, animated series. Apparently, because Microsoft PR is denying it. Anyway, here's what Kim originally said:

Bungie is working directly with Peter Jackson on the Halo interactive series, and Bungie will definitely be involved, and continue to be involved on Halo... Bungie has their plans well mapped out. You have to, when you have a studio like that, and you need to know what you're moving your people on to. So they have the collaboration with Peter Jackson on the animated series.

Oh cool! A Peter Jackson Halo animated series!! Not so fast says Microsoft:

...he [Shane Kim] was misquoted (or possibly misspoke) during the GameSpy interview, but either way, it was an error.

And there you have it: a clusterfuck. Still, looking forward to whatever Peter Jackson and Bungie are up to. Very much so. Brian Ashcraft More »

11:00 PM on Fri Jun 8 2007
By Brian Ashcraft
1,560 views, 22 comments

Latest by Kiden4911: @The Commissar: Butchered LOTR? Winning 11 oscars is butchering it? more »

psp

PSP Outsells DS... In New Zealand

Ah, New Zealand. Kiwi fruit, Peter Jackson and, above, rugby. Pencil in "Sony-lovers" for another thing the island nation is famous for. Last November and December, Sony moved 21,800 PS2s units, which accounts for 70 percent of the consoles sold. Says Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand's Warwick Light (killer name!): More »

3:22 AM on Fri Jan 19 2007
By Brian Ashcraft
1,248 views, 30 comments

stupidity

Games Make You Drive Like an Idiot

Three teens in New Zealand died on Christmas Eve when they led the police on a high speed chase which ended with a crash into a pine tree and a roll down a gully. Now the New Zealand Herald reports that a national transport spokesperson is blaming bad teen driving on video games.

National's transport spokesman Maurice Williamson says today's young people think they are bullet-proof. He blames Playstations and X-boxes for making teens think they can drive stupidly and just push the reset button if anything goes wrong.

Not sure I buy his conclusion there. I thought scientists had conclusively proven that stupid teen driving is caused almost exclusively by being stupid and a teenager. I'm not even seeing any proof to indicate that these kids even owned video game systems. I mean hell, if they did they'd be home playing, not leading the police on a 190KPH chase through downtown Auckland. I suppose something has to be a scapegoat in situation like this. It's not PC to just call the kids retarded and be done with it. Michael Fahey

Computer games blamed for teen road deaths [NZHerald.co.nz via Destructoid]

3:40 PM on Wed Dec 27 2006
By Mike Fahey
2,670 views, 49 comments

Latest by Mike Brown: Marilyn Manson was responsible for the crash, not dangerous video games. Yay, scapegoats! more »

new zealand

New Zealand Wii Launch Date Announced

Well, we thought we'd squeezed the last squidge of meconium-like Wii launch announcements out of the Internet's communal bowel, but it seems that's not the case. More »

9:40 AM on Mon Sep 18 2006
By kotaku.com
342 views, 26 comments

playstation 3

Open Yer Wallets, Import PS3 Priced

Don't live in America or Japan? Want a PLAYSTATION 3? This post is for you. Gadget exporter Audio Cubes has opened the flood gates on pre-order for the 20GB Sony PS3. The unit will set customers back a cool US $699, which is at a $70 premium when compared to the European pricing for the same model. The site does not yet have pricing on the bells and whistles 60GB console. Expect it to be somewhere between expensive and expensive. (But probably better than anything on eBay.) Brian Ashcraft More »

5:22 AM on Thu Sep 14 2006
By Brian Ashcraft
1,136 views, 9 comments

Latest by mandarin: If you dont live in America, you will know that a lot of the stuff in American can be bought with a huge premium. Dont call people idiots because this is pretty much how international commerce goes. more »

weta

It's Not Microsoft that Halo Movie Studio Loves, But Nintendo

New Zealand effects company and production studio Weta Workshop brought us optical magic for Xena and Lord of the Rings, and it is working on Peter Jackson's Halo film. The workshop commissioned a large public sculpture in downtown Wellington called "Tripod" to celebrate the Kiwi film industry. Seems innocuous enough, but up close, the statue reveals the truth: Halo or not, Weta are hardcore Ninty fanboys. Hit the jump for the picture proof and just wait for a pic of Peter Jackson's "secret" Mario ass tatt to surface. Brian Ashcraft More »

5:22 AM on Fri Jul 28 2006
By Brian Ashcraft
2,734 views, 8 comments

Latest by Coherent: I don't think the statue reflects the tastes of WETA so much as it reflects the tastes of the Sculptor or the concept Artiste who originally designed it. Anyway, I'm not a Ninty fanboi but I still think the more »

nokia

The Nokia Wii-mote

Wired News reports that researchers in New Zealand are working on turning Nokia cell phones into AR (augmented reality) controllers. In a game called AR Tennis, a piece of paper is laid on a table to provide framework for the virtual space. To serve, hit the #2 key on the phone. When the ball is in play, players swing their phones like real tennis rackets. A sound and a vibration let them know when they've hit the ball. More »

10:20 PM on Thu Jun 22 2006
By Brian Ashcraft
224 views, 2 comments

Latest by Xagest: Playing virtual tennis at home is one thing, but how are people gonna feel when you start flailing your phone around at a bus stop? Then again, if you're good, maybe people would start throwing coins into your hat. more »

xbox 360

Giant Kiwi Xbox 360 Bus

On March 23rd, the Xbox 360 finally launches in idyllic New Zealand. To promote the event, a custom metallic bus is bringing 360 goodness to all Kiwis. Inside the bus, there are playable demos of Project Gotham Racing 3, Fight Night Round 3, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Call of Duty 3, Perfect Dark Zero, Dead or Alive 4, Kameo: Elements of Power and Amped 3. The bus will be touring Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and loads of other cities throughout the North and South islands. Kiwis, you have no excuse not to get your game on! More »

3:44 PM on Mon Mar 6 2006
By Brian Ashcraft
434 views, 3 comments

Latest by Sockatume: It's like the truck from Universal Soldier! Awesome. more »

peter jackson

Jackson Lands Seven-Digit Advance for Halo

Just how much will Peter Jackson and his wife, Fran Walsh, get to executive produce, not direct, Halo the movie? According to Variety the rotund Kiwi will land a seven-figure (as in one more than six) advance against gross points. Yowsa, did you say advance? On a side note: The thing will be filmed in New Zealand, home of Hobbits and Xena. More »

12:00 PM on Thu Oct 6 2005
By Brian Crecente
107 views

Kotaku

ESA, Game Critics' Awards Debate "Best Of E3" Eligibility

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