Look for X-Blades this fall on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Enjoy the new screens!

X-BLADES TO SLASH ITS WAY ONTO MULTIPLE VIDEO GAME PLATFORMS THIS AUTUMN

Fearless Treasure Hunting Beauty To Fight Darkness On PLAYSTATION®3 Computer Entertainment System, Xbox 360 and Windows-Based PC

London, UK – August 14, 2008 – SouthPeak Games today announced that X-Blades will be available on the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and Windows-based PC when it releases later this year. Developed by Gaijin Entertainment in conjunction with TopWare Interactive, the anime-inspired X-Blades follows Ayumi, a brave and beautiful thrill seeker, whose obsession with hunting lost treasures lands her in a fight for her life.

"One of the greatest challenges we face with multi-platform games is how to deliver an equally fantastic experience across each platform," said John F. Kaiser, III, Producer at SouthPeak Games. "With X-Blades, we've taken time to ensure the same intense hack-and-slash gameplay is delivered seamlessly on all platforms."

Ayumi, a stunningly seductive yet tenacious heroine, travels the world hunting highly coveted artifacts. After finding an ancient treasure map she sets off on the most dangerous adventure she's ever faced and quickly finds herself outmanned and outgunned. Armed with only her fighting skill, magic spells, guns and blades, Ayumi must fend off rival treasure seekers, hordes of evil creatures and powerful dark forces in order to survive.

For more information on X-Blades check out www.x-blades.com.

Future to rebrand Next Gen website as Edge [GI.biz]

Expect to see games made for lower budgets, targeted at wider audiences (ones that aren’t fixated on high-end 3D graphics) and delivered over broadband with a micropayment program in place. Don’t expect a follow-up to the 360 or PS3 anytime soon, either. In other words, the days when so-called “next-gen” gaming reigned supreme are coming to end — instead, the industry’s future will be shaped by games like Rock Band.

Au cites VGChartz data, which can be problematic for several reasons recently highlighted in an excellent Simon Carless column at GameSetWatch, but aside from that minor note, I think the future Au foresees is definitely a likely one - to an extent.

GTA IV, of course, netted $500 million in its first week. Hardware manufacturers may need to become more agile, but I highly doubt that the giants of game development will be so easily shifted to lower-budget, microtransactions-driven titles when there's money like that to be made from a hit.

Web entrepreneurs have also been forecasting, with strange virulence, the death of the "core" game industry as we know it for some years now, and they predict its recession in favor of viral, social, casual browser-based stuff. This sector is currently the darling of the venture capitalists, and many of their products have garnered the attention of millions of mainstream users, but such products have yet to prove they can hang in beyond the bubble, and remain primarily of major interest to those who invest in and cover the space. Meanwhile, the console-cycle industry model has persisted for decades.

Most likely, the crystal ball will feature a blend of both business models - a continuation of the traditional one, plus some more risk-resistant, smaller-scale products.

What do you think? Will we see a day when the console megatitle is a thing of the past?

Why GTA IV Was the Beginning of the End [GigaOM via GameSetWatch]

This is pretty damn cool.

Engineers at NeroSky are working on a way to make biofeedback a viable part of next-gen gaming.

Right now the only thing they have to show for their work is a lightsaber that can only be lit up by wearing a special headset and concentrating on a single image, cool enough on it's own, but in the future the group hopes to expand on their ideas and bring the tech to video gaming.

Adding biofeedback to "Tiger Woods PGA Tour," for instance, could mean that only those players who muster Zen-like concentration could nail a put. In the popular action game "Grand Theft Auto," players who become nervous or frightened would have worse aim than those who remain relaxed and focused.

NeuroSky's prototype measures a person's baseline brain-wave activity, including signals that relate to concentration, relaxation and anxiety. The technology ranks performance in each category on a scale of 1 to 100, and the numbers change as a person thinks about relaxing images, focuses intently, or gets kicked, interrupted or otherwise distracted.

Another company, Emotiv, hopes to begin selling consumer headsets for gameplay by next year. A prototype of the device already hooks up to the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360.

New toys read brain waves [Yahoo! News]

A sharp-eyed reader points out that Blizzard added three new positions on their job openings page yesterday for a "next-gen MMO."

The company is looking for a lead engine programmer, lead tools programmer and lead technical artist. While the reader theorizes that this is for a console port of World of Warcraft, my money is on World of Starcraft or something like it.

Remember, yesterday was also when Blizzard told us that they intend to announce a new product at th Worldwide Invitational in Korea on May 19. They also said they do plan to revisit the StarCraft universe at some point in the future.

What do you think? A new World of Warcraft, a Starcraft MMO, oooh, maybe Lost Vikings the MMO? Brian Crecente

Job Postings [Blizzard, thanks Ryne]

So what could Nintendo possibly do to make one of the biggest selling gaming machines even better? Beyond some UI tweaks, how about a virtual console? I can get behind that. And some internal flash memory? Totally.

Check out the full list of enhancement suggestions and weigh in with your own DS wishlist, if you please. Michael McWhertor

How to Make DS Better [Next-Gen]

It's interesting to see what impact review scores have on sales—critical darling Okami netted 200,000 unit sales, nabbing the 100th spot—versus the weight licenses carry—the poorly reviewed Over The Hedge landed at 27th. The data also illustrates how clearly EA dominates sales charts with its sports and racing titles.

This is a good read for anyone remotely interested in what shapes the make-up of our industry. Don't miss it. Michael McWhertor

The Games People Buy [Next-Gen]

Gaussian Blur [VG Cats]

Sega today announced that they have landed the Aliens franchise and are well on their way to bringing several next-gen games to market, including a first-person shooter and role-playing game. The first game is scheduled to hit in 2009.

"As a direct result of Fox's efforts over the past 27 years, Alien has become one of the most recognized franchises in the motion picture industry," said Simon Jeffery, President and Chief Operating Officer, SEGA of America, Inc. "SEGA will utilize the power of next-gen systems to blend the time-honored story with leading edge design technology to deliver a riveting and suspenseful gameplay experience."

"Alien is one of those special franchises that has continued to thrive in licensing long after it has left theaters. The L & M program has been very successful over the years because we have partnered with the best companies in each category and created appealing products that become must-haves for the extremely loyal Alien fans." added Elie Dekel, Executive Vice President, Fox Licensing & Merchandising. "We look forward to partnering with SEGA, a known leader in the gaming industry, to expand the program to the next generation gaming systems and bring the franchise to life with the newest technology and gameplay."

Hmm, Aliens shooter, sounds familiar. Brian Crecente

Aliens

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (December 11, 2006) - SEGA of America Inc., SEGA Europe Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising today announced a worldwide exclusive agreement to bring game content based on the critically-acclaimed Alien film franchise to next-generation gaming systems. Multiple titles, including a first-person shooter and a role playing game, are currently in pre-production with the first to be released in 2009. Securing the rights to produce Alien titles reinforces SEGA's strategy of combining premium licensed content with original IP to aggressively expand its global business.

"As a direct result of Fox's efforts over the past 27 years, Alien has become one of the most recognized franchises in the motion picture industry," said Simon Jeffery, President and Chief Operating Officer, SEGA of America, Inc. "SEGA will utilize the power of next-gen systems to blend the time-honored story with leading edge design technology to deliver a riveting and suspenseful gameplay experience."

"Alien is one of those special franchises that has continued to thrive in licensing long after it has left theaters. The L & M program has been very successful over the years because we have partnered with the best companies in each category and created appealing products that become must-haves for the extremely loyal Alien fans." added Elie Dekel, Executive Vice President, Fox Licensing & Merchandising. "We look forward to partnering with SEGA, a known leader in the gaming industry, to expand the program to the next generation gaming systems and bring the franchise to life with the newest technology and gameplay."

Since its 1979 debut, Alien and its three sequels have grossed more than $557 million worldwide, garnering numerous awards, including two Academy Awards . In 2002, Alien was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. For more information, please visit www.sega.com/aliens

We outsiders will Nintard, Xbot, and Sony Defense Force each other to death, but what do people in the industry think of this year's newest consoles? With which next-gen system are they aligning themselves? Industry pub Gamasutra took the time to ask video game professionals across the industry what they'll be buying this holiday season.

One Ubi Soft employee responds:

Already got my Wii, through the company we got it on the launch date. And I'm not planning on buying a PS3. I worked on two Wii titles (and helped a lot of other projects), PS3 is too expensive and I love the Wiimote!

But the more interesting (and potentially relationship ruining) responses come from the Anonymous types:

I'm a pretty loyal Sony consumer, but as I did with the 360, I'll probably wait a while for them to work out the kinks.

And:

Where's the 3rd option? I'm saving my money for Gears of War and an HD-DVD drive for my 360, and staying away from these two consoles for now. I may get a Wii at a later date after I play one and see how it feels to wave my arms around for a few hours of serious gaming, but I don't for see getting a PS3; I'll stick with my 360 thank you very much.

Opinions are divided, but lean more toward the less expensive Wii. There is certainly no lack of jaded responses here! Michael McWhertor

Question of the Week: Are Games Industry Professionals Buying PlayStation 3 or Wii?

Screenshots, who needs 'em? Certainly not the developers of games like Marvel Ultimate Alliance or Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. Both games got an intense grilling by message board graphics snobs when first screenshots were revealed. But seeing stills doesn't obviously tell the whole story.

A producer for the latter title is loathe to release still shots at all.

Honestly, I wish we could never send out screens, just video. It's a lot harder than in past to create stills that communicate what our games really look like.

Why?

Particle effects are meant to be continuous and moving. When you stop them, it's like looking behind the curtain and saying 'Hmm, that's what a fire effect looks like when it's not moving.'

While screen galleries will never be eliminated, the rise of video trailers via the Web, Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network and (presumably) a future Wii Channel will at some point surely make looking at still shots online or in print, an antiquated experience. Long live hi-res video! Michael McWhertor

Hype: The Screenshot's Long Goodbye

Sure, the Kotaku crowd knows that Sony dropped a $500-$600 bomb on us at E3 2006. And we're all kind of coming to terms with it. I've got the cash earmarked for a PS3 and I'm ready to spend.

But what about the casuals? The people who don't constantly refresh GAF for NPD sales data or have their RSS reader set to check 300 blogs for updates every 15 seconds. They're clueless!

Some surprising data came out of trend analysts Compete's recent survey of "active current-generation console gamers":

Though much has been made in some circles about the PS3's hefty price tag ($600), word has apparently not reached most consumers...many of whom have the PS3 on their shopping lists. In fact, almost half (48%) of those considering a PS3 expect it to cost less than $300—equivalent to the original price of a PS2. When told of the PS3's actual retail price, 73% of all gamers and 59% of those considering a PS3 thought it was overpriced. Wii fared much better and many of its buyers will be pleasantly surprised by its value. Among those considering a Wii, 75% expected it to cost more than $200. It goes on sale for $250.

Casual gamers! Ha! I laugh at you and your normal lives. Michael McWhertor

PS3 vs. Wii vs. Xbox 360: PS3 Demand Soaring but Sticker Shock Cometh [via Gamasutra]

One of our friendly neighborhood Best Buy moles e-mailed us with some handy launch day info. If you're one of the unlucky millions to not have a Wii or PlayStation 3 already reserved, instead braving the line in a tent, sleeping bag, or on a warm metal grate, here's some more info that might make your camping a little easier.

We received our "Wii/PS3 playbook" today that had some nice information in it.

Only a few Best Buys will be opening early, as you posted earlier in the week. The rest will be opening an hour early at 9AM. We are encouraged to keep our lights on all night so that customers who line up outside will not be in the dark. We'll be handing out tickets to the line about an hour before opening. We are told to not divulge the number of consoles we have to "prevent customer disappoints". I would think that not telling customers how many we have would be more disappointing.

More details after the jump.

My particular store is getting 24 Wiis. Associates are instructed to tell customers that we don't know when we will get more. Furthermore, employees are allowed to purchase either a PS3 or Wii, as long as they are off the clock and wait in line just like everyone else. However, resale of any console bought by an employee is expressely prohibited.

Here's what I think is the worst part of it all. Apparently that report that Gamestop/EB would be the only stores with Wii kiosks wasn't so off the mark. The Wii kiosks that Best Buy is getting will be NON-INTERACTIVE. To me this is just idiotic on the part of Nintendo. They are gonna show vidoes of their console that is based on using it? Nintendo has something huge in the Wii, why are they squandering it!! People need to get their hands on this thing!!!

Yep. You'll be competing with the Best Buy blue-shirts for your next-gen console of choice.

Now you know. And knowing is half the battle. Michael McWhertor

You know what's boring? Finance! But combine the ennui of finance with the FUN of gaming and you are presented with a magical recipe: slightly less boring finance!

However, all those big numbers, indicating profit, loss, long term debt, cash reserves, quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year financial results, they actually provide a fairly good indication as to who's "winning" the console wars in the way that matters: MONEY. For instance, Sony's not so healthy right now, from a corporate perspective, but we can't just chalk that up to laptop battery recalls, we can chalk it up to PlayStation 3 inventory, cutting the price of the PS2, and maybe Kutaragi's new suits.

And Nintendo? They're doin' alright. They reported sales of $2.5 billion, up 69% from a year ago. And those impressive sales are maybe putting a hurt on Microsoft, makers of the Xbox 360, who won't be making their 10 million sales goal as soon as they thought. See how it all ties together? If not, check out the Mercury News' Dean Takahashi's blog to learn more about how finance can be FUN-ance. (Sorry.) Michael McWhertor

Console Wars: A Look At the Financial Results [A+E Interactive]

Well according to their latest release, Microsoft just topped six million. Yikes, that's not even the seven to eight million I predicted in the face of their 10 million promise.

That means ten million Xbox 360s by mid-September or, as I like to say when I hit the casinos, they're gonna have to double down in less than three months. I'm thinking they can't even manufacture that many.

I'm thinking that the best they can hope to do is to hit seven to eight million if they're lucky and that's nothing to sneeze at.

So a six million head start, not quite as sexy. Brian Crecente

Microsoft says has sold 6 million Xbox 360s [Washington Post]

The PLAYSTATION 3 will conquer all, says Famitsu Editor-in-Chief and Enterbrain president Hirokazu Hamamura. For latecomers, Famitsu is Japan's most popular game mag, and the EIC is somewhat a celeb among game nerds like you and me. (Though, everytime I see Hamamura, he's usually standing around alone, looking lost.) In a recent seminar, he picked Sony's new console as the eventual console war winner. He contends:

The PS3 will have a tough time globally at the initial stage. Its launch titles in Japan and exclusive software titles overseas are quite limited. But its overwhelmingly realistic graphics will give it a long life span. It will stay competitive even when a game console battle breaks out among a newer generation of machines in 2010. Sales should grow every time Sony cuts prices.

His publishing company estimates that PS3 sales will total 34 million, trumping a guesstimated 28 Xbox 360 units sold and 25 million Wii sales by 2009. Yup, Famitsu has also picked Nintendo's Wii as the next gen loser. Brian Ashcraft

Famitsu Loves PS3 [Reuters, Thanks KU!]

The first guy to hit the line arrived at 6:30 a.m. in short and a t-shirt. (Keep in mind I'm talking about Colorado, where this morning's temp at 10 a.m. was a balmy 42 degrees.) The rest trickled in up until 9:55 a.m. or so.

I chatted it up with the group and found all but one of them were waiting for a PS3 for themselves. One woman was in line to buy one for her sons. Only two of those in line had an Xbox 360 and none of them planned to buy a Wii. Two also owned a Playstation Portable.

The biggest draw, among those waiting this morning at the store, seemed to be the Playstation 3's Blu-ray player. One guy said they were "giving it away" and another guy said he was just going to tell his wife he bought it for the Blu-ray.

None of the people pre-ordered games. There was some excited talk about Resistance: Fall of Man, and a bit about Fight Night 3, but in general people seemed to feel like there would be plenty of games to go around come launch.

Funny enough, two guys arrived at the very last minute, not to pre-order the PS3, but to pick up pre-ordered PS2 games. Neither seemed to be in rush to buy the PS3 just yet.

The store employee told me that the pre-orders bought the people a spot in line when they open on launch day, but if you're not there when the doors open you lose your spot.

He also claimed that the nearby Best Buy was only getting two and that GameStop and EB were getting "75 to 80 percent of the Playstation 3s."

Sheesh, I hope that's not true, that would mean all but 20 percent of the next-gen consoles are already spoken for. Brian Crecente

Remember how excited we were about "next gen" last year? We were blithering about this and that counting down the days until the next generation was inaugurated. Now, now we are jaded bastards. Not as jaded as game blog Unfettered Blather, who lists its Top Ten annoying things about next gen. Here's one that caught our eye:

3. - Cost between consoles and computers vanishing $60 games? Expensive peripherals? Consoles being released at a $600 price point? Anyone notice that desktop computers just continue to go down in price despite becoming ever more powerful? Consoles still have a lot of advantages over PC's, but the most powerful incentive of console games is weakening.

The thing that annoys me most about next gen? All companies decided to hardware in (give or take a year) the same time frame. How about letting us upgrade instead of choose? Bitch all you want in the comments section about what's bugging you about next gen. We're here to listen. Sort of. Brian Ashcraft

Top Ten Here [Unfettered Blather via Aeropause]

One of our eagle eyed Kotaku readers spotted one of the first PlayStation 3 billboards standing proudly erect in the great city of Los Angeles, not far from junk food institution Pink's Hot Dogs. While he didn't have kind words for it, I actually kind of like it. It's not as striking as the Play Beyond imagery that Sony had installed at the L.A. County Convention Center during E3, but it's not an eyesore either. At least they aren't using that garish Spider-Man typeface for everything.

What do you guys think? Hot or not? Does Sony really even need to start advertising this thing yet?

Thanks to Christian for sending this in. Nice shootin, buddy. Michael McWhertor

The full trailer of Rockstar's new next generation franchise is now up on Game Videos. The lighting looks spot on for this kind of noir title, though the music is curiously lifeless. Given how much amazing jazz is available from the period, available for practically free, I have hopes that this title is going to take a Grand Theft Auto style approach to licensing jazz and big band numbers from the 30's and 40's. Some Louis, some Duke, some John Kirby, some Jimmie Lunceford, some Peggy Lee, some Glenn Miller, some Django and Basie: now that would be an in-game radio playlist that would get this little jazz fan's wallet dry-heaving in anticipation of imminent regurgitation. Florian Eckhardt