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The Perils Of One-Band Music Games
Music games built around a single artist can be a tricky thing to plan for, because while you’ll attract fans of that single artist, many others just won’t give a toss. Especially, it seems, when that artist is Van Halen. According to retail analysts The NPD Group, Activision’s Guitar Hero: Van Halen has been a…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 13, 2010 -
Rumor: PSP2 Making E3 Appearance
According to several sources speaking with trade site MCV, Sony’s biggest E3 surprise may be the long-awaited – and badly-needed, at least outside of Japan – successor to the PlayStation Portable. The sources don’t hail from inside Sony, or relate specifically to the rumoured device’s design; instead, they come from various publishers, some of whom…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 13, 2010 -
The Secret Handshake And The Problem With Gaming’s Hidden Code
Gamers are always on the hunt for vindication. Some form of acceptance amongst the wider community. Thing is, we’re so busy worrying over whether games are art, or dangerous, that we overlook a potentially larger problem: what we call them. I don’t mean the names we give to the games themselves. Those can be as…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 12, 2010 -
The Metal Gear Solid…Walkman
The portable cassette player may be long gone, but Sony’s Walkman brand lives on, in both phones and MP3 players. Like this one, the “W252”, which should really have been called “The Metal Gear Solid One”. Released in conjunction with Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PSP, the W252 is a wrap-around MP3 player…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 12, 2010 -
Don’t Steal Credit Cards Then Buy PS3 Games
A California man has been sentenced to five years prison after robbing a number of women of their credit cards, which he then promptly used to buy PlayStation 3 games. In January 2008 the man, Rodelio Cataroja, Jr., stole four women’s purses over the course of two weeks, and in four separate transactions at a…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 12, 2010 -
When Fans Design 3DS Logos!
The Nintendo 3DS is an enigma. We don’t know if that will be its final name, don’t know what it looks like, don’t know how powerful it is. We hope, though, its logo looks a little something like this. This was whipped up by reader TestZero, in response to our post on Nintendo’s console code…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 12, 2010 -
Nintendo Can’t Quit You, Instruction Manuals
It seems we may have been a little premature in declaring the death of the printed manual, with one of the world’s biggest publishers going on record saying that there’s life left in the printed word yet. Nintendo has told Eurogamer that it has “no plans to move away from including [paper] instruction manuals with…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 12, 2010 -
Netflix On Wii Is A Medieval Love Story
One million Wii owners have tried out Netflix. It’s a healthy number, but given the size of the console’s install base, Netflix probably wants more. Cue the expensive commercials targeted specifically at Wii users! It’s like a well-dressed Lord of the Rings meets…Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood. Actually, considering they then show a Notting Hill box…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 12, 2010 -
EA: We Have The World’s Biggest-Selling Downloadable Game
Companies rarely, if ever, release sales figures for digital game sales. Makes compiling charts, and applauding records, difficult! We do know one thing, however: EA’s Battlefield 1943 is apparently the most popular console downloadable title ever made. As part of it’s fiscal year report released earlier today, publisher Electronic Arts says that the downloadable shooter…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 12, 2010 -
Gender Benders: The Goddess Of War, Master Chiefette & Dude Raider
Seeing as much of what we associate with a famous game character is related to their gender, how would you feel if, say, Lara Croft was a dude? Or Luigi a plumbette? You can face that bizarro scenario in these pics by David Stonecipher, the same guy who brought us the “game characters with beards”…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 12, 2010 -
Charity Games Bundle Story Has A Happy Ending
We got a little bummed yesterday that people were pirating a games bundle released for charity. Let’s put that behind us today, and instead focus on the positive aspects of said bundle. Like the fact it’s made over $1 million. Yes, since its release last week, Wolfire’s Humble Indie Bundle has been bought by 118,810…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 12, 2010 -
Bad Company 2 Sells Five Million, FIFA Sells A Lot More
EA’s modern-day shooter Battlefield Bad Company 2 may not have been able to stand toe-to-toe with competitor Modern Warfare 2, but it’s accounted for itself regardless, selling an impressive five million copies. A feat FIFA 10 was able to double. EA revealed the sales figures in a press release earlier today, saying that Bad Company…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 12, 2010 -
EA Bringing “Marquee” Game To 3D, Multiple Titles To Motion Controllers
EA COO John Schappert said today that the publisher will be showing off a few new, unannounced games at E3, all of them making use of some of gaming’s most promising – and potentially gimmicky – technology. Speaking during his company’s fiscal results conference call, Schappert said “we will also unveil games that make use…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 12, 2010 -
Donkey Kong Action Figures Get Mean (And Chesty)
Toy modder fugayzie has some ideas on what Donkey Kong should look like. Gone are the big eyes, pixels and damsel in distress; in their place is a surly Mario, a scary ape and one slutty Pauline. This diorama was made from the bones of other action figures, cannibalised and re-painted to match the stars…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 11, 2010 -
PlayStation Hacker Won’t Do Hard Time
The teenager who got so miffed at Sony over a game of SOCOM that he hacked the company’s website has been sentenced for his crimes. He will not be hung, drawn or quartered. Instead, the boy must now serve 250 hours community service, and also pay Sony Computer Entertainment the sum of $5000. If that…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 11, 2010 -
Backbreaker Shows Madden How To Run The Football
Tired of Madden’s arbitrary approach to contact? How its running looks, and feels, more like ice skating? Upcoming football game Backbreaker is, which is why it does things a little differently. This clip, showcasing the running game, does a better job than any previous video for the game in showing how Backbreaker doesn’t deal in…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 11, 2010 -
Say Hi To The Best-Selling Games Of 2010 (So Far)
Courtesy of Nintendo, let’s take a look at the thirty top-selling games in the United States so far this year. As a bonus, we’ll look at the top 30 from Europe, too. These figures, covering January 1 to March 31, were part of Nintendo’s recent fiscal results report, and while they’re not as handy as…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 11, 2010 -
Nintendo’s Lovable Code Names For Consoles
The 3DS isn’t the first Nintendo console to enter the public consciousness with a name that’s never actually used. Plenty of other machines have also been revealed with names never destined for a retail shelf. Yes, we know, Nintendo isn’t the only company to do this. Pretty much anyone and everyone involved in making anything…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 11, 2010 -
Fallout: The Movie (With Hookers)
Desert Story is a fan-made short film set in the Fallout universe, in which a transaction over hookers goes a little pear-shaped. You may be wondering why there isn’t a dog or a blue jumpsuit in sight, or how nice the lighting is, or how weird the guy’s accent is. Me? I’m just wondering how…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 11, 2010 -
These Halo: Reach Problems Are Being Fixed
While the Halo: Reach beta is largely a blast, not everything is perfect. Thankfully Bungie knows this, and is letting us know the things that will be fixed by the time the final game rolls around. Things like FLAG TAKEN…FLAG DROPPED…FLAG TAKEN…etc etc. It’s annoying as hell, but has “already been fixed for fall”. So…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 11, 2010
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