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March 16 Shall Now Officially Be Known As “Sony Online Entertainment Day”
There are plenty of commemorative days across the globe. Some honour great men/women, some honour great events, some even get you the day off work. But granting a day to a games developer? That’s exactly what San Diego City Council are doing. Next Tuesday (the 10th), city council member Carl DeMaio will formally proclaim March…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
The New Xbox Experience Will Soon Be Mandatory
Most people are more than happy with the improvements the New Xbox Experience brought to the Xbox 360‘s user interface. Those unhappy, well, tough: it’s about to become compulsory. Up til now, those who didn’t like the looks of the NXE could, in theory, keep their consoles off Xbox Live and keep rockin’ the blades…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
Would You Buy A Subsidised DS Or PSP From AT&T?
AT&T offer subsidised phones. Like, you pay $99, then get a phone to keep so long as you sign up to an AT&T contract. But would you do the same for a handheld? Don’t laugh, we’re serious. Because AT&T are serious. Glenn Lurie, AT&T’s president of emerging devices, has told Investor.com of the company’s plans…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
Let’s Take A Look At Battlefield Online
In June of last year, we heard that there was a new Battlefield game in development for the Korean market. This is it. It’s called Battlefield Online, and will be out later this year. Built on the Battlefield 2 engine, BFO will pit US forces against Russia in a Middle Eastern setting, with up to…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
Capcom Based Business On Movie Studios, Not Game Studios
Few years back, Capcom underwent some pretty radical changes, and ended up restructuring as a company. But when time came to make the changes, they didn’t model the new Capcom on an existing model. Instead, as Capcom’s Keiji Inafune explains, they looked outside of the games industry altogether: I’d have to say, in a symbolic…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
Gut This TF2 Crossword Like A Cornish Hen
Reader Aeon – who was kind enough to whip us up that Half-Life crossword – has continued his love for both Valve and words by crafting another one. This time, it’s about Team Fortress 2. You can take a crack at it below. Though we’d really recommend you print it off, since the effects of…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
Netflix Outside Of The US? Yeah, Probably Not…
Is Netflix on 360 any good? Not being American, I wouldn’t know! One day, though, I’d like to see the service offered outside of North America. But that doesn’t sound likely. In an interview with Eurogamer, Xbox UK boss Neil Thompson has said: Netflix is a great deal in the US, and we’re looking at…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
EA Rooting For The Ol’ PS3
A lot of EA’s recent success has been tied to the success of Sony consoles. The more PS1’s and PS2’s there were, the more people could buy Madden and FIFA. These days, though, things aren’t so rosy. The PS2 is in its last days. The PSP sells well as a handheld, but nobody is buying…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
Big-Selling PS3 JRPG Now In English
Demon’s Souls – a JRPG that’s sold like hot pork buns in Japan – is only out in Asia. And may never be released in the West. Doesn’t mean you can’t play it! Because decent JRPGs are few and far between on Sony’s latest console, fans of the genre may want to look at importing…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
Nope, No World In Conflict For Consoles
Massive Entertainment’s World In Conflict is great. Provided you’ve got a PC, that is, because despite original announcements to the contrary, the series is not coming to consoles. Yes, we know, the original plan was for World In Conflict: Soviet Assault to be released on PC, 360 and PS3 later this month. But new owners…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
Japan’s Glow-In-The-Dark Fallout 3 T-Shirts
In the West, Fallout 3‘s advertising campaign tried to keep things classy. So it is in Japan, with the release of these Fallout 3 shirts designed by…Famitsu. Yes, the magazine/website Famitsu. There are three designs to choose from, each coming in two colourways, and the best part is, some of them keep with the radioactive…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
The Great EA Games Fire Sale
Electronic Arts didn’t have the best 2008. Gambled on some new IP, which didn’t catch on as hoped. So it’s understandable that the company wants to put it all behind them with a big sale. You’ll notice if you visit the website of both Amazon and GameStop/EB Games (showing that these are official cuts, and…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2009 -
Game Studio Survives Economic Downturn By Being, Well, Tight
You wake up, you make a cup of joe, you read about a game studio laying people off. It’s an almost daily occurrence. But not at Certain Affinity, who are getting by pinching pennies. In the most literal sense. The studio – which has helped on the Halo series & Left 4 Dead, and is…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 3, 2009 -
Have Microsoft Stopped Sending Out Boxes For 360 Repairs?
It’s been standard practice for a while now that, if your 360 broke, Microsoft would send you a box, so you could send your console back in. But a Consumerist report today claims otherwise. They cite the story of reader Zach, who says: My Xbox red-ringed for the second time this weekend. Which is almost…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 3, 2009 -
Why Capcom Bet 360, And Not PS3 Or Wii
Sure, these days Capcom are true multiplatform developers, but for a while they, they were leaning 360. Dead Rising, Lost Planet, both were originally 360-only. So why did a Japanese developer make that call? Capcom talisman Keiji Inafune – the creator of Mega Man, Onimusha and Dead Rising – explains that, despite a lot of…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 3, 2009 -
British Sales Charts
Two big first-party titles faced off last week in Britain: Killzone 2 and Halo Wars. Only one of them could come out victorious, and it wasn’t going to be Halo Wars. Instead, it was Killzone 2 taking the #1 spot, in the process becoming Britain’s second-fastest-selling PS3 game of all time (behind GT5 Prologue), the…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 3, 2009 -
EVE Online Scandals Are Good For Business
Massively-multiplayer game EVE Online has had its fair share of scandals and controversies. That’s what happens when you let the gamers run themselves. But they’ve hardly been a deterrent to subscriptions. Speaking with MTV, Noah Ward, from developers CCP, reveals that after the latest user-induced meltdown to hit the game – in the form of…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 3, 2009 -
Midway To Keep Paying Mortal Kombat Creator To Make New Mortal Kombat
History lesson: despite decreasing sales and quality standards of late, Mortal Kombat is without a doubt Midway’s most important remaining asset. And Ed Boon created Mortal Kombat. So he’s important to Midway. Which is why, despite the remainder of their business operations seemingly falling down around them, Midway have sought to secure the continued payment…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 3, 2009 -
David Perry Throws Down, Swears Next PSP Won’t Have UMD
Look, on the one hand, we don’t want to be encouraging this kind of behaviour. But on the other…watching David Perry engage in a bit of tit-for-tat with Sony is too good to pass up. Last week, Perry – the man behind Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, MDK and…Enter the Matrix – came out and said a…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 3, 2009
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