Final Fantasy XIII Gets An Xbox 360 Bundle In North America

Square Enix has been surprisingly mum on plans to bring a limited edition of Final Fantasy XIII to North America. Japan gets one, as does Europe. What do we get? At the very least, an Xbox 360 “special edition” bundle. According to a recent retail listing, Microsoft will be backing the role-playing game’s launch with…

Tecmo Recreates Super Bowl XLIV’s Clinching Play

Operation Sports’ Mr. NFL provides this recreation of the clinching play in Super Bowl XLIV – Tracy Porter’s pick-six interception of Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter – complete with CBS commentary. This is a modded Tecmo Super Bowl SNES ROM for 2009. You can see Reggie Wayne just telegraph that short in-route, and then…

Dragon Quest, White Knight Chronicles Devs Level-5 Have More PS3, Wii Projects

Level-5, superdevelopers of Professor Layton, White Knight Chronicles, Dark Cloud and recent Dragon Quest games, already have plenty on their plate. But CEO Akihiro Hino says the Japanese role-playing game experts have unannounced PlayStation 3 and Wii on the way. According to a report from Japanese news outlet Dengeki by way of Andriasang, Hino said…

EA Working Up Penalty for FIFA Quitters

Ragequitting has been a strong topic of discussion as EA Sports Canada looks to FIFA 11’s development, with the studio envisioning a system of reward and penalty for those who complete matches versus those who quit from a losing position. In an interview with Eurogamer, the 2010 FIFA World Cup producer Simon Humber said the…

Xbox Live Marketplace Schedule Dates Cheap Battlefield 1943, New Games On Demand

Your Xbox Live Arcade and Games on Demand budgeting for February can begin, thanks to Microsoft’s schedule for the month’s new digital releases and deals, including a more affordable version of Battlefield 1943 for Xbox Live Arcade. A handful of new games are also planned for “on demand” releases, including Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil…

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Teased Right Here, Right Now

Ubisoft’s just announced Ghost Recon: Future Soldier gets its first trailer, a teaser if we’ve ever seen one. Don’t expect gameplay as you hit the play button, but prepare for radical invisibility cloaks! Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is coming to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, PSP, Nintendo DS and Wii this fall, with an…

Game-Inspired Lawsuit No Longer About Video Games

A lawsuit filed against the NCAA’s licensing authority by Ed O’Bannon (pictured), the former member of UCLA’s 1995 national championship team, will be allowed to go forward, but it’s already had its effect on college sports simulations. O’Bannon’s suit against the Collegiate Licensing Company, whose exclusive agreement with EA Sports makes that studio the only…

Toy Fair

To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Canceling eBay Purchase? Guess what Totilo will be checking in on next week? Toy Fair 2010! See what you miss when you don’t live in New York. I’ve never been, but it sounds like it could be super cool. I wonder if the only snacks you can buy are made…

Blizzard Offers An Updated Look At The New Battle.net

Big changes are coming to Blizzard’s multiplayer service Battle.net, as the StarCraft II beta test and release date edge ever closer. While you wait for Activision Blizzard to bring good news, get caught up to speed on Battle.net’s massive overhaul. Blizzard’s official preview covers much of what we already knew about the revamped Battle.net, including…

Video Blog Hints at Player Ratings, New Features in Madden 11

EA Sports published a behind-the-scenes video blog at halftime of Sunday’s Super Bowl and, while it didn’t discuss specific details or features of Madden NFL 11, some screengrabs show what the team could be pondering. A forum post at ncaaStrategies has several frames, with annotations, showing whiteboards with the Madden gang’s brainstorming. Fight songs such…

Star Trek MMO Log, Stardate 2010.09

Join us for the second installment of my weekly Star Trek MMO log, in which we explore the depths of unknown space and gain a taste for blood as the fiery Orion battle maiden, Verdania. In last week’s Star Trek MMO log, I started my Federation character Qix, raising him to the rank of Lieutenant…

Uncharted 2 Score Now Available On Something Called A “CD”

Kotaku’s game of the year, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, has spawned an official soundtrack which you can now purchase in physical form at your local record store on a “compact disc.” Fascinating! Greg Edmonson’s score for the PlayStation 3 action-adventure has been—as Naughty Dog points out on the PlayStation.blog—available on iTunes for some time. The…

Ron (can I call you Ron? You can call me Dan. Nice to meet you!) as a gamer and a parent myself, I have to agree with you that violence in video games is glorified, but it also glorified in movies, comic books, and animation. Then again, sex is also glorified in these businesses. It…

PAX East Gets Wil Wheatonized

Following up on his memorable keynote speech at PAX 2007, actor, writer, and starship sidekick turned planar traveller Wil Wheaton will deliver the keynote at the inaugural PAX East in March. Star Trek references aside, Wil Wheaton ‘s unique position as both a top-notch geek and actor in one of the geekiest science fiction properties…

Analyst: 15-20 Console Games In 2010 To Be In 3D

Is Avatar-style Sterescoppic 3D going to be big in video games? A report in Consumer Electronics Daily finds few video game publishers ready to sound excited about 3D gaming, except Disney, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t 3D games coming. From the report: Insight Media predicted 15-25 console games will be released in 2010 supporting…

A Heads Up On Gran Turismo 5’s Online Race Interface

While Gran Turismo 5’s release date seems to be a little slippery, it’s online race management interface appears to be headed in the right direction, with a snazzy, simple but deep HUD for all your multiplayer race needs. The Gran Turismo obsessed folks of GT Planet snagged some screens of the PlayStation 3’s real driving…

Naughty Bear Doesn’t Appreciate Peanut Butter Jelly Time

My opinion of Naughty Bear just went up several notches. On one hand, 505 Games just made me, even for just a moment, listen to Peanut Butter Jelly Time again. On the other hand, baseball bat. Baseball bat wins.

Dante’s Inferno Review: Big Ideas, Small Problems

Dante Alighieri, real world 14th-century poet and cavalryman, is re-imagined as a love-struck crusader in this retelling of the poet’s greatest work. Dante’s Inferno, one third of Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, serves as the backdrop for this video game’s story of the poet’s search for real-world love Beatrice in hell. Players arm themselves with Death’s scythe…

Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman! Forced To Change Its Name, Sequel Delayed

The PSP strategy game series that kicked off with the brilliantly titled Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do To Deserve This? will get a new, less legally conflicting name, according to its publisher. NIS America said in a statement today that the Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman series “had a conflict of…

City Of Heroes Gets A Visual Makeover

This April brings another free update to NCsoft’s City of Heroes, Issue 17: Dark Mirror, bringing with it graphical updates that hold a dark mirror up to the game’s regular level of detail. Dubbed “Ultra Mode”, the free graphical update coming to City of Heroes in the Issue 17 update greatly enhances the way the…