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Mommy, Where Do PS3 Games Come From?
Don’t you just love this kind of stuff? The dirty, sordid story of just where those shiny PS3 discs come from? We do. It’s a creation story, and a fascinating one at that. Sony recently opened a new Blu-Ray factory in Sydney, and threw open the doors for the media to come in and take…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
The King of Fighters XII Getting Online Patch
Early reports are that The King of Fighters XII is suffering from online play issues such as lag. According to a spokesperson for the game: “While not all players experienced these issues, an update for the game will be available tomorrow, Tuesday, July 28th for the PlayStation 3 which should help improve the overall quality…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Bethesda Guy: Here’s Who Can Afford Bungie’s Non-Halo IP
Ashley Cheng, the production director at Bethesda Game Studios, posted on his personal blog a back-of-the-envelope guess at which publishers might take up Bungie’s next, non-Halo game. Hint, one of the candidates rhymes with “Shmesmesda.” Based on recent reports, Cheng says, “Bungie only owes Microsoft two more games and they’re done. Halo ODST and Reach…
By Owen Good Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Halo: Legends Posters Will Change The Way You Think About Halo
The upcoming anime series, Halo: Legends, will be a little…different to what you normally expect from the franchise. That’s what happens when you get people from Japan to work on it. But are you prepared for just how different? These are some posters for the project from each of the studios working on it. Some…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
ECA Form Letter Asks Obama to Stop Picking on Games
If President Obama’s rhetorical flogging of video games has you in high dudgeon, the ECA’s built a form letter enabing you to point out to the White House how “video games can empower and educate.” The Wii’s exergaming influence and the industry’s overall sales and market figures are both cited as examples of video games’…
By Owen Good Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Dragon Quest Still Doing Wonders For DSi Sales In Japan
Video game hardware sales in Japan are so hot right now, thanks to big spending on Nintendo DSi hardware. This week’s figure may not be as impressive as Dragon Quest IX‘s launch week, but still good news for Nintendo. The ratio is about the same, with the DSi outselling every other platform combined by a…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Army of Two Sequel Will Pit Europe Vs. America In Morality Test
Army of Two: The 40th Day will expand its cooperative gameplay hook with “Morality Moments,” moral decisions that players will have to make together. An interesting twist on a familiar tactic. What’s interesting is what EA’s doing with that data. Reid Schneider and Alex Hutchinson, executive producer and creative director for Army of Two: The…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Newsflash: Most Profitable Games Movies Were, Actually, Terrible
Let’s remember, in a year when folks are talking optimistically about a Gears of War movie, the history such franchises are up against. Game adaptations might make money. But as films, they suck without exception. Industry Gamers examined the highest grossing game movies and found that, while most made millions of dollars, their average Metacritic…
By Owen Good Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Arche Looks Delightfully Cheap In These Tales of VS. Clips
Fighting games featuring characters from various Japanese role-playing games within a series are so vogue these days. Even better than being in fashion, though, it means I can blast Lloyd with lighting from space. Arche from Tales of Phantasia kind of reminds me of Pikachu from Super Smash Bros. what with her ability to call…
By AJ Glasser Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
How Did Depeche Mode Find Its Way Into Left 4 Dead 2?
The zombie apocalypse isn’t where one expects to find product placement, so it was a little surprising to see Rochelle, one of the new Survivors in Left 4 Dead 2, sporting a pink Depeche Mode t-shirt. Surely, I thought, when first seeing the band’s likeness and logo emblazoned on her tee, that wouldn’t last very…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Prince Of Persia Rides Hard, Put Away Wet
Can’t get your fill of Jake Gyllenhaal as the hunkiest Prince of Persia to ever grace the screen? Good news, beefcake enthusiasts — more eye candy from the set of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time movie awaits you. Ever wanted to see what the Prince of Persia riding a horse looks like? Bam!…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
It’s Con Season
To: Bash From: Crecente Our Comic-Con coverage is mostly wrapped up with Mike and Mike delivering a constant stream of gaming news from the more than 40 panels and oodles of games present at the show. We still have a few more to wrap up the week, but the bulk is done. What’s next? We’ll…
By Brian Crecente Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
How To Get To Hoth, If You Already Finished Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Veteran players of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed may have mixed feelings about a new Hoth level coming only to a new disc release of the game. But there’s a twist. A positive one. The new Hoth level, which brings one version of the game’s branching plot beyond a new downloadable Tattooine level to an…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Uncharted 2 ‘Gold Rush’ Co-op Hands-On Impressions
Naughty Dog was one of the few developers nice enough to show off something new at Comic-Con, giving us our first chance to play Uncharted 2: Among Thieves‘ recently revealed “Gold Rush” co-op multiplayer mode. How’d that go? Beautifully. “Gold Rush” is not unlike a blend of the Uncharted 2 multiplayer modes we played this…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 27, 2009 - Reviews
Little King’s Story Review: So Creative, So Hostile
At last, a Japanese role-playing game on Wii that can spark thoughts of Pikmin and Psychonauts. But it’s also the first game to make this mild-mannered reviewer angrily throw his controller in about a decade. Shall we thank the people who make us the most creative games, for which there isn’t yet a mold? But…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Dated And Detailed For America
Tecmo has announced a late September release date for the PlayStation 3-exclusive Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, with a limited edition available at GameStop for those of you with excess monies. North America is beating Japan to the punch by a whole two days, with a release date of September 29th as opposed to Japan’s October…
By Mike Fahey Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Dragon Quest IX Is Still Tops In Japan
Square Enix’s Dragon Quest IX held onto its number one spot in its second week on sale in Japan, flirting dangerously close with 3 million copies sold in a rather short amount of time. Success! DQ IX easily outperformed the week’s second bestselling title, Konami’s baseball sim Pro Yakyuu Spirits 6 for the PlayStation 3,…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
inFamous Sackboys Bring Good, Evil To LBP
Not content to let Marvel’s heroes be the only super-powered super-beings in LittleBigPlanet, Media Molecule will be releasing Sackboy costumes based on its own super-dude, with a Cole MacGrath—star of inFamous—costume set due next week. LittleBigPlanet-eers can opt to go good or be evil with their Sackboy, as defined by the color of Sack MacGrath’s…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Where Will You Preorder Champions Online?
Cryptic has announced the preorder bonuses for their upcoming massively-multiplayer online superhero game Champions Online, with what you get depending on where you buy. No matter where you preorder Champions Online you’ll gain access to the open beta test on August 17th, 30 days game time, and five in-game microtransaction dollars, but after that it…
By Mike Fahey Published July 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Something Assassin’s Creed-y Set For Next Year
Fans of Assassin’s Creed like to decode riddles, right? Then they’ll enjoy the cagey way the CEO of Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft described his company’s line-up for next year. On a call to address the company’s financial performance and explain the delays of four upcoming games, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot was asked to describe his…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 27, 2009