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GameStop Easing Off On Used Games Push?
Used games sales are the lifeblood of GameStop’s revenue, so previously owned titles aren’t going anywhere. But according to new internal communications, the push to put a used game in the hands of someone seeking a new game may soften. According to a GameStop manager who forwarded us details of that internal e-mail, the company…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Fan-Made iPhone Wallpapers Look Familiar
Surprisingly, there’s more than just Street Fighter in this lineup of fan-made Capcom wallpapers. Mega Man, Duck Tales and Lost Planet feature prominently plus some games I’m not even sure I can name. Capcom blogger CurlehMustache put these wallpapers together to celebrate the release of the new iPhone 3Gs Friday. Here’s the instructions for getting…
By AJ Glasser Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Microsoft Pulls Plug On Xbox Originals
First launched in 2007, Microsoft’s “Xbox Originals” scheme seemed an easy way to re-release old Xbox titles on the 360 as a digital download, and make a buck off them in the process. Hasn’t worked out that way. After an initial flurry of titles, releases for the service soon slowed to the point where most…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Surgeons Using Wiis to Hone Their Skillz
We’ve heard of Wiis in medicine before — but now instead of handing out Nintendo’s little white giant to burn victims and physical therapy patients, some doctors are using them as training tools. LiveScience reports that surgeons in training at what I assume to be an Arizona medical facility are testing out ways to use…
By AJ Glasser Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
SOCOM, Ghostbusters Move Into Home This Week
It’s moving day over at PlayStation Home tomorrow, as the PlayStation 3 virtual hang out space welcomes some high profile new additions: SOCOM: Confrontation and Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Both are functional and fun! The SOCOM-themed space, dubbed the SOCOM Tactical Operations Center, not only gives fans of the tactical military shooter series special things…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Let’s Tap Arrives, Sans Dedicated Tapping Peripheral
Sega and Prope’s Let’s Tap has shipped for the Wii, a mini-game compilation that requires players to lightly tap or firmly rap whatever surface the Wii Remote rests upon. Sadly, Sega did not provide North American consumers with cardboard boxes. They’re still on the cover, mind you, taunting us with their gorgeously orange hexahedral shapes,…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Flash Mob
To: Bash From: Crecente Re: Wait, Turkey’s Not In Europe?! I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m a big fan of Flash Mobs, they always make me grin. This MC Hammer one is no exception. I wonder how freaky it is to be in the middle of that, like for the first half a…
By Brian Crecente Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
New Xbox 360 Arcade Units Appear With Double The Built-In Storage
Microsoft may have stealthily released a new Xbox 360 Arcade configuration this Spring, as members of the XboxHacker forum point to a new “Jasper” model shipping with a built-in Memory Unit with double the storage capacity. By way of Xbox Scene, the new-ish Xbox 360 motherboard, sporting an April 2009 manufacturing date, features the more…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Fan-Favorite Mai Definitely Not In Next King of Fighters, Could Be DLC
We have dutifully inquired about the whereabouts of one Mai Shiranui in SNK Playmore’s The King of Fighters XII and halted an analogy to ripening fruit. While it’s been established that I know little about The King of Fighters series, I am not without a sense of reportorial obligation to cover the series well. So…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Marvelous Entertainment On Wii Game Sales: T_T
The Wii may be king of the console market, but some publishers, like Marvelous Entertainment of Japan, are having a hard time recouping their costs to the point of tears. Huh?! There’s no crying in video game publishing! Marvelous isn’t necessarily publishing the kind of Wii fare that targets the “blue ocean” consumer. Instead, the…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Does Ghostbusters: The Video Game Look Better On Xbox 360?
Online head-to-head comparisons of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Atari’s Ghostbusters: The Video Game indicate that one of those high-def consoles is offering a less “feel good” experience. Game blog Lens of Truth put both the PS3 and 360 versions of the game under the their… lens of truth, achieving results that…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Possible NES In-Store Kiosk Sighting
An eBay seller says this is a kiosk was used in stores to sell Nintendo Entertainment System games back in the day. We were young then. Our memories are fuzzy. Anyone want to verify? This item’s for sale on eBay. Thanks, Jon!
By Stephen Totilo Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Left 4 Dead 2 Box Art Digital Gore Dialed Down To Appease ESRB
Thanks to the official Left 4 Dead blog, we now know the ESRB’s rules for how many gnawed of human fingers one can highlight on a video game box: exactly one. According to an update to the official blog, courtesy of “L4D Team,” the Entertainment Software Ratings Board apparently thought that having a chewed off…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Dressing Up In Pangya PSP
Tomy takes us through some of the multifarious ways you can dress up your adorable anime golfers in the upcoming Pangya: Fantasy Golf for the PlayStation Portable. It might be some sort of horrible disease I contracted while working security at local anime conventions many years ago, but for some reason I enjoy the game…
By Mike Fahey Published June 17, 2009 - Reviews
Swords & Soldiers Micro-Review: Violence Included
WiiWare had been hurting for games about killing. But the originators of de Blob have released a cartoon-violent battle between Vikings, Aztecs and ninja monkeys to more than compensate. As an interruption from a WiiWare line-up of bonsai barbering, beanbag-tossing and goo-fueled bridge-building we now can download Ronimo Games’ Swords & Soldiers, a side-scrolling real-time…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Gaming online? DSL Just Won’t Cut It
Trying to lead a raid on another clan with DSL is asking for disaster. Upgrade to Comcast’s High-Speed Internet and their advanced fiber-optic network, and you can kiss lag frag goodbye for good. With Comcast, get the fastest speeds available.
By Chrissie Lamond Published June 17, 2009 -
UncategorizedSony’s Magic EyeToy Wand, When It Was For The PS2
Sony and Microsoft both spent ample time during their respective E3 2009 press conferences to wow us with camera-based motion control, courtesy of the PlayStation Eye and Project Natal. But Sony’s “magic wand” tech isn’t exactly new. Dr. Richard Marks, creator of the EyeToy, illustrated much of the same technology during the PlayStation 2 era,…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Frankenreview: Red Faction: Guerrilla
The free citizens of Mars rise up against their Earth Defense Force oppressors in Red Faction: Guerrilla, taking the destruction of the first two titles to all-new heights. Things have taken a turn for the worse since the ending of the first Red Faction game, which saw the Earth Defense Force arrive to aid Martian…
By Mike Fahey Published June 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Great Chain Interview, Part 3: Sony Questions Sony, Who Questions Shane Kim
The cliffhanger at the end of yesterday’s Chain Interview had Xbox exec John Schappert wanting to know what a Sony exec thinks of Xbox Live. Let’s get past the halfway point with an answer. [This post is the third in a series that recounts the chain of questions and answers I solicited from the people…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 17, 2009 -
UncategorizedWorms 2: Armageddon Trailer Full Of Armageddonness
Even more classic Worms-style gameplay is coming to Xbox Live Arcade with Worms 2: Armageddon, a proper numerical sequel to Team17’s 1999 classic turn-based strategy game Worms Armageddon. Worms 2: Armageddon‘s trailer highlights the changes coming to the XBLA version—and eventually to the PC and Mac—including new vertical levels and other landscape types, all-new weapons…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 17, 2009