• Uncategorized

  “Video Game Storytelling Can Surpass Books Or Film”

  Star Ocean 4 producer and frustrated erotic game developer Yoshinori Yamagishi really has faith in the power of video games to tell a story. Sure, there are challenges, but Yamagishi thinks game storytelling can eventually superseded other mediums. “As opposed to films, books and TV, as a medium it is more of a challenge to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 6, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Washington State Officially Salutes Penny Arcade

  The Washington State Senate has gone to the trouble of approving a bill that serves as nothing but a tip of the hat for the creators of Penny Arcade, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Senate resolution 8640 – introduced on March 5 and passed on March 5 – honours the contribution the pair (both originally…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2009
• 

  Uncategorized

  Chun-Li Meet J-Pop

  Maya Miyamae from Japanese idol pop group CoCo released on solo single. This is it. Yume e no Position (Chun-Li’s Theme) was released in December 1992 as Street Fighter II mania swept Japan. Catchy, no? No, sadly. 歌詞ついてたんだ [はちま起稿]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 6, 2009
• Uncategorized

  PS3 Red Alert 3 Might Be Worth The Wait

  PlayStation 3 owners looking to get their hands on Red Alert 3 have been a patient bunch. And their patience looks to have been rewarded with a superior version of the game. Along with a bunch of free stuff that was only previously available to those who picked up the special edition of the PC…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Dubai Airport Getting Microsoft E-Zone

  The Dubai bubble might have burst, but don’t tell Microsoft. The company is rolling out an Xbox 360 corner of Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3 Emirates Business Lounge. The new “e-zone” is slated to get a custom Xbox 360 racing simulator — along with Microsoft Surface. At least business execs have something to amuse themselves…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 6, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Here Are Your Latest Team Fortress 2 Changes

  Valve are like master chefs: always dabbling, always sticking their fingers in the pot, making sure everything is just right. Which is why they released a big Team Fortress 2 patch today. There are bug fixes, there are gameplay tweaks, and there are slight changes to the Spy’s abilities, for whom side-stabbing has returned and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Street Fighter IV Sparks Street Fighter Tournaments

  With the release of Street Fighter IV, many places are seeing something they haven’t in a long time: Street Fighter tournaments. Take Malaysia, the country just hosted its first Street Fighter IV tourney, which apparently also marks the first SF tournament in ten years. While Street Fighter tournaments never died in places like Japan and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Sigourney Weaver Said “No, Thanks” To Ghostbusters

  Re: the Ghostbusters game, Sigourney Weaver is on record as saying she was never contacted about a Ghostbusters game. The game’s developers, however, tell a different story. Speaking at a press event in Stockholm, Sweden yesterday, Brendan Goss – from developers Terminal Reality – revealed that the Aliens star was indeed offered a part. Which…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Catch The New Pokemon Anime Trailer

  Summer means one thing in Japan: school kids on summer break. What does summer break mean? A new Pokémon movie, that’s what. Titled Arceus: To the Conquering Space-Time, the film is the final saga in the Diamond & Pearl trilogy and the twelfth animated Pokémon feature film. Dialga, Palkia and Giratina are slated to appear…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  EA Getting Getting Into “Visceral Games”?

  Electronic Arts may have one more publishing sub-brand up its corporate sleeve, filing trademarks for the name “Visceral Games.” What EA has planned for a possible Visceral brand, we honestly don’t know. But we have guesses! It’s no secret that EA loves to slap carefully market researched labels like “All-Play,” “Freestyle” and “BIG” on its…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Empire: Total War Ships, Will Celebrate With Upcoming Patch

  Empire: Total War has been out a little over 24 hours and already Creative Assembly is planning a patch for next week. Remember when “release date” meant the game was done? Total War forum complaints call out issues with the trade route system that occur when shipping goods with some factions to some cities. There…

  By AJ Glasser Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Dawn Of War II Tops Global PC Sales

  Dawn of War II didn’t just do big business in the US. It’s done big business the world over, with publishers THQ announcing that game went straight to #1 across most of the Western world. Calling upon the same global sales data that we used to get those handy worldwide sales charts from, it’s been…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  PlayStation 3 Outsells Everything Else In Japan Thanks To Yakuza Influence

  The PlayStation 3 outsold the Wii and Xbox 360 in Japan this week. It also outsold the Nintendo DSi, PSP, DS Lite and PlayStation 2, not something we’ve seen happen too often. The hardware boost, propelling the PS3 out of its regular fourth place finish, can be chalked up to the release of Yakuza 3…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Play Unreal Tournament 3 For Free Right Now

  Steam hosts a free Unreal Tournament 3 weekend, slashes the price down to $11.99 USD and renames it Unreal Tournament 3 Black. Spontaneous generosity, or a loud death rattle? The “Black” version of the game includes the v2.0 patch and newly released Titan Pack expansion. Titan added 16 new environments, three maps and a bunch…

  By AJ Glasser Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Ruffian Games Concept Art Doesn’t Exactly Scream Crackdown 2

  When Ruffian Games popped onto the scene, forming a new development studio comprised of ex-Crackdown staffers, the assumption was that it was hard at work on Crackdown 2. But this doesn’t look quite like Crackdown. This “goliath” piece just popped up on the Dundee-based developer’s web site, with nary a detail or hint about what…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Dance Dance Revolution Steps Over To iPhone

  Konami has served iPhone gamers Dance Dance Revolution S, a portable version of its fancy footwork rhythm game that trades in frantic legwork and perspiration for lots and lots of touchscreen tapping. Gameplay is as straightforward as it gets, requiring players to tap four touchscreen arrows in time as they scroll by to the beat…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  GameStop CEO Dooms Amazon’s Used Game Biz To Failure

  In a shocking turn of events, GameStop CEO Don Matteo has weighed in on Amazon.com’s new attempts to enter the used video games business, saying that the online retailer has no chance of succeeding. “I give the probability of this working at zero,” DeMatteo told Edge Online, noting that the immediacy of credit and cash…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Have You Ever Seen A Dog Smile?

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: What Makes A Quarter Pounder A Quarter Pounder? I noticed something today. When our puppy LittleFoot is really, really happy, he smiles. I don’t mean like when a dog pants. I mean his lips actually curl up into a smile. It happened twice today. He was wagging his tail so…

  By Brian Crecente Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  PlayStation Store Update: The End And The Epilogue

  This week’s North American PlayStation Store cannot escape the watch of the Watchmen, as Watchmen: The End Is Nigh joins a handful of Watchmen promo videos, making you that much more Watchmen fatigued. The new Watchmen brawler is hardly the only thing PlayStation Store shoppers have to download this week, with the Prince of Persia…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 5, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Next GameTrailers TV Reveals Split Second, New World At War Downloadable Content

  While first footage of new downloadable content for Call of Duty: World At War will probably draw the most viewers, it’s the first look at Split Second that makes the next GameTrailers TV enticing. The action racing game from Disney and Pure developers Black Rock Studios is given but a few seconds in the teaser…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 5, 2009