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  Activision Seeks Recession-Fueled Acquisition Bargains

  What does a company like Activision Blizzard do when sitting on $3 billion in cash with no debt while many gaming companies flounder in the face of an economic recession? They go shopping. Activision Blizzard’s top publishing executive Mike Griffith told Bloomberg that the current economic climate is perfect for creating acquisition possibilities, whether they…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 4, 2009
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  Ever Have Problems With The PS3 Playing DVDs?

  To: Crecente From: Ashcraft RE: Hello Boston I, like you, have a PS3. And like you, I use my PS3 to do a variety of things that include playing video games and watching movies. Right now, I’m watching Blood Diamond on Blu-ray — it looks great. Some things I watch on DVD, and when I…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2009
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  MicroProse Co-Founder Launches Military MMO Dev

  MicroProse co-founder J.W. ‘Wild Bill‘ Stealey is part of the team of industry veterans behind Thriller New Media, a new company dedicated to creating online multiplayer games in the military/spy genre. What better man to help usher in a new generation of military espionage games than the man responsible for the first generation? While fellow…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 4, 2009
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  N’Gai Croal Leaves Newsweek and Game Journalism

  Friday will be popular gaming pundit N’Gai Croal’s last day at Newsweek. The well-known game journalist took a buyout from the magazine publisher and plans to move more toward the development side of gaming. Today, Croal posted his final update on Newsweek’s Level Up. I had a chance to speak with Croal recently about why…

  By Brian Crecente Published March 4, 2009
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  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
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  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
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  Three French Teens Arrested In Akihabara For Stealing Games And Consoles

  Police have arrested three sixteen year-old French males for suspected larceny. The teens, who attend an international school in Japan, are accused of stealing games and consoles from Akihabara retailer Sofmap. On 18 separate occasions starting last November, the trio walked out of Sofmap with a grand total of 92 games and seven consoles —…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2009
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  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
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  Resident Evil: Degeneration Shipped Over 1.5 Million

  Full-length CG animation feature Resident Evil: Degeneration has shipped over 1.5 million copies worldwide. The total includes DVD, Blu-ray and UMD versions of the flick. Resident Evil: Degeneration takes places a year after RE4 and features characters Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield. The movie debuted last October at the Tokyo Game Show and was…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2009
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  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
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  Call Him Pikachoo Man

  For better or worse, inflatable leather fetish goods maker Obsidian Design bring us this: Pikachoo. The handmade inflatable latex rubber outfit is easy to inflate and deflate — apparently! Obsidian says that it’s easy to breath through the Pikachoo head, and vision is made possible through the character’s mouth. From the Obsidian site: “Pikachoo is…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2009
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  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
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  Will Wii MotionPlus Be Out Before June 18?

  In an article on Wii title Grand Slam Tennis in the Nintendo Power online hub, there’s a blurb about Nintendo’s new motion controlling add-on Wii MotionPlus: Thomas Singleton (EA) and his Vancouver-based team hope to take things to the next level, thanks in no small part to the Wii MotionPlus accessory (due out prior to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2009
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  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
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  Erotic Game Promoted With A Sword

  Erotic game makers have it tough. In a market saturated by skin, they need more than simple T&A to grab players attention. They need… LIFE-SIZED SWORDS. In the discerning games floor (the 5th floor!) of Akihabara retailer Sofmap, there’s a display for Seiken no Fairies (The Heavenly Sword of Fairies). The display even features an…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2009
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  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
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  Ride Taiwanese Bus, Play SEGA

  Bus rides are boring. Forget your DS or PSP, and there’s little to do other than stare out the window and avoid the person next to you — unless you’re in Taiwan. A Taiwanese bus company has put classic SEGA titles on its on-board entertainment. Handhelds haven’t caught on in Taiwan like they have elsewhere,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2009
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  Curvy Capcom Demon Gets New Figurine

  Morrigan, the green-haired bat-winged vixen from Capcom’s Darkstalkers fighting franchise, will once again be remembered in plastic. This July, Japanese figure maker Max Factory is releasing 1/6 scale PVC Morrigan. Yours for ¥12,800 (US$130), but never ever really yours if you know what we mean.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2009
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  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
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  Street Fighter IV Patch Is Still Missing

  The promised Street Fighter IV patch to add a free Championship mode expansion was due after launch. Well, it’s after launch, and the patch is still M.I.A. The patch is supposed to beef up the game’s multiplayer aspects with an enhanced Tournament matchmaking system, a new point-based ranking system and the ability to record fights…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2009