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Guinness List of Resident Evil and Grand Theft Auto Records
To celebrate the upcoming releases of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Resident Evil 5, the Guinness World Records folks released some records the two franchises set. GRAND THEFT AUTO RECORDS • Most Successful Entertainment Product Launch On April 29, 2008, Grand Theft Auto IV generated $310 million of sales worldwide in one day, five…
By Brian Crecente Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Allergies Run In The Family, It Seems
To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Big Sis As a kid, I had really bad allergies. I had to get tested when I was still quite small, and I remember getting literally hundreds of shots to pinpoint what was causing my allergies. After getting tested, I had to get four shots every four days when I…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Two-Year-Old Girl Offered For Sale Over Xbox Live
Over the weekend, pranksters spammed Xbox Live users with a message advertising the sale of 23 year-old Christa Manos’ baby girl. The message included her phone number. Manos is not impressed. She was soon fielding angry, abusive phone calls from parents across the United States, some berating her for being a terrible parent, others content…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Periodic Table of Video Game Characters
Not much explanation necessary here. It’s a periodic table, only with video game characters instead of those boring chemical elements. While some are a bit of a cop-out (Batman and Iron Man aren’t game characters, per se), the rest is a great mix, crossing decades, platforms and even sensibilities. Bonus points are awarded for not…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sony: “The PSP Was Slightly Under-Supported”
For all the disparaging remarks Westerners make about the PSP, it is a successful platform. Sony has sold 50 million worldwide. That’s nothing to sneeze at! Still, Sony Computer Entertainment’s Ray Maguire does concede that support for that platform hasn’t been quite up to snuff in the past. I”t was slightly under-supported, mainly because a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Insomniac Still A Great Place To Work
If you dream of some day working for a top-shelf games developer, and care about the little things (like colleagues, benefits and job security), you may want apply for a job with Insomniac. The development team behind Ratchet & Clank and the main Resistance games has been named the “fifth best place to work in…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
China Blocking World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Over Skeletons, City Raid
Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion for MMORPG World of Warcraft, is having problems getting approved for Chinese release. The fastest selling computer game of all time, Wrath of the Lich King sold 2.4 million copies in its first day on sale. The demand and interest in China is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sing Hero: Are Activision Going After SingStar?
Last week, Activision filed a trademark application for something called Sing Hero. Doesn’t take a genius to work out what that could be all about. I mean, it’s got “Hero” in the title. Just like Activision’s existing Guitar Hero, and upcoming DJ Hero. And it’s got “Sing” in the title. Implying that, well. You sing.…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Racing Stripes Make Dogs Go Faster
Our stripe contest continues! Reader Okor sends this, writing, “Believe me, this picture was NOT easy to get, what with my dog being super-fast and all.” No stuffed dogs were hurt while taking this picture. What’s going on? We’re giving away a copy of Xbox 360 game Race Pro. Racing stripes make race cars go…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Ensemble: We Were A Victim Of Our Own Success
Ensemble made the Age of Empire series. Which was hugely successful. Ensemble were, however, recently shut down. Was it because they were too successful? A former employee thinks so. David Rippy – who is now in charge of Bonfire Studios, and leading a team of other ex-Ensemble employees – says the former Age of Empires…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
New Professor Layton Game Announced, First Of New Trilogy
Fans of puzzle franchise Professor Layton, solve this: What’s coming out on the DS in Japan this fall from developer Level 5? Professor Layton And the Demon God’s Flute is the first of a new Layton trilogy. The mysterious story recounts a legend in which giant destroyed a village. The game is set three years…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
360 Avatars Go A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Western
It’s OK, Americans. Those European football shirts weren’t your thing. This, then, is your thing, a new “Western Wear” collection of avatar clothing that’ll have you reaching for an official Microsoft-branded six-shooter. Least, we wish it did. Something Deadwood would have been nice. Some big moustaches, gun belts, maybe a poncho or two. Maybe Lee…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Star Ocean Producer On Erotic Games And Multi-Platform
Yoshinori Yamagishi, Square Enix’s Star Ocean series producer, really wanted to make erotic games. We brought word of this back in January. When asked about this, Yamagishi can explain: This is actually a quotation from a conversation I had when I was still talking with Enix before the company merged with top management people. I…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Let’s Learn About Japan! (With Mega Man)
You know how when you were at school, you’d sometimes have to watch some boring, stuffy old video about foreign lands? This is one of those. Except it’s got Mega Man in it. So sit back, relax, and learn all about Japan (circa 1993) courtesy of the Blue Bomber, the NES 2/AV Famicom, Capcom and…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Wii Getting Another Resident Evil Shooting Game
The latest issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu announces a new Resident Evil (AKA Biohazard in Japan) game for the Nintendo called Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. The Wii light gun game is a continuation of Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and set in the world of Resident Evil 2. Resident Evil 2 is set…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Elderly Actress Wants More Dragon Quest Before Death
We’ve been waiting for Dragon Quest IX for a long time. For most of us, we can wait a little longer for the game to come out, but not Japanese actress Keiko Awaji. For her, it’s a matter of life or death. Japanese film actress Keiko Awaji, now in her 70s, wants to play new…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Another Country Gets Club Nintendo
Congratulations, Australia. Your long, long, nigh-on-insufferable wait for a Club Nintendo of your very own is at an end. The redemption website launched today, offering a grand total of…five items. Yup. Five. Count ’em! One. Two. Three. Four. Five. There’s a couple of DS holder things, a Mario face towel, a Wii Remote box and…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Something(s) About The Valkyria Chronicles Anime Is Different, But What?
That’s 19 year-old heroine Alicia Melchiott from the Valkyria Chronicles PS3 version. We’ve seen her wielding a gun like this before. This is nothing out of the ordinary. Let’s compare with her anime version. Hrm. Still Alicia, and she’s still brandishing a weapon. Or should that be weapons? We don’t want to make mountains out…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Rock Band’s 591 Songs By The Numbers
As you can see, there are 591 songs available for Harmonix’s Rock Band “platform”. But did you ever wonder how many are hard and how many easy? Or which genre is most represented? Pwn or Die did, so they sat down and started taking notes. At the end of it, we have not only statistics…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 11, 2009 - Uncategorized
Closer Look At Monster Hunter CG Art Book
To mark the 5 year anniversary of Monster Hunter, Capcom has released Monster Hunter CG Art Works, a book about, well, the CG art in MH. The Japanese-language book has concept art, developer interviews and promotional materials. Even if you are not into Monster Hunter, this does look to be a beautiful book. It’s over…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 11, 2009