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Square Enix Junk Mail Pisses Off Man, Man Files Lawsuit, Man Wins
An individual in Japan with no connection to Square Enix or Final Fantasy XI (he’s never played it supposedly!) was being heavily spammed with FFXI re-registration emails. This individual got annoyed and took legal action. It’s believed that his email address was being used by item dealers to create Japanese PlayOnline accounts to access FFXI.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Guitar Hero Metallica: There Will Be No Cliff Burton
The upcoming Guitar Hero: Metallica will feature the band’s four current members. And just those four. Those hoping for a digital reincarnation of deceased former bassist Cliff Burton need to stop hoping. Speaking with MTV, the game’s lead designer Alan Flores responded to a question about Burton’s inclusion with: I think I can definitely say…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Star Ocean Producer “Really” Wants To Make Erotic Games
Yoshinori Yamagishi, Square Enix’s Star Ocean series producer, has confessed his desire to make erotic games. In an interview with game site Gpara, Yamagishi revealed: Personally, I want to make erotic games… Really. I quietly said to the previous company president “I’d like to make erotic games” to which he retorted loudly, ‘NO!’ Dreams crushed,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Inevitable Left 4 Dead/Team Fortress 2 Crossover
Two Valve games, two cult followings, we’re amazed it’s taken you lot this long to whip something like this up. Called “Gravelpit”, it takes…well, you can see what it’s doing. Well done, iFrau over on Deviantart. Funny, I’d always fancied Francis as more of a Heavy, myself, with Zoey a Spy, but who am I…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
Jerry Bruckheimer Describes Prince of Persia Movie
When Jerry Bruckheimer isn’t figuring out different ways to blow shit up, he’s figuring out different ways to blow shit up in movies. Sadly, in a recent interview, he doesn’t talk about just that. But the Hollywood producer does talk about the upcoming Prince of Persia movie — which is getting crossed promoted in another…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 27, 2009 - Uncategorized
PC Sales Charts
Good news story: World of Goo went on sale at retail during the week of January 11-17. Innocent, indie little World of Goo. And it charted! For seven days, Maxis surely quaked. NPD Sales Charts January 11-17 1. WoW: Wrath of the Lich King 2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe 3. Fallout 3 4. World…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
Where Ever Do Japanese Engineers Want To Work
Last November, Japan’s Nikkei Human Resources Inc (Nikkei HR) asked the country’s engineers about which companies they’d most want to work for. Here are the results of the top six: 1. Toyota Motor Corp (Previous Rank 2) 2. Honda Motor Corp (Previous Rank 1) 3. Panasonic Corp (Previous Rank 5) 4. Nintendo Co Ltd (Previous…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
Open Up For A Strong Dose Of PSN Stats
Sony released a few statistics on the PlayStation Network during CES, but today, they’re releasing more. And these ones are a little more extensive, a little more handy. It’s not that we didn’t believe them that there are 17 million PSN accounts, we’re just…dubious of them citing a number that includes more than a handful…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
Touchscreen PSP2 Coming “Soon,” Rumors IGN
Sony may be readying a proper successor to the PlayStation Portable, reports IGN, with a “widescreen multi-touch interface” equipped PSP2 “on the horizon.” If you’re expecting further details on the rumored hardware, bail out now. As IGN points out though, things like an iPhone-esque multi-touch interface wouldn’t come as a surprise to virtually anyone. It’s…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
GameStop Employees In Fat Suits And The Ballad Of Ralph
The only thing better than being a low-paid retail employee, is being a low-paid retail employee coerced into wearing a fat suit in order to help promote fitness games at Los Angeles GameStops. As part of their ongoing campaign to promote physical fitness and Nintendo products, GameStop employees in Los Angeles were forced to don…
By Mike Fahey Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
Suspect Shoots 9 People, Kills 2, Leaves Roommate His PS3
This past Saturday night, suspect Erik Salvador Ayala fired shots into a random crowd in Portland, Oregon. After killing two and injuring seven, Ayala shot himself in the head. The gaming connection? Ayala is described as being “quiet” and those who knew him say this shooting comes as a complete surprise. This shooting is the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
Watch/Pity The Participants In The Halo Wedding
As a man on the cusp of marriage himself, I’ve got a few ideas on the kind of wedding I want. A Halo one, I don’t want. But I do enjoy watching them. Watching them and saying, out loud, “thank Christ that’s not me“. Click to view
By Luke Plunkett Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
Game Retailers Buying Less, Expect Fewer Copies Of Smaller Games
Not sure if you’ve heard, but the economy is shit and everybody’s losing their jobs. If you’re still gainfully employed, the downturn might start to hit home soon, thanks to game retailers stocking less. Sega Europe president Mike Hayes tells GamesIndustry.biz that U.S. retailers are “being far more prudent in what they buy, so they’re…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix Has Me Sold On Space
D3’s Dorks, Dealers and Double-Ds event made much of Galactrix, even if they did designate it as the “dork” portion of the evening. Two PCs and four DS stations were set up for gamers to go head-to-head in multiplayer or take a stab at story mode. The PC demo had already dropped earlier that day,…
By AJ Glasser Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Legend of Princess: If Zelda II Went 16-Bit
Joakim “Konjak” Sandberg, developer of the gorgeous IGF nominaated Noitu Love series, has released a one-level “love letter to Zelda” called The Legend of Princess. It’s the unofficial sequel to Zelda II we’ll never get. This stunning, two-dimensional, arcadey hack and slash represents a potentially frightening alternate reality scenario, one in which the sidescrolling sequel…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
iPhone Dominates Independent Games Fest Mobile Award Finalists
Maybe Apple’s iPhone really is “the future of gameplay.” This year’s Independent Games Festival Mobile finalists are almost entirely comprised of titles for iPhone and iPod Touch platforms, with just one Nintendo DS entry appearing. Two iPhone titles lead the pack of nominations, with tower defense game Fieldrunners and cubic puzzler Edge up for three…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
Grand Theft Auto IV PC Gets All Patched Up
Rockstar Games has given owners of the Windows version of Grand Theft Auto IV a new title update, issuing a suite of bug fixes, tweaks, new options and new controller support. Probably most welcome to those of us sporting a PC that is brought to its knees by GTA IV are new graphics sliders, giving…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
New York Comic Con
To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Look What You Get For Being On Japanese TV! I’m trying to decide if we should cover the New York Comic Con this year. I mean it’s never been a HUGE gaming event, and I’m not sure if it’s worth the resources. What do you think? If we go who…
By Brian Crecente Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
EA Still Partying At The Super Bowl, Despite Layoffs
With the economy in a rut, it’s hard to justify fabulous Super Bowl bashes when companies are bleeding cash and slashing headcount. But Electronic Art’s is proudly soldiering on with its festivities, Madden Bowl-style. The publisher is just one of a handful of corporate entities going all out at Super Bowl XLIII with Madden Bowl…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 26, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sensory Sweep Responds to Labor Claim
Sensory Sweep, the Utah developer that is the subject of a $2 million unpaid-wages federal investigation, denies some allegations levied against it and says they are working out an agreement with investigators. Chris Rushton, a company vice president, tells us: Sensory Sweep has undergone some significant hardships since Brash Entertainment went out of business. We…
By Owen Good Published January 26, 2009