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Lay Offs Strike Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics laid off 30 people this morning in the wake of underperforming Tomb Raider Underworld sales, reliable sources tell Kotaku. The cuts were made across the board, we’re told, to eliminate redundancy and give the studio tighter focus moving forward. Earlier this week, UK publisher Eidos said that sales of the latest Tomb Raider…
By Brian Crecente Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
Dissidia Ends 2008 As Bestseller In Japan
Square Enix’s Dissidia: Final Fantasy returned to the top of the charts in Japan, after a week off thanks to previous champ White Knight Chronicles. How did the Level 5 RPG fare in week two? While the PlayStation 3 game slipped, it held strong in the top ten, slipping to sixth. We call that “legs.”…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
Rockier Trail
To:Owen From: Crecente I’ve been speaking to folks over at the Rocky lately. Things don’t look good. Not at all. In fact I’m writing a game of the year feature for them right now and it seems like there’s a chance it will never see the light of day. It’s due on the day that…
By Brian Crecente Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
Can 2009 Innovate Itself Out of a Recession?
The past week in gaming news gave us a glimpse into 2009. It’s a year that could witness plummeting sales with Rock Band on the sidelines, Sony’s continued struggle to reinvent itself and Nintento working again to innovate with an eye toward new gamers. It may be Nintendo’s greatest stumbling block. How do you appeal…
By Brian Crecente Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
New Day-Old Dark Void Screens
I was kind of excited about Capcom’s Dark Void until I realized that the Watchers your human character fights against in the parallel universe he’s transported to aren’t this guy. Worse still, the main character seems to be suffering from hackneyed hero syndrome. It’s a tragic affliction among male leads these days. Oh well –…
By AJ Glasser Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
CES 09: I Just Played Guitar Hero III… In 3D!!!
3D gaming is huge at CES 2009. It’s a great gimmick that blows the mind of the buttoned down conventioneer glassy-eyed from looking at television monitors and cell phones that are 0.01% different this year. Chip maker Nvidia is attempting to lure in the mid-level manager still wowed by 3D displays, showing off Guitar Hero…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
Developers Respond To Nintendo’s Hint System Patent
Today a Nintendo patent came to light for a hint system which would allow gamers to essentially let games play themselves. We reached out to game developers for their opinion on the patent. The patent, filed by Nintendo Creative Director Shigeru Miyamoto on June 30, 2008, outlines a gaming system more akin to DVD playback,…
By Mike Fahey Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
CES 09: Relive Sony’s CES PlayStation Press Conference
Miss Sony’s PlayStation press conference? You’re not the only one. Fortunately, G4 was there, cameras in hand, lens pointed directly at the stage, moments captured, off-screen video shot. What’s worth seeing? Previews of Resistance Retribution for the PSP, as well as inFamous and Killzone 2 for the PlayStation 3 with brand-new video, first previewed at…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
Star Ocean Scoots Up A Week
North American fans eager for the next installment of the Star Ocean saga now have a week less to wait, as Square Enix pushes up the release date for Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Originally scheduled to release in North American on March 3rd, North American Xbox 360 owners can now look forward to living…
By Mike Fahey Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Halo Wars! No, Robbie Bach isn’t bumping up the release and giving me early code, I’ll just be playing it as much as possible at CES. That and some Killzone 2. Embargoes be damned! Surely there’s no embargo on the six level preview at Sony’s CES booth, so I’ll be plopping down in front of…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
New Burnout Legendary Cars Channel KITT, Ecto-1, And The General Lee
Criterion continues to rock the 80’s as they reveal the remaining three Legendary DLC Cars for Burnout Paradise, which bear striking similarities to the most well-known vehicles of that decade. Carrying on the proud tradition of the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters is the Manhattan Spirit, a slow but stunt-friendly vehicle with a hidden secret. Then we…
By Mike Fahey Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
Best Buy Sees a Drop in December Gaming Sales
Despite revenue of $7.5 billion in December, Best Buy still saw a drop in video game sales. “While the environment continues to be as challenging as we expected, consumers are being drawn to brands that they trust, and they are responding to our customer-centric model. In this light, we believe the market share gains we’ve…
By Brian Crecente Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
CES 09: What Did Microsoft And Sony Bring To Vegas?
Games! Or, I should say, games. Mostly older games, but games nonetheless. CES isn’t the place for four year-old tech like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. But that doesn’t mean they’re totally absent. Killzone 2, for example, is playable in Sony’s big booth, as is Resistance: Retribution. Microsoft brought pre-release builds of Warhammer 40,000:…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
Atlus Delivers Old School Tokyo Beat Down To DS
Atlus delivers old school beat ’em up gameplay with a badass 70’s cop show vibe to the palm of your hand, announcing Tokyo Beat Down, coming in March to the Nintendo DS. It’s a 3D beat ’em up with shoot ’em up tendencies, allowing players to punch, kick, shoot, stab, parley, and explode their way…
By Mike Fahey Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
EQ 10th Aniversary Book Art Revealed By Uncomfortable-Looking Firiona Vie
A woman dressed up as elven princess Firiona Vie stood off to the side looking uncomfortable at Sony Online Entertainment’s private CES unveiling of the EverQuest: The 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition book cover. Yes, Everquest is 10 years old, and Sony Online Entertainment is celebrating their baby with a massive hardcover book detailing the rise…
By Mike Fahey Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
Death Knights Officially All Over The Place
As mentioned in the Test Realm patch notes we posted on last month, a blue Blizzard post confirms that they are indeed removing restrictions to allow players to create Death Knights on any server. Previously you could only create a Death Knight on a server which housed a level 55 or higher character on your…
By Mike Fahey Published January 9, 2009 - Reviews
Rolando Micro Review: The iPhone’s Better LocoRoco
I’ve been all over the place on Rolando. When I first saw the idea for this LocoRoco-esque iPhone game I was eager to play. When it finally arrived, it struck me as too LocoRoco. But a tilt-control puzzle game with catchy music and interesting art should be a sure thing, right? Loved Concept: Combing the…
By Brian Crecente Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Electrifying InFamous CES Trailer
Sucker Punch pulls no punches in this new trailer for their upcoming PlayStation 3-exclusive free-roaming superhero game InFamous, which displays an outstanding disregard for public transportation, and the public in general. Looking just as good as it did during my time with the title at the 2008 Games Convention in Leipzig, the new trailer wastes…
By Mike Fahey Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
Phantasy Star Zero Heads West
Phantasy Star fans rejoice! The Nintendo DS entry in the series that hit Japan last month is coming to America, as Sega announces Phantasy Star Zero for U.S. and European release next winter. Phantasy Star Zero is set on an alternate Earth 200 years after a massive war called “The Great Blank” brought civilization to…
By Mike Fahey Published January 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
SOCOM: Confrontation Update Should Be Live, Stats All Sparkly New
SOCOM: Confrontation’s 1.30 update should now be available for download on your Playstation 3. The release of the patch was proceeded by a couple-hour outage to update the servers with the new code. That’s the good news. The bad news is that in order to “resolve incorrect player stats” and to correct the stats for…
By Brian Crecente Published January 9, 2009