Friday, December 15, 2006
DDO expands with Evil Resurgent
The Dungeon Masters over at Turbine today have released the latest update for its massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach. Titled Evil Resurgent, the update adds six new dungeons to the PC game: Parthilcar Tower Crypt, From Beyond the Grave, Spire of Validus, Whisperdoom, Haywire's Grotto, and Gate of Nightmares. For more details on the update, which is free to all paid subscribers, head over to the DDO Web site.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Interplay planning Fallout MMO game
While Fallout fans are looking toward Bethesda Softworks' upcoming Fallout 3 as the future of the franchise, original publisher Interplay has resurfaced from a lengthy hibernation with plans for a massively multiplayer online game based on the property.
Late last month, Interplay made a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and noted that it would be spending the first half of December meeting with European investors and giving them a slide-show presentation of its current activities. In the slide show, which Interplay labeled "confidential," is a plan for a Fallout MMO game to start production as early as next month.
To get the game through its proposed July 2010 launch, Interplay is projecting that it will need a total of $75 million. Few details were given, but the publisher did note that it would be a subscription-based game and that it was expected to provide a return on investment within three years. Interplay projects that the game would be profitable in its second year with revenues of $160 million, assuming it could garner 1 million subscribers in its first year.
Late last month, Interplay made a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and noted that it would be spending the first half of December meeting with European investors and giving them a slide-show presentation of its current activities. In the slide show, which Interplay labeled "confidential," is a plan for a Fallout MMO game to start production as early as next month.
To get the game through its proposed July 2010 launch, Interplay is projecting that it will need a total of $75 million. Few details were given, but the publisher did note that it would be a subscription-based game and that it was expected to provide a return on investment within three years. Interplay projects that the game would be profitable in its second year with revenues of $160 million, assuming it could garner 1 million subscribers in its first year.
Flagship establishes Seattle satellite studio
A flagship technically isn't much of a flagship without a fleet to back it up, so it's fitting that San Francisco-based Flagship Studios today announced the formation of its first offshoot studio, Flagship Seattle.
The new studio's first project will be Mythos, a casual online role-playing game designed to try out the networking technology that will be used in Flagship's previously announced Hellgate: London. Heading up development at Flagship Seattle will be Travis Baldree, formerly of WildTangent, where he was lead designer on the PC action-RPG Fate.
Mythos creative director and Flagship Studios founding member Phil Shenk said in a statement that the Flagship team was "very impressed" with Baldree's work after seeing the Diablo-esque Fate at E3 2005. Shenk was the lead character artist on Diablo II, and Flagship Studios was formed by a number of employees from Diablo developer Blizzard North.
Mythos should be released in 2007, while Flagship has yet to specify a release window for Hellgate: London
The new studio's first project will be Mythos, a casual online role-playing game designed to try out the networking technology that will be used in Flagship's previously announced Hellgate: London. Heading up development at Flagship Seattle will be Travis Baldree, formerly of WildTangent, where he was lead designer on the PC action-RPG Fate.
Mythos creative director and Flagship Studios founding member Phil Shenk said in a statement that the Flagship team was "very impressed" with Baldree's work after seeing the Diablo-esque Fate at E3 2005. Shenk was the lead character artist on Diablo II, and Flagship Studios was formed by a number of employees from Diablo developer Blizzard North.
Mythos should be released in 2007, while Flagship has yet to specify a release window for Hellgate: London
Q&A: Microsoft's Chris Satchell on XNA Express
This week, Microsoft released XNA Game Studio Express, a free-to-use set of game-design tools for Windows, aimed at getting students and hobbyists fired up about making games.
Chris Satchell, the general manager of Microsoft's game-development group, was one of the speakers at an XNA event at the UK's University of Warwick held to publicise the toolset to academics and students. GameSpot sat down with Satchell to find out more about XNA.
GameSpot UK: You say that there's a lack of people going into computer science--why do you think that is, and what do you think can be done about it?
Chris Satchell: To a lot of people it might be that they're not sure how relevant it really is. They look at perhaps the topics and perhaps they're like, AMI, graphics, what do these things mean to me? And I think that's why gaming's really important, because it might be relevant. They get gaming--a lot of people love to play console games. So then they see why all that stuff would be useful. And I think that can help really attract people to universities, and, anecdotally, that's what we hear--as soon as universities add a heavy gaming component to a course, they will normally sell out the course, and people get really excited about it. And then when they start it, they think, "Oh! This other computer science stuff is cool, and this maths stuff, well that's pretty cool, too."
I think it's really important to get people interested because the numbers of people coming into this industry is going down and it's important to find ways to get new people in. And of course, that goal is really important long-term. If we can use gaming and XNA Express as a way of getting people excited, and help get people in to the industry, then that's a really important thing to do.
GSUK: Why do you think the passion has gone out of the industry?
CS: The big productions are cool, and they can produce things like Gears of War, which is just amazing. But--and this is almost one of my biggest peeves--the passion has been lost when it comes to one individual thinking they've got a great idea and that they can use that idea to go out and be successful, and I don't need a 200-person team and I don't need three years and $25 million to do it. If I've got a good idea, then that's enough.
And while I was growing up, me and my friends felt that passion. It's like people when they play guitar, when they first start playing they think, "Hey! I can make it big! All I've got to do is keep practising, and get good, and get a band together, and we can make it!" I think now, all that kind of enthusiasm has gone because it is just so difficult to get games out now. You do see some of it at the IGF and places like that, but how can you get more people to feel the passion?
GSUK: Do you think that programming used to be cool but now it isn't?
CS: Computer science, cool?! Well, I don't know that I'd ever have described it as cool per se, but I think what [being a hobbyist] did was get me really passionate about it--I'd already got how much fun it was to build something on a computer and have it work and be able to edit it, so it felt very natural...
And now I think because you can't build games for your console, whereas you could before for your Commodore 64, people don't do that anymore. What they do instead is go to university and they don't want to do computer science, they go and they do something else because it's more relevant to their life. So before when people were doing it at home, then they would look at courses in computer science and think it was a really kind of cool thing to do. It's like the joke--apart from the cars, the money, and the fame, we're exactly like rock stars.
GSUK: How did the idea for XNA come about?
CS: In early 2004, as we were getting ready for GDC, a lot of us had been working in professional games for a long time, and as we were talking about this theme we really started to crystallise this idea that the industry was growing and there were heaps of things happening but there were also some problems at the core of it--how hard it was to make games, how hard it was to make them for cross-platforms, and the amount of people we need in the industry to do it.
We saw that creativity was getting stifled, but that doesn't mean that there aren't brilliant people like Peter Molyneux making amazing games, but it means that it feels a bit like there are a lot of sequels. And how would we get to a point where it was easier, you could do it with less people, you could do it across platforms, and spur that creativity again.
That was really the impetus that started us and then, as we moved on, we realised that there's a lot of creativity out there and sort of developer segments that we don't really deal with a lot. We'd always dealt with the professional developers and tried to give them the very best technologies, but then we hadn't really done a lot to enable hobbyists, independent developers, emerging markets, students, and academia. Why don't we do something for them, because there's a ton of creativity there and a ton of drive to do it, how do we enable them?
And that's really where we started on this track of making Game Studio Express--to make it easier, to open up the console and let people develop. And that really started about a year ago, when we'd already been working on these technologies and we realised that we could really do something different here.
GSUK: Tell us about your personal hobbyist days.
CS: Before I owned my own computer we had Commodore PETs at my school computer club, as well as BBC Micros, and then my first computer was an Atari 800, and I just started to try and do really simple games like you know, a classic apple-catcher game, you know, a guy moving across the bottom of the screen catching falling apples, I saw one in a magazine and got really inspired by it, so I'd just try different games like that.
Then I moved up to the Commodore 64, and the ZX Spectrum, and I think it's really like music, you tend to build games that you're influenced by, so I started trying to do a scrolling shoot-'em-up game, puzzle games, and then on to the Amiga--by then I was getting into more complex games, some 3D shooter-type games, and lots of strategy and tactics games for some reason. I was always trying to make computer versions of the tactical board games. Then it was on from there to university and then I started working for professional developer studios.
GSUK: Sony has gone the opposite way to Microsoft on homebrew. It seems to actively try to block people from doing it. Why do you think it does that?
CS: With Net Yaroze, I think it was a great idea, and I think the problem with it was that people already had the game console, and then they had to go buy another, more expensive one, and it was a difficult environment. With Linux on PS2, again, you've sort of opened it up, but now it's way too difficult to do anything. You have to give people great tools to make it easy for them.
GSUK: What's your opinion on that kind of mentality?
CS: The [PlayStation Portable] homebrew is interesting, because the most excitement I ever see about the PSP is with the homebrew, and for some unknown reason Sony keep[s] trying to stop it. It's this sort of fear of the community and really what we think is you have to embrace the community, give them a way to be creative, instead of always trying to fight them.
GSUK: What are the limitations of XNA? What can't you do with it?
CS: In the initial version one of the things you can't do is networking on the 360. On the Xbox 360 we haven't got the network infrastructure done yet, but it's definitely coming. We just didn't manage to get it in version one. One limitation at the moment is that it's all managed code, not native code. Personally, I actually think that's an improvement to the development environment. You can do high-end games and you can do simple, easy games.
GSUK: What do you think's the best way to jump in with XNA?
CS: Take a starter kit and modify it. That's a really great way of getting your first thing done. That way, you'll very quickly get your first experience: It's a great way to just get started.
GSUK: What kind of stuff are you expecting to see from XNA?
CS: I think what people will do this year and early on in 2007, is very much focus more on the smaller, more casual games. The kind of things you can get on XBL arcade. But I think over time we will see people doing bigger projects with it.
GSUK: Can you make a game with XNA and sell it? Or is it all about exposure?
CS: With the Windows games, absolutely. If you wanted to sell [something you've made with XNA], go for your life.
GSUK: Finally, can you tell us what the letters "XNA" stand for?
CS: It started off standing for Cross Platform Next Generation Architecture. But really it's taken on a life of its own. Cross Platform Next Generation Architecture actually does a reasonable job, but actually we never use an expanded name, it's just XNA now, it's not an acronym.
Chris Satchell, the general manager of Microsoft's game-development group, was one of the speakers at an XNA event at the UK's University of Warwick held to publicise the toolset to academics and students. GameSpot sat down with Satchell to find out more about XNA.
GameSpot UK: You say that there's a lack of people going into computer science--why do you think that is, and what do you think can be done about it?
Chris Satchell: To a lot of people it might be that they're not sure how relevant it really is. They look at perhaps the topics and perhaps they're like, AMI, graphics, what do these things mean to me? And I think that's why gaming's really important, because it might be relevant. They get gaming--a lot of people love to play console games. So then they see why all that stuff would be useful. And I think that can help really attract people to universities, and, anecdotally, that's what we hear--as soon as universities add a heavy gaming component to a course, they will normally sell out the course, and people get really excited about it. And then when they start it, they think, "Oh! This other computer science stuff is cool, and this maths stuff, well that's pretty cool, too."
I think it's really important to get people interested because the numbers of people coming into this industry is going down and it's important to find ways to get new people in. And of course, that goal is really important long-term. If we can use gaming and XNA Express as a way of getting people excited, and help get people in to the industry, then that's a really important thing to do.
GSUK: Why do you think the passion has gone out of the industry?
CS: The big productions are cool, and they can produce things like Gears of War, which is just amazing. But--and this is almost one of my biggest peeves--the passion has been lost when it comes to one individual thinking they've got a great idea and that they can use that idea to go out and be successful, and I don't need a 200-person team and I don't need three years and $25 million to do it. If I've got a good idea, then that's enough.
And while I was growing up, me and my friends felt that passion. It's like people when they play guitar, when they first start playing they think, "Hey! I can make it big! All I've got to do is keep practising, and get good, and get a band together, and we can make it!" I think now, all that kind of enthusiasm has gone because it is just so difficult to get games out now. You do see some of it at the IGF and places like that, but how can you get more people to feel the passion?
GSUK: Do you think that programming used to be cool but now it isn't?
CS: Computer science, cool?! Well, I don't know that I'd ever have described it as cool per se, but I think what [being a hobbyist] did was get me really passionate about it--I'd already got how much fun it was to build something on a computer and have it work and be able to edit it, so it felt very natural...
And now I think because you can't build games for your console, whereas you could before for your Commodore 64, people don't do that anymore. What they do instead is go to university and they don't want to do computer science, they go and they do something else because it's more relevant to their life. So before when people were doing it at home, then they would look at courses in computer science and think it was a really kind of cool thing to do. It's like the joke--apart from the cars, the money, and the fame, we're exactly like rock stars.
GSUK: How did the idea for XNA come about?
CS: In early 2004, as we were getting ready for GDC, a lot of us had been working in professional games for a long time, and as we were talking about this theme we really started to crystallise this idea that the industry was growing and there were heaps of things happening but there were also some problems at the core of it--how hard it was to make games, how hard it was to make them for cross-platforms, and the amount of people we need in the industry to do it.
We saw that creativity was getting stifled, but that doesn't mean that there aren't brilliant people like Peter Molyneux making amazing games, but it means that it feels a bit like there are a lot of sequels. And how would we get to a point where it was easier, you could do it with less people, you could do it across platforms, and spur that creativity again.
That was really the impetus that started us and then, as we moved on, we realised that there's a lot of creativity out there and sort of developer segments that we don't really deal with a lot. We'd always dealt with the professional developers and tried to give them the very best technologies, but then we hadn't really done a lot to enable hobbyists, independent developers, emerging markets, students, and academia. Why don't we do something for them, because there's a ton of creativity there and a ton of drive to do it, how do we enable them?
And that's really where we started on this track of making Game Studio Express--to make it easier, to open up the console and let people develop. And that really started about a year ago, when we'd already been working on these technologies and we realised that we could really do something different here.
GSUK: Tell us about your personal hobbyist days.
CS: Before I owned my own computer we had Commodore PETs at my school computer club, as well as BBC Micros, and then my first computer was an Atari 800, and I just started to try and do really simple games like you know, a classic apple-catcher game, you know, a guy moving across the bottom of the screen catching falling apples, I saw one in a magazine and got really inspired by it, so I'd just try different games like that.
Then I moved up to the Commodore 64, and the ZX Spectrum, and I think it's really like music, you tend to build games that you're influenced by, so I started trying to do a scrolling shoot-'em-up game, puzzle games, and then on to the Amiga--by then I was getting into more complex games, some 3D shooter-type games, and lots of strategy and tactics games for some reason. I was always trying to make computer versions of the tactical board games. Then it was on from there to university and then I started working for professional developer studios.
GSUK: Sony has gone the opposite way to Microsoft on homebrew. It seems to actively try to block people from doing it. Why do you think it does that?
CS: With Net Yaroze, I think it was a great idea, and I think the problem with it was that people already had the game console, and then they had to go buy another, more expensive one, and it was a difficult environment. With Linux on PS2, again, you've sort of opened it up, but now it's way too difficult to do anything. You have to give people great tools to make it easy for them.
GSUK: What's your opinion on that kind of mentality?
CS: The [PlayStation Portable] homebrew is interesting, because the most excitement I ever see about the PSP is with the homebrew, and for some unknown reason Sony keep[s] trying to stop it. It's this sort of fear of the community and really what we think is you have to embrace the community, give them a way to be creative, instead of always trying to fight them.
GSUK: What are the limitations of XNA? What can't you do with it?
CS: In the initial version one of the things you can't do is networking on the 360. On the Xbox 360 we haven't got the network infrastructure done yet, but it's definitely coming. We just didn't manage to get it in version one. One limitation at the moment is that it's all managed code, not native code. Personally, I actually think that's an improvement to the development environment. You can do high-end games and you can do simple, easy games.
GSUK: What do you think's the best way to jump in with XNA?
CS: Take a starter kit and modify it. That's a really great way of getting your first thing done. That way, you'll very quickly get your first experience: It's a great way to just get started.
GSUK: What kind of stuff are you expecting to see from XNA?
CS: I think what people will do this year and early on in 2007, is very much focus more on the smaller, more casual games. The kind of things you can get on XBL arcade. But I think over time we will see people doing bigger projects with it.
GSUK: Can you make a game with XNA and sell it? Or is it all about exposure?
CS: With the Windows games, absolutely. If you wanted to sell [something you've made with XNA], go for your life.
GSUK: Finally, can you tell us what the letters "XNA" stand for?
CS: It started off standing for Cross Platform Next Generation Architecture. But really it's taken on a life of its own. Cross Platform Next Generation Architecture actually does a reasonable job, but actually we never use an expanded name, it's just XNA now, it's not an acronym.
Denmark faces dev skills shortage
COPENHAGEN--The future of games development in Denmark, and the national IT industry as a whole, could be under threat within five years because not enough high school students are opting for an appropriate level of high-level mathematics courses. This year only 10,000 students will study the subject at a sufficiently high enough level to allow them to pursue IT-related degrees at the university level. It is estimated that the figure required to maintain current levels of growth in the game industry should be nearer 35,000.
These concerns were raised by Soren Hebsgaard, manager of developer and platform strategy at Microsoft Denmark who spoke at a conference organised by CCP Games, the creators of EVE Online. The event, attended by journalists from around Europe, looked at the subject of narrative worlds and how different types of massively multiplayer online games approach the topic.
Hebsgaard went on to describe his notion of "gaming 2.0," which aligns the game industry with current ideas around "Web 2.0" and the trend that sees more user-generated content springing up not just across the Internet, but also within multiplayer online worlds. Linking the possibility of the "democratisation" of games development with the recent launch of Microsoft's XNA platform, Hebsgaard is hopeful that where the industry is failing to attract high school students, XNA might enthuse a new generation of bedroom programmers to spring up.
Also speaking at the event was Mark Wallace, journalist and 3pointD.com blogger. He compared how gamers relate to avatars in MMOGs as opposed to the way they do in more linear games, and listed four ingredients in a "primordial soup that gives way to these beings."
These were: complexity and the resulting breadth of choice for a player, agency and a significance to a player's actions, a sense of conflict, and critical mass of population. He went on to compare the social dynamics of small and large virtual worlds to those found in villages and cities in real life, and made the point that different-size worlds will tend to operate in significantly different ways.
Finally, the conference heard from EVE Online's senior producer, Nathan Richardsson, who explained some of the reasoning behind the game's development choices. He pointed out the differences between two approaches--the theme park approach, which is easy to access and has mass appeal, and the playground approach, which is nonlinear and has realism and depth.
His belief was that EVE Online contained around 80 percent playground and 20 percent theme park environments, and stated that while the game's player-versus-player content probably lost the game subscribers, it was crucial to the concept of risk in the game. In EVE Online there are high penalties for player "death," ranging from the loss of ships and equipment to the loss of skill points that have built up over time, although there are ways to insure yourself against such a loss.
The event ended with a new trailer showing more details from the Revelations expansion, and some indication of the graphical upgrades that players might expect from it.
These concerns were raised by Soren Hebsgaard, manager of developer and platform strategy at Microsoft Denmark who spoke at a conference organised by CCP Games, the creators of EVE Online. The event, attended by journalists from around Europe, looked at the subject of narrative worlds and how different types of massively multiplayer online games approach the topic.
Hebsgaard went on to describe his notion of "gaming 2.0," which aligns the game industry with current ideas around "Web 2.0" and the trend that sees more user-generated content springing up not just across the Internet, but also within multiplayer online worlds. Linking the possibility of the "democratisation" of games development with the recent launch of Microsoft's XNA platform, Hebsgaard is hopeful that where the industry is failing to attract high school students, XNA might enthuse a new generation of bedroom programmers to spring up.
Also speaking at the event was Mark Wallace, journalist and 3pointD.com blogger. He compared how gamers relate to avatars in MMOGs as opposed to the way they do in more linear games, and listed four ingredients in a "primordial soup that gives way to these beings."
These were: complexity and the resulting breadth of choice for a player, agency and a significance to a player's actions, a sense of conflict, and critical mass of population. He went on to compare the social dynamics of small and large virtual worlds to those found in villages and cities in real life, and made the point that different-size worlds will tend to operate in significantly different ways.
Finally, the conference heard from EVE Online's senior producer, Nathan Richardsson, who explained some of the reasoning behind the game's development choices. He pointed out the differences between two approaches--the theme park approach, which is easy to access and has mass appeal, and the playground approach, which is nonlinear and has realism and depth.
His belief was that EVE Online contained around 80 percent playground and 20 percent theme park environments, and stated that while the game's player-versus-player content probably lost the game subscribers, it was crucial to the concept of risk in the game. In EVE Online there are high penalties for player "death," ranging from the loss of ships and equipment to the loss of skill points that have built up over time, although there are ways to insure yourself against such a loss.
The event ended with a new trailer showing more details from the Revelations expansion, and some indication of the graphical upgrades that players might expect from it.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
PC game charts: November 26-December 2
There's big money to be had in fake lives. Electronic Arts claimed a full half of the top 10 PC games charts for the week of November 26 to December 2--including the top spot--thanks primarily to its lighthearted life-simulating franchise, The Sims.
According to the industry-tracking NPD Group, EA's The Sims 2: Pets expansion pack sold more copies than any other PC game for the week and led a quartet of Sims 2 products into the top 10 chart. The original Sims 2 came in seventh, while the Glamour Life Stuff and Happy Holiday Stuff add-ons landed in fifth and eighth, respectively. EA's fifth and final game in the top 10, the futuristic first-person shooter Battlefield 2142, was the ninth best-selling title for the week.
With Black Friday behind the industry, game retailers saw the average selling prices for a number of its titles return to their previous ranges. Microsoft's deluxe package for Flight Simulator X flew off shelves enough to warrant a fourth place standing in the charts, but the game sold for an average of $66 a pop, compared to the $29 it garnered the week before. Consumers also found Desperate Housewives not as cheap as last week, as the Buena Vista Games offering slid six spots to 10th place as its average selling price jumped from $9 to $16.
According to the industry-tracking NPD Group, EA's The Sims 2: Pets expansion pack sold more copies than any other PC game for the week and led a quartet of Sims 2 products into the top 10 chart. The original Sims 2 came in seventh, while the Glamour Life Stuff and Happy Holiday Stuff add-ons landed in fifth and eighth, respectively. EA's fifth and final game in the top 10, the futuristic first-person shooter Battlefield 2142, was the ninth best-selling title for the week.
With Black Friday behind the industry, game retailers saw the average selling prices for a number of its titles return to their previous ranges. Microsoft's deluxe package for Flight Simulator X flew off shelves enough to warrant a fourth place standing in the charts, but the game sold for an average of $66 a pop, compared to the $29 it garnered the week before. Consumers also found Desperate Housewives not as cheap as last week, as the Buena Vista Games offering slid six spots to 10th place as its average selling price jumped from $9 to $16.
Obsidian developing Sega's Alien RPG
Some acclaimed creative minds have been involved in the Alien franchise, including directors Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and David Fincher, who crafted the sterile, spooky sci-fi movies, and Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger, who created the looks for the titular creatures.
Gamers can add one more name to that list, as Sega today announced that role-playing game specialist Obsidian Entertainment is developing the upcoming RPG set in the Alien universe.
The game, which as of now remains untitled, is coming to PCs and "next-generation systems." Sega has not dated the project but on Monday said that the first Alien-licensed game wouldn't arrive before 2009. No further details of the game were mentioned.
With Monday's announcement, Sega also revealed that a first-person shooter based on the movies was also in development but did not reveal the game's developer. However, Internet reports, including one from Gaming Target, noticed a few company names in the copyrights on Sega's Alien teaser page.
Along with mention of Obsidian, which was confirmed today, was Gearbox Software, the team behind the Brothers in Arms franchise. The two names were quickly removed, according to Gaming Target, and as of press time and following today's news, Obsidian's name was back on the page.
Sega did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.
Gamers can add one more name to that list, as Sega today announced that role-playing game specialist Obsidian Entertainment is developing the upcoming RPG set in the Alien universe.
The game, which as of now remains untitled, is coming to PCs and "next-generation systems." Sega has not dated the project but on Monday said that the first Alien-licensed game wouldn't arrive before 2009. No further details of the game were mentioned.
With Monday's announcement, Sega also revealed that a first-person shooter based on the movies was also in development but did not reveal the game's developer. However, Internet reports, including one from Gaming Target, noticed a few company names in the copyrights on Sega's Alien teaser page.
Along with mention of Obsidian, which was confirmed today, was Gearbox Software, the team behind the Brothers in Arms franchise. The two names were quickly removed, according to Gaming Target, and as of press time and following today's news, Obsidian's name was back on the page.
Sega did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
MLB: The Show gets extra innings on PS3
Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings have just wrapped up, with several baseball players signing deals for outrageous amounts of money to play with new teams or stay with their previous squads.
Sony made its own baseball deal recently, announcing that it was bringing the MLB: The Show series back for extra innings. MLB 07: The Show was announced today for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable.
MLB 07: The Show adds online league play, lets gamers compete in online leagues of up to 30 teams (Sony did not specify which platforms this feature would be available for). Baseball fans can also tinker with the game's sliders and upload them to servers for others to try out.
The series' pitching has been given the most changes in the upcoming edition of the franchise. Catchers will recommend pitches based on hitters' tendencies, or players can shake off the backstop and simply throw what they want. Like the sport it emulates, MLB 07 will also feature finicky umpires, with their own strike zones and tendencies.
The atmosphere of baseball is being focused on in the PS3 version, with the addition of crowd animations, including tussles for foul balls, the seventh inning stretch, and the wave. Sony is also adding correct grips and arm angles for different pitch types for true students of the game.
MLB 07: The Show has not yet been rated or priced and will be available in spring 2007.
Sony made its own baseball deal recently, announcing that it was bringing the MLB: The Show series back for extra innings. MLB 07: The Show was announced today for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable.
MLB 07: The Show adds online league play, lets gamers compete in online leagues of up to 30 teams (Sony did not specify which platforms this feature would be available for). Baseball fans can also tinker with the game's sliders and upload them to servers for others to try out.
The series' pitching has been given the most changes in the upcoming edition of the franchise. Catchers will recommend pitches based on hitters' tendencies, or players can shake off the backstop and simply throw what they want. Like the sport it emulates, MLB 07 will also feature finicky umpires, with their own strike zones and tendencies.
The atmosphere of baseball is being focused on in the PS3 version, with the addition of crowd animations, including tussles for foul balls, the seventh inning stretch, and the wave. Sony is also adding correct grips and arm angles for different pitch types for true students of the game.
MLB 07: The Show has not yet been rated or priced and will be available in spring 2007.
UK Game Charts: December 3-9
Electronic Arts' FIFA 07 scooped the top slot in the UK all-formats games chart for the third consecutive week, with Need for Speed Carbon again spinning its wheels at number two. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 moved up one place to three, swapping places with Activision's Call of Duty 3, which fell one slot to fourth position.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess debuted at the number five slot, making it the highest new entry this week. In total, six of the 14 Wii launch games made it into the all-formats top 40, including Wii Play (which can be bought only as a bundle with the Wii Remote) at nine, Red Steel at 19, and Rayman Raving Rabbids at 30.
There are also a total of 14 Nintendo DS games in the top 40, including Yoshi's Island DS at 36--which almost doubled sales in its second week of release--and Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (Brain Age in the US) still hanging on in the charts at 13.
Those figures mean that Nintendo has a total of 20 games for its formats in the top 40 this week.
The biggest climber of the week was Project Gotham Racing 3, up 14 spots to 22, whereas the dubious honour of the biggest freefall goes to Bratz: Forever Diamondz, down nine ticks to 20.
This Friday's releases include five for the Wii: Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Super Fruit Fall, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent, SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab, and Gottlieb Pinball Classics. Other titles due include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the GameCube, Sniper Assault for the PlayStation 2, and The Sims 2: Pets for the PSP.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess debuted at the number five slot, making it the highest new entry this week. In total, six of the 14 Wii launch games made it into the all-formats top 40, including Wii Play (which can be bought only as a bundle with the Wii Remote) at nine, Red Steel at 19, and Rayman Raving Rabbids at 30.
There are also a total of 14 Nintendo DS games in the top 40, including Yoshi's Island DS at 36--which almost doubled sales in its second week of release--and Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (Brain Age in the US) still hanging on in the charts at 13.
Those figures mean that Nintendo has a total of 20 games for its formats in the top 40 this week.
The biggest climber of the week was Project Gotham Racing 3, up 14 spots to 22, whereas the dubious honour of the biggest freefall goes to Bratz: Forever Diamondz, down nine ticks to 20.
This Friday's releases include five for the Wii: Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Super Fruit Fall, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent, SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab, and Gottlieb Pinball Classics. Other titles due include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the GameCube, Sniper Assault for the PlayStation 2, and The Sims 2: Pets for the PSP.
Retail Radar: GameStop offering imports
Importing games has traditionally been a niche activity in the US, with few consumers willing to deal with language barriers, bypassing regional lockouts, and finding a good source to buy games from just to play games from other countries.
But things are changing. Language barriers can still be a concern, but regional lockouts are becoming less common, with the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS all being region-free systems as far as games go. (Regional locks on the Xbox 360 are determined by the publisher.) The availability looks to be getting better as well, if GameStop's product listings are any indication.
GameStop is currently accepting preorders for a pair of Japanese DS games that it expects to ship this month. The more prominent of the two is Jump Superstars, Nintendo's crossover fighting game featuring more than 150 characters from 27 manga and anime series that have appeared in Shonen Jump magazine. Among the properties included are Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. In the past, games specific to those franchises have been released in the US by Atari, Capcom, Namco Bandai Games, and Konami.
GameStop is charging $49.99 for Jump Superstars, and expects it to ship December 27. The game was originally released in Japan last year, and has already spawned a sequel there, Jump Ultimate Stars.
Also on offer is Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 4, the latest DS fighting game based on the anime and manga series. The game costs $39.99, and according to GameStop's product page, it was expected to ship today.
As of press time, a GameStop representative had not returned GameSpot's request for comment on the company's importing plans.
Please note, while retailer listings frequently give gamers a heads up on unannounced news, they should not be taken as final confirmation of a game's release date, platform, or even its existence.
But things are changing. Language barriers can still be a concern, but regional lockouts are becoming less common, with the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS all being region-free systems as far as games go. (Regional locks on the Xbox 360 are determined by the publisher.) The availability looks to be getting better as well, if GameStop's product listings are any indication.
GameStop is currently accepting preorders for a pair of Japanese DS games that it expects to ship this month. The more prominent of the two is Jump Superstars, Nintendo's crossover fighting game featuring more than 150 characters from 27 manga and anime series that have appeared in Shonen Jump magazine. Among the properties included are Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. In the past, games specific to those franchises have been released in the US by Atari, Capcom, Namco Bandai Games, and Konami.
GameStop is charging $49.99 for Jump Superstars, and expects it to ship December 27. The game was originally released in Japan last year, and has already spawned a sequel there, Jump Ultimate Stars.
Also on offer is Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 4, the latest DS fighting game based on the anime and manga series. The game costs $39.99, and according to GameStop's product page, it was expected to ship today.
As of press time, a GameStop representative had not returned GameSpot's request for comment on the company's importing plans.
Please note, while retailer listings frequently give gamers a heads up on unannounced news, they should not be taken as final confirmation of a game's release date, platform, or even its existence.
Cop not charged in PS3 shooting
A series of crimes has dogged the US launch of Sony's PlayStation 3. So far in the life of the console, which sells for an average of just under $1,200 on eBay, there have been shootings, muggings, and thefts.
In one instance, a student who had waited in line for three days to get his hands on two of the consoles was battered with a blunt object while unloading the PS3s from his car. The consoles were stolen during the assault. Some two weeks later, police served warrants on two other students suspected of being involved in the assault. During the raid on one of the residences, in which the Emergency Response Team (ERT) was called in to support the campus police, suspect Peyton Strickland was fatally shot.
Christopher Long, who had been a deputy since 1996 and had participated in the raid, was fired from his post on December 8 by Sheriff Sid Causey. Yesterday Long was indicted on a charge of second-degree murder by a New Hanover County grand jury, according to the local paper, The Wilmington Star News.
During the raid, the officers could see into the residence through three glass window panes on the front door. According to an official report, the officers watched Strickland approach the door, look through the window, and then walk away. Previously, Strickland's roommate Michael Rhoton had said that the youth might have been holding a PS3 controller as he approached the door, leading some to speculate that the officers mistook the black object in his hand for a weapon, but no mention was made of the controller in grand jury testimony. It was stated, however, that the student was unarmed.
The officers ordered him to open the door and another sheriff's deputy began using a battering ram to enter the premises. Officer Long confused the sound of the battering ram striking the door with gunfire, and fired shots, the autopsy later reported. Strickland was shot in the shoulder and in the head--the fatal shot had ricocheted off another object into his skull.
Two other deputies, currently on paid leave, have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
[UPDATE] In a dramatic turn of events, murder charges against Long have been dismissed, after the grand jury foreman admitted to incorrectly checking the wrong box that would decide Long's fate.
Upon hearing the news, Strickland's parents released the following statement: "Yesterday, our son's murderer was going to have to answer for what he did. Today, we just don't know what is going on in Wilmington. We are upset, confused and searching for answers."
In one instance, a student who had waited in line for three days to get his hands on two of the consoles was battered with a blunt object while unloading the PS3s from his car. The consoles were stolen during the assault. Some two weeks later, police served warrants on two other students suspected of being involved in the assault. During the raid on one of the residences, in which the Emergency Response Team (ERT) was called in to support the campus police, suspect Peyton Strickland was fatally shot.
Christopher Long, who had been a deputy since 1996 and had participated in the raid, was fired from his post on December 8 by Sheriff Sid Causey. Yesterday Long was indicted on a charge of second-degree murder by a New Hanover County grand jury, according to the local paper, The Wilmington Star News.
During the raid, the officers could see into the residence through three glass window panes on the front door. According to an official report, the officers watched Strickland approach the door, look through the window, and then walk away. Previously, Strickland's roommate Michael Rhoton had said that the youth might have been holding a PS3 controller as he approached the door, leading some to speculate that the officers mistook the black object in his hand for a weapon, but no mention was made of the controller in grand jury testimony. It was stated, however, that the student was unarmed.
The officers ordered him to open the door and another sheriff's deputy began using a battering ram to enter the premises. Officer Long confused the sound of the battering ram striking the door with gunfire, and fired shots, the autopsy later reported. Strickland was shot in the shoulder and in the head--the fatal shot had ricocheted off another object into his skull.
Two other deputies, currently on paid leave, have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
[UPDATE] In a dramatic turn of events, murder charges against Long have been dismissed, after the grand jury foreman admitted to incorrectly checking the wrong box that would decide Long's fate.
Upon hearing the news, Strickland's parents released the following statement: "Yesterday, our son's murderer was going to have to answer for what he did. Today, we just don't know what is going on in Wilmington. We are upset, confused and searching for answers."
Dragon Quest IX exclusive to DS
Though not exactly a household name for gamers here in the United States, the Dragon Quest series is one of the most popular gaming franchises in Japan. The release of Dragon Quest VIII in Japan was met with the same frenzy that typically accompanies the release of the latest edition of another Square Enix franchise, Final Fantasy.
Square Enix released Dragon Quest VIII on the PlayStation 2, which was a great boon for Sony. However, it appears as though the benefactor of Dragon Quest IX will be one of Sony's rivals. Forbes reports that Dragon Quest IX has been announced as an exclusive for the Nintendo DS.
Some analysts think this could be a big blow against Sony, as the Dragon Quest franchise is considered a top-tier franchise and has sold more than 41 million copies worldwide. Hiroshi Kamide, analyst at KBC Securities, said the decision to put Dragon Quest IX exclusively on the DS "was rather unexpected, so it's not a huge vote of confidence for the PlayStation 3," reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
Square is also preparing a Dragon Quest game for the Wii, due early next year, and recently released Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, a series spin-off, for the DS.
Square Enix released Dragon Quest VIII on the PlayStation 2, which was a great boon for Sony. However, it appears as though the benefactor of Dragon Quest IX will be one of Sony's rivals. Forbes reports that Dragon Quest IX has been announced as an exclusive for the Nintendo DS.
Some analysts think this could be a big blow against Sony, as the Dragon Quest franchise is considered a top-tier franchise and has sold more than 41 million copies worldwide. Hiroshi Kamide, analyst at KBC Securities, said the decision to put Dragon Quest IX exclusively on the DS "was rather unexpected, so it's not a huge vote of confidence for the PlayStation 3," reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
Square is also preparing a Dragon Quest game for the Wii, due early next year, and recently released Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, a series spin-off, for the DS.
Age of Conan dawning on 360
The world of Conan the Cimmerian, the fantasy barbarian of legend created by Robert E. Howard, portrayed in films by Arnold Schwarzenegger and re-created in several games, is returning to consoles. Funcom today announced that the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures has been approved for the Xbox 360 by Microsoft.
While this is good news for 360 fans who yearn to crush their enemies, see them driven before them, and hear the lamentations of their women, it isn't especially surprising. In April, rumors first began circulating that the developers had been working on a version of the game for Microsoft's next-gen console. Those rumors were further fueled in July, when Funcom announced a publishing deal for the PC version of the game with Eidos that also noted that the companies wanted to bring the game to the console market.
No release date was named for the Xbox 360 edition of the game, but a Funcom representative said it will definitely be after the PC version launches (currently expected between March and May of next year). And while the representative said Funcom has been pleased with its partnership with Eidos so far, the publisher has not been signed yet to handle Age of Conan for the Xbox 360. Funcom said it would have more information about the game, including "potential console-specific features," at a later date.
Combining action RPG elements with the MMORPG genre, Age of Conan was named GameSpot's Best Massively Multiplayer Game of E3 2006, beating out competition including EA Mythic's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
While this is good news for 360 fans who yearn to crush their enemies, see them driven before them, and hear the lamentations of their women, it isn't especially surprising. In April, rumors first began circulating that the developers had been working on a version of the game for Microsoft's next-gen console. Those rumors were further fueled in July, when Funcom announced a publishing deal for the PC version of the game with Eidos that also noted that the companies wanted to bring the game to the console market.
No release date was named for the Xbox 360 edition of the game, but a Funcom representative said it will definitely be after the PC version launches (currently expected between March and May of next year). And while the representative said Funcom has been pleased with its partnership with Eidos so far, the publisher has not been signed yet to handle Age of Conan for the Xbox 360. Funcom said it would have more information about the game, including "potential console-specific features," at a later date.
Combining action RPG elements with the MMORPG genre, Age of Conan was named GameSpot's Best Massively Multiplayer Game of E3 2006, beating out competition including EA Mythic's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
The Sims are in Season
Electronic Arts today announced a fifth add-on pack for the popular PC game series The Sims 2. The new addition, named The Sims 2 Seasons, will add the four seasons of the year to the game. The additions won't merely be cosmetic, as each will impact the sims' relationships, moods, skills, and careers in a unique way.
New activities such as building snowmen, ice skating, and playing games like Marco Polo in the pool have been added, and a fresh new wardrobe including summer dresses and ear muffs will keep sims looking sharp.
Other new content includes six new career paths to follow (gaming, adventure, music, law, journalism, and education) as well as new weather effects (snowstorms, thunderstorms, lightning bolts, and hailstones). The sims can also now harvest fruits and vegetables to make into energy drinks and love potions and can master new talents including gardening and catching fresh fish.
The Sims series, which has the player create virtual people and then furnish their houses, get them jobs, and try to advance their careers and personal relationships, has become one of the most successful games of all time and has been translated into 17 languages.
The Sims 2 Seasons will be released in Europe on February 23 and in the US on February 27. The expansion requires a full copy of The Sims 2 to play.
New activities such as building snowmen, ice skating, and playing games like Marco Polo in the pool have been added, and a fresh new wardrobe including summer dresses and ear muffs will keep sims looking sharp.
Other new content includes six new career paths to follow (gaming, adventure, music, law, journalism, and education) as well as new weather effects (snowstorms, thunderstorms, lightning bolts, and hailstones). The sims can also now harvest fruits and vegetables to make into energy drinks and love potions and can master new talents including gardening and catching fresh fish.
The Sims series, which has the player create virtual people and then furnish their houses, get them jobs, and try to advance their careers and personal relationships, has become one of the most successful games of all time and has been translated into 17 languages.
The Sims 2 Seasons will be released in Europe on February 23 and in the US on February 27. The expansion requires a full copy of The Sims 2 to play.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Brits buy 50,000 Wiis in 12 hours
With each region the Wii is released in, impressive sales numbers have followed. American gamers bought 600,000 Wiis in the system's first eight days in North America. In Japan, 372,000 Wiis were sold in just two days. Late last week the Wii went on sale in Europe, and the first sales figures are in.
Nintendo says 50,000 Wiis were sold in the UK in the console's first 12 hours on the market. That translates to more than one console sold every second.
The Mario factory has yet to announce how many units were shipped to Europe, and as in other regions, the Wii remains a hard find for gamers.
"We are doing everything we can to meet demand throughout Christmas and the new year," said Nintendo UK general manager David Yarnton.
Nintendo says 50,000 Wiis were sold in the UK in the console's first 12 hours on the market. That translates to more than one console sold every second.
The Mario factory has yet to announce how many units were shipped to Europe, and as in other regions, the Wii remains a hard find for gamers.
"We are doing everything we can to meet demand throughout Christmas and the new year," said Nintendo UK general manager David Yarnton.
Aliens to spawn on next-gen systems
Hot on the heels of Scarface: The World Is Yours, The Godfather, and Reservoir Dogs, another old movie license has been dusted off to be turned into a game. The latest dormant property to see a gaming revival is the Alien series of sci-fi horror films. Sega and 20th Century Fox today announced that they would be bringing the acid-blooded extraterrestrials back to the world of console gaming.
Fans of the series can expect to see it adapted a number of ways, as the companies have confirmed that several Alien games--including a first-person shooter and a role-playing game--are currently in preproduction, with the first game scheduled to be released in 2009. The games will be for currently undisclosed "next-generation gaming systems."
The first Alien film came out in 1979, starring Sigourney Weaver as Lieutenant Ripley of the commercial spaceship Nostromo, which intercepts a distress call from a nearby planet. While investigating the planet, one of the crew becomes impregnated by an alien. Three sequels were made from the original, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien: Resurrection. The franchise has also yielded a crossover spin-off in Alien Vs. Predator.
This is not the first time either company has adapted the sci-fi series for gaming. In 1993, Sega released the arcade game Alien 3: The Gun, while the Fox Interactive brand scored a hit with the PC first-person shooting series Alien Versus Predator. Other publishers to tackle the franchise in interactive form include Electronic Arts (Aliens Versus Predator: Extinction for PlayStation 2), Konami (Aliens for the arcade), Capcom (Alien Vs. Predator for the arcade), and the former incarnation of Acclaim (Alien Trilogy and Alien 3 for multiple platforms).
This is the second announcement of a Sega-made movie adaptation in as many months. In November, the publisher confirmed it had signed a deal for next-gen games based on Marvel's upcoming Iron Man film. The company is also making a next-gen game based on another, still unannounced, Marvel superhero license.
Fans of the series can expect to see it adapted a number of ways, as the companies have confirmed that several Alien games--including a first-person shooter and a role-playing game--are currently in preproduction, with the first game scheduled to be released in 2009. The games will be for currently undisclosed "next-generation gaming systems."
The first Alien film came out in 1979, starring Sigourney Weaver as Lieutenant Ripley of the commercial spaceship Nostromo, which intercepts a distress call from a nearby planet. While investigating the planet, one of the crew becomes impregnated by an alien. Three sequels were made from the original, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien: Resurrection. The franchise has also yielded a crossover spin-off in Alien Vs. Predator.
This is not the first time either company has adapted the sci-fi series for gaming. In 1993, Sega released the arcade game Alien 3: The Gun, while the Fox Interactive brand scored a hit with the PC first-person shooting series Alien Versus Predator. Other publishers to tackle the franchise in interactive form include Electronic Arts (Aliens Versus Predator: Extinction for PlayStation 2), Konami (Aliens for the arcade), Capcom (Alien Vs. Predator for the arcade), and the former incarnation of Acclaim (Alien Trilogy and Alien 3 for multiple platforms).
This is the second announcement of a Sega-made movie adaptation in as many months. In November, the publisher confirmed it had signed a deal for next-gen games based on Marvel's upcoming Iron Man film. The company is also making a next-gen game based on another, still unannounced, Marvel superhero license.
Assault Heroes to assault XBL
Microsoft continues its Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays program this week with Sierra Online's Assault Heroes. The game, developed by Wanako Studios, will be available at 1 a.m. on Wednesday for 800 points ($10).
Assault Heroes is an arcade-style, top-down-perspective shooter in which gamers steer heavily armed 4x4s, drive souped-up motorboats, or go at it on foot against wave after wave of enemies. Armed with weapons such as flamethrowers, grenades, and flak cannons, players can take on the challenge alone or play cooperatively with a friend online or offline.
Assault Heroes is rated T for Teen. For more information, read GameSpot's
Assault Heroes is an arcade-style, top-down-perspective shooter in which gamers steer heavily armed 4x4s, drive souped-up motorboats, or go at it on foot against wave after wave of enemies. Armed with weapons such as flamethrowers, grenades, and flak cannons, players can take on the challenge alone or play cooperatively with a friend online or offline.
Assault Heroes is rated T for Teen. For more information, read GameSpot's
Microsoft releases XNA Studio Express
Most of the community aspect of the Xbox 360 has been made famous by Xbox Live. But when Microsoft says they want gamers to be involved with the Xbox 360, most didn't realize they mean actually making games.
Today, Microsoft released XNA Game Studio Express, a suite of applications and tools designed to facilitate game design by eliminating the need to write repetitive code.
The download is free from Microsoft's XNA Web site, and requires a Windows XP-based PC. The kit itself is based on the Visual C# 2005 Express Edition and Microsoft's .NET Compact Framework.
Also debuting today is the XNA Creators Club through Xbox Live Marketplace. Those who join the group will have access to various resources, including assets, samples, and white papers from game vets. The XNA Creators Club costs $49 for four months or $99 for a full-year membership.
"The XNA Creators Club is really the first of its kind--an opportunity to join a community of other developers who are empowered to bring their game ideas to life on a next-generation console system," said Microsoft's general manager of the Game Developer Group Chris Satchell. "What users will see today is just the beginning of the plans we have to revolutionize game development one creative game idea at a time."
Today, Microsoft released XNA Game Studio Express, a suite of applications and tools designed to facilitate game design by eliminating the need to write repetitive code.
The download is free from Microsoft's XNA Web site, and requires a Windows XP-based PC. The kit itself is based on the Visual C# 2005 Express Edition and Microsoft's .NET Compact Framework.
Also debuting today is the XNA Creators Club through Xbox Live Marketplace. Those who join the group will have access to various resources, including assets, samples, and white papers from game vets. The XNA Creators Club costs $49 for four months or $99 for a full-year membership.
"The XNA Creators Club is really the first of its kind--an opportunity to join a community of other developers who are empowered to bring their game ideas to life on a next-generation console system," said Microsoft's general manager of the Game Developer Group Chris Satchell. "What users will see today is just the beginning of the plans we have to revolutionize game development one creative game idea at a time."
Take-Two feels heat in $$ scandal
The execs at Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive, Inc. suffered yet another public humiliation. In documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today and in a statement released to the public, investors, and the press, the Grand Theft Auo and Bully publisher outlined the conclusion of an internal investigation designed to ferret out wrongdoing related to the granting of stock options.
The ferret has spoken, and it has smelled a rat.
In a statement, the company said that an independent committee found "there were improprieties in the process of granting and documenting stock options and that incorrect measurement dates for certain stock option grants were used for financial accounting purposes."
The company said it will need to "restate historical financial statements to record non-cash charges for compensation expense relating to past stock option grants," and that "all consolidated financial statements, earnings releases and similar communications issued by the Company containing financial information for periods beginning 1997 through April 30, 2006 should no longer be relied upon."
According to the statement, the internal investigation--which could negate the financial reporting of Take-Two for the past 10 years--found no misconduct by either CEO and president Paul Eibeler or CFO Karl Winters.
Along with more than a hundred other publicly traded companies (including CNET Networks, the owner of GameSpot), Take-Two is under investigation by the SEC for practices related to the granting of stock options, specifically the back-dating of options, a practice which is designed to circumvent SEC rules and invariably puts more money into the pockets of a select group of company officials. Today's statement has no impact on that still-ongoing investigation announced in July.
The publisher is no stranger to the SEC, recently paying $7.5 million to settle an SEC lawsuit brought in 2005. The SEC alleged the company had overstated financial results from 2000 to 2001.
Today's news, released before the markets opened, erased Friday's uptick. On Friday, shares in the company rose 2.9 percent to $20.10 for the day; today, Take-Two shares shed 2.4 percent, closing at $19.66.
Financial writer Herb Greenberg stated in his MarketWatch blog today, "when you see such blatant wrongdoing, you can't help but wonder (with any company) where else the company might have been acting too aggressively for its own good...[and yet] investors continue to flock to Take-Two (and other stocks) as if all is well in its (their) world. Remarkable."
The ferret has spoken, and it has smelled a rat.
In a statement, the company said that an independent committee found "there were improprieties in the process of granting and documenting stock options and that incorrect measurement dates for certain stock option grants were used for financial accounting purposes."
The company said it will need to "restate historical financial statements to record non-cash charges for compensation expense relating to past stock option grants," and that "all consolidated financial statements, earnings releases and similar communications issued by the Company containing financial information for periods beginning 1997 through April 30, 2006 should no longer be relied upon."
According to the statement, the internal investigation--which could negate the financial reporting of Take-Two for the past 10 years--found no misconduct by either CEO and president Paul Eibeler or CFO Karl Winters.
Along with more than a hundred other publicly traded companies (including CNET Networks, the owner of GameSpot), Take-Two is under investigation by the SEC for practices related to the granting of stock options, specifically the back-dating of options, a practice which is designed to circumvent SEC rules and invariably puts more money into the pockets of a select group of company officials. Today's statement has no impact on that still-ongoing investigation announced in July.
The publisher is no stranger to the SEC, recently paying $7.5 million to settle an SEC lawsuit brought in 2005. The SEC alleged the company had overstated financial results from 2000 to 2001.
Today's news, released before the markets opened, erased Friday's uptick. On Friday, shares in the company rose 2.9 percent to $20.10 for the day; today, Take-Two shares shed 2.4 percent, closing at $19.66.
Financial writer Herb Greenberg stated in his MarketWatch blog today, "when you see such blatant wrongdoing, you can't help but wonder (with any company) where else the company might have been acting too aggressively for its own good...[and yet] investors continue to flock to Take-Two (and other stocks) as if all is well in its (their) world. Remarkable."
Red 5 taps some green
Red 5, a game developer composed primarily of former World of Warcraft designers, today said it secured $18.5 million in venture capital funding.
The investment comes from two well-respected VC firms: Benchmark Capital and Sierra Ventures. As reported earlier in GameSpot, Red 5 Studios was formed in September 2004 by a team of former World of Warcraft developers, including team lead Mark Kern. In addition to the team's work on WOW, its credentials include Diablo II, Warcraft III, and the Starcraft series. Red 5 staffers are currently working on a title to be published by Korean online game giant Webzen.
Of the investment, Benchmark general partner Bill Gurley told Reuters that "massive online games like World of Warcraft will become a dominant form of entertainment."
Coincidently, another Western developer with an upcoming title slated to be published by Webzen recently tapped its own funding. Last Friday, Real Time Worlds announced it had secured $31 million in funding.
The investment comes from two well-respected VC firms: Benchmark Capital and Sierra Ventures. As reported earlier in GameSpot, Red 5 Studios was formed in September 2004 by a team of former World of Warcraft developers, including team lead Mark Kern. In addition to the team's work on WOW, its credentials include Diablo II, Warcraft III, and the Starcraft series. Red 5 staffers are currently working on a title to be published by Korean online game giant Webzen.
Of the investment, Benchmark general partner Bill Gurley told Reuters that "massive online games like World of Warcraft will become a dominant form of entertainment."
Coincidently, another Western developer with an upcoming title slated to be published by Webzen recently tapped its own funding. Last Friday, Real Time Worlds announced it had secured $31 million in funding.
Quartet of titles hit Wii's Virtual Console
The wave of old-school games continues to pile onto the Wii's Virtual Console. Nintendo today announced that four more games from the days of yesteryear are now available for purchase. Joining the ranks of Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and Sonic the Hedgehog are one title from the Nintendo Entertainment System, a pair from the Sega Genesis, and one from the TurboGrafx-16.
Gamers who like their hockey 8-bit can now download Ice Hockey for 500 Wii points ($5). Originally released in 1988 for the NES, Ice Hockey features six national teams and three different weight classes of players, allowing coaches to go with a nimble lineup or a team of crushing bruisers.
Gunstar Heroes, which first appeared on the Sega Genesis in 1993, brings side-scrolling run-and-gun action to the Wii. Playing as one of the famed Gunstar twins, gamers will take on Colonel Red and a host of his minions in an attempt to foil his plans of destruction. Gunstar Heroes will set gamers back 800 Wii points ($8).
The curiously named Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, also originally a Genesis title, is a puzzle game featuring characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. Like the popular puzzle game Puyo Puyo, this game tasks gamers with matching four blocks of the same color and causing mayhem for opponents. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine costs 800 Wii points ($8).
Late last week, Hudson Entertainment dropped a few hints that a TurboGrafx-16 game would be making an appearance on the Virtual Console today. Based on clues, many suspected it would be Alien Crush...and they were right. Alien Crush was originally released in 1989 and sells for 600 Wii points ($6).
All four games can be purchased from the WIi Shop Channel. Nintendo plans to add new Virtual Console games each Monday.
Gamers who like their hockey 8-bit can now download Ice Hockey for 500 Wii points ($5). Originally released in 1988 for the NES, Ice Hockey features six national teams and three different weight classes of players, allowing coaches to go with a nimble lineup or a team of crushing bruisers.
Gunstar Heroes, which first appeared on the Sega Genesis in 1993, brings side-scrolling run-and-gun action to the Wii. Playing as one of the famed Gunstar twins, gamers will take on Colonel Red and a host of his minions in an attempt to foil his plans of destruction. Gunstar Heroes will set gamers back 800 Wii points ($8).
The curiously named Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, also originally a Genesis title, is a puzzle game featuring characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. Like the popular puzzle game Puyo Puyo, this game tasks gamers with matching four blocks of the same color and causing mayhem for opponents. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine costs 800 Wii points ($8).
Late last week, Hudson Entertainment dropped a few hints that a TurboGrafx-16 game would be making an appearance on the Virtual Console today. Based on clues, many suspected it would be Alien Crush...and they were right. Alien Crush was originally released in 1989 and sells for 600 Wii points ($6).
All four games can be purchased from the WIi Shop Channel. Nintendo plans to add new Virtual Console games each Monday.
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Oblivion nabs Spike TV top honors
LOS ANGELES--Another Spike TV Video Game Awards show, another star-studded event that might not have exactly appealed to hardcore fans of the subject it's supposed to celebrate. However, in its fourth try, the "First Network for Men" did pull off one of its best awards shows, in terms of both production and worthy nominees.
The fourth annual Spike TV Video Game Awards were held at the Galen Center in Los Angeles Friday night, with veteran actor Samuel L. Jackson returning for the second consecutive year as the show's host.
The broadcast of Friday's event will be aired on the self-proclaimed "First Network for Men" next Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT and will feature musical performances from Tenacious D and AFI. But GameSpot was in attendance this eve, with the results of the judges' voting below.
Team Gears of War, including Cliffy B (left), took home four awards.
The big winner of the night was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which scooped up five awards including the coveted Game of the Year prize. It wasn't a runaway victory for the Bethesda Softworks-developed game though. Gears of War was neck-and-neck with Oblivion until the very last award--Game of the Year.
As the announcer listed off the nominees for Game of the Year, the greatest applause was aimed at Gears of War and Guitar Hero 2. But when Oblivion was announced as the winner, many in the crowd sounded stunned.
Oblivion also walked home with Most Addictive Game (voted on by the public), Best Performance by a Human (Male) for Patrick Stewart, Best Role-Playing Game, and Best Original Score. Gears of War took home four awards total, including Best Shooter, Best Graphics, Best Multiplayer Game, and Best Studio for its developers, Epic Games.
Tony Hawk's Project 8 won Best Individual Sports Game.
The Critics' Choice Award, the only category open for games released after November 7 (games scheduled for release before the end of the year were eligible for the Critics' Choice Award), went to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. By its requirements, the category was also the only chance for Wii or PlayStation 3 games to take home an award.
Tenacious D kicked off the ceremonies with the band's usual heavy-metal parody rock stylings, and Jackson continued the action with a few sketches before taking the stage in person. Helping Jackson out was Seth MacFarlane, bantering with the Snakes on a Plane star as the voice of Stewie Griffin from Family Guy. Presumably, Stewie will be animated in for the Wednesday broadcast.
There were some world exclusive premieres, including footage of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, TNA Wrestling, and the opening cinematic from The Burning Crusade expansion of World of Warcraft. WOW got the deluxe treatment, with a congregation of robed, lip-synching figures taking the stage while the trailer showed above them, occasionally accompanied by some light pyrotechnics.
Heroes' Hayden Panettiere charmed the red carpet before presenting Most Addictive Game to Oblivion.
Beyond that, most of the presenters were in good spirits as they delivered their hit-and-miss lines before an oft-indifferent crowd. Former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin let go of a Wii Remote three times on the backswing of a Wii Sports golf game in a staged event, Masi Oka of Heroes dissed the WNBA when presenting the Best Team Sports Game Award, and Tyrese used the opportunity to promote his upcoming CD in the only adlib of the night.
The highlight of the evening came when comedienne Sarah Silverman brought her usual shtick of sarcastic humor to the stage, which was unfortunately lost on most of those in the crowd. She went on a tirade against gamers, saying they "should get an award for their work in AIDS prevention" because they simply stand no chance of getting laid.
Thankfully for those in attendance, Silverman's remarks apparently didn't apply to them. The MTV-generation audience continually filed out of the auditorium throughout the night muttering, "I don't even play video games."
The results of the 2006 Spike TV Video Game Awards are as follows (winners in bold):
GAME OF THE YEAR The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
CRITIC'S CHOICE(game to be released after 11/15/2006 but before 12/31/2006) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)Resistance: Fall of Man (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Insomniac Games)Medieval II: Total War (Sega/Creative Assembly)Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (Ubisoft Montreal)Wii Sports (Nintendo)
BEST DRIVING GAME Burnout Revenge, Xbox 360 (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)Need For Speed Carbon (Electronic Arts/EA Black Box)TOCA Race Driver 3 (Codemasters)GTR 2 (10tacle Studios/SimBin Development Team)
BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAMERockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games/Rockstar San Diego)EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 (Electronic Arts/ EA Chicago)Tony Hawk's Project 8 (Activision/Neversoft )Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)Top Spin 2 (2K Sports/Power and Magic)
BEST ACTION GAME Dead Rising (Capcom)New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)Saints Row (THQ/Volition)Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)
BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME NBA2K7 (2K Sports/Visual Concepts)Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)NCAA Football 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)FIFA 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)NHL 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
CYBER VIXEN OF THE YEARLara Croft - Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)Alyx Vance - Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)Princess Peach - New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)Enrica - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Ubisoft Montreal)Jen - Prey (2K Games/ Human Head Studios/3D Realms)
BEST SONG"LocoRoco No Uta" by Nobuyuki Shimizu and Kemmei Adachi, LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment America/SCE Studios Japan)"Heavenly Star" by Genki Rockets, Lumines II (Buena Vista Games/Q Entertainment) "Helicopter" by Bloc Party, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)"Summer Shudder" by AFI in Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)"Lights and Sounds" by YellowCard, Burnout Revenge-XBOX 360 (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
BEST SOUNDTRACK Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment) Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds / Rockstar North)
STUDIO OF THE YEAR Clover Studio (Okami) Relic (Company of Heroes) Cliff Bleszinski /Epic Games (Gears of War) Todd Howard / Bethesda Softworks (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) Harmonix (Guitar Hero 2)
BEST ORIGINAL SCOREThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)Electroplankton (Nintendo)Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix)
BEST FIGHTING GAMETekken: Dark Resurrection (Namco Bandai)Dead or Alive 4 (Tecmo/Team Ninja)Mortal Kombat Armageddon (Midway Games)Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (Capcom)God Hand (Capcom/Clover Studio)
BEST SHOOTERBlack (Electronic Arts/Criterion)Prey (2K Games/ Human Head Studios/3D Realms)Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)Call of Duty 3 (Activision/Treyarch)
BEST MILITARY GAMECompany of Heroes (THQ/Relic)Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)Call of Duty 3 (Activision/Treyarch)The Outfit (THQ/Relic)Battlefield 2142 (Electronic Arts/EA UK/DICE UK)
BEST GRAPHICSGears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
BEST HANDHELD GAMENew Super Mario (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo)Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)Tetris DS (Nintendo)LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment America/SCE Studios Japan)
BEST WIRELESS GAMEDiner Dash (Glu Mobile)SWAT Force (Vivendi/KAOLink)Tower Bloxx (Digital Chocolate)Super K.O. Boxing (Glu Mobile)
BEST MULTI-PLAYER GAMEGears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (Konami/Kojima Productions)Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Ubisoft Montreal)
BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY Wii (Nintendo) PS3 (Sony Computer Entertainment America)DS Lite (Nintendo)Electroplankton (Nintendo)
BEST PC GAMECompany of Heroes (THQ/Relic)Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)Battlefield 2142 (Electronic Arts/Digital Illusions CE)Star Wars: Empire at War (LucasArts/Petroglyph)The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
BEST RPGThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix)Kingdom Hearts II (Square Enix)Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (Square Enix/tri-Ace)
BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOWLego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)The Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)The Sopranos: Road to Respect (THQ/7 Studios)Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN (MALE) Seth MacFarlane in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)Gerry Rosenthal in Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)Patrick Stewart in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (Bethesda Softworks/7 Studios/Buena Vista Games)Kiefer Sutherland in 24: The Game (2K Games/SCEE Studios Cambridge)
BEST SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCESeth Green in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)James Woods in Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment) James Caan in The Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)Philip Michael Thomas in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)James Gandolfini in The Sopranos: Road to Respect (THQ/7 Studios)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN (FEMALE) Vida Guerra in Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment) Tia Carrere in Saints Row (THQ/Volition)Emmanuelle Vaugier in Need For Speed Carbon (Electronic Arts/EA Black Box)Keely Haws in Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)Rosario Dawson in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCERachel Leigh Cook in Kingdom Hearts II (Square Enix)Elisha Cuthbert in 24: The Game (2K Games/SCE Studios Cambridge)Brittany Murphy in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)Mila Kunis in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)Lynda Carter in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
BEST CAST IN A GAMEThe Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment) Saints Row (THQ/Volition)The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
MOST ADDICTIVE GAME The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo)Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
The fourth annual Spike TV Video Game Awards were held at the Galen Center in Los Angeles Friday night, with veteran actor Samuel L. Jackson returning for the second consecutive year as the show's host.
The broadcast of Friday's event will be aired on the self-proclaimed "First Network for Men" next Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT and will feature musical performances from Tenacious D and AFI. But GameSpot was in attendance this eve, with the results of the judges' voting below.
Team Gears of War, including Cliffy B (left), took home four awards.
The big winner of the night was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which scooped up five awards including the coveted Game of the Year prize. It wasn't a runaway victory for the Bethesda Softworks-developed game though. Gears of War was neck-and-neck with Oblivion until the very last award--Game of the Year.
As the announcer listed off the nominees for Game of the Year, the greatest applause was aimed at Gears of War and Guitar Hero 2. But when Oblivion was announced as the winner, many in the crowd sounded stunned.
Oblivion also walked home with Most Addictive Game (voted on by the public), Best Performance by a Human (Male) for Patrick Stewart, Best Role-Playing Game, and Best Original Score. Gears of War took home four awards total, including Best Shooter, Best Graphics, Best Multiplayer Game, and Best Studio for its developers, Epic Games.
Tony Hawk's Project 8 won Best Individual Sports Game.
The Critics' Choice Award, the only category open for games released after November 7 (games scheduled for release before the end of the year were eligible for the Critics' Choice Award), went to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. By its requirements, the category was also the only chance for Wii or PlayStation 3 games to take home an award.
Tenacious D kicked off the ceremonies with the band's usual heavy-metal parody rock stylings, and Jackson continued the action with a few sketches before taking the stage in person. Helping Jackson out was Seth MacFarlane, bantering with the Snakes on a Plane star as the voice of Stewie Griffin from Family Guy. Presumably, Stewie will be animated in for the Wednesday broadcast.
There were some world exclusive premieres, including footage of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, TNA Wrestling, and the opening cinematic from The Burning Crusade expansion of World of Warcraft. WOW got the deluxe treatment, with a congregation of robed, lip-synching figures taking the stage while the trailer showed above them, occasionally accompanied by some light pyrotechnics.
Heroes' Hayden Panettiere charmed the red carpet before presenting Most Addictive Game to Oblivion.
Beyond that, most of the presenters were in good spirits as they delivered their hit-and-miss lines before an oft-indifferent crowd. Former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin let go of a Wii Remote three times on the backswing of a Wii Sports golf game in a staged event, Masi Oka of Heroes dissed the WNBA when presenting the Best Team Sports Game Award, and Tyrese used the opportunity to promote his upcoming CD in the only adlib of the night.
The highlight of the evening came when comedienne Sarah Silverman brought her usual shtick of sarcastic humor to the stage, which was unfortunately lost on most of those in the crowd. She went on a tirade against gamers, saying they "should get an award for their work in AIDS prevention" because they simply stand no chance of getting laid.
Thankfully for those in attendance, Silverman's remarks apparently didn't apply to them. The MTV-generation audience continually filed out of the auditorium throughout the night muttering, "I don't even play video games."
The results of the 2006 Spike TV Video Game Awards are as follows (winners in bold):
GAME OF THE YEAR The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
CRITIC'S CHOICE(game to be released after 11/15/2006 but before 12/31/2006) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)Resistance: Fall of Man (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Insomniac Games)Medieval II: Total War (Sega/Creative Assembly)Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (Ubisoft Montreal)Wii Sports (Nintendo)
BEST DRIVING GAME Burnout Revenge, Xbox 360 (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)Need For Speed Carbon (Electronic Arts/EA Black Box)TOCA Race Driver 3 (Codemasters)GTR 2 (10tacle Studios/SimBin Development Team)
BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAMERockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games/Rockstar San Diego)EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 (Electronic Arts/ EA Chicago)Tony Hawk's Project 8 (Activision/Neversoft )Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)Top Spin 2 (2K Sports/Power and Magic)
BEST ACTION GAME Dead Rising (Capcom)New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)Saints Row (THQ/Volition)Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)
BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME NBA2K7 (2K Sports/Visual Concepts)Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)NCAA Football 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)FIFA 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)NHL 07 (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
CYBER VIXEN OF THE YEARLara Croft - Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)Alyx Vance - Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)Princess Peach - New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)Enrica - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Ubisoft Montreal)Jen - Prey (2K Games/ Human Head Studios/3D Realms)
BEST SONG"LocoRoco No Uta" by Nobuyuki Shimizu and Kemmei Adachi, LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment America/SCE Studios Japan)"Heavenly Star" by Genki Rockets, Lumines II (Buena Vista Games/Q Entertainment) "Helicopter" by Bloc Party, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)"Summer Shudder" by AFI in Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)"Lights and Sounds" by YellowCard, Burnout Revenge-XBOX 360 (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
BEST SOUNDTRACK Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment) Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds / Rockstar North)
STUDIO OF THE YEAR Clover Studio (Okami) Relic (Company of Heroes) Cliff Bleszinski /Epic Games (Gears of War) Todd Howard / Bethesda Softworks (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) Harmonix (Guitar Hero 2)
BEST ORIGINAL SCOREThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)Electroplankton (Nintendo)Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix)
BEST FIGHTING GAMETekken: Dark Resurrection (Namco Bandai)Dead or Alive 4 (Tecmo/Team Ninja)Mortal Kombat Armageddon (Midway Games)Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (Capcom)God Hand (Capcom/Clover Studio)
BEST SHOOTERBlack (Electronic Arts/Criterion)Prey (2K Games/ Human Head Studios/3D Realms)Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)Call of Duty 3 (Activision/Treyarch)
BEST MILITARY GAMECompany of Heroes (THQ/Relic)Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)Call of Duty 3 (Activision/Treyarch)The Outfit (THQ/Relic)Battlefield 2142 (Electronic Arts/EA UK/DICE UK)
BEST GRAPHICSGears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)Okami (Capcom/Clover Studio)Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
BEST HANDHELD GAMENew Super Mario (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo)Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)Tetris DS (Nintendo)LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment America/SCE Studios Japan)
BEST WIRELESS GAMEDiner Dash (Glu Mobile)SWAT Force (Vivendi/KAOLink)Tower Bloxx (Digital Chocolate)Super K.O. Boxing (Glu Mobile)
BEST MULTI-PLAYER GAMEGears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (Konami/Kojima Productions)Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Ubisoft Montreal)
BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY Wii (Nintendo) PS3 (Sony Computer Entertainment America)DS Lite (Nintendo)Electroplankton (Nintendo)
BEST PC GAMECompany of Heroes (THQ/Relic)Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve)Battlefield 2142 (Electronic Arts/Digital Illusions CE)Star Wars: Empire at War (LucasArts/Petroglyph)The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
BEST RPGThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix)Kingdom Hearts II (Square Enix)Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (Square Enix/tri-Ace)
BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOWLego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)The Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)The Sopranos: Road to Respect (THQ/7 Studios)Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN (MALE) Seth MacFarlane in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)Gerry Rosenthal in Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Vancouver)Patrick Stewart in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (Bethesda Softworks/7 Studios/Buena Vista Games)Kiefer Sutherland in 24: The Game (2K Games/SCEE Studios Cambridge)
BEST SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCESeth Green in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)James Woods in Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment) James Caan in The Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)Philip Michael Thomas in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Leeds/Rockstar North)James Gandolfini in The Sopranos: Road to Respect (THQ/7 Studios)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN (FEMALE) Vida Guerra in Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment) Tia Carrere in Saints Row (THQ/Volition)Emmanuelle Vaugier in Need For Speed Carbon (Electronic Arts/EA Black Box)Keely Haws in Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)Rosario Dawson in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCERachel Leigh Cook in Kingdom Hearts II (Square Enix)Elisha Cuthbert in 24: The Game (2K Games/SCE Studios Cambridge)Brittany Murphy in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/The Collective)Mila Kunis in Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)Lynda Carter in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
BEST CAST IN A GAMEThe Godfather (Electronic Arts/EA Redwood Shores)Family Guy (2K Games/High Voltage Software)Scarface: The World is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment) Saints Row (THQ/Volition)The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
MOST ADDICTIVE GAME The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo)Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Harmonix)Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
Friday, December 8, 2006
Two new games invade PS3 store
PlayStation 3 owners doing a little online shopping on the PlayStation Store may have noticed a few new items they could put in their cart. Yesterday, the downloadable games Lemmings and Go! Sudoku were made available for purchase online.
Lemmings is a new version of the classic PC game of the same name that pits gamers in charge of leading mindless critters to safety by assigning certain lemmings specific tasks. The PS3 version has more than 50 levels, is single-player only, and features an online leaderboard. Lemmings costs $2.99.
Go! Sudoku brings the popular number-sorting game to the PS3 with animated backgrounds and dynamic music, both of which respond to players' actions. The initial download of the game is free, with extra puzzle packs (sorted by difficulty level) costing $2.99 apiece. Previously, Sony said that approximately 1,000 puzzles would be available for download.
Lemmings is a new version of the classic PC game of the same name that pits gamers in charge of leading mindless critters to safety by assigning certain lemmings specific tasks. The PS3 version has more than 50 levels, is single-player only, and features an online leaderboard. Lemmings costs $2.99.
Go! Sudoku brings the popular number-sorting game to the PS3 with animated backgrounds and dynamic music, both of which respond to players' actions. The initial download of the game is free, with extra puzzle packs (sorted by difficulty level) costing $2.99 apiece. Previously, Sony said that approximately 1,000 puzzles would be available for download.
Firefly licensed for Multiverse MMO game
Sci-fi geeks can attest to the fact that one of the best television shows that wasn't given its proper due was Fox's short-lived Firefly. The show was created by Joss Whedon, who also brought to the small screen cult favorites Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The show ran just 14 episodes but was momentarily resurrected by a big-screen continuation, 2005's Serenity.
Now it appears the television series is getting a third shot at life in another form of media--a massively multiplayer online game.
The Multiverse Network today announced that it has attained the rights to develop an MMO game based on Firefly from 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising. Multiverse has yet to announce the production team that will develop the game, but it hopes to have the product ready sometime in 2008.
"Fox's Firefly series is set in an incredibly rich and exciting universe. It's going to make a very compelling and unique online experience filled with adventure, humor, and mystery," said Multiverse cofounder and executive producer Corey Bridges. "It's our hope that Firefly's passionate and dedicated community of fans will enjoy the chance to become part of the story as they develop and explore the worlds of Firefly."
Eschewing the traditional practices of developing MMO games, Multiverse is creating middleware dedicated to MMO games, which can be licensed to developers who then use the technology to easily create a game. The company's profit is made off of revenue sharing.
Now it appears the television series is getting a third shot at life in another form of media--a massively multiplayer online game.
The Multiverse Network today announced that it has attained the rights to develop an MMO game based on Firefly from 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising. Multiverse has yet to announce the production team that will develop the game, but it hopes to have the product ready sometime in 2008.
"Fox's Firefly series is set in an incredibly rich and exciting universe. It's going to make a very compelling and unique online experience filled with adventure, humor, and mystery," said Multiverse cofounder and executive producer Corey Bridges. "It's our hope that Firefly's passionate and dedicated community of fans will enjoy the chance to become part of the story as they develop and explore the worlds of Firefly."
Eschewing the traditional practices of developing MMO games, Multiverse is creating middleware dedicated to MMO games, which can be licensed to developers who then use the technology to easily create a game. The company's profit is made off of revenue sharing.
XBL trailers: Mass Effect, Lost Planet out now
Following just behind the latest trailer for Halo 3, which was released on Monday, a few new trailers for another pair of highly anticipated games are invading Xbox Live Marketplace.
Now available on Microsoft's online service is the "Theater" trailer for Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, the upcoming sci-fi shooter from Capcom. The 60-second trailer shows the snowy setting of the game and a large battle between opposing forces, and it features the tagline "Blood runs cold."
Mass Effect Trailer
A five-minute tour of BioWare's upcoming Xbox 360 action RPG.Watch Download
Fans of Mass Effect will be happy to know that a new trailer of the supersecret action role-playing game will be released this Friday, according to Chris Priestly, community coordinator at BioWare. In a post on the game's official forums, he says that after a long time coming, the X06 walk-through trailer will appear on both Xbox Live Marketplace and the BioWare Web site.
Priestly goes on to detail some of the trailer's contents in a separate post. "You will be seeing the video that was shown at X06 almost in its entirety, with only a very little filler material removed." He also says the X06 demos, which were given independently to media outlets, ran about 20 minutes long with pauses in action and replaying certain scenes. However, he did not give any indication how long the Xbox Live Marketplace trailer would be.
[UPDATE] The Mass Effect walkthrough trailer is now available to view on GameSpot, and clocks in at almost five-and-a-half minutes long.
Lost Planet is due in stores January 12. Mass Effect will be released sometime in 2007.
Now available on Microsoft's online service is the "Theater" trailer for Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, the upcoming sci-fi shooter from Capcom. The 60-second trailer shows the snowy setting of the game and a large battle between opposing forces, and it features the tagline "Blood runs cold."
Mass Effect Trailer
A five-minute tour of BioWare's upcoming Xbox 360 action RPG.Watch Download
Fans of Mass Effect will be happy to know that a new trailer of the supersecret action role-playing game will be released this Friday, according to Chris Priestly, community coordinator at BioWare. In a post on the game's official forums, he says that after a long time coming, the X06 walk-through trailer will appear on both Xbox Live Marketplace and the BioWare Web site.
Priestly goes on to detail some of the trailer's contents in a separate post. "You will be seeing the video that was shown at X06 almost in its entirety, with only a very little filler material removed." He also says the X06 demos, which were given independently to media outlets, ran about 20 minutes long with pauses in action and replaying certain scenes. However, he did not give any indication how long the Xbox Live Marketplace trailer would be.
[UPDATE] The Mass Effect walkthrough trailer is now available to view on GameSpot, and clocks in at almost five-and-a-half minutes long.
Lost Planet is due in stores January 12. Mass Effect will be released sometime in 2007.
Nintendo falling short of US Wii targets?
Source: Straight from the horse's mouth...an official correction in a Nintendo press release.
The official story: Nintendo could not be reached for comment as of press time.
What we heard: When talking about the two recently released gaming consoles, Nintendo's Wii is largely regarded to be plentiful when compared to the scarce PlayStation 3. Even though Nintendo's console has sold out across the United States, gamers have found that getting a Wii has been much easier than purchasing one of Sony's new consoles.
Nintendo reported that 600,000 Wiis were sold in "the Americas" in its first eight days in retail, with almost half a million being sold in the United States. Shortly after the Wii's launch, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said Nintendo was on target to ship 4 million Wiis worldwide by the end of the year.
Yesterday, Nintendo sent out a press release touting the sales success of Nintendo hardware in November, saying that of the 3.9 million systems sold in the US in the month, 2.1 million (55 percent) carried the Nintendo brand.
The press release also carried the statement, "Despite spot shortages in some locations, well more than a million Wii systems will be available in the United States by the end of the year."
For those gamers still waiting to get a Wii for the holidays, well over a million Wiis is indeed good tidings. Unfortunately, Nintendo may accidentally be playing the role of Grinch.
About four hours after the initial press release hit the wires, Nintendo sent out an updated version with one major correction. In the head of the updated release from Nintendo's PR agency, a correction reads, "...we are advised [by Nintendo] that the fourth paragraph, last sentence which reads, 'Despite spot shortages in some locations, well more than a million Wii systems will be available in the United States by the end of the year,' should be disregarded. (Emphasis added.)
Two days after launch, Fils-Aime told Reuters that approximately 2 million Wiis would be available in the US by early January, with 1 million available in early December. But with yesterday's updated release, Nintendo doesn't seem too sure about that number.
Yesterday's European launch (remember--they don't get the PS3 until spring 2007) and last week's Japanese launch may be bad for American gamers. Nintendo could be feeling a pinch on supply and may be moving some units destined for the US over to those regions.
On the other hand, Nintendo could simply be covering its bases, not wanting to promise something it can't deliver in light of the incredibly high demand for the console.
Bogus or not bogus?: It's still speculative, but also very fishy. Rumor Control will abstain until we hear back from Nintendo.
The official story: Nintendo could not be reached for comment as of press time.
What we heard: When talking about the two recently released gaming consoles, Nintendo's Wii is largely regarded to be plentiful when compared to the scarce PlayStation 3. Even though Nintendo's console has sold out across the United States, gamers have found that getting a Wii has been much easier than purchasing one of Sony's new consoles.
Nintendo reported that 600,000 Wiis were sold in "the Americas" in its first eight days in retail, with almost half a million being sold in the United States. Shortly after the Wii's launch, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said Nintendo was on target to ship 4 million Wiis worldwide by the end of the year.
Yesterday, Nintendo sent out a press release touting the sales success of Nintendo hardware in November, saying that of the 3.9 million systems sold in the US in the month, 2.1 million (55 percent) carried the Nintendo brand.
The press release also carried the statement, "Despite spot shortages in some locations, well more than a million Wii systems will be available in the United States by the end of the year."
For those gamers still waiting to get a Wii for the holidays, well over a million Wiis is indeed good tidings. Unfortunately, Nintendo may accidentally be playing the role of Grinch.
About four hours after the initial press release hit the wires, Nintendo sent out an updated version with one major correction. In the head of the updated release from Nintendo's PR agency, a correction reads, "...we are advised [by Nintendo] that the fourth paragraph, last sentence which reads, 'Despite spot shortages in some locations, well more than a million Wii systems will be available in the United States by the end of the year,' should be disregarded. (Emphasis added.)
Two days after launch, Fils-Aime told Reuters that approximately 2 million Wiis would be available in the US by early January, with 1 million available in early December. But with yesterday's updated release, Nintendo doesn't seem too sure about that number.
Yesterday's European launch (remember--they don't get the PS3 until spring 2007) and last week's Japanese launch may be bad for American gamers. Nintendo could be feeling a pinch on supply and may be moving some units destined for the US over to those regions.
On the other hand, Nintendo could simply be covering its bases, not wanting to promise something it can't deliver in light of the incredibly high demand for the console.
Bogus or not bogus?: It's still speculative, but also very fishy. Rumor Control will abstain until we hear back from Nintendo.
GRAW 2 debriefed
One of the first next-generation games to show off the power of the Xbox 360 was Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. The game was a success in retail and with critics, with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awarding the title Best Game of the Year at its annual awards in October.
During a recent earnings call, Ubisoft unsurprisingly revealed that a sequel was in the works. But what was surprising was the game's timetable--the company was aiming for a first-quarter 2007 release, just about one year after its predecessor.
GRAW 2
The first trailer of the latest French game about US Special Forces!Watch Download
Today, Ubisoft narrowed down Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2's worldwide release date to spring 2007 and revealed which platforms it is in development for. The Advanced Warfighter era of Ghost Recon will go for a second tour of duty on the Xbox 360 and PC and will make its debut on both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable.
GRAW 2 takes place in 2014 and follows the events of the original GRAW. Insurgent rebel forces have sent Mexico into a nationwide civil war, which poses a threat to the United States. Scott Mitchell and his fellow Ghosts are called on to neutralize the potential risk to the US and will have to fight on both sides of the border, including in El Paso, Texas, to be successful.
Ubisoft promises that GRAW 2 will include changing weather systems, improved artificial intelligence, an advanced Cross-Com system, and more types of military support, including air strikes from jet fighters. There will also be new weapons and a new soldier class, the medic.
No details of the multiplayer portion of the game were given.
GRAW 2 is being developed by Ubisoft Paris and Red Storm Studios. No rating or pricing information has yet been announced.
During a recent earnings call, Ubisoft unsurprisingly revealed that a sequel was in the works. But what was surprising was the game's timetable--the company was aiming for a first-quarter 2007 release, just about one year after its predecessor.
GRAW 2
The first trailer of the latest French game about US Special Forces!Watch Download
Today, Ubisoft narrowed down Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2's worldwide release date to spring 2007 and revealed which platforms it is in development for. The Advanced Warfighter era of Ghost Recon will go for a second tour of duty on the Xbox 360 and PC and will make its debut on both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable.
GRAW 2 takes place in 2014 and follows the events of the original GRAW. Insurgent rebel forces have sent Mexico into a nationwide civil war, which poses a threat to the United States. Scott Mitchell and his fellow Ghosts are called on to neutralize the potential risk to the US and will have to fight on both sides of the border, including in El Paso, Texas, to be successful.
Ubisoft promises that GRAW 2 will include changing weather systems, improved artificial intelligence, an advanced Cross-Com system, and more types of military support, including air strikes from jet fighters. There will also be new weapons and a new soldier class, the medic.
No details of the multiplayer portion of the game were given.
GRAW 2 is being developed by Ubisoft Paris and Red Storm Studios. No rating or pricing information has yet been announced.
Thursday, December 7, 2006
UK launch: Wii draws the crowds
The Wii went on sale in the UK at the stroke of midnight on Friday, drawing huge crowds on London's premiere shopping street in two massive lines.
At Nintendo's official event in HMV on Oxford Street, celebrities Ian Wright, Nell McAndrew, Pat Cash, and Ricky Hatton turned up to play Wii Sports. Cash and McAndrew played Wii Tennis, with Cash winning two games to zero. Wright and Hatton sparred at Wii Boxing, with the ex-footballer winning the virtual game against the boxer.
Marwan Elgamal, who had been camping outside the store in an alley for two days, was first in line for a console at the HMV store, and it was presented to him by Ian Wright. Elgamal bought The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess with his purchase, and Wright asked him if Zelda was a fighting game--which didn't go down well with the crowd.
A few shops down the street at Game, Vic Ainsworth was first in line and held his Wii box above his head in victory as photographers snapped his photo. He admitted that he'd never had so many pictures taken of himself. He laughed, "I always look grumpy in photos, but I'm not! I'm really excited!" He revealed that he was surprised when he got to the store and found he was first in line. "I thought there would be people here already because I read on the news that people were camped out for like two days outside HMV. People were asking where was the queue, so I jumped in and started it."
At Game, glasses of champagne were given out to the first customers through the doors as well as baseball caps, scarves, blankets, and pizza while people were standing in line.
Game's marketing director Anna Macario said, "We're so pleased with the turnout. I've never seen a queue go round the block here before. I know so many people personally who have never bought a console before but who are now after playing it. It's universally appealing." She added that the company would be getting more stock in from Nintendo before Christmas but that she didn't know as yet when or how much.
Nintendo UK's product manager for home consoles, Rob Lowe, told GameSpot that he believed that the launch events had been a huge success. He said, "I think this is the biggest launch we've ever had. It's also great to see so many girl gamers in the queue. I think one in 10 was a girl gamer." Asked whether he believed that Nintendo's approach to make a console that tried to appeal to everyone had paid off, he raised his arms to gesture to the crowd behind him and said, "Yes, definitely."
At Nintendo's official event in HMV on Oxford Street, celebrities Ian Wright, Nell McAndrew, Pat Cash, and Ricky Hatton turned up to play Wii Sports. Cash and McAndrew played Wii Tennis, with Cash winning two games to zero. Wright and Hatton sparred at Wii Boxing, with the ex-footballer winning the virtual game against the boxer.
Marwan Elgamal, who had been camping outside the store in an alley for two days, was first in line for a console at the HMV store, and it was presented to him by Ian Wright. Elgamal bought The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess with his purchase, and Wright asked him if Zelda was a fighting game--which didn't go down well with the crowd.
A few shops down the street at Game, Vic Ainsworth was first in line and held his Wii box above his head in victory as photographers snapped his photo. He admitted that he'd never had so many pictures taken of himself. He laughed, "I always look grumpy in photos, but I'm not! I'm really excited!" He revealed that he was surprised when he got to the store and found he was first in line. "I thought there would be people here already because I read on the news that people were camped out for like two days outside HMV. People were asking where was the queue, so I jumped in and started it."
At Game, glasses of champagne were given out to the first customers through the doors as well as baseball caps, scarves, blankets, and pizza while people were standing in line.
Game's marketing director Anna Macario said, "We're so pleased with the turnout. I've never seen a queue go round the block here before. I know so many people personally who have never bought a console before but who are now after playing it. It's universally appealing." She added that the company would be getting more stock in from Nintendo before Christmas but that she didn't know as yet when or how much.
Nintendo UK's product manager for home consoles, Rob Lowe, told GameSpot that he believed that the launch events had been a huge success. He said, "I think this is the biggest launch we've ever had. It's also great to see so many girl gamers in the queue. I think one in 10 was a girl gamer." Asked whether he believed that Nintendo's approach to make a console that tried to appeal to everyone had paid off, he raised his arms to gesture to the crowd behind him and said, "Yes, definitely."
NPD: November game sales up 15 percent
After months of year-over-year growth, October's sales figures surprised some analysts and industry watchers. With the market-depressing effects of a console transition largely behind them, US retailers started off the key fourth quarter of the year with sales more or less in line with what they had taken in for October 2005.
Despite that month's unspectacular showing, analysts were upbeat this week in anticipation of significant sales growth for November. And according to the industry tracking NPD Group, their optimism was justified. For the month of November, US retail game sales amounted to roughly $804 million, a 15 percent increase over the prior year's $702 million.
Sales were led by the Xbox 360 release Gears of War (which broke the million-unit mark), followed by Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII and Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii. Twilight Princess was the only game for either of the month's newly released systems--the Wii and the PlayStation 3--to crack the top-10 best-selling games (by units sold).
Despite the performance of Gears of War and the release of Sony's and Nintendo's next-gen consoles, it was portable systems that experienced the more pronounced growth. Portable game sales were up 28 percent to $185 million, compared with home console game sales' 11 percent bump to $618 million.
Sales for PS3 and Wii games would no doubt have been higher if more of the consoles had made their way into gamers' hands. NPD shows 197,000 PS3 systems sold for the month, while the Wii managed to move 476,000 units. The Xbox 360 bested them both, though not by much, sporting sales of 511,000 for the month.
None of the next-gen systems could measure up to the DS, however. Nintendo's newest portable sold 918,000 systems, according to NPD. All tallied up, US retailers sold $771 million worth of gaming hardware last month, 69 percent more than the $456 million moved in November 2005, when the Xbox 360 launched.
Despite that month's unspectacular showing, analysts were upbeat this week in anticipation of significant sales growth for November. And according to the industry tracking NPD Group, their optimism was justified. For the month of November, US retail game sales amounted to roughly $804 million, a 15 percent increase over the prior year's $702 million.
Sales were led by the Xbox 360 release Gears of War (which broke the million-unit mark), followed by Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII and Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii. Twilight Princess was the only game for either of the month's newly released systems--the Wii and the PlayStation 3--to crack the top-10 best-selling games (by units sold).
Despite the performance of Gears of War and the release of Sony's and Nintendo's next-gen consoles, it was portable systems that experienced the more pronounced growth. Portable game sales were up 28 percent to $185 million, compared with home console game sales' 11 percent bump to $618 million.
Sales for PS3 and Wii games would no doubt have been higher if more of the consoles had made their way into gamers' hands. NPD shows 197,000 PS3 systems sold for the month, while the Wii managed to move 476,000 units. The Xbox 360 bested them both, though not by much, sporting sales of 511,000 for the month.
None of the next-gen systems could measure up to the DS, however. Nintendo's newest portable sold 918,000 systems, according to NPD. All tallied up, US retailers sold $771 million worth of gaming hardware last month, 69 percent more than the $456 million moved in November 2005, when the Xbox 360 launched.
Clinton, Lieberman help launch ESRB ads
Today the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) joined Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) in announcing a cooperative effort to get the word out about the gaming industry's rating system. Last year, the two senators introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act, a piece of federal legislation that seeks to limit minors' access to objectionable games based upon their ESRB ratings.
The new initiative is focused on a nationwide advertising campaign that consists of public service announcements. Clinton and Lieberman don't appear in any of the campaign's four 30-second TV spots. Instead, Best Buy president Brian Dunn and GameStop president Steve Morgan affirm their companies' support of the ESRB and their policies not to sell games rated M for Mature to minors without parental permission.
While Clinton and Lieberman don't appear on camera, both legislators offered their support for the initiative in a statement.
"We all share in the responsibility of making sure our children play age-appropriate video games," Clinton said, "and I'm pleased that the ESRB and retailers are working together to educate parents about the video game ratings and make sure they are enforced."
"I have long said that the ESRB ratings are the most comprehensive in the media industry," Lieberman noted. "There are many age-appropriate games that are clever and entertaining. Parents should understand and use the ratings to help them decide which video games to buy for their families."
Both senators have been vocal critics of the game industry in the past. Lieberman pushed the game industry to adopt a rating system in the early 1990s and has remained vocal on the subject of violent games ever since. Clinton came to the forefront of the industry's critics with the Grand Theft Auto Hot Coffee scandal, when she called for an FTC inquiry into the matter. Earlier this year, both senators called for the Centers for Disease Control to study the impact of electronic media use on children.
The new initiative is focused on a nationwide advertising campaign that consists of public service announcements. Clinton and Lieberman don't appear in any of the campaign's four 30-second TV spots. Instead, Best Buy president Brian Dunn and GameStop president Steve Morgan affirm their companies' support of the ESRB and their policies not to sell games rated M for Mature to minors without parental permission.
While Clinton and Lieberman don't appear on camera, both legislators offered their support for the initiative in a statement.
"We all share in the responsibility of making sure our children play age-appropriate video games," Clinton said, "and I'm pleased that the ESRB and retailers are working together to educate parents about the video game ratings and make sure they are enforced."
"I have long said that the ESRB ratings are the most comprehensive in the media industry," Lieberman noted. "There are many age-appropriate games that are clever and entertaining. Parents should understand and use the ratings to help them decide which video games to buy for their families."
Both senators have been vocal critics of the game industry in the past. Lieberman pushed the game industry to adopt a rating system in the early 1990s and has remained vocal on the subject of violent games ever since. Clinton came to the forefront of the industry's critics with the Grand Theft Auto Hot Coffee scandal, when she called for an FTC inquiry into the matter. Earlier this year, both senators called for the Centers for Disease Control to study the impact of electronic media use on children.
Cops accused of cutting PS3 line
Gamers were willing to do almost anything to get a PlayStation 3 on November 17, the day the system debuted in North America. Some camped outside of stores for days, some resorted to crime, and some may have tried to use their stance as officers of the law to get their hands on a PS3.
The Associated Press is reporting that two Rhode Island police officers are currently under investigation for cutting into a line of gamers waiting to purchase the PS3 on launch day.
The two unnamed police officers were part of a group of seven who were permitted to jump ahead to the front of the line by two security guards. One of the officers claims to have done nothing wrong.
His police chief disagrees. "We think he did something very wrong," Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman told the AP. "He's been identified and he's going to be disciplined."
Both officers are currently under investigation by their departments for their actions, but no
specifics into disciplinary action have yet been discussed.
The two security guards who let the group cut the line have been fired.
The Associated Press is reporting that two Rhode Island police officers are currently under investigation for cutting into a line of gamers waiting to purchase the PS3 on launch day.
The two unnamed police officers were part of a group of seven who were permitted to jump ahead to the front of the line by two security guards. One of the officers claims to have done nothing wrong.
His police chief disagrees. "We think he did something very wrong," Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman told the AP. "He's been identified and he's going to be disciplined."
Both officers are currently under investigation by their departments for their actions, but no
specifics into disciplinary action have yet been discussed.
The two security guards who let the group cut the line have been fired.
Microsoft sued for 360 update issues
Source: A post on the Xbox.com forums, regurgitated with skepticism (but not fact-checking) by Team Xbox, Computer and Video Games, and Joystiq.
What we heard: When Microsoft released the Fall Update for the Xbox 360 on October 31, reports that it was "bricking" some systems--rendering them unable to play games or even boot up properly--quickly flared up online. Web sites specializing in the Xbox modding scene speculated that the bricked systems were an intentional byproduct of the update. According to them, Microsoft wanted to break consoles that had been tampered with to do things for which it wasn't intended, like play pirated copies of games. Microsoft required that anyone wishing to take their Xbox 360 console onto the Xbox Live service download the update.
While initially quiet on the subject, Microsoft the next day acknowledged problems that affected "less than 1 percent" of Xbox 360 owners who installed the update onto their consoles. The company said it was working with those affected to resolve the issue, and released an updated version of the Fall Update.
That apparently didn't satisfy everyone, as earlier this week, a poster on the official Xbox.com message boards waded into the middle of a 60+-page thread about the Fall Update problems and claimed that he had filed a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft in the matter.
A handful of gaming Web sites picked up on the news and passed it along, each of them noting that it was an unconfirmed report from a message board poster.
As it turns out, the poster was telling the truth. GameSpot obtained a copy of the original complaint, which was filed in a Washington district court. The suit accuses Microsoft of breach of contract, negligence, and violation of the state of Washington's Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Stating that the affected consumers number in "at least the thousands," the suit contends that Microsoft is refusing to repair or replace the broken systems unless the users pay "up to $140" to ship it back to the company.
The plaintiff is demanding that Microsoft pay at least $5 million in damages for breach of contract to those affected by the Fall Update problems, and an additional amount of at least $5 million in damages for an unfair or deceptive act under the CPA. Should Microsoft argue that it had no agreement to breach with the affected users, then the plaintiff contends Microsoft was negligent, and should be made to pay at least $5 million in damages.
[UPDATE] The official story: A Microsoft representative issued the following response to the matter:
"A small percentage of consoles (less than 1 percent) were affected by the Fall Update. An updated version of the Fall Update was made available on Xbox Live on November 1 which eliminated issues relating to new or refurbished consoles malfunctioning after applying the Fall Update.
"Users affected by the initial Fall Update would have seen an error message and should call Xbox Support (1-800-4-MY-XBOX in the US and Canada). Microsoft is making every effort to resolve this issue for its customers as fast and easy as possible. It's also important to note that Xbox Support is paying for the shipping and repair/replacement of all Xbox 360 consoles that malfunctioned as a result of the Fall Update on October 31, before it could be fixed on November 1. They just need to phone Xbox Support and give them the proper error message indicating it was the Fall Update that affected their console."
Bogus or not bogus?: Fortunately for those reporting without a net, not bogus
What we heard: When Microsoft released the Fall Update for the Xbox 360 on October 31, reports that it was "bricking" some systems--rendering them unable to play games or even boot up properly--quickly flared up online. Web sites specializing in the Xbox modding scene speculated that the bricked systems were an intentional byproduct of the update. According to them, Microsoft wanted to break consoles that had been tampered with to do things for which it wasn't intended, like play pirated copies of games. Microsoft required that anyone wishing to take their Xbox 360 console onto the Xbox Live service download the update.
While initially quiet on the subject, Microsoft the next day acknowledged problems that affected "less than 1 percent" of Xbox 360 owners who installed the update onto their consoles. The company said it was working with those affected to resolve the issue, and released an updated version of the Fall Update.
That apparently didn't satisfy everyone, as earlier this week, a poster on the official Xbox.com message boards waded into the middle of a 60+-page thread about the Fall Update problems and claimed that he had filed a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft in the matter.
A handful of gaming Web sites picked up on the news and passed it along, each of them noting that it was an unconfirmed report from a message board poster.
As it turns out, the poster was telling the truth. GameSpot obtained a copy of the original complaint, which was filed in a Washington district court. The suit accuses Microsoft of breach of contract, negligence, and violation of the state of Washington's Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Stating that the affected consumers number in "at least the thousands," the suit contends that Microsoft is refusing to repair or replace the broken systems unless the users pay "up to $140" to ship it back to the company.
The plaintiff is demanding that Microsoft pay at least $5 million in damages for breach of contract to those affected by the Fall Update problems, and an additional amount of at least $5 million in damages for an unfair or deceptive act under the CPA. Should Microsoft argue that it had no agreement to breach with the affected users, then the plaintiff contends Microsoft was negligent, and should be made to pay at least $5 million in damages.
[UPDATE] The official story: A Microsoft representative issued the following response to the matter:
"A small percentage of consoles (less than 1 percent) were affected by the Fall Update. An updated version of the Fall Update was made available on Xbox Live on November 1 which eliminated issues relating to new or refurbished consoles malfunctioning after applying the Fall Update.
"Users affected by the initial Fall Update would have seen an error message and should call Xbox Support (1-800-4-MY-XBOX in the US and Canada). Microsoft is making every effort to resolve this issue for its customers as fast and easy as possible. It's also important to note that Xbox Support is paying for the shipping and repair/replacement of all Xbox 360 consoles that malfunctioned as a result of the Fall Update on October 31, before it could be fixed on November 1. They just need to phone Xbox Support and give them the proper error message indicating it was the Fall Update that affected their console."
Bogus or not bogus?: Fortunately for those reporting without a net, not bogus
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