Gamers Den

Xbox 360 HD Requirement Dropped

2009-09-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

Back when the Xbox 360 first launched, Microsoft wanted to make sure all the games on its console were at least running in 1280x720 screen resolution, or what we typically know as 720p high-definition. Developers had to reach that graphical resolution minimum, or were told to look elsewhere. There were several exceptions made for some very exceptional titles, however, specifically Halo 3, which ran at 1152x640 and Call of Duty 4 which was 1024x600. Dropping the resolution down a bit allowed for more graphical effects. But now it seems the door is open for any developer for any game. David Jefferies of Black Rock Studio - makers of Pure and Split Second - stated on hisDevelop blog (via CVG) that Microsoft recently dropped the requirement, and now studios are "free to make the trade-off between resolution and image quality as we see fit. Jefferies mentions that since more and more TV's are 1080p, his whole screen resolution "issue" will become less of a problem.

GT5 has 1000 vehicles, out in Q4 2009

2009-08-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

Gran Turismo 5 will feature a massive 1000 vehicles, according to information reportedly posted on the official Polyphony Digital website, and should be released this year according to a gamescom brochure.

GTPlanet apparently got hold of the Polyphony website information while it was live (thanks 1UP), and reports that the game also boasts more than 20 tracks in more than 60 layouts.

Meanwhile, Sony was reportedly handing out brochures at gamescom listing the game for release in Q4 2009.

The translated Japanese information also lists game modes accessible through the menus, mentions custom soundtrack support, and reveals that 170 of the 1000 vehicles will have full interior modelling.

Apparently GT5 will also include various hybrid and electric vehicles, including the latest Tesla. Vrrooom. Or, rather, not.

Digital Foundry caught up with Gran Turismo 5 at gamescom last week and took a look at its damage modelling, concluding that it's still a bit of a work in progress.

Japan charts: Dragon Quest IX rules roost

2009-08-26T04:09:00.000-07:00

Dragon Quest IX has mustered 126,682 sales to soar back to the top of the Japanese chart, according to Media Create data for the week ending 16th August.

Its performance helps DSi and DS Lite combine to 95,857 units sold, which is just over double that of the nearest challenger Wii, which sold 47,732 consoles.

Wii champion Monster Hunter Tri holds on at four and hits a lifetime milestone of 750,000 units.

DS game Tomodachi Collection (Friend Collection) takes two this week, followed by Wii Sports Resort at three and SD Gundam G Generation Wars (PS2) at five.

The PSP is Japan's third most popular console with 39,882 units sold. Fourth, surprisingly, is Xbox 360 with 9162 consoles shifted. PS3 and PS2 are almost neck-and-neck with 5994 and 4907 units sold, respectively.

Konami casts shadow over Wii

2009-08-20T10:54:00.001-07:00

Konami has announced it will release Hudson Soft's unusual Wii title, The Tower of Shadow, in spring 2010.

What makes The Tower of Shadow (working title) unique is that the player controls the shadow of a young boy. The shadow must scale the colossal tower that dominates the game’s skyline. The boy does not speak and nobody knows his name. He simply climbs.

As a shadow the player will need to abide by certain rules. The shadow can only walk on the thin line between shadow and light. While he is not affected by height or distance, he must always have a shadow foothold, and he will disappear if he is fully engulfed by either the dark or the light.

Gravity does not apply in normal ways. Instead, when the source of light in a stage is parallel to the ground, the shadow is pulled towards the light. Similarly, if the angle of the light changes, so the gravity also shifts as the shadow is extended or reduced.

The shadow is accompanied by a winged sylph known as a ‘Spangle’, which can be used to manipulate physical items that the shadow boy cannot.

Shadow boy isn't the only shadow around, though. A giant shadow is in pursuit of shadow boy, and patrols the tower, alongside other assailants.

A slimmer, cheaper, better PS3. Was that so hard?

2009-08-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

I've wanted a PlayStation 3 since forever. It plays Blu-ray movies, it has some great exclusive titles, and it looks like it could beat somebody up without breaking a sweat across its glossy matte brow. But it's always seemed out of reach price-wise. As my desire grew stronger over recent months, I found myself unable to pull the trigger: I just didn't want to pay $400 for a video game console that came out in 2006. The fact that I could get a lot more for my $400 than $500 would've gotten me at launch was hardly consolation, given that the PS3's main competition, the Xbox 360, has been available in a "full fledged" edition for $300 for a while. Luckily, the PS3 Slim has come at last to save me from all this heartache,

Diablo 2 High Resolution patch, best thing since sliced bread

2009-08-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Craving Diablo III? Want to try and fill the void until its release? Well for those of us who want some classic hacking & slashing action, but aren’t willing to play Diablo II in the old cruddy 800 x 600… The High Resolution (Multi-res) patch comes to the rescue.

The Multi-res patch allows you to play Diablo II in any resolution supported by your monitor, there are a few caveats but nothing that stops the awesomeness of high res Diablo.

This patch has been out for a while, but it doesn’t stop it from making it a fantastic way to replay Diablo II.

Alan Wake 'done' - Report

2009-08-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

Finnish studio Remedy Entertainment first debuted Alan Wake at E3 2005. Now, more than four years later, the dark survival horror game is finally "done"--in a manner of speaking.

Joystiq is reporting that Remedy managing director Matias Myllyrinne told the gaming blog after a GDC Europe presentation today that the game is "all done." However, "all done" is not the same as "gone gold," as Myllyrinne added, "We're just polishing at this point."

Alan Wake is currently expected to launch for the Xbox 360 next spring. A PC edition had originally been planned for release alongside the console version, but Remedy recently acknowledged that a simultaneous release is no longer planned.

"PC plans are currently open," a representative of the studio said at the time. "Remedy has a deep heritage in PC gaming and would love to see a PC version available to its PC followers. Ultimately, however, this decision lies with our publisher [Microsoft Game Studios]."

Chromehounds online play being put down

2009-08-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

When Sega's Chromehounds debuted on the Xbox 360 in July of 2006, it garnered cheers for its persistent online multiplayer campaign and jeers for a single-player mode that amounted to little more than a tutorial for online action. That dichotomy will disappear early next year, as Sega today posted on its official Chromehounds message boards that it will discontinue the game's online modes.

"We regret to inform everyone that the Chromehounds online service will be closing on January 6, 2010," an administrator wrote. "At this time, all online components for Chromehounds will no longer be accessible, and the game will only be available for play in Offline modes."

The admin thanked Chromehounds players for their support and urged them to "enjoy the remaining time with the game."

Chromehounds was the first Xbox 360 title developed by From Software. The studio subsequently developed a pair of titles in its signature Armored Core mech combat series for Microsoft's current console, as well the role-playing game Enchanted Arms, and the ninja action games Tenchu: Shadow Assault and Ninja Blade.

Six Days In Fallujah dev closed?

2009-08-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

Independent US studio Atomic Games has been forced to lay off "many" staff members after failing to secure funding for its Iraq-based war title Six Days In Fallujah.

"Due to a mixture of fears about the edgy subject matter of Six Days In Fallujah, as well as low videogame sales this summer, we have been unable to secure full-scale funding from a major publisher for Six Days In Fallujah. This has caused us to reduce the size of our studio today. Development at Atomic will continue with a smaller team that will be funded by our sister company, Destineer," the company said in a statement.

Konami was originally set to publish the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC title but backed out following a public backlash over its subject matter. Presented in a documentary-like style, Six Days In Fallujah is based on the 2004 US military campaign Operation Fury, in which the US lead an assault against an Iraqi insurgence in the city of Fallujah.

"We wish to assure the dozens of marine veterans who have collectively invested hundreds of hours in this project that, while we have been badly wounded, we will fight on. The stories of your brothers' courage and sacrifice in Fallujah must be shared with the world," Atomic added.

"All of the 75 people in the Atomic studio have stayed with us until this week. This is a testament not just to their commitment to Six Days In Fallujah, but also to their character when faced with adversity and personal financial risk. We encourage videogame development studios wishing to speak with the many talented and loyal staff who are affected by this situation to contact the jobs page on the atomic.com website."

While Atomic gave little clue as to the number of affected employees, an anonymous source has told IndustryGamers: "Out of 75 people, less than a dozen are left and about a third of that isn't even developers. The remaining team is basically a skeleton cleanup crew that will be gone soon too. They are trying to downplay the extent of these layoffs, but the reality is that Atomic is pretty much dead."

Games For Windows - Live 3.0 launched

2009-08-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has rolled out the latest version of Games for Windows - Live.

The 3.0 update features a number of new features. Most notably, an in-game marketplace now allows players to purchase and install content without leaving their game.

Live accounts can also be managed in-game, enabling players to purchase points, edit and add payment details, redeem codes and change Gamertags without exiting their session.

Additionally, the update introduces some anti-piracy measures. Microsoft says that server side authentication will link game licenses to Gamertags, allowing installation of a game onto any PC players use, while zero day piracy protection is said to keep games from launching before their intended street date.

Brutal Legend Multiplayer Impressions

2009-08-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

There's one four-letter word that describes this game's multiplayer mode -- epic.

his heavy metal-inspired action game stars Eddie Riggs (voiced by Jack Black) who must save humankind with the power of rock. The single-player part of the game includes lots of driving and adventure, and -- as we recently discovered -- real-time strategy lite elements to wage a rock 'n' roll war of epic proportions.

The multiplayer mode essentially transports those real-time strategy battles into an online space for PS3 and Xbox 360, where up to eight players can go head to head as one of three factions: Ironheade (Eddie's team), Drowning Doom (the evil metal bad guys), and the newly revealed Tainted Coil, a gang of emo-afflicted Goths. The wild character designs appear to chronicle the litany of heavy metal costumes, poseurs, and fashion fads over the years in these three factions, blending biker chic grrl infantry with the Morticia Adams-worthy dresses, to disfigured monsters. Watching the multiplayer game in action -- well, it's all so surreal that you can't help but chuckle.

These metal warriors do more than look cool. The multiplayer action -- like the rest of the game -- is epic. Fighters cast spells, catch on fire, send out packs of wild rats and send burning zeppelins crashing into their opponents. We played on the Ironheade faction, and started off on a simple mountain map called Bleeding Coast, consisting of a headquarters (stage) and two resource nodes (fan geysers), plus a fifth, neutral resource node up for grabs. The goal is to wipe out the enemy stage, but to do that you'll need to gather resources to upgrade your stage (up to level 4) to gain better infantry and devastatingly powerful vehicles, and bring sheer numbers to the fight.

Playing as Eddie, you can double up with other characters to increase damage to the enemy (by pressing Y on the Xbox 360, triangle on the PS3), and fly around to scout out the competition. Using the directional pad, control a multi-tiered army of close-combat and long-range infantry (Head Bangers, Razor Girls, and Roadies), and vehicles (Thunderhog, Rock Crusher) by pressing up (charge), left (follow), right (move), and down (defend).

The mixture of player and team spells is, of course, epic (and effective). You can rev up your faction dialing up the BattleCry solo -- via a Guitar Hero-style mechanic or call in massive attacks, like the burning zeppelin, using the Bring It On Home guitar solo.

Brutal Legend's newly unveiled multiplayer mode is ready to rock your face starting October 13. Can you keep a secret? (I can't wait to play this game).

GRIN Shutting Down Due To 'Unbearable Cashflow Situation'

2009-08-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

Bionic Commando and Terminator: Salvation developer GRIN is officially closing its doors, citing an "unbearable cashflow situation." The closure comes following rumors of layoffs and other troubles at the Swedish studio, Gamasutra is reporting.

"Too many publishers have been delaying their payments, causing an unbearable cashflow situation," co-founders Bo and Ulf Andersson wrote on the official site.

"After twelve years of hard work, employing hundreds of wonderfully talented men and women, it is over. It has been a great adventure and the GRIN family has experienced what few have."

GRIN has worked with a number of high profile franchises, including Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. It had been doing well, opening additional locations, before running into weaker-than-expected sales for the Bionic Commando remake.

The studio's final message offers thanks to people at Nvidia, Intel and Capcom, as well as GRIN's team members. It also seems that the studio was hard at work on a new project when it was shut down. The farewell note makes mention of an "unreleased masterpiece that we were not allowed to finish."

To its fans, the studio offered a final goodbye, saying, "We hope you had a good time."

Next GTA episode coming out on Oct. 29

2009-08-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

Rockstar revealed yesterday that the next downloadable expansion for Grand Theft Auto IV, entitled The Ballad of Gay Tony, will be coming exclusively to the Xbox 360 on October 29th. The game will release on Xbox Live for 1600 Microsoft Points ($16) that day, but will also be coming to retail stores that day as part of a $40 compilation disc entitled Episodes from Liberty City that includes the previous DLC GTA title, The Lost and the Damned,.

Like The Lost and the Damned, The Ballad of Gay Tony will take place in GTA IV's Liberty City, with a minor character from GTAIV acting as the protagonist. In this expansion, the player will assume the role of Luis Fernando Lopez, the bodyguard of nightclub owner Anthony "Gay Tony" Prince. So far, Rockstar has only released the logo for the game, shown in the image above.

Reach to be Bungie's Last Halo

2009-08-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

Halo: Reach will be Bungie's final Halo game, with the company moving on to new projects following completion of the title next year.

Halo: Combat Evolved marked the series' debut on the first Xbox back in 2001, and since then Bungie has gone on to create one of the definitive videogame franchises with the second and third instalments of the game. Halo 3: ODST is due this September, while Halo: Reach - which goes back to the origins of the Halo story - is expected next autumn.

Bakken was cryptic as to the nature of Bungie's next game - though suggested that it may well step away from the first person mechanics that have defined the studio's output for the past decade; "If you look at Bungie's past we've done a lot of different styles - first person to third person to RTS - so it could be anything."

Future Halo games will be overseen by the recently revealed 343 Industries, which is headed up by former Bungie employee Frank O'Connor.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Arrives on PSN With Three PSone Games

2009-08-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

It's a busy day on the PlayStation Store with Marvel vs. Capcom 2 finally arriving at long last for $15. Comic fans will be well served to pick up the retail version that contains a download code for the game, as you'll receive a bonus in the form of a one-month trial of Marvel's online comic service. Alternatively, the first 15,000 people to purchase the game directly from the PlayStation Store will also receive the free subscription. A multiplayer-only demo of MvC2 is the sole demo to be released today.

Three new PSone games have also been released on the Store, including one at a premium price. Dead in the Water and Ten Pin Alley will both run you the standard PSone Classic price of $6 while the original Tomb Raider will cost you a few dollars extra at $10.

Yet another new area to play PAIN in -- PAIN: Museum ($6) -- headlines the DLC releases for this week. Along with it is a free PAIN character and a new single-player game mode, Knockin' Blocks, for $2. The first DLC pack for Red Faction: Guerrilla, Demons of the Badlands, is also out today for $10. Other new content includes a new costume pack ($3) and new building materials ($4) for Little Big Planet; the complete Disgaea 3 DLC set (a whopping $50); 27 different Madden NFL 10 upgrades and packs (ranging from $.50 up to as much as $10); and the usual slate of new music for Guitar Hero World Tour, Rock Band 2, and Rock Band: Unplugged

Over 100,000 nerds sign Starcraft II Lan petition

2009-08-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

"When Blizzard announced that Starcraft II would be ditching LAN support, people got upset. Local play has been a staple of Starcraft for centuries, and it was quite shocking to see that the sequel would not allow for that most ancient and noble of nerd traditions, the LAN party. Naturally, an online petition started up."

Army of Two: The 40th Day Gets Dated

2009-08-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

EA has given an official release date for Army of Two: The 40th Day. The game will apparently be avoiding the hornet's nest of a certain other numbered sequel, and is instead set for early next year on January 12. This dodges a proverbial bullet this year, but puts it into an increasingly crowded 2010 season.

The company also announced that pre-orders will gain exclusive access to the "Extraction" multiplayer mode. In it, four players take on waves of enemies while moving throughout a stage. This makes it sound similar to Horde mode from Gears of War 2, but perhaps with more motion involved to get to new areas.

Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3 in development, film adaptation also coming soon

2009-08-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

It has been reported that Electronic Arts' science-fiction themed survival horror video game, Dead Space, will be a trilogy, with Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3 in the works. The Dead Space trilogy does not include the upcoming on-rails shooter Dead Space: Extraction, which is a Nintendo Wii-exclusive spin-off of the horror brand.

In addition to the news of two Dead Space sequels, the article reveals that D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye, Disturbia) will be directing the film adaptation of Dead Space, which is slated for theatrical release in 2010.

Dark Void delayed to 2010 'to avoid competition'

2009-08-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Another day, another delay, as Dark Void jet-packs its way to the 2010 delayed games club.

It must be delay-a-game month, because there has been a serious number of games that have beendelayed within the past couple of weeks. Now, you can add the jet-packing action title Dark Void to the list as Capcom announced today that they would be delaying the game to 2010 "to avoid competition." Lame.

The game was originally slated to come out by the end of September 2009 for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but is now expected to arrive sometime between January 1 and March 31, 2010.

While I'm sure there is more to it than fear of compeition, no other statements have been revealed on the subject of the delay. But, we'll try and keep you posted should anything pop up.

Activision Cashes In On Guitar Hero 5

2009-08-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Activision announced today that the legendary Johnny Cash will be a playable character in the upcoming Guitar Hero 5, due to release in September. Cash will reportedly be an unlockable character, and will showcase a new venue, the Electric Honky Tonk Bar. This makes Cash the third confirmed playable character, joining the previously announced Carlos Santana and Shirley Manson.

Guitar Hero 5 will feature songs from over 80 artists, including the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan. The game will also allow players to perform with “…any in-game instrument combination -- multiple vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers, in any game mode,” and will feature a new Party Play Mode.

With The Beatles: Rock Band and Rock Band Network on their way, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Guitar Hero 5 to win the adoration of music game groupies, but one thing is for sure: Neversoft and Activision won’t be surrendering anytime soon, and whenever two developers get caught in a ruthless game of one-upmanship, the gamers always win.

No Doom 4 Talk Until 2010

2009-08-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

Everything gets delayed until 2010. Even announcements. Today at id's annual press conference, Software CEO Todd Hollenshead teased the audience by simply saying the word Doom. A word that might be creepy to other audiences, is naturally exciting to a crowd of video-game fans. The hope was quickly extinguished, however, as Hollenshead said the company is staying tight lipped on Doom 4 until QuakeCon 2010.

Considering not everything has been said regarding id's upcoming open world FPS, Rage, nobody can really expect the company to start touting its next title. Rage needs all the time it can get to take root inside id fans' minds, as there is hardly room in fanboys' hearts for a new franchise alongside juggernauts Wolfenstein, Quake, and Doom.

I have a firm belief that Doom 4 would do must fine if it released without any fanfare at all. How many surprises can be in store? Guns? Check. Creepy sci-fi setting? Check. Demons? Check. Doom is Doom, and it's going to sell regardless. Now if they can make the demons look even glossier this time around...

I Am Alive due out in 2011?

2009-08-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

Ubisoft's upcoming survival game I Am Alive may not be out until 2011, if one of its game designers' online profiles is accurate.

Arch internet-watcher superannuation today dug up the LinkedIn profile of Charles Gaudron, who lists himself as senior game designer at Darkworks, and has the following in his summary section: "I Am Alive (PS3/X360, Ubisoft, 2011)".

One small issue with all this, of course, is that Darkworks is no longer working on I Am Alive after the game was taken in-house to be completed by Ubisoft Shanghai.

Germany overtakes UK as top games market in Europe

2009-08-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

Germany has reportedly overtaken the UK in 2009 to become the largest video games market in Europe.

The UK and Germany are both the top earners for the video games industry in Europe, with the latter apparently becoming the regions new number one, showing the scale of the effect a ban on violent video games in Germany would have on the industry.

So why has there been a change of guards following Britain's 2008 achievement to overtake Japan's video game market for the first time?

The recession has not impacted Germany significantly with software sales remaining constant in the country, while a decline of 20 per cent was felt in the UK, according to numbers produced by Gfk Chart-Track.

However, there has been growth elsewhere in Europe, with Portugal seeing the greatest increase at a 16 per cent rise in games sold. Sweden has experienced four per cent in growth, with a 2.4 per cent increase in The Netherlands.

Italy and Belgium were largely static, with a slight increase in Italy and a slight decrease in Belgium.

Britain was the only country to suffer a significant decline, with France and Spain also experiencing a shrinking games market in the first half of 2009.

MTV Games, Harmonix and EA Announce Rock Band Metal Track Pack

2009-08-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

Cambridge, MA - Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom's MTV Networks, (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced plans to release Rock Band Metal Track Pack, a thrashtastic standalone disc that will be available October 13, 2009 at retail stores nationwide for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and Wii system from Nintendo. The suggested retail price for Rock Band Metal Track Pack is $29.99.

Rock Band Metal Track Pack, like all Rock Band software, is compatible with all Rock Band instrument controllers, as well as most Guitar Hero and other third party music video game peripherals and microphones.

In addition, fans who buy the Rock Band Metal Track Pack for Xbox 360 or PLAYSTATION 3 system can play directly from the disc or download the songs onto their consoles' hard drives through a free offer with Xbox LIVE online entertainment network or the PlayStation Network. Once downloaded, the songs will automatically appear in the player's custom Rock Band library and can be integrated into setlists and played in all game modes. With more than 800 tracks available in the Rock Band music catalogue and regular releases of downloadable content every week, Rock Band Metal Track Pack is yet another way music-lovers can continue to expand and customize their music libraries.

Complete Track List:

1. All That Remains - "Two Weeks"

2. At the Gates - "Blinded By Fear"

3. Black Tide - "ShockWave"

4. Blue Oyster Cult - "Transmaniacon MC*"

5. Bullet For My Valentine - "Waking the Demon"

6. Children of Bodom - "Are You Dead Yet"

7. Evile - "Thrasher"

8. Godsmack - "I Stand Alone"

9. The Haunted - "D.O.A."

10. Hawkwind - "Master Of The Universe*"

11. I Mother Earth - "Levitate*"

12. In This Moment - "Forever"

13. Judas Priest - "Screaming for Vengeance"

14. Lacuna Coil - "Closer"

15. Lamb of God - "Laid to Rest"

16. Motorhead - "Killed by Death*"

17. Nazareth - "Hair of the Dog*"

18. Queens of the Stone Age - "3's & 7's"

19. Rage Against The Machine - "Bulls On Parade*"

20. Yngwie Malmsteen - "Red Devil"

* Denotes exclusive track

GC 2009: Crytek Still Predicts New Console Cycle in 2012

2009-08-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

Cevat Yerli, Crytek's president and co-founder, gave a talk on where graphics have come from and where they're going at GDC Europe. Following much the same format as last year, he traced the evolution of Crytek's engines, from Far Cry and the first CryEngine through to Crysis 2 and the CryEngine 3. While no video was shown of the in-development, multiplatform shooter and follow-up to the CryEngine 2 powered, PC-only Crysis, Yerli again affirmed he believed a new console cycle would arrive sometime around 2012.

Until then, he believes Crytek will be ready to power games with its CryEngine 3, which is claimed to be "next-gen ready," and which will likely stay very relevant until Crytek releases another engine specifically designed for that next generation of hardware. Until the graphical renaissance Yerli sees occurring around 2013, games will have to rely on art style and use of physics to distinguish themselves in the coming years instead of sheer graphical muscle.

So will we see new consoles in 2012? Or do you think that's too soon? Yerli seemed to doubt for a second that there'd even be a next-generation at all at one point during his talk, and in an off-hand manner cited the Wii's sales dominance and relative lack of processing power, which raises an interesting point – might we really not see a generation of consoles in the next cycle that are really that far ahead of what's currently available, and might that be because of what Nintendo has been able to achieve with the Wii?

More than 9m Xbox 360s in Europe

2009-08-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has sold more than nine million Xbox 360 consoles in Europe according to local boss Chris Lewis.

"Our installed base is now well over nine million in Europe, where we enjoy about 27 per cent of the current share of the console market," the Microsoft exec told MCV.

"This calendar year, we're the only console showing positive growth. That's 22 per cent on the first half against a market that is down to a similar margin overall. So we are bucking that trend."

Microsoft shipped 11.2 million Xbox 360 consoles over the financial year that ended on 30th June 2009, the company said in its latest financials, although gaming revenues took a dip.

More than 30 million of the consoles have now been sold worldwide, according to reports, compared to 23.8 million units of its rival the PlayStation 3, which launched a year later.

APB beta registration opens

2009-08-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

Realtime Worlds has opened up applications to take part in the beta test of its hotly anticipated crime MMO, APB.

It's no guarantee of access, naturally, and there's still no word on when the beta might start, although Realtime estimated August when we spoke to them at E3 in June.

APB will be a subscription-free action game set in cities of around 100 players, with factions of gangsters and enforcers chasing and shooting each other around the streets, GTA-style. Console versions have been bandied about, but it's only confirmed for PC release in "early 2010" at the moment, published by EA.

EA dates Spore Wii, DS

2009-08-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

EA will release Wii game Spore Hero and DS game Spore Hero Arena here on 9th October.

Both have been built specially for each platform. Wii title Spore Hero takes the creature stage of Spore and explodes it into a full action/exploration game, which is painted in colourful, family-friendly shades.

The idea is to save your creature's home planet from being destroyed, collecting new legs and eyes and body-bits along the way. There's multiplayer brawling, too.

The DS' Spore Hero Arena is similar, but has its own story and focuses more on arena-restricted battles than free-roaming action-adventure. There's also multiplayer, for either four locally or two over Wi-Fi.

Carmack talks PS3 vs. 360, id's three-game pipeline

2009-08-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

GRAPEVINE, TEXAS--QuakeCon 2009 kicked off today at the Gaylord Texan hotel, where thousands of fans of id Software's various shooters gathered. After the start of registration for the convention's myriad tournaments, including a $25,000 Quake Live contest, the main keynote address began with id's top luminaries taking a ballroom stage. It would be the first time they had addressed a QuakeCon audience since id was bought by ZeniMax Media in a $105 million-plus deal in June.

Following a fusillade of techno beats, now-id-president Todd Hollenshead bounded onto the stage to talk up id's new corporate sibling, Bethesda Softworks, which is displaying Wet and Brink at QuakeCon. After mentioning that the iPhone game Doom Resurrection will be only $2.99 until Sunday, he announced that the browser-based Quake Live will be available for Macs and Linux machines starting next Tuesday.

Hollenshead then quickly deflated many attendees' hopes by saying new Doom 4 details would be revealed at next year's gathering. As a consolation prize, he introduced the new trailer for Rage, id's all-new open-world driving/action role-playing hybrid, shown below.

Red Alert 3 expands on XBL, PSN this fall

2009-08-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

Command & Conquer 4 may have already been announced for next year, but EA's Los Angeles studio isn't yet done with its most recent installment in the Command & Conquer franchise, Red Alert 3. The publisher announced today that the spin-off real-time strategy game will see the stand-alone downloadable expansion Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 Commander's Challenge for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this fall.

Released on the PC in March as part of the Red Alert 3 Uprising expansion, Commander's Challenge includes 50 new missions set within the same over-the-top universe that has come to define the Red Alert franchise. Players will face off against nine different commanders, and EA notes that each challenge will feature its own distinct win conditions as well as benchmark completion times set by the development team.

Commander's Challenge also adds a number of new units and technologies to the standard Red Alert 3 gameplay, as well as new live-action cinematics and a game mode. Commander's Challenge will be available for $10 (MSP 800).

Jenny McCarthy covering Ubisoft exercise game

2009-08-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

Former Playboy playmate now cover girl for camera-enabled exercise game, due out this holiday season.

Ex-television host and actress Jenny McCarthy is no stranger to games, having appeared in last year's Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. Now, the former Playboy playmate is once again being called upon to flaunt her physical attributes in Your Shape, the upcoming workout game Ubisoft announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Due out this holiday season, Your Shape is going after the same 30-something female demographic that the best-selling Wii Sports Active targeted. However, rather than using resistance bands or a Wii Nunchuck strap, the game will use a camera peripheral reminiscent of Microsoft's Project Natal, albeit much simpler. The camera will scan players' bodies and let them select which part they can focus on and will then assess their progress by tracking their motions via the pack-in camera. No price for the game has been announced.

While selecting a 1990s pinup to appeal to 30-something women in 2009 might seem a strange choice, it doesn't seem to faze McCarthy, who mentions the fact that she is a working mother herself in the video below. The former Singled Out host will appear in the game as a player's coach, egging them on to work out harder and praising them when they achieve fitness goals.

Big in Japan: Gundam Wars storm PS2, Wii

2009-08-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

Monster Hunter Tri's stay atop the Japanese software sales charts was a brief one. After selling more than half a million copies in its debut, Capcom's action role-playing game slipped to second place for the week of August 3-9, with 137,093 sold.

Replacing Monster Hunter Tri as the best-seller of the week was SD Gundam G Generation Wars for the PlayStation 2, which racked up sales of 175,304. The latest installment in the superdeformed turn-based strategy series features characters and mech suits from dozens of Gundam series. A Wii edition came in eighth place, selling 35,084.

Those weren't the only new releases to hit the charts for the week. Effete Zelda character Tingle returned for another adventure on the DS, which sold 33,498, good enough for ninth place. Namco Bandai's PSP game Tales of Vs. grabbed fourth place with 133,706 sold, offering fans of the company's Tales series of role-playing games a chance to mix it up with their favorite characters in a fighting game. Finally, Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes for the PS2 took seventh with 51,740, while Konami's J-League Winning Eleven 2009: Club Championship scored sales of 33,378, sneaking just inside the top 10.

In hardware news, the DSi reclaimed the top slot on the charts, selling 70,066 units. After its one-week stint at the top thanks to a new black-hued system and Monster Hunter Tri launch, the Wii slipped back down to second with 47,140 sold. On the other end of the charts, the Xbox 360 sold 5,436 systems following the Japanese releases of Gears of War 2 and Magna Carta 2. That was just a few hundred units behind the PlayStaiton 3's 5,826-unit haul.

MAG unloading Jan. 26

2009-08-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

Sony's 256-player PS3-exclusive military shooter now officially delayed until next year; community event planned for PAX.

When stores listed the PlayStation 3-exclusive shooter MAG as being delayed last month, Sony Computer Entertainment America was dismissive. "We have made no announcements in regards to MAG's launch date," said a rep. "Retailers are speculating."

Today, they speculate no longer. "The team at Zipper and SCEA are happy to announce that MAG will hit North American retailers on January 26th, 2010," read a chipper PlayStation Blog post today from SCEA director of development Seth Luisi. No reason was given for the delay of the game, which Sony said would ship this year at its Electronic Entertainment Expo press briefing in June.

Developed by former SOCOM specialty studio Zipper Interactive, MAG is an ambitious online military shooter that will feature 256 players in a single game. Each player will assume a different rank on each side, viewing the battlefield according to their station. Commanders will see the action from a top-down view from which they can direct lower-level soldiers, who will see from a first-person POV on the front lines. GameSpot's E3 preview has more information on the title, which may--or may not--be pay-to-play.

As a consolation prize for the delay, SCEA is having a MAG Community party in downtown Seattle during next month's Penny Arcade Expo.

Shippin' Out Aug. 16-22: Wolfenstein, Shadow Complex

2009-08-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

With the official end of summer nearly a month away, game releases will begin to heat up. Until they do, gamers can look forward to a number of shooting titles this week, including Raven Squad, Shadow Complex, and--most notably--Wolfenstein.

Developed by Raven Software under the supervision of id Software, Wolfenstein is a sequel to the 2001 shooter Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The new game drops players into the army boots of B.J. Blazkowicz, who is once again sent behind enemy lines to thwart Hitler's occult ambitions. For this go-around, players will harness the power of a sought-after artifact to combat Hitler's own freakish army of evil. Wolfenstein features robust online gameplay that includes three modes: Team Deathmatch, Objective, and Stopwatch.

At the tail-end of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade promotion is Epic Games' sci-fi shooter Shadow Complex. Although the game is a 2D side-scroller, players can shoot enemies along a 3D plane as the protagonist rescues a woman from the clutches of a rogue paramilitary group. Shadow Complex costs 1,200 Microsoft points ($15). However, for those who buy all five Summer of Arcade titles, Microsoft will grant an MSP800 ($10) rebate.

Another gun game, Atomic Motion's Raven Squad, is a mix of real-time strategy and first-person shooting. The jungle-themed title features two mercenary squads who parachute into the Amazon to save a kidnapped VIP from rebel forces. The game sports an online co-op mode, four-wheel vehicles, and an overhead satellite view for tactical control.

Besides the trio of shooter games, the episodic adventures of Tales of Monkey Island continue this week, with the second chapter of Telltale's adventure series sailing in for the PC. In the first episode, Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, franchise protagonist Guybrush Threepwood once again found his wife kidnapped by the undead pirate LeChuck. Episode two picks up where the first left off, with Threepwood having just escaped Flotsam Island aboard The Screaming Narwhal and on the prowl for LeChuck. The release date for the WiiWare edition of Chapter Two has yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, Disney's Spectrobes: Origins will emerge on Tuesday. The action role-playing game allows players to excavate fossils and incubate them into the titular creatures. Once grown, the Spectrobes can fight alongside the protagonist in the Wii-exclusive game.

Microsoft's Project Natal

2009-08-17T03:16:00.000-07:00

Introducing Project Natal, a revolutionary new way to play: no controller required. See a ball? Kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it. If you know how to move your hands, shake your hips or speak you and your friends can jump into the fun -- the only experience needed is life experience.
Following up on its successful E3 press conference earlier today, Microsoft held a special hands-on event at the Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles this evening. Besides showing off the latest versions of games like Halo 3: ODST, Forza Motorsport 3, The Beatles: Rock Band, and Shadow Complex, Microsoft also had special "behind closed doors" demos of two of its more secretive projects, Project Natal and Alan Wake.

I'll admit that I was eager to try out Natal specifically to see just how real the onstage demo from earlier today truly was. After all, what Microsoft showed onstage -- not counting the incredibly long ultra-saccharine marketing video -- was pretty impressive. As Steven Spielberg alluded to in his surprise speech at that very press conference, a camera that could act as an "invisible controller" for hardcore and first-time gamers alike really would be a defining moment for the next generation of videogames.

Here's the amazing thing -- I played with the Natal for all of 5-6 minutes, and I have to say, it actually works.

The first demo I tried was what Microsoft was calling "Burnout Natal." Though it isn't a real game in development, the mixture of Burnout Paradise and the Natal camera was meant to provide proof that you could use the device's technology for practically any genre or software. How quickly I was recognized into the Natal's body identification system (just a few seconds) was surprising, and in a matter of moments I was controlling Burnout paradise with my feet and hands.

Most of the people around me during the MS press conference were groaning when they showed how a racing game would control with Natal in the aforementioned marketing footage, but truth be told, it's a lot more fun than it looks. Though I did miss the bit of resistance that a controller or steering wheel normally gives me, I was shocked to see how natural it felt to drive a car without actually being in one. How easy was it? To accelerate, I simply moved my right leg forward; to brake, I moved it backwards, and to pop it into a neutral position, I just stood straight up (or as straight as my spine would allow me to stand after 12+ hours of E3 spelunking). Driving was just a matter of pretending that I had a steering wheel in my hands, and every subtle movement I made was picked up by the camera allowing me to drive pretty well (and pretty straight) for the few minutes I got to try it out. As an added bonus, the motion for going into Burnout mode was an appropriate Top Gun Volleyball fist-pump. The whole experience was surprisingly fun and I walked away with nary a bad thing to say (which is quite an accomplishment, because normally I complain a lot).

My second go at the Natal was with the game highlighted specifically in Microsoft's press conference by former Fight Night father, Kudo Tsunoda, known as "Ricochet." Admittedly, Ricochet isn't my type of game. I'd rather sit on the couch hitting remote control buttons instead of virtual dodgeballs (which probably explains why I've reached the point where I get winded doing simple things like chewing and talking). Nonetheless, Ricochet provided a small dose of fun as I did my best to break targets with an increasingly-prolific supply of balls. The response here didn't seem as sharp as it did with Burnout -- but to be fair, there did seem to be a small learning curve with the aiming system. Though again, it's not my type of game -- but the good news is that, when speaking with Tsunoda about things in the works down the line, that there are plenty more games -- much more ambitious ones, in fact -- in development that we're going to see in the near future.

All in all, I found Project Natal to be quite refreshing. It's nowhere near the gimmicky device I originally took it for and the fact that it works already on a retail Xbox 360 (Burnout was running on an "out of the store" model, no debugs or special systems required) says a lot about its current stage of development.

To say that I'm anxious to see where Microsoft, and it's horde of third party developers, takes his next is an understatement.