Newspost for 11-10-06
Industry and multi-console news:
- After many plans and cost cutting measures, Atari has announced its first profitable quarter in years -- a paltry $311,000 gain.
- EA claims their new technology for making game characters is so good that Tiger Woods failed to realize he was looking at a CGI version of himself.
- Game Life runs down what the recent election results mean for gamers. Short answer: Not good things.
- A teaser poster has been released for the Castlevania movie. It's always a good sign when they proudly proclaim they have the director of Resident Evil and Alien vs. Predator.
- William Shatner says he only did Star Trek: Legacy because Bethesda begged him.
- Racketboy presents how to change an SNES cartridge battery. Personally, I think it's just easier to emulate.
- Tim Sweeny talks about the history of Epic Games, starting with ZZT and making games out of his parents' basement.
- Surely more people would play wrestling games if they knew that the storylines involved Kurt Angle being magically transformed into a woman.
PC news:
- Half Life 2: Episode 2 has officially been delayed to summer 2007. That means Team Fortress 2 and Portal as well, of course.
- Microsoft believes Vista's security measures are good enough that it can run without anti-virus software.
- World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade has been dated for January 16.
- A demo for Gothic 3 is available now.
Nintendo news:
- In lieu of real news, look at Kotaku's photos of the Wii unit and games they just got in the mail and wish you were them. If you continue to wish to live vicariously through the Kotaku staff, you can look over their setup experience.
Sony news:
- So it begins.. Multiple videos are coming in of huge lines in Japan for the PS3 launch, which should be in a couple hours for stores that didn't open at midnight. Really, if you see 900 people in line, what compels you to sit down and become #901?
- New side-by-side comparisons show PS3 boxes are a little squattier than their DVD case cousins.
- The Playstation 3 system software user's guide is available online, if you're really getting desperate for anything PS3 related to fill in the next week.
- Phil Harrison says the PS3 browser will not allow you to download files from just anywhere.
- Sony is taking a new tactic of erring on the side of caution with their public statements, starting with not committing to the March release date in Europe.
- A PS3 owner in Japan has managed to install a 100 gig HD in his 20 gig PS3.
- You can get a 256 meg Memory Stick Pro Duo for free from Circuit City after a mail-in rebate.
- Bethesda has confirmed that Oblivion will be pushed back to the first quarter of 2007. The Knights of Nine expansion on the 360 and PC will stay the same, meaning they'll get it before the PS3 does.
- The development team behind FFXII says that the engine is so tweaked and refined that FFXII is probably the limit on how good games can look on the PS2. Knowing nothing of the technical vagaries behind it, I'm still inclined to agree.
Microsoft news:
- Forza 2 has been delayed to June 2007.
- An EA exec says that Gears of War had zero innovation.
Comments
that election for gamers article is such bullshit. why is making violent games illegal for children to buy somehow harmful to gamers? it's not; it's just harmful to the games industry (which incidentally is one of the most powerful on earth, they are hardly going to drop dead as a result of such onerous laws as not selling games where you dismember people to eight year olds). gamers need to stop this stupid deification of massive companies that could not give a crap about them.
as for the article, it seemed to be mainly full of republican anti-legislation for large companies shite disguised as protection of free speech (the same free speech that we don't mind curtailing for movies) :rollice:
Posted by: webber | November 11, 2006 3:37 AM
Because no comparable "harmful" content, like violent movies, is illegal for children. They're singling out video games because games are the new kid in town and politicians can make themselves look like crusaders for children by proposing such laws.
All throughout the '80s, little kids were going to see excessively violent movies like Friday the 13th without anyone batting an eye. Ten years later, when people finally started to do something about it, they just pushed more on theaters to card people trying to see R rated movies. No one proposed a law saying that it should be illegal. Why do you say we "curtail free speech for movies"?
But that's just one issue. You could also bring up the fact that having an anti-game politician in office means your tax money will be going to support bills that they know (and in some cases, even publically admit) won't survive contest in court.
Posted by: Ermac | November 11, 2006 12:37 PM
"Really, if you see 900 people in line, what compels you to sit down and become #901?"
The idea of not being #1200
Posted by: Kirbyoto | November 12, 2006 8:05 PM
wait, it isn't illegal for an underage kid to see or buy an r-rated movie? Wow, ok, ignore that other comment then.
Posted by: webber | November 13, 2006 5:19 PM