Industry and multi-console news:

• Slate has yet another article on whether there's a link between video games and violence.
• A BloodRayne 2 (movie) teaser trailer is out, if you hate your life.
• Gamasutra has an interview with Head of Silicon Knights Denis Dyack about Too Human and his desire for a new way of running the game business (namely, that the marketing process for a game shouldn't begin until development is complete).
• Gas Powered Games head Chris Taylor has talked about the company's next projects, in particular one that "is not a specific genre" and was inspired by watching his sons play. So.. whatever that is.
• There's a long feature at 2K Games' official site just talking about BioShock's water.
• Shamoozal has a feature on the SNES pad's influence on future controller designs. Apparently this is a shock to some people.

PC news:

• Sony Online Entertainment is "in talks" with Sigil Games, developer of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. This might mean an acquisition, or it might not.
• No Mutants Allowed has uploaded video of Black Isle's original Fallout 3 project.

Nintendo news:

• The Wii Blaster listed on GameStop that caused some excitement a while back turns out to be a third-party peripheral, not a Nintendo product.
• Nintendo has released a list of everything definitely set to be released on the Wii in Japan in 2007, and it includes most all the heavy hitters like Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3.
• Gamespot has a video feature on Alien Syndrome, with the senior designer explaining the Wii controls.
• The next Ready 2 Rumble is coming to the Wii.

Sony news:

• Ken Kutaragi says he'll continue to help Sony with the Playstation 4, 5 and 6.
• Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi has said he has no current PS3 games planned because the "architecture is tricky" and he doesn't like Ken Kutaragi. He didn't elaborate on why.
• Kotaku has a Silent Hill Origins image gallery as well as a trailer.
• It was mentioned in an interview linked earlier, but in case you didn't read it, a Heavenly Sword demo is coming. Sometime.
• Newsweek talks with the creator of the PS3 Eye camera about all the stuff it can do.

Microsoft news:

• A signed Halo 3 Xbox 360 is up for auction for charity.
• Microsoft is now offering free data transfer cables for Elite owners, for a limited time.
• Halo3.com has updated with screenshots and information.

Posted by Bill at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Industry and multi-console news:

• XOS Technologies has licensed EA's TDT Engine, used in games like Madden 07, to be applied to training simulators for college and pro football teams.
• Burnout 5 has been given the official name Burnout Paradise. There's a teaser trailer over at Kotaku.
• CVG has the first details on Tom Clancy's EndWar.
• WorthPlaying is reporting on a big Final Fantasy XI update coming in June.
• The New York Times has a new article about West Virginia's plans to incorporate DDR into school PE curriculum.

PC news:

• Soldat 1.4 has been released.
• Second Life users are sending an open letter to Linden Labs, complaining about the worsening stability problems in the game.
• Left Behind Games has accepted the resignation of their senior VP and fired their president. Who would Jesus fire?
• 1up has a featuring looking back and re-reviewing the Diablo series.
• NCSoft says the new invention system for City of Heroes is "imminent."

Nintendo news:

• This week's new Virtual Console titles are Castlevania, Legend of the Mystical Ninja, and Shockman.
• Analyst fight! One says Nintendo's success "bodes poorly for the publishers", another describes such comments as "naive."
• There's a Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles video interview at YouTube, with the Japanese developers talking about the Wii controls and the game's story.
• A game-stopping bug has been found in Card Fighters DS.
• How to make a wireless Sega Genesis controller for the Wii.
• Siliconera has a hands-on preview of Gyakuten Saiban 4.

Sony news:

• Sony will be conducting an internal investigation into the GoW2 dead goat stunt. Pictures of the event are being pulled from 80,000 issues of the Official Playstation Magazine.
• Some people are returning copies of Raiden III because they can't figure out how to leave the memory card setup screen.
• The Parappa remake for the PSP is coming to America.

Microsoft news:

• Centipede, Millipede and Settlers of Catan are coming to Live Arcade this week.
• Along with previous reports of a smaller CPU, the 360 may also move to a 65-nm GPU.
• An Ars Technica writer upgraded to the Elite, only to find his purchased Arcade games turned into demos if he didn't have the system hooked up to the Internet to authenticate them online.

Posted by Bill at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Gamerankings is no longer down for maintenance. Instead, an error message comes up. Good to see things are improving.

• Spider-Man 3 (360, PS3, PC, PS2, Wii, DS, GBA) - Not releasing until May 4 to coincide with the movie's debut, but that's still technically this week. $59.99 on the 360 and PS3, $69.99 for the PS3 collector's edition, $49.99 on the Wii, $39.99 on the PS2, $29.99 on the GBS and DS.
• Heatseeker (Wii, PS2) - A fighter jet dogfighting game. It has fighting. Amazon has a page but not a price for both versions, so screw them.
• Legend of the Dragon (PS2, Wii) - An action game based on a cartoon I've never heard of. $29.92 on the PS2, $39.99 at Amazon.

This is basically Spider-Man week with a lot of PC crap thrown in (sample entries: The Apprentice Los Angeles and Circus Empire, both equally apt names for a Donald Trump game). The full list that includes all said PC crap can be found here.

Posted by Bill at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Industry and multi-console news:

• A Call of Duty 4 trailer has been released.
• 1up has an interview with the marketing manager at Square Enix about how they choose what changes to make to North American box covers, in this case specifically refering to the box for Chocobo Tales.
• Famitsu reports that Square Enix will be announcing a new Star Ocean next month.
• The EA forums have a new column that looks back on classic EA titles. The first is an article on General C.H.A.O.S.

PC news:

• Unsurprisingly, Chinese game companies are selling working arounds for the anti-addiction system put in place by the Chinese government.
• Salon talks about the issue of same-sex and interspecies marriage coming up during development of the Lord of the Rings Online. Their solution was to axe the marriage feature altogether.

Nintendo news:

• Game Infowire has details and screenshots for Space Station Tycoon on the Wii.
• PlayAsia is taking pre-orders for Ouendan 2.
• Gamespot has new screenshots of Donkey Kong Bongo Blast. Kotaku says it's been renamed Donkey Kong Jet, but Gamespot's page still uses the old name.
• Even the Wall Street Journal has an article on Wii remote hacking.
• Virtual Console game sales seem to be slowing down.
• New Phantom Hourglass screenshots are up.
• There's an auction at MyEbid claiming to offer the only PowerFest 1994 SNES cartridge in existence. He's set a $25,000 starting bid, which may be a tad overly optimistic.

Sony news:

• PSU has an interview with Heavenly Sword Producer Kyle Shubel.
• Game Infowire has Wild ARMs XF screenshots. The "four tiny thumbnails per page" layout is a real winner.
• GamesIndustry.biz has a look back on the history of Ken Kutaragi at Sony. Or if you just want to mock the guy, 1up has a few of his most famous quotes of the last few years.
• Wired's Game | Life has an opinion piece that declares "Sony's PS1 download servce is a mess."
• PS3 Fanboy points out the ban policy for Resistance: Fall of Man, noting that cheating gets you a temporary ban while an offensive clan name gets you kicked out permanently.
• CVG has some Manhunt 2 screenshots on the PS2.
• Sony has caused a bit of an uproar over using a decapitated goat at a release party for God of War II in Athens. They insist that they bought it from a butcher and didn't kill it for the event.
• Amazon has Star Trek Encounters marked down to $5.99.

Microsoft news:

• THQ is no longer publishing GTR for the 360.
• Loot Ninja is claiming, based on "numerous reports coming in," that Elites are having the same problems as regular 360s.

Posted by Bill at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Industry and multi-console news:

• A Dragon's Lair movie is still in the works. I thought that's what the game was.
• The Washington Times reports that Gilbert Arenas will appear on the next version of NBA Live.
• The Championship Gaming Series is holding a draft at the Playboy Mansion (well of course), and boasts bonuses and salaries for players in excess of $5 million.
• GTA4.net has the details on a second GTA4 magazine preview, this time in Official Playstation Magazine UK.

PC news:

• A commercial version of Acidbomb 2: Rearmed called ShellBlast is set to be released through Oberon Media.

Sony news:

• Sony ranked as the number one brand in the 2007 AlixPartners Brand Power Index consumer survey.
• Sony launched their YouTube-esque eyeVio service in Japan today. Undoubtedly the PS3 and it's Eye camera will become involved soon enough.
• The PS3 has launched in India to the tune of Rs 39,990. I have no idea how much money that is.

Microsoft news:

• Lego Star Wars II and Saints Row have been added to the Platinum series and thus will now retail for $29.99.
• Frank O'Connor at Bungie has talked more about the troubles downloading the Halo 2 maps that some people have had. He says that in most cases, the problem comes from people trying to exploit a glitch (that has since been patched) that would allow you to download the maps for free.
• Elsewhere in the same update, Frank mentions that the Halo 3 beta will have both a split-screen option and a feature called Saved Films.
• Operation Darkness is a Japanese WWII strategy RPG for the 360. Because it's Japanese, this is of course that part of World War II that had the zombies and tanks fighting dinosaurs.
• Latino Review has a review of the Gears of War movie's 22-page script treatment.

Posted by Bill at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Industry and multi-console news:

• Bethesda is shooting for a Monday release for the final patch for the Shivering Isles form ID bug, for both the PC and 360 versions.
• The Museum of Television and Radio is hosting an event called Video Games: The Writers Speak in which writers for 24, Family Guy and Star Trek will talk about adapting the shows for video games.
• Developers say the Australian game industry is being hampered by a lack of federal funding and tax breaks that other media sectors receive.
• Next Generation talks with Serious Games CEO Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen about their game Global Conflicts: Palestine and how games can teach about politics.
• A transcript of the Xfire game censorship debate is now online.
• With E3 downsized to include only the major developers, indie publisher Gamecock has decided to make their own show called the Expo for Interactive Entertainment: Independent and Original -- that's right, the EIEIO.

PC news:

• Blizzard is looking to fill three positions for an unnamed MMO.
• Former employees of NCSoft are suspected in the theft of Lineage III code.
• Today is the tenth anniversary of Duke Nukem Forever, so dust off one last lol for old time's sake.
• Digipen has made this year's student games available for download.

Nintendo news:

• Nintendo has acquired a majority stake in Monolith Soft (developers of the Xenosaga and Baten Kaitos series).
• Four more TurboGrafx-16 games have been added to the list of upcoming Virtual Console tites: Ninja Spirit, Blazing Lasers, World Sports Competition and Ordyne.
• Nintendo currently has 45 Wii titles and 79 DS titles in development.
• Racketboy names the cheapest N64 games worth your time. It only took ten years for "cheap" and "N64 games" to be usable in the same sentence.
• A Gyakuten Saiban TV drama is airing next week in Japan as as a promotion for Gyakuten Saiban 4.
• Hideo Kojima has said that Smash Bros. Brawl is good enough to be released tomorrow if Nintendo wanted to, adding that it feels "very complete."
• Denver radio station KS107.5 is giving away a Wii a day through the weekend, and you don't have to hold your bladder to get one.
• Jeux France has more images of Mega Man ZX Advent on the DS.
• And Kotaku has screenshots from Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree.

Sony news:

• UK retailer GAME is refusing to stock Oblivion on the PS3. But the damned article doesn't say why. Evil Avatar got a response from GAME, but all they say is they can't comment. Ubisoft is claiming supply problems, but it seems to be focused solely one this one retailer. So what the hell?
• A Motorstorm patch is coming in mid-May that fixes a number of problems.
• Calling All Cars has gone gold (if there were such a thing for digital distributed games) and will hit the Playstation Network on May 3.
• Now that he's taken over Kutaragi's position, Kaz Hirai's undergone a bit of a makeover, from the young American yuppie look to the traditonal, grandfatherly, high-level Japanese executive look. Japan's corporate world really knows how to squelch the life out of things.

Microsoft news:

• The Elite comes preloaded with Hexic HD, some videos and three demos.
• Zoozen has video demonstrating their Ovo 360 shell that completely reworks the 360 with a sleeker, rounder... well, more kitchen appliance look.

Posted by Bill at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I don't know how, but I've never seen this promotional flyer for Final Fight before. The game kinda takes on a different vibe when dudes are laying in pools of their own blood.

Industry and multi-console news:

• Wal-Mart has denied the rumor posted earlier that they had placed a large order for cheap HD-DVD players.
• Jack Thompson's complaint against Kotaku's parent company has been dismissed because he didn't follow the proper procedure for amending a complaint. Thompson has plead ignorance, which is possibly the only time he'll ever do so.
• A Consumer Electronics Association study finds that the average American spends $1200 a year on electronics.
• Majesco is no longer in danger of being delisted on Nasdaq.
• IGN has an interview with Ron Gilbert.
• Sega has announced a Phantasy Star Universe expansion called Ambition of the Illuminus.
• PC publisher JoWood is expanding into the console market.
• A trailer for the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix game has been released. It involves lots of panning and zooming.
• GameTrailers has video of the Mega Man Atari 2600 game made for the 2007 I Am 8-Bit art show.
• A new study on the effect of video game violence finds that people who played Mortal Kombat or Doom 3 "produced significantly more aggressive responses" in a later questionnaire. However, the professor who conducted the study notes that "their personality made a big difference. People who are extremely angry tend to be much more affected by violent videogames than people who are not angry and of course the opposite is true that people who are not angry are virtually unaffected by violent videogames. So it's both the person and, in essence, the situation."

PC news:

• EA Mythic has delayed Warhammer Online to 2008.
• Responding to recent Starcraft 2 rumors, Blizzard has confirmed they are announcing a new product at the Worldwide Invitational next month in Korea. Whether it actually is Starcraft 2, of course, they wouldn't say.
• Rolling Stone has a long feature on Second Life and its "messianic creator" Philip Rosedale (their words, not mine).
• The final episode of the season for Sam and Max, American McGee's Scrapland and more have been added to the GameTap line-up.

Nintendo news:

• According to Nintendo's own numbers, the Wii has sold 5.84 million units since launch.
• We get grimy DS demo units bolted down to the game case at Wal-Mart that don't work half the time; Koreans get DS demo lounges.

Sony news:

• Demos of Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Virtua Tennis 3 should be available on the Playstation Network now.
• IBM will be adding the Cell processor to their mainframe computers.
• Analysts have gone all analytical on Kutaragi's departure. "...the company probably doesn't need a visionary for another 10 years. They need an operations guy, need to drive costs down, and need to develop more software support (internal and external). Hirai will be great at that."

Microsoft news:

• IGN relates their experience with transfering data to the 120 gig drive.
• More Alien Hominid downloadable content is now available, in the form of picture packs and 100 formerly Europe-only PDA levels.
• Dennis Dyack has provided a status update on Too Human, explaining what's still being worked on, and things that will be improved from what was seen during IGN's recent hands-on preview.
• OXM claims Crimson Skies 2 is in development.
• Some people are still having problems downloading the Halo 2 maps.
• Losses in Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division have lessened to $315 million versus $415 million last year, due to lower sales of 360 consoles.

Posted by Bill at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Industry and multi-console news:

• Take Two has revealed some of the roster for All Pro Football 2K8, including John Elway, Jerry Rice, and Barry Sanders.
• The author of books such as Starcraft: Nova and World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred has written a Command & Conquer novel.
• Gamasutra has a feature on western perspectives on Japanese game development.
• I love the irony of an article that starts out " For so long, video games have been very much a guy thing, but this is no longer the case" and then goes on to feature eleven pages of interviews and pictures of hot gamer chicks. Yes, thank God equality has finally graced our land.
• A few more Beautiful Katamari details have, uh.. rolled in.
• A team at MIT has created a cheap and small holographic system that can work with computer hardware for consumers (i.e., PCs and consoles).

PC news:

• EA is looking for guilds to enter into the Warhammer Online beta.
• Gamespot has a feature comparing the graphics of Halo 2 on Vista vs. on the Xbox.
• A new trailer for SpaceForce: Rogue Universe has been released.

Nintendo news:

• Diamond and Pearl are the fastest selling games in Pokemon history, hitting one million units sold in five days.
• Nintendo says they plan to increase Wii production. Haven't they done that five times already?
• EA has announced three alcohol-based DS games for Japan: Bartender DS, Liquor Craftsman/Teacher, and Sommelier DS.
• A second medical DS game is being brought to America, called Lifesigns: Surgical.

Sony news:

• Ken Kutaragi, "father of the Playstation", will be retiring from the role of Sony chairman and CEO in June. He will remain an honorary chairman of SCEI. Godspeed you nutty bastard.
• Sony has announced the PS3 camera, called the Eye. The Gamespot article doesn't mention any bundled software, but according to Next Generation, the Japanese version will have Eye of Judgement packed-in. That's the card game that uses the camera you may remember from E3.
• Two new original PS3 downloadable games have been announced: Snakeball and Super Stardust HD.
• There's a thread at NeoGAF quoting a Las Vegas Review Journal survey that found 90% of PS3 owners with HDTVs weren't getting high definition, in most cases because they were using the standard cables packed-in with the console. I question it since that number seems way too high and they don't have any scans or links, but I don't doubt that the majority of people aren't actually using their HDTVs like they should.

Microsoft news:

• The Marvel Ultimate Alliance content packs that were supposed to be on Live two weeks ago are up now.
• Gamestop has announced two bundles for the 360 Elite.

Posted by Bill at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Industry and multi-console news:

• After calling the FBI on them, Jack Thompson is now suing Kotaku's parent company, again because he is crazy.
• NPD finds that 25 - 34 year olds are the biggest market for mobile gaming.

PC news:

• Telltale Games insists they will make more episodes of Bone, but they're focused on Sam and Max right now.
• To celebrate the release of LOTR Online, the CEO of Midway Games rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, backed by people dressed up like LOTR characters. Suits in the front, hobbits and wizards in the back. It's just that awkward.
• MSNBC has a goofy little Breakout clone flash game that works off their news feed to drop headlines into the game that you can collect to earn extra lives. The game is so slow that you may fall asleep faster than if you had just decided to read the news straight.

Nintendo news:

• Guilty Gear X2 Accent Core is coming to the Wii.
• This may have been mentioned in an earlier link, but the original composer for NiGHTS is back for the sequel. Well, it makes me happy, anyway.
• There will be two versions of the Transformers DS game, one for Autobots and one for Decepticons.

Sony news:

• Blue laser costs are going down, meaning a PS3 price cut could be more likely.
• Sony has begun sending out Playstation Home beta invites.
• A gameplay video for Calling All Cars has been released.

Microsoft news:

• A single screenshot has been produced to illustrate a new vehicle and gametype for Crackdown.
• BradyGames has added COG tag location strategy videos for Gears of War on the Live Marketplace for a total of 500 Points (100 per video). Because looking something up on the Internet is beyond you.
• Some Sam's Club locations are selling the 360 HD DVD drive for $72. (fixed, thanks Tony)
• Bungie will be showing more of Halo 3 on May 11.
• Kotaku has a Tenchu Z trailer up.
• Engadget has updated with part two of its Xbox 360 laptop how-to.

Posted by Bill at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Industry and multi-console news:

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will debut April 28 during the ESPN broadcast of the NFL Draft at 1 PM EST.
• XFire will be hosting a video game censorship debate between California State Senator Leland Yee, ECA President Hal Halpin, Russ Pitts from The Escapist magazine, and video game researcher Matteo Bittanti.
• EGM's rumor column claims that Bioware is working on a Knights of the Old Republic MMO. Maybe they can get this one to not suck. That's right, I'm here to tell you your strongly held opinion of KOTOR is in fact incorrect! How unfortunate for you!
• The old Core offices in the UK will soon be adorned with a blue plaque marking the birthplace of Lara Croft.
• Keith Stuart ponders whether the constant use of energy bars, limited inventories, limited lives, etc. leads gamers to naturally think in terms of conservation and recycling.
• GamePro lists the 52 most important games of all time, I guess because they want 500 pages of commenters arguing.
• Virgin Media has named the top ten icons of gaming. No surprises here except the random inclusion of Horace from the ZX Spectrum games.
• This new gameplay clip of John Woo's Stranglehold focuses on massive destruction, which you know is the best kind of destruction.
• There will be an IRC chat with the developers of Shadowrun this Monday from 2 to 6 PM PST.
• JAKKS has extended its contract with Namco to continue making those little plug-and-play classic arcade game toys.

PC news:

• Paul Verhoeven will be holding auditions in Second Life, with people re-enacting a scene from his movie Black Book for the chance spend a day on the set of a Dutch movie.
• Ubisoft has announced The Settlers: Rise of an Empire.

Nintendo news:

• The newest screenshots indicate that Level 5 has changed Dragon Quest IX's battle system, going back to menu-based combat. The shots can be seen here.
• A Gundam first person shooter is coming to the Wii.
• Wendy's has a set of Wii-themed Kid's Meal toys.
• Kotaku has a few new Ouendan 2 screenshots.
• There's a fake Excite Truck 2 announcement going around, so don't get fooled.
• Majesco has released some Cooking Mama: Cook Off tips to help people who are having control problems.

Sony news:

• The computing capacity of the Folding@Home project has more than doubled since the introduction of PS3s into the program. More than 250,000 PS3 owners have registered. An update is also coming tomorrow that will increase folding speed, improve the display and allow longer names.
• Sony has slightly raised the price of Game Archives titles in Japan.
• Following recent news of Sony Europe job cuts, Inner Bits has a breakdown of which studios were affected.
• Turns out the second Isle of Rhodes countdown was indeed for the PSP game. You can see a trailer for God of War: Chains of Olympus at GameTrailers, and sign up to get a free demo disc at the official site.

Microsoft news:

• Bizzare has a look at the different types of fireworks in Boom Boom Rocket. It's as thrilling as you imagine.

Posted by Bill at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Industry and multi-console news:

• IGN has video of the Eminence orchestra performing the Legend of Mana and Metal Gear Solid themes in rehersal for a concert recently held in Sydney. I can't ever actually get IGN's video player to work right, but maybe you'll have better luck.
• Game Career Guide has launched its forums, so now you can go in and talk all about how to land your dream job.
• A university professor has developed a video game designed to teach Shakespeare as a way to improve literacy skills.
• The ESRB has rated the Art of Fighting Collection for the Wii and PSP.
• Westinghouse is preparing a 52 inch 1080p LCD HDTV for a mere $2,500.

PC news:

• Sumotori Dreams is an interesting little physics game in which you try to push down your opponent (and both players are self-balancing bipeds). Not something you're going to play for hours, but quite an achievement for a game that's only 87 kilobytes.

Nintendo news:

• Some Gamestop locations will be holding Wiis for a Sunday sale.
• Nintendo and Six Flags are giving away a Wii a week for 16 weeks.
• Nintendo has put on a notice on their European site warning against the use of mod chips. Because they're bad. And stuff.

Sony news:

• A new Ape Escape has been announced for the PSP.
• IGN has a review of the Pelican Air Flo for the PS3.

Microsoft news:

• There's a possibility that Blue Dragon may be an online title.
• The editor of GeekDad talks about his cameo voice role in Halo 3, along with a couple scans of his script pages (you can guess there's nothing terribly substantial on them).

Posted by Bill at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Industry and multi-console news:

• Human Head Studios has updated with more news on the fire in their offices. No one was hurt, and there was "no significant data loss."
• Factor 5 is currently working on concepts for the return of the Turrican franchise.
• The "Jacklash" in the mainstream media continues, with an article in the San Francisco Chronicle deriding Jack Thompson.
• Tomb Raider: Anniversary will be hitting the PS2 and PC on June 5.
• Updates on two upcoming game-based movies: Clock Tower is "tricky", but they're "developing, slowly, a screenplay" for Silent Hill 2. "I don't think Christophe [Gans] wants to direct it."
• Ubisoft's weird teaser site from a while back turned out to be in anticipation of the announcement of Tom Clancy's EndWar, a new strategy series that will "allow gamers to lead their own armies against hundreds of others online."
• This Flickr account contains all the Katamari Damacy wallpapers Namco had on their official site before it closed down.
• XLeague.tv, "the UK's first dedicated eSports entertainment television channel", has announced the launch titles for their leagues and tournaments.
• Games Radar has a new Devil May Cry 4 trailer.
• You can watch time-lapse video of a Final Fantasy chalk mural created for 8-Bit Theater.
• Atari has released a trailer for Alone in the Dark 5.
• Film director George Miller wants to get in on making games.
• Game Informer has responded to questions about GTA4 that may not have been fully answered in their recent preview.
• Luke Smith has left 1up to work for Bungie.

PC news:

• DailyTech has benchmarks for the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT.

Nintendo news:

• An analyst survey found that the Wii was sold out in all 100 Gamestop stores contacted. All locations had PS3s and 360s.
• Dynasty Warriors DS: Fighter's Battle will be coming to America in July.
• There's a new Spider-Man 3 trailer up. More game trailers should be narrated by Bruce Campbell.
• Coin Heaven has a nice collection of beta screenshots from Mario games over the years.
• Game Informer says that Nintendo is considering a keyboard peripheral for the Wii.
• Jeux France has bigger, clearer screenshots of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams. Most of them look to be direct-feed versions of the shots seen in scans earlier.

Sony news:

• According to the Blu-ray Disc Association, sales of Blu-ray discs have reached one million in less than a year.
• Sony is expanding the Hot Shots series into other arenas with Hot Shots Tennis.
• Kane & Lynch and Crossfire are now coming to the PS3 as well as the 360 and PC.
• Kotaku has gameplay videos of MLB: The Show on the PS3.
• If you're going to have a PSP batter charger, it might as well be adorable.

Microsoft news:

• An analyst survey found that Guitar Hero II for the 360 was sold out in 99 out of 100 Gamestop stores contacted.
• Microsoft has filed a patent for a "multi-component gaming system" that will include "handheld devices and console devices."
• Taking a cue from those Game Trailers guys (or was it Game Videos? I can't keep them straight), Joystiq has produced a video analysis of the Halo 3 beta leak footage.

Posted by Bill at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Industry and multi-console news:

• Now that principal photography is underway, a plot synopsis for the Hitman movie has been released.
• Medal of Honor: Airborne has finally gotten a solid release date of August 28.
• Jack Thompson has called for the FBI to investigate Kotaku, because he is crazy.
• NewEgg is offering a free 360 or PS3 with the purchase of a 46-inch Samsung LCD HDTV.
• There's a teaser site for Project Offset (said to be the "first epic fantasy FPS") that reveals more screenshots as the site accumulates hits.

Nintendo news:

• A new video and interview at Jeux France reveals more details about Mario Strikers.
• Square Enix is hestitant to release their old titles on the Virtual Console, saying "We feel that the Japanese game market still requires media ... Also, FF and Dragon Quest are played by a wide range of users, from children to adults, so there are limitations when you consider the problems that we would have with billing systems." I don't get that last bit.
• A Gold Triforce Gameboy Advance SP signed by Miyamoto recently went for $2,157.86 on Ebay.
• Famitsu has new Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates screenshots.

Sony news:

• Games Are Fun has Ar tonelico 2 scans.
• It looks like Eternal Sonata will also be coming to the PS3.
• Gamestop is offering an exclusive collector's edition version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma.
• Due to changes in the way the Post Office processes mail, online rental site GameznFlix will no longer offer PSP games or movies.
• Square Enix has said they have planned the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII project from the start to continue for up to ten years.

Microsoft news:

• A blog that I've never heard of before called PlayThree is citing a "source close to a Bungie insider" (so that's, what, a friend of a friend?) saying that Halo 3 will support true 1080p at 60fps.

Posted by Bill at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Those of you who only look at the most recent thing posted may have missed that there was a newspost on Sunday. So.. go read it?

Industry and multi-console news:

• Today is the 25th anniversary of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.
• Namco has announced Katamari Damacy Mobile for mobile phones in Japan, which will use the phone's camera to simulate tilt controls.
• A teenager has been arrested for sending a school shooting threat to Jack Thompson. It was obviously meant as a joke (of some sort), but all the same, brilliant work ace!
• A freshman state senator from Iowa has criticized his colleagues for playing Solitaire while chamber is in session. The other senators don't seem too bothered: "Freshmen are always shocked by what goes on. Next year he won’t even mention it. He’ll probably be playing games." I didn't realize the Senate was so much like high school.
• The list of exhibitors for this year's E3 contains only 32 companies, compared to the 400 or so seen at E3s in the past.

PC news:

• The New York Times has an article on PC gaming showing signs of a rebound.
• Commodore has opened a new online store for customers in the UK and Ireland.
• The Alky Project claims to have written a wrapper for DirectX 10 applications, allowing them to be run on platforms other than Vista.

Nintendo news:

• This week's new Virtual Console titles: Gradius III, Wonder Boy in Monster World, and Battle Lode Runner.
• Majeso has announced Turn It Around for the DS, in which one uses the touch screen as a virtual steering wheel in "24 mini-games based on power, technique, or turn speed."
• Shigeru Miyamoto has been named as a candidate for the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2006.
• If you couldn't make it to New York, you can pretend you were there with photos from the Pokemon launch event at the Nintendo World Store.
• Takeshi Iizuka has talked a bit more about NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams. "The sequel is built around a dramatic storyline that will engage the player and guide them intuitively through the adventure." Oh Jesus.
• Online play in Mario Strikers will be region specific.
• This is a nice homemade Donkey Kong clock, but I'm not sure why there's a giant SMB Mario on it.
• Kotaku reports that Nintendo will have a booth at TGS this year. Traditionally, Nintendo has avoided the show, opting to have their own events like Space World.
• Amazon has Wario: Master of Disguise marked down to $19.99.

Sony news:

• Sony has dropped the price of the PSP in Europe to €169.99/£129.99, to go along with the recent cut in America.
• 1up has a new Warhawk gameplay video up.

Microsoft news:

• Live Arcade will once again get two new games this week: Eets: Chowdown and Pinball FX.
• Gameplay footage from the internal Halo 3 beta has been leaked.
• CVG reports that Mass Effect has been delayed to September. 1up speculates that this might only apply to the European release date, with the American release still set for summer.
• Bungie has defended the short Halo 3 beta period, saying, "the longer we’re spending resources taking care of the Beta, the less time we’re applying what we’ve learned from it to the final game."
• According to the ESRB database, Discs of Tron is coming to Live Arcade.
• IGN has a preview of upcoming Live Arcade game Undertow.
• Guitar Hero II promotional vans hit San Francisco and Boston last week, with the next stops being Los Angeles and New York.
• New rumors name the next set of DLC packs for GH2. The source is the same group that broke news on the first set of packs.
• A new version of HDDHackr now allows you to make your own 120 gig 360 HD.

Posted by Bill at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

GameRankings is continuing to have personal problems, so I'm forced to use its ugly sister MetaCritic instead. It's prom all over again!

• Pokemon Diamond / Pokemon Pearl (DS) - Technically two games, but basically not. So one listing it is! $34.00 for either Diamond or Pearl.
• F.E.A.R. (PS3) - The PS3 plays catch-up again with another game that was released on the 360 months earlier and the PC in 2005. $59.99 at Amazon.
• Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (PC) - Who will be more annoying -- The people who speak in Internet acronyms, or the players who actually attempt to talk like Middle Earth characters? Let's not forget the dark horse candidate: People who speak entirely in reworked movie quotes. A day may come when I need a rez -- BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY. $48.99 at Amazon.
• Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos (PSP) - A new strategy RPG from NIS America. $39.99 at Amazon.
• Rayman Raving Rabbids (360) - The 360 does a little catching-up of its own with a game that was released for the Wii, PS2 and PC in late 2006. $49.82 at Amazon.
• SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters DS (DS) - A card battle game featuring SNK and Capcom characters. Well, I guess the title sort of already told you that. $29.82 at Amazon.
• The Cube (PSP) - A strategy/puzzle game involving rolling a cube around 3D levels to get to the exit. $19.99 at Amazon.
• Ancient Wars: Sparta (PC) A real-time strategy game with different campaigns for Spartans, Persians and Egyptians. $39.99 at Amazon.

The Plan, The Red Star, Classic Action: Devlish and Made Man are all supposedly coming out this week, but they were also supposedly coming out last week. And maybe even the week before. So I give up trying to figure them out. You can see the full release list here.

Posted by Bill at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)