Daily Wrap-Up 1.17.08
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, January 17, 2008 6:01 PM
Here's what happened today in the world of videogames, technology and popular culture.
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TAGS: Daily Wrap-Up, Videos
'Halo 3' Tops 2007 Sales Charts
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, January 17, 2008 5:17 PM
Mega game Halo 3 has crushed, blowed up and generally mashed-out all competing games for 2007, outselling Wii Play, Call of Duty 4, and Guitar Hero 3. Even the mighty Carnival Games for the Wii was outsold.
According to industry analysts at the NPD group, here's how it all went down:
- Halo 3 (Xbox 360) - 4,820,000
- Wii Play with Remote (Wii) - 4,120,000
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - 3,040,000
- Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) - 2,720,000
- Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 2,520,000
- Pokemon Diamond (DS) - 2,480,000
- Madden NFL 08 (PS2) - 1,900,000
- Guitar Hero II (PS2) - 1,890,000
- Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) - 1,870,000
- Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 1,820,000
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TAGS: Videogames, Wii, Xbox 360
X-Play Gaming Update 01.17.08
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Thursday, January 17, 2008 5:11 PM
Morgan's here to give you all the latest gaming news, including word on the Mythos MMO and Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit.
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TAGS: PC Gaming, PlayStation 3, Videogames
'Prototype' Interview: Chris Ansell of Radical Entertainment
Posted by Justin Fassino - Thursday, January 17, 2008 5:07 PM
X-Play's exclusive footage of Prototype just aired, and for those who want to know a bit more about what makes the developers tick as they create the game, Chris Ansell of Radical Entertainment took some time to answer those questions.
X-Play: For everyone who has just seen Prototype footage for the first time and who are hyped by what they saw, what would you like to tell them as they wait for the game?
Chris Ansell: I think one of the biggest things we’re most proud of in this game is that we really feel like we’re really doing the big city and the coolest city, New York City, right. In previous games there’s been a New York City and you go into Times Square, for example, and there’s 10 pedestrians and that’s really not what New York City is for anyone who’s been there. So we think that with this game we’re really pushing the envelope and just exploding out the opportunities of gameplay because we have thousands of people and hundreds of cars and they’re basically colliding constantly because of your interactions with them in really explosive, difficult to predict ways. It’s kind of like you get this big ball and with Alex you’re the stick and you sort of get to poke this ball with a stick and every time you poke it something different happens. So we have so much fun just playing with our own game and just seeing the new stuff that actually comes out of every gameplay session. It’s really fun.
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TAGS: Videogames
Extreme Close-Up: Actor Paul Dano
Posted by stephen pryze - Thursday, January 17, 2008 3:55 PM
Actor Paul Dano, the rising star from The Girl Next Door, Fast Food Nation and last year's sleeper hit Little Miss Sunshine, is receiving rave reviews for his work in Paul Thomas Anderson's new film, There Will Be Blood. The sprawling epic, which has been wowing sold-out audiences during it's limited release last December, has just been released in theaters nationwide and is being primed to strike for Oscar gold.
The film ignites acting T.N.T. in the form of Daniel Day Lewis, who plays Daniel Plainview, a self made "oil man" during the turn of the century America. Plainview sets his sights on an oil rich territory of California and crosses paths with the town's evangelical boy preacher, Eli Sunday, played by Dano.
We got the chance to sit down with the film's star, Paul Dano who gave us an Extreme Close Up of the story, what is what like to work with two of Hollywood's most creative talents, and a sneak peek at next year's highly anticipated film, Where the Wild Things Are, directed by Spike Jonze.
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TAGS: G4 Web Exclusive, Movies, Videos
3-D GPS Mapping On The Way
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Thursday, January 17, 2008 2:08 PM
Sure, you think you have some badass GPS in your car or bicycle now, but wait until you get this new Nav 2 Go business, which offers 3-D GPS mapping, so that you can see yourself driving through places as if you were in a videogame. It comes with maps for 70 countries besides the United States, and can show up to 13 miles worth of driving at once.
Since TheFeed is constantly driving around in the G4TV.com van, looking for things, and since most of our writers have a depth perception problem, this should be the solution we've all been looking for since the dawn of time. Or at least since the dawn of GPS time, which is a little bit shorter than actual time.
Gizmodo: 3D GPS Mapping to Come to US At Last
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TAGS: Tech
Activision Wants You To Rock For Reals
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, January 17, 2008 2:07 PM
Activision and NAMM (the trade association of the international music products industry) have teamed up to urge Guitar Hero 3 players to rock for real.
NAMM will link its "Wanna Play?" public awareness campaign, which encourages people of all ages to make music, with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
"We're trying to take people from the videogame and teach them how to play guitar in reality," NAMM's Morgan Ringwald (No relation to Molly) told G4.
The new teaming is aimed at strengthening the connection between virtual and real-world guitar playing, along with encouraging more people to experience and enjoy both pastimes. So the next time you walk into a local music shop, you may be able to rock out on fake Guitar Hero guitars as well as that Fender Strat you've been eyeing.
"With our program called Wanna Play Guitar, we're providing all the resources a retailer would need to run a Guitar Hero 3 competition in their store," Ringwald said."As soon as you put down the guitar, you'll have someone there to say, 'hey, let me show you how easy it is to play an E chord on a real guitar.'"
Then, two weeks later, you're Buckethead.
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TAGS: Music, Videogames
Tarantino Remaking 'Faster Pussycat?'
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:56 PM
 Quentin Tarantino sure does like that exploitation cinema, don't he? Which is why it's no surprise to anyone that he's thinking about remaking the granddaddy of exploitation films, Russ Meyer's 1965 classic Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, the story of three strippers who head out to the desert and commit mayhem and murder, all the while providing some of the greatest soft-core pornography of all time.
Not only has QT been thinking about making the film, but he's got some casting in mind, as well. He's interested in Eva Mendes, Kim Kardashian, and the world-famous punk rock star Britney Spears for the leads. We know without question that this will never happen, but we wish with all our tiny little hearts that it would. Because it would be the hottest movie of all time.
Dark Horizons: Tarantino Stroking "Pussycat" Remake
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TAGS: Movies
'Justice League' Officially Halted
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:35 PM
Warner Bros. has decided to put the Justice League movie into turnaround, which means that, for the time being, they have no immediate plans to put it on their production schedule. There might be a couple of reasons, but it's all speculative at this point, one of which is the fact that the studio was apparently unhappy with the newest version of the script, which apparently dragged.
Now, this doesn't mean there won't ever be a JLA film, but it's not on the fasttrack anymore, and, what with this writer's strike and all just dragging on, doesn't look like we're going to see it anytime soon. In the meantime, we can still look forward to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, which should be more than enough DC for the year.
Variety.com: Warner pulls plug on 'Justice League'
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TAGS: Comics, Movies
Exclusive: Mark Rein Interview
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:26 PM
We caught up with Epic Games vice president Mark Rein to chop it up about Unreal Tournament 3, the first-person shooter available now on the PlayStation 3 and PC and supposedly heading to the Mac and 360 in 2008.
Among other interesting bits, Rein weighed in on the persistent discussion of whether the PlayStation 3 is harder to develop for than other platforms ( ***SPOILER ALERT*** According to Rein, It's not), Whether we can expect a UT3 Demo for the PS3, and what's in store in the world of Unreal downloadables.
G4: Technically, how does the PS3 version of UTIII compare to the PC version?
Mark Rein: The amazing thing about the PS3 version of UT3 is that we were able to bring all of it to the console and it runs really well. That's no mean feat considering PCs typically have much more memory than consoles do and some of the maps in UT3 are pretty large with lots of action going on all over the place.
Was it a difficult console to code for? Any specific hurdles? Criticism or praise?
Making a complex game like UT3 isn't easy no matter what system you're making it for. I don't think we found the specific challenges of the PS3 to be any easier or harder than other formats. It's a great console with lots of power to be had if you're willing and able to get into it.
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TAGS: PlayStation 3, Videogames, Xbox 360
'Carnival Games 2' Coming?
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:20 PM
The best rumor ever dropped into G4TV.com's Big Rumor Box this morning. There might be a Carnival Games 2 on the way! The sequel to what must be the most successful game of all time would likely incorporate more carnivally goodness in an effort to get tickets to buy more cool boardwalk stuff. And, since the original game was on the Wii, we can only imagine that the new one will be, as well.
There has been no greater news in 2008 than the almost certain re-emergence of our old friend Carnival Games. Of course, again, this is all speculation, but we have cleared out space on its formidable bookshelf for the game, and will be waiting with bated breath for it to happen.
Surfer Girl Reviews Star Wars: The work for the Happy Finger Method must go on.
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TAGS: Videogames
NECA Reveals Gears of War Figures
Posted by Justin Fassino - Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:29 PM
NECA, the manufacturer of incredibly detailed collectible figures for series' like Resident Evil and Castlevania, today revealed their new line of products from the Xbox 360 game Gears of War.
So far, only a pair of teaser images have been shown of the game's main character Marcus Fenix, but the first set of figures will include Fenix, "The Cole Train" Augustus Cole, and a Locuts drone. Scope out the first images below.
The figures will be available for purchase beginning in spring of this year.
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TAGS: Videogames
X-Play Web Xclusive: Prototype Demo
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:07 PM
Chris Ansell of Radical Entertainment stopped by the studio today to give X-Play an exclusive demo of their highly anticipated open-world action game Prototype, which is currently only 20% complete and still looks jaw-droppingly amazing! Check out the video below for an incredible hands on look at one of 2008's most eagerly awaited titles.
Don't miss the full interview with Chris Ansell and much more killer footage from Prototype on tonight's all-new X-Play, airing at 8PM ET, only on G4!
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TAGS: G4, G4 Web Exclusive, PC Gaming
CES 2008: Alienware Area-51 ALX Interview
Posted by Brian Leahy - Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:00 PM
Alienware's ALX desktop is a great rig to have if you love PC gaming. Running Crysis is easy on these monsters, but what are they planning for 2008?
Check out our interview with Alienware Associate Directory, Brian DeZayas.
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TAGS: CES, G4 Web Exclusive, PC Gaming
Metroid Prime, Paperboy Developer Passes Away
Posted by Justin Fassino - Thursday, January 17, 2008 11:20 AM
Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, game developer on titles like Paperboy, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, and the Metroid Prime series, passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 43. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Haigh-Hutchinson worked a varied portfolio of video games, including Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, Star Wars: Dark Forces, and Rebel Assault in addition to the aforementioned list. After leaving LucasArts, he joined Retro Studios for their foray into the first-person adventures of Samus Aran.
We extend our feelings of peace and prayers to his family and send our thanks for the hard work he put in on some great games.
IGN: Famed Industry Veteran, Retro Studios Programmer Dies
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TAGS: Videogames
Epic Fail: Gadgets & Technology
Posted by Brian Leahy - Thursday, January 17, 2008 10:19 AM
We all love gadgets and technology, but there are products that belong in the bargain bin of Epic Fail and not in our pockets. In no particular order, here are our failing favorites.
- Gizmondo – No, not the tech blog that was naughty at CES 2008. Take 1 part portable gaming console, add 1 part GPS and add a splash of 2.5G mobile data service. Stir in a crazy, Swedish executive that crashed a $1,000,000 Ferrari in Malibu while drunk and you’ve got a tall, tasty epic fail.
- The Phantom – Ah, the Phantom. Winner of many yearly vaporware awards, this console was supposed to play PC games and receive content over the internet. The developers would sometimes show up at E3 or announce a release date only to have it pushed back. Currently, Phantom Entertainment is releasing peripherals and hopes to develop a Steam-like digital delivery system. We doubt it.
- The N-Gage – Nokia’s gaming phone that spawned the Side Talkin’ internet meme. The first installment of the device rocked some terrible design flaws, the most notable of which, was forcing users to remove the battery to change the game. We just don’t see the need to combine a handheld gaming console and a phone if it takes a huge hit to game quality. Also, we don’t know anyone who owns one.
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TAGS: Epic Fail
Leisure Suit Larry Is Back
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, January 17, 2008 10:07 AM
Leisure Suit Larry is back! And we're happy about it. To the confusion of many of our friends, we have a somewhat inexplicable fondness for the LSL series. Maybe it's the terrible puns and how unapologetically juvenile they are, but we like playing Leisure Suit games. We liked the last, mostly-derided, game. We can't help ourselves.
Anyway. Vivendi announced this morning that the perennial loser Leisure Suit Larry and his nephew Larry Loveage's Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust will be a "side-splitting, pants-busting" adventure game for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and mobile phones.
Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust features a bunch of famous movie stars: Jay Mohr, Dave Attell, Shannon Elizabeth, Carmen Electra, Artie Lange, Patrick Warburton, Jeffrey Tambor, Nikki Cox, Peter Graves, and Jane Lynch. Josh Keaton will be the voice of Larry Loveage.
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TAGS: Girls, Videogames
Spidey Writers Make Fans Angry
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:55 AM
In the newest Spider-Man storyline, as featured in Amazing Spider-Man, the end of the storyline known as "One More Day" has evolved into one called "Brand New Day," but it's not new at all. In fact, it rewinds the Spider-Man continuity twenty-one years and dissolves Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane Watson, which took place in 1987. It also makes Pete a nerd again, and moves him back in with Aunt May. This, predictably, has fans of the webslinger pretty upset.
How did this happen? It's kind of weird, but here's the scoop. As a part of a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May's life, they couple agreed to dissolve their marriage and go back in time to when it happened, as if it never happened. Mephisto did this because Peter and MJ share a rare kind of love that it makes him gloriously happy to erase from the world. Honestly. That's the explanation. We can't figure out why die-hard Spider-Man fans would be upset.
Guardian Unlimited: Spider-Man turns back clock and winds up fans
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TAGS: Comics
TiVo Gets All Indie
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, January 17, 2008 9:44 AM
It's Sundance film festival time again, the time of year that reminds us all that there's only one thing worse than Hollywood movies: Independent movies!
Along with heartfelt documentary films about the director's mom's battle with Alzheimer's, we also get news of big media acquisitions. Check it out:
TiVo is teaming with Jaman.com, an online distributor of indie and international films, to bring more black-and-white character examination movie into your living room through TiVo. Also, we predict there will be at least 85 independent movies released this year that will feature a car racing through the desert, two guys with tousled hair, a girl and a gun.
Also, IMBD.com has acquired Without a Box, an 8-year-old Los Angeles Web-based media shop that is presumably so original and free from borders that it isn't thinking outside the box...it doesn't even have a box to think outside of.
Variety.com: TiVo pacts with online indie distrib IMDb acquires Without a Box
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TAGS: Movies, TV
SEGA To Open Theme Parks
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:38 AM
Dubai is bat-crap crazy. The most famous city in the oil-soaked United Arab Emigrates, Dubai features huge, man-made, palm-tree shaped islands, the tallest man-made structure on earth and indoor mountains for middle-eastern desert skiing. It will soon feature an amusement park built by Sega and Emaar in their mall.
Specific details haven't been released, but this quote was:
"Entertainment is about living dreams, it is about experiencing joy and culture. In joining with a company of Emaar's stature and power, we hope to convey the pleasure and excitement inspired by great entertainment to people all over the world," commented Hajime Satomi, CEO of Sega.
We're booking tickets right now.
gamesindustry.biz: Sega and Emaar to open Middle East theme parks
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TAGS: Videogames
Nugget From The Net
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:24 AM
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TAGS: Nuggets From The Nets
Next Week's 'Rock Band' DLC?
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, January 17, 2008 7:50 AM
So we were sitting around G4's Heavily-Armed Editorial Compound and Waterpark the other day talking about what downloadable content for Rock Band we'd like to see. While a certain editor who will remain nameles was calling for 80s girl-pop like Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, we all agreed that we'd like some Oasis, pls.
Because we have some weird psychic powers, an article posted on IGN.com (and apparently confirmed by xbox.com) yesterday afternoon listed next week's song pack, saying it would features three master-track Oasis songs. But, like all evidence of our supreme mastery of space and time, it quickly evaporated from view when others came around. Yesterday, we swear, the following Oasis tracks seemed verified:
- Live Forever
- Wonderwall
- Don't Look Back in Anger
The site also mentioned covers of Rush's "Working Man" and Coheed and Cambria's "Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)" and a master track recording of "Siva" by Smashing Pumpkins, releasing the week of January 29.
But it's all gone now. You'll have to take our word for it that we read it on IGN. We're not the |
