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Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Friday, February 29, 2008 4:52 PM
Ladies and Gentlemen, Adam's back!
That's right, he's had a couple of weeks off, and now he's back and ready to rant! In this week's edition of Sessler's Soapbox, Adam is tackling the subject of EA aquiring Take-Two Interactive and what this means for the videogame industry as a whole. What do you think? Do you think EA owning Take-Two will positively or negatively affect the future of game development? Or are we all making too much of it? Check out the video below and let us know what you think, or share you thoughts on our forums.
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, February 29, 2008 4:43 PM
Making Wii games must be really easy. Apparently, all you have to do is take a Dreamcast game and burn it onto a Wii disc. Well, here's House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return for the Wii, set to release on March 11, 2008.
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, February 29, 2008 4:04 PM
Namco Bandai wanted you to see these new screenshots of Soul Calibur IV and so they gave them to us. We put them right up on our website thingamabob and you point your eyes at them.
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Friday, February 29, 2008 2:50 PM
Another week, another version of Fresh Ink Online. This week, Blair Butler sits down with a pile of comics, including Criminal, Sharkman, Almighty, Batman, and the first issue of the provocatively-titled Kick-Ass. So, join her, won't you, as she walks you through all you need to know.
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Friday, February 29, 2008 2:40 PM
Tonight, X-Play is bringing you a special treat from the Game Developers Conference. Tonight's X-Play will be the 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards. Which game will take home Best Innovation, Best Game Design, or Game of the Year? Find out Tonight on X-Play at 8PM ET!
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, February 29, 2008 1:12 PM
Check out this trailer/featurette on Battlefield Heroes, which has adopted a new look that probably has nothing to do with the success of Team Fortress 2*.
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, February 29, 2008 12:10 PM
For those of us that wanted to play MGS4 with the Japanese voice actors in addition to English... tough luck. The US and European release will not include a Japanese voice track.
Kojima Productions' Ryan Payton had this to say:
"Unfortunately because of disc space, we don't have the space to include other languages, other voice over files for the respective versions. So the Japanese version's not gonna have English VO, and the North American and European versions won't have Japanese VO."
However, that's pretty impressive that they have pretty much filled the Blu-Ray with content. Kojima, of course, wanted full 1080p visuals and 7.1 surround sound so that's probably the bulk of the content.
Double whammy: the Japanese version will not include English subtitles.
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, February 29, 2008 12:02 PM
Nokia, makers of the N-Gage, are officially not scared of a possible PSP phone.
N-Gage division president Jaakko Kaidesoja said, "I'm not scared about anybody. The real question is how do they [Sony Ericsson] do it? Can they create a link between the PSP games and a phone? Can they do the multiplayer and online stuff? We've been doing this for two years and it hasn't been easy."
Hey, Jaakko... we've got an answer for you. You make a videogame platform first and add a phone to the mix... not the other way around.
Posted by Frank Meyer - Friday, February 29, 2008 11:49 AM
Music streaming network Last.fm has begun promoting the various websites and other online services that use its free music streaming feature via a selection of widgets and applications. Housed in its Build.last.fm section, the widgets and applications were developed using open platform and free web service tools.
The company says it will expand its web services this year, encouraging others to include Last.fm's functionality in their programs. Expansions include a BBC application that allows listeners to add music streamed on BBC to their Last.fm profiles, and a Skype application that lets Skype users share tracks and playlists.
Posted by Patrick Roche-Sowa - Friday, February 29, 2008 11:47 AM
Today doesn't exist.
I'm sure you've heard it all before, but today, on this day, we have entered a paradox of epic proportions. Right now we're on the cusp of time, neither standing in one month or another. Kind of like how Washington D.C. isn't really in the United States. But now we're debating semantics, and we both know you can't win that argument.
So this week we bring you more MMO news, both good and bad, with some still coming from last week's Game Developer's Conference. Plus Casey gets a little personal and answers some of your emails personally on air. Just don't expect to get that kind of special treatment again, everybody gets one.
So mute your VHS copy of Krull, put whatever game you're playing to sleep, and clean out your ears with some cotton swabs so you can hear Casey loud and clear. This is...
Posted by Ty Colfax - Friday, February 29, 2008 11:45 AM
If you'll recall, we did a story about a Spaced remake in the Fall that was annoying Simon Pegg and the show's U.K. director Edgar Wright, who were not consulted on a new FOX remake that was in development. Read it here if you like.
Well, FOX has now ordered the pilot and at least the first episode will get made. Nothing illegal has been doneas FOX owns the US rights, but to not approach them about it seems odd. Only time will tell how badly this latest US ripoff of a British series will pan out.
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, February 29, 2008 11:39 AM
While PC Gaming might be in a decline according to some, one indie game is making waves by selling 100,000 in its first month of sales. That doesn't seem like a lot when compared to console game sales, but it's a big deal for an independant PC game.
The game is Sins of a Solar Empire and last week it outsold Call of Duty 4, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, and The Orange Box.
If you're looking for a great PC strategy game that involves space lasers (pew pew!) check out Sins. Don't take my word, though, here's what Adam Sessler thinks:
Posted by Frank Meyer - Friday, February 29, 2008 11:31 AM
A recent survey conducted by the American Management Association and The ePolicy Institute found that over a quarter of employers have fired workers for misusing email, and one third have fired workers for misusing the Internet on the job. The study surveyed 304 U.S. companies of all sizes and discovered that a majority of employees fired for Internet misuse were accessing porn or other inappropriate content.
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, February 29, 2008 11:25 AM
Guitar Hero III gives us No Doubt the week we get NIN in Rock Band and now Harmonix is upping the ante yet again. Next week, Rock Band owners will get the Grateful Dead pack.
It will run $9.99 / 800 Points ($1.99 or 160 points seperately) and feature the following 6 tracks from the Dead.
“China Cat Sunflower” (Master)
“Casey Jones” (Master)
“Sugar Magnolia” (Master)
“Truckin" (Master)
“Franklin’s Tower” (Master)
“I Need A Miracle” (Master)
All songs can be bought individually for $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) or the whole pack can be purchased for $9.99 (800 Microsoft Points).
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, February 29, 2008 11:17 AM
Activision has applied for a trademark for the title DJ Hero, which has prompted rumors of a new music game that could be a lot like Konami's Beatmania series.
For those of you that don't know what Beatmania is, feast your eyes on this:
That's on auto-play, but each of those dropping notes corresponds to a button on the controller to the right:
It would be very likely that any US version of this type of game from Activision would skew more toward popular music and established electronic & hip-hop artists, but who knows at this point.
The trademark refers to "computer game software and related instruction manual sold together as a unit; interactive video game programs; computer game discs; downloadable software for use in connection with computer games; video game controllers; interactive video game comprised of a CD or DVD sold as a unit with a video game controller."
Posted by Frank Meyer - Friday, February 29, 2008 11:16 AM
Well, folks, society has officially gone to hell in a handbasket. Cheesy sci-fi flicks like Running Man, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Death Race 2000 have finally come to fruition. Kinda…
Yes, CBS is bringing cage fighting to prime-time television this spring, broadcasting four MMA events each year as two-hour live specials on Saturday nights, a time period once reserved for family fare.
Called “barbaric” by sports (and social) critics in the ‘90s for its extreme violence, bloodshed, and lack of rules, cage fighting’s unsanctioned mixed martial arts (MMA) approach is said to have evolved into a more mainstream sport. For instance, biting, eye-gouging, head-butting and hits to the groin are no longer tolerated.
But have no fear, Droogies, fierce punching, kicking, karate, judo and wrestling moves -- all with no protective gear -- are still very much a part of the sport.
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Friday, February 29, 2008 11:15 AM
It was one of the saddest casualties of the writers strike. The veteran comedy Scrubs, which was in its 7th and final season on NBC, was sort of unceremoniously dealt with, and would never film nor air a final episode, limping off the air after all of this time. However, it looks like Scrubs might have some new life on ABC, who might steal the show from NBC, for an 18-episode commitment next season.
Further making this good news is the fact that all of the stars would be under contract for an 8th season, including indie darling Zach Braff, who signed a pretty hefty contract extension just a year ago. So, there's no official word on Scrubs yet, but ABC might just give it the sendoff that fans would want.
Nokia, makers of the N-Gage, are officially not scared of a possible PSP phone.
A recent survey conducted by the American Management Association and The ePolicy Institute found that over a quarter of employers have fired workers for misusing email, and one third have fired workers for misusing the Internet on the job. The study surveyed 304 U.S. companies of all sizes and discovered that a majority of employees fired for Internet misuse were accessing porn or other inappropriate content.
Guitar Hero III gives us No Doubt the week we get NIN in Rock Band and now Harmonix is upping the ante yet again. Next week, Rock Band owners will get the Grateful Dead pack.
