Daily Wrap 3.13.08
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, March 13, 2008 6:00 PM
Here's what went down today in the world of videogames, technology and popular culture.
- Website gamervision is citing "sources" as saying Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is delayed.
- A new Looney Tunes game is coming.
- Lost Planet: Colonies is coming out this spring, and the third-person game will allow cross-platform online play.
- Electronic Arts just got more hostile in their takeover bid for Take-Two Interactive.
- According to Newsweek's excellent Level Up videogame blog, a Mad Max videogame is in development.
- We'll be getting a next-gen Mortal Kombat later in the year according to what Midway CEO told to investors in a conference call earlier this week.
- Ubisoft has released a set of new screenshots of the upcoming Free Radical drugged out shooter Haze.
- New We Love Golf details have been released.
- Former 50 Cent and Eminem turntablist Green Lantern will be a DJ in Grand Theft Auto IV.
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TAGS: Daily Wrap-Up, Videos
Review: Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:53 PM
X-Play's Review of Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds for the Playstation 3 is here! Check it out!
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TAGS: G4, PlayStation 3, Videogames
Review: Warhammer 40,000 Soulstorm
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:51 PM
Here's X-Play's Review for the latest in the Warhammer series: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm for the PC.
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TAGS: G4, PC Gaming, Videogames
Review: Lost Planet - PS3
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:24 PM
Check out X-Play's Review of Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions for the Playstation 3.
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TAGS: PlayStation 3, Videogames, Videos
X-Play Gaming Update 03.13.08
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:22 PM
Today, Adam brings you the latest in gaming news, including EA's hostile takeover attempt at Take-Two, a Guitar Hero lawsuit, and Street Fighter II HD Remix.
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TAGS: G4, Nintendo DS, PC Gaming
'Incredible Hulk' Game Details
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, March 13, 2008 3:44 PM
Sega released a slew of details on the Incredible Hulk game that is destined to accompany the Hulk movie coming out this summer. The open-world smashing game will feature fully destructible environments. Hulk smash!
Here's the skinny:
Platform(s): PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PS2 & PC
Genre: Third-person action
Release: June 2008
Click the cut for the feature list!
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TAGS: Movies, Nintendo DS, PC Gaming
'Metal Gear' Movie May Have A Writer
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, March 13, 2008 3:25 PM
Comingsoon.net spoke to producer Michael De Luca and asked him about upcoming projects, specifically, The Metal Gear Solid movie he's working on.
De Luca said he was hoping to meet with writer Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium) in the next few week, to talk to him about writing the script and possibility directing.
Keep in mind, meeting about things that will never happen is an everyday thing in the movie industry, so take this with a huge grain of salt. But now you know: True insider Hollywood gossip for ya.
We're more concerned about who would play Snake.
Comingsoon.net: EXCL: Kurt Wimmer Adapting Metal Gear Solid?
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TAGS: Movies, Videogames
Sony Online Entertainment Scooped Up by SCEI
Posted by Brian Leahy - Thursday, March 13, 2008 3:12 PM
 Sony Online Entertainment is responsible for Everquest, Everquest II and a laundry list of arguably failed games:
- PlanetSide
- Star Wars Galaxies
- Vanguard (publisher only)
- The Matrix Online
Now, Sony is shifting around their corporate structure and SOE will now answer to Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. big-man-on-campus Kaz Hirai.
Hopefully, Kaz's influence can help them fight back against the juggernaut that is World of Warcraft.
Now, because we know you love press releases so much. Hit the cut for all the hot, legally-approved action.
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TAGS: PC Gaming, PlayStation 3, Videogames
'Mega Man Star Force 2' Announced
Posted by Brian Leahy - Thursday, March 13, 2008 2:48 PM
Now, I've never heard of this Mega Man fellow. Frankly, I question what makes him so "mega". A quick Wikipedia search tells me that this so-called "man" is actually a little boy in a blue jumpsuit with a cannon for an arm.
He may or may not be some sort of robot. Whatever he is, he's got a new Nintendo DS (another thing I've never heard of) game coming out that comes in two flavors.
The game is Mega Man Star Force 2 and the two versions are titled Zerker X Saurian and Zerker X Ninja. I also have no idea what a Ninja is, but Saurian's are great people.
Here's a gallery, and the full press release, which details the game's features, can be found below.
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TAGS: Nintendo DS, Videogames
Microsoft Explains Price Cut
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Thursday, March 13, 2008 2:41 PM
 Earlier this week, Microsoft announced a significant price cut for all Xbox 360 models across all of Europe. The quick cut has prompted many to speculate that this was a response to the collapse of HD-DVD and the success of Sony's Blu Ray drive.
But today, Microsoft's vice president of Interactive Entertainment in Europe, Chris Lewis, sat down with Gamesindustry.biz and explain the timing on the price cut.
Lewis explained, "It was always the plan to move the price point at the right moment. We always said that the strategy was to secure the core gamers in the first wave and then move into an expansion."
What do you think? Do you think Microsoft was reacting to backing the wrong horse in the format war? Do you believe this was the plan all along? Let the flame war begin!
Also, check out the whole interview with Chris Lewis here.
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TAGS: Videogames, Xbox 360
'Mushroom Men' Screens
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, March 13, 2008 2:26 PM
Gamecock's Mushroom Men features fungal-centric paltformer action and spores, spores, spores.
We don't understand either, but it's for the Wii and the DS and it will be out in before the year is up, so stay ready.
Here a DS Gallery...
and a Wii gallery.
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TAGS: Videogames
Toshiba to Lose Nearly $1 Billion From HD Debacle
Posted by Ty Colfax - Thursday, March 13, 2008 2:06 PM
Toshiba, which has recently bailed on their HD DVD nest-egg, putting an end to the recent format war, is reportedly still going to close their fiscal year with a profit. Abandoning the format will mean a substantial restructuring and inventory cost for their assembly lines and storage and its said that they were able to save around $450 million on marketing and infrastructure by conceding defeat early in the process.
But for all that savings, it's important to note they'll lose almost a billion dollars ($986 million) by losing the overall war. Toshiba is also not looking forward to turmoil in their flash memory and LCD display holdings, as prices for the raw materials used to make them have dropped.
news.com: Nikkei: Toshiba faces $986 million loss on HD DVDs
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TAGS: Movies, Products, Tech
'Hail To The Chimp' Art
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, March 13, 2008 1:45 PM
We are in love with the character design in Gamecock's upcoming party game title Hail to the Chimp.
I comes out on PS3 and 360 on May 28th and features a wacky animal election and lots of beatin' guys up! We like!
Check out the gallery of characters.
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TAGS: Videogames, Xbox 360
'Dungeon Hero' Screens
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, March 13, 2008 1:19 PM
We're intrigued by Gamecock's Dungeon Hero. The hack-n-slasher is heavy on goblins, and, reportedly, at least some part of the hero's relationship with the ugly little fellas involves helping them out and learning about their culture. When we did our undergrad work at Miskatonic U., Goblin Sociology was our minor. (We majored in Finance.)
It comes out in March 2009. Final platforms haven't been determined or announce, but the 360 and PC are a shoo-in. Check out the gallery.
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TAGS: PC Gaming, Videogames, Xbox 360
Bebo Goes to AOL for $850,000,000
Posted by Ty Colfax - Thursday, March 13, 2008 1:15 PM
 You've got cash.
Bebo, a social-networking site that is doing very well in Europe and New Zealand with around 40 million members, was just purchased for $850 million by America Online.
The two companies had recently partnered up to ease the operations of friend inviting, but it's largely a surprise that AOL would make such a move. The AOL brass chalk it up to expansion and an effort to buy up properties that show potential for monetization and are open (Bebo supports Facebook and OpenSocial apps.) But anyone who's been around the internet for a while knows that AOL is not classically about openness.
Joanna Shields, President of Bebo, will remain at the company's helm at their offices in San Francisco.
As a point of reference, Facebook has around 67 million members, MySpace is around 100 million, although some say that's bunk. This acquisition puts the AOL social-networking reach at around 80 million. Meanwhile, Friendster is cruising at a cool 3 total members.
UPDATE: Friendster contacted us and helpfully pointed out that the social networking site has over 62 million users, had over 34 million unique visitors in January and is the 11th most visited site on the entire interwebs. Our original report of three total users was grossly inaccurate (and just a joke.).
news.com: AOL buys social network Bebo for $850 million
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TAGS: Internets Culture
Music Industry Wants to Tax ISPs for Piracy
Posted by Brian Leahy - Thursday, March 13, 2008 12:30 PM
 The music industry is losing money to internet piracy. There's no question about that. How they are trying to solve this problem is usually good for a laugh, though.
Their latest idea: charge ISPs a surcharge for piracy. This would be something along the lines of $5 per user, which they would put into a fund to compensate artists.
Even better, they would give more money to artists that had their works downloaded more than others. In effect, hopping on a torrent would make the artist money. The more people pirating the track (who weren't going to buy it anyway) means more money for the artist.
Other issues could come up in who actually gets charged this extra money. The ISPs would probably pass it down to their customers, but what if the user isn't doing any illegal downloading?
While this sounds like a better solution than DRM, it just sounds too crazy to ever happen. We can't imagine the government would back the music industry on "taxing" service providers.
Here's a math problem. A train holding this idea is traveling 200mph directly into a brick wall 2750 miles away. How long before this crashes and burns?
Wired: Music Industry Proposes a Piracy Surcharge on ISPs
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TAGS: Internets Culture, Music, Other People's Misfortune
Epic Fail: Fighting Games
Posted by Patrick Roche-Sowa - Thursday, March 13, 2008 12:01 PM
In honor of the release of Super Smash Bro. Brawl, we decided to cover Fighting Games in this week's Epic Fail. So play nice kids, it's all fun and games until someone starts crying.
Smackdown vs. Raw 2006
~PS2~
I owned this game for less than a single day when it came out back in 2005. Being a wrestling fan, and a wrestling game fan, I was expecting something great from this, especially given the trailers and the graphics. Boy, was I wrong.
The controls were awful. Simply awful. It was impossible to figure out how to play the game, even after reading the manual, and the flow of the game was really bad as well. Matches dragged on for minutes on end, without any way to pin your opponent, the gameplay was really awful, and, in the end, only the intros turned out to look good. In short, this is one epic fail of a fighting game.
-- Mike DAlonzo
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TAGS: Epic Fail, Videogames, Videos
'Streetfighter 2 HD' Screenshot Gallery
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, March 13, 2008 12:00 PM
Check out what you'll be fighting with in Street Fighter Turbo 2 HD Remix.
We've got a metric crap-ton of screens for this downloadable title!
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TAGS: Videogames, Xbox 360
Microsoft: Not Talking to Sony on Blu-Ray
Posted by Brian Leahy - Thursday, March 13, 2008 11:48 AM
 Contrary to the rumors, Microsoft is not talking with Sony about adding Blu-Ray support to the Xbox 360 through a built-in drive or add-on.
All of this could change, but their strategy seems to be centered around the Xbox Live Marketplace.
"Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience," said Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for the Xbox 360.
Looks like the PS3 is still the best way to Blu yourself.
Gamespot: Microsoft: Blu-ray 360 not being discussed
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TAGS: Music, PlayStation 3, Tech
Interview: 'Doomsday' Director Neil Marshall
Posted by stephen pryze - Thursday, March 13, 2008 11:44 AM
Prolific writer/director/editor Neil Marshall has burst through the Hollywood gates with his crafty and adrenalized style of filmmaking, making Werewolves scary again with Dog Soliders and caves even scarier with his breakout hit, The Decent. Now, Marshall unleashes a new (and old) vision of the Apocalypse with his Sci-fi/Horror/Action/Adventure "mash-up", Doomsday, released by Rogue Pictures in theaters nationwide this Friday.
An homage to the 80's films that inspired him like The Road Warrior, Escape From New York and hell, even a dash of Excalibur, Doomsday brings us everything we want in an old-fashioned cinematic ass-kicker; Thrills, chills, blood, bombastic explosions, post-punk stylings, hot chicks who hold their own and of course...cannibalism! Do you REALLY want to see Horton Hears A Who when this powder keg of a flick is being unleashed? Come on people!
Marshall sat down with E.C.U. for an in-depth chat on his inspirations for Doomsday, the advantages of being a director and what it was like on the set, orchestrating the end of the world.
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TAGS: G4 Web Exclusive, Movies
GTA IV Goes Green
Posted by Frank Meyer - Thursday, March 13, 2008 10:41 AM
 Former 50 Cent and Eminem turntablist Green Lantern will be a DJ in Grand Theft Auto IV.
"Somebody within my camp said that they were interested in doing some stuff. We sat down and it ended up like a whole radio show,” Lantern told King Magazine. “This particular show, there's a little bit of budget involved. It's not the normal licensed-out music. When you jump in the car, you're going to be able to hear a whole Green Lantern radio show filled with nothing but exclusive music I produced for the game. I think it's the first time that's ever been done."
Lantern will showcase new music from the likes of Styles P and Uncle Murda, as well as Maino's song "Getaway Driver."
Sweeeeet….
But as long as they are giving DJs spots in the game’s radio station, why not give the great Rick Dees a platform to relaunch his smash hits “Disco Duck,” "Get Nekkid," and "Eat My Shorts" to the masses?
Planetgrandtheftauto.com: King Magazine Reveals DJ For GTA IV
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TAGS: Grand Theft Auto IV, Music, PlayStation 3
'We Love Golf!' Gets Online Play
Posted by Brian Leahy - Thursday, March 13, 2008 10:31 AM
Capcom has announced that the Western release of We Love Golf! will include online play, which was not included in the original Japanese release.
The two modes are the "World Play Mode" allows for random play where you can collect medals and the "Friend Play" mode for playing against Wii friends.
Check out the gallery! Full press release after the jump.
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