This site requires that JavaScript be enabled and the Flash plug-in be installed. If you already have Macromedia Flash Player 8 installed, then you may continue browsing the site.
This site requires that JavaScript be enabled and the Flash plug-in be installed. If you already have Macromedia Flash Player 8 installed, then you may continue browsing the site.
According to Realtime Worlds' David Jones, new games with online functionality cost about 50 million dollars to make.
We learned more about the Xbox's first original program.
For those of you trying to get the Metal Gear Online beta up and running, relax and wait. Konami has delayed the beta after way too many people tried to access the game.
Microsoft UK sent an email out taking a shot at the PlayStation 3 version of Grand Theft Auto IV.
Mark Rein dropped a hint about a Gears of War 2 "surprise" included in the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament III.
Posted by Frank Meyer - Monday, April 21, 2008 4:34 PM
In an effort to get funding for a Fallout MMO, troubled game company Interplay announced today it will soon be releasing classic owned properties on the Wii Virtual Console, including the Genesis ‘90s games Earthworm Jim 1 and 2, Boogerman and Clay Fighter.
Interplay recently sold the rights to the Fallout series to Fallout 3 developer Bethesda for $5.75 million, but still needs "at least" $30 million to develop the the MMO version. (Interplay licensed back the rights to develop a Fallout MMO after selling them to Bethesda.)
The company also noted that it plans on developing sequels to its owned properties, including Dark Alliance,Descent and MDK.
Posted by Frank Meyer - Monday, April 21, 2008 4:27 PM
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will be announcing plans this week for a $1 million prize to the "first person to come up with a method to produce commercially viable quantities of in-vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012."
In other words, who here among us will invent the next Chicken McNugget?
For years, scientists have worked to develop technologies to grow tissue cultures that could be consumed like meat without the expense of land or feed and the disease potential of real meat. In theory, once grown, this tissue could be shaped and given texture with the kinds of additives and structural agents that are used to give products such as soy burgers a more meaty texture.
Posted by Frank Meyer - Monday, April 21, 2008 4:19 PM
Presumably as part of an effort to not get overshadowed by EA’s Rock Band, Activision's upcoming Guitar Hero 4 will introduce additional instruments besides the coveted axe.
In an interview with Conde Nast Portfolio magazine, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick revealed that the fourth installment of the popular franchise will introduce new instruments to the game, including vocals, and even let players jam along with local bands from their area
"It's not just about guitars," Kotick said. "We'll include a lot of other instruments, vocals. It will help us expand internationally. It's the first game we've had in which we can use local content and local bands."
This is great idea…unless your local bands look like the guys pictured above! Yikes!
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Monday, April 21, 2008 3:43 PM
The International Gamers Award-winning tabletop card game Lost Cities, by Reiner Knizia, will make its digital debut on Xbox Live this weekend. The online version of the card game was released by Sierra Online and will offer up to 4 players the chance to race through five lost empires on their way to victory.
The game will be available as part of this week's Xbox Live update for 800 Microsoft points. With more and more card games finding their way to Xbox Live, can I hear some support for a Grave Robbers From Outer Space port? Anyone?
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Monday, April 21, 2008 3:16 PM
If you're biting your nails, waiting to find out if game-hating attorney Jack Thompson will be disbarred in Florida, it may be awhile. Until the end of the summer, to be exact.
The judge in the trial wants an extension on her opinion until August 31 because:
the need to wade through a 2,500 page transcript of the trial
reviewing 76 exhibits encompassing another 1,700 pages
dealing with 400 “pleadings, e-mails, letters and missives (including pictorials)” filed by Thompson since the trial ended in December, 2007.
handling a full-time job on the criminal bench
Here's Ace Videogame Attorney... a clever comedy bit that is in no way actionable!
Posted by Ty Colfax - Monday, April 21, 2008 2:53 PM
You'll want to check out Ben Fritz's extended interview with Dan Houser, the creative force behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise and co-founder of Rockstar Games. He goes into how GTA IV is a true reinvention of the series, his preference on hardware in consoles, his response to critics of the sex and violence in his games, and much much more.
Pop some popcorn cuz it's a long, but totally worthwhile read.
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Monday, April 21, 2008 2:51 PM
We nearly had some Red Rings of Death for realz!
In Little Rock, Arkansas the cause of a horrible house fire has been pinned on the power supply brick of an Xbox 360 console. Luckily, no one was injured in the fire, though property damage estimates are appear to be around $100,000. According to the fire department on the scene said that the brick appeared to have been placed on its side and against the wall, allowing the power supply to overheat and catch fire.
Microsoft is no stranger to flammable power supplies. In 2005, Microsoft initiated a widespread recall of power supplies to their original Xbox console, citing a possible fire hazard as the reason for the recall.
Is a flame war joke in bad taste here, considering the story? Do any of you care?
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Monday, April 21, 2008 2:28 PM
The Wii may constantly top all console sales charts, but the software for the thing just isn't flying off shelves.
According to the New York Times, even top selling Wii titles like Smash Bros. enjoy a windfall of sales upon release, but quickly tank thereafter--sales dropped more than 90 percent for Smash over the first four weeks, according to estimates from VG Chartz.
It's not exactly a surprise that Wii sells well outside of the hardcore gaming audience, and it turns out that the soccer moms, geriatrics and other casual Wii users just don't care about buying new games that much.
The average Wii owner buys only 3.7 games a year, compared with 4.7 for Xbox 360 owners and 4.6 for PlayStation 3 owners, according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. “It reflects the broadening of the demographic,” he said. “Nintendo’s market doesn’t feel the same sense of urgency to buy every game that’s coming out.”
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Monday, April 21, 2008 1:54 PM
G4's Mike D'Alonzo thinks professional wrestling features some of the best writing and improvisational acting on television.
Here's a gallery for videogame TNA Impact. It comes out across platform on September 1st and features oiled up musclemen in peenie shorts fighting each other.
Posted by Ty Colfax - Monday, April 21, 2008 11:44 AM
Some of the more astute gaming news fans out there would know the PS3 is currently sold at a loss. The technology that goes into making it so powerful wasn't cost-effective, until recently. Well, now that the the chips have gotten stronger, smaller, and cheaper, the PS3 will be a profit-making sale for Sony.
Consider how long and strong the PS2 has gone selling as many units as it has, and you can understand why the next-gen loss-leader investment was such a great deal for Sony.
Rumors of a slim PS3 are starting to resurface and this has some 360 fans considering their first PS3 purchase. But I have to ask this: Do people really make their console decisions based on how big the system is? Unless you're living in an RV, is space really that much of an issue? People will buy electronics for the stupidest reasons. Look, my laptop fits in my mouth!
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Monday, April 21, 2008 11:37 AM
Top Cow isn't allowed to say anything about the sequel to The Darkness...yet. So, they're doing the next best thing. At New York's Comic-Con, they are saying that they're not allowed to say the words "Darkness" and "sequel" in the same sentence, so they are literally separating the two concepts by a wink, letting you know what's up without really saying anything at all.
We know that something will be coming soon, for sure, but this should be a good little tease for you Darkness fans. So, go forth armed with that knowledge, and be happy with what you know.
'GTA' Mod Might Land New Zealand Kid in Hot Coffee
Posted by Ty Colfax - Monday, April 21, 2008 11:15 AM
A GTA fan in New Zealand has made a modded copy of San Andreas that attempts to make the game feel more like home. But Karori resident Stacy O’Callaghan might be in trouble with Kiwi cops, as a law dictating the use of the police symbol is strictly enforced. His mod has some added New Zealand landmarks but primarily is about making the cop cars and the officers look more like the Kiwi version.
Seriously? They're really gonna go after this kid? Stacy has already said he won't be selling the modded PC version of the game, but has done it out of national pride. Let the kid do his thing. And hey, if you watch the video, it looks like Kiwi cops look the same as US cops when they're getting stomped in the balls.
Posted by Ty Colfax - Monday, April 21, 2008 10:20 AM
Check out this brief interview with three GTA fans who've managed to play M-rated games, despite being under 17, some without their parent's knowledge. We know how easy it can be to get access to these games, but these kids have some interesting and surprisingly wise things to say about ratings and the games themselves.
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Monday, April 21, 2008 10:12 AM
Okay, this behind-the-scenes look at the lightsaber and force mechanics on the Wii version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed made us happy. Very, very happy.
The game comes out cross-platform on September 1st, but we're seriously considering the Wii over the other systems.
Posted by Patrick Roche-Sowa - Monday, April 21, 2008 9:58 AM
Apparently, there is a god. Uwe Boll, director of such winning pieces of cinema such as Fary Cry, BloodRayne, Alone in the Dark, Postal, and House of the Dead, wants to make a World of Warcraft movie. Thankfully, as soon as he pitched the idea to Blizzard, they made it very clear to him that such a deal would never happen. Ever. Not ever never.
"I got in contact with Paul Sams of Blizzard [about a World of Warcraft film] and he said, 'We will not sell the movie rights, not to you...especially not to you,'" said Boll. Paul Sams' smart. Yeah yeah yeah. Blizzard's not dumb. No no no.
Posted by Brian Leahy - Monday, April 21, 2008 9:53 AM
In an interview with OXM UK, Mark Rein dropped a hint about a Gears of War 2 "surprise" included in the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament III. So the online side [of Gears of War 2] will be sorted out?
I'm not here to talk about Gears Of War 2 but it's a much better game than the original. And you know, there might be a little Gears Of War 2 related surprise on the disc of Unreal Tournament 3. That's all I'm saying about that.
What could it be?! Unreal Tournament III releases this summer for the 360, which is pretty close to the Gears 2 release date... multiplayer beta?
Posted by Brian Leahy - Monday, April 21, 2008 9:45 AM
As we all know, many PS3 games utilize a mandatory hard-drive install to help load times due to the comparatively slow read speed of the Blu-Ray drive.
Microsoft UK sent an email out taking a shot at the PlayStation 3 version of the game:
“I’m sure you’ve all seen the chatter… on the PS3 install time… just a few thoughts on what you could do in this time if you were actually playing the 360 version from the moment you insert the disc..."
In an effort to get funding for a Fallout MMO, troubled game company Interplay announced today it will soon be releasing classic owned properties on the Wii Virtual Console, including the Genesis ‘90s games Earthworm Jim 1 and 2, Boogerman and Clay Fighter.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will be announcing plans this week for a $1 million prize to the "first person to come up with a method to produce commercially viable quantities of in-vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012."
The International Gamers Award-winning tabletop card game Lost Cities, by Reiner Knizia, will make its digital debut on Xbox Live this weekend. The online version of the card game was released by Sierra Online and will offer up to 4 players the chance to race through five lost empires on their way to victory.
You'll want to check out Ben Fritz's extended interview with Dan Houser, the creative force behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise and co-founder of Rockstar Games. He goes into how GTA IV is a true reinvention of the series, his preference on hardware in consoles, his response to critics of the sex and violence in his games, and much much more.
Some of the more astute gaming news fans out there would know the PS3 is currently sold at a loss. The technology that goes into making it so powerful wasn't cost-effective, until recently. Well, now that the the chips have gotten stronger, smaller, and cheaper, the PS3 will be a profit-making sale for Sony.
Top Cow isn't allowed to say anything about the sequel to The Darkness...yet. So, they're doing the next best thing. At New York's Comic-Con, they are saying that they're not allowed to say the words "Darkness" and "sequel" in the same sentence, so they are literally separating the two concepts by a wink, letting you know what's up without really saying anything at all.
In an interview with OXM UK, Mark Rein dropped a hint about a Gears of War 2 "surprise" included in the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament III.