Daily Wrap-Up 5.16.08
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Friday, May 16, 2008 6:00 PM
Here's what went down today in the world of videogames, technology and popular culture:
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TAGS: Daily Wrap-Up, Videos
No 'Force Unleashed' Multiplayer on PS3/360
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 4:38 PM
While the Wii version will have an awesome multiplayer duel mode, the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions won't be getting any multiplayer component.
LucasArts' official statement on the matter:
"To be specific, there's no multiplayer in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, because there is on the Wii, PSP, and DS. As far as specific reasons are concerned, we don't really like to get into the reasons why we don't do things because I don't think there's really a satisfactory answer that people would really be happy with. So, there isn't multiplayer and that's kind of how it is..."
Wait... what?
You aren't putting multiplayer on the two consoles with the best online multiplayer services because you're putting multiplayer on 3 platforms that are at the bottom of the multiplayer barrel?
You just got downgraded to rental, Force Unleashed.
Destructoid: LucasArts says no Force Unleashed PS3/360 multiplayer, I practice my Force choke
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TAGS: PlayStation 3, Videogames, Xbox 360
Hitler Banned From Nintendo
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Friday, May 16, 2008 4:31 PM
 
PSA: You can not play Mario Kart online as Hitler.
Source: GoNintendo
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TAGS: Videogames, Wii
'WoW' Will Probably Get Graphical Update
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 4:27 PM
 In an interview with Eurogamer, World of Warcraft producer J. Allen Brack stated that WoW would "probably... need a graphical update from the ground up at some point."
Wrath of the Lich King will include some optional effects for players with high-end PCs, but they are looking to a complete overhaul for the next expansion after Lich King.
Also, next expansion confirmed?
One of the reasons WoW is so successful is that almost any decently equipped computer can run the game. Blizzard's art style makes this work, but it'll be interesting to see if players leave if the game becomes more intensive to run.
Eurogamer: WOW will "probably" get graphical reboot
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TAGS: PC Gaming, Videogames
'Gears of War 2' Four Player Co-Op Confusion
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 4:20 PM
In a video interview with Epic's Cliff Bleszinski, Gamespot thought they learned that Gears of War 2 would have four-player co-op.
The cause of the confusion was a quote from Mr. B., saying, "co-op's drop-in, drop-out, multiple difficulty settings for co-op players" but some heard "multiple difficulty settings, four co-op players."
It could have been a slip up and four players would be amazing, but Microsoft's statement is "two players".
Check out our own interview with Cliff Bleszinski below:
Shacknews: Gears of War 2 Four Player Co-op Confirmed (Updated)
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TAGS: PlayStation 3, Videogames, Xbox 360
LucasArts Quits the ESA
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 4:16 PM
 Following in the footstep of Activision/Vivendi/Blizzard, LucasArts has decided not to renew its membership in the Electronic Software Association.
Despite leaving the ESA, LucasArts still plans to exhibit their wares at E3 2008.
Call us paranoid, but we foresee a lot more publishers leaving the ESA in the near future.
GamePolitics: It's Official: LucasArts Bails on ESA
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TAGS: Videogames
'Rock Revolution' Drums Revealed
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Friday, May 16, 2008 4:14 PM
Are drum peripherals already getting ridiculous? First, we had Rock Band's four heads and a kick pedal model. Then, Guitar Hero IV's five head version. Now we've got Rock Revolution's kit that features a kick pedal and six heads.
Check it out:
What am I, a damn octopus? More like a rock-to-pus! Metal!
MTV Multiplayer: Konami’s Music Games Come Full Circle With Band-Centric ‘Rock Revolution’
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TAGS: Music, Videogames
DualShock 3 Sells $10.9 Million in April
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 4:10 PM
Remember before the DualShock 3 came out and everyone was like, "No one is gonna buy a new controller. Sony is stupid LOL."
Wrong!
An estimated 200,000 people bought a DS3 racking up $10.9 million in sales for Sony.
Joystiq: DualShock 3 shakes down US for $10.9 million in April
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TAGS: PlayStation 3, Videogames
Playmate of the Year Bonus Content!
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Friday, May 16, 2008 4:02 PM
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TAGS: G4 Web Exclusive, Girls
Ars Technica Snatched by Conde Nast
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 3:56 PM
 Independent tech site ArsTechnica.com has reportedly been acquired by Conde Nast's Wired Digital group. The group also includes Wired.com and Reddit.
The site went for an estimated $25 million. This is still unconfirmed, but sources close to the deal expect an official announcement on Monday.
ArsTechnica offers tech news, reviews, and has been a community favorite for a long time.
CNet: Conde Nast buys Ars Technica
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TAGS: Internets Culture, Tech
New 'The Incredible Hulk' Trailer
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 3:09 PM
You wouldn't like this trailer angry. Or maybe you would. The Incredible Hulk releases on June 5th.
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TAGS: PC Gaming, PlayStation 3, Videogames
'Indiana Jones' Gets Panned
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Friday, May 16, 2008 3:02 PM
Hey, everyone who's waiting for Indiana Jones and the Legend of the Crystal Skulls: The internet has seen it, and isn't happy. Movie-geek site aintitcoolnews said the movie is entirely missing tension, and, worst of all, compared it to the new Star Wars flicks.
An internet reviewer said: "This reminds me of waiting for the first of the last three Star Wars movies: you wait for years and years for a new movie to come out and then, when it finally arrives, not only does it fail to live up to expectations, it clouds your view of the originals because it's so bad."
Ouch!
Lucas responded: "You're not going to get a lot of accolades doing a movie like this. All you can do is lose."
Apparently.
Daily Mail: After 19 years, Indiana Jones faces his toughest battle ever... with his internet critics
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TAGS: Movies
Spielberg Has Weird 'BioShock'
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 2:58 PM
 In an interview with GQ Magazine, new Indiana Jones star Shia LaBeouf spoke about director Steven Spielberg's videogame playing.
Apparently, Shia walked in on Spielberg playing BioShock dressed in hunting gear shouting at the game because he was stuck on Level 15.
Shia's account of this situation was that, “This is like months to get to this level, and he can’t get past this one little mysterious spider god, and he’s losing his mind. He’s like, ‘I can’t do it, Shia! I can’t do it.'"
Sounds like the BioShock we played. That pesky spider god. It's more likely that Shia has no idea what game he was playing and just name dropped a popular game.
Kotaku: Even Spielberg Cannot Beat BioShock's Mysterious God Spider (Huh?)
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TAGS: PC Gaming, Videogames, Xbox 360
'Wii Fit' Passes up 'GTA IV' in Australia
Posted by Ty Colfax - Friday, May 16, 2008 2:55 PM
Maybe our placement of Australia on the epic fail yesterday as a thing that turned out better than we expected was a bit hasty. In upside-down world, the Wii Fit has surpassed GTA IV in sales, giving the Rockstar superstar title one single week as the champ. Occupying the 2 and 3 slot are GTA IV on both consoles.
The rest of the top ten is below the jizzy.
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TAGS: Other People's Misfortune, PlayStation 3, Products
Ton of Euro-Tracks Come To 'Rock Band'
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Friday, May 16, 2008 2:38 PM
A huge torrent of European rock is hitting Rock Band next week; these are the previously Europe-only music you have been missing, North America.
Here's all the details:
Release date: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 (Xbox LIVE® Marketplace)
Thursday, May 22, 2008(PLAYSTATION®Store)
Tracks:
"Beetlebum" ( Blur)*
"Hier Kommt Alex (Die Toten Hosen)
"Countdown To Insanity" (H-BlockX)
"Perfekte Welle" (Juli)
"New Wave" (Pleymo)
"Monsoon" (Tokio Hotel)
"Hysteria" (Muse)
"Rock N Roll Star" (Oasis)
"Manu Chao" (Les Wampas)
(*indicates cover song)
Price: $1.99 per track (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360)
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TAGS: PlayStation 3, Videogames, Xbox 360
Breaking News: People Curse on Xbox Live
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 2:19 PM
 Stop the f$&#@ng presses, people! M$&#@*&%#!ers are cursing up a storm on Xbox Live and this will not stand!
News anchor John Carlin did a story about his own son playing on Live, saying:
"[We placed] a microphone in Tyler’s headset. The conversation was x-rated from the first shot... In another clip, clearly a young child was among the players. His language as bad as theirs... And the kids aren’t just hearing the bad talk—they’re speaking it. Racial slurs and homophobic comments as well."
No WAY?! Next they're gonna tell us that teens are smoking cigarettes and having sex!
GamePolitics: Sweeps Month: TV News Shocked by Cussing on Xbox Live
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TAGS: Internets Culture, Videogames, Xbox 360
'Rambo' Arcade Game Coming to Japan
Posted by Ty Colfax - Friday, May 16, 2008 2:17 PM
Sega is building and releasing an arcade shooter of the original Rambo series that utilizes a light gun and features a 62-inch HD screen for the monitor. Real slick, eh? The in-game weapon changes depending on what is needed for the level, including some crossbow action.
The swerve is that the game is not about the new Rambo movie, but instead follows John Rambo through scenes and situations from the classic trilogy. The game is set to drop in Japanese arcades sometime this year and hopefully it will make its way to one of the 7 remaining arcades stateside.
ign.com: Sega Brings Rambo to Arcades
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TAGS: Products, Tech, Videogames
Expert: Kids Shouldn't Play 'Wii Fit'
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 2:00 PM
Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum doesn't think that kids should play Wii Fit because it's too harsh at telling kids they are fat.
Tam said, "I'm absolutely aghast that children are being told they are fat... BMI is far from perfect but with children it simply should not be used... A child's BMI can change every month and it is perfectly possible for a child to be stocky, yet still very fit... I would be very concerned if children were using this game and I believe it should carry a warning for parents."
While the language might be harsh... wouldn't that be a reason to get a kid to play Wii Fit? What happened to telling it how it is? Should we stop giving kids D's and F's because it makes them feel dumb?
If kids don't learn how to deal with insults and ridicule at an early age, how are they going to deal with all the MySpace predators when they hit a ripe old age of 11?
Kotaku: Expert Says Children Should Be Banned From Wii Fit
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TAGS: Videogames, Wii
'We Love Golf!' Screenshots
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 1:24 PM
Who loves golf? We Love Golf!
Check out these new screenshots for Capcom's golf game, releasing on July 1st.
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TAGS: Videogames, Wii
The MMO Report: Friday, May 16th
Posted by Patrick Roche-Sowa - Friday, May 16, 2008 1:24 PM
The MMO Report like to keep you guessing, especially about which day our videos go up.
Actually, if we're being truthful, Casey had another obligation this week. If you watched Attack of the Show this week, you might have caught a glimpse of Casey reading Kevin Pereira his lines through an ear-piece while he hosted the show blindfolded. Obviously this was a very important task, so we had to hold back the reigns on his epicness for an additional day. We apologize profusely.
But to make up for it, we have a great show. Small details about the Warhammer 40,000 MMO were leaked, Age of Conan is setting itself up to be the WoW killer everyone has been waiting for, and Casey makes some demands for his upcoming birthday. I got him a Barnes and Nobles gift certificate last year and I still can't turn my head all the way to the left. Don't make the same mistake I did. So sit back with a frosty mug of mead and enjoy yourself. You deserve it. This is...
The MMO Report
Subscribe to G4's The MMO Report Podcast by clicking your preferred service:
    
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TAGS: PC Gaming, The MMO Report
MS Comments on PS3 Getting 'GTA IV' DLC
Posted by Brian Leahy - Friday, May 16, 2008 11:52 AM
 Microsoft dropped bags of money on Rockstar's door for exclusive Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable content, but Sony has been dropping hints that they'll get some DLC as well.
Is this possible?
Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg doesn't think so, saying, "It's not possible as far as I'm aware, but that would be a good question to ask Rockstar. Rockstar and Xbox have only said there are exclusive episodes coming this fall to Xbox 360. I might put that up for a bit of wishful thinking on their [Sony's] end."
To us, it looks like Microsoft m |
