Jun 29, 2010
Kotaku
Scott Johnson chronicles the long strange trip from Pong paddle to motion-sensed human, leaving the commentary up to you. As seen on ExtraLife. Thanks, Jon!
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Scott Johnson chronicles the long strange trip from Pong paddle to motion-sensed human, leaving the commentary up to you. As seen on ExtraLife. Thanks, Jon!
Microsoft's Kinect messaging is definitely core-obsessed. First they said they didn't want core shooters like Halo on it. Then they said it's got casual approachability, but core depth. Now, they're saying hardcore gamers will be first in line for it.
"I think we know that hardcore gamers will be the first to go out and buy it, as they are with any product," Ryan More, Microsoft's worldwide marketing manager, told CVG. "So we know we have to have a wide range of experiences, from things like the animals game you saw today to games that are more geared towards the core. So I would expect a wide range of products to be released this holiday."
Translation: We haven't even told you the price and we know you'll be the first to buy it.
More likely result: Most early adopters are hardcore gamers, but that doesn't mean most hardcore gamers are early adopters.
Microsoft's Ryan Moore [CVG]
The violent open-world action of Saints Row is something of a surprising addition to the Nintendo 3DS line-up. But there's a good reason—two of them actually—for Saints Row's appearance on Nintendo's new 3D game machine.
According to an interview with Danny Bilson of publisher THQ at IndustryGamers, Nintendo lobbied heavily to bring the mature content of Saints Row to the Nintendo 3DS in order "to launch with a very balanced portfolio."
That was a no-brainer for THQ, who was already developing the game—in 3D, no less—for Xbox Live Arcade. Bilson also says that the Nintendo 3DS version of the game will feature some sort of interaction with the forthcoming Saints Row 3, offering unlockable content between the two versions.
While it's obvious that THQ is going to be saturating us with Saints Row over the next couple years, the real winner is the consumer. Finally, we'll get a chance to spray people with liquid sewage in 3D. Welcome to the future!
Nintendo 'Really Wanted' Saints Row on 3DS, reveals THQ [IndustryGamers]
Yesterday we heard of a rating new to Madden NFL 11, the Old Spice-sponsored "Swagger." Rumor had it that the rating affected player attributes. Nope. It governs a player's likelihood to celebrate, during or after a touchdown.
MyMaddenPad got the score from the team itself:
The "Old Spice Swagger" rating determines the likelihood of a player to celebrate on the way to the endzone, or after a touchdown. For example, a running back like Adrian Peterson (99 rating) has a greater tendency to celebrate than Frank Gore (50 rating).
Ian Cummings, the game's lead developer, followed up to say it is "purely a set personality rating."
Sports titles get ripped for every little instance of in-game advertising, despite the fact the real ones are larded up with scads of sponsorships. Here it might be warranted. Manual celebration controls have been a part of Madden since ... I can't remember when they first were a part of the game. They were there in Madden 10. Sit on the B or circle button inside the 20 and you'll high step and point even if it's Ruth Bader Ginsburg playing wideout.
If "swagger" is only pertinent to touchdown plays - not big hits, interceptions or (shudder) Michael Irvin-style first downs - then an auto-celebrate feature adds little in the way of gameplay, solidifying this as more advertisement than feature. Update: Manual celebration controls will still be a part of Madden NFL 11.
I don't think this means EA Sports will start inventing B.S. stats every year just to sell more ad space to your eyeballs, but it is a fair criticism.
Swagger Rating Explained by EA Sports [MyMaddenPad]
Epic Games, the people who make Unreal Tournament and Gears of War, could eventually bring Gears of War to your iPhone or Android, the future destination of big budget, "AAA" games.
So says futurist and Epic Games VP Mark Rein, who is a big proponent of iPhone and iPad gaming. Epic's Unreal Engine is already running on versions of the device in prototype form, so to hear Rein say that Gears of War could eventually go mobile is not much of a surprise. Epic's interest in iAds and the possibility of the bombastic shooter going "download-only" might, however, be less expected of the company.
Rein also said that Epic is "definitely going to experiment with micro-transactions and lower-price games" at the GameHorizon Conference 2010, according to a report from GamesIndustry.biz.
It certainly doesn't sound like the developer is moving away from consoles and powerful PCs, just expanding its reach to those other multi-million selling platforms.
Having played with the Unreal Engine prototype on an iPhone myself, it's not that unreasonable to consider playing a good-looking shooter on the device, even a whittled down Unreal Tournament. But a fully-fledged game a la Gears of War or Bulletstorm? We'll see about that, Mark!
Epic: triple-A will come to mobile platforms [GamesIndustry]
Last week, The Amber Alert network released a truly WTF, fearmongering gun porn PSA tagged, "You don't need a gun to protect your kids." (But it does help). Because it's four people with assault rifles, you know what's next.
YouTube user E3Vidz (for Eternal Entertainment Enterprises, not the expo) spotted the opening and ran with it, going all Lifetime Movie of the Week on Left 4 Dead. I'm not sure either video has much of a message but the second one makes a little more sense to me.
Left 4 Dead 3: Not Without My Daughter. Make it happen, Valve.
Left 4 Dead 3 Trailer [YouTube]
Welcome to the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Plus. Subscribers to Sony's new premium service are on the receiving end of the greatest number of additions to the North American PlayStation Store this week, a more convincing argument for signing up.
In addition to the week's new highlights, a downloadable version of inFamous, Hot Shots Tennis for the PSP and the Fat Princess Fat Roles expansion, PlayStation Plus subscribers get a long list of reasons to pay up. That includes price breaks on downloadable games from Midway, TikGames and Creat Studios, plus a few freebies (while your subscription lasts, that is).
For the full list of new additions, read on.
inFamous ($29.99)
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 demo
Midway Arcade Treasures Extended Play ($9.99)
Hot Shots Tennis: Get A Grip ($19.99)
Bejeweled 2 PSP ($9.99)
LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival Bundle ($9.99)
PSP minis: Mahjonng Solitaire ($2.99)
PSP minis: Arcade Darts ($3.99)
PSP minis: Stellar Attack ($4.49)
PSP minis: Egypt Engineering An Empire ($3.99)
PSP minis: Hello Flowerz! ($4.99)
DJ Hero: Dance Party Mix Pack ($7.99)
Fat Princess: Fat Roles ($4.99)
PAIN: Sergeant Jay Character ($0.99)
PlayStation Home Starter Pack ($4.99)
Super Street Fighter IV: Super Classic Costume Pack ($3.99)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11: Waialae CC ($9.99)
Trinity Universe – Healing Idol Pack ($0.99)
Trinity Universe – Kanata's Adventure Pack (free)
Trinity Universe – Monsters Souls Pack (free)
Trinity Universe – Their Voices Pack ($1.99)
Trinity Universe – Universal Beauty Pack ($1.99)
Guitar Hero tracks
Rock Band tracks
Backbreaker Trailer
Singularity: Cause And Affect Trailer
Voodoo Dice – Launch Trailer
MAG Interdiction Mission Pack Trailer
ModNation Racers PSP Launch Trailer
ModNation Racers Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
Percy Jackson Theme (US Only) ($1.99)
Trinity Universe – Theme 01: Kanata ($1.99)
Trinity Universe – Theme 02: Tsubaki ($1.99)
Trinity Universe – Theme 03: Rizelea ($1.99)
Trinity Universe – Theme 04: Lucius ($1.99)
Terran Marines Premium Theme ($1.99)
Terran 3020 Premium Theme ($1.99)
Fat Princess Fat Roles Wallpaper
Final Fight: Double Impact Poison Avatar ($0.49)
Mega Man 10 Avatar ($0.49)
Super Street Fighter IV Avatars (x5) ($0.49)
FIFA Soccer 10: FIFA Ultimate Team – Sale (now $2.49, original price $4.99)
LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival – Permanent Price Change (now $7.49, original price $14.99)
Don't Let Me Down (Slowly) by The Main Drag – Permanent Price Change (now $0.99, original price $1.99)
Super Stacker – Permanent Price Change (now $6.99, original price $9.99)
Trine – Permanent Price Change (now $9.99, original price $14.99)
Section 8 – Sale (now $14.99, original price $29.99)
LittleBigPlanet Saktue of Liberty Costume (free)
inFAMOUS Full Game Trial
WipEout HD (Free to PlayStation Plus subscribers)
Rally Cross (Free to PlayStation Plus subscribers)
Age of Zombies (Free to PlayStation Plus subscribers)
Warhawk Fallen Star Pack (Free to PlayStation Plus subscribers)
Collision Theme (Free and Exclusive to PlayStation Plus subscribers)
Fat Princess: Pink Princess Avatar (Free to PlayStation Plus subscribers)
Fat Princess: Blue Princess Avatar (Free to PlayStation Plus subscribers)
Fat Princess: Fat Roles Expansion Pack (PlayStation Plus price $3.99, original price $4.99)
Midway PlayStation Plus Sale
Gauntlet II (PlayStation Plus price $2.50, original price $4.99)
Mortal Kombat II (PlayStation Plus price $2.50, original price $4.99)
Rampage (PlayStation Plus price $2.50, original price $4.99)
Rampart (PlayStation Plus price $2.50, original price $4.99)
TikGames/Creat Studios PlayStation Plus Sale
Cuboid (PlayStation Plus price $7.99, original price $9.99)
Cuboid Booster Pack (PlayStation Plus price FREE, original price $2.99)
Cuboid Bundle Pack (PlayStation Plus price FREE, original price $4.99)
Cuboid Level Editor (PlayStation Plus price FREE, original price $3.99)
Hamsterball (PlayStation Plus price $7.99, original price $9.99)
Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos (PlayStation Plus price $7.99, original price $9.99)
Magic Orbz (PlayStation Plus price $7.99, original price $9.99)
Magic Orbz Booster Pack (PlayStation Plus price FREE, original price $2.99)
Magic Orbz Jungle Pack (PlayStation Plus price FREE, original price $2.99)
Magic Orbz Winter Pack (PlayStation Plus price FREE, original price $2.99)
Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom (PlayStation Plus price $7.99, original price $9.99)
Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom Booster Pack (PlayStation Plus price FREE, original price $4.99)
Smash Cars (PlayStation Plus price $11.99, original price $14.99)
Smash Cars: Virus Run (PlayStation Plus price FREE, original price $2.99)
Wakeboarding HD (PlayStation Plus price $11.99, original price $14.99)
Nintendo's Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies celebrity sneak-peek event gets a lil' crunk, thanks to Lil Jon and DJ Slade. Slimes beware! [Photo courtesy Nintendo of America]
The problem is, says the game's producer, is that only one was really good. So 2K Games had three outcomes whacked and hardwired the upcoming game for just one conclusion. Sorry, alternate endings, it's just business.
Denby Grace, the game's senior producer, said the three dropped endings were just "OK," so don't lament their passing (Not the face, Tony. Not the face!) "We had four multiple endings at one point in the game, and then we looked at it and we had one really outstanding great ending to end our story," Grace told IncGamers. "We worked on these things and we have our players that focus test [the game] and we found that people were just replaying and ultimately only felt satisfied when they got to the one great ending."
Rather than fight it, the team figured if that was the ending most players would go for, the other three weren't much use. "We just said 'You know what? Let's just ditch these other endings, this is the ending everyone wants' and that's one thing we're happy with making that choice," he said.
Mafia II Drops Multiple Endings [IncGamers]
To: Ash
From: Crecente
One thing that's great about living in Colorado: Wild animals. We get coyotes, we get foxes, we get deer, all in our yard, We even get snakes, like this one that was really unhappy with my dogs.
Snakes on a blogger's yard!
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