Thursday, September 27, 2007

PSN update: US gets NBA 2K8, Europe gets new Folklore demo

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Today's additions to the PlayStation Store may not incite frenzy, but with the entire video game world talking about a certain spartan, maybe Sony thought it was to retain their big guns for another week where they could garner more press.

For US PS3 owners, in addition to an assortment of free trailers, we have demos for Clive Barker's Jericho (which also came out today on the Xbox 360 and PC) and NBA 2K8, a new vehicle for Motorstorm dubbed the Castro Capitano ($0.99) and Speed Master feature for Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

European gamers today got some Warhawk and Heavenly Sword wallpaper, a quartet of new Motorstorm vehicles (£1.49 for each pair), the Ninja Gaiden SIgma Speed Master pack a demos for Sega Rally and Folklore (this is a different demo than the one previously released).

[Via PS3 Fanboy]
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[via] Joystiq

Reminder: Joystiq's Legendary Halo 3 Giveaway (day 3)

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legendary
Take a good hard look. You want it, don't you?

Visit the official giveaway post for details and your chance to win -- you can enter once a day until Oct. 2. Good luck!
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[via] Joystiq

Wii faces 'definite limit,' says UK's Xbox director

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Well, of course he would say that. Speaking to MCV, Neil Thompson, regional director of the entertainment and devices division at Microsoft UK , offered up some sweet words for Nintendo's Wii -- though not without sticking some tacks in his bowl of commentary candy. "Nintendo are doing very well and they've done a great job at expanding the market in certain areas, " he said, "but there is a limit in terms of what you can do with Wii and there is a very definite limit on the expandability of that product."

The statement doesn't give a definite explanation of what "expandability" entails, though chastising the Wii for its comparatively limited technology isn't unheard of. Is there a "definite limit" to the experiences the Wii can provide? Could a world like that presented in BioShock be created on the Wii? Are the system's motion controls any more limiting than a traditional controller, or are they (and products like Wii Fit) critical in the expansion of the gaming audience?

"I think in this generation we've absolutely been the innovative force in terms of what a next generation console should look like and how people should think about it," added Thompson. "I don't think we were innovative enough with the first console, so we did learn a lot from that." He goes on to suggest that competitors critical of the Xbox 360's multiple SKU approach might have something to learn from Microsoft's "smart choices" there. "I think you've got to look at what consumers want and offering something unique - and I think Nintendo have done a very impressive job at doing that."
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'Cammy' see more SSFIITHDR characters?

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It's been a long time since we've seen new characters from Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, but today we've got Cammy above and M. Bison after the break. This all comes on the heels of Capcom asking for people to submit their vote in the Achievement Poll for the game. There really isn't much to say on this art except that if you could please stop staring at Cammy's crotch for five seconds and finish the story you'll notice that we've got this neat little link here to all our preverious coverage. Still no word on a release date, but apparently the online development is coming along fine.

[Via X3F]

Continue reading 'Cammy' see more SSFIITHDR characters?

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Ex-Clover dev team buries 'Seeds' to form 'Platinum Games'

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Shortly after producing the strikingly beautiful Okami and relentlessly challenging God Hand, Capcom's Clover Studios was duly rewarded with cold commercial apathy and prompt liquidation. In February, the studio's lead designer trifecta -- Viewtiful Joe's Atsushi Inaba, Resident Evil's Shinji Mikami and Devil May Cry's Hideki Kamiya -- formed a new studio, Seeds, and began the process of hiring new employees.

Just over seven months later, it appears that Seeds will wither before producing even a single game. The company's recruitment website now states that Seeds will undergo a merger with a company called "ODD," resulting in a change of name to "Platinum Games" as of October 1st. No upcoming projects are mentioned, though one would hope that the new title becomes reflective of the success that's eluded Clover for so long.

[Via IGN]
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NCsoft expands in Europe; creating more jobs

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NCsoft is expanding in Europe and creating 100 new jobs over the next three years in Brighton, England. The company will grow and add another 116 new jobs to the 110 employees they already have there and a move to Brighton's City Point in the next couple years. The studio is responsible for assisting with Lineage II, City of Heroes, City of Villains, and Guild Wars.

The Korean company is expanding its operations due to a "major investment" by the South East England Development Agency. English developers are still seeking the kind of tax breaks found in France, currently Australia is struggling with the same issue. Expect to see greater expansion if NCsoft continues to do well.
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Joystiq impressions: Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (DS)

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LucasArts recently showed off the in-development DS version of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. The company tried to remain positive -- or at the very least, civil -- about the previous DS bomb, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. But this showing was clearly to prove to journalists that the DS version of the new game won't follow the murky fate of its predecessor.

Lego Star Wars creator, Traveller's Tales redeveloped the game for the DS instead of re-using the old DS engine, and it shows. The new game more closely resembles LSW on other consoles. In my brief play session, I was impressed with the top-screen 3D graphics; LSW Complete could be the graphical leader for 3D DS games with its November 6 launch.

Continue reading Joystiq impressions: Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (DS)

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TGS hands-on: Patapon

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Patapon, a PSP title which we've seen very little of so far, is proving a great hit at the Tokyo Game Show. With a line that was sometimes longer than Metal Gear Online we were curious to see what all the fuss was about. Finally we braved the Dreaded Public and got our hands on the goods.

Stepping into the Patapon enclosure a Sony booth attendee talked us through the gist of the game. We couldn't understand some of the Japanese, though we did enjoy it whenever she sang instructions to us. "Pon pon pata pon ... pata pata pata pon." Lovely.

Your tribe of one-eyed worshippers are required to go from one end of the level to the other (with two levels in the demo on the show floor). The only method of getting them there is to command them to act by performing different beats with the circle and square buttons, which correspond to the sounds "pata" and "pon", respectively. By stringing combinations of these two sounds together your minions will perform different actions.

Continue reading TGS hands-on: Patapon

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Halo 3 garners $170 million in US first day, breaks records

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Microsoft has just sent word that its flagship soldier Master Chief has come back from the battlefield with $170 million dollars in the first 24 hours of Halo 3 deployment in the United States. As noted, this would mark the biggest day in US entertainment history, beating out Spider-Man 3 and all Harry Potters (of course, the price of entry for those events were a lot less, but that's a technicality when it comes to record books).

According to the press release, September 25 was also Xbox Live's most active day so far, thanks in no small part to one million online Halo 3 players. Bundled with every copy of Halo 3 was a free 48 hour trial, so we're interested in seeing how many people tomorrow decide to pay the Gold fee and keep on fragging.

We're eagerly awaiting the sales figures for the game elsewhere in the world, especially Japan.

[Via Press Release]
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