Saturday, December 15, 2007

Crysis sales in crisis; UT3 gets fragged too

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Perhaps this can be considered a lesson for game developers eager to deliver tomorrow's game technology today: Crysis hit the PC market with an exoskeleton-enhanced thud. The critically praised -- but processing intensive -- title sold a disappointing 86,633 units in the States following its Nov. 13 release.

Holding hands with Crysis is Epic's Unreal Tournament 3 which sold an even more disappointing 33,995 units following its Nov. 19 release. Although not a pixel pushing monster on the level of say, oh ... Crysis, the Unreal Engine 3 game is still a beast in an already crowded genre. At the very least UT3 will make up some sales with the recently released PS3 version and the future Xbox 360 version.

We're ready for that Crysis console announcement whenever you are, EA.
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[via] Joystiq

Big changes coming to Call of Duty 4 this month

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It seems that more spots on our Friends list are devoted to people playing Call of Duty 4 than anything else, lately. Despite the e-success, the team at Infinity Ward is still tweaking the experience, evidenced by a bevy of changes that will be coming to the online portion of the game sometime this month.

The changes are split between two groups: playlist and patch changes. The playlist changes are numerous, and really help to balance and perfect the online experience. Maps are being added to rotations, new playlist variations are being introduced, and some rules are being changed. As for the patch, there's an awful lot of network optimization, the addition of host migration (your party doesn't get booted if the host takes off) and, perhaps most importantly of all, Kill Cam view has been added to everything: claymores, RPGs, grenades, even fracking Air Strike Bombs ("follows bomb from plane to target" ... oh yes).

The only thing we don't like about this updates? There's no ETA outside of the "month of December." Hit that 'Read' link for the full breakdown and start counting down the days.
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[via] Joystiq

Today in Joystiq: December 14, 2007

Yes, console art is cool no matter how far back you go. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
DS Fanboy Lite: Dec. 8 - Dec. 14
Joystiq Interview: Puzzle Quest, Vicious Cycle's Eric Peterson's 'Holy Grail'
Joystiq Podcast 029 - Heroic edition
The Political Game: Hey, Guv, your hypocrisy is showing
Today's most comparative video: Orange Box PS3 vs. Xbox 360
WoW Insider's got a $5K Dell WoW edition notebook

News
NIS confirms Atelier Iris 'spiritual sequel' for PS2
Activison: Actually, Harmonix to blame for PS3 guitar issues
First details on next Tomb Raider emerge in Play
GameStop selling Wii 'rain check' certificates Dec. 20 & 21
Wii unavailability costing Nintendo a billion in sales
Notes from Reggie's Wii shortages conference call
Harmonix confirms Rock Band for Canada Dec. 20
Grand Theft Auto IV rated MA 15+ in Australia
Miyamoto: 'Ratchet & Clank' who? Lombax what?
Ubi brings free Heroes of Might and Magic MMO to the web
Guitar Hero III DLC: The Used Mastadon roams Linkin Park
Crysis sales in crisis; UT3 gets fragged too
Big changes coming to Call of Duty 4 this month

Rumors & Speculation
Spin to win: Microsoft and Sony talk NPD results
Rumor: Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters expands to PS2

Culture & Community
Portal's plush companion cube puts a price on friendship
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[via] Joystiq

Japanese hardware sales, Dec. 3 - Dec. 9: Saturday morning shame edition

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If the Japanese hardware sales chart is the first thing to pop into your mind (and search engine) on a beautiful Saturday morning, you may feel compelled to question the priorities in your life. You may even wrestle with the word "life" itself, perhaps bumping it down a notch to "existence" and appending adjectives like "sad" and/or "meaningless." We're here to eliminate those impulses though, reminding you that there's no shame in being completely obsessed with the video game purchases of a foreign culture.

After all, there's some loser who woke up on Saturday morning (thanks, Flying Alarm Clock!) just to pull that rubbish out of a custom spreadsheet and post it on a website.

- DS Lite: 168,255 43,664 (35.05%)
- Wii: 115,057 40,293 (53.89%)
- PSP: 91,481 16,855 (22.59%)
- PS3: 38,123 1,031 (2.78%)
- PS2: 11,987 1,716 (12.52%)
- Xbox 360: 8,876 2,244 (33.84%)
- GBA SP: 94 85 (944.44%)
- Gamecube: 46 14 (43.75%)
- Game Boy Micro: 20 -- 0 (0.00%)
- DS Phat: 12 24 (66.67%)
- GBA: 0 4 (100.00%)

[Source: Media Create]

See: The embarrassingly extensive archives
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[via] Joystiq

Joystiq hands-on: echochrome (PSN)

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What a difference two buttons can make. We tested a new build of echochrome, and we found the new demo to be even more enjoyable than our last session at TGS. Why, you ask? (Amuse us, if you will.) There are two reasons: the Triangle and X buttons. Granted, they may have been in the Tokyo demonstration, lost to us in our inability to firmly grasp the Japanese language. Regardless, these two new buttons change the overall flow and feel of the game.

A press of Triangle allows you to pause the game action, giving the player time to think, adjust the perspective and find the best route through the level. However, each puzzle is a race against the clock. Time is still ticking, and levels will end if players can't figure out a way to reach the echoes quickly enough. Players will be able to regain some lost time by pressing X, which forces your echo to run faster.

Each puzzle can be approached in a number of different ways. For example, in the level we played, we moved the camera to move our character from one adjacent platform to another. It took us quite some time, as we traversed through the stage in seemingly the longest way possible. The SCEA representative played the same level and cleverly manipulated the middle block, allowing it to connect to any other point in the stage. He was able to cross the echoes in a time that simply shamed our pathetic attempt. We only saw five levels, but we're hopeful that later levels in the game will all feature multiple solutions.

Gallery: echochrome

Continue reading Joystiq hands-on: echochrome (PSN)

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[via] Joystiq

Guitar Hero III gets rock 'n' roll patch

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Woo! Good evening, internet! Welcome to the stage the new patch for Guitar Hero III on PS3 and Xbox 360, now, are you ready to rock? They're going to kick it off with "Improved Online Quick Match Results" and "Calibration Screen Improvements, Helping Users With High Lag AV Systems" and then one just for you Playstation 3 users: "The Co-Op Quickplay Mode." Finally, they're going to be closing with their new single: "Various Stability Improvements and Fixes." ... Hey, why doesn't anyone have their lighter out?

... OK, so this patch isn't particularly rock 'n' roll. It doesn't wear a cool leather jacket or hassle nerds or boss around the rest of T-Birds. But it is practical, which is sort of cool too, isn't it? Maybe in a old-but-still-hip-English-professor sort of way? Guys? Where are you going?
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[via] Joystiq

Street Fighter III: Third Strike on GameTap Dec. 20

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Street Fighter III: Third Strike -- the greatest fighting game hardly anyone played -- makes its way to GameTap on Dec. 20. To the many who know the fine, detailed, beyond-minutia intricacies of fighting games, SFIII: Third Strike represents the last great 2D fighter. GameTap has gotten hold of the Dreamcast version of the game, which means that both PC and Mac users will have access.

For those with specialty fighting sticks, GameTap supports a wide range of controllers and there's an official list available, but many more work that aren't listed. The game will not support online play because neither did the Dreamcast version. So check out SFIII: Third Strike and join fighter aficionados everywhere in enjoying a vintage treat.
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[via] Joystiq