OK, stop trying to play your EA games online with the PSP. They simply don't support it. Surely it was an "accident", but it is convenient for EA that their PSP launch titles all mention Wi-fi Infrastructure support. Dan over at the Sports Gamer Blog has dug up dirty details on EA's support site where they claim it was a misprint on their boxes. Unfortunately, for PSP owners buying launch titles, that was one hell of a misleading misprint. Titles with the mislabeled boxes are Need For Speed Underground Rivals, NBA Street Showdown, FIFA Soccer, NFL Street 2 Unleashed, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour.
[via Portagame]

EA's PSP launch titles do NOT support online play originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 01 Apr 2005 14:38:52 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Today gamers who were prepared to start grinding in World of Warcraft were greeted with queues of over 600 people just to log in. Gamers are reportedly waiting hours for a taste of the game. The problem has much to do with the popularity of the PvP servers on the first day of the launch. Other problems such as disconnects and game crashes have added to their wounds. This brings back painful memories of the Ultima Online launch... 7 years ago.

World of Warcraft launches, players angry originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Nov 2004 20:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Game awards are kind of like our next door neighbor; sometimes they are in touch reality and sometimes they aren't. Billboard's attempt didn't draw our ire, although giving the "Best Use of Sound" award to True Crime: Streets of LA was questionable during a year we learned to command squads by voice.  The well executed City of Heroes took top honors as well as the multiplayer award. Developer of the Year went to BioWare Corp largely for their efforts with KOTOR and expansions on the Neverwinter Nights franchise.

NCSoft and BioWare win at Billboard awards originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Nov 2004 16:38:15 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We took advantage of the Guild Wars preview event last weekend to take a look around at the state of the game. Apparently, over 400,000 other players were on during the weekend, which makes the performance we experienced that much more remarkable. The game itself is like an MMO hack-n-slash RPG with many quests designed for teams of players. In a game like WoW, quests frequently will find multiple parties camping spawn points in order to complete the quest. Guild Wars solves the issue by spawning an isolated instance of quests for each group producing a consistent experience. Grouping for a quest takes place in a holding area that notes the recommended group size. This prevents lone players from rushing into an area designed for large groups of players and getting killed, which seems to happen a lot to a certain friendless Joystiq blogger. More details about the upcoming beta weekends at the game's site.

400,000 people played Guild Wars last weekend originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Nov 2004 16:24:43 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Blizzard has announced World of Warcraft will hit stores on Nov. 23 in North America, Australia, and New Zealand.  Gamers can choose between the regular version and a special Collector's Edition which among other things will give you an exclusive in-game pet. Both versions will include the first month free and subscriptions will vary in price between $12.99 and $14.99 depending on the payment plan chosen. While we think this is a little expensive, we really find the quest driven nature of advancement they have chosen extremely addictive and enjoyable. The Collector's Edition will also include a 10-day guest pass so you can get someone else hooked on the drug.

World of Warcraft ships Nov. 23 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Nov 2004 14:00:16 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Aspyr Media and id Software now have a Mac version of Doom 3 available for pre-order. Yes, we know none of you use Apple computers, but this would be a good gift for your fruity Mac-loving friend. Doom 3 just gets everyone into the holiday spirit with a nice "Welcome to HELL!"

Doom 3 for Mac originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Nov 2004 16:44:43 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Win Gamefly rentals from McDonald's originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Nov 2004 15:34:32 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Accessory manufacturer Mad Catz Interactive has decided to create a dance game to go along with their dance pads. MC Groovz Dance Craze will be the first dance game Nintendo GameCube and should hit stores in time for the holiday season. If you insist on some exercise with your gaming, this game might be for you. MC Groovz Dance Craze will go for about $50 (dance pad included) and will feature music from Jewel, Jessica Simpson, and various club tracks.

Mad Catz to release first game originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Nov 2004 19:47:43 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We don't think there is anything wrong with exercising; it's something for people who can't play games very well. Now there is a product for crazies that want to get exercise while they play shooters. We are quite sure that the designers of the product are well intentioned, but this is just ridiculous, one could even say it's stupid. The FP Gamerunner looks like a treadmill with a scooter's handle bar attached to it and can be used to play any FPS. Apparently, you twist the handle bar to aim vertically and to strafe you continue walking forward while pushing a button. Just thinking about walking forward to go sideways is making us nauseous.

Exercise while gaming? originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Nov 2004 15:40:04 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We've come to expect nothing from games tied to movie franchises so we feel a little out of sorts to be excited about Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. The game is a full featured RPG that allows free roaming play, the ability to complete quests for either side of the war, and renders all items on your character. We are also pleased that we won't be playing as any member of the Fellowship. Hobbits are great, but playing a game as a three foot tall, peace loving character with no fighting abilities just isn't our idea of fantasy. EA has promised a lot with this game, if they fail to deliver, we'll be forced to never buy another movie tie-in again.

A real Lord of the Rings RPG has shipped originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Nov 2004 15:10:24 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For our RTS fans, Atari is still taking a few more registrations for beta testing Act of War: Direct Action. The beta for this near future RTS should feature a full tech tree as they attempt to balance out the sides. If getting to play multiplayer games about war for free is your thing, then you'll want to head over to the registration site and use the code "AOW-PRE". Also you should make sure you have at least a P4 2.2GHz, 512Mb RAM, and a pretty solid video card (128Mb) so that you can zoom around the battlefield smoothly. The beta test starts this week, so get your registration in immediately.
Thanks Ken

Act of War beta test signup originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Nov 2004 17:51:59 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The 'Extreme' speed platform was announced today by Intel which includes the new 925XE Express chipset capable of an astounding 1066MHz system bus speed. An Extreme Edition of the Pentium 4 running at 3.46 GHz is also being released to go along with it. Both of these are allegedly targeted at us, the hardcore gamers. Someone seems to have forgotten to mention to Intel that the only gamers that can afford a $999 processor are the inept rich guys down the street who we repeatedly frag.

1066 MHz system bus now available for rich gamers originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Nov 2004 17:10:30 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nintendo has scored a temporary restraining order against companies importing and selling devices with bootleg copies of classic NES games. The devices sold as "Superjoy", "Powerjoy", and "Power Player" come preloaded with approximately 85 games some of which are original 8-bit NES games. These plug-n-play devices which are manufactured in China were being peddled from kiosks in malls and online. Many of the games featured are currently enjoying a revival on the GBA SP.

Nintendo wins against piraters originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Nov 2004 15:15:41 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We're big fans of machinima and unconventional behavior in MMOs, so when we saw the winner of this year's Star Wars Galaxies Fan Film Fest, something just resonated with us. Anything that involves gamers deciding to pass on living their 'real' lives to spend hours in a game not even playing is just something that we can't help but encourage. Go forth good gamer, watch it then make more movies for us to enjoy...

[via Boing Boing]

Star Wars Galaxies machinima worth a look originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Nov 2004 14:00:56 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When we saw these screenshots we just had to everyone go check them out. Click through and take a look at what could be the best looking MMO. These were taken in game from the preview we mentioned ealier.
[thanks Kamalot]

Guild Wars screenshots for your afternoon originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Oct 2004 16:55:35 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just in case anyone missed the news about Gizmondo last month. Here's a reminder that it's shipping today in the UK. Of particular interest is the use of Nvidia's GoForce 4500 chipset and the inclusion of a GPS locator. We also like the use of standard PDA/Phone technologies like Bluetooth, SD, and GPRS. What we don't like is having only a handful of launch titles of questionable quality. We already have enough hardware sitting around that has been abandoned by manufacturers and developers alike.
[thanks to Justin Nolan]

Gizmondo shipping today in UK originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Oct 2004 16:38:47 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's Friday afternoon and we still have several hours left to go before we escape. If you are in the same boat you can check out the first Pariah trailer we mentioned here. We aren't experts about film or film trailers, but we didn't get the "emotional" response Mojo was suppossed to be able to deliver. Overall the game isn't looking too unique, but we did like seeing bodies and vehicles flying through the air.

Pariah trailer is up originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Oct 2004 15:45:45 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you aren't stuck at work like us, then head on over and grab your copy of the Guild Wars client. We love demos, especially open previews for MMOs. So far this latest offering from NCSoft is looking great, but everyone can decide for themselves this weekend as the preview will last until the end of October.

Guild Wars preview starts today originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Oct 2004 14:55:35 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sad news went out to beta testers last night, the WoW closed beta is ending today at 3pm PDT. The rest of the world can rejoice in their pain as it means that Blizzard is one step closer to finishing their drug for us. After taking down the servers, they will prepare them for a massive stress test and then the players will be allowed back in. All this means that the open beta is just around the corner.

World of Warcraft closed beta ending originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Oct 2004 13:36:56 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday, Sean Burke filed a suit in Los Angeles alleging that his Xbox stopped reading and playing games after less than a year of normal use. The suit is looking to represent all Xbox owners who have had similar problems and is seeking compensation. Microsoft hasn't responded yet, but we'll keep you updated. Any readers have an experience with bad drives in their Xbox?

UPDATE: So far I've only gotten a generic response from Microsoft's Molly O'Donnell saying they have been aware of the suit and have been looking into it. I'll keep putting whatever I get from them in the comments thread.

Gamer suing Microsoft for bad Xbox drives originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Oct 2004 20:09:24 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nintendo has now apologized after claiming that SuicideGirls.com was infringing on their rights because a user's profile included references to Metroid and Zelda. They go on to offer the site creator and offending user a game system and game of their choice. Follow the link for the full text of their response.
[via Boing Boing]

Nintendo apologizes to Suicide Girls originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Oct 2004 19:15:34 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Seems like Second Lifers don't like being studied by anthropology students and it has raised questions about the ethics of recording your interactions in MMOs. Gosh, we wonder what researchers would say about our psychotic break in Ultima Online... oops, forget we said that. We really have no idea why anyone would be *cough* embarrassed about their behavior in a MMO. In related news, Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life, has announced securing 8 million in additional financing.
[via Boing Boing]
[funding news via GamaSutra]

Second Life bits originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Oct 2004 18:11:58 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A version of The Door's 'Riders on the Storm' has been remixed by Snoop Dogg and will only be available as part of NFS:Underground 2. Today a full track list was announced and several new songs will be available with the game from Unwritten Law, Capone, Helmut, and Felix da Housecat. All of this is fine with us as long as we can hear the sweet sound of NOS coursing through our engines. mmm... nos... NFS ships Nov. 15

NFS:Underground 2 to feature exclusive Doors remix originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Oct 2004 17:05:17 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sony is hosting the SOCOM II World Championships this Saturday at the Metreon in San Francisco. It looks like it's going to be an eight on eight battle between Korea and America using both classic maps and new maps. This will also be the debut of maps that are downloadable content for the 5 people in the US that bought PS2 hard drives. We wonder if Zipper Interactive ever heard of the Xbox.

SOCOM II throwdown in San Francisco originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Oct 2004 15:07:50 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sony has announced the feature list and pricing for Station Players, a new service initially for Everquest 2 players. The name implies that they will be expanding the service across other MMOs in the future. A handful of free features like a Guild site and access to your character data through the website will be accompanied by premium features at $2.99/mo to satisfy more hard-core players. All of these appear to be designed to decrease the barriers between a human's time in the real world and in the game world. Now when players are out of the game, they'll still have access to detailed character info, guild accomplishments, and screenshots. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the dynamic item database where players will be able to see the latest crack, I mean items, that have been discovered in game.

Station Players: Where everybody knows your player name... originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Oct 2004 14:40:47 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The day has finally come where Star Wars Galaxies players finally get starships. The resulting combination of space combat and RPG is something we've desired for years. We would have posted this up earlier but we were busy trying to figure out if it our X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter skills were transferable. They aren't, or at least not for us.  Hit up the main site to see if the available ships will satisfy your fantasies.

Jump to Lightspeed ships originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Oct 2004 19:33:29 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The upcoming FPS from Groove Games will start being revealed through four trailers starting this Friday. The game which was favorably received at E3 this year has drawn a lot of comparisons to Halo 2, which it will inevitably be competing against for the hearts of fanboys everywhere. The theatrical quality trailers will be produced by Mojo LLC which it has done for blockbuster films The Last Samurai, Troy, The Matrix, and xXx.

Pariah to get Hollywood treatment originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Oct 2004 18:02:38 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We still fondly recall using our Fire Horn to decimate skeleton after skeleton, and so on... The new version of Bard's Tale shares its name with the original series but now much else. Deciding to make it an action-RPG utilizing the Snowblind engine was probably a better choice than sticking with text (We'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to decide for themselves). Also, new both to the series and the genre is a humorous story line and talented voice acting.  Taken as a whole, GameSpy is finding the combination refreshing.  We just want to find a floppy drive to run the original.

A Bard's Tale offers new approach to the genre originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Oct 2004 14:30:48 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A retail store in Omaha has decided not only to ensure age requirements are met for purchasing Grand Theft Auto, but have decided to tighten up security and employ some nebulous form of profiling. "We have trained all our cashiers and security staff to be on the lookout for kids that don't fit the rules" is the quote from a store rep. We aren't sure what the point of that is and we think he doesn't know either. Unfortunately for all of us, GTA characters don't need to inspire cosplay, we dress like that already.

Omaha stores serve up GTA:SA with a side of idiocy originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Oct 2004 13:30:05 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A playable demo is now available including the new 'Free Roam' mode and the shops. Unfortunately, the only car available for the demo is the 350Z, but it should be enough to get an idea. Looks like online play via EA's servers is available as well. I'll race you to the download queue.
[Via Blue's News]

NFS: Undeground 2 demo available! originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Oct 2004 19:25:57 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On your way to the store today, you might want to swing through the Gameboy section and pick up some of the latest crop of Classic NES releases. Today's release includes Metroid, Castlevania, Dr. Mario, and Zelda II. This should give us something to do as we wait in line for midnight releases in the coming weeks.

New classic NES releases for Gameboy originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Oct 2004 18:18:12 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A new interview with Bertrand Helias is up over at TeamXbox along with screenshots. Looks like we'll be treated to an older darker Prince that's capable of a greater arsenal of attack combinations and weapons. As an added bonus a slow motion effect has been incorporated so that we can enjoy the beautiful darkness that is decapitation.

Prince of Perisa:Warrior Within beautifying the darkness originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Oct 2004 16:45:26 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We're still not sure what to think about Gamer.tv's Sexiest Gamer competition. On the one hand you've got some good looking guys and gals combining their photos with screen caps of frag counts demonstrating that brawns and beauty can go together. Then you have the fellows sporting unibrows doing their best to look like Solid Snake and failing miserably. Either way, browsing through can be addictive, humorous, and sometimes disturbing.

Gamer.tv brings AmIHotOrNot? to gamers originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Oct 2004 16:10:05 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

So if you are bored at work waiting to go home to play some GTA, you might want to pass some time at this site. We recommend checking out Tontie which involves smashing one-eyed monsters with a red hammer. When you reach the upper levels prepare for some crazy hammer-swinging action as you try to keep up. The site's in Japanese but the games are simple enough that it doesn't matter for us Engrish only readers.

Tontie: crazy Japanese cure for boring afternoons originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Oct 2004 14:33:55 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Over at Krawall Gaming Network they've got some new shots of Need for Speed: Underground 2 up.  So far it's looking a lot like the first version of the game with expanded licensing of vehicles.  But if your idea of street racing includes a lowered H2 with ground effects or a pearl white Escalade with some Neuspeed vinyl, then you are in luck because SUVs have been added for this iteration.  This is exactly the image of speed that comes to mind when we think about street racing... yeah, maybe not. Trying to drag race a 4,000 lb. mall cruiser just doesn't do it for us.

[via Bluesnews]

Pimped SUVs in new NFS: Underground 2 screens originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Oct 2004 16:38:39 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A gamer armed with a video camera managed to record some great demo footage from LanVegas. The demo clearly shows that we are getting more of the goodness that was in Battlefield:1942 plus a lot of what the community added afterwards. Some of these include an integrated player stats system which users of the now defunct bfstats.org will find familiar as well as the ability to record game files efficiently for sharing online.  Both of these are of vital importance to those of us that derive our sense of self worth from showing everyone exactly how many knife kills we can get. For some reason the first thing that comes to mind is making a highlight reel set to the tune "Take my breathe away".

Battlefield 2 video from LanVegas originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Oct 2004 16:12:44 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nintendo uses 'sexy' blue squares and static to sell DS originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Oct 2004 13:45:09 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that World of Warcraft could hit stores on November 22. This would bring it out just two to three weeks after Everquest 2 and Jump to Lightspeed. What's a MMO player to do? Well, we think the only option is to not sleep anymore. Don't forget there is still the WoW open public beta coming up soon, so you can see if their quest driven MMO is the right drug for your needs.

[Via Bluesnews]

Possible street date for World of Warcraft originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Oct 2004 13:20:33 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Orbis Labs, which manufactures a handsome product called the 'Battle Sphere' and Channel 51, a UFO speculation site are the latest attempts at underground marketing from Nintendo. Both sites appear to have placeholders for future content are being used to promote Metroid Prime 2:Echoes which is due on November 15. We weren't impressed with the fuzzed screenshots on Channel 51, but we have gone ahead and placed an order for the Orbis Sphere since we can always use more vehicles equipped with thermal cannons.

Ninetendo surfaces two Metroid themed hoax sites originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 21 Oct 2004 15:31:08 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Penny Arcade kicked off their ambitious gamer powered charity drive this week. Last year, almost on a whim, they decided to harness the holiday spirit of their audience to provide toys for the Seattle Children's Hospital. The result netted nearly $250,000 in toys and cash which had to be delivered by truck loads to the hospital. This year they've decided to expand the drive to benefit five hospitals across the country. The only thing we'll miss about last year's drive is watching them drown under the deluge of toys.

Childs Play 2 has been officially launched originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 21 Oct 2004 15:04:34 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.