Joystiq

Rumor: Kane & Lynch 2 teaser has duo dodging dogs

by Alexander Sliwinski { 2 days ago }

MTV Germany has posted a video that could be construed as a viral teaser for Kane & Lynch 2. The clip is mock "surveillance video" of two naked men desperately barging into a Chinese restaurant. The streakers are apparently on the run -- there's some gun fire aimed in their direction -- until one (possibly Lynch by the looks of his hairstyle) trips and falls over a table, only to be attacked a few seconds later by a dog. The other gentleman, perhaps Kane, successfully beats the dog off of his partner with what appears to be a tray, and then the two presumably escape.

Could this be be a viral ad for Kane and Lynch in "Dog Days?" Your call.

[Via Kotaku]

Reggie denies the existence of Wii HD

by Justin McElroy { 2 days ago }

Though plenty of people -- analyst Michael Pachter chief among them -- are pretty certain that an HD version of the Wii is in the pipeline, you're not going to catch Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Amie copping to it. Speaking with Geoff Keighley on Gametrailers TV, the Regginator said, "Michael continues to be the only one who believes that this is gonna happen. I don't know how forcefully we can say there is no Wii HD."

It certainly sounds like a firm refusal, but let's all try to remember that the shelf life of a Nintendo denial is exactly 10 days.

Team up and watch this new Skate 3 trailer

by Randy Nelson { 2 days ago }

EA's new Skate 3 trailer touts team-play as the stand-out addition to the franchise. The new element allows players to tackle challenges and compete against other teams online for popularity within the Skate.Feed community. Of course, it's just as easy to become unpopular, too -- just ask the guy in the short shorts.

EA Black Box is once again handling the development of the game, building on the, um, building features of Skate 2. The studio is working to greatly improve the film maker and skate park editor, as well as adding new features such as an in-game and web-based "social network," plus the ability to seamlessly share parks, board designs and other user-created content a la Forza 3's storefront.

Skate 3 is due in May 2010 for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Gallery: Skate 3

Modern Warfare 2 refused by digital distribution retailers; Steamworks to blame

by JC Fletcher { 2 days ago }

PC gamers aren't the only ones angry about the way Modern Warfare 2 is shaping up. PC retailers, starting with IGN's Direct2Drive download service, have made the bold move to leave piles of money on the table by refusing to sell it. It's not in protest of the dedicated server issue or the multiplayer cap, but rather the fact that the game relies on Steamworks for updates, saving and Achievements; and Direct2Drive isn't thrilled about selling a game that requires the bundling of a competitor's product.

"At Direct2Drive," the statement on what would be the Modern Warfare 2 product page reads, "we believe strongly that when you buy a game from us, you shouldn't be forced to install and run a 3rd party software client to be able to play the game you purchased." The site offers an Amazon link to purchase the game, and a $5 coupon for other Activision titles on Direct2Drive.

Impulse and GamersGate won't be offering the Modern Warfare 2 either. Impulse tells VE3D that "the most obvious issue is the forced inclusion of a competitor's store that blocks us from carrying the game."

[Via Gamasutra]

PSP Go owners make Final Fantasy VII the top PSN seller for October

by Andrew Yoon { 2 days ago }

Three PSP titles appear on the PSN bestsellers list for October. It makes sense, considering the launch of the all-digital PSP Go. Surprisingly, the much-anticipated Gran Turismo PSP didn't top the charts. Instead, PSone classic Final Fantasy VII took the lead once again, undoubtedly boosted by nostalgic RPG players wanting to relive Cloud Strife's cross-dressing adventure on the Go. Here's the full list:

1. Final Fantasy VII (PS3/PSP)
2. Zombie Apocalypse (PS3)
3. TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled (PS3)
4. .deTuned (PS3)
5. UNO (PS3)
6. Gran Turismo (PSP)
7. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (PS3)
8. Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty (PS3)
9. Critter Crunch (PS3)
10. God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)

Konami's Zombie Apocalypse stood as the top new entry, while interactive art experience .deTuned managed to snag a few purchases from Trophy hunters looking for some of the easiest achievements ever created. Critter Crunch's low sales numbers managed to snag it a 9th position -- which either means sales picked up after the free demo, or October was not a very good month for PSN sales at all.

Game Boy inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame

by Xav de Matos { 2 days ago }

Nintendo's most iconic foray into the handheld gaming market is finally being recognized as "an innovator" that "changed the way people play electronic games" by being inducted into Strong National Museum of Play's Toy Hall of Fame. Among twelve finalists, the Game Boy joins the Big Wheel and the ball to be added to the list of important cultural toys.

Yes, the ball is just now being inducted into the hall of fame, meaning Nintendo's handheld made the cut in two decades, while the ball had been clawing for a spot since the days of Ancient Egypt. In your face, Ozymandias.

[Via Go Nintendo]

Woman creates massive Lego Zelda mosaic, takes longer to finish than most Zelda games

by David Hinkle { 2 days ago }

Alyse isn't just your usual Legend of Zelda fan -- aside from the drawer full of Link-themed clothing and decorative Majora's Mask cup set sitting in her cupboard, she's now also the proud owner of the gigantic Lego mosaic you see above. The product of her brow's sweat and her hand's work, the mosaic was created for Brickcon, an annual event that celebrates adult Lego hobbyists.

Head on over to her Flickr account for shots of the impressive feat throughout its development (the above shot is of her husband, Remi, and the Lego computer case he built), something Alyse documented because she "was inspired by many of the stained glass artwork from Wind Waker." If we had enough patience to do something like this, we probably wouldn't have jobs on the internet.

[Via The Tanooki]

Nine straight minutes of Mass Effect 2 gameplay

by Randy Nelson { 2 days ago }

We get the feeling someone at BioWare has proclaimed this "Epic Week," what with the release of its fantasy RPG stunner Dragon Age: Origins and now an epic new video from its next big game, Mass Effect 2. This isn't a trailer or developer diary -- you're in for nine minutes of unedited, uninterrupted gameplay footage from the most recent build of ME2. In fact, it's the same mission -- set inside Omega's "Inferno" nightclub -- that we ourselves got to play earlier this week. (And yes, we can confirm it looks that good.)

You'll get a sense of the sequel's leap in environmental detail, character modeling and dialog scene camerawork in this clip, along with loads of intense combat. There's even an appearance by returning character (and total badass) Garrus from the first Mass Effect, plus a joke that manages to poke fun at rumors of Commander Shepard's death and the fact players can make him/her look like anyone they choose. Again -- nine minutes.

Hands-on: Mass Effect 2

by Randy Nelson { 2 days ago }

click to make more MASSive

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Mass Effect 2's newly revealed world, Omega. (Well, apart from the Mos Eisley spaceport, that is.) This is where our latest grubby-mitts-on-the-gamepad outing with BioWare's upcoming ~~RPG~~ ~~shooter~~ role-playing shooter took place -- or, rather, inside its favorite hangout for galactic riffraff, the Inferno nightclub.

It turns out there was a purpose in showcasing this location beyond the throbbing music and exotic alien dancers -- it happens to be the same sort of locale that one of the original Mass Effect's earliest combat encounters played out in, and we got this point before our tour guide even had to make it: The environments in Mass Effect 2 are leaps and bounds better the first game's. In fact, this place seemed alive. Oh yeah -- and there just so happened to be a firefight waiting for us as we ventured further into this seedy sin palace.

Gallery: Mass Effect 2 (11-06-09)

Continued →

Spore Islands launches on Facebook, prepare to drown in invites

by Griffin McElroy { 2 days ago }

You likely spend a great deal of your time on Facebook informing your so-called "friends" that, no, you don't want to see their farm, or join their mafia, or become a vampire, or fight their superhero, and so on. We're afraid you'll be adding a new form of denial to your repertoire: "No, I don't want to birth a species from the loam, and force it to fight against your species in an adorable Flash-based display of survival of the fittest." It's a tad verbose -- but if you're not interested in EA's Spore Islands Facebook app, you're going to be saying it a lot in the coming weeks.

If genetic engineering is your bag, Spore Islands sounds like a fairly robust offering -- well, as robust as games built into social networking sites get, anyways. Players can create a species, plunk them down on an island, watch them fight for territorial dominance, improve their stats through evolution, then move them to a friend's island to attempt a hostile takeover. You can check out the game for free on EA's Facebook page -- just go easy on the invites, okay?

Telltale offering full seasons of Sam & Max, Wallace & Gromit, Strong Bad for $20

by David Hinkle { 2 days ago }

If you've been waiting to ride the wave of resurgence the adventure genre has been enjoying, now's the time to wax that board, kick off your flip-flops and hit the water: Telltale has put full seasons of its adventure games on sale. For the low price of one Andrew Jackson (otherwise known as $20), you can snag a full season of Sam & Max, Wallace & Gromit or Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People.

Act quickly, though -- the sale ends at 12PM PDT this Monday, November 9.

Video: 15 days in GTA IV's Liberty City

by David Hinkle { 2 days ago }

Time lapse videos were all the rage back in -- actually, we don't think they were ever rage caliber stuff, but in the case of this GTA IV video that shows 15 days go by Liberty City, it's at least reached "oh, that's neat!" territory. The video comes courtesy of DigitalFoundry (you can watch it over at Eurogamer) and reminds us just how much life there is in the virtual sand box, as cars drive along to their respective destinations, pedestrians shuffle about doing their own thing and, in the case of that one lady around the 32-second mark, loaf around the riverside all day and night. We just hope she's not doing what we think she's doing. It'd be such an unbecoming thing of the purest city in all of gaming, amirite?

Everyone agrees: new IP needed for industry 'to survive'

by Andrew Yoon { 2 days ago }

What do Sony's Michael Denny, Square Enix's Yoichi Wada, and Codemasters' Rod Cousens have in common? Okay, they're all middle-aged men that happen to work in the video games industry -- but they also share a common belief in pursuing original IP. "For me the answer is clear, simply, we must support new IP creation to survive as an industry. Consumers crave new things. If we want to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive marketplace, we have to continue to produce new experiences," Denny told GI.biz. Certainly, SCEE has been pushing a lot of new IPs this generation, with Denny overseeing games like Heavy Rain and EyePet.

Wada agrees with Denny's sentiment, noting that "as an entertainment company the business won't be viable if we don't continue to nurture new IPs." This may be ironic coming from a company that's releasing a game called Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers this holiday, and both Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIV next year, but we can credit them for making The World Ends With You, right?

Cousens goes a step further, saying innovation has always been at the heart of the industry. "From day one since we walked in the door we've always tried to be experimental, to be innovative, to take things into new areas and to make it interesting." Obviously, the reason why publishers need to invest in new IPs is clear -- let's not forget that games like Madden used to be an original IP at one point.

Source - Sony: Industry needs new IP to survive
Source - Wada: Business 'not viable' without new IP
Source - Cousens: Industry must pursue new IP

What's In A Name: Pelfast and 2BeeGames

by Justin McElroy { 2 days ago }

We don't want the big guys to have all the fun, so this week we're finding out the origins of a couple of indie names. First is Comet Crash developer Pelfast, and then we've got a bonus submission from indie gaming hub 2BeeGames.

"Back in college (early 2000), I needed a company name that represented graphics/animation -- where I thought I would end up. Pixel was a little overused, so I went with the lesser known abbreviation, pel, and ended up with Pelfast after a little brainstorming. A quick internet search turned up only one hit for pelfast: some kind of WWII military ammunition, so I felt it would work."

–John Bates, Pelfast founder

"2BeeGames has several meanings. Originally the 'two bees' referred to myself and my partner who came up with the idea for an indie game destination/community. As the concept of the site evolved into a place where we would hold competitions and publish the best games on the site, the name took on another meaning, as in a place where indie games go 'to be' published onto consoles. Now as our community grows, we're running with the bee theme and our community is called 'the hive'."

–Tony Tran, site manager

Like this feature? Be sure to check out the What's In A Name archives.

EA: Downloads offset sluggish retail sales

by Andrew Yoon { 2 days ago }

EA's John Riccitiello has a bit of advice for the anxious investors, analysts, and fanboys who eagerly await the monthly NPD numbers: "There's an entire other world of download, online, all the things that are going on that doesn't really show up in the surveys and I think that's the future." NPD figures only track retail sales, a market that has been challenged by the downturn in the global economy. Games like Madden 10 may sell fewer copies than previous versions, but that doesn't mean investors should jump ship.

"Online games that you download, games you would get by way of iPhone for example, that totally digital business is up so strong that it's actually offsetting the challenge we see at retail," Riccitiello tells FOX Business. Offerings like Madden 10 on iPhone, the upcoming Madden NFL Arcade, and Madden 10 DLC should go far in helping the company's bottom line. "The retail business is down," Riccitiello admits, but "the combination [of both retail and digital] is up."

Riccitiello's belief that digital is the future of the industry echoes earlier sentiments from EA Sports boss Peter Moore, who called the retail model "a burning platform." See Riccitiello's full interview with FOX after the break.

[Via Edge]

Continued →

Previous Page|Next Page