Joystiq

PSN's best selling games of 2011 list dominated by games not from 2011

Jordan Mallory — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST

We're practically knee deep in 2012 at this point, and yet 2011 still refuses to give up the limelight, dropping financial data and sales reports on its way out the door in a desperate final attempt at relevance. So here we are, with a list of 2011's top sellers on the PlayStation Network ... and we've got two lists dominated by one game from 1985, and one from 2010.

Speaking only in terms of full games, not "paid downloads" (like DLC packs for Black Ops) and PS Minis, the list is a hodgepodge of nostalgia-fueled favorites from yesteryear (like Tetris in its curiously lofty number one spot), and digitally distributed future-classics like Castle Crashers and Limbo, which ranked in at six and seven respectively. There's on important thread tying those together: none of those games launched in 2011.

When all digital sales are taken into account, however, the list becomes an entirely different beast, and the only actual game present within the top 10 is Angry Birds, of all things (a PS Mini). In fact, the three best-selling anythings on the PlayStation Network in 2011 were Black Ops DLC packs, followed closely by a cavalcade of FIFA Soccer 12 and MLB 11 sundries. At least the DLC came out in 2011! Hop past the break for the full breakdown of both lists, care of Game Informer.

Continue reading PSN's best selling games of 2011 list dominated by games not from 2011

PSN's best selling games of 2011 list dominated by games not from 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA giving Battlefield 1943 vouchers to PS3 Battlefield 3 owners

Ludwig Kietzmann — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST

"There have been some misunderstandings around Battlefield 1943 and Battlefield 3." That's according to a rather diplomatic missive posted on EA's support website. If it was your understanding, shall we say, that PlayStation 3 copies of Battlefield 3 would include a free download of DICE's downloadable skirmish, you may have been disappointed to find that freebie ... slightly amiss.

After deflecting the deal with a lame DLC consolation -- and hearing about a class-action lawsuit -- EA has decided to dole out vouchers for the MIA Battlefield 1943. The process requires you to log in to EA's redemption portal, 1943redemption.battlefield.com, with your Origin ID and request a download code for your region. Codes will be available for European customers as of November 26th, and for Americans on December 10th.

With all that done, you'd better find some time to play it!

EA giving Battlefield 1943 vouchers to PS3 Battlefield 3 owners originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA facing class-action lawsuit over lack of BF 1943 in BF3

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:30:00 EST

Remember how EA originally planned to include a free copy of Battlefield 1943 with every new PS3 copy of Battlefield 3? So do a lot of other people, and they're so upset over EA's replacement "bonus" that they've filed a class-action lawsuit against the publisher, according to Kotaku.

Rather than monetary compensation, the firm representing those involved with the lawsuit (Edelson McGuire) is looking only for the free copies of Battlefield 1943 originally advertised; a promise which EA "could not, and never intended, to keep," according to the firm. As is the way with any legal proceeding involving the entertainment industry, it'll likely be years before any sort of progress is made in either direction.

EA facing class-action lawsuit over lack of BF 1943 in BF3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Editorial: The broken, sputtering launch of Battlefield 3 online multiplayer

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:30:00 EST

Let's play a little game, folks. Here are three separate quotes from EA/DICE, each given soon after the launch of a major Battlefield. Can you tell which is for Battlefield: Bad Company 2, which is for Battlefield 1943, and which is for Battlefield 3? No Googling!

"Despite having a major infrastructure in place, the peak traffic ... has been huge, 400% higher than any other Battlefield's peak simultaneous users. The teams will continue to monitor the services closely. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and will provide further updates on the latest developments as they are relevant."¹

"In terms of the network services, we have had unprecedented and historic peaks in terms of the activity that we're getting from the Battlefield community and players, and it's caused parts of our networks to experience some outages."²

"We have full support of EA to add as many servers as takes and then some so that everyone can play. This work has already started and servers will be added around the clock with teams working to cover this 24 hours a day so not a moment is wasted. You will be able to play this game and play it lag free!"³

If you weren't able to distinguish them from one another, I forgive you -- they all sound remarkably alike, don't they? That's because, for three Battlefield games in a row, the same scenario has played out at launch: gamers purchase said Battlefield iteration in great numbers, resulting in no one being able to play the game due to overloaded servers.

Continue reading Editorial: The broken, sputtering launch of Battlefield 3 online multiplayer

Editorial: The broken, sputtering launch of Battlefield 3 online multiplayer originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 3 PS3 ships sans Battlefield 1943 bonus, EA counters with early DLC

Ludwig Kietzmann — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:30:00 EST

EA and Sony have made a pair of announcements regarding exclusive goodies linked to the PlayStation 3 version of Battlefield 3 -- and we failed to realize that one invalidated the other. The free copy of Battlefield 1943, DICE's de facto console-exclusive shooter, didn't make it into PS3 copies of Battlefield 3 as originally intended.

Responding to questions on Twitter, the official Battlefield account offered the following: "In lieu of 1943 being available on disk for PS3 customers, EA has made all BF3 expansions available early to PS3 customers."

This refers to Sony and EA's ongoing exclusivity deal, which sees Battlefield 3 add-ons become available (for purchase) one week early on PS3. EA's switcheroo lets you buy new maps for Battlefield 3, then, at the expense of the game for which you never could. Thanks?

Battlefield 3 PS3 ships sans Battlefield 1943 bonus, EA counters with early DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DICE on the lack of vehicles in BF3 beta, future Bad Company possibilities

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:01:00 EST

Speaking to The Guardian, Battlefield 3 producer Patrick Liu discussed the game's ongoing beta as well as other projects DICE may (or may not) have in the works. When asked about the disappointment expressed over the lack of vehicles in the beta, Liu put it down to the fact that it is indeed a beta test (we certainly hope so).

According to Liu, "We ran the alpha tests with a Rush map and we wanted to have some sort of reference so we could compare results - so we needed to have more-or-less the same map." Evidently this led to including Paris Metro - a linear Rush map with no vehicles - as the only map in the beta. For what it's worth, PC players will have a chance to try out Caspian Border, a much larger map with vehicles, throughout this weekend.

Liu also answered questions regarding the Battlefield: Bad Company series, saying that "we haven't killed Bad Company." He added that DICE doesn't plan on making Battlefield an annual title, largely because they don't want to hand development of any Battlefield game to another studio. "No studio can make an annual franchise by themselves," said Liu.

Other topics in the interview include the possibility of another downloadable Battlefield title and the learning curve involved in piloting (virtual) jets. Head over to The Guardian for the full interview.

DICE on the lack of vehicles in BF3 beta, future Bad Company possibilities originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 1943 and Bad Company 2: Onslaught canceled on PC

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 11:06:00 EST

Battlefield 1943 for PC is not going to happen. Posting on the official Battlefield blog, Karl Magnus Troedsson, general manager of DICE, confirmed that both 1943 and Onslaught, a co-op add-on for Battlefield: Bad Company 2, have been "officially canceled." He states that the team is focusing all energy on Battlefield 3 in order to make it "the best Battlefield game ever" and "the biggest launch in DICE's history." (Good luck getting into a game during the first three days!)

Battlefield 1943's delayed trek to PC had become hopeless in recent months, though company reps believed it was still set to deploy at some point when we followed up last summer. The downloadable experiment has been a resounding success on consoles, netting $16 million for Electronic Arts.

Battlefield 1943 and Bad Company 2: Onslaught canceled on PC originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 1943 has earned EA $16 million

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:10:00 EST

We've known for quite some time that Electronic Arts' Battlefield 1943 "experiment" was successful, selling over a million units on Xbox Live alone, but now CFO Eric Brown has revealed some numbers on the game's development cost and revenue. The EA exec stated at UBS's 39th Annual Media and Communications Conference that the game cost "single-digit millions" to create and netted (after Sony and Microsoft took their cuts) a healthy $16 million for the publisher.

Brown explained that EA expects digitally distributed product to make up 20 percent of the company's revenue this fiscal year. Beyond Battlefield, Brown also noted significant revenue from FIFA's Ultimate Team mode, along with full-game PC downloads.

With BF:1943's success, it'll be interesting to see how the Battlefield: BFBC2 Vietnam expansion experiment works out. Boiled down, Vietnam is essentially the same downloadable game concept as 1943, but called a "multiplayer expansion" that requires a copy of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 to play.

Battlefield 1943 has earned EA $16 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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December XBLA deal: Buy two games, get 400 MS Points free

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:14:00 EST

In yet another Xbox Live Arcade deal, Microsoft is now offering a free batch of 400 MS Points for purchasing two qualifying XBLA games. Don't run off downloading games just yet though, because you'll need to head over to the Xbox Live Events page and download the Arcade Offer gamer picture to register for the giveaway first (the direct link to the gamer picture is currently broken, but it's the first one listed on the events page).

Once that's done, snag two of the games listed after the break (including favorites like Limbo, Lara Croft, Monday Night Combat, Super Meat Boy and more). Within four weeks, the free points will be added to registered Live accounts automatically or sent as redemption code via email. If you're planning to pick up any of the eligible games, you might as well get some free points too, right? The promotion ends December 20, so get to it.

[Thanks, Grand Kerfuffle]

Continue reading December XBLA deal: Buy two games, get 400 MS Points free

December XBLA deal: Buy two games, get 400 MS Points free originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 1943 for PC remains on track, still no release date

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Still waiting for your PC version of Battlefield 1943? Okay, first, we feel obliged to tell you that you should probably check out Battlefield: Bad Company 2. But second, you might want to know that EA is apparently issuing refunds for pre-orders of the title to folks who reserved the PC release. VG247 asked EA about said refunds, and was told, "All pre-orders can be canceled with refund at any time and we do not have any further information at this time about a release date for the PC version of Battlefield 1943." We asked an EA rep for clarification this afternoon and were told that pre-orders for any game can be refunded at any time -- furthermore, the rep specifically pointed out "Battlefield 1943 is not canceled, but we don't have any news about a release date at this time."

Last we heard, the game was on track for release sometime this year and the game's producer even assured us that the PC version was still in the cards as recently as last March. So, while unfulfilled PC fans eagerly awaiting the game's release may ask for their pre-order money back, it also appears that whatever interest EA earned on your money since last October when pre-orders opened will remain in the publisher's hands. How nice of them! Perhaps it'll be used to support the game with DLC? Yeah, we're not holding our breath either.

Battlefield 1943 for PC remains on track, still no release date originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's an XBL Deal of the Week extrabonanza

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:30:00 EST

If Xbox Live were a used car lot, it would be positively festooned with colorful flags and packed to the brim with giant, inflatable animals this week. Six XBLA games have reduced prices this week and, what's more, each one is actually worth your attention. Worms 2: Armageddon, Peggle and Duke Nukem 3D have all seen their prices knocked from 800 ($10) to a pittance: 400 ($5). Meanwhile, Serious Sam HD, Battlefield 1943 and Call of Duty Classic have dropped from 1200 ($15) to 800 ($10). Add all those up and you've got six nutritious, filling games for $45 (through Sunday).

Seriously though, Peggle? For $5? And Worms 2? You'd have to have heart of stone (or a wallet filled with moths) to turn that down.

[Via Major Nelson]

Xbox.com: Add Worms 2: Armageddon to your Xbox 360 download queue ($5)
Xbox.com: Add Peggle to your Xbox 360 download queue ($5)
Xbox.com: Add Duke Nukem 3D to your Xbox 360 download queue ($5)
Xbox.com: Add Serious Sam HD Xbox 360 download queue ($10)
Xbox.com: Add Battlefield 1943 to your Xbox 360 download queue ($10)
Xbox.com: Add Call of Duty Classic to your Xbox 360 download queue ($10)

It's an XBL Deal of the Week extrabonanza originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA: 'We're going to be in the Medal of Honor business for a long time'

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 05 May 2010 18:00:00 EST

EA's upcoming reboot to the Medal of Honor franchise has a few major contenders, one of which EA itself created, to compete with when it arrives at retail this October. But EA Games prez Frank Gibeau remains confident in MoH, telling Gamasutra in a recent interview that, "With Medal of Honor, we're rebooting the series to get into the top 10." Gibeau lays out plans for an extensive marketing campaign first aimed at "core shooter fans," then branching out to a "true mass-market campaign." Speaking frankly, he claims "It'll be a big launch with a lot of dollars behind it. We're going to go in and we're going to compete." He believes that, between the IP's pedigree and the quality of this reboot, EA's " going to be in the Medal of Honor business for a long time."

Meanwhile, executive producer Greg Goodrich and senior creative director Rich Farrelly do their best to assuage worries of internal competition between themselves at EA LA and DICE, the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 developer now working on MoH's multiplayer mode, or the ex-Infinity Ward founders' new studio that EA recently inked a deal with. Goodrich says, "Battlefield and Medal of Honor are two very different franchises. They have a certain tone, and we have a certain tone for our game. We think there's room for both, not only in the genre, but within EA."

Also of note, apparently DICE has been working on MoH's multiplayer since "right after Battlefield 1943 came out" (last July), which might help to explain why we've seen such little post-launch support for the downloadable title. That said, with Medal of Honor's development assuredly nearing completion, we're holding out hope that those folks will have some time to invest in the other downloadable title we heard about recently.

EA: 'We're going to be in the Medal of Honor business for a long time' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 05 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 1943 recruits one million on Xbox Live

David Hinkle — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:00:00 EST

We're glad you like Battlefield 1943 so much ... because that's all you're going to get from it. Even though DICE's XBLA multiplayer shooter has reached one million downloads on Xbox Live this week, producer Gordon Van Dyke told us at PAX that there really aren't any plans for DLC. It's extra surprising when you consider that it's also the fastest rise to one million downloads for any Xbox Live Arcade game in existence, releasing back in July 2009.

We wonder how many people waited until it was $10 to buy?

Battlefield 1943 recruits one million on Xbox Live originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No further plans for Battlefield 1943, 'another type of 1943' possible in future

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:30:00 EST

Just exhale if you've been holding your breath for any Battlefield 1943 DLC, because it seriously sounds like the sun has set on the Pacific war. Speaking with DICE producer Gordon Van Dyke at PAX East, we asked if he could finally end the hopes and dreams that its successful downloadable experiment would receive more content. He informed us, "There's no plans. There's no plans for DLC." However, the PC version is still planned, and there is a patch incoming to address console issues, including mic problems on PS3.

Van Dyke told us that Battlefield 1943 was a cool way to express a classic game like Battlefield 1942 using the company's Frostbite engine. He said that it opened up a lot of eyes to showing off what an older Battlefield game could be like with the new engine.

When asked to elaborate if other classic Battlefield games would receive a reimagined bite-sized release he said, "I can't. There's no specific plans. The success of [1943] has given it an existence within our lineup, in our thoughts. You could possibly see another type of 1943 in the future. But it doesn't mean it's going to be based on 1942." When pressed, he continued, "Seriously, all options are open. We haven't closed our mind off to anything and we haven't locked down that we'll do anything specific."

Gallery: Battlefield 1943

No further plans for Battlefield 1943, 'another type of 1943' possible in future originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC: EA DICE on building a bite-sized Battlefield

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST

EA DICE has been a fairly prolific developer during the current console generation, churning out both a high-profile title based on original IP (Mirror's Edge), as well as ones based on established franchises like Battlefield. EA was searching for a way to capitalize on the downtime between these blockbuster releases -- a game which would be relatively quick and painless to create, while still standing up to the quality standards set by their previous releases. Thus, the idea for Battlefield 1943 was born.

Battlefield 1943 producer Patrick Liu explained the studio's unique design philosophy while making the game, which boiled down to "make the game as long as resources last." They maximized the amount of content they produced under this strategy by settling on the somewhat smaller scope of the game early, and focusing on recreating the Battlefield experience to adhere to that scope.

Some decisions made under this philosophy include making ammunition and health auto-regenerate, cutting down on tiresome resource runs back to your home base. This decision led to others, including the removal of the medic and engineer classes. It also let them focus on perfecting a handful of maps and gametypes, which, while iterated from previous installments in the franchise, also saw major adjustments in 1943.

The result was a project developed by 15 series veterans at once, at one-tenth of the cost of a full DICE game, which broke day one, week one and month one downloadable sales records. It's no surprise that Liu expressed interest in developing more "games of this size and scope" -- when handled correctly, it sounds like a miniature entry in a major franchise can be quite the profitable cash cow.

Gallery: Battlefield 1943

GDC: EA DICE on building a bite-sized Battlefield originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live Deal of the Week: Battlefield 1943 for $10

David Hinkle — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:08:00 EST

This week's Xbox Live deal is none other than DICE's downloadable destruction sim, Battlefield 1943. Major Nelson reports that, for this week only, you can snag the game for $5 off the usual asking price. For one lone Hamilton ($10), you can experience all of the mayhem of the Frostbite engine across several islands in the Pacific, where vicious World War II battles were waged. That is, unless you fancy yourself a pilot, in which case we hope you like standing around a whole bunch.

Xbox Live Deal of the Week: Battlefield 1943 for $10 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live Marketplace Feb. schedule includes $10 Battlefield 1943 [update]

Richard Mitchell — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

Update: Microsoft has issued a correction on this schedule. The Misadventures of P. B. Winterbottom will be priced at 800 ($10), not 1200 ($15).

Major Nelson has a dropped a partial February schedule for Xbox Live Marketplace content, including a particularly nice Deal of the Week. Specifically, next week's deal, beginning February 15, will be Battlefield 1943 for only 800 ($10). If you've yet to pick up the game, $10 is definitely a good price. Also starting next week, both Resident Evil 5 and Beautiful Katamari will hit the Games on Demand service.

The post also notes that this week marks the end of the second season of 1 vs 100. Tonight's episode (9:00pm ET/6:00 pm PT) will feature Magda Apanowicz from SyFy's series Caprica. For the season finale this Friday (10:00pm ET/7:00 pm PT), the game will feature 343 Industries' Frank O'Connor and Bungie's Marty O'Donnell.

See the full XBLM schedule after the break.

Continue reading Xbox Live Marketplace Feb. schedule includes $10 Battlefield 1943 [update]

Xbox Live Marketplace Feb. schedule includes $10 Battlefield 1943 [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Call of Duty DLC tops PSN's 2009 sales

Andrew Yoon — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 07:15:00 EST

So you've learned what dominated December's PSN sales. But what about the other eleven months of the year? Sony has released a list of the top 10 premium downloads from the PlayStation Store for 2009.

1) Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1
2) Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2
3) Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 3
4) FIFA 09 Gold Pack
5) Final Fantasy VII (PS3/PSP)
6) Battlefield 1943
7) Fat Princess
8) MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2
9) Flower
10) Mortal Kombat II

Looks like people answered the Call of Duty ... by opening up their wallets. Undoubtedly, Modern Warfare 2 DLC is likely to top 2010's sales figures. Finally, Battlefield 1943 claims the award for top PSN game of the year, besting the PSN-exclusive Fat Princess.

Call of Duty DLC tops PSN's 2009 sales originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best of the Rest: Kevin's Picks of 2009

Kevin Kelly — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST

Halo Wars
Yeah, that's right, Halo Wars. I've already caught enough flak for putting this on my best-of list for 2009 (it's hard to even remember that it came out way back in February), but it deserves to be recognized ... so pay attention once your laughter has died down. Ensemble Studios (RIP) proved that you could bring a real-time strategy game to a console, and still make it enjoyable. Sure, you'll never have 1:1 parity mapping everything a full-sized keyboard offers onto a controller, but this game came close. It's a pity Ensemble closed, since we'll never see any expansion packs or a sequel. The good news is that, since it wasn't received with blaring trumpets and the sounds of cash registers ringing, you can pick this up for under 20 bucks for some good fun.

Continue reading Best of the Rest: Kevin's Picks of 2009

Best of the Rest: Kevin's Picks of 2009 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best of the Rest: Alexander's Picks of 2009

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST

Valkyria Chronicles
"BUT THAT GAME WAS 2008!!11one!1!" Well, yes, in the strictest sense. Sega's strategy role-playing game, an epic tale chronicling the hardships and victories of Gallian militia Squad 7, was sent out to die by the publisher when it released in November 2008. However, word-of-mouth, critical praise and some discounted pricing helped the saga find a place in many people's lives (and hearts) by mid-2009.

One of the most endearing mechanics implemented in the game was giving all the playable members of Squad 7 bonuses (or flaws) based on their neuroses, relationships and desires. Also, every character had a different personality that shined during their turn through little quips and order recognition comments. It gave the entire cast more depth of character, even as the player only saw a handful of the troops during cutscenes. Despite the requisite Japanese RPG flair and melodrama, there was a simple beauty and charm in the storytelling, while the gameplay introduced a great basis for iteration. Valkyria Chronicles is a series that, with love and attention, could become so much more. I look forward to returning to Gallia and hope future installments recognize that the delightful characters are as important to the series as the strategic gameplay.

Continue reading Best of the Rest: Alexander's Picks of 2009

Best of the Rest: Alexander's Picks of 2009 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Years Eve Only: 50% off Battlefield 1943 [update]

Xav de Matos — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:15:00 EST

Update: It's your lucky day, folks! Battlefield 1943 is on sale for 560 ($7), not 600 as EA originally tweeted.

Concluding its streak of daily deals during the holiday season, the Xbox Live version of Battlefield 1943 will be on sale for 50% off, tomorrow. EA's official Battlefield 1943 Twitter account revealed that the New Years Eve sale (and final daily deal on the Marketplace) would slash the popular shooter's price to 600 ($7.50 USD), for one day only.

While we're avid fans of the WWII-themed shooter, we're still irked that the game hasn't received proper (read: any) DLC support, save for the unlocked Coral Sea "air superiority" map. Perhaps a rush of new soldiers will push EA to begin development on new content, but we won't hold our breath while we wait in that foxhole.

New Years Eve Only: 50% off Battlefield 1943 [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 1943, Bad Company 2 system specs revealed

David Hinkle — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST

Ten-hut, soldiers! During wartime, the government is granted special powers and as such the Army is going to need to commandeer your personal computers. Before we send our best and brightest out into battle, we'll need to train them in advanced maneuvers via upcoming PC games Battlefield 1943 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Before you start packing up your 'puters, know the government has issued its guidelines for computer operations (via Shacknews). Report past the break to see if your computer meets these stringent requirements.

Continue reading Battlefield 1943, Bad Company 2 system specs revealed

Battlefield 1943, Bad Company 2 system specs revealed originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live Top 10: Halo 3, Trials HD, Forza 3 demo

David Hinkle — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:45:00 EST

As our more astute readers likely gathered from this very post's headline, another week has gone, so it's about time we checked in with Major Nelson to see what made his list of the most-played games on Xbox Live. Unsurprisingly, Bungie's dynamic duo of Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST managed to do well, taking the first and third spots, respectively -- Call of Duty 4 was in the second slot, while Forza 3's demo managed to get some play time on folks' boxes, taking a tight turn into the seventh place spot.

On the XBLA side, Trials HD did backflips to the top of the list, beating out recent releases Zombie Apocalypse and Bust-A-Move Live!. The remainder of the XBLA list saw favorites Battlefield 1943 and Shadow Complex rounding out the bottom end of the top five.

Xbox Live Top 10: Halo 3, Trials HD, Forza 3 demo originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA opens pre-orders for Battlefield 1943 PC

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:40:00 EST

The official Battlefield 1943 Twitter account has tw@ted that the EA Store is ready to take pre-orders for the PC version of the game. The three-map (four, if you count the aerial-centric Coral Sea) battle fiesta is expected sometime in 2010, along with Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (and possibly Battlefield 3).

It'll certainly be interesting to see if the PC FPS demographic embraces the more casual-oriented Battlefield 1943 in the droves that brought the console version to its knees -- at this point, we'd be happy if the development of the PC version simply brought new maps for all.

[Via VG24/7]

Gallery: Battlefield 1943

EA opens pre-orders for Battlefield 1943 PC originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PAX 2009: Battlefield 1943 producer talks lack of DLC

Kevin Kelly — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:30:00 EST

We spoke with Battlefield 1943 producer Gordon Van Dyke at PAX and asked him why there hasn't been any DLC at all for the game so popular it crashed servers and broke sales records. The main reason? DICE is busy. Apparently it's working so hard on the next two Battlefield games that it doesn't have time to show BF1943 any extra love at all, which is a bit perplexing given the popularity of the title.

Gordon told us, "We don't have any immediate plans right now, but it's not ruled out. There's a lot of pressure on the team for Battlefield 3 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 ... we don't want to stretch things too thin and and make something that's not up to quality. Battlefield 1943 is a huge game with a lot that we can pull from. We just want to make sure we keep our options open, and make sure that the decision we land on is what's best for everyone. We don't want to be that company that pushes out DLC just for DLC's sake."

Fair enough, but we'd still like to see more maps and modes come to Battlefield 1943 like ... yesterday. Hey, hire some interns already!

PAX 2009: Battlefield 1943 producer talks lack of DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live Top 10 dominated by Shadow Complex, CoD: World at War

David Hinkle — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:30:00 EST

Major Nelson has revealed the latest figures for Xbox Live activity, which once again sees Call of Duty: World at War being the most played Xbox 360 Live title. That's not to say it's all business as usual, as the Lost Planet 2 co-op demo managed to claw its way onto the list, along with a new Xbox Live Arcade pair, Shadow Complex and Trials HD.

Both titles made it onto the top two spots on XBLA's most played list, with Chair's Metroid-inspired adventure making its debut in first place. The remainder is comprised of usual suspects Battlefield 1943, Marvel vs Capcom 2 and 'Splosion Man.

Xbox Live Top 10 dominated by Shadow Complex, CoD: World at War originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No additional Battlefield 1943 content currently in development

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST

Sad news from the front, soldiers. DICE is not currently working on any new Battlefield 1943 maps or content for the downloadable hit, which has now drafted over a million players. Speaking with Joystiq, DICE Producer Gordon Van Dyke said the company is definitely working on the game's squad-swapping bug -- he believes it's a server-side fix that will hopefully be resolved soon -- but that all the effort at the moment is being put behind getting Battlefield: Bad Company 2 out the door.

"We need to figure out what's the best thing for the community. What's the best thing for the franchise?" Van Dyke told us about why the online hit isn't getting further development attention. He currently has "no idea" about when the company will get to work on more content for Battlefield 1943. That certainly calls for a sad face emoticon, don't you think? :(

No additional Battlefield 1943 content currently in development originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 1943 PC joins the Q1 2010 party

JC Fletcher — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EST

PC gamers have been patiently waiting for September to come around so they could join in the Battlefield 1943 fun, having been told that it takes extra time and effort to implement a Frostbite Engine game on PC. It appears that DICE originally underestimated the amount of time it would take. In other words, keep waiting. DICE is now targeting Q1 2010.

Producer Gordon Van Dyke tells The Feed that it's "a hard pill to swallow, but it was absolutely needed to ensure the features and functionality that PC Players have come to expect from Battlefield on PC are not missing." Those features include, Van Dyke says, "Things like support for DirectX 9 and 10, higher player count (up to 32-player matches), wide peripheral support; i.e., Joysticks for flying, VoIP and ranked server provider hosting."

However, if you can't wait, the console versions are there for you. If you find the idea of spending that much on a console distasteful, just tell yourself it's a really big video card.

Gallery: Battlefield 1943

Battlefield 1943 PC joins the Q1 2010 party originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live Top 10: Nazi zombies run amok

David Hinkle — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:45:00 EST

Guys, do you ever play anything aside from four games? Major Nelson reports that last week's Xbox Live activity was very much the same as the week before ... and the week before that. Taking top spot was none other than Call of Duty: World at War, followed by usual suspects Halo 3, Call of Duty 4 and Gears of War 2. Madden 10 took last place, which isn't much of a surprise considering it released on Friday. Come next week, we're sure you'll be hearing more about that one.

On the XBLA side, it was all about Trials HD, as the title earned top honors. Turtles in Time Re-Shelled managed to shell shock the competition by taking second and DICE's Battlefield 1943 continues its sad story of decline, falling to third. Well, okay -- maybe it's not a sad story, per se.

Xbox Live Top 10: Nazi zombies run amok originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live Top 10: There can be only 1 (17)

David Hinkle — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:15:00 EST

Major Nelson's latest battle report comes as a bit of a surprise as Halo 3 was the most-played retail game of last week. With all of the new Gears of War 2 content, we were sure that game would be at the top, but Epic's title only managed to claw its way to fourth place yet again. It was bested by the usual double dose of Call of Duty action in Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty: World at War.

On the XBLA side, the frenetic tag-based combat of Marvel vs Capcom 2 was too much for the competition. Capcom's brawler enjoyed top placement, finally bumping down Battlefield 1943 to second place. Coming in at third was none other than 'Splosion Man, Twisted Pixel's excellent follow-up to previous Arcade hit, The Maw.

Xbox Live Top 10: There can be only 1 (17) originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Top 10 July PSN games revealed by PlayStation 'Pulse'

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:30:00 EST

No, silly goose, PlayStation Pulse is absolutely not the Sony version of the Wii Vitality Sensor, though we understand how the name could lead you to believe otherwise. It is, in fact, a once monthly roundup of all things PlayStation Network. On the July 30 episode, after a thrilling commercial break for Fast & Furious, the show's host reveals the top 10 PSN games for the month of July, with Battlefield 1943 taking top honors.

Notably missing from the list is Shatter, possibly due to it's July 23 release date. Worse? 60% of the list is made up of ports, which makes us feel kind of lonely inside.

[Via VG247]

Top 10 July PSN games revealed by PlayStation 'Pulse' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 1943 players upset over lack of Irish identification [Update]

Xav de Matos — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST

Update: According to an update on SeenIt.co.uk, the gamer who argued for Irish distinction in his Battlefield 1943 profile has been contacted by EA support and was told, "It looks as though the issue you have submitted is more complex than it seemed initially." Irish history, complex? Understatement! Hopefully this means all Irish gamers will be able to fly the colors they desire someday soon.

Original Story: Battlefield 1943 players out of Northern Ireland are surprised -- and angry -- that the game's official site fails to display the country's flag on their profile pages. Profiles for gamers in the North are stamped with the good ol' Union Jack, the national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and labels North Irish players as located in Great Britain. Some of you may cry, "So what?" Well, it's a pride thing -- and it's a law. "If you live in Northern Ireland EA won't allow you to identify yourself as 'Irish' despite the 1998 Belfast agreement saying otherwise," writes the UK entertainment blog, SeenIt.co.uk.

According to our history books, the Belfast Agreement allows citizens of Northern Ireland to identify themselves as Irish or British, or both. After attempting to change the country associated with the account, EA tech support told SeenIt changing the region was impossible because Ireland is "not listed distinctively" and is included under Great Britain. Seems like a silly thing for Electronic Arts to put its foot down on, unless it's the first step to easily categorizing the world. Step two? All Canadians listed as hailing from "America's Hat."

[Thanks, Martin]

Battlefield 1943 players upset over lack of Irish identification [Update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live Top 10: 1 vs. 100 joins the fray

David Hinkle — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:15:00 EST

Sure, we could sit up here and do our usual Xbox Live Top 10 thing: Major Nelson posted the Xbox Live activity for last week. Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Call of Duty: World at War and Gears of War 2 were winners, and XBLA's most-played game was Battlefield 1943. All is as we expect with the world. However, we feel the Xbox Live Top 10 has a much more notable characteristic this week: 1 vs. 100!

Major confirms that Xbox Live's game show will now be incorporated into the weekly lists. We're anxious to see if it will perform better in the future -- not that seventh place is a bad debut.

Xbox Live Top 10: 1 vs. 100 joins the fray originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trophies: Battlefield 1943

Andrew Yoon — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:15:00 EST

	0 Platinum 1 Gold 4 Silver 7 Bronze	Difficulty: Very Easy Online Trophies? Yes Time to Completion: 20 hours DLC Trophies? No
	View Trophy List	Read More About the Game

Gallery: Battlefield 1943

Continue reading Trophies: Battlefield 1943

Trophies: Battlefield 1943 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 1943 downloads break servers, and records

James Ransom-Wiley — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:29:00 EST

Put your rivalry to the side for a moment and join hands. Acknowledge that together, we, as XBLA and PSN users, have reached a tremendous milestone: 600,000. That number represents the to-date total of $15 transactions between us and our respective online services to purchase Battlefield 1943; and we did so, overwhelmingly -- and in record-setting fashion -- on the first day and week of the game's download-only release.

In just fifteen short days, we have sent a message to Microsoft, Sony and third-party publishers. We're willing to pay a bit more and spend it on a slice of good old-fashioned stuff we still get on our retail discs (even if it's a little rough during takeoff). Sorry, indies -- go put it on the App Store.

Battlefield 1943 downloads break servers, and records originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 1943 weapons will return in Bad Company 2

Jem Alexander — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:15:00 EST

If you're reading this, the chances are pretty high that you're completely addicted to Battlefield 1943. You're probably beside yourself with worry that when Battlefield Bad Company 2 hits, those fancy-schmancy present-day weapons will be just too complicated for you. You may be in luck, however, if a recent tweet by @OfficialBF1943 is to be believed (and why wouldn't it -- it's official, after all.)

The tweet says that 1943's semi-auto rifle, sniper rifle and sub machine gun will all be usable in Bad Company 2. Whether that's in multiplayer only, an added bonus for 1943 purchasers or part of the game's story mode is yet to be revealed, but we're as anxious as you are to find out closer to the game's release.

Battlefield 1943 weapons will return in Bad Company 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PS3 Battlefield 1943 players unlock 'Air Superiority'

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:15:00 EST

The official Battlefield 1943 Twitter account announced Saturday evening that PS3 players now have access to the Coral Sea "air superiority" map, a mere four days after Xbox 360 owners were granted the same privilege for committing mass murder.

The good thing about the Coral Sea is that it can be accessed from the main menu (it's not a map in normal rotation) and gives ample time to practice and perfect flying a plane. Now, DICE just needs to add a map where people do nothing else but the air raid and they'll have done fan service for the two groups who sit around doing nothing else on the normal maps.

Gallery: Battlefield 1943

PS3 Battlefield 1943 players unlock 'Air Superiority' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Snap Judgment: Battlefield 1943

James Ransom-Wiley — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST

It's not for lack of time that this Battlefield 1943 review has instead become a ... Snap Judgment!

Actually, Snapped Judgment would be more applicable to my personal experience with this game over the past week. My first day was spent Googling various iterations of "EA connection problems" and scouring forum threads for solutions to why I couldn't get beyond the initial connection to the EA server (never mind a secondary game server). Logging into EA's website, my Gamertag was clearly linked to my EA account -- no problem there. Attempting to connect through several other EA games (which had worked fine in the past), though, revealed that my problem had become console-wide.

After following several red herrings -- deleting, re-downloading, searching for the elusive FaceBreaker demo -- I did finally succeed at connecting to the EA server and thereby gained "permission" to attempt to connect to a Battlefield match. Guess how?

Gallery: Battlefield 1943

Continue reading Snap Judgment: Battlefield 1943

Snap Judgment: Battlefield 1943 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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43 million killed: Battlefield 1943's Coral Sea unlocked on Xbox

Christopher Grant — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:47:00 EST

Less than a week after festivities kicked off in the "Coral Sea Challenge" one group has amassed the 43 million kills required to unlock the titular map, Coral Sea, and the new Air Superiority mode. Xbox 360 players can load up Coral Sea right now and start shooting their friends and loved ones from the comfort of the skies. PS3 players will need another 21 million or so kills before they get to share in the festivities. And PC gamers ... well, since they're already required to wait an extra two months, they'll be getting Coral Sea gratis, no killing required, when it makes its way to that platform in September.

And who fired the lucky forty-three-millionth shot? That would be one "James" (gamertag: jkasapi) from Peterborough, England. With no small amount of irony involved, EA is gifting the obviously subterranean James with a pair of 1943 sunglasses, a 1943 t-shirt, and custom Battlefield sneakers, for when he goes "outside."

43 million killed: Battlefield 1943's Coral Sea unlocked on Xbox originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live Top 10: Stickin' with the Chief

David Hinkle — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:45:00 EST

It's time we checked in with the most popular games on Xbox Live from last week. Major Nelson's figures confirm our suspicions: Halo 3 once again dominated the competition, marking the third week in a row Master Chief's extra-terrestrial murder sim has been in the top spot. In tow were the usual suspects, including Call of Duty: World at War and Gears of War 2.

On the XBLA side, DICE's Battlefield 1943 emerged victorious, as many, many men and women enlisted in the new Arcade title, waging war across the islands of the Pacific. It would seem that despite major hiccups in its release, gamers just put their heads down and pushed through. We totally get it. The frustration of playing the game's menu-based QTE (see: trying to get into a match) is nothing compared to the sheer ecstasy of flying a plane into someone.

Xbox Live Top 10: Stickin' with the Chief originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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