Joystiq

Gears of War: Judgment trailer opens up a few prizeboxes

David Hinkle — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:15:00 EST

Gears of War: Judgment launches tomorrow and as become the norm, a variety of pre-order items and other unlockables are on offer - both in-game and through this summary video.

Gears of War: Judgment trailer opens up a few prizeboxes originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Uncharted 3 multiplayer celebrates the holidays with free items and map

Mike Schramm — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 13:00:00 EST

Naughty Dog is getting a little nuts with the holiday goodies this year. They're giving away a free new map and some free custom avatar items for Uncharted 3 multiplayer, and the look of these freebies makes us wonder if there's been a little too much egg nog drinking around the offices over there in Santa Monica. The goofy "present head" hat above is only the beginning - there's also a t-shirt with Naughty Dog Co-President Christophe Balestra as an elf that everyone gets for free.

And the wildest thing is a "Block Mesh Lab map," made completely of polygons by former Naughty Dog Richard Lemarchand (who's now teaching interactive media at USC). It's quite funky, especially when you imagine the relatively realistic forms of Nathan Drake and friends wandering around it with guns. All of these items are free for all players in the game right now until January 8, after which they'll only be available in the weekly tournaments, so pick them up now. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good Nate!

Gallery: Uncharted 3 (Holiday Items and Block Mesh Lab Map)

Uncharted 3 multiplayer celebrates the holidays with free items and map originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mojang previews next Minecraft update (and avatar items) for Xbox

Mike Schramm — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 23:59:00 EST

Mojang has posted a quick preview of the next update coming to Minecraft XBLA. In the gallery below, you can see three different shots from the upcoming patch, including what appear to be some Endermen (in a picture labeled by Mojang as "the most anticipated thing on Xbox 360"), an underground zombie, and even a spider at the end of a rail line.

And above: a brief video showing off a new sheep pet coming to XBLA's Avatars. The sheep looks cute indeed, but that pixelated wool can't be ideal for a sweater.

Gallery: Minecraft Xbox update preview (9/13/12)

Mojang previews next Minecraft update (and avatar items) for Xbox originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefall beta opens up its item store, sells Founder's Packages (on sale now)

Mike Schramm — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 20:43:00 EST

Red 5 Studios is once again showing off its open world, free-to-play MMO Firefall (currently still in closed beta) at PAX, and the newest bit of content included is a set of in-game stores, allowing players to purchase items and features via microtransaction. Firefall lead designer David Williams promises the developer won't "sell power items or content areas to players." Instead, Firefall's item stores are all about aesthetic and convenience items, things that players can use to customize their character's look, or have some fun in the game world.

In addition to the company's just-announced 'Founders' content bundles (detailed above, and currently on sale during PAX), Williams showed us some special cosmetic items available for purchase, like shaggy dreadlocks or a flashy helmet, as well as items from an in-game store called Luau Larry's. Larry will happily sell you some fun items, like a little voodoo doctor pet, or a tiki torch that plays in-game music and causes everyone around it to dance when placed in the world.

Becoming a founder also grants priority access to Firefall's current beta build - along with XP boosts, real-world items, in-game currency and more based on purchased tier. And the items in the founders' packages are set to be available on September 24, so we may hear about a bigger update coming then. Meanwhile, the current price on all three packages ($15, $37, and $75, down from $20, $50, and $100) lasts through PAX weekend.

Firefall beta opens up its item store, sells Founder's Packages (on sale now) originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 20:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Animal Crossing 3DS features gardening shop, real estate market

Mike Schramm — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:30:00 EST

Tom Nook appears to have lost his ironclad, varmint grip on the various commercial enterprises in Animal Crossing - if these new details about the latest version of the series coming to 3DS are accurate. The game has been given a full title of Animal Crossing: Jump Out, and in addition to the redesigned characters and StreetPass features, the game has a new thift shop run by Lisa the Alpaca, a new shoe store, the familiar Able Sisters clothing shop, a full shopping mall just outside town, and a gardening store run by a sloth.

Players will indeed play as the Mayor, and certain other features of the game have been expanded: The museum will reportedly be open 24 hours a day, and have a bigger collection of fish and fossils to find. The gardening store will offer seeds and seedlings, allowing you to beautify your town as you see fit.

Don't worry about Nook, though. He's a real estate mogul now, and will be selling house parts, letting you grow your mansion from a tent all the way up into an estate. No matter how much Animal Crossing may change over the years, one thing's for sure: Tom Nook will always get paid.

Animal Crossing 3DS features gardening shop, real estate market originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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High-end gear in Dust 514 costs 24 cents in real money

Mike Schramm — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 20:30:00 EST

CCP Vice President Morgan Godat has revealed the real-world cost of a high-end set of gear in the upcoming EVE Online companion, Dust 514, and it might be cheaper than you expect: About 24 cents. If you were to equip a character in the game with some of the highest-level gear out there and send them out into battle with equipment all purchased directly with real money, it would really only cost you a cent less than a quarter.

But that figure is a little misleading, unfortunately, on both ends. On the one hand, that's the cost to equip a character once. When you die (which you'll do a lot in the match-based first-person shooter), you'll have to rebuy all of that gear, so players will probably buy their guns and armor by the hundreds or even thousands, not just one set at a time.

And just like EVE Online, most of the gear in the game will be purchasable with in-game cash, called Isk, not just real-money purchased gold, called Aurum. EVE Online players will even be able to buy gear for Dust 514 players, so if you're a great shooter some ship jockey might fund your gear bill once the two games are finally connected. Dust 514 is currently heading into a series of betas (so these costs are still in flux anyway), and readying itself for a launch later this year.

High-end gear in Dust 514 costs 24 cents in real money originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DOTA 2 patch files hint at microtransactions, more

Mike Schramm — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:00:00 EST

As is their wont, players have been rustling through some of the test build files for Valve's upcoming Dota 2, and they've found signs of some interesting (but still unofficial) features already. First and foremost, Valve hasn't yet determined exactly what the monetization model for the game will be, but it seems microtransactions will be a part of that model, as there are various announcers (including Half-Life's Dr. Kleiner), character taunts and skins, new hero items, and a few other goodies that may be purchasable either with an in-game currency, or with real money.

There are also new kinds of couriers to buy (animal pets, basically, that will ferry items back and forth from your base), and there's one more consumable: Something called souls. A "Repentant Soul" will supposedly get players out of the "low priority punishment queue" when used, which suggests some sort of "pay or be punished" system. Gabe Newell mentioned just such a system last year, where he talked about Valve charging players "based on how much fun they are to play with." In other words, act stupid in game, get punished, and then you may have to pay your way out of jail.

Finally, "treasure caches" are mentioned in the files. They'll probably work the same way that Team Fortress 2's crates do, where you get items that need to be unlocked with a key. This is all good news for those waiting for Dota 2 -- since Valve said it wouldn't worry about monetization until the fun was in there first, the game must be almost done, right?

DOTA 2 patch files hint at microtransactions, more originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield Heroes go Savage in new content pack

Mike Schramm — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 06:00:00 EST

Thoughts we had while watching this Battlefield Heroes trailer for the new Savage Heroes content pack coming out this summer: Whoa, EA is really changing around the ol' Battlefield formula with this one, eh? Axes? "Cold North"? Is it possible they're turning the free-to-play persistent online shooter into a free-to-play hack-and-slash deathmatch? That would be pretty rad!

Oh, no wait. It's actually some new savage-styled skins and costumes for the Battlefield Heroes fighters. Oh well -- that's pretty rad, too. As the trailer says, the new pack is available in the game's online store right now.

Battlefield Heroes go Savage in new content pack originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Valve relaunching Team Fortress 2 as free-to-play title

Mike Schramm — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:42:00 EST

Develop has posted an interview with Team Fortress 2 developer Robin Walker in which he says that the company has decided to make the popular class-based shooter completely free-to-play, supported only by microtransactions. Walker says the game has experimented with multiple price points over its long history (including allowing players to play for free during temporary periods) and that making this transition now "feels like a fairly straightforward next step along the 'Games as Services' path we've been walking down for a while now."

Walker also says that this is a model that specifically fits the multiplayer game at this moment in the product's life, when Valve is trying to reach as many players as it possibly can. The permanent price drop won't affect development on the game at all, but monetization will only go through the game's item shop. You can read more in the interview, live now over at Develop.

There's no official word on any of this from Valve yet, on either the Steam blog or the official Team Fortress 2 site. We are scheduled to hear about the next update today (and even see a "Meet the Medic" video) and the game was set to go free for just a week, but this is obviously a more permanent direction. We've contacted Valve and will post more here when we get it.

Update: Valve's Doug Lombardi has responded to us with a simple confirmation: "Yep." Enjoy your free TF2, kids!

Update: The site has been updated as well. The game's completely free to play, forever!

Valve relaunching Team Fortress 2 as free-to-play title originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dragon Age: Journeys bonus items transfer to Origins

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:06:00 EST

You may have scoffed at the prospect of a flash-based, 2D version of BioWare's upcoming RPG epic, Dragon Age: Origins. "A browser game meant to simulate the deep, immersive emotions that arise when one plays roles," you may have said, mid-scoff. "Who would play something like that?" As it turns out, if you're looking forward to the full, three-dimensional version of Dragon Age, the answer to your query is simply: You.

A short Q&A on the Dragon Age: Journeys developers' blog cultivated an enticing bit of info about the browser adventure: if you play through it while logged into your EA account, you can gain access to three items that will transfer over to your Dragon Age: Origins save file on Xbox 360, PS3 or PC. No details were given about the items in question, but we're imagining they'll either be used to help you slay dragons, or to help you become a more profound lover.

Dragon Age: Journeys bonus items transfer to Origins originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's-a Mario World: Infuriating Items

Kenneth Caldwell — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:13:00 EST

Filed under: It's-a Mario World

Let's make one point very clear from the onset: The Mario Kart series has thoroughly rocked our boxers since 1992. Despite some shortcomings we still have pretty high praise for Wii's latest iteration, and most fanboys agree that there currently exists no better Nintendo Wi-Fi experience. For everything Mario Kart does right, though, there always seems to be a cheaply overpowered item that renders even the most skilled racer indefensible.

So this is us venting. We have seen too many races (and online VR points) slip away on account of nasty item distribution. The series' long-standing method of reserving the best (or at least most destructive) pickups for trailing racers can be especially frustrating to those who would have otherwise earned a legitimate first place rank. Competition, in effect, is deadened by a deliberately equalized playing field. Mario Kart's algorithm for item probability is more at fault than the items themselves, but you know you've cussed out a spiny blue shell before. Now get angry with us in our new rant gallery.

It's-a Mario World is a weekly feature in which the ubiquity of Nintendo's flagship character is celebrated. Check back every Friday to find out what strange and wonderful thing has got us tipping our caps. * * * Links of the week: SMB clone revived! | Mario Tennis comes out swingin'! | Delgrego disses the Party! Get him! | New Mario and Luigi 3 screens!

It's-a Mario World: Infuriating Items originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The best of WoW Insider: November 25 - December 2, 2008

Joystiq Staff — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

Filed under: Online, Meta (about Joystiq), MMO

December is here, and where are WoW players? In Northrend, of course -- a sizable amount of the population has hit 80 already, and the rest of us are scrambling through the new content to join them. In the meantime, WoW Insider continues to have everything you need to know about the world's most popular MMO, from new spec and gear guides to the coolest quests and items on the way up. Here's our most popular posts from the past week.

News

Level 80 Death Knight solos Zul'Gurub
Even more old content made trivial by a few extra levels and a new class.
Dual spec update
A dev updates us on one of the most awaited features in the game right now.
Ghostcrawler: Wrath's difficulty is where we want it
Is Wrath too easy? GC says no.
Four year anniversary pet and feat of strength achievement
For the game's fourth birthday, we all got a baby bear pet as a gift.
Wrath of the Lich King breaks internal records at EB Games
A secret correspondent in the big games retailer snaps a shot of the internal email about how well the expansion did.

Features

WoW Insider's 2008 holiday gift guide
Yes, it's that time of year again, so here's a guide that will help find a gift for the WoW player in your life.
Five old world vanity pets you may have missed
Everyone's chasing achievements, so if you're trying to get every single noncombat pet out there, here's five you may have missed the first time around.
A Death Knight's first dungeon: Dos and Don'ts part 1
How to run your first instance with a new class.
The Oracles' mysterious egg is a must-get
We're slowly finding out about some of the cooler rep rewards in Northrend.
The Queue: Tradeskill bits and pieces
Our Q&A column answers reader questions about tradeskills. Have one of your own? Ask it in the comments.

The best of WoW Insider: November 25 - December 2, 2008 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's-a Mario World: Mushroom Feast

Kenneth Caldwell — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:13:00 EST

Filed under: It's-a Mario World

Commence with the spending frenzy! Black Friday's door-busting sales and no-holds-barred consumer fistfights initiate holiday shopping today, and that means the annual limited-edition Nintendo swag is now being clawed from store shelves. As many of you know, this year is no slouch with two new DS Lite colors, one of which is a phenomenal Mario-red. No cause for alarm; some foaming at the mouth is to be expected. Almost harder to believe is DS Fanboy's current giveaway where one lucky reader will take it home free. The rest of us can bag it at Amazon.com while supplies last.

ANYWAYS. We still have a gallery this week amidst all of the excitement. It started out as a series of photographs capturing every possible angle of the aforementioned DS Lite, but that didn't quite work. Instead, being so stuffed with Thanksgiving turkey and delicious pumpkin pie, we couldn't help thinking about what comprises Mario's diet. The short answer? Mushrooms. Lots of them. Seriously, what is it about fungus? Chomp down on our new gallery in which you'll taste a smorgasbord of 'shroom varieties Mario has consumed throughout his career. Yum.

It's-a Mario World is a weekly feature in which the ubiquity of Nintendo's flagship character is celebrated: We'll incessantly ruminate about mustache wax, debate the curious whereabouts of the princess and covet the luminous power stars strewn about the galaxy. Check back here every Friday to find out what strange and wonderful thing has got us tipping our caps.

It's-a Mario World: Mushroom Feast originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mega Man 9's item shop is the future of Mega Man's past

JC Fletcher — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:51:00 EST

Filed under: News, WiiWare

Though it's intended as a sort of continuation of Mega Man 2, Mega Man 9 still manages to sneak in some elements from the later games. The item store is full of things that have shown up in Mega Man 6 and later, which is fine! We like later Mega Man games, and the idea of synthesizing the best elements from the whole series is a sound one. Plus some of this stuff is really helpful.

You can use the bolts found throughout the levels to buy these items. Just for reference, we saw several of these bolts in the E3 demo levels, but couldn't reach any of them. So good luck! You can probably figure out what they all are from looking, but we'll describe them for you as well after the break.

Continue reading Mega Man 9's item shop is the future of Mega Man's past

Mega Man 9's item shop is the future of Mega Man's past originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's-a Mario World: Rare Power-ups

Kenneth Caldwell — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:15:00 EST

Filed under: It's-a Mario World

Welcome to the inaugural edition of It's-a Mario World, Nintendo Wii Fanboy's newest feature about one of Nintendo's oldest characters. Every Thursday, we'll bring you a fresh perspective on Mario games and culture, emphasizing his lesser-discussed titles and memorable game content for your nostalgic enjoyment. In this first issue, join us as we reminisce about Mario's hard-to-find power-ups.

You know the common fare: Mushrooms, flowers and stars comprise the mainstay arsenal in any Mario game, and other traditional items like golden coins and 1-ups are found in sequels and off-shoots everywhere. But what about the obscured items of Mushroom Kingdom history, the rare perishables you rationed and strange pick-ups you briefly adored? Why didn't they catch on? Were they too uncouth for mainstream appeal? Let our gallery shed some light on these shadowy items of utmost rarity.

It's-a Mario World is a weekly feature in which the ubiquity of Nintendo's flagship character is celebrated: We'll incessantly ruminate about mustache wax, debate the curious whereabouts of Princess Peach and covet the luminous power stars strewn about the galaxy. Check back here every Thursday to find out what strange and wonderful thing has got us tipping our caps.

It's-a Mario World: Rare Power-ups originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wii Warm Up: Getting shelled

Candace Savino — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Wii Warm Up

Since Mario Kart Wii is coming out soon, we wanted to know what some of your favorite (and least favorite) items are from the series. The one we're most curious about is the controversial blue shell. Do you hate it? Love it? What other items do you covet, or hope that you don't get stuck with?

Wii Warm Up: Getting shelled originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 26 Apr 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jump Festa play sessions reveal new assist trophy, impressions

David Hinkle — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: News

Well now, what is this? A source of information regarding Super Smash Bros Brawl that isn't from the dojo? We'll take it!

Apparently, Rosalina from the Wii's current most-popular game will be making an appearance in the Wii's most-popular upcoming game. She's going to be an assist trophy, as one might imagine, so she won't be playable. However, it's nice to see another Nintendo character join the obscenely large roster of folks showing their faces in the upcoming game.

Other tidbits of worth from the time enjoying the demo at Jump Festa pertain to another assist trophy in Duster from Mother 3, the Sandbag actually existing as an item during fights and playable characters Kirby and the Pokémon Trainer, who plays like his N64 version and shouts the name of Pokémon he is using, respectively.

[Via Go Nintendo]

Jump Festa play sessions reveal new assist trophy, impressions originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dojo update: Items returning to the fight

David Hinkle — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Screens

For how much things change in this game, we're glad to see some things are going to remain the same. Such as some of the franchise's most well-known items, including the Home-Run Bat and the Fire Flower. One of the other items that you may recall, the Beam Sword, has received a slight alteration, however, giving it a much farther reach.

Dojo update: Items returning to the fight originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 06 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Virtua Fighter 5 only for PS3 next spring

Dan Choi — Mon, 08 May 2006 19:56:00 EST

Filed under: News

There was a time when Virtua Fighter 5 was considered a strong candidate for an arcade port to the Xbox 360, but that multiplatform hope's been dashed with the official announcement that VF5 will appear only on PS3 in the spring of 2007. Sega's technical fighter is a Sony exclusive once more.

While home-console online play remains doubtful at this point, next-gen PlayStation owners can now securely look forward to facing off as El Blaze and Eileen (the new luchador and monkey kung-fu artist, respectively) along with the other 15 fighters, decked out in all sorts of items purchased in the in-game store with prize money earned through in-game matches.

VF5 will support up to 720p HD resolution and will be featured in game footage in the SEGA booth at E3 (South Hall, Booth #946) later this week.

[Thanks, Matt; also via Joystiq]

Virtua Fighter 5 only for PS3 next spring originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 May 2006 19:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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