In case you missed it previously, Ready At Dawn confirmed to us a little while ago that yes, contrary to earlier reports, Okami on Wii would be running in full 16:9, a move that'll have a lot of people who already own it on PS2 considering a re-purchase.
Here's footage of what must be the final build of the game running and, well, there's not much more to say. It's one of the most beautiful games ever created, only now it's looking more beautiful.
Source: Kotaku
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Bully: Scholarship Edition launch March 4th for the Xbox 360 and Wii
Bully: Scholarship Edition out Wednesday for the Xbox 360 and Wii
Rockstar Games is proud to announce that Bully: Scholarship Edition is coming to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the Wii home video game system from Nintendo this Winter.
Both the Wii and Xbox 360 versions will retain the wit and deep gameplay of the previously released PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system title and will boast additional new content. Bully: Scholarship Edition takes place in the fictional New England boarding school of Bullworth Academy, and tells the story of 15-year-old Jimmy Hopkins as he experiences the highs and lows of adjusting to a new school. Capturing the hilarity and awkwardness of adolescence perfectly, Bully: Scholarship Edition pulls the player into its cinematic and engrossing world. Universally acclaimed upon first release, Bully: Scholarship Edition is a genre-crossing action game with a warmth and pathos that is unrivaled.
Bully received a perfect "10/10" from Electronic Gaming Monthly and 1up.com and was heralded as "a great, well-crafted action game that has one of the best senses of humor around" by IGN.com. USA Today called it "a fantastic debut title by Rockstar Vancouver." The San Francisco Chronicle wrote "Bully has no shortage of creative energy, offering an immersive boarding school experience that is imaginative, funny and filled with surprises."
Come and explore the zealous joy, mirth, and torment of youth with Jimmy Hopkins and Bully: Scholarship Edition when enrollment commences this fall.
More from: RockStar
Capcom Porting Resident Evil 0 to Wii
According to the latest issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu, Capcom is planning a remake of the prequel game Resident Evil 0 for the Wii in Japan. Resident Evil 0 first appeared on the GameCube in 2002.
The developers will rework the game's control scheme entirely for the Wii Remote, although the exact method of control is unknown. At the time of publish, no media exists that indicates a change in camera perspective from the original GameCube version.
Capcom has released two Resident Evil games for Nintendo's latest home console so far: Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, an enhanced port the GameCube thriller featuring redone controls, content from the PlayStation 2 version and a lower price; and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, which focuses on shooting with the Wii Remote in first-person perspective rather than exploration.
While no release date has been mentioned for any territories outside of Japan, Famitsu confirmed that Japanese players will find Resident Evil 0 on shelves this summer. Stay with The Wiire for all your Resident Evil-on-Wii needs.
Source: The wiire
Nintendo Wii outsells PS3 4-to-1 in Japan
Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research) Wii game console outsold Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 nearly 4-to-1 in Japan in February as Wii software titles dominated the best seller list, a game magazine publisher said.
Nintendo sold 331,627 units of the Wii in the four weeks to February 24, compared with 89,131 units of the PS3, Enterbrain said on Thursday.
The Wii's lead on the PS3 appears to be widening: In January, Nintendo's game console outsold Sony's by almost 3-to-1.
Nintendo's own "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" for the Wii became the best-selling software for the month in Japan, with 1.33 million units sold, followed by the "Wii Fit" home fitness game, which sold 309,311 units in the four weeks, Enterbrain said.
The Wii has been leading the three-way game console battle with the PS3 and Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox 360 as its strategy of offering easy-to-play and innovative games to expand the overall game population has proved a big success.
Microsoft, whose videogame business is struggling in Japan, home to both Sony and Nintendo, sold 14,079 Xbox 360 units.
Shares of Nintendo closed down 1.4 percent at 56,300 yen, while Sony fell 1.9 percent to 5,220 yen, underperforming the Nikkei average .N225, which was down 0.8 percent.
Source: Reuters
12-Inch DS-Holding Mario Says "Mama Mia, You'll-a Never Get a Girlfriend!"
This foot-tall Mario statue is actually a DS holder, with his grip specially designed to hold your portable gaming device.
It's the perfect way to make your bedroom look like a 1993 Toys R Us while also making sure your DS doesn't have to sully itself resting on any flat surfaces.
How can you say no?
Source: Gizmodo
FIFA Interactive World Cup 2008 Los Angeles March 1st
The FIFA Interactive World Cup 2008 is hitting Los Angeles this Saturday, March 1st .
This will be the only live qualifying event of the FIWC, and it will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the GameStop at 1000 Universal Studios Blvd., Universal City , CA.
FIWC will showcase 128 of the best interactive soccer players in North America competing for one of 32 berths in the FIWC Grand Final on May 24 in Berlin.
Up to 50 competitors can pre-register for the event by logging on to www.easports.com/fifa08/fiwc.jsp while the remaining 78 spots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the event. That, of course, is based on eligibility restrictions. For more information, go to http://fifa08.ea.com/us.
Disney jump on the guitar hero bandwagon with Music Rhythm Video Game
Disney Interactive Studios announce a new music rhythm game for Wii and Nintendo DS today, called Ultimate Band . Designed not only for a teen-and-up audience, but for younger gamers as well, Ultimate Band gives players a chance to play solo or jam with friends, slightly similar to popular music rhythm games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band , without requiring them to take a hit to their bank accounts for specialized accessory controllers. The only controllers players will need for the game are the Wii Remote and Nunchuck or the Nintendo DS stylus, depending on which version they are playing of course.
Disney teamed up with London-based music consultants, Radial Music, to help pick out the track list for the game. Ultimate Band's track list will consist of a mix of music from a number of genres including roc k, alternative, pop, emo and indie, some of which will include current hits and all-time favourites.
"Radial worked closely with Disney to compile the perfect song list for Ultimate Band," said David Hill of Radial Music. “With iconic songs from every decade since the 60s, these games feature music for everyone." And who knows? Considering the money and influence Disney has, maybe we'll actually see music from bands like The Beatles appearing in a music rhythm game some time in the near future. Who are we kidding? Ultimate Band is currently slated to released this holiday season for Wii and Nintendo DS. Disney is expecting the game will receive an E10+ rating from the ESRB.
Source: Comic Book Bin
Disney and Wii Jam to Ultimate Band
Disney Interactive Studios has announced the development of Ultimate Band for Wii and DS. The game will primarily target younger gamers and those seeking a more affordable alternative to titles like EA's Rock Band and Activision's Guitar Hero.
Disney has collaborated with London-based music consultants Radical Music to ensure that Ultimate Band will feature the "very biggest names in rock, alternative, popular, emo and indie rock music, allowing band mates to play sets from a broad selection of current hits and all-time rock favourites." Every decade from the 1960s onward will apparently be represented.
Players will work their way through the musical ranks, starting in a neighborhood garage and progressing to international stage shows. New character costumes, accessories and venues will be unlockable. Multiplayer will be included, but Disney did not say in what capacity.
Players will be able to choose between four instruments in the game: guitar, bass, drums and vocals. Instead of peripherals, the game will employ the Wii Remote and Nunchuk for controlling these instruments. Disney did not say if connectivity between the Wii and DS versions will occur.
Disney's Nintendo-focused Fall Line Studios began work on Ultimate Band - the developer's first project - soon after the studio's creation in November 2006. Their work is expected to be completed by this autumn.
The Wiire will have more on Ultimate Band as information reaches our ears.
Source: The wiire
Video games make $18 billion last year
The one-day record holder for a movie premiere is Spiderman 3, which brought in $59 million in ticket sales on its opening day.
The Video Game Industry Profits from Multiple Platforms
The video game industry is broken down into games and consoles. Games can come in many different formats. Most are console games, meaning they only play on a specific company's game system - called a console, while the PC versions can play on any computer.
PC games represent only a small sales segment in the game market, but they have an incredible reach with users. Last year, 40% of all U.S. residents two years of age or older played an online game.
The console market is concentrated among a few game systems like Nintendo's Wii and DS, Sony's Playstation 3 and Microsoft's X-Box 360. Consoles represent $9.35 billion in sales for the industry.
Aside from the tremendous time that goes into the coding and construction, labor is the largest cost in producing a game. Programmers can make $90k annually, or more. With the ability to locate offices in economical locations, and the ability to sublet work wherever it's cost efficient, the game industry can produce games for less.
The cost to make an average game can run from $10 to $50 million. When you compare that to the average 2007 movie cost of $106 million, you can see why the profit margins are so attractive.
Diverse platforms have given rise to a multitude of games as companies have rushed to meet the demands of numerous demographic segments.
New Players Have Opened up Huge New Markets
The stereotypes of video games being the domain of teenage boys, as well as being ultra-violent, are changing. Gamers are more likely to be older, young professionals who can afford to purchase games and consoles. The average gamer has been playing for roughly 12 years.
And men aren't the only ones playing these days…
Forty percent of all game players are women, and there are more women playing games (30% of all gamers) than there are boys under 17 years old (23%). Women represent a larger and larger population of game players every year.
Companies are tailoring their games to this growing audience, making games less violent and more family friendly. While the news likes to report that video games are getting more violent every year, the small number of violent-rated games is proof that the industry gets more bad press than it deserves.
Only 15.5% of last year's games were rated "M" for mature. The majority of games - 56.5% - were rated "E" for "Everyone 10+." The fastest growing segment in the games industry is the family segment that grew 110% from 9.1% to 17.6%.
As younger generations grow and have children of their own, more parents are playing video games than ever before - 36% of parents play video games. "Families that play together stay together" can now mean playing video games.
Eighty percent of gamer parents play video games with their kids.
Forty-seven percent of video game players are between the ages of 18 and 49. The fastest growing demographic is the 50-plus crowd. This doesn't mean that kids aren't playing video games anymore; far from it… they still represent 28% of all gamers out there.
More and more older Americans are playing video games than ever before. Video games are perfect activities for seniors by providing activity without physical stress. They offer health benefits with coordination, balance and endurance. 24% of Americans over age 50 played video games last year, and that number should only increase.
The average game buyer is 38 years old, five years older than the average player. This gap in age represents the scores of parents buying games for their children, and the tremendous influence parents have on sales.
Regardless of age brackets, entertainment traditionally declines during economic downturns and recessions. But the video game industry has defied conventional wisdom.
Why the Video Game Industry Does Better During Recessions
Economists haven't called our current downturn a recession yet, but there's no shortage of bad economic news to help support that argument.
The last recession the United States had was after Sept. 11, when technology demand crashed. Despite that, sales of video games during that period increased 43%. 2002 became a record year in video games, posting $7 billion in sales.
And it's happening again…
Retail sales in February fell by 0.06, but video games and equipment increased sales 34% over January to $1.33 billion. But this sales boom hasn't stopped.
Game sales hit $1.7 billion in March 2008. That's a 57% increase from the same time last year.
In the same way people 'cocoon' themselves during winter storms, consumers stay home more when the economy is down.
It may sound counterintuitive, but the increasing costs for entertainment have encouraged people to spend less, and as a result they are purchasing games that cost much more than the average movie ticket.
Time is the reason gamers are willing to spend the money for these products. While an average movie may run two to three hours, a new game may take an expert player 100 hours to finish.
A $50 to $60 cost for that game starts to look very reasonable. Especially when you consider the time spent playing these games means less time for spending money on more expensive entertainment options.
Even when hard times end, the game industry will continue to profit. Today's gamer is a devoted player logging an average of 7.5 hours a week playing games.
That's a dedicated player who will continue to buy and play games for years to come.
Source: Seeking Alpha
Friday, February 29, 2008
SOUTHPEAK'S CUTTING EDGE REDEFINES THE GENRE WITH X-Blades on PC
SouthPeak Games has announced X-Blades, a dynamic third-person hack-and-slash action title for next-gen consoles and PC, due for release in late 2008. X-Blades sees players controlling an enchanting anime-style heroine who must battle through a host of locations using guns, blades, magic and a healthy dose of cinematic flair.
“The unique anime-style backdrop combined with high-octane, multi-discipline combat gameplay really pushes X-Blades into brand new territory,” said Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games. “The 3rd-person ‘hack-em-up’ genre needs a fresh perspective and X-Blades is poised to deliver it.”
X-Blades features a special combination of cinematic style, beautiful animation and relentless high-speed gameplay. Players assume the role of Ayumi, a stunningly seductive yet tenacious heroine who battles enemies with her pistol blades, acrobatic ability and magic spells. With full anime-style cut scenes, the story unfolds revealing demonic hordes and spectacular landscapes, all ripe for exploration and frenetic supernatural battling.
“We are big fans of anime and that was really our inspiration for X-Blades,” said James Seaman, Managing Director at Topware Interactive. “Our goal was to create stylistic characters and artwork and to mix that bombastic visual style with lightning fast action. The result is a killer title that gamers and animation fans won’t be able to put down.”
X-Blades will be released for next generation consoles and PC in late 2008.
Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling And Longtail Studios Announce Development Of TNA Wrestling Mobile Video Game
TNA Wrestling and Longtail Studios today announced the development of “TNA Wrestling,” a new game for mobile phones. TNA Wrestling for mobile is the first mobile wrestling game to truly immerse the player in both the wrestling and storytelling aspects of professional wrestling.
The TNA mobile game will allow fans to step into the world of TNA as an up-and-coming superstar. Fans will be able to go head-to-head with their favorite TNA superstars both in and out of the ring.
“Wrestling is about so much more than what happens inside the ring” said Jason Altman, Head of Production, Longtail Studios, “With the TNA mobile game fans will get to experience and control the action both in and out of the ring.”
“TNA is consistently searching out new media platforms to better serve our fans worldwide, and mobile gaming will put our brand at the cutting edge of gaming,” TNA President Dixie Carter said.
Features of “TNA Wrestling” for mobile phones include:
• Master strategy and turn-based wrestling gameplay
• Strategy gameplay - Decisions and alliances you make outside the ring affect what happens inside the ring
• Customizable characters fans can create, including looks and persona
• Accumulate points to learn new moves and finishers
• Special matches such as tag team gauntlet and iron man formats
• Unlockable “unlimited wrestling mode”
• TNA superstars such as Kurt Angle, A.J. Styles, Christian Cage, Samoa Joe, Sting, The Latin American Xchange and more!
The “TNA Wrestling” mobile game is slated for a Spring 2008 launch, published by Advanced Mobile Applications. For more details on the release date and specifics per mobile service providers, visit www.tnawrestling.com.
TNA Wrestling delivers a distinct brand of high-risk, athletic entertainment featuring the biggest names in the business, including Kurt Angle, Booker T and Christian Cage, as well as the hottest young stars today – “The Phenomenal” A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe and the Motor City Machineguns. TNA features the innovative six-sided ring and the high-flying “X Division,” as well as concept matches such as “Ultimate X,” “King of the Mountain,” and “Six Sides of Steel.”
TNA Entertainment, LLC is a privately held company headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. For more information, visit www.tnawrestling.com.
“TNA iMPACT!” airs every Thursday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV. Spike TV is available in over 96 million homes and is a division of Viacom International Inc.
Longtail Studios (www.longtailstudios.com) is an award winning developer of games and entertainment. Established in 2003 by Gerard Guillemot, a co-founder of Ubisoft Entertainment, Longtail Studios is committed to developing character driven games and content. Through partnerships with leading publishers, Longtail's products are distributed worldwide. Longtail Studios operates offices in New York City, Quebec City and Charlottetown. For more information please visit www.longtailstudios.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)