MCM Expo & Eurogamer Team Up

London MCM Expo and the Eurogamer Network have announced a media partnership which will see the two companies working together on the events in May and October this year.

Eurogamer will host the event's 'Games Village', which will help increase attendance to over 30,000 per event by the end of the year.

"We are delighted to be working with Eurogamer and feel that the combination of MCM Expo's young entertainment based audience fits perfectly with both companies target consumer, this partnership will help MCM Expo continue to grow in 2008," said a spokesperson for the event.

Eurogamer's editorial director, Kristan Reed, added: "I'm very pleased that we're partnering with such a key entertainment event here in the UK, and it's great that the Eurogamer brand is going to be associated with the Expo's videogames presence this year."

The two shows will take place on May 24-25 and October 25-26 at ExCel London

Visit www.eurogamer.net for your up to the minute gaming news.

Visit www.mcmexpo.net for more information on the 2008 Shows.

Geomerics Under The Spotlight At GDC

Geomerics’ Chief Technology Officer, Julian Davis, has been confirmed as one of the speakers at this year’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. His session, titled ‘The Art and Science of Lighting’, will look at the current state of video game illumination techniques, whilst examining some of the latest research into light and shadow modelling.


Julian’s session will also include a look at the latest version of Enlighten, Geomerics’ own real-time lighting solution, which brings full radiosity shading to next-generation consoles and PC. Enlighten’s real-time radiosity marks a generational step in light modelling techniques by computing dynamic bounced lighting with the quality of a pre-computed procedure at run time. This represents a major breakthrough for real-time illumination procedures, with radiosity shading also delivering a significant increase in the visual quality of in-game lighting as well as a host of colour reflection and re-emission effects. This in turn provides artists with a much broader palette for generating mood and atmosphere with their choice of light, reflection and shadow.


Dynamic real-time radiosity can also do more than transform the quality and naturalism of video game illumination. Enlighten’s versatility has the potential to allow real-world Cinematography lighting techniques to be used in the development process, with Enlighten’s real-time capabilities providing instantaneous feedback to developers whilst delivering stunning results for the end user.


Gary Lewis, CEO, Geomerics, commented "Julian's session at GDC '08 is great news. In 2007 we delivered well-received sessions at Develop and Montreal, but GDC is the event that everyone looks towards to set the agenda for the industry. It is a fantastic opportunity for us to lead discussion of video game lighting techniques and demonstrate what we are planning for 2008 and beyond.”

EA announce Play 4 Free - Battlefield Heroes PC video game Free download

At the Digital, Life, Design Conference in Munich, Electronic Arts today unveiled Battlefield Heroes, an all-new Play 4 Free cartoon-style shooter that will bring classic Battlefield gameplay to an all new mass audience. Available for download at www.battlefield-heroes.com this summer, Battlefield Heroes is EA’s first title that is offered completely for free, and features a built-in matchmaking system to ensure that players of equal skill are paired together for fair play. Developed by DICE in Stockholm, Battlefield Heroes is leading EA’s new web-focused free to download, free to play business model which generates revenue through advertising and micro-transactions. With zero barriers to entry, now anyone can be a hero on the battlefield!

“Online gaming garners a massive audience,” said Gerhard Florin, EVP Publishing Americas-Europe at EA. “People want to play games in new ways, with easier access that is quick to the fun. With Battlefield Heroes, EA brings its first major franchise to North America and Europe with a new distribution model and pricing structure adapted to the evolving way that people play.”

Battlefield Heroes is a brand new game from the team behind Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2. It’s fun cartoon-style graphics and gameplay caters to players of all skill levels. It is easy to pick up and play but with robust character customization and a deep online meta-game, gamers can spend hours building up their characters and conquering the world.

“We put a different twist on this Battlefield game going with the cartoon-style graphics and gameplay,” added Ben Cousins, Senior Producer at EA DICE. “There’s something here for all types of players -- be it our core Battlefield fans or casual gamers. With the new online model, we will continually add new content to keep the game fresh and keep players engaged, while integrating player feedback in real time. As a game developer, it is such a cool new way to make games.”

Battlefield Heroes will be released for the PC as a free download in summer 2008.

UK WEEKLY VIDEO GAMES CHARTS 12th January

All formats

Week ending 12 January 2008

1 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE ACTIVISION
2 FIFA 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS
3 ASSASSIN'S CREED UBISOFT
4 THE SIMPSONS GAME ELECTRONIC ARTS
5 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK ACTIVISION
6 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008 KONAMI
7 NEED FOR SPEED: PROSTREET ELECTRONIC ARTS
8 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 THQ
9 TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS
10 SUPER MARIO GALAXY NINTENDO
11 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. NINTENDO
12 LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA LUCASARTS
13 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2008 SEGA
14 THE SIMS 2: CASTAWAY ELECTRONIC ARTS
15 KANE & LYNCH: DEAD MEN EIDOS
16 UNCHARTED: DRAKE'S FORTUNE SONY COMPUTER ENT.
17 CRASH OF THE TITANS VIVENDI GAMES
18 MySIMS ELECTRONIC ARTS
19 MEDAL OF HONOR: AIRBORNE ELECTRONIC ARTS
20 RATATOUILLE THQ

Disciples III: Renaissance Development Update PC video game

Now that we have all entered a new 2008 phase of our life, it’s time to reflect upon the progress made so far. Akella and .dat are pleased to report on completion of the set of important features in Disciples III: Renaissance that is drawing the game release nearer.

The storyline has been completed – there’s a script for all the 19 missions that’ll be featured in the game: 6 per race and one final mission.

The game will feature over 150 units. You can view some sample units in the game gallery.

All of the units and objects have been animated and textured.
The dev team has almost completed generating the game content: Elven Alliance and Legions of the Damned cities are templated; only minor fixing is ahead. Now the team is focusing on finalizing the city of the Empire.

The game designers are now working closely on perfecting the interface, completing the script (separate dialogues), making briefings movies, and finalizing arts.

About Disciples III: Renaissance

Genre: Strategy
Platform: PC
Publisher: Akella
Developer: .DAT
Release date: Q3 2008

Disciples III: Renaissance is the next title in the award winning Disciples series and represents a leap forward in the evolution of the turn-based RPG/strategy genre. Building on the successes of the first two games, DIII introduces a host of new features as well as the compelling gameplay that made the previous titles such hits.

As a Lord of one of the fantastical races of Nevendaar you must fight to restore your deity's rule over your world. There are three playable races to choose from; the Empire, the Elven Alliance and the notorious Legion of the Damned.

For the first time in the series the gloriously ominous and notoriously gloomy world of Disciples is rendered in full 3D, allowing the player to experience this realm as it should be. Disciples uses its own Virtual Dream engine to render the stunning 3D environments.

Key features:

• Three playable races - The Empire, the Legions of the Damned and the Elven Alliance. Each race has its own unique units and city design.
• Cities, locations, units and other game assets are now represented in full 3D.
• Advances in the gameplay allow increased fluidity in multiplayer games and less downtime when playing alone.
• A new upgrade system allows the player to assign attributes to your leaders. This RPG system employs inventories and new stats and abilities.
• Visual representation of character's equipped armor, weapons and artifacts.
  

Metal Slug 3 on Microsoft Xbox Live Arcade NOT actually in HD?

The Xbox Live Arcade version of SNK's Metal Slug 3. It's a pretty good version of one of my favorite Metal Slug games and a great price at $10 but I have an issue with how it's marketed on Xbox Live.

It's a port of a "24-bit " SNK Neo Geo game from 2000 with a resolution of 320x224 pixels. The Xbox version has an upscaling filter with edge smoothing to display it at whatever resolution your TV is running. Up-sampling lower resolution graphics and putting a filter on them is not really "High definition". Taking an 320x224 and scaling it to 1080p is not HD in any explanation of the term.

However there are several Xbox Live Arcade games that feature redone and redrawn versions of classic game graphics such as Rush'N Attack, Time Pilot, Double Dragon, Root Beer Tapper, Gauntlet and Puzzle Fighter HD. There are also several 3d remakes of classic arcade games in HD on Xbox Live Arcade.

I love the Metal Slug games and think that they are an excellent addition to XBLA with online co-op gameplay and I think that Metal Slug 3 features some of the best 2d hand drawn artwork and animation. Unless they are actually going to redraw the existing graphics to modern HD resolutions than they should not call it HD. Microsoft should knock it off because it is can be a bit deceiving to gamers expecting new HD artwork. I love co-op classic games on XBLA and I hope they brink a big heaping mound of Classic NeoGeo games to XBLA but just by scaling the old graphic and adding an edge blur filter does in no way give them HD graphics.

Source: 8bitjoystick

PocketGuitar play now on your Apple iPhone or iPod touch

You were born to rock, and to help you live dream, Shinya Kasatani has released PocketGuitar for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The application looks insanely great, and we cannot believe it has taken humanity this long to realize the true destiny of the iPhone. It makes so much sense now; it is the guitar of the future, sent back to destroy enemies of rock music.

If your not feeling up to an acoustic solo session, fret not, well actually, you will need to fret, but you can do all your fretting alongside music that is already stored on your iPhone. That's right, you can be Hendrix. Man, you are so in to the music, you are Hendrix. That some heavy, insane music philosophy right there.

To get your fingers strumming, launch Installer and follow these instructions: Installer > Sources > Add http://podmap.net/apps to your repositories. PockeGuitar is filed under the Toys category.

If this takes off in a big way, expect iPhone finger board extension peripherals to drop soon. We can't wait.

From MobileWhack

BioShock and Assassin's Creed Video Games for $40 at Best Buy

This week's Amazon Ad lists two of the biggest titles of last year BioShock and Assassin's Creed each for $39.99.

Also avialable is Enemy Territory: Quake Wars for $19.99 and an online only deal that will net you two games priced $19.99 each for $30.

Some of the titles offered in that deal include COD 2, Viva Pinata, LEGO: Star Wars II, Red Steel and a ton of PS2 titles. The weekly ad deals last until next Saturday but the online offer has no stated ending date.

If you want cash in on the hidden gems though, I would jump on it ASAP.

Source: BestBuy

Linux player Play PC games FREE on your Sony Playstation 3 - PS3

StreamMyGame.com announced today the release of its free Linux Player, an application that enables you to play any PC game via a PlayStation 3 running Linux.

The free StreamMyGame Server enables PC games to be played remotely by converting the game's video and audio into a Game Stream and sending it over a home network to a second computer where you can view and play the game with the free StreamMyGame Player. The second computer can be a PC, laptop, PS3 or Linux device. The game can be played on the second computer without any lag and the second computer does not need to have the game installed.

The StreamMyGame Server is compatible with Windows XP, Vista and all computer games based on Microsoft's DirectX8, DirectX9, DirectX10 including the latest games such as PES 2008 and Crysis and OpenGL standards.

The StreamMyGame Player is compatible with Windows XP, Vista and Linux with resolutions up to Super HDTV 3200 x 2400. Compatible Linux installations include Ubuntu and Yellow Dog Linux, recommended by Sony for the PS3.

"Playing the latest PC game on the PS3 is now a reality at HD resolution and fast frame-rates," said Richard Faria CEO. "I have a PS3 in my living room and PC in my office and my two kids both have old PCs in their bedrooms," he said. "Now we can play games anywhere around the home. StreamMyGame's technology networks the power of a main PC so it can be used to play high end games on other PCs, PS3s and Linux devices".

StreamMyGame will extend its services in March 2008 to enable games to be played remotely over broadband networks that have sufficient capacity such as Verizon's FiOS, Comcast's Wideband and British Telecom's FTTP. Publishers will be able to use StreamMyGame to establish Pay-for-Play services to existing PCs, PS3s and STBs.

"We believe our new Linux player will enable many new devices to connect to the StreamMyGame service. We would like to see STBs and DMAs using our technology and we have already begun development for mobile OS such as Windows Mobile and Android," said Richard.

StreamMyGame ia available free by simply registering at http://www.StreamMyGame.com/

Sony PSP and Nintendo DS sales neck-and-neck in Japan

Handhelds in Japan have a knack for pulling off resurrections better than any religious figure ever could. It wasn't long ago that the Nintendo DS was slacking in both hardware and software sales. But, after the introduction of the revised DS Lite and a new price point, it hasn't been the same ever since. The Nintendo DS outsold every other unit by extremely distant margins.

Now, it looks like it's the PSP's turn to change things around. Much like the DS Lite, with the introduction of the slimmer, lighter PSP, new colors, and a new price-point, it simply hasn't been the same for the once struggling handheld. Where as the Sony PSP use to average anywhere between 35-50k sales on a weekly basis, it has averaged just over 142k units for the past seven weeks. Still, during that same seven week time frame, the Nintendo DS averaged 197k units sold. But despite that, it really looks like the PSP is slowly moving in on the DS.

Now the question is if/when will the PSP begin outselling the DS on a weekly basis. Only time will tell for now. In any case, below are the Japanese sales numbers for January 7th-13th. As you can see, the PSP and DS sold nearly identical numbers - especially when you consider there is a margin of error of +/- 1000 with these stats. The PS3 is holding in there, and fast approaching 2 million units sold in Japan. And the Wii continues to sell briskly, thanks to a desirable lineup of software.

Nintendo DS - 97,369

Sony PSP - 96,159

Nintendo Wii - 84,530

Sony PS3 - 38,907

Sony PS2 - 14,499

Xbox 360 - 4,690

Nintendo DS Advance Wars: Days of Ruin launch 21st January in US

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin for Nintendo DS makes its official debut on January 21st, updating the acclaimed combat series with a host of new characters, enhanced graphics and exciting wireless features.

Players must lead their troops through a mind-bending battle to save the planet in this hotly anticipated sequel, using keen strategy and the award-winning wireless function of the top-selling Nintendo DS.

Wii Zapper Reviews Link's Crossbow training, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 on Nintendo Wii

Overshadowed by the chronic shortage of Wiis during the past Christmas season was the release of Wii Zapper — the $20 (£20 in UK) molded-plastic accessory that turns your Wii Remote and Nunchuk into a rudimentary light gun. A number of new Wii games have been optimized for use with the Zapper, including Link's Crossbow Training, which comes bundled with each Zapper sold.

Link's Crossbow Trainin — Like Wii Sports the game included with every Wii console — this Zelda-inspired collection of mini-games is the best of the bunch, not only because it's free, but also because of its simple, enjoyable, and easy-to-control gameplay. The premise is simple: you (playing as Link) must take out a variety of moving targets, including sword-wielding skeletons and fireball-throwing goblins.

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, on the other hand, misses its mark. It is what gamers call a ''rail shooter,'' meaning you have no control of the game's direction — your character is like a car in a amusement-park funhouse ride, with zombies and creepy crawlies popping up every now and then. Umbrella Chronicles takes a stab at a plot, but it's nothing you haven't seen before in any of the few thousand Resident Evil games you've played in the past.

Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 is the most complete of the Zapper offerings (although it can be played without the accessory). The latest installment in EA's long-running WWII combat franchise, Heroes 2 is a full-fledged game, featuring both story and arcade modes, as well as online multiplayer action with up to 32 players — a first for a Wii game. You also have full freedom of movement — a big plus when you're trying to blow away all of the goose-stepping bad guys Heroes 2 throws at you.

Source: EW.com

Making music on your Nintendo Wii with Wii Music video game

Tune up your Wii-mote for conducting fun, strum yourself a tune, and blow your own trumpet into the bargain.

New information on Nintendo's upcoming Wii Music title has surfaced today, including details on what instruments to expect, and how to control them.

The game play style is reportedly based on a title called Play Sessions, and the music players will be waving their Wii-motes to will be harvested from Nintendo's vast repertoire of game themes, as well as featuring some original tunes to work through.

The current information has said that there'll be more than 40 instruments to perform your symphonies on, such as marimbas, trumpets, guitars, and drums. Each instrument will have its own control style as well - for instance, the angle and position of the Wii-mote will affect the pitch and strength of a trumpet, guitars use the C button on the Nunchuk as a plectrum, and drums are played by two controllers, with possibly two Wii-motes being used.

The Wii-mote can also be used to conduct a band of up to six musicians, of which up to four can be player-controlled. Performances can also be recorded and replayed should players feel the need to show off, or just listen back to their musical masterpieces.

No release date has been set for any region at this point, however, but it is expected to orchestrate its way onto shelves sometime this year.

From: Aussie Nintendo

Only Nintendo making money from Wii? Third parties struggle?

According to reports, third party games are not selling well on the Nintendo Wii platform, as it appears that the only company really making profit off of the incredibly hot console and games are first party Nintendo.

Goichi Suda, known as Suda 51, has come out and stated that third-party games are not selling well on the Wii in Japan. He stated that Nintendo is the only company really making a huge profit off of the success of the Wii.

He spoke specifically about the sales of his Japanese game, No More Heroes. He stated that the sales were not as high as he had hoped. He stated “other titles for Wii aren’t selling so well either. Only Nintendo titles are doing well.”

He stated that this is not just because of the situation in Japan, but also outside of Japan in Europe and North America.

He stated that he expected the Wii to be more for hardcore gamers and is surprised that it has turned into a console which casual non-gamers love.

This agrees with past comments made by executives at Microsoft, where they have stated that Xbox 360 third party titles are blowing away third party game sales on other consoles such as the Wii and PS3.

Source: dbTechno

NASA to make MMORPG computer video games

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is exploring the possibility of developing a massively multiplayer online learning game.

The U.S. space agency NASA Learning Technologies (LT) project is currently investigating the development of a massively multiplayer online educational game (MMO) with a view to advancing education in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Persistent immersive synthetic environments in the form of massive multiplayer online gaming and social virtual world, initially popularized as gaming and social settings, are now finding growing interest as education and training venues.

Teaching complex subjects in these 'synthetic environments' is gaining recognition especially with grasping complicated concepts and understanding practical problems.

It has been recognised that MMOs help players develop 'strategic thinking, interpretative analysis, problem solving, plan formulation and execution, team-building and cooperation, and adaptation to rapid change'.

Immersion into the virtual environment will be designed to simulate scientific experiments and engineering tasks as well as experience microgravity.

From: ClanBase

Brazil bans Counter-Strike and EverQuest video games

Brazil this week imposed a ban on popular role-playing computer games "Counter-Strike" and "EverQuest," claiming they incited violence and were "harmful to consumers' health."

The federal prohibition on the sale of the games was being applied across the country, the official consumer protection agency in the central state of Goias said on its website Thursday.

Both games allow players, typically teenage boys, to connect online to fantasy worlds where they interact with other players, form groups and carry out joint missions usually involving combat.

"Counter-Strike," a first-person-view shoot-'em-upper based on the motor powering the popular "Half-Life" game, requires participants to choose a role as either a masked terrorist or an anti-terrorist officer before going forth with an ever-sophisticated array of weapons.

An adapted version in Brazil permitted players to take on the perspective of either a police officer or a narcotrafficker in Rio de Janeiro's infamously crime-ridden slums.

"EverQuest" is a swords-and-spells game in the mold of "Lord of the Rings" in which human or elvish or other imaginary characters go on joint adventures to gain treasure and increase their avatar's abilities.

Both began in 1999 and have since developed huge worldwide followings.

Some psychologists have described them as addictive as drugs. A few players have turned professional, earning money from powerful characters they sell, or from the auction of hard-to-win virtual items.

The ban was ordered in October 2007 by a Brazilian federal court, but was not immediately implemented.

The judge, Carlos Alberto Simoes, ruled that the games encouraged "the subversion of public order, were an attack against the democratic state and the law and against public security."

Source: AFP

Download Game Onto iPhone - some for FREE

Here are the top methods you can use to Download Game Onto iPhone Today:

Download Game Onto iPhone – Process 1

Search engines! All you need to do is go to a search engine and type in iPhone games and you will soon find a lot of free Java games and some of them are very good quality. It is not really strictly Download Game Onto iPhone though as a lot of them are just played within a browser that looks like the iPhone in your web browser. The main problem with this method is that you have to use different providers and if you are too far away or out of their area then you will not be able to play the games.

Download Game Onto iPhone – Process 2

The next way you can do this is with membership websites. You can find plenty about on the net but the major problem here is the price! Most of these membership websites will charge you monthly and can be about $40 and up!

I am sure you agree the cost can soon add up and if you don´t use the website for a month you will still be charged!

Download Game Onto iPhone – Process 3

Peer to peer networks. This is a fairly old method of getting any sort of media that you want from the internet and is not recommended! The method has been in the news and the only way that it is legal is if you actually own the game that you are downloading and are making a "back up".

They are really clamping down on the masses of people that are using peer to peer networks and if you are thinking of using this method I would not advise it as a few people have been fined and some have even had court hearings!

Download Game Onto iPhone – Process 4

After the above 3 methods you might be feeling a little down in the mouth and wondering if it is possible to get iPhone Games. Well the good news is there are some sites on the net that are more "specialist" and although most of them are not free. They take the membership website idea and basically provide the same service for a lot less cash.

Download sites... http://www.iphoneexplosions.com/http://www.iphonenova.com/

Nintendo Wii Super Smash Brothers Brawl delayed

Instead of arriving in stores on February 10, Super Smash Brothers Brawl is scheduled to arrive on March 9 in North America. Japan’s release date is also pushed back a week, but only for a week.

The new release date is January 31 instead of January 24. The timing of the delay raised a flag because Super Smash Brothers Brawl must be mostly complete if it is only delayed a week in Japan. However, North America’s delay is nearly a month. Perhaps, localization is going slower than expected or Nintendo is tweaking network settings for a larger land mass.

Hmm… or Nintendo is trying to position Super Smash Brothers Brawl or Professor Layton and the Curious Village in a better place. With the Smash Brothers delay Layton should have a much better chance in the marketplace. Be sure to check it out on February 11.

Source: Siliconera

Atari Announces the Next Generation Chapter for Dragon Ball Z Video Game Series

Atari, Inc. one of the world's most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher and distributor, today announced that Dragon Ball Z(R): Burst Limit is in development for Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system. Exploding into the next level of intensity with next-gen graphics, online gameplay and lightening fast action, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is being developed by NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. and is slated for a 2008 release.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is revolutionizing the series by entering the realm of next-generation gaming. Complete with fierce online battles and radical 3D graphic effects only possible on Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 system, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit will blur the line between video game and iconic anime series. Jam-packed with graphically enhanced playable characters, realistic battle stages and environments, players can take hold and experience Dragon Ball Z(R) as never before.

"Atari is excited and ready to offer fans the next iteration of the Dragon Ball Z video game series on the next-gen consoles," said Donny Clay, Producer, Atari, Inc. "With explosive cinematic graphics and online gameplay, fans of the series and of the fighting genre will surely enjoy Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit."

The immensely popular Dragon Ball Z(R) series is the gold standard of anime-based video games, with more than 30 different games and over 11 million units sold since May 2002.

For more information on Dragon Ball Z(R) video games, please visit http://www.atari.com/dragonballz.

Source: CNN - PR NewsWire

NINTENDO DS tops Japanese VIDEO GAMES chart

As sales numbers fall, Nintendo just pips Sony to the post

Nintendo's DS handheld was once again the best-selling hardware in Japan for the sales week ending January 13.

According to Media Create information it sold just over 97,000 units in that time, but the PlayStation Portable was much closer than it usually is in second, selling just over 96,000 units.

The Wii took third place, selling 84,000 units, as every platform experienced the usual post-end of year sales slump, while the PlayStation 3 was further back with just under 39,000.

The PlayStation 2 continued to sell despite its age and relative lack of software support, while the Xbox 360 tailed off in sixth.

The chart is as follows:

1. Nintendo DS (97,369)
   
2. PlayStation Portable (96,159)
   
3. Nintendo Wii (84,530)
   
4. PlayStation 3 (38,907)
   
5. PlayStation 2 (14,499)
   
6. Xbox 360 (4690)