All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Unfortunately, it's become commonplace among my coworkers to mention me in any posts relating to Pokémon. Let me make one thing clear: I don't have an unhealthy obsession with the franchise. I just think it's an incredibly deep and compelling series of turn-based RPGs, and while there may have been a time in my youth when I watched the anime or bought the merchandise, I'd like to think I've grown older and wiser since the late 90s. I only wish my coworkers would treat me as such. Now, let me just check my news feed real quick, and I'll ... I'll ... Holy CRAP! You guys, they announced a new Pokémon DS game -- not like a crappy offshoot like Trozei or Snap, but a totally new generation -- can you BELIEVE IT? Well Snap was okay, but anyways. Nintendo's announcement said there'd be new Pokémon and that "everything is planned to be born anew," and while I don't know what that means, I think my heart stopped a little when I read it! AHH!! It's coming this year. 2010! I knew when this year started that it was going to be the BEST YEAR EVER. [Via IGN]

Electronic Arts launched the Command & Conquer 4 multiplayer beta today for those who want to kick the RTS game's tires -- or tank treads, as the case may be. To gain access, users will need to sign up on the Gamespot beta page. If the site runs out of keys, EA states: "DO NOT WORRY." There will be a "short waitlist" created, if necessary. For those who don't want to bug-test the game (remember when people got paid for that?), Command & Conquer 4 declares full-scale war on its March 16 release. Gallery: Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight [Via Big Download]

We didn't have to wait long to find out about Nintendo's two mystery Wii games. Xenoblade, as we guessed before, is the new name for Monado: Beginning of the World, the RPG by Monolith Soft, creators of, uh-huh, Xenosaga. Nintendo has launched a site for the title, featuring little more than music and a bit of artwork for now. More of the game, as Monado, can be seen in the E3 trailer and screens. Additionally, The Last Story is a new RPG for Wii being developed by Nintendo and Blue Dragon's Mistwalker. According to Andriasang's translation of a statement from an investor meeting, the game is an attempt at a "new form of RPG." The last time Nintendo worked with Mistwalker, the result was Archaic Sealed Heat, which Nintendo did not bother to localize for North America. Finally, a Metroid: Other M teaser site has also been newly launched. It doesn't really reveal anything about the game, other than confirming its summer 2010 release in Japan. Interestingly, the game doesn't appear to use the traditional Metroid logo, opting for something much plainer. [Via Andriasang: The Last Story, Xenoblade, Metroid]

Final Fantasy and Xenosaga creators working on major RPGs for Wii.

Were you sitting there reading Joystiq, thinking about how much you want to pre-order upcoming reboot Dead to Rights: Retribution, but just don't have enough of a reason? Good thing then that Namco has announced the pre-order campaign for the third game in two years to offer up a fighting dog, but here's the catch: There are separate pre-roder bonuses should you choose to go with GameStop versus Amazon. We know, we know, but life is tough. GameStop customers will get their hands on the "Jack Pack," which includes "Grant City Anti-Crime armor" for the game's main character and a "guns-blazing action mode" which apparently turns your regular ol' bullets into exploding bullets. Madness! The folks who drop their bucks early at Amazon are granted the "Shadow Pack," which turns the aforementioned dog into a stealth ninja dog with camouflage and also adds a "noir mode" to the game, said to flip the black and white switch (in addition to making the blood more dramatically red). Now do you have enough reasons to go out and pre-order it? Do ya?

Fallout 3 on Xbox 360 tops Rentrak's list as the most rented game in 2009. The company's data reveals that the Xbox 360 "dominated" the US rental charts, holding 17 of the top 20 spots. Rentrak states that its tracking system follows "65,000 DVD, Blu-ray Disc and Video Game properties in the brick-and-mortar, online, and kiosk channels across North America." The original Rentrak release from this morning states that the rankings were based on "spending via US brick-and-mortar rental channel." We followed up with the group, which clarified that this was a typo and the list also includes online rental outlets, like GameFly. That's a good thing, otherwise the list would have been: "The Top 20 game rentals by people who still go to stores to rent their games." Not having online information in there would have made the data a bit ... off. Not to mention, Blockbuster's in-store selection varies greatly. Check out the list after the break.

Official release chart sparks speculation of franchise revival.

Ever since Green Man Gaming announced its plans for digital trade-ins last week, we've been scratching our heads and spinning the ol' think meat trying to understand how it's gonna work. Lucky for us then that GamesIndustry.biz got a couple of execs from the company to break down how it all functions in a recent interview. Allegedly, the folks at GMG have figured out an algorithm for calculating a game's worth at any given time based on a handful of (unnamed) criteria. "We sit in the middle as a market maker and we always offer a price on the game ... we always allow people to sell it back to us," says CEO Paul Sulyok. As previously announced, the company will offer a percentage of revenue from each re-sold game to publishers -- something the company expects to get prospective partners signed up with the quickness. Suylok even puts a percentage to it, estimating that publishers will see a "194 percent" jump in "additional revenue per SKU" (in Humanspeak, that means for each individual game). Us? We're just happy to finally get some money back for that drunken purchase of Daikatana. [Via BigDownload]

Free-to-play game coming to PC this year.

Remember HEI$T? No? It was a bank robbery game set in 1969, being developed for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 by Codemasters. Remember it now? Okay, now forget about it. "After a much extended development period," a Codemasters rep told CVG, "Heist has been terminated as a project and removed from our release schedule." That extended development goes back at least until 2007, when the game was first announced. Following the cancellation of the inXile-developed action title, Codemasters intends to focus on "high quality titles that will, in the majority, be developed and produced by our internal studios."

Apparently there’s some sort of promotional contest to hype up Lupin the Third: The Greatest Brain Battle in History for DS. Looks like you can win yourself some sweet Lupin swag by entering. Well, if you live in Japan, that is. Why can’t North Americans enjoy Lupin more?!

Capcom has inked a deal with Japanese toymaker collectibles purveyor Kotobukiya that will see the latter producing toys action figures based on the Variable Suits (i.e. power armor) featured in Lost Planet 2. Set to mech their debut in May, the two VS reproductions will retail for $39.99 each -- which seems pretty steep, until you consider just how detailed they actually are. Both figures will stand 6" tall and feature more than 20 points of articulation, plus functioning canopies and -- taking a cue from the game -- removable, interchangeable heavy weapons. It'll be up to you to provide the appropriate sound effects. Check out slightly larger photos of the itty-bitty bots after the break.

This reminds us of Halo for some reason.

This reminds us of Halo for some reason.

This reminds us of Halo for some reason.

Things took a step towards the alternative in last month's Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero DLC offerings, but it seems February will see the games' downloadable music get back on the path of straight-up rock. We'll be seeing new (old) jams from 30 Seconds to Mars, Breaking Benjamin, Third-Eye Blind and Black Sabbath. We personally can't wait to see Taylor Swift cover Ozzy's part on "Sweet Leaf." All track packs will be available for $5.49 on PS3, 550 Wii Points or 440 on Xbox 360. In addition, all songs will be available seperately for $1.99, 200 Wii Points or 160. Head past the break for the complete list of February's downloadable songs.

Get an exclusive sneak peek at gameplay footage of the upcoming psychological thriller Heavy Rain!

Now everyone can join in on the fun.

Next entry to follow Diamond & Pearl hits Japanese DS some time this year.

We were all expecting it and finally Rockstar has come through with the announcement: Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City is coming to the PS3 and PC on March 30. There will be two ways to get your expansion fix: you can either jack each individual episode -- The Lost and the Damned or The Ballad of Gay Tony -- through PSN or Games For Windows Live, or you can snag a disc with the new content on there, just like the previous Xbox 360 release. Well, OK, technically it's not "jacking," per se, but work with us here -- it's essential to the mental imagery we're trying to force into your wrinkly thought machine. Jedi blogging. Anyway, a disc will set you back $39.99, while pricing for individual episodes has yet to be revealed for each respective platform. We have a feeling they'll be $20 a pop, though. Call it a hunch.

Because the Dante's Inferno marketing department obviously knows what it's doing, IndustryGamers reports that EA bought up some ad time during next month's Super Bowl, presumably in the hopes that some of the people watching will care enough to pick up the game when it's releases two days later. We have to wonder how many of these sports-watching people -- who are ostensibly not as interested in 14th century epic poetry -- will care about a guy with a self-inflicted sewing nightmare on his chest waging war through Hell. So, here's ample warning. When your parents inevitably drag you over to your uncle's house to watch the San Bernardino Flim-Flams take on the Texarkana Whatsits, and your little cousin -- you know, the one way too into Dashboard Confessional with the closet full of long-sleeve shirts with thumb holes cut out -- sees the ad and goes bananas, know that Joystiq gave you the heads up. We love you like that.

Nintendo is one of a few companies to release its earnings report earlier this week, and a supplemental report released today has some surprises and new information for Wii owners. Not only do they finally list a target date for Metroid: Other M (you can expect it as soon as summer of this year if all goes to plan), but there are two brand new names in the list as well: Xenoblade and The Last Story. Xenoblade is listed for a Spring 2010 release, so we should be hearing about that one soon, and The Last Story is listed for sometime this year, with both slated for release on the Wii in Japan. There's reason to believe these are just new names, as both Monado: Beginning of the World and Cosmic Walker are missing from the report, and Monado was being developed by Monolith Soft, known most notably for another Xeno- title you may have heard of. But Monado is still listed for a release in the US this year, so who knows? Other than that, the report lists some titles we expected to see soon: A new Kirby Super Star title, Super Mario Galaxy 2, the Wii's Legend of Zelda, Golden Sun for DS, and a few other releases scheduled in 2010. Full list of Japanese Wii releases is after the break.

While Microsoft posted "record" revenues of $19.02 billion for the second quarter ending December 31, 2009 - driven by "exceptional demand" for new OS on the block, Windows 7 - the Entertainment and Devices Division, home to the Xbox 360 and PC gaming businesses, wasn't as successful. That's an inversion of last quarter, for those of you keeping track. "EDD revenue decreased reflecting a $295 million or 12% decline in Xbox 360 platform and PC game revenue," the company's 10-Q form reports. "This decrease was due mainly to decreased revenue from Xbox 360 video games, decreased Xbox 360 consoles sold, and decreased revenue per console, offset in part by increased Xbox Live revenue." Microsoft blames the dip in game revenue to a shortage of major releases; the same period last year saw the release of "two significant games," most likely Fable 2 and Gears of War 2. It reports sales of 5.2 million Xbox 360s for the quarter, a drop from the 6 million sold during the same period last year. And lastly, that pesky price drop is messing up this year's numbers. There are some silver linings: Xbox Live revenue is up, the unit's operating income is up nearly 300% "due to reduced operating expenses." You can thank "lower Xbox 360 console costs" and "decreased marketing for the Xbox 360 platform" for that savings. It looks like all eyes are on you, Mr. Wake and Mr. Supercop, to pick things up in the next fiscal half. [Via IndustryGamers]