All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

According to The Hollywood Reporter, CBS required some editing to EA's Super Bowl ad for Dante's Inferno before it would expose America's fragile hive mind to it. No, it's not because of all the demons and the brimstone and stuff, but rather due to the game's widely-used tag line "Go to Hell." As you can seen in the clip after the jump, it's replaced by "Hell Awaits." The change is likely because of worries about offending conservative viewers, but we're secretly hoping that Doritos is launching a new super spicy chip during the big game and it just didn't want Dante copying its line. [Via Eurogamer]

The company prepares to shut down its U.S. operations after some of its games underperform.

The company prepares to shut down its U.S. operations after some of its games underperform.

The company prepares to shut down its U.S. operations after some of its games underperform.

Video game instruction booklets don’t seem to get as much love and care as they used to. I’m not talking about the consumer side of things. Now that developers put lengthy tutorials in their video games, what’s the need for an instruction booklet? I feel like gamers are missing out on a [...]

The company prepares to shut down its U.S. operations after some of its games underperform.

Available exclusively for Wii.

Last week it was rumored that Microsoft's Xbox 360 and PC Game Room would "never feature" titles with an ESRB rating higher than E10+; today Microsoft confirmed to Joystiq the current plan is to only add titles that correspond to the application's ESRB rating. Rather than submit each individual title for review, Microsoft has opted to submit the Game Room application to the ESRB, netting it an E10+ rating, ensuring higher-rated titles would not see life in the virtual arcade. In a statement to Joystiq, a Microsoft representative said, "the 30 titles available for download at launch will carry either E or E10+ ratings; beyond launch we have no additional details to share at this time." Based on its statements, Microsoft's Game Room can only include titles that have been submitted to the ESRB in other forms (compilation discs, or through downloadable platforms). While it's possible for Microsoft to submit classic titles that have yet-to-be rated by the ESRB (such as titles released prior to the group's 1994 inception that have yet to receive a rating), the plan appears to focus solely on games already available in some capacity. Microsoft said that because titles featured in the Game Room are "classic arcade and console titles" the company will be able to add any individual titles to the Game Room without submitting new releases to the ESRB for review -- provided they are currently rated E10+ or lower. While Microsoft says it currently has "no plans" to feature arcade titles rated Teen or Mature, the company confirmed it would be able to resubmit the Game Room application itself to the ESRB for a new rating, if higher-rated titles are considered for future release.

Shred your way to happiness.

Japanese gamers get to experience the joy of Excitebike with a different camera angle and online play today, with the release of Excitebike World Rally (as "Excitebike World Race"). It's a pretty faithful adaptation of the original, something that can't be said for Tecmo's Are? DS ga Sakasa Desu Kedo: Gyaku Shooting, a shooter with elements of its own Star Force, but played from the other side -- and with the DS upside down. Using the DS's touch screen, players control the enemies firing downward at what is usually the player ship. DS ga Sakasa Desu Kedo: Sakasa Drops takes the same approach and applies it to a falling-block puzzle game. Check out a trailer for Shooting after the break. Quarth (MSX, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) Contra (MSX, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) Excitebike World Race (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points) Are? DS ga Sakasa Desu Kedo: Gyaku Shooting (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) Are? DS ga Sakasa Desu Kedo: Sakasa Drops (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points) Artist ni Narou! Minna no Nurikai Museum Hen (DSiWare, 1-2 players, 500 DSi Points) Hobonichi Rosenzu 2010 (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points) Renjuku Kanji: Shougaku Sannensei (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)

Tecmo announced via Twitter that Fret Nice, the musical platformer played with guitar controllers, will be available on PSN in North America this week. In its own tweet, developer Pieces Interactive said that a European release date would be "coming soon." Now PS3 owners will be able to use those guitar controllers of theirs to do something other than play along to "Uncontrollable Urge" over and over again (what, you mean you don't do that?) Specifically, in Fret Nice, players take control of the Vibrant Chordblasters as they travel through the world defeating Hair Bängers with their riffs. Oddly missing from both of these announcements is any mention of the Xbox 360 version. We're checking with Tecmo about that. [Update: Tecmo has no date for the XBLA version yet, and could offer no reason for the wait.]

The first official look at the BioShock 2 Special Edition.

Thanks to the video above, we now know more about Funcom's upcoming MMO The Secret World than ever before. And yet, that's still not saying much. The new trailer provides the first in-game footage, specifically showing off the town of Kingsmouth, a game location revealed last month. Of course, no sleepy New England town is complete without a dark secret, and Kingsmouth is no exception. It seems an evil fog rolled into town one day, taking most of the townsfolk with it, leaving only a handful of unlucky survivors and ... zombies. They aren't your typical, garden variety zombies, though. No, these zombies never die, as the narrator explains, "Kill one, he'll rise in the morning. There's no getting rid of them." There's no telling if the actual game will hold up at this point, but the premise thus far is certainly intriguing.

Get all the details on how to ‘unlock’ this mystery art here (thanks NESBoy!)

A portion of a DiehardGameFAN review… Bottom line – this piece of crap isn’t even worth Netflixing. Just stay away. For the love of all that is holy, just stay away.

The company's marketing and PSN chief says it won't be long before PS3 outpaces Xbox 360 in global sales.

Four other fighters also step into the ring as well.

In Nintendo's recent quarterly investor Q&A, president Satoru Iwata discussed the possibility of an HD-followup to the Wii. "If asked if making the Wii compatible with high definition -- just making it compatible with high resolution -- will get players throughout the world to buy it," he said (as translated by Andriasang), "I would of course say, 'Do you think it would sell with just that? It needs something new.'" Note that his statement isn't a denial of an HD Nintendo system at all. Iwata also addressed the contested statements he allegedly gave to the Asahi Shimbun about a DS successor. The newspaper reported that he said it would have motion-sensing and "highly detailed" graphics, a claim that Iwata later said was "misinterpreted." Iwata helped clarify the situation further in the investor Q&A, suggesting that the reporter led him to that statement. According to Iwata, the reporter asked, "The next DS will need to have high resolution graphics and include a motion sensor, wouldn't you say?" to which he responded, "Those are naturally considered requirements. However, do you believe it will sell with just this?" All together now: It needs something new!

I’ve never seen an episode of Life Unexpected, but I guess I have a reason to get into the show now! Thanks to ProudRomanian for the heads up.

What do the people of Khitai care for the world beyond the Empire?

A portion of a GamePeople review… Let’s Catch brings all this in one easy and cheap to obtain package. It made me wonder if Let’s Tap could have sold in a similar manner. Either way, Let’s Catch is as intriguing as it is fun to play. Kids as young as three can play it, yet there [...]

What does Namco Bandai have up its sleeves for their latest trademark, ‘Narikiri Dungeon Cross’? We have absolutely no idea, but it may point to another Tales spin-off. Remember tales of Phantasia for the GBA? That was a spin-off game as well. Could we see the company head in that direction [...]

Two major titles will not make ship date. Dead or Alive Paradise thankfully not included.

Artist's rendering of potential/probable title screen Alright, PS3 owners, get ready to join the nationwide craze that's been sweeping the ... umm ... nation. It's Tetris! According to Adam Grant, the PSP European Product Manager for SCEE, "EA is currently working on a PS3 version of Tetris that will take full advantage of the capabilities of the PS3 and provide the best experience. Look for this version to be available later this year." Though the puzzler is already on the Minis platform and therefore playable on PS3, it sounds like EA's thinking of a beefier, HD version of the game. Because you need that. For Tetris. [Thanks, pat_boy2008]

Looking for a unique set of icons to use on your desktop? How about a batch of weapon icons from Diddy Kong Racing? I’m sure you guys could find a good use for these. Just hit up the link below to get higher quality versions of each icon. Each icon here (thanks Hero [...]

WarioWare D.I.Y.™ Format: Nintendo DS™ Launch Date: 03/28/10 ESRB: E (Everyone): Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence Game Type: Game Creation Players: 1 Developer: Intelligent Systems Website: http://www.WarioWareDIY.com Game Information Through the years, Nintendo has created hundreds of microgames for the WarioWare™ series. Now we want to see what you’ve got. The WarioWare D.I.Y. game lets players create the same kind of microgames that are the hallmark of the WarioWare series. Players [...]