All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Company claims stories of studio layoffs are erroneous.

Company claims stories of studio layoffs are erroneous.

Company claims stories of studio layoffs are erroneous.

Company claims stories of studio layoffs are erroneous.

In an extensive interview with IGN, Sony senior VP of Marketing Peter Dille notes that it's been the company's philosophy not to charge for PSN, but calls the possibility "something that [Sony's] actively thinking about." The company has no announcement to offer while it tries to figure out "the best way to approach" any potential changes. Dille also mentions that the company will stick with ad agency Deutch and keep using Kevin Butler as pitchman for its new PS3 ad campaign, which is slowly (very slowly) erasing our memories of the crying demon baby. Less likely to make repeat appearances are full, downloadable version of PS3 Blu-ray games (think: Burnout Paradise). Dille notes, quite politically, "We're also working very hard to make sure we do [full downloads] thoughtfully so that retail has a part to participate in the ecosystem with us. But, the notion of getting all your games digitally, I just don't see it happening."

MCV reports closure of US office is "incorrect."

MCV reports closure of US office is "incorrect."

MCV reports closure of US office is "incorrect."

If you've been jonesing for your second hit of ADAM, you won't have to wait a moment past 12 a.m. on February 9th; 2K has announced that BioShock 2 will get a midnight launch at Best Buy and GameStop stores. It's great news for us, but bad news for the clerks who have to work until the Witching Hour, just so some dude can fall asleep playing it an hour later, his drool and Cheetoh dust congealing into a loneliness gravy on his Big Daddy PJs. Hoping to pile some extra coal into the hype train's engine, 2K took up the whole first commercial block of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with a 3-minute-15-second launch trailer. It's a cool clip, but we get the uneasy feeling that the heavy reliance on non-gameplay, first-person action is just a touch misleading. That said, it's just a couple of inches above this sentence, so you can judge for yourself.

MCV reports closure of US office is "incorrect."

In early December, EA revealed the cover for its Medal of Honor reboot and all anyone could say was: "BEARD!" Well, after months of trying to get an explanation of how that grizzly (Adams) decision went down, Craig Owens, director of marketing at EA Los Angeles, has finally delivered the answers. Here are the declassified details of our exchange: Joystiq: How did you select the cover image for the Medal of Honor reboot? Craig Owens: What you see today as the key art (or box front image) is the result of a long process that's been going on for nearly a year now. When we set out to reboot the Medal of Honor franchise, we knew that the key art of the new game had to accomplish two very important things. First, it needed to stay true to the authenticity that the brand is known for. Secondly, it had to be unexpected not only for the brand but also for the shooter genre. After several months of reviewing many, many concepts, it wasn't until this past summer that the new face of Medal of Honor was born. During an agency pitch meeting with several creative agencies, our current partner - Ignition Creative based in Santa Monica, California - revealed a concept, using a photographed model with this real, epic beard. That concept was nearly identical to the final image you see today. When the development and marketing team first saw it, we immediately knew that was our guy. He was authentic to a Tier 1 Operator and unexpected for both MOH and the current characters out there in the gaming space. Gallery: Medal of Honor (2010)

Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom has been out in the states for a little while. I’m sure you’ve been noticing the various coverage, checking out the positive review scores, and all that good stuff. You still haven’t picked up a copy though, for whatever reason. Are you still wondering just what makes this game [...]

“Our customers have sent us a message loud and clear that this is an issue that needs to be addressed and we only get one shot at this. Once this Government paper is closed, it could be many years before we get another chance to voice our opinion on this issue. The time to be [...]

While Nibris still has their splash page for Sadness on their official site, the actual homepage for Sadness has disappeared. The domain has fallen through and is now ripe for the picking. I think we all knew that this game wasn’t happening, and now we have a little bit more in the way [...]

Direct link here This is a small taste of a video feature that our friend Josh Thomas has in the works. Looks like Samus is a big fan of the balance board, and we’re going to get to watch her have some fun in the near future. I don’t think there’s going to be [...]

We know that the actual game is due out in March, but we don’t have a specific day just yet. Perhaps this soundtrack release date points to the week when the game will launch as well. Either way, at least we’ll be able to enjoy the sure-to-be awesome soundtrack through import retailers! [...]

We're not sure what sort of numbers 2K Sports had hooped hoped for, but no one can argue that two million copies of its latest basketball sim, NBA 2K10, is anything but a ... slam dunk. The label announced today that the game has reached that lofty figure worldwide, which it says marks a 60% increase in units of NBA 2K9 sold during the same period last year. (Though it confesses that this year's sales figures include versions of the game for PSP and Wii.) Of course, there's always the question of whether the sales were spurred on by marketing money or, y'know, the actual quality of the game. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are averaging in the low 80s on Metacritic -- what did you think of it, sports fans?

German developer Johannes Huber sent us word that his game, Your Doodles are Bugged!, is out now on Xbox Live's Indie Games Marketplace for the low, low price of 80 (or about a buck). You can see a gameplay trailer over on YouTube right now (which we've placed along with a silly teaser trailer after the break). The game looks a little bit like Lemmings but with custom paths rather than tools -- various doodles drawn by a master doodler are infected with little jumping cartoon bugs, and your job is to draw lines that lead the bugs to various points in the illustrated environment. The game offers "lots of levels," and they seem like complicated affairs, though you can zoom in and out to chart your own path to exodus for the little bugs. There's also unlockable content and both friends and global leaderboards. Both the game and its trial are available on your Xbox right now. Download the trial version of Your Doodles are Bugged! to your Xbox 360

There are plenty of things to love about Final Fight. There's the ridiculously diesel, shark pile-driving wrestler-turned-mayor the story is centered around, Mike Haggar, and the fact that citizens in Metro City like to store whole turkey dinners inside of dirty oil drums. And, after 20-plus years, somebody's finally getting around to making a movie. You'll find the initial teaser trailer for the fan-made project after the break which, while a very tasteful take on the series, has made one small error: Jesse Ventura is the only man on the planet who can play Mike Haggar. We're sure this is paying more than his current gig, so get in touch! [Via Capcom-Unity]

Don't act so surprised.

Return to the city of Rapture in Bioshock 2, the highly anticipated sequel to 2K Games 2007 hit video game, Bioshock.

Apparently, Sega's plan is to represent every Sega franchise ever in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing -- except, of course, for Segata Sanshiro. The publisher announced two more playable characters today (well, four, actually, in pairs): Virtua Fighter's Akira and Jacky, and Bonanza Bros.' Mobo and Robo. The Virtua guys appear to be riding in a red Ferrari, which would add the OutRun franchise to the list as well. All these reveals are in line with the character portraits found hidden on the website. NiGHTS will appear in the game as well, though not in a capacity that will cause superfans "DiGi" and "Trippy" to lose their bets and burn their NiGHTS memorabilia collections. The androgynous dream-monster will appear as the flagman in the racing game.