All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Total software unit sales declined eight percent globally.

Total software unit sales declined eight percent globally.

You're welcome to enjoy your own private paradise in the palm of your hand with Tecmo's Dead or Alive Paradise. Just be aware that some people find the game's content a bit creepy. Including the person who wrote the content description for the ESRB. "This is a video game in which users watch grown women dressed in G-string bikinis jiggle their breasts while on a two-week vacation," the ESRB description reads. "Women's breasts and butts will sway while playing volleyball, while hopping across cushions, while pole dancing, while posing on the ground, by the pool, on the beach, in front of the camera." We could quote this whole thing (and we will, after the break), but we really wanted to call your attention to this part: "Parents and consumers should know that the game contains a fair amount of "cheesy," and at times, creepy voyeurism," the ESRB notes with the most open disapproval we've ever seen in one of these things. It continues, "but the game also contains bizarre, misguided notions of what women really want (if given two weeks, paid vacation, island resort)-Paradise cannot mean straddling felled tree trunks in dental-floss thongs." This is the most entertaining ESRB rating ever. Why isn't whoever writes these things ever this upset about graphic violence? [Update: The ESRB has informed us that a new version, without the "subjective language," has been uploaded to the ratings board's site.]

Did you read the news of Japan's Nier release date with abject jealousy, wishing you had such a clear idea when you'd get to play Cavia's cursing-at-a-book simulation? Seethe no more -- Square Enix announced the North American release date, and it's April 27, only five days after the game arrives in Japan! Of course, real Nier fans are going to have to import Nier Replicant to get the full story, and that means learning Japanese is also a requirement. But it's a small price to pay to learn more about some shirtless guy who fights giant sinewy oil-monsters to rescue his daughter.

I got my Nintendo 64 and copy of Super Mario 64 a few days earlier than the official release date. My local GameStop called me up to let me know that the console and game had come in, and I could come grab it early. I think that was one of the most [...]

Should you raise some hell with this action game?

Should you raise some hell with this action game?

God of Bore.

The only thing more colossal than the White Knight is my disappointment.

Check out more screens in our Flickr set Burlingame, Calif., February 3, 2010 - Natsume, a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, announced today that Witch’s Wish will be released for the Nintendo DS this spring. Witch’s Wish is an adventure game that tells the tale of Vicky, a young witch in training. “Witch’s Wish [...]

Molyneux to talk about changing tradition in the name of accessibility.

We've seen some pretty comprehensive breakdowns of how the U.S. gaming industry performed last year -- however, industry analysis firm GfK-ChartTrack recently compiled a sizable amount of data to inform us how the whole planet did. In short, the planet did okay. U.S. sales faltered somewhat, the U.K.'s past-gen console sales sunk like a rock (or, rather, an original Xbox), and Japan stayed afloat upon a makeshift raft of Nintendo DS RPGs. The worldwide best-selling game of 2009 was (you'll never guess) Modern Warfare 2, with 11.86 million units sold. The runners-up were all proud members of the casual Wii suite: Wii Sports Resort, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Fit Plus, and plain ol' Wii Fit. For more details on how the gaming industry did across this great big terrestrial mass we call home, check out MCV's analysis of the statistics.

God of Bore.

There's something rather unique on XBLA this week: Coming from non-profit publisher OneBigGame and developer Zoë Mode, Chime is actually a game that benefits children's charities. It's a musical puzzle game reminiscent of Lumines, featuring music from several well-known artists including Moby, Paul Hartnoll of Orbital and Philip Glass. At least 60 percent of the game's 400 ($5) price will go to charity, so you can feel good about picking it up. You can also feel good because Chime is actually a pretty good game. Check it out in the latest XBLA in Brief. Shortcut: Download the trial version of Chime [via Xbox.com] [iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly. [RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [M4V] Download the M4V directly.

As hinted at by an Xbox Live Spotlight ad which briefly appeared yesterday, a demo for Aliens vs. Predator will be released on Xbox Live, PSN and Steam tomorrow. A Sega Europe blog post which announced the demo's imminence revealed that the trial gives players access to all three of the game's species, who can battle it out Deathmatch-style on one of AvP's multiplayer maps. You can bet we'll hop on this one as soon as it's available -- who knows, maybe the fanged proboscis which will soon bore into your skull will belong to one of us!

More screens here We are excited to announce a new project in partnership with developer High Voltage Software – Tournament of Legends™. Exclusive for Wii™, Tournament of Legends is scheduled for release in May 2010. Tournament of Legends offers a 3D fighting experience for one or two players, featuring [...]

Write anything, sell everything.

The next episode of PSN-exclusive platformer Topatoi will be arriving on the European PlayStation Store tomorrow, February 4th. The Pillar of Skies promises seven new chapters, ten new arcade levels and a new "Double Mode" that allows two players to go through levels cooperatively. With 11 new Trophies to acquire, this second episode should take about ten hours to complete. The Pillar of Skies is not a standalone product. Instead, it acts as an add-on to the original Topatoi. You won't have to beat the original game, but you will need it installed in order to go through the new content. See a trailer after the break.

Are you a betting man?

A week from the launch of Dante's Inferno, no one would expect Visceral Games' Nick Earl to reveal any uncertainty about sales, but Industry Gamers did attempt to elicit a reaction from the senior VP -- by reminding Earl that his studio's new game will share a release date with BioShock 2 (never mind that it's surrounded on either month by other big-name releases). "In life, there's the things you can control and things you can't control," Earl said somewhat poetically. "I can't be too concerned with our competitive slate; our team has put so much time into Dante's Inferno, and I have a lot of faith in it." Perhaps "faith" is a natural result of working with the source material, but more likely Earl can sleep at night because he knows he has the support of a strong marketing budget. As a work of public domain, Dante's Inferno is that rare double-bonus for EA: a recognizable property and free to adapt -- no strings attached. In turn, EA has invested in a resounding "buzz" that targeted game outlets early with memorable stunts and will culminate in an unprecedented Super Bowl spot. "There may have been [a Super Bowl ad] from Atari years ago, but it has not been done in recent memory, and it shows the confidence we have in Dante's Inferno," Earl said of the publisher's first Super Bowl commercial, which will air on Sunday. With Dante's Inferno out of his hands, Earl confirmed that the majority of Visceral's staff is shifting to Dead Space 2 (while a small team continues to work on Dante's DLC). "We're more focused on the action than the horror this time," Earl said of the apparent ACTION-horror sequel. "We're more empowering to the player."

If you're hoping to play a cute DS game starring a young witch, but not NIS's A Witch's Tale, Natsume has you covered. The publisher just announced Witch's Wish, a new game joining its DS lineup of extraordinarily quirky stuff. Witch's Wish stars "Vicky," a girl who wants to go to Hogwarts witch school, and has to help save her town from some kind of "dark force" while simultaneously learning how to do magic. The ESRB reveals a bit more about the gameplay, describing "comical duel sequences" -- rock-paper-scissors style duels in which "buckets of water are dumped, little tornadoes may twirl, and bursts of cloud-and-fire are sent." Precious! (Retailer orders for) Witch's Wish will be fulfilled this spring.

The High Voltage fighting game is coming to Wii this May.

We're just talkin' about Ratchet. Insomniac is sending some pre-Valentine's love by giving players the unlock code for the Bancho Ratchet skin. Already hidden inside A Crack in Time, the bad boy costume can be unlocked by inputting this elaborate series of buttons and directions on the pause screen: Up, Right, Down, Left, Triangle, Square, X, Circle, R3. It's called a "cheat." Bancho Ratchet was the winning entry in a Japan-only contest for CoroCoro Magazine. As for what a Bancho is, the best explanation we can figure is a "delinquent," especially with Ratchet's resemblance to John Travolta's character in Grease. Well, if you ignore the flippin' huge ears. [Thanks, Solace]

Today's lone Xbox Live Arcade release is Chime, the not-for-profit project from Zoe Mode and OneBigGame. 60 percent of proceeds from the 400 ($5) game will go to Save the Children and Starlight Children's Foundation, so consider it a surprisingly entertaining chance to stop being such a selfish jerk. If you're looking for a pre-purchase glimpse, check out the trailer above or download the demo on Xbox Live. We'd ask you to chime in with your opinions, but that joke's been done. Just now. Shortcut: Add Chime to your download queue [Xbox.com]

Impressed? Director Fumito Ueda shows that he's mastered art of the tease in recent interview.

Are you somewhat satisfied with your Star Trek Online avatar, but wish he or she possessed more unsightly forehead ridges? Perhaps you desire a pair of ears shaped and sized like funnel cakes? Do you wish it looked like your brain was attempting to escape out of the top of your head? Good news -- the Federation Ferengi race can now be downloaded in-game for 80 Cryptic Points, which translates to a shiny half-dollar in real-world funds. Federation players also have the option to download what we can only assume to be a reformed species of Klingon for 240 Cryptic points, or $1.50. We're still unsure as to why anyone would play Star Trek Online and not make their own race, since we wouldn't find the game so compelling without the adventures of Barbicane, the only surviving Bonerian in the galaxy.

We've always thought the regular inclusion of slot machines in the kid-friendly world of Pokémon to be bit strange, and apparently we weren't the only ones. According to Official Nintendo Magazine, the English-language versions of Heart Gold and Soul Silver have had their gambling devices replaced by a new mini-game which, according to the magazine, is surprisingly fun. In the new game, players must flip over panels in a five-by-five grid. Some panels hide multipliers for the player's coins. Some, however, hide Voltorbs, which end the round and cause the player to lose all coins accumulated to that point. You can guess where each Voltorb is hidden using numerical clues at the end of each row and column -- it other words, its Picross meets Minesweeper. Meets Pokémon. Yes, please.

You're welcome to enjoy your own private paradise in the palm of your hand with Tecmo's Dead or Alive Paradise. Just be aware that some people find the game's content a bit creepy. Including the person who wrote the content description for the ESRB. "This is a video game in which users watch grown women dressed in G-string bikinis jiggle their breasts while on a two-week vacation," the ESRB description reads. "Women's breasts and butts will sway while playing volleyball, while hopping across cushions, while pole dancing, while posing on the ground, by the pool, on the beach, in front of the camera." We could quote this whole thing (and we will, after the break), but we really wanted to call your attention to this part: "Parents and consumers should know that the game contains a fair amount of "cheesy," and at times, creepy voyeurism," the ESRB notes with the most open disapproval we've ever seen in one of these things. It continues, "but the game also contains bizarre, misguided notions of what women really want (if given two weeks, paid vacation, island resort)-Paradise cannot mean straddling felled tree trunks in dental-floss thongs." This is the most entertaining ESRB rating ever. Why isn't whoever writes these things ever this upset about graphic violence?