All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Nexon America has announced the North American launch of service for PopTag!. PopTag! is an arcade-style multiplayer hyper puzzle action game where players engage in frenzied water balloon battles that pit them against each other or cooperatively against monsters. With the launch of PopTag!, the game will open its cash shop and add hundreds of items and 23 new maps featuring three new themes for players to enjoy.

NaturalMotion is yet to deliver on their BackBreaker football title, but that hasn’t stopped them from looking to the next game in their lineup. Apparently these guys have a fondness for sports games, as they’ve just grabbed the trademark for ‘IceBreaker Hockey’. Other than the name, we have absolutely no details to discuss [...]

Flash-based adaptation of Elementals: The Magic Key was launched by Playrix and now can be played online for free.

Can you believe that Bejeweled has been around for a decade? It seems like only yesterday when we accidentally sunk our first afternoon into gem-matching ... and then another ... and another -- oh where has the time gone? According to PopCap, a 10-month celebration of the puzzle game's decade of dominance has commenced. Throughout 2010, a slew of community events will be held, like the first official Bejeweled competition, and new installments in the franchise will be released.

The Bejeweled creator has also served up some starting statistics, including word that the various installments in the franchise have collectively sold more than 50 million units. By PopCap's calculation, a copy of Bejeweled is purchased every 4.3 seconds. By our calculation, eight people bought Bejeweled in the time it took you to read this post. Maybe more, if your reading comprehension could use some work.

Grab a club, take a swing and pray for a birdie! Discover a fun-filled experience accessible to anyone. Choose from 4 customizable characters and challenge 45 holes in 3 locations in full 3D: Fiji Beach, the English Countryside and the Scottish Lochs. Enjoy simple controls and even blow into the microphone [...]

More screens here - game story is the same as the film, but locations and events have changed - Tim Burton followed the game’s development, and approved changes and new ideas - Burton requested two things that couldn’t be changed: Alice growing and shrinking, as well as the door travel - change between 5 different playable characters by pressing [...]

Is this limited edition going to end up seeing release anywhere else? As of right now we aren’t sure, so keep those fingers tightly crossed, Sonic fans! Thanks to VySe for the heads up!

Sorta!

Astute reader Hyperfludd picked up on this when we posted it yesterday. The boxart for Tetris Party Deluxe happens to include a logo for the Wii Wheel, showing support for the accessory. How on earth would a Wii Wheel be used?! Well, if you want to go back to the days of [...]

The action-adventure MMO's new release includes a new team boss, objective PVP warfare and much more.

During this week's quarterly earning's report, EA COO John Schappert answered an investor question with a somewhat vague but potentially far-reaching comment regarding the publisher's future strategy for implementing online functionality into its games. "In fiscal 2011 [from April 31, 2010 to March 31, 2011], every one of EA's releases will have an online component, both downloadable content and online play," Schappert said, according to a VG247 report. CFO Eric Brown then cited Mass Effect 2's Cerberus Network as the company's "most recent example" of how this plan might manifest.

The obvious question: Does the plan apply to all platforms, including Wii, DS, PSP, and mobile? Schappert clarified to Joystiq today: "My statement wasn't in reference to any specific platform as most of our titles are multiplatform and have different features per platform. Though you can expect our PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 titles to have very robust online features. Of course, depending on the title, this may extend to other platforms as well."

While this clarification is not exactly the firestarter statement one might interpret from Schappert's original comment, the plan still raises concerns -- based on recent experiences -- that EA games' online components could continue to induce headaches so long as they are tied to EA.com accounts and the issues that have arisen as EA has increased its DLC efforts. If the plan is to include online components in all EA games in the future, then the wrinkles need to be ironed out of Project Ten Dollar now.

Check out more art and screens, as well as new gameplay footage here (thanks Chaos_Warchild!)

Most popular puzzle game series of the 21st century selling faster today than ever; celebrating with new installments, competitions, contests, and more.

Moving pictures.

Long-awaited "Mutation Mode" brings new maps, new weapons and new missions.

New hidden object game coming for your pleasure.

The season goes out on a high note.

Red Dead Redemption's many, many pre-order bonuses are now detailed on the game's official website, and we can't imagine anyone will be prepared for the barrage of options listed when you click that link. No less than eight different pre-order bonuses, split between ten different US and UK retailers have been dreamed up by marketing. In typical Rockstar fashion, the practice of "exclusive" bonus content has become excessive bonus content.

Among the options listed are the "Golden Guns Weapon Pack" (more "Fame" per kill), from Amazon, which also comes with a $10 Amazon gift card; the "War Horse," a steed that Rockstar claims can't be bested by any other horse in the game, only available from Best Buy and HMV; and the "Deadly Assassin Outfit" from UK retailer Game (and maybe GameStop, if the getup wins the vote -- uh-huh, there's a pre-order vote). So yeah, we're going with the Amazon option, too.

Bloodthirsty characters and gruesome PvP arenas available to download February 11th.

Joy Black is back and ready to sleuth on your PC.

Though Disney's gaming division saw improved operating results during the company's first fiscal quarter of 2010 (which ended January 2) -- a loss of $10 million compared to a $45 million loss in Q1 the previous fiscal year -- CEO Robert Iger has maintained a prudent stance on upcoming projects.

"Disney-branded games seem to perform better on the Wii and DS platforms," he noted during a recent investor call (via Computerworld). It seems Disney will continue to target non-Nintendo platforms, but with fewer shots and steadier aim. "While we'll continue to make high-end games, we'll be very judicious in how many we make and which ones we choose," Iger said.

Iger is also likely to keep an eye on the performance of upcoming "high-end" titles like Tron Evolution and Black Rock Studios' Pure follow-up, Split/Second. And if neither of those work, you send in the spandex. "We have some interesting opportunities with Marvel," Iger said. "That's a brand we think would do extremely well on higher-end consoles."

Source: ComputerWorld [via GamesIndustry.biz]
Source: The Walt Disney Company Q1 results