All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Amidst all the talk of digital distribution versus retail sales at the LA Games Conference today, one big reason arose for game publishers to keep the retail channels open: the midnight launch. While a lot of gamers might tell you that it's a pain for them to schlep out into the cold to pick up the latest game or expansion, publishers actually prefer it. Pascal Brochier was the president of Global Retail at Vivendi Universal Games when it released World of Warcraft's Burning Crusade expansion (one of the biggest retail launches ever), and he says that while Blizzard had the option to digitally distribute that game, it chose not to. "We were patching all the time," he told Joystiq. "It was always in the discussions internally; 'Should we go direct digital or should we go both with retail?'"

In the end, the company wanted the extra exposure that a big retail launch provides. "When you're at the store with all of the events, you actually have people who've dropped [their subscriptions] come back." And being in the stores doesn't just drive return players, it drives new players as well. "The midnight events and all of the functions help people come back who've stopped playing, but also guys who've wanted to try it will be attracted to the event and become new-found players."

A few weeks after launch, says Brochier, Vivendi did enable digital distribution quietly. But even for a game so tied to the online experience, he adds that "retail is a very important critical part. There's also a significant percentage of players who just play through pre-paid cards, and that's retail, that's a retail model. So you've got to find the balance."

Attention, all units: EA will release Realtime Worlds' cops-and-robbers MMO APB on PC in North America on June 29, in mainland Europe on July 1 and in the UK on July 2.

The initial $50 game purchase, either through retail or by download, will include 50 hours of playtime, as well as "unlimited time" in APB's so-called social districts, where players can customize, chat and trade. When the 50 hours are up, players have the option to purchase 20 more hours for $7, 30 days of unlimited access for $10, or discounted 90- or 180-day passes. In addition, extra playtime can be earned through certain unspecified accomplishments, according to EA: "APB provides avenues for accomplished gamers or creators to earn rewards for their creativity and subsidize their ongoing costs with their in-game efforts."

Pre-order incentives, which are currently offered by APB.com, include access to the demo and early access to the full game, plus an assortment of bonus cars, clothing and character Emotes, some of which can be seen in the gallery below.

The God of War trilogy ended in the recent God of War 3 with Kratos [redacted]. But each God of War game before 3 (directed by Stig Asmussen) had a different director, and, as Asmussen told GamePro, each director had a different idea of how to end the saga of Angry Man Kratos.

Series creator David Jaffe had stories in mind beyond Greek myth. "Basically, you destroy Greek mythology and then Norse mythology is right around the corner," Asmussen recounted. "That's the next thing that Kratos would go after. It becomes clear at the end that he's going to become this harbinger of death across different mythologies in the world and maybe carry the series on from there." God of War 2 director Cory Barlog's ending, according to Asmussen, would turn Kratos into Death. "He pretty much becomes the Grim Reaper at the end of the game and his blades become sickles."

1UP points out that Jaffe had issues with both claims. On Twitter, Jaffe said that the Norse mythology idea was more complicated than Asmussen made it sound. "There is an element of truth but it goes far beyond." Later, he clarified further: "For the love of the Gods, I was NOT proposing Kratos go thru each mythology one by one and milk the series with new myths each time. It was to be a focused singular story that INVOLVED Norse myths- among others." He also mentioned that the "Death" idea attributed to Barlog was actually his.

According to a new survey conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association, one in four respondents who identified as a "gamer" is interested in 3D gaming at home. In a presentation today at the LA Games Conference, Shawn DuBravac, CEA's chief economist, suggested that gaming would strongly drive the adoption of 3D televisions. Of those surveyed who'd seen a 3D movie, half said they would be interested in 3D games, and one in five gamers surveyed said that 3D-gaming support was the factor most likely to drive their purchase of a new TV. "It's the first time I've ever seen new televisions coupled with games as a promotion," said DuBravac, "and that's really exciting."

Additionally, DuBravac suggested that the gaming demographic at large would grow with the sale of new devices in the iPad-size category. There's currently a "device void" in the 8-12-inch screen space, according to CEA's research, but DuBravac expects that to fill up with approximately 20 million units sold of these mid-size devices just this year -- and those sales will lead to new gamers. As seen in the slide above, when the CEA asked consumers why they don't play games, almost 20 percent identified themselves as "not a gamer." DuBravac and company believe that these respondents are likely to become "gamers" through their purchases of new devices and technologies, like 3D.

As for dismissing 3D as a fad? Try it first, said DuBravac, who admitted that the technology is far from widespread adoption. By the CEA's count, roughly eight percent of consumers claim to have doubts about 3D technology, but, "it's about half of that, around 4 percent, after they see it in action."
View Poll

Sony recently made yet another addition to the growing mound of evidence for a sequel to last year's electrifying action title, inFamous. Superannuation has discovered that SCEA has registered the domain: infamous2thegame.com. You can try visiting it now, if you'd like. You're going to get a "Server Not Found" error, though. And then you're going to feel really silly.

As with all web domain registrations, this could just be a case of Sony locking down the name for potential future use and preventing the uncomfortable situation of having to seize it from a third-party registerer. Still, with E3 just over a month away, the timing of the inFamous 2 domain registration could indicate that an official announcement is coming soon. Especially if, before then, Sony registers: infamous2isrealanditwillbeannouncedate3.com.

As with most major children's films, Toy Story 3 will have a licensed video game counterpart, releasing on nearly every platform imaginable -- including platforms from the future. Disney Interactive Studios has confirmed PlayStation Move motion controller support for Toy Story 3.

Like Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, the game won't offer motion controller support out of the box. The reason? Toy Story 3's release date -- June 15 -- is months before the Move controller is even available. A press release clarifies that "players will be able to download mini-games that will be playable with the PlayStation Move when the new motion controller is available." Excellent, motion controller mini-games! We can't wait!

Until then, PS3 owners will be able to enjoy additional content exclusive to the platform. As with Batman: Arkham Asylum, Sony has secured exclusive rights to yet another playable villain. The slightly less disturbed Emperor Zurg will be playable in the game's "Toy Box" mode, a sandbox mode that allows players to create and play free-form challenges.

As advanced as the bear populace seems in Naughty Bear, some things never change. Raw fish and honey are still mainstays of their diet, for example. As you can see in the trailer above, they also remain susceptible to the bear trap. Apparently, when it comes to objects that look like gigantic metal shark mouths, these bears just tune 'em out.

Oh well, we're sure the bear corpses piling up will force an evolutionary adaptation eventually. Just not today, it seems.

Japan may be as confused by Square Enix's Nier as we are -- but it would appear that PS3 owners are answering their questions about the action RPG title firsthand, by purchasing it. The PS3 version, Nier Replicant, is the best-selling title for the week of April 19.25, with 60,000 units sold, according to Gpara's early estimate of Media Create sales rankings.

Nier Gestalt, the version released for Xbox 360 (and also the version released on both consoles in North America) didn't perform quite as well, coming in at number 11 -- possibly due to the older, more gruff main character, but probably due to the fact that it's on Xbox 360. There's no mention of how many copies were sold, but it's fewer than the 12,000 with which Pokemon Ranger: Path of Light achieved the number ten position.

To see how games that aren't Nier performed, check the list after the break.

[Via Kotaku]

Marvel executive vice president Ira Rubenstein says that the comics company has been experimenting in-depth with Flash games (not to be confused with games about DC's The Flash), and that it's looking to bring some of its most popular online minigames to console download services. The comic book company's strategy in terms of gaming was "like a TV pilot system," he told an audience at today's LA Games Conference.

The plan was to come up with lots of Flash games and deploy them on Marvel's websites very quickly. Now, some hits are emerging (he gave the example of the Super Hero Squad Stark Tower Defense game), and the next step for the company is to focus on improving and supporting those hits on platforms like XBLA, iPhone, and iPad.

Rubenstein says "the combination of classic gameplay with a brand twist" like that found in Stark Tower Defense is what's selling with audiences. And he says that big sales like those of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 prove that there's a space for Marvel games on the downloadable game platforms, so it makes sense to invest in Flash "hits" by taking them there. Which is fine by us -- let us know when we can pay our $10 for our Deadpool Match-3 on PSN.

It's been four years -- a.k.a. a long time -- since Eden Studios introduced "massively open online racing" with the original Test Drive Unlimited. The series returns this fall in the sequel, which is still MOOR but not just MOAR of the same.

Eden and publisher Atari gave me a peek at the work-in-progress racer yesterday, which was running on PC for demo purposes but at the same resolution and level of detail planned for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. It's already looking gorgeous -- the video above doesn't do it nearly enough justice -- but that's not what impressed me the most. So much as been expanded, tweaked and added to this sequel that I would have believed it if the developer had told me it'd been working on the game since 2006. It also seemed so finished that I couldn't believe we won't be playing it until near the end of this year.

Your ability to recognize insanely popular brands has likely meshed with your ability to recognize dates, rendering the text in this post rather superfluous. Unfortunately for you, we all get paid extra for using lots and lots of words -- especially ones like "superfluous."

Activision has unveiled the official website for Call of Duty: Black Ops, the latest entry from the franchise's alternate developer, Treyarch (they're the ones you haven't been reading about as much these days). Aside from its title and what appears to be a release date -- November 9th, 2010 -- Black Ops remains enshrouded in mystery and somewhat superfluous (we're up to 16 cents!) smoke. Expect to see much more when GTTV reveals the first footage later today.

Update: UK retailer GAME has some alleged details on Black Ops, claiming the game will take place in locations ranging "from Cuba to the Arctic and the jungles of Vietnam" (which matches up with the types of music that Activision was rumored to be looking to license for the game) and puts players in the shoes of a still nascent Elite Special Forces team while they participate in "off-the-record missions using unconventional weaponry to get the job done!"

Meanwhile, Treyarch's Studio Head, Mark Lamia, says in the official press release: "We can't wait for our community to experience Call of Duty: Black Ops. We have focused our entire studio on this game, with dedicated multiplayer, single-player and co-op teams creating the most intense, gripping and riveting experience possible for our fans on all fronts."


[Via XboxGaming]

We admire all forms of dedication -- even the absolutely insane forms. A California steel contractor named Mike Leyde recently displayed one such type of persistence by playing a single round of his casual game of choice, Bejeweled 2, for 2,205 hours and 51 minutes over the course of three years. In that time, he collected 4,872,229 gems, earning the game's highest calculable score, 2,147,483,647, at which point the score display got really perplexed and went blank. (Check out a video of Mike's achievement after the jump.)

According to PopCap, Leyde is the first person to ever "beat" Bejeweled 2. That's one way of looking at it, we suppose. Another way of looking at it is to say that everyone else who's ever played Bejeweled 2 is a quitter. Yeah, that's right. Why don't you follow through with something for once in your life? Sheesh.

Clearly anticipating a hit in its updated fighter, Capcom has sent out one million copies of Super Street Fighter IV to retailers around the world in the first shipment of the game. The budget-priced title was released in North America and Japan earlier this week and is in stores today in Europe. The next step? Sell all these copies.

Capcom has put all-time shipments of Street Fighter console games at more than 28 million units worldwide, as of March 31, 2010 (so not counting the initial SSFIV shipment). The publisher did not clarify how many of those copies were upgraded re-releases of Street Fighter games.

After this week's surprising reveal that "Xbox exclusive" Hydrophobia would also dribble onto PlayStation Network, IncGamers' clarification isn't quite as shocking. The site has confirmed that the game will be a timed-exclusive for Xbox Live Arcade and then eventually will be released not just for PSN but PC and retail, as well. Oddly, the retail release does not include a PS3 version.

The site spoke with developer Dark Energy Digital head Pete Jones, who spilled details that the PSN release of Hydrophobia will arrive for digital purchase "at some point," though he couldn't detail when that or the PC iteration would become available (when we followed up, a DED rep told us that, due to "contractual reasons," no further details could be provided on the PSN or PC releases). Even more unfortunate? Without even a murky release window, we're totally up the proverbial creek without a paddle for this kicker. How about this? Water joke.

Click image to slide into our gallery We're still waiting to see the first gameplay footage of Shinji Mikami's latest, Vanquish, but at least these new screens give us hope that the protagonist super-soldier isn't just some lumbering tank guy. It appears you'll be able to have acrobatic battles with giant mechs. If these pair of screens are any indication, there will be ballet-like air dodging maneuvers you can pull off, which can culminate in driving a giant spike (or is that a huge bullet?) into the thing.

The other new screens Sega sent over depict more of what we've already seen in the first batch of screens: shooting stuff, trying not to get shot by stuff and a bit of both at the same time. Check 'em all out in the gallery below.

After very little nose-to-the-grindstone sleuthing, Telltale has revealed the answer to the Mystery of Scoggins Erasers: Puzzle Agent. IGN was recently shown this first game in Telltale's new "Pilot Program" -- a series of one-off games that could be expanded into larger franchises depending on fan reception. Considering Puzzle Agent apparently mixes Telltale's quirky brand of comedy with Professor Layton-style brainteasers, we seriously doubt this one will have a hard time catching on.

The game, which is being developed for PC, Mac, WiiWare and, as we guessed, iPhone and iPad, places you in the shoes of "the Agent," who's called to solve a mystery in the Fargo-esque town of Scoggins, Minnesota. What are the specifics of this mystery, you ask? We have no idea, but based on Telltale's lineage, we're guessing it's going to be pretty wacky, and perhaps even a little bit zany. There might even be some hare-brained hijinks, if we're lucky.

Next week's Rock Band DLC adds "the deep cuts" from Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt's 1995 breakthrough album. The singles from that album were actually added to Rock Band way back in December 2008. Those interested in the tracks have the option to buy the full Tragic Kingdom album, just the remaining songs (if they purchased the singles back in the day) or each song individually.

Also, as a reminder, PSN updates will change to Tuesday in North America starting next week. So, PS3 owners are now able to pick up their Rock Band DLC on the same day as everyone else. Yay for equality.

Check out next week's full list of DLC releases after the break.

If you're in the market for a Wii and you don't mind buying one before seeing how that rumored black Wii situation shakes out, Toys R Us has a pretty appealing deal right now. Today and tomorrow, you'll get a $50 gift card with the purchase of the $200 console. It's like the Wii Sports Resort deals Walmart and Target have offered recently, except you can get pretty much any game instead of Resort.

Check the weekly ad for your ZIP code before going in. We don't want any of you to drive down to Toys R Us just to be disappointed.

[Thanks, Israel]

WarioWare D.I.Y. has launched in Europe (under the slightly more straightforward title WarioWare Do It Yourself). Concurrently, for those who want to extend the experience to the Wii, or just play and share microgames without buying the full game, the downloadable WiIWare WarioWare Do It Yourself Showcase has also been made available.

In addition, the Virtual Console adds the vintage Neo Geo fighter The King of Fighters '95.

• The King of Fighters '95 (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points)
• 5 Arcade Gems (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 700 Wii Points)
• WarioWare: Do It Yourself Showcase (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 800 Wii Points)
• Surviving High School (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points)
• Simply Solitaire (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
• DodoGo! (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points)
• VT Tennis (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
• Save the Turtles (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)

You are never going to see the shirt above sold in the states. If you’re very, very lucky, one might pop up on eBay. The shirt above, including two other designs at the link below, are part of a contest that is going on in Japan. The designs are by Inti Creates, [...]

The incredible Track Editor, distinctive brand of TrackMania, allows you to create your own tracks very easily and intuitively with the Wiimote. Thanks to more than 1000 spectacular building blocks, let your creativity run free and build the craziest tracks! Then share your best creations with your friends and challenge them in real time, thanks [...]

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Secret of Mana I really need to go back and play Secret of Mana. It doesn’t get nearly the amount of praise it deserves. If only Square-Enix would return to these roots for another adventure similar to this one. Just because it’s a bit old-school doesn’t mean that it’s without value. Article here (thanks [...]

Analysts examine financial cost of landmark deal.

The kraken descending.

Hi! I’m Konstantin Popov, and I represent Biart Studio. My company develops a variety of original products devoted to an aquatic theme.

Biart Studio has already released several games/simulators, and we’ve been working on original underwater games for the PS3, PSP, and PC. If you’d like to know more, please visit our website.

Today, I’m happy to announce Biart’s newest project for PSP: Reef Aquarium!

Do you like sea life? Now you have your own sea world on PSP! Reef Aquarium contains not only high-quality 3D graphics, but also a “fish library” that will help you to find out more about these amazing creatures. When playing Reef Aquarium, you can feel the atmosphere of the aquatic world and watch its inhabitants swimming around you. You will see the most vivid ocean fish, but don’t forget to feed them and play with them: Fish are easily upset!

Reef Aquarium is now available for both the PSP and the PS3PlayStation Store. Check it out!