All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

EA gives Sims fans more of what they want.

While the image above appears to be a Super Nintendo controller with its cord mercilessly ripped out, it is actually much more. It is, in fact, the shell of an SNES controller stuffed with the guts of a fantastically ugly PC Bluetooth controller. The project was created by a modder known as Bacteria (no stranger to awesome mods). All the buttons function properly with the exception of the select button -- the Bluetooth controller only had a start button, you see -- and it runs on a single AA battery. Basically, it's the perfect way to enjoy all those legally obtained Super Nintendo games you have sitting on your hard drive.

You can check out a video of the controller in action after the break. If you'd like to make one of your own, you can find a full guide here.

These screens aren’t from the Wii version, but at least we get to see what this new street-view approach will look like. I’m not a fan of Monopoly, but I might have to check this game out!

The beta before the storm.

Classic PlayStation title available soon.

Robots with transformative skills.

#pc Maybe we're thinking about video game piracy wrong? David Rosen, whose Wolfire Games is presenting a copy-protection-free/you-name-the-price Humble Indie Bundle of stellar computer games this week, makes his case. The problem, he argues, is wildly misunderstood. More »

“First Super Mario Galaxy 2″ - Iwata says the DVD was included to address the concerns of fans that control Mario in his 2d outings, but are worried about controlling him in 3d - players controlling a 3d Mario is still an issue on the Japanese market - Nintendo tried to make a 3D world where players [...]

Do you take down all challengers on PSN in Tekken 6? Now’s your chance to prove yourself against the best Tekken 6 fighters on the MLG Pro Circuit! This June 4 and 5, you have a chance to compete LIVE in the double-elimination 1v1 tournament at the MLG Pro Circuit Columbus Event. The champion walks away with $2,500 in cash.

Online registration is open now, and contains more event details. Not able to attend? Fight online now.

A special shout-out to KOR, who took the championship and left Orlando with $2,500 burning a hole in his pocket, plus a VLX Premium Arcade Stick signed by Namco Bandai Producer Katsuhiro Harada! Watch the championship match and other top contenders’ matches here.

And for complete coverage of last month’s event click here.

See you in Columbus, Ohio! This is your fight!

Despite what we presume are Blizzard's best efforts (they lasted pretty long this time!), the Friends and Family Alpha client of the upcoming World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion has leaked out into the world, and the forum denizens over at MMO Champion are busy digging through it for all kinds of spoilers. They've uncovered maps and screenshots for both revamped Old Azeroth zones and the new high-level dungeons, as well as pictures of the new Goblin and Worgen starting areas. Additionally, they've got information on new achievements and abilities, and the completely revamped class talent calculator now active in the alpha.

Keep in mind that, as closed alpha information, none of this is official, and most of the stats are likely to change before the expansion actually releases later this year. All of this information would have come out soon anyway, as Blizzard is planning an open beta on this expansion soon (things are a little busy right now with some other testing), and is slowly releasing information officially as well. But if you want to gorge yourself on spoilers before dinner starts, head on over and feast, my children, feast!

[via WoW.com]

What's that? DLC for a game that's not even out yet? Yes, that's how they operate over at Sony -- but don't worry. This isn't an unabashed attempt to nickel and dime you. Rather, PlayStation.Blog will be distributing vouchers through various outlets which will grant ModNation Racers players access to a new character, kart, and all his accessories therein. The racer in question is "Air Raid," pictured above in a sleek, vintage, non-flying biplane.

Keep an eye on PlayStation.Blog to find out where the codes are being sent to. We'll try our darndest to get our hands on a few vouchers for you guys. Because, you know, we love you.

#clips Rockstar celebrates Cinco de Mayo a couple of days late, as Red Dead Redemption hero John Marston heads to Mexico for a little south of the border action. More »

A portion of a Nintendo Life review… Try as it does, Bounce & Break never rises above unremarkable and ultimately feels hollow. Compared to AlphaBounce’s hojillion stages the dozen here seems piddly, and the slower pace can lead to long bouts of boredom as you try to get around obstacles and hit those few remaining pesky [...]

The content keeps coming.

A game with the world's most generic title is worse than you'd expect.

Plans for a subscription-based StarCraft 2 are in the works for Latin America, Asia and Russia. While here in the US, on July 27, all gamers will need only fork over a one-time fee to harvest all the Vespene Gas they could ever desire, gamers abroad will be offered two different ways to play: subscription or an all access fee.

A press release detailing plans for localization in Latin American Spanish for Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Chile details the subscription model. By picking up the title for $299 MXN / $119 ARS / $13,900 CLP -- about $30 USD -- gamers will be given access to the single player and multiplayer portions of the game for 60 days. Once that period ends, they can then re-up their subscription for a fee (which hasn't been disclosed yet). The other option is to download the game direct from Blizzard, for a one-time fee of $59.99 USD, which will grant permanent access to the title. During Activision's annual investors call yesterday, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime confirmed that Blizzard would pursue a similar pricing structure for Asian and Russian territories, our sister site Big Download reports.

It may seem like it's not that great of a deal, but we'd say most people will find out they're either not skilled enough to play the game online or that it's not their cup of tea within the first two months of owning the game anyway, so paying half the price for a trial period doesn't seem like it's totally a bad thing. But, hey, maybe that's just us. We'll leave the decision up to the inevitable internet petitions.

Source - Official press release
Source - Big Download confirms Asia and Russia inclusion

Large Map - move seamlessly - only loading comes up when switching through body parts of the map - plenty of secrets to find 3D Field Construction - make your character jump as you move through fields - leap down from heights - may take damage from falls Support features - warp to previously visited locations through your map - target area indicated by arrow [...]

If the Mytheon Facebook fans total reaches 10,000 by May 16th all fans will get exclusive pre-launch access to the game.

Hot stick, hot action.

#pc When the open-world, cops versus robbers game APB hits computers this summer it will include an unusual pricing option that charges per a minute rather than a month. More »

- Expect a sharp rebound by launching major titles during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011 - Capcom Co., Ltd. would like to announce that net sales decreased to 66,837 million yen (down 27.3 % from the previous year). As for profits, operating income decreased to 5,587 million yen (down 61.8 % from the previous [...]

NOA responds following the announcement in Japan.

Activision to release new bundle this summer.

As an addition to its overall earnings report, Nintendo has released a list of first-party million-sellers from its last fiscal year (ending March 31). Many of these games, including Wii Sports and Wii Fit, have been out for years, but still managed to sell more than a million units over the last four quarters!

On DS, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver have sold an astonishing 8.4 million copies -- 3.78 million in Japan, where the game's been out since September, and 4.62 million outside of Japan in just a few short weeks of availability before the close of the fiscal year. Nintendo's Japan-only Tomodachi Collection sold 3.2 million copies, and Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box moved a respectable 2.43 million copies outside of Japan. Even Style Savvy, which has a somewhat low profile in North America and Europe, sold 1.21 million copies in those territories. As for two perennial bestsellers, Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario Bros. each sold over three million copies outside of Japan in the last fiscal year.

Nintendo's marquee 2009 Wii titles, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, sold more than 10 million units each in North America and Europe alone; and worldwide, those titles sold 16.14 million, 12.65 million, and 14.7 million copies, respectively, through the fiscal year. But if you think those are big numbers, think again. Thanks to Wii Sports being bundled with the Wii system outside of Japan, the game now totals 63.46 million units sold. Heck, even Link's Crossbow Training (bundled with the Wii Zapper) broke a million sold in the last fiscal year.

Head past the break for the complete list of million-sellers from Nintendo's fiscal year ending March 31, 2010.

Source [PDF] - Supplementary information about earnings release [Nintendo]

#playstationnetwork With a May 20 release date already revealed for Japan, Square Enix confirms a North American release for Final Fantasy IX, the second-highest rated game in the Final Fantasy franchise, on the PlayStation Network. More »