All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#hollywood Patrick Jean's amazing short film Pixels, which documents the 8-bit destruction of New York City by Donkey Kong, Frogger, Space Invader and Vaus from Arkanoid, may be coming to a theater near you, thanks to Adam Sandler. More »

#ebay It didn't come close to breaking records set recently by other rare titles, but NBA 2-Ball, a freebie PSOne disc given out at the 1998 NBA All-Star game, probably set a mark for demos. More »

* Legendary Fighters from Mythology * 3D Weapon and Magic Duels • Launch weapon-specific magic attacks. • Dodge and charge opponents and throw weapons at them • Combine attacks. • [...]

News on fixing the load times, PlayStation Move integration, and a certain other kart racer.

There's a lot of news on Eden Studios' sequel, Test Drive Unlimited 2, coming out of Spain today. VG247 attended the event and spoke to the game's director, Alain Jarniou -- he had a lot of new information to impart. As you may have guessed by the title of this post, three very juicy tidbits were dropped.

First, players will not longer find themselves bound by their automobile. In the sequel, it will be possible to run around on foot and interact with the game world "in specific places." An example given by Jarniou is the pre-race: in the first game, there was simply a lobby for players to interact in before they got down to business. In the sequel, it's an in-game place where avatars stand around and interact.

But Jarniou didn't stop there. He also revealed that plans are underway to offer an open Test Drive Unlimited 2 beta. "Right now, the plan is to have an open beta of TDU2. The difficulty of having a demo for a game like this is the fact it's a huge island, and a huge amount of data. It's not the best way to show the game. So yeah, for now the plan's an open beta."

Finally, Jarniou promises bikes will be available in the game -- just "not for the day one version." He says that the developer rebuilt the way cars handle from scratch, as Eden Studios wasn't totally pleased with how that worked in the first game. "So we decided to start from the beginning," he said, "and we now have a new handling for the cars, and we want to, of course, [do the same] for the bikes."

Everything you need to know about Valve's Apple-friendly game client.

From Aerosmith to Van Halen, we pick apart the sales numbers for these one-band wonders.

From Aerosmith to Van Halen, we pick apart the sales numbers for these one-band wonders.

From Aerosmith to Van Halen, we pick apart the sales numbers for these one-band wonders.

We hit the highlights from Satoru Iwata's investor Q&A yesterday based on a summary of the Japanese version. Nintendo has since posted an official translation of the full Q&A, so now, if you'd like, you can read Iwata's comments on the subjects of the 3DS announcement, piracy, and the future of the Wii -- at length.

" As for consumers holding off on purchases now," Iwata said in his 650-word response about the timing of the 3DS announcement, "of course I cannot say that there is no impact whatsoever." Iwata explained that he believes the effect of the 3DS news on DSi XL sales will be less than devastating because people buying 3DS hardware at launch will be early adopters who buy everything immediately, while people buying DS hardware now "tend to react relatively slowly." Probably, then, he expect 3DS sales to continue steadily across many years. Iwata further identified the UK and Japan as the "quickest" markets.Nintendo investor Q&A now available in English

#screens Andre Arlovski, Lyle Beerbohm, Roger Gracie, Alistair Overeem, Kevin Randleman, Vitor Ribeiro, Murilo "Ninja" Rua and Fabricio Werdum. Heard of those guys? Me either. But they're in the roster for EA Sports MMA - and a new batch of screens. More »

This is a fun little fan video that Tahenator was nice enough to send in for us. Keep an ear out for a new English word around 30 seconds in! PokéRetrospective A Tiny Look at Super Smash Bros.

Is Project Natal enough?

#ps3 When Gran Turismo 5 ships at some point in the next decade, expect all the high-speed Nürburgring driving action you can tolerate. Developer Polyphony Digital is giving you three ways to enjoy the thrill of Germany's famous. Nürburgring More »

If you have a Club Nintendo account then you should check up on it and earn yourself some easy coins. Check it out at club.nintendo.com or access it from Nintendo’s website. Thanks Kaminari1 for the heads up and the off screen photo from his DSi!

Sega released a new trailer for High Voltage's Tournament of Legends (formerly Gladiator A.D.), the weapon-based Wii fighter due in July. The trailer's got some enjoyably melodramatic narration, which, combined with the theme of the game (mythological beings hitting each other with swords and whatnot) and the appearance of huge monsters in each stage, lends a sort of Clash of the Titans feel to it. One detail seen in this trailer that we especially love: the combo counter is displayed in Roman numerals!

See the trailer after the break, and check our gallery for IX new screenshots.

Over at IndustryGamers, several analysts have chimed in on EA's latest assault on used game sales: The EA Sports Online Pass. The pass will offer players access to online features -- up to and possibly including online multiplayer -- on all future EA Sports titles starting with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11. Should someone buy a game used, additional passes can be purchased for $10. The overall consensus among analysts: It's a good thing and a smart move on EA's part.

According to Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter, it only makes sense that EA should be compensated for rendering online services. He noted that EA "currently does not get paid" by those who purchase used games and that the pass "is ensuring that second-hand purchasers will pay something for the maintenance of the server network and for access to premium content."

The majority of analysts agreed with Pachter, with EEDAR's Jesse Divnich noting that games now extend far beyond their own physical media. "Seven years ago, when you purchased Grand Theft Auto for $50, the entire experience was encapsulated on a DVD," said Divnich, "in 2010 that is no longer the case." He added that it is "perfectly reasonable" for EA to expect payment for features that aren't included directly on the disc. Also, DFC Intelligence's David Cole expects more companies to pursue similar programs in the future.

Meanwhile, Lazard Capital Markets' Cole Sebastian referred to the program as "a double-edged sword for publishers." While it may lower used sales, said Sebastian, it also diminishes the resale value of games that customers would trade in to purchase new ones.

#mods Don't want to wait for multiplayer in Portal 2? Some modders are privately testing out Team Fortress 2 equipped with portal guns, and released this video to show how far they've come with the concept. More »

An article that takes a look at some of the weird stuff that has been the focus of a video game. Low and behold, a WiiWare game that’s not even out yet has made the list!

These babies are on sale in Spain, but it doesn’t look like they’ll be coming to the states. Once again, another reason to look towards importers.

Hey, everyone. Taku Imasaki here with a bit of Gran Turismo 5 news. If you saw our website this morning, then you already know about the news.

If you’re a true racing fan, you know that Nurburgring is a world-renowned racing complex in Nurburg, Germany.

It’s known for being extremely challenging, a grueling testing ground for even the most seasoned race drivers and the most highly tuned performance cars. It’s home of various world-famous races including the Nurburgring 24 Hours race, and used as a testing ground for bleeding-edge performance cars by companies like GM, Dodge, Nissan, Lexus, and Ferrari.

In the words of Mr. GT, Kazunori Yamauchi himself, “For a car enthusiast, the Nurburgring is the equivalent to what places like the “Eiger Nordwand” or “Mount Everest” means to a mountaineer. There is that special allure about it that you just can’t explain in words.”

Nurburgring is definitely a favorite among GT fans, and I’m excited to share with you that Gran Turismo 5 will feature its three courses: the Grand Prix course, the Nordschleife, and the Nurburgring 24 Hours course. As you can see from these screenshots, these courses have been beautifully recreated. Check out the other five brand new screenshots here.

And if you happen to be in Germany this weekend for the Nurburgring 24 Hours endurance race, you’ll be able to check them out on a brand new GT5 demo we have on display there to commemorate this world-famous race event.

We’re getting close to E3, so be sure to watch the official GT website and the PlayStation.Blog here for the latest news on Gran Turismo 5.

#metroid Metroid series lead and co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto teaches us something we never knew we never knew. Intergalactic bounty hunter and Metroid: Other M star Samus Aran's ship—which bears a striking resemblance to her space suit—doesn't have a name. More »

We're not angry ... just disappointed. No, this has nothing to do with your Jonas Brothers tattoo (which we think is oh emm gee killer, by the way) and everything to do with the fact that you haven't joined the "Joystiq" group on Steam Community. Mac users, you're excused. After all, you didn't have access to Steam until today. Just promise that you'll go here and join the group when your free copy of Portal is finished downloading, okay?

Everyone else with a Steam account, what were you thinking? You didn't want to play games with your fellow Joystiq readers, LOLing, even potentially ROFLing while discussing that "one funny thing you read" or maybe "that one Photoshop with the manatee" or ... you get it. Did you even stop to think about how we felt?

If your excuse was "it's hardly ever updated" then, well, you've got us. Guilty as charged! So we're looking to deputize some admins. If you play a ton of games on Steam and want to corral the Joystiq herd, leave a comment indicating your Steam username and why you'd be a good choice. Everyone else: join up!

#speakup It's a whole new line-up in this week's Speak-Up, as Ubikblack, Pointy, Anenemy, and Yantelope discuss the finer points of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, human sexuality, online achievements, and returning to the good old days of gamer ostracism. More »

New weapons, modes, and multiplayer features are revealed.

While the announcement of new DLC and a new mode for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was good news to many, it was perplexing to PC owners. See, the new Onslaught mode has only been announced for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Speaking on the Bad Company 2 forums, DICE associate producer Barrie Tingle explains why Onslaught is seemingly skipping the PC. "The problem we have on PC," says Tingle, "is that all our servers are dedicated with providers." As a result, Tingle says that changing a 32-player Conquest server into a 4-player Onslaught server adds up to a net loss of 28 player slots.

He adds that DICE isn't "ruling out" the possibility of PC Onslaught, but the company is "researching how to bring it to PC without affecting players who don't have Onslaught or their own server to run it on." When reached for comment by Joystiq on the subject, an EA representative responded, simply, "We'll have more details about PC DLC at a later date."

If only there were an awesome military shooter we could play while we wait ....

[Via VG247]

#rockstargames Missed our live Kotaku podcast with Rockstar Games today? No problem. You can now download our one-hour conversation with two of Red Dead Redemption's creators. Lots of good RDR info within — not all of it about me hunting animals. More »

For all the vitriol we hurl at Wii shovelware and farming-centric Facebook games, we often forget the class of electronic entertainment most deserving of scorn: The Flash promotional game. No, not a game promoting The Flash (honestly, dude could use some love right now) but rather those diminutive, ugly trifles that litter official sites of movies and (in some cases) fast food restaurants.

So understand when we say, "This Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands Flash game is actually kind of good!" it comes from people who expect the worst from this particular breed. That said ... it is kind of good, right? In an a over-complicated Canabalt sort of way?