All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

EA announced this morning that customers will receive a download code for NBA Jam on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 with every new copy of its upcoming (and far more serious) basketball game, NBA Elite 11. To some of you, it may be best to think of it as a free NBA Elite 11 with every NBA Jam. The way EA explains it: if you drop $60 on NBA Elite 11, due on October 5, the game will include a "one-time download code" for three modes of NBA Jam, including Play Now, Classic Campaign and Online.

By now, brilliant reader, you've likely caught on that there seems to be something missing here, like an individual release date or price for a standalone NBA Jam. We're following up with EA on that, but this deal already serves as an explanation for NBA Jam's appearance on several ratings boards -- sans official confirmation that the game would launch on anything else but the Nintendo Wii. (Also, would this be the wrong time to bring up that a large portion of a Wii game just got Project Ten Dollar'd?)

Update: On the PlayStation Blog, NBA EA Canada community manager Yaw Obiri-Yeboah emphasizes: "Another important note to share with all of you - the ONLY way you will be able to play NBA JAM for the PS3 is to buy NBA ELITE 11." ESPN reports the same goes for Xbox 360.

#edutainment The adventures of Prince Stinkyninja the bunny would not be possible without National Geographic's Animal Jam, an online animal kingdom filled with learning and adventure. They say it's for kids, but Prince Stinkyninja says otherwise. More »

Push yourself to the limit.

Blizzard's latest PC game a hit.

#clips This video gives us a 15-minute taste of upcoming strategy third-person shooter Monday Night Combat with bonus developer commentary. More »

"Ancient Trader" takes you to the high seas in pursuit of discovery and treasure.

Get an early taste of the MMO RTS.

Capcom's investor Q&A for the last fiscal quarter doesn't just look back on the company's recent stumbles -- it also includes some info about the publisher's plans for the rest of the year and beyond. For example, the launch of its two announced 3DS games, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition and Resident Evil: Revelations, belong in the "beyond" category.

"We broke the news at E3 2010 that development is underway for Resident Evil: Revelations (tentative title) and Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition," the publisher said in the Q&A, "but we do not expect these titles to be ready for release this fiscal year." Capcom added that we "we haven't set any specific dates at this time." The current fiscal year ends in March 2011. That means that Capcom is likely to miss the 3DS launch window by at least a little, though these two major franchises are still likely to excite audiences a few months into the system's lifespan.

Blizzard just trumpeted the sales numbers for StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty, the first installment in its long-time-coming sequel to the strategy classic. The numbers: "a day-one sales milestone of more than 1 million copies sold worldwide" and "1.5 million copies in its first 48 hours." The context: It's already the "best-selling PC game of 2010 within its first 24 hours of availability" and now holds the "record for fastest-selling strategy game of all time." With a global launch spanning five continents and over a dozen countries, not to mention a dozen years of anticipation, solid sales were to be expected.

A source inside Blizzard confirmed the information with Joystiq, saying that approximately 1.2m StarCraft 2 accounts had been activated - not necessarily sold! - worldwide as of 4pm PT on the 28th, less than two days after the game went on sale. Roughly 620K of those accounts were in the US. Now that we're a full week out from launch, it's anyone's guess how many copies have been sold by now ... though we imagine if sales keep up, it won't take long for Blizzard to share its success again.

EA is sending The Sims back in time to the dark ages -- wait, is it time for DarkSims already? The publisher has just announced The Sims Medieval, a new series for the PC and Mac that lets you "build up a medieval kingdom, controlling characters from all walks of life, from Kings and Queens, to Knights and Wizards, Blacksmiths and Bards." This is accomplished through a new addition to the series: quest-driven gameplay.

As you complete quests in The Sims Medieval, you'll be able to shape the kingdom as you see fit, and either expand it internally or through conquest. And with every new game, you'll create a hero with a variety of traits and the obligatory "fatal flaw." (Ours always forgets to wash his hands, for example.)

The Sims Medieval is currently slated to launch in Spring 2011. Head into the gallery below for the first screens.

Protector Trials, the new single-player DLC for BioShock 2, is now available for 400 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live or $5 on the Playstation Network. More »

It’s been way too long since we posted on the PlayStation.Blog about each new edition of PULSE. Moving forward, we’re hoping to get the word out every couple of weeks when Christina and the crew publish another edition. The 8/3 edition hits the PlayStation Store later today in full HD or for your PSP. You can also watch a small version of this show right here and in the original programming section of PlayStation.com.

This edition includes details about the PlayStation Network Summer Sale with 50% off 15 popular titles, demos for Mafia II and Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, and the Top Ten game and movie downloads of July. As for new video releases, check out Kick-Ass, Repo Men, and Clash of the Titans.

We’re also firing up a mailbox for your questions, suggestions, and comments. Send us your PlayStation related questions and comments to pulse@playstation.sony.com and we just might answer your question on an upcoming edition.

Thanks for downloading and watching.

#sales It took StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty just 24 hours to become the best-selling PC game of the year, with more than 1 million copies sold worldwide, according to Blizzard Entertainment. More »

In a recent conversation with Paradox Interactive's Fredrik Wester, the CEO told Joystiq that while he'd like Lead and Gold to shoot up Xbox Live Arcade, in addition well to PSN and Steam, he doesn't think it's going to happen. "It seems like we have to put it on the backburner," Wester said. "We're not really putting any more effort into releasing on XBLA, so I would say if you want to play the game, you should do it on PC or PSN, because we're not really sure that we can ever release it on XBLA. Or that we're ever gonna release it on XBLA. It's unfortunate, but you know, things happen. We love XBLA and would love to be on it, but with Lead and Gold, we just have to move on."

And that's unfortunate, as Wester (no, not Wesker) said DLC is in the pipe for L&G, and early issues with lag in the game have been amended. He's also excited for the next console release that Paradox has planned: Magicka. "When I first played it, I was like, 'Shit, this is a great game!' So we put more effort into it and we're gonna make it into a really good project," Wester told us. While the game is built using XNA and intended for an XBLA release, Wester's not sure where it'll end up (though he offers up the XBL Indie Marketplace as another possible destination).

Wester also teased something new coming from Paradox -- Paradox Connect -- a service he recently talked about with Gamasutra. While he wouldn't get too specific, he did tell us, "Steam has a few elements which Paradox Connect is gonna have as well, and a few other services do as well. Stuff that gives the players more options to connect with each other and gain bonuses online." So, it's DRM then? "The first thing people said was 'Oh! It's DRM! It's DRM!' And I'm like 'Come on, people! It's not DRM.'," Wester corrected us, laughing.

EA announced this morning that customers will receive a download code for NBA Jam on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 with every new copy of its upcoming (and far more serious) basketball game, NBA Elite 11. To some of you, it may be best to think of it as a free NBA Elite 11 with every NBA Jam. The way EA explains it: if you drop $60 on NBA Elite 11, due on October 5, the game will include a "one-time download code" for three modes of NBA Jam, including Play Now, Classic Campaign and Online.

By now, brilliant reader, you've likely caught on that there seems to be something missing here, like an individual release date or price for a standalone NBA Jam. We're following up with EA on that, but this deal already serves as an explanation for NBA Jam's appearance on several ratings boards -- sans official confirmation that the game would launch on anything else but the Nintendo Wii. (Also, would this be the wrong time to bring up that a large portion of a Wii game just got Project Ten Dollar'd?)

#konami You know it, you love it, Dance Dance Revolution. Konami's rhythm game is apparently coming to the PS3. More »

#nintendo3ds Nope. More »

Simulate an epic tale with everyone's favorite virtual people.

#screengrab You hear a lot of talk about shares in Nintendo, but have you ever wondered what one actually looks like? It looks a little something like this. Thanks, Snacky. More »

#boardgames Last month we took a close look at a new version of classic board game Settlers of Catan, one being readied for Microsoft's giant touch-screen computer. Since then, a new build of the game has been released. More »

#pc There's a big book coming out that's all about classic PC adventure games. Monkey Island, Police Quest, Zork, the works. More »

#tetsuyanomura Square Enix is making a Kingdom Hearts game for the Nintendo 3DS. The main characters will be Sora and Riku, and players will alternate between them while playing as they make their way through the game's "mysterious" story. How...mysterious! More »

Blizzard's RTS sequel is 2010's first PC-only number one

#saintsrow3 On May 28, 2010, an early morning fire raged through a two-story house in Urbana, Illinois. All but one made it out safely. More »

505 Games has announced a new update for its Euphoria-powered footballer, Backbreaker. Dubbed "Greathouse," this new update -- which should be available sometime in "early August" -- adds a host of features the community have apparently clamored for, such as an "improved Quarterback camera view and passing game" and 100 new plays, including nine new formations to use. Greathouse also tweaks gameplay on the other side of the ball, introducing a new "user catch system" and "full control" over interceptions.

For the full patch notes, head past the break.

Toy Story 3 makes way for Blizzard's RTS sequel

#ps3 With the PlayStation Move being essentially a Wii Remote for the PS3, it was only a matter of time before the stupid accessories crowd jumped from Nintendo's console to Sony's. More »

#screengrab As seen by Game Watch Impress at a Pocket Monsters Black & White event in Tokyo. More »

Hey guys, I’m Yaw (pronounced as “yao” like Yao Ming) and I’m the NBA Community Manager from Electronic Arts Canada. I work alongside the EA SPORTS: NBA ELITE and NBA JAM development teams. We have exciting news to share with all of you today — three modes of NBA JAM will be included with your purchase of NBA ELITE.

This year, our team at EA SPORTS wanted to create the ultimate basketball experience for PS3 owners. If you’ve been following all the news and updates on NBA ELITE, then the first thing that you’ve seen is the game is no longer called NBA LIVE. So why the name change?

Well, we believe that NBA ELITE will revolutionize the way you think, feel and play basketball video games — forever. The dev team is driving never seen before innovation in the form of a number of features that are radically different than what you have seen in previous NBA games. The first change you will see is in the revised control scheme: Hands-On Control. This year you have full control over everything in the game; from offense to defense. Your shooting is based on skill (not on the dice roll of hitting a button and letting the AI determine your success.) Dribbling is one-to-one movement, you can link moves together seamlessly like; euro-steps, dunk adjusts, spins-moves and so much more.

The second major revolutionary innovation you’re going to see is the inclusion of real physics driving the game. We’re leveraging the physics animation technology that drove NHL, FIFA and even Fight Night into the upper echelons of sports video games and applying it in way that works specifically for basketball.

People that we’ve shared the game with to date have told us that they are impressed (even amazed) at how NBA ELITE is the first game to “play and feel like real basketball.” We feel this comes down to all the little things you are able to see in this year’s game, such as unique ball deflections every time you play the game and various player collisions that make NBA basketball as exciting as it is. Look for more details to come on real physics, killer new modes, and more about our revamped in-game presentation centered around ESPN and their lead commentary team of Breen, Van Gundy, and Jackson.

With all the new additions that have gone into NBA ELITE 11 — we really feel that we’re doing everything to blaze a new path for basketball games — and we want you to play the game to see for yourself. To make NBA ELITE the ultimate basketball experience for you, we will be including three modes of NBA JAM for FREE with NBA ELITE 11. That’s right, not only will you be getting NBA ELITE 11 when you buy the game, but you will also have NBA JAM available as well — so for the price of one game, you’re getting two full NBA experiences. Another important note to share with all of you — the ONLY way you will be able to play NBA JAM for the PS3 is to buy NBA ELITE 11.

With NBA JAM on the PS3, the team is bringing you the classic two-on-two experience that you once knew from the original arcade game but this time with updated teams, and of course all in glorious HD. The controls are very easy to pick up and once you start throwing down monster dunks or begin heating up, it’s going to be hard to put down the controller. The game stays true to the original game but at the same time it offers a brand new take on the classic, with updated graphics and new game-play mechanics.

We’re very excited to be able to share the news with all of you, I know talking with a number of people in the community; everyone has wanted to see NBA JAM on the PS3. I can finally let you all know that your wish has become reality. I’m definitely curious to hear your thoughts about all of this. Be sure to comment below and let us all know what you think of the news.

Pencil mid-to-late September into your calendars for the NBA ELITE downloadable demo on PSN. We really believe that once you play the game for yourselves, you will see the revolutionary change that we’ve been talking about. For more information, join us on Facebook at EA SPORTS NBA, or you can follow me on Twitter @blackflash83.

BOOMSHAKALAKA!!

In preparation for the impending release of Worms Reloaded, Team17 has announced that the iPhone version of Worms has been discounted on the App Store. Usually $4.99, the annelid annihilation sim can now be had for $2.99. Four-packs of Reloaded can also be pre-ordered on Steam at 25 percent off.

iTunes: Worms ($2.99)
Steam: Worms Reloaded 4-Pack ($59.97)