All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

The Wii Remote Plus, which almost unimaginably crams Motion Plus tech into a standard-sized Wiimote, has been dated and priced for Japan. The controller will be released on November 11 for ¥3,800 ($46) -- the same price as the normal Wiimote -- and will be available in five colors: white, black, blue, red and pink. A red Nunchuk will be released, as well.

The old Wiimote will ostensibly be phased out, as Nintendo will also begin bundling the Wiimote Plus with Wii systems on the same day. Additionally, Andriasang reports that the Wii Sports Resort bundle, which originally included the MotionPlus attachment, will feature the Wiimote Plus beginning on -- you guessed it -- November 11. The bundle will retail for ¥5,800 ($70).

Port Washington, NY, October 7, 2010– The NPD Group, Inc., a leading market research company, released the results of its ninth annual survey of consumers’ holiday spending intentions. The study’s results suggest that consumers will approach this holiday shopping season with care. The majority of consumers say they plan to spend about the same as last [...]

Perhaps you were expecting Too Human 2? Though Silicon Knights claims that the trilogy treatment is still planned for the Too Human series, Activision announced this morning that the studio is in fact developing X-Men: Destiny.

Outside of that news, IGN has a brand new trailer for the game which echoes last night's announcement -- X-Men: Destiny will be a choice-driven Marvel game. With New York Comic Con kicking off this weekend, hopefully we'll learn more about what kind of choice-driven Marvel game Destiny is fairly soon.

SD Gundam Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors (nds,jpn) Solatorobo Sore kara Coda e (nds, jpn) Wii Party (7 commercials, wii, uk not usa) Thanks to Cadaver for the heads up!

#podcast Kotaku Talk Radio isn't dead, it's just sleeping. More »

The 3DS has been in hiding since it caught our eyes at its big E3 debut. Unfortunately, My Garden is a poor second showing of Nintendo's novel handheld. Shown at an EA event last night in New York, the first playable build of EA's garden simulator fell flat, in more ways than one.

First announced at TGS, not much was known about the game leading up to this preview. Now, I realize it's because the game doesn't offer much to know about. The goal of the game is rather simple: Plant various flowers and garden items to attract insects and animals. You'll want to attract specific combinations of these critters and take pictures of them to complete objectives, unlocking more flowers and items to use. That's it.

Beta exclusive to PlayStation Plus subscribers.

#republished Who's going to fail in video games? Business blogger Nicholas Lovell has his opinions. It's a provocative list. See if you agree... More »

A portion of a GamingNexus interview with producer, Keith Hladik… GN: The first game had some very talented voice actors. Which actors are returning for the sequel, and are there any big name voice actors for new characters? KH: Due to scheduling conflicts none of the actors from the previous game are returning. Conduit 2 features a [...]

Deimos voucher available in God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

Something to get your teeth into.

#television The Sims creator Will Wright plunges into the world of television with a new 30-minute episodic series called Bar Karma, a fueled by the creative power of its audience. More »

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., - October 7, 2010 - Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today a promotion with Susan G. Komen for the Cure® in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month through specially marked EA SPORTS™ games during the month of October. Starting in early October, select Best Buy [...]

Are you ready to join the school for gifted mutants?

7th October 2010 – If you needed another reason to celebrate 25 years of Super Mario, how about a Super Mario All-Stars – 25th Anniversary Edition, containing four of the original most famous Mario games of all time from the NES, as well as a bunch of extra collectables, launching across Europe now on Wii [...]

Deimos voucher available in God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

Offers gamers chance to win a cruise ticket.

- black DSi comes with Pokemon Black - white DSi comes with Pokemon Whit - due out November 20 for ¥19,800 - sold at game shops nationwide - Wiimote Plus bundle on Nov. 11th - blue Wiimote Plus included for ¥5,800 - Wii Super Mario 25th Anniversary Edition - includes a red console and red Wiimote Plus - preloaded with a special version [...]

#mafiawars Well, according to one expert, these games are designed to be addictive. More »

Yes, the Killzone 3 Public Beta Trial really is coming! Just like its predecessor, the multiplayer mode for Killzone 3 will be put through rigorous testing at the hands of the toughest, most demanding critics in existence: you, the fans. The Trial starts on October 25th and access is limited, so please read the following instructions carefully if you want to know how to secure a spot in the Public Beta:

• Be(come) a Plus subscriber
• With the exception of a handful of key media partners and selected PAX feedback participants, access to the Killzone 3 Public Beta Trial is limited to PlayStation Plus subscribers. If you’re not enjoying the many benefits of Plus membership yet, now’s the time to sign up!
• Download the theme
• On October 19th, an exclusive Killzone 3 XMB Theme will appear in the Plus section of the PlayStation Store. The first 10,000 Plus subscribers to download this theme (5,000 SCEA Plus subscribers and 5,000 SCEE Plus subscribers) will receive access to the Public Beta Trial.
• Check your email
• After you’ve downloaded the Killzone 3 XMB Theme, you will receive an email on Oct. 25th containing the Public Beta Trial promotion code and further instructions through the address you registered as your PSN Sign-In ID. Make sure you’ve set your notification preferences to accept emails from SCE, or we won’t be able to contact you.

Those of you who make it into the Public Beta Trial are expected to provide honest gameplay feedback, report bugs and glitches, and help test our network code in real-world scenarios. In short, we’re counting on you to help us improve Killzone 3! In return you’ll get a good taste of the multiplayer mode, including its brand-new Operations game type, party system, and jetpack and exoskeleton vehicles.

And if that doesn’t convince you to take a shot at the Public Beta Trial, maybe this new trailer will:

The slow transition of GameTap since "partnering" with Metaboli back in 2008 continues, with the company shutting down its Atlanta "technical and support team" and sharing some details about the future of the service. Speaking with Joystiq, a GameTap representative explained that by bringing operations to France, the company will "simplify the technical architecture" and can create a "global support center based in Europe." The Atlanta office will be closed down at the end of October, while the company's San Francisco office will recruit ten people over the next year to "strengthen [GameTap's] presence with major U.S. partners, distributors or publishers."

As for the immediate future of GameTap, the next update to the service will also occur at the end of this month, when all the games will use a new download technology and be 64-bit compatible. The company is trying to move away from being associated with retro games -- with the possibility of dropping its brand name altogether in the future. For now, the update will create three major tabs on the GameTap site: "PC games Unlimited Play," "PC games Download to Own" and "Retro games Unlimited Play."

"We need to show that we have moved forward and that we now offer a wide range of recent PC games," the GameTap representative said. The company will add 15 more games to its catalog of 550 PC games. "Some old PC games will be replaced by more recent PC games or by some casual games. Our decisions were taken based on our gameplay statistics, which is much better than our own opinion about the games or the opinion expressed by some of our users on the forum. We offer what people play."

We've listed the games being added to the service following the October update after the break. Additionally, you can check out Metaboli.com's PC game catalog for a sense of the kind of games GameTap hopes to offer going forward.

Former CD Projekt and Metropolis Software developers have announced the formation of 11 bit studios, a development house that will focus on "high-value, high-quality, digitally-distributed games." The team has previously worked on projects for major publishers such as Ubisoft, Monolith and Atari, and "aims to deliver unique and pioneering gameplay experiences for a wide range of platforms, including PC, iPhone, iPad and more." Managing director Grzegorz Miechowski believes its games will appeal to both hardcore and casual gamers with "unique gameplay mechanics" and "high production values."

The studio's first project will be revealed next week. For now, learn more about the team and see some tiny screens of its first game at the 11 bit studios website.

#clips There were so much discussion and so many questions spurred by the two videos I posted from Gears of War 3 this morning that I went back to Microsoft for a walk-through of everything we were seeing in clips. More »

A whole lot of metal coming your way.