All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Nintendo of America has announced plans to celebrate Super Mario Bros.' 25th anniversary by selling us Super Mario All-Stars again. On December 12, the Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition will be released in North America, with the same contents as the European and Japanese releases: the game on a Wii disc, a Super Mario History CD with tracks from classic and modern Marios, and a 32-page Super Mario History booklet.

Nintendo says that sales will continue "while supplies last," which makes it sound like there will be only one run of the All-Stars collection. Considering the bonuses, that $30 price actually compares pretty favorably to buying All-Stars on eBay.

According to leaked footage, it would appear that a certain Call of Duty: Black Ops post-completion unlockable is one for the history books. In this image, the identities of the four-man zombie hit squad are strictly classified -- head past the break to spoil them. (Consider that fair warning!)

#slantsixgames Following in the trail blazed by Dead Rising 2, the next Resident Evil game may come from the Great White North. SOCOM developer Slant Six Games may be the latest studio tapped by Capcom to create its games. More »

Team17 steps out of its Worms comfort zone to unearth a classic shooter.

These games are more fun than pulling the slimy mush out of a pumpkin!

These games are more fun than pulling the slimy mush out of a pumpkin!

These games are more fun than pulling the slimy mush out of a pumpkin!

These games are more fun than pulling the slimy mush out of a pumpkin!

When the clock strikes 10 a.m. tomorrow morning in Washington, D.C., the Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments in the case of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association. By now, you know how the results of this landmark case will affect the video game industry and its consumers -- but who's actually going to bat for the industry in tomorrow's hearings? More importantly, how does that litigatory sausage get made?

Entertainment Software Association general counsel and senior vice president Kenneth Doroshow is one such batter (or sausage-maker, depending on which of the previous metaphors you followed). A media law heavyweight in his own right, Doroshow has served as an executive for the Recording Industry Association of America and as senior counsel the U.S. Department of Justice before joining the ESA in September. Tomorrow, he'll be one of the legal representatives for the Entertainment Merchants Association, responsible for helping it make its side of the argument to the Supreme Court.

Doroshow broke down the specifics of that argument for us earlier today. To learn about the case the ESA is presenting in court tomorrow -- as well as the possible repercussions of the Supreme Court's decision -- check out our Q&A with Doroshow after the jump.

#television X-Play is on pause for DirecTV subscribers. The satellite TV provider has dropped video game-centric network G4 from its line-up today, with DirecTV saying it has "no plans" to bring back the cable channel for its 18 million U.S. customers. More »

“At this time we are no longer negotiating and we have no plans to put G4 back up. We are constantly evaluating our lineup in a new world where programming costs continue to rise at significant rates. Since G4 is among the lowest rated networks based on the latest Nielsen data, we decided that [...]

Greetings and Happy MNR Monday everyone. Ramone Russell here with another ModNation Monday update!

The Buddy System

There’s a lot to be said for having a friend, and having a friend by your side on exciting intergalactic adventure after exciting intergalactic adventure has GOT to be something special. That’s exactly what next week’s Mods have in each other. That’s right, folks – The Ratchet and Clank Mods will be on the PlayStation Store next Tuesday, November 9th. Get ‘em and race ‘em, and you will be made of win.

Kratos Tomorrow!

Don’t forget that Kratos and his Kart hit the PlayStation Store tomorrow, November 2nd!

Stunt Pack is Still Free!

It’s been a week since we released the Stunt Pack for free, folks, and there are already some pretty amazing tracks out there. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, it will be free for one more week. After Tuesday, November 9th, you’ll have to buy it, so go get it now and start making some killer tracks! Here are a few of the tastier tracks that feature parts for the Stunt Pack during the first week o’ free:

Track: Stunt Track
Created By: ripper 171
This is a nice short track with lots of accurate line challenges. I really enjoy running Time Trials on this one.

Track: The Amazing Stunt Arena
Created By: OveReAction
Another fun track for Time Trial runs, this one has one of the more frustrating tilting platform sections I’ve seen. It’s infuriating to fail that section, but when you hit it just right and glide through unscathed…OH, what a feeling!

Track: Market Place Racers
Created By: Natedawg18
This is a nice track to race on, with multiple alternate paths and just enough boost pads, drift opportunities, and air to keep things interesting and competitive. There’s some precision required to really crush it on this one, but it’s also ”loose” enough for just about anyone to jump into and have a blast.

MNR Halloween themed creations contest winners!
Contest winners will be notified via their PSN accounts.

Mod Name: Dalmat (wolfman)
Creator: Elnath10

This is one of the cooler Mods around, with abs only slightly less ripped than my own. Excellent use of hair props, and the torn up shorts are perfect.

Kart Name: Candy Corn Kart
Creator: Miss_Broccoli

This Kart has the benefit of being super Halloween-y and fun without being creepy at all. With that body style and the smooth light purple color, I would rock this Kart any day of the year. Plus, who doesn’t like candy corn?

Track Name: P&B Pumpkin Patch
Created by: A PH1LThy31 & CIV_BOSS Collaboration

CIV_BOSS says “What better for Halloween than a pumpkin patch! This is the second track PH1LThy31 and I have done together. Race Through P&B farms where you will see frightening things! Giant pumpkins throwing barrels. Giant spiders (also throwing barrels) :Wink: Race through the store front and into the actual pumpkin patch itself. Find the fastest way around the silos but watch out for the giant spiders. You can make the spiders spit barrels at the other racers with the trigger pads. Find your way over and under irrigation pipes. Many routes and secrets make this track a challenge to master but fun for even the.

MNR Creations of the Week

Amazing creations in ModNation get shared every day and we are playing a ton of them. If you are interested in submitting your mod, kart or track to be a future “creation” of the week be sure to visit up on the official ModNation Community site and who knows? You might see your handy work on the PlayStation.Blog.

Mod of the Week

Mod Name: The Wicked Witch of the South
Creator: race2winnet

She’s green, she’s got a pointy chin to match her pointy hat, and she’s got a big black wart on her big pointy nose. I don’t know what there is to love about this Mod, but I love it.

Kart of the Week

Kart Name: Pumpkin Sportscar
Creator: DamnBoxes

The rounded wheel wells on the concept body are PERFECT for this Kart. The paint job is clean and simple, which is why it works so well. Add in the appropriately colored engine and that little sprig of grass in the middle of the windshield, and you’ve got a smooth, smooth, Halloween ride.

Track of the Week

If you have a video(s) of your track submit them to MNR’s YouTube channel by emailing ModNation@Playstation.Sony.com and we will include them in the blog if your track is showcased.

Track Name: Warp Drive
Created by: Laidbackcat

The bluish hue of this track gives it a really cool sci-fi feel. There are some nice elevated strips of track with curves in them that make for some pretty intense racing moments. It was an awesome feeling to actually sideswipe an opponent off the track on one of those tight turns. There are a couple of confusing sections in this track, so try to get a few practice runs in before you compete here.

Hot Lap Roster for this week

Continuing with the trend we started weeks ago this weeks Hot Lap roster features all new community created tracks.

Monday: Warp Drive, by Laidbackcat
Tuesday: Grand Rally, by atheistsw
Wednesday: Palace of the Great Trees, by PH1LThy31
Thursday: Big Fish National Park, by Its2l84that
Friday: M.O.D – sector 7, by prob_alex
Saturday: Mystery Track
Sunday: Mystery Track

More news next week, until then… see you in the ModSpot!

Less like GoldenEye and more like a black eye for Bond fans.

Even if you don't have a Wii or an iPhone, chances are you still have a computer, which means that starting tomorrow you'll have very little excuse for never having tried Bit. Trip Beat. Gaijin Games announced that the first game in its six-part series, a sort of hypnotic rhythm/chiptunes Pong adventure (also an absurdly, wonderfully difficult game), will be released on Steam tomorrow for both Windows and Mac, with upgrades over the original including online leaderboards, easy mode, and achievements.

You'll be able to play the Steam version using a keyboard, mouse, gamepad, or even (with a planned update) the Sixense TrueMotion thing. The regular price for the Steam release is $9.99, but it's a dollar off through November 9.

#roundup If there's one thing compiling the Fable III Frankenreview has taught me, it's that even the most powerful monarch is subject to the court of popular opinion. More »

"I hope five years from now we'll be winning Emmys for quality shows," PlayStation Network director Susan Panico said to Joystiq, imagining programming on the level of HBO's Entourage or The Sopranos. She was speaking sincerely about the platform's vision for original content.

PSN might be synonymous with gaming, but going forward, Panico hopes it will also be recognized for its original video programming, which currently includes Pulse, Qore and The Tester, a reality competition show about winning a job as a PlayStation game tester, recently renewed for a second season.

"I look at what HBO has done over several years, where they started just offering movies and went into the original production business," Panico said, revealing high aspirations for PSN's original content. "By no means am I putting The Tester with The Sopranos and what have you," she clarified, "but if you want to make yourself the go-to destination for content, you need to provide content that people can't get anywhere else."

"We look at original programming and The Tester as the foundation for building out something much bigger."

Peanut Butter and Jelly combined, so says Nintendo. Back on Friday I received a box that has Peanut Butter and Jelly in it, with nothing else. I waited for a box that explained the situation, and today came FlingSmash with the Wiimote Plus bundled inside, as well as Smucker’s Goober Grape spread, which [...]

#activision About a million dollars worth, actually. Activision and Metallica are teaming for a good cause and a selfish one, with the band headlining the publisher's Call of Duty: Black Ops launch party and finding unemployed military vets jobs. More »

#teammeat Team Meat has crushed any hopes of its sadistic platformer Super Meat Boy making a November release on the Wii. The indie developer says squeezing the game down to WiiWare size is responsible for delaying the game's release. More »

Our press copy of FlingSmash -- like all copies of FlingSmash -- included a black Wii Remote Plus controller, the new version of the Wiimote with MotionPlus inside.

We immediately got it out and compared it visually against a plain old Wii Remote, and now we can determine with scientific* precision that it looks exactly like a regular Wiimote -- except for the "Wii MotionPlus Inside" label uner the Wii logo. You can see the (complete lack of) difference for yourself in our gallery.

The one thing you can't see in the gallery: the difference in weight. We didn't have a kitchen scale handy, but informal testing (i.e. picking them both up) revealed no perceptible difference in weight. The fact that the added hardware doesn't change the controller in the slightest suggests that the MotionPlus was a placebo all along, increasing the sensitivity of controls by making you think they were more sensitive. Either that or the gyroscope is really small. We're not ruling anything out. FlingSmash and the Wii Remote Plus will be out November 7 in North America.

A portion of an Aussie-Nintendo review… Maybe you’re interested in it for Super Mario All-Stars, maybe you’re just keen on joining in on the whole anniversary thing by plonking a big red box on your shelf. I don’t know. Either way, here’s to you Mario, you magnificent bastard.

It's finally here, Xbox 360 Fanast 187. You're all asking yourselves: Did they get that interview with Ice T? The answer, of course, is kind of. Yes, we also talk about video games, giving special time to both Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 and Fable 3. And of course, with Kinect launching in just a few days, we continue preparations for the Great X3F Flab Off.

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[MP3] Download the MP3 directly

Hosts: Richard Mitchell (SenseiRAM, @senseiram), Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander, @xandersliwinski) and Dave Hinkle (KnifefightYaDad, @davehinkle)

Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta; Break: "Forest Funk" by Super Meat Boy soundtrack

For fans: Xbox 360 Fancast Facebook group