All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Social media pioneer introduces a new tool for independent developers to drive traffic by turning cross promotion into a game.

The hedgehog returns to his glory days.

Color us impressed.

New partnership announced.

So, you haven't invested in a voice chat solution for your PS3, but you want to have some amount of efficacy while playing Black Ops or MAG or one of the other multiplayer-centric titles on the platform? It sounds like you may want to check out the new, Sony-approved Bluetooth Headset, which will arrive at the appropriate retailers later this month.

The device, which will run you $49.99, has all the same features of its predecessor (charging dock/desktop mic, automatic syncing, a big shiny mute button) -- but it's now 30 percent smaller, and features stronger noise cancellation technology. Which is great, because we really hate hearing about your nearby best friend's hard day at work when we're, you know, at war.

Time to head into the dungeon.

#clips Before Media Molecule decided to end Sackboy's life in a puff of smoke, LittleBigPlanet's creators had other, more gruesome ideas in mind. Check out the developer's Sackboy death reel. More »

PopCap Games' first DSiWare title in Europe is the #1 digital word game.

It's not just about getting from point A to B in EA Bright Light's Create -- it's all about the score multiplier. The most recent trailer shows off elaborate, Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions resulting in far higher scores than a simple solution would ... if you can piece them together, that is.

Artificial Mind & Movement renamed to Behaviour.

Artificial Mind & Movement renamed to Behaviour.

#clips while fans all over the world sit and wait for word on the holiday release date for Gran Turismo 5, some lucky bastard is sitting in his home playing it. More »

Watch the London Black Ops launch event live on IGN.

You've skimmed the transcript. You've followed our coverage. Now, while we wait for something else to happen in the Schwarzenegger vs. EMA case before the Supreme Court, you can experience last week's oral arguments the way they were supposed to be experienced: by hearing them.

The audio is now available if you want to spend an hour of your day hearing history in the making, or if you want to add your own NBA Jam guy commentary to your favorite Scalia shutdowns. In any case, if you're a video game player and, especially, an American (although any drop in US revenue from violent games is going to affect which games are marketed and even made, affecting everyone), it would probably be a good idea to pay attention to this case in some manner.

#wellplayed With the launch of the Xbox 360's Kinect last week, all three major video game consoles now have motion-based gaming support. But which is the best? More »

#artificialmindandmovement The head of 375-person development studio Artificial Mind and Movement realized his company had a bad name. So, today, they've changed it, and revealed two sequels in the process. More »

Good news for fans of Behaviour's rockabilly-rinsed, Eliza Dushku-infused grindhouse-em-up Wet: the recently rebranded studio (formerly A2M) is working on a sequel. "We're working on Wet 2 right now and Naughty Bear 2," Behaviour CEO Rémi Racine told Joystiq. When asked if the team began development of Wet 2 immediately following the original, Racine simply said, "The team is still at it, but that's all I can say."

Racine is obviously proud of his team's work on Wet but was disappointed that it got caught up in the Activision Blizzard merger. Wet was originally scheduled to be published by Vivendi and didn't make it onto Activision's roster; instead, some six months after the merger Bethesda took over publishing duties. While Racine wouldn't confirm whether or not Bethesda would reprise its role as publisher, he did comment on the original's underperformance. "We were very happy with [Bethesda's] commitment," Racine told us. "But, in their defense, we probably signed them too late. We should have signed them probably six months prior so we had more time to market the game. I think they came in late. Still, they did a very good job of promoting the game in the community. In the time that they had they did a very good job."

When asked whose decision it was to release Wet at the relatively budget price of $50, Racine said, "It was Bethesda's decision to decide the price. To be honest, you should ask them. I see the result and I won't comment; we get our fair share of the revenue. But it was their resonsibility to decide on the price." When asked if Wet 2 - and other future Behaviour titles - would be full-priced, Racine said, "I think there's a difference between Naughty Bear and a Wet title. Naughty Bear, I feel is more a $50 type of game. Wet I think deserved to be at full price."

There's a lot of us at Joystiq who thought Wet was one of the best titles in 2009, so we're eager to see if a sequel can polish the promise the original had. Naughty Bear on the other hand ... let's just say there's no shortage of areas upon which to improve.

You may have missed this behind-the-scenes video of Heavy Rain on the PlayStation Network last week. This very revealing, spoiler-filled video highlights some of the deleted scenes and concepts for Quantic Dream's adventure game.

Add another inch to your gamer profile.

Namco Bandai may have suffered less terrible losses in the first half of its fiscal year compared to last, but several of the publisher's major titles aren't expected to hit sales goals. Andriasang has a list of comparing the company's hopes for its software to the harsh reality, with Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Cosmic Destruction and Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja: Storm 2 being the overachievers. Ben 10 is expected to have 800K sales -- 100K over forecast -- and Naruto may move a million copies, 300K more than planned.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is expected to sell about 800K units, which is still good, but the publisher expected it to sell a million. Other titles expected to underperform, according to the company, will be the as-yet unreleased Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom with 300K units (-700K below) and Splatterhouse at 350K (-650K below).

Enslaved deserves better so, with some luck, hopefully Monkey and crew will have a longer tail than Namco expects.

Originality, diversity present throughout largest pool of entrants in festival history.

Get ready to go black.

Series has record launch sales.

#igaming As we approach the often expensive holidays it seems that the free-to-play games are making a resurgence on the iPhone. More »

The highlight among this week's downloadable Wii and DS games appears to be Gods vs. Humans, a strategy game about keeping your followers in their place by destroying the towers they're building ... to reach you. When not punishing mortals for their hubris, you can make musical tributes to yourself in the other WiiWare offering, Mix Superstar.

DSiWare offers a slot machine game, a ... scrolling pinball adventure shmup, and, um, Discolight. Which is a virtual disco light. Yes, of course it's by the makers of Flashlight.

It may have taken six map unlocks before DICE got to it, but the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 developer announced this morning that VIP Map Pack 7 will include four new(ish) multiplayer maps: Heavy Metal, Cold War, Oasis, and Harvest Day. If the latter two maps sound familiar, it's because they're updated versions of maps that appeared in the original Bad Company -- handpicked with the community in mind. "When we ask for your favorite maps from Battlefield: Bad Company, Oasis and Harvest Day always come out on top," the DLC's announcement reads. As with previous map packs, the DLC will be free for VIP members only (VIP access is free with new copies of BC2, $15 otherwise).

Outside of a handful of (relatively minor) tweaks noted on the Battlefield blog, the biggest change to the maps will be the addition of Bad Company 2's "Destruction 2.0" system and enhanced graphics. Check out the first shots of the revamped maps in the gallery below and look for a more in-depth exploration of Heavy Metal this Wednesday. Hopefully Wednesday will bring news of a release date as well.

Hi Everyone! Back in 2008, we unveiled the official Bluetooth Headset for the PlayStation 3. Since then, many of you added it to your arsenal of PS3 must-haves. Today we’re excited to announce a new version of the official Bluetooth Headset for the PS3 system. It will be available at retailers near you this month at the same price ($49.99 MSRP) as the earlier version of this headset.

The new Bluetooth Headset for the PS3 offers the same unparalleled gaming experience as the previous model, making it a must have for intense online multiplayer games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops, MAG or the highly anticipated sci-fi shooter, Killzone 3. It offers a dual-microphone design, automatic pairing via USB cable with the PS3**, in-game headset status indicator**, an easily accessible microphone mute button, and a charging cradle which also functions as a desktop microphone**. On top of all of that, it’s the only device to offer High-Quality (HQ) mode** which delivers crystal clear voice chat while gaming on the PS3.

So what’s different, you ask? New features include a redesign, making it sleeker, high-gloss and more compact – 30% smaller than the original model. In addition, the Bluetooth Headset now has built-in noise cancellation for filtering out ambient noise when used with the PS3 system as well as your mobile phone. Gadget fiends take note – the new Bluetooth Headset isn’t just for gaming. The improved mobile phone feature support allows you to use features such as three-way calling and call waiting. And with nearly six hours of talk time, you can easily take the Bluetooth Headset with you straight from the living room to the streets.

The new Bluetooth Headset is compatible with devices with Bluetooth 1.1 or higher, and is ideal for gamers, technophiles and anyone in the market for multi-use Bluetooth Headset. Enjoy!

** This feature requires a PS3 system and PS3 system software version 3.50 or later.

Fable 3 lost the UK sales chart crown last week to not one, but two, footie titles. The football revolution sent Lionhead's Albion simulator to third as FIFA 11 maintained its spot in second and ... oh my, the PC-exclusive Football Manager 2011 premiered at the premier spot. According to Chart-Track, it was only the second PC-exclusive title to reach the top spot this year, with the other being StarCraft 2.

Ubisoft's Just Dance 2 maintained its fourth place. If the title has the stamina of its older sibling, 2010 might have a Just Dance representative in the top ten throughout the entire year. Professor Layton and The Lost Future rounded out the top five.

Other high-profile premieres last week, Goldeneye 007 for Wii and 007: Blood Stone, had licenses to kill the #13 and #18 spots, respectively. Spy with your double-0 eye the UK top ten after the break.

#streetfighter Over the weekend at the SoCal Regionals fighting tournament, Street Fighter player Tokido duked it out for top spot in the losers' bracket. And then won the hearts of everyone in the room. More »

#helenmirren Ever wonder why Dame Helen Mirren agreed to appear in upcoming Wii ads? Maybe she likes the Wii. But maybe it was the two-day commercial shoot and the very hefty paycheck. Ka-ching! More »