All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Craig says his farewell, also Goldeneye, Donkey Kong, Golden Sun.

While you read up on Black Friday deals and pour over reviews from this year's holiday game releases, might we suggest taking a time out to donate? Each year, Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity collects donations from gamers of all walks of life -- be they Desert Bus marathon runners, major game developers, or anyone in between -- in an effort to provide "donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children's hospitals across North America and the world."

Last year, CP raised over $1.7 million, and the charity's expansion in 2010 will certainly help to best that milestone and allow over 70 hospitals to be chosen and donated to directly. Head over to the Child's Play website for specifics on how to give, or text "GAMERS" to 50555 and donate $5. You totally just did it, didn't you? You're the best!

Diablo-concept for consoles in the works.

Now with 100-percent more flailing.

#spidermanmusical Annie Leibovitz used the cast of the new Spider-Man musical for a Vogue fashion shoot. Take a closer look at the $60 million musical. Fingers crossed for a Carnage solo where he writes on the walls with his own blood. More »

#playstation3 The PlayStation 3 may get its next great top-down shooter later this month when the zombie-infested Dead Nation—you know, from the creators of the most excellent Super Stardust HD—comes to the PlayStation Network. More »

#music We've been waiting. And waiting. And, really, sort of gave up. But after years of speculation and dispute, the Wall Street Journal says The Beatles are arriving on iTunes, tomorrow. Streaming will have to wait for another day. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. More »

Television comedic mastermind/pundit extraordinaire Stephen Colbert isn't one to sit on the sidelines while a hot new business trend passes him by. Inspired by Nintendo's recent (and timely!) decision to trademark the phrase,"It's on like Donkey Kong," Colbert explored the profitable possibilities afforded by other catchphrases with product ties, such as "Don't Front like Duck Hunt," which we ... may actually start using in our day-to-day lives.

Check out the clip from The Colbert Report after the jump, and feel free to drop your own cross-promotional quips in the comments -- not like you guys weren't going to do that, anyways.

Auditorium is one of those perfect little games that you load up when you need a break from the stresses and toils of the real world, allowing you to relax while moving soothing sound particles through even more soothing squares. That's why we're a little trepidatious about the recently announced changes that will be incorporated in the game's PSN iteration: There are twice as many levels and musical selections (we're cool with that), PlayStation Move support (we're okay with that) and, troublingly enough, 3D display support.

We suppose if you've invested in a PlayStation Move and 3D television, these additions will be quite welcome, entirely justifying the game's $9.99 price tag when it drops November 23. However, we're not sure how soothing the experience will be when the sound particles are flying right at your face whoooooOOOOAAAAA

Greetings and Happy ModNation Monday everyone.

The Carnival is coming to town!

Coming to PSN next Tuesday is the Carnival Parts Pack. The Carnival pack features a new group of 13 “Big Top” themed track parts to make new tracks or just make amazing tracks even better. Dodge clowns, get big air with Bounce Pads, and jump over or “through” a Ferris wheel — The Carnival Pack lets you do it all.

Scared of clowns?

“Doing Donuts” just got a new meaning.

Included in the Carnival Pack are 13 parts listed below.

Scene Props

• Jumbo Donut
• Fun House
• Big Top Tent
• Three different Carnival Tents

Dynamic Props

• Pop Up Clown Blocker
• Ferris Wheel
• Salt and Peeper
• Log Roll
• Bounce Pad

Track Props

• Ticket Booth
• Milk Bottle

Progressive Kart available for free next week!

We’ve got another special item coming to ModNation Racers next Tuesday courtesy of the fine folks at Progressive Insurance. The Progressive Kart will be available on the PSN for free starting next Tuesday. Don’t forget that you can still download Flo on the PlayStation Store if you haven’t already. Flo Mod + Progressive Kart = Win!

Sly Cooper Correction

We are postponing our Sly celebration a few weeks and will be releasing his official Mod and Kart early December. Sorry for the wait, but we promise his Kart will be tuned and ready to go in time for the holidays!

ModNation 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 handiwork on the PlayStation.Blog.

Mod of the Week

Mod Name: “Flipside”
Creator: Icandy55

Ramone says: This Mod is a lot like a mullet hairstyle – business in the front, party in the back. Of course, that if by “business” you mean “normal face” and by “party” you mean giant skull face tattoo. It’s kind of weird to be stared at by that face while driving, but that’s good work.

Kart of the Week

Kart Name: “Dragon Eye”
Creator: blizzardmx-5

Ramone says: This Kart is a bit deceptive. It looks fairly simply, but that’s precisely why it shines. The airbrushed dragon eyes on the sides are killer, and the claw marks on the front are a really nice touch. It’s even got a little tail on the back doors. Very well done.

Track of the Week

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

Track Name: “On the Waterfront…”
Created by: atheistsw

atheistsw says: “A frantic dash through a vast harbour area after-hours…There are a multitude of shortcuts on this track, all with their own risk vs reward, and one huge shortcut that is so effective it only opens up on the final lap. Be on the look for it as you dash through the dockyard area…”

Ramone says: Oh, man! Choose your shortcut carefully on this one. Athiestsw was downright cold blooded on one shortcut in particular on this track. If you manage to make it through the pop-up columns that block this shortcut, you’ll be greeted by a narrow passage guarded by a bot with an attitude along with a bit of HOT FYAH to keep you on your toes before you can make a nice big jump with a good spin opportunity. Is it worth it? Give it a shot, and you tell me.

Track Name: “Mountain Switchbacks”
Created by: OverReAction

OverReAction says: “This majestic mountain track was built for some sweet mountain ride. I’d say it’s one of my random tracks. I was bored though. Also, to all newbie’s out there, I’ll show you how the Track Branches really work!”

Ramone says: I can’t help but wonder if OveReAction’s PSN ID is supposed to be ironic. Imagine my overreaction when I had some boost, hit R1 to activate that trigger on the shortcut, slipped past the wall that had dropped, launched off the ramp, flew through the air past the hungry K-Wrecks, only to find that…. Well, I won’t ruin it for you, but that wasn’t a nice thing to do. This is a really fast and well thought out track with lots of blind corners after hills that you’ll have to be careful about navigating and make some quick calls. Fun stuff.

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: Tsunami in Costa Rosada, by SergioChileno
Tuesday: Mountain Drive, by MarioGamer159
Wednesday: Farbanti Rush, by IndianWolf
Thursday: A: Forest Glen, by Tecnoboy1
Friday: Full Tilt, by AngeloComet
Saturday: Mystery Track
Sunday: Mystery Track

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

Wondering if Kinect for Xbox 360 has the momentum to reach that recently revised estimate of 5 million sensors sold by year's end? According to some just-released stats, Microsoft is "on track" to do just that. Since the controller-free camera launched just over 10 days ago, more than 1 million units have been sold according to numbers released by Microsoft. "This is a great start to the holiday season," Xbox chief Don Mattrick said (ostensibly to the marketing person who made this press release) continuing, "and we will continue to work with our retailer partners to keep pace with high demand and deliver against our plan to sell more than 5 million Kinect sensors worldwide by the end of this year."

With Black Friday - the busiest shopping day of the year - just around the calendar-shaped corner, Microsoft must expect to move an awful lot of Kinect units if it hopes to hit 5 million in just under seven weeks.

See what's next for Square Enix's troubled MMO.

#corporategloating Microsoft says it has already sold one million Kinect sensors to Xbox 360 owners since the add-on for the console launched in the U.S. earlier this month. More »

#clips You have one minute to reach 88 miles per hour before being trapped forever at the bottom of the leaderboards in Telltale Games' Back to the Future: Blitz Through Time, now available on Facebook. More »

Remedy Entertainment, the studio behind Max Payne and, most recently, Alan Wake, is on the hunt for some new talent to add to its ranks -- including a programmer that will preferably have "experience on motion-control technology (e.g. Kinect)." While it's entirely possible that the developer simply wants someone on staff who has mad Dance Central skills, the more likely motivation would be that it's looking to be prepared for when (or if) it decides to develop a game that incorporates motion controls.

We're going to suggest that Remedy give this guy a ring. That is, if the company gets tapped to make a Star Wars title that will let players project holograms of themselves into it and bark orders at Lord Vader, Emperor style.

Blizzard COO John Sams stated last year that "the major manufacturers," presumably Microsoft and Sony, had made "some pretty compelling arguments" for a console version of Diablo 3. It would seem said arguments have (tentatively) borne fruit. The studio has posted three new console positions for the Diablo 3 team, namely a lead designer, lead programmer and senior producer. Console gamers shouldn't be jumping for joy just yet though, as a post on the Diablo 3 community site makes it clear that Blizzard is only "exploring a Diablo-related concept for consoles."

The post goes on to say that Blizzard believes that "with proper care the gameplay could suit the console platform, and we're interested in seeing what talent out there might be interested in such a project." It adds that the positions should not be considered an official console announcement; furthermore, the possibility of a console version will not "delay or affect the release" of the PC and Mac versions.

If we might make a compelling argument of our own: We want it.

#review Sure, you've weathered plenty of ninja storms in your day, but are you prepared to face the Ultimate Ninja Storm... 2? More »

Blizzard COO John Sams stated last year that "the major manufacturers," presumably Microsoft and Sony, had made "some pretty compelling arguments" for a console version of Diablo 3. It would seem said arguments have (tentatively) borne fruit. The studio has posted three new console positions for the Diablo 3 team, namely a lead designer, lead programmer and senior producer. Console gamers shouldn't be jumping for joy just yet though, as a post on the Diablo 3 community site makes it clear that Blizzard is only "exploring a Diablo-related concept for consoles."

The post goes on to say that Blizzard believes that "with proper care the gameplay could suit the console platform, and we're interested in seeing what talent out there might be interested in such a project." It adds that the positions should not be considered an official console announcement; furthermore, the possibility of a console version will not "delay or affect the release" of the PC and Mac versions.

If we might make a compelling argument of our own: We want it.

Microsoft on pace to beat 5 million year-end units sales.

Kick back and watch this trailer, you sonuva dick.

Is Epic Games helping Microsoft turn hardcore gamers on to Kinect?

#wii Every month we dig into the numbers to find out which 20 Wii games are played the most by the average person who has them. For November, one game finally breaks the 80-hour barrier. More »

#shenmuecity If you're still rooting for Sega's ambitious Shenmue series, you may, someday, have Mafia Wars and Farmville maker Zynga to thank. More »

A source shared what they claim to be the full roster for Marvel vs. Capcom 3, containing no fewer than 18 characters who have yet to be announced by Capcom, in addition to a new "War Machine" look for Iron Man. The list includes characters like the Red Arremer, Mega Man (in Battle Network and classic styles), and Frank West/Chuck Greene (probably as alternate versions of the same character) on the Capcom end, and Ultron, Squirrel Girl, and Thanos from Marvel. The most random character on the list is probably Victor Delacroix from 2003's Chaos Legion.

Though, of course, all of this new information is unconfirmed, it's worth noting that She-Hulk and Zero, both appearing in the list from our source, were announced after we received it. In addition, some of the characters, like Frank West and Mikaboshi Soki, are believable because they were featured in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (like Zero) and thus are probably relatively easy to update for MvC3. The Mega Man character is likely also similar to the Mega Man Legends-style version found in Tatsunoko. It's possible some of the new characters are even based on Tatsunoko movesets -- Delacroix makes more sense if he's taking the place of the sword-wielding Karas or Tekkaman Blade, for example.

[Image: Frank West in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom]

There's a lot of talk about important things in this week's episode of X3F. We talk up the huge sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops and, of course, the impending sale of Harmonix. These things pale in comparison to the real topic of conversation however, because you must know that there is an intruder in your home ... and its name is Kinect. That's right: Kinect is watching you. What's more, we have proof (and a catchy theme song).

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3)
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in Zune Marketplace (MP3)
[RSS MP3] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically
[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: "Fever Dreaming" by No Age

For fans: Xbox 360 Fancast Facebook group

“What if we can spoil our fans for the holidays by cutting something in half?”

This question, self-posed, is what put everything in motion. From there, it was basically a lot of late nights, major damage to office furniture, a couple of trips to the emergency room, and a few really beautifully sliced watermelons. Finally, we realized it had been under our noses the whole time: why not cut our games in half? Sadly, after destroying the last couple Demon’s Souls Collector’s Editions in the office, we realized the BEST option was to cut PRICES in half, hence this sale, which we’re calling, in full caps for maximum attention-grabbage, the SUPER-MEGA-ULTRA 50% off PlayStation Network sale*.

The sale starts tomorrow, Tuesday, November 16th and ends on November 29th. Supplies aren’t limited, because hey, it’s digital, and the sale applies to the North American PlayStation Store. You will be able to use your PS3 or PSP to view the full list of discounted titles, or you can peep the list below:

List of discounted titles:

TITLE SYSTEM SALE PRICE ORIGINAL PRICE Class of Heroes PSP $19.99 $39.99 Crimson Gem Saga PSP $14.99 $29.99 Droplitz PS3 $4.99 $9.99 Hammerin’ Hero PSP $9.99 $19.99 Hexyz Force PSP $14.99 $29.99 Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble PSP $19.99 $39.99 Riviera: The Promised Land PSP $7.49 $14.99 R-Type Command PSP $7.49 $14.99 Shin Megami Tensei: Persona PSP $19.99 $39.99 Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable PSP $19.99 $39.99 Steambot Chronicles Battle Tournamet PSP $7.49 $14.99

*Things were harmed in the making of this sale. Sale applicable to North American PlayStation Store only.