Archive for February, 2006
Vin Diesel’s The Wheelman announced
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay impressed gamers everywhere for being a quality game based on a movie. The success seems to have inspired Diesel to have his Tigon Games studio collaborate with Midway on an original property entitled The Wheelman.
The Wheelman centers around a - you guessed it - expert wheelman coming out or retirement to protect a woman from his past. “With The Wheelman we have created the first integrated franchise being launched for both the gaming and film industries,” says Diesel.
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Monolith to continue F.E.A.R. universe with new games
Monolith, makers of two of last years best fright-fests: The PC-only title F.E.A.R. and the Xbox 360 launch game Condemned: Criminal Origins, has announced that they will be making a sequel to F.E.A.R., however since VU Games owns the right to the title “F.E.A.R.”, the new game will have a different title, it will maintain the same characters, storyline and stay in the existing universe that was already established in the first F.E.A.R. title. While the first title came out on the PC (VU Games may release an Xbox 360 version however), the sequel’s will be released for next-gen consoles as well as PC, and will be tailored for it’s although the storyline will remain consistent between platforms and pick-up where the first game left off.
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EA lowers prices for games
Last month EA lowered the price of several of their current-generation titles, due to the transition to the upcoming systems. Games that were dropped to $29.99 included: Madden NFL 06, NBA Live 06, FIFA 06, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for the PS2, GCN, Xbox and PC versions. Need for Speed: Most Wanted was dropped to $39.99 and Medal of Honor: European Assault dropped to $19.99.
Now EA has also lowered the price of several more games, this time current and upcoming titles. They include: Fight Night Round 3, Black and The Godfather, which will sell for $39.95, $10 cheaper.
Hopefully more companies will jump on the bandwagon and start slashing gaming prices as well.
8GB PSP Giga Pack planned
Digitimes has quoted market sources as mentioning a PSP Pack containing 8GB NAND flash memory from Samsung Electronics, will put in an appearance in the second half of 2006. We’re guessing a lot of early PSP adaptors complained about the 32MB Memory Stick DUO they got included with their PSP (until the 1GB Giga Pack came out last Christmas).
The same sources explain that while previous reports suggested a PSP upgrade would feature a microdrive in place of the proposed NAND flash, Sony is deliberating stalling in talks with Samsung to drive down prices, ensuring no exorbitant end-unit costs for consumers. Well, it’ll be handy for putting more movies and music on the PSP for long trips.
God of War 2 set for February 2007
Eurogamer has a leaked (and has withdrawed under threat of legal action from Sony) a Sony marketing document that reveals further details about the God of War sequel. Referred to as God of War 2, the game is currently scheduled for a February 2007 release on the PlayStation 2.
The sequel will build upon the successful elements of the first game. This time around, Kratos will be able to ride Pegasus, sport the Golden Fleece, and even rob Icarus of his wings. According to the marketing document, God of War 2 will sport next-genish visuals.
Shadow of the Colossus #1 in UK
Great news for this original & innovative game. Sony’s wonderful Shadow of the Colossus has jumped straight to the top of this week’s all formats Top 40, mainly thanks to last week’s half-term school holidays in England. Shadow of the Colossus topped LucasArts’ new PC game Star Wars: Empire at War for the top slot last week. Be sure to read Spongs A+ review of this groundbreaking game.
Families brought together by gaming online
GamerDad has a piece talking about families gaming together online. The article profiles some gamer families. Brian Reynolds, CEO of Big Huge Games, is cited as an example; He games together with his sons. The article also touches on the more serious issues of addiction and quality time.
From the article: “Another hidden benefit to online games is that families spread over several states can keep in touch and play online together. Thompson agrees, ‘I never foresaw how important the games online would become, but I did actually get a line added into my divorce decree that guaranteed me three days a week that I could get on the computer with my kids, via web cam. So I could communicate and see them. At the time, I wasn’t a huge MMORPG player, so I didn’t envision the role it would play.’”
Engadget interview with Nintendo’s Reggie
The Reggienator speaks out once again in a phone interview with Engadget.com. Nothing new comes from the interview, but it’s still a nice read nonetheless. Here are some highlights from the interview:
Engadget: Will we see some brand new franchises for the Revolution?
Reggie: Yes we will.
E: Something that will be as big as a Nintendogs or a Zelda?
R: That is certainly the goal, but you’ll have to tell me when you see it at E3. We will be showing a lot of information about Revolution at E3. You know we’ve said publicly that this year’s E3 will be Revolution’s coming out party. Now, we’ve also been quite clear that there are innovations inherent in Revolution that we will be sharing ongoing. That it is simply not a one time event for us to share information about Revolution and all of its innovation. I have seen blog entries on your site and other sites that criticize us for that, but quite frankly, it’s just good business. In terms of letting the consumer know what’s involved and sharing that information all the way up until launch.
E: Is Revolution going to be the final name or is it still a code name?
R: It is still a code name.
You can read the rest of this interview over at Engadget.
Playstation 3 launch delayed until summer-november with $900 price tag for Sony
Sony Corp.’s launch of its next-generation PlayStation 3 video game console could be delayed if industry specifications for some of its technology are not finalised soon, although it is still aiming for a spring rollout (in Japan?), it said on Monday.
The launch of PlayStation 3 (PS3) has been the subject of heavy speculation in the industry as expectations are high for the powerful machine, which will feature cutting-edge technology in its DVD player, processors and graphics.
PS3 will be competing with Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360, which went on sale last November, and Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s Revolution, which is expected later this year.
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Atari financials looking game over
While laying off 40-50 people, Atari, as in Infogrames who are now using the Atari brand, reported sorry fiscal results for the quarter ended December 2005 says GameBiz Daily. In short, the company is posting double net losses for the second quarter. The company blames “a weak holiday season for the industry†and “product launch delays†for the poor performance.
Atari’s nine-month results were equally gloomy. Net loss was $62.8 million, or $0.50 per share, compared to net income of $14.8 million, or $0.12 per share, in the year-earlier period. The company’s Executive VP and Chief Financial Officer resigned today as well.
To top it all off, the company’s credit has been maxed out. Apparently, Atari was “advised by the HSBC Business Credit (USA) Inc. that it is in default on certain covenants under its revolving credit facility and that HSBC will not currently extend further credit.†The company’s CEO remains optimistic, saying how Atari is committed to bringing exciting titles to the PSP & DS.
Developers like Shiny have been working on a 4th Earthworm Jim game for PSP (a 3D platformer with the original game’s feel to it) for 3 months, and now have to look for funding elsewhere. This whole series of events reminds me of how things went down before Acclaim went bankrupt 
