Archive for 2006
DS Lite gets Swarovski studded and Pokemon Diamond-Pearl special edition in Japan
By noted Japanese designer Tikko is this Swarovski studded Nintendo DS Lite. The customization of Swarovski crystals on to your DS Lite will cost 45,000 Yen ($390).
The limited edition Pokemon Diamond/Pearl metallic black DS Lite will be sold at the Pokemon Center in Japan on September 28th for a cost of about 16800 Yen ($145).
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Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Limited Edition announced, also available on Steam. Trailers inside
Fans of the Might & Magic series will be happy to know that not only will the newest game in the series, a first-person game with RPG elements, be released digitally via Valve’s Steam service (the same service that helped push games like Half-Life 2, SIN Episodes and Darwinia), which isn’t surprising since the game uses Valve’s Source engine, but a Limited Edition version will also be available in stores upon the game’s release on October 24th.
The $59.99 Limited-Edition set will include the game, extra in-game content (a multiplayer skin and four single-player weapons), a “making of” video, trailers, 12 collectible cards, and the game’s soundtrack on CD.
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic for the PC will retail for approximately $50. It is being developed by two studios; Arkane Studios is handling the single-player portion and Kuju Entertainment is producing the multiplayer portion.
View trailers for the game below:
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Madden 07 sets new Madden sales-record
Once again a new Madden game is selling like mad in the US of A.
EA has announced that they believe the newest Madden game, Madden NFL ‘07, has sold over 2 million copies across all platforms in just it’s first week of release! This will have the game entering the hall of fame in no time if sales keep up.
This year’s first-week sales are up 12 percent over Madden NFL 06’s 1.8 million units sold over the same period last year, says EA. Though the franchise has always performed well in retail during its 17-year career, EA’s estimation makes Madden NFL 07 the best-selling game in the franchise’s history of first-week performance. Although it can be argued that people are buying Madden cause it’s their only official NFL choice, given that EA holds the licenses.
Microsoft, earlier today, claimed that the Xbox 360 version had logged more than 2 million hours of online play over Xbox Live–the equivalent of 228 years in just one week.
Madden NFL 07 is rated E for Everyone and was released on all current-gen platforms and the Xbox 360 on August 22. PlayStation 3 and Wii versions are currently in development.
Capcom interview clears up Lost Planet Xbox 360-exclusivity confusion
GameSpot recently posted an interview with Jun Takeuchi, a veteran developer of the Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and Onimusha series, about Capcom’s plans for Lost Planet.
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is one of two exclusive Xbox 360 titles that Capcom developed for the system in it’s show of support, Dead Rising, which was just released, and Lost Planet. Thankfully it looks like the first game has done well, due to good sales and solid reviews, and early indications regarding the success of Lost Planet seem good, the demo, which was recently released on Xbox Live, generated a lot of buzz for this Resident Evil-4 style third-person action/adventure/shooter where you fight massive hordes of alien bugs.
Microsoft fans were put in a tizzy though when rumors started circulating questioning the game’s Xbox 360 exclusivity, due to reports from the Leipzig Games Convention that had the game coming to both the PS3 and 360.
Those rumors were put to rest in this interview, which you can read below. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition for the Xbox 360 is set for release in January 2007.
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Oblivion magic users get Spell Tomes update
It can be hard on the pocketbook of any spell-caster in Bethesda Softwork’s epic masterpiece The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (available for both PC and Xbox 360) as it can cost an arm and a leg to get new spells via guilds.
Today Bethesda announced Spell Tomes, a new download for the random treasure generator that adds books with “wondrous and powerful magic spells” to randomly generated loot picked up off of fallen foes or acquired by opening treasure chests. This can be done for only $1 for either the PC or Xbox 360 version of the game, which will allow magic users to more quickly and easily beef up their magic library. Spell Tomes for the PC requires version 1.1.511 to work and can be downloaded at the Oblivion official site store.
Rainbow Six Vegas behind the scenes
This update is all about the developer diaries that go behind the scenes at developer Ubisoft Montreal. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas is coming to Xbox 360 on November 7th and to PS3 on November 17th. The team behind the game did some interviews to show how the game is being made. First up is Alexander Parizeau, the producer of Rainbow Six: Vegas.
Next you get to see how Aaron Gilman, animation director, does the motion captures… Article continues »
Gamers to Microsoft: “We want our 2 BILLION Xbox Live hours back!”
Nah, just kidding of course 
It’s fun to read, those Xbox Live online numbers Xbox team member Major Nelson just released.
* The Xbox Live Marketplace just passed 50 million gaming and entertainment content downloads. That is double the 25 million mark from just three months ago.
* In the first week of Madden NFL 07 releasing, Xbox Live members unlocked over 600,000 achivements and hosted more then 2-million hours of Madden gameplay.
* Texas Hold ‘Em set a one day record as the fastest download item ever on the Marketplace. There were over 100 downloads a minute in the first 24-hours of release, that’s 144,000 free downloads that first day alone.
Other Xbox Live statistics:
* Over 2 billion hours spent on Xbox Live by gamers across the globe since the launch of the Xbox Live online gaming network in November 2002. Article continues »
Ridge Racer 7 for PS3 gets loads of new online features
Namco Bandai revealed in the latest Famitsu magazine that Ridge Racer 7 on PS3 will support up to 14 players to have online head-to-head races or team up for co-op races with relay, time attack, team battle and pair attack options.
There will be 22 courses and a 160 races in the main Ridge State Grand Prix mode. As well as an Arcade mode with two-player splitscreen, Global Time Attack will allow players to face off with the online community and even team up, again via splitscreen, for time attacks in pairs.
For the first time in the series, Machine Connector will let you customise vehicles. Tweaking performance, engine tuning, nitro, exterior customisation and more will be offered, with new decals available via Sony’s online service.
A Ranking Browser will display data from racers across the globe, and UFLA Special Events will include content that can be downloaded to the console. Here’s the trailer!
Translated from Japanese by Eurogamer.
Saints Row review video (Xbox 360)
Welcome to Stilwater, a city where the streets are everything but tranquil. Divided by rivaling gangs, you’ll need to adopt savvy street smarts to build respect, make money and gain notoriety, let alone stay alive. As a member of the 3rd St. Saint’s, you need to push back against a city looking to wipe you out, in order to rise up the ranks and eventually control the streets. If it takes theft, extortion or tried and true brute force, then that’s what ya gotta do. Only then will you rule the streets. BUT watch your back – on your purpose to rise as the city’s controlling syndicate, reputable and powerful gangs, including politicians have you in their crosshairs.
From the spectacular opening battle to regain control of the local hood, Saints Row offers the freedom to explore StilWater, a living, breathing city. Players are free to engage in the multitude of different activates at their leisure, all while building up respect in a gameplay-rich world. Build enough respect and the 3rd Street Saint’s lieutenants will trust the player with more dangerous missions. It’s “The Story of A Gangster”.
Stillwater is no Liberty City, but it’s next gen, so who cares? Find out all about it in this Saints Row video review.
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Codemasters announces FPS game Fall of Liberty for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3
Codemasters (third game announcement from them this week) will publish the FPS game Fall of Liberty for developer Spark Unlimited (makers of Call of Duty: Finest Hour) as a major Q4 2007 title on PS3, Xbox 360 & PC.
Fall of Liberty will take players to new battlegrounds in World War II - ones born from a changed moment in history that led to the Nazi invasion of 1950s America. Presenting this scenario as a powerful and realistically crafted alternate history, Fall of Liberty will deliver an explosive action experience in a world where famous real-world locations appear startlingly different under Nazi occupation.
Fall of Liberty changes reality by twisting one historical fact: In 1931, Winston Churchill was hit by a taxi on 5th Avenue in New York. In reality, he survived the accident but walked with a cane for the rest of his life. But what might have followed if Winston Churchill had been killed in the accident? Without his voice to lead a country to war, the events of WWII change dramatically; the Normandy invasion never happens and the UK and all of Europe come under Nazi rule by 1945.
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