Archive for February, 2007
Supreme Commander expansion pack coming, Chris Taylor also working on new game
In an interview with Supreme Commander developer Gas Powered Games, the studio’s boss Chris Taylor talks about what’s upcoming for the Real-Time Strategy PC game now that it was released last week. He also mentions they are working on a new game in a different genre. Here are some choice quotes:
Question: What’s next for Supreme Commander? A first patch was released just a few days ago, a DirectX 10 Patch is in the works…
Answer: Yeah, we got some stuff in the works. And we will make an official announcement this spring/summer about what we got going on.
Question: So there is an expansion coming?
Answer: Yeah, I mean if we are going to announce something, it wouldn’t be that there is nothing coming. (laughs) So you can do a little detective work on that without getting me in trouble, most importantly.
Question: Gas Powered Games did RPGs [with the Dungeon Siege series], you did an RTS with Supreme Commander, what’s next? Any other genres you want to explore?
Answer: Absolutely. I have a family now with a bunch of boys. And I want to make a game that I can bring home and play with my boys. I am really excited about that, and we will explore that – in fact, we already started on something. We will be announcing that later this year.
2 comments »Sam & Max adventure series hinted at for Xbox 360 Live Arcade
Telltale posted a job advert for an Xbox 360 programmer on its website. A Telltale spokesperson responded to the fans asking why with: “We can confirm that we’re hiring an Xbox 360 programmer, although we do not have any official Xbox project announcements to share right now.”
“Telltale is continually evaluating new platforms - not only for Sam & Max but for other projects we have in the works. We’re huge supporters of digitally distributing episodic content, and this has been working very well for our current Sam & Max series on the PC.”
“For a potential Sam & Max Xbox project, we’d certainly look closely at a downloadable digital solution like the Live Arcade.” The Sam & Max episodes cost $8.95 each on PC, so it’d definitely make a nice addition to Xbox Live Arcade.
PS: Sam and Max frontman David Grossman announced that their Wii programmer job position has been filled.
Call of Duty: Roads To Victory info and first PSP trailer
Call of Duty: Roads To Victory by Activision brings the signature cinematic intensity and chaos of battle to handheld fans for the first time in an all-new, gameplay experience that allows PSP gamers to take the WWII first-person action franchise on the go in the US from March 13, 2007.
Featuring all-new missions, never-before seen in a Call of Duty game, Call of Duty: Roads To Victory thrusts players into the boots of an 82nd Airborne Division infantry soldier, a Canadian First Army rifleman (both new to the franchise) and an elite British Parachuting Regiment commando.
Featuring a completely unique set of challenges that include mounted machine gun battles, sniper encounters and aircraft attacks, as well as multiplayer warfare for up to six players (ad-hoc wireless), Call of Duty: Roads To Victory enlists handheld gamers into the fast-paced action and adrenaline-pumping intensity of Call of Duty. As you can see:
Brothers in Arms take a shot at Nintendo DS, first photographic evidence included
Ubisoft shows off the WWII first-person action shooter Brothers in Arms is headed to Nintendo DS. The game will feature 3 different campaigns, spanning 16 missions and several of the countries involved in the war starting in North America up to the battle for Normandy.
The touch-screen will be used for switching weapons, launching grenades (player must draw a line with the stylus for a trajectory) and aiming at enemies. The top screen will be used to present the 3D action. It will even be possible to drive Jeeps and other vehicles like Sherman Tanks.
The game is scheduled for release in the U.S. in the summer of 2007. DSfanboy also says the Nintendo Power magazine source has no word yet on whether the game is Wi-Fi Connect compatible or not for multiplayer matches.
Microsoft launches new website portal with 400 casual games
Microsoft Casual Games is a new portal that offers access to over 400 games, a variety of card, puzzle, word and arcade-style games, via: MSN Games which after 10 years has over 300 free casual single-player and multiplayer games, Messenger Games which has over 25 games playable over Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft Windows Games as of Vista are 9 pre-installed games like solitaire and minesweeper, Xbox Live Arcade has 45 broad-appeal games downloadable to the Xbox 360, and soon mobile games. In total providing gameplay to more than 125 million casual gamers per month and allowing players from around the world to compete, collaborate and socialize — anywhere, anytime.
According to DFC Intelligence and the Casual Games Association, the number of people of all ages attracted to free casual games is estimated to be more than 150 million gamers worldwide, which means 57 million people in North America will play casual games online at least once this year, up from 34 million four years ago.
According to a recent comScore Media Metrix study, there are more than 60 million visits to online games sites per month; 52% of those visitors are female, and of those women the majority are age 25 or older. According to DFC Intelligence, revenue from casual games is expected to grow from $713 million in 2005 to $1.56 billion in 2008, fueled by the global appeal of games like Bejeweled, Hexic, Diner Dash and Bespelled. — It’s gonna be tough finding non-gamers 
New video game releases week 9, 2007
Here’s a list of this weeks US game releases. Bullet Witch for Xbox 360, The Sims 2 Seasons for PC, SSX Blur for Wii, and Formula One: Championship Edition for PS3 are the most popular games this week, aside from the awesome Wii download releases. No word of confirmation on this week’s PS3 or PSP downloadable PlayStation Network games yet.
Monday:
Jade Empire: Special Edition (PC)
Major League Baseball 2K7 (Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, PSP, DS)
MLB 07: The Show (PS2, PSP)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - $10 (Wii Virtual Console)
Tuesday:
300: March To Glory (PSP)
Bullet Witch (Xbox 360)
Chili Con Carnage (PSP)
Formula One: Championship Edition (PS3)
Marvel Trading Card Game (PSP)
Samurai Warriors 2 Empires (PS2, Xbox 360)
SSX Blur (Wii)
The Sims 2 Seasons (PC)
Wednesday:
Alien Hominid HD (Xbox Live Arcade)
Thursday:
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection for PS3 Download Store is probably delayed to next week.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Bio-Hazard Battle, Chew Man Fu hit Wii Virtual Console today
Today Nintendo adds three new classic games to the popular Wii Shop Channel. The games go live at 9AM Pacific time. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets like Amazon (see to your right).
We’ve included videos of each game for nostalgia’s sake or so you can see if it’s for you. This week’s new games are:
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points - $10): The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time reveals the genesis of the fantasy land of Hyrule, the origin of the Triforce and the tale of the first exploits of Princess Zelda and the heroic adventurer Link. Vibrant, real-time 3-D graphics transport players into the fantasy world of Hyrule. The quest takes them through dense forests and across wind-whipped deserts. Players swim raging rivers, climb treacherous mountains, dash on horseback across rolling hills and delve into dungeons full of creatures that fight to the finish to put an end to their adventures. With immersive graphics, a sweeping story line, swashbuckling adventure, mind-bending puzzles and a touch of humor, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of Nintendo’s most epic challenges ever. “Willst thou soar? Or willst thou suck?”
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Tekken VS. Virtua Fighter possible if fans want it!
Namco Bandai’s Tekken project director Haruki Suzaki recently planned the PSP Dark Resurrection version of the popular Tekken 5 arcade port and is the lead for the upcoming downloadable PS3 edition as well.
He and Tekken 5 Game Director Katsuhiro Harada acknowledged several years ago that a “Tekken VS. Virtua Fighter” game was something they’d like to do one day. Something not that out there with Sega doing a game in the same vein called Fighters Megamix ten years ago. When Suzaki-san was asked in an interview with IGN what the chances of us ever seeing that Versus game were, he said:
“I had the opportunity to speak with the director of Virtual Fighter [Yu Suzuki] on many occasions in the past and actually talk of collaboration came up again recently. Being from the same industry, this is something we definitely would like to try at least once. Looking at it from another perspective, we began to realize that it would actually be more difficult to make this happen than we first thought. More than anything, we believe this decision greatly lies in our fans. So, we would actually like to ask for our fans’ opinion on this.”
Send your requests for a Tekken VS. Virtua Fighter game to IGN’s email. They’ll pass them to on to Namco and SEGA!
PS3 games have cheaper pricing in Europe
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has announced a price point of €59.99 (£39.99) for its first-party launch line-up in Europe. This includes their flagship PS3 games like Resistance: Fall of Man, Motorstorm, Genji, Formula One, and Ridge Racer 7. That’s a €10/£10 saving on new PS3 games compared to first-party games from Xbox 360 competitor Microsoft and on par with Nintendo Wii’s game pricing.
As for downloadable PlayStation Network titles, PS3 games like Lemmings, Blast Factor, Go! Sudoku, Go! Puzzle, Super Rub a Dub, Gripshift, flOw, and Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection will be available at launch on March 23rd at prices ranging from €2.99 to €9.99.
David Reeves, SCEE president and CEO, said: Article continues »
Spectrobes in-depth DS video interview about the story, gameplay and online features
Spectrobes seems perfect for action-RPG fans wanting to collect and fight with creatures while waiting for April’s Pokemon Diamond/Pearl DS release. Spectrobes introduces two junior Interplanetary Patrol officers named Rallen and Jeena who learn of strange, prehistoric creatures called Spectrobes that possess special powers. These fossilized Spectrobes hold the key to defeating a vicious and merciless force, known only as the Krawl that threatens to destroy the galaxy. The two heroes embark on a mission to save their galaxy - to do so they must excavate, awaken, train and collect all the Spectrobes they can and battle to defeat the Krawl.
Spectrobes allows players to excavate, train and battle with nearly 500 unique creatures. These utilize the interactive features of the Nintendo DS. Players must collect, train and help their Spectrobes evolve in order to progress and succeed in the game. With highly customizable elements and powers, each Spectrobe is unique to different players.
Disney has announced that players can earn the ability to download videos, creatures, custom parts and extra minerals via Wi-Fi, as well as connect to the game’s website to share their profiles and game stats with Spectrobers all over the globe. Players can also compete in one-on-one battles over Wi-Fi, or participate in tournaments for up to 16 players.
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