As of 6:30 P.M. EST Xbox Live is having problems again and the support site has been updated to elaborate. The problems listed on the site are not the only issues because some people are being completely shut out from Xbox Live. This is the third time Xbox Live has been having issues during the Holiday season and it could be a result of the extra Xbox 360’s and Xbox Live subscriptions in the pipeline, but it’s not a mystery to Microsoft how many new people are signing into Xbox Live. The problems do seem like classic server problems where some people keep getting kicked off Live, others can’t go into matchmaking, etc, but seeing that Xbox Live is a paid service, Microsoft should offer some sort of compensation or maybe a solution that stops these types of outages from happening again…and again… and again.
The user Reinhart has posted on the Wiipal forums that according to a Rakuten(Japanese Video Game Retailer) the game is now on being manufactured. There is no official word from Nintendo and no post on the Smash Bros blog about the game going gold, but it’s nice to think that it has gone gold because delays seem way less likely. Reinhart didn’t post a link to the site and after trying to scavenge the website for some information, I couldn’t find any. I’m not going to get too excited until Nintendo or anyone with some power confirms this.
The iPhone/iPod Touch homebrew community has been going crazy with all the apps they have been pumping out most notably for gamers: the NES emulator and now, a Playstation One emulator from ZodTTD. This is a basic app install into installer.app and then you can add some PSOne Game ISO’s on there and fire up those games. It’s as simple as that, but as you would expect not all games work and there are some glitches. Head over to the ZodTTD forums to see a lot of games in action. Please note that the control scheme is actually kind of lame as it only displays the keys for you to click on them. I mean I can’t really think of a better way, but I’m still not sure about how much fun you can actually procure from each game with that control scheme. However, it does seem like a fun experience and a step in the right direction.
On the heels of the PS3 gaining momentum in sales, Sony Australia is offering a deal from December 21st to January 21st with it’s XBR, W, and X Bravia lines(all great displays) to throw in a 40GB PS3. So as you get into the HDTV world, you’ll also get into the BluRay world. This is a good move on Sony’s part because it may help them win the HD format war next year. I don’t live in Australia, but if you do go out and get an overpriced Bravia.
The new version of one of the greatest Sci-Fi films ever made will make its way to HDDVD and Blu-ray in two editions this Tuesday. You can pick up the Ultimate Collectors Edition (pictured above) or the slightly less flashy Complete Collectors Edition, which comes sans briefcase. Both are 5 Disc sets which include not only the new final cut of the movie but also the theatrical version, the international version, and the 1992 Director’s Cut, along with tons of commentaries and other special features.
This new version is fully restored and remastered, and is scanned at 4k resolution (that’s 4096 x 2160 pixels people). This may not only be one of the most anticipated High Def releases to date, but could turn out to be one of the greatest as well. Look for the Ultamate Edition to run you about $100 (around $70 on amazon), and the Complete Edition will retail for $40 (under $30 at amazon).
Now you just have to ask yourself, “Do I really need that briefcase?”. Come on, you know you do.
Reggie Fils-Aime is the big daddy(not the BioShock variety) at Nintendo of North America and being such he has some right to gloat about the current success of Nintendo in it’s two main released platforms, the Wii and the DS. According to the November NPD, the DS Lite sold 1.53 million units followed closely by the Wii with 981K units. The Wii number is limited by Nintendo only being able to pump out 1.8 million units a month and resulting in a loss of a billion dollars for them thus far.
Reggie then moved onto software where he brought up Super Mario Galaxy’s sales in November, which sold around 1.12 million copies alone. Guitar Hero III has also been doing paticularly well even though, it has mono sound. Reggie also commented on some more accesories coming to the Wii most notably, the voice-chat enabled mic. This would allow for voice-chat in games and a very exciting advent for the Wii. There are no details on this, but I think this feature will not gain as much popularity as it has on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 because of the difficulty of creating a huge friend list on the Wii because of the Wii numbers.=(
Ever since MGS Online was annouced, it was unclear why Konami was making the game into two parts. Well, not that unclear it was obviously to make a larger profit. But, nonetheless we acted confused. We can rejoice now that the Official Playstation Magazine is confirming that MGS 4 and MGS Online will be included in one game. Some more details about the 16 player online were also revealed, for example the ability to customize your character with certain traits, similar to perks in Call of Duty 4. The game will also feature a selection of 100 weapons and a very unique type of multiplayer-sharing these perks feature. Not too many details so far, but enough to hold you over for at least a week.
Many people were expecting Waluigi to be annouced as a playable character in Super Smash Brothers Brawl because of Wario being featured in the game. However, the Smash Blog just confirmed that Waluigi would not be featured as a playable character, but as an assist trophy. For those who don’t know, assist trophies function as pokeball like items that send in certain characters from other Nintendo games to help the player that has activated it. Sorry to disappoint anyone about Waluigi only being an assist trophy. Just in case you care, Stafy from the Japan only game, “Densetsu no Stafy”, is also being featured as a assist trophy, a paticularly weak one, but it’s so cute.
There is only one statement that can sum this up: Gran Turismo 5 will most likely be godly, to say the least. Just in case you don’t know, Famitsu is the end-all, be-all of Japanese video game magazines and is known for it’s paticularly hard reviews. With that being said a 39 out of 40 is a paticularly amazing score putting it on par(in respect to score) with games, like Super Mario 64 and Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past. Any serious racing game fan will probably want to try and snag a good deal on a PS3 to be able to play the final product of this game. They might just be holding out the perfect 40 for the final product, as long as it features visual car damage because Prolouge doesn’t seem to have it.PS – Forza 2 recieved a 36/40 from Famitsu. Just some food for thought.
If I were Microsoft right now, I would be ecstatic because of the recent avalanche of games and sales. Mass Effect is one of the most anticipated games in this avalanche and has now reached a pretty big milestone in sales, one million copies sold. Without hesitation, Jeff Bell also annouced that Halo 3 has reached five million in sales, not to anyone surprise. Now that Mass Effect is a huge seller, Microsoft is probably trying it’s hardest to keep it an exclusive and away from those meddling kids at Sony.
In August of this year, Sega reportedly filed for another trademark of the Dreamcast name as their first trademark is due to expire in 2009. This might seem like a company covering all of its options at first, but after looking just a little deeper, we find that the filing includes mention of “video game machines”, “flash memory cards”, and “floor pads or mats”. Why is this significant? Because the Dreamcast never had flash memory cards to store game data on, or any floor mats for you to jump around on (or whatever). Could this be an indication that Sega is planning to make a triumphant return to the console market, or are we just fools to think so?
Either way, its nice to hope for somthing as awsome as a Dreamcast 2. The next question: What implications would a four console race have on the industry?
A few screenshots of the highly anticipated Street Fighter IV surfaced today, along with an official announcement of the game’s development from Capcom. The first pic that surfaced came from (you guessed it) 1up, but two slightly juicier in-game pics showing both Ryu and Ken popped up from a Brazillian gaming blog called Blogeek later in the day along with some rumored details.
If Blogeek is to be believed, Street Fighter IV’s story will take place somewhere between the events of Street Fighter II and III, which means that characters like Dhalsim could be playable after all. They also claim that the parry system we have all come to know and love has been replaced by some sort of cancel system, and that players will be able to use both ‘Ultra’ and ‘Super’ attacks to strike down their foes.
What do you think about these new screens? Does Street Fighter IV’s style catch your fancy? Check out the rest of the pics after the jump.
Update: Ziff Davis has threatened legal action against the Blogeek writer who leaked the SF IV pictures, who they claim is a freelance writer working for their gaming publication, EGM Brazil. The screens have been removed from the Blogeek site and we have removed them from Rotpod.net as well.
Rockstar impresses with another great trailer for the upcoming release, Grand Theft Auto IV. The trailer does not feature that much gameplay, but does describe a lot more about the story with Niko and his coming to America. I got that Niko comes to America, where his brother is already and then they both try to live the American dream, but may go about it in the wrong ways. Check out the trailer for yourself above and post your own theories.
Oh and some major details too. But who wants to hear about gameplay elements and some interaction system when we finally get a screen that we have been waiting like sixty bazillion years for? Oh you do? Alright, fine then.
The latest STO devblog entry explains the game’s interaction system in all of its glory:
What’s the Interaction System you ask? In a nutshell, the Interaction System controls every non-combat, player-to-NPC interaction in the game. If you want to talk to a Ferengi shopkeeper, it goes through the Interaction System. Need to get some additional phaser training at the local Starfleet Academy ? That’s the Interaction System. Want to beam down to a planet? Interaction System. Responding to a distress call from a crippled starship? That’s the Interaction System, too. In fact, when one is done tallying up the mission givers, trainers, vendors, Transwarp Terminal operators, Dahar Masters, helpful cadets and informative colonists, you’ll find that there are just about as many peaceful interactions in Star Trek Online as the phasers-and-bat’leths variety. Put plainly, the Interaction System is the glue that holds all the other systems of STO together, transforming a bunch of disconnected (though spectacularly well designed and balanced) phaser fights into an actual game, so it’s vitally important that we get it “just right.”
As we design, implement, and refine our Interaction System, we’re trying to keep a few basic goals in mind:
Everyone hates friend codes. I have never met anyone that has been excited to tell me their 16 digit Wii friend code and even if we get down to the point where they give it to me, it is always a long ordeal that ends up with two things: giving up or repeating the number many times over. Now that the Wii friend code rant is out of the way, get excited for a whole new friend code that will be associated with Super Smash Brothers Brawl. This number is a 12 digit completely original number that will only be associated with SSBB and used to develop a friend’s list. To actually become friend’s with someone you must put their friend code in and then wait for them to put yours in. The Smash team declares that this is simple. I disagree. Check out the Dojo blog for more details.
Remember when this game came out? I remember. I remember the hullabaloo about a Resident Evil game that you could play online with your friends, and boy did it sound cool. In the end, the game was welcomed with average reviews across the board, but the online fanbase has remained pretty substantial for a PS2 throughout all of this time.
Sadly for those of you who may still be hopping on the interwebz with your buddies to blast some zombies, the company which hosts Outbreak’s (and Monster Hunter’s) servers is jumping overboard from the PS2 ship and taking a life raft to economic safety. On Dec 31st, the servers will go offline and there will be no more online play for the titles. Ever.
Sorry to have to be the one to break it to you folks, but someone has got to be the bearer of bad news.
Microsoft gives a 50% price reduction on some popular games on the Xbox Live Arcade. Some are not even popular, but no one can really tell what qualifies a game for this price reduction and the title of an “Arcade Hit”. The first games in the program are Bankshot Billiards 2, Lumines Live!, Marble Blast Ultra, Small Arms, Zuma Deluxe. This list is sure to grow, but right now Lumines and Billiards are 800 MSP, while the others are 400. I recommend Marble Blast Ultra.
PWNED.com is basically a gamer social network and from the looks of it has a lot of promise. Right now it is only invite-only, but I am in the beta and have a couple of invites to give away, so if you would like an invite leave your email in the comments below.
Just in case you were afraid that you wouldn’t be able to get your continued fix of titles like Guitar Hero or Call of Duty in the future, Activision Blizzard has confirmed a few “saw ‘em coming” games that are currently in development. According to the Activision Blizzard merger fact sheet posted on their new site, Guitar Hero 5, Call of duty 5, Tony Hawk’s (insert random skater term here), a new James Bond game, new Marvel titles, and a new racing title from Bizarre Creations will all be hitting the market…. eventually. There are no release windows or details here, but at least we know these games are coming, eh?
Suffering from Gerstmann grief? Is it getting hard to keep up with all the developments in this ongoing affair? Well, RotPod has a fix for your blues because following is a complete(and updating) list about all Gerstmann-related developments. Before you start reading, Jeff Gerstmann is was a senior GameSpot reviewer, favorite of some and hated by others, that was recently fired for very mysterious reasons that were immediatly known to be related to his review of Kane & Lynch.
It all begins – Penny Arcade posts a comic November 29th about Gertsmann.The next day, Gerstmann confirms his firing via email. No one is really sure why this happens for the first few hours, but then the ads get pulled from the site and people begin to piece two and two together. Rumors begin circulating that Eidos was very angry that Gerstmann gave a 6.0 to their game, Kane and Lynch, and pulled hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue from the site. Penny Arcade follows up by elaborting. They said he was fired for his review of Eidos’s Kane & Lynch game (btw this game actually does suck in my opinion) and did indeed cause the withdrawal of a lot of advertising money. CNET did have previous problems with Gerstmann’s reviewing style and this may have just been the climax of such problems.
Later that day – Everyone on the internet get’s really mad and begins a vicious(and fun) spam cycle on GameSpot and Eidos forums. If I was Gerstmann, I would begin to be rejoice because everyone seems to love him.
Even later – CNET(GameSpot parent company) contacts Joystiq and they get a talkin’. CNET denies firing Gerstmann over advertising pressure from Eidos, but only gave a mediocre explanation for taking the video review down from the site (here it is via YouTube). CNET PR director, Sarah Cain(an unfortunate name for this series of events), refused to acknowledge Eidos’s involvement in this case.
Meanwhile – Everyone on the internet is still mad and plans to boycott CNET, Eidos, and evil people everywhere begin to gain momentum and they effectively bring Cane & Lynch’s user-rating down to a 2.4/10, until GameSpot disables user-ratings on the game. GameSpot retaliates against forum posts by removing them and redirecting them to one of two topics on the forums. But, gamers find a new way to retaliate via Destructoid. Destructoid registered the doman cashwh0re.com and changes their homepage in honor of Gerstmann. 1UP also fights for Gerstmann by picketing. Everyone is still confused at that.
Further down the timeline – Eidos denies ever telling CNET to fire Gerstmann. No one believes them and continue to spam their forums.
Later – GameSpot seems to be losing paid subscriptions at an alarming rate and a giant wormhole opens up to take GameSpot into oblivion.
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