Naughty Dog president Evan Wells says Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is just about done. Which is good news, partly because it’s a promising PS3 game that’s not being delayed, mostly because I was about the only person at TGS who didn’t get to play it and get their rainbow-coloured, individual-toed socks blown off. The good news doesn’t stop there: Wells also rolls up his sleeves, trawls through the comments on the post and decides that due to fan feedback they’d go ahead and implement 1080i support, where previously they’d only been gunning for 720p. Swell gesture! Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (Update) [PlayStation.Blog]
Retired cop and current Manila mayor Alfredo Lim is cracking down. On everything. Shortly after the incumbent took office the summer, he demanded that Internet cafes prohibit children from accessing games from 7am to 6pm in hopes of preventing children skipping school. Now, he’s out to ban games he views as violent altogether. Says Lim:
I have asked the city council to study a possible ordinance to ban these violent computer games at Internet cafes and arcades in shopping malls.
His hardline has earned him comparisons to Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry. So far, Lim has destroyed cafes and night spots in Manila’s tourist district as well as dismantled basketball courts, tightened up on prostitution and drugs, and imposed harsh punishments on petty crime. Next up, watch as he tries outlawing masturbation or something. Manila Mayor [ABS-CBN, Thanks Arbet!]
Reuters are reporting that Sony are in discussions with Toshiba over selling their PS3 graphics chip production facility in western Japan’s Oita prefecture. Why? It’s another step on the road to cutting costs at the company’s semiconductor unit, and comes right on the back of the announcement of a new DRAM chip manufacturing deal Sony made with Infineon Technologies AG the other day. If the sale goes through, it’d be the second time this year the two companies have been linked; in September Sony were also keen to sell Toshiba their Nagasaki production facility, which was making the Cell chip. All of which is terribly fascinating to business followers, but what does this mean to you, the idle, slightly disinterested observer? Means the PS3 has cost Sony a lot of cash, cash they’re now trying to recoup. Also means you’re hopefully another step closer to a cheaper PS3, because this is all about cutting costs. Sony may sell graphic chip line to Toshiba-sources [Reuters]
Japan-based, PS3-owning, Kotaku-reading humans rejoice! Some new content has popped up on the Japanese PlayStation Network, including a demo of the “soul breeding” Record of Agarest War. Definitely going to check it out tonight. Hopefully, it looks better than the cruddy clip we posted recently.
Thanks iamhitori for the tip!
The October issue of Wired mag has a nice succinct nerd encyclopedia that does a fine job of defining things in a single sentence. Game-wise, this is what they’ve got on the seventh generation consoles:
Wii. A motion-sensing controller, simple games, and a low price make this the top 7th-genner.
Xbox 360. Brilliantly conceived online-community features give this box sizzle.
PS3. Stellar specs can’t make up for the high price and late release — a missed opportunity.
Agree? Disagree? Can do better? Discuss. Consoles Defined [Infendo]
Fantastic piece up over at the NY Times, albeit one with a slightly understated title. Said title reads: “Texas Man Linked to Past and Future of Space Exploration by Sputnik and Soyuz”. Which is true, to an extent, but doesn’t really capture the fact the super-nerd pictured above is Ultima creator, castle-builder and all-round space buff Richard Garriott. Holding his very own Sputnik satellite. A real one, too, which he picked up during the “fire sales” that followed the breakup of the former Soviet Union. He owns a whole bunch of other cool space stuff, which you can both see and hear Garriott discussing by checking out the full story below. So please. Do. Texas Man Linked to Past and Future of Space Exploration by Sputnik and Soyuz [NY Times]
Now is not a time for words. Now is a time for quiet reflection on just what exactly this means for humanity.
1) Halo 3 (360) 59,000 copies 2) Pokemon’s Mysterious Dungeon: Toki (DS) 55,000 3) Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core (PSP) 54,000 4) Tamagotchi (DS) 54,000 5) Pokemon’s Mysterious Dungeon: Yami (DS) 46,000 6) Bleach Blade Battlers 2nd (PS2) 31,000 7) English Test 2 (DS) 28,000 8) Yu-gi-oh Duel Monsters GX (PSP) 28,000 9) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3) 27,000 10) Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops + (PSP) 25,000
Media Create Sales 9/24 – 9/30: Halo on top! [Jonnyram @ NeoGAF]
Missed TGS? Live in Kansai? Next month, the Games Japan Festa kicks off at Osaka’s ATC Hall. The two day event, sponsored by the Video Game Commercial Association of Japan, will feature 80 titles on display from 25 companies that include Capcom, Konami, Square Enix, SEGA, Bandai Namco and Nintendo. The festival will move to the Makuhari Messe, where TGS is held, at the end of November. No clue what they’ll be showing at the Festa — whether it’ll be TGS builds or new stuff. Nintendo, who usually sit TGS out, will be there, possibly showing stuff like Wii Fit to the Japanese public for the first time. Not sure, though! Nintendo should draw a fair crowd, no? Osaka Festa [Famitsu]
Today being Thursday in the United States, Sony have gone ahead and updated your PlayStation Store. With what, I hear you ask with a half-hearted sense of idle curiosity? Buncha stuff. You’ve got demos for The Simpsons and Bladestorm, trailers for Uncharted, Haze, Tekkonkinkreet and Surf’s Up, a couple of tutorials for NBA 08 and Eye Of Judgement and…a game! A real game. Go! Sports Ski, which is only $US 3 and lets you ski with the SixAxis. That’s at least one or two good times right there. PlayStation Store Update [PlayStation.Blog]
There are probably only 10 people out there who have an interest in pen & paper gaming – as addicted enamoured as everyone is with World of Warcraft these days – but seeing as how I’m close to feverish with love over true social role-playing, you’ll just have to put up with me.
WarCry has an interview up with Wizards of The Coast’s Iija Rotelli, who is director of online media for the hobby games company. The chat focuses on the upcoming 4th Edition, as well as WoTC’s “digital initiative” called “Gleemax”.
In the old days, we got new customers by people going into a hobby shop, pick up a group in his community, and he would start playing. Now a day’s more and more people are staying home, playing video games, going on the internet, and so to attract those players, Gleemax was born.
It sounds like MySpace for PnP and CCG geeks… probably because that’s exactly what it is.
So what you get right off the back with Gleemax is a social networking site for gamers.
On a side note, I’m currently running a D&D campaign, and was desperately after an app to track encounters. After failing to find a free one online I was happy with, I put one together myself. You can download the executable below, and if anyone wants the source code (VB.NET) just email me. You’ll need the .NET Framework 2.0 to get it running.
