Monday, October 8, 2007
Microsoft Gives Away Two Games With 360s
11:58PM Brian Crecente | Microsoft this morning confirmed part of the bundle rumour that’s been ravaging the Internet for weeks: All Xbox 360s and Xbox 360 Elites will now come with free copies of Forza Motorsport 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance, a $US 90 value. Better still the price for the consoles will not be going up, which is very much like a price drop in my mind. According to the press release, posted after the jump, both the bundled 360 (at $US 350) and the bundled Elite (at $US 450) will be available by the end of the month. The fact that this is called the Holiday Bundle, makes me think it’s not going to last. So if you’re in the market for the 360 now might be a good time to jump on board. More »
WWWWW Is The New LOL
11:40PM Brian Ashcraft | To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Travel Advisory So, we’ve decided. “lol” (AKA “Laugh Out Loud”) is dead. We’ve killed it. All the cool kids (read: Plunkett, McWhertor, me) have ditched the “lol”. It’s kinda hard to type. Well, not that hard, but still. And “ha”? That actually is too hard to type. We’re going with “wwwww” or any of its variants: WwWwWw, WwwwW, wWwWw, WWwww, etc… The five Ws is purely arbitrary — more is welcomed! Those who spend time on the Japanese Internet recognise the “wwwww” as being short for “warau” (笑ã†), the Japanese verb for laugh. So “wwwww” is the equivalent of “lol”. The nice part about it is that its flexible. Meaning? If something is really funny, you can go “wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww”. But if something is kinda funny, a “wwww” is fine. That is easier to type than “lolololololol”, and like I said, it’s flexible. LOL? Gone, done and dusted. Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. What you missed last night: Feel cheated? UK rejects Manhunt 2 again SCE Australia quiet on 60GB This PS3 game is dirty More »
Yes, Stoves Do Melt Xbox 360s
11:00PM Brian Ashcraft | The Xbox 360 is a fragile piece of hardware. Keep it running for long periods without proper ventilation, and it just might Red Ring of Death on you. Leave it running on a hot stove, and it will, well, it’ll melt. Hell, pretty much leaving anything on a hot stove will cause gooey meltdown. Here’s what apparently happened: Ty and his buddies were setting up for a Halo 3 LAN match and ran out of space to set up consoles. So, Ty and his buddies decided that, say, instead of putting it on the floor, they should put the Xbox 360 on the stove. And whoops, someone forgot to turn off the stove. You know, like people do. Look closely at the picture to see two things: 1). A third party cooling device 2). The handiwork of nitwits. Don’t Leave 360 on the Stove [Engadget] More »Subtitled JPN Zombie Shooter Skit Cracks Us Up
10:40PM Brian Ashcraft | If only House of the Dead was this funny. If only… Zombie Game [TV in Japan] More »
Wired Help Prepare You For Portal’s Mindfuck
10:20PM Luke Plunkett | Oh boy am I excited for Portal. But also a little… concerned. See, my brain’s a fragile thing, doesn’t really like crazy puzzles. And looking at how the whole portal gun thing works, my noggin hurts just thinking about how I’m supposed to be thinking while playing the game. Down is up, left is down, up is not really, up… oh, it’s all so confusing. Luckily, Wired have stepped up with a handy, graphic guide to the game, which I’m printing, cutting out and sticking on my fridge door right now. Unlock the Doors of Deception in Mind-Warping Puzzler Portal [Wired] More »
SCEA Creates In-Game Advertising Group
10:15PM Brian Ashcraft | Hot Sony advertising news! Today, Sony Computer Entertainment of America announced a new in-game advertising business unit headed by industry vet Darlene Kindler. According to SCEA Sales and Business Development senior v.p. Phil Rosenberg: Darlene has an ideal blend of experience within the video game industry, including in-game advertising, making her a perfect fit for this newly created position. She will be tasked with the important role of working closely with our internal teams as well as our third-party publishers and external advertising agencies to develop business and marketing strategies for our newly formed online advertising group. See, this is how PlayStation Home becomes a marketers wet dream! And if you really want to look forward to something, we’ve put the entire press release after the jump. We know you’re just dying to read it. Go on, do it. More »
Yep, Soul Breed PS3 Game Is So So Dirty
10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Nothing says next-gen like embarrassing food eating! Japanese developers Idea Factory and RED bring us Record of Agarest War, the “Soul Breed” strategy RPG. Players capture the hearts of game heroines to “create” a successor. When this happens, there is a “special” movie that’s shown. The new successor is then revealed. The monster-killing-baby-making RPG was released in Japan late last month, and in-game shots are starting to surface. So far? There’s a girl in a school-type bathing suit, one eating a sausage, another eating a banana, a messy ice cream scene and group bathing. That, safely after the jump! More »
It’s “Natural” For Early PS3 Adopters To Feel Cheated
9:30PM Luke Plunkett | SCEE just let UK Managing Director Ray Maguire sit down with GamesIndustry for an interview. What do we get? More wacky SCEE executive quotes! And no matter how boring continued Sony/PS3 cock-ups get, we can always get a laugh out of those. Like, when asked whether early PS3 adopters would feel cheated, Maguire answers: “I think it’s natural to feel that way, of course it is”. Guy also said a bunch of other stuff. The full interview’s over at GamesIndustry, and is definitely worth a read over your morning toast, but here’s the highlights: First, why having loads of different PS3s on the market isn’t confusing: As products evolve the offerings change because they have to adapt to the needs of the consumers but I don’t think it’s been particularly confusing in six months to go from stand alone, to a bundled proposition into a low price entry level model. So true. It hasn’t been at all confusing for PAL consumers to see three different PS3s (four if you count the upcoming Value Pack in Britain) in less than seven months. We also have to remember that consumers don’t search around the world for different configurations. We are a global company but we have to act locally as well. Also true! No way do we search around the world! I bet not one of you has the slightest idea of the number of different configurations the PS3 is currently being sold in across the world. Not even the foggiest! Sony admits early PS3 adopters may feel cheated [GamesIndustry.biz] More »
Manhunt 2 Refused Classification In Britain AGAIN
9:10PM Luke Plunkett | Manhunt 2 was pretty messy. Got itself banned/refused classification pretty much everywhere on Earth. But a revised, friendlier cut has since been approved for release in the US. In Britain, though? No. The British Board Of Film Classification has rejected Rockstar’s revised cut of the game, on the grounds that it’s still a bit much: We recognise that the distributor has made changes to the game, but we do not consider that these go far enough to address our concerns about the original version. The impact of the revisions on the bleakness and callousness of tone, or the essential nature of the gameplay, is clearly insufficient. There has been a reduction in the visual detail in some of the ‘execution kills’, but in others they retain their original visceral and casually sadistic nature. We did make suggestions for further changes to the game, but the distributor has chosen not to make them, and as a result we have rejected the game on both platforms. The decision on whether or not an appeal goes ahead lies with the distributor. Third time’s a charm, maybe? Worst they can do is try! BBFC rejects revised Manhunt 2 [MCV] More »
