Tuesday, December 18, 2007
News
E3 Returns to Los Angeles, But Remains Booth Babe Free
11:41PM Brian Crecente | The Santa Monica E3 is dead, long live the Los Angeles E3… again? Not quite. The Entertainment Software Association today announced that the E3 Media & Business Summit will be returning to the spacious digs of the Los Angeles Convention Center for next year’s event which will run from July 15 through July 17. But that doesn’t mean that the new E3 is returning to its old ways. ‘We are very much not going back to the old E3,” Rich Taylor, senior vice president of communications and research for the ESA, told me in an interview. “I think we are all on the same page for the industry on what we want those days in July to be about.” “This is the new E3, new and improved.”And that, according to Taylor, means the small, more intimate meetings of this year’s E3. A toned-down affair that saw 3,000 to 4,000 attendees and whole lot less booth babes. More »
Salami & Jarlsberg
11:40PM Luke Plunkett | To: Crecente From: Luke Re: The Littlest Rock Band Harmonix working on a kid’s game? The mind shudders. Question: what do you guys eat on Christmas day? Me and some friends were trying to work it out the other day, because they’re off to the northern hemisphere for the holidays. It’s turkey, isn’t it? That’s what I thought it was. Know that in Australia, we don’t really eat turkey for Christmas. When it’s around 90-100 degrees outside, oven-baked meat does not sound appetising. No, at my house, we normally feast on…a selection of cold meats. Salami, ham, roast beef, devon, pepperoni. Oh, and you better believe it’s accompanied by a selection of cheeses. I’m on a real Jarlsberg tip at the moment… Here’s what you missed while you weren’t thinking about cold meats and exotic cheese: Please Reggie Don’t Hurt ‘Em. Sony Japan do what America and Europe couldn’t, and release a free, english-language PSP Media Manager. Those free games EA offered for all the busted Rock Band guitars? They’re not bad. Some Everquest 2 devs forgot their “rights” and “wrongs”. More »
News
Codemasters Announce New Action Game
11:20PM Luke Plunkett | Codemasters have announced “Project Strike Team”. What is it? Nobody knows, but boy, that name needs a do-over. It’s built on their new EGO engine, the game is a ‘character-driven action title’, and we don’t know what platforms it’ll appear on. What we do know is that the EGO engine is built to handle enormous environments, and that the game will incorporate the developer’s experience with driving games. So a Codemasters GTA clone? Our magic 8-ball says “why not”. Codemasters readies its ‘Strike Team’ [Develop] More »
GameStop Outlines “Wii Certificate Program”
10:54PM Brian Crecente | Reggie Fils-Aime may have referred to it as a raincheck program, but GameStop’s official name for their pre-pay Wii program hitting on Dec. 20 is the Wii Certificate Program. There are a couple other things Reggie was a bit off on, according to the details released this morning from GameStop. The Wii Certificate program will run just one day, Friday, December 21. Customers will be able to go in and hand out the full $US 250 to reserve a Wii console for pick-up on January 25. Reservations must be made in-person at any GameStop or EB Games location in the U.S., including those in Puerto Rico and Hawaii. The number of reservations available at each store is limited and only one Wii can be reserved per a household. More »
News
Now Sega Want To Buy People Out?
10:30PM Luke Plunkett | A few years back, Sega went a little buyout crazy. Not only did they grab Total War devs Creative Assembly and marriage-wreckers Sports Interactive (Football Manager), but also got themselves bought out in the process. Since then we thought they’d calmed down, had their fill of takeovers, but no. They’re insatiable. Sega Europe boss Mike Hayes: The growth challenge is never over. Therefore like most other publishers we are always on the look-out for new signings – product or company. Great! Now go pay someone more capable than yourselves obscene amounts of money to do a Billy Hatcher sequel. ACTIVISION BLIZZARD: Could Sega be next to strike acquisition deal? [MCV] [Image] More »
News
Over Half Of US 360 Owners Own Halo 3
10:00PM Luke Plunkett | Last week, we learned Halo 3 had sold five million copies. Using some simple math (ie looking at that figure compared to global 360 sales), we figured the game had a healthy attach rate. Our math was too simple, and was based on inaccurate presumptions. See, of the five million copies sold, 4.1 million were in the US (whose guns+aliens=cashmoney formula, we forgot, does not apply in Europe). And with around 7.9 million 360s sold in the US, you’re looking at an estimated attach rate of 52%. Which is a lot. Those remaining 48%? Obviously just biding their time, waiting for the January sales. Halo 3 Purchased by 52% of Xbox 360 Owners in U.S. [GameDaily] More »
Godzilla Contest
9:30PM Luke Plunkett | We’re giving away a copy of Godzilla Unleashed (on PS2, DS or Wii, up to you). We’re also giving away a limited edition Godzilla poser. Well, not giving them away. You’ve gotta earn ‘em. And the only way to earn ‘em is to pretend you’re Godzilla. Do things Godzilla would do. Or, get your kids to do things Godzilla would do. Like obstacle-man here, whose son is about to eat a police truck. So cute! Conditions of entry are as follows: include a sign that says KOTAKU in the photo, include your name in an email and then send it all off to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Blue Oyster Cult lyrics are not compulsory, but are nonetheless encouraged. Think you can do better? Entries close on December 19. Which is tomorrow. Godzilla Unleashed [Official Site] More »
Konami To Release New Guitar Freaks, Drum Mania In Europe
9:00PM Luke Plunkett | Mention plastic guitars and rhythm action to a casual, Western observer and they’ll think Guitar Hero. Or maybe Rock Band. Mention fake drums and rhythm action and they’ll definitely mention Rock Band. They don’t know Konami’s Guitar Freaks and Drum Mania were the pioneers in the field, and frankly, don’t care. Which makes the following move a curious one: Konami are looking at bringing the latest versions of both Guitar Freaks and Drum Mania to Europe. It’s unclear whether that’s just the arcade versions, home console ports or both, but either way it’ll be interesting to see the cagey old Japanese masters take on their upstart Western apprentices. Konami planning to localize Guitar Freaks and DrumMania in 08? [Siliconera] More »
Heavy Rain Devs Claim They’ve Crossed The Uncanny Valley
8:30PM Luke Plunkett | You know the “uncanny valley”, right? The closer animated people get to people, the less like people they appear. Well, the developers who got a lot of people talking about said valley now claim they’ve crossed it. And not just crossed it, flown over it in a small rocket wearing a tight white jumpsuit. Guillaume de Fondaumière, co-founder of Quantic Dream: When we showed The Casting everyone agreed it was nice and it really showed that there was a potential for creating virtual actors, but we’re still at this frontier where we don’t totally suspend disbelief. We still have this uncanny valley to bridge But today, I can officially announce that there is no uncanny valley any more, not in real-time. You know, Heavy Rain looks promising. And, as de Fondaumière also says in the interview, I’m sure they’ll secure some serious Hollywood talent for the project. But comments like that? They can only do one thing, and that’s bite a man in the arse a year or two down the road. Quantic eyes Hollywood A-list for Heavy Rain [GI.biz] More »
