Wednesday, January 9, 2008
News
The Top-Selling Games In Britain For 2007 Were…
11:30PM Luke Plunkett | ChartTrack have broken with standard practise and sent out actual figures for some game sales! And not just figures, but figures for the entire year! Once you’ve recovered from the shock with a lie down and a stiff drink, read on to see the ten top-selling games in the UK for 2007. Warning: BioShock, Mass Effect and Mario Galaxy do not feature. 1) FIFA 08 (1,391,435) 2) Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training (1,016,558) 3) Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (935,044) 4) PES 2008 (787,382) 5) More Brain Training From Dr Kawashima (760,225) 6) Halo 3 (735,176) 7) The Simpsons Game (734,595) 8) Wii Play (688,002) 9) Assassin’s Creed (670,286) 10) WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2008 (563,121) Nice to see some real numbers for once! Pity they then went and rolled multi-format games into one, which tends to skew the data somewhat. The top 10 UK games of 2007 [CVG] More »
Stream Your Mac Stuff To Your PS3
10:30PM Luke Plunkett | Hey there PS3-owning Mac users! Come on in from the file-sharing cold and make yourself comfortable. Thanks to NullRiver, who have already got Macs and 360s talking, your Mac will soon be able to stream your music and movies to your PS3. And not just stream, but do nifty things like show your iTunes album art and stream an iPhoto slideshow to your shiny big HDTV. Download link’s below if you’re at all interested. [Official Site] More »
Japanese Police Hunt Otaku, Discriminate
10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Previously, we’ve brought word of criminals hunting Japanese otaku. This time it’s the Japanese police who’s hunting them. Apparently, police in Shinjuku have been stopping people who look like otaku, aka NERDS, and subjecting them to spot checks. What do Japanese otaku look like? They come in all shapes and sizes, but the above chap does a nice job of playing the stereotype. In these spot checks, the police ask what your occupation is, examine your ID and sometimes go through your stuff. A supposed police list describes what types of individuals cops should do spot checks on. Those individuals are: •People wearing camouflage trousers or jackets •People with chains or keys (hanging off trousers) •People who look weak •People wearing a bandana •People wearing leather More »
MTV’s Music Game Song Library
9:30PM Luke Plunkett | MTV have put together what is, so far, the most useful game-related tool for 2008. It’s called Track Finder, and it contains details on the licensed music libraries of (nearly) every single rhythm action game released over the past few years. What’s the point? It means you’ll never again have to waste precious, disc-swapping minutes because you couldn’t remember whether Ziggy Stardust was on Guitar Hero 1 or Guitar Hero 2. MTV Rhythm Game Track Finder [MTV] More »
Gundam Musou Coming to PS2
9:25PM Brian Ashcraft | Gundam meets Dynasty Warriors mash-up Gundam Musou did pretty good on the PS3 and so-so on the Xbox 360 as Gundam Musou International (or “Dynasty Warriors: Gundam in America). So why release it on the PS2! That’s right, Bandai Namco Games is bringing the title to the PlayStation 2 late this February. Dubbed Gundam Musou Special, it’ll have a new scenario and mobile suits. No word on a Western release, but something tells me they’ll call it Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Special. Call it a hunch. GM on PS2 [Famitsu] More »
jPod Is A Proper TV Show About Game Development
9:25PM Luke Plunkett | We’ve seen a few “TV shows” about videogames pass across our desks over the years, from bad internet videos to worse internet videos, culminating in the shit-awful G4 series Code Monkeys. We’ve never seen one that looks this…proper, however. jPod is a new series that’s airing on CBC in Canada, and while it looks as excruciatingly unfunny as its predecessors, at least it also looks like it’s taking the whole idea of setting a show in the games industry (somewhat) seriously. Based on Douglas Coupland’s book of the same name, it’s about four nerd-like characters working for monolithic games company Electronic Neotronic Arts. Full run-down and bonus flash games at the link below. [Official Site, thanks Adam!] More »
Gearbox Cares, It Really Does
9:25PM Brian Ashcraft | Back in late December, I visited Gearbox’s Dallas headquarter. Nice digs. The company looks like it’s doing well, growing — especially with a handful of big titles coming out this year. That doesn’t mean Gearbox isn’t giving back! Oh, no. The company is giving $US 50,000 to help establish the Fellows Scholars program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. This financial support will entail support for art creation, level design and software programming for graduate students. Gearbox will also mentor for students during their study. The dev even donated an audio lab to SMU. Says Gearbox honcho Randy Pitchford: The only thing growing faster than our industry is the critical need for new and creative talent. I think it is clear that the videogame industry has the vast financial support and consumer demand it needs to continue its global growth. But what I and many industry leaders are very worried about is hiring and retaining world class talent. Since 2004, 15 SMU grads have joined Gearbox. Good for them. Good for Gearbox. Win, win! SMU Program [GamesIndustry] More »
Slovenia’s Tetris-Style Public Housing
9:25PM Luke Plunkett | These apartments, designed by architecture firm Ofis Arhitekti, were built last year in the Slovenian city of Ljubljana. Their goal? Design some stylish-yet-affordable public housing. Their obstacle? The building had to be only four stories tall, and they were given less than 54,000 square feet to build on. So they did what any right-minded person would do, and slotted the apartments together like they were playing a game of Tetris. Simple, effective, stylish. Tetris-Style Slovenian Housing Projects [io9] More »
Pikmin Ready to Beat Up Super Smash Bros.
9:25PM Brian Ashcraft | Yet another new challenger! Captain Olimar and five colors of Pikmin those their hats (flowers? pedals? what?) into the Super Smash Bros. Brawl ring. Oimar needs Pikmin to do a Smash Attack, and the Pikmin apparently tend to scatter. There ya go. Another new character. Thinking about two things: A). Who the game is missing? B). How will they top this for the sequel? Game launches February 10th. New Challenger [Smash Bros. DOJO!!] More »
