Monday, March 10, 2008
GTA IV MMO Is “Very, Very Doable”
11:00PM Brian Ashcraft | World of Warcraft with car jacking and hookers! Rockstar boss Sam Houser says that a Grand Theft Auto IV MMO “is very, very doable and is a very, very compelling proposition”. What’s more, Houser calls a subscription console-based MMO “the Holy Grail”. Definitely, GTA does seem like fertile ground for a MMO. If Rockstar is plotting this, how it will keep the MMO from turning into pure anarchy should be interesting to see. And hey, if the game ends up as MMO chaos, that too will be interesting. EGM Interview [1Up via Massively via Eurogamer] More »
First Shot Of Mark Wahlberg As Max Payne
10:30PM Luke Plunkett | Smuggled off the set of the upcoming adaptation, and I must say, there’s a pretty good likeness going on here! Not only is the movie’s snow machine set to OVERKILL, but Mark Wahlberg’s even sporting Max Payne’s trademark “constipated” pinched face. Only niggle? I don’t remember Max Payne’s face being that…well, portly. First Look At Mark Wahlberg As Max Payne [DarkZero, thanks Rav!] More »
Soul Calibur IV Box Art
10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | The first images of the PS3 and Xbox 360 Soul Calibur IV box art have popped online. Color schemes shouldn’t come as a surprise. My question: Vader or Yoda? SCIV Box Arts [Game Class Thanks, Stephane!] More »
StarCraft II Official Zerg Fact Sheet
9:00PM Brian Ashcraft | You’ve seen the trailer, now read words. Korean game site sends us what is apparently the official Blizzard Zerg fact sheet. Tk from Korean game site Game Shot sends us the sheet. We can’t verify its authenticity one hundred percent. We can verify that it is after the jump. Read on!
Nintendo Won’t Release Holocaust DS Game [Update]
8:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Earlier, we brought word of Imagination Is The Only Escape, a Holocaust DS game from British game dev Luc Bernard. The game follows a young Jewish boy living in France during the Nazi occupation during World War II. In order to escape the horrors around him, he imagines a fantasy land that becomes the basis of the game’s world. The adventure platformer will attempt to educate players on the atrocities experienced by many children during the time of the Holocaust. Bernard previously told Kotaku, “The sad thing is that videogames are still considered toys and not art, I hope that this game can show that games can be just as important as films”. Well, Nintendo’s having none of that! According to Nintendo of America:
Europe Getting 360 Price Cuts
7:30PM Luke Plunkett | The rumour was mostly right, if a little off on the size of the cuts: announced over the weekend by the German edition of the Financial Times, Microsoft will this week be slashing the price of two of their Xbox 360 console across Europe. The Pro unit, which currently retails for €339, will be reduced to €299, while an even bigger cut’s in line for the Arcade unit, which will drop from €279 all the way down to €199. Which is a full €50 cheaper than a Wii. Can’t see the rationale behind this, myself. Not like price has ever been the 360’s problem in Europe. PS – sorry, Britain, no idea if this means you as well. We’ll let you know soon as we hear either way. Microsoft macht Xbox billiger [FT] More »
You Can Buy Street Fighter IV for $US 23,000
7:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Street Fighter IV doesn’t have a street date yet, but we’re pretty sure of two things: 1). It will be released in arcades before on consoles. 2). It will be released in Japanese arcades before in Western arcades. We could be wrong! We’re just guessing! But, just in case, we’re dead right and just in case you can’t wait, there’s this: A pre-order for the Japanese arcade cabinet. It’ll set you back around ¥2,394,000 yen ($US 23,307). Pre-orders start this March, and it’s expected to go on sale this August. Order Here [Tops-Game via Danny Choo] More »
News
4:00PM Logan Booker | Media Connect’s ITJourno, an industry news site for Australian IT journalists, is reporting that publisher Derwent Howard may have lost its right to publish titles licensed from the UK-based Future Publishing.
For Oz gamers, the most prominent title in Future’s repertoire is Official Xbox 360 Magazine. Painting with broader strokes, this news would also affect T3 and Official Windows Vista Magazine.
The article goes on to say that Derwent Howard will likely make a statement today regarding the future of its brands. There’s also mention that Future may enter the Australia market.
I’d like to link to the story, but it’s only available to journalists registered to the ITJourno site. Even though ITJourno is a credible source and there’s no doubt in my mind about its validity, until this news makes its way to more accessible channels I’m going to mark it as a rumour.
Update: Smarthouse News has confirmation of the split. More »
Derwent Howard To Lose Official Xbox 360 Magazine, Future To Enter Oz Market?
4:00PM Logan Booker | Media Connect’s ITJourno, an industry news site for Australian IT journalists, is reporting that publisher Derwent Howard may have lost its right to publish titles licensed from the UK-based Future Publishing.
For Oz gamers, the most prominent title in Future’s repertoire is Official Xbox 360 Magazine. Painting with broader strokes, this news would also affect T3 and Official Windows Vista Magazine.
The article goes on to say that Derwent Howard will likely make a statement today regarding the future of its brands. There’s also mention that Future may enter the Australia market.
I’d like to link to the story, but it’s only available to journalists registered to the ITJourno site. Even though ITJourno is a credible source and there’s no doubt in my mind about its validity, until this news makes its way to more accessible channels I’m going to mark it as a rumour.
Update: Smarthouse News has confirmation of the split. More » First Look at StarCraft II Zerg
3:56PM Brian Ashcraft | This new StarCraft II trailer that just debuted in Korea gives a first look at the Zerg alien race. Great looking trailer! Just checked the news, and no, South Korea hasn’t imploded. Yet. More »
Australian Gaming Bargains, March 2008 Edition
3:15PM Logan Booker | I’m beginning to think Anthony over at Economical Gamer is just a highly-sophisticated robot that constantly scans shop brochures and the Internet for deals, bundles and price cuts on gaming hardware and software.
Oh, and knows how to write emails too, because he’s once again put together a sweet list of gaming bargains for Kotaku AU readers. If your wallet is ready and waiting to disgorge its contents at unsuspecting salespeople, then I recommend – nay I demand – you hit the jump. If you don’t, you’ll just be doing yourself a disservice.
Economical Gamer [thanks Anthony-robot!] More » 
