Microsoft Responds To Reports Of Xbox Live Account 'Jacking' 
GAME Australia Lays Off 281 Employees, Closes 60 Stores 
How Diablo III's Always-On Internet Requirement Makes It A Better Game GAME: No Buyers Yet, Crisis To Drag On For Another Month 
Have Your Say On Video Game Pricing 
35,000 Telstra Passwords Reset After Games Services Hacked The still-yet-to-hit-newsstands issue of this week’s Famitsu also unveils a new Soul Calibur IV female fighter named Scheherazade (bottom left). Plus! The SCIV version of nunchaku-swinging pirate Maxi is revealed as well. Couple these with the new Street Fighter IV fighter, and yes, this week’s Famitsu is fighting game character all-you-can-announce smorgasbord! Or something.
Thanks, jayce!
You think you’re sick of World War II shooters? Spare a thought for Infinity Ward! They were sick to death of World War II shooters, which – as you could have guessed – is exactly why they went and set Call of Duty 4 in the modern world. From an interview in this month’s Developer magazine:
Metal Gear Solid 4 is a big game. Big games have big expectations. How many copies does Konami president Fumiaki Tanaka think it will sell? He’s aiming for a million worldwide, it seems. Certainly that’s not impossible! Like we said, Metal Gear Solid 4 is a big game. Still, Konami must be worried about the install base. Will it take a long time for Konami to hit its million sold target? Says Tanaka: Now, potential users are going, ‘When that game comes out, I want to get a PS3,’ and they’re waiting for that title to come out. When MGS4 comes out, other companies will put out their big PS3 titles out, and then gradually won’t the install number grow?
If not, hey, you could always put the game on, you know, another console. Tanaka Interview [Trendy]
Phoenix Wright is coming back to the PC. And not just coming, but coming in many, many pieces, as it’s been announced that the first three GBA titles (which have already seen limited releases on PC in Japan) of the series are to be broken up into a steady stream of episodic titles. The first one lands next week, and will be free (as will the first chapters of the second and third GBA titles), with all remaining chapters costing ¥120 (around $US 1). That’s for each chapter: to buy every chapter of a whole Ace Attorney game will cost you about ¥1920 ($US 19). No idea whether, like the DS versions, these will have an English-language track, but I guess we’ll find out on March 18 when the first episode’s due. Phoenix Wright trilogy diced into bite size PC morsels [Siliconera]
This is for the 360 version, in case you’re wondering. Has a combination of pre-rendered stuff and actual gameplay, in case you’re wondering. And yes. Yoda’s in there, lightsabre and all. In case you were, you know. Wondering.
Want a job working for a Japanese game, anime or manga company? GET IN LINE!! In Akihabara, an event called “Raku-Job” gathered twenty companies in the game, manga and anime world to interview prospective applicants. Approximately two-thousand hopefuls showed up, with would-be job hunters coming from as far away as Kobe. Remember kids, it’s good to show up to job interviews in suits, but with blurry faces is a definite no-no. Job Hunting Event [Akiba Blog]
A photo of this week’s pre-newsstand Famitsu shows new SFIV character “El Fuerte.” Not much is known about him other than he’s a Lucha Libre wrestler. Hit the jump for a closer look.
Capcom (may) have, via leaked mag scans, had the wraps taken off Lost Planet Colonies, the successor to snowy bug-killing simulator Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. What’s new? There’s a new playable character (that girl in snow gear) and in online play you’ll get the option of playing as the bugs against the humans. That online play will feature cross-platform play between PCs and 360s. There’s more weapons and more monsters to fight (including their eggs), and it’ll be out in Japan on May 29. Oh, and no word of a PS3 release as of yet. Bear in mind: all this info comes courtesy of a leaked magazine scan that’s been…modified to include super-awesome Xbox Japan boss Takashi Sensui, so until we get some more concrete info, take it all with a grain of salt. [via 2ch]
Over in San Francisco, Capcom is focus testing what appears to be a new Xbox 360 game. The Capcom Flickr set has images of the focus test with the TV screens blacked out. Those bastards!
Wonder what game it is… There is Lost Planet art on the wall. Hrm. Focus Test [Flickr via Capcom Blog via Siliconera]
