Friday, September 26, 2008
News
Even Halo Was Affected By The Used Games Market
11:20PM Luke Plunkett | The other day, we were looking at the possibility of a looming SHOWDOWN between publishers and retailers over second-hand game sales. Today, Bungie’s Marty O’Donnell adds his $0.02, telling GI.biz that even Halo, mightiest of mighty console unit-sellers, had its bottom line affected by pre-owned sales: It’s hard to gauge the effect of used game sales on Halo, but I’m sure it’s big. Complaining about sales when you have a multi-million seller is somewhat difficult to justify, but it seems to me that the folks who create and publish a game shouldn’t stop receiving income from further sales. Least he’s aware Halo was still a million-seller, and is arguing on principle. Pre-owned market had “big” effect on Halo, says Bungie dev [GI.biz] [Image] More »
Wow, Double Dragon Played In North Korea
11:00PM Brian Ashcraft | For all the things that the People’s Republic does not have, it does have an arcade — as we learned yesterday. And at least some very, very North Korean kids have Double Dragon. This pic was snapped by photographer Eric Lafforgue at Songdowon International Children’s Camp, and the kids are playing the Micro Genius clone. Nice to see that even in oppressive regimes, some kids still get to kick arse with Billy and Jimmy. Hit the jump for another pic. More »
Last Day For PAX Penny Entries
10:40PM Brian Ashcraft | Hear the clock ticking? Time is running out. For those who still want to enter our contest, you have until midnight Kotaku Time. Yes, KOTAKU TIME! Reader Rob sent along this Link creation. Those are pennies, and he went through the trouble of painting each one in acrylic paint. (There was nothing in the rules about not painting the pennies so no whining.) Here’s what’s going on: Win the bag of schwag we collected at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo. To enter you just need to send in a picture of your game-themed penny creation. It can be characters scenes, or even a lovely load screen. Make sure to include a Kotaku in the pic so we know you’re not faking it. You have until Friday to enter. Rules here. Reader Adam also coloured pennies, too. His creation after the jump! More »Here, Another Gorgeous King Of Fighters XII Trailer
10:20PM Luke Plunkett | And this one’s not some shaky cam one, either. It’s a proper one. A long, proper one, that shows off better than any before the hundreds of frames of animation that have been poured into each character. More »
News
Microsoft Talks Future of Rare and Lionhead
10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Microsoft’s been on a binder of late, shuttering the likes of Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios. From that, a new developer entity is being created. Just as its other studios seem at risk (namely Lionhead and Rare) for the same corporate reorganization, Microsoft is trying to quell those fears. Regarding both the Microsoft-owned Rare and Lionhead Studios, Microsoft Game Studios head Phil Spencer states: The work that those studios are doing [is] incredibly important to MGS. For Rare, this will be their fifth game in the first three years of the Xbox 360 – that’s crazy. Two launch games? What studio on the planet signs up for two launch games? That’s just crazy. So the productivity and effort in those two studios is just great to see. About the Microsoft-owned Lionhead, Spencer says there are “no plans” for a Bungie or Ensemble-type reorganization with Microsoft Game Studios, adding “the next Lionhead game is definitely an MGS game”. What about the game after that? Phil Spencer – Part Two [Games Industry] More »
Check Out master Chief’s Wang
9:45PM Luke Plunkett | Check Out master Chief’s Wang – Shouldn’t laugh, but really, there’s a poignancy to it. It’s an old store display from a record store near my house. Done by a local artist who, it turns out, is quite handy with a brush. Sadly, his website doesn’t feature the aforementioned wang. It does have another very nice digital painting of the chief, however. More »
Gearbox Defend Brothers In Arms Gore
9:30PM Luke Plunkett | A week ago, we saw a trailer for Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway that was, well, a little unsettling. Not the gore itself, we’ve seen that before, it was just odd seeing it so, well, glorified in a series that’s traditionally prided itself on historical accuracy, not bloodthirsty thrills. And we weren’t the only ones unsettled, so Gearbox have come out in defence of the game, telling MTV that the latest clip was a result of the “marketing department looking for specific features to highlight about the game”. Explains the frequence of the money shots, at least. They also say that having such extreme violence in the game is necessary if they’re to stay faithful to the source material, as “you can’t talk about war and not have it”. Hrm. The fact remains, the game will contain those zoom-in, gore-filled money shots. Would a GI fighting in 1944-45 have been treated to an on-rails camera tracking his bullet – in slo-mo, no less – as it flew 100 yards and burst a German head like a pineapple? Gearbox Carefully Defends ‘Brothers In Arms’ Extreme Violence [MTV] More »
The First Resident Evil Wii-make Screens
9:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Capcom has released three screenshots of its upcoming Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan) Wii-make of the GameCube remake of the PlayStation original. And guess what? It looks like the GameCube version! The game will be out December 25th for ¥4,190 (US$39.64). Or you can go ahead and pick up a GC version used right now and play that on your Wii. Your money. Resident Evil Wii-make Gallery カプコン、Wii「biohazard」発売決定 [IT Media] More »Still Sceptical About The Whole Max Payne Movie Thing?
8:30PM Luke Plunkett | You’ve every right to be! Game movies have, to the last, been truly awful. And since we haven’t seen Max Payne, it’s not out of the woods yet. But hey, you watch this trailer, you at least you know their heart’s in the right place. More »
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