Predictable. And in more ways than one. According to Epic, Gears of War 2 won’t be seeing a release in either Germany or Japan, thanks to the game’s level of violence and gore. Seeing as the first one wasn’t released in Germany, that’s no surprise. But Japan? Why isn’t it being released in Japan? The first one was, despite its “Z” (adults only) rating, and it did pretty well for a Western game, selling over 30k units. Heck, Microsoft even held a Z-rated party last year celebrating the fact they release adults-only games. So what gives?
While at Sony, current Atari exec Phil Harrison really spearheaded LittleBigPlanet. It was, in a way, his baby. The game recently has been delayed due to passages from the Islamic holy text Qur’an being included in the background music in one of the levels. Harrison doesn’t think the delay will effect the game “one iota”. According to Harrison:
Resident Evil 5 looks great. Jaw-dropping. Eye-popping, even. Ken Lally, who did motion capture work for RE character Albert Wesker, is very impressed with how the look of the game has turned out. Lally even thinks that the game looks better than big budget, CG flicks:
Deus Ex 1 was a masterpiece. Deus Ex 2 deviated from Deus Ex 1′s formula, and failed as a result. So what’s Deus Ex 3 going to be like? Well it sounds like it’s going to be faster, for one, with lead game designer Jean-Francois Dugas telling Edge the first Deus Ex was “kinda slow”.
The Tokyo Game Show 2008 Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer featured one scene rendered in the PS3 in real time. According to the game’s director Tetsuya Nomura, that scene was the one where Noctis meets blonde-haired heroine Stella. The upcoming issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu has scans of this scene. They’re blurry, but worth a look. Click here, to check them out for yourself.FF Versus XIII [Wii @ Everyday]
American McGee made Alice. Great game! Then he made a bunch of other games that weren’t so great, and the industry kinda moved on. Hopes were high for his latest project – Grimm – but the game’s neat premise and stylish visuals were let down by the fact it was bbooorrring. So hopes shouldn’t be anywhere near as high for his next project, BaiJiu Racer, a casual MMO racing game (think KartRider) he’s currently in the process of pitching. Basing his studio is China is obviously having an effect on the man, as he writes:
As the American economy continues to crater, the valve of the dollar has dropped. While we have misty-eyed memories of a time when it was 135 yen to the dollar, it’s currently about 65 yen to the dollar. Spotted at a Tokyo retro game shop, the pictured sign seems directed at tourists and reads:
While there’s debate about how much stock should be put in the reviews from Japanese game magazine Famitsu, one cannot deny that they do carry influence for some consumers. The magazine scores games on a numbered scale with 40 being a perfect score — something that only a few titles have ever achieved: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soulcalibur, Vagrant Story, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Nintendogs, Final Fantasy XII, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Metal Gear Solid 4.
Lips may be a bit of a hard sell for Microsoft. Mostly because both the PS2 and PS3 already do SingStar, and have been doing it for years. But hey, bundling free stuff never hurt a game’s sales prospects, so there’s no harm in Microsoft offering “one free song every week for two months” with every preorder lodged at GameStop. That’s eight free songs. The catch? You can’t choose from any eight songs, you have to pick from a list “chosen for you by the Zune team”. The Zune team? Nothankyou.jpg. If I have to choose songs from somebody else’s Zune list, it’s Dude Huge or bust.
Lips Pre-Order – Get Stuff! [Gamerscore]
Microsoft has announced another value pack for Japan. Last November, a bundle with Viva Piñata and Forza Motorsport 2 was released. This November 6th, a new value pack was drop. Priced at ¥29,800 ($452), this bundle features a 60GB Xbox 360 along with Ace Combat 6 and Beautiful Katamari in the same game case.
