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That's a pic taken deep in the bowels of Bethesda HQ. As you can see, that there is a fairly sizeable lineup of the Brotherhood of Steel. All of them shiny, all of them rather imposing. So this is for Comic-Con, right? They're cute little figures, or premium statues, or realistically-modelled bobbleheads, yes? No.
It's Friday. You know, Friday. That means one thing: Pull up a chair, grab a cold drink, let's talk. So yes, here it is, TELL US DAMMIT. And here's how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn't some marketing survey or whatever. It's an emotional investment in you. Yes, we're interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably know fucktons about us -- more than you even want to, we're sure. But, hey, we'd like to know about you. That way you won't be some faceless blob -- and we might feel a tinge of guilt when we ban your arse. Or not, because really we're incapable of human emotion. We think.
Just got back from E3. Well, no. I got back a few days ago, but I just recovered. And well, I'd like to know...
Question: What did you think of this year's E3?
As you can tell by the fact you still can't buy it, WipEout HD has been delayed. Rumours suggest the reason for the hold-up could be epilepsy tests, it could be glitchy online play, it could be anything and everything in between. But what do Sony have to say about the whole thing? They've got a very sensible answer:
The reason for the delay of WipEout HD on PS3 has been due to the many improvements we have been making and the numerous features we've added to the game. These include: 8 reverse tracks, 4 extra ships, 2 alternative HUDS, 2 Player offline split screen and XMB Trophy support. We look forward to sharing WipEout HD with you very soon.Regarding the speculation about health issues, we can assure you that we take consumer safety very seriously and monitor it very carefully.
That last line doesn't entirely rule out the epilepsy stuff, but that first paragraph is making the wait sound worth it regardless.
Wipeout HD Delay Response Confirms Trophies & Splitscreen News [TVG]
This week's Media Create hardware numbers have a couple of minor surprises, with the PSP getting a considerable sales boost from the release of Gundam Battle Universe. Also interesting is the surprisingly small bump the DS got, as Dragon Quest V moved loads of software, but little hardware.
We're also taken aback by the higher than normal Xbox 360 sales. That's without a single game in the top fifty. We're going to go lie down now. This has been an emotional roller coaster!
Simple Ways To Kotaku Komment Better
Comment by: Pablos102030
Nominated by: kennyd1
Why can't the spammers who say first at least be more creative? Like this:
OH JOYOUS DAY! I HAPPENED TO BE THE FIRST COMMENTATOR TO STUMBLE ACROSS THIS WEB-TYPE PAGE. I SHALL NOW EXCLAIM VICTORY OVER THE INFERIOR. HUZZAH!
HMMM... WHAT'S THIS? A BANHAMMER OF EPIC POWER? WIELDED BY A LOWLY BARD? HA, FOOLS!"
More E3 navel-gazing! Can you stand any more? Do try, because this has got to be the last one. Asked for his thoughts on the validity of E3's "new" format, SCE UK's Ray Maguire said:
I think we felt that E3 suffered by not having that grandeur and the theatrical shows that demonstrate this is a business that generates billions of Euros. It was more like a convention for plumbers. But behind closed doors, there was a decent amount of business going on.
If that's a comment on the amount of visible ass-crack on show, Ray, I can assure you, it's all the rage with the kids these days.
Interview: Ray Maguire, MD of SCE UK [TechRadar]
Could have sworn this was discounted when it first popped up a few weeks back, but it's popped back up again today, so what the hell. You may see, or may already have seen, images of the cover of the latest issue of PC Gamer Malaysia. Purporting to confirm that GTA IV is on its way to the PC. Well it's not, at least, it's not yet, with the magazine's editor admitting the cover's headline is his own conjecture. Rockstar have also chimed in, denying any announcement on a PC version has been made.
After Realtime Worlds' appetite-whetting unveiling of its upcoming cops-n'-jerkbags MMO APB (All Points Bulletin), it'd be a little disappointing if it turned out that all we were being promised was sanitised "comic mischief". But no — Realtime Worlds fully expects to earn its M rating.
Realtime Worlds president Tony Harman (who recently told us why we didn't see APB at E3) had a chat with Gamespot:
Realtime Worlds president Tony Harmon told GameSpot today that he's expecting his modern-day cops-and-robbers game APB to land an M from the Entertainment Software Rating Board. Though the game has no release date yet, the developer is planning to submit it to the ratings process next year.
The concept art in this post is cool, huh? Move over, six-fingered Lollipop Girl?
APB gunning for an M [Gamespot]
Posted by Logan Booker at 12:30 PM on July 26, 2008
Time for your off-topic weekend post! You've been warned.
A good friend and I are putting on two shows in August at UNSW's Studio One - The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter, and The Zoo Story by Edward Albee. Not sure what they're about, here's a description:
The Dumb Waiter: An absurdist comedy set in England, that finds two hitmen waiting in a room for instructions on their next target. As things get more and more bizarre, tensions rise...So, if you live in Sydney, and don't have plans between August 12-16, book yourself a ticket or two and prepare for some great theatre. I'll even be there, doing the whole director thing, if the prospect of meeting me excites you. I know it gets me tingling.The Zoo Story: Seemingly at random, Jerry approaches Peter, who is trying to read peacefully on a park bench. Despite Peter's protests, Jerry simply keeps talking with furious intent, about his apartment, about his family, about his life and about a dog... what is it that he wants?
The Dumb Waiter & The Zoo Story [Sketched Out Productions]
Above, a pic that supposedly proves that, via the wonders of DLC, you will indeed be able to play as both Vader and Yoda in Soul Calibur IV, regardless of which version of the game you buy. It's certainly far from conclusive proof, in that all it proves is that Yoda is on the left of a digital image while Vader's on the right, but far crazier, far less likely rumours have turned out to be true than this one.
Update - Perhaps sensing the internet's trepidation, the source of the pics - GamersReports - have thrown a video clip up on YouTube, showing Yoda and Vader going at it. You can see it after the jump. Still not proof, but it's fun to watch regardless.
The community Fracture site updated today with details on a new weapon and a new vehicle.
The Pacifican Rhino gun is a rifle that shoots living boulder's at people. These boulders can track lifeforms and chase them around, until the boulder either flattens them or explodes. Sounds like a barrel of fun.
Next up, the terrain deforming TDV-1 Assault Vehicle.
A new ban on video games in UK prisons limits gaming to those who have earned "top privileges" and completely bans violent games and shooters with an 18 or older rating.
The rule change comes after new prison directives hit that prevent taxpayers' money from being used to buy games or consoles.
The change in rules come after the Government revealed that they spent more than £10,000 on 80 PlayStations and 15 XBoxes for youth offender institutions.
In a document including the rule changes, Michael Spurr, the Prison Service's director of operations, wrote: "These changes will ensure that prisoners may only earn access to games consoles by a positive demonstration of good behaviour and commitment to the requirements of their sentence plan.
"This is in line with government policy flowing from the Prison Policy Update paper of January 2008".
Prisoners Have Their Playstations Taken Away [Telegraph]
Does oddball British comedy make a good portable game? We'll see, I guess, since Blast Entertainment released Mr. Bean for the DS, a game featuring the hapless, juvenile character played famously by actor Rowan Atkinson.
Blast Entertainment also did the PS2 Mr. Bean game last year, and points out in this new announcement that it "still sells consistently well and continues to earn a place in the Chart track top 40 PS2 budget chart each week".
What can you expect from Mr. Bean DS? 12 puzzle levels and traps to avoid, missions and "exciting 3D locations". What shouldn't you expect? Probably not high production values, as you may recall Blast Entertainment CEO's Shawn Brennan pulled no punches at a UK event last year where he fired off on high development costs, calling it "ego tripping".
You can also, Blast says, expect a Wii version "later this year". Full announcement follows the jump, Bean-fans!
Capcom held a Street Fighter cosplay contest at its Comic-Con booth today, but things didn't quite go as planned. A good portion of the contestants decided to reach outside the Street Fighter universe to get their dress-up on, including a solid Captain Commando, multiple S.T.A.R.S. team members and folks better known for their appearances in the Final Fight series.
Check out the handmade efforts in our gallery below and vote on your choice for the winner. Sadly, we didn't get a proper, full view shot of the Alpha version of Chun-Li, because she totally nailed the thighs.
Considering it's a kids game, and it's on the DS, and stars the new kids-oriented Transformers, you might not give the new Transformers Animated game a chance. I know the show - Megatron, Starscream and that Nazi Decepticon aside - is just awful. But the game looks (relatively) pretty neat! Really. It's a side-scrolling platformer broken up by vehicle sections, but when side-scrolling, you control one Autobot, with the others scrolling right there with you. And you can switch between them effortlessly, to take advantage of their various strengths/weaknesses in order to solve puzzles or, as Ironhide would put it, kick some Decepticreep butt. Sounds mundane, but people as old as me may remember the original 80s Transformers game, and how this is almost exactly the same, which is a nice touch. Presser after the jump.
Relax. Nintendo has not forgotten you. Making new titles for the traditional fanbase just takes time, says Shigeru Miyamoto, speaking to the Telegraph recently in an interview.
Said Miyamoto:
"Making these 'traditional' games is what I am best at. Because games of that nature take upwards of two or three years to make, we always have to keep the teams working on those projects going. At any given time, the team could be five to ten people, or it could be 50-plus. People are always switching in and out of those teams.
"They are all working on more Mario, Zelda and Pikmin projects", he said. "And they all work in close proximity to me, so I can keep a good eye on them".
Could it be that all this time, Nintendo has been quietly working on traditional Nintendo titles? That in fact, they've been working all along on their core franchises?
Shigeru Miyamoto: The man behind the Nintendo Wii [Telegraph]
Namco Bandai treated Comic-Con attendees to a playable — but all too brief — demo of Afro Samurai, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 title based on the manga of the same name. The demo, which feels like an early, tutorial-style level, helps get the player up to speed on the fighting mechanics in a tight, enclosed portion of a Japanese village.
After a brief voiceover from character Ninja Ninja, voiced with super salty language by Samuel L. Jackson, Afro Samurai is set loose on a steady stream of sword wielding bad guys.
The attack system is rather straightforward, using the X and Y buttons for light hits and heavy hits respectively. Afro jumps with A and kicks with B. Blocking is performed with the right trigger, but it's the left trigger that makes the combat more interesting.
Microsoft's recent announcement that it would let community developers earn money for games they make with the company's XNA toolset came as good news to some, but former XNA community manager David Weller is concerned about the lack of quality standards. On his blog, Weller wrote:
Being an ex-XNA member, I can still say, without a shadow of doubt, that Microsoft is offering a groundbreaking game channel, and that some people stand a chance to make great money from the system. It's an exciting opportunity, but the danger for consumers lies in Microsoft's deliberate steps to avoid discussions regarding game quality, even during peer review.
Now that EA Sports has begun running ads featuring real gamers promoting the titles, investment blog The Motley Fool has decided to have a little bit of fun at their expense. "Nerdy smackdowns have been bringing the funny since Napoleon Dynamite became a big-screen hit", says the site. Shudder.
Anyway, The Motley Fool came up with a tongue-in-cheek list of five ways to tell if you're EA Sports ad material:
Think you're ready to be "in the game", as EA says? Here are five signs you'll be the firm's next sports star. Drumroll, please:
Silicon Knights' Too Human is coming to our shores on August 19th, and we now know our neighbours in Europe will get the Xbox 360 exclusive precisely ten days thereafter, on the 29th.
The demo was unveiled on Xbox Live last week — were you too caught up in E3 craziness, or did you catch it? We had a lengthy discussion on it here at Kotaku last week, in case you missed it. What do you think, Europe? Looking forward?
And on the off chance you have no idea what we're even talking about, Microsoft has helpfully offered full details in the announcement after the jump.
For those antsy for Spore, the September 7th launch date can't come soon enough — but while you're waiting, you can now check out a new spore prototype called Biome for free.
It's a "programmable cellular automata simulator" which EA says lets players make grid simulations à la SimCity. Fancy words in the announcement like "chemical stoichiometry" means Biome simulates changes that take place in cells when they're exposed to new variables, similar to the way some chemicals change their state when exposed to other chemicals.
EA says Maxis built prototypes like these initially to explore design directions for the game, and is now letting gamers mess with the machinery to check out some of these early ideas. More are set to be released in the coming weeks.
Full announcement after the jump.
Jordan Mechner discussed all things Prince of Persia at Comic-Con today, from the upcoming Ubisoft video game reboot to the forthcoming graphic novel to the Jerry Bruckheimer produced movie adaptation of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Mechner didn't have too much to say about the new, cel-shaded take on the franchise, despite repeated questions from fans, but he did talk about the Mike Newell-directed film and the screenplay he's working on.
Mechner said that in writing the script for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, that he essentially had to start from scratch, re-imagining the events of the time-bending video game of the same name. Expect carefully hidden allusions to past games in the series in both the movie and the graphic novel.
This latest NBA Live 09 video from Electronic Arts shows off "athlete sizzle". This year's global cover athletes are Tony Parker, Pau Gasol (Spain), Andrea Bargnani (Italy) and Luol Deng (England).
Yes, all MMOs have avatars in them, and Xbox 360 will now have avatars in it, too. But the MMO that Nickelodeon is unveiling this September is about the pseudo-anime TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender. I guess I'm not up on what the kiddoes like these days, because I thought the Avatar craze was kind of over, but Nickelodeon says its recently-wrapped Season 3 finale was its highest-rated TV show ever.
M. Night Shyamalan is even making a live-action movie called "The Last Airbender" based on the series, to debut in July 2010. With Avatar interest at an all-time high, Nickelodeon seems to have decided the time was right to make an MMO that serves as a "prequel" to the TV series.
Regardless of how you feel about Nickelodeon cartoons, this is actually an immensely cool idea — when Nickelodeon re-airs episodes of Season 3 in the fall, fans tuning in will get episode-specific hints from the TV show about unlocking things in-game. Having a multiplayer online game that runs concurrent with a TV experience is a great way to encourage players to be more involved with both game and show, I think.
Full announcement follows the jump. By the way, which TV show would you most love to have a tie-in MMO going on with?
Midway is packaging their last three Mortal Kombat games into a exclusive Playstation 2 collector's edition box set. The set will come with Mortal Kombat: Deception, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, and Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.
Midway says Mortal Kombat: Kollection is due out this September for $US 30.
"Mortal Kombat has been a pinnacle fighting franchise for well over a decade now and this is an ideal package for fans and collectors in terms of content and price point", said Mona Hamilton, vice president of marketing, Midway Home Entertainment. "With the PlayStation 2 still holding the highest market share of any home console, we saw this as the perfect opportunity to offer an incredible value to our consumers as we ramp up for the highly anticipated launch of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe".
Don't know your Mortal Kombat: Deception from your Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks? You will in a second.
Quantic Dream's David Cage, the creator of Indigo Prophecy who's currently at work on Heavy Rain, often has good things to say about emotion in games, and in a recent interview with Gamasutra, he's leveling a critical eye on the open-world structures of MMOs and wondering what "emotional value" players are really getting out of them.
He first contrasts sandbox gaming in general with the deliberately-constructed "rollercoaster" of linear games:
"From the time you're in the line, you go in the back of the rollercoaster and through the tunnel and everything is defined. We knew while you were waiting how to make the stress grow, how to make you feel something, get you scared, make you feel better, et cetera. This rollercoaster is being conceived by someone to optimise the experience".
We'll still be at Comic-Con for a good portion of the weekend, so who knows what we'll be playing? If we had our druthers, it'd be Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Prince of Persia, Deadly Creatures and Soulcalibur IV, all playable on the Con floor. Sunday, however, will be purely dedicated to shipping out dozens and dozens of packages, as Meat Bun orders get some serious attention. Yay!
We may even get in a real-life game of badminton, time permitting. But what about you, dear commenter? What are you playing this weekend?
Splinter Cell aficionados The Fisherists recently emailed Michael Ironside's manager, David Ginsberg, to try and get to the bottom of the rumours about whether the actor will be returning to voice Sam Fischer.
Word from Ginsberg is that no decision has yet been made and that Ubisoft is actually still working on the script for the increasingly delayed Splinter Cell: Conviction. Wait, what? Still working on the script? Wow, no wonder it just got bumped back.
Ginsberg goes on to sing the praises of Ironside's professionalism and non-egotism.
Ed Boon from Midway and Jimmy Palmiotti of DC Comics announced four new additions to the Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe roster at Comic-Con today, including Green Lantern and The Joker from the DC side, with Jax and Kitana returning on the MK side. Boon also announced that Mr. Palmiotti himself would be squirreled away in the game as an unlockable character. He'd be very well hidden, Boon said, with a Johnny Cage-like model shown on screen.
We also got a look at some new environments, including the Fortress of Solitude, and a look at Captain Marvel's in-game model.
Boon also announced that an MK vs. DC comic book would included in the limited edition of the game, illustrated by John Tobias, co-creator of the Mortal Kombat series. The game's final boss and a the remaining line-up of fighters was promised to be announced over the next few months.
Well this certainly explains why Showtime Networks and Mark Ecko Entertainment were so reluctant to announce a platform when they revealed the game based off the forensic scientist / serial killer show Dexter. At a Comic-Con panel discussing the show, Mark Ecko himself appeared to drop details on the upcoming title, which as it turns out will be an episodic affair appearing exclusively on the iPhone and iPod Touch - not exactly what we were expecting, but considering the quality of some of the early iPhone game offerings still a rather intriguing prospect.
While no gameplay was shown, Ecko revealed that the game would feature touch screen gesture controls, as well as incorporating text messages and phone calls in order to heighten the sense of immersion.
Comic-Con: Episodic 'Dexter' Game for iPhones [MTV Multiplayer]
Daedalic Entertainment's upcoming fantasy adventure game The Whispered World has just launched the official website for the title, due out for the PC in Q4 2008, and I've never been more relaxed in my life. The site features wallpapers, screenshots, concept art, a story synopsis, and some confusing forums that seem to be completely in German until you click on them. All of this, along with the most relaxing background music that's ever graced a flash website. Seriously, I've had this opened in the background all morning and couldn't for the life of me figure out why I was having such a pleasant Friday morning. Hit up the link below to check out the site, and be sure to check out the press section for a tiny preview of the article I wrote on the game back in February.
The Whispered World [Official Website]
Cacpcom's Street Fighter II HD Remix beta is testing more than the game's performance. It's also testing how long the game will be able to maintain player interest as the company announces the official extension of the beta test. Originally slated to be put to rest on or around August 20th, Capcom has pushed the end of beta to September 5th to give players more time to screw around with upcoming patches.
Remember that you too can buy your way into the SF HD Remix beta test by sacrificing 800 Microsoft points on a copy of Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 on Xbox Live Arcade.
SFII Beta has Endurance - Extended to September 5th!! [Capcom Unity Blog]
Toy make NECA gets a sizable slice of the Comic-Con show floor and it draws a huge crowd. We've seen a constant line at the company's booth as Comic-Conners queue up to grab those show exclusives. NECA's product line is heavy with video game licenses, with Gears of War, Prototype, God of War, Tomb Raider, Rayman's Raving Rabbids, Bionic Commando and others representing in plastic, poseable form.
Sega US boss Simon Jeffery wasn't the only big name in the industry who felt that this year's E3 Expo lacked a certain livelihood. Former Microsoft tattoo bearer and current EA Sports head man Peter Moore says that last week's event was "soulless and lacking an epicenter". All is not lost though. In a post on his official blog late last night, Moore assures us that the problems can be fixed, and that getting the fans involved is the key.
We're confident that we can work with the ESA to make this right. There are important meetings ahead that we think will be substantive and be productive in finding the right path forward.
Let's invite the community. With the right planning, involving our biggest fans in E3 would bring back some of the raw passion the event has lost.
Blizzard has updated their Diablo III site with new screens, artwork, and a new wallpaper that's perfect for those of you who like to image startled women staring at you all day long. Other than her, not too much to report. The screenshots still look like painted fantasy art, the painted fantasy art looks like conceptual fantasy art, and the spider-woman monster looks like she needs to die as soon as humanly possible.
It's safe to assume we'll be getting many little updates like this as Blizzard struggles to appease the fans who sit in their chairs hitting F5 all day long.
Activision treated us to an early look at Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows at Comic-Con this week, giving us a taste of the game's suit-switching mechanic and highlighting boss battles with classic villains Venom and Vulture. In Web of Shadows, Venom has infected the people of New York with a symbiote plague, creating hundreds of mini-Venoms that our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man must dispatch.
Peter Parker has been infected by the alien symbiote, too, but has total control over its abilities, allowing him to switch from the more nimble red and blue suit to a more destructive black and white suit on the fly. Both suits have their advantages and disadvantages, as the black suit lets Spidey whip foes with symbiotic tentacles and carries a heftier punch, but can result in more collateral damage to the city.
Atari's latest update of the Alone in the Dark franchise turned out to be a love it or hate it sort of affair upon its release last month, with reviewers and regular old gamers alike taking up positions so far from the fence that they couldn't even find each other to argue over it. Now Atari has revealed that PlayStation 3 owners will finally be able to either love or hate Edward Carnby's latest outing this November - five months after the game was released on all of the other platforms.
I would say this gives PS3 owners a chance to read reviews, talk to their friends, and form some sort of conclusive opinion about whether or not to pick up the game or not, but after digging through review scores last month for the Frankenreview I still haven't decided whether or not I want to play it, and I bought