ARKANOID Live!

Fact Sheet

(October 2008)

Title: ARKANOID™ Live!

Publisher: Taito

Developer: Taito

Platform: Xbox LIVE® Arcade

Rating: RP

Availability: 2009

Price: TBD

# of Players: 1 ~ 2

Product Overview:

Arkanoid, the block-breaking masterpiece now for Xbox LIVE Arcade!

First appearing in the 1980’s as a new style block-breaking game, ARKANOID, appears on Xbox LIVE Arcade having accomplished even further evolution. Enjoy Arkanoid in high-definition with beautifully choreographed background movies and background music. Loaded with 120 stages in all and colorful cooperative and versus modes.

Game Features:

As part of “TAITO’s Collection Series”, in which Taito’s masterpiece games are remade, ARKANOID is remade with even cooler background movies and sound and loaded with colorful game modes. Within the simplistic block-breaking game element, and beyond effects incurred by items and the appearance of enemies, several kinds of new bosses appear in the final stage.

New Visuals and Music: Block-breaking is rendered cooler than ever with ARKANOID’s inorganic interpretation of our world through cool background graphics and new background music.

120 Stages of Block-Breaking: Even including stages from the past ARKANOID series, compete for the high-score and/or record clear time in all 120 stages with leaderboards score.

Abundant Game Customization: Barrier Type or Player Stock Type game play? A Player 1 and Player 2 collaboration? Customise your game play for variety enjoyment.

VS Mode Play: Heat up your CPU or Local 2Player and Live Play VS play with two rules.
– Bust All Battle Mode – The player who breaks all the blocks first wins
– Bust Colour Battle Mode – The player who breaks all the colour blocks designated to them wins.

The information contained in this fact sheet relates to a pre-release product that may be modified before its commercial release. Accordingly, the information may not accurately describe or reflect the product when it is commercially released. The fact sheet is provided for informational purposes only, and the publisher and developer make no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the fact sheet or the information contained in it.

Some will meet these prices with outrage, while I say why not? I’ve played both of these titles (Braid extensively) and they are completely worth the extra real currency substitute. I’ve paid $US 60 for disc-based titles that had a quarter of the entertainment value of these two games. More power to them.

真夏のXbox LIVE アーケード最新 4 タイトルの配信日が決定 [Japanese Xbox Blog via GamerBytes - Thanks ZeroMystic!]

UPDATE:Microsoft contacted Kotaku to clarify some details. Apparently the price of Braid is listed incorrectly, with the correct price being announced Monday, while North American Castle Crashers pricing will be announced August 25th. Note they didn’t say the Castle Crashers price was incorrect.

The Windows, Mac and Linux game will sell for $US20 and the 360 arcade version will go for 1600 Microsoft Points.

Hit the jump for the full release.

Windows, Mac and Linux Versions of Episode One Reach Gold Master

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – May 1, 2008 – Hothead Games is thrilled to announce that the Windows®, Mac®, and Linux® versions of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One have reached gold master status and are planned for worldwide download via the new digital download service Greenhouse at www.playgreenhouse.com later this quarter. In celebration, Hothead gave some infamous Penny Arcade characters a new look and let them loose on the unsuspecting websites www.rainslick.com, www.hotheadgames.com, and www.playgreenhouse.com for the public to enjoy.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is an RPG-adventure game set in the comic-book-meets-pulp-horror-meets-H.P. Lovecraft deranged 1920s universe of New Arcadia, delivered to gamers via accessible episodic releases. Players join Gabe and Tycho, the crime-solving team of the Startling Developments Detective Agency, to combat savage enemies and solve mysteries hidden deep in the sinister heart of New Arcadia. The game is the result of close collaboration between Hothead Games and Penny Arcade, featuring distinct artwork and characters designed exclusively by Mike “Gabe” Krahulik, story and dialogue by Jerry “Tycho” Holkins, and both brought to life by the Hothead team.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is priced at $19.95 for the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions and at 1600 Microsoft points via Xbox LIVE® Arcade, with a rating of “M” for Mature by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board for all platforms.

Alten8 To Develop “Luc Bernard’s Eternity’s Child” For DS And Wii

Alten8 has agreed with Luc Bernard on the creation and publication of Nintendo DS and Wii versions of the Eternity’s Child game, bringing this delightful creation to an even wider audience. Luc will be working closely with Alten8 to bring his creations to life on these formats

The story of Eternitys Child and the orphan ‘Angel’ – the planet on which Eternity’s Child is set on. The planet was once filled with many living creatures and vast forests, however due to the pollution created by the habitants the icebergs melted and the whole planet was flooded and most of the creatures became extinct. The creatures without wings that were left became jealous of the ones with wings (that allowed them to survive the flooding), so the land creatures started murdering all the winged creatures until there was none left. To repopulate the world, many mechanical robots were created so that the world would not seem as empty as before, but most of those creatures got out of control and started attacking and destroying what was left.

Eternity’s Child Wii version details -

Angel was left at the door of a orphanage when he was a baby, to protect him from being murdered his wings were cut off. The years went by as he stayed in that orphanage, not accepted by the other children and being often tortured and picked on. Angel then escapes from the orphanage to try to find any remaining creatures of his species and hoping to be accepted by them despite him not having his wings.

Details about Wii version -

* The entire game is hand drawn
* the animations are done traditionally by hand frame by frame (like old Disney films)
* the soundtrack is all orchestral
* the game is an Interactive Fairytale
* there will be songs in the game like old Disney films
* 2 player co operative mode will be available

DS version -

* the game will be a 3D platform game
* will not have the same story as the Wii version

Regular updates and information will appear on the Alten8 and the Eternitys Child web site.

About Luc Bernard

Luc Bernard is a young 21 year old artist/dark fairytale creator, he is currently working with Alten8 on the Wii and DS versions of Eternity’s Child. Eternity’s Child is planned to be turned into a animated series, toys, and various merchandise. For each one of his tales he takes inspiration from his life. Apart from Eternity’s Child he is also working on various other dark fairytales such as The Rose Princess, Samuel, Manufactured Beauty. www.myspace.com/lucbernard

HUDSON ANNOUNCES BOMB-UP ADD-ON PACK FOR BOMBERMAN LIVE

Hudson Increases the Payload with New Content and Game Modes

REDWOOD SHORES, CA – August 27, 2007 – Hudson Entertainment, the North American publishing arm for Hudson Soft, today announced that they are releasing Bomb-Up Pack 1, the first add-on pack for their “IGN Editor’s Choice Award”-winning Bomberman LIVE game for Xbox LIVE(R) Arcade. This new add-on pack will add over a dozen new features, including ten new characters, two additional levels, two new leader boards, and a brand new game mode. Bomb-Up Pack 1 is expected to launch on August 29 and will cost 350 Microsoft Points ($US2.80).

With these add-ons, players will be able to further enjoy the frantic, explosive action of Bomberman LIVE in new areas, including “High Stakes,” a Las Vegas-style casino level, and “Zeppelin,” a level set aboard a dirigible which features tornado environmental hazards that incapacitate players.

“With the overwhelming success of Bomberman LIVE it became clear to us, as Bomberman fans and game producers, that the already stellar game could be indefinitely augmented with myriad gameplay additions in the future,” said John Greiner, President and CEO of Hudson Entertainment. “Hudson is committed to providing refreshingly competitive, fast-paced multiplayer gameplay over Xbox LIVE(R) Arcade.”

This Bomberman LIVE add-on pack will add the following features:

Ten New Characters – With new characters like “Little Bomby Foo Foo” the bunny and “Rocky Bomboa” the boxer, players can customise their in-game Bomberman in countless new ways.

Two Additional Levels – New arenas include “High Stakes,” a Las Vegas-style casino level that allows players to select any gimmick they want, and “Zeppelin,” a level set aboard a dirigible which features tornado environmental hazards that incapacitate players.

One New Game Mode – “Frag” mode will allow players to pre-set the number of enemies they must bomb in order to win the game.

Two New Leaderboards – Dominate the competition on two new ranking systems on the Xbox LIVE(R) network. The new leaderboards will track performance on both a weekly and an all-time basis for the new “Zeppelin” map.

Space Giraffe Page on Xbox.com
Street Trace Page on Xbox.com

Microsoft’s GameFest 2007 is underway as we speak, and a game I’ve been looking forward to since I first spoke with its creators back at GDC in March is finally officially announced. Schizoid is the first developer created Xbox Live Arcade title built exclusively using XNA Game Studio Express. It is the product of Torpex Games, itself spawned from two of the top talents in the gaming industry, Bill Dugan and Jamie Fristrom, and I go into great detail with them about how they came to create the game. Dugan especially has a great way with words.

“We truly believe that if you and a friend spend two minutes playing Schizoid, you are going to ignore food, drink, your job and your family and play until they load you up on a gurney and head to the hospital. Schizoid is that rare game that comes along once every few years and we are very proud to make it our first release for Xbox LIVE Arcade.”

The mechanic is deceptively simple. One player is red, the other is blue. Enemies matching your colour can be destroyed by you hitting them, yet enemies of other colours can kill you. Teamwork is the key to survival in Schizoid, taking co-op to a whole new level. Both players have to be on the ball to survive. It should be an excellent opportunity to call your friends ‘fuckwads,” which is important to any friendship.

PREPARE TO GO SCHIZOIDâ„¢!
TORPEX GAMES DEBUTS SCHIZOIDâ„¢ FOR Xbox LIVE® Arcade AT MICROSOFT’S GAMEFEST 2007

Schizoid is First Xbox LIVE Arcade Title Built Using Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio Express

BELLEVUE, Wash. – August 13, 2007 – The next game genre is here! Torpex Games, a developer and publisher of addictive console games, announced today the upcoming release of Schizoidâ„¢ for Xbox LIVE® Arcade and will showcase the game during Microsoft’s GameFest 2007. Possibly the ultimate co-op game, Schizoid is an action game where teamwork equals survival and players must team up to protect each other from a seemingly endless stream of glowing enemies. Schizoid will be the first-ever Xbox LIVE Arcade title built using Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio Express, and is anticipated to be released before the end of 2007.

“Every few years a game will come out that is so simple, yet so addictive that it becomes a phenomenon unto itself,” says Bill Dugan, Torpex Games’ President. “We truly believe that if you and a friend spend two minutes playing Schizoid, you are going to ignore food, drink, your job and your family and play until they load you up on a gurney and head to the hospital. Schizoid is that rare game that comes along once every few years and we are very proud to make it our first release for Xbox LIVE Arcade.”

Featuring addictively simple gameplay, in Schizoid one person plays ‘red’ and the other plays ‘blue’. Each player moves his ship around the level as a seemingly endless stream of enemies attack. Each player can burst enemies of their own colour merely through contact, but each player can be bursted by enemies of the other colour. Both players have to “step up” on every level to handle the enemies of their own colour, so their partner is not destroyed.

“There are literally thousands of games released every year and yet very few of them have the originality of Schizoid. It’s amazing to me that this game hasn’t been invented before now,” says Dave Mitchell, Microsoft’s Director of Marketing for XNA. “Schizoid demonstrates that
developers can really unleash an ingenious game with XNA Game Studio Express.”

Bryan Trussel, Microsoft’s Director of Platform Game Services, added, “Schizoid combines a very fun and innovative game mechanic with really creative level design. Thanks to its cooperative game-play experience and variety of scenarios, Schizoid is a great game to play with friends, either on the couch or over Xbox Live. We’re delighted to exclusively add this creative and unique game to our incredible Xbox LIVE Arcade library.”