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by Published on February 11th, 2011 19:30
In case you missed out on the UMD releases of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy 2 (or if you have a PSP Go), Square Enix is giving you the chance to get them from the comfort of your own, European hotspot. The Square Enix France Facebook page has announced that the two games will be released on the European PSN for €9.99 each -- a significant discount over what Square Enix tried to get away with for the UMD versions. Final Fantasy will be available to download next Wednesday, February 16, and Final Fantasy 2 will follow on March 2.
In addition, a coupon included with Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy will reduce the price of the first Final Fantasy by half. A coupon for Final Fantasy 2 at half-price will come included with The 3rd Birthday. Square Enix hasn't announced this offer nor the downloadable releases for North America, though odds are good it won't pass up the opportunity to sell the first two Final Fantasies again.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/11/fi...psn-in-europe/ ...by Published on February 11th, 2011 19:28- Categories:
- PC News,
- Xbox 360 News,
- Joypad News
We've highlighted German developer Evoluce before for its impressive Kinect hacks, both to control Windows 7 applications and command soldiers in Ubisoft's RUSE. This time, Evoluce has announced plans to empower more hacks through the release of its software development kit for PC. The "3D-Sensing Custom Software for Kinect" -- which could, admittedly, use a better name -- promises to provide would-be devs with "core features," such as "3D virtual reality experience with full-body avatars" and "touch-free user interfaces."
A region-restricted video demonstration of the SDK is available to German viewers onProsieben.de, but the rest of us are going to have to wait until Evoluce actually releases its kit for a chance to check it out. But who knows -- by that time, Microsoft may have gotten its own, rumored Kinect SDK together. Hurry Evoluce!
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/11/ge...elease-for-pc/ ...by Published on February 11th, 2011 19:25- Categories:
- Nintendo Wii News,
- Xbox 360 News
It's not the first time that a Kinect hack has incorporated a Wiimote, but this demonstration from YouTube user Kick755 is certainly one of the more impressive examples to date -- even if it's still not quite ready to fully replace a controller. As with similar hacks, this one relies on the FAAST emulator for the Kinect end of the equation and GlovePIE for the Wiimote, but it has one notable feature that the others lack: the ability to quite literally stomp on your enemies in Dead Space 2. See for yourself after the break.
...by Published on February 11th, 2011 19:23- Categories:
- DCEmu
The smart money was right. Nokia has jumped into bed with Microsoft and will produce phones running Windows Phone 7. The cynics would say that, here, we have two lumbering dinosaurs of the technology world clinging to each other hoping that the other gives them a future. Optimists would point to two companies that need each other, both bringing vital components to the alliance. The big winner is Microsoft. Windows Phone 7, while reasonably well received by commentators, has not set the world on fire. An alliance with Nokia gives it access to the world's largest phone maker and its huge mindshare — in many developing nations a mobile phone is known as a Nokia. The biggest loser is MeeGo, the ugly, unloved step-child of operating systems."Nokia wrote to developers, "Qt will continue to be the development framework for Symbian and Nokia will use Symbian for further devices; continuing to develop strategic applications in Qt for Symbian platform and encouraging application developers to do the same.
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/...phone-Alliance ...by Published on February 11th, 2011 19:20- Categories:
- PC News
In case you still somehow didn't believe yesterday's news that Duke Nukem Forever had been given an MA15+ rating in Australia – effectively evading the notoriously strict censors, GamePron now has confirmation that the Duke has not been edited in any way for an Australian release. Hooray!http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/0...-For-Australia ...by Published on February 11th, 2011 19:18- Categories:
- Android News,
- Xperia Play News,
- Apple iPhone
In some ways i actually agree with this, theres nothing better than to have a good long shi*e, and many a time ive played football manager whilst getting on with buisness, heres the article from eurogamer :P
Here's something to bear in mind next time you ask a mate if you can borrow their grubby, smeary iPhone to make a quick call. Seven per cent of all mobile gaming time is enjoyed while the user is perched on the porcelain throne, so says a top EA exec.
During an address at the annual DICE gaming summit in Las Vegas, as reported by VentureBeat, EA Mobile VP Travis Boatman outlined five of the biggest mobile gaming myths. First on his list was the perception that people only play while on the move.
According to unattributed research, 47 per cent of the time people are playing at home, 12 per cent of the time it's during a commute, 14 per cent while at work, seven per cent while in the restroom, three per cent during school hours and one per cent at the airport. 'Miscellaneous' made up the rest of the pie chart.
Boatman's other four myths, should you be interested, were as follows:
- Myth: The top mobile games are all casual: He insisted that 'core' gamers were under-served on mobile platforms but Epic's Infinity Blade and EA's Dead Space, both of which topped the App Store charts, were proof of high demand for more substantial software.
- Myth: One size game fits all platforms: Not so. The splintering of the Android market means developers have to make multiple versions of their games.
- Myth: Brands don't matter: Oh yes they do, Boatman insisted, citing the fact that eight of the top 25 iPhone games were brands.
- Myth: This is as good as it gets: According to Boatman, the mobile game industry will have come on in leaps and bounds in three years time.
- http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...done-on-toilet
by Published on February 11th, 2011 19:15- Categories:
- PSP News,
- Playstation Vita News
Sony's forthcoming NGP device will coexist with the PSP, not replace it, so says Sony chief Shuhei Yoshida....
In an interview with Edge, Yoshida insisted it made no sense to think of the NGP as a replacement for the PSP seeing as Sony was still struggling to meet demand for its current handheld.
"The NGP features everything Sony can and wants to do today," he said. "It's a platform looking forward with great ambition.
"It can't replace a platform that has already been on sale for seven years now. In terms of pricing, we can't sell the NGP for the same price as a PSP. The PSP has become very affordable and popular, especially with younger generations.
"I think the NGP needs time to mature and get adopted by users," he added. "So, for the time being, both platforms will coexist."
The NGP is still a way off, with a late 2011 release mooted. It's worth noting that the PSP's release schedule between now and then isn't exactly bursting at the seams. There's Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together on 25th February, then Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy and LEGO Star Wars III arrive in March. After that though, things look bare.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...p-will-coexist
Personally if anyone will support older consoles its Sony, but the PSP has had more than its fair share of piracy, i can see 3rd party devs dumping it asap, what do others think ?by Published on February 11th, 2011 19:06- Categories:
- PS3 News
Lets hope he hasnt got any programs he hasnt paid for or a stash of naughty porn, but it seems Geohot will have his PC searched by Sony, heres the details from Eurogamer:
A US judge has ordered PlayStation 3 hacker George Hotz to turn over his hard drive to Sony for inspection.http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ckers-computer ...
Sony is allowed to retrieve information that relates to the hacking of the console, according toWired.com.
21-year-old George Hotz, aka GeoHot, must meet with Sony to turn his computer over.
GeoHot was the first to fully crack the PlayStation 3 wide open. After publishing his jailbreak code on his website and a video explaining how to use it on YouTube, Sony sued Hotz on a Digital Millennium Copyright Act claim, alleging he distributed devices that circumvented anti-piracy controls.
"Here, I find probable cause that your client has got these things on his computer," US District Judge Susan Illston said.
"It's a problem when more than one thing is kept on the computer. I'll make sure the order is and will be that Sony is only entitled to isolate ... the information on the computer that relates to the hacking of the PlayStation."
The judge reneged, however, on an order that Hotz "retrieve" the code from anybody he might have forwarded it to.
"It's information. It can't be retrieved. It's just not practical," Illston said. "What would they do, Xerox it and mail it back?"
Sony is threatening to sue anybody who posts the jailbreak code - even though made-up PlayStation marketing man Kevin Butler unwittingly published the PS3's root key on Twitter.
Sony's attempt to subpoena internet titans Google, YouTube, Twitter, SlashDot and PayPal - and find out where notorious PS3 hackers Fail0verflow live – was denied yesterday.
Illston scheduled a hearing for the setback motion for 11th March. Sony seeks unspecified damages.by Published on February 11th, 2011 18:59- Categories:
- PSP News,
- PS3 News,
- Nintendo DS News,
- Nintendo Wii News,
- PC News,
- Xbox 360 News
As the dust settles on Activision's decision to put an end to its world-famous peripheral-based music franchise Guitar Hero and the difficult work of sacking those who helped create it begins, one question remains: where did it all go wrong?...
Only three years ago Guitar Hero shot through the $1 billion revenue mark – in the US alone.
Now, in what can only be described as a spectacular fall from grace, Guitar Hero is no more. Why? Why did Guitar Hero die?
To accuse Activision of milking the franchise dry with multiple games launched too close together may be an obvious start, but according to leading industry analysts it's a perfectly valid one.
"By 2007 Guitar Hero was available for most platforms and Activision continued to stripmine the franchise," M2 Research analyst Billy Pidgeon told Eurogamer.
"It is relatively easy to prepare iterative versions of a music and rhythm game once the formula has been set, and this dynamic facilitated the brand's over-exposure. In 2009 Activision released five separate SKUs of Guitar Hero and the brand essentially lost its relevance."
A damning verdict indeed – but it is one shared by many who are trying to make sense of Guitar Hero's demise.
"Guitar Hero was a victim of its success," said Wedbush Securities' Michael Pachter. "The game was incredibly well-conceived, the peripherals were great, and the music offering was deep and broad. All of those factors led to unprecedented success, and each contributed to its demise."
For Pachter, the fact gamers could play new Guitar Hero games with the peripherals they already owned proved to be the killer blow.
"Once people bought the band kit, for example, they didn't feel compelled to upgrade, as the one they bought was high quality and did the job well," he said. "Once people bought a game, they had 60 - 80 songs to master, and few mastered all of the songs offered.
"Thus, when a new version was released, most consumers did not feel the need to buy it, since they still had 40 – 50 songs remaining to play from last year's version."
One analyst who cast's Activision's role in a brighter light is EEDAR's Jesse Divnich. For him, "nothing went wrong with Guitar Hero" and there was nothing Activision could have done to prevent its decline.
"Much like most entertainment products, consumers tend to get their fill quickly. There is a reason why most successful movies rarely go past their third-iteration.
"When the first Guitar Hero was sold, the time clock of its success and ultimate demise started and there wasn't a single strategy Activision could have implemented to hinder it. If Activision hadn't flooded the market, someone else would have, and the state of the music genre in 2011 would have been unchanged.
"There is absolutely nothing Activision nor anyone could have done to save the music genre. We should remember Guitar Hero for what it was, not where it's at now."
Gaming Insights director Nick Williams is more pragmatic – Guitar Hero died because gamers stopped buying it. "Activision's decision to cancel Guitar Hero and DJ Hero is probably a surprise to many gamers, but the momentum shift away from music games has been in the works for a few years now," he said.
"Trended data from Ipsos OTX's GamePlan Insights tracking study support the idea that music related games are becoming increasingly risky investments. The percentage of active gamers who like to play music games 'a lot' has dropped steadily over the last two years (from 38 per cent in Q1 2009 to 28 per cent in Q1 2011), which corresponds to measurable decreases in purchase interest for each new Guitar Hero release.
"During the same time, the incidence of active gamers who like to play shooter games 'a lot' has increased from 40 per cent to 47 per cent, with Call of Duty leading the charge."
With the axe ready to fall on DJ Hero developer Freestyle Games and the promise of 500 job cuts across Activision's gargantuan network already biting, Guitar Hero's death feels final.
But, like with the best superheroes, dead doesn't always mean dead.
"I wouldn't classify Guitar Hero as 'dead', but rather hibernating'," Divnich said. "It may take three to five years, and likely a whole new generation of consoles, but I see a possibility of a short revival in the future."
Pidgeon agrees. "It is possible that Guitar Hero will return, but a re-launch would have to be managed on a far smaller scale. Production costs would have to be minimized to enable profits on unit sales in the hundreds of thousands rather than in the millions."
Pachter's conclusion? "The franchise can support sales at the $200 million level annually, so it will still generate profits, but with license fees and manufacturing costs, margins are not that great, and certainly not enough to keep 200 - 250 people employed working on a new version each year."
Hero developers across the world no doubt know that better than most.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...itar-hero-diedby Published on February 11th, 2011 18:33- Categories:
- PSP News,
- PS3 News,
- PS2 News,
- Nintendo DS News,
- Nintendo Wii News,
- PC News,
- Xbox 360 News,
- Apple iPad,
- Apple iPhone
Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption has taken five Interactive Achievement Awards at the DICE Summit, awarded by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences in Las Vegas today.
The open-world game was honoured for art direction, gameplay engineering, character performance, game direction, and action game awards
Quantic Dreams' Heavy Rain took visual engineering, original music and innovation awards, BioWare's Mass Effect 2 grabbed story and RPG gongs and Playdead's Limbo was awarded in sound and adventure categories. CityVille and Angry Birds were given social and casual game gongs.
The Pioneer Award went to Bill Budge, creator of Pinball Construction Set, while BioWare founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka were inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame. EA veteran Bing Gordon was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The full list of winners follow:
- Outstanding Achievement in Animation: God of War III
- Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction: Red Dead Redemption
- Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering: Heavy Rain
- Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering: Red Dead Redemption
- Outstanding Character Performance: Red Dead Redemption
- Family Game of the Year: Dance Central
- Racing Game of the Year: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
- Outstanding Achievement in Story: Mass Effect 2
- Role Playing / MMO Game of the Year: Mass Effect 2
- Outstanding Innovation in Gaming: Heavy Rain
- Outstanding Achievement in Original Music: Heavy Rain
- Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack: Rock Band 3
- Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design: Limbo
- Adventure Game of the Year: Limbo
- Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
- Action Game of the Year: Red Dead Redemption
- Sports Game of the Year: FIFA 2011
- Fighting Game of the Year: Super Street Fighter IV
- Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
- Portable Game of the Year: God of War: Ghost of Sparta
- Casual Game of the Year: Angry Birds HD
- Social Game of the Year: CityVille
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Bing Gordon:
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction: Red Dead Redemption
- Game of the Year: Mass Effect 2
- Pioneer Award: Bill Budge
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Catherine: Full Body’s English translation for the Vita