Tuesday night at the Fox Studios lot in Los Angeles, Electronic Arts revealed the tentatively titled The Simpsons Game, a new action effort for just about every console, from PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to Wii and PlayStation 2. The game is developed internally by EA's studios and comes from talent that worked on preceding company hits, including Medal of Honor and Need for Speed. Running fewer than five minutes, EA spotlighted a very short demo of the project and pulled back the curtain on some of the play style and storyline details. Here's what we know so far:

The Simpsons Game has been in development for two years and features an original storyline penned by show writers Tim Long, Matt Selman and Matt Warburton. The title begins as the Simpsons discover that they have been forced to take part in another videogame, and the developer has used this premise as a setup to parody a variety of pop culture topics, including EA itself. Nobody and nothing will be safe, according to the title's producer, who readily admits that the company hired a team of lawyers solely to protect the potentially scandalous nature of the endeavor's subject matter. The Simpsons head writers conjured up a significant tale encapsulating some 53 minutes of spoken dialog -- approximately 8,000 lines -- delivered by all the major voice talent from the acclaimed television series.

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With Wii news slowing down a bit in the last few days, the IGN Wii team decided to venture to our nearby local import shop and grab a few new titles to feed the Japanese Wii. Amongst the list of games were train simulators, mah-jong games, and a plethora of already-released US titles at a sweet markup. Brushing off the distracting Wii fodder in front of us, we rested our eyes on Eyeshield 21. After playing a few hours of the manga-based football title, we've come to a conclusion; Eyeshield may not be a must-have Wii game for American system owners (importing a system and games can be costly), but for anyone in possession of a Japanese Wii, Eyeshield may be the perfect game to combat the summer-time blues.

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via ign

The Wii is the biggest thing since the DS over in Japan, and it looks like publishers are starting to take notice. In addition to the surprise announcement of Soul Calibur Legends, the latest issue of Famitsu is home to three Wii unveilings.

First up to plate (ha ha ha ha ha) is Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Wii from Konami. This big-headed baseball game seems to be the Wii version of the PS2's Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 14, which is also unveiled in the issue. The Wii version will include an exclusive "Remo Pawa" mode where you use the Wiimote to swing and pitch. Both versions are scheduled for Japanese release on 7/19 at a price of 6980 yen.

The next title is a bit more mysterious -- so mysterious, in fact, that Famitsu doesn't even provide a title. Tecmo is bringing what it labels as a "new style action game" to the Wii. The game appears in Famitsu's release list as "Shin Kankaku Action Game," which is just the Japanese for the stuff in quotes in the last sentence. Details? Absolutely none at the moment.

Finally, one for the non-gamers out there. Hudson will be bringing its Jigsaw Puzzle series over from the DS. The first Wii installment, Jigsaw Puzzle Kyou no Wanko (roughly translated to English, Jigsaw Puzzle: Today's Dog) is set for release on 7/26 at a price of 3800 yen. The game features puzzles based around the Kyou no Wanko segment that airs early morning on Fuji Television.

Of these three games, only the Tecmo one has a chance of seeing release outside of Japan. But, then again, it could end up being some sort of action-oriented pachinko paradise game (Tecmo makes a pachinko series for the PS2 that utilizes the Bumpy Trot engine). Start speculating! ...

via ign

Today Crave announced it will publish a videogame based on 2004's cult-hit film, Napoleon Dynamite. The movie is a character study of the wacky citizens of rural Idaho and is one of the most-quoted films of recent years.

Details are so far scarce, but the game will feature fan-favorite characters Napoleon, his brother Kip, Uncle Rico, friend Pedro, and Tina the llama. Hopefully Napoleon will arrive soon to make our wildest dreams come true. ...

via ign

UK developer Team17 has confirmed that it has no plans to create new 3D Worms titles, instead favouring to stick to the franchise's 2D roots.

Speaking to IGN, studio director Martyn Brown said: "We have no current plans for a fully 3D Worms game. Player response has indicated that fans of the series truly appreciate the 2D roots of this title, so we plan to continue delivering great gameplay experiences in this format."

Although there have been several 3D Worms titles - most recently Worms 4: Mayhem in 2005 - the classic destruction gameplay never seemed to work as well compared to 2D editions of the franchise. ...

via wesleytech

Star Wars Blu-ray Disc trilogies at Amazon
We have heard the rumors before, but up until now there has been no concrete evidence or official statements made that would confirm whether or not the Star Wars trilogies will appear on the Blu-ray Disc format. Many fans and enthusiasts have been speculating that Star Wars would appear on either HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc in celebration of the 30th year anniversary of Star Wars, which is this year. Looking at the past history of Star Wars releases, many claim that George Lucas has a track record for cautiously and slowly adopting new formats. After all, the original Star Wars trilogy took quite a long time to appear on the DVD format.

But it could all be different for the next generation, blue laser DVD formats. Right now, Amazon.com has product pages up for BOTH the Star Wars trilogies in the Blu-ray Disc format. The first and second trilogy each have their own page, with a current status of “we will e-mail you when this title becomes available”.

Blu-ray fans and Sony PS3 owners rejoice! It appears that the worlds’ most famous intergalactic saga is coming your way. If the Star Wars trilogies do appear on the Blu-ray Disc format soon, could this be a catalyst that triggers even larger adoption rates for Blu-ray over HD DVD? Only time will tell. ...

via blueray

Heise Online, a German IT website, is reporting that during a press conference, representatives from Pioneer announced that Universal will break their exclusivity agreement with HD DVD. This would allow Universal, the only large studio exclusively supporting HD DVD, to freely distribute their movies on Blu-ray. It is important to note that this announcement has not yet been confirmed by Universal.

It has long been speculated that Universal was receiving monetary compensation for being an exclusive HD DVD studio. This announcement would signal that they have decided to forgo the compensation in order to release titles on Blu-ray. Most would agree that this move would effectively end the war, and no matter what side you support, a single HD format is the best long term solution.

Keep watching this space, and we'll update the story as needed. ...

via joystiq

Those dying to download Marl Oukoku no Ningyou Hime (and who isn't?) from the Japanese PlayStation Network will now find another payment option nestled in the aisles of the nearest convenience store. IGN reports that PlayStation Network Tickets will soon be procurable from convenience stores and post office ATMs across Japan, allowing those without a means of direct electronic payment to enjoy and more importantly, pay for the wares of the PS3's virtual marketplace.

The tickets will function in a similar fashion to Nintendo Wii Point cards and Xbox Live MS Point vouchers, with the exception that they'll be grouped in a non-bogus currency. Available in units of ¥1,000, ¥3,000, ¥5,000 and ¥10,000, the cards will contain a 12-digit code recognized by the PSN as a command to fill up your virtual wallet with the corresponding amount.

As for the possibility of PSN Tickets becoming available elsewhere, Sony offers, "We have no announcement regarding any changes to the electronic payment options on the PlayStation Store in North America at this time." ...

JSR has posted some info on his upcoming app for the Nintendo DS, basically you can use your Nintendo DS as a phone.


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