Activision has grabbed the nearest microphone and screeched out the official release date for the Xbox 360's Guitar Hero II.

"Pay attention you motherfrackers,
drop the keyboards PC hackers,
Guitar Hero II drops April 3,
get out your wallets these frets ain't free! Woooowrgh!"

You'll likely be able to obtain much better tunes than that lyrical atrocity later on, thanks to this version's ability to download a "consistent stream of new tracks" from Xbox Live. RedOctane's Dusty Welch notes in the press release that the online component "is going to provide an incredible opportunity for our fans to extend the gameplay experience, and we have ambitious ideas to continue to fully support these efforts." Sadly, said ambitious ideas don't include online multiplayer just yet.

via joystiq ...

via insert credit

My old pal vander fujisaki from ociojoven (OJgames) sent me an email with an interesting find - YesAsia has an entry for a japanese release of a game called Sailor Moon, from Namco Bandai Games. Working title though it may be, this certainly brings exciting possibilities to light for fans of the series - and the page gives a release date of December 31, 2007, which looks suspiciously like a placeholder. Unfortunately this remains a rumor until we can confirm that it really exists, which may take a bit of time. But I'll try!

In other Sailor Moon game news, vander pointed out Sailor Moon Plus, a five-part game series using the Beats of Rage engine, which follows the story loosely through several episodes and iterations of the original tale, while also adding new elements at times. Three parts are currently available, with more promised. It's generally fashioned after the SNES game (certainly using some of its sprites - the screenshot to the left is from SMP), but seems to be a fair bit better in execution. Seeing as it's the Beats of Rage engine, this means you can play the game on a variety of consoles as well as PC. ...

via gamespot

Another installment of a long-running Japanese role-playing game series is headed over to the US, as Namco Bandai Games America today announced that it is bringing Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology across the Pacific.

The latest in Namco's Tales series, Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology will be released on the PlayStation Portable this summer. The game has already been released in Japan.

Radiant Mythology features a character-creation system, allowing players to customize their in-game avatars with various voices, hairstyles, classes, and more. Gamers can also trade items they find along their travels using the PSP's wireless functionality.

Adventurers will attempt to save the realm of Terresia from a creature known as the Devourer, a being that is destroying the land. Along the way, players will run into characters from past Tales games, such as Stahn Aileron, Lloyd Irving, and Reid Hershel.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology will retail for $39.99. ...

Last fall, Microsoft tried to woo more Japanese gamers to try the Xbox 360 at the Tokyo Game Show. As part of its effort, the company showed off a number of games that would be released on the Japanese version of Xbox Live arcade.



It's doubtful anyone under 10 would remember a game from the '80s.
While most of the selections were eventually scheduled for a US release, several were not. Other than Rush'n Attack, one of the more notable games without an American ship date was Yie Ar Kung Fu, Konami's classic mid-1980s arcade fighting game.

Luckily, it now appears that Yie Ar Kung Fu will flex its muscles on both sides of the Pacific. The Entertainment Software Ratings Board Web site (pictured) now lists the game as being slated for a US release with an E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up rating. The site does not list release dates or pricing information, and Konami reps had not commented on the listing as of press time.

The ESRB site also revealed a previously unknown 360 title called Aegis Wing. Other than an E rating for "Mild Fantasy Violence," nothing is known about the game. Microsoft Game Studios reps didn't help clarify the situation, declining to comment on either ESRB listing.

via gamespot ...

via slashdot

Take Two has tired of Jack Thompson's frivolous lawsuits and has filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida to prevent him from filing any more 'nuisance' lawsuits. 'Take Two argues that the lawsuits violate its First Amendment rights to free expression, but it also claims that the suits are so vague as to be unconstitutional. "This unconstitutional vagueness will have a chilling effect on Plaintiff as well as Plaintiff's customers," says the company. "Plaintiff's distributors likely will respond to the uncertainty and fear of penalties by withholding Plaintiff's video games from the public."' Take Two also cites the disruptive effect Thompson's suits have on its retail partners ...

Microsoft has confirmed that three editions of Halo 3 will be available when the game launches later this year.

First up is the plain old Standard Edition which is comprised of the standalone disc, plus a box and manual we'd wager.

Then there's the Legendary Edition which will be released "in limited quantities", according to a statement. It will come with a collectable Spartan helmet case, Halo 3 storyboard art and two bonus discs.

The first disc will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, including a Making of Halo 3 documentary, plus a look at early game concepts. It will also include an audio-visual calibration tool "never before seen on a videogame", which has been custom designed by the Halo 3 team and will allow you to enjoy high definition footage and optimised audio.

The second disc, which will only be available with the Legendary Edition, will include remastered cinematic material from Halo 2 and Halo: Combat Evovled, complete with developer commentaries.

You'll also get a featurette about a day in the life at Bungie, plus exclusive content from the Machinima artists who created Red vs. Blue and This Spartan Life.

The Limited Edition version of Halo 3 will come in a shiny metal case. Along with the first bonus disc from the Legendary Edition, you'll get a Halo fiction and art book which features a guide to the game's universe and previously unseen material.

Microsoft also confirmed that Halo 3 will arrive in shops this autumn, though they haven't said exactly when yet.

via eurogamer ...

Click on the video player now to witness one of the most cringe-worthy videogame trailers in recent memory.

It features a bunch of fully-grown, ADULT blokes rolling water balloons around home-made obstacle courses. Why? Watch it and find out.

It's almost as bad as those painfully cheesy NES adverts back in the eighties, when people seemingly had no shame.

Those poor actors. It's so bad, we're embarrassed for them. That's one minute and 19 seconds of our lives we'll never get back.

Trailer Here ...

via gibiz

Yoshi's Island DS has sold over 303,000 units in its first week of sales in Japan, placing it at the top of the charts according to data from Media Create.

The only other new entry in the Japanese top ten is Spike's Kenka Banchou 2: Full Throttle at number four, selling over 42,000 units.

There are two PlayStation 3 titles in the top 50 - Bandai's Gundam Musou at number seven and Sega's Virtua Tennis 3 at number 19. There are no Xbox 360 games in the top 50.

Hardware sales in the region have also dropped this week, with the DS selling 108,631 units and Sony's PSP shifting 56,175 units.

Nintendo has sold 44,495 Wii consoles in the past week, while Sony's PlayStation 3 has sold 32,115 units. The PlayStation 2 has sold 14,585 units, ahead of Microsoft's Xbox 360, which managed 3333 consoles sold.

The Japanese top ten follows, with weekly sales figures:

1. Yoshi's Island DS / 303,114 DS

2. Monster Hunter Portable 2 / 93,099 PSP

3. Layton Kyoujo no Fushigi na Machi / 45,344 DS

4. Kenka Banchou 2: Full Throttle / 42,131 PS2

5. Super Robot Taisen W / 36,310 DS

6. Wii Sports / 35,298 Wii

7. Gundam Musou / 31,145 PS3

8. Dragon Quest Monsters – Joker / 26,452 DS

9. Wii Play / 26,340 Wii

10. Motto Nou o Kitaeru Otona DS Training / 20,716 DS ...

February hardware sales in the US are up by 98 per cent, according to the latest data released by NPD.

Thanks largely to impressive performance from the Nintendo DS and Wii, sales for February 2007 were US $402 million (EUR 301.7m).

Software sales also rose by 28 per cent to US $441 million (EUR 331m), compared to US $345 million (258.9m) during the same period in 2006.

The DS sold 485,000 units during February, while the Wii moved 335,000 units despite Nintendo struggling to maintain a continuous supply of its latest home console.

"We're gratified that the explosive appeal of the Wii, in terms of both new players and new ways to play, has created unprecedented demand, substantially beyond supply," commented Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo in North America.

Sony's PlayStation 3, due in Europe next week, registered disappointing sales figures in comparison. The next-gen home console sold 127,000 units and was outsold by the PlayStation 2 at 295,000 units and the PSP's 176,000 units.

Microsoft's Xbox 360, a console released in November 2005, managed to sell 228,000 units, and even the Game Boy Advance range of handhelds put in a better performance than Sony's next-gen machine, shifting 136,000 units.

Nintendo also enjoyed considerable success in the software sales charts, with the top three sellers all exclusive to the company.

Wii Play sold 371,000 copies, while Diddy Kong Racing for the DS moved 262,000 units and Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess sold 130,000 copies.

Of the US $96 million increase in sales over last year, Nintendo and Microsoft product accounted for US $79 million.

Sales were higher than figures expected from analyst Wedbush Morgan.

"Overall sales were much higher than our US $415 million forecast as next-generation console software sales substantially exceeded our estimates," offered Michael Pachter, senior analyst at the firm.

"Next-generation software sales totalled US $275 million, compared to our US $240 million forecast. The upside was primarily attributable to dramatically higher than expected sales of 360 and Wii games," he said.

"The sales pattern over the last few months had suggested to us that consumers are less concerned about the transition than they have been in prior console cycles. Demand for the PS3 is tracking below our expectations, while demand for the Wii remains strong," added Pachter.

The top three selling titles for each console follow:

Wii

Wii Play (Nintendo)

Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (Nintendo)

WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo)

Xbox 360

Crackdown (Microsoft)

Gears of War (Microsoft)

Major League Baseball 2K7 (Take 2)

PlayStation 3

Resistance: Fall of Man (Sony)

Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega)

Major League Baseball 2K7 (Take 2)

DS

Diddy Kong Racing (Nintendo)

New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo)

Mario Kart DS (Nintendo)

PlayStation 2

Guitar Hero 2 (Activision)

Major League Baseball 2K7 (Take 2)

WWE Smackdown Vs RAW 2007 (THQ)

via gibiz ...