via gamesradar

If you were brave enough to journey all the way through the ultra-tough God mode in the excellent mythical massacre, God of War, then you truly deserve the respect of all Mount Olympus. But get ready for more pain, because according to God of War II director, Cory Barlog, things will be a whole world of harder in the sequel with the introduction of Titan mode.

"We still have four difficulty modes in the game (three available right away and one unlocked after beating the game), but we have really tweaked the higher difficulty levels... so much so that God mode no longer felt the 'hardest'. So now we have 'Titan' mode... and let me tell you it is freaking hard... doable of course... but hard," Barlog revealed on his blog.

Holy juice of Zeus! We shudder to think what an almighty challenge Kratos and his beautiful Blades of Chaos will have to endure to conquer Titan mode, but we have a sneaky feeling it's going to be brutal, savage and more than most mere mortals will be able to suffer. ...

Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the creator of the magic mushroom-friendly, cult classic shooter, Rez, has suggested that his next game will be uncovered in the near future and that it'll be another exercise in delightful synapse stimulation.

"I can't talk about details, but I'm ready to go with my next game, which will be bigger than [my other games] Lumines or Every Extend Extra," the Q Entertainment founder revealed. "I want to use my passion and energy again using the next-gen technology. I have many reasons to make a new experience, and it must be a new sensory experience using high-def technology. I can make some announcements soon."

To our ears it sounds like probably being the best game ever made already, but we'll be sure to keep our lug holes open for any new details on this mind-expanding trip in interactive hypnosis (at least that's what we're hoping for).

Talking about the rave influenced Rez, the synaesthesia-curious developer admitted to initially feeling disappointment when the game was released. "I'd put so much energy into it and it was not such a big success commercially," Mizuguchi told GameSpot. "But after five or six years, people are still talking about it and it's a really happy thing." Aww, we love a happy ending.

via gamesradar ...

via gamesradar

With Nintendo's interstellar vulpine's latest adventure, Star Fox Command on DS, counting down to tomorrow's release, the game's producer, Takaya Imamura, has hinted that Wii might be the next destination for the popular series.

In an exclusive VIP interview with Nintendo of Europe, when asked if a Wii version of Star Fox was likely, Imamura replies: "I wonder how the adventure of Fox and friends is going to go next time?! I have come up with some idea in my mind but it is still just a small one. I will try my best so that I can deliver it to you some time!"

Of course, Fox McCloud setting a course for Wii wouldn't be surprising in the slightest - it is a long-running Nintendo fan favourite, after all - but that doesn't detract from the fact that battling to save the Lylat System using Wii's wizzy-wand would be something to look forward to with starry-eyed optimism. ...

via gamespot

No one can argue that Gears of War hasn't been a massive success. The title has sold more than 3 million units worldwide--it was the third best-selling game of 2006 in the US and the 18th best-selling game in the UK. It also won GameSpot's Game of the Year award and overtook Halo 2 as the most popular game on Xbox Live.

Now the Xbox 360-exclusive title can boast another feather in its cap. The game was released on January 18 in Japan--a region where Western-developed shooters have historically not proved popular. However, Gears of War managed to break into the country's top 10 sales list, selling 33,212 copies in its first week and debuting in the charts at number seven, according to Media Create.

There were a total of eight new titles in the top 10 of the Japanese charts last week, with .hack//G.U. Vol. 3 making it to number one, having sold 136,790 copies since its release. ...

via gamespot

PlayStation fans had a reason to celebrate today, with the PS3 finally getting a confirmed release date of March 23 in Europe and Australia. We spoke to Sony Computer Entertainment Australia and New Zealand managing director Michael Ephraim about why the 20GB model isn't being made available down under, whether local gamers can expect console shortages, and much more.

GameSpot AU: Why did Sony decide not to release the 20GB SKU of the PlayStation 3 in Australia and Europe?

Michael Ephraim: Basically, every retailer and business partner we discussed the SKUs with said that the 60GB SKU is the way to go. If you look at PS3 sales in the US, and if you look at the sales of our competitor's format, the lead SKU has sold disproportionately better--it makes up about 97 percent of all sales. We will look at the demand and the need for a 20GB SKU, but everything is telling us--including consumers talking to retailers via pre-orders--that everyone wants the top-end SKU because it has all the functionality.

We have listened to retailers and consumers, and honestly, hands-down around the world the message was to go single SKU now. Of course, this also simplifies our manufacturing--we can focus on only one SKU and then assess the marketplace from there.

GSAU: So you don't expect to lose too many sales from people who had their hearts set on the 20GB model?

ME: I really don't think so. The difference in Australia is about A$170 (between the two SKUs). The 60GB model is the PS3 in full flight, and if you're going to invest that type of money, the benefits for another A$170 are clearly there. But we will listen to what the demand is.

GSAU: If there is a demand, is there a possibility that the 20GB model will reach Australia sometime in 2007?

ME: We will look at all information and assess it. Within 2007 is not a problem--we just have to make sure there's a demand for it.

GSAU: Sony has stated that there are 1 million PS3s being made available for the PAL release. Can you tell us which countries those consoles will be going to?

ME: I'm not allowed to go through that now, not until we finalise a few things. But I can say that Australia is a very important market for Europe. Historically, we can do anywhere from 5 to 7 percent of the business of Europe. That is a cumulative number over the years. So we are significant--we're not a 1 percent market. Australia has always been given its right level of allocation and share of allocation of new releases. We always launch at the same time as Europe as well, so that indicates that we're an important territory. We will get our fair share.

GSAU: So you don't foresee any shortages come March 23?

ME: That's the main question for every new format, and there is always a shortage for every new format. It's very important to get the day one number right, but we also want to plan with our retailers as much as we possibly can, to give them as much transparency as we can, when it comes to ongoing replenishments. There is the day one quantity--out of that million; Australia will get a fair share--but then we want to work with our retailers so consumers who don't get a console at launch will at least be informed as to when the next deliveries will come in. We will do the best we can to meet market demands.

GSAU: The PS3 is the last console to land in the Australian market. How does that affect your position in the next-generation console race?

ME: I'm not too concerned. By coincidence, our launch in Australia is the exact day that the Xbox 360 launched here a year ago. I think it is public knowledge that Microsoft and retailers are disappointed with the numbers the 360 has done here. GfK Australia puts the 360 at about 150,000 units install base--we're sitting on 2.2 million on PS2, so there's a long way to go. We do not see the one year head start as insurmountable by any means at all; 150,000 is a nice number, but it is by no means 2 million.

GSAU: Can you tell GameSpot AU how many PS3s you're expecting to sell in Australia this year?

ME: It's a bit early--we'd rather just work our way toward launch. It's very hard to pin down because this device goes beyond gaming. Convergence is upon us, so not only does what we do impact the sales of PS3, but also other issues, like the availability of high-definition screens and Blu-ray movies, can also affect us. It's a very dynamic market we're in, so it's hard to imagine what the exact quantities will be.

GSAU: Michael Ephraim, thanks for your time. ...

via gamespot

CMP Media, the organizers of the Game Developers Conference, today announced that Phil Harrison, president of worldwide studios at Sony Computer Entertainment, will give the opening keynote to this year's conference.

Harrison will give a lecture entitled "Game 3.0: Developing and Creating for the 3rd Age of Video Games." The talk will focus on "the entertainment, creative, and commercial opportunities presented by connected communities of players and developers."

GDC 2007 takes place March 5-9 at San Francisco's Moscone Center. Harrison's speech will take place on Wednesday, March 7 at 10:30 a.m. Earlier this week, GDC 07 announced that Nintendo's game guru Shigeru Miyamoto will present a keynote entitled "A Creative Vision" on Thursday, March 8. ...

Sony are having a crap time of late, PS3 Delays, the PSP homebrew scene running allover their best efforts to stop us, those lousy ads in the UK, crappy fake blogs but tonight another cracker of a story comes from their PSP Connect site, they are advertsing GT HD on the site but the screenshot is of the 360 Project Gotham racing :P

More details at Xbox 360 News ...

While industry watchers pined over which next-gen console was going to win the sales war this holiday season, Nintendo's DS walked away with the crown for all gaming hardware. The DS sold 1.6 million units in the US in December, ending an already positive year for the system with a bang.

Nintendo has tallied up recent figures for the DS in the entire Western Hemisphere, and today announced that 10 million DSes have been sold in the Americas since its launch in 2004. The company also claims that nine DSes have been sold every minute in North and South America since its debut.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime was proud of his company's portable, and boasted, "More than 5 million people joined the ranks as Nintendo DS owners in America last year alone. And right now, they're all saying the same thing--'give me more!'"

The gaming giant also unveiled the latest release schedule for DS games through March.

February
Diddy Kong Racing DS
Lunar Knights
F24 Stealth Fighter
Disney's Kim Possible: Global Gemini
Meteos: Disney Magic
Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007
Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja


March
Wario: Master of Disguise
Custom Robo Arena
Disney's Herbie: Rescue Rally
Disney's Meet the Robinsons
Spectrobes
Steel Horizon
Cake Mania
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

via gamespot ...

via slashdot

The anecdotal evidence that's been going around, now that the Wii is an established fixture in American living rooms, is that Nintendo's new console still has room for improvement. We all had fun over the holidays, sharing Wii Sports with our relatives and watching our aunts laugh themselves stupid. Now, though, it's a new year and it's time for the Wii to step up as a gaming platform. It needs to be more than a Zelda player, and the console needs to prove that this 'new gen' style of play is sustainable over the long term. The post-launch round of games has started to trickle out, and the results are definitely mixed. Today I have for you impressions of Elebits and WarioWare: Smooth Moves. These are two games that show quite a bit of promise, but only one of which actually delivers. Read on for my views, and a return to a numeric grading scale. ...