via Computer and Video Games


Sony has refused to comment on reports that the PS3 video store will be launched in conjunction with E3 in mid-July.

A video-on-demand service has been officially confirmed in the past, but Sony is yet to announce a release date for the service.

According to reports, US-based magazine EGM says that the video store for PS3 will go live around E3, to which Sony responded with the usual line: "we do not comment on rumour or speculation."

That reply also goes for the other EGM-derived rumour of a "transforming" PS3 pad to be revealed at E3. Sounds a bit far-fetched to us, anyway.

If you missed it, Sony showed a glimpse of what appeared to be the new video store in a recent PS3 advertisement boasting, among others, MTV, NBC and Cartoon Network logos.

We expect to hear more on it and the much-requested in-game communication features soon. ...

via Eurogamer


Nintendo UK has confirmed release dates for a number of Wii and DS titles in Japan, including upcoming Wii games Wario Land Shake and Project Zero IV, both of which are on their way in the next two months.

Speaking to our pals at videogaming247, a Nintendo UK rep confirmed Japanese dates for seven titles in total - but, in a move sure to shock and surprise you all, revealed that there's "nothing announced for Europe right now."

The four DS titles are Band Bros DX on June 26th, Legendary Stafy on July 10th (that's presumably Legendary Stafy 5, the second DS title in the Kirby-like series), Rhythm Tengoku Gold on July 31st (the at-long-last DS conversion of the GBA and arcade classic) and, last but not least, Fire Emblem: New Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light, on August 7th.

That new Fire Emblem game is worth keeping an eye on - it's a remake of the very first title in the franchise, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light, but more importantly it's the first Fire Emblem game to feature online play.

The really exciting stuff, though, is in the Wii schedule. First up is Super Mario Stadium Family Baseball, which is likely to be of limited appeal in Europe and appears in Japan on June 19th. It's followed, however, by Wario Land Shake on July 24th, the first Wario Land game to appear since 2001.

Topping off the list is Project Zero IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse on July 31st, the first instalment in the Project Zero (that's Fatal Frame for our US readers) franchise on a Nintendo console. It's looking mighty creepy in this week's Famitsu, too. ...

via Computer and Video Games


With developer Harmonix still maintaining that £180 is a fair price for Rock Band, Play has seen sense and knocking 40-quid off the RRP.

Play first cut £30 from the price of the 'Band in the Box' instrument pack. So you can get a set of drums, guitar and microphone for less than one hundred pounds.

The company then pulled a tenner off the game disc, which brings the cost down to a more reasonable total of £139.99.

Of course, that 'reasonable total' is only relative to the £179.99 price point that the majority of shops are selling it for. Expect to see other retailers to follow suit. We hope... ...

via Computer and Video Games


2K and Take-Two have both held their hands up and confirmed BioShock is coming to PS3 this October.

We brought you first news of a PS3 version - via a PSM3 mag feature - last week. There's no word on what the new content might be, but it will feature all the extra fixes and Plasmids the 360 received via DLC.

"Since BioShock for Xbox 360 and PC won countless 2007 Game of the Year awards, we are excited to see the impact of this stellar title for the PlayStation 3 when it debuts this fall," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K.

"Over the coming months we look forward to revealing the new features and content that will make this a must-have game for its new audience, as well as for those who enjoyed it on the other platforms."

Nothing above what we already knew then. ...

via Eurogamer


Famitsu has got details of the Japanese release of the Metal Gear Solid 4 soundtrack for us this morning - not terribly comprehensive details, but a taster at least of what those of you who've pre-ordered the UK special edition of the game will be getting for your extra cash.

Launching in Japan as a standalone package today (with an appropriately moody looking close-up of Snake's wrinkly face on the cover), the soundtrack comes on a single CD and contains 47 tracks.

It's composed, as ever, by the series' musical stalwarts Nobuko Toda and Harry Gregson-Williams, and on past experience, we'd suggest avoiding track listings if you don't want major spoilers.

This is, presumably, the same disc that you'll be getting if you pre-ordered the £79.99 special edition of Metal Gear Solid 4 from Play.com. You'll also get a six-inch figurine and a "Making Of" Blu-Ray disc.

If you just fancy picking up the soundtrack on its own, however, the Japanese standalone soundtrack costs 3045 Yen, which is about fifteen quid (or 19 Euro) in real money. ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo has pledged that Wii Fit stocks will be replenished "as soon as possible", following recent shortages.

The full extent of the supply drought of the hugely popular exercise title was revealed with the release of UK chart.

With stock of the title almost completely drying up, the game dramatically plummeted out of the UK All Format Top 40 altogether, having been No2 in the listings last week. The remaining stock could only push the game to No15 in the Wii chart.

But while Nintendo admitted that "there are pockets of stock shortages in areas of the UK", a spokesman stressed "we are doing everything we can to replenish shortages as soon as possible.

"To this effect we are continuing to bring Wii Fit stock into retailers across the UK on a weekly basis," he added. ...

via Eurogamer


Niko Bellic actor Michael Hollick has said he was "almost more ready for [critical] backlash than for anything else" in the run up to Grand Theft Auto IV release.

He was speaking on the Big O & Dukes radio show on WJFK-FM (spotted by Kotaku), and talked about the huge secrecy surrounding the project; apparently he only found out the name of his character two weeks after signing lengthy confidentiality agreements.


Hollick originally auditioned to do the motion-capture work for Niko, but having heard him speaking the lines, Rockstar decided to let him do the voice for the character as well.

In total, Hollick reckons it took around 18 months to record all of his speaking and movement for Niko. The game was tackled in chunks, with scripts sometimes hundreds of pages long per section.

The motion capture was be recorded first and with the other actors around. And then, sometimes months later, he went to a studio on his own to do facial animations and voice work.

The worst days were when he faced "50 pages of screaming", apparently, doing things like "Niko falling off a motorcycle into the ocean [and] drowning".

"I knew enough about videogames that [GTA IV] was different off the bat. There was a great sense while we were doing it that this was something special," added Hollick.

Apparently Hollick was never much of a gamer and so found it "thrilling and fascinating" to see how much went into GTA IV. He likes videogames now, but says he's rubbish at them and gets Niko killed fairly quickly when playing.

His popularity has increased, too - now that his name is correctly listed on IMDB.

"I'm getting crazy hits on my MySpace page," said Hollick, before adding that he and his wife - also an actor for the game - did some "interesting role-playing" when he got home from work.

He has few plans for Niko Bellic going forward, but one his friend has suggested doing a Christmas album in the style of the Serbian gangster, which should be interesting. ...

via IGN


Xbox Live's director of product management Aaron Greenberg fleshed out the near future of the service this weekend on Major Nelson's podcast, reiterating a few upcoming changes and expanding on Microsoft's plan to "de-list" some games on Live.

During his guest spot on the podcast, hosted by Xbox Live programming director Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb, Greenberg expanded on Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten's statements last week that the company will soon clean house, removing some underperforming Xbox Live Arcade titles.

Games that have been on XBLA at least 6 months, have an average rating of less than 65 percent and have a conversion rate of less than 6 percent will be removed from the listings. Microsoft counts a conversion every time someone downloads the trial version of a game and then follows it up with a purchase of the full version.

In general, Greenberg said, new games and top-selling titles will never be on the chopping block. Rather, Microsoft is attempting to make newer, more popular games easier to find by removing some of the clutter.

Although an unfortunate few will be removed from the list of downloadable XBLA games, the de-listed titles will never be permanently removed from the service, Greenberg said. They just won't be available to new customers and won't show up when browsing the list of games.

"You will always be able to play the games you own," Greenberg said. "If you buy a game, we're never going to take it away."

De-listed games will also be available for re-download, he said, to gamers who have purchased them in the past. Leaderboards and other Live support will also continue for de-listed games.

While on the podcast, Greenberg also shared some updated Xbox Live numbers:

Total Xbox Live games: About 130
Average daily downloads: About 1 million
New XBLA game file size cap: 350 MB
Percent of first-week U.S. GTA IV purchases for Xbox 360: 65
Number of items on Xbox Live: About 17,000
Number of items on PlayStation Store: About 600 ...

via Games Industry


Four weeks after its release, Grand Theft Auto IV is still at the top of the UK sales charts according to data released by Chart-Track.

The remainder of the Top Ten titles saw a significant amount of movement. Notably, Wii Fit - which had been in second place for the past few weeks - dropped out of the Top Forty list altogether thanks to stock problems.

New to the charts this week is Age of Conan - the biggest launch for a PC title so far this year and the biggest online-only title launch outside of World of Warcraft - which debuted in the second position.

Also new to the charts are the Ubisoft's PS3 exclusive Haze and Rock Band for the Xbox 360 at number three and six, respectively.


The Top Ten best-selling titles in the UK for the week ending May 24 were:

1. Grand Theft Auto IV
2. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
3. Haze
4. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
5. Wii Play
6. Rock Band
7. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
8. Mario Kart Wii
9. FIFA 08
10. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock ...