via IGN


Xbox Live Arcade games have been getting larger and larger, and Microsoft has responded by gradually upping the maximum allowable file size for its downloadable offerings.

The original cap was 50 MB, exceeded by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in January 2007. Microsoft then bumped the limit to 150 MB, a threshold that both Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Bionic Commando Rearmed intend to smash.

As a result, Microsoft is moving the bar once again. In an interview with the gaming business site GamesIndustry.biz, Xbox Live portfolio manager David Edery confirmed that the new limit is now or will soon be 350 MB, more than doubling the current cap.

...

via Joystiq


Nintendo has called a €149.1 million ($233.6 million) fine levied by European Union regulators for price fixing "unfair, illegal, [and] even shocking." In 2002, the commission fined Nintendo and seven distributors a total of €167.8 million for colluding to raise prices of game consoles and software from 1991–1998. While Nintendo isn't denying the profit boosting efforts, it claimed yesterday in the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg that the portion of the fine owed by the game company is unjustified and discriminatory -- and indeed, at the time, was the largest ever punishment for colluding with distributors.

The commission stood by its initial ruling that the steep penalty reflected Nintendo's role as producer and supplier of the price-jacked goods. It was Nintendo's responsibility to prevent price fixing and failure to do so merited the fine, the commission stated in court filings. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Publisher AQ Interactive has confirmed a Japanese release date for strategy game spin-off Blue Dragon Plus.

Based in the same universe as the Xbox 360 RPG, Blue Dragon Plus will take place a year after the original title, as the world continues to explore the cube worlds that resulted from the planet's core opening.

One day King Jibral and Zola encounter a mysterious dragon shadow at one of the cubes, and after informing Shu they set out to discover more information about this new threat.

While the plot, characters and style of the game will be familiar to anyone who played the original, but the gameplay will be in real time.

Blue Dragon Plus will be released on September 4 in Japan. A publisher for the game has yet to be confirmed for both Europe and America. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Sony has just unleashed three new high-res shots of Resistance 2, offering a glimpse of a level set in Chicago.

As you will have heard, the sequel takes the action away from the streets of UK cities and into major cities in the US, where we'll also hopefully get to shoot aliens in big cathedrals too.

The shots look like Top of the Pops shots to us, but it's one of the biggest PS3 games of the year, so stop complaining.


Screenshots ...

via Games Industry


With Nintendo's WiiWare launching today across Europe, and Sony's PSN establishing itself as a credible download service for the PlayStation 3, Microsoft has told GamesIndustry.biz that Xbox Live Arcade is about to "leapfrog" the competition using XNA-created games.

First unveiled at the Games Developers Conference in February, the Community Games initiative will become a channel for professional and amateur developers to deliver experimental titles on Xbox Live Arcade.

"I certainly think from an innovation perspective it's going to help us leapfrog the competition, effectively until they find a way to duplicate it, assuming they ever do," stated David Edery, Xbox Live Arcade's worldwide portfolio planner.

"To some extent it will certainly help us have more innovative content than either of them, just by definition. With all this random stuff coming from the community, every once in a while there's going to be a real gem in there that you just couldn't have found otherwise, it wouldn't have found its way on to a console," he added.

The initiative is expected to go live before the end of the year, and Edery believes the service will help identify and create niche audiences that have so far not been served by a download service on home consoles.

"The example I always like to give is will someone finally make that scuba diving game, where there's really only 15,000 people interested in a hardcore scuba diving simulation, but they really, really want one? And maybe through XNA someone can profitably get one out there," he said.

"Today, there's not really a venue for that. I'm not going to green light a hardcore scuba diving game for Xbox Live Arcade today because there are not enough people who are interested in that. But with XNA it's perfectly possible.

"So I'm much more interested in it from a perspective of can it be used to satisfy more people, with more diverse content, than anything else," added Edery.

There are also hopes that the service will be used by established developers and publishers to put experimental ideas and new game mechanics out to an audience able to get hands-on and offer feedback.

"Who knows, maybe a guy like Will Wright will spin out a game in three weeks, toss it out on XNA and see what happens.

"This could become a wonderful test bed and you'll start to see super-cool stuff coming from guys who wouldn't really have that opportunity to do that kind of test marketing," offered Edery.

The full interview with David Edery, where he discusses Community Games in detail, as well increasing the size and rate of games on Xbox Live Arcade, can be read here. ...

via Eurogamer


Konami has confirmed there are no plans to make its Metal Gear Solid 4 hardware bundle available in the UK.

That's a shame, because Konami's bundle comes with a limited edition gun metal grey PS3. It can be pre-ordered via the publisher's website - if you're fast, as a limited number are on offer each day, and if you're American, as the bundle is "only available for pre-order to US residents".

So is there any chance the UK will get a similar deal? "Nope, sadly not," said a Konami spokesperson. "The only bundle we are doing is the Play.com special edition with figurine."

The special edition, you may recall, includes a soundtrack CD, a "Making Of" Blu-ray disc and the six-inch tall figurine. It costs GBP 79.99 and is available to pre-order exclusively at Play.com.

If you really must have a hardware bundle, Sony will be offering a PS3, Sixaxis and copy of the game for EUR 439. However, a Sony spokesperson told us, "I believe we will only be getting the standard black PS3 with the MGS4 bundle." ...

via Computer and Video Games


The three console giants have failed a Greenpeace test after they were found to contain a number of toxic and potentially harmful materials.

The Greenpeace "Playing Dirty" report found substances such as polyvinyl chloride, phthalates, beryllium and bromine on the various bits and bobs within the consoles. If they checked the office pads they'd also find the remains of yesterday's KFC feast (on a Monday too, the shame - Ed)

You probably won't be chowing down on the microchips inside your PS3 any time soon (we'd hope), but Greenpeace called for console manufacturers to "design out" toxic substances.

Dr. Kevin Brigden, Greenpeace Science Unit, said: "Whether game consoles are classified as toys or not, they can still contain hazardous chemicals and materials that could harm humans. The technology is available for the manufacturers to design out toxics and produce greener game consoles now."

Casey Harrell, Greenpeace International Toxics Campaigner, added: "Our test clearly shows that a greener game console is possible; manufacturers just need to look 'inside the box' of the competition to see which of their own dirty components can be replaced with toxic free materials."

It's not so much that you'll be licking the components of your console, but more about the environmental effects when they're dumped, ending up in recycling yards in developing countries, apparently. ...

via Computer and Video Games


33 new screenshots of Snake and Raiden doing their thing are out and they're not all in the dusty, grey Middle-Eastern environment we've seen a billion times already.

You can spot loads of cool features going on - see Snake in one shot using the SixAxis to control a small droid, or Snake dressed in the Altair (of Assassin's Creed fame) costume.

There even seems to be some sort of bike race going on in there. The shots (which turned up here) can be seen below.


33 screenshots ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo's European WiiWare service has been launched today with six titles initially available to download.

WiiWare games will be available to download from the Wii Shop Channel starting from 500 Wii Points, which themselves have to be bought in the Wii Shop Channel or at retailers.

Developers of any size will be able to create and sell their games created for the Wii through the Wii Shop Channel. Each game will be reviewable by gamers with a chart of the most popular regularly published.

WiiWare has already launched in Japan earlier this year on March 25, and in North America on May 12. An interview with developers on their thoughts concerning WiiWare can be found here.

The full list of WiiWare titles released in Europe follows:

1. Dr. Mario & Germ Buster (Nintendo)
2. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (Square Enix)
3. Lost Winds (Frontier)
4. Star Soldier R (Hudson Soft)
5. Toki Tori (Two Tribes B.V.)
6. TV Show King (Gameloft) ...