via Computer and Video Games


Capcom US has responded to CVG's report yesterday that PS3 Devil May Cry 4 forces gamers to sit through a mandatory 21 minute install time - with little improvement to load times there after.

Just to be sure, we timed the 5GB install process (which you can't opt-out of) on our PS3 retail version and it clocked in at 21 minutes, 41 seconds.

After installation, we timed DMC4's load times to be only one or two seconds shy of those in the 360 counterpart. Hardly worth sitting through 21 minutes of concept art, then.

Capcom community man Chris Kramer disagrees:


We're a good few hours into both versions and the load times on the PS3 version are a few seconds shorter than the 360 cousin at best. They're definitely no way near "Super Nintendo speed".

DMC4 is out on Friday. And it'll cost you an extra £10 on PS3. Check online stores for the best deal. Either way, it's still a great game - look out for the review tomorrow. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Army of Two assistant producer, Matt Turner has told CVG that he fully supports PSN, but admitted experiencing "growing pains" with the relatively young system.

With its friends list access, universal game invites system and general intuitiveness, Xbox Live is rightly regarded as the superior service. Turner says, however, that PSN "has all the capabilities".

"There are extra challenges [with PSN] just because the PS3 is newer to our team so we've had to work through some growing pains, getting used to a whole new system of development," Turner told us.

"But it has all of the capabilities, it's just that at the moment we have more experience on the Xbox."

He goes on to say that the upcoming Army of Two will get over the shortfalls of the PS3 firmware's online menus in similar ways to Burnout Paradise.

"We have friends lists accessible during the game, you can send invites and your friends can join you - it's as easy as doing it on Xbox Live," he promises.

PSN is expected to catch up to (or even better, dare we speculate) Xbox Live when both a much-talked-about in-game XMB is introduced in a firmware update and PlayStation Home is released later this year.

Look out for Turner's full interview, his hopes for PS3 success in 2008 and how his game measures up to Gears of War, later today. ...

via Eurogamer


Atari has finally concreted the Beautiful Katamari date as 29th February in Europe.

It follows a bit of indecision by the publisher, which said February then changed its mind to March.

However, we were treated to a demo for it at the end of January, so you can hop on Live now and roll things up as if you were in control of a giant magical snowball.

Beautiful Katamari is the first instalment in the acclaimed puzzle series to appear on new generation hardware. It arrives without the help of Keita Takahashi, who designed the first two games on PS2.

He's off making Nobi Nobi Boy for the PlayStation Network, you see, and his departure leaves a rather gaping hole here.

But whether this is because Beautiful Katamari is more an HD and online incremental update or because it lacks creative flare is hard to tell. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Call of Duty 4 on PS3 and Xbox 360 is receiving a little loving this spring with Activision promising new multiplayer maps for the FPS on console.

Neither Activision nor CoD 4 developer Infinity Ward have been generous with further details, only adding that "the upcoming downloadable content will thrust gamers into a hot zone of added combat across a variety of intense multiplayer locales" and speaking of "added gameplay variety".

Will the new maps be released as a free download? That's not currently clear. Nor is there any mention of them being released for the game on PC. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Showtime Championship Boxing will soon be released on both DS and Wii in the UK, aiming at taking the title for best boxing sim on Wii. Currently owned by Wii Sports.

Based on the screenshots provided though, we wouldn't risk our money if the bookies were giving odds on Showtime taking it down.

Retro fans might get a kick out of seeing the crowd made up of two-dimensional sprites though. But to us it looks like someone stole a bunch of cardboard cut-outs from the cinema placed them in the stadium to make it seem sold-out.

The DS version of the game currently has a metacritic rating of 33, while the Wii version hasn't even got the four reviews required for a score yet. Considering the game hit American shelves late last year, we're not expecting a surprise smash-hit.

Either way, it arrives on our shores March 8.


Screenshots ...

via Eurogamer


Firaxis has said it put the Wii version of Civilization Revolution on indefinite hold because it required too much effort to get it up to standard.

Nintendo platforms were added after a year of 360 and PS3 development because of surprisingly strong sales, according to programmer Scott Lewis, but they were always unlikely to take precedent if push came to shove.

"The simple truth is that we had too many projects going on and not enough people," Lewis told MTV Multiplayer (spotted by videogaming247).

"When we were stretched for resources and time, of the platforms [we were working on], the Wii version had the most question marks, so it got put on hold. If the 360/PS3/DS versions do well, obviously a Wii version will be more likely.

"I think the Wii would be perfect for a game like Civ, but we'd have to throw out all of our interface work (and some of our game design decisions) to make it feel like it truly fits on the platform," he added.

2K Games announced it was holding the Wii version back last Tuesday, but the three other versions are still on course for this spring.

Civilization Revolution is a console-designed instalment in the acclaimed simulation series, focusing on getting the controls right and offering slightly more streamlined matches for a couch-based audience.

But it is not being dumbed down, as the publisher is keen to point out, and will have all the feature bells and whistles you might expect. ...

via Joystiq


tarting its new video game blog off with a bang, Variety reports that last spring a Grand Theft Auto movie was almost ready to roll into full production. The story goes that after years of trying, some studio actually navigated the bureaucracy of Take-Two/Rockstar and was ready to start production -- "quite possibly" with Eminem as the star. The reason this even came to be after so many years of stonewalling by GTA's rights holders is that current Take-Two chair, Strauss Zelnick, comes from traditional media at BMG music and 20th Century Fox.

Variety goes on to say that the movie was so close to being finalized that its own reporters were prepping stories, with sources at Take-Two saying it was a done deal. At the last moment though, the whole thing fell allegedly apart after the publisher couldn't finalize terms with the studio. Whether it was an issue about money or giving away the movie rights (Rockstar is very protective of its brand) is still an unanswered question. Oh well, we've gotten used to movies based on modern mega-franchise games falling apart. ...

via Computer and Video Games


We've got three new screens for the very-nearly released Need For Speed: Pro Street on Sony's handheld. And a picture of ex-Hollyoaks stunner Gemma Atkinson plugging the mobile version.

Need For Speed: Pro Street is chasing the rest of the pack and should be with us on Feb. 22.

Check out a couple of screens, right here. ...

via Computer and Video Games


The Folding@home program aids the study of protein folding in order to help scientists attempting to tackle the development of a number of diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, cystic fibrosis and certain forms of cancer.

Mass uptake of the program by PS3 users has enabled researchers to utilize the processing power of hundreds of thousands, and now a million, PlayStation 3 consoles.

Sony says that one million PS3-owning participants equates to around 3,000 PS3 owners registering per day, or two new registered users every minute worldwide, since March 2007, although PS3 users attempting to participate in the program have had a few issues recently.

...