via Computer and Video Games


Shoppers looking for the ever-elusive Christmas Wii stock are heading to France to get hold of their consoles, reports The Daily Mirror.

According to the red top rag, Wii consoles are currently going for up to a thousand quid on eBay (though we're yet to find that particular auction), but they can be picked up relatively easily and cheaply by heading to our garlic-munching neighbour.

It's also a great excuse to stock up on ***s and Stella and then get drunk on a ferry. Zelda is blatantly more challenging (and romantic) in the French lingo too.

Queues are forming each day outside stores in Calais, where French shops have already limited customers to one Wii per customer. "English interest is phenomenal," one Micromania spokesman told the newspaper.

If you're currently queuing outside an Argos somewhere then, you might want to get on the blower to P&O for an easier way to keep the kids happy on the big day. ...

via Eurogamer


Sony Japan's latest exotic-looking PSP export, Patapon, is due out in the US in February 2008, Sony America announced overnight.

Sony UK told Eurogamer it hopes to release the game in a very similar time-frame, but that either way it's definitely confirmed for Europe.

As you may know if you've watched any of the wicked trailers, Patapon is a 2D game where you use musical beats to march an army of tiny warriors against their opponents.

Various drumbeats are used to march, retreat, attack and defend across 30 missions, and there are all sorts of upgrades to pick up as you dance your way to victory.

For more on the game, check out Chris Hinojosa-Miranda's post on the Sony US blog. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Microsoft has shot out a new batch of Lost Odyssey screenshots and is it just us, or did it look a lot better 12 months ago?

The Mistwalker RPG has just launched in Japan and is currently keeping Far Eastern 360 owners (both of them) busy with its stat counting and dungeon-crawling antics.

And apart from taking the mickey out of its stupidly-long loading times that's about all we can tell you about it, and reckon you should read this preview if you want some decent info.


Screenshots here ...

via Eurogamer


Xbox Live Arcade will be alive with the roar of flying car engines and the steady rumble of subterranean thumping tomorrow when Sidhe Interactive's GripShift and Sierra Online's Arkadian Warriors announce themselves at 9am GMT.

The former is an already celebrated PSP and PSN release on Sony formats thanks to its blend of physics-twisting racing and puzzling, and arrives on Xbox 360 with a new deathmatch mode to complement its excellent single-player challenge mode.

Arkadian Warriors, meanwhile, is a hackandslash of randomly generated dungeons with co-operative multiplayer for two players over Xbox Live and a progression structure built around acquiring loot, mastering spells and gathering weapons.

Both games are set to go for 800 Microsoft Points (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.30) and will be accompanied by the usual 12 unlockable Achievements for 200 gamerpoints and demo versions to help you make your mind up.

If you want some help making your mind up about GripShift, of course, you could always read our GripShift PS3 review or last week's interview with Sidhe boss Mario Wynands. Look out for reviews very soon. ...

via Eurogamer


Ever wondered why you can only have 100 people on your Xbox Live Friends list? Probably not. You're not very popular, after all. But apparently there is a limit, and Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg says it will be lifted "in the future".

Speaking to 1UP, Greenberg said that "it's something we definitely want to do and something we're looking at doing in the future, but it's been more technically complicated than anyone anticipated". For why, Aaron?

Interdependencies, he says. Apparently some original Xbox games "have friends lists hard coded in", among other things. However, he says, the majority of users don't have 30 friends, let alone 100.

Of course, nowadays you can check, thanks to a feature in the most recent Xbox 360 dashboard update that allows you to spy on your friends' friends lists. At least until they opt out of that by pretending to be a child and putting "OPERATION ORE" in their biography information.

How many friends do you have, Eurogamers? ...

via Eurogamer


The Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack has gone up on Xbox Live Marketplace, offering three brand new battlegrounds for 800 Microsoft Points (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.30).

The pack, unveiled last month, will be made available for free in spring 2008 ahead of another map pack's release.

The three maps included are Standoff, Rat's Nest and Foundry - a symmetrical valley map, an "indoor vehicular paradise" and "the ultimate Forge map" respectively, in Microsoft's view.

As reported yesterday, Halo 3 players will be able to download an update to introduce new playlists for the maps from today.

Bungie has also said that the new maps will not interfere with the game for people who do not download them - although the new maps can be included in playlists, they will be excluded if one player in the group does not have them.

For more on the maps, check out our Halo 3 screenshot gallery. ...

via Computer and Video Games


A Korean music video company has been forced to pay up a total of $23,900 (approx. £11,700) for making a music video that looked too much like Final Fantasy VII.

The video, starring Korean singer Ivy (who's fit as you like, by the way), parodies Final Fantasy VII with a fight in a church scene fans of the game will recognise.

Understandably, Square Enix cast level 100 lawyer magic on the video maker Fantom Entertainment, for half-inching their IP.

Fantom was fined $10,900 after the Seoul Central District Court judge Gu Hoe-geun ruled that they had "illegally used 80 percent of the storyline, setting, characters and their styles of dress and their demeanours from video game Final Fantasy VII."

The company director was fined a further $6,500, as was the video producer, who said he "wanted to contact Square Enix to get permission, but couldn't find their contact info," reports Kotaku. He'll know better next time.

You can view the offending video right here, which you should then follow up with further searches for Ivy videos for additional perving. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Fancy sending your mates in the States a Virtual Console Christmas present with the new Wii gift feature? No ball, because it's region locked.

Wii owners in North America, where the gift feature has just been released, report that sending Virtual Console gifts to friends in other countries - even North American neighbour Canada - results in a disappointing error message and the purchased VC game going into the bin.

It's all picket signs and flaming clubs on internet forums at the moment then, but when Japan, North America and Europe all have separate release schedules we can see why region locking the gifts makes absolute sense.

We don't think Nintendo fancies the idea of Japanese punters flogging Pokémon Snap to would-be buyers in Bromley, and underground Virtual Console shops would undoubtedly crop up overnight if unreleased games could be sent across the pond.

And even if that problem could be solved, realistically how many Wii owners want to send games to other countries? Regardless, there should be an easily noticeable warning of the region restriction before users pay the cash, we reckon.

Update: And it's just gone live in Europe - get gifting! ...

via Games Industry


Rockstar Games has won its appeal against the BBFC's decision to refuse classification to Manhunt 2 in the UK.

Last month the BBFC and Rockstar went head-to-head in a heated debate over the game, which the BBFC had effectively banned from sale.

The Video Appeals Committee decided by four votes to three in favour of Rockstar. The BBFC is currently considering its options, which include either granting the game an 18 rating, or further pursuing a ban by taking the game to the High Court.


Rockstar Games has issued a short statement, stating:


The publisher has not yet revealed its intentions for releasing the game in the UK.

...