via Games Industry


Rockstar has announced that Manhunt 2 has finally been given a M rating in the US, clearing the way for an October release.

The ESRB has re-rated the game following Rockstar's submission of a modified version of the original product, which in June was branded with an Adults Only stamp.


After the game was given the AO rating in the US, Nintendo and Sony both refused to let the game appear on their consoles.

The game will now appear on October 31 in North America.

Manhunt 2 was also effectively banned in the UK by the BBFC after it refused to allow the game to go on sale. ...

via Games Industry


SCEA's analyst relations manager Mariam Sughayer has said the company is "very pleased" with the recent NPD sales figures for July - although sales of the PS3 still lag behind Microsoft's Xbox 360 console.

Earlier this month industry analysts weighed in with sale predictions, incorrectly expecting the PlayStation 3 to outsell the Xbox 360 for the first time since release in North America.

The PlayStation 3 sold 159,000 units in July, with Microsoft selling 170,000 Xbox 360 units. July was the first month that the recent USD 100 price cut on the PS3 would have been reflected in the data.


Sughayer believes that the price cut helped boost sales, aided by the building anticipation of new software due before Christmas.

...

via Games Industry


According to NPD Group sales data released today, US videogame industry sales in July 2007 increased 37 per cent year-over-year.

Total industry sales were USD 925.5 million, with year-to-date sales reaching the USD 7 billion mark.

Hardware sales in particular rose 77.4 per cent to USD 380.8 million, with USD 286 million represented by consoles and the remainder representing portables. The Wii was the best-selling hardware, with 425,000 units sold. Nintendo's DS handheld sold 405,000 units.

Contrary to some analyst predictions, the PlayStation 3 did not outsell the Xbox 360 for the month. Sony sold 159,000 consoles, just behind the 170,000 Xbox 360 consoles sold by Microsoft. July marks the first month that the USD 100 price cut would have been reflected in the PS3 sales data.

The impact of Microsoft's Xbox 360 price cut, which took effect in August, will not be reflected until next month's sales figures.

Sony's other hardware is still selling well, with 222,000 PS2 consoles and 214,000 PSP handhelds sold.

According to NPD Group data, the top-selling game in the US for the month of July was NCAA Football '08 for the Xbox 360. Guitar Hero Encore Rocks the 80s (PS2), Wii Play, NCAA Football '08 (PS2), and Mario Party 8 (Wii) round out the top five.

The other best-selling titles include NCAA Football '08 (PS3), Pokemon Diamond (DS), Transformers: The Game (PS2), Guitar Hero II (PS2), and Guitar Hero II (360). ...

via Games Industry


Hardware sales in Japan continue to climb, with new data from Media Create showing that all home and handheld consoles have seen a sales boost.

Again, the Nintendo DS continues to fly off shelves, selling 153,834 units for the week ended August 19, a climb of over 6600 from the previous week.

The Wii also performed well, shifting 73,938 units, over 8000 units up on the the week before.

Sony's PSP saw a modest rise in sales from 32,147 to 33,715, as did the PlayStation 3, from 21,321 units last week to 21,720 this week.

The PlayStation 2 sold 15,240 while Microsoft's Xbox 360 managed 2445 sales. The GBA family recorded 654 sales and the GameCube 145. ...

via Eurogamer


Sony has released a demo for Folklore up on the European PlayStation Network, which will be available to download until 31st August.

It will give you all a chance to play the same version of the game being shown in Leipzig, and make your mind up whether you want to buy the full version on 12th October - a date not set in stone.

Folklore is a role-playing adventure from Japanese developer Game Republic, the same team responsible for the Genji series.

The story revolves around a supernatural theme of a Netherworld hiding in the Irish village of Doolin. You'll play as Keats or Ellen, each with different reasons for venturing in to this nightmarish realm occupied by magical beasties called Folks. These monsters hold powers you can claim for you own by shaking around your Sixaxis controller and literally yanking their magic from them.

It sounds very promising, but proved otherwise when we got our hands on the full Japanese version in July. While it displayed lots of technical polish and wonderful environments to explore, the gameplay fell into the unfortunate realms of mundane. ...

via Games Industry


At Sony’s Games Convention press conference David Reeves, head of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, revealed the latest sales information for its consoles, with the PlayStation 3’s figures close to matching the early sales of the PlayStation 2.

According to Reeves, TV-based console sales have risen 65 per cent since 1997 with software sales up 200 per cent. In the same time frame, handheld numbers rose by 316 per cent, with accompanying software jumping 900 per cent.

Sony is now predicting that there will be 140 million PlayStation consoles in PAL territories by 2010.

Furthermore, 1.3 million PS3s* have now been sold in Europe, with Resistance: Fall of Man and MotorStorm the best-selling first party titles, shifting 531,000 and 469,000 units respectively.

The recently-released PS3 Starter Pack boosted sales by 61 per cent in the first three weeks after launch, and the company expects to have 65 titles in shops before Christmas.

Reeves also released the latest numbers for the PlayStation Network in Europe – over 645,000 users have now registered for the service, with Tekken: Dark Resurrection notching up 103,000 of a total of 7.6 million downloads of all varieties.

He went on to detail a number of other announcements, such as the new Go! range for the PSP, and to confirm earlier rumours regarding the PS3 video recording functionality.

Hideo Kojima and Kazunori Yamauchi were guests at the event, as was FIFA representative Chuck Glazer, who announced that the FIFA Interactive World Cup would be using the PS3 platform.

The conference finished with German rock band Die Toten Hosen crooning along to one of their tracks in the forthcoming SingStar title, in German.

*-Reeves actually stated that 13 million PS3s have been sold. However, this figure doesn't tally with other sales data or with additional information provided elsewhere in the press conference, so we believe this figure is in error. ...

via Computer and Video Games


EyeToy Play is receiving a new addition in Astro Zoo, which is heading to PS2 this November.

EyeToy Play Astro Zoo finds you trying to catch animals that have escaped from a space zoo and also fixing the zoo, as it's been hit by a comet. Whoops. Sony describes it as a physically active game, which in addition to the main event features plenty of mini-games.


Screenshots ...

via Computer and Video Games


At Games Convention this afternoon Epic Games demonstrated Unreal Tournament III PS3's new SixAxis controls - and they look to work really well.

The death-dealing superweapon, The Redeemer is now controlled in camera mode by tilting the PS3 pad from side to side - which in our demonstration looked to work without a hitch. Similarly, hoverboard controls now work using the tilt capabilities of the PS3, twisting the pad to perform spins and tricks.

The console version itself is looking in great shape; the version we saw today was running at a solid 60fps and looked near-identical with the PC counterpart, which was also running side by side. Mouse and keyboard support is also confirmed, although Epic wouldn't say anything when we quized them about crossplatform play.

An Xbox 360 version is due out sometime next year, although Epic says it's currently concentrating on getting it out on PS3 and PC before Christmas. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Well, if you wanted a good look at Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, here's 25 screenshots to eyeball.

The screens show the likes of 16-car races, driver views and the pit menu. Have fun.


Images here ...