via Eurogamer


Killzone 2 will be patched to version 1.24 on Wednesday, 22nd April at 8am GMT, preparing the game for an influx of Japanese players later in the week when Guerrilla's highly rated FPS goes on sale in the Far East.

The 57MB patch also prepares the game for the Titanium & Steel downloadable map content due to go on sale through the PlayStation Store on 30th April at an undisclosed price.

In a post on the official US forums (thanks Kotaku), producer Seb Downie also included the changelog, highlighting tweaks, fixes and minor new features.

These are mostly trivial additions, like an increased radius for the radar and a join-game filter for 17-24 players, although 1.24 also squashes a few more exploits - this time on the Helghan Industries, Radec Academy, Salamun Market and Tharsis Depot maps.

You may recall that Guerrilla previously said "glitchers" risked "losing their PSN ID altogether". Play fair, kids! ...

via Games Industry


Wii Fit has held onto the number one spot in the UK software sales chart for a third consecutive week, meaning it's been at the top for 12 weeks in total, according to data provided by Chart-Track.

Sales of Nintendo's balance board title were down by 30 per cent as Easter promotions drew to a close, while The Godfather II held onto second place, with sales cut by 32 per cent.

FIFA 09 climbed two places to take number three, despite sales dropping 17 per cent. Meanwhile, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games came in fourth place as sales slid 35 per cent and Resident Evil 5 secured fifth spot, with sales down 30 per cent.

Professor Layton, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Play took sixth, seventh and eighth place respectively, while Call of Duty: World at War saw sales drop by 23 per cent and slid from sixth to ninth place.

Carnival: Funfair Games re-entered the top ten, up from number 16 to close the chart off at ten.


Full UK software sales chart follows:

01. Wii Fit
02. The Godfather II
03. FIFA 09
04. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
05. Resident Evil 5
06. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
07. Mario Kart Wii
08. Wii Play
09. Call of Duty: World at War
10. Carnival: Funfair Games
11. Guitar Hero: World Tour
12. Street Fighter IV
13. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
14. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
15. Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
16. Wheelman
17. Ben 10: Alien Force
18. Lego Indiana Jones: Original Adventures
19. Grand Theft Auto IV
20. Monsters vs Aliens ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo has defended US sales figures for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, saying it is "in line" with other AAA DS titles.

Steve Singer, vice president of licensing for Nintendo of America, explained that Rockstar's sale of 89,000 units for March was standard for a successful third-party title on the platform.

Singer pointed out that Call of Duty 4's DS outing saw sales of 36,000 units in its first month, which later grew to more than 500,000. However, this is still significantly short of earlier analyst estimates that GTA: Chinatown Wars would sell 2 million units within the year.


Sales of GTA: Chinatown Wars were described as a "disappointment" by investment firm Cowan and Company, which now estimates that only 500,000 units will be sold by the end of the year. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Still got all 1000 Nintendo Points burning a hole in your virtual pocket? Well there's one new offering on the DSi Shop that might tempt you. But it probably won't...

Nintendo has let us know that a new DSiWare game is available now to download via the Nintendo DSi Shop. It goes without saying that you need a DSi to do this.

The Activision game is called 'Mixed Messages' and will knock you back 500 pints. Here's the official line:

Mixed Messages is a unique and raucous pass along and play multiplayer game for two to twenty-one players. Mixed Messages turns your Nintendo DSi into a canvas for creativity and social gameplay.

Friends take turns writing sentences and drawing pictures with the Nintendo DSi. There are no winners and losers in Mixed Messages: it's all about having fun seeing what your friends create, and watching the message change with each player.

Mixed Messages turns gameplay on its head, delivering a creative, humorous and truly unique multiplayer experience for hours of hilarious fun with your friends and family. ...

via Engadget


Well hey -- it looks like Windows Mobile 6.5 will arrive a little earlier than expected. A post on the WinMo team blog says that the update to Redmond's smartphone platform will officially launch on May 11, the first day of the Tech Ed conference. We're figuring that could mean we'll see the gold build demoed for the very first time, seeing how the version showed off at the glamorous MWC launch was described as an "alpha" cut. Of course, after that it's all up to the carriers and handset manufacturers as to when we'll actually see the OS loaded onto devices, but we're sure the hacking community will find a way to satiate the impatient until then -- or until Windows Mobile 7 comes out. ...

via IGN


The title pretty much says it all -- Infamous has gone gold. This means the game is done and the discs are getting pressed. Now, you just have to wait until May 25 to take Cole and all of his electricity-based superpowers out on the (ruined) town. Will you choose to save Empire City in this third-person action game, or will you turn your back on the inhabitants and look out for your own interests?

Only time will tell. ...

via Joystiq


Call us crazy, but we always thought that the idea behind making games was to sell tons of copies. Not so for Sega, as it seems weirdly satisfied with MadWorld's lackluster sales, based on comments to Gamasutra. Debuting early in March, Platinum Games' over-the-top brawler managed to move 66,000 copies, despite generally positive reviews.

Sega's other M-rated title on Wii, House of the Dead: Overkill, also managed to have a sub-par debut, selling 45,000 copies during February. What does this say for The Conduit, the third of Sega's big games for Wii? Could Sega's gamble on the mature audience of Wii gamers been a poor move? All signs are pointing to "yes" right about now ... but Sega seems to disagree! ...

via Kotaku


When Microsoft announced they were extending their warranty for Xbox 360s that received a E74 error, I was curious how different the code was from the red ring of death. Not very, it turns out.

I contacted the company earlier this week to find out what a E74 code meant and whether it was possibly just a rebranded red ring of death.

Here's what they told me:


But wait. What's with the contradiction? How can an E74 error message apply to the same hardware failures that are associated with a red ring if they're not the same?

"In some cases there is no difference. As we said, the E74 error message and three flashing red lights can in some cases indicate the same general hardware failure. However, it is not the same failure mode in all cases and there is no single root cause for these malfunctions."

So it sounds like there is an overlap between hardware issues that cause the E74 message and hardware issues that cause the red ring of death. ...

via Eurogamer


Nintendo has updated the Virtual Console with a pair of Master System games this week. They are Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars and Secret Command.

The former is the third Alex Kidd platformer to grace the Virtual Console after Miracle World (also for Master System) and Enchanted Castle (Megadrive).

Secret Command - overhauled for a Rambo: First Blood Part II tie-in in the US - is a top-down shooter where you try to free POWs.

Since both are for Master System, they both go for 500 Wii Points, or approximately GBP 3.50 / EUR 5. ...