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by Published on October 20th, 2006 16:22
Via Gamespot
Last week, Nintendo announced that it would be selling the Japanese GameCube version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess exclusively through its online store. This begged the question of whether or not the game would be made a Web-order exclusive elsewhere, as well, a question Nintendo representatives didn't answer at the time.
Now the GameCube edition of the game has disappeared from the online stores of gaming specialty retailer GameStop and that of its subsidiary, EB Games. As of press time, a GameStop representative had not responded to GameSpot's requests for comment on the product's removal from the sites.
While GameStop may not be soliciting preorders for the current-gen Twilight Princess anymore, other online retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy still have product pages for the game up and are taking preorders. Nintendo's own official Zelda site also still lists the GameCube Twilight Princess as coming out December 11.
Originally announced in 2004, the GameCube edition was once scheduled to release day-and-date with the Nintendo Wii system and then was pushed back a few weeks to December 11 in the US, with no reason given. The GameCube version was on display at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2005 and drew hours-long lines from hordes of Zelda fans, but it was nowhere to be seen at this year's E3, with the Wii lineup (including the next-gen edition of Twilight Princess) instead being the cause of the lines around Nintendo's booth.
[UPDATE] Since this story went live, Nintendo has contacted several online media outlets, including Joystiq, to deny the GC Zelda has gone the way of the dodo. "Online reports about the Nintendo GameCube version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess are incorrect. The amazing game will be available at retail outlets nationwide on December 13," a rep reportedly said. ...by Published on October 20th, 2006 16:20
At a retail-targeted event in London last night, Nintendo confirmed that it will be pulling out all the stops to promote the Wii and DS this Christmas - with a budget of more than GBP 12 million set aside.
A huge marketing campaign is planned for the launch of the Wii, which will go on sale across Europe on December 8. Plans include TV and cinema advertising, plus an extensive press campaign and sampling initiative.
Nintendo plans to spend GBP 6.5 million (EUR 9.7 million) on promoting the console between now and December. A further GBP 4.5 million (EUR 6.7 million) has been earmarked for the January - March period.
There are also plans to give DS sales a further boost as the Christmas season approaches. Nintendo has set aside a marketing budget of GBP 6 million for the handheld, and plans to ship another 1 million units by the end of the year. ...by Published on October 20th, 2006 16:08
The reaction from Lik Sang to yesterdays UK Court ruling:
Hong Kong, October 20th of 2006 - Lik-Sang.com, leading online retailer for videogame systems, games and cutting-edge gaming gear, was today informed that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc have obtained a judgment in the High Court of London ruling PSP sales of the popular web store to the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA) unlawful....
The court hearing took place on October 9 at the High Court of London, without Lik-Sang's legal representatives attending or arguing at the hearing. It is unclear at this point if this ruling will also affect exports of PlayStation 3 and other PlayStation-branded items. Furthermore, Sony intends to obtain an UK injunction against Lik-Sang's sales to the EEA.
The legal battle with Sony over Lik-Sang's legitimate exporting activities started during August 2005. Sony complained about the sales of PSP (PlayStation Portable) systems to Europe and launched a lawsuit in the High Court of Hong Kong, arguing that Lik-Sang advertises the Sony products "in a dishonest manner" and "unlawfully interferes with Sony's economical interests". They further launched a completely separate lawsuit against the Hong Kong based company in the courts of England for selling PSP consoles to customers in Europe and the UK, and also for mirroring the freely available PSP user guides on their servers alleging copyright infringement.
Hong Kong's laws are clear when it comes to parallel trade, and the company has no ties whatsoever with the UK. While Lik-Sang vigorously contested the UK's jurisdiction over the allegations, the judge apparently found that UK law should also apply to Hong Kong exporters. Sony has also threatened Lik Sang recently to initiate yet another lawsuit to prevent the sales of PlayStation 3 consoles to Europe.
How this decision will affect Lik-Sang's business is not entirely known at this time. The retailer is currently exploring its legal options and analyzing the consequences of this ruling.
"Fighting multiple lawsuits in different countries at the same time and paying high premiums to expensive lawyers is an overwhelming situation for a small company like Lik Sang. Launching separate court actions with separate claims and different judges is completely unnecessary, except for the fact that it helps reaching one single target: outspend Lik-Sang to death. Pay beyond", said Pascal Clarysse, Marketing Manager of Lik-Sang.com, clearly annoyed by the unfair situation. "And contrary to their claim, I don't believe they are suffering 'losses and damages' through Lik-Sang's activity".by Published on October 20th, 2006 16:04
Microsoft has released the "Advance Challenge Pack" for Lumines Live, just two days after the game's debut on Xbox Live Arcade.
Priced at 600 Microsoft points (GBP 5.10 / EUR 6.98), the pack adds 20 new skins to the 12 of the original game, along with leaderboards specific to the Advance mode.
Microsoft has also attempted to clarify it and Q Entertainment's plans for further downloadable content, after a lot of gamers got hot and bothered about the high price of the game (1200 points) and the number of modes that feature very little content.
In a release carried by the official Gamerscoreblog, the company said early 2007 would see the release of the Artist Pack (featuring music video skins like the Madonna "Sorry" video shown off at E3), playable under Challenge mode), the Mission/Puzzle Pack (adding 50 stages and three new skins each for Mission and Puzzle modes) and the Vs. CPU Pack (featuring 11 new opponents/skins).
And as for the controversy over things like there only being one playable Vs. CPU level in the base game, Microsoft's answer is simple: "If you enjoy that game mode, you can purchase the add-on pack to add new CPU challengers and skins - if you don't like it, you don't have to buy it." ...by Published on October 20th, 2006 16:02
The Nintendo Wii version of Wario Ware won't be released in the West until after Christmas by the looks of things.
Nintendo has confirmed the game is due out in the US on 15th January, despite showing up as a launch title in Japan, and there's been no official word on a European date.
That's a bit of a shame, as Wario Ware has been widely acclaimed as one of the most exciting of the Wii's early games. Certainly from our experience with it, it rekindles a sense of innovation and hilarity that was sorely lacking from the DS version.
Still, hopefully it won't be long before European Wii consumers will be chopping, balancing, pumping and steering their way through Wario's latest. We'll let you know.
Nintendo Wii itself, of course, is due to launch in Europe on 8th December, following a 19th November US launch. ...by Published on October 20th, 2006 16:01
Sony aims to release every single PSone game there is through its online PlayStation Store, Phil Harrison said at the Sony Gamer's Day event last night.
Speaking to 1UP, Harrison was explaining how the PlayStation 3 will work with old games for PSone and PS2, and what sort of rollout the company's planning for downloadable, emulated games.
For a start, he says, the original Syphon Filter and Twisted Metal will be downloadable at launch, and initially emulated games will only work through the PlayStation Portable. Then, as emulation software is completed, you'll be able to play them on PS3.
And the only real barrier to releasing every single PSone game, he said, which is their goal, is the occasional legal issue - basically where music, for example, had only been licensed for a relatively short period that didn't envision this sort of next-generational redistribution.
Anyway, while Sony's working on emulators and briefs and the like, you can always throw PSone and PS2 discs in the PS3 tray and play those, although Sony's not planning to offer any options for visual enhancement the way the PS2 did.
Via Eurogamer ...by Published on October 20th, 2006 16:00
SCE boss Ken Kutaragi has always been a bit outspoken, but even Sony's new, officially sanctioned Three Speech blog was a bit taken aback by his latest outburst - when quizzed about whether PlayStation 3 would outsell Xbox 360 and Wii, he simply said, "We don't care."
The blog picks it up: "We spoke to Sony about this response, as it seemed a pretty ballsy statement to make, especially in light of how they're being perceived (arrogant, out of touch, losing the battle etc.) by press and consumers alike at the moment.
"They told us that what Ken will have meant is that, while they have a great deal of respect for the 'competition', they have always worked to their own business plan. In essence, regardless of what anyone else does, they'll be sticking to their original plan where PS3 is concerned and won't be changing things, just because company A does this, or company B does that."
Although it's possible, of course, that he just really doesn't care. He certainly seems bemused by all the negative press. When asked about it, he said, "It always happens."
"When we released the PlayStation and even the PlayStation 2, I didn't see any favourable articles," he told Three Speech. "Press coverage always said: 'PlayStation will fail,' or: 'We have lost our momentum,' and blah blah blah. But we have lots of passion and confidence in both the PlayStation 3 hardware, and the software titles being produced for it." ...by Published on October 20th, 2006 15:58
As well as unveiling the launch line-up for PlayStation 3, Sony also used its US Gamer's Day event this week to confirm peripheral pricing.
Extra Sixaxis controllers, the company said, would go for US$ 49.99. The Bluetooth-based Sixaxis will have a 20-metre wireless range, and charges its batteries using a supplied mini-USB cable.
Blu-ray remote controls are due to go on sale in December for US$ 24.99, while those of you looking to transfer across your PlayStation 2 save-games will be able to grab the adapter required to do that for US$ 14.99.
Sony also said that its official HDMI cable, which isn't bundled with the console itself, even though both the 20GB and 60GB releases now include it, would go for US$ 49.99. That's obviously a lot, but since you can use any old HDMI cable you should be able to save some money by shopping around.
See elsewhere for news on the games you'll be able to buy. ...by Published on October 20th, 2006 15:56
Production stalls as filmmakers fail to "significantly reduce their deals". Microsoft already in talks with other distribution partners
According to a report in Variety, Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox have backed out of co-financing the Halo movie. Peter Jackson is still on board as exec producer though.
Apparently the filmmakers pulled out after Universal and Fox unsuccessfully tried to get the filmmakers and Microsoft to reduce their cut of the profits.
Universal and Fox made the pay cut demand with a deadline of October 15, which was also the same day MS stood to bag almost $5 million upfront as well as nabbing 10 percent of the gross for rights to the game and a script by Alex Garland.
"The only budget the filmmakers ever spoke about was $145 million, less the 12.5 percent rebate that you get from shooting in New Zealand, which would put it at about $128 million," said Ken Kamins, spokesman for the movie's executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh.
He continued, "What happened was this: Universal, on behalf of both studios, asked for a meeting with the filmmakers just prior to the due date of a significant payment. Basically, they said that in order to move forward with the film, the filmmakers had to significantly reduce their deals. They waited until the last minute to have this conversation. Peter and Fran, after speaking with their producing partners and with Microsoft and Bungie, respectfully declined."
Microsoft isn't hanging around though. It's already in talks with other distribution partners as early work on the film continues. ...by Published on October 20th, 2006 15:54
Sony has unveiled the line-up for the PlayStation 3's North American "launch window", which includes the console's November 17 release date and the immediate weeks thereafter.
Announced yesterday at SCEA's gamers day event, the 21 launch game list includes Insomniac's flagship shooter, Resistance: Fall of Man, Sony's Genji: Days of the Blade and third-party offerings Call of Duty 3, Ridge Racer 7 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
Sony also revealed details of games set for release on its e-distribution service, which is similar to Xbox Live Arcade. Online-enabled shooter Blast Factor is on the launch list, while other games confirmed to be heading for the service include Go! Sudoku, Go! Swizzleblock 2, Cash Carnage Chaos, Lemmings 2 and God of War creator David Jaffe's Criminal Crackdown.
Further more, Sony says that a demo of next-gen racer Motorstorm will be available for download at launch, and the first 500,000 units sold in the US will come with a pack in Blu-ray movie, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (we've not heard of it either).
The full launch line-up is as follows:
Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac/Sony)
NBA 07 (Sony)
Genji: Days of the Blade (Game Republic/Sony)
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Ubisoft)
Call of Duty 3 (Treyarch/Activision)
EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 (EA Chicago/Electronic Arts)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
F.E.A.R. (Day 1 Studios/Vivendi-Universal Games)
Full Auto 2: Battlelines (Pseudo Interactive/SEGA)
Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Raven Software/Activision)
Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire (Namco Bandai)
NBA 2K7 (2K Sports)
Need For Speed Carbon (Electronic Arts)
NHL 2K7 (2K Sports)
Ridge Racer 7 (Namco Bandai)
Sonic the Hedgehog (SEGA)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Electronic Arts)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft)
Tony Hawk's Project 8 (Neversoft/Activision)
Untold Legends Dark Kingdom (Sony Online Entertainment) ...- Search DCEmu
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