We are not Pokemon experts here, but we know an important discovery when we spot one. A code for Pokemon Rotom bundled with “Pokemon Platinum” is giant news, yes? Maybe?
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Tracey John and I strive to understand as many video games that people play as we can. That even includes the sometimes-befuddling “Pokemon” series, which will have a new “Pokemon Platinum” released on Sunday in the United States.
But some time ago, I started dipping into “Pokemon” games and nearly drowning. There are not just so many types of Pokemon, but there are more side-games and sub-games and meta-games than I can comprehend. Stuff about berries and fashion shows and so much else that I’d love to understand if I had the time. Instead, I still can’t remember whether it’s wise or unwise to pit an electric Pokemon against a fire Pokemon. It’s like trying to remember not just that “rock” beats “scissors” but where “potato” and “screwdriver” fit into that.
Today Tracey and I opened our early copes of “Pokemon Platinum” and found the pamphlets shown above, our eyes being caught by the “Pokemon News Flash” alert. Inside the pamphlet is yet another daunting, detailed element of Pokemon lore: in this case detailed instructions about how to transform the Pokemon called Rotom. As if it’s a big deal, the pamphlet indicates: “Rotom changes form in Pokemon Platinum Version!”
Ah, but to make this important transformation occurs, “Platinum” players need to got their DS online, answer some opinion questions (Nintendo helpfully provides the answers) and then do other stuff. And/or you can go to PokemonPlatinum.com/Rotom, which isn’t live yet, and punch in one of five codes. My pamphlet, which seemed designed to turn Rotom into a lawnmower, included the code 7W6O3M5. Tracey’s pamphlet involves turning Rotom into a dishwasher and offers a different code. The pamphlet exhorts players to “talk to your friends to find all 5!”
It’s all overwhelming in its density and oddness, but consistent with the core “Pokemon” design, which seems to have always involved getting one player with the game to somehow engage at least one other player with the game.
Is “Pokemon,” like “Madden,” a series dependent on players who have developed the skills and knowledge to play it from previous editions of the game? Or is it just a cheerful, sweet thing offering us a dazzling number of ways to engage it? We’re intimidated. We cannot lie.

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/...is-a-big-deal/ ...

How will you know if you’ve really given “Resistance Retribution,” the grand PSP spin-off to the PS3 “Resistance” series an honest try? The game’s creative director, John Garvin of Sony Bend, has provided us a must-do list.
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Sony’s Must-Do List For “Resistance Retribution”
(Third-person shooter, PSP, March 2009)
1. After you get rid of those pesky Leapers in the Rotterdam canal, try going back into the sewers for a neat little surprise. Do this again after you raise the water and it will gain you access to a room you couldn’t get to before.
2. In the conversion center in Rotterdam, after you crawl through the pipe leading into the next storage room, charge your Razor and shoot the alternate fire through the hole in the glass. It will bounce around and hit a power cell, which destroys the glass and gains you access to some hidden evidence as well as grenades!
3. I know getting close to any of the Armored Titans can be scary, but if you have some shotgun ammo, run up to them and shoot them a few times with the alternate fire mode. The Shotgun alternate fire cuts through them like a warm knife does to butter!
4. Once you have Mallery’s Auger, use that shield quite often as it bounces enemy attacks back at whoever shot them. Makes things a little easier in rather tough situations!
5. Remember that the Auger multiplies damage depending on how many walls the shot goes through. Even putting up a shield behind a wall can add to the power!

6. Collect all Intel to unlock bonus weapons necessary to achieve all the skill points.
7. Listen for all the voice and movie changes while playing in Infected mode.
8. Hijack the small worker drone in the second Trench level at the end of the lava cart ride by shooting it with the auger so it brings you the unreachable Intel.
9. Second Hammer fight too hard? Lure it under the plasma dischargers and flip the switch on the upper decks to zap it for damage and momentarily stun it. Stunning it will allow you to get behind it and inflict heavy damage to the power core on its back.

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/...ution-players/ ...

The surge in popularity of online gaming is having an impact on the overall growth of internet usage, which increased by around 50 per cent in the past 12-18 months.

That's according to Vlad Ihora, head of gaming at TeliaSonera International Carrier, who told GamesIndustry.biz that ISPs are now being more proactive about making sure gamers are getting a good service.

"You get companies not related to gaming which are interested in hooking up to our network because there are certain games which run on our network that make it relevant for end-users," he said, referring to the fact that the company looks after Blizzard Europe's networking solutions for World of Warcraft.

"Maybe a few years ago if you'd tried to pitch something like that to new telco organisations they wouldn't have been receptive - but not any more. This is a reason why the growth of online gaming is linking into the big circle of internet growth itself, and I find that really interesting.

"ISPs are paying so much more attention these days as to how they can best serve the end-users that are online gamers, by making sure that their connections to the internet pipelines are adapted in such a way that users won't get upset about lag, or packet loss, and so on."

Ihora was also positive about the games industry's chances in a tough economic climate.

"I think I'd be pinned to the wall if I said everyone should invest in the internet because it's the safest industry," he smiled, "but to a certain extent I would say it's the industry that can weather the storm, quite easily.

"It's not like certain of our customers aren't feeling it already, but investments in, or maintaining of internet presence or services that people use from our side are essential. The internet is no longer a luxury to have, or experiment in - it's a really established sector, and this sector will only benefit from a streamlining of costs in other sectors which are far more exposed to general changes."

The full interview with Vlad Ihora, in which he also talks about the development of broadband infrastructure in emerging markets and the inevitability of digital distribution, is available now.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...nternet-growth ...

Apple has previewed the iPhone's latest operating system, which will allow the device to support in-game downloadable content and greater multiplayer functions.

The in-app commerce support will allow users to buy major content updates from within an application already installed on their phone, rather than having to buy a separate app for significant modifications.

In addition, the iPhone will now support peer-to-peer connections, allowing for greater multiplayer capabilities, and a new 'push' function, which lets applications deliver alerts to users. The alerts, similar to SMS, would allow multiplayer invitations and an option to start the app directly from the push message.

"The new iPhone OS 3.0 is a major software release packed with incredible new features and innovations for iPhone customers and developers alike. It will keep us years ahead of the competition," commented Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

The beta version of the new software and SDK is available for registered developers to download. iPhone customers will receive the update for free upon its release later this summer, while iPod touch users will have to purchase the update for USD 9.95.

Apple's share price hit USD 99.66, up 4.44 per cent from the previous close at USD 95.42.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...er-multiplayer ...

Apple has previewed the iPhone's latest operating system, which will allow the device to support in-game downloadable content and greater multiplayer functions.

The in-app commerce support will allow users to buy major content updates from within an application already installed on their phone, rather than having to buy a separate app for significant modifications.

In addition, the iPhone will now support peer-to-peer connections, allowing for greater multiplayer capabilities, and a new 'push' function, which lets applications deliver alerts to users. The alerts, similar to SMS, would allow multiplayer invitations and an option to start the app directly from the push message.

"The new iPhone OS 3.0 is a major software release packed with incredible new features and innovations for iPhone customers and developers alike. It will keep us years ahead of the competition," commented Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

The beta version of the new software and SDK is available for registered developers to download. iPhone customers will receive the update for free upon its release later this summer, while iPod touch users will have to purchase the update for USD 9.95.

Apple's share price hit USD 99.66, up 4.44 per cent from the previous close at USD 95.42.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...er-multiplayer ...

A Deutsche Bank analyst, Satoru Kikuchi, has assigned a sell rating to Nintendo's stock, claiming the company has hit its peak and faces a downwards trend.

While he expects Nintendo to report profits this month in excess of guidance, he predicts a decline in profits of 18 per cent the following year, and a further 19 per cent in 2011 "as sales slow".

Kikuchi argued that the videogame giant's profits were likely to "peak and decline after growing on the success of the Wii and the DS," adding that earnings could "return to past levels if the company fails to come up with new blockbuster platforms."

According to Barrons, Kikuchi also argues that Nintendo needs to bring in new long-selling titles to replace the current roster as it grows stale.

The analyst highlighted Japanese sales for both the Wii and DS, which he says have "declined substantially", and although sales in Europe and the US remain "brisk" he warns of an "early fall if content remains unchanged."

Kikuchi's target on the stock is JPY 20,000 yen, (USD 204), compared to Nintendo's currently traded price of JPY 28,620 (USD 292), down 4.18 per cent from the opening value of JPY 29,880 (USD 305) per share.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...e-bank-analyst ...

A Deutsche Bank analyst, Satoru Kikuchi, has assigned a sell rating to Nintendo's stock, claiming the company has hit its peak and faces a downwards trend.

While he expects Nintendo to report profits this month in excess of guidance, he predicts a decline in profits of 18 per cent the following year, and a further 19 per cent in 2011 "as sales slow".

Kikuchi argued that the videogame giant's profits were likely to "peak and decline after growing on the success of the Wii and the DS," adding that earnings could "return to past levels if the company fails to come up with new blockbuster platforms."

According to Barrons, Kikuchi also argues that Nintendo needs to bring in new long-selling titles to replace the current roster as it grows stale.

The analyst highlighted Japanese sales for both the Wii and DS, which he says have "declined substantially", and although sales in Europe and the US remain "brisk" he warns of an "early fall if content remains unchanged."

Kikuchi's target on the stock is JPY 20,000 yen, (USD 204), compared to Nintendo's currently traded price of JPY 28,620 (USD 292), down 4.18 per cent from the opening value of JPY 29,880 (USD 305) per share.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...e-bank-analyst ...

Resident Evil 5 for the PlayStation 3, has dropped to second place in the Japanese software sales charts, ousted by Koei's Musou Orochi Z, also for PS3.

According to the data provided by Media Create, Musou Orochi Z debuted this week selling 112,000 units. Picross 3D for the Nintendo DS also debuted, with 38,000 units sold, in third place.

Mario & Luigi RPG 3 for the DS came fourth, followed by the PlayStation Portable title Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid in fifth.

Wii Play: Pikmin 2 broke into the chart at number six with 29,000 units sold, while PS3 title Ryu ga Gotoku 3, known as Yakuza 3 in Western markets, took seventh place.

Handheld titles closed off the chart, with Seventh Dragon for the DS coming in eighth, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) in ninth and Resistance Retaliation, also for the PSP, debuting at ten with 16,000 units.

Japanese software chart follows:

01. Musou Orochi Z (PS3)
02. Resident Evil 5 (PS3)
03. Picross 3D (DS)
04. Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (DS)
05. Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid (PSP)
06. Wii Play: Pikmin 2 (Wii)
07. Ryu ga Gotoku 3 (PS3)
08. Seventh Dragon (DS)
09. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) (PSP)
10. Resistance Retaliation (PSP)

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...slips-in-japan ...

Halo Wars has hit one million unit sales worldwide, making it the bestselling strategy title on the Xbox 360, according to Microsoft.

Since the game's initial release last month, gamers have gone on to play more than 2.6 million multiplayer matches over Xbox Live, amounting to 118 years of combined time, with an average of more than 200,000 users playing the game every day.

The title marked the demise of Ensemble Studios, which closed its doors after the release. Robot Entertainment, an independent studio created by Ensemble's co-founder, Tony Goodman, has since formed and stepped up to take over the continued support of the title.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...sells-1m-units ...