Latest Gaming News
Lionhead 'testing and finalizing' Fable 2 patch
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure
That patch for
Fable 2? Lionhead's still on it. In a
community forum post, the dev says that the title update designed to exorcise a few naughty bugs from the game is "currently being tested and finalized," although there's still no specific roll-out date.
The patch will address a number of issues, but the ones that most players - and there
are a lot of
Fable 2 players - have been affected by (namely the Monk's Quest and Bowerstone furniture shop glitches) will thankfully be thoroughly nixed. Lionhead says of the Monk's Quest bug: "This will fix the problem if you've already hit it, too." So, for those who haven't already restarted the game to continue past this point in the main quest, you won't have to. Those visiting the furniture store late in the game will also find that there's more to buy there than ... a single book.
One of the game's more disturbing "issues" - the ability for your character's children to be marked as targets for assassination - is being dealt with, since assassinating children ... it's not so cool. Nine fixes are detailed in the post, although Lionhead says there are many more less common issues addressed by the patch.
Lionhead 'testing and finalizing' Fable 2 patch originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Here are the clues to tomorrow's Wii-centric Amazon Gold Box deals
Filed under: Nintendo Wii
Amazon has sent us over a list of clues for tomorrow's touted
"All Wii Gold Box" deals. Alright gumshoes, it's time to put on your thinking caps and solve these riddles (all times Pacific):
- 6AM-8AM: Remember the good ol' days?
- 8AM-10AM Kind of like being a part of the Mickey Mouse club.
- 10AM-1PM: Who needs medical school?
- 1PM-2PM: No need to worry about avalanches.
- 2PM-3PM: Mario prefers it stirred, not shaken.
- 3PM-6PM: Now your Mii can boogie to the beat.
- 6PM-10PM: You gotta get'cha, get'cha, get'cha, get'cha head in the game
Some clues seem more obvious than others, but we'll keep our guesses to ourselves. We'll update later tonight with the best, most reasonable deduction. Stop, collaborate and ... well, comment. Don't forget to also stay tuned to Amazon's
"15 Days..." series as well as the retailer's video game
deal of the day.
Here are the clues to tomorrow's Wii-centric Amazon Gold Box deals originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Press-only Animal Crossing features N-word
Filed under: Culture, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii
A pre-played version of 2005's
Animal Crossing: Wild World for DS, sent out to media outlets to encourage connectivity with the recent
Animal Crossing release for Wii, contains at least one shocking addition, reports
MTV Multiplayer. Importing the saved data from the DS cartridge sent by Nintendo into
Animal Crossing: City Folk introduces a host of changes into the game, including one, suddenly no longer E-rated character, Baabara, who now greets players with: "How are you, Ñ---á?" [edited; original creator added diacritics]
To clarify, this generally offensive slang term (preceded by another potentially offensive phrase above it) is not included in the retail release of the game. Rather, whomever Nintendo employed to play the version of
Wild World sent to press with all of the game's items unlocked, purposely "trained" the Baabara character to use the term. Further, introducing this kind of offensive content into a new copy of the game, from a stranger via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, is nearly impossible. To import content from another game cartridge over the internet requires two users to first exchange their unique 16-digit codes before they are able to share data. In other words, your kids are safe -- unless they or their "friends" are the creators of such content.
What MTV Multiplayer and other outlets have discovered is an isolated matter. Still, since the media serves as a filter through which you receive your news about Nintendo products, Nintendo clearly needs to work harder to prevent the kind of incident highlighted here from happening again. Also, an apology would be nice.
[Note: As this post contains sensitive material, this is just a friendly reminder to keep the comments clean -- or face the perma-banhammer. Thank you.]Press-only Animal Crossing features N-word originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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LittleBigPlanet level moderation a 'continually improving' process
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3
That's according to Sony, which addressed several
LittleBigPlanet concerns in a recent (and now weekly) post on the official
PlayStation Blog. "The vast majority of moderated levels were due to offensive material," wrote SCEA marketing manager Mark Valledor, "however we are evolving the way moderation happens to ensure that creators are made aware of why their level was blocked." Earlier this year, level creators expressed their
frustration at becoming victim of Sony's inscrutable moderation policies. The company has since released some general "don't put this stuff in your level"
guidelines.
Valledor also noted that other online aspects of the precious platformer are being examined and improved, including the occasionally problematic servers and the maddeningly unhelpful level search function. "We've heard your requests to get better search functionality to find levels and getting the PLAY, CREATE, SHARE stats up and running on the Info Moon and have put this on the top of our list."
We hope you guys tagged that list properly -- it's going to be awfully difficult to find otherwise.
LittleBigPlanet level moderation a 'continually improving' process originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Bizarre making Bond title for '09, new racing IP is 'Mario Kart meets Forza'
Filed under: Driving
At a summit held by Massive for in-game advertising, Activision confirmed that
Bizarre Creations is working on a new third-person Bond title for release in 2009. According to the
Twitter feed of Newsweek's N'Gai Croal (trust us, he's legit), the game is being touted as "racing and driving focused." The executive also mentioned Bizarre's
new racing IP, describing it as "
Mario Kart meets
Forza." It's not much (in fact, it's somewhat paradoxical), but it does hint at a departure from
Project Gotham Racing's realism -- relative to Mario Kart!
The executive also reportedly said the
next Call of Duty Modern Warfare is due out Fall 2009. We're uncertain if that's confirmation of the next COD's setting or just a glib way of saying "Infinity Ward's COD series." We're reaching out to Activision for clarification on all these statements.Bizarre making Bond title for '09, new racing IP is 'Mario Kart meets Forza' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nintendo's move 'away from the hardcore' cited in N-Revolution mag's closure
Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii, Business
MCV reports that Imagine's Nintendo-only UK magazine,
No.
Revolution, will cease publication. In this day and age, with ad revenue and readership down - not to mention a little thing you're using called the internet - this move doesn't exactly come as a surprise. Its publisher's reasoning for the closure does.
Imagine's managing director, Damian Butt, says that Nintendo's
focus is shifting away from the magazine's readership, i.e. core gamers. "It has become increasingly obvious that Nintendo's strategy...has moved increasingly away from the hardcore gaming community that is our specialty," Butt explained.
Still, Butt says that Imagine - which also publishes
gamesTM - will continue to work with Nintendo to "drive purchases of Nintendo software." We're sure it will be in an entirely objective, unbiased, above-the-board way ... of working with a company to positively influence software sales through editorial. What could be wrong with that?
Oh.
Nintendo's move 'away from the hardcore' cited in N-Revolution mag's closure originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Holiday profiling: Xbox 360 is perfect gift for Hispanics, Microsoft survey finds
Filed under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360
The results of the first-ever Xbox 360 Hispanic Holiday Entertainment Survey are in! And wouldn't you know, Xbox 360 is the
perfect fit for the Hispanic persuasion
1. Did you know:
- More Hispanics want a gift that brings their family together (89% vs. 64% of general population)
- More Hispanics are looking for gifts that people can enjoy throughout the year (95% vs. 85% of general population)
- More Hispanics are looking for affordable ways to entertain their family over the holidays (85% vs. 81% of general population)
- Many more Hispanics would rather buy one gift for their whole family than spend money on lots of individual gifts (83 % vs. 52% of general population)
- Lips en Español features 17 songs in Spanish by artists such as Alejandro Sanz, Belanova, Fanny Lu, La Factoria, Luis Miguel, Pimpinela and Selena (42.5% less songs than the all-English version!)
How do these compelling figures all add up? We're glad you asked! You see, Xbox 360 is the
one, affordable gift that
brings the family together throughout the year. In short,
not buying an Xbox 360 this holiday season is simply Un-Hispanic.
Continue reading Holiday profiling: Xbox 360 is perfect gift for Hispanics, Microsoft survey finds
Holiday profiling: Xbox 360 is perfect gift for Hispanics, Microsoft survey finds originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Super-size Three: PS3 can read Pioneer's 16-layer, 400GB Blu-ray Discs
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Business
16 layers. 400
giga ... bites? Sounds like the fast food burrito equivalent of the Death Star. Ah, but it's not. It's a Blu-ray Disc, and those are
gigabytes. So, this massive (current dual-layer BDs hold 50GB), entrancingly translucent disc? PS3 is compatible with it.
Thank goodness. This will hopefully put an end to the
flood of multi-BD games on the system.
This disc, suitable for use by
Tron, was
first revealed this summer by its creator, Pioneer, and will be available en masse in 2010. Good news for those with large ... image collections: a writable version of this jumbo jet of Blu-ray Discs is also in development.
[Via
PS3 Fanboy]
Super-size Three: PS3 can read Pioneer's 16-layer, 400GB Blu-ray Discs originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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New screens of Fable 2's 'Knothole Island' DLC
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, RPGs
click to embiggen Lionhead has released a
handful of new images from its upcoming
Fable 2 premium DLC,
Knothole Island. In addition to two more shots of the snowy tundra environment, the screenshots offer a
free-floating 
(if they're not going to stop using it, why should we?) glimpse of the new leather-clad biker outfit. It's about as macho as we expected it to be.
There's been no update on the release date for the 800
/US$10 DLC, which was previously announced as coming in "mid-December."
New screens of Fable 2's 'Knothole Island' DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Metal Gear Solid 4, Crisis Core receive Gold PlayStation Awards
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP
Those would be "Gold" awards in Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's annual PlayStation Awards, not actual
gold PlayStations. No, we think excellent sales are reward enough to render the composition of a congratulatory gong irrelevant -- the Gold award only goes to those games that sold over 500,000 copies in Japan over the last year.
This year's PlayStation recipients: Senior citizen stealth sim
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots; pointy-haired sword swinger
Crisis Core:
Final Fantasy VII; and Sega's
Phantasy Star Portable, which we failed to include in the headline. Similarly snubbed but given a fancy "Platinum" award was
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, which sold over two million copies and completely messed up our
Japanese hardware sales charts.
Source -- PSP awards
Source -- PS3 award (singular)
Metal Gear Solid 4, Crisis Core receive Gold PlayStation Awards originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Red Bull charges into PS Home as first major sponsor
Filed under: Online, Business
Puzzling through Sony's reasons for throwing money at
PlayStation Home is not a task for weak of heart, but for long, sleepless hours spent burning the midnight oil. Thankfully we now have Red Bull, the online service's first major third-party partner, on tap to help energize our search for enlightenment.
Details remain scant, though UK site
Brand Republic notes that the energy drink company will have its own caffeinated island space in
Home featuring "an aeroplane racing game based on Red Bull's real world Red Bull Air Race series." As
Home does anything but race to release, we can't help but wonder if someday we'll take in Sony's advertisement-laden virtual landscape from the air, rather than while wandering aimlessly on the ground.
[Via
PS3 Fanboy]
Red Bull charges into PS Home as first major sponsor originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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HL Source mod generates $3m; Valve reveals retail sales numbers
Filed under: PC
Half-Life application Garry's Mod celebrated its two-year anniversary of being on Steam last week. On
his blog, creator Garry Newman celebrated by divulging the sales figures of the software so far on Steam: 312,541 copies. At about $10 per copy, that amounts to over $3 million. Not too shabby for the 26-year old English developer -- even if Valve takes a piece of the pie. Maybe now he can make a
suit of money.
Speaking of Valve, who as a general rule is very secretive with its sales figures (especially regarding Steam), the company has released its worldwide lifetime-to-date retail sales (via
Gamasutra). Pre-Steam release
Half-Life is on top at 9.3 million, followed by
Half-Life 2 at 6.5m and
Counter-Strike at 4.2m. These figures don't include Steam sales, which CEO Gabe Newell has said he expects to typically surpass retail sales. Full list after the break.
Continue reading HL Source mod generates $3m; Valve reveals retail sales numbers
HL Source mod generates $3m; Valve reveals retail sales numbers originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Guitar Hero World Tour Dec. DLC: The Eagles, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins & free reggae rock
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360
Activision has released the December DLC set list for
Guitar Hero World Tour featuring four consecutive weeks of releases (that's a certified streak!). And did we mention the reggae rock is free? Let's
smoke toast to that! Details below -- music videos after the break.
The Smashing Pumpkins Track Pack (Dec. 4th):
- "G.L.O.W."
- "1979"
- "Everlasting Gaze"
Nirvana Track Pack (Dec. 11th):
- "You Know You're Right"
- "Negative Creep"
- "Sliver"
The Eagles Track Pack (Dec. 18th):
- "One of These Nights"
- "Life in the Fast Lane"
- "Frail Grasp on the Big Picture" (from Long Road out of Eden)
Free Reggae Rock Track Pack (Dec. 23rd):
- "Jimi" - Slightly Stoopid
- "Your Face" - Pepper
- "Sacrifice" - Expendables
Note: All premium track packs are priced as follows: 440
(XBLM); $5.49 (PSN); not available on Wii. Individual tracks are sold for: 160
(XBLM); $1.99 (PSN); 200 Wii Points.
Continue reading Guitar Hero World Tour Dec. DLC: The Eagles, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins & free reggae rock
Guitar Hero World Tour Dec. DLC: The Eagles, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins & free reggae rock originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Atari picking up Brash's 'The Tale of Despereaux'
Filed under: Nintendo DS, PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii
Unlike everybody else watching the
spectacular demise of film-to-game flop factory
Brash, we've been vaguely curious as to what fates would befall the company's leftover licenses. According to Variety's
Cut Scene blog, we can count "The Tale of Despereaux" among the survivors, as Atari has purchased the North American publishing rights for the PC, PS2 and Wii versions of the game. In addition, Atari will be distributing the DS version, which is being produced by Universal itself.
For those unfamiliar with the source material -- that is, the book that the film is based on --
Despereaux follows the heroic exploits of a mouse with huge ears and an even bigger sense of chivalry. It probably says just that on the movie poster.
Atari picking up Brash's 'The Tale of Despereaux' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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SCi: Just call me 'Eidos'
Filed under: Business
What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet ... but what about a struggling video game publisher? SCi has officially taken the name of its subsidiary, Eidos, finalizing a change that was
announced in September. True to Juliet's musings, though, it isn't one name or the other that makes the UK publisher so attractive to
potential buyers.
A bargain is a bargain, after all. And with
SCi Eidos stock down 92% over the past year and a couple notable franchises on the table (
Hi Tomb Raider! Yo Hitman!), the company could call itself "Donkeylips" and still be shareholders' must-have deal of the holiday season.
SCi: Just call me 'Eidos' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Metareview - Prince of Persia (PC, PS3, 360)
Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure, Metareviews
Devoid of generic rage and frustrating deaths,
Prince of Persia marks quite an easy, effortless end to 2008's video game gauntlet -- at least, according to reviewers. Though the platforming has been simplified, most seem to agree that the expansive world and chemistry between the two lead characters make for a worthwhile experience. We're also seeing the word "magical" appear quite often.
- IGN UK (94/100) calls Prince of Persia an "incredibly polished, tremendously enjoyable and utterly lovable experience." It supposedly builds on the best elements of previous games to create an "absolutely unforgettable adventure" that's "magical in every sense of the word." Well, probably not the Harry Potter sense of the word.
- Game Informer (87.5/100) notes that the simplified platforming is an "elegant and simple way to show off thrilling acrobatics, but it also steals control away from the player." However, it deems the tradeoff worthwhile, as "the more relaxed control input still demands skill and careful timing." Either way, it's "unlike any other game you'll play this year."
- 1UP (B+) approves of Princess rescuing Prince, pointing out that while "this human safety net may seem counterintuitive in offering a sense of challenge, the entire process functions similarly to most other death-checkpoint systems (you die, you go back to a nearby checkpoint), but with the added benefit of giving the action a more seamless feel."
- Gamespot (80/100) thinks the "easygoing joy and visual beauty will charm you into forgiving a sprinkling of flaws." They call it "one of the easiest games you'll play all year," but one boasting "some truly impressive level design."
Metareview - Prince of Persia (PC, PS3, 360) originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Today only: Buy PS3, get LBP free on Amazon
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3
Still shopping for games? Amazon is throwing you another tempting bundle. As part of its
15 Days, 15 Great Video Game Deals series, if you pick up the 160GB PlayStation 3 bundle with
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, you'll get
LittleBigPlanet for free. It's not an exorbitant discount (a little less than 11%), but if you're in the market for a PS3, give this a consideration.
If Sony isn't your gaming cup of tea, Amazon's Gold Box Deals are all Wii-related. We've sent an army of ninjas to collect and decipher the lightning deal clues; we'll let you know what they find.
Today only: Buy PS3, get LBP free on Amazon originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tekken 6 punching PS3, Xbox 360 in Fall '09
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Fighting
Tekken 6, the latest in Namco Bandai's
seminal fighting series, will be delivering a body blow to consoles next fall. Oh wait, you say,
we already knew that. True, Microsoft confirmed last October that in Fall 2009 Feng Wei, Devil Jin and the rest would strike the Xbox 360 across the face. In addition,
CVG reports that the game will get an equal bout on the PlayStation 3 at the same time.
The announcement was made during a recent event put on by Atari, which will publish the title in Europe on both platforms, adding yet another marquee feather in the
once-struggling company's hat. Next year is shaping up to be a memorable one for fighting game fans with
Street Fighter IV and
Tekken 6 going toe-to-toe. So tell us, where do
you place your bets?
Tekken 6 punching PS3, Xbox 360 in Fall '09 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Interpol to be sought, found on XBLA this winter
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Puzzle
With its aggressive pursuit of the casual market, it makes sense that Microsoft would want one of the most popular types of casual games -- seek-and-find -- to be represented on Xbox Live Arcade. Fans of the genre will finally be able to get their squint on when TikGames brings newly-announced
Interpol to the download service.
If you've been chomping at the bit to stare endlessly at messy rooms, you'll get your chance this Winter for 800
($10).
Interpol to be sought, found on XBLA this winter originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Gardening Mama to sprout in Spring
Filed under: Nintendo DS, Simulations, Casual
Tired of wrestling with assorted meats and vegetables, Mama has moved from the confines of Majesco's kitchen and into the fresh outdoors, or at least she will next Spring when
Gardening Mama is released for the Nintendo DS. Developed by the folks responsible for Mama's
culinary exploits, the game will allow players to "plant, nurture and harvest" flowers, fruits and veggies growing in her backyard.
Perhaps this is the beginning of a trend for Mama as she explores the world outside of her kitchen to discover firsthand just where her ingredients come from. We gleefully await the arrival of
Slaughterhouse Mama to deliver some delicious reindeer steaks just in time for next year's holiday rush.
[Via
DS Fanboy]
Gardening Mama to sprout in Spring originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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