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Buyout rumor: EA eyeing Epic Games?

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:22:06 +0000

After their takeover bid of Take-Two Interactive fell through, Electronic Arts may be on the hunt once again for another studio to buy out. Rumor has it that this time, EA’s eyes are set on Epic Games.

According to Gameguru, EA has already started looking into the viability of acquiring Epic and, in effect, the Unreal Engine. Word is that EA’s main plan this time is to acquire exclusive licensing rights to the next generation of Epic’s Unreal Engine. And of course, Epic’s games.

Gameguru also notes that an EA employee has reportedly been “shifted to Microsoft” to check out how strong the potential of the Gears of War series as a long-term franchise is.

It’s only a rumor at this point, but for discussion’s sake, how do you guys feel about an EA-published Gears of War 3?

Original article from: Wii

Strauss Zelnick: Take-Two will remain independent

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:20:04 +0000

This morning, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick laid down the final word on Take-Two’s status as a company, deciding to remain independent after all.

“Our management and outstanding and talented employees have maintained an unwavering focus on our products and our business through this lengthy strategic review process and we are confident in our prospects,” said Zelnick.

Take-Two CEO Ben Feder also added the following:

We have delivered solid financial results and expanded our portfolio of leading titles…with no debt and an undrawn $140 million credit facility [this gives] us the financial flexibility to continue to do what we do best: innovate and create the great games that our customers have come to expect.

A full stable of big names, lots of money, and no debt? Looks like Take-Two has quite a future ahead of it.

Original article from: Wii

Rumor alert: all PSP games in 2009 will be available as downloads, more

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:20:02 +0000

So apparently the Kojima FPS and DMC-style Strider game weren’t the only rumors in EGM’s latest issue. NeoGAF member SuperSonic1305 let us in on a few more rumors, including one that could have quite an effect on PSP gaming.

Perhaps the biggest rumor is that all of the PSP games that will be released next year will also be made available as downloads. That’s official downloads, not Torrents. While publishers can probably save a lot of money by going digital, I don’t think they’re willing to give up physical discs this soon. It might be part of Sony’s plans to ramp up PSP sales, though.

Here’s a list of the other rumors in the latest EGM:
Lucas Arts handing Rogue Squadron rights to new publisher. All games released on one Wii disk with enhanced visuals and Wii controlsFast domestic release of the Disgaea side scrollernon-Sony property

Original article from: Wii

Gory, but not too gory: MadWorld for Wii making sure it gets solid M rating

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:20:03 +0000

Sega is working closely with ESRB on the development of MadWorld to make sure that the game won’t pull a Manhunt 2. That is, the game wants to maintain a level of violence, without going overboard and get an Adults Only rating, which the first version of Manhunt 2 got.

Sega regularly submits new builds to the ESRB to get their feedback, wanting them to feel “part of the process” so they don’t feel surprised when they get the final version of the game. On that note, the game may not make it to Japan, or any other country that’s sensitive to violence for that matter, since they’re tailoring the game’s violence levels for the US ratings board.

Sadly, the game will not arrive at TGS. Hopefully we’ll get to see more of the game before it gets released next year. I am soooo looking forward to this game. Mario games are fine and all, but Mario games don’t have chainsaws.

Original article from: Wii

One year later: Manhunt 2 coming to UK on October 31

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:20:03 +0000

Rockstar finally gets to release Manhunt 2 (Wii, PSP) in the UK after a long and grueling year-long battle against the BBFC. UK gamers can expect the game to hit shelves on October 31.

Perfect timing too. Guess UK gamers have some inspiration for their Halloween costumes?

This is the modified version of the game that was released in North America exactly a year ago. If you remember, this technically this isn’t the “original” version of Manhunt 2. The first version submitted to ratings boards was either faced with a ban or a rating that was too high for being too violent.

Hackers later managed to find a code that will partially lift the game’s censors, which led to to more trouble for the game as it caused Target to it from shelves days after its release. Wonder if Rockstar was able to take care of that little loophole for the UK release.

Original article from: Wii

Renting and borrowing’s out: three upcoming games offer exclusive content, but only once

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:20:04 +0000

Studios and publishers don’t benefit from the sales of used games, just ones fresh off the shelves. Finding a way around this, three new games are offering exclusive content - but only once per copy of the game.

Meaning that if you want the exclusive content, you’ll have to buy yourself a new copy. Penny pinchers beware! Oh wait, that includes me. I hope this trend doesn’t catch on.

The three games to offer once-only exclusive content are Gears of War 2, NBA Live 09, and Rock Band 2. These games will offer a one-use download code with new copies of the game. These codes are not available for sale on any of the consoles’ respective online services. You really have to buy the game - unless you find a used copy whose code hasn’t been used yet. Yeah, like that’ll happen.

Gears of War 2’s one-use download code will give you five additional multiplayer maps pulled from the original Gears of War. Epic games describes them as their “special gifts [for] our loyal fans.” Repeat: these won’t be available through Xbox Live.

Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii) will offer a one-use code that will yield 20 free downloadable songs for all three consoles. The game’s AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack also has a code that will export the expansion’s 18 tracks to Rock Band or Rock Band 2.

NBA Live 09’s one-use code will deliver the 365 functionality, which gives daily roster and stat updates through PSN and XBL. This service will be available for new copies, but will also be offered for US 19.99.

Original article from: Wii

MPlayerWii v0.06: faster USB, added support for classic controller

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:20:04 +0000

MPlayer seems to be the name of the game this week in the Wiibrew community.

Not long after the latest release of GeeXboX, developer fcorbier has released a new version of his media player for the Wii, MPlayerWii.

This version has a speed boost on reading USB devices, and added support for the classic controller. Here’s the changelog for MPlayerWii v0.06. For more information, please consult the program’s readme.

v0.06
huge speedup on USB devices (thanks to rodries and Hermes) added classic controller support to position and scale the video display Download: MPlayerWii v0.06

Previous version:
MPlayerWii v0.05: added USB functionality, new features

Original article from: Wii

Japan: Xbox 360 outsells PlayStation 3 for September; handheld sales decline

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:20:02 +0000

Third time’s the charm.

The latest numbers from Japan show that the Xbox 360 has once again outsold the PlayStation 3 for the third week running. Crunching some numbers reveal that the Xbox 360 outsold the PlayStation 3 for the entire month of September. It’s a little too early for Christmas miracles, so I’d say this is… a Halloween miracle?

September saw 54,793 units sold for the Xbox 360, but only 31,798 PlayStation 3s were liberated from shelves for the month. If that’s what a price cut did for the Xbox 360 in Japan, I am highly curious to see what it did for other regions, particularly in North America. We’ll have to wait on the figures form the NPD Group to find out.

On the handheld side of things, both the PSP and DS have declined in sales, and no wonder. People are waiting for both the PSP-3000, and the new camera-fied Nintendo DSi. I’m surprised they still manage to sell any. Here are the numbers from Japan for the week ending on September 28:
DS Lite: 57,847Wii: 26,314PSP: 25,671Xbox 360: 11,291PS2: 9,848PS3: 8,275
Related Articles:
Nintendo DSi hardware specs, software details: bigger screen, shorter batt life, more Japan: Xbox 360 beats PlayStation 3 for second week

Original article from: Wii

Wii homebrew: WiiTCPLoadGUI v0.01 beta

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:20:03 +0000

Another TCP client GUI has been released for the Nintendo Wii console. This one’s called WiiTCPLoadGUI.

It’s still in beta, but it looks pretty promising. This app lets you connect your PC to the Wii Homebrew/TCPLoader channel and stream binary files. It’s an easy way of transferring files to your Wii.

The download’s below. WiiTCPLoadGUI supports Windows 32bit (64bit support is coming), Linux x86 and x86_64, and MacOSX x86.

Download: WiiTCPLoadGUI v0.01 beta

Original article from: Wii

Quartermann rumors: new Strider Hiryu game Capcom; Hideo Kojima FPS?

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:20:03 +0000

EGM’s resident rumor specialist Quartermann has set his eyes on Capcom, who has recently enjoyed success via its massive catalog of classic games. According to Quartermann in the latest issue of EGM, Capcom may be reaching into that classic gaming bag again.

The rumored target for a remake is Strider Hiryu, the blue-clad ninja dude who starred in Strider and Strider 2. There hasn’t been a Strider Hiryu game since 1999’s Strider 2, but Quartermann posits that Capcom may be readying him for a new Devil May Cry-style action game. Is this the ace they mentioned a while back?

Another rumor on EGM’s pages is that Hideo Kojima has been visiting various first-person shooter development studios like Infinity Ward and Guerrilla Games. Will we be seeing an FPS from the man who has said that they make him physically ill? Who knows? Like with every rumor, all we can do is take things with a grain of salt and wait.

Original article from: Wii