The deal will start from 9 AM on February 17 and continuing until midnight of February 22 for only players with the ability to access Xbox Live.
The company has planned a full slate of Xbox Live events during the time period including a chance to play the game online with members of the development team at Rockstar Games.
Good news, the first multiplayer map pack for COD: World at War is coming to a system near you in March. We don't have an exact date yet, More info as we get it.This new level, named “Verrückt” (Zombie Asylum), splits your team up as you cooperatively battle wave after wave of undead Zombie soldiers. It features new weapons, electroshock defense systems and a Perks-a-Cola machine for purchasing multiplayer PERKS to combat the Zombie horde!
In an interview with 1UP, God of War II man Cory Barlog reveals that, upon first showing the game off to Sony bigwigs Shuhei Yoshida and Phil Harrison, it was met with a mixed reaction. Sure, it looked great, but the first thing Harrison - now with Atari - said was:
Very good, thank you. I just have to ask this, since it seems like the obvious question. Why are we not doing this on PS3?
Because the PS2 needed one last great game, silly!
both in North America and Europe in a heavily competitive environment." Now it looks like their main competition will be The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, Madworld and Velvet Assassin.
But what does the executive producer of the game think about all of this? He's so relaxed he oozes quotes about how wonderful his title is.
"The Godfather II is taking the open-world genre in an entirely new direction by combining the furious combat of acting like a mobster, with the strategic gameplay of thinking like a Don," says Hunter Smith, Executive Producer for The Godfather II. "As game makers, when we looked at what lies at the heart of the Godfather universe, we discovered a game focused around organized crime. The Corleones and all the other families schemed and fought to gain access and control of different territories, so that they could control the flow of money in those areas. This underlying battle cloaked secrecy is what The Godfather II and mafia life is all about, and we wanted players to be in control as a Don and make those strategic decisions to lead their families to success."
Sculpting Mini: Street Fighter Busts [Game Artisans, via Capcom]
SF IV is kind of a big deal. So when it launches, it deserves - and is getting - a big, swank launch party. Want to go? Well you can, because you're invited. Capcom will be taking over the Geffen Contemporary @ Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles on Thursday night, and if you're reading this, you can go. The doors are being thrown open to all and sundry. All you have to do is send an RSVP to sfeventATcapcomDOTcom, turn up at 8pm on Thursday night and you're in!
Not only will you be able to play Street Fighter IV, but producer Producer Yoshinori Ono will be there to sign stuff, QBert is playing (!) and there'll be all kinds of arts and crafts going on, including custom fitted caps, laser etching and sketches by the crew at Udon.
Who knows, you may even - if you're really lucky - see a one-of-a-kind Street Fighter arcade cabinet designed by the kids at Meat Bun.
Although it’s well-known Nintendo’s Wii is a hot seller in the US and often produces mad rushes around the holiday season for desperate shoppers, two of the larger publishers—Electronic Arts [ERTS] and THQ [THQI]— have yet to take full advantage of this.
EA's and THQ’s earnings reports—as miserable as they were—shed interesting light on their platform revenue mixes for Q3, which ended December 31.
A look at EA’s mix by platform (below) shows that its revenue stream from Wii (at $172 million) was the lowest of the current-generation of consoles. It’s worth noting how PlayStation 2’s swan song is finally nearing, as EA’s revenues on the system dropped 54 percent year-on-year, $137 million versus $301 million.
While there’s a lot of room for improvement on Wii, it flexed its muscle on the number two and three consoles, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. With US installed bases of 13.8 million and 6.7 million respectively according to NPD Group numbers, 360 and PS3 were home to strong sales of games like Madden NFL 09 and Rock Band 2. EA posted $265 million in revenues for 360 and $217 million for PS3.
EA CEO John Riccitiello declared Wii the “clear leader in this cycle,” (he’s right: the US installed base is now up to 17.5 million) and his company needs “to move further up on the [Wii] charts.” To that extent, Riccitiello revealed an aggressive campaign that focuses mainly on mass market Wii titles such as the MySims franchise. EA hasn’t forgotten leaving out core gamers and announcing EA’s plans to bring its survival horror hit Dead Space to Wii.
Meanwhile, THQ plans a sequel to de Blob, and it will publish a game based on the Disney/Pixar movie, Up,which President/CEO Farrell expects to be down from last year’s Wall-E. THQ’s Q3 Wii take was $63 million, up from $52 million in 2007’s Q3 (see chart below).
Like every publisher, THQ knows Wii is the place to be, but looking at its Q3 revenue mix, 360 was the dominant platform with $91 million in revenues. Saints Row 2 and WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 (4 million units shipped) played a big role in driving revenues on both 360 and PS3.
Similar to EA, THQ’s PS2 revenues ($49 million vs. $130 million a year ago) saw a sharp drop, an indication that both have decided it’s time to move on from almost 10-year-old technology.
MTV has uncovered some details on the radio stations that will be featured in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned. In addition to the new story and gameplay elements the Xbox 360 expansion offers, The Lost and Damned will have new DJs, songs, and musicians. MTV reported: It's impressive that Rockstar took the time and spent the money to give The Lost and Damned its own unique soundtrack. Acquiring new songs and recording VO for celebrities is not cheap. When you consider that all this effort and money was for downloadable content, it's even more noteworthy.
Any tracks or DJs interest you?
So it's probably news to most Americans that the game is popular. Immensely popular. Like, bigger-than-Madden popular. And how popular is that? Let's take a look at these figures.
For starters, FIFA was EA's biggest-selling game last year (FIFA 09 selling over 7 million copies worldwide). And the year before that. Which means a lot of people play it online. Like, enough for there to be an average of 1.25 million games of FIFA 09 played every day, with 141 million having been played in total since the game's release in September.
Those numbers are crazy numbers. And you know the craziest part? They're deserved, because FIFA 09 was actually a really, really good game (especially the 10v10 online multiplayer).
g and invest in games and gaming systems created to prep soldiers for combat. Maybe the Army should consider investing 50 bucks in an old Nintendo gaming system for Dick Cheney to practice hunting with a little help from “Duck Hunt.” Think of it as preemptive protection for other hunters and innocent rich white men as Cheney will undoubtedly have more time on his hands next year to go out and shoot stuff.
Developed by Tamsoft and said to be improved over their initial Japanese releases, the bloody bikini-centric budget games should be in North American stores tomorrow.
The Xbox 360 version, Bikini Samurai Squad, is priced at $40, while the Wii edition, dubbed Bikini Zombie Slayers--technically the sequel to Squad--will go for a paltry $30.
Oh, and good luck trying to buy either without some sort of social stigma. I felt slimy just asking Game Crazy if "that Bikini Samurai Squad game" was in. It was that or confusing the clerk with "Onechanbara" and then trying to spell it out. Either way, it's lose-lose.
50 Cent Developer Video: Cover Is for Punks
 Planning to install Windows 7 beta and wondering will your games run on this new OS which is released for testing purpose only? The short answer is, mostly, yes. ExtremeTech spent the last week installing and running through 22 different games, of varying ages, going back as far as Quake II. They also ran some of the newest, hottest titles, including several using the Games for Window logo program, which is supposed to be a sort of "Good Housekeeping" seal for PC games. Games that Worked Freespace 2 Mechwarrior: Mercenaries Age of Wonders Civilization III Civilization IV Mount and Blade Red Alert 3 GRID Sins of a Solar Empire Company of Heroes Neverwinter Nights 2 Ghost Recon 2 Titan Quest Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Games that Worked, with Issues Quake II: Frame rate issue because of OpenGL driver. Left4Dead: It works like a charm but once you exit Left4Dead, there are some corruption of the Windows desktop. Freelancer: Connecting to a multiplayer server is problematic. Guild Wars: Guild Wars doesn't show up in the Games Explorer. It is available from the Start Menu, as well as a desktop shortcut, and runs without any other issues. Age of Empires III: If you don't install the 1.11 patch, the game runs, but with severe graphics corruption in the game screen. Fallout 3: Installation problem. Read this for the solution. Games that Fail System Shock 2 Falcon 4: Allied Force Windows 7 beta performs better than Vista but still can't beat XP. |
Many thought the NFS series was over after the horrendous Undercover, but EA has now announced *three* new games to be released this year. One of them is Need for Speed: Shift on Xbox 360, PC, PSP and Playstation 3, and one image was released.
EA press release:
Fifteen years; more than 40 countries; close to 100 million games sold. Need for Speed™ has helped to define automotive culture for millions of fans with its embrace of the car lifestyle and its cool rebellious attitude. Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) unveiled the details of what is in store for the franchise over the next 12 months, as the property expands to new platforms, new categories and new media.
Need for Speed is committed to providing unique and customized experiences for all types of racing fans by establishing three independent series; simulation, action and arcade racing. Each series will be developed by a highly-specialized team dedicated to delivering the ultimate racing experiences to car enthusiasts around the world – whether they be interested in adrenaline action, arcade fun or authentic simulation.
“We recognize racing videogame fans are very passionate and unique – they want customized gameplay experiences. Whether it’s more of a realistic driving game with accurate car physics or over-the-top cop chases, we are making different games for different audiences,” said Keith Munro, vice president of marketing, Need for Speed. “Each game provides a deep, engaging and rich racing experience. We’re giving players the option to choose the best racing title that suits their style of gameplay.”
Need for Speed SHIFT – Fall 2009
Shift into high gear! Designed to deliver a true driver’s experience that reflects contemporary motorsports, Need for Speed SHIFT is built by racers for racers. Need for Speed SHIFT delivers an authentic and immersive driving experience developed by Slightly Mad Studios in collaboration with executive producer Michael Mann at Black Box and senior vice president Patrick Soderlund at EA Games Europe. Slightly Mad Studios includes developers and designers that worked on the critically acclaimed games GT Legends and GTR 2. Need for Speed SHIFT replicates the true feeling of racing high-end performance cars like never before. Players are thrust into the heart of the action with immersive and exciting features including a stunningly realistic first-person cockpit view camera and an all-new crash mechanic, providing an unrivaled sensation of the speed and feeling of racing a car on the extreme edge of control.
Soderlund is also part of a racing team that recently competed in the 4th edition of the TOYO TIRES 24H Dubai 2009, the first major race event of the year. His team ranked #5 in the high-profile race. Soderlund and the SHIFT development team are committed to bringing the on-the-track experience to players across the world.
Need for Speed SHIFT will be released on PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) and PC in fall 2009.
Need for Speed NITRO (Working Title) – Fall 2009
Developed by EA Montreal, Need for Speed NITRO for Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ will have players of all skill levels hooked from the moment they get into the action, while arcade racing fans will be exhilarated by the deep and challenging gameplay. EA Montreal has already established a strong track record of developing for these platforms and will bring their unique creativity and innovation to the Need for Speed franchise.
Gamers can build up their boost as they drift and drag behind their opponents and use it strategically to change the course of the race, but watch out for the cops! Offering a fresh and unique visual style, the game features a variety of licensed cars which can be fully customized to let the game reflect the player’s taste and personality. This evolutionary take on arcade racing, bringing back the best features found in Need for Speed games, comes exclusively to the Nintendo platforms this fall.
Need for Speed World Online – Winter 2009 in North America, (Summer 2009 in Asia)
Co-developed by Black Box and EA Singapore, Need for Speed World Online takes the race into the largest open world in the history of Need for Speed – designed exclusively for the PC. Beginning in Asia, this Play 4 Free action racing game will give Need for Speed fans access to licensed cars, parts and multiple game modes. Players will prove their racing supremacy through the sophisticated online matchmaking features and fully customize their profile and their ride.
EA and Black Box will have more news about the Need for Speed franchise in the months ahead.
For more information on the Need for Speed franchise, please visit: www.needforspeed.com.
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