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Activision #1? >> 05:43 PM - Brett Todd
( 3 comments )
With apologies to EA, Activision might actually be the biggest publisher in gaming. For the fiscal year ending March 31, Activision is reporting net income of a whopping $344.9 million on an even more incredible revenue of $2.9 billion. Revenue is up some 92% over a year ago. So, Call of Duty 4 and Guitar Hero III seem to have made a lot of cash registers go cha-ching.
Based on such impressive earnings and NPD sales numbers, Activision is now claiming to have vaulted over EA and become the gaming industry's number one third-party publisher with 17.3% of the market.
And expect 2009 to be an even bigger year for Activision, with CEO Bobby Kotick claiming that the $18.9 billion merger with Vivendi Universal to form Activision-Blizzard was moving ahead full steam. Revenue for Activision alone over the next fiscal year is being pegged at $3.2 billion already, too, which is pretty spectacular growth in a bummed-out economy.
Check out Activision's investor website for more facts, figures, and "Nyah-nyah! We're bigger than EA!" bragging.
LOTR Conquest Announced >> 05:27 PM - Brett Todd
( 2 comments )
Pandemic Studios is taking on Middle-earth. The developer of the Star Wars: Battlefront multiplayer shooters announced today that it is currently working on The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, an action game set in JRR Tolkien's milieu.
The press release was a little short on specifics, with this comment being the most revealing:
"Set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings universe as depicted by the Academy Award®-winning films, players will finally fight the entirety of these epic battles any way they want. In addition to crusading as the heroic forces of good, for the first time ever in a The Lord of the Rings action title they’ll conquer Middle-earth while playing as the legions of Sauron’s evil army, including Cave-trolls, Oliphaunts, the Balrog and Sauron himself."
Expect the game to hit stores for the usual suspects (360, PS3, PC, and, um, Nintendo DS?) in Q4 2008. The world premiere of game footage will take place on Spike TV's GameTrailers show on Friday, June 20.
Check the official game website out here for more.
AMD revises server plans >> 03:56 PM - Brandon Sandman Bell
( 5 comments )
With the Barcelona launch behind them, AMD's next big server project, codenamed "Bulldozer" has been pushed back beyond the first half of 2010. According to a new roadmap obtained by CNET, AMD's immediate plans for servers revolve around their previously announced Shanghai and Istanbul cores. Shanghai will boast three times the L3 cache as today's Barcelona core, with 512KB of L2 cache per core just like Barcelona. In addition, Shanghai will also contain architectural tweaks designed to improve performance. Shanghai will be built on AMD's upcoming 45-nm process and is scheduled to begin shipping at the end of this year. Istanbul will follow Shanghai sometime in the second half of 2009 with 6-cores instead of four.
The new AMD roadmap mentions two new cores for the 1st half of 2010. Magny-Cours and Sao Paulo. Magny-Cours is AMD's 12-core offering, boasting a 12MB L3 cache, while Sao Paulo will contain six cores with 6MB of L3 cache. Both chips will support DDR3 memory, 4x HyperTransport 3.0 links, and require AMD's new Maranello platform (both CPU cores will continue to be built on AMD's 45-nm process).
Bulldozer is nowhere to be found on AMD's new roadmap, suggesting the next-gen core utilizing AMD's Fusion architecture won't begin shipping until the second half of 2010 at the very earliest.
More GTA Sales Records >> 01:12 PM - Brett Todd
( 8 comments )
A lot of people at Take 2 must be thrilled today. The company has just announced that GTA IV sold approximately 6 million copies worldwide during its first week, bringing in a receipts record of over $500 million. Some 3.6 million copies were sold on opening day, totaling over $310 million.
And people still get cranked up over $100 million movie openings? Chew on those numbers, Iron Man.
More from the press release:
"We knew Grand Theft Auto IV would break new ground in terms of the player's experience, with its compelling story line, extraordinary gameplay and action that ranges over a broad urban canvas. Now, it has broken sales and rating records as well. Grand Theft Auto IV's first week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, and we believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to date. We congratulate the entire Rockstar team on creating a must-have experience that takes the legendary Grand Theft Auto franchise to a new level," said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two.
So, uh, yikes? It's incredible how huge a phenomenon GTA has become, going on a decade after the franchise first really got going with GTA III.
More here.
Go Pro With World in Conflict >> 01:04 PM - Brett Todd
( 0 comments )
Go pro with Sierra and Nvidia. The publisher and video-card giant have launched the official World in Conflict Map Making Contest. Winners will receive cash and prizes along with the opportunity to have their work showcased in a future World in Conflict product. Hands up if you also think that's code for "expansion pack"?
More from the press release:
Using the publicly released World in Conflict Map Editor, PC users can create their own battlegrounds and challenges and then submit them into the competition. Each level submission will be reviewed and evaluated by the professional designers at Massive Entertainment, creators of World in Conflict. Top entries will be posted on www.worldinconflict.com. Winning maps will appear in future release of an official World in Conflict product.
In addition to the opportunity to “Go Pro,” the Grand Prize for the contest will also include $1,000 cash and an NVIDIA® Video Card to help the winning amateur level designer continue their quest to become a professional game developer.
Sounds pretty cool. And maybe the contest will focus more attention on what was a pretty amazing, yet pretty quick to fade from sight, action-packed RTS. For more, head to the official site.
GTA IV Review >> 08:25 AM - Brett Todd
( 15 comments )
Niko Bellic doesn't need an introduction.
Doom 4 announced >> 08:07 AM - Jakub Wojnarowicz
( 42 comments )
Shack.
id Software today announced that it has begun production on Doom 4, and is now in the process of expanding its internal team of developers to work on the shooter sequel.
sigh
Witcher Inspiration Now in North American Bookstores >> 03:31 PM - Brett Todd
( 2 comments )
Anyone who loved the dark story and setting of The Witcher should check out The Last Wish. This collection of fantasy stories from Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski that inspired last year's epic RPG hit bookstores in North America on May 1 thanks to publisher Orbit US.
Look for it on a shelf near you. Or check in with the Orbit website for more.
STALKER Prequel Coming to North America >> 03:19 PM - Brett Todd
( 9 comments )
Developer GSC Gameworld and publisher Deep Silver have confirmed plans to release a sequel to last year's STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl shooter this summer. STALKER: Clear Skies will arrive for the PC on August 29, and tell the story of what happened immediately before the apocalyptic storyline of the original game.
Some more specifics from the Deep Silver marketeers:
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is a survival FPS game for PC based on a 'what-if' scenario of the second Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. The game is created as a warning to mankind against mindless play with technologies. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is the official prequel to the renowned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game by the Ukraine-based GSC Game World studio. The game is set in 2011and brings forth the events to have preceded the third campaign of Strelok to the Zone center. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky introduces an alternative look onto the events of the original game and offers the player to try himself out as a mercenary s.t.a.l.k.e.r. in search of his own path in the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
More information on the game is available online at the game's website.
NCAA Football Cover Boys Named >> 03:08 PM - Brett Todd
( 0 comments )
A veritable backfield of college athletes will adorn the covers of EA Sports' NCAA Football 09 when it hits stores on July 15. Da details:
Xbox 360: Former Arkansas All-American Darren McFadden
PS3: Matt Ryan from Boston College
Nintendo Wii: Sparty the Spartan Mascot from Michigan State (gee, and Nintendo isn't just for the kiddies anymore, huh?)
PS2: Former Cal wide receiver DeSean Jackson
Sony PSP: Former West Virginian Owen Schmitt
To see the lads for real, sis-boom-bah over to the official NCAA Football 09 website.
Free Sudden Strike 3 Add-On >> 11:43 AM - Brett Todd
( 0 comments )
Developer Fireglow Games is releasing a free add-on for its recently released Sudden Strike 3: Arms For Victory RTS. The expansion, which is currently dubbed simply "Addon" (how do the marketing weasels continue to think up such inventive titles?), will hit the net by the end of May.
From the (uncorrected) press release:
Three new single-player missions and two multi-player missions will be sheeped with the Sudden Strike3:Arms for Victory Addon. Two of new single-player missions form a Campaign, in which player will fight on a German side against USSR forces at summer 1942. Third is an independent single-player mission, where player will take command of an Allied forces in Ardennes at autumn 1944 and will try to stop German invasion. One of the multi-player missions is designed for four players, the other is for six players.
Good, good stuff. Hopefully someone who has English as a mother tongue will proofread the mission objectives. More info about "Addon" is available here.
Oh, and Fireglow is also promising that the official editor for Sudden Strike 3 will be available for free download by the end of May. So at least you'll be able to fix the horrific spelling and grammar.
NVIDIA nForce 780a/ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe Performance Preview >> 07:17 AM - Brandon Sandman Bell
( 4 comments )
With support for HybridPower, NVIDIA's nForce 780a chipset for the AMD platform is designed to mix SLI performance in games with IGP power draw at idle. But that's not the only feature the new chipset supports. Join us as we go over all the new features introduced in nForce 780a as well as the first board we've received based on the chipset: the ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe!
Prototype Delayed >> 12:22 PM - Brett Todd
( 1 comment )
Developer Radical Entertainment and publisher Sierra have pushed the long-anticipated Prototype back to 2009. The actioner for PC, 360, and PS3 was to have arrived in Q4 2008, but is being delayed due to issues involving the open-world design.
According to previously released information about Prototype, the game will cast you in the role of a genetically altered mutant on the rampage in New York City. All of the building-smashing insanity will apparently take place in a completely open game world, allowing maximum carnage. When the devs can get everything ironed out, anyhow.
Tecmo Bowl Kicking off on DS this Fall >> 12:09 PM - Brett Todd
( 2 comments )
The first and foremost name in arcade football gaming—well, circa 1988, at any rate—is coming back this fall. Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff will be coming to the Nintendo DS sometime in Q4 2008 with all the usual fast-paced pigskinnery. According to the press release, the game will feature customizable teams and playbooks, stylus control, wi-fi and wireless multiplayer, and something called super abilities that allow you to "take over a game" with "over-the-top player."
But wait, there's more!
“We are extremely excited to bring back everyone’s favorite football game to the Nintendo DS,” said Ryan Gilbo, executive producer, Tecmo, Inc. “KICKOFF is packed with everything that fans wanted to see in this revival. No other football game will ever compare to TECMO BOWL as this is the game that started it all.”
The only thing not included in the box? The time machine that you'll need to enjoy a game like this. Want more info anyways, head here.
PS2 and Wii Still Rocking! >> 12:09 PM - Brett Todd
( 2 comments )
MTV Games announced today that it would be issuing a Rock Band TrackPack for the Nintendo Wii and PS2 versions of the game. The retail disc will hit stores for both consoles on July 15 for $29.99, and will include 20 songs already familiar those rocking out to DLC on Xbox 360 and PS3.
Here's the complete track list, which are all original master recordings by the original artists:
30 Seconds to Mars -- The Kill
All American Rejects -- Move Along
Blink 182 -- All the Small Things
Boston -- More Than a Feeling
David Bowie -- Moonage Daydream
Faith No More -- We Care A Lot
Grateful Dead -- Truckin’
The Hives -- Die, All Right!
KISS -- Calling Dr. Love
Lynyrd Skynyrd -- Gimme’ Three Steps
Nine Inch Nails -- March of the Pigs
Oasis -- Live Forever
Paramore -- Crushcrushcrush
The Police -- Synchronicity II
Queens of the Stone Age -- Little Sister
Ramones -- Teenage Lobotomy
Smashing Pumpkins -- Siva
Stone Temple Pilots -- Interstate Love Song
Weezer -- Buddy Holly
Wolfmother -- Joker & the Thief
For more, strum on over to the Rock Band website.
Spring 2008 PC Build Guide >> 08:43 AM - Jacob Vandy
( 19 comments )
With the arrival of spring and tax rebate checks in the mail, many of you may be planning on building a new PC soon. In this article, we're highlighting four different PC budgets ranging from $500-$1,500, and one unlimited budget build. If you're wondering which components to consider, you won't want to miss this article!
The Simpsons Game Review >> 11:47 PM - Alex Mebane
( 3 comments )
Alex Mebane gives us an in-depth look of The Simpsons Game on the Nintendo Wii in another FiringSquad video review. Check out sweet gameplay footage and plenty of our yellow Springfielders in action.
Penny Arcade Game Golden >> 09:54 AM - Brett Todd
( 10 comments )
Developer Hothead Games has announced that Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness -- Episode One has gone gold. The first game depicting the presumably expletive-strewn cartoon adventures of comic-strip heroes Tycho and Gabe will be available for download via the Greenhouse digital download service later this quarter.
From the press release:
"Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is an RPG-adventure game set in the comic-book-meets-pulp-horror-meets-H.P. Lovecraft deranged 1920s universe of New Arcadia, delivered to gamers via accessible episodic releases. Players join Gabe and Tycho, the crime-solving team of the Startling Developments Detective Agency, to combat savage enemies and solve mysteries hidden deep in the sinister heart of New Arcadia. The game is the result of close collaboration between Hothead Games and Penny Arcade, featuring distinct artwork and characters designed exclusively by Mike "Gabe" Krahulik, story and dialogue by Jerry "Tycho" Holkins, and both brought to life by the Hothead team."
Price for Episode One will be $19.95. If you're one of the two people on the net who doesn't know what Penny Arcade is, go here now.
Mario Kart Wii Tourneys Begin >> 09:53 AM - Brett Todd
( 2 comments )
Nintendo has kicked off the first of many worldwide online tournaments for Mario Kart Wii, which hit stores in North America earlier this week. The first tourney event, which sees racers compete to clock the best time on the Mario Circuit, hit the system today, with more to arrive every few weeks.
Some more specifics about the tournaments from today's press release:
"Every few weeks, a new tournament will appear on the Mario Kart Channel, an online feature that not only allows players to compete in tournaments, but also exchange race data with friends. Tournaments might take the form of a challenge for players to race a certain course as fast as they can with specific characters, or to collect a number of coins on a course using the Wii Wheel™ accessory or another control setup. They can feature unique rules or obstacles on the course."
For more Mario Kart info, drive over to the official website.
Theatre of War Golden >> 07:02 AM - Brett Todd
( 0 comments )
Yet another WW II RTS for the PC has gone gold. Battlefront.com's Theatre of War was sent off for mastering today and will be available for download and retail purchase on May 19.
Specs from the press release:
"Theatre of War offers a fresh take on the WWII Real-time Strategy genre by combining the look, feel, sounds and historical elements of WWII to create the ultimate warfare simulation. The game engine features realistic shell ballistics, armor penetration calculations and damage effects coupled with destructible environments, trenches, fortifications and individually tracked weapons, equipment, ammo and vehicles. More than 50 battles spread across seven different campaigns (US/UK, Soviet, German, French, Polish, Battle for Moscow and Panzer Lehr in Normandy), along with eight non-campaign scenarios, five Training scenarios and 11 different multiplayer missions are available in the game to offer a rich and challenging combat experience to players."
Want more? Go to Battlefront.com.
Paradox Pimping Supreme Ruler 2020 >> 06:54 AM - Brett Todd
( 0 comments )
Paradox Interactive is continuing to prime the pump for the June 17 release of Supreme Ruler 2020 in North America (June 20 in Zooropa). The first trailer for the rather unsurprisingly named sequel to 2005's Supreme Ruler 2010 was posted today at the official website.
Supreme Ruler 2020 is a grand strategy game being developed by Canadian developer BattleGoat Studios. If it holds true to its predecessor, gameplay will be sort of like a futuristic take on Europa Universalis.
GTA IV Breaking UK Sales Records >> 03:55 PM - Brett Todd
( 3 comments )
It's official. GTA IV is the fastest-selling game ever in the UK, moving a whopping 609,000 units on launch day. The number was certified today by Britain's Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers' Association (ELSPA). This breaks the record set by--what else?--GTA: San Andreas, which moved 509,000 copies back in 2004.
For more, go to the ELSPA website.
Infogrames Acquiring Atari--Uh, Again? >> 03:53 PM - Brett Todd
( 3 comments )
Okay, this is a bit confusing. Infogrames and Atari announced the intention to fully merge today, a few years after the former bought controlling interest in the latter. This move seems to be one of those "shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic" dealies, where you shuffle money around to hide the poor performance of a failing subsidiary. Anyhow, according to the press release:
"Infogrames will acquire the remaining outstanding equity interests of Atari (other than shares of common stock held by Infogrames or its affiliates, which would be cancelled) for US$1.68 per share, equivalent to a cash payment of approximately US$11 million. Infogrames is currently the majority shareholder in Atari holding approximately 51.4%. Following the merger, Atari will be a wholly- owned subsidiary of Infogrames. The merger will be funded by Infogrames from existing cash resources. The transaction is not subject to any financing conditions and is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2008."
It's sort of depressing to see such a famous label take a hit like this. Inforgrames made such a big deal out of reviving Atari as a going concern in gaming a few years ago, and now the company has been forced to pretty much concede that the experiment was a failure.
Anyhow, go to the Atari Investor Relations website to read the full press release.
More Content Added to LOTRO >> 12:54 PM - Brett Todd
( 5 comments )
Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar just got bigger. Book 15: Doom of the Last-king has gone live and is now available to hobbit wannabes and other subscribers in North America. It adds a new region in the northern land of Forochel, a new faction called the Lossoth, a new class for monster players, the first pastime for the hobby system introduced in Book 13, and the usual number of new quests.
Sez Turbine CEO Jim Crowley:
"The Lord of the Rings Online has grown dramatically in scale, content and the size of our community in its first year of operation. We've received a very positive response from players about the new region of Forochel and the long-awaited addition of fishing that adds an entirely new level of fun and enjoyment to the game. It's been an incredible first year and we are hard at work finishing up Book 14 slated for release this summer. All of us are very excited for our journey this fall into the Mines of Moria."
Fishing adds an entirely new level of fun and enjoyment, huh? Screw that balrog, I'm signing up now!
Alone Again, Part Deux >> 08:34 AM - Brett Todd
( 3 comments )
Atari and developer Eden Games are continuing to crank up the hype for the new Alone in the Dark. Lead designer Herve Sliwa, who's probably heard more than his fair share of “The plane! The plane!” jokes over the years, has posted a new entry to his dev diary. This one details the legacy of the original Alone in the Dark, and how the design team felt an obligation to live up to the acclaimed name and compete with movies:
"My goal for this game is for the audience to say, oh yes, now a game can be more interesting than a movie. We think in this media we provide everything that a movie provides; we can have animation, acting, sound, music, everything of a movie, but we have something more which is interactivity, so you can be directly inside the story. With this approach the main goal is to give the feeling to the audience that now it’s time to re-think about entertainment."
The diary was accompanied with the release of five new screenshots, all of which appear to be cutscene shots of a car being blown up, Bugs Bunny-style with a line of gunpowder. Check the official website for more.
GTA Lock-Ups? >> 08:33 AM - Brett Todd
( 26 comments )
Online forums are becoming increasingly clogged with rants from angry gamers about GTA IV locking up. Issues seem to be spread between both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 editions of the game, with perhaps the PS3 (especially the 60GB model) getting the most heat from Niko lovers at the moment. Take a look at the
Xbox forums to see the specific complaints.
Rockstar has been mum on the bug reports so far. If verified, the tech problems come at an awful time for the company, given that the hue and cry over the buggy state of the 360 version of Bully launched last month has barely died down.
Aerosmith Exclusive to Guitar Hero, Internet Yawns >> 05:34 AM - Brett Todd
( 9 comments )
News leaked out late yesterday that aging rock band Aerosmith has apparently inked an exclusive deal with Guitar Hero owner Activision. The contract apparently runs for more than the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game expected to arrive in June. So Rock Banders probably won't get to screech or strum or pound along to "Dude Looks Like A Lady" or "Angel" anytime soon. Gee, what a pity.
For more, check out N'gai Croal's Level Up blog at Newsweek, which broke this story.
Cooler Master Cosmos Review >> 03:58 AM - Pungkas Nataatmaja
( 6 comments )
In today's video review, Tom Colarusso gives us the skinny on Cooler Master's new case - Cosmos. Does it mneasure up to the standards we expect from Cooler Master? View the video and see!
Ubisoft Still Heading East >> 09:48 AM - Brett Todd
( 2 comments )
Ubisoft has announced the formation of another development studio in Eastern Europe. Ubisoft Kiev will be the company's first office in the Ukraine, and its third in the region, joining Bucharest, Romania and Sofia, Bulgaria. Man, I've got to get myself invited on an Ubi press jaunt.
The new Kiev studio has already contributed to the development of Blazing Angels: Secret Weapons of WW II, and will be working with Bucharest on the upcoming Tom Clancy's HAWX. Ubi expects to employ 50 people at the studio within 12 months. Added bafflegab from the press release:
"We have had a very positive experience in Eastern Europe, as the quality of the upcoming Tom Clancy’s HAWX™ developed by our Bucharest studio can attest,” said Christine Burgess-Quémard, executive director, worldwide studios at Ubisoft. “Having seen the potential demonstrated by the Sofia studio’s first projects, it was only natural for us to pursue our expansion in this region and attract a new pool of highly-skilled talents to the group."
Check Ubisoft Corporate for more.
Perfect Stabbings, Muggings? >> 09:40 AM - Brett Todd
( 8 comments )
Now for the news that Rockstar doesn't want you to read. Midnight launches may not be the smartest idea when it comes to the GTA series, given that the arrival of GTA IV at 12:01AM today was greeted with a knife attack and a mugging in the UK.
The US launch seems to have gone off trouble-free, however. Not that anyone cares, but I had no issues in line last night. It was actually kind of fun, save the few idiots who bogged the line down with trade-ins. Anyone who brings trades to a midnight launch with over 100 people in line needs to be dragged out of the store and severely beaten.
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