Believe it or not, the New Xbox Experience isn't the only thing that happened in the land of 360 this week. Oh no, we also have ... other things like ... um ... you know, stuff. Ooh, like A Kingdom for Keflings came out. It's a really cool XBLA game because ... it lets you use your Avatar as a playable character. Okay fine, it's all about the NXE this week.
As we near the end of a year that saw outspoken EGMeditor-in-chief Dan "Shoe" Hsu resign his post, The New York Timesquotes publisher Ziff-Davis as "considering" a course of action that would take the prominent print mag online only. The news comes in an article about ZD's decision to make a similar move with 27-year-old flagship publication, PC Magazine.
Ziff-Davis chief executive, James Young, revealed to the paper that an online-only future for EGM is a possibility, but that the publisher "would not make a decision before the end of the year." Recent months have seen the departure of staffers from 1UP, EGM's online sister publication, and a frank admission of the decreasing viability of games-related print media by 1UP editorial director, Simon Cox.
It's time to go back under the sea with the new exclusive challenge pack for PS3's BioShock. We've gotten some hands-on time with it, so check it out if you just can't get enough of Rapture. Beyond that, there's a slew of new DLC and there's a demo for MotoGP 08. Would you kindly find the full North American update after the break?
PS3 Fanboy has the European PSN update, which delivers the constructing (or, more likely, destroying) goodness of SimCity 2000.
Valve has taken a crowbar to the price of the original Half-Lifeon Steam. Originally priced at $9.99, the award-winning, if-you-haven't-played-it-don't-talk-to-us FPS can now be had for $.98. No, that's not a typo – Ludwig checked.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the $99.99 Valve Complete Pack, which, as we reported earlier, contains all of Valve's games – even the newly released Left 4 Dead– plus Peggle Extreme. But seriously, if you haven't played the first Half-Life, do yourself a favor and spend 1/100th of that on the game. You won't regret it. We promise. (It's ninety-eight cents!)
You know the best thing about playing Little League? It wasn't the exercise or the camaraderie. Those were hard to come by for a fat little kid in left field, picking dandelions and praying that none of the C.M. Love Hardware Braves would have the brute force to muscle a ball to his corner of the stadium. No, the best part was the guarantee of a trophy, a shining reminder that, for a time at least, you were somebody, you were an athlete.
After January 2009 arrives, games on the PS3 will have the same allure of Little League, with each required by Sony to offer trophies, according to VideoGamer.com.
As this news didn't take too much space to pass along to you, we'll take this opportunity to apologize for the deeply personal turn the first paragraph of this post took. Totally our mistake.
Phew! Now that we've got the headline out of the way, we'd thought you'd like to know:
You've only got 24 hours before we pick a winner! And, if you comment on the official contest post today and again tomorrow, that's two more chances to be that winner. That makes your odds of winning ... uh, a little better?
Capcom popped onto the PlayStation Blog to plug the imminent arrival of Super Street Fighter II HD Remixon PSN next Tuesday, Nov. 25, and reveal the cost of admission: $14.99. Given this news, it's pretty safe to bet on the XBLA version – which arrives Wednesday, Nov. 26 – coming in at 1200 ($15), although neither Capcom nor Microsoft have announced official pricing.
As we reported yesterday, those who purchase the PS3 version of the game will gain free access to the Street Fighter Underground Remix Soundtrack, a digital album download featuring Street Fighter-inspired hip-hop tracks by artists Redman, Hieroglyphics, DJ Qbert, DJ Toure, Zion I, Mistah F.A.B. and Oh No.
Well, that didn't take long. Lipshas been out for all of ... a day, and Microsoft is already at the ready with a supply of add-on songs, which, from the looks of things, will be arriving every Friday from here on out.
This Friday, Nov. 21, will see the arrival of the first DLC songs, followed by another batch on Friday, Nov. 28, and a set of holiday standards by "Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, Gene Autry and more," beginning Friday, Dec. 5. The tracks will be priced "from" 160 and include the original music videos (or, in the case of the holiday tracks, ones created by MS). Here's what to expect for the first two Lips DLC Fridays. Click on the song titles for videos.
*This track – and other "oldies" – will not include original music videos as part of the download since there weren't music videos way back when they were first released.
In an unprecedented but inevitably lucrative move, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has revealed plans to distribute "a third-person action game" alongside upcoming Hollywood bot buster Terminator Salvation. Released in cahoots with Equity Games Production and Halcyon Games, and developed by GRIN Studios (the Bionic Commando guys), Terminator Salvation - The Videogame promises to push the envelope with "action packed gameplay and detailed environments."
Terminator fans may initiate Salivation at the thought of controlling central franchise character John Connor, as he engages in "concentrated armed combat" against enemies from the post-apocalyptic film, as well as new opponents assembled specifically for the game. Robot bats, maybe.
Cos Lazouras, President of Halcyon Games, notes that the adaptation will feature "an incredibly fluid and realistic control set," all the better to steer your way through "a fully interactive Terminator experience." Take that, partially interactive Terminator experiences of yore! As you might expect, it'll be out alongside the film, which opens nationwide on May 22, 2009.
Synergy. Can you dig it? Sony does, finally noticing those 14 million accounts stranded on the console-side of PlayStation Network. We imagine the meeting went a little something like this:
Exec One: You see, we've got 14 million people over here [*motions to his right*]. But what if we could take them [*lifts his hands up*] and stick 'em over here, too? [*motions back to his left*]
Exec Two: So are you gonna eat that last Mint Milano or what?
Exec One: No -- well ... let's split it.
Exec Two: Deal.
The result? PSN IDs are being incorporated into PlayStation.com and, at a later date, PlayStation.Blog. Doing so will make your friends list and other features accessible through a web browser -- oh my! On a solemn note, these changes bring PlayStation Underground to its inevitable end, but members can hold on to some of the good times by merging their Underground accounts with their PSN IDs. And this is only the beginning, promises PSN senior director Susan Panico: "before this year is over we'll have more enhancements for your gamer profile." Dare we say, a New PlayStation Experience?
Microsoft has recent price drops and an aggressive marketing campaign to thank for its latest success in Europe, with Xbox 360 sales surging past 7 million in the region. The system previously reached the six-million milestone in September. The veep of strategic marketing for Xbox in EMEA, David Gosen, seemed pleased with the results and used the word "fantastic" a lot.
"We're in a position now where we've sold over seven million consoles in EMEA, which puts us in a fantastic place versus PlayStation 3," he told MCV. It's the combination of elements that put us in a fantastically strong position. We have 360 degrees of entertainment. At the moment, momentum is fantastic, we've got real traction in all European market."
Gosen went on the extend his confidence to the forthcoming holiday period, predicting it to be "the best ever Christmas in the history of Xbox." So, pretty fantastic then.
The GameStop collective announced today that sales rose 5.2% to $1.7 billion, with profits of $46.7 million, in the third quarter ending November 1. Not that our future overlords are immune from the current economic crisis -- store sales were down 1.8% this year, as compared to the 46% increase during our last trip around the sun.
The company appears optimistic about weathering the current economic climate, as store sales increased in October by 11% and are up 20.5% in the first two weeks of November. Looks like the hive is going to be just fine during the fourth quarter.
That's right, the video you're going to see after the break, which expertly blends Guitar Hero and bike riding, is the best thing you're going to see all day and (unless your firstborn child is due by Friday) probably all week. Seriously, go watch it. You'll have to hire a gang of neighborhood kids to pinch you before you'll be convinced you're not dreaming.
But is it really made by some kid and his friends with wayyyy too much spare time and not a well-funded ad agency? Well, no. But let's all just pretend so we can keep enjoying ourselves. Agreed? Agreed.
[Update: Stephen Totilo got Activision to spill the whole thing, and it's rife with some pretty hilarious back-pedaling. ... Get it? Back-pedaling?]
Blizzard announced today that World of Warcraft's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, sold a paltry 2.8 million units in its first 24 hours. That's only 400,000 more units than Burning Crusade did on its launch day. We're guessing Activision is completely regretting that whole merger now, huh?
With 11 million players currently in Azeroth, that means about 25% of the base couldn't live without their precious expansion for more than 24 hours, saying nothing of the millions who bought it later. In other news, there are rumors that the Drug Enforcement Administration is looking to bring electronic software under its purview. Not really, but we really are waiting for WoW to be classified as a controlled substance.
That's right, Xbox 360 owners. Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, Sony Pictures has insisted that its collection of films hasn't been yanked from the Netflix streaming list just to spite you and your whirring, off-white system. "This issue is not specific to Xbox or any other individual platform," said a Sony Pictures spokesperson. As reflected in Netflix's comments on the sans-Sony situation, it's all just a matter of licensing. "Sony Pictures is currently in discussions with the relevant parties to resolve certain licensing matters related to the distribution of its motion pictures. Given the ongoing nature of these discussions, we don't think it is appropriate to comment further at this time."
Sorry, conspiracy theorists. It seems a big film company actually does want you to watch its wares, regardless of your platform of choice. Well, as long as it's not a telephone. Get real!
($15), although neither Capcom nor Microsoft have announced official pricing.
