Console News For Monday, October 25th

Remedy On Why Alan Wake Took So Long

A recent interview with Matias Myllyrinne of Remedy stated in an interview with VG247 that it, “could be that we shared with the world too early,” and, ““To be fair, we did not think it was going to take this long to get right, so when we announced we did not think folks would have to wait for so long.”

He goes on to say, “The first Max Payne was a similar story too, but I think as long as you can live up to the vision you set to build people will still be excited and welcome the game when it is done.”

Considering that both games are epic in their own fashion, I think it’s safe to say that in this case, it was well worth the wait.

Source: VG247

How To Fix The RROD – Marine Corps Style.

All I can say to this is…Hu-Rah!  Apparently, the RROD is possible even in the middle of the desert.  And one Marine shows us how the Corps fix that little problem.

Source: Unrealitymag.com

Sony recalls Shuan Wtihe Skatebaording Doo Too Speeling Error?

 Strategy Informer is reporting that Sony has recalled the PS3 version of Shaun White Skateboarding due to a misprinted disc.  SCEA had this to say regarding the issue:

“There was a manufacturing issue with a misprinted disc at Sony Computer Entertainment America and the wrong version of the Shaun White Skateboarding PlayStation 3 game was shipped to retailers. We’re working with Ubisoft to correct the issue.”

Corrected copies of the game will be available in stores by this Thursday.

Source: Strategy Informer

Activision hiring PI’s to stop Black Ops Pirates?

I actually had to double and triple check this one before posting it.  Apparently, Activision has hired private investigators to track down pirates of the up and coming Call of Duty: Black Ops, and are “kindly” asking for the discs to be returned and to stop selling illegal copies of the game.

This is an unusual tactic for Activision, considering that they have a battery of lawyers ready to sue pretty much anyone and uses shady tactics when dealing with their own employees.

I’m positive no baseball bats were used in the recovery of those discs…right?

Source: Venturebeat

MS VP Says Kinect Pre-Order Numbers Are Good

Joystiq reports that during an interview with Phil Spencer, VP at Microsoft Games Studios, stated that Kinect, “Pre-order numbers are good,” and that, “The retail channel seems to be excited for what we’re doing. We feel good about our supply that we can build. I imagine we’re going to have to work hard to fill out the demand that’s out there, is kind of our sense, but we’re willing to work hard so that’s fine.”

Considering reports that retailers such as Best Buy, NewEgg, and Gamestop have had to resupply allocations for pre-orders, it might just be quite a sales rush come November 4.

Source: Joystiq

5 Squenix Games I’d Like To See On XBLA

To be totally honest, each console, the Xbox 360 and the PS3, both have their merits as a console.  When it came down to decision time for me to jump in, there were many reasons why I chose the 360 over the PS3, and I’m still to this day very happy that I did.

However, Squenix seems to still be very tight knit with Sony.  They’ve released quite a few games in the last few years that were either PSOne or earlier console releases that don’t seem to find their way to Xbox Live Arcade.  And this is really disappointing to me.

But if Squenix ever did decide to change their mind, these are what I’d love to see:

1) Final Fantasy VII (PS1) – Who can’t love this game?  Millions bought it.  I know I did.  And I still enjoy playing it to this day occasionally on my PS2.

2) Parasite Eve (PS1) – This was just announced to be coming to the PSN yesterday.  A cult classic in my eyes.  Awesome gameplay and a compelling story.

3) Chrono Trigger (SNES) – How can you forget the loveable characters and enjoyable storyline of this classic?  Squenix at its best!

4) Einhander (PS1) – A throwback to the good old sidescrolling shooter.  Awesome!

5) Kingdom Hearts (PS2) – Why this didn’t make it to the original Xbox is beyond me.  But an awesome game nevertheless.

Xbox.com Update – Play Dressup With Your Avatar Online!

As Larry Hyrb, Xbox Live’s Major Nelson, previously announced, Xbox.com received a facelift today.  And so far, the result is very nice and clean, with some excellent new features added.

One of the nice new features is the ability to now go online and not only purchase avatar clothes and props, but to be able to try them on as well.  I went straight to the avatar props and clicked on my Halo:Reach Falcon and my avatar immediately started playing.  So cool!

Surfing through the profile pages, I found it was fairly easy to navigate through.  Finding where I can redeem my codes, update my credit card info and view my game information easily.  There is also a Family Center link now available under the “My Xbox” menu, but it looks to still be under construction for the time being.

The Achievements Page got a bit of a touch up as well, making things a bit easier to read at a glance.  Your total gamerscore for the game and number of achievments acquired/remaining is a bit more in your face now.

Of course, the update is still continuing, and there will probably be a couple of bugs or glitches while they tweak things to make for a good experience.  So be sure to be patient.  I’m sure @xboxlive is going to be blowing up enough on Twitter as they work out the kinks.  Enjoy the update!

What’re your impressions?  Feel free to talk amongst yourselves.

~W75

Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360 On Tour In Canada

Hey Canadians!  Want to try out Kinect?  It’s on tour in Toronto and Montreal right now.

The deets:

Toronto – At 207 Yonge Street

Montreal – At 677 Rue St. Catherine O. (That’s St. Catherine Road West for those of you who don’t speak French.  Which in Canada I think is two of you.)

Schedule and further info here.

Source: Kinect Central Canada

Major Nelson Reveals Xbox.com Makeover Releasing Tomorrow

Larry Hyrb, Xbox Live’s Major Nelson just blogged new screenshots of the makeover coming to Xbox.com.  Per Major Larry, “Tomorrow, Xbox.com will be getting a massive facelift and I want to give you a preview of what you can expect.  In addition to support for the 9 new Xbox LIVE regions that will happen next month, Xbox.com will get a brand new look as well as some new features.”

Here are some highlights:

Browser based Avatar editor: Edit your avatar and preview avatar items before purchase

Combined views for messages, friend and game requests

Improved notification of your account subscription

Leverage Family Reports to understand what your family is doing and how they are using LIVE

Play web games with your Xbox LIVE friends on the web or on Windows Phone 7

Marketplace: More powerful search and more intuitive ways to browse and filter

Direct linky to screenshots are here.  Looking very nice if I do say so myself.

Per Major Nelson, the changes will begin to take effect at 0500 ET/0200 PT/0900 GMT tomorrow, October 20th.  While they make the updates, access to Xbox.com and the forums will be unavailable, but the Xbox Live service will not be affected.

Source: Major Nelson’s Blog

News for Tuesday, October 19th

AT&T Offering Free Month of Zune Pass With Win7 Phone

AT&T Wireless is offering a 30-Day trial of Zune Pass with the purchase of a Win7 Mobile Phone.  Dubbed the “Entertainment Pack”, you also get access to 30 days of AT&T’s Uverse services, as well as ilomilo, a new, cutesy Xbox Live game.

Source: AT&T; ilomilo

Best Buy Still Doesn’t Have Any New 250GB Slim/Kinect Bundles?

Apparently Best Buy is still having issues with procuring the $399 Xbox 360S Bundle with Kinect for pre-order.  With Microsoft stating that this is a bigger launch than that of the 360, you have to wonder exactly how many units have been pre-ordered, since the 360 only had 400,000 units available when it launched in 2005.

Source: BestBuy

Kinect To Launch With 17 Titles This November

Looks like the guys over at Wired UK have gotten the up-to-date launch list for Kinect this November.  Not much has changed with the exception of a couple more games from Konami.  With all of the sports and fitness games releasing at launch, there are going to be a lot of skinnier geeks this coming spring.

Source: Wired UK

Call of Duty: Black Ops Stolen From The Presses?

Apparently, some guy (or gal) in Alabama swiped a few copies of COD: Black Ops from the presser not too long ago.  Shortly thereafter, the enterprising thief sold the copies to a few upstanding gentleman on some of the forum sites dedicated to cracking and copying software.  One person in particular, “Ungodly Leaker”, who was responsible for the leaking of Halo: Reach apparently had posted that they received a copy as well. 

With almost 1.8 million pre-orders placed, this looks to be yet another very hot download for the less than ethical gamer.

Source: Escapist; VGChartz

Halo: Reach Stats Updated By Bungie

Bungie released updated statistics on gameplay and matchmaking this last Friday.  Some interesting numbers:

16,445 Man-Years have been spent playing Halo: Reach (Not to be confused with Dog-Years)

784,000,000 player-games have been played (1 game with 4 players is tallied as 4 player-games)

544,000,000,000 Credits have been earned (spend that money, playa!)

3,900,000 Screenshots have been uploaded (and plenty of them feature juvenile looks at Kat’s “bad side”)

5,970,000 total files have been uploaded (your bandwidth bill is in the mail)

300,000,000 Mountain Dews were do’d

If only the real world economy was based on Halo dollars…

Source: Bungie.net

Console News For Monday, October 18th

Weekly Sales Update: Microsoft Pulls Ahead of Sony for Year On Sales

Microsoft this week finally pulled ahead of Sony in sales for the year by 1,000 units for the year last week.  This comes after Sony managed to have a commanding 1 million unit lead before the 360S was released last June.  While it’s still anyone’s game with the Christmas season looming, things are looking well in Microsoft’s favor.

By the numbers:

Console	Americas	Japan	EMEAA	Worldwide
	118,030	51,427	92,225	261,682
	92,079	2,700	68,995	163,774
	70,156	18,659	69,405	158,220
	61,067	12,266	57,356	130,689
	21,449	34,747	29,503	85,699

Source: VGChartz

Total monthly sales for the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 stand at 269,067, 308,145, and 343,265 respectively for October.  With a few weeks to go, it looks as though console sales are starting to warm up for the Christmas season.  Unfortunately for Nintendo, it doesn’t look like the Wii will be doing well this month, being behind number 2 placeholder Sony at 269,000 sales for the month so far.  This is a shortfall of almost 40,000 units behind Sony and a little over 60,000 units behind Microsoft.  This may turn out to be the first October that Nintendo has failed to sell more than 1 million units since launch.

Konami Dates Kinect for Xbox 360 Titles

Konami recently released a presser announcing the dates of their upcoming Kinect for Xbox 360 titles.  Konami, not to be outdone by upstart Harmonix in the dance ring is releasing Dance Evolution on November 10th along with CROSSBOARD 7, a racing game with animals.

On November 25th, Konami will release Sports Island Freedom under their Hudson Soft brand.  This title will add a few unique sporting events to the already sports packed game line-up including: Archery, Paint Ball, Beach Volleyball, Dodge Ball, Kendo, Mogul Skiing, Snowboard Cross and Figure Skating.

Source: GamersHell

Microsoft Spending $1 Billion on Kinect, Windows Mobile 7 Marketing

Microsoft is shelling out a lofty billion dollars on their marketing campaign for Kinect and Windows Mobile 7 to make sure it stays in the game of…gaming…and…phoning.  Money spent includes Ads on Nickelodeon and Disney (presumably for Kinect.  Unless they’re marketing phones really early nowadays),  product placement ads on Glee and Dancing with the Stars’, a Times Square Event and ads in various magazines.

What really makes me angry about this is that there are plenty of innovative products that Microsoft comes out with that just get thrown at the wall just to see if they stick.  Perhaps if they gave the Zune team a bit more than enough to cover money for lunch, they’d see more ZuneHD sales.

Source: TheNextWeb

Nintendo Wii Getting NetFlix Without A Disc

Following in the footsteps of the Xbox 360 and PS3, Netflix and Nintendo have announced that you will no longer be required to use a disc to stream your multimedia goodness on the Wii without the use of a disc.  Which is great, if you like watching your hi-def shows in 480p.  Good future proofing Nintendo.

Source: Business Wire

Fallout: New Vegas DLC Announced Before The Game Even Releases

Bethesda Softworks recently announced that Xbox Live will be getting the first New Vegas downloadable content before the PS3 will.  Now, call me old fashioned, but shouldn’t we be talking about the game before it launches?  And not its DLC?

Could The Gran Turismo 5 Delay Hurt Sony Sales This Christmas?

Recently, Sony came out and stated that Gran Turismo 5 would be yet again delayed from it’s November 5 release to “Holiday 2010”.  With just three weeks to go, there is speculation aplenty as to what is causing this many times delayed game to be pushed back at the last minute.

According to VGChartz, Kazunori Yamauchi posted on his Twitter, “Apologies for the delay, It’s because time and labor were spent ironing the kinks out of [the game’s] complex system. I’m really sorry. Everyone, it’s inexcusable… Wait a little longer.”

It kind of sounds like they found a pretty critical issue with the game at the last minute.  But only time will tell.  But what does this do to their Christmas lineup?

VGChartz has listed over 200,000 pre-orders for GT5, so while it’s not a blockbuster game for the PS3 like Call of Duty: Black Ops, it’s still a flagship title with a lot of anticipation and buzz about it.  And with any flagship title, any console maker can be guaranteed that many of those pre-release orders will also come with game sales.

Sony’s 2010 sales lead has been precipitously slipping ever since Microsoft released the Xbox 360S this last June.  And while the Move has already garnered 460,000 sales in it’s first month, the highly anticipated Kinect sensor is expected to do far better, even more so with the recent news that major retailers globally have been selling out of their allocated pre-orders.  Sony needs to bolster their holiday lineup if they’re going to maintain the ever so slight sales lead that was at one point over a million unit gap.

Looking at the presales charts so far, Sony could very well lose out to Microsoft at the end of the year if it’s only exclusive in the top ten pre-sales is pushed back too far.  Those software sales may be reduced with people opting to purchase different games instead, or even worse, forgoing the purchase of a PS3 altogether for one of its competitors.

Hopefully we’ll hear some new news soon.  But if Sony doesn’t get GT5 out of the door by Black Friday, I think it could very well have an impact on their year end sales.

Console News For Thursday, October 14th

Playstation Move Moves 470,000 Units In The First Month

VGChartz is reporting that 470,000 unique Move units have been sold in the first month since it’s release with over 600,000 individual Move controllers (including bundles and standalone) having been sold.  Doing the math, that means 130,000 second, third or fourth controllers have been purchased for the 470,000 new Move users worldwide.

While this does seem like an impressive number, I think that the momentum from Microsoft’s ad campaign, and recent reports of retailers actually selling out of pre-orders might indicate that as far as launch goes, Kinect will have a major advantage over the Move. 

With the information available to us right now (which isn’t much since everyone seems to be keeping a lid on Kinect pre-order numbers), I would not be surprised to see Kinect ship out well over 1 million units in it’s first week.  Only time will tell, and November is rapidly approaching.

Source: VGChartz

Crazy Taxi Coming To Xbox 360 and PS3

Sega is remaking the Dreamcast hit Crazy Taxi and putting it out on XBLA and the Playstation network in 720p goodiness.  Sega’s site is currently reporting that it’s available now.  But we know that’s not right because everyone else is reporting a release date of November 23 for PS3 and November 24 for XBLA.  Those crazy kids at Sega…

Now if only they’d release Shenmue.  And a Seaman remake for Kinect would be quite exciting.

I’ll let you all think about that one for a bit.

Track List for Dance Central Released

And it looks to be a doozy.  CVG reports 32 intial tracks for us to sweat and boogey to in our living rooms, bedrooms and parent’s basements are being packaged for delivery.  Of course, we know that Harmonix probably has quite a stockpile of audiophile ammunition in store to release as DLC on day and date of release as well. 

Source: CVG

Gran Turismo 5 Delayed…Again

Can’t say I didn’t see this coming.  Looks like GT5 is pushed back to “sometime around Christmas”.  If Duke Nukem comes out before GT5 does, I’m officially calling it Vaporware.

Halo Waypoint Announces New Noble Map Pack for Halo:Reach

Halo Waypoint has just released some screenshots of the up and coming Noble Map Pack for Halo: Reach.  The new maps are Tempest, Anchor 9, and Breakpoint.   Release price is to be 800MS Points and will have the opportunity for you to add an additional 250 gamerscore to your tally.

Personally I think that ten bucks is a bit stiff of a price to pay for new maps.  But i’m sure that sales of this will do well.  According to Bungie.net, the map pack will be released on November 30.

Source: Halo Waypoint; Bungie

Follow-up To Yesterday’s Best Buy Pre-Order Stoppage

Best Buy has managed to wrangle some additional allocations for the standalone Kinect package.  However, the 250GB 360S Bundle is still not available.  The only word that I’ve received from Best Buy is that they have requested more from Microsoft and should hopefully have some soon.

Netflix App Finally Available On PS3 On October 18

Joystiq has just confirmed that an app for Netflix will now be available for the PS3 starting on October 18.  Users will no longer be required to insert a disc to run the Netflix application on PS3.  Video details here.

Source: Joystiq

As always, comments are welcome.

~W75

Halo: Reach – Forgeworld: Forge For Dummies

Bungie’s swan song in the Halo Universe is here.  And while I’m not going to bore you with how epically awesome the gameplay is.  How fantastic the new additions such as the armor abilities, new weapons and vehicles make this final chapter, or how cool it is that your character updates in the game with every new piece of bling you slap on your your guy (or gal) in the Armory is, I will cover one awesome feature that I’ve been having quite a bit of fun with.

Forge.

Not for the uber Halo pros anymore.  Gone are the days of stacking items on top of each other and deleting the bottom pieces to get that bridge piece to hang in the air on it’s own.  And gone are the days of spending hours upon hours building a map to find that the last piece joining it all together is about a foot off and having to scrap the entire thing and start over.

Nope.  Built me a map in two days.  And it’s pretty damned fun.

Bungie took the ideas that the community had and ran with them like the wind.  Objects now can be placed in a Fixed, Phased or Normal.  Objectives can be added and game types such as racing, stockpile, and king of the hill are available to set up from the go.

Fixed maintains the object in the physical world.  If you bump another object, things will get knocked around.  But once placed, either in the air or on the ground, it will maintain that position at all times.

Normal behaves like the original Forge in Halo 3.  If you pick up the object and place it in the air, it will fall to the ground.  But the stacking glitch works just as it did before.

However, the really cool addition is the Phased option.  This gives you not only the ability to place objects wherever you would like, but you can embed them in other objects.  You want a terrace on the side of the cliff?  Done.  You want to splice multiple pieces together that wouldn’t normally fit the way you want them to?  Done.  I used the Phased option quite a bit for my map.

You also have the ability to fine tune your positioning.  Click the left analog stick and a normal bump becomes a miniscule nudge for those super precise alignments.  Click the right stick and you can zoom in for even more precision.

Bungie has also released a list of what you need to be able to create maps for the newer gametypes such as King of the Hill, Stockpile, and even Territories and Invasion on their newly established Forgeworld Fan Page.  My only complaint is that Firefight was not included in the list of gametypes you can build maps for.

As I mentioned, I am not an experienced map maker in Forge.  But for me, it took two days of layout, placement, and testing before I came up with my first good map, Longshot.  Which of course, you can download here if you so wish.

And then there’s Forgeworld itself.  The level is super huge.  Travelling from one side to the other takes a few minutes by Falcon, and to show off how resilient it is, Bungie even provided some out of the box maps they designed themselves for you to play with.

In all honesty, I could probably go on forever about Forgeworld.  But what I can tell you is this, once you start building your own maps, it becomes just as addictive as the rest of the game.  Give it a whirl.