Okay, so The Conduit 2 has new locations and new multiplayer modes. No one's complaining about that. However, anyone who spent any time with the first Conduit really only wants one thing for the sequel's multiplayer: less cheating. Luckily, developer High Voltage agrees. In a Q&A session on Sega's blog, High Voltage's David Pellas identified 3 aspects of the first video game he didn't like: "Simple level design, online hackers and the cliffhanger ending" -- and then, when asked if The Conduit 2 would fix these issues, he said, "Yes, yes, and yes."
In other words, you should be able to get in at least one really good day of online multiplayer before someone figures out how to hack the new video game.
Of the many, many video games that GameStop sold in 2009 (not to mention the millions of dollars it made), we were left wondering where the lion's share of the video game retail juggernaut's capital went in terms of product that the company was actually buying for its stores. And in a recent SEC filing for the last financial year, the company an unsurprising leader: Nintendo took the top spot, with 23 percent of GameStop's "new product purchases" in fiscal year 2009. Sony trailed in second place by only five less points at 17 percent, while MIcrosoft, EA, and Activision picked up 12, 12, and 11 percent (respectively).
The remaining 25 percent presumably belongs to various third party peripherals and video game-related items available for sale in the retail chain's stores. That said, while over 41 percent of GameStop's sales come from new products (read: from the vendors listed above) over the 26 percent coming from used video game sales, the vast majority of revenue is still very much coming from used video game sales, and thusly, the company's number one vendor: you.
Xenoblade is a video game that's had a very confused past -- it was originally called Monado: Beginning of the World, and then was rumored to have something to do with the old Xenosaga series (though apparently that's not true, even if both video games were created by Monolith Soft). Nintendo's not even sure if it'll see release in the United States, and, unfortunately, this Japanese trailer (posted on Nintendo Japan's YouTube account and after the break on this post) doesn't do much to clear up any questions.
But it does have a couple of gigantic somethings (robots? aliens? xenomorphs?) dueling it out, as well as some screaming dude with lasers and a pretty impressive battle scene full of hacking and slashing and all of the other fun things you can do with a great big blade. A big Xenoblade, in fact. We still don't quite know what this video game is or how it might be released. But we do kind of want it just a little bit more.
Back in October 2008, Nintendo of Japan showed off a ton of Wii video games all at once. They're still not all out yet. Some, like Cosmic Walker, remain largely mysterious, while we're only recently hearing renewed discussion about video games like Span Smasher (now called FlingSmash). One of the weirdest video games from that already-weird lineup was Kensax, a minigame collection in which competition was based on achieving search engine queries with greater results than your opponents.
Nintendo has since renamed the video game to And-Kensaku, opened a website (earworm warning!) and announced a new partner for the search engine: none other than Google. Using a set of 10,000 words provided by Google on the disc (with more available by going online with the video game), players will compete in activities like guessing which words are more popular, doing "and" searches with given words and your own words and using the number of results to add stairs to a staircase as you climb it, and passing a bomb around that explodes in the hands of the player with the fewest search terms. Yes, it's really, really strange.
And-Kensaku will be released in Japan on April 29. There's no word on an international release, though it's entirely possible that Nintendo of America will bring it to E3 and then never mention it again, like Line Attack Heroes.
Last September, SEGA announced “Project Needlemouse”, the nickname for the new 2D Sonic the Hedgehog video game. Recently, SEGA confirmed the official name to Gamespot.com. The publisher released a new trailer and revealed “Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1″:
The video game is coming to Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and Wiiware this summer. We will finally have a sequel to Sonic & Knuckles after so many years of waiting.
The teaser trailer for this new video game highlights the past Sonic the Hedgehog video games, while showing viewers what the new adventure has in store.
With many classic moves still in play, the tradition side of the video game keeps its youth with a modern twist. And remember to watch out for your favorite villain, Dr. Eggman!
2 Wii-based educational projects have received grants in the small east Texas town of Lindale. The Lindale Independent School District Education Foundation has awarded $1,021.40 to Early Childhood Center teachers Cookie Hartley and June Wright, whose "Wii Can Do It!" project aims to use Wii video games to teach as "therapy and instructional tools" to "accelerate learning" for preschoolers with disabilities, and Lindale Primary School's Cynthia Peters and Bobbie Williams for "Wii Fit, Wii Moving, and Wii Happy," a more general program about using the Wii to introduce students to technology and build teamwork skills.
The Fund consists of donations from local citizens and businesses. These 2 grants are part of a total of $13,802.36 awarded in the district, all handed to teachers with surprise novelty checks, Publishers Clearinghouse-style. The only downside is that Wii systems are going to be a bit harder to find in Lindale this week for everyone else.
Jimi Hendrix music is, in fact, headed for Rock Band, in a capacity bigger than the usual song packs -- yet not quite as huge as the Beatles/Green Day dedicated video games. Rolling Stone announced that on the week of March 30, the entire Jimi Hendrix Experience album Axis: Bold as Love (minus "EXP") will be released as DLC for Rock Band.
In addition, a previously unreleased single, "Valleys of Neptune," from a new CD of the same name, will be made available as DLC. So, not only will you try to play Jimi Hendrix solos in Rock Band, you'll play one you've never heard before. Good luck with that! "It's a whole new level of difficulty unto itself," MTV video games' Paul DeGooyer said. The thing about these tracks is if you're a Hendrix fan you know that really what powered that vibe is that he kind of just closed his eyes and flowed from his fingers, and we really tried very hard, especially on the expert level, to recreate that effect."
This is just the first step in a longterm agreement between Experience Hendrix and MTV, which includes the release of the other Hendrix albums, in addition to the option to make Hendrix avatars and instruments available in the video game. Apparently, the companies are also open to the eventual production of a dedicated video game.
[Update: the full track list for next week is listed after the break.]
The problem with the Easter weekend is that it's one of the many holidays celebrated the world over without presents. Like, how can you enjoy your time off of school or work or whatever without a hot new gametape to solve? Well, thanks to Toys R Us' buy one, get one half-off sale, you just may be able to.
On April 2 and 3, stores nationwide, as well as the retailer's site, will offer the sale on its entire stock of videogames -- among other, non-gaming goods. That means you could buy a copy of Dragon Age: Origins and snag Awakening for half-off. Or you could pick up a couple copies of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and get a friend in the mix for relatively cheap. Sharing is caring!
You may have been a bit bewildered by Nintendo's out-of-nowhere announcement of a new DS a week before the North American launch of the DSi XL, but one group seems to have no issues with the timing or technology of the Nintendo 3DS: investors.
Marketwatch reports that Nintendo stock rose 9.7 percent yesterday in response to the hardware announcement. While it's hard to gauge exactly what it is about the 3DS that has inspired such confidence among investors, we would guess it's less about the current 3D trend and more about the fact that Nintendo announced a new thing, and Nintendo things have been good for stocks in the last five years or so.
DJ Hero turntable controllers are now available in standalone versions to scratch on all major consoles... wait, that sounds wrong. The peripheral is currently listed on retailer Amazon for $60, which is $20 off the Wii video game bundle, and $40 off the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. The second peripheral can be used for several different modes the video game supports.
The first 100,000 standalone units also include a Shepard Fairey poster (pictured), featuring the video game's cast of DJs. If you're a hardcore fan of the turntable series, chances are you've already picked up a second controller by now and traded the extra copy into Gamestop. For the rest of us, with DJ Hero 2 somewhere out there, we'd be more apt to wait and see if there's an updated controller with the sequel.
Capcom will make downloadable Special Stages available in Mega Man 10 throughout April, for one dollar each. Should you make it to the end of each stage, you'll meet some musically-named bosses that will only be recognizable if you're a huge Mega Man nerd! The 3 stages feature the return of the Mega Man Killers, a group of bosses from the video game Boy Mega Man video games.
Special Stage 1, available the week of April 5, features Enker from the first portable Mega Man video game, a robot with the ability to absorb and reflect shots. Special Stage 2 features Mega Man III's Punk, who uses a large spinning weapon called the Screw Crusher, and Special Stage 3 includes Ballade from Mega Man IV, who uses the explosive Ballade Cracker. Both Special Stage 2 and 3 will be released the week of April 26.
Look, we know the headline kinda endorses cheating and we often err on the less evil side of things, but desperation has left us little choice. It's just that some of us are so damn sick of hearing about how great Griffin's Blissey is. Yeah, we get it, dude -- can't we just eat our peanut butter sandwich in the break room in peace? We don't care about how much damage your Hitmonlee does. That's why the tutorial video on how to cheat using the Pokewalker past the break is such valuable intel for us.
So, we've resorted to doing the unthinkable: we're going to play Pokemon. We're going to play and we're going to level up our pokemans so high, it's going to fog up that jerk's glasses and take the breath right out of his lungs. Soon, he will know true pain as he's squashed beneath the scales of our Magikarp. Embarrassment, thy name will soon be Griffin McElroy!
The thing about Wii MotionPlus is that there haven't been a whole lot of video games supporting it. Outside of last summer's Wii Sports Resort (and upcoming Red Steel 2 and Flingsmash) there's really only some sports video games utilizing the tech. According to a recent interview with Reggie over at MTV Multiplayer, it's because Nintendo isn't really pushing for any kind of control scheme from third parties.
"What's unique with Nintendo is we don't force our developers to stick to a particular type of control scheme, and you've seen that -- everything from the new Metroid title to be single remote driven to FlingSmash utilizing the Wii MotionPlus," he said. "So it's all about what's right for the video game." While we're inclined to agree with the latter part, we still wonder why nothing is using MotionPlus -- especially since it's something that greatly improves the core functionality of the Wiimote. And considering almost everyone has MotionPlus by now (or soon will, if they're Walmart shoppers looking for a great bundle), why not develop with MotionPlus in mind?
As for more MotionPlus video games from Nintendo, Reggie teases "more titles that are coming" and that it "continues to be a core part of what we do." So, the take away is this: even though Nintendo just released a new piece of hardware, it's not too worried about supporting it with content -- kinda like every other peripheral the company has ever released. Yeah, we're talking about you, Wii Speak!
Wondering how Ubisoft's upcoming Wii iteration of the timeless royal platformer, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, will implement the system's decreasingly unique control scheme? Wonder no further -- just past the jump, you'll find the first installment in a series of developer diaries for the video game, which shows off the motion-controlled powers at your disposal, as well as the title's light co-op mechanics. Man, if New Super Mario Bros. Wii almost tore your family apart, we can't imagine what PoP's shenanigans will be capable of.
Following the recent announcement that Dragon Quest IX will be published by Nintendo in North America, the company has revealed another publishing partnership for an exclusive video game from a big Japanese publisher: Nintendo will co-publish Koei's Samurai Warriors 3 in North America this fall.
It makes sense that Nintendo would take the stewardship role for this video game, as it contains a mode featuring characters and locations from Nintendo's Nazo no Murasame-jou ("The Mysterious Murasame Castle"), a Famicom Disk System video game designed by none other than Shigeru Miyamoto. In any case, this is one way for Nintendo to ensure ongoing releases of third-party core video games on its systems: by plucking existing ones from Japan and publishing them in North America itself.
Looking to add 85 new songs to your Guitar Hero library? Want a video game that's made for "Party Play?" Oh, sure. Admit it -- you just want to make the ghostly Cobain avatar do your musical bidding. Well, whatever the motivation, you can pick up Guitar Hero 5 (the video game only) for a pretty reasonable $28.99 today, thanks to Amazon's Deal of the Day.
While supplies last (or through the end of the day), the discount is applied to the Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, and PS2 versions of the video game. Guitar Hero 5 is worth investing in especially if you're loaded down with PS2 instruments and don't want to buy new ones for another console -- there won't be any moreGuitar Heroes for PS2, after all. So, if you want more music, this is pretty much your last chance, all you PS2 holdouts!
In an interview with IndustryGamers, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime asserted that Nintendo does care about third parties and does need them, despite the fact that Nintendo's business is sustained pretty well by first-party video games. "The fact of the matter is we know we create great content for younger consumers," he said, "we know we've got great content for more casual players, and we want fantastic content for that more active player who loves Metroid or Zelda, but maybe also wants something like a BioShock 2 to play as well." Reggie then admitted, "We're not good at it and it's not a key focus area," thus Nintendo's interest in third-party developers.
The boss man also reiterated, almost word for word, his previous position that Nintendo would begin work on the next Nintendo system when a developer was unable to do something on the current Wii hardware, and he repeated that an HD feature alone wouldn't be enough to justify a new console.
When asked about the PlayStation Move, Fils-Aime questioned the Sony device's appeal. If the Wii already scratches the itch for motion-based gaming, then why would consumers be moved to pick up a PS3? "What's going to motivate them to spend minimally $300 for a new [PS3] system, plus minimally $100 for the Move motion bundle? So [as a consumer], now I'm into this for $400 and I still have to spend money on software. What's going to motivate me to do that?"
Following last night's NPD report for February, Nintendo has issued a press release lauding the amazing selling power of its own products. In typical fashion, the gaming giant that got your grandma into gaming has managed to sell a ridiculous amount of DS and Wii systems in the U.S. -- 1.9 million in the first 2 months of 2010, to be exact.
As impressive as that 1.9 million figure is, Nintendo's ability to break its own records is even more impressive. In selling 613,000 DS units throughout February 2010, Nintendo has managed to set a new monthly record, besting the previous top-selling month of February 2009's figure of 597,000 units. It would seem that 2 things are certain in this life: we're all going to die one day and before that day comes, each of us is going to own nine DS systems.
With March 28 fast approaching -- that's the release date for the DSi XL -- Nintendo is hoping to further build on the success of its now six-year-old handheld. And, to think, even after all that time, the gif still hasn't gotten old.
Warner Bros. Interactive has revealed that, in addition to the previously announced PS2, PSP, DS and Wii releases, it's putting Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest on PS3 -- with PlayStation Move support. The kid-friendly LOTR video game will now be released this fall (delayed again!) on all five platforms, with the Wii version developed by Headstrong video games (yes, that Headstrong video games) and the others by TT Fusion. Of course, the Wii and PS3 versions will be the only ones with motion control, and they will also be the only versions featuring 2-player co-op (with the second player controlling Gandalf).
The PS3 version won't be an exact port of the Wii one, but it's the same idea -- a video game for which the Wii was originally the lead platform, now spreading to the PS3 thanks to the existence of a very Wii-like motion controller. It may be the first, but this is definitely not the last time we'll see this!
Immediately following his well-attended GDC panel, Nintendo's Yoshio Sakamoto talked with us about (what else?) Metroid: Other M. In addition to all sorts of questions on the unique Team Ninja collaboration, we asked Sakamoto about the long-rumored Metroid Dread project and, barring a confirmation of that product, when we'd see another 2D handheld Metroid.
Joystiq: Speaking of the core Metroid development team that last worked on the GBA, there have been rumors of a video game known as 'Metroid Dread' - purportedly a 2D Metroid video game for DS. First question: Was 'Dread' a real project? Second question: If not, where is a 2D Metroid on DS?
Yoshio Sakamoto: It seems we get a lot of questions about Metroid Dread, especially at interviews following E3 for example. But nothing's ever been announced about this video game; it's all just been rumors so far. So we never know exactly how to respond to questions like this.
While there actually was a point where some teams were meeting to discuss if it was possible to create a 2D Metroid for DS using a relatively small team size, it's not something that we ever really announced or thought of as "Metroid Dread." But whenever people bring out that idea, we recognize that the basic concept is something that we can't say never existed. But at the same time, we can't of course, make any official comment about a Metroid Dread-like project coming out.
Our main goal [with Metroid: Other M] is to, as I said earlier, first raise knowledge about the Metroid universe and the Samus character before we start to introduce different elements like online or even going back to another handheld video game for the next in the series. So there's nothing coming immediately, we want to think about these new challenges first.