Archive for March 17th, 2008
March 17, 2008
Analysts observing the videogame industry forsee 2008 being another blockbuster year in sales. Sales during the month of February were considerably up, according to the NPD group. Early in the year is historically a very slow time in the game sales calendar, making the 34% jump for the month highly significant. Grand Theft Auto IV is likely to be an engine for sales throughout the year: “The game, which will be available on the Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3, is expected to boost sales of both consoles. Pre-orders have been better than expected, according to its publisher, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan, expects the game to sell about 9 million units during the company’s fiscal year, which ends in October. Roughly 6 million of this, he added, will be to Xbox 360 owners.”.
March 17, 2008
PC World - Though many tech vendors are suffering as the widening U.S. financial crisis slows down consumer and business spending, IT mergers and acquisitions including bellwethers such as Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Electronic Arts and AOL continue to reshape the technology landscape and provide opportunities for investors.
March 17, 2008
Super Smash Bros. Brawl director Masahiro Sakurai has told gametrailers that there will be no downloadable content for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. \”I’m sorry to say that there isn’t going to be any downloadable content available for the game, however we do have user generated content that will be passed around. For example, you’ll see custom built stages coming through the internet to you.\” he said.
March 17, 2008
Reggie Fils-Aime has said that a holiday blockbuster for the Wii will be revealed at E3. \”We are going to have great new content maximizing all our key franchises,\” Reggie said, and \”It\’s going to be a good second half.\” Many are guessing that the game may be Donkey Kong or Animal Crossing.
March 17, 2008
According to a Norwegian gaming site, the factory that has produced the R4 DS flash card for the DS has been shut down. The reason that it was shut down is that it is believed that all the press attention the device has been receiving has shaken a few feathers and caused some immediate action. The article also mentions the flash cards are illegal in France and Singapore and are under review in the UK.
March 17, 2008
We have battled bravely to bring you this latest piece of news. We have valiantly laughed in the face of possible Malware from the news source to bring to you news of the latest possible PS3 hacking development. A tool is currently in progress that allows you to modify a NAND backup in order to let the PS3 think it has a lower firmware version, so you can later on use an official upgrade PUP file to downgrade to the version you require. The tool has supposedly been tested to patch all PS3 firmware dumps up to 2.10 and requires the Infectus mod chip.
March 17, 2008
A gamer who was playing Haze at the Play.com Live event noticed that the game was only running at 30 frames per second.
March 17, 2008
Just when you thought Operation Wolf couldn’t be ported to another platform, Nintendo has announced that the game is now available to download on the Wii via the Virtual Console. In this classic shooter, you play as a soldier trying to rescue five hostages who are being held in a concentration camp in the jungle. Originally an arcade light-gun shooter, the Virtual Console version unfortunately doesn’t support the Wii Remote. Instead, players will need to use the Wii Classic Controller.
The second release on the Virtual Console this week is Super R-Type, which is a combination of R-Type and R-Type II. Super R-Type will always be remembered for its flaws, rather than its proud heritage. The game was plagued by frame-rate bugs that often caused the player to die during slowdown. It was also known for its extreme difficulty, mainly due to the lack of checkpoints, which resulted in players being forced to restart the level when killed. Both Operation Wolf and Super R-Type are available to download on the Virtual Console now.
Xbox 360 owners can now give their brains a workout as well, with Wednesday seeing the release of Brain Challenge for Xbox Live Arcade. The game will set you back 800 Microsoft points and features 20 different minigames across five categories: memory, visual, logic, math, and focus.
If Brain Challenge hasn’t quenched your thirst for puzzles, maybe Bliss Island is more to your taste. The game sees players take control of Hoshi, a blue ball of fluff, as you attempt to complete 25 environmental puzzles by expelling air from Hoshi’s trunk. You can also take your puzzle-solving skills online to compete with your friends. Bliss Island costs 400 Microsoft points.
On the PlayStation front, there are no downloadable games coming out this week. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock owners should be pleased with the recent release of the Modern Metal Track Pack, which contains Avenged Sevenfold’s “Almost Easy,” Thrice’s “The Arsonist,” and “Hole in the Earth” by Deftones. A new PixelJunk Monsters theme and Elefunk trailer have also been uploaded to the PlayStation Store. Users of the PC PlayStation Store will find trailers for Ape Quest and God of War: Chains of Olympus.