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Adgadget: Goat of war
Looking back at the decapitated goat scandal that was Sony's press event for God of War II, which hit British tabloids and gaming news last month, the freshly slaughtered skin may have been the least offensive part.If you frequented any gaming sites in the last few weeks, chances are you saw more pixilated pictures of flesh than you would have in a commercial for Girls Gone Wild. Unfortunately, not all the skin was of the girl variety – most of the pixilated flesh belonged to a freshly slaughtered goat that made an appearance at an event held in Greece to promote the recent launch of the game God of War II. Among the festivities back in March, guests were challenged invited to win a PS3 by reaching into what looked like the most pathetic pit of snakes and eat a traditional Greek dish fashioned after goat intestines while topless women paraded around the joint. The goat had been purchased from a butcher prior to the event and though a spokesperson claimed the goat had not been slaughtered for the event, many were left skeptical considering goats aren't typically decapitated in such a manner. A video of the event surfaced, complete with commentary and cliché flame graphics.
Sony explains God of War's dead goat antics
"Slaughter: Horror at Sony's depraved promotion stunt with decapitated goat" is the sort of headline that sells newspapers -- the UK's Daily Mail in particular(NSFW). Starting with an evocative first word and ending with outright animal cruelty, it's a snappy summation of an event that was probably rife with sexual debauchery, devil worship and inappropriate hobnobbery! And that isn't even a word! Indeed, how could other papers even compete with their silly "facts" and less sensational headlines like "Promotion: Butcher-obtained goat displayed in dramatization while journalists drink soup from china bowls!" Well, we suppose that one is a little bit on the long side.Then again, so is the story revolving around Sony's European God of War II event. It seems somewhere between the Daily Mail's spin and the Official PlayStation Magazine's (now recalled) retelling of the Greek-themed costume party, things... goat a little out of hand. Sony's senior director of corporate communications, Dave Karakker, told Joystiq that the reporter responsible for the OPSM article didn't even bother to attend the event. The basis of his article was the invitational pamphlet, "which employed a degree of hyperbole in order to encourage attendance."Furthermore, the infamous goat was thoroughly dead upon arrival. It was procured from a qualified butcher, was returned after the event and was never allowed to be touched by journalists (no kidding around). The goat was filled with "a meat soup, made to a traditional Greek recipe and served to attendees in china bowls direct from the caterers," leaving claims of "offal" as someone likely mishearing a complaint about the actual taste of the dish. No soup came directly from the goat. "We recognise that the use of a dead goat was in poor taste and fell below the high standards of conduct we set ourselves. We are conducting an enquiry to establish the circumstances behind the event in order to ensure this does not happen again. We also apologise to anyone offended by the article in the OPSM (subscription copies were sent out ahead of street date)." It was undeniably tacky, but hardly the "Phil Harrison bites the head off a chimp and mows down the audience using a Tommy Gun" debacle you may have envisioned before. (They're saving that one for The Getaway 3.)
UK paper: Sony used beheaded goat to promote God of War II
Update: Sony explains God of War's dead goat anticsLondon's Daily Mail reports that Sony apparently decided to turn things into a true Roman spectacle in the UK for the launch of God of War II by displaying a decapitated goat and having revelers reach inside to feast upon the goat's innards. At first, we thought this was a clever analogy someone was using to describe a piñata being busted open, but it appears like it was the real thing. According to the article, "Guests at the event were even invited to reach inside the goat's still-warm carcass to eat offal from its stomach." Yuck!
PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 15
PSP Fanboy offers the latest and greatest movie and game trailers, formatted for the PSP in this new weekly feature. Check it out every Saturday. PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com.Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to the VIDEO folder. These high resolution 480x272 videos require firmware 3.30 or above. (Note: OE custom firmware will also play these videos.) Manhunt 2Download MP4 (6.8MB) | Download JPG The following videos are featured after the break: Blue Dragon, Gene Simmons - Guitar Hero II Tournament, God of War II: Mythology, Guitar Hero II [360]
Island of Rhodes leads to another countdown
Imagine our horror when we browsed the Island of Rhodes website and saw ... well, nothing. It appeared to be nothing more than a cryptic, and rather useless, Flash website about developing God of War II. Thankfully, we were wrong. darksidez from the GameFAQs forums has discovered a secret area of the website, which reveals a hidden HD mode for God of War II on PS2, and yet another countdown. Is this madness? No ... THIS IS KRATOS!!! It appears that spelling Kratos using the Greek letters on the site leads to a countdown page, with a partially revealed title. We see God of War: Ch ... Could this be the official reveal of the continuously elusive PSP God of War? Let's not get our hopes up too high--we'll unravel this additional mystery in less than two weeks time. [Via Kotaku]
God of War on PSP, seriously
James Joy from 1UP got an early copy of God of War II. By taking pictures of the retail packaging, James has uncovered one of Sony's worst kept secrets: God of War is coming to PSP. In 2007, no less.Is Ready At Dawn developing the game? Is it a remake? Is it a sequel? A prequel? There's still tons more info we'd like to know, but rest assured that the game is coming.[Via IGN & GAF]
God of War II dev bets against the game, must lease Maserati Quattroporte if wrong
God of War II developer Eric Williams is urging you not to buy his game -- until after April 1. During one of his most loopy moments in the development cycle, Williams was baited into a wager, betting that God of War II would not sell 500,000 copies by April 1 (it releases March 13). Losing means leasing a Maserati Quattroporte and becoming lunch chauffeur for a year. According to LeaseTrader, a 49-month Quattroporte lease would be rated at $1,695 a month (a 12-month lease would run higher). "I might have to blow my entire savings on this bet, NOT COOL AT ALL," laments Williams.The cynic in us wonders if this is merely a perverse marketing stunt: buy our game, make a developer suffer. Even if it's not, there are easily a half-million PS2 owners anxiously awaiting God of War II's release. Consider that similarly worded 'epic' Gears of War managed to sell one million units in two weeks; and Xbox 360's user base is a mere notch on the yardstick used to measure PS2's base. Factor in that PlayStation 3 has yet to replace PS2 as most owners' go-to console, and Mr. Williams, the (soon-to-be) poor fool, has made an awfully careless bet. Think the rest of the development team will hold him to it?[Thanks, Yoon]
God of War II 'not' in HD on PS3, just 480p
IGN's God of War II review is so ahead of its time that it (admittedly) fails to provide feedback on two key features of the retail edition of the game -- neither of which apparently would affect the review's overall score (9.7/10). The first is simply a bonus disc bloated with fanboy fluff (behind-the-scenes doc, etc.). The second, and more significant, is that God of War II will run in 720p (HD) resolution when played on PlayStation 3. The question for PS3 owners with HD displays, who are still holding onto their PS2s, becomes: is now the time I trade rumble for a sharper image? (PS2 owners wondering if this is the reason to upgrade to PS3 should know that it's not.)Update: Doh, IGN got mixed up: "we've gotten word from an SCEA representative that the game will support 480p on the PlayStation 3 but not 720p. Our error was due to crossed information and we're sorry for the confusion." So when does Sony announce PS3 is packing its own 'Ana' chip? We want upscaling![Thanks, jonathan]%Gallery-1588%
God of War II nears completion
Sleep deprived and rambling a bit, God of War II director Cory Barlog updates us on the status of Sony's sequel. Yesterday, Barlog blogged, "it is safe to say that all of the primary work for God of War 2 has been completed." What's left is the final QA testing, suggesting that Kratos is on schedule for his projected March return -- what's being billed as PlayStation 2's swan song.Barlog also spends a few words defending God of War II's quick weapon-switch, which has apparently been targeted by Devil May Cry faithful. "Some call it stealing; I call it realizing when something works," argues Barlog. Hey, if it ain't patented, trademarked, or copyrighted, it's fair game.
PSP July Content Pack now available
Every month, Sony offers an EXE file containing a variety of files, like videos, audio files and wallpapers for your PSP. This month is no different. Although a little late, this month's content pack features a two-minute God of War II (PS2) trailer. In addition, you'll get Blade Dancer wallpapers, Ozzfest 2006 wallpapers, and music from the Vans Warped Tour. Not too shabby, especially considering the Loco Roco downloads they offered a few days ago, and the upcoming World Tour Soccer 2 demo that'll come out in a few days.
Watch the entire God of War 2 E3 demo; get frustrated
GameVideos has a direct feed of the entire E3 God of War 2 demo being played through. Problem is, it's like watching your friends playing a video game; thankfully, the physical limitations of reality preclude us from reaching into the video and showing this nubcake how it's done. But if we could, dear reader, rest comfortable knowing it would take us far shorter than the twenty-four brutality-soaked minutes seen here.So, while you're exercising self control, sit back and drink in the beautiful scenery. Yup, this is the PS2 looking its finest, folks. For the SAT prep students in the house, God of War II:PS2::Resident Evil 4:Gamecube. Don't believe us? The entire video is embedded after the break, or download the enormous 430Mb .mov (or .wmv) file for filing away, right next to those Kratos-cosplay videos you've been hoarding. For shame!See also:PS2 impressions: God of War 2God of War 2 GDC video leaked onlineSony confirms God of War 2 worldwide Q1 2007
Hands-on with God of War II
IGN got an early hands-on preview of God of War II, and they're lovin' what Sony's Santa Monica studio has come up with so far.Without revealing too much of the sequel's plot, our hairless hero now sports some new magical attacks and context-sensitive finishing moves. Needless to say, prominent Greek mythological figures will also be showing up to keep Kratos company, and there will certainly be a lot of flashy slashing-first-ask-questions-later kind of action to fill the hours.For more spoilers on "an early section of the sequel," simply follow the image link above or Read link below, where you can find a few more details on the new power-up system and annoying enemy combatants (otherwise known as smarter fodder for your sharper blades). A practical explanation goes into the reasons for keeping things on the PS2 rather than the PS3, and hopefully less frustrating puzzles are revealed as well. More will likely be revealed at Sony's big E3 press conference today.See also: New God of War 2 director speaks God of War's Jaffe inspired by Britney vs. Christina God of War 2 GDC video leaked online
