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Earthworm Jim, Clayfighter coming to Virtual Console
Four classic Interplay Sega Genesis games are en route to the Wii's Virtual Console. Dave Perry's classic platformers Earthworm Jim and Earthworm Jim 2 will both be gracing the download service, along with the campy claymation action of Clayfighter, and the gross-out humor of Boogerman.According to the press release, all four titles will be the Sega Genesis versions of the games, despite having appeared on both Genesis and SNES. No word yet on when these titles we be released (but we're guessing it'll be on a Monday).
Foundation 9 melts together Collective and Shiny into Double Helix
Whatever last remnants of identity clung to by both Shiny and The Collective were lost today as the duo were merged together by owner Foundation 9, creating a new, wholly unfamiliar entity known as Double Helix. Studio head Michael Saxs Persson calls the new name and logo, which were chosen from a pool of employee submissions, a "perfect" match for the company, adding that "making games is in our DNA." The founding follows the initial merger, announced last October, and according to Foundation 9 creates a studio "that is now able to build upon its previous experience to gain new heights in quality and efficiency." And all it cost us was our fond memories of a simpler time spent playing the likes of MDK and Earthworm Jim. While the company remains coy regarding what it's up to currently, today's announcement notes that Double Helix is developing a trio of multi-platform licensed games, one of which we assume to be the already announced Silent Hill V.
Preview EQII's Game Update 43
It hasn't been long since the momentous Game Update 42 hit EverQuest II, but the update train has kept on chuggin', and we've now got a preview of what's coming in Game Update 43. Of course, it's nowhere near the magnitude of GU42, but was anyone expecting that after the amount of content that has just been added mere weeks ago? The update is centered around looting, with changes to group loot options and looting "shiny" collectables from the ground. A much missed "Need Before Greed" group loot distribution method is being added, which many players will be familiar with from other games. A "Round Robin" will also be introduced, which distributes loot to group members automatically and in sequence . The other change makes it so that you have the option of leaving a shiny on the ground once you've harvested it and seen what it is. This is to help prevent looting the same worthless shiny over and over amd cluttering up your inventory. Alternatively, you'll be able to shove that worthless shiny on to your group, with the option to include these in group looting.
David Perry on MUO cancellation: "huh?"
Eurogamer caught up with David Perry, former Shiny Entertainment big-wig and now localizer of many free MMOs for Acclaim to ask him, among other things, for his reaction to the recent news that Marvel Universe Online has been officially canned. Perry reacted with some surprise, pointing out Marvel is one of the biggest and most prolific mainstream intellectual properties on the market today, with all the money swirling around the box-office success of Spiderman, X-men, The Hulk, etc. He reasoned that if you take a team just as good as Blizzard and set them to work on a Marvel MMO, it'd be even bigger than WoW.We take Perry's point, but there are a number of factors to consider with this story. First of all, there's a certain danger in developing an MMO for a console environment, especially at this stage in the system's life. The Xbox 360 launched in Fall of 2005, meaning it's probably closing in on the midway point in its life-cycle. In a genre where games like Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot are still making money, being halfway through a five year life cycle doesn't bode well for long-term profitability. And second, whose to say Shane Kim even related the full story? This whole affair could be far messier than we can tell at this juncture -- we may only find out what really happened with time.
Dave Perry honored by Queen's University Belfast
Outspoken developer and former Shiny founder Dave Perry has found himself on the receiving end of an honorary degree by the UK's Queen's University Belfast, to be awarded as part of the school's centenary year celebration this July. While the degree would be equally served for recognizing Perry's unceremonious commentary on the Wii's questionable longevity when compared to the competition, the architect behind MDK and others has instead received a diploma in science engineering for distinction in computer game development and design. Perry shares the honorary spotlight with some distinguished company as well, with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Taioseach Bertie Ahern, actors Joanna Lumley and James Ellis and others filling out the university's honorary graduate list, though we doubt any of those can boast having breathed live into a gun-toting earthworm.
Infogrames: Atari collapse will not affect our development program
Although Atari has waved goodbye to game development, parent company Infogrames wants you to know that it isn't following in its child's footsteps. In a statement released today (via GameDaily), Infogrames said Atari's decisions "do not undermine the Infogrames Group's ability to carry out its video game development program and to continue selling products under the Atari brand name." The clarification seems oddly unnecessary, given that Atari is just a subsidiary of Infogrames. The holding company also owns Eden Games (Test Drive Unlimited) and Shiny Entertainment (Earthworm Jim, MDK); development will presumably continue as usual.
Dream of Mirror Online open beta incoming
To be honest, I'm not sure if a game like this floats any boats here at Massively, but surely in our (growing) audience there's someone out there who cares for cel-shaded graphics and wacky Japanese RPGs with surfer swords and anime nose bubbles. For you, dear reader, we cover the news that Dream of Mirror Online (DOMO, for short), a very Japanese (and Maple Story-esque, I believe) MMO is finishing up closed beta and will have an open beta before the end of the year.The open beta will also add Hunter, Mercenary, Musician and Wizard classes, and Gametribe promises more new content to come. I kind of like how bright and shiny the graphics are-- it's a good change from the dark and increasingly bump-mapped graphics of Western games. But I worry that the gameplay will end up as cutesy as the models are. Anyone excited about this one and want to tell us why?
Foundation 9 to merge Collective and Shiny
Pour one out today for Shiny, which will soon be merged with another dev team, The Collective. Gamasutra's reporting that the developer collective that controls the two teams, Foundation 9, will be fusing them into one as-of-now-unnamed entity. ... May we suggest Shillective?Spearheaded by Dave Perry, Shiny was once a bastion of creativity in the industry, with titles like MDK, Earthworm Jim and Wild 9. The Collective is no slouch themselves, currently helming Silent Hill V, making them the first American company to develop a game in that series. While Shiny has lost some of its luster in recent years, and this new developer's going to be packing a lot of talent, it's hard for us not to be a little sad at the prospect of the house that Jim built finally being dismantled.
Dave Perry: PSP Lite a 'head in the sand' move for Sony
Shiny founder Dave Perry has been very vocal about consoles as of late. After estimating Wii's death clock, the Earthworm Jim designer has set his sights on Sony's PSP. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Perry refers to redesign as a "head in the sand" move while saying that Sony should "restart the PSP program" and specifically calls for the removal of UMD in favor of digital download. Perry also suggests that the transition to an UMD-less PSP would be relatively painless, asserting that it would be easy to create software to authenticate and re-download for free titles you already own. While we agree that digital distribution is on the rise, we're not sure if there's financial benefit for the consumer. A 1.0 GB memory stick can cost over $30, and then you still have the buy the titles (which may not drop in price should they go download). If you want to carry more than a few games around, you're going to need multiple memory sticks. If Sony does heed Perry's advice (and we see no evidence as to why they would), maybe they could replace the UMD slot with a decent hard drive, instead.
Adium X hits 1.0.5
Adium X, my IM app of choice, has released version 1.0.5-- mostly bugfixes, and no major additions to the interface. A bug which deleted chat transcript indexes has been fixed, as well as a crash that was showing up during text-to-speech. And since libpurple was upgraded to 2.0.2, moving ICQ buddies around will go more smoothly, and as the blog says, users who want to add Tlen (a Polish IM service) support to Adium will now be able to do so.Adium also says this is the last major 1.0 release-- the next planned release will be 1.1, and will drop OS X 10.3 support. Optimizing for 10.4 only, they say, will "bring you more of the shiny." Can't wait to see it.As usual, you can grab Adium on their site.[ Thanks, Geoff! ]
Dell 1907FP gets flamboyant steampunk makeover
The antique-minded modder over at Steampunk Workshop had it right: what good is a brass-clad mouse and keyboard with a 21st century monitor destroying the mojo? Fret not, as a Dell 1907FP was torn apart, blasted with gold Krylon, and decorated to the hilt with flashy pieces that your great (great) grandmother would surely love. Best of all, this here creator went above the call of duty by dressing up the monitor with gilded triggers to depress the monitor adjustment buttons underneath the panel. Trust us, you need to see this one to appreciate the passion behind it, so feel free to visit the read link for a plethora of photographs and even a few vids.[Via Digg]
Haier's shiny Sterling handset gets official
Way back in January we were able to get our comparatively large palms around Haier's minuscule Elegance, and now the company's latest mirrored handset has gotten official with a pre-order price and release date. The oh-so-shiny Sterling brings back the bling factor in a serious way, and while it may look like there's no external display on this bad boy, we promise it's just an illusion. Underneath the facade resides a 1.8-inch color LCD, 1.3-megapixel camera, a pair of "music puzzle games," support for MP3, WMA, MP4, and AAC files, USB 2.0 connectivity, Bluetooth, 128MB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, and a battery capable of staying alive through three solid hours of yapping. Interestingly, you can plunk down a "non-refundable" deposit of $199 now in order to secure a position in line when it launches worldwide in July, but considering that there's no word on how much extra you will be billed upon shipment, we'd be mighty hesitant to pull the trigger just yet.[Via I4U, thanks Luigi]
Earthworm Jim fans receive glimmer of hope
Good news for dirt-lovin' annelid fans. Shiny Entertainment founder Dave Perry has hinted that a new Earthworm Jim game will "happen eventually." The development team has been re-formed and is interested in reviving the wiggly space-suit-clad hero for a new generation of gamers.The original run-and-gun platformers were packed with strange enemies, lush graphics (for 1994, anyway), and a wacky sense of humor. After all, when you're launching cows as a worm in a space suit, it's hard to be serious.
Wii owners to get Golden Compass
Sega is dishing out the goods yet again as they aim to bring another title to Nintendo's Wii console. This title, which is based on the upcoming movie starring Daniel Craig (who was in the amazing film Layer Cake and most recently played James Bond in Casino Royale), follows Lyra, a woman who finds herself unwillingly at the heart of a secret consipracy. Sega has revealed that the game will be released during the Christmas holiday later this year and be comprised of a total of 13 chapters for players to go through, which have been taken directly from the book the movie is to be based on. Shiny Entertainment, who were responsible for the highly-loved (by us, anyway) Earthworm Jim series of games, are handling development duties for the title on the Wii.
PSP gets its Golden Compass
Fans of book to movie to game adaptations, are you going to wet your pants when you hear this news! Sega has let everyone know that they are releasing a game based on The Golden Compass film adaptation. The game is being developed by Shiny Entertainment (who are also working on the Earthworm Jim PSP title) and will feature the likenesses of the film's cast. You'll play as Lyra and her animal friends Pan and lorek Byrnison. The gameplay consists of using special items and sneakiness when playing Lyra and more head-on physical attacks with lorek. The game will span 13 environments based on areas from the movie as well as some areas that aren't featured in the film. I really have no idea what to expect of this title, but I used to love Shiny's games back in the day, so I can only hope this and Earthworm Jim are good fun. We'll find out for sure when The Golden Compass game is released this fall. [Via Gamespot ]
Japan gets "champagne gold" PSP, U.S. gets jealous
Just when we thought they couldn't top pink, Sony Japan announced today that a "champagne gold" PSP will be available in the country on Feb. 22 for ¥20,790 (about $175). The system will also be sold in a limited edition (22,222 unit) bundle with Monster Hunter: 2nd Edition for ¥27,300 (about $230). A hilarious Google translation of the announcement highlights how the system "has the noble shining" and lets users "adjusting to your own baggage and fashion... in accessory feeling." It also stresses that this new PSP color will be "promoting the further enlargement [of the PSP] platform powerfully in the future in the Japanese country." So take from that what you will. [Via IGN, thanks Febry]
Pentax unveils shiny LX Gold SLR to celebrate 60 years
What better to snap oodles of pictures at your Thanksgiving feast than with a gravy-proof (and gold-plated) SLR? Taking a note from the bevy of other Midas-touched gizmos out there, the Asahi Pentax LX Gold sports a thoroughly blinding paint job with faux-alligator accents to add an extra layer of tacky to an already gaudy device. Apparently aiming to bring back a taste of 1981 (when the 10 millionth Pentax SLR rolled off the production line; pictured after the jump), the company is seemingly reintroducing the vivid shooter to celebrate 60 years of staying afloat. Of course, we aren't sure how many of these splendiferous units will be offered up (or wanted at all), but we're sure it'll rock quite a premium for those somehow interested.
Earthworm Jim swirms back to the PSP
My my, it's been a long long time since we last saw Earthworm Jim. I was still a kid when the Earthworm Jim craze had reached its peak: some excellent games on the Genesis/SNES, a freaky cartoon on the WB, and some pretty weird action figures. The series' unique gross-out humor seems poised for a big comeback, as the PSP is getting an impressively beautiful continuation. IGN grabbed some screens from a recent Atari event and had some pretty positive impressions: The spacesuit-wearing worm has indeed return. More importantly, he's returned in proper form. The game plays very much like its 2D predecessors... What makes it special, though, lies strictly with how developer Shiny Entertainment mixes those elements to form something altogether groovy and unique.You'll be sure to see more of this game on the Fanboy, as it still has a long time left in development.
Earthworm Jim previewed
Those wonderful folk over at Shiny that put the little earthworm into a giant mechanized suit so many years ago are back at it again, bringing Jim to the PSP for an all new 2D adventure inspired by the first two games in the franchise. Over at 1up, they were able to get some face time with the title and revealed it to be made up of 12 levels. As for multiplayer support, the piece only states that "two players will be able to compete with each other for high scores," so hopefully we'll get some more info as the game approaches its early 2007 release.
Engineering the DS Lite: 2 Nintendo hardware vets speak
Ever wonder what decisions go into a hardware redesign? Thanks to the latest edition of Nintendo's Japanese online mag, we finally get a portable peek into the DS Lite.Two Nintendo engineers who worked on the cuter DS sibling reveal how they pulled off the svelte new look while maintaining things like usability, battery life, and cost.Who knew that the new stylus was made "longer and wider to accommodate older users" (the Brain Age demographic who'd taken such a shine to the now shinier little system)? Durable, reliable hardware: it's what Nintendo does best. Let's hope they continue that trend with the Lite, as well as whatever other slicker iterations of the handheld that we're tempted to purchase -- or repurchase -- in the future.[Thanks, Princess Zelda; also via DS Fanboy]See also: Nintendo DS proven toilet-safe Playstation 2 goes silver (redux)
