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Downloading 'Dark Souls 3' early makes the game even harder
Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn't the only thing hitting the internet ahead of its official release this week: The latest entry in FromSoftware's absolutely punishing Dark Souls series has as well. But rather than going to your torrent site of choice, all you need to do to access it is make a dummy account for your PlayStation 4 or Xbox One with Japan as its home region -- Dark Souls 3 launched there on the 24th. You'll still have to drop cash on the game, so if you were hoping for some nefariousness you're out of luck here.
Sony is trying to trademark 'Let's Play' videos
You've heard of a "Let's Play" video, right? That's a common term for YouTube videos featuring video game commentary and gameplay. People have built careers out of this kind of content (folks like Pewdiepie, Game Grumps, Markiplier and others) and it's a fairly ubiquitous term -- which makes it all the more weird that Sony is apparently trying to trademark it. Really.
Steam is region-locking PC games to thwart low currency value exploits
Apple isn't the only one making changes to how it deals with the Russian ruble. Valve is taking measures to protect PC game publishers on its Steam platform too, as spotted by NeoGAF's ever-vigilant eyes. The online storefront is region-locking games in an effort to prevent users from exploiting low currency values. For example, you could buy a Russian game on Steam for a few bucks as opposed to, say, $40 to $60 when purchased through the US storefront. Now, that's a little harder to do and it's causing a bit of an uproar because PC games have typically not been subject to region locks the way console games, on the other hand, have. The move has an impact on areas outside of Putin's backyard too, with reports that Brazil, Indonesia and their neighboring areas are affected too.
What's going on with Nintendo's Amiibo figurines?
When Nintendo first introduced its Amiibo figures, Bill Trinen, senior product marketing manager at Nintendo of America, said that the toys open "a whole range of potential new gameplay experiences" for players on a character-by-character basis. And he's not lying: The toys -- activated by an NFC chip that connects to the Wii U gamepad -- come to life in the latest Smash Bros. game, as well as unlock new characters, levels and other good stuff in various other Nintendo Wii U games. Want a new character or two in Mario Kart 8? Amiibo figures have you covered. But maybe not forever. Why? Because certain Amiibo characters have already been discontinued less than a month after their debut. Or, maybe they haven't? Nintendo's flubbed the messaging here (again), saying one thing about the future of certain figures to one publication, and something fairly different to another. Confused? We are too! Are some Amiibo figures limited edition? Which ones? How about those yet to be released? We asked Nintendo to clear this mess up.
Walmart's Amazon price-match policy is less open to abuse now
Well, that didn't take long: Earlier this week, the internet caught wind of a few less-than-legitimate sellers listing PlayStation 4s on Amazon at ridiculously low prices -- we're talking $90 or less for a $400 item -- and took advantage of Walmart's new price-matching policy. Now the retail giant has adjusted said policy regarding such. The company says it'll only honor pricing from 30 "major" online retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Cabela's and Kohl's from here on out. Marketplace vendors, third-party sellers (one of the ways this ordeal started), etailers requiring a membership and auction sites including eBay aren't eligible under the new revision. A Walmart spokesperson tells Wall Street Journal that it was a significant enough amount to change the policy "quickly," but, wouldn't say exactly how much the alleged fraud cost the company.
Titanfall devs cite proper balance for 12-player limit
When the giant mechanized suits of Titanfall touch down in March, its battlefields will be populated by a maximum of 12 combatants, according to Vince Zampella, founder of Respawn Entertainment. Zampella was asked point-blank how many players the game will support in a single match. "6v6 is max player count," he replied. "Turned out to be the best balance with AI for us." Following Zampella's tweet, prospective Titanfall players reacted negatively, throwing around descriptors that we'd rather not republish on a family website. In response, a Respawn Entertainment employee calling his or herself "DKo5" took to the NeoGAF forums to offer a more comprehensive explanation of why Titanfall is limited to six-on-six skirmishes. "[W]e tried a huge amount of playercounts (all the way down to 1v1 and up quite high) and designed the maps, gameplay mechanics, and entire experience around which played best," DKo5 wrote. "And FYI, for amount of stuff happening at once in a map you'll be hard pressed to find a game that keeps the action higher. I literally have to stop playing every few rounds because my heart just can't take it some times. Remember, you can get out of your Titan and let it roam on AI mode - meaning there can be 12 Pilots wallrunning around, 12 Titans stomping below, and dozens of AI doing their thing." Finally, DKo5 addresses player speculation over what Zampella meant with his mention of AI: "Oh, and I keep seeing people thinking we've got 'bots' when we talk about AI. Thats not how they are. The AI in Titanfall are not replacements for human players. Our playercount is not 6v6 because of AI - AI play their own role in the game and are a different class of character in the game."
Rumor: Retailers instructed to destroy Final Fantasy XIV stock
Is Square-Enix issuing a termination order for store copies of Final Fantasy XIV? That's the disturbing rumor that's emerged today, as a retailer on the NeoGaf forums posted an email stating that the company has decreed that stores rid themselves of the remaining stock. The email states, "Square is discontinuing Final Fantasy XIV. They will be doing a field destroy credit of $16.00 each." This move may be in preparation for the upcoming version 2.0 of the title, now called A Realm Reborn, which is slated to release for both PC and the PlayStation 3. A Realm Reborn will actually remove some of the content from FFXIV, possibly necessitating a new product. Square-Enix may also just be looking at rolling out a new package for the relaunched title. When asked about the rumor, the company declined to address the email and stated that the beta will happen later this year.
38 Studios head Curt Schilling apologizes for 'buggy' Reckoning demo
38 Studios head Curt Schilling has found the NeoGAF forums, folks, and he is quite pleased with them. In a lengthy letter addressing the community, he starts things off by thanking everyone for a massive thread about his company's upcoming game, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. And after some minor promotion of said project, he quickly devolves into an apologetic rant about the recently released demo."Let me start by apologizing. The demo? Ya, it is way way WAYYYYY more buggy than anything ANYONE should ever release, much less a demo," Schilling wrote. He said that due to "the depth of breadth of a game that has anywhere from 40-50 hours (main quest line play) to 2-300 hours (for completionist)," it was inevitable there would be bugs. However, rather than releasing a demo with said inevitable issues, he argued with EA to not put out a demo at all. A fight that he said he's glad he lost."The demo has been a God send, especially when I realize even in this thread, how many people became aware because of the demo," Schilling said. "In a partnership there is a lot of give and take, and I believe in my team, they are world class, but when you have a publisher there are things happening you'd rather not choose. Shipping old code out 3 months prior to gold master to a 3rd party with no stake in the demo success can be problematic." Regardless of the issues, Schilling ultimately says he was glad for the exposure the demo granted Reckoning, and he'll be "chatting more" on NeoGAF in the future.[Thanks, Wombat!]
Uncharted 3 aiming tweaked in upcoming patch, in part due to dedicated fans
An upcoming patch for Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception will help assuage concerns with the game's aiming. Fans have complained that shooting in Uncharted 3 feels "off" compared to the previous game, and dev studio Naughty Dog isn't shrugging off criticisms. "I posted on the Neogaf forum where people were going through it [shooting criticisms] in a very eloquent fashion, really explaining their gripes very clearly, and I said 'Well, is anyone local that can come in and explain it to us?'" community manager Arne Meyer told Giant Bomb. Apparently two fans took up the challenge (as well as two of their friends), and assisted both game director Justin Richmond and multiplayer programmer Travis McIntosh in tweaking the game's shooting "feel" via on-the-fly playtesting at Naughty Dog's Santa Monica-based HQ. The result is an optional tweak for the shooting that will arrive, alongside other fixes, in a game update at an undetermined point in the future. Thanks, articulate fans!
Rumor: Factor 5's Animal Wars revealed, possible Turrican reboot
It's been a few years since Factor 5 shut down its US operations and now it would appear we're getting a look at some of the shuttered studio's projects underway right until the end. Remember Superman? That wasn't all the company was working on, if this thread on NeoGAF is legit. Some leaked concept art of what is being called a "Beaver Pioneer" and some nondescript robot appeared on the site -- later in that same thread, a poster claiming to be an ex-Factor 5 employee called the game Animal Wars. It supposedly "played like Warhawk," pitting animals against each other in a WWII-themed setting. How novel. Perhaps more interesting is the concept art of a lone white robot, what some in the thread are saying is from a Turrican reboot that was in the works at Factor 5, but there doesn't appear to be enough evidence to effectively conclude as much. As of right now, it seems the closest we have to a real Turrican reboot is Hurrican. [Image credit: NeoGAF]
PS3 owners eligible for cash refund after 'Other OS' removal?
Admit it, most of you don't use the "Other OS" option on your PS3, do you? That's ok, we don't either, at least not regularly. Nevertheless, it's irksome, nay, vexing that Sony had the audacity to pull it; that feature was part of the deal bargained when we purchased the unit after all. Forum moderator, "lapetus," over at NeoGAF decided to take on the man by invoking European directive 1999/44/EC, a consumer protection law that requires goods to be "fit for the purpose which the consumer requires them and which was made known to the seller at the time of purchase." That little tactic earned lapetus a refund of £84.00 from Amazon without physically returning the console even though his (?) PS3 was well out of warranty. Oh just you never mind that Sony's user agreement claims the ability to revise settings and features without limitation to, "prevent access to unauthorized or pirated content, or use of unauthorized hardware or software in connection with the PS3 system." In other words, request your refund before installing Geohot's hacked 3.21 firmware.
Fans recreate favorite characters in Scribblenauts style
Scribblenauts has inspired something wonderful over at NeoGAF: fan-created images of popular game characters and other pop-culture figures in the game's adorable, understated style. It's as if you could summon, say, Phoenix Wright in the game.We've picked out some favorites from what has become two threads of Scribblenauts fanart. It's pretty hard for us not to just post every single piece of fanart from both threads! Trust us, there's plenty in both threads for you to discover, and since the artists have started taking requests from other GAFfers, there will continue to be more for a while.Above: Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey, Tomba, and Kirby, by SpacePirate Ridley; Lost's John Locke by MrCheez; surfing Raichu, Travis Touchdown, Optimus Prime, and Manny Calavera by Divvy. Look at all the greatness that has already been brought into the world by Scribblenauts, by people who haven't even played it!%Gallery-39784%
NeoGAF cranking out gorgeous 'Criterion Collection' box art
Something magical is happening over on the NeoGAF forums. For the past week, ultra-skilled Photoshoppers have been crafting replacement box art for some of their favorite titles as part of "The GAF Collection," a nod to the similarly stylish "Criterion Collection" film catalog. They're beautiful, precious works of art which we'll soon be proudly sliding into the plastic sleeves of our comparatively hideous game cases. Do your brain's aesthetic receptors a favor, and go check them out.
LittleBigContra collaboration is remarkable
Various members from the popular video game forum NeoGAF have teamed up in an outstanding collaboration to recreate the classic NES game Contra within LittleBigPlanet. The iconic 2D shooter is revived in LBP thanks to the addition of the "Paintinator" in the Metal Gear Solid level pack. The massive project spans eight different levels, each painstakingly recreated in the LBP engine. Impressive, yes -- but we're wondering how long it will stay on the servers before the moderation team shuts it down for its obvious copyright infringement.Update: There are 8 stages in total and 7 authors on the LittleBigContra team. You can find them on the PlayStation Network as follows: Jungle: MisterAnderson - PSN: Leonidas2123 Base 1: Orz- PSN: SaitoHalifax Waterfall: PSN - RyanardoDavinci Base 2: Orz- PSN: SaitoHalifax Snowfield: PSN: NinjaMicWZ Energy Zone: El_Beefo - PSN: El_Beefo Hangar: Jaeyden - PSN: Jaeyden Alien's Lair: Donkey Show - PSN: gevurah22 See a trailer, after the cut.
Download G.A.M.E. 3.0 WipEout Edition: A custom soundtrack for WipEout HD made by GAFers
Wow! Bravo to the NeoGAF forum for creating this incredible custom soundtrack for WipEout HD. While the PSN game offers an excellent soundtrack as-is, it's refreshing to have this new collection of tunes to listen to while racing down these futuristic tracks. The soundtrack was created by a very talented group of NeoGAFers: "We're a bunch of NeoGAF posters who make electronic music. Some of us veterans, some of us amateurs, but we all share a passion for videogames and electronic music."We're offering a mirror download here on PS3 Fanboy to show our support for the project. But, make sure you check out NeoGAF for the full credits list. Download here, and check out instructions on how to use it in the game after the cut. Download (165MB)
Rumor: Wii Music coming Oct 16 to Japan
Nintendo is holding some sort of event today in Japan, far from our watchful eye. Though it may be able to hide from the Joystiq Biomass, it can't hide from the internet, as the folks at NeoGAF have once again proven. User Jonnyram got some tidbits from the Japanese Rambling Man blog, which (according to his translation) says you can expect to see Wii Music in the Land of the Rising Sun on Oct. 16.If the post can be believed, you can also look for Captain Rainbow in August, colored Wiimote straps in September and Valkyrie Profile DS on Oct. 2. We're a couple of language barriers removed from the source, so we wouldn't write it in stone, but the info does seem to represent our best guess at a Wii Music window for the moment.[Via NeoGAF]
Uh-Ohkami: Capcom botches Okami Wii box art, inadvertently advertises IGN
With all the work that goes into the designing, writing, and programming of a game (especially for a title as hotly anticipated as Capcom's waggle-infused port of the PS2 under-appreciated gem Okami), we assumed that there would be one person at every video game publisher who would give the final retail packaging a once-over, keeping a keen eye out for any typos, printing errors, or hidden watermarks from popular video game news sites. Then again, maybe that's just us. As is the unfortunate case with the Wii Okami box art -- NeoGAF user Bob Digi discovered that right above a permanent "sticker" promoting the game's high score in Play magazine (an unsightly blemish in its own right) sits a fairly clear IGN watermark, the result of the artwork's background being photoshopped from an image on IGN's Okami PS2 site. Then again, perhaps the game underwent some serious changes in its Nintendo transition, and now features protagonist Amaterasu traveling throughout feudal Japan, devouring the logos of major gaming news sites. [Thanks, Riven.]
Devil May Cry 4 for PS3 gets achievements, required installation [update]
The German version of GamePro (via NeoGAF) has published its review of Devil May Cry 4 and revealed some interesting features for the PlayStation 3 - namely, achievements. Similar to the Xbox Live counterpart, you'll be able to perform certain actions and earn recognition, which can then be seen by your friends. From what we gather, this is only for DMC4, however, and not a console-wide feature, so don't expect to start bragging about your PSN gamerscore anytime soon. The idea of PS3 achievements, rumored once to be called entitlements, were denied by Sony leading up to the console's launch. The review also confirmed Sixaxis functionality in the form of tilting to adjust the camera, and noted a 5GB required installation before you can play the game. The 1UP podcast this week also confirmed this, saying it took 25 minutes to complete the installation process, so don't expect to play the game as soon as you get home from the store.[Update: Upgraded emphasis on 5GB installation][Via PS3 Fanboy]
Gamestop sells demo disc as new game
A disgruntled NeoGAF poster bought what he thought was a new copy of Steambot Chronicles from Gamestop, only to find out later that the US retail chain actually sold him a demo disc for the game, with the "Demo: Not for Resale" watermark scribbled out in sharpie marker.This sort of thing is entirely possible thanks to Gamestop's policy of holding discs from new games behind the counter. The customer brings the empty case up front when purchasing, and the underpaid Gamestop employee finds the corresponding disc and puts it in its box. The major problem with this system becomes abundantly apparent with incidents like this: consumers have no real way of knowing if the disc they're being handed is the one that Gamestop employees originally yanked out of the packaging.The best advice we can offer is to double-check Gamestop purchases for scratches, scuffs, or sharpie scribblings before walking out of the store. Unfortunately, we doubt that Gamestop's policies are going to be changing anytime in the near future.[Via Gemaga]
PS3 gets firmware 1.92 [update]
As you may have already discovered PS3 firmware update 1.92 is now live, and it's the best update ever. Why? Well, because the changelog wasn't released alongside the update, so 1.92 currently has the best feature of all: Possibility. A quick glance through the NeoGAF forums shows us that the update does everything from improving the internet browser to automatically powering off controllers to improving PS1 and PS2 support and heating Toaster Strudels.So, no, we don't really know what it does at the moment. Do you have any ideas? Notice your PS3 acting strangely? Hopefully we'll know more later in the day.Update: So, Sony released the list of new features right here. Apparently the only difference is that backwards compatibility for some PS2 titles has been improved.[Thanks, Ghost]
