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Dead Rising: patch chance lost!
How fortuitous that the winner of our first Dead Rising giveaway just recently acquired a new HDTV -- on that old set of his, he'd likely have some difficulty reading the annoying edicts coming from security guard and phone etiquette fiend, Otis. After users of non-HD television complained about the unusual amount of squinting required to read the on-screen text, Capcom admitted awareness of the problem and doled out a list of DIY solutions, none of them nearly as effective as a downloadable patch would be. So, what's the word on that?Unfortunately, the word is "no." Speaking to 1UP, a Capcom representative pointed out that "the amount of text and the size of the patch necessary to change the text" were prohibitive in producing a patch. "We had asked the team if it was even possible but ... due to the scope of what a patch would need to cover, it wasn't possible." This is far from a game breaking fault, but it's certainly disappointing that Capcom completely failed to spot a problem that would end up affecting a notable group of players. Coupled with King Kong's scenes of SDTV darkness, it seems some developers are a little too eager to rush into the HD era.
UK Dead Rising fans chop til they drop
Capcom is luring UK gamers to the chopping mall with a Dead Rising web-game called "Chop Til You Drop." Mince 100 zombies for the chance to win one of 5 t-shirts or, better yet, 200 for a shot at a Sony HDTV. Unfortunately, the rest of the world isn't eligible to win, although you can still waste an hour of office time mindlessly hurling tiny meat cleavers at the living dead. Capcom should throw a quick promo title on XBLA and take this mini-madness global.
Disc Read Error Rising
Dead Rising is DOA on my 360. I loaded the menu ok, but when I tried to start the game, it smacked me with a disc read error, despite being a pristine new copy. The usual "clear the cache' tricks didn't help. But, as suspected, when I removed the hard drive, things worked fine. It turns out plenty of other deadly pissed off customers have a reason to stumble back to the mall with receipt in hand: http://forums.xbox.com/6234648/ShowPost.aspx http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/...000689731/p/14 http://boards.ign.com/dead_rising/b8413/125103317/p1/ http://www.capcom.com/BBS/showthread.php?threadid=11141 http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=28765 Some of these poor folks have already paid $130 to repair their 360 over what is almost certainly an issue with the game itself. When I called Microsoft Support, they told me that there are "multiple known issues" with Dead Rising and that MS is working with Capcom on a fix. Various rumors blame the fact that DR is supposedly the first game to utilize all three cores, but who knows? A couple days ago we were celebrating Capcom's success, and now I'm forced to conclude that Dead Rising is broken for a significant number of gamers. Needless to say, my enthusiasm for this title is temporarly zombified. Hey Capcom, where's our patch?
Dead Rising secrets to quench that zombie thirst
If you find yourself with nothing to do on this extended Labor Day weekend, why not spend that down time exploring even more secrets hidden inside Dead Rising? There's a good walkthrough up on GameVideos of a few of the secrets you may not have found yet while sawing your way through thousands of rotting mall folk.Is it a surprise to anyone else that so much can happen inside of one mall? It seems like every week there's some new nugget of Dead Rising info to ooze out into the gaming public.
Dead Rising ships 500k units in 2 weeks
Dead Rising is flying off the shelves faster than the game's mall walking corpses can crawl out of the grave, with half a million units shipped making it the fastest selling next-gen title from a Japanese publisher. Capcom attributes the game's success to "improved marketing and business operations in North America." Right, plus eviscerating mass quantities of shuffling zombies is just really fun. The rotting flesh stench of success already has analysts speculating that would-be PS3 exclusives like Devil May Cry 4 and Monster Hunter will show up on the 360. And the dead still have yet to rise in Europe and Japan. Nothing like a genuine hit to inspire confidence in our console. I think we can count on a Dead Rising 2.
Play Dead Rising as Mega Man
Here's yet another great reason to keep on keepin' on in Capcom's major 360 seller Dead Rising. After you've killed 60,000 zombies, the Mega Man suit becomes fully available, allowing players not only the ability to look absolutely awesome but also take advantage of the blue guy's Mega Buster.Check out the video here. Now, excuse us while we get back to racking up a massive amount of zombie kills.[Via Destructoid]
Frank West: Drab or Fab?
Ken managed to ruffle more than a few feathers when he noticed that not one 360 character made the Top 20 Gayest Video Game Characters (not Cybil!) over at GayGamer.net. Well, it looks like the 360 could finally get it's due, as everyone's favorite zombie killing photojournalist, Frank West, has been nominated for the Top Ten Hottest Video Game Guys. We're sure he's flattered, fellas.
Mega-Man slaughters the living dead
Here's video of the full Mega-Man suit put to use in Dead Rising. You have to beat the game and kill 60,000 zombies to get it. Pretty satisfying unlockable. I don't recall ever getting the opportunity to rip Dr. Wily's small intestines out. [Thanks Andrew]
Capcom to end PS3 exclusives?
Thanks to Dead Rising's healthy sales, Capcom may very well be considering moving some of its PS3 exclusives to Microsoft's curvy white box. According to Japanese firm NikkoCitiGroup, Capcom's use of a PC-based development program would make it a snap to port titles to both platforms. We've read a few rumors about companies dropping exclusivity lately, but Capcom would certainly be a feather in Microsoft's cap -- one that would undoubtedly encourage others to follow suit. One of the reasons for Dead Rising's success is apparently the demo that was available shortly before the games launch. NikkoCitiGroup believes that demos like this will prove invaluable in driving sales of future titles. If you don't believe them, consider this: 300,000 users worldwide have downloaded the Dead Rising demo, and 320,000 copies of the game were shipped in its first week of release -- with 450,000 expected to have shipped by last Friday. That's a pretty nice conversion rate. Given those numbers, and likely similar conversions of Lost Planet, Capcom could stand to make a fair chunk of change by bringing us some Devil May Cry 4. This is only speculation at this point, but a fanboy can dream, can't he? [Via Joystiq. Thanks, Lorul2]
Will we ever see Devil May Cry on the 360?
According to Japanese analyst firm NikkoCitiGroup, Capcom's success with Dead Rising has not only been a surprise, but also a signal of potential PlayStation 3 exclusive Capcom titles migrating to the 360 and PC. The firm says Capcom shipped 320,000 copies of Dead Rising in the first week and has forecasted shipments to reach 450,000 units by today.NikkoCitiGroup analyst Soichiro Fukuda says because of the "healthy sales" of 360 titles, Capcom could take franchises like Devil May Cry and Monster Hunter away from PS3 exclusivity and into multi-platform availability. As 360 hardware and software numbers rise, what's going to stop publishers from letting go of exclusivity with the PS3?
Dead Rising makes 360s dead? [update 1]
Reports are flying, just flying across the internet about Dead Rising wrecking 360s. The symptoms are what we've come to expect: freezing, audio dropping out, graphical glitches, etc. Is it just us, or does this sound all too familiar? We're not saying it's all coincidence, but it seems like every time a popular game comes out, 360s just start breaking all over the place -- Perfect Dark, Oblivion, Chromehounds, Dead Rising, all of them seem like Xbox poison. We're willing to bet that this is more indicative of an overall flaw in our favorite console (or at least a certain portion of them.). Then again, Microsoft and various game makers haven't really made much comment either way so, who knows. Anybody experiencing Dead Rising problems (other than tiny text)? Update 1: Wow. Judging from the incredible amount of comments, this topic deserves some more discussion. Check back this weekend for more.
Capcom aware of Dead Rising standard-definition woes
Apparently, Capcom wasn't paying attention last December when Ubisoft head honcho Yves Guillemot publicly admitted that King Kong for Xbox 360 was unplayable on standard-definition televisions. The Dead Rising developer seems to have committed a similar oversight, presumably testing the game on HD monitors only.Over on the Capcom BBS forums, complaints have piled up, prompting one forum administrator to post: "Dear Everyone, I have heard your concerns and passed them to every source within Capcom possible. I feel your pain as I, myself, have a large SDTV and am having trouble reading the mission objectives, item names, etc."Joystiq can confirm that item descriptions, in-game dialogue, and mission objectives (given via text prompts) are unreadable on a 27" standard-definition TV set using component A/V inputs. That this "next-generation" title doesn't provide voiceovers for dialogue and mission objectives is questionable enough, but not testing the game in standard-definition resolution? C'mon Capcom, get to know your consumer base.
Xbox's 'Dead Rising' seems to require an HDTV
One of the Xbox's greatest features of allowing players to view the games in ether high-def or standard-def seems to have been forgot by Capcom in Dead Rising. Internet forums are flaming away on how the in-game's text are un-readable on normal SDTVs and users are claiming that the game must have been test only on high-def sets. This 'bug' effects nearly every portion of the game as the player cannot read anything in any conversation or receive the games instructions when viewed on a normal TV. So far there hasn't been any fix released, but Capcom is aware of the issue. We are sorry that we don't have a fix for you but just a warning to the owners of standard-def sets, don't buy this game - yet. NOTE: We could not find any screenshots of the issue indicated above so if any of you are experiencing the same issue, feel free to send over a pic of it and we would gladly post it. ThanksRead: Capcom forum postRead: Xbox.com forum post
Free Dead Rising content (already?)
New Dead Rising content is already available on Marketplace. Called keys, the content unlocks new outfits including: Miami Nights Key Casual Key Weekender Key Round Shades Key Burgundy Wine Key Grandpa Key Pink Paparazzi Key Man in Black Key Nice. This content -- as most of you probably saw in the headline -- is free. So, go get it. [Via Joystiq]
Britain OKs Dead Rising violence
The extreme man-on-zombie violence of Capcom's recent Dead Rising has caused some problems for the game internationally. The game was denied a rating in Germany, and has been changed slightly in Japan to prevent the death of innocent human characters. This British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has gone against this trend, though, confirming to GamesIndustry.biz that the game will be available uncut throughout Great Britain.More important than the decision itself, perhaps, was the justification the film board used in allowing the game to be released with an 18 rating. According to a BBFC spokesperson, "there is no clear evidence that playing games leads to copycat behaviour." In other words, the film board thinks the game is unlikely to cause players to run on down to their local malls to attack the undead with a variety of inventive weapons. "We would only intervene if a game was going further than any other game in terms of interactivity and the 'thrills' it offers a gamer," the spokesman added.On its policy page, the BBFC states that "adults should as far as possible be free to choose what they see, providing that it remains within the law and is not potentially harmful to society." The basis for refusing a game classification to a game usually depends on graphic sexual content, although "sadistic violence or terrorisation" is also considered "of particular concern." Good to know that slaughtering the undead isn't too sadistic for England's adults.
Capcom asks: how about Dead Rising 2?
With Dead Rising only a week old, Capcom is already breaking out the age-old question: how about a sequel? Eight questions into a survey on the title, Capcom poses the following question:If a sequel to this game were to be released, would you buy it? I would even buy a new console to play a sequel on if I had to. I would buy it if it came out on a console I own. I would wait and see how it is received first. I would want to play it, but wouldn't want to buy it. I wouldn't buy it. Don't take this to mean they are already working on a sequel, because this is just a standard query. However, with the positive reviews it's received (harnessed mostly by a gripes of stringent story structure and save system) and the brisk sales we predict it will have, Dead Rising 2 is inevitable.If you take the survey, be sure to ask for online co-op. We'd love to see it.[via 1UP]
Dead Rising creator fends off fans at mall
You could say a lot of things about Capcom's Keiji Inafune ("he looks youthful"), but you can't say he's without a sense of humor. Why else would the creator of a video game about a man trapped in a shopping mall fending off swarms of brain-hungry zombies trap himself in a shopping mall to fend off swarms of autograph-hungry fans? Despite the veiled insult, fans lined up for a chance to get some of Inafune's brain droppings scribbled on various things. Fans like Joystiq VIP Philip Palermo, creator of the super limited-edition Joystiq-zilla tee. Philip managed to make it out alive, but not before taking some great snaps of the mayhem, Frank West-style, and sending us in his observations of the event.
A Dead Rising weapons guide [update 1]
We know a lot of you are foaming at the mouth to play Dead Rising, so how 'bout a little weapons guide to help nudge you along once you get your hands on it, huh? Check out this video that will walk you through a wide variety of goods found in the game.Not only does the vid show you where some weapons are, but also some of the hilarious violence they unleash on mindless zombies. Our favorite weapon shown in this walkthrough? The jar of bees, easily. The chainsaw is an easy second, of course.[Update: Here is the second weapons video.]
Metareview - Dead Rising (Xbox 360)
The summer gaming slump shuffles on, slowly, lifelessly, with vacant eyes, targeting the pile of grey meat residing in your skull. It's been a tough summer, and Capcom's new zombie-killing/shopping simulator aims to spread (through a post brain-chomp exchange of bodily fluids) its unique brand of humor and action throughout the 360 nation. So, will Dead Rising take its place in the zombie gaming pantheon next to Capcom's Resident Evil series? Gamespot (84/100) - points out the repetition elephant in the innovation room: "As a departure from the zombie games of old, Dead Rising is a great success, wonderfully blending campy undertones and visceral, zombie-killing action into something highly playable. It suffers from structural faults, and the game does find itself leaning heavier on repetition than you'd probably like, but Dead Rising overcomes these shortcomings by being a lot of fun to play. 1UP (80/100) - also praises the title's inventiveness while noting the "typical" problems , writing, "Dead Rising brings to mind memories of other ambitious games that tried to expand the survival-horror genre (like Blue Stinger on Dreamcast back in the day). It has all the hallmarks -- new play styles, a decidedly different pace from the Resident Evil franchise, and (in theory at least) next-generation graphics. And while it suffers from some typical early-generation pitfalls, it's a feverishly inventive game that triumphs over the very shortcomings that threaten to hold it back." IGN (83/100) - reiterates the fun factor, and credits said fun with saving the game from its other problems: "With a better save system, more intelligent NPCs, a more forgiving story progression, and tighter controls, Dead Rising could have been even more fun than it already is. Even despite those issues, after several times through it's impossible to deny the appeal inherent in slaughtering Willamette's zombified shoppers." Sounds like we have a game where you kill zombies over and over and over and over and, despite being repetitive, manages to be inventive and ambitious all at the same time. Killing hoards of zombies in a shopping mall is pure fun? Who'da thunk?See Also: Joystiq MetareviewsRead - MetacriticRead - Game Rankings
Get your (Dead Rising) priorities straight
In honor of the (US) release of Capcom's zombie sandbox game, Dead Rising, Hooked on Polygon (these guys) have created this comic. It illustrates a dilemma that has surely already plagued many in the demo: do you focus on the objective at hand, or waste time trying on clothes and taking pictures? The answer: waste time, of course! Just a few more prestige points and you can get that roundhouse kick!
