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Amazon expands Disc+ program, over 10,000 titles now include immediate downloadable access
In a move curiously timed after this morning's Wal-Mart/VUDU news, Amazon has announced its Disc+ program is growing, up from around 300 titles last year to more than 10,000 DVDs and Blu-ray discs. If you not familiar, Disc+ means that when you buy the disc, not only is that shipped to you, but you also get a free downloadable copy to watch right away. Check out the main site for a full list of available titles, you could be watching The Girl Who Played With Fire or Kick-Ass a lot sooner than you think.
New NPD report to factor in digital, used, mobile and rental sales
Changes to the NPD Group's reporting practices sent a few waves through the game industry earlier this month. Now, NPD's Anita Frazier has explained some of the reasoning behind the change. Frazier notes that NPD has "long acknowledged" that its coverage of only "new physical sales of hardware, software and accessories" doesn't accurately represent consumer spending in the game industry. Furthermore, with new physical sales dwindling this year, Frazier notes that the old NPD reporting practices "caused unnecessary angst" for many industry followers. In other words, sales of physical game copies simply don't account for all the money pumped into the industry anymore. As such, the NPD will soon release the debut issue of its new report, Games Industry: Total Consumer Spend. While the report still includes data on sales of new games, accessories and hardware, it will also feature data on "used games, rentals, mobile apps, social network games, and digitally acquired content in the U.S." NPD has had plans to track downloadable sales for over a year now, though this marks the first time we've heard of plans to track so many other forms of spending. Depending on how comprehensive the report is, it could have hefty ramifications for anyone looking to follow industry trends.
Left 4 Dead 2 coming to the Mac this Tuesday
This is it -- the rumors were true! The last non-Mac holdout of Valve's Source titles is Left 4 Dead, the zombie-killing shooter featuring four survivors and a whole lot of undead, but that's about to change. The official site for the newest Left 4 Dead 2 downloadable content, "The Sacrifice," confirms that the game's sequel is coming to the Mac this very Tuesday, October 5th. Left 4 Dead 2 will be released, as have all of the Source games, under the Steam Play banner. That means if you own it on the PC, you also own it on the Mac, so all you'll have to do is download and start shooting zombies. Anyone who buys the game on Steam will get all of the DLC for free, which makes for the original five campaigns plus the three DLC levels to play through. That's an excellent deal for sure. Unfortunately, the first game is not yet ready for the Mac; apparently, it's taking Valve a little longer than expected to get it OS X-compatible. But Valve promises that when it is released, Steam owners will get the same deal -- all the DLC with the game itself. That's good stuff. Of course, with Left 4 Dead finally coming to our platform, which game will we be stuck waiting for next? Civ V, where you at? Thanks, Ben H!
GOG offers community favorites for half off this weekend
Assuming you're still buying games from GOG.com after last week's shutdown stunt, there are some excellent deals to be had this week on the site's "Community Favorites" list. All of the games on the list are half off, which means you can pick up Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition or Myst: Masterpiece Edition for just three bucks, and Psychonauts or Syberia for just five. Sure, the site may have played a little too hard on your heartstrings with its fake story of shutting down for good just to promote a site revamp, but everybody appreciates cheap, classic PC games, right? And even if not, you can always go grab one of those iPhone games instead -- that's a great sale, too.
iTunes 10. It lives
Have you been waiting all day for iTunes 10 to go live? It finally has. Although the download page remains a little spotty, this direct link seems to work fine for downloading. We're installing our version right now and will update with fun iTunes facts as we discover them. Happy Pinging, everyone! Update: Windows link to supplement the OS X one above. And an x64 link as well. (Thank you to everyone pitching in in the comments!) Update: See our gallery of installation and setup screenshots. p.s. Hey, we're on Ping! Come share our awful musical tastes (Erica Sadun, Steven Sande, Victor Agreda, Dave Caolo, etc)! And let us share yours! %Gallery-101061%
Famitsu reveals some delicious Malicious details
This week's Famitsu has the very first details about Malicious, a downloadable 3D action title for the PS3 from Japanese developer Alvion (part of Sony's Japan Studio group) that looks pretty spectacular. A teaser site for the game went up a couple of months ago, but we now have some actual info, like the fact that the game will consist entirely of battles against boss characters and their minions. Also, combat will integrate moves using the character's magical cloak, which can turn into a protective shell, a fist, or even shoot "demon bullet" projectiles depending on the situation. Malicious is scheduled for release later this year in Japan. We'll be watching that teaser site for more media and updates.
Ron Gilbert digs iPhone, hopes DeathSpank inspires other devs
GamerBytes has a nice long interview with DeathSpank creator Ron Gilbert, and while he waxes philosophical on all sorts of stuff found in the excellent XBLA/PSN hack-'n-slash title, he says he's not sure what he plans to do next. But iPhone gaming has grabbed his attention for the moment: "iPhone games are very interesting to me right now. I play a lot of them, and they're neat because then you can do two- or three-people teams to make those things," he says. Making DeathSpank was tougher than expected, according to Gilbert -- he started out wanting to make Monkey Island meets Diablo, but the Diablo half of the game was more difficult to balance than he'd thought it would be. Not only did he have to balance weapons and combat, but he had to deal with DeathSpank's own character attributes. A class system was originally planned, but Gilbert wanted to play his character (which originally came from a Flash cartoon series), not yours, so the team eventually went with the "Hero Cards" system. Gilbert also says he hopes that DeathSpank influences the downloadable market -- rather than simply house reissues of older games or big budget titles, he hopes that downloadable game platforms can be a place for originality, and that "we can get some really good, interesting games in the download space." We'll hack and slash to that!
Nintendo DSi game lets your face do the flying (video)
When it comes to video games that make you look absolutely ridiculous, nothing beats Microsoft's Kinect, but Nintendo's got a substitute if you just can't wait. The aptly-named Face Pilot: Fly With Your Nintendo DSi Camera! does exactly that, letting you literally direct a virtual hang glider with your face, by using the Nintendo DSi's camera to track your head in 2D space. Sure, Sony's EyeToy did similar things earlier this decade and you could program Windows-based FreeTrack software to do the same, but neither provide the portable hilarity (or challenge) of Face Pilot played on commuter rail. The downloadable title will set you back 500 Nintendo Points ($5) at the DSiWare store; watch a quick video demo after the break.
Scott Pilgrim and the Amazing Trailer
We don't know what extremely gracious act of charity and selflessness was committed somewhere in the universe to make this beautiful Scott Pilgrim vs. The World game karmically possible, but whoever you are out there committing Mother Theresa-level good deeds, thank you. Thank you thank you thank you thank you. Even if the actual game somehow ends up being less than Sex Bob-omberiffic, just a trailer like this, with its Anamanaguchi chiptunes and samurai fighting and epic pixelated cutscenes and guitar minigames (!) brings more light and joy into our world than we probably deserve. We don't know what you did, but it must have been really great, because the trailer after the break will make a lot of people very happy.
Telltale Games does 40% of its business on consoles
In a new interview with GI.biz, Telltale's Dan Connors gives away some stats that show why his company's expansion to consoles is important : Already, 40 percent of Telltale's sales are to console owners. Connors says that's because it's easier for Telltale to rise above the crowd in the downloadable space: "They have big audiences there," he says, "and they're all used to spending money on games. Compare that to online, where it gets noisy," and Telltale bumps into all of the other PC titles vying for downloads and sales in the browser. Connors also says that digital distribution allows his company to adjust their development to the final price. He's happy with what they've done so far, and says we can expect more experimentation in the future: "You can have a different ecosystem to stay profitable, play with price points more, and that's what you're going to continue to see."
Go into a Fruit Frenzy with Space Ark
We weren't sure what to expect from Space Ark when it was first announced, but with this trailer out, we can certainly say it looks colorful. Something called an "Arkonaut" is tethered and bouncing off of a moving platform called a "Bounce Pad," and then there's a Fruit Frenzy, and then the Pad can shoot fruit for a Super Combo, and then there's even a Bonus Stage after that. Whew, there's a lot going on there! But it does look (and sound) like fun. You can also see a "Level Up" score multiplier on the side of the screen -- and, as we all know, multiplying your score is always the right thing to do. The trailer puts the game's release on XBLA in spring 2010, which, last we saw out the window, was right about now. So you probably won't have to wait too long to get your daily dose of space fruit from Strawdog Studios. %Gallery-63907%
'80s Track Pack available now for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero
As expected, the '80s Track Pack for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero is now available for download on all the various consoles, featuring three respectable songs from the decade of New Wave and hair bands. Well, two or three, depending on how you like The Go-Gos. The entire thing is available for 440 on Xbox Live, $5.49 on PSN, or 550 Wii Points, and the individual songs are as follows: "Girls, Girls, Girls" by Motley Crue (160/ $1.99 / 200 Wii Points) "We Got the Beat" by The Go-Go's (160 / $1.99 / 200 Wii Points) "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger (160/ $1.99 / 200 Wii Points) Say what you want about "We Got the Beat," but we won't tolerate hating on the Crue or Night Ranger and, from the looks of those hairstyles above, they won't either. These songs are available now for both games, so get yourself mo-tor-in' on over to the store if you want 'em.
Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance add-on coming this August
If you just so happen to be the square wheel that couldn't get enough of Divinity II: Ego Draconis last year, you're in luck. Publisher dtp entertainment has announced that an add-on will be released later this year, adding more than 30 brand new quests and about 15 hours of gameplay to the RPG. Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance will see release on the PC and through the Xbox Live Marketplace, and will update the game's world of Rivellon a completely revamped engine (for graphical and performance upgrades) as well as new updates on characters familiar to players of the first game. There's no price yet, but it is targeted for a release in August 2010. In the meantime, you can browse the gallery below to see early screenshots of the add-on. Commenters have been saying to us that this game suffers from more than its share of bugs and issues, so maybe an engine revamp will help smooth that out. %Gallery-87418%
After Burner: Climax looks like Aurora-ing good time
It remains to be seen just how well After Burner: Climax will translate from its arcade greatness over to a downloadable form on consoles, but at least it still looks purty. And we mean everything about it, from the clean and simple Sega UI, to the well-designed dynamic lighting on the planes and explosions, all the way out to the great-looking vistas that catch your eye just as you fire up the 'burners and race for the horizon ... What? Oh, sorry, we got a little carried away in the Climax there. To see what we mean, lock your targeting reticule onto four new screens from the official Sega America blog in the gallery below. %Gallery-84185%
Blue Toad Murder Files coming March 25 to North American PSN
Just because a game exclusively features powerful British accents doesn't mean said game can't be released outside of Europe. The episodic PSN mystery series Blue Toad Murder Files will make its way to North America on March 25. Episodes One, Two and Three can be purchased as a single bundle for $14.99, or separately for $7.49 apiece. If you've got a hankering for some Layton-esque brainteasers wrapped in an overarching, cartoonish story, Blue Toad will probably scratch that itch. If you just want to hear a manly-voiced gentleman bellow the word "maaaahdaaaaahhh" over and over again, it should satisfy that desire too.
Sonic 4 coming to the iPhone/iPad?
Sega surprised everyone last night with the reveal of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 -- apparently the newest game in the series will be a download-only episodic title coming to the Xbox and PS3 later this year. And the iPhone, too? The very end of the trailer, as you can see above, has a blank rectangle after the XBLA, PSN, and WiiWare logos, which some presume is a space for the App Store logo eventually. In addition, various graphics were found on the official site that hint at an iPhone release as well. The game, which you can see in the trailer linked above, is a colorful return to the series' 2D roots, but even the updated 3D graphics are probably enough for the latest versions of the iPhone to handle. And of course there's the iPad -- considering that the game is called "Episode 1" (so presumably Sega is going to be releasing a few of these), Sega will probably want as big an install base as possible. Just widening the display of an iPhone app might not work so well, as these simulator screenshots on Gadget Lab show, so it's very possible that one of the launch games for Apple's tablet could be a sweet, high-resolution old school Sonic sequel. We'll keep you updated -- just watch out for the drool.
BlazBlue: Battle x Battle out this week on Japan's DSiWare store
Like many fighting game fans, you really enjoyed BlazBlue last year, but you had this irking feeling that the game would be just perfect if the characters were only a little more ... kawaii. Good news! Your wish has come true. Arc System Works says that its DSiWare version of the acclaimed fighter is ready to go. BlazBlue: Battle x Battle, which features big-headed cutesie versions of the full game's fighters battling it out Power Stone-style, will be available on the DSi's downloadable store this Wednesday. It looks, erm, interesting. Unfortunately, even if you were waiting to see a 2D franchise go 3D with hideously deformed versions of its characters, Battle x Battle is only available in Japan for now, so you'll either have to have a DSi from that region, or you'll have to wait until Aksys decides to release it here. If it keeps that 500 DSi point price, it might be worth a try.
David Jaffe talks death of Calling All Cars as servers go offline
This week heralded the end of the Calling All Cars saga, as David Jaffe finally saw the lights go out on his PSN baby. He's got a set of final thoughts over on his blog -- he says that as his first online game, it was definitely a learning experience, and while there were good times, it wasn't the most fun he'd ever had. He's suprisingly regretful about the whole thing: He says that he seriously thinks he probably should have "made it war themed and ['ditched'] the cartoony stuff," and that it was really a problem of expectation. At $10, he says, they were expecting gamers buying downloadable titles to just be "sampling them like candy," not looking for a full game experience. But we wouldn't worry too much about Jaffe -- while he jokes that the CAC server shutdown "marks the beginning of the end of my career," we're sure there's still more fun to be had from that mind of his. We're hoping to see what he's got planned next by the time E3 rolls around this year.
NinjaBee shows concepts for new XBLA game, playable with Avatars
NinjaBee (makers of A Kingdom for Keflings, Band of Bugs and the underrated Outpost Kaloki X) has announced that it's working on a brand new title for Xbox Live Arcade, one that will allow you to play with your Mickey ear-wearing Xbox Live Avatar. There's no actual information about the game yet (not even a title, although we know it's not Ancients of Ooga, another NinjaBee game in progress), but as you can see from the concept art posted on its blog, there's an airship, a cute bird and a dragon involved. So: a cross between Final Fantasy, Twitter and Lair? Actually, we'd totally play that. NinjaBee says an official announcement is coming at the end of the month, and it'll be releasing new concept art every week until then, so stay tuned for more.
Google Chrome OS available as free VMWare download (update: first impressions)
Seriously, how awesome have the past few hours been? Engadget turns the design stakes up to 11, Google finally dishes the dirt on Chrome OS, and now you can even download the forthcoming software to have a fiddle with yourself. It's completely free, though you'll need VMWare running atop a Windows, Linux or OS X installation to make the magic happen. Naturally, we've been considerate enough to provide download links for everything you'll require at the source below, so get those fingers clicking. We've already successfully installed the browser-based OS and will soon be sharing our own hands-on thoughts, but if you beat us to it, spill your insight in the comments below. We do read 'em, you know. Update: Join us after the break to see what we thought of our first run through the new OS.
