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Fable 2 dog is the 'totally unexpected' feature?
French gaming site Xboxygen has posted some pictures of a dog. Not just any dog, but Fable 2's dog. Could this be the "totally unexpected" feature Molyneux teased us about?[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
EA publishing next Harmonix game
Activision may control the Guitar Hero franchise, but EA has the developer in its clutches -- or at least, the two are holding hands. Now an MTV brand, Harmonix has reached a publishing deal with EA Partners, which puts control of the sales, marketing, and distribution of the rhythm whiz's next project in the hand of the mega-publisher's "indie" arm. While Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopoulos has called the game "hugely ambitious," actual details won't be revealed untill a later date.The announcement was made last night by EA Partners VP David DeMartini (pictured) during an invite-only GDC event.
GDC 07: Normal maps make Lair look good!
Mattias Worch, technical art director for Factor 5's upcoming PS3-exclusive Lair, recently spoke to GDC attendees about creating textures and normal maps in a next-gen environment. The very technically-oriented lecture can be effectively summarized as such: "Lair looked really crappy until we used normal maps. Now it looks really good. You should all use normal maps."Developers were told how to use Photoshop to accentuate and restore detail from textures. Also, artists need to have a clear vision before making a single texture: "Unless you know what you want to do with a normal map beforehand, it'll look wrong."Afterwards, Worch showed off some incredible footage from Lair, running off a PS3. The graphics, while still glitchy, show a huge deal of promise. Of particular note were the incredibly lifelike water effects: when a ship explodes on water, you'll see realistic, physics-intensive, ripple effects that must be seen to be believed. The Factor 5 team clearly is doing something right: the textures were absolutely breathtaking, even up-close.Worch promised the audience that his Powerpoint presentation would be made available for everyone to download on his personal website in the coming days. More excitingly, he also promised new videos of the game. Stay tuned.
Peter Jackson working on episodic Halo content
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Peter_Jackson_s_Halo_project_to_be_episodic'; During the second annual "Blogger Breakfast," Microsoft's Shane Kim revealed that Peter Jackson's forthcoming Xbox 360 projects will be episodic. "Peter Jackson is developing two episodic series," said Kim, reconfirming, "the first is in the Halo universe." Both projects are still lingering in their early design phases, but Microsoft hopes they will eventually serve as models for other developers to follow.When pried for more details about the as-yet-unnamed second series and release strategies for the content, Kim remained tight-lipped: "I may have said too much already." In reality Kim has added very little to what was already known. The lone revelation: (after all the talk) Microsoft is finally preparing to walk the 'episodic' walk. Good thing Jackson appears to be in shape -- it might be a long trek.
Live for Windows priced, XBL accounts confirmed to work on Vista
Microsoft revealed yesterday the pricing for Live for Windows, the Vista equivalent to Xbox Live. The pricing plan is identical to Xbox Live: a Silver membership will be free and Gold will cost you either $8 for one month, $20 for three months or $50 for a full year, according to Game Informer.Appropriately, Xbox Live Gold members will be able to use their accounts to enjoy the Live for Windows features on their home PCs (and presumably vice versa). Some casual games and Halo 2 for Vista will reportedly add to your gamerscore. We don't have any details on how exactly gamers will benefit from a Gold account over a Silver one (other than Shadowrun cross-platform play), but hopefully Microsoft will stick to the modus operandi of PC gaming and keep non-MMOs free to play online multiplayer.
GDC 07: Sony proves they don't care about PSP
Phil Harrison's conference has come and gone, and although the audience was cheering throughout, Sony has proved one thing: the PSP doesn't matter. Well, at least not to Sony's "Game 3.0" idea. The PSP is able to do everything the PS3 can: use wi-fi, download files, take pictures, display video, and more. Why not incorporate a PSP version of Home, instead of making a "Virtual PSP" on the PS3? Why not add the Playstation Network to the PSP? The complete absence of Sony's handheld makes me believe that the platform simply doesn't matter to them right now: let's hope I'm wrong.Expect some very specific PSP-prodding at Sony's bloggers meeting tomorrow.
GDC Vox Pop: Why weren't you at the keynote?
Judging from the line outside Moscone's South Hall at about 10:15 this morning, it might have seemed like everyone at the Game Developers Conference was at Sony boss Phil Harrison's keynote speech. That's far from true, though, as Moscone's West Hall was filled with attendees either unwilling, unable or uninterested in attending the major speech.Eric Bendle form Sierra Nevada Corp. (pictured above) said he was heading down to the speech but "got distracted" by the stuff happening on the convention floor. Bendle seemed mildly interested to find out what was being announced at the speech, but as a defense contractor, he felt the content probably didn't apply too directly to him anyway.Read on for more justifications for missing the speech.
GDC 07: a quick chat with Aaron Greenberg
After the Microsoft blogger's breakfast (which will be written up shortly) we caught up with Xbox Live's Aaron Greenberg (also known as BIGVIP) for a quick chat. Unfortunately, we lacked the presence of mind to shoot a candid photo, so we present you with this handsome stock photo instead. We can tell you, however, that he was wearing this shirt. Along with Spencer from Siliconera, we had a chance to ask Greenberg a few questions. When asked about specific Arcade releases, in this case Ikaruga, Raiden IV, and Every Extend Extra Extreme. Greenberg said that it's rare for the team to concentrate on distant games. According to Greenberg, in the world of "internet time" he mainly focuses on games coming out within the next 6 to 8 weeks. In other words, don't expect Ikaruga anytime soon. He did mention that the XBLA games on display here at GDC -- Minigolf Adventures, Boom Boom Rocket, Jetpack Refuelled, etc -- will be released within a few months. We should get some hands on time with these games later this week.We asked about the possibility of seeing some RPGs on Xbox Live Arcade, and Greenberg said there was no reason we couldn't see them, citing Castlevania as an example of a deeper Arcade experience, though perhaps not a traditional RPG. When asked about the possibility of Final DOOM hitting the Arcade -- its ESRB entry was recently discovered -- he noted that Id is definitely interested. Talking about DOOM's surprise launch last year during X06, Greenberg said that their were more surprise launches involving famous franchises in the future. So, RPGs heading to Live Arcade ... surprise launches ... famous franchises. Anyone care to make some wild speculation?
Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night
Under any other circumstances, dismissing a game titled Barnyard Blast from an unproven developer would be easy. Given the dozens of games announced every week, it would be an effortless reflex. But upon hearing that Barnyard Blast brings together Castlevania themes with cowboy pigs, we would hold onto the game like it was our first-born. Insert Credit spent some time with an early demo at GDC and enjoyed what little there was to play. Early screenshots show the hog hero creeping through a cemetery with a six-shooter, shotgun, and "slayer" in his inventory. Whether or not the game will include vampire sheep, zombie cows, or other undead farm animals has yet to be revealed.Fans of the Castlevania series have been complaining about its stagnation for some time now. Has Sanuk Software discovered exactly what the languishing genre needs? More pork?
Joystiq and Engadget live at Sony's 2007 GDC keynote
10:20 a.m.: We're being let in and taking our seats now.10:30 a.m.: We've taken our seats, but the press is still milling about. Coldplay is playing over the sound system, a PlayStation logo is on the screen, and giant props from the just-announced-this-morning LittleBigPlanet flank both sides of the massive screen.10:32 a.m.: On the left side of the stage there's a large tree--pretty much life-size--that looks like it's made out of a glob of clay, the right side has a gear rotating, about the same size as the tree. Is it a water wheel? Colored lights glaze across the ceiling in maroon, greens, and blues. 10:33 a.m.: The room fits about 5,000 people, it will be full. A many-iterations removed remix of an LCD Soundsystem song is playing
GDC 07: Virtual PSP debuts in Playstation Home
At last night's Sony media briefing, Sony unveiled a plethora of new games and features for their next-gen home console, the PS3. Suspiciously absent was the PSP. Well, almost. Playstation Home, the PS3's upcoming social networking service, has a "Virtual PSP" that allows you to customize your virtual avatar. Sony states that "Your Virtual PSP gives you access to all the navigation, features and options of Home." Although this product placement is a cute way of promoting the platform, there's one thing that will work even better: more games on the system. Hopefully, the Phil Harrison keynote (happening now) will reveal some interesting non-PS3 tidbits for handheld gamers to enjoy. See also:Sony fights back; unveils Home, LittleBigPlanet, Killzone, more
Singstar PS3 details unleashed, YouTube of karaoke confirmed
After a silence that dates back to the infamous E3 conference of 2006, Sony has finally unwrapped some major details concerning the PlayStation 3 edition of their karaoke smash, Singstar. Firstly, Singstar will be making its way to the States this fall, with a European release scheduled for early June. While they didn't name any specifics, Sony did mention that they're working with members of the music industry to ensure a girth of content for launch.Embodying the concept of Game 3.0 -- the theme of Phil Harrison's speech this morning -- Singstar allows users to not only download new content, but to upload their own as well. Folks from around the world will be plugging in their EyeToys or USB cameras' and shaking their money makers with their own video uploads that can be rated and commented upon from the community. A brief demonstration of Singstar revealed a pleasing interface that allowed for streaming both music and video previews of potential downloads. %Gallery-1946%
Sony unveils new tools to live on the Edge
Empowering the development community, Sony has unveiled the PlayStation Edge: advanced graphics tools and technologies for PlayStation 3 development. A meeting on the tools is taking place later today. From the lecture announcement:"Three first party technology teams within Sony -- the WWS Europe Advanced Technology Group, WWS America ICE team, and WWS America Tools and Technology group -- have combined to create PlayStation Edge, a set of cutting edge technologies for imminent release to all PlayStation 3 developers. Rather than overarching engine, these teams have chosen to create specialized systems that demonstrate best practices of SPU and RSX utilization. A unique tool for RSX performance analysis, extensively used in the turning of first party titles, will also be presented."Those without technological backgrounds should find Wikipedia helpful. A video of Killzone 2 was shown last night to showcase the Edge technology. We'll be at the Edge presentation, hosted by Vince Diesi, Jon Olick and Mark Cerny, later today.
GDC 07: Sony fights back; unveils Home, LittleBigPlanet, Killzone, more
At last night's Sony press event, Sony unveiled a plethora of new products and services that show that the PS3 is far from dead. Phil Harrison will undoubtedly be discussing more about their Web 2.0-inspired effort that he calls "Game 3.0" at his conference (happening right now). The revamped PlayStation effort to be shown today includes a performance-sharing version of Singstar, a beautiful cooperative platformer called LittleBigPlanet and a new service called PlayStation Home. Joystiq has all the pictures, videos and details you want right now:Playstation Home, the free virtual world of Playstation 3"Comparable to Second Life, PlayStation Home is a virtual community of PS3 owners living together in both public and private environments. Users will be able to login, chat with both text and speech and play casual games together such as pool, bowling and even embedded arcade machines. And when the old stand-bys grow stale, users can invite one another into other PlayStation Network titles outside of PlayStation Home."Gallery: Playstation HomeContinued, after the jump.
PlayStation Home, the free virtual world of PlayStation 3
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/PlayStation_Home_the_free_virtual_world_of_PlayStation_3/'; Sony has validated the "blackball rumor" with the unveiling of PlayStation Home -- a free to download, virtual world for the PlayStation 3. While earlier murmurings mentioned customizable avatars and achievements, our brief demonstration revealed that to be just the tip of the iceberg. Comparable to Second Life, PlayStation Home is a virtual community of PS3 owners living together in both public and private environments. Users will be able to login, chat with both text and speech and play casual games together such as pool, bowling and even embedded arcade machines. And when the old stand-bys grow stale, users can invite one another into other PlayStation Network titles outside of PlayStation Home.Every user will have their own virtual apartment to decorate with furniture, their trophies from various games (see: achievements) and content from their own PS3s. For example, Phil Harrison took a snapshot of us in the crowd, slapped it onto a USB stick and right into a picture frame in his virtual flat. Not content at just images, users will also be allowed to share both music and videos with friends inside their private homes, which will most likely lead to some sort of underground pornography syndicate on the PlayStation Network. Check out video footage of PlayStation Home after the jump!And while the download itself is free, users can choose to accentuate their looks with additional clothing for an unspecified fee. The PlayStation Home will also feature dynamic advertising -- the details of which are not currently known. A large scale beta for the service begins this April with the final product to see release this Fall.%Gallery-1950%
Warhawk exclusively embraces online multiplayer
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Warhawk_exclusively_embraces_Online_Multiplayer'; Sony's Warhawk has ejected single-player features in favor of a multiplayer-only battle arena. Sony today announced the game's shift into the PlayStation Network realm, along with several new features designed to highlight the game's new focus. In addition to frenetic air combat, players will find themselves controlling jeeps, tanks, and woefully unprotected infantry units. Several online modes are planned for the final release, some of which will see you fostering flag kleptomania, battling to obtain enemy territory and otherwise blasting other players to unrecognizable smithereens. Warhawk is currently scheduled for a Fall 2007 release on PSN.%Gallery-1945%
Sony unveils cooperative platformer, LittleBigPlanet
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Sony_unveils_cooperative_platformer_LittleBigPlanet/'; Sony today announced a rather unexpected and terrifyingly adorable new game, LittleBigPlanet. Officially labeled as a "community-based" game, LittleBigPlanet is essentially a physics-based platformer, though such a description fails miserably at capturing the sheer amount of scrambling, swinging and holding-on-for-dear-life going on in the gameplay footage. Developed by Rag Doll Kung Fu masters, Media Molecule, the game encourages players to help each other over obstacles, interact with objects (often fruit-like in nature) and grab onto everything -- including each other. Four-player pushing and pulling aside, LittleBigPlanet also highlights user-created content, allowing players to design characters, objects and levels to share online. Given the grab-happy, emergent gameplay, downloadable custom levels should enable players to constantly discover new ways to aid or injure their pudgy little avatars. An earlier Sony presentation demonstrated some intuitive controls, with the manipulation of analog sticks and motion controls resulting in all manner of jumping, wiggling and waving."Quirky" and "endearing" are not two adjectives that have recently been linked to Sony, but it's good to see the opportunity to do so finally presenting itself. LittleBigPlanet's stunning graphics, charming characters and strong online component make it a great example of what the PS3 is really capable of. And it's got a 2-D perspective (that's half the Ds the system is capable of) to boot!A trial version of LittleBigPlanet is expected to arrive on the PlayStation Network this fall, with the full version following in early 2008.%Gallery-1943%
In-game Forza 2 footage is pretty
Game Trailers posted an exclusive video of a quick Forza 2 in-game demo. As you can see above, the Ferrari Enzo is quick, shiny, and darn pretty. Hell, that car model is gorgeous! And we understand that games like Forza aren't all about their damage effects like the Burnout series is, but we would like to see a few pieces of car fly off when the Ferrari slams into the barrier. But overall, after looking at this short clip, we think Forza 2 fans will be satisifed with how the game looks and what the development team has accomplished with the sequel. Anyone care to share their opinion on the video?[Thanks, DjDATZ]
Fable 2 is getting a cute puppy dog
The French folks over at Xboygen posted pictures of a new "character" in Fable 2. It's a dog! Your own personal dog to play with, train, and love while exploring the lush green world that Fable offers. In one picture, Peter Molyneux is pointing to our furry little companion and probably explaining how to get your dog to attack on command ... or so that's what we want to believe. And of course these screen grabs beg the question to whether or not this is the big Fable 2 announcement or just one interesting addition to the game. Only time will tell, but we'll find out soon as our very own Richard Mitchell will be getting the complete dish on Fable 2 during his coverage of GDC: 07. Stay tuned.
PS3 'PlayStation Home' launches fall '07, confirms NY Times
The New York Times has confirmed rumors that Sony will today reveal "PlayStation Home," an online service for PlayStation 3. The news was leaked by an anonymous senior game industry executive who was not authorized to discuss the service. Besides the confirmation, scant details suggest that PlayStation Home will apparently blend elements of Xbox 360's Gamertags and Wii's Miis, namely 'achievements' and 'virtual avatars'; PlayStation Home will allegedly allow "users to create persisting online identities that record players' achievements in different games," reports NY Times. "As players progress through a game, they will unlock various virtual prizes that they can then show off to friends and rivals," said the anonymous source. PlayStation Home is currently scheduled to launch in the US this fall.While expected to disclose full details during a GDC keynote later today, Sony's Phil Harrison briefly detailed the new initiative -- er, Game 3.0 -- in a statement published by NY Times: "The packaged media approach on its own offers a closed experience," he said. "You can only enjoy the game experience that the game developer put on that disc. But with the increase in adoption for the Internet and also the increased bandwidth, the Internet has democratized the audience to become content creators, as well as content consumers, and create what I call emergent entertainment. We've seen that with things like MySpace and YouTube and Flickr. Now we want to take those kinds of collaborative experiences and make them more central to the gameplay experience."
