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Design the next XBLA hit yourself
Have you ever played Geometry Wars and thought to yourself, "This game is a steaming pile of manure. I could design something better than this!" If so, then Microsoft wants you, Uncle Sam style (no, not your creepy uncle Sam, this Uncle Sam). Xbox Live Arcade's unprecedented success has been something of a surprise, even to Peter Moore: "I didn't expect Live Arcade to be for gamers, I thought maybe for their girlfriends, mums and sisters -- but it's for everybody."Games like Geometry Wars have convinced big time developers that XBLA equals easy money. Like Nintendo, it allows publishers to earn big money by selling consumers their collective childhood again. But that's not all it's good for, and Microsoft knows it. The next step for XBLA is to get some original independent content. Do you think you're up to snuff? If so, you can send your proposals to this address: arcade[AT]microsoft.com. Finally, my game about Microsoft's evil robot minions will get some recognition.
Psychonauts willing its way to BC List
Peter Moore may think backwards compatibility is for chumps (or does he?), but some of us would like to enjoy our Xbox classics. Psychonauts has been an especially vocal candidate for the back compat list lately. Tim Schafer, creator of Psychonauts, even launched an email campaign to get the game on Microsoft's sacred list. It looks like the petition got someone's attention over in Redmond, because a Microsoft back compat team member was compelled to post this on the IGN forums last week: "Rest assured, we are working on Psychonauts." Good news indeed. Now if they could just do something to make the game sell... [Via Xboxic]
Sony's manufacturing method to change next year
Ken Kutaragi recently revealed that the process for making the Cell chip will go from a 90nm process down to 65nm. This will help cut the costs of manufacturing. The chip is currently being manufactured at IBM's Fishkill and Sony's Nagasaki factories. With the decrease in cost, it's possible that devices utilizing the chip could also see a lower price point when arriving to retail, to which Kutaragi hinted at devices other than the company's next-gen console as possible recipients. However in the case of the PS3, this drop in cost is unlikely to be seen. [Via IGN]
2 new Sonic Wild Fire gameplay vids
A couple of new videos showing gameplay from Sega's upcoming Wii game Sonic Wild Fire have been uploaded for your viewing pleasure over at IGN. Both videos play just how you'd expect them to with Sonic running really fast and collecting rings. Sadly, this was one of the couple of Wii games I never got my hands on during E3, but according to Ludwig I shouldn't really be too excited for it.
Wii to release before the PS3 say industry insiders
According to resident Wii guy Matt over at IGN, all the online speculation of an October launch for the Wii may be a bit too much of a coincidence. Other rumors point to a very early November launch of around the sixth, which is still a couple of weeks before the PS3. While Iwata has said that no official word on the price and launch date of the console will come until September, we can't help but feel that a late October/early November release on the console is likely.
Rainbow Six: Vegas HD video
IGN has posted the E3 video of the 10-minute Rainbow Six: Vegas trailer that ran periodically during E3. What's different this time around, however, is that the video is in HD and you don't have to listen to thousands of people while trying to watch it. Instead, you only have to listen to a few folks providing solid commentary on the trailer. The page for the video can be accessed here.
An in-depth review of E3 media booths
Kyle over at Video Game Media Watch turns the spotlight back on the media's presence at E3 with an in-depth review of the big media booths that were dotted around the show floor. Here's the quick and dirty from Kyle's write-up: 1UP/Ziff Davis' booth wasn't very crowded, although the free copies of EGM were popular. BradyGames, the strategy guide publisher, stuck a couple of Guitar Hero 2 booths in their stall and let the crowds grow exponentially. GameSpot's booth was very inaccessible. So either they were working hard, or they were playing a massive LAN game. UGO couldn't hide their Geometry Wars addiction. Oh, and they stole chairs from neighboring booths. G4 let people browse the web for free: free internet FTW! Kyle goes into a lot more detail, so make sure to check out his full article.
Death Jr. Root of Evil screens and videos
3 new videos, along with a plethora of screenshots, have been posted at IGN for the follow up to Konami's Death Jr. Death Jr. Root of Evil, much in the same spirit as the previous installment, has Jr. and the gang attempting to bottle up a recently-escaped spirit. The videos and screenshots, which show the same Tim Burton-esque visual style along with frenetic action of the first game, are sure to please those who were thoroughly satisfied with the original.
The Xbox 360 and glitching, six months later
While the occasional glitching is just a part of owning new technology, there's something about that little red power ring that has the potential to send chills down any 360 gamer's spine. IGN set out to investigate the "glitch in the system" that plagued certain consoles last November from a six-month-later perspective.Some cases are just extreme though. Take Chris Szarek, for example, who had to go through so many replacement consoles that he eventually got a personal call from Peter Moore who apologized for the matter. While he and other gamers with such issues could possibly be storing their consoles in an oven or something, there are other people who are clearly taking the right steps to avoid any sort of problems.One of the IGN staffers had this to say once his own system bit the dust: "... while I was on the customer support line, I heard two guys in the background giving the exact same 'detach cables and hard drive' speech to other poor souls with dead 360s, so I think the problem of dying 360s is still pretty common." Read on for some interesting information regarding this "common" issue. It makes us wonder though: Are any of our readers out there still experiencing such problems?
Michel Ancel discusses Raving Rabbids
Michel Ancel, whom's past contributions to the gaming world give him near-godlike status, recently sat down with the resident Wii guy Matt over at IGN and discussed the upcoming Rayman: Raving Rabbids. The focus of the title, which is more humor-based rather than an epic tale of lost civilizations or some such other conflict, is about "Love and power!" Michel even goes on to discuss, rather in-depth, what the control scheme on the launch title will be. With the nunchuk attachment dictating movement, rolling, and jumping, the Wiimote will be utilized to fight, ride animals (such as that spider), and...dance. No, that isn't a joke.
IGN survey reveals gamers' habits
Do you listen to Gorillaz? Are you looking forward to X-Men: The Last Stand? Do you watch Family Guy and The Simpsons? And do you have a positive opinion of Google and Apple?According to a recent survey conducted through IGN.com by IGN's GamerMetrics, the answer to the above is "yes" for a large number of gamers. Describing IGN as having "one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet", the survey's results show a fascinating slice of modern interests.Given that one of the arguments for in-game ads includes the fact that younger demographics don't watch much television, the number of gamers following Family Guy (68%) and The Simpsons (64%) may seem surprising. On the other hand, it would be interesting to see these results for different countries; the brand voting and TV choices show the American skew of the survey respondents.
E3: What resolution are PS3 games running?
As the next-gen parade continues at E3, many people have stopped by to comment on their opinion of Sony's upcoming console after it was revealed that at least two of the upcoming titles would definitely be running at 720p, not the 1080p Sony has been touting as the true definition of HD. Just to clarify, no one has suggested that PS3 would not be able to output games at 1080p (well, no one suggested it until Sony revealed the $499 model would be without HDMI anyway).After all that, IGN took a look around and has only found two games on display targeting 1080p. The upscaled-GT4 demo Gran Turismo HD, and Wardevil, showing a real-time tech demo but non-playable. It is likely that if you have a TV that can accept a 1080p input the PS3 will be able to upscale games rendered at 720p or 1080i to match, just like the Xbox 360 does. How soon until the first major native 1920x1080 game hits? That still remains to be seen.
PS3 Games: Not 1080p
We'll have to wait until Sony's conference later today and the rest of E3 to get more details about their upcoming console but from the Pre-E3 announcements we're already getting a few tidbits. Sony has been touting their ability to output 1080p via dual HDMI ports while some have claimed most games won't be able to use that resolution. Checking out Sega's announcement that Virtua Fighter 5 will be a Playstation 3 exclusive and Epic's interview regarding Unreal Tournament 2007 reveals one common thread, that both are targeting 720p. Obviously these will be early titles in the systems lifespan so we may see later games kick it up to 1920x1080 and with few having HDTVs that display or accept a 1080p signal this is of limited importance. Still one has to wonder if Sony will even call these games high definition, since the only True HD is 1080p at least according to Phil Harrison.Check for more live E3 coverage from Joystiq.
Bowser gets the business
Some videos popped up yesterday over at IGN showcasing several different situations the portly plumber might get himself into in his travels of eating mushrooms and balancing on ropes over lava pits in New Super Mario Bros. The first video even shows Mario duking it out with the big bad Bowser himself in the truest fashion, that is, in a recreation of their very first encounter back during the original Super Mario Bros. This time around has an exception, however, as once he is thrust into the liquid magma, Bowser emerges to the surface, much in the way T1000 did at the end of Terminator 2, thrashing about in great pain, yet displaying a ghastly skeletal visage. Could this finally be the end of Bowser? Also, how odd is it that his hair doesn't even get scorched? [Thanks TxdoHawk!]
Fan-made Wii logos
IGN Board member _SER_ recently posted some cool desktops he made of mockup Wii logos. In the spirit of making up, we present these cool logos to our readers and Nintendo, asking that they forgive us. We'll call it the Wii, we'll do whatever you want us to do to make it all better, baby. We just want to make you feel special. Can we have our mix tapes back? [Via New Generation]
Wii secrets revealed a year ago?
If you've been following the saga of Nintendo lately, you've probably seen posts of people scanning their invites to the Kodak Theatre for Nintendo's pre-E3 press conference this year. Using popular places from their franchises, such as "Hyrule" and "Mushroom Kingdom" to designate seating areas, Nintendo is adding a bit of fun to the selective process of allowing press into their show. What's odd is a post that someone made on the IGN boards around a year ago, resurrected only to be swept under the carpet a short while later by the IGN admins, where the poster nthngsshcking claimed "7. Kodak Theater = Mushroom Kingdom!" This correct assumption naturally leads toward the rest of this post being inspected for further allusions to truth about Nintendo's newest console. Take it as you will, but this blogger would love to believe that his fifth statement is true, albeit that it is more than likely not. "5. The Classics. Many for free just for joining…one free a month…Itunes pricing per each additional first party title. Third parties will bundle 3-5 each with a new game purchase." [Via Moz La Punk]
Golf a no-go for online play
Way back when in Revolution Fanboy's beginning days, we posted about one of the first games announced on the Revolution, none other than Tecmo's Skatto Golf Pangya Revolution. Tecmo announced today that the golf title would in fact not be playable online, limiting those hitting the links in Tecmo's title to playing alone or against the game's CPU. The game's producer, Keisuke Kikuchi, also gave up some more information on the game in the latest issue of Japanese mag Famitsu, stating that he is approaching this game as a brand new project and avoiding porting it over from the PC. He also alludes to a desire for the game to have downloadable content, something that the console is fully capable of.Is this the first of a long list of launch titles on the Revolution to not include online play? We'll find out in less than two weeks, that's for sure.
Matt at IGN: Metroid Prime 3 fully playable at E3
We figured as much, what with Iwata stating the launch of the Revolution would be before the U.S. celebrates Turkey Day this year and it pretty much being the console's flagship game. IGN's resident Revolution guy Matt alludes to the game during his comments on Too Human through his blog, a game releasing on Satan's Microsoft's Xbox 360 system. Yet, when a reader comments and poses the question as to whether or not that is a confirmation from him that the game will be fully playable at E3, he caves and gives up that he thinks the game will in fact be there and available for our grubby hands. This is just another item to add to your list of why this year's E3 could possibly be the best ever.
Spidey 3 on rails?
Supposedly, a blog over at IGN states that Spider-Man 3 on the Revolution will be "on rails" and the game will be entirely focused around the player utilizing Spidey's web with the remote. This blog cites a source over at AMN that was charged with interviewing Activision about said game, having sent an email to the blogger to spill the beans. While scrolling down to the comments below you'll see someone from AMN discreditting the information, the proposed concept is a very interesting one. This is more than likely not true, but in thinking about it, I'm not sure if this would be such a bad thing. Given that the game would need multiple pathways available to the player to get from point A to point B in order for the title to retain some replay value, the focus on Spidey's web-slinging and placing him on rails could actually work for the title. If the game managed to include the free-roaming feel of Spider-Man 2 between missions, objectives, etc., to allow for those of us who love to go swinging around the city to get some type of fix, this idea wouldn't be so bad.[Via Go Nintendo]
Revealed: Revolution CPU and GPU specs
Matt promised to post on the Revolution's "Hollywood" and "Broadway" GPU and CPU tonight, and he has delivered with the goods. Supposed sources possessing development kits of all shapes and sizes have confirmed what the final specs are."IBM's "Broadway" CPU is clocked at 729MHz, according to updated Nintendo documentation. By comparison, GameCube's Gekko CPU ran at 485MHz. The original Xbox's CPU was clocked at 733MHz. Meanwhile, Xbox 360 runs three symmetrical cores at 3.2GHz.""Revolution's ATI-provided "Hollywood" GPU clocks in at 243MHz. By comparison, GameCube's GPU ran at 162MHz, while the GPU on the original Xbox was clocked at 233MHz. Sources we spoke with suggest that it is unlikely the GPU will feature any added shaders, as has been speculated. The 'Hollywood' is a large-scale integrated chip that includes the GPU, DSP, I/O bridge and 3MBs of texture memory." Matt also goes on to write:"Revolution will operate using 24MBs of "main" 1T-SRAM. It will additionally boast 64MBs of "external" 1T-SRAM. That brings the total number of system RAM up to 88MBs, not including the 3MB texture buffer on the GPU. By comparison, GameCube featured 40MBs of RAM not counting the GPU's on-board 3MBs. The original Xbox included 64MBs total RAM. Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 operate on 512MBs of RAM."So it's pretty much confirmed that the Revolution is a direct extension of the GameCube hardware, just upgraded, without all of the bells and whistles Sony and Microsoft seem to think that are needed in their next generation of consoles. All the specs in the world don't matter unless you have engaging titles on your console and thankful that has never been a problem when it comes to the house Mario built.
