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Kid Icarus on Wii indirectly revealed by IGN
When fans debate which of their plentiful wells Nintendo will be returning to for their next big title, Kid Icarus is always a popular suspicion. Now, IGN's Matt Casamassina has basically confirmed that it's on the way to Wii. On episode 7 of the IGN Nintendo Voice Chat podcast Casamassina says, "Of course [Nintendo is] going to have some E3 surprises. You know, Kid Icarus, for crying out loud, how many times do we have to say Kid Icarus? Kid Icarus is coming for crying out loud." When a co-host asks if he wants to reveal the developer he responds "I think we've confirmed it a billion times but no, I'm not going to say it officially."Adding more fuel to the fire on this week's show Casamassina said "Kid Icarus, that's another one that I'm really anticipating just because I love the franchise and I'm sure that the developer will make a really pretty game." It looks like we'll have to wait for July to hear anything official from Nintendo but, if Casamassina is to be believed (we've asked him for further clarification), a Wii version of Kid Icarus seems to be all but a done deal.[Thanks to Jeff for the heads up.]
AoC beta: a tale of two clients
Frustrated with the Age of Conan open beta's serious performance problems? Worried that the game won't be ready for retail in just a couple of weeks? Don't worry too much; not it is all as it seems. Word on the virtual street is that the open beta client is an old build with issues long since resolved in the closed beta version.When the IGN beta event finally began on Thursday, thousands of excited gamers ended up more frustrated than entertained. The experience has been marred by low framerates, stuttering, and frequent hard crashes. Admittedly, it's a beta; some of that is to be expected. But it's bad, and since the game's retail release is less than three weeks away, there's an air of concern that Age of Conan will hit retail in an unplayable state. The reality is more complex than that.
IGN responds to concerns over exclusive GTA IV review
Earlier this week, Variety's Ben Fritz expressed concern over IGN's exclusive first review of Grand Theft Auto IV, asking rhetorically, "How can we trust a videogame review when the outlet running it has been given a major commercial favor ... from the publisher of the game?" Well, GameDaily Media Coverage Columnist Gus Mastrapa went the extra mile and asked that very question to some people at IGN. And he even got an answer!"We in no way trade scores for an exclusive," said IGN VP Tal Blevins, adding that publishers have no access to or say in the text of a review before it goes live. That doesn't mean IGN didn't make any concessions to secure the exclusive, though. IGN Xbox editor Hilary Goldstein admitted the site used promotional placement on the site's top feature bar to secure the exclusive. "Our bargaining chip is to basically say, 'I will put it here if you let me have this,'" Goldstein said. Mastrapa likened the practice to an "exclusive cover story" in a game magazine.As for Variety and Fritz, Goldstein seemed unimpressed with with his journalism bona fides. "Nobody from Variety called us and said, 'Hey, would you like to comment about this?'" he said. "He says in blog post, 'If I had the game right now I would have broken the embargo.' To me that goes against your ethics." Nothing like an I'm-more-ethical-than-thou battle to get your heart racing in the morning.
Industry notables discuss the state of MMOs
Featuring a list of some influential and knowledgeable entities from the MMO universe, there's an extensive discussion of the "State of the MMO" over at WarCry. Including executives like SOE President John Smedley, game designers like EVE Online's Chantel Zuurmond, and industry reporters like IGN PC Executive Editor Steve Butts, there's enough of a broad base here to give a good insight into what's going on these days in the field.The topics range from "How can companies compete with World of Warcraft" to "How development costs affect innovation", and many more. It's a great read, and full of valuable nuggets of information for your ruminating pleasure.
Age of Conan beta delayed until 4 PM EST
[Update: Observant reader Phobic99 has see that the developers have pushed the beta launch back again. This time, we're set for 5:00 PM EST (22.00 GMT). Thanks Phobic99!]The title says it all. The Age of Conan FilePlanet beta has been pushed back until 4 PM EST (20.00 GMT) for a few more spit shines and polishes before it throws itself into your loving arms.The reason for the delay stems from the developers wishing to get in that one last hotfix onto closed servers before opening them up to the public. So, if you haven't logged onto Conan yet, we recommend you do so to get your client up to date. Only the game servers are down, the patching servers are not.If you completely haven't attempted to log in yet, you will be presented with a 300 mb patch, so if you're a rabid Conan fan and want to get into the beta the second the servers go live, it's recommended you try to start the client now to get yourself ready. Especially if you want to hit that level cap for the FilePlanet power levelling contest.In the mean time, why not go watch some television or something? You know, Law and Order is on at 2:00 PM EST on TNT. That should get your blood thirst up while you're waiting for 4:00 PM EST.
IGN yanks GTAIV hooker sex, killing video
Up until last night IGN had a feature video dedicated to scenes that depicted GTAIV lead character, Niko Bellic, performing sexual acts and murdering prostitutes online. After questioning the validity of such a video from MTV Multiplayer Blog lead Stephen Totilo, and bringing up the video with a contact at Fox; who owns IGN, the video was removed from IGN's site."IGN's goal is to show our users all aspects of popular games on the market," an IGN spokesperson told Totilo. "In this case, we crossed a line in how we portrayed some aspects of the game and we've taken this video down."The video begins with a montage of pole-dancing and lap-dancing and then spirals into violence with multiple shootings of scantily-clad women by Bellic.Forgetting that such a specifically focused look at that small, and optional, portion of the game was featured in such a way and the irony of a Fox owned outlet creating and releasing the video, we're left wondering what the point was. Doesn't creating a feature that only looks at such a controversial part of GTAIV fuel the fire for Rockstar naysayers? Well, at least we know which video we're likely to see when Fox News tackles the content of Grand Theft Auto IV.
Spellweaving in Age of Conan detailed
Everyone knows Age of Conan is all about the martial combat -- or at least that's what everyone seems to think. While it's true that the up-close and personal fights in Age of Conan are pretty intense, magic isn't getting the cold shoulder from Funcom.Magic users in AoC will be able to use Spellweaving, a trance state that will allow the combination of different spells in order to create more powerful magical effects, spells, etc. The trade-off is that the longer a magic user ( in the case of Spellweaving: Demonologist, Necromancer, Tempest of Set and Priest of Mitra) stays in this trance, the more stamina they lose. Once the stamina bar is emptied, health begins to drain instead -- lose that and a digital dirt nap is your final destination. While it's possible to gain positive buffs during a spell weave, there is just as likely a chance that a negative buff will manifest itself. Positive buffs will last for the duration of the weave, while negative ones can last beyond your trance state.
Variety discusses ethics of 'exclusive' reviews
Sometimes it's interesting to see the industry through fresh eyes again. Variety has an editorial up about the "ethically troubling" industry standard of exclusive reviews. The editorial specifically discusses IGN's GTA IV "exclusive," as the review site didn't get a "scoop" by finding some early copy of the game and posting a review, but by being given permission by Rockstar to break embargo. Every other outlet had to wait until this past Sunday.The Variety writer states that he doesn't personally trust any review labeled "exclusive," pointing out "reviews are entirely subjective, so if a critic is being influenced inappropriately in any way, the whole thing is worthless even though we as readers can't prove there's anything 'wrong.'" The piece concludes by saying that any self-respecting publication with a GTA IV review should have run it the minute IGN released its review. It's a lovely thought, but the last thing any review outlet wants is a reputation with PR firms for breaking embargo. In a worst case scenario, if any of these outlets signed legally binding non-disclosure agreements for these reviews, they'd have to face the possibility of being sued.
IGN watermark on Okami Wii strategy guide cover
Lightning does strike twice, and by lightning we mean botched cover art. The Okami Wii box cover wasn't the only victim of the IGN watermark, as it turns out the BradyGames strategy guide also proudly displays the blemish. The automatic reaction to this information would be, "Well, duh! They got the cover from Capcom. So, of course, it'll be there too." Funny thing: The watermark is actually in a different spot. However the error occurred is up for speculation. We just hope this little fiasco urges publishers to supply its designers with the assets to do their job properly. Or, designers should feel free to take assets from us with the Joystiq watermark on them. We totally give permission!
IGN: First web GTA IV review, another perfect 10
Is it too early to say that we're beginning to see a pattern develop here? We know that a mere handful of reviews for Rockstar's latest opus have been published, but should the current trend continue, Grand Theft Auto IV could be the subject of more perfect scores than 1976 Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci. Yes, IGN recently dropped the suspiciously non-embargoed first online review for the title, giving it a 10 out of 10 (on both platforms) and evoking the wrath of the Nintendo Defense Force, calling GTA IV "the best game since Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time."The seven-page, five-thousand word review (and accompanying video review, after the jump) praises the game's art style, the immersive backdrop of Liberty City, the "Oscar quality" story and the "refined" gameplay. The enamored reviewer even commends some of the quirky extra features included by Rockstar, such as Niko's multipuropse cellphone, or the in-game use of alcohol: "You don't have to drive drunk," the reviewer exclaims, "but it's fun to give it a try." Great, now we can look forward to public backlash towards the game's DUI-endorsing write-ups, as well.
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Looking back at the Age of Conan PvP weekend
The barbarians are coming! Age of Conan, which will be released into our outstretched arms on May 20th, offered up a lot of fun over last weekend. Funcom hosted an AoC PvP event and invited some folks to wear armor, loincloths, and pick up some really big clubs. These players then proceeded to train up, gather some loot, and enter into the arena for a fight to the death! The beatings that followed were portrayed by the team over at IGN in all of their gruesome glory. Players were able to log into either death match or capture the flag games and go head to head with their enemies. There were, of course, plenty of hearty barbarians who will kill you six times before you hit the ground waiting to show off their skills. Players in AoC can use spells or demonic pets to dispose of their enemies or even call upon the power of the gods themselves. If you're not familiar with Age of Conan's style of PvP, perhaps you'd like it explained weather-man style?Regardless, this is something you're going to need to prepare for. This is not your average PvP experience. For example, making an enemy of one barbarian could mean you will suffer a horrible death by a swarm of eels (yes, eels). Whether victorious through the use of the double bladed axe or the use of the all mighty eel, AoC is hopefully going to satisfy the thirst for victory in warriors from around the globe.
Capcom offers box art 'redemption' for Okami Wii
Capcom has responded to the Okami Wii box snafu by offering replacement cover artwork "to better reflect the artistic nature of the game," which we presume is a more professional way to say "to better remove the reflection of the IGN watermark." Head over to the Cover Artwork Redemption page (yes, they call it redemption) to fill out the form and choose one of three designs, including a "redesigned" version of the original. Previews for the other two replacements are shown above. The offer is free and an email confirmation from Capcom states the cover art will be shipping "in the next few weeks."
What the? Did IGN sneak onto my Okami boxart?
Personal story time, kiddies. I went out this morning to run some errands and pick up Okami, when, as I was leaving the Target, I noticed something weird about the boxart. I didn't recall us posting it on the site, so I spent some time glancing at the cover. It was then I noticed something very weird around Ameratsu's mouth: an IGN watermark."No, I didn't just see that," I told myself, as I placed the game back into the plastic bag the cashier put it in. Then, when I got back to the office, I checked a second time. And there it was again, sitting right where it was when I first spotted it. I quickly got online to see if anyone else caught this and lo and behold, our cruel overlords had reported on a thread at NeoGAF all about this. So yeah, now I feel like I want to return it. I know the watermark shouldn't bother me (it's pretty lultastic), but ... but it just does.%Gallery-16485%[Via Joystiq]
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.]
Age of Conan hits exclusively open beta on May 1st
This is it! Funcom, in partnership with Eidos and IGN have announced the Age of Conan open beta, available at FilePlanet.com and other IGN partner sites. Now, being available on FilePlanet means it's more of an 'exclusively open beta' -- you will have to be a member to receive the download.Additionally, from the press release: 'Funcom would like to point out that the primary function of the Open Beta is to stress test Age of Conan prior to launch. This means that Funcom will not make the entire game available to the Open Beta testers, and a level 13 cap will be applied.' So no matter how quickly you progress through the content, you're not going to be able to see any of the higher-level stuff; this might mean no siege warfare, or city building, or ridable mounts. But you've waited this long for decapitation-related joy, and here it is!
New classes definitely coming to Mythos
IGN has a preview of Mythos up (littered with as much gameplay footage as the game has loot) that takes a pretty good look at the upcoming Flagship Studios Diablo-like title. An interesting subject that the preview touches on is the addition of future classes. The only bit of information we're given is that the new classes will focus on some of the weapon-types that have no optimal class already in-game for them. We've got a couple guesses as to what sort of classes we may see, so buckle up!
IGN posts about Skate on Wii, then pulls story [Updated]
Oh, IGN, you so crazy. Yesterday, it was posting a story about Pandemic working on a Batman game and then promptly removing it. Today (well, technically last night) it's skate being ported to Wii and DS. The story apparently went up Tuesday and was soon removed. What's interesting is that both the mysterious Batman project and skate are EA titles. So ... did IGN get some exclusive info and then let the bat out of the bag too early, deleting them moments before uncle EA could wrest his whippin' belt free from his dungarees? We're betting yes, but we'll almost certainly never know.[Update: If you're interested, here's the cached article, thanks to tipster Robber Tom.]
IGN reveals then unreveals Skate
Oddly, IGN announced that EA's Skate would be coming to the Wii and DS, but then pulled the article soon after. It seems as if EA wasn't ready for this announcement to be made, although now it's a little too late -- the evidence is on Google.While there's a small chance that this announcement was a mistake, or a belated April Fools' joke, we're going to make the safe bet that an official announcement on the game, to be called Skate It!, will be coming soon.We also find the timing of this announcement interesting. It doesn't surprise us that EA would try to capitalize on its franchise by bringing it to Nintendo systems, but why bring Skate to the Wii after all this time? Could it be because the Balance Board will soon be available with the release of Wii Fit? We think so.[Via Destructoid]
Mythic expects WAR beta apps to reach one million
Forumites at the Vault Network boards started a thread speculating as to whether or not EA Mythic's Warhammer Online will reach one million beta apps when all's said and done. Mythic CEO and WAR lead designer Mark Jacobs promptly responded (as he's been known to do), assuring everyone that he and the WAR team have every expectation of achieving that goal."I'd be surprised if we didn't hit 1M once we start taking beta apps for our Asian partners," he said. "Even without Asia, based on our current sign-up rate, we should blow through 750K and we have a decent shot at 1M." He also noted that his original goalpost was 500,000 in North America and Europe, a goal which EA Mythic has "far surpassed."Maybe Funcom should take this as a throwing down of the gauntlet. Age of Conan's 500,000 beta sign-up number is impressive, but it looks like Funcom will have to do better than that to beat Warhammer![Via Keen and Graev]
April Fools' Alert #3: Legend of Zelda movie by IGN
IGN has a little fun this April Fools' Day with its exclusive Legend of Zelda movie trailer. The preview plays out like one giant cliché with fan service and a distinctive Uwe quality to it. We'd love to embed the preview and show you, but the code is broken and all we seem to get is some PSP-licker (and game butt-rubber) hosting a show.Last year we had another impressive Zelda-inspired April Fools' joke with a preview for a Legend of Zelda game set in a future/Star Wars version of Hyrule. We can't help but think IGN's trailer would have been better (and more over the top) had Link been walking down the street of some poor provincial town and people started bursting out singing like the opening of La Belle et la Bête Beauty and the Beast.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
