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Project Natal to focus on custom-made 'experiences,' will tolerate conventional games too
Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg has opened up to our buddies over at Joystiq about the future direction of Project Natal, and the big takeaway from their chat is that Redmond intends to use the new hardware primarily for "brand new experiences" designed specifically for it. Essentially, this means the majority of Natal-enabled games will be Wii-like in their focus and promotion of motion as the control scheme, but before you dive into a vortex of panic, there were also reassurances that "developers will have that out there at their fingertips if they want to enable those features." We now know that 10 to 15 percent of the Xbox 360's processing power will be sucked down by Natal, which may or may not be a reason for this shift away from what was expected -- layering Natal on top of games as an alternative control scheme -- to this shpiel about "unique" experiences. Either way, so long as we get to play Burnout on this thing, we could care less what others do with it.
iPhone games review roundup
The big-time gamers over at Joystiq have picked up the iPhone game review pace lately, and here's a sampling of what they've tried lately. iPhone Top Gun game takes highway to the postmortem Top Gun on iPhone is one of the device's many hidden treasures. Not only does it have cool, After Burner-esque gameplay, it's also got one of the best easter eggs of all time (as you can see... Ridge Racer: Accelerated comes to iPhone It appears the recently unearthed Ridge Racer: Accelerated trademark pointed to an iPhone entry in the long-running racing series. The title is now available on the App Store (try iTunes if you're... Battleship now syncing on iPhone Adding to its growing roster of Hasbro board games retooled for board-less play, EA has christened the iPhone / iPod touch version of Battleship on its maiden voyage to the iTunes App Store. The... Also of interest: 360 Live iPhone app now free
Joystiq talks to Frank Pearce about the past and future of Warcraft
Our friend Kevin Kelly over at the Joystiq mothership got a chance to talk to Frank Pearce at Blizzard about the Warcraft anniversary, and he did us proud. Not only did Frank Pearce do some nice reminiscing about Blizzard, where they've come from, and how the massive World of Warcraft undertaking has changed them as a company (they've gone from 500 employees to about 4,000 in just the last five years), but he also touched on some issues we've really been wondering about over here at WoW.com as well. Like, say, the reason we haven't seen a girl in the ads yet. Pearce says they're open to it, and he wants some names submitted, so we'll offer up Felicia Day as a no-brainer, and if you guys have other ideas, share away below. He also talks about server capacity, and says that at nearly every step, Blizzard has been surprised by their success. He attributes race and faction changes to thinking that realms were big enough on day one to bring everybody together who wanted to come together, but they later realized that wasn't what was happening. He mentions China and NetEase and says they wish the process there was faster. And finally, he talks, surprisingly, about the BlizzCon Vegas that wasn't, and seems to confirm that Blizzard was considering a Vegas show. Interesting. Where else did they consider holding the convention, we wonder?
Mirror's Edge for iPhone trailer
EA has released a trailer for the iPhone version of Mirror's Edge, and I have to say, it's looking good. As we surmised earlier, it's not the same first person gameplay as the console title, but instead it looks like the same running, jumping and sliding heroine has been translated onto the small screen with a nice amount of polish and flair. The Canabalt comparison continues as well (tell me you didn't see the birds flock up and think of that one), but you can see that there's also some enemies to take on, and I'd presume there's some accelerometer-based gameplay in the balancing act seen in there. Looks good to me -- no price or date yet for the release, but I'd imagine it's just around the corner.
Hands-on with the Sith Inquisitor of Star Wars: The Old Republic
With the recent announcement of the final two classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic, there was at least a little bit of genuine apprehension. After all, while the idea of playing a different flavor of Force-user with the Consular or the Inquisitor was indisputably entertaining, how different could they really wind up being from their cousins? The lucky dogs over at our fellow site, Joystiq, recently got a chance to play a hands-on demo with the Sith Inquisitor, and the answer is in: they really are a whole other ball-game. The term "hands-on" is a bit ironic, considering that the Interrogator is actually a very hands-off sort of class. Keeping in line with the game's classes having a strong set of archetypes drawn from the films, the class is drawn from the mold of Emperor Palpatine, with a variety of ranged Force attacks including the ever-popular arcs of lightning. The demo they got to play, unfortunately, was on the shorter side and didn't include such perks as the still largely unseen companion system, but as the article states, the game feels very solid in this demo. There's still a lot more to be seen for Star Wars: The Old Republic, but even this little taste should help encourage fans of the game.
The best of WoW.com: November 17-24, 2009
Happy Pilgrim's Bounty, everybody! That's the brand new Thanksgiving holiday going on right now in the World of Warcraft, where you can level up your cooking for cheap, chase turkeys around in-game, and even earn yourself the title of "Pilgrim." You'll find information about Pilgrim's Bounty and everything else in Warcraft over on Joystiq's sister site, WoW.com. Check out the links after the break for much, much more.
The Engadget Show - 003: Drew Bamford, Joystiq's Chris Grant, Adamo XPS, and lots of game demos
This is a big one, folks. The new installment of The Engadget Show is jam-packed with goodness. First up, Josh sits down with HTC's director of user experience Drew Bamford to discuss Android, Sense, Windows Mobile and a whole lot more. Then we've got a charming little segment where Paul and Josh go hunting around NYC for KIRFs, and Chris Grant joins the gang on stage for a dissection of the holiday gaming situation... and some demos where the gang gets to show off their totally radical moves. Seriously, Josh and Nilay have a DJ Hero battle, and Paul Miller skates (but doesn't die) in Tony Hawk: Ride. Don't miss this one -- it might just be the best yet! Full video is after the break. Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel Special guests: Drew Bamford, Chris Grant Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm Executive Producer: Josh Fruhlinger Edited by: Michael Slavens Music by: Glomag Visuals by: Dan Winckler Opening titles by: Julien Nantiec Special thanks to VIZIO for providing the 55 TruLED LCD HDTV! Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 003 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 003 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
Survey says 15% of overall gameplay time is in an MMO
Our friends at Joystiq reported on this fascinating survey by GamesIndustry.com that broke down responses from 13,000 US and EU citizens about how they spend their gaming time. While they don't have specific numbers for World of Warcraft, the survey says [PDF link] that overall, 15% of gaming time is spent playing MMOs. US players spend about 14% of their gaming time on MMOs, while EU players range from 8% to 16% by country. In the EU, 14% of all players have played an MMO, and in the US, 21% of everyone playing games has played a massively multiplayer online game. Again, these numbers aren't specifically for World of Warcraft (and because the survey went down to age 8 and up, they do include the vast virtual worlds aimed at children, like Club Penguin and Disney's Toontown, which probably throw the numbers off quite a bit), but they do show the effect that WoW has had on the gaming population over the last five years. Five years ago, MMOs were definitely a niche -- some hardcore gamers played them, but most people didn't have the Internet connections to play an online game, much less pay a subscription for one. Nowadays, MMOs represent over one out of every ten minutes of overall playtime, and those numbers are only going to go up.
The best of WoW.com: October 27 - November 3, 2009
That right there's a big ugly frost dragon named Sindragosa, and with the newest patch headed to the World of Warcraft (we expect it sometime this December), we'll be bringing her down. It won't be easy, but then again, WoW players have Joystiq's own WoW.com to guide them. You can read all about that fight, the new patch, and other popular stories in the World of Warcraft on our weekly roundup after the break.
The Daily Grind: Should game bloggers disclose gifts?
Yesterday, the US Federal Trade Commission unanimously ruled that all press outlets be held to disclose any "material connections" to the products they review. This basically means that if you review a product that was given to you for free by the company, you must now disclose that fact in your review. Interestingly enough, this ruling also dictates bloggers as well.As part of the Joystiq network of blogs, Massively is actually held to an integrity policy that prevents us from accepting gifts valued over $20. This includes everything from airfare for studio visits to the games themselves -- we must turn them down. And while this new FTC ruling is not actually a law, we are excited to see that our long-standing policies safeguard us from any integrity issues. Plus, we simply don't review MMOs.So now we're curious to hear what you think of this decision by the FTC. Do you think this will bring about a drastic change to all MMO reviewers out there? Can you trust a reviewer, knowing they were given a free game or travel expenses to visit a studio? Let us know what you think about this entire issue in the comments below!
Blizzard at PAX this weekend
As we reported a little while back, Blizzard will be in attendance at the sold out Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, Washington this weekend, and Crygil has posted on the forums that they'll have everything playable that they had at BlizzCon: the new Diablo III Monk class, the Cataclysm expansion, and the Starcraft II singleplayer campaign. Somewhat strangely, they don't actually say that the Cataclysm expansion will be the same starter zones that we played at BlizzCon -- they may actually have some of old world Azeroth open and playable. But on the other hand, they'd probably announce something like that if it was happening, and given that they'll have a smaller setup than BlizzCon, we don't imagine there'll be anything really new there.In other WoW news at PAX, our friends at The Guild will be screening the entire season 2 on Friday evening -- Jeff Lewis and Sandeep Parikh will be there, along with producer Kim Evey and Wil Wheaton (Felicia is headed off to Dragon*Con this weekend). Unfortunately, the screening is during the Friday evening concert, and so you might have to miss Anamanaguchi, Metroid Metal, and MC Frontalot. My favorites Jonathan Coulton and Freezepop are playing on Saturday night, though, so you can fit in both of those if you like.
The Queue: A message from the past
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday afternoon. I know I am! Well, actually, I don't know that. I'm writing this Sunday night, and I don't have a time machine powerful enough to show me what's happening tomorrow afternoon. Ideally, though? I'm having a wonderful time. Ask me tomorrow (which is today), and maybe I'll have a different answer.Ryael asked..."I was watching the BlizzCon feed online and there was a short interview with a man that was advertising how you could purchase a sizeable poster with one of our characters on it. Any idea what site that was from?"
GamesCom enters the ranks of E3 on its first year
With a bajillion gaming conventions going on this year, and the global economy being the way it is, you'd think gamers would need to pick and choose their events more carefully. You would actually think that if you decided to run your brand new gaming convention the exact same days as BlizzCon, you're in for some problems. Well, you'd be wrong.GamesCom in Cologne, Germany has just reported its attendance numbers and it blew away all expectations. 245,000 people attended the 5-day event that exhibited 458 companies from 31 countries. Quite a feat considering it was their first year. Our parent site, Joystiq, was on the ground at GamesCom and can provide more helpful statistics such as liters of Kölsch consumed and number of times they ran into champion boxer Wladimir Klitschko. Very important stuff.
All about our BlizzCon coverage
BlizzCon is upon us today. WoW.com and the Joystiq network are pulling out the stops unlike any year before. There's a total of 15 staffers on the ground during the convention this year, representing the entire Joystiq Network (WoW.com, Joystiq, Massively, and Big Download). We're going to be brining you non-stop coverage throughout the day. And while there could very well be 20 or so posts on WoW.com alone in the next 24 hours, there's only a few places where you need to look to find it all. WoW.com's BlizzCon Guide – Everything that happens about the World of Warcraft at BlizzCon will be listed there. I'll be updating this everytime we get something new in. The Joystiq Network BlizzCon Page – Coverage of everything that's not posted directly on WoW.com: Diablo III, StarCraft II, and any unannounced games that might just be announced. WoW.com's Twitter – Expect to hear lots from myself, Mike, Alex, and the rest of the team. Let us know your questions about the con and we'll try to find you answers! WoW.com's Side Bar – See that nifty "BlizzCon Live Blog Schedule" on WoW.com? That's when our writers will be blogging live the various panels. When the live blogs are happening they'll be the top post on our site, and when they're done you can access them by links that will appear there. Good times had by all! And don't forget to say hello to anyone wearing a WoW.com shirt. We might just have a surprise for you!
Sony's GamesCom presser coverage live at Joystiq!
Hey, Sony's GamesCom press conference is just about to get underway, and our pals from Joystiq are there covering it live. We just got sent this leaked memo on Sony's presentation, and it says there'll be an "unannounced Playstation 3" on stage, so it seems like the PS3 slim is even more of a lock than before -- but what are you waiting around here for? Go hit the liveblog!
The world is safe: Twilight MMO not a confirmed project
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/The_world_is_safe_Twilight_MMO_not_a_confirmed_project'; Thanks to some astute Joystiq commenters and a MySpace photo of a newspaper article, it seems we might all breathe a collective sigh of relief. The Twilight MMO isn't an official, confirmed project as of yet. The current Twilight: The Video Game is being created by Brandon Gardner, a student of game design from Blountstown, Florida. BrainJunk Studios currently consists of a volunteer staff, all working together on the concept of a Twilight game. Currently, Gardner is still studying with Westwood College Online, seeking out a bachelor's degree in game design as he works on his pet project. So, in conclusion, we're all temporarily spared... at least for the time being.
The best of WoW.com: June 23-30, 2009
See that shocked look on Thrall's face above? That guy's the leader of the Horde, and he just read (on WoW.com, of course) that for the first time, players of World of Warcraft will be able to switch their factions -- players will be able to leave his Horde, and those dirty Alliance might come to his side. No wonder he's so shocked. That story and more in this week's most popular posts from Joystiq's Azeroth-obsessed sister site. News Faction changes coming to World of WarcraftHorde can be Alliance, Alliance can be Horde, cats and dogs sleeping together! It's lunacy! Patch 3.2 PTR unveils Tier 9 setsThe next level of epic armor is coming to the game in the latest content patch... Patch 3.2 PTR Tier 9 set names...And it's got a great set of lore names to go with along with it. Patch 3.2 upcoming Engineering changesBig changes for one of the game's most popular professions. Exodus punished for exploiting Yogg-Saron encounterAfter a guild accomplishes a world-first achievement kill, Blizzard determines they didn't quite follow the rules. Features Patch 3.2 PTR: Tauren Druid conversation may reveal lore and expansion secrets A pair of Druids chatting in the new content patch might hint at the future of the game. The OverAchiever: Guide to Midsummer Fire Festival achievementsAzeroth is heating up with the Fire Festival -- here's how to get everything done this week. Arcane Brilliance: More questions than answersOur Mage columnist didn't get all his questions answered in Blizzard's recent Q&A article about the class. Patch 3.2 PTR: New heirloom items galleryA pictoral look at some new heirloom items headed to the game. WoW Casually: What Patch 3.2 means for casualsOh, you don't raid five times a week? Patch 3.2 has something for you as well.
38 Studios CEO Brett Close on the Big Huge Games acquisition and the Copernicus IP
Joystiq's fearless leader Chris Grant recently caught up with 38 Studios CEO Brett Close to discuss their recent acquisition of Big Huge Games, and what this might mean for the "Copernicus" MMO. Massively has mentioned Copernicus at a few points in the past, but unfortunately in terms more vague than we'd like. We know it's a fantasy MMO project that draws upon notables like R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane, but Joystiq turned up some more info about Copernicus. Close stresses that Copernicus is an IP that will exist in several channels; there will be books, graphic novels, and of course an MMO that draws upon these elements. "Rather than drilling into details about why this is going to give people something they have never experienced before... what I will tell you is that it's simply based on that talent [R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane] and based on our approach and our experience in building these products. There's nothing like it out there right now. And I don't believe there's anybody working on anything like this right now."
The best of WoW.com: June 9-16, 2009
Joystiq's sister site WoW.com covers the most popular MMO ever, World of Warcraft, every day of every week. Want to know what's new in Azeroth? Here's our biggest stories from the last seven days. News Upcoming mount changesRequired levels for mounts are being lowered, as are the costs for each. Isle of Conquest details releasedHot new deets on the game's upcoming battleground instance. Mountain Dew Battle-bots now liveMountain Dew released their promotional in-game items -- come and get 'em while they're... bot? New zeppelin and portals coming in Patch 3.2In addition to the mount updates, Blizzard is adding a new zep to ride and a portal straight to Outland. How convenient! Yogg Saron and Flame Leviathan nerfed tonightTwo Ulduar bosses get hit with the nerf bat. Features Guildwatch: He's really, really sorryDrama, downed, and recruiting news from around the realms. Ten things WoW players should know from E3Activision is bigger than ever, the MMO genre is widening, and wow, Star Wars: The Old Republic looks good. Addon Spotlight: Essential addons for raid leadersOur weekly column for UI addons examines some recommended installs for those leading raids. Popular scams and how to avoid themThere are scams aplenty in Azeroth, so here's some tips on how to dodge them. WoW, Casually: Tips for leveling on a PvP realmPlay on a player vs. player realm but don't want to die that often? Here's how to stay alive.
Team Joystiq plays the Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta
We've been spending the past few nights teamkilling Plundering, Deathmatching and Co-opping in the Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta, and it's been extremely fun. Right now the game is limited to custom parties of 5, but at launch it will support parties of 10, so you can take two teams of friends head to head in Plunder and Deathmatch, while Co-op supports 2 or 3 players. So what did we think about it? Head beyond the break to see the writeup and to watch video from our sessions, and to see the list of what we liked and what we didn't like. Naughty Dog is asking for feedback on the beta, so maybe they'll be able to tweak some things before launch. However the "fun" knob was definitely turned up to 11, so we weren't complaining (much). Except when we got pwned.%Gallery-51151%
