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Sega Europe prez talks MadWorld, core games, and 2009
Click for more screenage COO and Sega Europe president, Mike Hayes, is pumped for 2009. With the release of MadWorld quickly approaching, he's anxious for us to try the experience he's calling "so unique it aches." The Sega Europe president opened up on more than just Platinum Games' upcoming title, talking about the success of Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, as well as what the company expects going into 2009. Click here to read the full interview.%Gallery-22964%[Via CVG]
BBFC grants MadWorld '18' rating, no cuts made
Despite the Daily Mail's best attempts to whip up a fuss, the BBFC has granted MadWorld an "18" certificate in the UK. It is the eighth Wii game to receive the rating (see the full list after the jump), and was passed with -- yay! -- no cuts whatsoever. Sega is likely to face a bigger obstacle when it comes to getting the game rated elsewhere, and it seems to realize this. MadWorld won't even be released in Germany or Japan, while Australia's notoriously conservative OFLC may take some convincing.Elsewhere in MadWorld, uh, world, IGN has posted one of the first hands-on previews, including a full breakdown of the controls. The Nunchuk will be used to make protagonist Jack move and jump (with Z), the C button centers the camera behind Jack, punching people in the face is done with A, while the chainsaw attacks are on the B trigger. Holding A lets you pick people up, which is where you can perform special moves by waggling.%Gallery-22964%
MadWorld receives '18' rating from BBFC
The British Board of Film Classification has passed Sega's MadWorld with an "18" rating. The Wii title received the classification for containing "very strong, stylized, bloody violence." Sega has been working with both the BBFC and the United States' ESRB to avoid the respective regions' "kiss of death." The publisher contributed builds at various times for feedback on what needed to be changed to dodge being "unclassified" in the Britain and receiving an "AO" rating in the States.We're unaware if Sega has also been showing builds to Australia's conservative OFLC. If any region is going to "ban" MadWorld, it'll be the Aussies, due to the region's lack of an R18+ rating for games.
MadWorld producer talks mature Wii titles, sequels, minigames
Despite having few ultra-violent titles in its library (most notably Manhunt 2 and No More Heroes), the Wii can't seem to shake its "kiddie" moniker. MadWorld producer Atsushi Inaba hopes to change that, telling play.tm, "It would be great if MadWorld can really kick off [a trend of mature titles]." He also opined that the console's hardware capacity is not a problem so long as you can "correctly communicate the concept or features of the game." Seeing as we're able to envision waggling the remote and producing lots of virtual blood, we think he might be onto something. Inaba also said that they're (gasp!) considering a sequel should the game be successful. If that's not enough of a non-surprise for you, he reminds us that there will be minigames -- known here as "Blood Bath Challenges." This is a Wii title, after all. Gallery: MadWorld
Atsushi Inaba would love to make more MadWorld
Of course, we don't know if that's a good thing yet, without having actually played the first game, but we suspect that Platinum Games' MadWorld will be sequel-worthy. Inaba gave Play.tm the usual line about sequel prospects: "We'd obviously love for there to be a sequel and will definitely consider making one depending on the feedback we receive from players of the game". Of course, by "feedback" he means money. Interestingly, a MadWorld sequel would make a self-fulfilling prophecy of Inaba's prediction that his game may start of a trend of mature Wii games.Elsewhere in the interview, Inaba mentions that each stage of MadWorld should feature 2-3 Blood Bath Challenges (like the infamous "Man Darts") which are unlocked at certain score milestones.%Gallery-22964%
Try out Sega's Wii line-up early
If you're in the New York area between February 6 - 8, we are now officially jealous of you, for something other than the fact that you live in New York. Sega USA's blog informs us that House of the Dead: Overkill, Sonic and the Black Knight, MadWorld, and The Conduit will all be playable at the 2009 New York Comic-Con, which in our opinion makes the $30 fee for a Friday or Sunday ticket (or even the $40 for a Saturday pass) totally palatable. Alternatively, if you fancy being the jerk who hogs the Wii booths for a full three days, you can pony up $50 for the entire event.%Gallery-22964%[Via IGN]
Ooh, shiny: Platinum Games unveils new logo
2009 promises to be a busy year for Platinum Games, home of Clover alumni and all-round awesomeness. MadWorld will be curb-stomping our happy, grateful faces into pulpy mush in March, Infinite Space will grace our DSes, and the company is also developing some game for the others. Faced with such an intimidating stack of deadlines, the company took drastic action, and designed a new logo. Replacing the old design is what looks like a slightly shorter, plumper version of the PlayStation "P," alongside ... a star? A shuriken? Something great, anyway. Something which will fill the the worker ants with pride and increase output by 493% this calendar year. Oh, and it's all lovingly rendered in "Platinum Silver," don'cha know. Company President / CEO Tatsuya Minami will be discussing the deeper meaning behind the new logo later. There's always a deeper meaning behind these things. %Gallery-22964%
Nintendo unleashes full Q1 schedule
Nintendo's carrier pigeon just landed on our windowsill with a complete list of Wii releases for Q1 2009. We do actually know most of these dates already (so yeah, maybe the mushroom cloud is a bit excessive), but there's still the occasional scrap of new news buried within.Those Tenchu and Little King's Story dates are fresh to us, and there's also confirmation of the first Play on Wii "New Play Control" games, Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis. For the record, "New Play Control" is a bit of a rubbish name for the series. In our humble opinion, obviously.Make the jump for the full line-up, and remember you can click on a game's name to bring up screens (where available)!%Gallery-22964%
MadWorld's 'Holiday Trailer' now a bit madder
Whenever the discussion turns to "mature" games, the gaming audience invariably displays an overt bloodlust. Such a stated desire to see blood is actually kind of strange when you think about it. We sort of understand, in that visible blood is a shorthand for completely uncensored in-game violence, and we all revile censorship. However, we are still often taken aback by how quickly an interest in non-cutesy games manifests as some kind of obsession with blood.That said, here's the MadWorld trailer with all the censor bars taken out. In an ironic act of censorship, we've placed the trailer after the break, because children might be looking. We want to protect the innocence of those too young to figure out the post break, but old enough to figure out the play button.%Gallery-22964%
Wii Warm Up: What's your next big game on the horizon?
It's no secret that 2009 is going to be full of awesome game experiences for us Wii owners. What we were wondering, though, is what the next big game on the horizon is for yourself? Are you pumped for titles due for release in Q1, such as MadWorld, Dead Rising, and The Conduit? Or, are you looking forward to something due a bit later, like Sin & Punishment 2 or Punch-Out!!?
Sega bringing the big guns to New York Comic Con
Click for more screens. Do you live in the New York area? Want to play The Conduit, MadWorld, and The House of the Dead: Overkill before they release? Well, you might want to head to the New York Comic Con, because Sega is bringing them to the show next year.The New York Comic Con takes place February 6-8 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Aside from the AAA titles, Sega also promises "zombie surprises," whatever that is. Disgusting, zombified limbs as souvenirs? We can only hope so.%Gallery-25003%[Via Joystiq]
Sega bringing MadWorld, The Conduit to New York Comic Con
Those looking to attend next year's New York Comic Con have more to look forward to than hygiene experiments and booth babes: Sega has confirmed that it will bring demos of MadWorld, The Conduit and The House of the Dead: Overkill to the event, which takes place February 6-8 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Special "zombie surprises" are also promised, so come prepared.Sega hasn't revealed if any or all of these titles will be playable or merely shown off to those who happen to stroll by its booth. Not that it matters, as you'll likely go blind well before the show after meticulously gluing down individual scales in the name of Aquaman cosplay.
Nintendo dates Play on Wii, other 2009 releases for Europe
Supposedly, a list for what's coming next year in Europe was issued by NoE and it's been found on a few sites. The problem is that none of these sites source anything entirely credible, so we're remaining a bit skeptical on this one. What are you waiting for? Dive past the break for this rather extensive list of what's apparently going to release in Europe, including some Play on Wii titles, next year.
A new MadWorld trailer for the holidays
Sega and Platinum Games have sent us a gift for the holidays in the form of the trailer you see above. It gives us a little more background on the story behind MadWorld, as well as a look at some of the more unique ways to kill your opponents. Our favorite? All we have to say is this: we like ours extra crispy.Because of the trailer being fairly gory, we've tucked it past the break.%Gallery-22964%
Sega launches MadWorld site, confirms local multiplayer
The official site for Sega and Platinum Games' MadWorld has gone live and, aside from the usual things these sites provide like wallpapers, screens, and trailers, it has revealed that the game will indeed have multiplayer. Although we would've liked some kind of death arena thing that allowed players to compete online, the multiplayer is, sadly, only local. The offline multiplayer is being called "Blood Bath Challenge," and will allow you compete against friends or enemies. Sorry, but that's all we have to go on right now.Aside from that, there's a lot of other cool stuff over there. They have dev blogs (although they haven't been updated since TGS), screens, a section for trailers, and some general game info. Head on over and check it out.%Gallery-22964%[Via Go Nintendo]
Confirmed: MadWorld with color would suck
How important are MadWorld's black-and-white visuals? According to producer Atsushi Inaba, the game looked "kind of subpar" when Platinum Games tried coloring it in. "MadWorld is very much based on American-style comics, so we added some color to see how it was going to look," Inaba told 1UP. "Adding color really didn't do anything for it. We got rid of it."And by "got rid of it." Inaba means completely. A Technicolor version won't even be available as an extra, so if you were kind of curious about seeing MadWorld with added pinks and greens, tough cheddar. We advise consoling yourself by reading 1UP's full interview with Inaba and director Shigenori Nishikawa -- especially as it features hot new screens of the game's "Asia Town" level.%Gallery-22964%
MadWorld's take on Wii music
As happens each month, some of the more interesting tidbits from the holiday issue of Nintendo Power have been transcribed by the tireless folks at Aeropause.The most eye-catching news, for us? A novel and particularly painful-sounding attack in Platinum Games' MadWorld. According to the magazine, you'll be able to lodge "a trumpet where the sun don't shine, leaving the unfortunate fellow to stagger around as he inadvertently toots the horn." Awe. Some. What's a trumpet doing lying around on the set of a futuristic game show about death and wanton bloodletting? Heck, don't ask, just shove.Other worthy factoids drawn from the mag deal with how No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda relaxes (by playing Burnout Paradise), and the news that Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers will have a two-player splitscreen mode. Hit up Aeropause for the rest!%Gallery-22964%[Via Go Nintendo]
Atsushi Inaba talks MadWorld inspirations, Wii
A lot of things come to mind when looking at screens or video from MadWorld. Its visual style has been compared to Sin City and Running Man, to name a few. So, is this where creator Atsushi Inaba got his inspiration for the game?"Of course we like Sin City very much and we have seen Running Man before but they are not the sources of our creation," said Inaba. "The concepts of MadWorld are 'visual impact' and 'over-the-top violence,' and these two themes run right through the game." Inaba also says it hasn't been easy for his team to accomplish the game's stylish look and feel, commenting that "all team members are constantly working very hard to capture the style we want the final game to have."When asked why Platinum Games settled on the Wii, Inaba pointed to the "huge install base" and said his team is "really interested in the Wii platform" and "wanted to create a really cool and stylish game for that." Frankly, we're glad. Not just because we, uh, want to play this, but also because we're tired of the Wii getting the "it's only for kiddies" label. We're awfully tired of that, to tell you the truth.%Gallery-22964%
Wii Warm Up: Top title for 2009?
So, yesterday we had some talk about 2009 and how there are plenty of great games releasing on the Wii. What we want to know this morning is what is the top 2009 title for you? What are you looking forward to most next year? We know it's a lot to ask, what with everything that is due to release.Is it The Conduit? Is it MadWorld? Sin & Punishment 2? Well, out with it!
Nintendo confident core will be satisfied in 2009
Well, we would think, given that there are a bunch of really unique and fun-looking games coming down the pipe next year. MadWorld, Sin & Punishment 2, The Conduit, and Punch-Out!! are just a few of the games that the core are likely excited for. "I think that next year you're going to see the tide turn a little bit, in terms of people realizing that the Wii can have something of interest for everybody," said Cammie Dunaway in a MTV Multiplayer interview. "So, yeah, I think next year is going to be a pretty good year in terms of the breadth of offerings that are going to be out there for a bunch of folks."The full interview with Cammie hasn't been published yet, but we'll let you know when it does. Frankly, we're interested in hearing more from her on these games, because, well, we're as excited for them as you are![Via CVG]
