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Unreal Tournament 3 gets PC collector's edition
This November PC gamers will have a choice to make: settle for the regular edition of Unreal Tournament 3 ($50), or fork over just a bit more for the newly announced collector's edition, which comes in an obligatory tin case. For an extra $10, Midway is packing in an art book detailing the game's vehicles, characters, weapons and environments, as well as a bonus DVD featuring "in depth" Unreal Engine 3 Toolkit video tutorials, an Unreal Tournament retrospective, and a look behind the scenes at the making of UT3.This special edition is expected to be available in the US on November 19 alongside the regular, non-tin version, while Midway adds that both will also be released in the UK, Europe, South Africa, Russia, Australia and "most other territories."
Everything Unreal Tournament 3 at your fingertips on updated site
We recently checked out the official site for Unreal Tournament 3, because we love all our PS3 exclusive games equally, and noticed there have been a series of updates that loyal fans may be interested in checking out. Previously only found in a plethora of different places, all the high-res screenshots and videos of the game are listed in one convenient location, saving you the trouble of searching different places for different videos.Their latest updates deal with interviews as well as the videos shown at Leipzig, which are impressive in their own right. There's not really much else for us to say except to check it out if you haven't before, because if you're looking for an all-things-UT3 site, this would be the place. Come November, we'll gladly accept any challengers willing to test their mettle against the PS3Fanboy staff! And we'll gladly get our bums kicked, too.
Stranglehold demo on PSN this week? Forum mod says "Yes"
Sony set a dangerous precedent with last week's PSN update (and also, a tragic mistake). We'll be expecting similar amounts of content for the US PSN and a much greater amount for the EU PSN (alright, alright -- enough moaning about the EU PSN, but honestly: we're bitter). So far this week is shaping up quite nicely now that we have confirmation of Motorstorm's Coyote Revenge update and, now, a Stranglehold demo. That's right. A demo for a game that doesn't involve balls or wheels. We're excited!The announcement was made on the official Midway forums by the moderator "Echo77." Where do we recognise that name from? Oh yeah, he's the same fellow that started the Stranglehold region free nonsense a couple of months ago. Regardless, we're going to remain cautiously optimistic and hope for the best come Thursday.
Fatal Fury and Cyberball now on XBLA
It's time for the age old Capcom vs. SNK debate to begin anew, because Fatal Fury Special is now available on Xbox Live Arcade. Alongside the classic fighter is Cyberball 2072 which brings Xbox 360 gamers the palpable mix of robots and football. Ooh, and explosions too, can't forget explosions. Both games are available for the tantalizing price of 400 Microsoft Points.So, now that you've had a taste of both, which is it going to be fanboys, Street Fighter or Fatal Fury? We can tell you right now that there is one thing Fatal Fury has that Street Fighter doesn't: the lovely Mai Shiranui. Your move, Street Fighter.
Stranglehold delayed until late September for PS3
This is coming from a long line of "is it, is it not" scenarios for John Woo's action title Stranglehold. First it was held back, then region locked, then region free, then delayed for the PS3 indefinitely (but not really). So forgive us if another delay announcement doesn't exactly spark a very violent reaction with us -- we've run this course before. This time, though, both the PC and PS3 versions of the game get held back.While the 360 gets their white dove action on September 5th (in Europe, 14th), the PS3 has to wait until the end of September, slated now for the 25th with a vague October listing for Europe. Still, we should be getting a demo of the title over the PS Store soon, right? With all these delays, it'd be silly not to have that demo up before the game hits. Otherwise, we just might lose interest. Probably not, though, since this game looks pretty slick.[via Joystiq]
Stranglehold is gold we're told
Filled to the brim with all the slow motion diving, double-guns blazing action you can stand, Midway has announced that Stranglehold has officially gone gold. The game has gone off to the printers, as it were, and will be making its debut on Xbox 360 on September 5th. By the way, if you absolutely can't wait to get your Stranglehold on, the 360 is your only shot, as the PC version ships on September 18th and the PS3 in "October." If by some coincidence you haven't heard of Stranglehold, it's essentially Max Payne with John Woo flair. It's also decent fun. Don't take our word for it though. Go download the demo and try it for yourself.
Stranglehold slips again on PC, PS3
Guy with two guns epic Stranglehold is still struggling to get a grip on the PS3 and PC, with both versions facing delays just as the Xbox 360 version sees completion. Inspector Tequila's seething vendetta against neatly stacked grocery stands begins on the Xbox 360 September 5th (September 14th in Europe), with the PC version now following on September 18th in the US and the 21st in Europe. Shacknews reports that the PS3 version of the bullet bonanza is now scheduled for release on September 25th, which translates to an imprecise "October" for Europe.
Cyberball, Fatal Fury hit XBLA next week, special price drops too
Wow, the Xbox Live Arcade press release came early this week and it is loaded with goodies. First and foremost, let's discuss next week's games. There are two games arriving next Wednesday, Fatal Fury Special and Cyberball 2072. If you're a longtime gamer, both titles are likely to bring back heady arcade memories. We're talking about real arcades of course. Fatal Fury Special is old school 2D fighting at its finest, whereas Cyberball 2072 brings us robotic football with a ball that explodes if you don't make those touchdowns quickly. It is, put simply, football for nerds, and it always managed to draw in the same two guys at the arcade. You know, the guys who put their drinks on the machine and played nothing else for five hours. Good times. Both Fatal Fury and Cyberball will be available for 400 points.In other Arcade news, a select group of XBLA games will be available for half price this weekend in celebration of Labor Day. The four titles are Zuma, Small Arms, Dig Dug, and Gauntlet. Zuma and Small Arms will be available for 400 points, while Dig Dug and Gauntlet will be a mere 200 points each. The Labor Day special runs from 5:00PM PT September 1st though 4:59PM PT September 3rd. Hachi machi, it's so much Arcade goodness we can barely stand it.Read -- Cyberball 2072 XBLA siteRead -- Fatal Fury Special XBLA site
Lord of the Rings Online free 7-day trial
Turbine announced today that they're offering a free 7-day trial for their successful Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. The offer is available for North America, Australia and New Zealand. The press release finally gives us some numbers for LoTRO and says there are "4 million characters calling Middle-earth their home." That's a pretty slick way of avoiding how many actual accounts there are, but we'll totally believe them that it's the "second largest MMORPG" behind the unfathomably successful World of Warcraft. In that race, second place is a perfectly respectable place to be.LoTRO recently had their second content update which continues to drive the MMO in a good direction. The game seems to be doing well enough that it's been mentioned as being part of Midway's increasing fiscal fortitude. The first full expansion for LoTRO, which will cover the events in The Two Towers and its peripheral story lines, is expected to be announced early next year.
PAX 07: The licensed games panel
There's nothing more indicative of gamer culture than the fact that a bunch of us got together at a fan event, with games to be played right over in the exhibition hall, to talk about business. We can't help it! We love sales numbers and such.Vlad Ceraldi and Steve Bocska from Hothead, Steve Bowler from Midway, and David Freeman from Sabertooth Games held a panel to talk about licensed games yesterday at PAX. All of these individuals have unique qualifications to talk about the subject: the two Hothead representatives, in addition to working on Penny Arcade Adventures now, previously worked on last generation's Simpsons games. Bowler worked on NBA Ballers and is now on John Woo Presents Stranglehold, and Freeman juggles licenses in his work with Sabertooth's Universal Fighting System card game.
Stranglehold slips to Sept. 5 on PC and Xbox 360
Midway has confirmed to Joystiq that guy with two guns epic, Stranglehold, has been delayed past its initial August 27th release date on Xbox 360 and PC. John Woo's thoughtful study into the nature of exploding watermelons will now release on September 5th, with the PlayStation 3 version still following on September 17th. If you're clueless about Stranglehold or just have an urge to crush goons beneath suspiciously tethered neon signs, we'd recommend you have a look at the demo currently on the Xbox Live Marketplace.[Thanks, Kyleia and Justin]
Stranglehold delayed, thugs thankful
You know, with a badass like inspector Tequila on the case, we imagine that the Hong Kong thugs are thanking their lucky stars that Stranglehold has been delayed. Xbox 360 gamers, on the other hand, probably not so pleased. Before you collectively turn your local game shop into a pile of debris that John Woo would be proud of, you should know that the game has only been delayed by just over a week. Originally promised for August 27th, GameStop is now informing customers that the game has been pushed to September 5th. See, that's not so bad, is it? You can take that, right? Just promise us you won't go all slo-mo and shoot up the place, m'kay?[Thanks, Peter R. and Kyleia]
We're feel'n traumatised from look'n at Cruis'n
Remember how we were getting "an all new version" of Cruis'n for Wii? Well, if this is what passes for "all new," we'll take some old junk, please. Or nothing. Or an eye wash. Of course, this Cruis'n game is, in reality, as "all new" as it is attractive-- based on menu images, it's apparently a rebranded Wii version of a The Fast & The Furious arcade game. We wonder if IGN's Matt Casamassina is as thrilled about the game's Wii exclusivity now after these screens have been released.Note to developers: If your game's graphics ever compare unfavorably to those of a Nintendo 64 game, then it's time to go back to the drawing board, and then get stronger prescription eyewear so you can see that drawing board. We hope this all turns out to be a mistake or hoax of some kind, because we don't want to think that Midway thinks this is an acceptable thing to release.[Via NeoGAF]
Epic dedicated to user mods for 360 UTIII
In a response concerning his earlier comments about Blu-Ray capacity, Epic's Mark Rein has once again commented on bringing user created content to Unreal Tournament III for Xbox 360. First, he noted that praising Blu-Ray's capacity was in no way meant as a slight to the 360's DVD format, adding that any extra content could easily be made available for download. Speaking about user created mods, Rein noted, "When it comes to user created mods on the 360 - we will work with Microsoft to find a way to support them." He added that Epic doesn't know what the solution is at this time, and that it will have to wait until after the PS3 and PC versions ships (as well as Gears of War for PC). After that (and some much deserved R&R), Rein promises that Epic will tackle the user created content problem and "figure it out."[Via 1UP]
MS softens stance on user created content for 360 [update 1]
Coming from Gamefest 2007, it looks like Microsoft might be changing its tone on user created content. Longtime followers of the Xbox 360 will know that user created content has long been sought after by Microsoft, though it is somewhat hindered by the fact that all downloadable content has to be cleared by Microsoft before it can be distributed via Xbox Live Marketplace. At Gamefest, it was revealed that developers can circumvent this restriction by using what is called Xbox Live Server Platform (XLSP). Using XLSP, publishers can provide content directly from their own servers instead of Marketplace. Of course, such publishers would be solely responsible for all content delivered by these means. Also, use of XLSP by any publisher must be approved by Microsoft. During a panel at Gamefest, someone even asked if it would be possible to create a PC level editor that built levels playable on an Xbox 360. In response, Microsoft Software Design Engineer Zsolt Mathe said, "Even though nobody has done that, I would highly recommend that."Given Epic's recent lamentations concerning user generated content for Unreal Tournament III on the Xbox 360, perhaps XLSP is the answer.[Via BeyondUnreal. Thanks, Dave]Update: 1UP incorrectly states that XLSP stands for Xbox Live Silver Platform. DXL540 informs us that it is in fact Xbox Live Server Platform, which makes a bit more sense. Furthermore, DXL540 sends us an SEC filing from Activision detailing what's possible with XLSP.
Stranglehold becomes region-free (as it should be)
With its $30 million budget, Stranglehold may be one of the most expensive games ever made. Ever since we played the game at E3, we've been somewhat enamored by this John Woo-inspired effort. The PS3 Collector's Edition, which includes a Blu-ray version of "Hard Boiled," is what we're keeping our eye on.After upsetting some of its fan base by announcing the game would be region protected, Midway has listened to the consumer and has removed region protection from the PS3 version of the game -- even the version with the movie on it! "Please be clear that the Collector's Edition with the movie is only available in North America, so if you live elsewhere, you'll have to buy it as an import. I guess the higher ups do listen to you guys on the forums!"[Via NeoGAF]
Blacksite gets delayed into November
During a Q2 earnings call, Midway confirmed the news that Area 51: Blacksite has been delayed and its release date will be moved back into this Fall. The new release dates for Blacksite are November 5th for North America and October 6th for Europe, which is a step back from the rough "Summer" release it was slated for previously and the September release date retailers were telling customers.And allow us to express our opinion on this whole "delayed game" thing that has been going on lately. Simply put, we're thinking all this delayed video game madness is the cause of a rare virus. Seriously, here us out. This uber rare virus lives in the dirty kitchens of major game studios, feeds off cheesy puff crumbs and ends up messing with developers' minds, causing them to experience violent mood swings and act out in fits of rage. This ultimately delays their game as the virus makes everyone "moody". How else can we explain both GTA IV and Blacksite delays? And no, we don't believe the whole "we simply need more time" marketing mumbo jumbo either. All we're saying is that Microsoft better wrap Bungie HQ in aluminum foil and spread anti-bacterial soap all over it, because we refuse to get our Halo 3 any later than September 25th (26th for our European friends). Delayed game virus be damned!
Midway close to being profitable
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter tells GameDaily that Midway may be only one franchise away from not playing the Atari game of financial problems anymore. Recently Midway reduced their losses to around $14 million, which sounds like a lot to us normal folk, but for a corporation, that's like owing someone $20. Apparently Lord of the Rings Online helped bolster the bottom line, but because Midway is merely the distributer, Turbine is still reaping most of the benefits.Pachter believes Stranglehold will help Midway's cash flow and he expects it to sell a million copies in its first quarter of release. He believes profitability is right around the corner for the company if any of its titles do better than expected. Let's see, the contenders are Stranglehold, Blacksite: Area 51, and Unreal Tournament III. Given the way the industry is going, there's no reason any major company shouldn't currently be profitable -- unless they've got a great excuse.
Blacksite: Area 51 delayed until November
This has to be the best bit of news today. Midway has announced that Blacksite: Area 51 has been delayed, and will ship out to North America on November 5th and to Europe on October 26. "But wait," you ask, "how can this be the best news of the day?" Well, for those who've put blood, sweat and code into the game, we'd bet that any move away from Blacksite's previous launch date during September is very good news indeed.Sure, they've put on a brave face, even claiming at one point that launching near a certain other sci-fi FPS would actually make them stronger. As sweet as the attempt was, we're happy to see Blacksite back in a position where it's free of competition ... if you're not counting Haze, Assassin's Creed and Army of Two, of course.
Midway says they're not the only ones "concerned" over PS3
As if Sony needed any other publisher's concern, Midway spoke out the other day about the up-take (or up-doc, if you want some tomfoolery) of the PS3. Midway's CEO David Zucker did the talking, but his words strike home and we're concerned about the same things he is: we want the good PS3 titles to sell very well. He's also concerned about console sales, feeling the price cut will deliver a nice, temporary boost to sales, but it might not be enough. If you're wondering why Midway is so concerned, it's because for once, they're not trying to sell a Mortal Kombat title. They've got the special edition of Stranglehold and Unreal Tournament 3 coming out over the next few months and those are pretty important titles to get sales for. Midway wonders if another price cut will come in the future, if it's enough, and if their big titles will make a splash on the PS3, or bellyflop. Everybody knows that getting a pink belly is not a very fun way to start your day at the lake.
