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50 Cent wants to 'make' Blood on the Sand sequel, original IP
At Joystiq Headquarters, we're all about bumpin' the latest Fiddy track and tossing around the ol' crystal skull (that's a basketball to you). So it should come as no surprise that we're psyched for the news that avid Joystiq reader 50 Cent is hoping for a sequel to his well-reviewed third-person shooter, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. According to an interview with MTV News, our favorite Vitamin Water investor responds rather positively when asked about the possibility of a sequel, saying, "I'm hoping we'll be able to do it ... with the success of this actual project, we'll try to do it again." Furthermore, though he's stated it before, he's more interested in doing future games that don't revolve around his persona, telling the interviewer, "I'd like to be a part of designing and marketing a video game I'm not actually in." And what of that Saint's Row movie you were optioning, Mr. Cent? "I was trying to option the rights, [but] the more we talk about it, the more expensive it will get," he says. Those "bigass chains" can get expensive, can't they? Hit the break for the full, "actual" video (only for those in the US unfortunately, per MTV.com restrictions -- sorry!).
Stephen Totilo leaves MTV News for cross-net rivals, Kotaku
Stephen Totilo – MTV News' stalwart gaming reporter – has announced via the MTV Multiplayer blog that he is "leaving MTV News this Friday after a wonderful four-year run." His next stop? "It's not game development. It is games journalism," Totilo writes. And that outlet: none other than cross-net rivals, Kotaku. Now, before you hiss and throw your MTV t-shirt to the ground in disgust (put your shirt back on!), we want to be the first to congratulate Stephen on the move. While gaming blogs, like Joystiq and Kotaku, have long fought against the bias of major publishers to be accepted as legitimate outlets, Stephen's presence at Kotaku not only gives the staff some much-needed good looks but lends legitimacy to the format. A rising tide lifts all boats, blue and purple alike. So, on that note: congrats, Stephen.His title will be Deputy Managing Editor for Cake-Related Posts. Source – The End Of My Run, MTV Multiplayer's Next StepSource – Games Journalist Quits Job For More Games Journalism
Rumor: Microsoft making motion-sensing Xbox 360 'Wiimote'
MTV News has a secret source who sent in the above "sketch" and some info on what they claim is a veritable Wiimote clone, courtesy of your friends and ours at Microsoft. Reportedly, the Xbox (marketing?) team has been hard at work aping Nintendo's waggling wonder, in an attempt to "match the Wii point for point." The project, which the anonymous source calls "a colossal clusterf---," is being handled to some degree by internal developer Rare, who has had difficulty "hitting its deadlines," apparently compromising Microsoft's ambitions to have a product release by the end of the year. The more astute amongst you may recall that X3F broke the news about Rare's upcoming XBLA game The Fast and the Furriest in January, which purportedly features "a wand type input device for gesture recognition."While not a huge surprise, considering the contortions Microsoft has put itself through to appeal to the "casual" audience, we're pretty certain releasing yet another interface for the Xbox 360 isn't going to accomplish much of anything outside of adding more delicious bullet points to the box (which SKU would this be?) and marginalizing any piece of software that required it. You're beautiful just the way you are, Xbox 360.
Halo 3 beta: Microsoft says "the experience will be deep"
While at D.I.C.E., MTV News' Stephen Totilo spoke with Phil Spencer, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios, to check in on the status of some of Microsoft's bigger projects ... say, the litany of Halo games in the works. While Spencer wouldn't say much about Peter Jackson's as-yet-untitled Halo project, or Ensemble Studios' Halo Wars RTS -- both are still in the early stages of development -- he did have a little more to say about the upcoming Halo 3 beta. When asked about the size of the beta, Spencer responded, "It isn't really a tease ... People should expect a pretty robust experience when they're playing. Don't call it a demo." More than one map? Spencer assures us, "The experience will definitely be deep." Deep, eh? Remember, if you didn't get a Rule of Three invite, you can always grab an "initial" copy of Crackdown.%Gallery-1676%
Sony's Phil Harrison congratulates Nintendo
There's no doubt that the PSP hasn't done as stellar as everyone has hoped. But that doesn't mean it's done poorly, either. MTV News spoke with Sony's Phil Harrison about the performance of the PSP so far. He notes that the PSP is doing a "very good job," distinct from the "great job" that Sony did on PS1 and PS2. He thinks that "most people use their PSP at home," an oddity that he'd like to change. Finally, he praised Nintendo and the DS, stating: "Nintendo should be congratulated... [DS owners] are our customers of tomorrow." Certainly, as Nintendo DS owners get older, they'll most likely look towards products that satisfy a more mature taste. It happened with the transition from Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 to Playstation and PlayStation 2, and it may happen again.
Loco Roco sequel confirmed
Sony Computer Entertainment President Phil Harrison recently spoke to MTV News, and made a startling revelation about the PSP exclusive LocoRoco. "It was a very successful game for us and we're continuing to evolve the franchise," he said. "We're going to bring 'LocoRoco' back in a couple of new ways with some new friends in the future." LocoRoco and Friends. Sounds like a sequel to me. Considering how many new levels the development team has created for the holidays, it seems like there's still a lot more LocoRoco to come.
Gamer's Week recap, in video
We're guessing if you're anything like us, you probably missed the bulk of MTV's Gamer's Week last week. Something about two new game consoles dropping, and the knowledge that these would all end up on the internet where we could watch them in between marathon rounds of Wii Sports, blogging, and hygienic necessities, prevented us from watching them on the old television. Now you can spend a boring Thanksgiving afternoon in your room, drunk on tryptophan, watching all of MTV News' Gamer's Week 2.0 videos online. The Real Price of Virtual Gold: Half a million Chinese laborers spend their days killing World of Warcraft monsters for actual income. But is it exploitive? My Gaming Block Austin, part 1: Sway goes to the mecca of video game development, visits studios and a gaming center -- and sees what his voice might sound like in a game. My Gaming Block Austin, part 2: working out and eating wings. Keiko Takamura, Second Life Star: Making friends at school was tough for Amy Te, but she's had no trouble selling out shows in Second Life. You Hear it First, Frogg Marlowe: Jeremy Works performs in the virtual world as an amphibious musician -- but that doesn't protect him from hecklers. 25 Years of MTV Video Games: From Pac-Man and the dawn of the arcade to the Dreamcast to the PlayStation 2, MTV has always had a finger on the joystick. See also: Joystiq talks with MTV News' Stephen Totilo
Joystiq talks with MTV News' Stephen Totilo
With two highly anticipated console launches closing out this week, MTV certainly picked a ripe time to repeat their Gamer's Week event. With properties like GameTrailers and Neopets, recent acquisitions like Guitar Hero dev Harmonix and instant messaging/gaming client Xfire, as well as Stephen Totilo's impressive work at MTV News, it's clear that MTV is serious about games. We recently had a chance to talk to Stephen about Gamer's Week and find out why it's not just Laguna Beach but with some video game stuff thrown in.What's your role in Gamer's Week? As a reporter for MTV News, how do you fit into the whole Gamer's Week package? Like last year, MTV is dedicating a week to gaming coverage, and marshaling as many resources as possible to put cool stuff together. And like last year, I was tapped as the MTV News reporter who covers video games to provide five day's worth of on-air news segments and any written stories for MTVNews.com.
Sony: 1mln to 1.2mln PS3s for North America in '06
Earlier today Sony dropped the bomb that they'd be delaying the PS3 launch in Europe (you guys didn't really think you'd get it at the same time as North America, did you?) and halving worldwide shipments for 2006 from 4 million to 2 million. So just how many of those 2 million are coming to North America? A Sony spokesperson told MTV News that instead of focusing on those day-one numbers, we should be looking at the 1 million to 1.2 million units available by the end of this year.Now, we know the armchair analysts (and even some real ones) are getting all doom and gloom about the PS3's holiday prospects in light of today's announcements, but let's throw some context at the mess and see if we can't make this lump of coal shine. The Sony spokesperson was quick to point out the similarities between the PS3's impending launch and the now dominant PS2's launch back in 2000, which also shipped with a fraction of what was expected. Keep reading for a fancy chart!
Video games and Wikipedia, perfect together
We love Wikipedia. Whether it's worlds inside games, worlds inside comics about games, or blogs about games, Wikipedia's got what every video game fanboy needs: an endless stream of entries ... that you can edit.A short bit at the end of a recent MTV News column tipped us off to a recent article in erudite periodical The Atlantic Monthly covering the "most-edited articles" on Wikipedia. While video games might not be able to rack up Jesus or George W. numbers (Dubya's twice as popular as Jesus!), RuneScape made a seriously strong showing at number 8! So how did a humble, Java-powered MMORPG rack up nearly 11K edits? Vandalism!Like Jesus, Islam, Christianity, and Britney Spears, video games inspire a sort of religious fervor. Of course, no company or brand is more familiar with this sort of devotion than The Big N, whose Wii console beat out Pope Benedict XVI to the number 19 spot (take that!).For more on the popularity of gaming properties on Wikipedia, check out Wikimedia's top-100 most viewed charts for August. Again, the Wii comes in strong at number 11, with Fable, PlayStation 3, Final Fantasy VII, Mortal Kombat, and GameFAQs bringing up the rear. Depending on the relevance you would ascribe to Wikipedia's search results, a cursory glance puts gaming near the forefront of online interests -- up there with current events, television, and sex (yup, even on Wikipedia).Read - The Atlantic Monthly on Wikipedia [via MTV News]Read - Top 100 viewed Wikipedia articles [via Calacanis]
Start your TiVos: Game designer's roundtable on MTV2
Back in May, MTV News' Stephen Totilo produced a game designer's roundtable featuring four prominent game designers -- Harvey Smith (aka Witchboy; Deus Ex), Will Wright (The Sims), David Jaffe (God of War), and Cliff Bleszinski (aka CliffyB; Gears of War) -- that MTV decided (in their infinite wisdom) was not worthy of full television exposure. Instead, they opted to run an edited version and stick the full program on their PC-only Overdrive site. Thankfully, they've had a change of heart and have decided to run the entire special on MTV2 beginning tonight. Kudos to MTV for filling an entire slot with four white guys talking about video games in an art gallery. G4 seems to be of the mind that there's no audience for smart programming about video games. Get going, it starts in thirty minutes! It's late notice, we know, but you'll be able to set the old TiVo (or VCR ... yuck) to make the best out of cable television's tendency to repeat programming. A lot. Note to MTV: more quality gaming coverage, less Punk'd reruns, k? Sat 08/19@6:30PM Sun 08/19@12:30AM Mon 08/19@10:30AM Wed 08/19@3:00AM Thu 08/19@3:00PM Fri 08/19@10:00AM Read - MTV News Presents: Gods of Gaming schedule
Top 10 games? Bah! Who're the top 10 gamers?
MTV News' Stephen Totilo took the tired top-10 list and turned it on its ear. The new question: who are "the 10 most influential gamers of all time"? The metric: "gamers whose time playing actually affected the culture, creation or business of video games ...." The results: SHOCKING. Actually they're rather interesting. While our good friend (and aspiring pugilist) Uwe Boll didn't make the cut, there are plenty of names you will recognize. How about the Penny Arcade guys? Or Life magazine profilee, and heavily mulleted arcade champ, Billy Mitchell? Or the two guys who blurred the boundaries between gamers and developers when they created Counterstrike? Or how about either of the picks who populate the user-modifiable online world of Second Life. With only 200,000 "players," Second Life represents an interesting facet to this list. While the world is nowhere near as popular as its MMO-cousin World of Warcraft, the unique marketplace system of Second Life encourages entrepreneurship and creativity. Like the list's virtual real estate mogul Ailin Graef, whose 2005 profits were estimated at over $100,000 (mental note: ditch blogging, become a virtual real estate mogul).Who's missing? And you can't say yourself.
MTV hosts game designers roundtable
MTV News' Stephen Totilo somehow managed the Herculean task of getting four major game designers -- Harvey Smith (aka Witchboy; Deus Ex), Will Wright (The Sims), David Jaffe (God of War), and Cliff Bleszinski (aka CliffyB; Gears of War) -- to sit down and talk to each other ... during the week of E3. The roundtable took place at Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight amidst the backdrop of their currently running I AM 8-BIT art show. Though it begins with more input from host Gideon Yago, it quickly evolves into a conversation between the four designers, running the gaming gamut from design to violence in games to the art question, all with a healthy sprinkling of (the outspoken) David Jaffe's trademark pottymouth.While MTV only ran an edited version, MTV's online-only Overdrive channel is hosting the whole shebang. It's unfortunate that MTV decided this didn't deserve to be aired on television even though they've managed to make room for another half-dozen airings of the Gears of War promotional special. But seriously, if MTV's doing this, what does G4 do nowadays?[Warning: Ever attuned to the pulse of the younger generation, MTV had the foresight to recognize that nobody under the age of 34 uses Mac OS and, accordingly, they've made their Overdrive site only compatible with Internet Explorer running on Windows.]
