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Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing screens make a pit stop in your heart
click to enlarge Sega has dropped some new screens from its upcoming Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing kart game, and if you don't find them completely charming, there's something broken near your left ventricle. We don't yet know if the game is any good or not, but if you look at these lush, colorful 3D recreations of classic Sega environments and characters and don't feel the slightest stirring down in your jaded, Mature excuse for a gamer heart, you better get it checked. Note that these screens come from the Xbox 360 version, which explains why Banjo and the Avatars (coincidentally a great band name) appear within. Enjoy. %Gallery-83937%
UK gets Sega All-Stars Racing wheel bundle
click to Sonic-size Sega has now revealed the promised racing wheel for the Wii version of Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing. The wheel will be available as part of a bundle in the UK. It won't be available outside of European territories at all, which is unfortunate, as the All-Stars Racing wheel seems just a bit sharper than Nintendo's own peripheral. Get a closer look at the wheel and the bundle packaging in the gallery below. %Gallery-83448%
All-Stars Racing, Napoleon: Total War dated in Europe
Sega has dated two its upcoming games for Europe, including the fanservice-filled racing game Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. The mascot racer will arrive there on February 26, three days after the North American release date. In addition, as tweeted by the game's official account, Napoleon: Total War will be out in on February 23 -- a date that is accurate for both Europe and NA. No word on Napoleon & Historical All-Stars Racing, however. Yakuza 3 remains at an unspecified "March" date for both Europe and North America. Similarly nonspecific are Alpha Protocol, Resonance of Fate, and Infinite Space, which Videogamer reports are all still "spring," with Valkyria Chronicles 2 following in the summer.
Add Mii to Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
You might not be able to play as Banjo and Kazooie in the Wii version of Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, but you will be able to play as ... The Notorious B.I.G.! No, Sega hasn't added a selection of deceased rappers to the game's playable cast (no matter how many times we ask) -- the publisher has merely announced Mii support. Much like the racing Avatars in the Xbox 360 version, the Wii version of Sega All-Stars Racing allows your Miis to compete against Sonic, Knuckles, Ryo Hazuki, and the rest of the assembled Sega crew. Hey, this is one way to get Segata Sanshiro back in the game -- where he belongs.
Rumor: Shenmue's Nozomi cut from Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Nozomi, the erstwhile love interest of Shenmue's Ryo Hazuki, has lived a virtual life of ignominy. All she wanted in life was to form a meaningful connection before leaving the town of Yokosuka to live in Canada, but she had the misfortune to fall for the most oblivious teenage boy in the world, who simply failed to notice her overt advances. And now news has come out that she was ruled out for inclusion in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. "She was going to ride on the back of Ryo's bike," executive producer Steve Lycett allegedly said in a Sonic Stadium forum post, "but there was the small issue of where does she go when the Forklift appears." Because, while having the martial arts student on a quest for vengeance in the mascot racing game is a perfectly sensible move, it would simply have been silly for his friend to disappear when his motorcycle was replaced by a forklift in the middle of a race. In an earlier post, Lycett mentioned that Saturn mascot Segata Sanshiro was also considered for inclusion, but rejected. We would suggest that if Segata didn't work in this game, Sumo Digital should start over, and keep trying until it arrives at a game design that includes Segata Sanshiro. Of course, it should be noted that Lycett also coyly downplayed rumors of Banjo and Kazooie's inclusion in the Xbox 360 version of the game, so anything he says should be met with a measure of skepticism. [Via Kombo]
EA: FIFA 10 is fastest-selling sports game 'ever'
EA's annual footie franchise must be doing something right this year because FIFA 10 has apparently sold 1.7 million copies in Europe during its first week. According to EA, the title is "the fastest selling sports game ever and EA's biggest European launch in history." Even with the positive launch, GI.biz spoke with an analyst who believes the sales aren't going to help EA in the long-term. Doug Creutz of Cowan and Company notes that heavy discounts at supermarket chains and other incentives made initial sales strong, but if the situation plays out anything like FIFA 09, the year-on-year sales will only grow marginally. But like a head-butt goal in the first minutes of a match, FIFA 10 is putting on a good show during launch. Source -- EA announces record-breaking launch FIFA 10 (EA) Source -- FIFA 10 record sales won't boost profits (GI.biz)
Broken Sword creator designed Disney's Christmas Carol game
Unlike Dante's Inferno, there's a very good chance that the new game based on (Robert Zemeckis's upcoming movie version of) Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol won't make us want to go back in time and apologize to the original work's author on behalf of the industry we love so much. The main reason: it's designed by Revolution Software's Charles Cecil, best known for his work on Broken Sword. Cecil's experience with smart adventure games means that this new game is unlikely to turn Ebenezer Scrooge into a musclebound avenger who tears apart the ghosts invading his home. "The approach I took was to place the player as the hand of fate," Cecil told Develop about the Sumo Digital-developed game, "guiding a very willful protagonist down the road to redemption, and he doesn't want to down that road at all. Players have to interact with people and the environment to make that happen, and it tells the story in really different way. I'm very happy with it." We never thought we'd find a licensed Disney game about Christmas so interesting! Another different way this story is being told: with Cecil's own narration. He did some placeholder voice work, and "the Americans" insisted that it remain in the final game. Though Cecil didn't specify platforms, a game based on A Christmas Carol is set to come out on DS on November 3, just before the November 3 release of the film.
EA Sports: 'How big can football get?' Us: 'Pretty big, we guess?'
Showing the far reaching effects of football ("soccer" for us Americans) fandom in a succinct two minute video, EA Sports asks UK residents in its latest ad for FIFA 10, "How big can football get?" From the looks of the insanity in the commercial (found after the break), we're going out on a limb here and saying, "Substantially large." Would you care to up that wager with a "significantly enormous?" Maybe a "demonstrably massive?" %Gallery-69462%
Here's a beautiful FIFA 10 trailer from GamesCom
We may not know much about the athletes on the various covers of FIFA 10, but we do know that this trailer looks damn impressive. In fairness, the game often looks rather stunning, but the sizzle reel that EA has whipped up for GamesCom (found after the break) is specifically meant to show off the game to its most active market -- which certainly comes through in production quality. Though we don't watch a ton of sports (and we play even less) we're legitimately looking forward to EA's next entry in the FIFA series, set to release this October. %Gallery-69462%
Who? EA reveals FIFA 10 North American cover athletes
After EA announced a trio of British gents gracing the cover of FIFA 10 in Europe last week, the company today revealed the box art for the North American iteration. Cuauhtémoc Blanco of Chicago Fire and Sacha Kljestan of Chivas USA appear on the box, with Jason Bateman Chelsea's Frank Lampard taking center stage. EA also revealed the game's release date Stateside to be October 20, while a Euro release has been confirmed for October 2. We'll be spending the extra few weeks figuring out what exactly Chivas USA is. Peep the full cover and a new video of FIFA 10 in action after the break. %Gallery-69462%
EA reveals UK lovefest with FIFA 10 cover athletes
We've been known to dabble in a FIFA game from time to time, though cover athletes aren't really our forte, if you will. Rather than address our ignorance dead-on, we'll simply tell you that Frank Lampard of Chelsea, Theo Walcott of Arsenal and Wayne Rooney of Manchester United are donning the cover of this year's footballer. Believe it or not, the game will feature more than just players from English teams. (Yes, we're just as shocked as you by that possibility.) The game is set to land in the UK on October 2, and Amazon and GameStop are putting the game's US release on October 20th. %Gallery-69462%
New Dirt 2 trailers feature fancy cars, lots of dirt
What do a BMW Z4 Coupe, a Subaru WRX Hatch, and a mess of big trucks have in common? They'll all be at your disposal in upcoming rally-racer Dirt 2, silly! Aside from the game's striking visuals -- the ones that we marveled over when we saw it last February -- gameplay has always been a strong suit for Codemasters' dirt racer. While the video above, titled "Baja Raid," looks vaguely similar to games like Motorstorm and Pure, we expect a different, more simulation than arcade, feel from Dirt 2. Check out the rest of the trailers after the break or head over to our sister site Big Download and snag them for yourself in full HD glory.%Gallery-45501%
FIFA 10 hits the pitch October 2 in the UK
MCV confirmed with EA that its latest entry in the long-standing soccer franchise, FIFA 10, will arrive at UK retailers on October 2. There's no mention of a release date for North America, so we've put in word to EA to see just when we Yanks will receive the game. We'll be sure to update you as soon as we hear back.
FIFA 10 offers brief glimpse of footy-filled gameplay
EA Sports is ramping up the hype machine for its very crucial FIFA franchise, as it has issued out a new teaser trailer for the latest installment, FIFA 10. Thankfully, it's not your average teaser trailer, as though it is short, it does contain actual gameplay footage. It looks like the one big improvement for this year's version will be bullet time.
UK chart get: Wii Fit still on top, FIFA 09 takes 2nd spot
Wii Fit has been selling extremely well, taking the top spot for the seventh week in a row, Chart-Track data shows. In fact, a record of nine weeks in a row was set by Who Wants to be a Millionaire (no platforms mentioned), and Nintendo's Balance Board bundle is on pace to tie that record should it frequent the top spot for the next two weeks. Unsurprisingly, soccer football game FIFA 09 managed to take the second spot, pushing last week's second place holder, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, down to third. Interesting to note is the inclusion of Battlestations: Pacific on the list. The game only released in the UK last week for Xbox 360 and PC, and managed to win the battle for last place, taking up the tenth spot.
Trophies: FIFA 09
1 Platinum 2 Gold 17 Silver 27 Bronze Difficulty: Moderate Online Trophies? Yes Time to Completion: 100 hours DLC Trophies? Yes* *Trophies requiring DLC are highlighted in yellow. View Trophy List Read More About the Game %Gallery-26544%
OutRun Online Arcade shots show new car models
click to enlarge We're going to call this latest batch of screens from Sega's upcoming XBLA release, OutRun Live Arcade, the "See, we really are improving the graphics!" gallery. And it's true -- while the scenery may look like it's simply been up-scaled from the original Xbox release of OutRun 2, it's clear that Sumo Digital isn't using the same car models for this release. They're nice and smooth ... and oh-so-shiny.Considering the roadside elements go by so fast, we're willing to bet most players won't even notice whether they're HD-ified enough or not. But the cars ... you always focus on the car in OutRun, as it almost supernaturally drifts its way through traffic. Sega: Bring. It. On.%Gallery-47973%
Europe loves its FIFA 09, 1.25 million games logged daily
According to EA-supplied FIFA 09 statistics, gamers around the globe (see: Europe) have averaged 1.25 million online games per day since its release this past Fall. Selling 7.8 million copies in 2008 probably factors into that number somewhat. The statistical goods keep coming, with EA revealing that FIFA 09 is EA Sports' most successful online game, boasting a 321% increase over its FIFA predecessor in daily games played, and seeing 141 million games logged on all platforms since launch. That's a lot of gamers taking to the field to bend it like Beckham.
Sega confirms Outrun XBLA exclusivity in NA
Sega just crushed the hopes of North American Playstation fans who are interested in Sumo Digital's upcoming Outrun Online Arcade, announcing that the game will not be releasing to the PSN in NA. Instead, Outrun will release exclusively to the Xbox Live Arcade in NA, but Europe will remain unaffected by the exclusivity deal.That said, we have a hunch that hardcore U.S. Outrun'ners on the Playstation will find a way to access the goods. That's what profile region settings are for, right?
Sega announces Outrun Arcade Online for early 2009
click to embiggen Sega has officially announced that it is bringing Outrun Arcade Online to Xbox Live Arcade. The game is being developed by Sumo Digital, the team responsible for the recent Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (on which Outrun Arcade Online appears to be based). It will be enhanced to include high definition graphics and will feature online play for up to six players. Outrun Arcade Online includes 10 different Ferrari cars and 15 different tracks on which to race them. And, of course, it wouldn't be Outrun without the music ... and the hot girl in the passenger seat. The game is expected to drop in early 2009. Check out the first screens in the gallery below and the debut trailer after the break.%Gallery-39659%
