Seemly one part MTV's Cribs, and one part a promotional video showcasing a hotel's accommodations and facilities, this video functions as proof positive that people give Blizzard tremendous amounts of money.
Ri-damn-diculous amounts of money. Really, all this video is missing is a montage of kids soaring down a water ride (a flume, perhaps) and several slow pan shots of couples with faces ill lit by torches embedded into the coastline while their excessive jewelry fragments the light into a veritable techicolor dream over the camera's lens.
Blizzard, you're ballin'.
So please, stop acting all humble.
Announced earlier this year, the Skype phone service integration with the PSP-2000 has been a bit of a pain to setup. Owners of the newer model PlayStation Portable were required to track down the remote control unit for the PSP-1000, while also being required to purchase a specific Sony headset just to get the system operational.
Though hardly a complete fix to all of your Skype woes, this $29.95 MSRP kit definitely simplifies the process.
Alas, what took Sony so long to release this accessory kit, and why they still have not developed support for the TalkMan microphone are guaranteed to remain mysteries.
Wii Fit is going to sell like hot cakes. You know it, I know it, and, as soon as the major TV talk show blitz starts, so will you mother, aunt, dad, etc. With just about every primary game retailer having already closed down pre-orders, Wii Fit will be drawing in tremendous revenue for Nintendo. So, with that in mind, why wouldn't the largest third party manufacturer consider jumping into the fitness crazy as well?
"We're watching very closely what the Wii Fit board does... And we're working on stuff, trying to work out how we can use EA Sports applications there. We also need to make sure we're delivering something that's truly exercise. I'll call Wii Fit more eastern fitness, where it senses weight and balance, like Tai-Chi. It's more about holistic fitness. I don't think the board is going to take a pounding. We need to look more at western fitness in which I can actually be moving and start to sweat a little bit, and that's what we're working on right now."
"It can't feel like a workout. We need to distract people and not make this exercise feel like work, but like they're having fun. So mini-games, things where you're actually laughing out loud, that's the stuff we're working on. It's something I've always been passionate about, and who better than us to go and play in that market?"
Given Electronic Arts president Peter Moore's previous work experience as a physical education instructor, and a new corporate initiative in creating fun games for everyone, EA's physical fitness title may end up being a welcome supplement to the Wii Fit workout.
You read that correctly. The 1up Network and GameTrailers will be deploying the first ever gameplay footage of what will be one of 2008's biggest titles, Gears of War 2. This Friday (or Saturday, depending on where you live) at 10:30 p.m. PST / 12:30AM CST / 1:30AM EST, the HD feed will go live for all the world to see.
Here's to more hot "meat cube" action and staying up way too late for a glimpse of what wonders will be arriving this November.
Like most Nintendo Wii owners, I eagerly installed the Nintendo Channel upon noticing the characteristic blue strobe. During the initial launch, users are prompted through a multitude of screens, but one in particular caught my eye:
We would like to offer you the opportunity to receive game recommendations based on your actual game play. To receive this service, you must agree to allow Nintendo to collect non-identifiable info from your console, such as the games you play and the time you play them. Nintendo will then use this information to recommend games to you and develop new games and services.
I immediately waved my Wiimote over the "Opt Out" button, only to spot that participation in the data collection program is requisite to being able to download Nintendo DS demos:
To thank you for sharing your anonymous data with Nintendo, we would like to make available to you the DS Download Service. No information that personally identifies you or your console will be shared with Nintendo by agreeing to share your game-play data.
Fortunately, Nintendo has fully itemized everything being transmitted between your console and their mainframes. While the lot of it seems innocuous, I can't help but feeling cornered into participation. Nintendo DS demo downloads are the primary incentive for the Nintendo Channel, because the channel is otherwise a waste of console space. Heck, I still can't help but feel gypped from having to backup and delete Virtual Console titles just to watch Nintendo's hottest commercials and download a demo of Crosswords DS.
"It's like how swimming pools have a deep end and a shallow end. EA Sports has really only built a swimming pool with a deep end. It's intimidating for a lot of people to jump right in the deep end. With All-Play, we're building a shallow end." - EA's Peter Moore
My initial knee-jerk reaction to Moore's comment was to lump it in with every other baseless slandering of the Nintendo Wii. Then, after recoiling and rereading, the EA All-Play concept makes perfect sense. Part of the joy in playing Wii Sports, WarioWare and Mario Party 8 is the inclusiveness of the titles--The "shallow end," essentially, because they all require minimal gaming expertise to enjoy.
Where EA Sports will struggle in this prospect is in ensuring that they don't inadvertently belittle their fan base by producing alternative ("cutified") games to justify their new division. So much of their initiative doesn't even really seem to require an All-Play line of titles. Why not design reduced control schemes, or scaled game play environments whereby gamers can adjust the intensity of the micromanagement system?
Oh, wait. I think I just answered my question. Why design a robust, tiered single title when you can produce the same/similar game multiple times over for individual target markets?
Sega is not only unleashing a swell of new media for their additional Marvel franchise buy-in of The Incredible Hulk, they are also promising an, "Intensely realistic third-person action video game." With super blockquotes as intense as that, they can only hope to channel the efforts of Radical Entertainment's genuinely well received The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.
Developed by Edge of Reality, a company most known for their ports of the Tony Hawk series to the Nintendo 64, and Pitfall: The Lost Expedition, The Incredible Hulk will arrive on the PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS local to the June theatrical release of the new flick.
Oh, for all of the new Tony Stark fans in the crowd, Iron Man will play a part in the game as well.
Word on the street has it that a tremendous sale for recent Nintendo Wii adopters, and those of you that have been too preoccupied to play, is arriving next week to a Circuit City near you. Surprisingly, there are three triple-A titles sitting on the list, one of which has only been on the shelf for nary a week!
Buy one, get one 50% off for the following releases:
LEGO Star Wars - $49.99
Super Mario Galaxy - $49.99
Super Smash Brothers Brawl - $49.99
Mario & Sonic At The Olympics - $49.99
Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08 - $49.99
Mario Kart with Wii Wheel Bundle - $49.99
In addition to that, No More Heroes will be available for a cool $19.99. For pete's sake, if you haven't played Suda 51's most recent masterpiece, scrounge up an Andrew Jackson and get your booty to the store!
In a stunning moment of brutal honesty during the Sony PlayStation Day in London, Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO Kaz Hirai reflected on the first year for the PlayStation 3, and his remarks are surprisingly candid:
"I think it's fair to say that the first year of PlayStation 3 was somewhat a difficult one. There were some teething problems, success from our competitors, and our customers were a little underwhelmed by the range of titles that were available.
With a cavalcade of stunning upcoming releases, to include Metal Gear Solid 4, Resistance 2 and Little Big Planet, and a strong first quarter, Sony may well be able to jettison the PlayStation 3 from the initial mire it was stuck in.
The first step toward progress lies in accepting that you have problems, right?
Thanks to the freeware M.U.G.E.N. fighting game development, and a team of savvy pop culture connoisseurs, you to can observe a tag team match of Ronald McDonald ("Donald") and Colonel Sanders versus a smattering of Capcom and doujin combatants. With moves strangely reminiscent of jazz hands that eject fries and gratuitous chicken drumstick beatdowns, this fast food team up seems to take down everything but Evil Ryu and cholesterol rates.
Fourteen days out with only standard exposure so far in the US, and apparently Wii Fit is pre-selling a ton of units. With a full-scale marketing blitz and promotions on several big name talk shows to go, Amazon has already shut the doors on taking any more pre-orders.
Temporarily Out-of-Stock from Amazon.com
As you may know, the Nintendo "Wii Fit" is in great demand, and there are shortages of this product across the U.S. In an effort to provide as many customers as possible with the opportunity to purchase "Wii Fit" from Amazon.com, we are actively seeking more of this product from suppliers. Please check back soon to see if more are available.
How much longer until similar stores start turning eager fitness seekers away into the means streets of common exercise?
Hideo Kojima's talent as a masterful narrative-driven, comic adventure game designer has waned over the years as his focus has been refocused toward the successes of the Metal Gear Solid series. But, as hardware generations roll by, a small minority of us continue to hope that we will see works like Snatcher or Policenauts born anew. The last time I felt this, was when I initially picked up the Nintendo DS. Immediately, ideas of past SCUMM adventures and Snatcher came to mind, though, ultimately I knew it was a bit of a lost cause. Similarly, Policenauts, with it's strong cinematic caliber, would be natural for the bright, wide screen seated within the PlayStation Portable.
Codester DesertDog, in a project to further teach himself the inner workings of the Nintendo DS, decided to take the assets from the Sega CD build of Snatcher, and stitch it together similar to the Snatcher Pilot Disc preview build released for the PC Engine SuperCD².
Yes, it's a wee bit rough around the edges, but the game still shines. Listen up, Konami. Kojima's almost done with Metal Gear Solid 4, and maybe it's about time some attention is directed toward some of his equally cherished works.
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