General gaming

General gaming

Support Japanese Earthquake Victims by Purchasing Play For Japan: The Album

Posted: 08 Jul 2011 05:57 PM PDT

Play For Japan: The Album

In addition to arranging auctions of videogame-related items to raise money for Japanese earthquake victims -- more than $122,000 was raised in the process -- the Play For Japan campaign also led to Play For Japan: The Album. A collaboration of many well-known composers from throughout the industry, the album is another project seeking to raise money for the relief effort.

It was originally scheduled for release in June, but after a delay, it can now be purchased on iTunes in select territories (including the United States). It'll be made available on both iTunes and Amazon worldwide on July 15. All proceeds go to the Japanese Red Cross.

The album was coordinated by Akira Yamaoka (best known from his work on Silent Hill, as well as Shadows of the Damned and now Sdatcher), who said of today's announcement, "I'm so proud to share this with videogame and music fans, thanks to the hard work of friends and fellow composers from around the world. With so many diverse artists and styles featured, this truly is a global effort towards a worthwhile cause."

Free Identity Theft Protection Offer for PSN Users Extended

Posted: 08 Jul 2011 05:31 PM PDT

identity theftWhether you've been lazy, busy, or were unaware of the offer, Sony has extended the deadline to sign up for free identity theft protection by several weeks.

In addition to free games and PlayStation Plus time, all PlayStation Network users with an account prior to the PSN breach in April (when millions of users' personal data was compromised) had through June 28 to sign up for AllClear ID identity theft protection. As was revealed in an e-mail sent to eligible members late last month, a post on the PlayStation Blog states the deadline has officially been extended through July 31, giving users a few more weeks to sign up.

The identity theft protection is good for one year from the time you sign up and includes cyber monitoring, access to investigators (if the need should arise), and a $1 million insurance policy.

Katamari Creator Working on a Different Kind of MMO

Posted: 08 Jul 2011 04:23 PM PDT


It was a given that if Keita Takahashi got back into working on games, it would be on something different. After all, he left Namco Bandai last year because the future of games struck him as being "a bit dull," and he created Katamari Damacy "as an antithesis to games that were nothing but sequels."

Tiny Speck, a small developer founded by former Flickr employees, announced today that Takahashi recently moved from Tokyo to Vancouver to contribute to Glitch, its web-based MMO.

As the trailer above shows, it's not your typical MMO. The action all takes place in one big, persistent world where players create everything and there is little-to-no violence. It's free to play, which of course means there will be ways to spend money. A sporadic beta is ongoing.

This Week in the 1UP Community 7/4/11

Posted: 08 Jul 2011 03:51 PM PDT

It's time to soak up what's left of that summer sunshine and its warm weather before we have to set the clocks back an hour in a couple of months. But, before you take off to enjoy the weekend, spend a few minutes to see what's been new and happening in the community this week. Check it out!

ON THE BOARDS:

PAX to Highlight These Ten Indie Games in August

Posted: 08 Jul 2011 02:39 PM PDT

Atom Zombie Smasher

In an effort to get some additional exposure for certain indie games (rather than focus only on the huge, triple-A games you'll be exposed to advertisements for online, on TV, etc.), the Penny Arcade Expo highlights ten indie games at PAX Prime. This year's lineup, selected by industry experts from a list of more than 100 choices, has been announced today and includes some really good titles.

"Every year the showcase of new indie gems are one of the highlights of the show," said Penny Arcade's Robert Khoo in today's announcement. "In always chasing the next big blockbuster, too much of our industry is dedicated to making the same game over and over again. The PAX 10 is one way that indies with innovative game concepts can get in front of the community."

Each of the ten games will get free booth space at PAX Prime. Last year's event saw more than 67,000 people attend; that's a tremendous amount of attention these indie games are being offered that they otherwise might not have the capability of garnering. That's not for lack of deserving it, though -- Jamestown is a really fun, cool-looking shooter and I've played hours of Atom Zombie Smasher since picking it up on Steam earlier this week. Both of those are currently on sale on Steam, as is Solar 2.

Xenoblade Dev Monolith Expands With a Second Studio in Japan

Posted: 08 Jul 2011 01:42 PM PDT

Xenoblade Chronicles

Monolith Software, not to be confused with FEAR and Gotham City Impostors developer Monolith Productions, has opened a new studio in Kyoto, Japan.

The Nintendo-owned developer is based out of Tokyo and will now apparently operate two studios, according to a recruitment page on its website (via Andriasang). The move will put Monolith closer to the Kyoto-based Nintendo, which picked up the studio in 2007.

Monolith, best known for its Xenosaga games, is currently at work on a new Wii U title. Its most recent console release, Xenoblade Chronicles, is one of three Wii titles Nintendo has refused to bring over to North America. This is despite an impressive fan campaign to change Nintendo of America's mind and the fact that both Xenoblade and another of the games, The Last Story, being confirmed for release in Europe.

Limbo Has a Date on PSN and Steam

Posted: 08 Jul 2011 12:05 PM PDT

Limbo

Limbo is a game worth playing, and soon even those without an Xbox 360 will have a chance to do so. A ratings board listing for PC and PlayStation 3 versions of the game popped up last week and were then confirmed by developer Playdead. We now have release dates for both.

The PS3 version will be out quite soon -- PlayStation Blog brings word today that Limbo will be out in the United States on July 19, almost exactly one year after it came out on Xbox Live Arcade. In Europe, it'll be out a day later, on July 20. Dates for Japan and elsewhere in Asia has yet to be announced.

According to the official website, Limbo will be out on Steam August 2 worldwide.

Bungie's Parting Words to Halo Fans

Posted: 08 Jul 2011 11:32 AM PDT

Halo

Yesterday's Bungie Day festivities are over, and with that, Bungie is essentially done with Halo. After playing Halo: Reach all day and rewarding players with steaks, Bungie has offered up some final thoughts today on the Halo series, which it is leaving behind to work on a new franchise for Activision.

"Thank you for making our 20th Anniversary, and this year's Bungie Day, kick so much ass," the post reads. "As we prepare to become fans of the universe our studio began creating more than ten years ago, it's nice to know that we'll be counted among such esteemed company. Some might consider the upcoming transition a bittersweet occasion punctuated by a sense of loss and sadness. We feel otherwise. Halo is in great hands... yours."

Development of the Halo franchise has shifted from Bungie to 343 Industries. Halo 4 was announced at E3 last month as the start of a new trilogy. 343i is also bringing out Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary on November 15.

Kojima Details His Suda 51 Collaboration, Sdatcher

Posted: 08 Jul 2011 10:56 AM PDT

Kojima SnatcherMetal Gear creator Hideo Kojima had been teasing some sort of announcement for the end of his latest podcast, Hideradio. What he had to discuss were a few details about the radio drama based on one of his earliest games, Snatcher.

A collaboration between Kojima and Goichi "Suda 51" Suda was teased as Project S years back, and was then revealed in April 2007 as a Snatcher radio drama. Suda was set to write it and said at the time he thought he would call it "Snatchers." Famitsu (as translated by Andriasang) reports the new Hideradio podcast announced that it'll actually be called Suda 51's Sdatcher (a play on Suda's name).

Snatcher was an MSX2 and PC-88 cyberpunk graphic adventure game released in 1988 by Konami. In Japan, it would later make it to PC-Engine, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn. The only platform to see its release in North America, where it's become a cult classic, was the Sega CD. It was a very mature, ambitious title clearly inspired by Blade Runner.

The Collector's Guide to Sega Saturn

Posted: 08 Jul 2011 09:10 AM PDT

Feature

Sega's fourth console, the 32-bit Saturn, was kind of like Vincent van Gogh: It produced some beautiful visuals, and it's regarded far more warmly in death than it ever was in life. Despite its impressive 2D graphical capabilities and an impressive library of software, the system just never gained much traction in the U.S. You can chalk that up to several factors.

For starters, the Saturn didn't exactly enjoy the most graceful launch in America. Sega decided to spring the system unexpected on U.S. gamers by announcing an immediate launch (months ahead of schedule) at E3 1995. Unfortunately, there weren't many games available for the first few months of the Saturn's life, and Sega's decision to push the early launch with a limited number of retail partners soured merchants who were shut out until the original launch date arrived.

Posted by Shri Krishna

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