General gaming

General gaming

Surprise: Japanese Gamers Want to Buy a Vita

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 05:29 AM PST

The PlayStation Vita comes out December 17 in Japan (February 22 over here), and while excitement in Japan at this moment is primarily geared toward the new 3DS Monster Hunter, that's likely to change in a hurry once Saturday rolls around. This week's issue of Japan's Famitsu magazine sadly features no reviews of the Vita's extensive launch lineup (26 games in Japan!), but they did publish a new survey where they polled visitors to their website about their purchase plans.

It's not a surprise, perhaps, that Famitsu.com readers are a bit more interested in the Vita than Japan's population in general. 73.3% of responders said they intend to purchase a PS Vita on the launch date, with 19.5% saying they'd either avoid the system entirely or take a wait-and-see approach. Of those, the great majority, 68.8%, are intending to purchase the 3G/Wi-Fi version of the system, although how many of those are going to be available to non-preordering gamers on Saturday is anybody's guess.

The Pains of Being Armored Core V's Producer

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 05:04 AM PST

Armored Core V, latest in From Software's flagship series of hardcore 3D robot shooters, is coming out in Japan next month. It has not been the easiest of projects for Toshifumi Nabeshima, ACV's producer and a person who's been involved with the franchise since the very first game in 1997.

"Development has been ongoing for about three years, and during that time there have been several turning points," Nabishima told Famitsu magazine in an interview published this week. "The first was when we changed the number in the title from 5 to V; that was the point where we decided to make the online component a great deal more extensive. The second was during the [closed] beta test period, something we didn't have a great deal of experience with on consoles, so we were a bit concerned about how many people we could get to be involved. We wound up having a great deal of people actively get into it, which I appreciate."

Homefront Promotional Stunt Results in a $7,000 Fine

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 05:09 PM PST

Homefront balloon stunt

The release of thousands of red balloons to publicize a videogame earlier this year has resulted in a fine being levied against the marketing company responsible.

The stunt took place in San Francisco during this year's Game Developers Conference in March and was meant to publicize the release of THQ's Homefront on March 15. The game centers around a North Korean invasion of the United States. 10,000 red balloons were released as part of a staged protest meant to "simulate a method used by South Korea to send messages of hope to the North," according to a statement THQ issued at the time. The balloons contained a message about pre-ordering the game at GameStop, which claimed it was unaware of the stunt until after it happened.

Miyamoto Could See Nintendo Collaborating with Retro on a Zelda Game

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 03:02 PM PST

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword

Retro Studios played a big role in the creation of Mario Kart 7. It's not the first time the Texas-based developer has taken on a beloved Nintendo franchise -- it developed the Metroid Prime games and Donkey Kong Country Returns -- and it's unlikely to be the last, as Shigeru Miyamoto sees the Legend of Zelda series as a possible target for a similar form of collaboration.

It was originally believed Retro was only developing a Donkey Kong Country-themed course for MK7. An Iwata Asks interview posted on Nintendo of Japan's website (via NeoGAF) last month revealed it actually did much more than that. In a new interview with Wired, Miyamoto detailed exactly what roles Retro filled and what Nintendo series could next see a collaboration between East and West.

Gotham City Imposters is Fun And Unique, But is That Enough?

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 02:31 PM PST

Developers take a big risk implementing unconventional ideas in video games. History has shown that consumers are not exactly welcoming to anything too different from the norm. However, it's not the risks that Gotham City Imposters takes that makes me doubt its future success, but rather the risks it doesn't.

As you might guess, Gotham City Imposters takes place in Gotham City. Deciding that Batman shouldn't have all the fun, a group of aspiring super heroes and villains have sprung up. These newcomers, however, are not exactly what you'd call prime vigilante or criminal material. They wear ridiculous masks that look like a three-year-old's Halloween costume; some get around on roller skates; and all wield a deadly assortment of makeshift weapons. Underneath the humorous window dressing GCI is a pure multiplayer shooter and nothing more. This is actually quite refreshing -- it's nice to see a developer as talented as Monolith tackle a smaller, and more focused game. GCI lets you customize your character with a variety of outlandish outfits, gadgets, and weapons. My Batman wannabe was an obese nerd on roller skates with a cheap looking cowl, undersized T-shirt, assault rifle, and frag grenades. Meanwhile the get-up and kit sported by the rival "Jokerz" team was just as ridiculous.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Character Class Guide

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 02:18 PM PST

Feature

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Star Wars: The Old Republic Character Class Guide

We help you decide what kind of character to spend hundreds of hours playing.

By: Ryan Winterhalter December 13, 2011

What the hell is the difference between a Jedi Knight and Jedi Consular? Is Boba Fett more of a Mercenary or a Powertech? What if I just want to be a good healer? Classes and their accompanying descriptions in Star Wars: The Old Republic are more than a bit opaque for beginners. That's where this guide comes in handy. You'll find a description of all eight classes and 16 sub-classes in the game, and be able to quickly learn a class's role in multiplayer battles or instances, as well as that class's most important abilities. We've also included the first companion you'll run across, as well as what starship you get to cruise through the galaxy with.

We'll refer to the roles of Tank, Healer, and DPS throughout the guide. For those of you new to MMOs, here's a brief description of each:

Nintendo Dates Kid Icarus: Uprising, Rhythm Heaven Wii, Mario Party 9

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 01:29 PM PST

Mario Party 9

Nintendo today previewed the titles coming to its platforms in the United States during the first quarter of 2012. Among the highlights are release dates for Mario Party 9 and Kid Icarus: Uprising.

On the 3DS front, the revelation that the Circle Pad Pro will only be available at GameStop is the big news. Two of the first games to support it will be out fairly soon -- Resident Evil: Revelations (on February 7, along with the Circle Pad Pro) and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. The latter was only listed as a Q1 game; it was expected out by the end of the year before it was reportedly delayed, though Konami claimed it never actually had a release date in the first place.

Xbox Live Gets New Apps for TMZ, Verizon, and YouTube Today

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 12:14 PM PST

Xbox 360 apps

Only a select few entertainment apps were released as a part of the Xbox 360 dashboard update last week; the majority of the currently-announced ones were said to be coming later this month. A handful of those have arrived today, including the Verizon FiOS app that offers live television.

Twelve new apps have been released on Xbox Live today, though no one region has access to them all. In the United States the new offerings consist of YouTube (also available in much of North America, Europe, and elsewhere), Verizon FiOS TV, TMZ (also available in Canada), iHeartRadio, and MSNBC.com. These and many others were announced back in October without any particular schedule for when they would be coming; YouTube support was formally announced at this year's E3 along with the UFC app (slated for release on December 20) and was a long time coming. It's been possible to watch YouTube videos on both PlayStation 3 and Wii for years thanks to their built-in browsers, a feature Microsoft hasn't been interested in offering on 360.

3DS Circle Pad Pro is a GameStop Exclusive in the U.S.

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 10:44 AM PST

3DS Circle Pad Pro

Not entirely unlike Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii (which will also be sold through Nintendo.com), Nintendo plans to offer the 3DS Circle Pad Pro exclusively through GameStop in the United States.

Following rumors of a peripheral that would add a second circle pad to the 3DS in August, Nintendo announced the Circle Pad Pro in early September. It was released this past Saturday for almost $20 in Japan alongside Monster Hunter 3G, and it's been confirmed for release in a Resident Evil: Revelations bundle on January 27 in Europe. Nintendo of America remained quiet about its plans to bring it to North America before finally making its announcement today.

Sony Confirms Team Ico Boss Fumito Ueda's Departure

Posted: 13 Dec 2011 09:45 AM PST

Fumito Ueda

Two weeks after rumors first emerged that Fumito Ueda was planning to leave Sony, the company has finally confirmed this is indeed the case.

The initial report suggested Ueda, the creator of beloved PS2 titles Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, would continue to work with Team Ico "in a freelance capacity" to help finish its current project, The Last Guardian. Sony initially declined to comment, though Ueda himself took to Twitter to confirm he was still working on the game. He made no mention of his employment status.

Posted by Shri Krishna

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