Gaming

2009 MMORPG Round-Up.

The MMO market is booming, thanks in no small part to the titanic success of Blizzard's World of Warcraft. WoW has spawned a whole new generation of online gamers. As Blizzard's cash-cow begins to age, many of them are looking for a new MMO experience. Developers are lining up to try their hand in massive online games, which means two things for us.

1. We get to play a whole slew of really bad-ass multi-million dollar video game productions that run the gamut from fantasy hack-n-slash to gigantic space battles and,

2. A whole crop of new franchises are being established (and some old ones being

revamped; see Star Wars) and it'll be this generation of gamers that gets to decide which ones will thrive and which ones will fail.

Posted on Fri, 3 Jul 2009 12:50:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

More PlayStation Peripherals Coming.

Topic: Gaming

Sony's been having some financial issues lately and they need to perk up their ailing PlayStation 3 to reverse the trend. As a way to drum up more interest in the PlayStation brand Sony has just announced the expansion of their “Official License Program”. This will allow more peripheral manufacturers from all around the world to make addons to the platform.

Manufacturers who sign onto this license will be able to access documentation to help the design and build products for the PlayStations. You can find out more information about Sony's 'Official License Program' at their website here. It's too early to tell what new peripherals this arrangement will spawn. Hopefully we'll see something more creative than just a new generation of light guns.

Posted on Thu, 2 Jul 2009 12:25:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii to Drop In Price?

Topic: Gaming

If you're planning to buy a console this holiday season, you might be in luck. Analyst firm MKM Partners says that we can expect price cuts on both Sony and Microsoft products this year. The ailing economy is one probable reason for the cuts. Another are issues within the companies themselves.

Sony is in a seven-month-long decline, and their lackluster E3 showing certainly didn't help any. The PS3 is the most expensive console and it's also the one with the least broad appeal. We've been expecting to hear of some PlayStation price cuts for a while, so it's not too surprising that the analysts predicted a price cut.

Posted on Thu, 2 Jul 2009 10:05:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Project Natal To Hit With Halo Reach, August 2010?

Topic: Gaming

Halo is probably the signature Xbox series, as well as one of the most popular video game series of all time. On September 22nd the next installment in the franchise, Halo 3: ODST will hit stores. Barring miracles or magic, there's no way we'll see Natal come out in time for Halo 3. But the next Halo game in the line-up, Halo: Reach, is scheduled for August of 2010, and it looks like we can expect to see it released as a Natal game.

This isn't just idle fan speculation either. Bungie has announced that they are looking at the possibility of making Reach work with Natal. At E3 this year Bungie attended a super-secret Project Natal briefing, and they emerged impressed with the technology. Bungie President Harold Ryan has even said that,

Posted on Wed, 1 Jul 2009 10:55:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Jumpgate Evolution: Producer Interview

Topic: Gaming

Take Privateer, make it an MMO, add a dash of Eve and a dollop of WoW and you've got Jumpgate Evolution, a new massive online multiplayer game from NetDevil. JG:E is the sequel to the original Jumpgate, which was released back in 2001 and attracted a small, but dedicated, following. From the screenshots we've seen so far, JG:E has some seriously cool looking ships and some truly breathtaking space vistas.

I've been looking forward to this game for months now, so it was a real treat to get to pick the brain of Hermann Peterscheck, Lead Producer at NetDevil. Here's what I learned.

Posted on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Global Agenda: Producer Interview

Topic: Gaming

If you're a fan of MMOs or First Person Shooters, you might have heard about a little game called Global Agenda. It's a spy-thriller MMOFPS currently being developed by Hi-Rez Studios. Global Agenda features huge, team-based battles in a persistent world. It's got big guns, jetpacks, giant robots, drone guns, and just about everything else a growing boy needs as part of a healthy diet.

I had the chance recently to ask Todd Harris, Executive Producer of Global Agenda, a few questions about his new game. Here's what I learned;

Posted on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Clone Trooper Blaster Controller Comes to the Wii

Topic: Gaming

You can never have enough light guns. Duck Hunt bred into nerds a deep and abiding love of the gun-controller combo. This new controller is another Star Wars product from BDA (the same folks who made the lightsaber controller we introduced earlier) designed to be used alongside the upcoming Clone Wars: Republic Heroes video game.

The Clone Trooper blaster works with both the Wiimote and the Wii nunchuk. It features a dual-action trigger (one on the barrel and one on the nunchuck) and looks pretty awesome as well. This is definitely one of the sexier light guns to hit the market in a while. The blaster also comes with a sheet of decals so that you can personalize your weapon with battle-damage and kill markings. Y'know, just in case you're still 12 years old inside.

Posted on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:30:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

New Wii Lightsaber Controllers Coming

Topic: Gaming

Great news Star Wars nerds! Our childhood dreams are about to come true. Bensussen Deutsch & Associates, Inc (BDA) are coming out with the first (and so far only) Lucasfilm-licensed Wii lightsabers on the market. BDA's Power A lightsabers are replicas of the weapons used by Anakin Skywalker and Master Yoda.

To use these new lightsabers all you'll need to do is slide the Wiimote into the lightsaber handle and power on the saber's light-up feature. Yoda's glows green, and Anakin's glows blue. I suppose we'll have to wait a bit longer before we see a licensed Sith lightsaber. No price details are out yet, but we can expect these new peripherals to hit stores in the Fall.

Posted on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:10:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Final Fantasy 7 On The iPhone?

Topic: Gaming

Yeah, you heard that right. Everyone's favorite console game of the late 90's has been emulated for the 3GS. While no one's come out with a perfect way to jailbreak the 3GS yet, some enterprising folks have managed get GBA and PSX emulators running on the new smartphone. 9-to-5 Mac has a video of Final Fantasy 7 in action on the 3GS, and promises that other emulators are also running “close to native”.

From what I can see, the FF7 emulator looks pretty much perfect right now. The on-screen controller takes up an annoying amount of space, but it looks fairly intuitive. The gameplay is very smooth and the graphics look great on the iPhone. I can think of few better ways to pass time than by having the full version of FF7 loaded on a smartphone.

Posted on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:40:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Tekken 6 Release Date and Pre-order available

Topic: Gaming

Warm up your fingers. The new Tekken 6 is coming on October 27th for Sony PS3, Xbox 360 and Sony PSP.
The new Tekken 6 promises the best graphics yet in Tekken history. Sun-shaft, glare, flare, depth of field effects and new shading systems add new visual depth and animate the atmosphere of battle fields.
There are 40 characters in the character rooster in Tekken 6, 6 more than before.
Online gaming in Tekken 6 supports versus, but also cool co-op battles against A.I. controlled enemies. Read more

Posted on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Red and Blue Sony PSP Rookie Hunters Packs hit Japan

Topic: Gaming

Today Sony announced that it would release a PSP Rookie Hunters Pack on July 23, 2009, as a limited offer, in Japan.
The new PSP bundle pack is comprised of a PSP-3000 and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite game.
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite has seen great sales since its release in March 2008 at more than 3.4 million units in Japan.

Japanese gamers can choose between a radiant Red (PSPJ-30006) and a Vibrant Blue (PSPJ-30007) Rookie Hunters Pack. Read more

Posted on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:54:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

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