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PS3Latest news in the next-gen console wars is that Sony will not be shipping their Playstation 3 console with a harddrive. The PS3 will sport an 80 Gig harddrive, but you will have to purchase it separately, according to Famitsu magazine.

This has not come directly from Kutaragi, so take it with the usual dosage of that white stuff that makes food taste so much nicer.

But Famitsu has claimed that an 80 GB hard drive will be made available by Sony. It won't, however, come bundled with the console. This could be accurate information or just enlightened speculation, since PlayStation head honcho Ken Kutaragi recently told gamers to expect an 80 GB hard disk in an interview with a Japanese magazine.

PS3 TO GET 80 GB HARD DRIVE?

Related:
Sony hide millions, face 4.5 billion yen fine
PS3 To Lose Over A Billion In The First Year?
Cell, it's not just for Playstation anymore
PS3 To Be Even More Powerful Than We've Seen?
PS3 and Xbox 360, disappointing CPU performance?
Discussion >>
By Gary



CodemastersWith online games now reaching a more sophisticated stage, both in terms of technology and public attention, the online gaming market seems to appeal to an increasing number of publishers. Codemasters wants to claim its share of the market and announced today the formation of Codmasters Online Gaming. The new division's director, David Solari, comments the online group's goals in an official press release:

"The Online Group has been assigned a significant investment to drive our plans in this major growth area of the business. Codemasters has a very serious interest in online gaming and one that covers a broad scope, with titles and initiatives that will target the core and casual online gamer."

So far, Codemasters hasn't disclosed any titles that could do the trick, but more details are likely to surface in the weeks ahead.

Related info:
Codemasters
Discussion >>



Hoax screenshot of GTA 4Rockstar Games have told Eurogamer that the supposed screenshot of GTA 4 that recently appeared on the Web is definitely a fake.

Rumours that the image was genuine started when Rockstar initially gave a "no comment" when asked to confirm or deny its authenticity.

The company also shot down the accompanying text that was posted alongside the screenshot, which said the game would possibly make its debut on the PS3 and include a play environment six times larger than that seen in GTA: San Andreas.

Eurogamer: Next-gen GTA screen fake

Related:
San Andreas stunts video posted
GTA: Liberty City Stories Official Details
Rockstar Games Confirm Liberty City Stories Leaked Screens Fake (7 June)
GTA on PSP named, confirmed for autumn release (18 May)
Official site for Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Rockstar Games
Discussion >>
By Rob



Nintendo RevolutionNintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime has said in a new interview that the Revolution will be priced substantially lower than the competing Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Fils-Aime explained that the Revolution will be first and foremost a gaming machine, and as such it won't need all the extra bells & whistles that Sony and Microsoft have packed into their consoles as they try to appeal to a wider audience than just gamers:

Again, Nintendo's taking the approach of, first, a gaming-centric console system yet we will have the capability because of that speed card and other types of memory to have movies and other types of content, but that's not the overall objective. We are center of the plate gaming. I have to assume that from a pricing standpoint, we will be substantially lower than the competition, because we don't have all of that added fluff that a gamer, frankly, doesn't—it's not core to gaming.

Fils-Aime also revealed that games developers have already gotten a look at the Nintendo Revolution's yet to be unveiled controller, and gave a little more insight into what to expect.

Talking about the Revolution's ability to download and play games from Nintendo's back catalogue, he gave a broad hint of the controllers capabilities by saying:

Think about it: Each of those controllers were different. How are you gonna play? That captured some the imagination of what our controller needs to be able to do, and certainly as you get into the meat of that type of innovation with the developers, their eyes truly light up because they start to imagine what's possible with that type of configuration, which is vastly different than a sheer horsepower type of game.

Read the full interview on 1UP.com


Related:
Nintendo's E3 Interactive Floor Display
Classic Nintendo titles remade on Revolution? (23 June)
Revolution Controller Mockups Gallery
Revolution Controller Sans Buttons Mock-up
Miyamoto: Nintendo Revolution interface "the big gun"
Miyamoto: Nintendo Revolution Controller Still Being Designed (8 June)
Discussion >>
By Rob



Sony Online Entertainment have shut down Winter's Roar, an EverQuest emulator that had been running for almost three years.

Winter's Roar's was free to play by anyone who owned a copy of EverQuest, and had a community of about 350 players before SOE threatened the game's hosting company with legal action:

Winter's Roar is down indefinitely -- we have been served a Cease and Desist by Sony (through the completely unaffiliated owner of the domain, none the less...). There will be a redirect to the status of the legal process and our future plans here shortly.

Winter's Roar Status - EQ Emulator Winter's Roar Shut Down

The developers of Winter's Roar have since begun a new MMORPG called DawnTide - updates can be found on the new game here.

Related:
EQII The Splitpaw Saga Released (30 June)
EQ: Depths of Darkhollow Site Launched (16 June)
EverQuest II Desert of Flames Expansion Announced (5 May)
Sony Announce EQII Station Exchange (20 April)
First EverQuest II Adventure Pack Released (23 March)
EverQuest II - Order a Pizza In-Game
Discussion >>
By Rob



MoneyReports coming in from next-gen.biz suggest Sony are in for a rough ride ahead. The company has been found guilty of knowingly withholding millions of dollars in revenue, over a 5 year period. They have now been fined 4.5 billion yen ($40 million) for their troubles with back-taxes to boot.

This coming in just after the Merrill Lynch report, that suggested Sony could face a loss of up to $1.18 billion in the Playstation 3's first year on the market, can't make for a happy Kutaragi.

Put this with the news that Sony will lose about $95 per PS3, and Sony may have to tighten their belts just a little. Maybe only buy four Learjets instead of five.

Sony Hit by Tax Fine | Via Joystiq

Related:
PS3 To Lose Over A Billion In The First Year?
Cell, it's not just for Playstation anymore
PS3 To Be Even More Powerful Than We've Seen?
PS3 and Xbox 360, disappointing CPU performance?
Discussion >>
By Gary



Risk Your Life: Path of The EmperorThe Risk Your Life: Path of The Emperor tournament that will see a player walk away with a cool $1 million has begun, and as part of the promo the game's monthly subscription has been made optional.

Players can now buy the game client and pay no further fees by taking part in a new survey program, or pay $12.95 per month to have a survey-free experience.

The $1 million tournament is set to run until 30 April of next year; the finalists will then battle for the grand prize live from the 2006 E3 Expo:

RYL: Path of the Emperor - a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) is now challenging gamers to compete head to head awarding one person $1,000,000. The $1,000,000 Grand Prize will be paid over four years in four installments of $250,000, according to Planetwide Games’ President Kevin Donovan.

The game was recently released to retail in the U.S., though International players can download the game client and buy an account on the official website.

Information and rules for the RYL $1 million tournament.

Related:
Planetwide Games
Gamasutra: Planetwide Games Plans Extreme Sports MMO (23 June)
RYL Hits Retail (21 June)
RYL Sponsors MTV Movie Awards Event (6 June)
Risk Your Life: Path of The Emperor review (4 out of 5)
Discussion >>
By Rob



Day of Defeat: SourceGamershell have two new trailers for Day of Defeat: Source available to download. The trailers show gameplay from the long-awaited Source conversion of the WWII shooter, mostly set in the Avalanche map.

Valve promise to release more information about the game in the coming weeks, and recently revealed that it will include HDR, the new lighting technology that will be showcased in HL2 : The Lost Coast and Aftermath.

Download the new trailers (12.2 MB)

Related:
Valve Unveil Developer Community Site (29 June)
Doug Lombardi talks Steam (29 June)
Valve: Getting Closer To HL2: Lost Coast Release (27 June)
Doug Lombardi Interview, DoD Source development still unclear (26 June)
DoD: Source News Update & HL1: Deathmatch Source Revamp (13 June)
DoD: Source Screenshots Collection
Half Life 2: Lost Coast HDR overview
Eurogamer: Half-Life 2: The Lost Coast preview
Discussion >>
By Rob



XBox 360More support for Microsoft's Xbox 360 may be announced in the coming weeks, according to media reports coming in from the Far East that suggest new 3rd party deals with MS will be announced during July.

The latest issue of Famitsu, which was partially translated by Gamespot, reports that Microsoft will be revealing new Xbox 360 titles targeted at a Japanese audience, and also hinted that there could be some major surprises.

The company has already garnered support from independent developers Mist Walker, Game Republic and Q Entertainment, headed up by well-known game creators Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yoshiki Okamoto and Tetsuya Mizuguchi respectively.

Japanese publisher Square Enix is also committed to launching massively multiplayer title Final Fantasy XI on Xbox 360, but has yet to announce any original titles for the system, while other publishers such as Konami have confirmed that they're working on Xbox 360 product but have announced no details.

More Japanese Xbox 360 support coming next month?

Related:
PS3 and Xbox 360, disappointing CPU performance?
Konami hint at Xbox 360 exclusive
Xbox 360 to side with HD-DVD?
More Xbox 360 details published in online mag
Hundreds of Fan-Created Xbox 360 Faceplates
Todd Holmdahl talks Xbox 360 Hardware
Real Time Worlds Sign Xbox 360 Publishing Deal
MS Laundry Taunts Sony With 360 Ads
Discussion >>
By Gary



Final Fantasy VII: Advent ChildrenSquare Enix have revealed the UMD version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children will be simultaneously released alongside the DVD version on the 14th of September in Japan. Their previous announcement of details on the DVD version excluded any mention of the UMD version.

The UMD version of the long-awaited CG movie will cost 4,800 yen ($43), the same price as the DVD version, though unlike the DVD, there is no Limited Edition UMD planned.

In addition to the movie, the UMD disc will include a selection of battle themes taken from the Advent Children soundtrack, which is also due for release in September.

Gamespot: UMD, DVD Advent Children launching simultaneously in Japan

Related:
Official website for FFVII: Advent Children (Japanese)
Official website for FFVII: Advent Children (U.S.)
FFVII: Advent Children Price & Details (14 June)
FF VII: Advent Children Japanese Release on 14 Sept
Final Fantasy VII For PS3?
Discussion >>
By Rob





A new screenshot has been making the rounds recently, purported to be from Grand Theft Auto 4. The screenshot was first sighted on French gaming site Jeux-France. The site claims it is indeed Rockstar's next-gen GTA in development for the PS3. Of course you will have to take this with a fine grain of salt, but either way it does look pretty juicy, just imagine the fun and roaming of GTA with a realistic and believable environment such as that depicted in the screenshot!

Scant details accompanied the picture when it was first posted on French website Jeux-France late yesterday, but they did reveal some interesting and unusual suggestions.

As well as predicting a first showing on PlayStation 3, the website suggested that the game would soon come to other next-gen consoles due to "online possibilities".

Next-gen GTA screen leaked?

Related:
GTA: Liberty City Stories Official Details
Rockstar Games Confirm Liberty City Stories Leaked Screens Fake (7 June)
GTA on PSP named, confirmed for autumn release (18 May)
Official site for Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Rockstar Games
Discussion >>
By Gary



GlovesIt looks like round 3 for Eidos's upcoming 25 to Life. First it was a US senator, then a CNN talk-show host. Now it appears a charity is packing the latest punch from the other side of the ring in this enticing bout to knock the other guy's moral fiber out.

The Taser Foundation, which was setup by the makers of the taser stun gun, has so far shelled out $650,000 to families of police officers killed in the line of duty. The charity are not happy with the title of the game and the fact that a similar taser gun is used by police.

Games such as this actually dehumanise police," Foundation director Gerry Anderson commented. "They trivialise the real danger and risks that police officers face every day.

25 to Life, still several months from release, has in recent weeks also been attacked by a US senator, and on a US talk show. Eidos commented: "Eidos believes that video games are a creative art form and we produce a wide range of content aimed at various age groups including games specifically targeted for the over-18 player. On the issue of who should be allowed to purchase our products, we have a very strict two tier rating system in the UK to send a clear signal to both customers and retailers as to the appropriate audience for each game."

Charity attacks 25 to Life

Related:
25 to Life takes another beating
US Senator denounces "Cop-Killer" game
Discussion >>
By Gary



Stubbs the ZombieTwo new videos have just been made available for Stubbs the Zombie, the upcoming title for Xbox, PC and MAC this Fall. Developed by Wideload Games, players assume the role of Stubbs as he takes on a city of the future using nothing but his own carcass and the weapons of his possessed enemies. Sounds like fun.

Apparently, behind all the bone crunching, brain sucking humour there is also a love story.

What begins as one zombie's search for revenge quickly escalates into an all-out war between the living and the dead - but this time it's the zombie fighting for truth, justice and the redemption of true love. Yes, it's a love story too.

Head on over to Stubb's official website to check out the new videos.

Related:
Wideload Games (Developer)
Aspyr Media (Publisher)
Discussion >>
By Gary



Heroes of Might & Magic VThe second part of the Heroes of Might & Magic V E3 demo clip is now available for download. While the first trailer let you take a glimpse at a Human town, the second now introduces a Demon town and gives you an impression of what to expect in terms of gameplay. If you're familiar with the series, you will feel at home instantly, with the round-based adventuring part being basically the same as before. The game's visuals have improved dramatically, however, and you can see that the designers have taken great care to breathe life into the 3D world; for example, shafts of light break through the foliage, or flocking birds pass across the screen.

The second clip plays for about four minutes and has a moderate file size of 38 MB. The third and last trailer will be released soon and will feature the game's battle mode.

Related info:
Heroes of Might & Magic
Heroes of Might & Magic E3 Demo (23 June)
Heroes of Might & Magic V - New Screens (17 May)
Discussion >>



EverQuest II: The Splitpaw SagaSony Online Entertainment have released The Splitpaw Saga, the second in a series of Adventure Packs for EverQuest II.

The Splitpaw Saga gives players hours of extra story-rich content as they battle through two massive new dungeons, and 12 event-based levels. The pack also introduces a new breed of enemy for players to defeat:

In The Splitpaw Saga, players will explore the collapsed caverns and twisted tunnels of Sundered Splitpaw. Throughout this adventure, the truth behind the dungeon's mysterious demise is uncovered by using moveable planks, crates and barrels to work through a series of 12 intriguing event-based zones. A ferocious clan of cannibalistic gnolls will stand in the way as players seek to destroy the greatest threat yet in Norrath's history of late. New and veteran players alike can experience the adventure meeting fresh challenges as they progress and try again as the encounters scale dynamically to match the player's level.

SplitpawSaga.com

The Splitpaw Saga is available to buy on the official website for $7.99, and is the second Adventure Pack to be released after the March release of The Bloodline Chronicles.

SOE plan to release between two and four new EQII adventure packs per year as part of a strategy announced in January.

Related:
EverQuest II Desert of Flames Expansion Announced (5 May)
Sony Announce EQII Station Exchange (20 April)
EQII: The Bloodline Chronicles
First EverQuest II Adventure Pack Released (23 March)
Trial of the Isle - Free 7-day EverQuest II Trial
EverQuest II - Order a Pizza In-Game
EverQuest II review by dek (22 Oct '04)
Discussion >>
By Rob



EVE OnlineThe recently announced EVE Online Cold War Edition will be released in the first week of next month, CCP Games have said in a new press release. The update will be provided to EVE Online subscribers free of charge.

Cold War Edition is being billed as a major content update that will see some large changes to the game and will pave the way for the next expansion, which is code-named Kali and is expected for release later this year:

EVE Online®: Cold War Edition will put the fragile peace sustaining the Empire territories at risk, as sovereignties secretly vie for advantage over their foes. Empires will unite to form pacts, old superhighways will be changed... a new world order is forming. Dozens of new passageways into the deep space regions will create unprecedented opportunities for both veteran and new pilots alike.

Some of the features of this upgrade include:
# COSMOS Constellations: A new large scale gameplay element where pilots will have agent encounters in space, new environments to explore, and new technologies to discover.
# Dreadnoughts: The fearsome Dreadnought enters the battlefield equipped with jumpdrives and will have enough firepower to take down player owned structures.
# Outposts: A compact and effective alternative to the current player built stations.
# Freighters: Massive haulers with immense capacity to help players conquer deep space.
# Leadership Overhaul: Enhanced fleet warfare, new skills, and modules will improve players' ability to defend and attack in fleet combat.
# Pirate Factions: Better... Stronger... and likely to reveal their secrets and high value loot.
# Industrial Revolution: Starbases get a major boost and more valuable minerals will be available in low security Empire space.
# Combat Changes: Many changes that will further improve combat in EVE, making combat even more tactical.
# Unicode Chat Input: Chat in any language, for example Asian fonts will be rendered by the EVE font system, along with Cyrillic and Greek.
# New Tech Level 2 technology: Includes missiles launchers, drones and various defensive modules.

Related:
Official information on Cold War Edition
EVE Online - Cold War Edition Revealed (24 June)
Eve Online official site
CCP (Crowd Control Productions)
Discussion >>
By Rob





AnandTech had an interesting follow-up article to their recent PS3 Vs Xbox 360 comparison. The article has since been pulled but the general gist of the article is summarized over at ars technica. According to AnandTech, developers who they were in discussion with said they were not happy at all with the performance of both the PS3 and Xbox 360 CPUs.

According to some developers that have got their hands on the development kits, if either Sony or Microsoft went with an Athlon 64 or a Pentium D in their next-gen console, they would be significantly ahead of the competition in terms of CPU performance.

Another disturbing claim made by AnandTech was that the Xbox 360's CPU will deliver only about twice the performance of the original Xbox's 733 Mhz processor.

We of course asked the obvious question: would game developers rather have 3 slow general purpose cores, or one of those cores paired with an array of specialized SPEs? The response was unanimous, everyone we have spoken to would rather take the general purpose core approach.

Citing everything from ease of programming to the limitations of the SPEs we mentioned previously, the Xbox 360 appears to be the more developer-friendly of the two platforms according to the cross-platform developers we've spoken to. Despite being more developer-friendly, the Xenon CPU is still not what developers wanted.

The Xbox 360 and the PS3: late bloomers or complete failures?

Related:
Cell, it's not just for Playstation anymore
PS3 To Lose Over A Billion In The First Year?
PS3 To Be Even More Powerful Than We've Seen?
Konami hint at Xbox 360 exclusive
Xbox 360 to side with HD-DVD?
More Xbox 360 details published in online mag
Hundreds of Fan-Created Xbox 360 Faceplates
Todd Holmdahl talks Xbox 360 Hardware
Real Time Worlds Sign Xbox 360 Publishing Deal
MS Laundry Taunts Sony With 360 Ads
Discussion >>
By Gary





In order to create an homage to Mario and the inspiration from his incarnation, a couple of engineers have constructed a massive Mario art display on a UCSC engineering building. The work was completed one day before National Engineers Week for people to take notice.

Well we didn't count on one thing, bean counters are not engineers. So even under the protective banner of engineering week, the most holy of weeks in the engineering calendar, the econ department ripped down every post-it® note on their floor.

UCSC Engineering Building Gets an 8bit Upgrade | Via Wonderland

Related:
Next 3D Mario Coming to Revolution
Mario Techno Tune Climbs Japanese Charts
Nintendo nut sells out
Haunted NES For Sale On eBay (15th March 05)
New eBay Auction - Haunted SNES (19th March 05)
Micro-Sized NES Controller
Giant NES Controller
NES Controller Belt Buckle
Discussion >>
By Gary



SonyThe Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival has announced that Sony recently signed up to appear in August of this year along with an already prominent list of industry giants.

This coming August, Sony will be providing a number of speakers for the event, such as Computer Entertainment UK managing director Ray Maguire, UK marketing boss Alan Duncan and Sony Online Entertainment creative head Raph Koster.

The exhibition is set to feature hands-on demos of upcoming PS2 games Buzz and Singstar Popworld, along with EyeToy Kinetic and 24: The Game making an appearance.

Already on board for the festival are rival platform holders Microsoft and Nintendo - the latter of which will be showcasing playable Legend of Zelda code to the public for the first time - along with BT, Nokia N-Gage, GAME, NVIDIA and Gizmondo.

Sony joins list of Edinburgh '05 supporters

Related:
Cell, it's not just for Playstation anymore
PS3 To Lose Over A Billion In The First Year?
PS3 To Be Even More Powerful Than We've Seen?
PS3 controller pic emerges, this time smaller?
No Decision Yet on PS3 Euro Release
Research claims PS3 to lose market share next year
PS3 Not a Toy, But a Linux Supercomputer
Discussion >>
By Gary



Cell ProcessorIBM is looking to take its Cell processor further than its original target in the games industry. Sony will being using the Cell chip in its PlayStation 3 but IBM has announced that Mercury computer Systems Inc. will be developing computing boards for use in imaging-intensive markets.

We designed the Cell processor to be applicable in more applications than just games," says Peter Hofstee, Cell chief scientist and architect for IBM. "Mercury is a superb example of a company that can take technology like this that is different from what is in the market now and start building up support that will enable it to move into a wider market.

The Cell itself was developed by IBM, Toshiba and Sony for handling applications such as signal processing or image manipulation.

Mercury is a developer of embedded computer systems for medical-imaging, defense, and seismic-processing applications, and provides both board-level products as well as supporting software. Under terms of the agreement, Mercury and engineers from IBM's engineering and technology services unit will collaborate to develop products that can be used to handle graphics-intensive workloads and other computationally intensive applications. Initial hardware testing has shown that the Cell processor can provide performance of about 200 billion floating point operations per second.

IBM And Mercury To Put Multicore Chip In Imaging Applications

Related:
PS3 To Lose Over A Billion In The First Year?
PS3 To Be Even More Powerful Than We've Seen?
PS3 controller pic emerges, this time smaller?
No Decision Yet on PS3 Euro Release
Research claims PS3 to lose market share next year
PS3 Not a Toy, But a Linux Supercomputer
Discussion >>
By Gary



Half-Life 2Gamespot scored a Q&A with Valve designer/programmer Robin Walker, in an effort to gain a little more insight into the long awaited expansion for Half Life 2, Aftermath. As you all know the game ends quite abruptly leaving a lot of unanswered questions. As per usual Valve has remained extremely quite concerning details of the expansion, stating only that is a new "episode" for the franchise.

The expansion will feature the new lighting technology HDR, which will find a home in Day of Defeat: Source, the upcoming sequel to the classic ww2 shooter. It should be noted that the Q&A contains some minor spoilers, be warned.

GS: We learned at E3 during the demo of Lost Coast that Aftermath will include high-dynamic range lighting, which should help the game realistically model the way the human eye reacts to light. But do you envision a lot more fun with the gravity gun and physics, and are there plans to introduce any new weapons, or any new items, options, or features that will make Aftermath's gameplay as distinctive as the gravity gun made Half-Life 2's gameplay?

RW: Aftermath adds a variety of new ways in which the player interacts with the Half-Life 2 world. Alyx, and other allies, learn new abilities to help you. Your enemies, both old and new, haven't been resting either.

Read the full article

Related:
Valve: Getting Closer To HL2: Lost Coast Release
Half Life 2: Lost Coast HDR overview
Eurogamer: Half-Life 2: The Lost Coast preview
Half Life 2: Aftermath set for September release? (24 May)
Eclipse: New total conversion Half-Life 2 mod
Half Life 2 In The Real World
Discussion >>
By Gary



HMVMusic retailer HMV has announced a new games download service with backing from Microsoft. The goal is to expand its new download service that starts on September 5th, giving customers access to games and movies as well as music.

Initially, the Microsoft backed endeavour will only be offering Windows Media Audio files for download but in time will open the door for other entertainment as demand grows.

HMV has earmarked UKP 10 million in capital expenditure and marketing for the venture. Part of this investment will go towards funding a new piece of 'jukebox' software being developed by Microsoft.

Consumers will be able to obtain the software from any of the 200+ HMV stores across the country or via the retailer's website.
Read on

Discussion >>
By Gary



Call of Duty 2A nice way to start this Thursday morning, with some fresh screenshots of Call of Duty 2. GameGossip have what appear to be 2 beach-landing screens of the upcoming Call of Duty sequel.

The game is scheduled for release to PC in Fall of this year with a brand new gaming engine. Don't forget you can catch the trailer on the official website.

Call of Duty 2 redefines the cinematic intensity and chaos of battle as seen through the eyes of ordinary soldiers fighting together in epic WWII conflicts. The sequel to 2003's Call of Duty, winner of over 80 Game of the Year awards, Call of Duty 2 offers more immense, more intense, more realistic battles than ever before, thanks to the stunning visuals of the new COD™2 engine.

Check out the screens

Related:
Call of Duty Summation
Call of Duty 3 Planned
CallofDuty.com
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One Preview
Call of Duty 2 - Lead Designer Q&A
Discussion >>
By Gary



Serious Sam 2If you've ever experienced the frantic and fast-paced action in the first Serious Sam, you'll be interested to learn that your days of peace will be over soon. Take 2 have released several new Serious Sam 2 screenshots that show beyond any doubt that Sam will be back with a vengeance. Some of the screens seem to literally burst with colour and action, but go and let the pictures speak for themselves here. The game's official website puts it this way:

Maintains the same level of extreme action that Serious Sam is known for. Despite its jaw-dropping visuals, Serious Sam 2 will surpass the onscreen enemy benchmark that the original Serious Sam games set.

You should start training your reflexes soon, Serious Sam 2 is scheduled for a release this fall.

Related info:
Serious Sam 2 Site
Take 2
Croteam
Discussion >>



Playstation 3According to a Merrill Lynch report, Sony could face a loss of up to $1.18 billion in the Playstation 3's first year on the market.

The figures are based on a prediction of 14 million units sold, and Merrill Lynch's belief that the console will have a sale price of $399, with each one actually costing Sony $494 to manufacture.

The $494 manufacturing figure was broken down into individual items - the Cell processor, Nvidia RSX Chip and Blu-ray drive each were estimated to cost a little more than $100 to produce, with the other parts and production costs making up the remainder.

Gamedaily.com ask the question if Sony can weather such a high financial loss in the first year:

Even if Sony is counting on software sales, licensing fees with publishers and eventual mass production to help them recoup their losses, putting the business in the hole by more than $1 billion will make it far tougher for the PS3 to become a profitable venture. Furthermore, Merrill Lynch says that Microsoft could make things even harder on Sony by strategically cutting the price of the Xbox 360 to coincide with the debut of the PS3. If this were to happen, Merrill predicts that Sony could lose an additional 80 billion yen ($730 million) in the PS3's second year and 50 billion yen ($457 million) in its third year.

For the sake of comparison, the PlayStation 2 debuted at 39,800 yen in Japan and $299 here in the U.S. and over the first year of the console's life Sony lost 51.1 billion yen or about $458 million. The company went on to recover from that loss with a profit of $759 million in the second year, and then a profit of over $1 billion in the third year. However, recovering from a loss of $458 million—less than half the initial loss Merrill Lynch is forecasting—is a far more manageable task. It was also at a time when Sony's overall business was in better health.

Merrill Lynch: Sony to Lose Over $1 Billion in PS3's First Year - Kutaragi: People will "work more hours" to buy the PS3


Related:
PS3 To Be Even More Powerful Than We've Seen?
PS3 controller pic emerges, this time smaller?
No Decision Yet on PS3 Euro Release
Research claims PS3 to lose market share next year
PS3 Not a Toy, But a Linux Supercomputer
Discussion >>
By Rob



All Points Bulletin (APB)

All Points Bulletin (APB), the automotive MMOG by Real Time World's studio will make it's way to the Xbox 360, with a scheduled release date of sometime in 2008.

The game was announced for PC back in February, but last week's signing of a publishing deal between Microsoft Game Studios and Real Time World's was a good indicator an Xbox 360 version might be on the cards.

Real Time World's is the new development house for Dave Jones, credited with being the main creative force behind Grand Theft Auto, and before that the classic puzzler Lemmings.

APB will be published by Korean publisher Webzen and the PC version is due for release a full year before the X360 version:

APB is a massively multiplayer online game based in living, breathing cities that will feel familiar to players, as they precisely replicate famous cities all over the world. APB is a turf war involving two main factions, the Squads, whose goal is to uphold the law, and the Gangs, who seek to break the law at all costs. Players will be able to choose their side, in a classic good guy versus bad guy scenario. The Gangs are all about graffiti, attitude, custom cars and earning cash any way they can. The Squads stand for honor, teamwork, firepower and destroying the Gangs. APB will provide the player with the ultimate customization options from their weapons, vehicles and clothes to their attitude, music and environment.

APB coming to Xbox 360 in 2008 - Game information released in February

Related:
Real Time Worlds
WEBZEN GETS WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING RIGHTS FOR 'APB' (15 Feb)
Discussion >>
By Rob



LinspireLinspire and TransGaming have announced the release of Cedega, a program that allows the running of hundreds of Windows-format games on the Linux-based operating system.

Half-Life 2, World of Warcraft and Battlefield 1942 are just three of the popular PC games that can be played with the product:

“Gamers don’t have to choose between Linux and Windows anymore,” said Kevin Carmony, president and CEO of Linspire, Inc. “The release of Cedega technology for Linspire fills one of the most serious application gaps that exist for widespread adoption of desktop Linux. The added bonus is that installation of Point2Play with Cedega is so easy and affordable, you’ll be able to play Windows games on Linspire for less than it would cost to purchase a Windows system.”

Press release via Slashdot

Related:
Linspire.com
TransGaming Technologies
Buy Cedega online
Discussion >>
By Rob



XBox 360Konami president Michihiro Ishizuka was recently interviewed by Japanese magazine Toyo Keizai in which he revealed that Konami is currently working on an all-new game for Microsoft's upcoming Xbox 360 console, while hinting that the title would be an exclusive to the 360.

The article was partially translated by Gamespot:

"[We will] provide one or two flagship titles for each machine, which will take advantage of their capabilities as next-generation consoles.

"We will release a new Metal Gear as a flagship title for the PS3, and are developing an original product for the Xbox 360." Hmm...

Konami doing X360 exclusive

Related:
Xbox 360 to side with HD-DVD?
More Xbox 360 details published in online mag
Hundreds of Fan-Created Xbox 360 Faceplates
Todd Holmdahl talks Xbox 360 Hardware
Real Time Worlds Sign Xbox 360 Publishing Deal
MS Laundry Taunts Sony With 360 Ads
X360 Boycott Called For After MS Agrees to Censor Blogs
Microsoft to unload 10 Million Xbox 360s
Microsoft: Xbox 360 Will Win In Japan
Discussion >>
By Gary



Quake MobileFollowing the recent news that DoomRPG for cellphones would be released at the same time as the Doom movie adaptation, id Software have announced Quake will be hitting the cellphone platform this summer.

Pulse Interactive will publish the title, which is being developed by Bear Naked Productions.

The game is to be a "faithful conversion" of the original 1996 PC version, and will appear on a new generation of phones that come with 3D graphics hardware built in. The first wave of 3D-enabled phones is due to hit the market this summer, and Quake Mobile will appear initially as an embedded game on a Korean-manufactured phone in July:

"QUAKE Mobile takes all of the action, game play, and atmosphere of the groundbreaking original and puts it right in the palm of your hands," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "QUAKE pushes the envelope of today's mobile handsets, and offers gamers a fun and addictive on-the-go entertainment experience. We're already looking forward to the first mobile deathmatch."

[...]

"Forget miniature golf and puzzle games, QUAKE is going to take mobile gaming to a whole new level," said Paul Trowe, president, Pulse Interactive., "QUAKE will not only satisfy hardcore players, but also create a whole new generation of fans around the world."

Related:
id Software
Bear Naked Productions
Pulse Interactive
Quake Mobile wins Best Mobile Game - Gamespot Best of E3 '05 Editors Choice
Doom Coming to Phones, Second id Title Planned (7 June)
Carmack Tackles DOOM For Cell Phones (29 March)
Discussion >>
By Rob



Far Cry InstinctsFar Cry: Instincts, the console version of the highly successful PC game Far Cry, will not be making any appearance on the Playstation 2, according to a recent press release from Ubisoft. This will no doubt be a blow for PS2 Far Cry fans who hoped the title would find its way to their console.

The game will be an exclusive on the Xbox in September of this year, according to a press release from Ubisoft which gave no explanation as to the game's absence on the PS2.

In an earlier statement the company said:

The official line is that all efforts are being put into the Xbox release for September. The PS2 may be considered for the future.

This latest announcement would appear to be the final nail in the coffin of the PS2 version.

Ubisoft Cans PlayStation 2 Far Cry: Instincts

Related:
Far Cry: Instincts New Features Detailed
Far Cry Instincts Only Planned for Xbox
Official Far Cry Instincts site
Crytek.com - developers
Far Cry Goes 64-Bit, Will You?
Far Cry Prologue - The Project Video
Discussion >>
By Gary



Judge DreddThe owners of the 2000AD comics franchise Rebellion Ltd. have entered into a 4 year deal with Smoking Gun Entertainment to bring a series of Judge Dredd games to the Interactive DVD format.

The first Judge Dredd game for Interactive DVD will be called "Citizen Brain" and is said to be expected for launch in 2006:

"With the continued success and popularity of both the 2000AD and Judge Dredd comic books, and the prospect of further 2000AD based movies in the pipeline, the timing is perfect to expand the Judge Dredd universe into new games platforms such as Interactive DVD."

Last year Rebellion also announced development on another 2000AD favourite, Rogue Trooper, which is scheduled to be released for the Xbox and PS2 in early 2006.

Related:
Rebellion.co.uk
Smoking Gun Productions
2000ADOnline.com
Official site for Rogue Trooper the game
Gamespot: Rogue Trooper E3 2005 preshow report
Discussion >>
By Rob



Game Hand GloveFourteen year old gamer Zac Bandremer has developed a new type of gaming glove that has a sticky silicone palm to reduce controller slippage and blisters caused by aggressive gameplay.

The super-stretchable glove also features open fingers for "maximum sensory experience for the fingertips" and even comes with a sweatband to let gamers wipe away beads of sweat from their brow:

"With my Dad's help, we've come up with a radical looking glove that's made with a super sticky palm that grips the controller like nothing else, and it looks really, really cool, too! All of my friends use it."

Zac and his Pops have now set about marketing the product via the official GameHand website, and they reckon it's going to be huge.

"I know I'm a kid and all, but my goal is to get this glove into the hands of players everywhere, and make this the biggest thing. That would be very cool," Zac says.

"I'm really proud I helped invent the GameHand. You gotta love the glove!"

Game Hand Glove via Eurogamer

Discussion >>
By Rob



Kart RiderA new video game taking Korea by storm, seems to be breaking the mould of a typically male genre. The racing car game, Kart Rider is enticing in more and more female motorists as it gains momentum and reaches 12 million players.

The makers of the Kart Rider are even looking to expand into broadcasting races via a TV station, with intent on grabbing some of that sizeable audience.


The game characters are so cute,'' Kim Jung-hwa, a 26-year-old company worker from Seoul, said, explaining why ``Kart'' is appealing to her. ``It's so funny the way they shake their heads making a turn at a corner or when crashing into a wall.

Kart's Engine Still Hot | Via Kotaku

Discussion >>
By Gary



Source Engine logoValve has opened up a new website for mod developers. The aim of the website is to provide resources and information for experienced modders and tutorials for new comers to the modding scene. The site also has lots of useful links to development sites and Source SDK engine information.

We've reworked our existing Source engine SDK documentation into a Wiki, which means that virtually all of the content can be edited by anyone with a web browser and useful information to share. We hope that this is an efficient and useful tool that the MOD community can use to share information on building a game using Source. The open nature of a Wiki raises some obvious concerns about what kind of content is contributed to the site, from worries about vandalism to honest inaccuracy and mistakes. There will be the occasional disruptive person, but the site provides methods for dealing with this.

The Valve Developer Community

Related:
Doug Lombardi talks Steam
Valve: Getting Closer To HL2: Lost Coast Release
Half Life 2: Lost Coast HDR overview
Eurogamer: Half-Life 2: The Lost Coast preview
Half Life 2: Aftermath set for September release? (24 May)
Eclipse: New total conversion Half-Life 2 mod
Half Life 2 In The Real World
Discussion >>

By Gary



Valve SoftwareGameCloud.com have interviewed Valve's Doug Lombardi concerning their controversial step from retail to digital distribution. They look at the various aspects of Steam, like the launching of Half Life 2 via Valve's online distribution service.

They also discuss Valve's take on the upcoming next-gen consoles, and examine the threat to PC gaming.


Gamecloud - While Steam was around before Half-Life 2 was released, that game most likely tested Steam's viabilty when it was launched last November. Overall is Valve pleased with the way Steam has handled the load?

Doug Lombardi - Absolutely. In addition to allowing us sell our games, it enabled the prevention of the "zero day" piracy problems other major releases incurred between gold and their launch days last year. It's also allowed us to serve several updates directly to our customers since launch - including the delivery of new games such as Half-Life 2:Deathmatch and soon Lost Coast - and aided in our anti-cheat efforts.

Distribution Revolution Q&A: Valve

Related:
Valve: Getting Closer To HL2: Lost Coast Release
Half Life 2: Lost Coast HDR overview
Eurogamer: Half-Life 2: The Lost Coast preview
Half Life 2: Aftermath set for September release? (24 May)
Eclipse: New total conversion Half-Life 2 mod
Half Life 2 In The Real World
Discussion >>
By Gary



BlizzConBlizzard Entertainment have announced the first official gaming convention celebrating their franchises, Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo. Due to take place on the 28 and 29 of October, Blizzard reveal attendees can look forward to some special events, including a Q&A session with the developers behind World of Warcraft and StarCraft: Ghost.

The BlizzCon will take place in Orange County, California, though an exact venue has yet to be announced:

WHAT: BlizzCon will be an ideal event for gamers from around the world to meet each other, participate in live Q&A's with Blizzard developers, and share their passion for their favorite Blizzard games.

WHO: Gamers who enjoy playing any of the games developed by Blizzard Entertainment.

WHERE: Orange County, California. Exact location to be announced at a later date.

WHEN: Friday and Saturday, October 28 and 29, 2005. The event begins at 8 a.m. PDT on both days.

Blizzard.com

Related:
Pluck New Warcraft III: Frozen Throne Bonusmap (27 June)
World of Warcraft Expansion In The Works (22 June)
WoW XP Theme released
Microsoft Gunning for WoW, 360 Style (15 June)
Blizzard's Desire To Be The Best (13 June)
Major WoW Patch Introduces Battlegrounds (9 June)
World of Warcraft Now Launched in China (7 June)
Discussion >>
By Rob



Battlefield 2PopularTechnology.net are reporting on the recent Battlefield 2 graphics card controversy. It appears that the game will not run on an Nvidia Geforce 4 or lower, despite the fact that the card has enough mustard to run the game. EA has said they have no plans to release a fix for users of these lower end cards.

As a PC Gamer you expect to upgrade, you expect that at some point your hardware will not run the latest games acceptably. Battlefield 2 does not even give you that option. It attempts to make all non DirectX 9 compatible video cards obsolete. Which means all GeForce 4 and older video cards will not run Battlefield 2. You cannot even start up the menu. Neither Electronic Arts nor the game's developer DICE have any plans to fix this. Even though the GeForce 4 line of video cards has enough horsepower to render the game it is not compatible with Pixel Shader 1.4. Emulation to Pixel Shader 1.3 would easily make the game playable on these cards but redundant texture checks make this difficult to implement.

EA's response to questioning was:

We've been talking to Benjamin Smith on the development team about this. There are no plans to implement GeForce 4 support in a patch. The engine was not built to run acceptably (performance or appearance-wise) on the GeForce 4 series of cards.

Despite the fact that the game will run on a lower end card, a Radeon 8500 will render the game and at a slower pace than the Geforce 4, the only difference being that it supports Pixel Shader 1.4. Kind of a kick in the ass for all you Geforce 4 owners, in my opinion they still pack a small punch.

PopularTechnology.net

Related:
Battlefield 2 demo, mirrors and torrent
Official website
Dice
EA Games
Discussion >>
By Gary



XBox 360In a not so surprising turn of events, Microsoft's Bill Gates has hinted that future versions of the upcoming Xbox 360 may include a drive that supports HD-DVD. This announcement comes after talks between Toshiba and Sony on deciding a future DVD format came to a collapse. Sony will be pushing forward Blue-Ray disks, which support up to 50 Gb of storage with their Playstation 3, while Toshiba try to present HD-DVD to the world, holding only 30 Gb of storage but ultimately costing less to manufacture.

We knew the next-gen console wars were going to be pretty vicious, but now it appears the next-gen DVD format wars will be equally as bloody after Gates suggested backing Toshiba's HD-DVD.

The initial shipments of Xbox 360 will be based on today's DVD format," said Gates at the conference. "We are looking at whether future versions of Xbox 360 will incorporate an additional capability of an HD-DVD player or something else.
Read on

Related:
More Xbox 360 details published in online mag
Hundreds of Fan-Created Xbox 360 Faceplates
Todd Holmdahl talks Xbox 360 Hardware
Real Time Worlds Sign Xbox 360 Publishing Deal
MS Laundry Taunts Sony With 360 Ads
X360 Boycott Called For After MS Agrees to Censor Blogs
Microsoft to unload 10 Million Xbox 360s
Microsoft: Xbox 360 Will Win In Japan
Discussion >>
By Gary





If you're still as of yet undecided on which next-gen games console you're sold on. AnandTech has a very thorough 13 page article examining every aspect of the top 2 contenders. Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3 go head-to-head in a battle of the titans.

The article takes a look at what matters most to gamers, plus they go through every aspect of the consoles from the storage capacity, raw graphics power, processing capabilities and more.

The most important goal of any platform is balance on all levels. We'’ve seen numerous examples of what architectural imbalances can do to performance, having too little cache or too narrow of a FSB can starve high speed CPUs of data they need to perform. GPUs without enough memory bandwidth can'’t perform anywhere near their peak fillrates, regardless of what they may be. Achieving a balanced overall platform is a very difficult thing on the PC, unless you have an unlimited budget and are able to purchase the fastest components. Skimping on your CPU while buying the most expensive graphics card may leave you with performance that'’s marginally better, or worse, than someone else with a more balanced system with a faster CPU and a somewhat slower GPU.

Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PS3 - A Hardware Discussion

Related:
More Xbox 360 details published in online mag
Hundreds of Fan-Created Xbox 360 Faceplates
Todd Holmdahl talks Xbox 360 Hardware
Real Time Worlds Sign Xbox 360 Publishing Deal
MS Laundry Taunts Sony With 360 Ads
X360 Boycott Called For After MS Agrees to Censor Blogs
Microsoft to unload 10 Million Xbox 360s
Microsoft: Xbox 360 Will Win In Japan
PS3 To Be Even More Powerful Than We've Seen?
PlayStation 3 Tech Specs
PlayStation 3 SDK Hardware Images On The Web
PS3 controller pic emerges, this time smaller?
No Decision Yet on PS3 Euro Release
Final Fantasy VII For PS3?
Research claims PS3 to lose market share next year
Discussion >>
By Gary



Magic Mushrooms1up.com has an interesting write-up in which they examine the use of narcotics in yesterday's and today's hottest gaming titles. From the pill popping Pacman, to Mario and his magic mushrooms, right down to burnt out painkiller addict, Max Payne. Yes they're all there, our most beloved games hereos, doped up and entertaining.

Although you cannot feel too bad for the lovable junkies, with the current price of console games, I would like to think we are somehow contributing to their recovery programs later on in life.

Renders the consumer temporarily capable of eating ghosts. Here's an eternal question: are the pellets Pac-Man relentlessly consumes supposed to be drugs or food? The smaller ones are food, maybe, but the power pills off in the corners have such a profound effect on the yellow fellow that it's hard not to wonder about them.

If you define them as drugs, which seems like a pretty safe assumption, this would be the first pioneering appearance of drugs as power-ups in games, a tradition that would be carried on by more titles than can reliably be counted.

Where recreational electronics meet recreational chemistry

Related:
Gaming, a pain in the thumb?
Lunchtime Games
Seven Year Old Girl Killed Over GTA: San Andreas Row
Discussion >>
By Gary



GTA: San AndreasAs was the case with Grant Theft Auto: Vice City, a new video has been unleashed to the web featuring in-game stunts performed by players. As you know, in GTA you can pretty much drive any vehicle you wish, not to mention the fun in beating the person out of it. Gamershell are hosting a video featuring 27 minutes of in-game footage, stunts/soundtrack.

Download it out here (283.96Mb)

Related:
Seven Year Old Girl Killed Over GTA: San Andreas Row
Japanese Media Link GTA III To Murders
GTA3 - Sales Restriction in Japan (31 May)
GTA: Liberty City Stories Official Details
Discussion >>
By Gary



MarioA massive collection of old Nintendo games and hardware is up for grabs on eBay. The package includes a Nintendo gaming system, 776 Nes titles (only 10 short of owning every single Nes game) and lots of other tidbits.

Latest bidding is at US $6,200.00, so if you want to geek out a room in your house, head on over for some nostalgia and retro.

Up for auction is a collection of games and ass. that took 15+ years to collect. First off 776 nintendo nes games.. THAT is only 10 games from having the complete set of usa released nes games...I quit collecting six or seven months ago, but i'm sure the last ten games are on ebay right now.. this list is far to long for a two finger typer like myself to type so I'll try to make this as easy as possible.. First thing you need to do is google search MIKE ETLER'S RARITY LIST.. Print this list out... You need the first 17 pages.. Now look at all the games on the list..

Largest nintendo nes lot ever offered on EBAY

Related:
Haunted NES For Sale On eBay (15th March 05)
New eBay Auction - Haunted SNES (19th March 05)
Micro-Sized NES Controller
Giant NES Controller
NES Controller Belt Buckle
Discussion >>
By Gary



Xbox 360Some interesting Xbox 360 details have been published in the latest version of Xbox Magazine Online. A lot of old information is re-hashed but some interesting things like with DVD playback, only one Xbox 360 processor remains on, the other 2 shut-down for whisper quite operation.

They also go into some detail about how the Xbox 360 came to bare such a name.

The concept behind the name goes a little something like this: You are the hero in the next-generation of gaming, putting you at the center of the universe. Microsoft emphasizes its desire to help developers create dynamic content that enhances this experience via its powerful next-gen console. And the customizability of XBox 360 also means you're able to get your gaming experience to reflect your own unique persona, attitude and friends. Therefore, if you are the center of the universe, you'll be able to spin in all directions (hence 360) and see yourself and your tastes, experiences, etc in everything around you. Voila! 360 is born!
Read on

Related:
Hundreds of Fan-Created Xbox 360 Faceplates
Todd Holmdahl talks Xbox 360 Hardware
Real Time Worlds Sign Xbox 360 Publishing Deal
MS Laundry Taunts Sony With 360 Ads
X360 Boycott Called For After MS Agrees to Censor Blogs
Microsoft to unload 10 Million Xbox 360s
Microsoft: Xbox 360 Will Win In Japan
Discussion >>
By Gary



Nintendo's handheld is more popular than Sony's PSP among adult gamers. At least according to a recent magazine survey in Japan which comes just as Nintendo DS breaks the 1 million sales mark in Japan.

The survey conducted by Otonafami magazine had 1,000 gamers all aged over 20, and found that 25% of them owned a Nintendo DS, with only 14% PSP owners and the rich 19% who had both of 'em.

The higher ownership of the Nintendo DS seems set to continue, too. Of those who didn't own a next-gen handheld console, 35 per cent said that they planned to buy a DS, ahead of the 31 per cent who want a PSP and 19 per cent who plan to buy both.

The survey comes as the Nintendo DS broke through the million unit sales mark for 2005, with the console now around 45,000 units ahead of the PlayStation Portable in terms of sales since January 1st according to figures from market research firm Media Create.
Read on

Related:
Sony Dismiss PSP Production Cuts Rumour
Sony refutes rumours of drop in PSP production
Sony Not Going After Import PSP Owners
PSP Movies Conquer 100,000 Mark
Sony Unhappy But Powerless On PSP Porn
PSP Trademark May Delay European Release?
Gaming, a pain in the thumb?
Discussion >>
By Gary



Max PayneMax Payne fans might be pleased to know that a film based around the cop/action hero game is still in the works. The game itself certainly offers up a buyable plot, the lone police officer taking on the Mafia single-handed, with his own side hunting him down.

According to an article over on Ferrago, 20th Century Fox is working on the project, with producer Scott Faye talking about creating his very own Dirty Harry styled cop.

I think this is a real actor's part because although the story will have action and intrigue, at its core it's a story about a man who loses everything in life that's dear to him

Max Payne will, in the film, be once again driven by revenge to punish the thugs who killed his family whilst high on designer drug Valkyr, a quest which will take him to the heart of New York's underworld, whilst the city grinds to a halt during the worst blizzard for a century. 'Bullet time' will also no doubt offer action-fans plenty of intriguing Matrix-esque set-pieces, too.
Read on

Related:
Max Payne 2 meets Mission: Impossible
Max Payne Developers Announce New Game
Max Payne 2 Used in Art Exhibit (18th November 04)
Max Payne 2 The Big Reveal Mod (9th September 04)
Discussion >>
By Gary



Second Life

MMORPG-Gamer.com is reporting that a basic membership to the virtual world Second Life can be gotten for $2.95 until the 29th of June.

Ordinarily the price is $9.95 for the basic membership, which allows lifetime access to the full featured game except you can't own land:

From now until June 29, 2005 a one-time fee of US$2.95 is all it takes to get a Second Life Basic account. And remember, there are no monthly fees.

Explore, shop, play games (build games!), become an entrepreneur, party, help create entire worlds-- endless possibilities for a lifetime, at the cost of coffee and a bagel.

DETAILS
Simply go to secondlife.com/join, fill out the registration, choose Basic account, and input 7KXJ98 when you are asked to submit a promo code. After your 7-day free trial, if you choose to join Second Life, your credit card will be charged just $2.95.

* Already a member? Pass this offer to a friend. Sorry, no referral bonuses will be given with this offer.

But hurry, because all this ends June 29th!

Secondlife.com

Related:
What is Second Life?
Firefox Coming to Second Life (6 June)
C|NET video about Second Life
"At the end of seven days, Everquest 2 is off my subscription list and Second Life is on."
Discussion >>
By Rob



Blizzard Entertainment Their latest project WoW nothwithstanding, Blizzard are still rendering excellent service for their established games by regularly releasing new Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne bonusmaps. The latest medium-sized and rose-shaped map is aptly titled Deathrose and, before you ask, here's the explanation:

The Deathrose is a rare flower that grows only in the deepest, darkest swamps of Ashenvale. In the hands of a master alchemist, the petals of the flower can be used to create some of the deadliest poisons known to exist in all Azeroth.

The map is suited for 2v2 or FFA matches and can be downloaded here for free.

Related info:
Blizzard Entertainment
Battle.net
Blizzard Axe 50,000 Warcraft Accounts (6 June)
New Minimap for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (17 April)
Discussion >>



MyOwnInteractive.comIt appears the domain name www.lokitorrent.com has come under new ownership, or the original owners have decided to get into the web-based gaming business.

Visiting the once highly popular bit torrent site now presents you with the message:

Redirection to MyOwnInteractive.com in progress...

Torrent download links of any kind are no longer hosted on this web site. We welcome you to visit our new web-based gaming sites.

Lokitorrent.com

MyOwnInteractive.com contains the notice "Web-based simulators and games for the intellectuals among us. Have an idea for a simulator or web-based game you wished existed? Contact us with your idea."

Also on the page is some hidden text that announces a web-based multiplayer game that's due to come out in Fall 2005:


Rule your own country as a benevolent leader or a crooked tyrant

With game features such as technology advancements, military research, foreign trade, and a complete economic model, you can rule your nation any way you wish.
Open design allows you to buy out your neighbors by utilizing carefully manipulated foreign trade and fair tax rates to create a strong upper class population or simply creating a massive army and taking over your neigbors by brute force and cunning strategy.

MyOwn Nation, sporting realistic options such as United Nations membership, population classes, government types, unique taxation options, welfare, education and even genocide make this the most realistic nation simulation to date.

Look for it in Fall 2005!

Lokitorrent's original owners succumbed to the wrath of the MPAA back in February, after fighting briefly against their orders to take down the site.

Related:
LokiTorrent caves to MPAA (10 Feb)
Discussion >>
By Rob



Xbox 360 faceplates

Major Nelson is running a competition for the best user-made faceplate for the Xbox 360, and has received 100's of entries since it began on the 17th.

Some are pretty high-quality, like the Xbox Traffic Light and the Xbox 360 Guitar among lots of others you can view here.

The prize is a limited edition E3 X360 faceplate and a Plantronics Major Nelson headset; the contest will close on 30 June and to enter all you have to do is create a faceplate using some templates provided here, and you also need Photoshop for editing the templates.

350 Faceplates and growing

Related:
Todd Holmdahl talks Xbox 360 Hardware
Real Time Worlds Sign Xbox 360 Publishing Deal
MS Laundry Taunts Sony With 360 Ads
X360 Boycott Called For After MS Agrees to Censor Blogs
Microsoft to unload 10 Million Xbox 360s
Microsoft: Xbox 360 Will Win In Japan
Discussion >>
By Rob



Playstation ThumbGaming is a pain in the thumb, according to a German scientist and a 13 year old South African girl. In a new survey on playing video games, a new condition known as Playstation Thumb has been announced. The results of the survey suggest that in a few years time, the condition will be listed in medical textbooks. Not exactly the PR Sony would have liked while promoting their PS3.

The subjects were asked to play for two hours a day while Dr Mathiak scanned their brains using magnetic resonance imaging. They were tasked with completing typical first-person shooter objectives - entering an enemy base, rescuing the innocent and killing all the guilty.

Read the full article

Related:
Lunchtime Games
Seven Year Old Girl Killed Over GTA: San Andreas Row
Discussion >>
By Gary



Half-Life 2 high-dynamic range

Valve have said in their latest Steam update that they are "getting much closer to having Lost Coast ready to release."

The extra level to Half-Life 2 will showcase the new high-dynamic range (HDR) technology, and will be available free to Half-Life 2 owners who meet a set of as-yet unannounced system requirements.

The company also reveal that they plan to include HDR in their future game releases, including the delayed Day of Defeat: Source.

Attached to the update is a side-by-side comparison video, that shows a Half-Life 2 scene both with and without HDR:

One of the fundamental pieces of HDR rendering lies in "dynamic tonemapping." In the Source engine, by varying the exposure of a scene based on how much light is visible, we can accurately simulate a range of brightness that is beyond what a computer monitor is physically capable of displaying. A real-world example of this effect happens every time you walk from a very dark room to an outdoor area with very bright sunlight -- your eye takes a few moments to adjust to the variance in the amount of light hitting the retina. If you have a video card that supports HDR, you'll be able to see this in the engine when Lost Coast is released.

Static screenshots of HDR fail to capture this effect, but if you click on this image you can watch it happen in a scene from the Lost Coast. Note that the left-hand side of the screen is running in Fixed Aperture (non-HDR) mode, and the right-hand side with High Dynamic Range.

Steam update (24 June) - Download the video

Related:
Half Life 2: Lost Coast HDR overview
Eurogamer: Half-Life 2: The Lost Coast preview
Half Life 2: Aftermath set for September release? (24 May)
Eclipse: New total conversion Half-Life 2 mod
Half Life 2 In The Real World
Discussion >>
By Rob



A poster over on Slashdot asked a simple question - what are some fun games to play during a 20-30 minute lunch break?

The limitations were the games must be able to run well on a system not geared for gaming and must provide a fun and thorough gaming experience in a half-hour sitting.

Some recommendations were Worms, Diablo II, the original GTA (available free) and Moonbase Commander before someone made the suggestion that he should get himself a good old fashioned deck of cards.

Game To Play During Lunch?
Discussion >>
By Rob



SteamSteamLaunch has just been launched. It is a new link-generator that allows you to ad links to your Valve games servers on a web page. All you need to do is insert your server's IP and port number into the generator, select the game engine and a piece of html code will be generated for you to position on a web page. When users click on the link, their Steam will launch the game in question and join your server.

The service is particularly useful for clan servers and ISPs, providing users with a handy, simple, quick way to connect to an IP. Also included are options: prevent connecting if the server is full, and, display a password dialog if the server is protected. SteamLaunch supports both Half-Life 1 and Source server protocols.

The site is still a work-in-progress, the password dialog feature is not yet functional but the link generator works fine for just adding a link to your server(s).

Here is an example, join the IGNIQ CS: Source server

Visit Steam Launch for more details

Related:
Eclipse: New total conversion Half-Life 2 mod
DoD: Source News Update & HL1: Deathmatch Source Revamp
Doug Lombardi Interview, DoD Source development still unclear
Half Life 2: Aftermath set for September release?
Valve at E3, Lost Coast details and screenshot
Valve showcase HDR at E3
Doug Lombardi, Half Life 2 Interview
Half Life 2 reviewer goes panoramic
Half Life 2 In The Real World
Legend Counter Strike Mapper Springs Back
Discussion >>
By Gary



Half-Life 2Half Life 2 looks to be cleaning up at this year's G-Phoria awards hosted by G4TV. Anybody can cast their vote for the different categories, including Game of the Year and Best Graphics. Although I should note that registration is required to cast your vote.

Nominations so far include:
  • Best Shooter
  • Best Graphics
  • Best Sound Design
  • Best Voice Performance - Female (Alyx)
  • Favourite Character (Alyx)
  • Game of the Year
Head on over to G4TV to make your opinion heard.

Related:
Eclipse: New total conversion Half-Life 2 mod
DoD: Source News Update & HL1: Deathmatch Source Revamp
Doug Lombardi Interview, DoD Source development still unclear
Half Life 2: Aftermath set for September release?
Valve at E3, Lost Coast details and screenshot
Valve showcase HDR at E3
Doug Lombardi, Half Life 2 Interview
Half Life 2 reviewer goes panoramic
Half Life 2 In The Real World
Legend Counter Strike Mapper Springs Back
Discussion >>
By Gary



Fable: The Lost ChaptersA new trailer for Fable: The Lost Chapters has been released by Lionhead.

The PC game will feature extra content not seen in the original Xbox hit, as well as a deeper storyline. Fable: The Lost Chapters is due out this Autumn:

Explore the original worlds and core missions of “Fable” that thrilled Xbox gamers and discover additional regions, storylines and side quests, as well as optional missions with “Fable: The Lost Chapters.” In addition, “Fable: The Lost Chapters” offers the ability to fight new monsters, practice an expanded group of spells, don new armor, wield additional weapons and interact with new expressions.

Watch the trailer

Related:
Fable: The Lost Chapters E3 trailer
Official site for Fable: The Lost Chapters
Lionhead.com
Discussion >>
By Rob



Civilization IVFiraxis have released a rake of new media and details about Civilization IV. Four new gameplay footage videos, an interview with developer Jesse Smith, and new screenshots have been uploaded to Gamespot, while Gamespy have an in-depth preview that reveals more details about the modding ability of the game.
Firaxis have said that this will be the "most moddable version of Civ ever":

It'll ship with an in-game "worldbuilder" that allows you to shift units around and redraw the map, similar to a scenario editor. More hardcore modders can jump into XML files and tweak all of the unit stats and variables in the game. Beyond that, users who know the Python scripting language can actually go in and set up scripts and triggers to make game events happen or alter the way the game plays, while a Game A.I. SDK that'll be available shortly after the game ships will allow players to completely change the way the A.I., combat system, or game rules work. Players around the 'net will be able to contribute their own future or fantasy mods, adding new units or tweaking the game balance -- if the core game takes off, the aftermarket scene is going to be huge.

Civilization IV preview - Civ IV media on Gamespot - New Civ IV screens

Related:
Official site for Civ IV
Civilization Anonymous
Firaxis.com
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