« Igniq.com Gaming News - Bookmark this site Advertisements Cubed3.com have discovered both the U.S. and U.K. Amazon sites have posted up release dates for the highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess for the GameCube.According to Amazon, the U.K. release date is set for 25 November, with the U.S. getting the game slightly earlier on the 14th. The dates aren't official information from Nintendo, so should be treated as rumour until the company states otherwise. Related: Zelda.com The Legend of Zelda Blows the Roof off E3 Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess E3 2005 screenshots Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess E3 2005 artwork Twilight Princess among CNN's Six to Watch Discussion >> Rockstar Games' claim that the sex mini-game discovered in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was not created by them has been undermined by an independent test of the Playstation 2 version of the game, which cannot have unofficial content added to it.In a statement released during the week, the company blamed the content on the hackers who created the mod for the PC version, who they said would need to "alter" the game's source code to display the scenes. Gamespot decided to run a test on the PS2 version of the game, which comes on an un-moddable DVD that cannot be altered in the way the company describe: GameSpot decided to test the cheat codes circulating around the Web on a sealed, first-edition copy of San Andreas. After acquiring the "Uncensored Hot Coffee" codes from the respected tech-blog Kotaku, we entered them into an easily obtainable Action Replay Max cheat device. After entering the "Enable all Girlfriends" cheat, we began the game and then gave CJ maximum sex appeal, via a cheat from GameFAQs that requires no external code. Interview With Assemblyman At Centre of GTA Sex Mod Row Rockstar Again Denies Stirring Hot Coffee Senator Clinton climbs onboard Hot-Coffee witch hunt Watchdog Jumps Into GTA Sex Mod Debate Modder: "the scriptcode, the models, the animations and the dialogs by the original voice-actors were all created by RockStar" NIMF Stirs GTA Hot Coffee Debate to Next Level GTA sex scandal goes down under ESRB investigating San Andreas sex minigames Rockstar Deny Sex in GTA: San Andreas Discussion >> Gamespot have an interview with Leland Yee, the Californian assemblyman whose sharp words about the Hot Coffee mod for GTA : San Andreas started a process that saw two investigations launched in different parts of the world, and had everyone from Jack Thompson to Hillary Clinton climb onboard to condemn Rockstar Games. Yee says he is glad of the huge publicity given to the issue, and hopes there are even more investigations, while reserving some hard words for the ESRB, who didn't give the game a sales-crippling AO (Adults Only) rating when it was released: The ESRB is not an appropriate forum to rate any of these games whatsoever. There's a conflict of interest. It's the fox guarding the henhouse. ... If you have the industry paying for the rating, and your salary comes out of their money, the last thing you're going to try to do is try to upset them. The last thing you're going to do is limit their market share by rating a game AO. He also expressed scepticism at Rockstar's claim that the mod wasn't an official part of the game, and that they had no control over the work of independent hackers who make mods like Hot Coffee:If, in fact, as Rockstar claims, these sexually explicit minigames were never in their games whatsoever, then I would assume that these hackers have violated the copyright of Rockstar games, of Grand Theft Auto, and that Rockstar should, in fact, take every action that they can to sue every single penny of those individuals who would violate their copyright," Yee said. "I haven't seen any of that at all, and that's why I'm suspicious of Rockstar's position of innocence. Leland Yee's GTA: San Andreas press release Rockstar Again Denies Stirring Hot Coffee Senator Clinton climbs onboard Hot-Coffee witch hunt Watchdog Jumps Into GTA Sex Mod Debate Modder: "the scriptcode, the models, the animations and the dialogs by the original voice-actors were all created by RockStar" NIMF Stirs GTA Hot Coffee Debate to Next Level GTA sex scandal goes down under ESRB investigating San Andreas sex minigames Rockstar Deny Sex in GTA: San Andreas Discussion >> ![]() To coincide with the release of Tim Burton's movie remake, Take2 have announced Charlie and The Chocolate Factory the game has hit retail in the U.S. The game was released yesterday for the PS2, Xbox, PC and GameBoy Advance, with the the GameCube version hitting the stores next week. The voices and likenesses of actors from the film, including star Johnny Depp, were used in the game, and creative consultation was provided by Tim Burton. The game also features some elements from the original Roald Dahl book that didn't make it to the Burton film: Inspired by the Warner Bros. Pictures feature film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Tim Burton and based on the classic Roald Dahl book, the videogame allows players to embark on an adventure exploring the many extraordinary environments of the factory, including some elements from the book that do not appear in the film, accompanied by everyone's favorite Oompa-Loompas. Players discover what happens after the other children, greed-driven and unrestrained, wreak havoc throughout the factory and solve mystifying puzzles using special candy powers. Only by helping the Oompa-Loompas and restoring order to the factory can gamers earn the respect of Willy Wonka and win a prize beyond their wildest imagination! Charlie and The Chocolate Factory screenshots Gamespot's E3 impressions of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Official site for the movie Trailers & TV spots for the movie Discussion >> THQ and Team 17 have announced Worms will be wriggling onto the PSP and Nintendo DS. No release date for either format has been announced yet, and the official press release doesn't give much info away about the gameplay, but Gamesarefun.com uncovered some extra tidbits on the Team 17 forum:Both the PSP and DS editions will feature classic Worms gameplay - as vociferously requested by our fans. Both versions have been in development for some time, news on release dates will follow much later in the year. Team17.com Worms 4: Mayhem Demo (22 June) Lemmings Coming To PSP (19 May) Discussion >> CCP Games have announced the smooth roll-out of Cold War Edition, the major content update to EVE Online. Described as somewhere between a patch and an expansion, the update included a host of new features, and introduced a whole new beginners experience to the game, making it much easier for new players to quickly become accustomed to the game environment.CCP also previously said the Cold War Edition will pave the way for the next expansion to EVE Online, code named Kali and expected for release later in the year. EVE Online players can grab the Cold War Edition free here, and read the full list of features here. Related: EVE Online - Cold War Edition Revealed (24 June) Eve Online official site CCP (Crowd Control Productions) Discussion >> It seems controversial anti-game attorney Jack Thompson is back in the headlines once again. Thompson has recently written an open letter to a long list of Entertainment Software Association members, compromising developers and publishers. In the letter he launches personal attacks on both U.S. president George Bush and the president of the ESA Doug Lowenstein. Thompson is demanding the replacement of Lowenstein as president of the ESA who he believes has failed to take the appropriate action against violent games. Quote from the letter: When Hitler invaded Russia, opening up an Eastern offensive on the eve of winter, Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill noted that Hitler must have been rather loosely educated, not having learned the lesson of Napoleon's autumn advance on Moscow
Your Doug Lowenstein is similarly 'loosely educated' about the United States Constitution.' Thompson You Ignorant Slut Jack Thompson Goes Head-to-Head (Attempted)Open Discussion with Jack Thompson CBSNews GameSpeak: Jack Thompson (Feb 2005) Jack Thompson: "kiss the game industry good-bye" Jack Thompson (declines to) speak out on gaming violence (Nov 2004) About Jack Thompson Jack Thompson's stopkill.com Discussion >> According to Xbox365.com, Microsoft may have let slip the official release date for their upcoming Xbox 360 console. The article claims to have got the information from a Microsoft partner site.The Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system places you at the center of the experience. Available this holiday season, Xbox 360 ignites a new era of digital entertainment that is always connected, always personalized, and always in high definition. Xbox 360 Launch Date | Via Kotaku Related: Xbox 360 design team bare all Xbox 360 In Black Hundreds of Fan-Created Xbox 360 Faceplates Report: Xbox 360 Mass Production To Start In August Japan yawns at Xbox 360 Xbox 360 Beta Kit Image Hits The Web PS3 most expensive console ever/Xbox 360 shortages? Xbox 360 Beta Dev-Kits Shipped To Developers Team Ninja chief attacks Xbox 360 DVDs PS3/Xbox360/PSP/DS Compatibility Rumours Swirl Discussion >> Earlier we reported that Godfather legend, Marlon Brando's voice will not likely appear in the upcoming Godfather game. There are now reports coming in that suggest EA has delayed the entire project until a later date. The game had been slated for release to PC, Xbox 360, GameCube, PS2 and PSP later this year, but according to an article over on Ferrago, EA are now looking at an early 2006 release. The Godfather is one of the most cherished franchises in entertainment. Releasing the game in early 2006 allows us more time to perfect the open-world experience of being a member of the Corleone family, explains Executive producer David DeMartini.EA has also said that there is no plan to develop the Godfather for Nintendo's GameCube any time soon, despite earlier speculation to the contrary.. Whilst the power of the Godfather brand is expected to mean this delay won't impact sales, it is believed that EA's results prior to Christmas may be harmed by the delay - though we're more than convinced this won't do EA any real harm. In related news, EA have also confirmed that The Godfather isn't planned for the GameCube any time soon - despite rumours sourced to EA Italy suggesting the contrary. More on this soon, my children. Brando's recordings not fit for Godfather game? Coppola No Fan of Godfather Game Godfather film director whacks Godfather game Coppola Slams Godfather Game Caan, Duvall join Brando to voice Godfather (2 Feb) Discussion >> Following recent turmoil surrounding the next-gen DVD wars between Toshiba's HD-DVD and Sony's Blue-Ray, it appears that consumers have spoken out in favour of Blue-Ray disks which will be appearing in Sony's Playstation 3 next year.The survey was conducted by US polling firm Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates in which they presented customers with all the important factors surrounding each of the formats, like: technology company support, film studio support, games console support, storage capacity, potential movie title availability and estimated launch dates. Out of 1200 people who participated in the survey, only 16 percent favoured Toshiba's HD-DVD offering, 26 percent were undecided but 58 percent of the people surveyed were sold on Sony's next-gen DVD format. Those who chose Blu-Ray gave reasons such as the potential to play the discs in a greater range of CE devices, PCs and games consoles, backwards compatibility with the current DVD format, greater disc capacity and the potential to store bigger amounts of both HD and standard definition media. Xbox 360 to side with HD-DVD? Kutaragi: No agreement on Next-Gen DVDs Discussion >> In a recent interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu, EA has hinted that Nintendo's next-gen Revolution console will not be high priority for them.According to the interview, EA Vice-President David Gardner told Famitsu that Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3 will be getting the 'main force' of EA's support next-generation. What exactly this means for the Revolution is at this stage unknown, with a possible continued trend of EA just giving Nintendo ports of releases from other platforms speculated. Certainly, EA will be supporting the Revolution to a degree, but at this point exactly how much is now unclear. Nintendo Revolution "Deepthroat" Dropping Hints? Nintendo Revolution Ad? Wireless Router For Nintendo Revolution, DS? Revolution To Be Much Cheaper than Xbox 360, PS3 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 >> Half Life Fallout has announced another add-on game site to its network. After the recent announcement of Star Wars Tactics, Battlefield Sector has been launched as a site with up to date news, articles and information for Battlefield 2. From the about page: Our main goal is to keep you updated on the latest Battlefield 2 news as it happens. But also providing quality downloads, articles and much more. Be sure to make yourself at home in our forum, and once you're all settled in? Feel free to drop by the IRC channel too! Star Wars Tactics EA advise fans to uninstall Battlefield 2 Discussion >> We received a pretty vague email about the Nintendo Revolution from someone who doesn't give any specific details, but comes across like he might have some new info and wants everyone to guess what it is (apart from us, it was sent to a number of major sites who haven't published it yet).:
Nintendo Revolution Ad? Wireless Router For Nintendo Revolution, DS? Revolution To Be Much Cheaper than Xbox 360, PS3 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 >> The huge stir caused by the discovery of a pornographic mini-game in GTA: San Andreas has forced the usually press-shy Rockstar Games to release a statement disowning the mod that enables it. A spokesperson for the company had earlier told Gamespot.com the mod was not an official part of the game.Rockstar claim the scenes in the Hot Coffee mod "cannot be created without intentional and significant technical modifications and reverse engineering of the game's source code", before going on to say they are looking at ways to increase the security of the source code to prevent the game being altered by the mod. However, the creator of the Hot Coffee mod has said "the scriptcode, the models, the animations and the dialogs by the original voice-actors were all created by RockStar", which has resulted in two separate investigations into the game, by the ESRB in the U.S. and the ratings board in Australia. Political heavyweight Hillary Clinton has also jumped into the controversy, and is expected to call on the Federal Trade Commission to launch an inquiry into the matter. Rockstar Games blames Hot Coffee on hackers Related: Senator Clinton climbs onboard Hot-Coffee witch hunt Watchdog Jumps Into GTA Sex Mod Debate Modder: "the scriptcode, the models, the animations and the dialogs by the original voice-actors were all created by RockStar" NIMF Stirs GTA Hot Coffee Debate to Next Level GTA sex scandal goes down under ESRB investigating San Andreas sex minigames Rockstar Deny Sex in GTA: San Andreas Discussion >> Microsoft and Marvel have announced a partnership to create massively multiplayer online games featuring Marvel characters for the Xbox 360.The game universe will feature Marvel's 5,000+ characters, which include the X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Spider Man and The Hulk, and Microsoft's Peter Moore said the plan is to "use as many of the Marvel characters as we can" for the game. Reuters reports the first title from the deal is expected for release in 2008, while more official details are promised for the coming months. Reuters: Microsoft and Marvel ink online game deal - Press release Related: Marvel.com Hulk website officially live Fantastic Four Screenshots Emerge (7 June) Sony acquire rights to produce DC Comics MMOG Discussion >> ![]() EA Games and Digital Illusions have announced an expansion pack for Battlefield 2. Battlefield 2: Special Forces will let players fight as one of 6 different Special Forces soldiers - Navy SEALs, British SAS, Russian Spetznas, MEC Special Forces, Rebel groups and insurgents. Players will be equipped with all the latest Special Forces weaponry and gadgets, and will have 10 new vehicles at their disposal. The expansion is scheduled for release this winter for the PC: Battlefield 2 Special Forces takes the intensity and quality of Battlefield 2 behind the scenes of news headlines, showcasing the most elite and deadly forces in the modern military world. Using accurate Special Forces weapons, gadgets, and vehicles, these covert armies battle to control key military and strategic locations. Official website Dice EA Games EA advise fans to uninstall Battlefield 2 Battlefield 2 GPU Wars, ATI Vs Nvidia EA expected to tackle BF2 server issues EA launch first Battlefield 2 patch Battlefield 2 video card dilemma Battlefield 2 demo, mirrors and torrent Discussion >> Mythic Entertainment have announced their postponement of Imperator, a sci-fi MMORPG they had scheduled for a 2006 release.The company have set themselves a standard of "nothing less than triple-A games", and said Imperator simply wasn't meeting that standard. The staff working on Imperator will be reassigned to their other current games, Dark Age of Camelot and the Warhammer MMORPG, announced recently at the E3: "Our team made a tremendous effort with the game and the praise it drew at E3 and in previews reflected their skill and dedication," [CEO of Mythic, Mark] Jacobs continued. "But in the final analysis it just wasn't great enough to be a Mythic game at this time." ImperatorOnline.com Mythic Entertainment 14 Day Free Trial of Dark Age of Camelot Warhammer MMORPG Planned for 2007 (19 May) Discussion >> Planetwide Games have revealed that their latest piece of software in development will let gamers create comic books using screenshots from their favourite games.The Comic Book Creator isn't available just yet, but the features listed include a drag & drop interface for adding text to the screenshots, as well as the ability to easily add effects and balloons to the story. The software will save the newly created comics as PDF files, ready for printing. For more information, check out the official site. Related: Planetwide Games RYL.net $1M RYL Tourney Underway, Monthly Fee Now Optional (1 June) Gamasutra: Planetwide Games Plans Extreme Sports MMO (23 June) RYL Hits Retail (22 June) Discussion >> A sure-to-be-controversial sim has been released by New Zealand developer 89 Games called "The Dope Game", the aim of which is to earn cash by growing marijuana and opium on farms, or by manufacturing harder stuff (morphine and heroin) in labs.The PC game features 3D graphics and a third-person perspective, and players must protect their illegal business from law enforcement by stocking up on weapons, including mines, turrets and missile launchers. More info on the game can be found at Gamespot Discussion >> Lionhead have released a new screenshot for Black & White 2, and answered questions from fans in a new mailbag Q&A. Among the questions answered are how to become a B&W2 beta tester, and a rough idea of the systems specs that will be required to play the game:Will it take a super-computer to run Black and White 2, or do you know the system requirements yet? Alan O'Dwyer Black & White 2 official site Black & White 2 screenshots Video interview of Peter Molyneux about B&W2 Black & White Series To Have 5 Installments Black & White 2 official site Black & White Creatures For DS (12 May) Discussion >> Ubisoft have released the software development kit for the WWII shooter Brothers in Arms, allowing players to create their own missions and maps for the game, as well as their own unique weapons and characters.The SDK is a small 14.7 MB file and can be downloaded from the official BiA site; for specifications and features, check the readme file here. Related: Brothers In Arms official site Brothers in Arms demo UBIsoft Announce Brothers In Arms Earned In Blood (19 May) Brothers In Arms - Tested Cheats Gearbox Software - developer Discussion >> The creative folks over at nailbiter.net have put together a reenactment of the famous court scene from the film 'A Few Good Men' using Half Life 2 modding tools. G-man is there, Barney too and many others to take the place of Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.Hey gang, this is my first crack at making movies with the HL2 engine. I originally thought this would be a quick "two-weeks" maximum project ("hey, the phoneme editor practically does all the work for you!"), but turned into a 2 month learning experience. I probably would have hesistated had I known what I was in for, but thought this would be a good test project (and didn't you always want to see the G-Man get grilled?). Garry's Mod v8.3a released I'm Still Seeing Breen - HL2 Music Video (07 03 05) Discussion >> The Hot-Coffee witch-hunt has stepped up another notch as New York senator and former 1st lady Hillary Clinton gets onboard to whoop some Rockstar ass into moral shape. The New York senator is expected to call on the Federal Trade commission to launch an inquiry into the so called 'Hot Coffee' mod for GTA: San Andreas.Hillary Clinton is no stranger in voicing her disgust for violence in games. In fact, she has already trampled on San Andreas before, calling it a 'major threat' to morality. Children are playing a game that encourages them to have sex with prostitutes and then murder them. Clinton is expected to call on the FTC to determine who is responsible for the Hot Coffee mod, a modification that unlocks sexually explicit minigames in Rockstar's recently published PC version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Watchdog Jumps Into GTA Sex Mod Debate Modder: "the scriptcode, the models, the animations and the dialogs by the original voice-actors were all created by RockStar" NIMF Stirs GTA Hot Coffee Debate to Next Level GTA sex scandal goes down under ESRB investigating San Andreas sex minigames Rockstar Deny Sex in GTA: San Andreas Discussion >> In the game, players play as the ragin' Marvel Comics superhero The Incredible Hulk. Hulk can run rampant in the game's open environments, destroying just about anything that makes him cross, and using debris as weapons. There will be more than 30 main missions and 40 side missions, as well as rumbles with bosses such as The Abomination and Mercy. Check out the website Discussion >> The couple met online while playing the game last year and married within four weeks, but now it seems that after achieving a 'level forty or fifty status' in the game, they decided to call it a day. The accounts are valued in the region of 50,000 Yuan (or about $6,500 US), but the dispute over who keeps the characters is growing ever-bitter - with Wang offering their apartment in return for the accounts, whilst Ye wants to sell the apartment, splitting the proceeds, and the LoM 2 accounts, equally. A compromise seems far off on this matter, but lawyers are working on it. This case certainly demonstrates the power of the MMOG in China. More soon. Dispute Over Virtual Sword Ends In Death 30 03 05 Discussion >> ![]() According to the latest issue of Famitsu magazine, EA has plans to increase its market share in Japan by developing games that will appeal to Japanese gamers. EA's senior vice president of international publishing, David Hardner was interviewed by Famitsu. Gardner is entrusted with overseeing EA's European and Asian publishing operations. Gardner told Famitsu that EA have plans to employ two major strategies in order to expand its market share in Japan. Firstly, EA has plans to hold back on the amount of games it currently imports into Japan. Instead selecting the finest cuts which they believe will entice Japanese gamers. However, American games are still generally cult products in Japan, aside from a few titles such as the Grand Theft Auto series. Gardner said that it will be easier to win over the Japanese customers' interest by developing games locally rather than by trying to convince them that American games are good. So as its second step, EA is expanding its studio in Japan. EA advise fans to uninstall Battlefield 2 Madden signs extension with EA EA could make a move for Jamdat: Smith Barney Discussion >> According to reports coming in, Nvidia may be sticking around with Sony, long after the launch of Sony's PS3 next year. David Kirk, Nvidia's chief scientist and leader of the teams behind the recent GeForce 7800 graphics card and PS3 GPU has hinted that Nvidia will be working with Sony closely and extensively in the future.The Nvidia heavyweight told UK website Bit-Tech that their relationship with Sony thus far has been 'great' and that both companies shared a much broader vision for the future of graphics. While NVIDIA's dealings with Microsoft have traditionally been based around a customer-supplier relationship, NVIDIA has worked in close co-operation with the Japanese giant to design the RSX chip for its next-gen console. PS3 Router Function Dropped Playstation 3 tech specs PS3 most expensive console ever/Xbox 360 shortages? The Kraziness of Ken Kutaragi PS3 Not a Toy, But a Linux Supercomputer (14 June) Kutaragi on PS3 backwards compatibility, more 360 attacks (14 June) Sony's Kutaragi: MS playing catch up with PS2? (10 June) Kutaragi: Microsoft Still Not a Blackbelt (2 June) Ken Kutaragi: PS3 An "Entertainment Supercomputer" (25 May) Apple Powering XBox 360 Demos at E3? (20 May) PlayStation 3 SDK Hardware Images On The Web Discussion >> Tomb Raider star Djimon Hounsou has recently teamed up with U2 frontman Bono, in an attempt to encourage African scholars to give back to their homeland and help rid the corruption among some African politicians and leaders.The Tomb Raider star is also a native of Benin and believes that he can achieve his goals if the top minds are there to lend a supporting role. "So many countries in Africa have not really had great leaders because of corruption, so I'm working with Bono in trying to find ways to get African scholars and African artists together to find solutions to end corruption in some of the places." Hounsou said. Angelina Jolie and Bob Geldof Combine Forces Discussion >> ![]() Gamasutra has an interesting and thorough write-up in which they discuss the design of the Xbox 360 with the people behind the look of the upcoming next-gen console. Microsoft is first out the door in the next-gen console wars, so it's not very surprising that they are getting a lot of attention lately, also some close scrutiny I might add, courtesy of critics and Kuteragi. Check out Gamasutra's interview with the Xbox 360 design team, were they delve into the evolution of the console and the reasoning behind the design. Related: Xbox 360 In Black Hundreds of Fan-Created Xbox 360 Faceplates Report: Xbox 360 Mass Production To Start In August Japan yawns at Xbox 360 Xbox 360 Beta Kit Image Hits The Web PS3 most expensive console ever/Xbox 360 shortages? Xbox 360 Beta Dev-Kits Shipped To Developers Team Ninja chief attacks Xbox 360 DVDs PS3/Xbox360/PSP/DS Compatibility Rumours Swirl Discussion >> A 37-year-old man named Lee is said to have hired eight Chinese hackers who installed Trojan horses on popular Korean websites and are said to have stolen 50,000 usernames and passwords in May. |