Gary's Blog

Just a place to find out what's on my mind, or what's occupying my time whilst I avoid actual "work."

 

VGN for March 25th, 2005

News:

PS News: Namco Announces SoulCalibur III for PS2

Leading video games publisher and developer Namco Hometek Inc. announced today "SOULCALIBUR III," the latest installment in its celebrated weapons-based fighting franchise, is scheduled for release exclusively on the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system in 2005. Featuring three all-new characters, a groundbreaking character customization system and original gameplay modes, "SOULCALIBUR III" continues the storyline of legendary fighters in pursuit of the all-powerful Soul Edge.

Splinter Cell Chaos Theory golden

Tom Clancys Splinter Cell Chaos Theory has entered the final phase before its six-way assault on retail. Developer and publisher Ubisoft has announced the stealth action game has gone gold and will begin infiltrating PCs, Xboxes, PlayStation 2s, and GameCubes, on March 31. N-Gage and mobile versions, developed and published by Gameloft, are also expected next week. A version for the DS is also expected later this year.

Bidding War Begins for Tomb Raider Co.
Tue Mar 22, 9:25 AM ET   Business - Reuters
By Sudip Kar-Gupta
LONDON (Reuters) - A bid battle for British video games group Eidos Plc erupted on Tuesday after SCI Entertainment trumped an earlier agreed takeover of Eidos with a 76 million pound ($144 million) counter offer.

What I've been playing:

Oddworld Stranger's Wrath

Prince of Persia 2--thanks to Cybertron Videogames!

Brothers in Arms

PSP survival kit!

-Hardcase.  You will fear for the life of your PSP if you just use the soft case.  This is a serious machine, treat it as such.

-Extended warranty from the store you purchase from.  SONY released a statement about not replacing PSPs on the basis of one screen pixel death.  The extended warranty covers this. 

-Lumines!
 Ubisoft today announced that Lumines is now available in retail outlets for the PSP. The puzzle game was created by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the man behind Rez and Space Channel 5, and was developed by his studio, Q Entertainment.

Forum topic. 

Bold predictions or declarations:

Prediction:  Nintendo will watch its marketshare continue to decrease next gen yet still remain profitable.  Which is a good thing for gamers IMHO as Nintendo is best when it feels threatened.  So far, it hasn't due to the hand held market.  That's going to change.

Declaration:  Morrowind is the best RPG on ANY console this generation.  Far better than generic, spikey haired "save the world from my dark side" type of slightly interactive Japanese cut scene watching games.:)  I did say bold...

Anime news:

Hong Kong customs official seize pirated Japanese animation films

 
HONG KONG: Hong Kong authorities said Thursday they seized about 200,000 pirated Japanese animation video discs, but a local television station aired footage showing that some of the raided shops had resumed business.

Among the seized VCDs were copies of famed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle,'' which had only recently opened in Hong Kong, "Gundam'' and "Dragon Ball,'' the government said in a statement.

 Steamboy Performs Poorly at Box Office 
 According to ICv2, Steamboy earned approximately $150,000 this past weekend at the 39 theaters the premiered the movie. This is significantly better than the $80,000 earned by Appleseed in its opening weekend (31 theaters), but significantly lower that the $318,000 earned by Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (47 theaters).

Been watching Galaxy Express 999...mmmmm.

Convention Corner:

Jacon coming soon

posted by: Gary1059 at 08:13 | link | comments |

VGN for March 18th, 2005

PSP Postponed!

SONY LAUNCH POSTPONED
 
Electronics giant Sony has delayed the announcement of when it will launch its new PSP pocket games console in the UK.

The corporation wanted the PSP (PlayStation Portable) to hit stores in Europe by the end of March.

But an "unprecedented" demand for the gadget since its launch in Japan on December 12 has caused Sony to rethink its plans.

It is waiting until after the PSP is launched in North America, next Monday, before deciding when it will go on sale here.

PSP for the USA

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - There is no doubt that Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (news - web sites). will have a hit on its hands in the PlayStation Portable video game and media player which launches next week -- and there is no doubt the industry needs it.
Demand is so high for the PSP in the United States that the unit has become virtually unavailable in Japan and Sony has postponed the European launch by months to boost U.S. supply. The paperback-book sized unit launches March 24 in North America.

Katamari Damacy Delayed
Looks like Summer.

Fatal Frame 3 is coming out, though.

Stubbs the Zombie!!!

Mistwalker gets more support

Former Final Fantasy developers team up with Hironobu Sakaguchi on Xbox Next RPG titles.
According to the latest issue of Famitsu magazine, two former developers at Square Enix are working under Hironobu Sakagichi's label Mistwalker, and they are participating in the creation of two role-playing games for Microsoft's next-generation console, commonly referred to as the Xbox Next.

Anime Explosion
Princess TuTu playing at midnight.  Running time Approximately 2 hours.

Jacon
JACON 2005 will be held April 15-17 in Orlando, Florida at the Sheraton World Resort.

posted by: Gary1059 at 08:05 | link | comments |

VGN for Friday, March 11th 2005

Game Ban

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=562&e=4&u=/ap/20050310/ap_on_hi_te/video_game_ban

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's proposal to bar stores from selling violent and sexually explicit video games to children unanimously passed an Illinois House committee Wednesday, despite concerns that it might be unconstitutional.
Under the proposal, which now goes to the House floor, any store that violated the ban could face misdemeanor charges and fines of up to $5,000.

Microsoft's Next Box

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=575&e=6&u=/nm/20050309/wr_nm/tech_microsoft_xbox_dc

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) on Wednesday gave some of the first key details on the next generation of its Xbox (news - web sites) video game system, which will include an emphasis on high-definition content, an integrated media browser and "microtransactions" for in-game purchases.

Forza comparison video

http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=5129&type=mov

Sony Internal Changes

http://www.totalvideogames.com/pages/articles/index.php?game_id=&article_id=7329

Sony confirms its first non-Japanese chief executive, while Ken Kuturagi steps down from Executive Vice President...

Sony today announced the appointment of its first non-Japanese chief executive, as shareholder discontent stemming from the stock of Sony Corp sliding by 73% in five years, led to the replacement of Nobuyuki Idei by Howard Stringer.
Stringer joins the executives of Sony Corp having driven one of the few recent successes of the electronic giant, boosting profit from the entertainment division responsible for movies such as the Spider-Man series.

PS3 said to be easier to develop for than the PS2, PSP at the end of the month.

Nintendo releases Info on Revolution
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/03/10/news_6120151.html

Last but certainly not least, the at-times controversial executive Revolution. Confirming earlier rumors, Iwata said the device would have built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, "which will allow users around the world to connect with one another wirelessly." While he carefully avoided the word "online," Iwata implied that Nintendo will apparently reverse its long-standing policy of abstaining from online gaming with its forthcoming machine, saying it would have sort of the same Wi-Fi functions as the soon-to-be-online DS. He also said development kits for the device would be sent out by the time of the E3 expo in May, and that it would be backward compatible with GameCube titles.
Iwata's first time overseeing the entire production of a console for Nintendo.

For Zelda trailer.
http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/thelegendofzelda/preview_6120155.html?gcst=legendofzelda_031005ot2.asx&tag=gs_hp_flashtop_media

Steamboy in theaters March 18th.

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/steamboy/

Forgive the appearance, the format tools aren't working.:)

posted by: Gary1059 at 08:10 | link | comments |

Topics on VGN, March 4th 2005

 link
BELMONT, Calif. - The ratings board for the video game industry announced a new category Wednesday for children approaching their teens. The "E10+" category should help fill a gap between games rated "E" for everyone, which some children outgrow, and "T" for teen, which are too violent or mature for some parents' tastes

link
Not surprisingly, Take-Two credits the strong numbers to the ongoing success of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas -- which the company reports has now sold more than 12 million copies --

Various message boards reported this:

RUMOR--August 04, 2004 - Bill Gates is still very much interested in purchasing Nintendo, according to German financial magazine WirtschaftsWoche. The publication quotes gates as saying, "if Hiroshi Yamauchi phones me, I will pick up at once."

link
Sony showcases the first offerings of UMD Movies whilst confirming the first Music releases...

Sony today disclosed further details on the future of UMD Music and Movies, along with the release of the first sleeves from SpiderMan 2, Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse and HellBoy.

Scheduled for release in Japan on April 19th for 3,990 yen (£19/29 euros), the release will certainly be welcomed by PSP owners, however Sony have got a lot to prove if they want to see consumers turning towards yet another format which offers little over DVD.

In addition Sony Music confirmed that it will release a variety of UMD Music between April 13th and April 27th across Japan, including Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Sayaka, Skoop On Somebody, Sowelu, Soul’d OUT, Yuki and Mika Nakashima.

link

Metrocon sent out a pair of press releases today, the first announcing a slew of North American guests, and the second announcing Japanese Guest of Honor, Monkey Punch .

link
For ratings purposes, Turner Broadcast will split Adult Swim's from Cartoon Network at the end of this month. The split will see two separate networks, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, carried on the same cable channels at different times of the day

link

ADV Films has removed the following DVD re-releases from their release schedule. The releases are delayed indefinitely, and according to ADV may, or may not be re-added to the release schedule in the future.

March 1st
Arc the Lad volume 1
Samurai Showdown

March 5th
Getter Robo DVD 1: Resurrection

March 8th
Eden's Bowy volume 1
Neo Ranga DVD 1

March 15th

posted by: Gary1059 at 07:41 | link | comments |