Metal Gear Solid 4

Time Crisis 4

lmost as if to reinforce our point earlier today that the company is by no means abandoning Sony or the PlayStation 3, Namco Bandai has just officially confirmed that it is indeed developing Time Crisis 4 exclusively for the PS3.

Of course, we already knew that the game was in development, but it's always nice to have confirmation that a North American release is planned. Along with the game, the company is also releasing a newly-designed Guncon (pictured, sadly only Japan gets the swanky black version, because guns don't kill people there apparently), which is rumored to work exactly like a Wii Remote, complete with sensors on top of the TV and everything.

You'll find what we do know about the game in the press release below:

Santa Clara, Calif., June 15, 2007 – Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. announced today that Time Crisis^®4, the franchise made popular by its arcade-style gameplay accessory, the Guncon^®, is being developed exclusively for the PLAYSTATION^®3 computer entertainment system. The newest installment in the popular action-shooter series propels the hit franchise into the next generation, with an in-depth First Person Shooter mode, stunning High-Definition graphics and a newly designed Guncon to complete the total Time Crisis experience.

“The Time Crisis franchise is known for delivering an immersive experience that completely captivates gamers.“ Makoto Iwai, Senior Vice President and COO, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., said, “With Time Crisis 4 on the PLAYSTATION 3 system, we have enhanced the experience by redesigning the Guncon, and evolved the series to address what gamers have come to expect from the shooter genre – FPS gameplay. We are confident that the gameplay in Time Crisis 4, as well as a variety of enhancements made for the PLAYSTATION 3 system, will draw players into the Time Crisis universe like never before.”

Time Crisis 4 continues the series’ tradition of delivering intense and exciting action-packed gameplay. Players are given the task of preventing a top secret weapon from falling into the hands of international terrorists. With 4 modes of gameplay delivered in true HD, players will have a vast gaming experience to enjoy.

Featuring a new dual analog stick design, the next-gen Guncon^® 3 is capable of delivering entertainment to any home theater setup, supporting both High Definition (HD) displays and Standard Definition (SD) displays.

With the redesign of the Guncon the power of the PLAYSTATION 3 system has been maximized to deliver a high-spec Arcade mode in addition to an all new FPS mode.

New to the Time Crisis franchise, the FPS mode allows players to move freely through stages. In addition to basic game controls such as switching weapons, changing camera angles and character movement, a full feature set of gameplay actions including crouching, jumping, sniping provide a completely immersive FPS gameplay experience. A vast assortment of upgradeable weapons, unlockable bonus weapons and the ability to capture enemy machine guns mounts, make Time Crisis 4 the most in-depth and expansive Time Crisis title yet.

For more information about Time Crisis 4 and other NAMCO BANDAI products please visit: http://namcobandaigames.com/games/

Resistance: Fall of Man goes multi-platinum

article by (http://www.psu.com)
Resistance: Fall of Man was obviously the game of choice at the launch of the PlayStation 3, but nobody knew exactly how successful it would be. Some feared that the great game would be wasted as a launch title, as sales would be limited to relatively small quantities of owners. This has not turned out to be the case.

In the context of discussing the Manchester Cathedral issue with the media, Sony added that Resistance: Fall of Man has sold over two million copies worldwide.

The folks over at Insomniac must be smiling pretty wide at their first-gen title's sales numbers. Let's hope Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction finds even greater success.
article by (http://www.psu.com)

Valve Confirms Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 & Portal Launch Dates

article by (http://www.shacknews.com)

Shacknews that the studio's upcoming trio of Source-powered games will ship for all announced platforms on October 9, 2007. The suite, sold at retail and through Valve's Steam download service, will consist of the shooter sequel Half-Life 2: Episode Two, the team-based multiplayer game Team Fortress 2, and the action/puzzle game Portal. Valve is handling development of the games on PC and Xbox 360, with EA UK's Chertsey, Surrey office bringing the titles to PlayStation 3.

Shacknews has had extensive hands-on time with all three upcoming games. Check out our Half-Life 2: Episode Two preview and out Portal preview, and check back next week for impressions of Team Fortress 2.

Today's news follows rumors originating last month that the PlayStation 3 versions of the games would be delayed into 2008. Valve's Doug Lombardi noted to Shacknews that development has been progressing well on all three platforms.

Electronic Arts is distributing the games at retail as a package entitled Half-Life 2: The Orange Box, which also includes the original Half-Life 2 and last year's Half-Life 2: Episode One. It will sell for $49.99 on PC and $59.99 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Previously, the company intended to sell a slimmer package, The Black Box, which would not include Half-Life 2 or Half-Life 2: Episode One, but those plans were cancelled last month. It is expected that Steam customers will retain the option to purchase only the newly-released games.

article by (http://www.shacknews.com)

GTA IV

article by (http://www.gamesindustry.biz)
A Take-Two spokesperson has confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that the episodic content planned for Grand Theft Auto IV will be exclusively released for the Xbox 360.

Talk of an exclusive deal began following the release of Take-Two's Q2 financial report on Tuesday. The report stated that the episodic content would be released on 360 during the 2008 fiscal year - with no mention of PlayStation 3.

Now a company representative has told GI.biz, "The Grand Theft Auto IV episodic content is exclusive to Xbox 360."

The financial report also stated that fellow Take-Two title LA Noire is due out in fiscal 2008. The spokesperson suggested that both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 releases are likely, stating, "LA Noire is being developed for next-generation systems."

GTA IV will launch on both consoles on October 19.
article by (http://www.gamesindustry.biz)

Wii 2

article by (http://www.gamesindustry.biz)
Analyst believes PS3 will win console battle

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has told GamesIndustry.biz that he believes a higher spec, HD-enabled "Wii 2" could be on the shelves "in a couple of years".

Pachter's comments came in response to those made by SEGA executive Scott Steinberg, who expressed concern about the long term future of Nintendo's console.

"I think that a lot of people consider the Wii a "fad", and attribute that conclusion to the type of people who have been attracted to the Wii so far," Pachter said, observing that many publishers "don't know what to do with" the new demographics of female and older gamers.

"Sega, of course, has games like Sonic that resonate well with this audience, so I'm not singling them out as having an issue, but it appears to me that these non-traditional consumers baffle most of the publishers," he continued.

"As they are unaccustomed to dealing with them this early in the cycle, they have to justify their oversight in not anticipating the strength of the Wii with this group by labelling the group as having no staying power, resulting in the labelling of the Wii as a fad."

With regard to Steinberg's suggestion that developers are reaching the limits of creative possibility when it comes to the Wii's remote control, Pachter said, "I can't begin to imagine what is on the drawing board for the Wii, but I can say that most developers I've spoken with are extemely excited about the potential for the console... I believe that we've only just scratched the surface.

"Also, Scott's analysis presupposes that we have seen the last in hardware innovation from Nintendo," he went on.

"I disagree. It's easy to envision a Wii 2 in a couple of years that runs at full HD, and has both a Wii-mote and an analog controller, so that all games can be ported to it.

"If Nintendo were to introduce such a device, it would be fully comparable to the Xbox 360 - perhaps it wouldn't have Blu-ray, so a comparison to the PS3 may be unfair - and would likely have most of the same third party content as the other two devices."

But Pachter did agree with Steinberg that the PS3 "will ultimately come out on top". Victory, he predicted, will be the result of a console price cut to USD 199 and the success of Blu-ray.

Price point is key, said Pachter - observing that 80 per cent of all Xboxes sold in the US were purchased for USD 199 or less, with the figure approximately the same for PlayStation 2.

"Sony is around 6 million units behind Microsoft, and should be able to make up the gap - barely - by 2009 if they price the console correctly. They will likely be 9 million units behind the Wii by the end of this year, so it may take a bit longer to catch Nintendo, likely 2011 or so," Pachter concluded.
article by (http://www.gamesindustry.biz)

Ninja Gaiden sigma 10 min video clip!!!

Xbox 360 Price Cut: For Real This Time?

(article by http://news.filefront.com)
Rumors have been flying for several weeks now about a possible price cut for the Xbox 360. First it was a rumor, then Microsoft denied it, and now someone inside the company is claiming that the denial was a ruse. Apparently a source for The Gaming Life is claiming that there really is a plan for a price drop in the core system from $299 to $199. He explained the ruse was to prevent informed customers from waiting for the price drop to buy the system:

"They want to get Halo 3 out the door and sell as many systems as possible. They know that Halo 3 will help system sales. After the initial launch they will drop the price to $199 in order to boost sales over the holiday season. The original plan was to wait until Grand Theft Auto IV was released and then lower prices, but with Take-Two Corporate being in a very fragile state, Microsoft in unsure that it will be out in the fiscal year.”

So the rumor continues. Personally, as someone who wants to buy an Xbox 360, I wish they'd quit toying with my emotions at least. Now we just need Sony to jump on the price drop bandwagon.
(article by http://news.filefront.com)

World of Warcraft

Nice picture i stumbled on!

Call of Duty 4 screen shots and video

Soul Caliber 4 movie

PS3 faster than Xbox 360, harder to manage

(This article is from http://www.gamepro.com)
"Since PS3's Cell processor allows more features -- better physics, more complex graphical processing, lighting or sound -- there is inevitably going to be more cost in supporting those extra features," Sony officials said. "It's not that PS3 is harder to write for, it's just that you can do more with it.

"If a game starts life on PS3, then man-hours per feature or costs related to asset production are comparable with industry norms."

But what if a game doesn't start life on the PS3? What about ported games?

According to Dr. Dobb's, applications must be "radically redesigned" for porting due to the Cell's finicky architecture, limited support, and scrupulous compiler. Translation: Developers can't just recompile their existing 360 builds as ports for the PS3 without first making significant development changes.

Sony says the same.

"If your game starts on Xbox 360 you will have to re-engineer aspects of the game to run properly on PS3. This means additional effort," writes Sony's Dave Karraker after consulting with the company's development team. "Some developers have been complaining about this, but I don't believe we can solve that," he adds.

Prevailing belief maintains that developing games for Sony's PS3 is more difficult than Microsoft's Xbox 360. If it is, third-party developers aren't jumping at the chance to talk.

"Nobody wants to touch this issue right now," conceded one anonymous publisher who works on high-profile ports for both the PS3 and Xbox 360. The source declined further comment.

But a report by Dr. Dobb's long-running software journal confirms what many suspected -- that the PS3 is immensely powerful but difficult to work with.

When comparing next-gen architectures, the journal found that Cell development can be more costly than the PC-inspired innards of the Xbox 360. "It's difficult to program for," say the authors when speaking of the PS3. "Software that exploits the Cell's potential requires a development effort significantly greater than traditional platforms."

Greater effort requires greater costs, and that could leave publishers wary when undertaking new PS3 projects.

Even Sony acknowledges the PS3's complexity while admitting to its development challenges. "There is a trade-off between performance and versatility," said Sony's product development group in an email to GamePro.

But ultimately the company sees the situation in a slightly different light.
And maybe they don't have to assuming developers appreciate the differences of each platform. "The 360 is a different machine with good, but lower powered hardware in a different architecture. Developers have to view them as two different machines not as a common platform," concludes Karraker.

Developers have a choice, then: Leverage the superior performance of the PS3 at an additional cost, or make due using a more developer-friendly, less-capable Xbox 360. Despite added development challenges, the Dr. Dobb's report ultimately advocates the PS3's untapped potential. "Programming the Cell processor may be tricky, but the performance gains are worth the effort." One of their benchmarks observed Cell performance to be 22 times higher than a comparable Intel chip.

So the PS3 is more capable and scalable than its contemporaries, at least in a technical sense. But until developers determine how to harness its power, the Mercedes could be stuck in second gear for a while.
(This article is from http://www.gamepro.com)

Sadness new wii game!

It looks interesting BUT... They didn't show any gameplay movie, in this trailer the women doesn't even use the REAL Wii controller. Check back for more.

Bioshock new videos

Free Lord of the rings online leveling guide

This sites was created to help new and old players to get the most out of their online experience!!! The site is always updated bookmark and check back every day...more

Tom Clancy's EndWar

Pics from Tom Clancy's EndWar for PS3 and Xbox 360

First screens The Agency

Sony Computer Entertaiment just published the first screens of the new Spy-themed MMO The Agency.

BioShock Hands-On

Ken Levine and the BioShock team at Irrational Games have pulled a fast one on Electronic Arts. The 800-pound publishing behemoth may own the rights to the System Shock name, which prevents Levine and company from directly following up their exemplary second installment in that famous sci-fi action-adventure series. But luckily, EA can't copyright the distinctive gameplay mechanics and uncanny sense of atmosphere that made System Shock 2 such a classic. Irrational has brought those elements fully to bear in its new game, which has already been called a spiritual successor to System Shock 2 almost ad nauseam since it was announced nearly three years ago. But it's an appropriate label: Gameplay-wise, this is System Shock 3 in all but name. And so what if they had to come up with an original storyline to make this game? A declining undersea art deco utopia sounds a lot more interesting than a boring old spaceship to us any day...more

PlayStation 3 Firmware Cracked...But It Isn't Worth It

es, you're reading the headline correctly, the PlayStation 3's firmware has been cracked. And what exploits can this bring? Well, the most notorious of them all, playing pirated games. But whoah, whoah, hold on there, skipper. You see, unlike the PSP where firmware updates didn't really offer too much, the PS3 is a completely different beast. The PS3's firmware has already given us gems like enhancing backwards compatibility and DVD upscaling. Likewise, new games will require a system to have the newest firmware installed in order to be booted (just like PSP games)...more