Slashdot Mirror

ConfusedFX writes "GameDAILY has published a news article featuring Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo's Executive Vice President of Sales. He had several things to say about Nintendo's 2006 strategy, one of which, 'We will sell more units than Xbox 360 did here in the United States in our launch window.' He commented about Xbox 360 owners spending nearly $800 at launch; he wants the Nintendo Revolution to be 'affordable' to the average gamer. Additionally, GameDAILY has posted an interview with Andy Parsons, senior VP of Pioneer Electronics, written by The Digital Bits. Some analysts expect the PS3 to launch with around 1 million units -- Andy says he's heard differently from Sony. 'If Sony ships the kind of numbers we expect them to this year, that will provide a very rapid growth of players out there hungry for titles. We've been hearing between 4 and 7 million units could ship.'"

JorgeDeLaCancha writes "Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and MGM Home Entertainment have recently announced the release of the first titles on the Blu-Ray media coinciding with the Blu-Ray hardware release in the spring. Some of the films to be released include classics such as "The Fifth Element" and "Robocop" to more modern films such as "Black Hawk Down." Other corporations, such as Fox, have announced similar plans."

GameDAILYBiz has a piece written by Sundance DiGiovanni, the founder of Major League Gaming, on why the time is right for televising Professional Gaming. From the article: "Back in the day I would usually begin by pointing out that until recently there had never been U.S.-based gaming leagues or competitive gaming events that were built from the ground up to be televised. I'd point out that video game tournaments had never really been what you would call "TV friendly" and that in order for the spectator value to translate to television you would have to treat competitive gaming like a sport. That would usually be the point where people would look at me like I had horns growing out of my forehead."

GameDailyBiz reports that as the Holiday season moves on Castlevania is driving DS sales to new heights. From the article: "I think what makes the games so amazing is their simplicity. The little enhancements go a long way (for example the on-screen map which is something that fans of the series have been longing for). The development team does an amazing job at taking traditional gaming elements and discovering ways to evolve them with each different version. With the DS, we were able to deliver a familiar style of gameplay with incredible graphics, sound, and for the first time interactivity thanks to the touch screen ... We can't just make the same game over and over again." Dawn of Sorrow is a dang good game.

GameDailyBiz is reporting on the increasing frequency with which real-world ads are being included in online game worlds and single-player titles. They discuss the possibility that, with the increasing costs of developing hit games, such measures may be a requirement. There also some callous examination of developer motives. From the article: "Right now, the fact that publishers are putting so much emphasis on multiplayer online play and replay ability is in some ways actually hurting their bottom line. While it's true that an excellent online portion of a title will move some additional copies, who knows how many potential future sales are lost. Whether gamers spent 100 hours with Halo 2 thanks to Xbox Live or 15 hours with Ninja Gaiden, both publishers sold their products for the same $50 MSRP.

GameDailyBiz reports on what it takes to make it on the pro gaming circuit. From the article: "The simplest answer would be by getting good enough in their game of choice to attract the attention of others already playing the sport. While gaming is still not at the point where there is a vast network scouting talent and coaches turning players into champions, there are people looking for up-and-coming talent. Win enough and you'll attract their attention."

TecnaDigit writes "The ESA and the VSDA have achieved a small victory in the case against Michigan Senate Bill 416. According to Game Daily Biz, Michigan Judge George Caram Steeh (who himself seems a bit skeptical of the bill) passed an injunction holding it for consideration. In other words, while the bill is under examination it won't be passed into law. Originally, the law was supposed to commence on December 1st, 2005. Though the battle for this case is far from over, it is a bit of silver lining."

In a bid to prove that a television show besides X-Play can talk cogently about gaming, the BBC has offered a television show to the creators of online gaming zine Consolevania. GameDailyBiz has a plethora of details about Consolevania, which is well worth checking out before their BBC show, videoGaiden, takes off. From the most recent episode: "An uncensored and hilarious review of Leisure Suit Larry is followed by a darkly offensive Hitler Dreamcast makeover segment, a dance sequence, a poignant riff on MMORPG gaming and quite certainly the greatest parody of Nu-School journalism ever distributed via Bittorrent. The final sketch alone is worth the massive download."

GameDailyBiz has some coverage of the PS3 and Revolution, to contrast with the avalanche of 360 information in advance of the console's launch in November. First up is a look at how making fun of the King of Kings may have been a bad decision. From the article: "Moving from the theological to the practical implications of Sony's snafu, the company couldn't have picked a worse time to offend its customers ... Sony has already conceded a six-month head start to competitor Microsoft in the upcoming market-share battle for the next generation of game consoles. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is expected to debut this fall; Sony's PlayStation 3 will not arrive until the spring of 2006." Meanwhile, Jim Merrick of Nintendo Europe has thoughts on marketing, online play, and the Revolution's potential. From the article: "If we follow what Iwata-san calls 'the past success formula', if we keep refining the existing model - more power, more pixels, more polygons, more levels, more enemies, better AI - we're actually making the games for a narrower audience playing those kind of intense games. We need to take a step back and refocus on a broad audience where we reach to everybody otherwise we're going to see the market start shrinking - as we're already seeing in Japan." Finally, Joystiq interviews Miyamoto, and he says wacky stuff. Who would have guessed?

GameDailyBiz has some coverage of the PS3 and Revolution, to contrast with the avalanche of 360 information in advance of the console's launch in November. First up is a look at how making fun of the King of Kings may have been a bad decision. From the article: "Moving from the theological to the practical implications of Sony's snafu, the company couldn't have picked a worse time to offend its customers ... Sony has already conceded a six-month head start to competitor Microsoft in the upcoming market-share battle for the next generation of game consoles. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is expected to debut this fall; Sony's PlayStation 3 will not arrive until the spring of 2006." Meanwhile, Jim Merrick of Nintendo Europe has thoughts on marketing, online play, and the Revolution's potential. From the article: "If we follow what Iwata-san calls 'the past success formula', if we keep refining the existing model - more power, more pixels, more polygons, more levels, more enemies, better AI - we're actually making the games for a narrower audience playing those kind of intense games. We need to take a step back and refocus on a broad audience where we reach to everybody otherwise we're going to see the market start shrinking - as we're already seeing in Japan." Finally, Joystiq interviews Miyamoto, and he says wacky stuff. Who would have guessed?

GameDailyBiz is reporting that Square Enix is looking to expand further into the online and mobile markets. While they already have an MMOG (FFXI) and a mobile game (Before Crisis), they see those markets as moneymakers for the future. From the article: "Although there seems to be no indication that Square Enix will be attempting to shift away from its core competency of small and large-scale console RPGs, the company is looking to further invest itself in the rapidly growing wireless and online sectors. Wada specifically pointed to Japanese financial realities almost requiring involvement in the wireless market, and when wireless numbers are included with the traditional console figures, the Japanese video game industry actually isn't in a recession at all. 'Running a business that depends on the software sales through retailers has become a thing of the past,' Wada told Yomiuri."

JorgeDeLaCancha writes "The US Skill Games Championship, heading by SkillJam, will be featuring two PopCap games, Bejeweled 2 and Zuma . Paul Jensen, President of SkillJam, claims that both these games while simple in their concept offer a more challenging level of play to the expert gamers. The grand prize in this championship is one million dollars. Will we soon be seeing more similar tournaments with large prizes based on simple puzzle games?"

404Ender writes "In a move similar to the passage of a law designed to restrict the sale of violent video games to children in Illinois, California is now awaiting only the signature of Governor Schwarzenegger before a similar bill becomes a law. Does this action signal the start of a disturbing trend of the restriction of First Amendment rights? How can we as gamers fight back against this type of government action?"

Julio Capote wrote to mention a press release making the rounds stating that Adult Swim will be allowing viewers to watch shows via streaming video. From the article: "Starting Sept. 16, AdultSwim.com will offer full-length episodes of these and other programs in an initiative Cartoon Network is calling Friday Night Fix. Each week between 11 p.m.-6 a.m. ET, a selection of current and fan-requested shows will be available for free viewing. There also will be previews of episodes scheduled to debut the next Sunday" The official Williams Street announcement is also available.

404Ender writes "According to GameStop and EB, the wildly successful Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will finally be re-released without the controversial "Hot Coffee" content and clean of anything that might demand an AO rating. Will this be the first game in a series of many to come that will be pulled off the market to be changed due to questionable content? How long before a Hot Coffee replacement mod is produced?"

404Ender writes "According to recent numbers the PSP has sold more than 185,000 units since launching September 1. This blows the previous record away, which happened to be set by the Nintendo DS. This is wonderful news for fans of the Sony handheld, and it certainly quiets many of the naysayers who have been pointing to the success of the DS sales compared to the PSP. Does this solidify Sony's position in the handheld market with a firm foot in the door?"

DelitaTheFridge writes "Gabe Newell, of Valve fame, criticizes Microsoft and Sony on how difficult it will be for next-gen developers to produce games on their upcoming hardware. He is especially critical of Sony's model, where code written to run on Cell will be very hard to port to other systems, and vice versa. Will this bring upon a new era of PC Game superiority? Only time will tell. In the meantime, Newell says he believes that Steam-like systems will be extremely helpful for developers on the new consoles due to their ability to provide updates and new content."

Lots of tidbits for you about WoW today, to get you through the weekly downtime. Gamespot is reporting that there are now over 1 Million players in North America, and over 4 Million players worldwide. If you're one of those 4 Million players, perhaps that special someone is out there in Azeroth. Tom's Hardware has a guide on meeting women in World of Warcraft, for the lonely druid or warrior. For a view of what the game is like now, Mogg wrote to mention a 9 months later review at GamerGod. Finally, not everyone is happy. As we mentioned earlier this month, China is planning on forcing MMOG vendors to build in time restrictions for their games. GameDaily.biz reports that players have already begun to protest the separation from their game. From the GamerGod article: "The main dilemma preventing battlegrounds from being a break away hit is the queue required to join one. It is best compared to standing in line at a grocery store. The bigger and busier the store... the more lines and more cashiers there is. The smaller the store the fewer. On low population servers there is literally no battlegrounds open outside of prime time leaving off hour gamers unable to enjoy battlegrounds. High population servers often have five or more of each instance activated during peak hours and rarely struggle for players to battle."

An analyst with Piper Jaffray believes that there will be two Xbox 360 skus at launch, reports GameDailyBiz. From the article: "Microsoft knows $299 is important...They know that historically that's been the launch sweet spot, but they also don't want to take such large hardware losses this time. Of the 1 million units Microsoft is expected to have available at launch, I expect 80% of them will probably be the more expensive SKU, because that's what early adopters are going to want."

GameDailyBiz reports that the Screen Actor's Guild has finally reached an agreement with the gaming industry over the work of voice actors. From the article: "The new 3.5-year contract gives actors a 36 percent increase in minimum pay, more contributions to benefit plans and other amenities. It does not, however, give voice actors for video games any residuals based on sales of titles, which was the bone of contention between the two unions and the video game companies--the actors felt they should be entitled to residuals on games that sell in excess of 400,000 copies."

GameDailyBiz has the news that gaming media powerhouse IGN is going public. From the press release: "IGN owners Great Hill partners were recently looking for someone to purchase the company, and then priced IGN for over $800 million dollars. According to Media Metrix, IGN and its sister sites attract over 25 million users a month. This includes GameSpy, RottenTomatoes, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, and VE3D. IGN also provides online gaming technology for hundreds of video game developers."

GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that a survey recently conducted by Japanese news agency C-News would tend to suggest that the Xbox 360 will encounter consumer resistance when it is launched in Japan. From the article: "The poor showing for the Revolution is perhaps understandable, given that Nintendo has released only sketchy outline details regarding the console so far - but the figure for the Xbox 360 will come as a disappointment to Microsoft, which has focused heavily on the Japanese market in recent months." GameDailyBiz has a look at the survey as well, concentrating on the PS3's popularity.

GameDaily.biz has up an interview celebrating the tenth anniversary of DirectX. Their talk with Chris Donahue covers how DirectX has evolved, where the industry is going, and some discussion of Microsoft's XNA initiative. From the article: "With XNA, which incorporates both DirectX and the Xbox/Xbox 360 Development Kits, we're making the tools to make it easier to make games for Microsoft's gaming platforms. We're looking to the game development community to surprise gamers with new ideas of what they can do with these tools--and of course, we're helping developers build games that can take advantage of the huge power of the next generation of hardware, both Xbox 360 and Longhorn."

GameDaily.biz has given the nod to some of the best game writers in the business for this year. From Seanbaby to Jerry Holkins, the best wordsmiths got some recognition. From the article: "Game Informer Crew - Yes, this is a cop out, but the GI staff received so many votes as a group (especially from game developers) that they earned a spot on this list. It seems a bit of a shame that they have to work so anonymously. If they are doing such a great job, the writers deserve some of the credit on an individual basis. Next year, no more group votes."

GameDailyBiz has an interview with Stan Lee that touches on a talk he gave at the 2005 D.I.C.E. Summit entitled "Superheroes - Creating Characters for the Ages". From the article: "I submitted the idea of Spider-Man to my publisher and he hated it. I said my hero was a teenager -- the publisher said a teenager could not be a hero but only be a sidekick. I said he was insecure and had personal problems -- my publisher said a hero does not have personal problems... The lesson to be learned, don't listen to experts because they don't know what they're talking about and just get you down."

GameDaily.biz has up a discussion they had earlier in the week with Frank Gibeau, EA's Senior Vice President of Marketing, North America. Mr. Gibeau holds forth on where EA is going (and therefore, where the industry is going) as regards next-generation platforms, the prices of future game titles, and the cost of making games. He also comments on Nintendo's position in the market right now. From the article: "I think the Nintendo customer is so entrenched and loyal that the company knows that they have a base of customers that they are building off of. Is it the same size that it was on 8-bit? Certainly not. They definitely have seen their market position erode in the face of market introductions by Sony and Microsoft."

GameDailyBiz has a statement by Mythic's head honcho Mark Jacobs. The CEO of Dark Age of Camelot's developer takes great exception to the aforementioned EQII auction site. From the article: "I'm disappointed with the decision from a leader in the MMO industry to go down a path which in the past, has been an anathema to them and remains so to just about every other MMORPG company in the industry. I think that not only supporting the sale of in-game characters, items and currency, but also taking a 'cut' of those sales, is not only a mistake but one of the worst decisions in the history of the MMORPG industry..."

GameDailyBiz has a look at the whys and wherefors behind next week's Independent Games Festival. The yearly celebration of independent games is compared by the article to the Sundance Film Festival, and the kind of exposure that gathering has provided to smaller film makers. From the article: "One of the earliest entrants in the IGF, Vicarious Visions, went on to create major games such as Spider-Man 2 for handhelds for Activision. In addition, last year's multi-award winner, online puzzle game Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates, has got almost 10,000 subscribers, each paying $10 a month to keep playing, and is now being published by UbiSoft in a retail version..." The quote is from Simon Carless, co-chair of the IGF and editor of Game Developer Magazine. (As well as the first and fabulous Slashdot Games editor.)

myukew wrote in to let us know about a viral marketing campaign by Nintendo that went awry. A while back Nintendo posted an opening on the jobs board Monster.com for an "Intergalactic Bounty Hunter". The response they received was unnerving. From the article: "Within the first day of posting the job, we had several replies from real applicants who seriously wanted to be an intergalactic bounty hunter for a living. The skills and experience these people listed went beyond surprising into the realm of frightening. We never expected such a wide array of replies from so many people who were actually pursuing interviews for gainful employment as a space warrior."

GameDailyBiz has an interesting feature up right now discussing which sites and magazines are harshest and kindest with their game reviews. Surprisingly the study shows that, overall, the multi-platform online sites aren't terribly biased, with some being somewhat nicer than the average and some somewhat harsher. Single console gaming magazines end up having the most forgiving coverage, with mainstream news sources being the harshest critics.

Voodoo Extreme has the word that Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater has launched today. From the article: "Players will assume the role of Snake, a US-sent agent, embarking on a dangerous solo mission to uncover and destroy a newly created weapon of mass destruction." Relatedly, GameDaily states that Metal Gear Solid 4 is a go. From the article: "During a financial report Motoyuki Yoshioka, head of Konami JPN, confirmed that there will be a Metal Gear Solid 4. Rumored since last week, this news casts the 'Final Episode of the Metal Gear Solid Trilogy', Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, in a new light."

jok writes "According to a story on GameDaily, law firm McKool Smith is suing several publishers for infringing their patent on a "Method and Apparatus for Spherical Planning", filed in 1988. Among the companies being sued are several big names, such as Square Enix, Electronic Arts, Vivendi Universal, Sega."

Thanks to Blue's News for covering the latest developments in a UK videogame violence story, in which the Rockstar North-created game Manhunt was very allegedly implicated in "a grisly murder" - it's revealed: "The game was present in the victim's home, not the killer's... This may present a problem for those looking to turn this case to their own ends." Nonetheless, previously mentioned attorney Jack Thompson is jumping straight on the case, even from an continent away, according to GameDaily, as he rages: "We are going to destroy Rockstar, you can count on that... [ESA head] Doug Lowenstein makes Saddam Hussein look like a post-reformed Pinocchio." Finally, Gamesindustry.biz injects a thoughtful note into the mayhem, arguing: "Rockstar do not emerge from this affair smelling of roses... game makers could help the case a lot by trying to push the boundaries in terms of gameplay, rather than gore."

Thanks to GameDaily for it article discussing a perceived struggling in the PC videogame business. According to the article: "The overall PC game category, from January through May of 2003, was $471.0 million in the U.S. according to NPD estimates. 2004 is well off of that figure already, according to The NPD Group's industry analyst Richard Ow, who put a dollar figure of $360.0 million for the January to May 2004 period." However, Ow also notes: "There's still lots of sales ahead and major releases are pending, so there's still a wait and see factor", and comments on the recently-gold Doom 3: "It is the most well-known among the core gaming group, which is a smaller market, but a group that can still drive sales."

Sad Gamer writes "Well, it seems long-awaited Xbox Live-compatible MMORPG True Fantasy Live Online has been cancelled. Apparently: 'The main reason cited for this action was the inability to deliver the intended experience to users of Microsoft's XBox Live service in Japan...' This leaves a tiny list of titles that left that can help to push XBox Live in Japan. 'Now Japanese XBox Live users only have titles like Halo 2 and Dead or Alive Ultimate to look forward to in the upcoming months.'" GameSpot has a full translation of the brief Microsoft Japan press release regarding this previously discussed, Level 5 created MMO, formerly likely for Western release as well, which notes: "The MMORPG genre, across all platforms, has become an incredibly crowded and competitive marketplace. In response, Microsoft Game Studios has decided to streamline its portfolio, making fewer bets in this genre."

Thanks to continuing coverage of the E3 Expo show from GameSpot, from 1UP, from GameDaily, and many other sources - highlights for the second day included Eurogamer's detailed write-up of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, apparently "an overwhelming spectacle" in both positive and other ways, GameSpot's first images of Unreal Engine 3.0, a "complete game development framework for next-generation consoles and DirectX9-equipped PCs", IGN Cube's hands-on impressions of DK Jungle Beat, allegedly "the sleeper hit of the show", 1UP's musings on The Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age, an "attempt to make a Japanese-style turn-based console RPG in America", and even GameSpot's brief impressions of a mobile phone-embedded Turrican, as the Factor 5 classic returns "pre-loaded on Siemens 65 Series phones."

Thanks to Eurogamer for its in-depth E3 coverage, as well as GameDaily's detailed write-ups and Ferrago's similarly wide-ranging coverage, as they add to previously-mentioned gaming websites covering the E3 Expo in Los Angeles. Highlights of the first day include hands-on impressions of Conker: Live and Reloaded for Xbox, a seriously in-depth Half-Life 2 interview, some first impressions of Myst IV, confirmation that Sega's signing of The Matrix Online was their 'big announcement', though Phantasy Star Universe was also announced, the list of songs for Donkey Konga, and a hands-on look at Final Fantasy XII. What other software are you most impressed by?

HawKe writes "Audioholics reports today on details of Infinium Labs' new Phantom Gaming Service which is to be unveiled at this year's E3 in Los Angeles. The service looks to be geared towards a wider demographic rather than the hard core gamer, but for the price of included Phantom hardware (basically free) it appears to be a good compromise - the article explains the PC 'console' is 'free of charge to consumers who sign a two-year contract for a basic subscription to its flagship online gaming service at $29.95 per month. Consumers can also opt to buy this advanced gaming 'receiver' and required accessories without a commitment for $199'." S!: GameDaily also has a feature interviewing Infinium's Kevin Bachus, in which it's confirmed: "Infinium is concerned about protecting its IP and its consumers. To that end, Bachus and Infinium have hired Andrew Huang, the MIT grad student who gained fame for hacking the Xbox."

Thanks to GameDaily for their feature talking to Totally Games' founder, Lawrence Holland, and profiling the "just-completed Secret Weapons Over Normandy", the arcade-style WWII flight game currently "...available for the PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox." 1UP has a review of the Xbox version explaining clearly: "Once upon a time... a clever man named Larry Holland created a series of World War II flight sims that redefined the entire genre. The three games - Battlehawks 1942, Their Finest Hour, and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe - mixed exhaustive historical accuracy with a fast-paced, arcadey play mechanic." The reviewer pegs SWON as "closer to Namco's Ace Combat series in style", but still a fitting console-styled legacy for those earlier classics, and Gaming Age also approve, rating the game "a long-lived, rewarding experience."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to IGN Xbox's coverage of the newly revealed 'secret mode' in Sega's ESPN NFL Football for PS2 and Xbox - a full first-person mode. According to the article, "In first-person mode, you take the snap as the quarterback.. once the ball is thrown, you can either watch the ball sail toward your wideout from the QB's perspective, or quickly switch to control the receiver and attempt to catch the ball while looking through the point of view from players like Moss and T.O." There are also 'Bullet Time'-styled slow motion effects for receivers, as well as a threat meter that shows how close would-be tacklers are to your position. So, not content with just a name change from NFL 2K4, looks like Sega's football franchise is going all-out with new features to overwhelm EA's Madden series after last year's disappointing performance.

An'Desha Danin writes "It appears that SNK is returning to the US market for the first time since they closed down its offices in June 2000. GameDaily has the scoop. The article mentions SNK will be showing at E3 with playable versions of Metal Slug Advance and King of Fighters 2001 for Gameboy Advance. Sweetness." Also mentioned are a new version of Samurai Shodown and a 3D version (!) of Metal Slug, so, needless to say, the messageboards on Neo Geo fansites are lighting up over this news.