Sony Motion Controller To Be Named “Arc?”

via GameInformer.com by Tim Turi on 1/19/10

 

Two of the biggest launches hitting the video game industry in 2010 are Microsoft and Sony’s motion control technology. Xbox fans have had the name Project Natal to cling on to for some time, while PS3 users have had their mysterious, glowing wand remain unnamed. Allegedly, that has changed.

According to a source trusted by VG247, the name for the motion controller is “Arc.” Sony will be unveiling the its motion control wand, complete with its official name, later this year. Previous claims by Kaz Hirai point to a possible release window of March. 

Sony has refused to comment on the rumor as of yet, but at least we have something to refer to the doodad as. We’ll bring you more news on this as it develops.

What do you think of Sony’s supposed name for their motion controller?

 

Notice that the ‘arc’ looks like a personal massager?

 

PlayStation is ‘poison’ to children, says Chavez

PlayStation is ‘poison’ to children, says Chavez

via VG247 by Patrick Garratt on 1/18/10

 

Left wing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said that PlayStation is “poison” and leads children down the capitalist “road to hell”.

Chavez, speaking in his weekly radio-TV show “Alo Presidente,” called on Venezuelan companies to make “educational” toys and dolls with indigenous features to replace capitalistic products like Barbie that “have nothing to do with our culture.”

He’s already battered Nintendo for promoting “selfishness, individualism and violence,” and now turned sights on PlayStation.

“Those games they call ‘PlayStation’ are poison. Some games teach you to kill. They once put my face on a game, ‘you’ve got to find Chavez to kill him.’”

He added that any games that “bomb cities or just throw bombs,” are sold by capitalist countries to sow violence so they can “later sell weapons.”

They “promote the need for cigarettes, drugs and alcohol so they can sell them. That’s capitalism, the road to hell,” he said.

More on Yahoo!.

WoW.. and I thought the witch hunts where over decades ago.
I believe it also proves that “Left wing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez” should be removed from office for being Nucking Futz!!!

snow

bah humbug

wtf!?

wtf could cause damage like this?

Modern Warfare 2 Javelin Glitching Will Get You Suspended From Xbox Live

Modern Warfare 2 Javelin Glitching Will Get You Suspended From Xbox Live

via GameInformer.com by Adam Biessener on 12/3/09

 

The Xbox Live team is handing out 24-hour suspensions (or up to two weeks for repeat offenders) to gamers caught using the Javelin glitch in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, per the service’s policy and enforcement director Stephen Toulouse’s Twitter. 

The glitch, which causes abusers to explode in a fiery inferno when they die, has obvious balance ramifications. Infinity Ward and Microsoft are taking it seriously enough to have a fix already in testing (according to Robert Bowling of IW’s Twitter) and enforce the aforementioned suspensions.

Cue comments defending the Javelin glitch as “creative use of game mechanics” in 3…2…1…

[Via Joystiq]

Can haz Kit Yes, you can haz Pony?

http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2009/12/02/yes-you-can-have-a-pony.aspx

We’ve just announced that Pets are coming to the Xbox LIVE Avatar Marketplace. Tomorrow, the first shipment arrives and you’ll be able to choose from the following Pets at 240 points each:

 Large Dog, Pug Dog, Dog in Bag, Cat, Siamese Cat, Long Haired Cat, Goldfish, Guinea Pig, Monkey, Bird, Snake and yes….a Pony.

 [I've uploaded a few examples to my Flickr site], but look for these new additions tomorrow on the Xbox LIVE Avatar Marketplace.

__._,_.___

The best 200 games of all time according to GameInformer

1. The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1987) 
2. Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985) 
3. Tetris (PC, 1984) 
4. Grand Theft Auto III (PS2, 2001) 
5. Half-Life 2 (PC, 2004) 
6. Doom (PC, 1993) 
7. Metroid (NES, 1986) 
8. Final Fantasy III (SNES, 1994) 
9. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1990) 
10. Ms. Pac-Man (Coin-op, 1981) 
11. World of Warcraft (PC, 2004) 
12. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES, 1992) 
13. Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996) 
14. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3/360/PC, 2007) 
15. Final Fantasy VII (PS, 1997) 
16. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (NES, 1987) 
17. Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995) 
18. Resident Evil 4 (GameCube, 2005) 
19. Metal Gear Solid (PS, 1998) 
20. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998) 
21. Super Metroid (SNES, 1994) 
22. Contra (NES, 1988) 
23. Galaga (Coin-op, 1981) 
24. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS, 1997) 
25. Street Fighter II (Coin-op, 1991) 
26. God of War (PS2, 2005) 
27. BioShock (360/PC, 2007) 
28. Diablo II (PC, 2000) 
29. Half-Life (PC, 1998) 
30. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivious (360/PC, 2006) 
31. Tecmo Super Bowl (NES, 1991) 
32. GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997) 
33. Super Mario Kart (SNES, 1992) 
34. Sonic the Hedgehog (SEGA Genesis, 1991) 
35. Starcraft (PC, 1998) 
36. Civilization (PC, 1991) 
37. SimCity (PC, 1989) 
38. Mega Man 2 (NES, 1988) 
39. Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox, 2001) 
40. Gran Turismo (PS, 1998) 
41. Resident Evil 2 (PS, 1998) 
42. Pokemon Red and Blue (GB, 1996) 
43. Final Fantasy X (PS2, 2001) 
44. EverQuest (PC, 1999) 
45. Final Fantasy Tactics (PS, 1998) 
46. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/360, 2008) 
47. Super Mario World (SNES, 1991) 
48. Deus Ex (PC, 2000) 
49. Guitar Hero (PS2, 2005) 
50. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2, 2001) 
51. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, 2007) 
52. Pac-Man (Coin-op, 1980) 
53. Battlefield 2 (PC, 2005) 
54. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox, 2003) 
55. Ico (PS2, 2001) 
56. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3, 2009) 
57. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (PS, 2000) 
58. Mass Effect (360, 2007) 
59. Adventure (2600, 1980) 
60. Arkanoid (Coin-op, 1986) 
61. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (GB, 1993) 
62. Star Wars: X-Wing (PC, 1993) 
63. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64, 2000) 
64. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, 2004) 
65. Fallout 3 (PS3/360/PC, 2008) 
66. Zork (PC, 1980) 
67. Soul Calibur (DC, 1999) 
68. Double Dragon (Coin-op, 1987) 
69. Dr. Mario (NES, 1990) 
70. The Sims (PC, 2000) 
71. Age of Empires (PC, 1997) 
72. Mortal Kombat II (Coin-op, 1993) 
73. Rock Band 2 (PS3/360, 2008) 
74. Tomb Raider (PS, 1996) 
75. Super Bomberman (SNES, 1993) 
76. Mario’s Picross (GB, 1995) 
77. Ninja Gaiden (NES, 1989) 
78. Command & Conquer (PC, 1995) 
79. Kingdom Hearts (PS2, 2002) 
80. Final Fantasy II (SNES, 1991) 
81. Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES, 1988) 
82. Left 4 Dead (PC, 2008) 
83. Okami (PS2, 2006) 
84. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2, 2005) 
85. Metroid Prime (GameCube, 2002) 
86. Super Smash Bros. Melee (GameCube, 2001) 
87. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (PC, 1995) 
88. Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn (PC, 2000) 
89. God of War II (PS2, 2007) 
90. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii, 2006) 
91. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (PS2, 2004) 
92. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (PC, 2002) 
93. Skies of Arcadia (DC, 2000) 
94. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GameCube, 2003) 
95. Silent Hill 2 (PS2, 2001) 
96. Counter-Strike (PC, 1999) 
97. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA Genesis, 1992) 
98. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS3/360, 2009) 
99. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PS2/Xbox/GameCube/PC, 2003) 
100. Portal (PC/360, 2007) 
101. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC, 2002) 
102. Heroes of Might & Magic III (PC, 1999) 
103. Donkey Kong (Coin-op, 1981) 
104. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3/360, 2009) 
105. System Shock 2 (PC, 1999) 
106. Resident Evil (PS, 1996) 
107. Gears of War (360, 2006) 
108. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3, 2008) 
109. Crash Bandicoot: Warped (PS, 1998) 
110. Halo 2 (Xbox, 2004) 
111. Tetris Attack (SNES, 1996) 
112. Final Fantasy XII (PS2, 2006) 
113. Earthbound (SNES, 1995) 
114. Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri (PC, 1998) 
115. Command & Conquer: Red alert (PC, 1996) 
116. Advance Wars (GBA, 2001) 
117. Fallout (PC, 1997) 
118. Team Fortress 2 (PS3/360/PC, 2007) 
119. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Xbox, 2005) 
120. Mega Man X (SNES, 1994) 
121. Lemmings (PC, 1991) 
122. Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn, 1998) 
123. NHL ‘94 (SEGA Genesis/SNES, 1993) 
124. Warlords (Coin-op, 1980) 
125. Shadowrun (SNES, 1993) 
126. Twisted Metal 2 (PS, 1996) 
127. Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee (PS, 1997) 
128. Metroid Fusion (GBA, 2002) 
129. Homeworld (PC, 1999) 
130. Kingdom Hearts II (PS2, 2006) 
131. Pilotwings (SNES, 1991) 
132. Quake II (PC, 1997) 
133. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (PC, 1997) 
134. Borderlands (PS3/360/PC, 2009) 
135. Final Fight (Coin-op, 1989) 
136. Star Fox (SNES, 1993) 
137. Madden NFL ‘99 (PS/N64/PC, 1999) 
138. Call of Duty 2 (360/PC, 2005) 
139. Wolfenstein 3D (PC, 1992) 
140. Diablo (PC, 1996) 
141. Civilization IV (PC, 2005) 
142. Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle (PC, 1993) 
143. Assassin’s Creed (PS3/360, 2007) 
144. Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2/Xbox, 2004) 
145. Unreal Tournament 2004 (PC, 2004) 
146. Power Stone 2 (DC, 2000) 
147. Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 1991) 
148. Super Mario RPG (SNES, 1996) 
149. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (PC, 2002) 
150. ActRaiser (SNES, 1991) 
151. Fable (Xbox, 2004) 
152. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht (PS2, 2003) 
153. Asteroids (Coin-op, 1979) 
154. LittleBigPlanet (PS3, 2008) 
155. Crackdown (360, 2007) 
156. Gauntlet (Coin-op, 1985) 
157. Devil May Cry (PS2, 2001) 
158. Pong (Coin-op, 1972) 
159. Battlefield 1942 (PC, 2002) 
160. Thief (PC, 1998) 
161. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved (360, 2005) 
162. Far Cry (PC, 2004) 
163. Robotron: 2084 (Coin-op, 1982) 
164. X-COM: UFO Defense (PC, 1993) 
165. Peggle (PC, 2007) 
166. King’s Quest VI (PC, 1992) 
167. Doom II (PC, 1994) 
168. Tempest 2000 (Jaguar, 1994) 
169. Braid (360, 2008) 
170. Ridge Racer (PS, 1995) 
171. Bully (PS2, 2006) 
172. Ikaruga (GameCube, 2006) 
173. Lode Runner (Apple II, 1983) 
174. Gunstar Heroes (SEGA Genesis, 1993) 
175. Dig Dug (Coin-op, 1982) 
176. Castlevania (NES, 1988) 
177. Tekken 3 (Coin-op, 1997) 
178. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS, 2005) 
179. NBA Jam: Tournament Edition (Coin-op, 1993) 
180. Max Payne (PC, 2001) 
181. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3/360/PC, 2009) 
182. Samurai Shodown (Neo Geo, 1993) 
183. NFL 2K5 (PS2/Xbox, 2004) 
184. Vagrant Story (PS, 2000) 
185. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (SNES, 1995) 
186. Marble Madness (Coin-op, 1984) 
187. Infamous (PS3, 2009) 
188. Planescape: Torment (PC, 1999) 
189. Kid Icarus (NES, 1986) 
190. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (Xbox, 2004) 
191. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2, 2004) 
192. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (GameCube, 2002) 
193. Jak 3 (PS2, 2004) 
194. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (DC, 2002) 
195. Ultima (PC, 1981) 
196. Call of Duty (PC, 2003) 
197. NHL 09 (PS3/360, 2008) 
198. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (Xbox, 2004) 
199. Tactics Ogre (PS, 1997) 
200. Beyond Good and Evil (PS2/Xbox/GameCube, 2003)

Wow… Really? Gunstar Heroes is better than Beyond Good and Evil and Load Runner is better than both of them? I think there are some issues here. Looks to me they just had a poll and put this list in order according to the number of votes and not because any game really did anything for the industry.

Granted Tetris (#3) and Super Mario Brothers (#2) are listed high (as they should be) but #5 should just be Half-life and not half-life 2 because Half-Life 2 really didn’t do anything different over Half-life itself. It just continued the story line with an upgraded engine. And little things like Geometry Wars (#161) is higher on the list than its parent game of Robotron (#163) the parent should be higher than the child.

Fable is listed but not Fable II. Fable2 is pretty much the same game with a different combat engine, but is completely outsold the original (I think, need to look that up). There are so many other sequels on the list why didn’t this one make it?

 

 

 
 

Flagship’s Mythos to be Reborn Next Year

Flagship’s Mythos to be Reborn Next Year

via 1UP RSS feed by Dustin Quillen on 12/1/09

 

When Flagship Studios met its unfortunate end last year, their promising-looking online RPG Mythos was among the casualties. Since then, T3 Entertainment has picked up development where Flagship left off, and Redbana US Corporation secured the Stateside publishing rights for the game. Now they’ve announced plans to release Mythos in the U.S. sometime next year.

“We’re privileged to be able to take the helm of this ambitious and highly-regarded project,” professed Redbana CEO Young Rok Park. “We launched Redbana with Audition, and are now diversifying our offering with Mythos. Our vision is to deliver a diverse selection of high quality games to the North American market.”

A new trailer for Mythos was also added to the game’s teaser site, where fans can sign up for the upcoming closed beta. Here’s hoping it makes it a lot further than beta testing this time around. 

Activision Blizzard sued!!! By the PSN guy?!

Activision Blizzard sued by … yeah, it’s the PSN guy

via Joystiq – ULTRAFEED by Alexander Sliwinski on 11/25/09

 

Serial suit launcher Erik Estavillo is making a little name for himself in the game space, as his latest complaint seeks $1 million in damages from Activision Blizzard over the design of World of Warcraft. GamePolitics reports on the complaint, which claims that the publisher maintains a “harmful virtual environment to many of its customers by forcing them to follow the game’s sneaky and deceitful practices.” Estavillo alleges that the “calculated slow pace” of the game makes turning quests in take longer and thus generates more subscription revenue for Activision Blizzard.

If that wasn’t enough, Estavillo also subpoenaed actress Winona Ryder and Depeche Mode’s Martin Lee Gore to testify on his behalf regarding alienation. He explains that his health issues, which apparently include OCD, agoraphobia, depression (and more), mean that he “relies on video games heavily for the little ongoing happiness he can achieve in this life.” 

Estavillo had previously sued Sony after being banned from PSN and also has another suit against Microsoft and Nintendo, for his Xbox 360’s Red Ring of Death and Nintendo’s disabling of the Homebrew Channel in an update. Perhaps he’ll have more luck suing over the design of a game in which millions happily pay to participate.

Activision Blizzard sued by … 

Jeebus crisp… *sigh*
You would think with the number suits out there that this guy is only looking for easy money and just wants to meet Winona Ryder and Martin Lee Gore.
Course, I wouldn’t mind meeting Winona Ryder either. *Hmmmmm* .. I’d just be afraid she’d steal something from my house. L

New York State will issue emergency alerts via Xbox Live

New York State will issue emergency alerts via Xbox Live

via Joystiq – ULTRAFEED by Randy Nelson on 11/23/09

 

According to a report by InformationWeek, the state of New York is in the planning stages of a revamped emergency broadcast system capable of sending alerts to Xbox Live (and presumably other console online services) in the event of a natural disaster, terrorist attack or other not-so-good event. The state’s deputy chief information officer says the idea makes sense “considering the amount of time our youth spend on video games.”

No specifics of how the system would actually work were provided, but we’d hope those who heed the warnings would get Achievement points for doing so. After all, it’d mean taking precious time away from griefing other players in Modern Warfare 2.

[Thanks, Nick!]

New York State will issue emergency alerts via Xbox Live originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

OK, now that is pretty cool.