Pandemic Studios is ready to explain why Mercenaries 2: World in Flames was delayed until 2008. In an IGN interview, Pandemic pres. Josh Resnick says they delayed the game so that "every corner of our vast, open-world, highly explosive gameplay is completely polished." He says they are not adding anything else to the game but are merely fixing bugs "to make gamers proud that they own a copy of Mercenaries 2 by making the highest quality next-gen open-world experience the world has ever seen." Well, hopefully Pandemic can own that title for a while before GTA IV comes out around the same time.
Did the multi-platform development cause the delay? Resnick says , "Not at all." He says that all the different version are "shaping up nicely." He also says that the delay has not affected the development of Saboteur and it's still planned for 2008. There's a lot of fluff in the interview, but at least the developers have spoken on the issue instead of just letting the fanboys blame the PS3 for every game with multi-platform development.
So, it's a pretty slow week for new releases. You've got Skate dropping on the PS3, that Jackass game is finally coming out on PS2, and Bungie has a sci-fi first-person shooter named Halo 3. We don't know how they slipped the first two past us (were they maybe on Mac?), but if Oni was any indication we're probably going to take a pass. Wow, and they're releasing three different versions? What are you guys compensating for? No, we think the real reason to get excited this week is Bratz: The Movie. Not only is it being released on TWO systems (take that, Halo 3), it's based on a movie and has an incredible shopping engine. That's what we call a triple threat, haters. If you're curious though, we've put a few screens of that Bungie shooter after the break, if you get tired of Bratz. ... Not like that's possible.
It seems like it was just yesterday we were jealously watching the Yakuza 3 trailer, wishing that we could at least get our hands on the second game in the series. Now, it seems our prayers have been heard by benevolent overlord Sega, which announced last night that Yakuza 2 is among three Japanese developed games coming stateside in 2008. Needless to say, we're excited to get our hands on it, if only to try to make sense of the game's chronological relocation to feudal Japan in the three-quel. Either way, the press release promises "punching hundreds if not thousands of people really, really hard", so a good time will be had by all.
Also included int the announcement were two DS games, Dinosaur King and Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer. Dinosaur King asks players to collect 100 dinosaurs, each with special moves, and battle them against each other. ("Not Pikachu, please don't sue!"). The other title, Mystery Dungeon is part of a massively popular franchise in Japan that hasn't made much of a splash in the U.S. ... save for Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. Is anyone else seeing a theme emerge?
It was clear how proud Sony was of Motorstorm even before the game launched on the PS3. It shouldn't come as much of a surprised to you then that Sony has purchased Evolution Studios, the developer behind the game, and its subsidiary Bigbig Studios, which you may know from Pursuit Force.
As part of the announcement, Evolution revealed they were working on a sequel to Motorstorm (may we suggest Motorstorm 2: Motorstormier?). Unfortunately, Bigbig, the studio with the more awesome name, has already beat them to the most awesome game title: Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice coming this fall to PSP and PS2.
It's kind of sad how much we love Seaman. Maybe it was the Leonard Nimoy narration, or the way the Jellyvision writers made the titular manfish so snide, maybe it was talking to our video game and finally having it talk back to us. Whatever the cause, we loveSeaman. You can imagine then, why this trailer for Seaman 2 is so very, very heartbreaking.
Let's be honest, this thing's never going to come out here. It's just too odd. It's like they managed to add another layer of weird to something that was already impossibly unusual, perhaps using the same tech as the wizards at Northern use to add more layers to their quilted toilet paper. Seriously, it's a game where you appear to play god on an island populated by cavemen, but there's a fish with wings and legs. Oh, and also, a baby caveman is using a cell phone. ... So, no. It's never coming to America. But it's nice to dream.
CheapAssGamer points the way this week to two retailers that have consistently brought on the great gaming deals: Toys R Us and GameFly. Toys R Us apparently took their famous "Buy 2 get the 3rd game free" deal underground this week. It's going on right now without a flyer being produced for last Sunday's papers -- a first as far as we're aware. Maybe they're testing to see if the web does the work for them? The deal is both online and in the stores. We're just completely baffled why TRU said nothing about the event we're consistently excited for whenever it happens. Some are even rumoring that this could be a two-week deal and that it'll actually be advertised this Sunday, so get in now before the general populace finds out. They are also doing a "buy one, get one accessory 50% off deal." No word yet if you could work the Circuit City MS point angle on that.
If you don't know about GameFly's store, well let us inform you about another hidden gem of value on these intertubes. According to CAG, this week GameFly is offering free shipping to non-subscribers who purchase select used games. GameFly subscribers always get free shipping. The purchased used games are sent with the original case and manual practically untouched. Save as much money as you can while feeding the need for gaming. The storm is coming.
GameTrailer's Final Fantasy retrospective chugs along into the last of the playable Roman numeral series: Final Fantasy XII. Actually this episode is more about the world of Ivalice -- all of it. At around 25 minutes long, you might as well grab a drink and some popcorn before you start this episode.
The world of Ivalice is actually playable in four games: Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced and Final Fantasy XII. The big question is how these four games and their respective worlds tie into each other, which the retrospective covers in the last section of this episode. There are more games planned to occur in the world of Ivalice as well. In the next episode of the retrospective they'll cover all the random Final Fantasy stuff like the spin-offs and movies.
Update: Sony has written to clarify that Steinberg is not taking over Karraker's PR duties. He is, instead, handling marketing for Sony's hardware. We're sorry about the miscommunication.
When Sony's Dave Karraker left the company for the greener, more distilled pastures of vodka marketing, the company was temporarily left without a mouthpiece for PlayStation 3 and PSP issues. That gap has now been filled by Scott A. Steinberg. Steinberg seems to have the right sort of resume for the job, after working with Sega during the Genesis days. Since then, he's worked with Crystal Dynamics, Eidos and at the (legitimate, but less cool) Napster. He'll take over as Vice President of Product Marketing for SCEA on October 1.
Though not quite the maelstrom that Karraker walked into, we doubt Steinberg's in for anything close to a cakewalk. That said, this is a man who probably, at some point, had to justify the existence of the 32X ("The polygons are gouraud shaded!"), so it's not exactly his first time at the rodeo.
We're not sure, but we bet Shari Lewis, were she still with us, would get a real kick out of the name of this week's game of the week. ... OK, we know, that wasn't much, as far as jokes go. But honestly, the well has run dry on "will it be on PS3" stuff to write about Eternal Sonata and "Song That Doesn't End" gags are about as much as we were able to muster. It also serves as a nice intro to this week's releases, which we're calling "Mediocrity Unbound!" Please, enjoy.
The fact that "TGS" doesn't stand for "Terrific Gourmet Sandwich" is likely just as disappointing for you as it is for us. In our preparations for next week's Tokyo Game Show, we simply haven't found the time to waste on trivial matters such as eating, bathing or maintaining the fine balance between being witty and being obnoxious. We're already packing our bags, charging our numerous portable gaming systems and figuring out how best to phrase the question, "Why isn't your game Ninja Gaiden 2?"
Oh, and we also plan to do something about all these soul-crushingly grim red arrows. We'll show them.
While August yields some noteworthy NPD data in terms of hardware sales, the games populating the top twenty spots in the software chart provide the most interesting commentary. Before we get to that, however, we should gaze at the gargantuan pile of cash that represents the U.S. game industry. GameDaily BIZ reports that total sales climbed to $993 million dollars, a 46% increase over the same month last year, with hardware sales alone reaching $302 million.
Nintendo's Wii once again sold the most units, followed by the DS and a now cheaper Xbox 360. Microsoft had best hope the jump in sales extends to more of a protracted hover, as it seems the PS3 has already come down to Earth following its July "clearance sale."
We have just received an email from Attorney Jack Thompson stating that his 15-year-old son purchased the Mature-rated game BioShock from a local Best Buy. Thompson informs us that BioShock is created by "the notorious Take-Two interactive," you may remember them from publishing such ultra-violent games as Grand Theft Auto. Thompson says that in using his son in a sting operation, he's proven "that Take-Two's upcoming releases of hyperviolent and sex-themed Manhunt 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV will be widely sold to kids of all ages, despite promises by Take-Two, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), and major retailers." No word if Thompson will allow his son to play the copy of BioShock he purchased.
Thompson goes on to say that retailers and the gaming industry are "engaged in a fraudulent and deceptive trade practice across the nation" by claiming to check IDs. This is exacerbated by his son purchasing the M-rated game from the same Best Buy store Thompson sent his son to buy Grand Theft Auto: Vice City at when he was 10-years-old. Thompson is demanding that Best Buy fire the store's manager and the girl with the "piercing through her right eyebrow" who sold his son the game. Thompson finishes by saying, "The entire video game age rating system is a fraud perpetrated upon American families from sea to shining sea." We should keep that in mind the next time we recruit our own child into a crusade and approve of him or her purchasing an M-rated game.
Okay, before you lolz out loud at people willing to spend $399 on a plastic Guitar Hero controller painted with some KISS artwork, read the fine print: it's actually a real guitar that's been modded to have the GH fret buttons and strum bar put in. Who's laughing now, eh?
Well, we would be, if this wasn't so freakin' cool. Gamespot has the details on this axe, which is currently only for the PlayStation 2. The question remains though: Can you re-string this sucker and jam out for reals? No one knows. Maybe that's just too much rockination for one instrument to bear. Come on, it already has Gene Simmons' tongue on it, what more could you ask for?
It's like the GameFly Austin, Texas post all over again, except now it's Tampa, FL. Heck, we'll just copy the first part of the post from last time with a few small edits: A very observant reader noticed while searching job listing website Monster.com that GameFly, the online game rental service, is looking for a manager in the Austin, Texas Tampa, Florida area. The job description clearly states: "GameFly, the leading subscription based video game rental company headquartered in Los Angeles, CA will be opening a satellite Distribution Center in Tampa. We have an outstanding opportunity for anOPERATIONS MANAGER." The listing looks completely legit and we're happy to see GameFly continuing to open distribution centers -- anything to cut down turnaround time is a good thing. We've contacted GameFly for confirmation.
If our strange deja vu keeps up and this plays out exactly like last time GameFly will respond saying, "GameFly is definitely looking at a variety of locations for an additional distribution center, but we don't have anything firm to announce just yet." The simple fact of the matter is the Ops. Manager is one of the first pieces of the distribution center puzzle. We're not expecting the Austin or Tampa announcements for a little bit, but we're glad they're happening. For those keeping track, when Austin and Tampa open, GameFly will have four distribution points in the US. We're also happy to report the East Coast center has cut down our turnaround to a week.
The US NPD figures will be out tomorrow, but today the Financial Times reported that Nintendo's Wii sales have overtaken the Xbox 360 to make it the top-selling next-gen now-gen console with 9 million sold. The Xbox 360 sits at 8.9 million and the PS3 with 3.7 million. Remember, these are sold units and not those fudge-a-licious shipped numbers. Nintendo last held the top spot in the console market over ten years ago with the Super Nintendo system, before the reign of PlayStation.
The data is the combination of the Japanese figures, NPD from the US and the GfK of Germany, which follows Euro sales. As a consolation prize for Sony fanboys, remember that the PS2 still owns all with over 100 million units. The piece closes by saying that the PS3's problem is price, the Xbox 360 doesn't sell in Japan and the Wii just hits the spot with a $250 price tag and strong sales in all three major markets.
Posts in category ps2
CheapAssGamer points the way this week to two retailers that have consistently brought on the great gaming deals: Toys R Us and GameFly. Toys R Us apparently took their famous "Buy 2 get the 3rd game free" deal underground this week. It's going on right now without a flyer being produced for last Sunday's papers -- a first as far as we're aware. Maybe they're testing to see if the web does the work for them? The deal is both online and in the stores. We're just completely baffled why TRU said nothing about the event we're consistently excited for whenever it happens. Some are even rumoring that this could be a two-week deal and that it'll actually be advertised this Sunday, so get in now before the general populace finds out. They are also doing a "buy one, get one accessory 50% off deal." No word yet if you could work the Circuit City MS point angle on that.
Update: Sony has written to clarify that Steinberg is not taking over Karraker's PR duties. He is, instead, handling marketing for Sony's hardware. We're sorry about the miscommunication.
We're not sure, but we bet Shari Lewis, were she still with us, would get a real kick out of the name of this week's game of the week. ... OK, we know, that wasn't much, as far as jokes go. But honestly, the well has run dry on "will it be on PS3" stuff to write about Eternal Sonata and "Song That Doesn't End" gags are about as much as we were able to muster. It also serves as a nice intro to this week's releases, which we're calling "Mediocrity Unbound!" Please, enjoy.
16,851 (17.86%)
165 (62.74%)
While August yields some noteworthy NPD data in terms of hardware sales, the games populating the top twenty spots in the software chart provide the most interesting commentary. Before we get to that, however, we should gaze at the gargantuan pile of cash that represents the U.S. game industry. GameDaily BIZ reports that total sales climbed to $993 million dollars, a 46% increase over the same month last year, with hardware sales alone reaching $302 million. 
It's like the GameFly Austin, Texas post all over again, except now it's Tampa, FL. Heck, we'll just copy the first part of the post from last time with a few small edits: A very observant reader noticed while searching job listing website Monster.com that GameFly, the online game rental service, is looking for a manager in the 
