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Joystiq Poll: Who do you want to hear about at E3?

So, we're going to E3 in about a week, but we want you know who we're going for, dear reader: You. It's all for you. Even after doing so many lines of complimentary coke off of Peter Moore's tattooed bicep that we start agreeing that it's probably best if no other companies make sports games, we've still got your best interest at heart. Sort of.

It's to that end that we want to take a moment to ask you what publishers you want to hear about at E3, where you rank your interest. Let us know who you're the most pumped about and we promise to keep it in mind when we're scheduling our coverage, no matter how many Lamborghinis made from foie gras Microsoft tries to give us. (Spoiler alert: It will be seven ... at least.)

Rumor: PS3 firmware 2.41 up by 'midweek'


A "customer support" representative for Sony has reportedly informed CVG that firmware version 2.41 for PS3 should be available "midweek." Sony has not made an official statement about when version +.01 will be available, but we've sent carrier pigeons to their offices to peck on the windows until we get a response.

Sony has gone dark on the issue since July 2nd, presumably as it tries to figure out why some consoles had adverse reactions to the 2.4 upgrade. We'll update as soon as we receive a response from Sony.

SPOGS Racing slams into WiiWare


Talk about your emotional roller coasters. We spoke just yesterday of our attempts to bring Pogs back into the public consciousness, so a brief glance at this week's WiiWare title, SPOGS Racing (1-2 players, 1,000 Wii Points), filled our hearts with glee. But just as we made bids on every eBay Pogs lot we could find we re-read the title and started praying that someone out there was willing to pay more than $23.50 for an Alf Slammer.

So, apparently, SPOGS have nothing to do with Pogs, except in the fact that they're both disc shaped and that you likely have a minimum of interest in them. So ... moving on.

MySims inexplicably coming to PC


So, see if you can wrap your brain around this one. In the fall of 2007, EA released a boiled-down version of The Sims on Wii and DS called MySims, which went on to sell 1.5 hojillion copies. Now, perhaps looking to push it to the 2 hojillion mark, EA announced today that on October 27 of this year MySims will be coming to the PC ... so, does that make it a "boiled-up" version?

Yes, to be fair, the PC will be getting some new characters and new online features like the ability to play Tag and share your creations with friends. But you know what else the PC will be getting at some point? Sims 3. Just saying.

New games this week: Civilization Revolution edition


Listen, we're excited by this week's biggest new release Civilization Revolution, but it looks to us like it's going to play pretty fast and loose with the truth. How can we tell? Well, let's take a look at the box art. It looks fine, right? Until you realize that Napoleon is towering over Genghis Khan!

Napoloean, as the less educated among you (and Firaxis) perhaps do not know, was 2-feet, 4-inches tall, so the thought of him being taller than anyone, let alone some of history's greatest leaders, is an affront to logic itself. The only thing we can imagine is that Lincoln is on his knees and Napoleon is standing on a apple crate of some sort, in which case we can only suggest that Honest Abe needs new representation.

Gallery: Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution

Continue reading New games this week: Civilization Revolution edition

Virtual Console crowns the King of the Monsters


Nintendo's love affair with the Neo Geo continues this week, giving players who have not yet shelled out for one of SNK's numerous other arcade collections yet another outlet to spend their hard-earned dollars, or rather, points.
  • King of the Monsters (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points): While already available on the Wii already as part of SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1, it's good to know that despite all of the problems in the world, there are still some disagreements between a giant lizard and an overgrown beetle than can be settled as part of a midtown battle royal. SNK's arcade original King of the Monsters allows players to choose from six different giant creatures and then grapple with the others in order to decide the fate of the city, as long as that fate ends in total devastation.

Poké-trainers to face off in pocket monster showdown


Pokémaniacs will soon have the opportunity to find out who among them is best at the cultivation and production of pocket monsters for battle, and dare we say, delicious cuisine. This summer both Pokémon USA and Japan's The Pokémon Company will host the Pokémon Video Game Showdown 2008, which promises to pit the regions' best poké-trainers against each other in a multi-round tournament to discover once and for all who has the best poké-chops.

On August 16, 32 Pokémon aficionados from the US will make the trek to Orlando, FL to throw down against 32 of Japan's best poké-players, using the series' latest flavors, Diamond and Pearl. The contest will be divided into two different age brackets, with those trainers born on or before 1995 making up the "senior" set. And there's more than just poké-pride at stake, as the top finisher in each group will walk away with a Nintendo Wii package and a shot at a grand prize that includes a 6-day vacation for four to either NY, Honolulu, or Tokyo. However, we should tell you that interested players must first survive a qualifier round, and that registration has already closed. Even so, organizers note that additional players may be randomly selected from those in attendance at the events, so if you fancy yourself a poké-maestro, check out the dates below before you book fare on Air Pokémon.

Continue reading Poké-trainers to face off in pocket monster showdown

The Joystiq July 4 Weekend: 2008 edition

Over the weekend, we bought ourselves some fancy new Octo-Camo suits. Unfortunately, the suit failed about one minute after this picture taken, as it became so effective that we got sat on by a trio of quite rude individuals. Check out the highlights for this weekend:

Joystiquery
The Best of Big Download; June 29-July 5, 2008
DS Fanboy Lite: June 28 - July 4
Japanese hardware sales, June 23 - June 29: Nineteen hundred and ninety-five edition
Joystiq Podcast 056 - Womb of Freedom edition
Joyswag: C&C 3: Kane's Wrath (Xbox 360) giveaway, Day Four
Joyswag: C&C 3: Kane's Wrath (Xbox 360) giveaway, Day Five
PS Fanboy Week in Review: 6/30 - 7/6
This Week in Review is evolution, baby
WRUP: American Edition
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup, now with more Yahtzee

News
Peter Moore explains EA Sports' PC snub
Raven Squad to marry RTS, FPS this fall
EA sorry over Irish anthem gaffe in UEFA Euro 2008
Capcom.co.jp lists Devil May Cry for PSP
See a hot anime clip from Street Fighter IV
Wario Land Shake intro and gameplay videos
Wrath of the Lich King beta registration now open in US
Hudson explodes onto the iPhone with Bomberman Touch video
"On the Seven7th Day" Bungie shows you Cold Storage
Siren: Blood Curse priced, dated for Europe - £19.99, July 24th
Diablo 3 to emphasize cooperation, PvP to be included
Professor Noel Gallagher gives lecture on game violence
Video: PSP app uses GPS to remix tunes as you walk
Leaked box art shows maraca attachments for Samba de Amigo
New MGS4 camo DLC hits with LOLs aplenty
Wall-E becomes first Arabic-language game for current-gen consoles
Zeppelin's Jimmy Page uncomfortable lending master recordings to rhythm games
Mercenaries 2 developer walkthrough previews different 'approaches'
New Mortal Kombat vs. DC screenshots are fairly brutal
Burnout Paradise 'Cagney' update for Xbox 360 delayed until July 14
Confront the SOCOM: Confrontation trailer
Atlus bringing Persona 4 to North America on December 9
Chrono Trigger DS countdown ends, 'reveals' Chrono Trigger
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and the debut trailer

Rumors & Speculaiton
Diablo 3 'theoretically possible' for console port
Rumor: Rock Band 2 setlist reportedly discovered by two sources

Culture & Community
Condi, other foreign ministers receive custom DS
Handheld NES ... in an NES cartridge
Brawl on the go with homebrew Super Smash Bros. Rumble

Japanese hardware sales, June 23 - June 29: Nineteen hundred and ninety-five edition


With the recent announcement and then following super double announcement of Square-Enix's plans to bring Chrono Trigger to this week's second place finisher, our minds began to to wander like a starry-eyed, formerly monastic governess, vacationing in the hills of Austria. If Squeenix can turn a 16-bit RPG from 1995 into a soon-to-be bestseller in 2008, what other 13-year-old franchises could we breathe new life into in order to turn a tidy profit?

We immediately thought of Pogs, which swept the nation like a plague of circular cardboard locusts in the middle of the last decade -- after all, the obsession with collection hasn't waned in the minds of our nation's youngsters. Unfortunately, Archibald von Pogstein passed away last year, taking the secrets of Pog synthesis with him. We then turned our minds to music, and naturally, TLC's "Waterfalls", the official HIV and gun violence-related slow jam of 1995, came to mind. The Joystiq crew gathered to perform a breathtaking cover of the R&B classic -- unfortunately, we lost the master recordings shortly before distribution.

We eventually settled on bringing back one of the top-grossing films of 1995, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Unfortunately, Mr. Carrey's reluctance to tarnish his new "serious" image by reprising his most beloved role brought the remake's production to a screeching halt. Instead, we're planning on making Ace Ventura quotes hilarious again by incessantly using them around friends and loved ones. We're sure we can find some way to parlay that into a get rich quick scheme -- aaalllllrighty then?

- PSP: 58,861 490 (0.83%)
- DS Lite: 48,884 12,285 (33.57%)
- Wii: 48,480 7,443 (18.14%)
- PS3: 17,973 2,363 (11.62%)
- PS2: 7,673 1,327 (20.91%)
- Xbox 360: 5,104 2,549 (99.77%)

[Source: Media Create]

See: Kinda hot these arrrchiiiives

Rumor: Rock Band 2 setlist reportedly discovered by two sources


We've been chomping at the bit for any details about the complete setlist for Harmonix's upcoming sequel to last year's well-received rockstar simulator, Rock Band. We've learned of a few new tracks from a slip-up on G4 and a tip from an anonymous playtester, but even these substantial leaks only make up a drop in Rock Band 2's 80-song bucket. Luckily, two sources who claim to know the near-complete list of tunes included in the title recently posted their findings -- though their own sources don't exactly inspire confidence in the accuracy of their supposed setlists.

Though their information evolved entirely from hearsay, there's quite a bit of overlap between the two lists, lending some amount of legitimacy to this rumor. Some of these overlapping tracks include Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer", The Presidents of the United States of America's "Lump", Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" (Qu'est-ce que c'est?), and a long overdue "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello. We've got both lists after the jump -- with a couple of weeks between us and E3, we'll be discovering the correctitude of these tracks soon enough.

[Via Kotaku]

Continue reading Rumor: Rock Band 2 setlist reportedly discovered by two sources

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and the debut trailer


We would love to get excited for the upcoming video game adaptation of the sixth installment in J.K. Rowling's wildly successful series of books -- unfortunately, our ambitions of striding through Hogwarts' hallowed halls have been sullied by previous lackluster Harry Potter titles from Electronic Arts. To make sure Half Blood Prince is as faithful and entertaining as it can possibly be, we've written up a quick cheat sheet for the game's developers to inform them which elements from the source material should be included when the game hits store shelves in November.
  • Epic wizard duels -- Awesome.
  • Magical puzzles -- Entertaining.
  • Exciting quidditch matches -- Compelling, if handled properly.
  • Collecting "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans", "Chocolate Frogs", "Fizzing Whizbees", or any other form of magical confection -- About as enjoyable as catching a faceful of Avada Kedavra.

PS Fanboy Week in Review: 6/30 - 7/6


This week's big top story was all about Firmware 2.40: its release, initial hiccups, and then getting pulled down. A few people had some significant problems, but the majority saw their shiny new features were running smoothly. For those of you who were able to get this update onto your system, we suggest you start in-game XMBing and grabbing those trophies. For starters, hit up Super Stardust HD and read our guide on how to get those PS3 accolades.

Features
  • Everything you need to know about firmware 2.40
  • "The features to be added in firmware 2.40 represent the biggest jump for PS3 owners, more so than 2.00 released a few months earlier. The key features of the update include the most-wanted things voiced by a majority of PS3 fans."

  • Trophy Guide: Super Stardust HD
  • "With 9 Bronze, 6 Silver and 2 Gold Trophies, we're sure this is going to keep many occupied for quite some time. Here's our guide to unlock all the Trophies. Good luck!"
Screens

Continue reading PS Fanboy Week in Review: 6/30 - 7/6

Brawl on the go with homebrew Super Smash Bros. Rumble


Nineteen-year-old German homebrew programmer "Fuzzy" recently revealed his latest project for Nintendo's dual-screened handheld; a portable port of Nintendo's franchise mash-up brawler, titled Super Smash Bros. Rumble. The above shakycam video reveals the early fruits of his labor -- so far, only three levels and one character (Mario) are available. It obviously needs a massive amount of work, particularly in the character design and animation departments, but it's a wicked idea. We hope that Fuzzy will continue working on this inspired project, provided that Ninty's legal juggernauts abide.

Chrono Trigger DS countdown ends, 'reveals' Chrono Trigger


After much speculation and painful hours of sitting on pins and needles, Square-Enix confirmed that their chronometric teaser was, in fact, counting down to the big reveal of a Nintendo DS adaptation of Chrono Trigger. The countdown just ended, revealing the first pseudo-trailer for the game; following Squeenix's promise for a "newly revamped" version of what many consider to be the greatest RPG of all time, our hopes were high for a 3D remake, ala Final Fantasy III and IV -- though the trailer shows that the visuals will retain their charming 16-bit aesthetic.

The trailer doesn't show off the game's new features, like the new dungeon, wireless play and touch screen support -- though it does end by touting the Winter 2008 release window we'd previously heard. Hopefully, future media for the title will show us exactly why we'll need to purchase the game again (other than the fact that it's frakkin' Chrono Trigger) -- until then, we'll be anxiously awaiting Christmas morning, when we'll scurry to the foyer to discover that Ho-Ho has left us stockingfuls of heartwarming nostalgia.

Update: We've got the post-countdown trailer posted after the jump, courtesy of GameVideos.

Continue reading Chrono Trigger DS countdown ends, 'reveals' Chrono Trigger

Atlus bringing Persona 4 to North America on December 9


While Japanese audiences will be playing Persona 4 this July, North American gamers won't have to wait long to wander the halls of Gekkoukan High. Atlus USA has taken time away from blowing things up with small explosives this holiday weekend to announce plans to bring Persona 4 to North America on December 9.

Sweetening the deal even further, the publisher also notes that each copy of the game will come bundled with a soundtrack CD featuring "select music" from the title, which represents the sixth in the role-playing series, and the latest to cling tightly to Sony's aging last-gen console. If, however, you're having trouble waiting until this holiday season to get your Persona fix, check out the game's English announcement trailer after the break.

Continue reading Atlus bringing Persona 4 to North America on December 9

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