The Select and Start News Report: 08.13.07
Posted by Vincent Chiucchi on 08.13.2007
California loses to gamers, Nintendo rumored to make a "Game Boy Motion", a new episode of "PS3 Price Cut Hour", and Epic vs. Silicon Knights continues
Welcome to the Select and Start News Report, so awesome it'll blow up your fuseboxes!
As you've probably heard in the news there was a Tornado in Brooklyn along the areas of Bay Ridge and Sunset Park. Well guess who happens to live about 3 blocks away from Bay Ridge? THANKFULLY however there weren't any trees falling down and crashing into things where I live. The bad news however was that at about 6:20AM, as I was watching TV to pass the time since the lightning was keeping me awake, a lightning bolt suddenly strikes my fuse box and kills most of our stuff. Slowly but surely we're replacing all the stuff that got damaged and getting back to normal. I really miss my TiVo and Wii though :(.
Oh, and the MTA still fucking suck.
Big News
CALIFORNIA GAME LAW GETS TERMINATED [credit: Gamasutra, Gamespot, GameDaily]
Remember that law in California that was going to restrict the sales of games to people under the age of 18 and would fine retailers $1,000 who would break it? Well the ESA and EMA has put a stop to that law as a federal district court ruled that the law is unconstitutional. This lawsuit would count as yet another win for the ESA and EMA as they've won in other states like Illinois, Michigan, and Louisiana. This however wasn't an easy win as US District Judge Ronald Whyte was sympathetic to the legislature, but eventually ruled that, just like the other judges, there was no clear-cut evidence between violent video games and a minor's behaviour.
Hooray for another victory! Once again, I'd like to bring your attention over to the Video Game Voters Network, where you can help stop laws like this from happening. They also provide links to register to vote.
GAME BOY MOTION? [credit: GameDaily, GameSpot]
If you ever wondered how Nintendo could possibly top the Nintendo DS, we just might have the answer. Recently a couple images of a patent Nintendo filed back in March as surfaced that details of a handheld gaming system that "incorporates an XY-axis acceleration sensor to detect an acceleration in an X-axis and Y-axis direction and a Z-axis contact switch to detect an acceleration in a Z-axis direction." The patent also details about how the system can register tilting and some of "impacting" on the case. This does NOT confirm that Nintendo is working on making this handheld however.
Here's a picture of this "Game Boy Motion" as I'd call it:
I'm kind of on both sides of the fence here. On one hand I'm thinking this is an awesome idea because this could be as innovative as the touch screen, and developers don't exactly have to take real advantage of it to make great games. The DS has great games that have little to no use of the touch screen. On the other hand, a handheld that you have to swing every which way and features an "impacting" sounds like a bad idea, and if it's anything like the Wii remotes, people are going to be dropping and breaking this thing constantly.
On a sidenote, we're about 3 months away from the 3rd Anniversary of the Nintendo DS. In about a year or so it's likely Nintendo will reveal the next handheld, and then we'll see if Nintendo follows up the DS with this "Game Boy Motion" or not.
THE PS3XBOX 360 PS3 PRICE CUT HOUR [credit: Gamasutra, GameDaily]
On this week's episode of "PS3 Price Cut Hour", the PS3's relationship with GTA4 looks to be falling apart. Is the PS3 willing to drop it's price yet again for GTA4? Find out...right now.
Good old analyst Micheal Pachter (appluase) predicts that the PS2 is going to see a price cut for the holiday season, dropping it down to $99. As for PS3, he doesn't expect a price drop for the PS3 until GTA4 and MGS4 are released. It'd be too soon for another price drop and with Xbox 360 cutting it's prices, it could be a solid strategy for PS3 to cut it's price in Spring '08.
I'll be believe when I see it. Then I'll be completely lost and have to backtrack again.
On next week's episode of "PS3 Price Cut Hour", the 80GB PS3 has come to North America, but the people refuse to accept it as nothing more then a $599 Blu-Ray Player. Can a friend named MotorStorm help make them see what the PS3 really is? Stay tuned!
THE GAME IS NOTHING WITHOUT A MINIATURE HELMET TO HOLD IT IN! [credit: Evil Avatar, Gamasutra, GameDaily]
You know that $130 version of Halo 3 that comes in that mini-Spartan helmet? Well with Halo 3 preorders now reaching over 1 million, the "Legendary" edition is expected to be completely sold out as the time the game launches on September 25th. If you didn't preorder the game yet, it looks like you'll have to settle for the regular $60 price and place in the same shelf with your other non-special Xbox 360 games.
In other Halo 3 news, Microsoft is planning a big marketing campaign that includes 7-Eleven slurpee cups, a contest for someone to earn a minor role in Halo Wars, promotions from Pontiac and Comcast, and the game is sponsoring the Projekt Revolution music tour.
EPIC VS. SILICON KNIGHTS: THE LAWSUIT CONTINUES [credit: GameDaily, Evil Avatar]
Last time we heard that Silicon Knights is suing Epic for not giving them the Unreal Engine kit on time which harmed the development of Too Human in order to favor Gears of War. Epic Games' VP Mark Rein, however, claims Epic has "done nothing wrong" and is filing a counterclaim that says SK is infringing on the Unreal Engine for their own engine, "Silicon Knights Engine", and is seeking damages of $650,000.
Shortly after Rein announced his counterclaim, Silicon Knights' attorney Chris Holland says that the company finds Epic's counterclaim to be of no merit and that the damages SK has suffered is much more then Epic's. The lawsuit will also have no effect on Too Human as the game will continue to be made under the "SK Engine".
Every week there seems to be a new company or two that decide to use Epic's Unreal Engine, almost to the point where it seems everybody is using it. That in turn makes me think that perhaps Epic is possibly monopolyzing the market with it's engine causing those who don't get it on time (at least according to SK) to suffer greatly. This may not be the last lawsuit involving Epic's Unreal Engine we hear about it, especially if SiliCon Knights winds up winning.
NOOOOOOOO!!! WHY GOD WHY?! [credit: IF Magazine]
Blizzard has announced at Blizzcon that a World of Warcraft movie is in the works. The story will be set a year before the events of WOW, and has a projected budget of over $100 million. A director has not been named.
A World of Warcraft movie...
I swear to the lords above that if a Maple Story movie is ever announced, I just might have to kill myself.
Tidbit News
-OJ Simpson was ordered by California courts to give up any revenue he earned from his appearance in All-Pro Football 2K7 to the relatives of Ron Goldman. But doesn't he need that money to find the real killers? [credit: Gamasutra]
-Head on over to the Playstation Network for the new puzzle game Piyotama and new promotional clips for Heavenly Sword. [credit: GameSpot]
-Timothy W. Hall was sentenced to two years in prison and has to pay a $1,200 fine for unlawful distribution of hundreds of thousands of copyrighted works through his website. Don't drop the soap![credit: GameDaily]
-EA now holds 25% of voting shares in Ubisoft. Let the buyout rumors commence! [credit: GameDaily, Gamasutra]
-EA and Hasbro have entered an agreement where EA will be making games based on Hasbro's toys and games while Hasbro creates new toys and games based on EA franchises. [credit: Gamasutra]
-The Xbox 360 price drop is coming to Canada. The Premium Xbox 360 bundle will be sold at new price of CA$399.99 ($381), the Core system, with no hard drive has a new price of CA$299.99 ($285), and the Xbox 360 Elite will drop to CA$499.99 ($476). [credit: Gamasutra]
-Everquest is now entering the world of Collectible Card Games, as Sony announced an online only CCG called Legends of Norrath. The game features starter decks and booster packs will be given out for free as drop offs in Everquests I and II. [credit: Gamasutra]
-A new NPD Group study analyzing attitudes, usage and purchase intent of next-gen gaming systems has found "significant gaps" in user awareness of functional features outside of video game play, with the results "more pronounced" on some systems than others. I think it's because of the casual gamers now entering the market in huge numbers. [credit: Gamasutra]
The Other Crap
MY DAILY BLOG
I've decided to finally start a blog under my "The411" profile. Check it out for snippets such as why I'm hated in Australia, my best Yu-Gi-Oh loss ever, and other stuff.
NO MORE CGS RECAPS
Unfortunately due to my TiVo being part of the lightning bolt's victim list, I've lost my CGS episodes and won't be recapping the rest of the season :(. Guess we'll have to settle for reading results on Wikipedia and IGN.
DAMN YOU PIKACHU!
Pikachu is now #1 on my personal enemy list. Why? Because I believe he is secretly the one responsible for the lightning bolt that struck my house and did THIS to my fusebox. I mean, it is just a mere coincidence that I write a column about how much Hey You, Pikachu sucks and suddenly I'm struck with a Thunderbolt? It's almost as bad as the time he threw poop at me!
Pikachu, someday, I will murder you and all those cousins/evolutions of yours! You owe me a new Wii you bastard!
PROGESS GAMING: Planet Puzzle League
Well I definitely couldn't progess in any console games, so I'm still trying to break my high scores. This is a great puzzle game people.
WEEKLY SMASH BROS. ROUNDUP
-Smoke Ball. This emits a thick smoke that you can use to either blind opponents or use stealth attacks. None of it does actual damage though.
-Kid Icarus: The Underworld. Pit's music likely to be used in his stage.
-Pit's Final Smash, "Palutena's Army". The Goddess Palutena calls out a bunch of little soldiers to swarm the stage and take out everyone else.
-Ike's Special Moves. "Aether" (Up-Special) has him tossing his sword into the air and coming back down with it for a major strike. "Eruption" (Standard Special) looks to be the same move as Roy's special in Melee.
-Franklin Badge. In Earthbound, this was used to deflect any Lightning spells and was a huge help in defeating a couple bosses. In Brawl, the item is used to deflect any weapons that get thrown your way, though it'll eventually disappear. So pay attention to when it disappears.
GAMING CALENDAR
August 19th - Airdate for 2007 Season of WSVG on CBS Sports
August 24th:
-Blue Dragon to be released
-Xbox 360 Elite Release Dated For Europe and Canada
August 27th - Metroid Prime 3 to be released
August 31st
-Guild Wars: Eye of the North to be released
-Auto Assault to be shut down
September 20th - Slimlime PSP to launch in Japan
September 25th - Halo 3 to be released
October 9th - Half-Life 2: Episode 2 "orange box" to be released
October 11th - Microsoft to release Xbox 360 Elite in Japan
NEW: November 2007 - Call of Duty 4 release date?
At least that's what the rumors have been.
November 5th - Area 51: Blacksite to be released
November 12th - Super Mario Galaxy to be released
NEW: November 16th - Crysis to be releaseed
December 3rd - Smash Bros. Brawl to be released
November 17th, and December 15th - Airdates for the 2007 Season of WSVG on CBS Sports
March 1st, 2008 - Metal Gear Solid 4 to be released
April 2008 - Grand Theft Auto IV to be released
Guys who will strike like lightning (Strike Like Lightning...say that 5 times fast)
