The Select and Start News Report: 09.22.08
Posted by Vincent Chiucchi on 09.22.2008
Mega Man 9 continues to go more retro, EA addresses Spore DRM complaints, Sony and Jaffe sued over God of War, Microsoft fires RROD whistleblower, more details on the EA/Take-Two buyout ending, and more.
I really don't understand why we needed to build a new Yankee Stadium, especially since nothing will probably improve. Also, since Yankee Stadium is the house that Ruth built, does this mean that we're technically foreclosing his house like everyone elses?
Well, enough about sports. Time for video games.
Big News
MEGA MAN 9 PRESS KIT COMES IN NES CARTRIDGE [credit: Destructoid, Joystiq]
So today is the day Mega Man 9 is released for the Virtual Console, and many fans will be sure to download this game thanks to the whole 8-bit reimagining. Several websites recieved a press kit about the game, which came in a box (finally making the boxart useful) and the Reset CD (huh?) coming in an NES cartridge.
Despite my ill will towards Mega Man 9, I must say it's amazing Capcom is willing to go to such lengths to make Mega Man 9 seem like an NES game all over again. If only they showed this much dedication into making Mega Man games that didn't suck or properly translating boss names or doing this for their other franchises they killed off like Viewtiful Joe and Okami.
In other news, it has been confirmed that on October 6th, you can download Protoman as a playable character for about $2.
MICROSOFT FIRES EMPLOYEE WHO TALKED ABOUT MICROSOFT'S FAILURES [credit: Gamasutra, GameDaily, GamePolitics]
Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat recently did a detailed article about the Red Ring of Death. In his article he talked to many people who worked for Microsoft, in which all remained anonymous except for one man: Robert Delaware, a QA tester for Microsoft. Finding out his name, Microsoft fired Delaware for speaking on record without permission (like they would actually give it to him). Delaware does not regret the interview because he says it was the moral thing to do, and if Microsoft plans to go after him, he says to bring it on.
And this is why you make sure you do not work for the company you are bashing, because you are NOT going to keep your job. This is a lesson I've learned myself in college. Nice to see Microsoft deal with the Red Ring of Death issue by firing the guy who brought up the issue, because it isn't like a company that makes $60 billion in revenue can actually do anything to fix this whole console hardware failure in the first place.
SPORE GATE CONTINUED [credit: 1UP, Gamasutra, GamePolitics, GameDaily]
Remember the days people couldn't wait to play Spore because it looked to be so awesome? Now anytime you hear about Spore, it's about how the game has awful DRM protection because of SecuRom. EA has been trying to address the issue by stating that they limited it to three installations because according to the company's stats, less than 25% of its customers across the board activate a PC title on more than one machine. The game also does not allow for multiple accounts on the same installation, despite the manual saying that this was possible. This week, EA addressed the multiple account issue by now having up to five screen names for one online account per installation.
And yet for all of EA's efforts with Spore's DRM, the game is still getting pirated and the numbers for pirated copies actually went up over the past week because of it. It must really suck to be a PC gaming developer.
[credit: 1UP, Gamasutra, GamePolitics, GameDaily]
This week's lawsuit involves Sony and David Jaffe over God of War infringements. Jonathan Bissoon-Dath and Jennifer Barrette-Herzog claim Sony and Jaffe stole most of the ideas for God of War from various literary and artistic works that they'd distributed to Hollywood studios, and are suing them in the U.S. District Court in California. The plantiffs point out many parallels between their works and God of War, including Zeus and Athena saving Athens from Ares like Kratos, the main character's family being killed like Kratos', and Kratos' Blades of Chaos being similar to Zeus morphing his hands into two swords. Both Sony and Jaffe responded that these claims are inaccurate, incomplete, abstracted and/or misleading.
While there are several similarities to the two stories, odds are it's purely coincendental considering both are based on Greek mythology, and some of those parallels are more like cliches. I mean, the main character losing his family? Doesn't that sound like every generic JRPG out there?
THE EA TAKE-TWO BUYOUT CONCLUSION [credit: Gamasutra, GameDaily]
Last week it was made official that EA was not going to buyout Take-Two, simply because Take-Two did not like EA's offer. With news that the buyout was a bust, Take-Two's stock went plummeting. During this saga where their shares were around $26, it dropped all the way down to about $17. This was somewhat the same price that Take-Two had before EA tried buying them out several months ago, meaning that those who sold their stock were likely the ones who started buying it hoping EA would buy Take-Two. Analysts have many reasons why the talks failed, ranging from Take-Two not going to be to sustain it's performance made with the success of Grand Theft Auto IV, to EA overplaying their hand from the beginning and not wanting to pay more, to Take-Two claiming other parties were interested.
So after about seven months, the saga is finally over. To me EA was only trying to get Take-Two to cash in on Grand Theft Auto 4 and take that the title of biggest video game company away from Activision Blizzard. Personally I'm glad Take-Two didn't take the deal and hope this does not turn out to be a big mistake for them.
Tidbit News
-Infamous anti-game lawyer Jack Thompson is going to appear on an upcoming episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit on Showtime. For those who've never seen the show, it basically takes a topic and calls it out on it's bullshit, like why PETA doesn't really protect animals or how the Boy Scouts is prejudice against homosexuals. The topic Thompson will be a part of wasn't specified, but it will likely be about violent video games. [credit: GamePolitics]
-According to a note from the Nihon Securities Journal in Japan, Nintendo will be holding a conference on October 2nd to announce new products. A solution to the Wii Storage problems perhaps? [credit: GameDaily]
-Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) announced today that they have brought on Geoff Johns to write for DC Universe Online. Johns has written for several DC Comics series, including The Flash, Teen Titans, Green Lantern, Justice Society of America, 52, and Infinite Crisis. [credit: GameDaily]
-Along with the announcement that Europe will be getting price cuts on the Xbox 360, Microsoft announced that the first available GTA4 downloadable episode will be hitting the console by Christmas. [credit: CVG]
-For the first time ever, the Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3 and the Wii in weekly sales over in Japan. This was mostly thanks to the release of Square-Enix's Infinite Undiscovery, which sold 86,708 units in it's debut. [credit: Gamasutra, Evil Avatar]
-So how bad is Age of Conan? Apparently it's so bad that Gaute Godager, co-founder of the game's developer Funcom, resigned from the company due to the game's technical issues and is leaving the game industry. Former Anarchy Online producer Craig Morrison will be taking over as producer/game director for Age of Conan. [credit: GameSpot, Gamasutra]
-Is Google going to buy out Valve? That's what "well placed sources" say at The Inquirer. Valve's response to this is that it's only a rumor. No further details as of yet. [credit: The Escapist, CVG]
-id Software's upcoming shooter Rage was said to be losing content for the Xbox 360 version due to the size of DVD discs. id Software's Tim Willits clarified that absolutely no content from Rage is getting removed. [credit: 1UP, Evil Avatar]
-Sony has now officially debuted Life With PlayStation for the PS3. Life With PlayStation hosts a Live Channel delivering news headlines provided by Google News and weather information provided by The Weather Channel. [credit: Gamasutra]
-The ESA Foundation announced today that senior managing director of Nintendo Shigeru Miyamoto will receive the 2009 ESA Champion Award. He will be honored during the "Nite to Unite for Kids" dinner, a fundraising event benefiting various children's charities. [credit: GameDaily]
-THQ announced that it plans to take WWE SmackDown vs. Raw online with a PC title coming in late 2010...in Asia. So it's going to be a long time before we'll ever get to play it. [credit: Gamasutra]
-In the latest issue of Nintendo Power, Grand Theat Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS is going to be played from an isometric perspective and be cel-shaded. That's right: CEL-SHADED! Uh, Nintendo? Remember what happened the last time you took a major franchise and made it cel-shaded? [credit: Destructoid]
Here's the latest on the eternal battle of the bands.
Guitar Hero:
-In an interview with Rolling Stones magazine, Slash from Guns 'N Roses says that Activision is working on a Guitar Hero game focused on rock legend Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix will be a playable character in Guitar Hero: World Tour, but as for him getting his own game, Activision has not confirmed it. Would be awesome though. [credit: GameSpot, GameDaily]
-Neversoft director Brain Bright confirmed that Guitar Hero World Tour will allow players to import MIDI tracks into the game. This MIDI sequencer functionality will include lead, rhythm, and bass guitar along with keyboard and drum tracks for PS3, though "hardware issues" will limit the Xbox 360 version to drum tracks. [credit: GameDaily]
-With the huge amount of songs downloaded for Guitar Hero, Activision is proposing using a subscription model for users to download as many songs as they want. [credit: GameDaily]
-To those in the UK: If you pre-orders of the Guitar Hero: World Tour bundle, Activision will throw in an extra guitar peripheral for free. No word if other countries will be seeing a similar deal. [credit: Joystiq]
Rock Band:
-As a special "thanks" to everybody who bought Rock Band 2, Harmonix confirmed on the Rock Band forums that they will be making 20 free songs available for download later this fall. No word yet on the tracks, but Harmonix promised to reveal the titles closer to the final release date. [credit: 1UP]
-Harmonix announced they've gained the following licenses of real-life instruments for Rock Band 2:
-Next week, Rush's album Moving Pictures will be available for Rock Band with the following tracks:
"Tom Sawyer (original version)"
"Red Barchetta"
"YYZ"
"Limelight" (original version)
"The Camera Eye"
"Witch Hunt"
"Vital Signs"
The following songs will also be available:
Bad Religion - "Sorrow"
The Cult - "She Sells Sanctuary"
Hot Hot Heat - "Bandages"
Kasabian - "Shoot the Runner"
Sleater-Kinney - "You're No Rock N' Roll Fun"
The Stone Roses - "Love Spreads"
[credit: Joystiq, GameSpot]
Gaming Calendar
September 22nd - Sim City Creator (Wii, DS)
September 23rd:
-Disgaea DS
-Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (DS)
September 29th:
-Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS)
-Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)
October 3-5 - E for All 2008 to be held
October 7th - Sam and Max Season 1 (Wii)
October 9-13 - The Tokyo Game Show 2008 to be held
October 14th:
-Dead Space (X360, PS3)
-SOCOM: Confrontation (PS3)
October 20th - Wii Music
October 21st:
-Fable II (X360)
-LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
October 26th - Guitar Hero: World Tour
October 28th - Fallout 3 (X360)
October 2008:
-Bioshock ported to the PS3
-Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 (X360, PC)
November 4th:
-Left 4 Dead (PC, X360)
-Resistance: Fall of Man 2 (PS3)
November 7th - Gears of War 2 (X360)
November 11th:
-Eternal Poison (PS2)
-Call of Duty: World at War (X360, PC)
-Mirror's Edge (X360, PS3)
November 13th - WoW: Wrath of the Lich King (PC)
November 14th - Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (X360)
December 2nd - Prince of Persia: The Fallen King (PS3, PC, X360)
The dude broke the NDA he signed and blabbed inside info to a reporter. There isn't a company in the world that wouldn't fire his ass - and I doubt there's one out there looking to hire him now either.
Posted By: Rod Oracheski (Registered) on September 22, 2008 at 12:43 AM
Maybe I have been living under a rock the last few weeks, but what exactly did this guy say to get himself fired? Who didn't already know about RROD? What did he add that got him canned/
Posted By: Toddo (Guest) on September 22, 2008 at 01:56 PM
When a company has you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, that basically means the same as Rule #1 in Fight Club.
Whatever happens while you are working there, you are not allowed to talk about it. The company has a right to terminate your job and in some cases, sue for breach of contract. It's that simple.
Posted By: Galen (Guest) on September 22, 2008 at 07:08 PM
The other thing being blown out of proportion regarding the Robert Delaware story is that the guy didn't even work for Microsoft - he worked for a third party testing firm. Either way, he violated what would have had to be a very tightly-sealed NDA, so he will almost definitely have some legal consequences beyond the loss of his job. It's not like MS just fired the guy for no reason. They can't fire him since he doesn't work for them, and he knew it was coming once his name was published. He was seen on record after the news of his firing broke stating something to the extent of "I knew that would happen, but the public needed to know."
And to answer Toddo's question, guy didn't really have a lot of new stuff on the RRoD. He basically just said that as a tester, he could force the RRoD in software with a feature in NBA 2K6, and could make it happen everytime he did it - but the higher-ups ignored him and moved on like it was nothing. That was about it.
Posted By: videobobbo (Guest) on September 23, 2008 at 01:28 AM
