GamerNode: Latest Industry News

VGChartz breaks down the console war

A recent article on VGChartz.com does a really great job of breaking down the console war in terms of numbers.

The chartz (yea, that's right) show that the 360 has a clear lead over the PS3 in the U.S of about 9 million units and a marginal lead of about 200,000 units in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, which is apparently a place.  The PS3 leads in Japan by about 3.5 million units. Globally, the 360 is leading by about 5.7 million, though that gap seems to be tightening.

And perhaps just to prove the point that the 360/PS3 battle is a fly in the ointment to Nintendo, the final chart shows that even combined, PS3 and 360 sales only outsell the Wii by about 2.5 million units.  And they haven't even started talking about the DS.

Check out this informative article over at VGChartz, linked...

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Ken Levine claims waggle controls are not the futu...

According to Ken Levine, co-founder and creative director of Irrational Games, the key to motion control is not about mindlessly waving controllers for the sake of having the feature, but to create software that can give it sense.

"I think the motion controllers are a bit of a reaction to the Wii," said Levine during a Q&A panel at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY on February 20. "And I think the question is for the guys making those, and there's some very talented people working on those and there's some very impressive pieces of hardware. But it's gonna be about the software and can people figure out the experience that people have to have."

He then used Wii Sports bowling as an example of when software and motion controls come together to create a great game. He stated how the game was ...

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Ken Levine: "Media has always been about f***ing a...

During a Q&A panel at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY on February 20, co-founder and creative director of Irrational Games Ken Levine voiced his opinion that violence and sex in the videogame industry and media in general are primal things that have always been present.

"I'm not the person you want on Fox News or CNN making this argument for the game industry because I think there's a cost to everything good in the world," said Levine when asked his feelings on games that are criticized for violence, sex, and addiction. "Are games awesome? Absolutely. I love games. Can I absolutely say that it doesn't raise your aggression an iota when you play? I don't know. I'm not a scientist."

The Irrational Games head then went on to state how all media, not just video games, are affected by sex and ...

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Capcom COO Mark Beaumont suddenly passes away

In a statement released today by Capcom, the company announced that their chief operating officer for North America and Europe Mark Beaumont died suddenly this morning.

"Our COO and dear friend, Mark Beaumont, passed away this morning," read the statement. "This sudden loss has left us with deep sadness. Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will remember him for his humor, passion and commitment to Capcom and our industry. He was a great leader and visionary and his spirit will carry on in everything that we do. Please join us in memory of Mark."

Beaumont had joined the company in 2005 from Midway and received the official title of Capcom's executive vice president, officer and Head of North America, South America and Europe consumer software publishing. He was in his late 50s.

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This week's releases: 2/22 - 2/28

This week is calling for cloudy skies and some Heavy Rain. The PlayStation 3 exclusive from Quantric Dream is looking to change the way people play games with its real-time decision making system when it releases this Tuesday, February 23. Also hitting the stores this week is Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, the Xbox 360 version of Risen, and Metal Slug XX for the PSP.

Here's your full list of releases for this upcoming week.

DS:Hello Kitty: Birthday AdventuresLovely Lisa and FriendsPony Friends 2Sonic & Sega All-Stars RacingYu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2010 Reverse of Arcadia

PC:Napoleon Total War: Limited EditionWarbirds: DogFightsSonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

PlayStation 3:Heavy RainLast RebellionSonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

PSP:Metal Slug XX

Xbox 360:Deadly PremonitionRisenSonic & Sega A...

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Ken Levine: Irrational Games showing no product at...

The studio formerly known as 2K Boston will not be showing off any product at the upcoming PAX East convention, according to co-founder and creative director Ken Levine.

During an interview with GamerNode at Vassar College, Levine's alma mater, the Irrational Games head informed the site that while they will be present in full at the show in the studio's home town, they will be keeping their upcoming projects under wraps.

"No, no, no," said Levine. "We'll be at PAX East. I'm on a couple of panels and all my guys are gonna be there because we're in Boston, so we're sending our entire team. We'll have some fun things for our fans there I think. On our website too. On our new website we have a lot of cool things. But we're not planning on showing product there."

Earlier in the interview, when Le...

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New Assassin's Creed multiplayer will have "justif...

Two of the top creators behind the Assassin's Creed series shed some light on the upcoming Assassin's Creed II follow-up game set to release next year.

Before the Interactive Achievement Awards at the DICE convention Ubisoft creative director Patrice Desilets and series lead writer Corey May stated that the upcoming game, in which Ezio returns to Rome after the events of Assassin's Creed II, will have a full single-player campaign. Desilets added that the game's multiplayer, the first for the series, will have "narrative justification."

"It won't be boring," added May jokingly.

When asked how it is possible that another full Assassin's Creed game could be made a year after Assassin's Creed II, Desilets stated that it took a year to make the technology for Assassin's Creed II and that should m...

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Splinter Cell Conviction trailer, Sam gets serious...

Another trailer has emerged for Splinter Cell Conviction, showing off what looks to be a gritty, hardcore experience.

The trailer features plenty of shooting and stealth takedowns, as well as knife and melee counters and a sweet "shoot the knees while choking" interrogation technique.  Also, the story is beginning to become a little more clear, with Sam Fisher now obviously being posed against some large, malicious organization in order to get revenge and to fulfill his conviction.  Somehow.

Just enjoy the video.

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Free DLC to launch with new Battlefield: Bad Compa...

Following the mold that has started with Mass Effect 2, Electronic Arts will have a "VIP" code included in all new copies of upcoming shooter Battlefield: Bad Company 2 that will allow players to access the game's downloadable content for free.

"We want people to insert the code they get when they buy the game to get access to [DLC content]," said senior producer Patrick Bach. "It's connected to your personal account, more or less, and what we want to do is give you something extra, added value, for that. In the future you will get more content, for free, if you have this VIP code."

The system is very similar to the Cerberus Network that was set up for Mass Effect 2, which Bach confirmed. When players start Bad Company 2 and enter the code, they will gain access to an in-game store that will...

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This week's releases: 2/15 - 2/21

Fans of all things Aliens and Predator have reason to rejoice this week. Sega's first-person shooter Aliens vs. Predator will be shipping out on Tuesday to retailers for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The game will feature three single-player campaigns with one for the Aliens, one for the Predators, and one for the unfortunate human marines caught between them.

Also releasing will be two Pheonix Wright games. The Wii will get its own version of Pheonix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All, while the DS will receive spin-off Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth.

Here's a full list of what is coming this week.

DSAce Attorney Investigations: Miles EdgeworthCrime SceneKORG DS-10 PlusRagnarok DS

PCBecky Brogan: The Mystery of Meane Manor!Aliens vs. PredatorEverquest II: Sentinel's Fat...

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NPD top 20 sales for January 2010 features MAG, Ba...

An expanded listing of the top 20 video game sales for the month of January has been released by the market research group NPD.

Nintendo shows a strong presence by leading the list with New Super Mario Bros. Wii at 656.7 thousand units sold, along with having half of the games that charted be on a Nintendo platform. Mass Effect 2 for the Xbox 360 nabs second place with an impressive 527.1 thousand units sold.

Newcomers MAG, Bayonetta, and Darksiders also appear, with the latter inching into the tenth position with 171.2 thousand units sold.

1. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) - 656.7 thousand units2. Mass Effect 2 (360) - 527.1 thousand units3. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 555.7 thousand units4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360) - 326.7 thousand units5. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 310.9 thousand units6....

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Activision shuts down Luxoflux and Underground Dev...

After Activision Blizzard's conference call and quarter sales report yesterday, several studios are having the hammer brought down upon them by the big game company.

According to reports, Activision has shut down Luxoflux and Underground Development completely. Underground Development was responsible for Guitar Hero: Van Halen and BMX XXX.

In addition to those closings, Red Octane has reportedly lost 30-40 of its employees, leaving only those who had developed the guitar controller hardware. They now report directly to Activision.

It is unsure whether or not CEO of Guitar Hero Dan Rosenweig's quitting a few weeks back has anything to do with this. But this sure has something to do with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick stating that the company will be cutting back on its music and rythm-based games...

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Players report Bioshock 2 freezing in multiplayer

Players from around the internet are reporting that Bioshock 2 is freezing on them when trying to play multiplayer sessions of the game. They are reporting it as a constantly reocurring issue that has led some owners of the Xbox 360 version of the game to stop playing out of fear of it crashing the console.

The most common instances appear to occur in mid-session, but other reports are claiming freezes during post-game recaps and within players' apartment hubs. Some of the freezing will even 'cause Xbox 360 consoles to show the three red lights associated with the Red Ring of Death, but no reports of this leading to a bricked or crashed console have surfaced yet.

Most of these reports come from owners of the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game. 2K has yet to respond to the reports with an o...

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Ubisoft Q3 sales drop from last year

Despite the massive success from third-quarter hit Assassin's Creed II, Ubisoft has reported today that its sales as a whole for the quarter have decreased from 2008.

The three-month period that ended on December 31 decreased 2.7 percent year-to-year from $678.9 million in 2008 to $678.8 million.

In the bigger picture, the tiny Q3 drop did not help Ubisoft's sales for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The company's sales have dropped 22.5 percent with $906.6 million through the first three quarters. This is down from the $1.17 billion Ubisoft made to this point for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

"In line with the January 13 announcement, Ubisoft continues to refocus its high-end games strategy by concentrating on more regular releases for its major franchises," said the publisher/developer in a statemen...

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Ubisoft's big reveal is Ghost Recon: Future Soldie...

Ubisoft has just announced that the big news to be revealed this week is the confirmation of the trademarked title Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. So far, not too much is known about the title, except that Xbox 360 owners who purchase Splinter Cell: Conviction will get to participate in the beta during the summer, and the release will be during the holidays in 2010. Below is the press release according to MondoXbox:

"UBISOFT® EXPANDS TOM CLANCY PORTFOLIO WITH TOM CLANCYTM'S GHOST RECON: FUTURE SOLDIER

Exclusive Multiplayer Beta Available This Summer

LONDON - February 9, 2010 - Today Ubisoft announced that Tom ClancyTM's Ghost Recon: Future SoldierTM is in development at Ubisoft's Paris studio and is scheduled to be released worldwide Holiday 2010.

Created by the award-winning team behind Tom Clan...

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This week's releases: 2/8 - 2/14

Prepare for another shocking plunge into Rapture. Bioshock 2 is the big headliner for releases this week and comes with many expectations. The highly anticipated first-person shooter that mixes in action/adventure and horror has huge shoes to fill thanks to its predecessor. Also fighting its way into retailers this week will be the eagerly awaited hack-n-slash Dante's Inferno, which will have the challenge of standing on its own as the middle-child between earlier released Bayonetta and fast-approaching God of War III.

Here's the full list of this week's releases.

DS:Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning ThiefScene It? TwilightWorld Cup of Pool

PC:BioShock 2Stargate: Resistance

PlayStation 3:BioShock 2Dante's InfernoStar Ocean: The Last Hope International

PSP:No New Releases

Xbox 360:BioS...

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LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars announced

TT Games and LucasArts are at it again and are revisiting the LEGO Star Wars Universe. The two companies announced today that they will release LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, based on the wildly popular CGI-animated TV show of the same name. The game will be based on the first two season of the show and feature characters from both the show and the movies. The game will also add new features to the current LEGO formula, including head to head combat, an upgraded level creator, allowing the creation of battlefield and bases. New character classes will have unique abilities which include "squad command, Lightsaber slicing, Lightsaber jumping, and Grapple Tie-Ups."

LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars will release in Autumn 2010 on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, NDS, and PSP.

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Game Informer: First Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Re...

The first review is in for Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and it does not disappoint.

Through Metacritic, the score from Game Informer Magazine is a solid 95/100 with this short blurb already released:

"Not content to settle for second place, DICE throws down the gauntlet with Bad Company 2, delivering its best multiplayer package since Battlefield 2 and a remarkably improved single-player campaign that openly mocks its rival while cribbing from them at the same time."

More to come in the next weeks.

[Metacritic]

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Bioshock 2 Merchandise Now Available

According to 2K's Bioshock enthusiast website, Cult of Rapture, Bioshock 2 merchandise is now on sale, including artwork prints and the always classic syringe pen. Here's the details for each item from the website:

"We have a limited run of each artwork from the BioShock 2 Artist Series for sale on the 2K Store for $19.99. Each print is on 100 pound glossy cover stock and measures approximately 14"x12"."

"In addition to the prints, we have an exclusive, limited edition Sinclair Solutions Syringe Pen for preorder for $34.99. The metal pen is fitted with refillable rollerball ink, is engraved with the Sinclair Solutions logo, and comes in a BioShock 2 gift box. These pens will be shipping out at the end of February, but supplies are limited, so if you want a pen straight out of Rapture, snag i...

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New Dante's Inferno "Descent" Trailer

This new trailer was just released for Dante's Inferno, the current video game marketing juggernaut that will also have a different trailer premiere during the Super Bowl this Sunday.

Get pumped, to go to hell.

[VG247]

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