Gamernode: Latest Game and Console News

Daily Q: Do you play movie games?

It is Friday, May 2nd and that means it's the first summer movie blockbuster weekend. And where there are summer movie blockbusters, there are movie tie-in games. It is on this day that the Iron Man movie game is released, so I thought that should be the subject of our Daily Q.

Do you play movie games? Why?

As a rule I stay away. I haven't played a direct movie tie-in game since the Toy Story 2 game on the PS1, but people seem to buy these things by the truckload. The Cars game was the best selling game of 2006. Yeah, it was on a whopping 12 platforms but that's still pretty impressive.

The problem we have as gamers is picking the crappy titles and staying as far away as possible. The most dangerous titles are the movie tie-ins. Ever since I played Super Star Wars on the SNES I have be...

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Nintendo prez says the Wii needs more "surprises"

It's no news that critics of Nintendo's Wii say that the game console has been mired in shovelware of late and that the Wii is a gigantic giant ready to take a hard fall. But among those voices comes one from Nintendo's own ranks-none other then the president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata.

First off, he related that he wasn't very concerned with other game companies copying the Wiimote motion sensing concept but was more concerned with bringing in new ideas to the Wii consumer base.

"We are not concerned about what other companies may do but rather more concerned with presenting them with new ideas to our customers based on the prospect that our existing customers will surely get tired of the plays enabled by Wii Remote if we do not try to improve the experience. In other words, what matters to ...

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EA-Land shutting down in August

EA-Land was initially known as The Sims Online and launched in 2002. Earlier this year, the game was renamed and was given new servers and new features.

Electronic Arts recently announced that all EA-Land servers will be shut down and users will no longer be able to access the game.

The reason may have to do with the fact that the game didn't reach the same amount of success as other Sims titles did. And that may have to do with, as one commenter put it, the fact that players don't have much to do without paying the $15 subscription fee.

EA Land apparently didn't show enough promise to further the venture. The Sims franchise has been milked for all it is worth and the closing of EA Land may be the writing on the wall that the venerable Sims may be reaching a saturation point, even with fans ...

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Infogrames and Atari merge

After all the attention of Electronic Arts trying to move in to take over Take-Two for the nice tidy amount of $2 billion, the news of Infogrames merging with Atari for the paltry sum of $11 million seems like chump change.

As for the Infogrames/Atari merger, the tying of the knot will occur during the third quarter of this year.

David Garner, CEO of Infogrames said:

"Bringing Atari US and Infogrames businesses together will enable us to create a simplified global structure for our business as we seek to re-build a well-managed, cohesive and financially disciplined company. This is a key strategic event for Infogrames that will benefit all of our shareholders. I believe that this transaction will generate significant benefits for the Group."

Both Infogrames and Atari have had a rough time in...

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Pro Tip: Mario Kart Wii

It has been heralded as the Pro Tip of the century. After being hampered with problems, frustration and even the threat of Mario Kart retirement I bring you this weeks Pro Tip.

I love Mario Kart. I have loved every version of Mario Kart since its debut on the Super Nintendo. While most racing games that focus on weapons and not actual racing don't hold my attention, the cartoony nature and classic weapons kept me coming back.

So when Mario Kart was announced for the Wii I was instantly excited. I even bought into the free wheel that was going to be included in the box. How great would it be to use an actual racing wheel with Mario Kart while tossing red shells and sliding around turns?! I'll tell you. Not great at all.

Pro Tip: Use the Wiimote and nunchuk

Mario Kart was released on Sunda...

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Valkyria Chronicles battle gameplay

For those of you who haven't heard of it, Valkyria Chronicles is an action-oriented RPG from the same people over at Sega who brought us Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast. This PS3 game looks like a 3D moving watercolor painting, and features a unique combat system that combines an overhead strategy view with real-time action.

Valkyria Chronicles has already been released in Japan, and will be hitting the US during Q3 of this year. It looks phenomenal. Check it out:

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Daily Q: What is your favorite game?

Welcome to the first ever Daily Q. This is going to be a new daily feature where we ask you, the readers, what you think about games, characters, genres, perephrials, consoles, achievements, colors, shapes and all sorts of things, because honestly, it's you guys who are more important than we are.

Since we are opening this dialogue I thought we should start at the very beginning. It's like asking a new friend "what's your favorite color," when you're ten.

What is your favorite game of all time?

For those who follow me, I actually answered that last week. For those who don't, or who are new to GamerNode (welcome), my favorite game of all time is Zombies Ate My Neighbors. It's a SNES game with a lot of heart, a lot of weapons, and a lot of crazy monsters. I love the top down free-roaming ...

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It's alive! Duke Nukem Forever demo exists

There are certain things in the world that seem to defy explanation as to their real existence. The Loch Ness monster, UFOs, the Yeti, and Bigfoot come to mind. Sure, we've seen photos and videos of them, but the question still exists as to whether they are factual or not.

Among this glorious list of speculative reality lies another...the sporadic sightings of none other than Duke Nukem Forever-the long promised game sequel that gamers have been waiting for over a decade.

Now, as if the Roswell incident has visited us again, there is direct evidence that DNF is not only real; there are witnesses who have seen actual gameplay demos. After this revelation, it seems that many of us found it easier to believe in the existence of Nessy rather than the existence of DNF.

Shacknews was privy to an ac...

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Rockstar feels "terrible" about GTA IV issues

The problems with GTA IV crashing and freezing on PS3s and Xbox 360s are apparently more than just a fable. Internet gaming sites are reporting the instability of the game and Rockstar has heard the cries of the citizens on the streets of Liberty City and elsewhere.

What did Rockstar say? A customer support rep said, "I feel terrible about this." Or for you Charles Barkley fans, Rockstar feels "turrible."

Not exactly a great consolation to those who have hit the wall while playing GTA IV.

The issues occur when certain PS3s and Xbox 360s freeze during the opening scenes of the game or while exiting multiplayer mode. The player then finds that the game prevents any further advancement in gameplay or locks out all game modes altogether. The condition, according to reports, affects some consoles...

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Quick fix for "problems" regarding GTA IV

What do you do when the most anticipated game of the year has problems? I guess nothing. Rockstar has made no statement concerning the claims that Grand Theft Auto 4 causes freezing problems on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles.

This is the second time in as many months that Rockstar has released a game with these problems. I kind of wonder what goes on during testing. Are there even consoles at Rockstar? Do they play more than 5 minutes? Or do they only have one of each system and believe if its ok on one it should work on all, even though both Sony and Microsoft have gone through numerous hardware variations already?

I experienced freezing problems on my Xbox about a year ago. It got bad enough that I had to send it to Microsoft and I received another console. I did learn a l...

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Prince of Persia (not Prodigy) due in 2008

Ubisoft has announced that the next Prince of Persia game will be hitting the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in time for this year's holiday season. It will not be entitled Prince of Persia Prodigy, as trademark information led GN to speculate last week, but will simply be called Prince of Persia (again).

The game is in development at Ubisoft Montreal, which is the same team that brought us the Sands of Time trilogy and Assassin's Creed. For this new game, they are working on a new "illustrative art style," and will be "opening a new chapter in the Prince of Persia universe." Prince of Persia, according to Ubisoft, is "poised to rejuvenate the action-adventure genre."

As long as this game is recognizably Prince of Persia, then I think gamers will be happy. It's definitely time for some ...

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Crytek thinking of developing console games?

Adding to the ongoing mess that is the debate of the "decline" of PC gaming are some comments from Crytek president Cevat Yerli. Crytek is well-known for its two PC-only FPS: Far Cry (2004) and Crysis (2007), along with pushing PC hardware to its limits.

When asked about the current state of the PC gaming industry, Yerli made some comments that may irk the PC gaming crowd, especially with a prominent stance of saying console shooters trail behind PC shooters -- assuming that Crytek remains a FPS developer.

"...We are suffering currently from the huge piracy that is encompassing Crysis. We seem to lead the charts in piracy by a large margin, a chart leading that is not desirable. I believe that's the core problem of PC Gaming, piracy. To the degree PC Gamers that pirate games inherently des...

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Hefty Team Fortress 2 update hits PC

It's a week late but we're messing with Valve time, so this is actually pretty good. With that said, a major content update for Team Fortress 2 was released today adding a new map and gameplay mode type called Goldrush, a new unique item/weapon loadout system (debuting with new Medic equipment) and 36 new achievements for the Medic class.

In addition, this coming weekend from May 2-4 will be a Team Fortress 2 Free Weekend. It'll promptly begin on Friday at noon PDT so make sure to nab Steam early and enjoy the new content.

After I nabbed the update, many of the servers were filled with Medics trying to quickly grab achievements so I'll probably take it easy when earning the new achievements (after all, I am quite a Medic buff). Nonetheless, I immediately earned Intern (Accumulate 7000 heal p...

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Co-founder William "Bing" Gordon departs EA

How does the old saying go, "out with the old, in with the new?" Electronic Arts co-founder and chief creative officer William "Bing" Gordon announced that he'll be leaving the company in June to join venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

According to Gordon, here's why he's leaving the company, "Being on campus with young people in videogame classes; seeing what they're interested in; seeing what's going on with the Internet turning into new kinds of platforms, from iPhone to Facebook and Amazon Web Services--I've gotten fired up about an all-new ride."

With Gordon's departure, all the original founders of EA have left. Some may view this as a new resurgence for the company. Former EA president and COO John Riccitiello re-joined the company in 2007, along with former Micros...

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Nintendo says that the DS has reached its peak

As it turns out, Nintendo is apparently a pretty modest company when it comes to what they are selling. Statements have recently come out from Nintendo themselves that state that the DS has reached its peak; gravity will now take over and pull it down the mountain of money.

Nintendo states that the DS has been an astounding success. Indeed, it will still continue to be a success in the future. However, according to Nintendo, this popularity is the DS's downfall. Over time, anyone who has wanted a DS has bought one. It's a bit like selling a huge tray of brownies in a room filled with ten people. After a while, everyone has had their share, and you can't really sell anymore.

Even though 9.5 million more DS's were sold in the US and Europe in FY07-08 than FY06-07, this decline, Nintendo ...

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Man stabbed over GTAIV. Welcome to the real world

Uh oh guys, better be careful when picking up your copy of GTAIV. A man was stabbed outside of a Gamestation store in Croydon, England during last night's midnight release of GTAIV.

Police said the victim was walking past the queue when suddenly he was stabbed several times by a hooded man waiting in line for the much-anticipated game. The victim survived after treatment in a hospital and has since been allowed to go home.

I feel for the young man. How would you feel if you were walking home minding your own business when suddenly you're assailed and find many bloody wounds in your body? Next thing you know, surgeons are cutting open your chest and operating on you. Finally you get home and find out your wife didn't record that TV show you would've seen if not for that unlucky occurence in...

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Sony's attempt to remove portability from the PSP

Great Scott! Another peripheral for the PSP that completely ignores what the last P stands for. It's portable for those playing the home game. In Japan, the land of the rising amounts of tecno-stuff, Sony has released a special kind of cradle for the PSP.

It's the kind of cradle you can set on your desk so you can watch movies. No longer will you be hampered with holding the PSP while you watch that free UMD of Family Guy you got with your Daxter bundle, or Lords of Dogtown if you can even remember those dark times.

This cradle/docking station does more than just hold up your PSP, it also comes with a remote, allowing you to control the Cross Media Bar from a great distance. How great? Well, the screen on the PSP is only 3.5 inches, so really the remote doesn't even have to work at fart...

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Gamer claims GTA IV installation crashes PS3/360

According to an early report from psnathome.com, one gamer who bought his edition of GTA IV found that there were installation problems with the game. He claims that his game froze while trying to install it and has raised questions on whether the released game is stable or not.

Other forum members report no problems with the game although "MattG" says that he has heard of similar problems occurring on the Xbox 360 as well. He has resorted to contacting GameStop, where he purchased his game, and will be bringing his copy back for an exchange.

If the report is true, it is possible that it may be faulty media instead of a problem with the hardware. We'll keep you informed. The post by MattG is shown as it appeared on psnathome.com.

"Alright, so I got home from the midnight release with my c...

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Peter Jackson team takes control of Halo

Revealed by a number of job openings in Microsoft Game Studios, Bungie will no longer create further Halo titles. Don't cry just yet! MGS has created a new division to create future Halo games, with Bungie watching over like some divine entity.

So, who is directing the first game produced by this development team? Why, Peter Jackson, of course! Not pleased with the Halo movie being shelved indefinitely, Jackson has taken charge of the next game, and is hard at work designing the future installment of the Halo franchise by working with Microsoft and Bungie.

This raises plenty of questions, namely "What game is being produced?" An answer to this may have been given as well. With speculation that the game would be the mysterious and elusive Jackson game announced in '06, dubbed "Chronicl...

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Grand Theft Auto IV released today!

Yes, the magical day has come at last and Rockstar Game's Grand Theft Auto IV has been released to the masses.

While a few people may have gotten the game early thanks to the usual pre-order shipping mix-ups, the majority of gamers will be cracking open their game cases today, ready to experience the wonderful world that is Liberty City.

Well, what are you waiting for? Why are you still reading this? You should be playing GTA IV!

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