GamerNode: Latest PlayStation 2 News

Founder of Take Two Resigns

Take Two Interactive founder Ryan Brant has announced his resignation from the beleaguered game studio.

Brant has been on disability leave for a back injury since June. Brant,s company has been under a firestorm of bad publicity since the publication of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which included sexually explicit scenes hidden in the game. Take Two has maintained that the mini-games were never meant for public viewing, although the material was in the game. The incident has elicited a huge amount of negative publicity for the gaming industry, as well.

Take Two Interactive was also being investigated by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) over charges regarding business account abnormalities, stock price interference and inflating revenue figures. Take Two was fined $7.5 million...

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Analysts Predict Strong PS2, 360 Sales During Wii ...

The gaming world is still getting ready for the final releases of the last two next gen game consoles to hit the market-Sony,s PS3 and Nintendo,s Wii. However, analysts are expecting the two machines to not only be very popular during their initial launches, but will be extremely scarce as well. And the rarity of these consoles will have an interesting effect on sales; not for the PS3 and Wii, but for other game consoles. Larry Haverty, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Global Multimedia Trust, painted a rather bleak picture of the availability of PS3 machines during launch day. He told Reuters, "This is going to be the mother of all shortages."

Predictions of available Wii machines are only slightly less bleak.But in despite the bad news for would-be early adopters of the Wii and PS3, there ...

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Final Fantasy XII: Pirate's Edition

According to various reports, the English version of Final Fantasy XII has been leaked onto the internet in ISO form, and is being spread around by torrent sites. Comments on a Digg story seem to confirm that this leak is authentic, and this is indeed a leaked version of a game that wasn't slated to come out until the end of October.

GamerNode does not condone piracy in any way, shape or form, and we imagine that both Square-Enix and Sony are going to be none too happy about the news. The initial torrent seems to have been removed, but thanks to the very nature of torrents, it will be difficult to get rid of the leak altogether. Regardless of the fact that it isn't a simple, mainstream process to play the game (given that this is a PS2 title), leaks have caused problems in the past. Half-Li...

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THQ Gets Smacked Down In Copyright Suit

Game publisher THQ has found itself taken to the mat with a lawsuit filed against them by songwriter Michael Tumbarello. The suit alleges that THQ used one of Tumbarello,s songs, "King of the Mat," in SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2006 without his consent. According to the lawsuit details, the snubbed songwriter had alerted THQ to their illegal use of his work in January of 2006, and asked the game publisher to stop the distribution of the game. THQ ignored his requests and continued to sell the game without compensating Tumbarello for the use of his song. He is suing for $3 million for copyright infringement, and no less than $3 million for each violation of misappropriation of property.

No word has come from THQ regarding the charges leveled against them or what actions they will take regarding the ...

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RedOctane Hot Over Copycat Guitar Controllers

RedOctane, the developers of the very popular game, Guitar Hero, is fired up over what it sees as blatant copyright infringement of its guitar controller. The suit, filed against The Ant Commandos, a California based company, alleges that the firm is guilty of trademark infringement, copyright infringement, false advertising, unjust enrichment, and deceptive trade practices among other charges. The controversy surrounds The Ant Commandos producing a series of guitar game controllers, wired and wireless, for the PlayStation 2. The lawsuit says, "Specifically, Defendants have copied the packaging of Plaintiffs' products and have used Plaintiffs' trademarks and copyrighted material in its packaging and advertising of its own products in an effort to cause confusion among consumers." RedOctane...

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Guitar Hero Going Multi-Platform

Activision has confirmed that its extremely successful Guitar Hero franchise will be coming to multiple formats in 2007. At present, Guitar Hero is only available for the PlayStation 2.CEO and chairman of Activision Robert Kotick revealed the news today at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XV Conference. Kotick stated that Guitar Hero, "was a great IP that was really in need of global distribution and the operating efficiencies that we could bring to what was a relatively small company. The long-term opportunities here include all sorts of product extensions--music downloads that are very high-margin opportunities--and we'll start with the launch of Guitar Hero 2 for the PlayStation 2 this fall. And you can expect next calendar year launches of Guitar Hero on every significant new format." Ko...

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Reservoir Dogs to be Unleashed October 24

Eidos Interactive announced October 24 as the release date for the upcoming Reservoir Dogs for the PS2, PC and the Xbox. The game follows the 1992 film where players can experience all five characters who carry out a diamond heist.  Included with the game will be the full and original soundtrack from the film. Kevin Gill, U.S. Marketing Manager for Eidos, exclaimed confidence the game will carry on the film's legacy, "Eidos is proud to bring one of the most esteemed and influential films of all time to the video game consoles and PC. Gaming and movie fans alike will have the unprecedented opportunity to play through the events of the movie as well as experiencing parts of the movie that happened off screen but are essential to the main plot." "Movie-based video games centered on compelling...

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Writer for Scarface Slams Industry for Making Bad ...

The game Scarface: The World Is Yours is based upon the cult classic film Scarface, starring Al Pacino. Moviegoers will remember the grittiness of the film and characters, not to mention the over-the-top shootout between Tony Montana and the rival drug gang. Many gamers are hoping the game will do justice to the film. Among the voices of hopeful is David McKenna, the scriptwriter for the game. However, McKenna,s experience with scripting the video game not only gave him an education in the process of production, but also opened his eyes to the fact that many games that are based upon movies are bad. When talking with Reuters, McKenna stated, "When you think about Jaws and The Godfather, although they were great movies, I don't see them in the same vein as something like what they're doing ...

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PS2 Prices to Drop Again In Japan

The venerable PlayStation 2 is headed for a major price drop in Japan, starting on September 15. The PS2, which now retails for ¥19,800, ($171 USD) will drop to ¥16,000 ($138 USD). The PS2 is sold as an "open priced" item in Japan--products of this type are sold at prices determined by the retailers. The price reduction comes just a few months before Sony,s planned launch of the PS3. Earlier this month, Sony also reduced the price of its PS2 in the UK and Europe. No word has come from Sony regarding a price drop for the PS2 in North America. At the moment, PS2 sales worldwide have topped 106 million units and has established the PS2 as the leading home game console.

The PS3 has a planned launch date of November 17 in North America and Europe, with Japan,s release on November 11.

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Phantasy Star Universe Has a Meltdown

The epic RPG game Phantasy Star Universe has run into a black hole, as Sega announced that the servers for the online version of the game would be temporally shut down until October. The game, which has single player and online multiplayer modes, launched on August 31. However, players of the game soon found that the online portion was seriously disabled. Gamers were experiencing blank screens, corrupt data and an assortment of technical issues that prevented the game from operating correctly. Sega addressed the issue by shutting down all of its Phantasy Star Universe servers on September 3 to address the problems. Players who used the 30-day free demo of the online segment will have their accounts restarted upon the October re-launch. However, Sega has indicated that previous player data ...

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Bully Renamed for Europe

The controversial Bully is slated for release this December, but the European edition of the game has been renamed for distribution. The new title will be Canis Canem Edit--in Latin, Dog Eat Dog. The name change was not confirmed as exclusive to Europe, and it is not currently known whether the title will also be changed before in release outside Europe. Bully has generated a host of protests and outrage regarding its content, as many concerned special interest groups are outraged at the apparent storyline, which revolves around schoolyard bullying. Concerns over the game sanctioning and approving such behavior has had parents and activists screaming for censorship of the game.

Early screenshots indicated that a player assumed the role of a bully harassing and intimidating fellow students....

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Protesters Descend On Take Two Offices Over Bully

New protests are brewing in reaction to the coming release of Take-Two,s upcoming Bully. A group calling themselves as the Peaceaholics, gathered at the game publisher,s offices in Manhattan and shouted, "This game is bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S." The chanting parodied the song "Hollaback Girl," by singer Gwen Stefani. A large crowd of demonstrators held signs and lobbied against the game. As of now, while the unrated title is most likely destined for a classification of "M," the game has been pre-sold on many websites and stores without an official rating from the ESRB. Bully, has a storyline in which a student at Bullworth academy is bullied mercilessly by classmates. He later takes revenge on them by subjecting them to violent acts and mischief. One protester complained, "If you're coming wh...

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Scarface Blowing Up Stores on October 8

Consumption of cocaine and wielding large automatic weapons unite, as Scarface: The World Is Yours now has a release date of October 8. Based on the classic 1983 film starring Al Pacino, the game will be available for the Xbox, PS2 and the PC. Playing as Tony Montana, players will be engulfed into the seedy 1980's, in a universe in which Tony survives the film's explosive finale. Featuring Hollywood voice talent including Vida Guerra and Ricky Gervais, and a script written by writer David McKenna (American History X), Scarface: The World Is Yours will be providing all the F-bombs and explosions you need. Along with the date announcement, collector's editions of the game will be available for both the PS2 and the PC. The collector's edition will include a bonus DVD, a full map of the in-gam...

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Sony Europe Announces PS2 Price Drop

PS2 slimline game consoles are soon going to cost less. SCEE announced that the present price of PS2s in Europe, (approximately $195 US), will drop about 25 USD. According to SCEE, the price reductions are due to more efficient methods of hardware manufacturing in addition to total worldwide sales, which have driven the prices of PS2 components down. David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe said, "With this attractive new price point and a vast portfolio of over 2,200 software titles including social gaming blockbusters such as EyeToy, SingStar and Buzz!, we believe there has never been a better time to join the community of PlayStation 2 users. At this new price point of €129, the market leading PlayStation 2 should remain the computer entertainment system of cho...

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The PS2 Goes Pink!

There,s an old saying that beauty is only skin-deep. If this is the case, and we mean 'case, literally, the slimline version of the PS2 is getting an interesting makeover. Sony Entertainment Europe announced the first every special slimline edition in a new color-pink. Pink case, pink controllers and pink memory cards, too. The news was released at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany. Everybody,s question is, "Why?" To this, SCEE answered,  "...the decision to produce a pink console reflects the growing and diverse demographic that PlayStation 2 has developed." The original version of the PS2 was also shipped under the various colors of the rainbow when it was first launched. The colors differed according to the territorial regions the PS2 was manufactured for-gold, light yellow, silve...

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Jack Thompson Bullies Bully

Jack Thompson, pain in the you-know-where for the game industry, has asked for something that some of us at GN would like to have as well-an advance copy of Bully. And of all things, he is asking his hated archenemy, Take Two, for the freebie. Bully has received a great amount of press for its storyline and gameplay. The premise is about a 15-year old who must defend himself from schoolyard tormentors. Anti-violence rights groups have attacked the game, for its portrayal of children beating up on other children. With that said, why would the likes of staunch anti-video game lawyer, Jack Thompson, want with a copy of Bully? It,s not because he,s hot to get bragging rights of playing it before anyone else, but he plans on having the game reviewed by an independent party to determine if the ...

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$100 Million for Red Octane

In May 2006, Activision announced they had purchased Red Octane, makers of the extremely successful Guitar Hero. Financial details of the transaction have not been made public until now.  The SEC states that Activision paid US$99.9 million to acquire Red Octane. However, that may not be all they have to pay.

According to the SEC, former Red Octane shareholders may be entitled to a further $50 million dollars in Activision stock, if "the net income of the business over a certain period of time exceeds certain target levels by certain amounts."

Is the Guitar Hero franchise worth $150 million dollars? With the anticipated November release of Guitar Hero 2, that question will most certainly be answered this holiday season.

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SC: Double Agent Gets a Release Date; Demo Plans

Two weeks ago in their published first quarter financial reports, Ubisoft announced a delay to October for their continuation spy action game Splinter Cell: Double Agent.  Today, courtesy of a post on the game's official forum by Ubisoft's CM, the game now has a release date of October 19 across all platforms. Along with that, demo plans for both the Xbox 360 and PC were announced.  Even though no release date (planned for sometime next month at least) for the demos have been nailed down, 360 owners will get a multiplayer demo while PC folks will get both a single player and multiplayer demo.

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Five More Titles Added to Sony's Greatest Hits Lis...

There will be cause for celebration in the streets again, (ok, maybe just in your room), as Sony has announced another five titles making it into their Sony,s Greatest Hits list. Why the good news? As all cost conscious gamers know, once a Sony title enters GH status, the price drops to a wallet friendly price. If you have been holding out for some bargains, the following five titles should suit the bill: Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, SOCOM 3: US Navy SEALs, Ratchet: Deadlocked, and Jak X: Combat Racing. Collectors and connoisseurs of PS2 games may note that the games are repackaged with new box art and labeled with the designation of "Greatest Hits" at the top of the box. The new batch of GH games will retail for a cool $19.99.

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Naruto PS2 Game Announced

Namco Bandai announced today that Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles will be available this winter in North America for the PlayStation 2 console. Released last year in Japan, the game will give fans of the Naruto anime and manga series a chance to play as the young orphaned ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village through a series of story-driven missions, spanning everything from saving the Hidden Leaf Village to fulfilling Naruto's dream of becoming the Hokage (strongest ninja). "On the heels of the resounding success of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja, fans of the series have been clamoring for new Naruto adventures on the PlayStation 2," said Naruo Uchida, Namco Bandai Games America Inc.'s Senior VP. "With Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles, we will deliver another layer of gameplay depth to the franchise by introd...

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