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  UGO Entertainment Acquires 1UP

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 6:40pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  You may have heard the rumors in the past, but today the announcement we've all been waiting for has officially come: UGO Entertainment and parent Hearst Corporation have acquired 1UP and its associated sites GameVideos.com, MyCheats.com, and GameTab.com. 1UP and its sites now join UGO's network of gaming properties that will reach over 40 million monthly unique visitors. UGO and 1UP representatives commented on the deal:

  "Since we started UGO 11 years ago, we have served the gamer community and built a world-class online publishing platform," said J Moses, CEO of UGO Entertainment. "The acquisition of 1UP, with its authentic voice, tenured editorial personalities and bustling user community, allows us to expand our base of quality content and represents a major step forward in UGO's mission to become the leader in the games space."

  "We are extremely excited to join the UGO team," said Sam Kennedy, editorial director and creator of 1UP. "Relying on UGO's publishing platform will allow us to focus on what we do best -- creating great content and 'owning the conversation' among gamers through our unique, authentic and definitive voice and community."

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  PS3 Had a "Strong Holiday Season," Says Sony

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 6:34pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Not to be bested in the battle of marketing spins by Microsoft, Sony has released figures of their own to spin people's perception of the PS3's success. Sony claims that the year-over-year drop in sales during November was simply an anomaly and that the system has actually seen much better numbers overall.

  There was understandably some concern following the release of the November NPDs when the PS3 was the only system of the three current-gen consoles to sell fewer consoles than in November 2007. But Sony claims this was an unusual set of circumstances that can be traced back to "an abnormally strong month due to a price cut (with) the introduction of the 40GB PS3," referring to that SKU's release on November 2, 2007.

  Sony Computer Entertainment America VP Ian Jackson said (via CNET):

  We've had a solid holiday season and have delivered consistent growth throughout this year. 2008 was a pivotal year for PlayStation with the best software line up in the industry, a dramatic expansion of PlayStation Network including the launches of the video delivery service and the beta of the PlayStation Home.

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  Game Night with Street Fighter 4 Postponed

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 6:30pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  SF4 Game Night Coming Tuesday at 5 p.m. PST on ustream.

  UPDATE: Due to issues beyond our control, we're postponing this week's episode of Game Night. We want to apologize to all our users for the delay.

  1UP's Game Night: Street Fighter 4
  Time: Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 5 p.m. PST
  Location: Watch the embedded video player right here in this story.
  Questions: Ask your question in the Game Night thread on the Street Fighter 4 boards.

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  Leak Seemingly Confirms Forza Motorsport 3

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 5:57pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  Forza Central, a fansite dedicated to Microsoft's and Turn-10's racing series, discovered an interesting bit of info regarding Forza Motorsport 3 late last month. It seems that Kaarbo Design, a company that worked with Turn-10 in the past on menu graphics in the original Forza, accidentally let slip on their website that they're again working with Turn-10 on Forza 3. This also, naturally, seems to have once and for all confirmed the existence of Forza 3.

  All mention of Forza 3 has since been taken down from Kaarbo Design's website, but not before a user on Forza Central's forum took screen captures for proof (via EvilAvatar). As you can see in the picture to the right, it looks like Kaarbo created a number of sample posters for race events that would appear in Forza 3, with a clear "Forza 3" logo in the corners of each poster. Furthermore, Forza 3 was also temporarily included on Kaarbo's website in the list of games they've worked on (you can see that screen capture here.)

  This isn't the first leak Forza 3 has been involved with. Way back in June, Forza 3 was part of the massive series of leaks from marketing and research company Intellisponse. The leak at that time indicated a number of potential features for Forza 3, including the possibility that the game would be released on two discs and would be packed with 100 tracks and 400 cars.

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  Nintendo Dominates Contracting Japanese Videogame Market

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 5:22pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft translated Famitsu's report on the 2008 year end sales data for Japan put together by Enterbrain. Overall the combined market for hardware and software declined a substantial 15 percent from 687.95 billion Yen in 2007 to 582.61 billion Yen on 2008. Hardware bore the brunt of the loss, falling some 23 percent from 327.41 billion Yen to 250.5 billion Yen spent, and in part this can be attributed to price reductions on the consoles. In contrast, software sales only slipped about 8 percent compared to 2007, falling from 360.54 billion Yen to 332.12 billion Yen spent.

  The figures also overwhelmingly show that when Japanese gamers do spend on games, that money predominantly winds up going to Nintendo. Its handheld hardware rolled on, racking up combined sales 4,029,804 units of the DS, Lite, and new DSi. Likewise, the Wii topped the home console arena with 2,908,342 sold in 2008. That story repeats in software sales where Nintendo games nabbed four of the top five spots with Pokemon Platinum, Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

  Despite the Nintendo avalanche, Sony managed to land the top selling software of 2008 on its PSP platform, but from a third-party developer. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G took those honors with 2,452,111 sold. Buoyed by its popularity, the PSP hardware also sold well, coming in second in total sales for the year at 3,543,171 sold. Meanwhile PS3 failed to crack a million sold for the year, coming in at 991,303. And Microsoft brought up the rear moving an estimated 317,859 Xbox 360s in Japan for 2008. That only brings its estimated total lifetime sales in Japan up to 866,167, but given its struggles there this could be an indication that with the right software titles Microsoft's console may have some hope of carving out a little market space. Then again, the PS3 still outsold that number in just its 2008 sales.
  

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  Midway Reaches Extension Agreement with Bondholders

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 5:01pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  It's hard to call this good news, considering the circumstances, but it's one step in the right direction for Midway. Business Week reports that the financially troubled publisher has reached an agreement with some of its bondholders to extend the deadline to have their bonds bought back until February 19.

  When Sumner Redstone sold his majority stake in Midway back in December, it triggered a provision that allowed bondholders to have their bonds bought back by Midway in full. It was likely that all bondholders would seek this option, meaning Midway would have to pay out a total of $150 million -- a move that would have bankrupted the publisher. Midway had only 50 days to pay back the money, but this extension gives them a little more time.

  It's not a complete solution, however, as the agreement was only with holders of $75 million senior notes due 2026. Midway said it's also working on a similar agreement with holders of senior notes due 2025, but evidently such an agreement hasn't been reached yet.

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  Xbox 360 Records its Biggest Year Ever in 2008

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 4:30pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Following up on yesterday's announcement that the Xbox 360 had its best ever Christmas performance in Europe, Microsoft today announced that 2008 has turned out to be the biggest year for the console since its launch. With Xbox Live expanding to 17 million "active members" (what deems someone an "active member" is unbeknownst to us) and 28 million consoles sold worldwide, Microsoft claims that the 360 now has more than an 8 million unit lead over the PlayStation 3. They also report that online consumer spending increased by 84% -- but that could very easily be attributed to the increase in Xbox 360 owners and the expanding library of content.

  "For Xbox, 2008 will be remembered around the world as a pivotal growth year at retail and online -- even in the face of tough economic conditions," said Microsoft senior VP Don Mattrick. "Worldwide, a record number of players flocked to our broadest games and entertainment lineup ever, while the New Xbox Experience thrilled millions of fans by making our console even more engaging. And yet, we've only provided a glimpse into the new world of interactive entertainment that we're imagining. The best of Xbox 360 is yet to come."

  Whether that's hyperbole or if Microsoft really does have some aces up their sleeves, we don't know at this point. With Gears of War 2 having just released along with the New Xbox Experience, we've seen a lot of what Microsoft has to offer -- at least from a first-party perspective. If you're not a Halo fan, there doesn't seem to be much on the horizon, but Microsoft could quite easily be waiting for the right moment to spring new announcements on us.
  

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  First Details on Ubisoft's I Am Alive Unearthed

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 1:55pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  I Am Alive 'E3 2008' trailer
  Back when we first got word of I Am Alive, a new disaster game from Ubisoft, the popular gossip was that the title would feature Jade Raymond (of Assassin's Creed fame) as producer. Since then, Ubisoft hasn't provided much info aside from the debut trailer above, but we've finally got new details courtesy of the cover story from the latest issue of GamesTM. And as it turns out, Raymond isn't as involved with the title as the rumor mill led us to believe.

  In the article, developer Darkworks (best known for last gen's so-so survival horror game Cold Fear) reveals that Jade Raymond isn't working on I Am Alive at all, and the team actually has no idea how that rumor got started. In Raymond's rumored place stands senior producer Alexis Goddard, who seems most enthusiastic about how the project draws on other sources:

  "Disaster has been a recurring theme for entertainment since the beginning of time. We're not really reinventing that here. We're putting it together for the first time in a totally new package. Most of what we're doing will remind you of tidbits that you've seen or heard here and there -- Robert Neville in I Am Legend gradually starts to lose his humanity and sanity in the ruins of New York. In The Day After Tomorrow and War of the Worlds you see Western cities torn apart by unrelenting forces."

  Later in the article, Goddard also brings up comparisons to Armageddon, Titanic, Cloverfield, Jericho, and Lost. But with such a wide variety of influences from other mediums, what is the actual gameplay like? Goddard describes it as being built "around the concept of social chaos." After a mysterious earthquake destroys Chicago, main character Adam Collins must find his girlfriend and seek out enough survivors to get the attention of a mysteriously quiet government task force.

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  Hasbro Developing Several Board Games, XBLA Channel

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 12:55pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  Hasbro announced today that it is working with Electronic Arts to develop several new board games for various platforms, along with a branded Hasbro game channel for Xbox Live Arcade. The popular board game Scrabble will come first, due out for the DS and PSP this March. The handheld games will include three modes (Classic, Speed, and Scrabble Slam), six difficulty settings, and a Training mode for less experienced wordsmiths. Hasbro and EA have already suggested the price will probably stand at $29.99.

  Xbox Live Arcade is getting its own line-up of board games from the company, including Scrabble, Boggle, Battleship, Yahtzee, Connect Four, Sorry!, and Sorry! Sliders coming in spring. In addition, Xbox Live Arcade will be receiving its own "Hasbro Family Game Night channel" to bring the collection together in one place, with new games updated in the space.

  The full line-up will be shown off this weekend at the Consumer Electronics Show. Since Electronic Arts acquired the Hasbro license last year, they've been capitalizing on popular classic board games. It's apparently paid off, since we've seen big sales numbers for the casual titles. It makes sense to keep pressing the advantage of nostalgic fun, and the focus on Xbox Live Arcade may help Microsoft finally catch some more casual consumers.
  

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  Wii Sports Now Bestselling Game Of All Time

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 11:54am EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Well that sure didn't take long. A little over two years since its release with the Nintendo Wii, Wii Sports has surpassed Super Mario Brothers as the bestselling game of all time.

  VGChartz crowned Wii Sports the new champion after determining that Wii Sports had sold more than 40 million units, including the bundled version sold with the Wii in all markets outside of Japan and Korea.

  For those wondering how a bundled game could be the bestselling game ever, VGChartz specifically addressed concerns with three points. Their first was that Wii Sports is integral to the Wii's success, that it has a 45 percent attach rate to Japanese Wiis, and that bundle sales of all other games are counted.

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  Wii Sports Now Best-selling Game of All Time

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 11:54am EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Well that sure didn't take long. A little over two years since its release with the Nintendo Wii, Wii Sports has surpassed Super Mario Brothers as the bestselling game of all time.

  VGChartz crowned Wii Sports the new champion after determining that Wii Sports had sold more than 40 million units, including the bundled version sold with the Wii in all markets outside of Japan and Korea.

  For those wondering how a bundled game could be the bestselling game ever, VGChartz specifically addressed concerns with three points. Their first was that Wii Sports is integral to the Wii's success, that it has a 45 percent attach rate to Japanese Wiis, and that bundle sales of all other games are counted.

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  Japanese Limited Edition Yakuza 3, Star Ocean: The Last Hope Consoles Revealed

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 11:26am EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Continuing the recent Japanese trend of releasing a special edition console for every single game of note, Sony and Microsoft have today announced limited bundles for upcoming third party titles Yakuza 3 and Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

  Yakuza 3's, dropping on February 26, sports a slick silver rendition of protagonist Kazuma Kiryu's dragon tattoo printed on a Ceramic White console, and will retail for 45,980 yen ($487) -- a 1,980 yen savings over buying the game and console separately.

  Fans of Star Ocean will have to make do with nothing more than a faceplate and limited edition music CD upon The Last Hope's February 19 release, but will receive a respectable discount in return -- their Xbox 360 Arcade bundle will cost a scant 24,800 yen ($263), 3,900 yen below buying separately.

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  ReSolve Willing To Split Free Radical's Assets

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 11:26am EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Times have been tough for Free Radical, with their finances in dire straits and thus far no takers in a potential sale. Administrator ReSolve Partners remains hopeful though, and are willing to take additional steps.

  ReSolve's Cameron Gunn told gamesindustry.biz that at this stage "interest is strong," but if they have to, they are willing to split up Free Radical's assets and sell them separately. Free Radical's IPs include TimeSplitters and Haze.

  Gunn explained, "Over the course of the next ten days we should get a clear idea of the level of interest, what companies are interested in. And we're very hopeful at this stage that we will sell the business and assets as a going concern in one lump sum."

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  PETA Gives Fable 2 An Award

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 10:59am EST

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  We know that PETA isn't such a big fan of Cooking Mama, but what about games they do like? Well, they sure seem to like Fable 2, but not for the reasons that you might expect.

  Kotaku is reporting that PETA gave Fable 2 "Most Animal-Friendly Video Game" at its annual Proggy Award. At this point, you're probably nodding and saying, "Yep, that dog was great, wasn't it?" But that's not why it got the award.

  According to PETA, "Fable 2 is a vegetarian's dream come true. Why? In this virtual fight between good and evil, characters powered by tofu are just as powerful as their meat-eating counterparts?and are more fit and attractive to boot."

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  Gears of War 2 Patch Likely Coming This Month

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 10:47am EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Epic Games' vice president Mark Rein has made a forum post regarding the upcoming patch for Gears of War 2. Rein indicates that though the patch doesn't have an official release date, it's targeted for January. The goal of the new patch is to fix several exploits, and a few mentioned by name are invisible shields, using melee attacks through walls, infinite Lancer ammo, and equipping a shield with a two-handed weapon.

  Rein also promises tweaks to the online play, like implementing harsher penalties for quitting a match early, and more spawn protection for grenades and chainsaws. The shotgun is being adjusted to be a more reliable weapon in matches marred with lag. The patch will also add an achievement progress bar for "War Journal," and the progress notices will come up more often. This is said to be only a small look at the patch notes, and a full list should be coming before the fixes are issued.

  This will be the second patch issued to fix multiplayer issues in Gears 2. Though the bugs have been frustrating some users, it hasn't stopped the game from getting a respectable place on the 2008 most played list for Xbox Live. We'll let you know more on this patch as we hear details.
  

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  Early Killzone 2 Demo Exclusive for GameStop Preorders

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 10:34am EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Killzone 2 has gotten a fair amount of positive press, but you probably want to take it for a spin yourself in a demo before committing, right? Well, unless you have a pre-order, you might have to wait a bit.

  PS3fanboy is reporting that GameStop's exclusive pre-order campaign precludes a demo from being released before the game's street date. If you want an early taster, you'll have to pre-order the game from GameStop.

  Luckily, the patient few aren't completely out of luck. Once the game hits the streets, the demo will be available for download from the PlayStation Network. But by then, you can just go and rent it. Ah, decisions.
  

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  PopCap Cofounder Says Casual Gamers Repelled by Hex Grids

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 10:10am EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  For all of those who think that casual gamers are the bane of the hobby, you now have an ultimate weapon. It seems that anything with hexes is guaranteed to frighten away the the segment of the population that considers PopCap games a huge leap into unknown territory.

  Over at Gamasutra, they have an interview with PopCap's chief creative officer and co-founder Jason Kapalka on the issue of hexes, the grids that are standard in many strategy and puzzles games. According to Kapalka, one look at a hex-grid is enough to scare away an inexperienced gamer.

  "Hexes look like, I don't know, I think they give off a vibe of science, of dirty stuff, of war games, and hex paper, something about them just turns people off," he said.

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  EVE Online Sets New Record For Concurrent Users

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 9:39am EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  The Icelandic economy isn't doing so great, but it seems like EVE Online is still doing just fine for itself. They even kicked off the new year by setting a new record for concurrent users.

  Massively is reporting that EVE Online set a new milestone of 45,186 concurrent users, an impressive accomplishment for any game not named World of WarCraft, let alone a five-year old massively multiplayer game.

  Over at CCP, they're breaking out the champagne. So we'll offer them our own cyber-toast, and wish them the best of luck in the new year.
  

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  EVE Online Sets New Record For Concurrent Users

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 9:39am EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  The Icelandic economy isn't doing so great, but it seems like EVE Online is still doing just fine for itself. They even kicked off the new year by setting a new record for concurrent users.

  Massively is reporting that EVE Online set a new milestone of 45,186 concurrent users, an impressive accomplishment for any game not named World of WarCraft, let alone a five-year old massively multiplayer game.

  Over at CCP, they're breaking out the champagne. So we'll offer them our own cyber-toast, and wish them the best of luck in the new year.
  

  Discuss this topic on RGX: [ RGX News & Rumor Mill | RGX In The Spotlight | RGX Gamertag Central ]
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  EVE Online Sets New Record For Concurrent Users

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 9:39am EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  The Icelandic economy isn't doing so great, but it seems like EVE Online is still doing just fine for itself. They even kicked off the new year by setting a new record for concurrent users.

  Massively is reporting that EVE Online set a new milestone of 45,186 concurrent users, an impressive accomplishment for any game not named World of WarCraft, let alone a five-year old massively multiplayer game.

  Over at CCP, they're breaking out the champagne. So we'll offer them our own cyber-toast, and wish them the best of luck in the new year.
  

  Discuss this topic on RGX: [ RGX News & Rumor Mill | RGX In The Spotlight | RGX Gamertag Central ]
• 

  EVE Online Sets New Record For Concurrent Users

  Posted: January 6th, 2009, 9:39am EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  The Icelandic economy isn't doing so great, but it seems like EVE Online is still doing just fine for itself. They even kicked off the new year by setting a new record for concurrent users.

  Massively is reporting that EVE Online set a new milestone of 45,186 concurrent users, an impressive accomplishment for any game not named World of WarCraft, let alone a five-year old massively multiplayer game.

  Over at CCP, they're breaking out the champagne. So we'll offer them our own cyber-toast, and wish them the best of luck in the new year.
  

  Discuss this topic on RGX: [ RGX News & Rumor Mill | RGX In The Spotlight | RGX Gamertag Central ]
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  Baiyon and Dylan Cuthbert of Q-games Share Behind-the-scenes Look at PixelJunk Eden

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 11:14pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  PixelJunk Eden stood out among the games of 2008 for its beguiling combination of artistic endeavor and game mechanic. Its fundamentally simple concept of swinging a cute little character around a space on strands of wire came alive through the interplay with the forms, colors, and sounds of its psychedelic gardens. Kyoto-based DJ/sound producer/artist/graphic designer Baiyon led the creative effort in putting together this multimedia artwork. Whenever I play the game it works some sort of magic that leaves me feeling relaxed. Taken as I've been by that spell, when Q-Games president and executive producer asked if I'd like to come down to Kyoto and talk with him and Baiyon about their experiences in making the game I didn't hesitate for moment. The conversation below happened when we all sat down together in a conference room at their offices a few days after TGS.

  1UP: How did you guys wind up getting connected?
  
  Dylan Cuthbert: At a party, there's a party near here at some friends...it's all interconnected, so, friends of ours who work at a company near here who did the web page for StarFox Command for Nintendo; they work at this company called Eniac. They also do a lot of other stuff. They do a lot of Nintendo's webpages.
  
  Baiyon: Maybe Mother 3 too.
  
  DC: It was a party, and King of Games was there as well, it's like an old network. I went to this party and met Baiyon there. But that wasn't the first time I'd heard of him. The first time I'd heard of him was through my wife whose friend said that there's a friend of hers who wanted to try getting into game design and he's an artist/musician type. So we'd actually looked at his stuff beforehand. And then we went to this party and met.

  1UP: What about game design attracted you [Baiyon]?
  
  B: Something that doesn't translate to movies or music is that the player is the center, the focus point, the main character in the experience.

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  Gaijinworks To Announce Possible New Title In 'A Month Or Two'

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 10:52pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Working Designs is long gone, but their legacy of bringing Japanese classics over to America remains intact. And now they may have a chance to do it again, minus perhaps only a few Bill Clinton jokes.

  Former president Victor Ireland moved on to found Gaijinworks after WD's demise, and now he's resurfaced on NeoGaf to announce that a title will be publicly announced within a "month or two" for release before the summer. No ideas on what they might bring over, but resident Retronaut Jeremy Parish suggested RPG Soma Bringer and classic shooter Thunder Force 6, among others.

  For a more details and analysis, go check out the entry on the Retronauts blog. In the meantime, you may commence rampant speculation.
  

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  GameStop Offers Female-Focused Magazines with Fitness Games

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 8:50pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Are you one of the nearly 700,000 people who bought a copy of Wii Fit in November? Or perhaps you're one of the countless still trying to find it on store shelves after a sold out holiday season? If you fit into either of these camps, you just might be one of the "busy moms who often don?t have time to spare for exercise" that GameStop is targeting with their latest promotion (via a report from Kotaku).

  In a press release boasting over 40 "fitness-oriented titles" on sale right now, GameStop announced that they will be offering free year-long subscriptions to Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, O Magazine, and other magazines for any consumer spending over $34.99 on those titles. Although they did not provide a full list of games included in the deal, obvious titles like Wii Fit and My Fitness Coach were matched with "brain fitness" titles such as Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day and My Japanese Coach.

  GameStop senior vice president of marketing Mike Hogan provided this curious comment:

  "We know that getting in shape is one of the toughest New Year's resolutions to stick with, especially for busy moms who often don't have time to spare for exercise. Today's moms are looking for ways to incorporate exercise into their lifestyle. Active video games are a terrific way to reach your fitness goals, and as an added bonus, they can be enjoyed with your whole family."

  From my end, it seems like GameStop is making some pretty big leaps in assuming that a very specific audience -- busy moms who want to get into shape -- is the primary group buying a growing genre of games. Stuffing "mental fitness" games into that category just makes the whole deal even more suspect. After all, I'm willing to bet that there are more otaku nerds buying My Japanese Coach than family-focused mothers, but maybe that makes me just as jaded as the marketers who devised this campaign.
  

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  Microsoft Suing To Recover Merchandise From Woolsworth

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 8:32pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Former UK retail giant Woolsworth is on its way out of its business, but it still has a whole lots of Xbox 360s and games sitting in its warehouses. And now Microsoft wants it back.

  The Times UK is reporting that Microsoft is preparing a legal again to reclaim millions of pounds of hardware and software stock being held by Woolsworth's distribution arm Entertainment UK. Although the stock has already been paid for, Microsoft has the right to reclaim it under rules that allow them to take it in lieu of debts.

  Woolsworth is currently under administration by Deloitte, which would potentially be able to resell the merchandise on the cheap. In the meantime, the retailer will close the rest of its doors Tuesday. We'll just have to see if Microsoft can reclaim all of those unsold copies of Halo 3 before they're sent to the bargain bin.
  

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  Massive Layoffs Imminent at Microsoft?

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 8:07pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  It looks like Sony isn't the only corporation with a videogaming division that's being hit hard by the global recession. According to a report by The Independent, Microsoft is considering the possibility of cutting at least 10 percent -- or maybe as much as 17 percent -- of its global workforce in an effort to save costs.

  The story points to rumors that recently appeared on Fudzilla, where the scope of the potential cuts were first reported. According to Fudzilla, while some parts of Microsoft -- namely the volume licensing department and the Xbox division -- are doing well, other parts had to cut their expected sales in 2009 by as much as 90 percent. That means there would be far less work for the staff in these departments to do, and would therefore create a large amount of redundancies.

  With about 90,000 Microsoft employees around the world, as many as 15,000 jobs could be threatened. Eliminating 10 percent of its workforce could save Microsoft up to $1.2 billion dollars a year, but it would also be the first mass layoffs in the company's 32-year history.

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• 

  Xbox 360 Achieves Record Christmas Sales in Europe

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 7:50pm EST

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  "2008 saw us grow faster than any of our competitors and we over-achieved in sales during the crucial Christmas selling period," boasted Chris Lewis, regional vice president of Microsoft's Xbox business in Europe, in a report from gamesindustry.biz. Officially, the company claims eight million Xbox 360s now roam the region -- an estimated one million more than Sony's PlayStation 3.

  Lewis claimed the success, which nearly doubles the previous year's, "was only possible through our partnerships with retail and with publishers." He added that these partners contributed to building "a strong ecosystem in the region."

  In the states, year-to-year sales of the 360 may not have grown quite so much. Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter predicts roughly 1.2 to 1.3 million 360s were sold during the month of December, a figure almost equal to the 1.26 million sold the same time last year. For the two months prior, numbers were equally flat. October saw an increase of only 5,000 (1.4%) units sold, while November yielded a slightly more substantial 66,000 (7.9%) unit increase over the previous year. Despite the smaller gains, expect a bit more number-touting and some always-enjoyable PR spin when the December 2008 NPD numbers are officially released later this month.
  

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  Used Game Prices Dropped 23.7% by End of 2008

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 7:05pm EST

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  In yet another indication of the myriad ways the recession is effecting the videogame industry, Video Game Price Charts reports (via Gamasutra) that the average price for a used game saw a significant drop in 2008, ending 23.7 percent lower than where it started in January.

  As you can see in the chart above, the average price for a used game started at $12.69 at the beginning of January last year. But by November 3rd, the price tumbled to its lowest point of the year -- $8.57, a 32.5 percent decrease from the starting price. The average price ticked up again in the remaining days of 2008, and finally ended at $9.68, which was a decrease of 23.7 percent.

  What's particularly interesting about these numbers -- and where you see the real effect of the recession -- is when you compare them to the price fluctuations of 2007. As you can see in the chart below, the average price of a used game saw a similarly downward trajectory in 2007, indicating a decrease over the year is natural. But the extent of the drop was far less drastic than that seen in 2008. The lowest point of the year was a 30.4% drop from the starting price, but then the price ticked back up by 26.6% for a total loss of only 11.8% of the starting value.

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  South Korean Teen Sets Fire to Warehouse after Poor Game Performance

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 6:05pm EST

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  Gamers People do crazy things. Take for example a handful of recent happenings, including one person's attempt to blackmail a videogame developer/publisher with suicide and another calling a publisher's falling stock price an act of divine retribution. Now LiveNews (via Kotaku) is reporting the latest unbelievable videogame headling: A South Korean teen set fire to a nearby warehouse after an unsatisfying game session.

  The 15-year-old boy, whose name and school have been withheld, started the fire this weekend in Chuncheon after "his computer games did not go well," claims the Yonhap news agency. The blaze caused an estimated 4 million South Korean won ($3,043) in damage.

  Although current information does not indicate the name of the "computer game" the boy became frustrated with, it's worth noting that videogames are sometimes taken more seriously in South Korea than in other regions. With titles such as StarCraft having become a cultural touchstone as relevant to South Korea as a major sport is to the U.S., the weight of his virtual struggles may be greater than one would initially assume. Then again, we didn't see Peyton Manning setting fire to any buildings after his frustrating loss to the Chargers this weekend.
  

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• 

  Exclusive Street Fighter 4 Console Character Videos

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 4:50pm EST

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  Street Fighter 4 Exclusive 'Dan vs. Dan' gameplay HD

  "I hope you're ready for a beating," says Dan Hibiki, the underpowered Street Fighter created by Capcom as a joke on Ryo Sakazaki, a main character in SNK's Art of Fighting. In 1UP's exclusive Dan vs. Dan video, we get the impression that he's no longer a joke character but a worthy fighter possessing a solid ground game, a few decent combos, and an uppercut special attack with surprisingly decent priority. Watch the clip at 1:18 for Dan's hilarious -- and damaging -- Ultra attack, an awesome combo involving several hard punches to the face and gut followed by a soaring uppercut in the air.

  For more videos of Street Fighter 4 characters exclusive to the console version, check out the Fei Long vs. Cammy video used in The 1UP Show's Street Fighter 4 preview. And, of course, you can watch us play SF4 when we stream it during Game Night at 5 p.m. PST Tuesday.
  

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  Report Claims Sony May Close 'Major Divisions'

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 4:11pm EST

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  A Reuters report (via Kotaku) claims that Sony will probably announce closures of Japanese factories and "major divisions" in early February. The original report from the Times of London cites inside sources that claim the company will be making big changes, but Sony spokesperson Atsuo Omagari claims "we do not have any such plan."

  Last month, Sony announced it would be cutting around 8,000 employees by April of 2010, and closing two overseas manufacturing plants. A statement from Sony Computer Entertainment read, "In order to stay competitive in the accelerating global network environment, we will always carefully review and make structural changes, if necessary, in order to further expand and strengthen the PlayStation business around the world."

  It was also early last month that an analyst for CNN Money called the PlayStation 3 a sinking ship, citing declining sales and calling for hefty price cuts to the machine. But it's just recently that we've heard more optimistic news that the PlayStation 3 is almost breaking even on manufacturing costs. If that's the case, a price cut could be coming to keep the system competitive as consumers watch their wallets in the current economic climate.

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  Eduardo the Samurai Toaster Announced for WiiWare

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 3:20pm EST

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  Semnat Studios announced today that it will be releasing Eduardo the Samurai Toaster for WiiWare this winter. The old-school shooter features a colorful art style as our hero Eduardo battles pastries and fruit, and it's already been rated E by the ESRB. The game will deliver drop-in 4-player cooperative play, showing a real sign of faith in the Wii's online capabilities.

  Semnat is a independent developer, exactly the kind Nintendo stated they were hoping to entice with the low development costs of WiiWare. The service hasn't seen many top-tier releases, but maybe more developers putting their time in will change that perception. Check out the screens while we wait for more details on the delicious action title.
  

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  Interpol Is Xbox Live Arcade's First Title in 2009

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 2:49pm EST

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  Those looking for a more action-oriented game after Merv Griffin's Crosswords finished off 2008 won't be too pleased with this week's title. Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos is a puzzle game that'll have you scouring for clues as an Interpol agent chasing down a terribly evil fellow by the name of Dr. Chaos. You can see that the game's title didn't require a tremendous leap to come up with.

  You may have heard of the game before; both Interpol and its sequel have been available on the PC for a while now from developer TikGames -- better known to the Xbox 360 crowd as the developer of both Domino Master and Texas Hold 'em on Xbox Live Arcade. Anyone that's too eager to wait can check out the a trial on PC right here.

  Four player co-op (both locally and over Xbox Live) are among the features the game is bringing with it to the console world. 800 Microsoft points ($10) will be the price when Interpol is released this Wednesday.
  

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  Interpol Is Xbox Live Arcade's First Title of 2009

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 2:49pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Those looking for a more action-oriented game after Merv Griffin's Crosswords finished off 2008 won't be too pleased with this week's title. Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos is a puzzle game that'll have you scouring for clues as an Interpol agent chasing down a terribly evil fellow by the name of Dr. Chaos. You can see that the game's title didn't require a tremendous leap to come up with.

  You may have heard of the game before; both Interpol and its sequel have been available on the PC for a while now from developer TikGames -- better known to the Xbox 360 crowd as the developer of both Domino Master and Texas Hold 'em on Xbox Live Arcade. Anyone that's too eager to wait can check out the a trial on PC right here.

  Four player co-op (both locally and over Xbox Live) are among the features the game is bringing with it to the console world. 800 Microsoft points ($10) will be the price when Interpol is released this Wednesday.
  

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  Molyneux Questions Game Prices, Release Schedules

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 2:01pm EST

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  Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux recently questioned the stability of current game prices and the traditional release schedule in an end-of-year report from BBC News. "Everyone says games are good value for home entertainment, despite the relatively high price," he said. "I'm not so sure. I think we're going to see a lot of price pressure put on games." We've recently heard analysts echo similar statements that the traditional $50-60 price model for new titles may be more flexible in the current economic climate.

  He also questioned the wisdom of saving big titles for the holiday season. As an example, he cited Little Big Planet's "superb artistry and fatastic marketing," but lamented its disappointing sales. "I wonder if Christmas is really the right time to release a new title," he said. "We've got into a rhythm [of sequels at Christmas] which is all fair and well while people are buying games, but we have to make sure we don't get complacent."

  It's hard to argue that the prices of games could stand some readjusting, but for now they're staying fairly solid. It will most likely take one developer making a solid profit on a reduced-price game to prove to others that it can work. While you're waiting for that to happen, it might be a good idea to check out our recession gaming feature for ideas on how to save a bit of money.
  

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  Hideo Kojima Starting From 'Zero' In 2009

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 1:58pm EST

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  It's a new year, and new years mean resolutions. But while you're trying to lose weight or go on a vacation to Mexico, Hideo Kojima is resolving to put Kojima Productions on equal footing with western studios. The man thinks big.

  In an interview with Famitsu (via Develop), Kojima said that Kojima Productions was starting "from zero" in 2009, making it a very important year for the company. According to Kojima, everything from team structure to tools and staff are being reviewed.

  "I've come to understand that the way we've made games up until now won't translate globally, and I've come to think that I need to make Kojima Productions a team that can compete alongside the rest of the world," Kojima said.

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  GameStop No Longer Accepting Xbox Trade-ins Starting February 9

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 1:10pm EST

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  If you're planning to dust off your original Xbox and trade it in to GameStop, you'd better hurry. They won't be accepting them much longer.

  Destructoid is reporting that GameStop will officially stop accepting trade-ins of original Xbox games, systems and accessories on February 9. The information comes from an internal memo that was sent out earlier this week. For those who aren't keen on hunting up original Xboxes on eBay, GameStop will continue selling until their stocks of games and systems are depleted.

  So it looks like the curtain has truly fallen on Microsoft's first foray into the gaming industry. If you have any fond memories of the Xbox, feel free to hold a candle for it in the comments below.
  

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  Halo 3 Tops Xbox Live's 2008 Most Played Games List

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 12:55pm EST

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  Everyone's attention over the past six months has been on the glut of big releases that gamers had to tackle in the last few months of 2008, so isn't it ironic that the most played Xbox 360 game should be something that wasn't even released in 2007? Major Nelson revealed the top 20 games played throughout 2008 based upon unique users connected to Xbox Live. The Xbox 360 retail games list was led by Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, and Grand Theft Auto 4. Gears of War 2 came in at number 4, while the new Call of Duty, World at War, managed to be the sixth title on the list. You could look at that in two very different ways; Was the game a success by reaching the number 6 slot despite the congested release period and having less than two months to get into gamers' hands, or should developer Treyarch be hanging their heads that they were bested by an older CoD title?

  The Xbox Live Arcade titles list doesn't really have quite as many noteworthy revelations. The list, which is measured by the number of full versions purchased, was topped by the notoriously buggy Castle Crashers, beating out the likes of Geometry Wars 2, and Braid. People apparently love Avatars, as being the only Avatar-centric game has made A Kingdom for Keflings a huge smash, with the game coming in at the number four spot -- an impressive figure, considering that means it surpassed sales of Street Fighter II HD, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Portal: Still Alive, and Mega Man 9.

  And to no one's surprise, Halo 2 takes the reigns as the most popular Xbox 1 game. Following it are Fable and Star Wars: Battlefront II -- one of four Xbox games on the list carrying the Star Wars name.

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  Halo 3 Tops Xbox Live's 2008 Most-Played-Games List

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 12:55pm EST

  Tags:    [edit]

  
  Everyone's attention over the past six months has been on the glut of big releases that gamers had to tackle in the last few months of 2008, so isn't it ironic that the most played Xbox 360 game should be something that wasn't even released in 2007? Major Nelson revealed the top 20 games played throughout 2008 based upon unique users connected to Xbox Live. The Xbox 360 retail games list was led by Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, and Grand Theft Auto 4. Gears of War 2 came in at number 4, while the new Call of Duty, World at War, managed to be the sixth title on the list. You could look at that in two very different ways; Was the game a success by reaching the number 6 slot despite the congested release period and having less than two months to get into gamers' hands, or should developer Treyarch be hanging their heads that they were bested by an older CoD title?

  The Xbox Live Arcade titles list doesn't really have quite as many noteworthy revelations. The list, which is measured by the number of full versions purchased, was topped by the notoriously buggy Castle Crashers, beating out the likes of Geometry Wars 2, and Braid. People apparently love Avatars, as being the only Avatar-centric game has made A Kingdom for Keflings a huge smash, with the game coming in at the number four spot -- an impressive figure, considering that means it surpassed sales of Street Fighter II HD, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Portal: Still Alive, and Mega Man 9.

  And to no one's surprise, Halo 2 takes the reigns as the most popular Xbox 1 game. Following it are Fable and Star Wars: Battlefront II -- one of four Xbox games on the list carrying the Star Wars name.

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  Microsoft Requested Radiant Silvergun For XBLA

  Posted: January 5th, 2009, 12:29pm EST

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  Wish that you could play classic Treasure shooter Radiant Silvergun on Xbox Live Arcade? Looks like Microsoft wishes you could too.

  In an interview with Gamasutra, Treasure CEO Masato Maegawa said that Microsoft has requested Radiant Silvergun for XBLA. But unfortunately for shmup fans everywhere, he says it's not as easy as simply dropping it on the service.

  "Microsoft actually asked us if we could put it out," he says. "We're thinking about it, certainly, but it's not as simple as just saying 'OK, let's put it up.' I mean, sure, with Ikaruga, we released it as-is without having to do or add a great deal to the game, and it was popular and well accepted for what it was."

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