¡EXPLOTANDO TODAS LAS CONSOLAS!

NINTENDO Wii, NINTENDO DSi

SONY PLAYSTATION 3, SONY PSP

XBOX 360

JUEGOS DE PC

jueves, noviembre 29, 2007

El PS3, la consola favorita de los Hacker

Security-Assessment.com security consultant Nick Breese has presented a new report to the Kiwicon hacker conference in which he claims the Sony PlayStation 3, with its powerful Cell processors, can be a great asset to hackers. He claims that the console can crack passwords at speeds 300 times faster than Intel hardware can. Speed is the most important factor in "brute force" password cracking, and Breese says the PS3 helps cut down speed considerably. "Suddenly we have a massive increase in terms of . . . cryptography cracking," he said. "Eight-character 'strong' passwords can be broken in a couple of days whereas before it would take weeks." Breese does note howevwer, that other password types are handled more securely and remain unaffected by Breese's findings. "They're still safe. However, the gap has shrunk a hell of a lot," he added. "If you had access to a thousand PlayStations you could (still) crack an eight-character Linux password in a few days." The PS3 can also be used to "break basic encryption schemes" added Breese, although "ciphers such as the 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)" are safe for the time being. "It'll speed up the attacks but I can't see that it's broken, (It) is still safe because the people implementing the ciphers foresaw CPU power rapidly increasing." To conclude his findings, Breese hopes that the report will encourage software-makers to increase their password security. "That's the reason I'm doing this," he says. Source:

Fuente: After Dawn

miércoles, noviembre 28, 2007

Harmonix atiende los problemas de Rock Band

A rock band without turmoil is hardly a rock band at all. It's appropriate, then, that Harmonix is experiencing some issues with the launch of its multidisciplinary rhythm game Rock Band.
First and foremost, PlayStation 3 Guitar Hero III controllers had originally been expected to work with Rock Band, but that turned out not to be the case. This might have been a mild inconvenience for those who purchased the $170 Rock Band bundle that includes drums, a microphone, and a guitar. It was a much bigger deal for buyers of the $60 stand-alone version of the game, since individual Rock Band instruments won't be sold separately until next year.
However, Harmonix today told would-be rock stars steeling themselves for many-a "Silent Night" that it is working to fix compatibility issues with PS3 guitar controllers. But given Harmonix's split from Activision-owned Guitar Hero publisher RedOctane, the GHIII controller--which is the only other PS3 guitar peripheral on the market--is never mentioned by name.
"Some of you have contacted us about the PS3 edition of Rock Band--from issues with guitar compatibility to frustration that stand-alone guitars and drums for Rock Band have not yet hit stores," a Harmonix representative said. "Please know that these issues have our full attention. We are listening and we read everything that is posted on our forums. We are committed to providing the best play experience possible and working hard to ensure that we solve these problems as soon as possible. We promise to keep you updated and, in the meantime, we thank you for your patience."
There's also no guarantee that those who went with the bundle will be spared Rock Band-related headaches. After numerous reports of broken strum bars on the Fender Stratocaster guitar controller, Harmonix also acknowledged that there were some issues with the first batch of the guitars.
"As sometimes happens when new products first go into manufacturing, we discovered an imperfection with the strum bar in an early production run of guitars that were shipped at launch," the representative said. "We want to inform you that we have since identified and fixed the issue in all subsequent production runs of the guitars."
As for reports of other Rock Band hardware failures--such as snapping drum-kit pedals--Harmonix and publisher MTV Games pledged to stand by all the game's hardware. "If you are experiencing a problem with your guitar or any of your other Rock Band instruments, simply visit the customer support website and we will send a replacement immediately."

Fuente: Gamespot

Algunos "números" de Guitar Hero

When Activision acquired RedOctane in 2006, many wondered if the Guitar Hero publisher's near-$100 million price tag was exorbitant. Those doubts were amplified when the game's developer, Harmonix, was itself purchased by Viacom subdivision MTV Games--a union that would lead to the birth of critical hit Rock Band.
However, as repeated NPD reports have shown, Activision has enjoyed a massive return on its investment in the Guitar Hero franchise. How big, exactly? Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter thinks he has an idea. Following Activision's upward revision of its earning estimates this morning, Pachter issued a note in which he put a figure on the Guitar Hero franchise's sales for the publisher's current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2008.
"We believe that this year's Guitar Hero sales reflect around 6 million units of bundles and 1.5 million units of disc-only sales, comprising around $550 million in total sales," said Pachter in a note. The figure includes all games in the series, including the recently released Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PC, Wii, Macintosh, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3).
Pachter went on to predict that the Guitar Hero juggernaut will be only slightly slowed during Activision's 2009 fiscal year. By then, the company will likely have started selling wireless Guitar Hero controllers a la carte.
"Our forecast presumes that year-over-year total unit sales will decline from 7.5 million to 6.3 million," surmised the analyst. "In order to deliver $410 million in sales next year, the company must sell approximately 3 million units of disc-only (around $145 million), plus 3.3 million units of bundles. Given our expectations for significantly higher download revenue and two expansion discs, we think these figures are easily achievable." (Emphasis added.) Pachter did not venture a guess as to what said expansions would be.

Fuente: Gamespot

martes, noviembre 27, 2007

Rock Band con algunos problemas

No es por defender a la marca, pero es algo natural. Tantos instrumentos nuevos y uno de ellos totalmente nuevo e innovador.

Following up on yesterday's news of Rock Band hardware concerns, developer Harmonix has issued a software patch meant to mend issues that players have been having with downstrumming. Unfortunately, the software fix doesn't seem to be taking for everyone -- some users are reporting fully functional axes, while others are still plagued by the strum problem. Worse yet, other gamers are reporting that the patch has caused their strums to double up -- thus making the game considerably more crappy. On the silver-lining flip side, EA is actively honoring warranties for the Rock Band gear, though they say guitar replacement will take nearly two weeks -- which will put you dangerously close to not being able to jam through X-mas.

Fuente: Engadget.

sábado, noviembre 24, 2007

Jeff Minter se lamentó... Y así mismo... :O

Parece ser que Jeff Minter, el creador del juego Space Jiraffe de Xbox Live se encuentra algo consternado por la falta de ventas de su producto. Y compara su obra de arte contra remakes como Frogger. En verdad, se puede sentir su frustración. Les dejo la nota completa de Gamespot. Ahí también viene la liga de su Blog.

Jeff Minter, the creator of cult indie games including Llamatron and Revenge of the Mutant Camels, has written on his blog that he feels disheartened by the fact that Frogger outsold his latest title on Xbox Live.
Minter, who recently finished development on Space Giraffe, an action arcade game, which was released onto the digital distribution platform Xbox Live on August 22, is not a happy man.
In a post earlier in the week, made in the wee hours of the morning, Minter posted, "Not seeing a lot of reason to continue even trying to make games, at this point, when a remake of Frogger, one of the worst games in the history of old arcade games, can outsell Space Giraffe that we put so much love and effort into, by more than ten to one, in one week."
He continued, "OK, we get the message. All you want on that channel is remakes of old, shite arcade games and crap you vaguely remember playing on your Amiga. We'll shut up trying to do anything new then. Sorry for even trying."
However, in a post made yesterday, the Llama-loving developer appeared to have calmed down a little bit, and said, "Thanks to all those who gave me a bit of encouragement at a low moment. Rest assured I'm not giving up; I'm just getting on with it quietly."
Minter added that he was halfway through his next games project, but that he would no longer be using his blog to talk about games development--no doubt after his rant was posted widely over the Internet. He said, "So no more dev stuff here, from now on this will just be about sheep and plushies and other such non-work-related stuff."

Fuente: Gamespot.

The Romantics pierden lo "romantic"

Michigan band The Romantics, most famous for tunes What I Like About You, and Talking In Your Sleep has filed a federal lawsuit against Activision.
The group, which is still together and performing its hits today, was formed on Valentine's Day, 1977--hence the name The Romantics--and is objecting to its likeness and an "imitation" of one of its songs being used in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.
The lawsuit reads, "The imitation of the plaintiffs on the defendant's video game is virtually indistinguishable from the authentic version."
The legal paperwork alleges that permission was not sought to create a soundalike of the band's most famous song, and that many fans believe that the Guitar Hero version is the real deal. The Romantics are claiming unspecified damages.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the band's attorney has said that copyright is not the issue, since Activision secured permission for a cover version through the proper channels. Attorney William Horton said, "It's a very good imitation, and that's our objection. Even the guys in the band said, 'Wow, that's not us, but it sure sounds like us.'" He added, "The sales of this game are huge. We're all for good commerce. We just want to share in it."
If the case is successful, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s could get pulled from store shelves.

Fuente: Gamespot.

viernes, noviembre 23, 2007

Rock Band

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - MTV's "Rock Band" video game took the stage on Tuesday, a new entrant in the fast-growing genre of musical games that could boost the fortunes of the flagging music industry.
More a rock band simulator than a game, the title takes on the hit "Guitar Hero" series that has sold millions and become a cash cow for publisher Activision Inc.
Many retailers opened their doors at midnight so gamers could plunk down $170 for a "Rock Band" bundle that includes the game software and controllers shaped like a guitar, drum set and microphone.
"Rock Band" is the headline act in Viacom unit MTV's plan to spend more than $500 million on games over the next two years as it expands beyond its traditional TV base.
"Rock Band" is the crowning achievement of Harmonix, a Boston-based game studio started by MIT students seeking to make the experience of playing music accessible to the masses.
A partnership with accessory maker Red Octane resulted in the hit formula of "Guitar Hero", but the teams parted ways as Activision bought Red Octane while MTV picked up Harmonix.
"For the first time ever we had the resources to really go for it," Harmonix head Alex Rigopulos told Reuters. "For us it's a dream game. It's really sort of everything we've ever dreamed of doing."
It's a dream many gamers apparently share. The "band in a box" won an average rating of 95 on Metacritic.com, which compiles reviews from different gaming sites and publications.
In "Rock Band," four people can play together on guitar, bass, drums and vocals. Players hit buttons on the guitar or tap drums in sync with notes on-screen. Players can also sing along, karaoke-style. If notes are hit accurately, the song plays properly and the band earns points.
TRANSFORMER
Much as MTV's music videos transformed the industry in the early 1980s, industry executives and analysts said, "Rock Band" may change the way people enjoy music. New songs will be available for download every week, with players able to tailor their game to their favorite genres or bands.
Just as musicians tested the novelty of downloads a few years ago by releasing songs online at the same time as on CD, MTV is working with labels to release playable versions of new tunes alongside their debuts in established formats.
"In 10 years people are going to look at idly listening to music the same way as we look at watching a TV show in black and white," said Geoff Keighley, co-chair of the Game Critics Awards that named "Rock Band" the best game of the industry's annual trade show in July.
Game downloads are attractive to game makers and the music business because they are priced at about $2 -- double the cost of a song from an online store.
"I don't really expect it to be a huge source of income for the industry but it is a positive story when they need one," said Billy Pidgeon, an analyst with market research firm IDC.
Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said new songs for "Guitar Hero" will boost profit margins. Activision has sold more than half a million "Guitar Hero" song packs. That's only $3 million in revenue, but it's a highly profitable drop at a time when the overall music bucket is shrinking.
MTV, for its part, aspires to build an iTunes for games.
"We've moved from initial rounds of discussions with the labels to talking about how we can harness this platform to break new artists and to introduce new music from established artists," Paul DeGooyer, vice president of MTV Games, said in an interview.
DRIVERS NEEDED
The music business badly needs growth drivers. Downloads are expected to more than double over the next five years to $3.4 billion -- more than a third of all music revenue -- but that's partly because the industry is contracting, according to a report released Tuesday by JupiterResearch.
For all its grand plans, "Rock Band" is still playing the role of an upstart new act that must meet several challenges.
This year, the game is only available in $170 bundles that are nearly twice as expensive as "Guitar Hero." Individual instruments won't be offered until next year.
There is also the issue of availability. MTV said it would ship more than a million units this year, but "Guitar Hero 3" sold 1.4 million units in its first six days on the market and is enjoying wider brand recognition.
Moreover, "Rock Band" is only available now for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 consoles but there is no release date yet for Nintendo's Wii, which has been the best-selling game console in 2007.
Other game makers aren't expected to sit still, either.
Electronic Arts Inc, which is distributing "Rock Band" under a three-year deal, may jump in with its own music game at some point. While EA books the revenue from each "Rock Band" sale, its share of profits is much lower than if it was publishing its own game.
Asked whether EA was working on its own game, EA Partners general manager David DeMartini praised Harmonix before telling Reuters: "That's not to say that we wouldn't at some point be involved in the genre, as this is a huge genre that hasn't reached full potential. We wouldn't rule anything out."

Fuente: Reuters

jueves, noviembre 22, 2007

Halo 3 al Guitar Hero III

Some Guitar Hero fans have been unhappy with the cost of downloadable songs for the series since its debut on the Xbox 360 earlier this year. Microsoft and Activision are set to silence those complaints for at least one day, as the pair announced that in appreciation to their fans, they will offer the "Mjolnir Mix" of the Halo theme song as a free downloadable track for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock on Thanksgiving.
Written and partly performed by Martin O'Donell and Michael Salvatori, the track also features some guitar shredding courtesy of real-life guitar hero Steve Vai. Vai got his start playing with Frank Zappa, has since played with Whitesnake, participated in the guitar-centric G3 tour, and showcased his skills in the 1986 film Crossroads, where he was the devil's surrogate axe-man in a guitar duel for the soul of Ralph Macchio's character.
This is the second time Activision has produced free Guitar Hero III track downloads. The first such offering allowed players to play the game's three boss battles all the way through as standard songs apart from the game's career mode.

Fuente: GameSpot

martes, noviembre 20, 2007

Ventas de juegos de Square Enix

Les dejo las ventas de Square a nivel global.

Square Enix released the console software sales for the first half of 2007 finacial year (4/1/2007 - 9/30/2007):

Japan

Final Fantasy (PSP) - 140,000
Final Fantasy II (PSP) - 90,000
Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings (NDS) - 530,000
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (PSP) - 520,000
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (NDS) - 360,000
Final Fantasy XII Internation Zodiac Job System (PS2) - 160,000
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) - 710,000
Dragon Quest Sword: Kamen no Joou to Kagami no Tou (Wii) - 490,000
Itadaki Street DS (NDS) - 410,000
It's a Wonderful World (NDS) - 180,000
DS Style series (NDS) - 70,000

North America

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (NDS) - 70,000
Dawn of Mana (PS2) - 70,000
Final Fantasy (PSP) - 130,000
Final Fantasy II (PSP) - 70,000
Heroes of Mana (NDS) - 30,000

Europe

Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (PSP) - 60,000
Final Fantasy III (NDS) - 450,000
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (NDS) - 100,000
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (PS2) - 170,000
Heroes of Mana (NDS) - 50,000

Fuente: The Magic Box.

El polémico Manhunt 2 llega al senado de los Estados Unidos

Ya había pasado en Europa. Ahora le toca al Senado de los Estados Unidos, quien recomienda incluso, generar nuevos tipos de ratings para los juegos de video.

WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - A bipartisan group of lawmakers including a Democratic presidential hopeful is calling on the makers of video games to review the industry's ratings system.
In letter to the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the lawmakers complained about its decision to give an "mature" rating Rockstar's "Manhunt 2" game.
Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., Sam Brownback, R-Kan., Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said the game's violent content, which includes "many graphic torture scenes and murders," should have garnered an "adults only" rating.
Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president, has long pressed for tougher ratings and has called for a unified ratings system for movies, games and TV shows.
"We ask your consideration of whether it is time to review the robustness, reliability and repeatability of your ratings process, particularly for this genre of 'ultraviolent' video games and the advances in game controllers," the senators wrote. "We have consistently urged parents to pay attention to the ESRB rating system. We must ensure that parents can rely on the consistency and accuracy of those ratings."
Rockstar also makes the controversial "Grand Theft Auto" series of games.

Fuente: Reuters.

Los resultados de GameStop no son los esperados

Fuente: Reuters.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - GameStop Corp (GME.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest U.S. video game retailer, gave a disappointing profit outlook for the holiday season that overshadowed its strong third-quarter results, sending its stock down sharply on Tuesday.
GameStop said its profit in the fourth quarter would be 95 cents to 97 cents a share. That's higher than the 81 cents it earned in the same period a year ago, but short of analysts' expectation of $1.01, according to Reuters Estimates.
Shares of the company fell to as low as $47.61 before recovering to trade at $50.63, still down 4.45 percent. The stock is still up about 90 percent so far this year as the company secured its position as the last remaining major specialty chain in the $30 billion video game industry.
Stern Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia said GameStop could just be setting a low target, rather than seeing any serious weakness in holiday sales. Its per-share profit had beat Wall Street views by a wide margin of 8 cents in the third quarter, and by 5 cents and 3 cents in the two previous periods.
"Given the recent history of beating guidance handily, we would have to believe the company is being conservative," he said in a client note, in which he reiterated his buy rating.
For the third quarter, GameStop said net income more than tripled to $52 million, or 31 cents a share, from $13.6 million, or 9 cents a share, a year earlier. Wall Street was looking for profit of 23 cents a share, powered by sales of games such as Halo 3 and Madden NFL '08, and Guitar Hero II,
Revenue in the period rose to $1.61 billion from $1.01 billion. New video game software sales rose 59 percent in the quarter, while new hardware sales jumped 149 percent.
Gross margin was 26 percent, short of Bhatia's estimate of 30.5 percent and the year-ago period's 31.2 percent. He attributed the shortfall to higher sales of hardware and new video game consoles -- such as Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research) popular Wii and the Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 -- which usually lead to strong software sales.

GameStop, whose rivals include mainstream retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Best Buy Co Inc (BBY.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said it opened 181 new stores in the quarter and closed just 12, and now operates over 5,000 globally.
In addition, it expected to reach the upper end of its goal of opening 500 to 550 stores this year.
The Grapevine, Texas-based retailer sees comparable store sales in the fourth quarter up about 7 percent to 9 percent.

Fuente: Reuters.

lunes, noviembre 19, 2007

El PS3 gana al Wii en ventas esta semana

Al parecer, la estrategia de Sony está dando frutos:

The new model PlayStation 3 landed in Japan on November 11, coming with fewer USB ports, a 40GB hard drive, no backward compatibility, a cheaper price tag of 39,980 yen (approx $341), and a new colour--ceramic white.
The move seems to have paid off for Sony as hardware sales figures from Media Create for the week of November 5-11 show the PS3 outselling the Wii for the first time, with sales of Sony's console having tripled week on week.
The PS3 sold 55,924 units last week, compared to the Wii's 34,546. The handhelds remained on top of the charts, with the DS Lite selling 78,854 and the PlayStation Portable 58,964 respectively. Bringing up the rear were the PlayStation 2, with 9,043 units, and the Xbox 360 with 5,817 units.
Last week's figures showed the Xbox 360 experiencing a surge in sales due to the release of Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, which helped move 17,673 systems. The DS Lite reigned with 78,552, followed by the PSP with 59,714, and the Wii with 37,617. The PS3 sold 17,434, and the PS2 10,209.

Fuente: GameSpot.

México, una gran mercado para el consumo de los videojuegos

Excelente artículo de GameSpot.

Gaming in major territories like the US, Japan, and Europe has been growing rapidly with the latest generation of consoles, and a new report from Americas News Intelligence says that Mexico is expanding right alongside its international counterparts.
According to the report, the Mexican game industry's rapid expansion could see it reach $1 billion in annual revenues by the end of the decade. Last year, the country's gaming market totaled almost $515 million, with 2007's haul projected at almost $670 million, and 2008's total estimated at more than $818 million.
"The results of our research flies in the face of the image of Mexico as an insignificant consumer market plagued with piracy," the report's lead analyst, Phung Pham, said in a statement. "There is a booming gamer population and despite problems with piracy, a substantial level of legitimate business. And video game publishers are finally starting to take note."
One of the reasons given for the growth is that it is partly due to a cultural phenomenon. Pham and his coauthors point to the rising average age of marriage in the country as one significant factor. According to the report, since 1995 the average age of marriage has risen from 20 to 25 for women, and from 23 to 28 for men. They note that in Mexico, it's common for young adults to live with their parents until they get married, which means money that would have been spent on housing can instead go toward discretionary purchases. As the average age of marriage increases, the number of years during which each customer can spend more on games and less on starting a family increases.

Fuente: Gamespot.

viernes, noviembre 09, 2007

Hackers descubren escenas de extrema violencia en Manhunt 2

Fuente: Diario TI

El juego Manhunt 2 fue retrasado debido a sus escenas de gran violencia, que el fabricante se vio obligado a eliminar en la versión definitiva. Sin embargo, las escenas borradas continúan presentes en el juego. Diario Ti: La polémica empresa de videojuegos Rockstar Studios ha concentrado gran atención con su nuevo juego Manhunt 2.
El juego se retrasó debido a que el fabricante fue obligado a eliminar escenas de violencia que implicarían que el juego sería clasificado como apropiado únicamente para adultos, de forma que empresas como Sony y Nintendo optarían por no distribuirlo. Sin embargo, el retraso parece haber sido en vano.La compañía responsable de Rockstar Studios, Take-Two Interactive, confirmó que existe un hack que puede activar las escenas censuradas. De hecho, las escenas no fueron eliminadas por el fabricante, sino ocultadas mediante un bloqueo de software.Esta situación podría llevar nuevamente el caso a las autoridades estadounidenses de clasificación de material audiovisual, que anteriormente han debido llamar la atención al fabricante de juegos. Esto ocurrió cuando el éxito de ventas Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, incluyó una escena pornográfica, “Hot Coffee", que también podía ser activada con un hack.La versión revisada de Manhunt 2 ha obtenido la clasificación M (Mature), que la prohíbe para niños menores de 17 años. Sin embargo, las escenas desbloqueadas podrían implicar que el juego reciba definitivamente la clasificación AO (Adults Only), que implicaría que muchos distribuidores sencillamente optarían por no venderlo. Manhunt 2 ya ha sido prohibido en Gran Bretaña e Irlanda.

Fuente: Diario TI

Listos los primeros packs de GH III

Ya están disponibles dos paquetes de rolas para descargarse en GH3, los dos packs son:
Pack Foo Fighters: contiene The Pretender, All My Life y This is a Call.
Pack de Velvet Revolver: con She Builds Quick Machines, Slither y Messages
Así que si eres fan de cualquiera de estos grupos, ve y compra por 500 MP cada uno, también estan disponibles para la versión de PS3.

Fuente: Atomix.

¡Gracias a tí!

Hola,

Gracias a tí llegamos a los 100 posts!! Espero sigas apoyando este proyecto.

Atentamente,

El equipo de Game Nuker.

La nueva plataforma de N-Gadge se retrasa...

Fuente: Afterdawn.com

Nokia has announced that their relaunch of the failed N-Gage platform will be delayed until at least December as the company works on finalizing the software for the online-enabled service. Nokia's new OVI brand will incorporate music, gaming, GPS, photography and other online-enabled features including N-Gage functions. "N-gage is coming in December. Software testing is taking a bit more time than what we had expected," said Kari Tuutti, spokesperson for Nokia. The N-Gage service, which allows players to download demos, connect to other players, as well access other gaming features and read reviews will have games created by Gameloft and Electronic Arts when it goes live.

Fuente: Afterdawn.com

Las ventas de Guitar exceden los 115 mmd!!!

Fuente: Planet Xbox.

Activision have announced that consumer sell through for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock exceeded $115 million within seven days of the game’s North American release, making it the largest single product launch in the company’s history. The game was released on October 28, 2007, and will launch in Europe on November 23, 2007.The Guitar Hero franchise has remained the #1 best-selling franchise in the U.S. through September, according to the NPD Group. The franchise has sold more than six million units worldwide to date, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and Gfk.Guitar Hero has expanded well beyond video games and is one of the biggest entertainment franchises in the marketplace today. The release of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock marks the franchise’s debut on Playstation 3 and Wii from Nintendo, making it the only music based game on all console platforms.Competitively, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is set to significantly widen its lead in the market with strong early consumer response well in advance of the holiday season, an unprecedented global supply of product, record retail support with more than 30,000 in-store kiosks, an unparalleled number of music tracks, a highly competitive price point and the only game in its genre available worldwide.“Guitar Hero III is the game that everyone is talking about. It is the only video game to make the Toys "R" Us Hot Toy list for 2007 and Toy Wishes’ Hot Dozen 2007, which forecast the most popular holiday gifts of the season. Despite having significantly increased our production capabilities for the holiday, there is still a high likelihood that we will not be able to meet demand for this game on every platform,” stated Robert Kotick, Chairman and CEO, Activision, Inc.Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will offer a robust slate of new downloadable online content. The title’s first video game song pack, The Interscope Soundtrack Pack, was released at launch exclusively for the Xbox 360 and includes songs from Marilyn Manson, AFI and Flyleaf. In November, Activision will release three new downloadable video game song packs for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Each downloadable pack contains three individual songs.Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock includes explosive new content and features including a multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a host of exclusive unlockable content and visually stunning rock venues. Expanded online multiplayer game modes allow consumers worldwide to compete head-to-head for true legendary rock status. For the first time ever, Guitar Hero fans are also able to thrash and burn with new wireless guitar controllers available for each platform. The game features a star-studded soundtrack including master tracks by such legendary artists as Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys and Pearl Jam as well as original songs by guitar icons Slash and Tom Morello. The sequel also offers downloadable content from some of the most popular European bands.Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $1.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007.

Fuente: Planet Xbox.

Guitar Hero III

Hola a todos,
Les informo, el GHIII finalmente se encuentra a la venta en tierras mexicanas, aparentemente existen dos versiones del juego, una con la guitarra inalámbrica, y otra con la guitarra alámbrica; el segundo tiene un precio en tiendas especializadas de 1090 pesotes.
Ahora, recuerdan que se apuntaron a la página de GHIII, pues la actividad ya comenzó, los grupos que se armaron suman puntos llevando a los grupos a obtener groupies levantar status, y competir en cuanto a marcadores y achievements contra todos los jugadores, y me refiero a todos, pues en esta página concentran los marcadores de los jugadores de Wii, PS2, PS3 y 360.
Así que pongan el nombre de México muy en alto que vamos contra el mundo raza!!!

jueves, noviembre 01, 2007

Sony y su nueva estrategia.

Last Thursday Sony released its financial report for the first quarter in their fiscal year, and while losses in their games division totaled ¥96.7 billion ($847.6 million), the profits for the company overall were strong at ¥90.5 billion ($793.4 million). Based on its first quarter, Sony has released guidance for the remainder of the fiscal year. According to Reuters, Sony figures that its games division will double its expected losses, from ¥50 billion to ¥100 billion.
Related Stories
Sony responds to dollar parity with Canadian price adjustments
A peek inside the Playstation Eye
PlayStation Home patch brings XMB access and crazy hair colors
Sony announces second quarter software releases
New God of War announcement may be coming sooner than you think
Considering that Sony has already lost the vast majority of that sum in the first quarter of the year, the game unit needs to be at break even or become profitable in the coming months if Sony hopes to avoid upping the loss estimates again. So how does Sony plan to turn things around so quickly?
Sony has already announced the launch of a lower-priced 40GB PlayStation 3 that has taken backwards compatibility out of the feature list, a move that has allowed Sony to both drop the price and the cost of the unit. As Sony continues to refine the production costs of its hardware with lower-priced components the burden of the hardware being a loss-leader will lessen.
Sony also has recently seen the launch of two high-profile games in Eye of Judgment and Ratchet and Clank Future, titles that have been well received by critics and have the bonus of being published by Sony itself. If those games, along with the future Sony-published titles Gran Turismo 5 and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, are hits, Sony could gain back some needed momentum. Sony will also enjoy the only version of Rock Band to ship with a wireless guitar, along with exclusives in Haze and Metal Gear Solid 4. Add in a strong business in full-sized downloadable titles as well, a key advantage Sony has over Microsoft when it comes to distribution, and the future looks bright.
Sony's more open online service also allows for Unreal Tournament 3 to support user-created modifications, which may cause gamers to make the PlayStation 3 the system of choice for Epic's new shooter. These games and features are all in the future though, so we're dealing with best-case scenarios at this point.
This uncertain future hasn't affected Sony's other businesses however, as the company is now estimating a 5 percent operating profit margin in their electronics division, up from the expected four percent. Sony continues to do brisk business in both high-definition televisions and digital cameras, and the profits from those products easily swallow what Sony hopes to be short-term gaming losses.
Investors don't seem worried about Sony's prospects, as last week's earnings caused stock to jump on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; Sony shares are now trading at ¥5,720, up from the sub-¥5,200 price before last Thursday.

Seguidores