Konami's conference details

Castlevania and Rock Revolution were the great launches...

LOS ANGELES--The last time the E3 Media & Business Summit was at the LACC, Konami's booth drew overflowing crowds with a trailer for the hotly anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. That game finally launched on the PlayStation 3 earlier this year, leaving a question as to what potential showstoppers Konami would anchor its E3 2008 around.
The publisher has already taken the wraps off of its new Castlevania, Elebits, and Rock Revolution games, but it might have more in store during its Wednesday afternoon press conference. The event is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. Pacific, and GameSpot is on hand to live-blog the whole thing.
Igarashi demonstrated his Wii-whipping acumen during a Castlevania Judgment demo.
[2:43] Konami didn't let attendees in until 2:30 p.m., but they sat everyone quickly and the company's VP of marketing Anthony Krauss comes out to kick things off.
[2:44] He says that one of the bright spots for the company was Metal Gear Solid 4, and thanks the reviewers in the crowd for positive reviews that he said really helped it "get over the hump."
[2:45] Now comes "big announcements" for the Metal Gear Solid franchise. The first Metal Gear Online expansion pack will be available July 17.
[2:45] A Metal Gear Online world tournament will take place at the Tokyo Game Show later this year.
[2:45] At next week's San Diego Comic-Con, Konami will hold the first live Metal Gear Online tournament.
[2:46] Moving on from Metal Gear to Rock Revolution, he says that Linkin Park has a big US tour with Rock Revolution serving as the "official video game of the tour" this summer.
[2:47] He brings up Silent Hill: Homecoming for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, saying that one of the designers from The Collective and Foundation 9 will give some detail on the game. Apparently, that will happen later in the event.
[2:48] This is the first time in Konami's history that the publisher has released games in all of its major franchises in a 12-month span, he says.
[2:50] He recaps the lineup, thanks the crowd for their support, and introduces Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi to show off his latest games.
[2:51] Speaking through an interpreter, he says that it's his first E3 in a while, so he's a bit nervous. He then introduces a trailer for Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on the Nintendo DS.
[2:52] The trailer shows some non-Belmont characters using some nonwhip weapons to plow through a variety of boss characters. The game will be available this fall.
[2:55] The crowd applauds the clip, and Igarashi (who sports a snappy cowboy hat) begins to talk about Castlevania Judgment for the Wii. He said that he considers it more of a 3D action game than a fighting game. The trailer shows off gameplay that fits squarely in the fighting genre, with onscreen elements like life bars, super meters, and a round timer.
[2:56] Alucard, Maria, Simon Belmont, and of course Dracula are all characters in the game. It arrives this fall.
[2:57] Igarashi goes over the story of the game and how it fits into Castlevania's millennia-long timeline. That timeline is threatened in the game, and magic forces bring characters from throughout the series together to do battle.
[2:59] To help with the game's character designs, Igarashi enlisted Japanese manga artist Takeshi Obata. Next he picks up a Wii controller for a live demonstration of the game.
[3:00] He goes through the basic movement and dodge controls. Shaking the Wii Remote activates the basic attack. He notes that people were asking for a Wii Castlevania in which they could shake the controller like a whip crack, and that was part of the reason for this game in the first place.
[3:01] However, he thought that people would get tired of doing the whipping motion for hours on end as a normal Castlevania game would require, so he settled upon the fighting genre instead.
[3:03] Whether or not the player is moving or standing still determines which type of attack is performed. He mentions destroying objects and picking up the items within as a gameplay element synonymous with the franchise that will also be in Judgment.
[3:05] Igarashi goes into the special-attack system, and performs one on Alucard with Simon. The Belmont progenitor launches his opponent into the air and then finishes him with a flurry of midair whip lashing. The game will also have non-player creatures that get in the way of the fighters.
[3:07] Igarashi thanks the crowd and introduces Jason Allen, who quickly shows a trailer of Silent Hill: Homecoming.
[3:08] The game revolves around a man's search for a young boy named Josh, which of course brings him to the town of Silent Hill. "Find me, and everything changes," Josh says in voice-over.
[3:10] The demo will start in the fifth level of the game, with protagonist Alex in search of the mayor. The game uses a player-controllable camera, which represents a departure for the series. The developers are also incorporating the Havok physics engine to help the world feel a bit more real. There's also a first-person view so players can better examine the world.
[3:11] The player walks through a door and the normal world melts away to reveal what Allen calls "a hell state." A bit of film grain appears on the camera to emphasize the transition.
[3:13] Alex begins a dialog tree with the mayor (of Shepherd's Glen, not of Silent Hill). The mayor's son Joey is also missing, it seems. Apparently Silent Hill needs to get up to speed with the Amber Alert system.
[3:15] After finding the mayor to be uncooperative, Alex lashes out at him, which prompts the room to begin shaking and all Silent Hill hell to break lose. Some sort of massive, fleshy boss hangs upside-down from the ceiling, and a boss battle begins.
[3:16] The player has a few ways to take the boss out, with axes, ranged weapons, or somewhat more creative means. A variety of hanging meat sacks around the room are acting as counterweights, so Allen destroys a couple of them, bringing the monster crashing to the ground.
[3:18] Allen thanks the crowd and hands the presentation over to Rock Revolution senior product manager Lauren Faccidomo. She introduces an LA-based, all-female Ramones tribute band, The Sheenas, who take up instruments on stage.
Rock Revolution drum kit or top secret Trivial Pursuit peripheral?
[3:20] They break into "Blitzkrieg Bop." The nice thing about the Ramones is you can play almost any one of their songs and still hold the show up for only about two and a half minutes.
[3:22] Faccidomo (who played bass on the song) says that it's time to take the music from the stage to the living room, and picks up a Guitar Hero controller (literally, the Gibson Les Paul controller) to play a bit of "Blitzkrieg Bop" in Rock Revolution with a drummer. It looks like they might not have calibrated the guitar before the conference, given that the previous performance was clearly rocking significantly harder.
[3:23] They don't quite finish the song before getting booed off the in-game stage. That concludes the presentation, and Faccidomo thanks the crowd for attending and wishes everyone a great E3.

Source: GameSpot

E3 Conference from Take Two

All details!! Bioshock for PS3 with downloadable content, a new FPS, MMORPG, TOP SPIN, etc, etc, etc... Take a look:


LOS ANGELES--At yesterday's Nintendo press event, one of the biggest surprises was the of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the ultra-violent franchise's debut on the Nintendo DS. Though its unveiling drew audible gasps, little was revealed about the game other than its logo. Early speculation pegged it as being a city-centric title in the vein of Vice City Stories for the PSP, either set in Liberty City or San Fierro, the two metropolises in the GTA universe to have Chinatown districts. While gamers want more details about the first GTA DS, the game industry would like larger answers about the company making it, Take-Two Interactive. The publisher has had a roller coaster year, enjoying both record-breaking sales of Grand Theft Auto IV and being the subject of a hostile takeover by EA. Those attending its press event at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles this morning came for answers to those questions, and to learn about the company's plan for the future.
[10:49] Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick takes the stage right on time, immediately touting the fact that Grand Theft Auto IV was the "biggest entertainment launch in history."
[10:50] "We're investing in the future...with out creative team of 1,400 developers in 17 studios worldwide."
[10:52] "In an effort to produce the best in interactive entertainment, we encourage our developers to imagine," says Zelnick, who quickly hands over the podium to "the brains of the operation" Take-Two CEO and president Ben Feder.
[10:54] Feder cues a series of montages, beginning with 2K Sports. NBA 2K9, NHL 2K9, Top Spin 3, Don King's Prizefighter, Power Pros, and MLB 2K9. Then come two demos for the Xbox 360 NBA 2K9 and the Wii NHL 2K9, which aims "to bring the fun back to hockey."
[10:55] Now comes a demo of NHL2K9, which is billed as a "complete reset" of the franchise. The Visual Concepts producer on hand says hockey games have become "too complicated."
[10:56] The game will have pick-up-and-play controls, "an all-new fighting engine" and will even let you drive the Zambonie between periods.
[10:57] It still is a harcore hockey sim, he stress with a high level of detail. Apparently if the crowd is very displeased with a teams performance, they will start throwing beer cups and other debris onto the ice.
[10:58] There's even an interactive Stanley Cup celebration mode which lets you party until dawn with your team.
[10:58] The hockey player demoing the game is showing how you push forward with the controllers to slam opponents against the boards.
[10:58] Now it's NBA 2K9 for the 360.
[10:59] NBA is the game "the pros are playing" and is the best-selling basketball game on the current generation of consoles.
[11:00] Once again, its a virtual rematch of the Lakers and the Celtics.
[11:01] The presenter sayw, "If you you think you've seen online features, you ain't seen nothing yet." Do they have something to match NBA Live 09's Dynamic DNA?
[11:02] The Celtics start scoring, and some audience members groan. "I know we're in Los Angeles, but Kevin Garnett is our cover guy," jokes the VC producer.
[11:03] That's it for sports! Feder comes back to talk about the new casual game label 2K Play.
[11:04] Sarah Anderson, 2K's head of marketing, takes the stage.
[11:05] She talks about "building on our strategic partnership with Nickelodeon," and airs a TV ad for Carnival Games for Wii and DS.
[11:06] The games' developer is Cat Daddy, which is also working on a sequel, Carnival Games Mini-Golf for the Wii. Another TV ad talks about getting a "hole in fun!" Audible groans ensue.
[11:07] Anderson repeats the pun, getting some chuckles.
[11:08] Now she announces a new deal to bring Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer to the Wii and DS with Dora saves the Snow Princess this fall.
[11:09] Feder pops back on stage and quickly talks about 2K Games. Apparently the initial run of Civilization Revolution has already sold out at US retailers, with 2K rushing to manufacture more.
[11:09] Cue A trailer for BioShock, which is coming to the PlayStation 3 this fall.
[11:10] Nice--a Borderlands trailer.
[11:10] The post-apocalyptic game shows a lot of indoor and outdoor action, with highly detailed graphics and action.
[11:11] Mafia II is also show off, with extremely realistic depictions of 1950s-era mobsters.
[11:11] Anderson's back, talking about Champions Online, 2K's first MMORPG. It's due next spring.
[11:13] Cue a trailer for Champions. The graphics are semi-cell shaded, making it look and feel very much like an interactive comic book.
[11:13] 2K Marin's Marissa Maya Miller takes the stage to show off BioShock for the PS3.
[11:15] 2K Marin's Marissa Maya Miller takes the stage to show off BioShock for the PS3.
[11:15] Miller talks about the level of effort it took to make BioShock, which drew on resources from all of 2K Games. She says the same effort is being taken with BioShock PS3, which has four studios working on it: 2K Marin, 2K Boston, 2K Australia, and Digital Extremes.
[11:17] New announcement: PS3 BioShock will have exclusive DLC, including new "challenge rooms" in Rapture, new plasmids and new gene tonics.
[11:18] Now, Feder is back to talk about Borderlands, the post-apocalyptic road-actioner and shooter. Randy Pitchford takes the stage and gives BioShock expressive praise.
[11:22] Now onto Borderlands, which takes place on the planet Pandora. The demo begins, with a driver class and a soldier class jumping into a vehicle and driving around the landscape. In a scrub desert area called the "barrens" two vehicles looking like Halo warthogs engage in a road battle before the two players--engaged in co-op mode, jump out and go into a dungeon-like iridium mine. The perspective switches from first to third person. The game will have an experience system similar to Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, where the more you use a particular weapon, the easier it is to use.
[11:24] After fighting off some hungry alien wildlife, the two players go deep into the mine, finding the bones of bandits eaten by monsters--and then excreted. They find guns in a locker, and stress that no two guns in Borderlands are the same. They have an entire program which will randomly generate weapons with a variety of power-ups and extra features.
[11:26] A bloody battle with an underground bandit camp ensues, with the players' opponents meeting bloody ends. The visual style and gameplay looks like a cross of Halo 3 and Fallout 3, though the yellow-tinted guns look straight out of Haze.
[11:28] Ok the guns are color-coded according to their abilities. Like Mass Effect, there will be wide array of ammo types, including guns that shoot acid. More bandits meet their ends, being either fried with electrical rounds or blown to pieces with shotguns. The game is looking just slightly less bloody that Gears of War.
[11:29] After an ambush cut-scene, the demo ends. Huge applause. This game is gonna be massive.
[11:31] Now it's onto Rockstar Games, and Feder name-checks Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, but only says "stay tuned for more information." Cue a montage of GTAIV, Bully, and L.A. Noire, which is apparently still in development.
[11:33] Now it's onto a Midnight Club: Los Angeles trailer. Shots of detailed street racing are accompanied by pumping techno from French DJ duo Justice.
[11:33] Zelnick's back and that's it, apparently.
[11:34] "We're dedicated to creating value for shareholders," says Zelnick. The words "Electronic Arts" were never mentioned.
[11:35] A final sizzle trailer flashes title cards for Sid Meier's Pirates! II and the new Red Dead Revolver game. The lights come up and the crowd rushes for the exit.

Source: GameSpot.

Mas detalles sobre Rock Band 2

Rock Band 2 raises the bar in music gaming innovation with new features to rock the world:
Local and global online modes to connect the entire Rock Band community World Tour mode, now online, simplifies the best of gameplay from the original Rock Band by fusing Solo Tour and Band World Tour modes and cranks it up a notch with an all new collection of opportunity gigs, challenges, cities, venues and hirable staff
Tour Challenges that offer rockers a chance to play through mini-campaigns focused on the best songs by instrument, decade, genre, artist, album and more
Battle of the Bands mode challenges players to go head to head against other bands in constantly refreshed contests* created by Harmonix (*internet connection required)
Quickplay makes it easier than ever to get in and jam without hassle while allowing for new prefab characters or customized characters that can play on any instrument plus lets you make your own set lists and organize your song lists in a variety of categories (genre, era, etc.)
Customizable Set Lists keep the music rolling and your band rocking in Quickplay mode
Drum Trainer mode gives players the fundamentals of different beats and fills, translating gameplay into real drumming skills
Character Creator completes your look with all new choices in clothing, accessories, tattoos, hairstyles, instruments and more to keep your unique rock avatar playing the full rock part
Backwards compatibility with all Rock Band downloadable music content released to date
Disc Export Feature gives owners of the original Rock Band the ability to export most of the Rock Band disc tracks and upgrade them into Rock Band 2 gameplay-the first time ever in videogame history!

Rock Band 2 features the largest music catalogue of any music-based videogame to date including:
The Rock Band 2 soundtrack will feature over 100 songs - with over 80 songs on disc plus an additional 20 bonus tracks which will be made available for free download this fall .
Unrivaled Blend of Classic, Developing and Emerging rock acts including Pearl Jam, Metallica, Allman Brothers, Motorhead, Devo, Jane's Addiction, Megadeth, Paramore, Modest Mouse and more.
Rock Band 2 is the first and only video game to feature the music of AC/DC. It includes their epic rock anthem, "Let There Be Rock”
After 14 years since Guns N’ Roses last official music release, Axl Rose selects Rock Band 2 to debut official new track, “Shackler’s Revenge” from the highly-anticipated album Chinese Democracy
For the first time ever, music from American music icon, Bob Dylan, is featured in a video game with “Tangled Up In Blue”
With ongoing weekly DLC releases including individual tracks, track packs and full albums, the Rock Band music library will feature more than 500 songs by year’s end!

Trailer de Final Fantasy XIII

El Trailer que se presentó en la conferencia de Microsoft.

Trailer de RAGE

Interesante juego de ID Software y Electronic Arts.

Veradero In Game Footage de Mirror's Edge

Hay que verlo en televisión de 50 pulgadas!!!

Las breves del E3

Estas son las breves del E3 con Gears of War 2, Resident Evil 5 y Fable II:


Buried in the avalanche of news coming out of today's Microsoft E3 press conference was word that three top-tier titles have been dated. First on the list was Gears of War 2, the sequel to Epic Games' wildly popular third-person sci-fi shooter. Although it was revealed as coming in November at the 2008 Game Developers Conference in March, the game now has a firm release date--November 7, 2008.

Friday the 13th will prove lucky for RE5 fans next year.
Microsoft's conference was also where Capcom revealed that Resident Evil 5 would have a "simultaneous worldwide release" on the 360 and PlayStation 3. Appropriately, the next installment in the horror-survival series, which has drawn fire for its racially charged depiction of African zombies, will arrive Friday, March 13, 2009. Besides the usual action, the game will feature an online co-operative mode, a first for the series.

Molyneux touts Fable II.
Last but certainly not least, Lionhead Studios used its corporate parents' event to reveal the latest on its Xbox 360 exclusive Fable 2. While on stage showing off the role-playing game, studio founder Peter Molyneux flatly proclaimed that work on the game was "finished," and that it would ship in October. Previously the title, which is the first to have crossover play with Xbox Live Arcade games, had a mere "fall" release window.

Source: GameSpot

It's Official Final Fantasy XIII to Xbox 360 too!!!

Square Enix's formerly PS3-only RPG epic will launch day and date on Microsoft's console in North America and Europe; timed 360 exclusive hitting US Sept. 2, EU Sept. 5.
By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Jul 14, 2008 2:04 pm CT
LOS ANGELES--At the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Microsoft presented what it thought was a major announcement from a top Japanese developer, Square Enix. Unfortunately, the "news" proved a tad anticlimactic, considering that the game in question was Final Fantasy XI, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game previously released on the PC in 2003 and the PlayStation 2 in 2004. Despite a sizeable PR push, the 360 edition of the game was lukewarmly received by critics and consumers, who barely bought 213,000 copies of it in the US.

Over the next three years, Microsoft would announce several more Square Enix games for the Xbox 360, including the exclusive Star Ocean: The Last Hope and the timed exclusive The Last Remnant. However, in many gamers' minds these projects were dwarfed in importance by the stature of two other Square Enix games: Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII Versus, both PlayStation 3 exclusives...

...until today.

This morning at its press briefing at the E3 Media & Business Summit, Microsoft stunned many in the audience by announcing that Final Fantasy XIII is now in development for the Xbox 360. Not only is the game coming to the console, but it will arrive on the same day and date as the PlayStation 3 edition of the game, with no timed exclusivity of any kind. However, when exactly that is remains a mystery, given that the graphics-intensive role-playing game still has no firm release date.

"We believe that releasing an Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII will allow us to provide the game to even more fans in the two regions of North America and Europe," Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada told a stunned audience. No mentioned was made of Japan, where the 360 is far less popular than the PS3.

Wada also used today's event to date the 360 release of The Last Remnant in all regions. The game will ship in North America on September 2, Europe and the UK on September 5, and Japan and Asia on September 11.

Source: GameSpot

Chris Chike lo hace de nuevo!!

Les dejo el 100% de Chris Chike, ganador del Guiness hace algunose meses, pero ahora con un perfect en Through Fire and Flames. :) No tiene vida este muchacho.

Trailer de Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe

Impresionante...

Entrevista a Ed Boon sobre Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe

Impresionantes gráficas. Esperemos que el Gameplay sea igual y se cuente con torneos Online.

Trailer de Mirror's Edge

Un juego promete romper la realidad de los FPS.

Lineup de juegos según GamePro

E3 la semana entrante...

El festival de videojuegos más importante del año está a la vuelta de la esquina, y con tan solo unos días por delante hasta que se celebre, las noticias al respecto se van sucediendo y no podemos quedarnos al margen.

Uno de los factores principales que marcarán el devenir del E3 2008 es la ausencia más que confirmada de Activision y Vivendi, que ya confirmaron oficialmente su abandono de la de la Asociación de Software de Entretenimiento (ESA), que es quien organiza el E3. El vicepresidente de comunicaciones corporativas, Jeff Brown declaró a GamesIndustry: “Creo que ver a Activision y Vivendi fuera de ESA refleja una desafortunada falta de liderazgo. Son una gran empresa y sentimos que cuando se es una gran empresa tienes una responsabilidad hacia los consumidores para trabajar en temas políticos que son muy, muy importantes para los consumidores. Y la mejor forma de hacerlo es con un consenso en la industria. Esa es la forma como se ha hecho con la ESA en EE.UU. y con la ELSPA en el Reino Unido.”



Con la ausencia de Activision y Vivendi, y la consecuente ausencia de Blizzard o idSoftware también por estar bajo su dominio, la feria va a perder algo de peso en lo que a presencia empresarial del sector se refiere, quedándonos sin ver, por ejemplo, el estado en el que se encuentran títulos o nuevo material de ‘StarCraft II’. Prefieren montar eventos particulares para mostrar sus juegos.


Cabe destacar también que otro grande de la industria como es Lucas Arts también ha confirmado que, pese a estar presente en esta edición, para el año 2009 no hará acto de presencia en el E3 de Los Ángeles. Una menos.

Sin embargo, no podemos decir que la feria vaya a estar exenta de novedades este año. Hasta un total de 40 compañías han confirmado su asistencia a la feria entre las que destacan gigantes como Electronic Arts, Codemasters, Konami, Capcom, Take-Two, Ubisoft, THQ, Square-Enix o Namco, además de los tres mastodontes de la industria: Sony, Nintendo y Microsoft.

Así pues, de esta manera queda la lista completa de compañías presentes en el E3 2008:

1UP Network Akella Atari Bethesda Softworks Capcom Crave Entertainment Codemasters D3Publisher Deep Silver Disney Interactive Studios Electronic Arts Eidos Interactive Fox Interactive Media Indie Games Jagex, Ltd Konami LucasArts Majesco Entertainment Microsoft Corporation Midway Games MTV Games Namco Bandai Games Natsume Nintendo Novint Technologies Nyko Technologies Rebellion SEGA Serious Games Initiative Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Online Entertainment Southpeak Interactive Square Enix Take-Two Interactive Tecmo THQ Toshiba America Information Systems Ubisoft Entertainment Valve Software Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment Inc Otra de las grandes novedades que nos depara el E3 2008 es el retorno del evento a su lugar de origen. Como recordaréis, el año pasado se celebró en Santa Mónica y debido al fracaso que supuso la edición 2007, este año el E3 vuelve a Los Ángeles, al clásico Convention Center que veis en la foto que encabeza este artículo.

El retorno a su lugar de origen le ha costado a la ESA aproximadamente tres millones de euros, en concepto de impuestos por haber abandonado Santa Mónica y romper el contrato que tenía con el ayuntamiento de la ciudad. Entonces, en lugar de celebrarse durante el mes de mayo en el centro de convenciones de Los Ángeles, el evento pasó a celebrarse en junio en Santa Mónica (California), en una serie de hoteles que albergaban las diferentes conferencias y eventos, dando a la feria un aire más intimo, pero convirtiéndolo en todo un fracaso.

Así pues, las cosas vuelven más o menos a su sitio en esta nueva edición que se celebrará los días 15, 16 y 17 del próximo mes de julio. Hasta entonces, estaremos muy pendientes de lo que vaya surgiendo al respecto y llegado el momento le daremos una cobertura especial para estar al día de todo lo que acontezca en Los Ángeles.

Fuente: Vida Extra.

Trailer de Project Origins secuela de F.E.A.R.

Hola, les dejo el trailer que se presentará en el E3 de este año.

Algunos juegos ya en Wiiware

Hola, Les dejo ya algunos juegos existentes en el Wiiware...

Si comer de verdad no te es suficiente...

Wiiware está por liberar esta joyita. Se trata del Major League Eating... Bastante grotezco, ya que no sólo gana en el que come mas, sino el que a través de eructos y flatulencias derrota a su contrincante... Aggghh!!! Les dejo el video.

Konami doesn't want to Rock Band!!

Nearly a decade ago, Konami released the first installments in the DrumMania and Guitar Freaks series, which used drum and guitar peripherals. Though neither franchise was a huge hit, the Japanese publisher did sell millions of its dozen-plus Karaoke Revolution games worldwide.
Given Konami's primogeniture in the instrument and karaoke genres, the publisher was likely none too happy when developer Harmonix combined drums, guitars, and singing into one game--Rock Band. Since its release last November, the MTV Games-published, Electronic Arts-distributed title has sold over 3 million $179 bundles and over 10 million song downloads. MTV's parent Viacom went as far as to name-check the game in its annual earnings report in May, crediting it with increased profits.in
Now, it appears Konami is expressing its displeasure in legal form. According to a report on the Bloomberg news service, this week the Japanese publisher filed suit in a Marshall, Texas court against Harmonix, MTV Networks, and Viacom. Its suit claims that Rock Band violates a series of US Patents registered in 2002 and 2003 relating to "simulated musical instruments" and "musical rhythm-matching game."
Bloomberg's report did not outline what Konami wanted in terms of compensation from the suit. However, the legal action's timing comes shortly after the announcement of Rock Band 2 and Rock Band: Japan as well as the release of Rock Band: Special Edition for the Wii. It also comes less than two months after Konami announced its own peripheral-based, guitar-drum-vocal title, Rock Revolution, due out later this year.

Source: GameSpot.

Oficial. Lanzamiento de Chrono Trigger al DS

Lo que parecía un sueño. Es una realidad. Uno de los RPGs de mayor éxito para Squaresoft, ahora formalmente SquareEnix.

Square Enix vive de dos cosas: Final Fantasy y los remakes de Final Fantasy aunque claro, también está Dragon Quest y los remakes de Dragon Quest. La compañía lanzó un sitio con un contador regresivo para [inserta aquí el juego que crees que quieran mostrar].
Claro que la especulación masiva apunta a que es una nueva versión de Chrono Trigger para DS, quizá por los relojes, quizá porque la página termina en "/ctds", lo que se puede traducir como Chrono Trigger DS. Es casi un hecho que sí sea ese juego por las pistas pero la pregunta relevante es: ¿será un port o será un remake? Por otro lado, hay un scan que apunta a lo mismo.
EDIT: Ya es oficial, Chrono Trigger llegará al DS durante la época navideña. Aunque no será un remake a la Final Fantasy IV, se agregarán nuevas opciones como juego en línea, uso de la pantalla táctil y se agregará un dungeon.

Fuente: Atomix.

Sales in Japan this week... >_<

M U L T I
- Here are the latest console hardware sales for the week of June 16 - 22 in Japan.
PSP - 59,351 [1,999,167]
Wii - 41,037 [1,576,386]
NDS Lite - 36,599 [1,485,366]
PlayStation 3 - 20,336 [498,982]
PlayStation 2 - 6,346 [244,077]
Xbox 360 - 2,555 [62,636]
- Here are the latest console software sales for the week of June 16 - 22 in Japan.
Super Robot Taisen A Portable (PSP, Banpresto) - 101,712
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3, Konami) - 67,795 [533,000]
Super Mario Stadium: Family Baseball (Wii, Nintendo) - 58,080
Harukanaru Toki no Nakade 4 (PS2, Koei) - 54,938
Mario Kart Wii (Wii, Nintendo) - 32,703 [1,477,000]
Wii Fit (Wii, Nintendo) - 31,590 [2,258,000]
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP, Capcom) - 20,663 [2,224,000]
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 3 (PSP, Konami) - 19,175 [206,000]
DS Bimoji Training (NDS, Nintendo) - 17,528 [302,000]
Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou! (NDS, Sega) - 11,063 [96,000]
Wii Sports (Wii, Nintendo)
DS Yamamura Misa Suspense: Kyoto Murder Files (NDS, Tecmo)
Meccha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: 7-tsu no Shima no Daibouken (NDS, Bandai Namco)
Hisshou Pachinko Pachislot Kouryaku Series DS Vol.2 CR Shinseki Evangelion: Shito Futatabi (NDS, D3P)
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (PS3, Bandai Namco)
Family Trainer (Wii, Bandai Namco)
Hajameti no Wii [Wii Play] (Wii, Nintendo)
Fushigi no Dungeon - Furai no Shiren 3: Karakuri Yashiki no Nemuri Hime (Wii, Sega)
Mario Kart DS (NDS, Nintendo)
Valhalla Knights 2 (PSP, Marvelous)

Source: Famitsu.

Street Fighter IV more info...

- Capcom revealed that the arcade version of Street Fighter IV will support IC cards, you can register your nicknames, save battle points and purchase costumes and accessories with the card. You can use battle points to redeem mobile content and purchase costumes....

Source: The Magic Box.

Se anuncia Rock Band 2

While the original Rock Band is still going strong, Harmonix is already looking towards the next bit of kit that it hopes will be cluttering your place, with it now getting official with Rock Band 2 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This time around, it seems the Xbox 360 will be getting a jump on things with a launch in September, with the PS3 version set to follow "later in the year." Both of those will, naturally, be coming with all new instruments, including the tasty Fender Stratocaster pictured above, but you will be able to use your current gear if you want to spare the extra clutter and save a few bucks. What's more, you'll also be able to carry over all your current downloaded content and, as IGN reports, you'll even be able to download and play new tracks on Rock Band 1 once Rock Band 2 is out. Of course, Harmonix is saving most of the details for E3 next month

Here is more detail information:

June 30, 2008 - Rock Band is ready for a comeback tour. Today, Harmonix announced Rock Band 2 is set to ship for Xbox 360 this September and PS3 later in the year. However, the official announcement of Rock Band 2 is sparse on details, so we went straight to Harmonix to learn more. We spoke with Lead Designer Dan Teasdale to get the full scoop on the mega-sequel. Teasdale gave us his thoughts on user-created content, improving accessibility, upgrading last year's model and more.

Source: IGN.COM

Second Life cumple 5 anios

Habrá una feria virtual para celebrar sus cinco años. Escrito por
Paulina S. viernes, 20 de junio de 2008
Second Life inició en la red en el 2003. Después de cinco años y 13
millones de cuentas registradas, cumple 5 años. Por este hecho habrá
ferias virtuales donde habrá fiestas, exhibiciones y mesas redondas.
Las ferias se llevarán a cabo en varias regiones de Second Life y
estará disponible del 23 de junio al 7 de julio. Puedes ver un
calendario con las actividades que habrá en la siguiente liga:
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Week_2_Confirmed
En las mesas redondas se discutirá los logros sobresalientes de Second
Life entre otros temas.

Fuente: Atomix

Al Fin, PS3 el numero en ventas en Japon

Durante mucho tiempo, las consolas de Nintendo permanecieron en los
primeros lugares de ventas en Japón pero de repente, sin deberla ni
temerla, el PSP despegó del tercer al primer lugar, donde ha
permanecido cerca de dos meses. Aunque la portátil de Sony ha tenido
mucho éxito en el Lejano Oriente, desde su lanzamiento, el PlayStation
3 no ha pasado de vender 15,000 unidades semanales hasta ahora, mérito
que le debe a Metal Gear Solid 4. A continuación las ventas de
consolas de la semana del 9 al 15 de junio:
PS3 - 75,311PSP - 64,675Wii - 45,564DS Lite - 39,201PS2
- 7,297Xbox 360 - 2,163
Seguramente veremos al PS3 en la cabeza al menos por dos semanas más,
pero lo interesante será ver si se queda ahí y si pasado el furor de
Snake regresa a la "normalidad". Por el lado de los juegos, desde
luego, MGS4 está en la punta. Aquí el top ten nipón:
1. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) 2. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) 3. Wii Fit (Wii)
4. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 (PSP) 5. Monster Hunter
Portable 2nd G (PSP) 6. Hisshou Pachinko*Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series DS
Vol. 2: CR Neon Genesis Evangelion - Shito, Futatabi (DS) 7. Dragon
Ball Z Burst Limit (PS3) 8. DS Bimoji Training (DS) 9. DS Yamamura
Misa Suspense: (DS) 10. Fushigi no Dungeon - Furai no Shiren 3:
Karakuri Yashiki no Nemuri Hime (Wii)

Fuente: Atomix.

A la defensa de los desamaparados

Buen dia,
Pues un dia mas. Ya para muchos, este jueves huele a fin de semana.
El pasado domingo fue cumpleanos de un servidor y tuve la fortuna
derecibir un interesante presente.Debido a la inexperiencia en
videojuegos de mis allegados, perocompensado por su inmenso carino, me
fue regalado el juego "ProjectSylpheed" de Square Enix.
A primera vista (de la caja) el juego se veia prometedor. Una marca
degran prestigio, unas fotos con unas graficas bastante decentes.
Asique me di a la tarea de investigar lo que el mundo opinaba de
el.Principalmente, porque yo estaba esperando el Lost Oddissey.
Abri mi explorador de internet y decidi dirigirme a Gamespot. Cual
fuemi sorpresa cuando me di cuenta que era el feliz poseedor de un
juegocon calificacion de "mediocre".
Chale!!! Exclame... Bueno, no con esas palabras. Me comence a
ponernerviosito. En mi cabeza surgieron ideas, desde ir a
cambiarloinmediatamente a Blockbuster hasta tratar de transarme algun
chavitoen Mercado Libre para venderlo.
Me arme de valor, abri la caja y meti el disco en mi Xbox 360, que
porcierto esta agonizando porque ya en varias ocasiones le han salido
losfamosos aros de la muerte.
Les puedo comentar que Project Sylpheed es un juego decente,
dificil,con una trama interesante y que recuerda aquellos juegos de
antano desimuladores en los que los planos son fijos. Los controles
son facilesde usar.
Calificacion Final: 8.0
Razones para creer que Square no se cayo con una lana para promoverla: ciertas.
Que las revistas le pongan 5.0 a un juego que tardaron, sudaron y
seesmeraron por hacerlo lo mejor posible... Eso, eso no tiene
m....Precio.
Mi recomendacion es, rentenlo, jueguenlo y formense su propio juicio.
Abur.

Gears of War director confirmed!!!

Wiseman Directs "Gears of War" FilmBy Garth FranklinTuesday, June 17th
2008 1:12amLen Wiseman ("Underworld," "Live Free or Die Hard") is set
to direct the hit Xbox 360 video game adaptation "Gears of War" for
New Line says the trades.
Chris Morgan ("Wanted," "Fast and Furious") has been hired to write
the screenplay based on a story treatment he will develop with
Wiseman. It's not sure how much of Stuart Beattie's original draft
will survive.
Set on the planet Sera, the game thrusts players into a battle for
survival between humans and a race of creatures that surface from the
bowels of the planet known as the Locust Horde. Players assume
identities of soldiers on Delta Squad as they fight to save Sera's
inhabitants.
The award-winning game sold more than three million units worldwide in
its first ten weeks and is Microsoft's second-biggest seller after the
"Halo" franchise. A sequel game hits stores this Thanksgiving.
This movement on the project also indicates that the new form of New
Line, as a sub-division of parent company Time Warner, will be
handling big-budget action fare rather than low-budget speciality
titles as previously thought.

Yo y Nico Bellic

Grand Theft Auto IV va mas alla de lo inimaginable. Es una experiencia
real en un mundo virtual que rompe con las barreras de la moral y la
honestidad.

Es el mundo del alter ego, del lado obscuro de la fuerza, del
equilibrio del Ying y el Yang.

Liberty City hace honor a su nombre. Ya que te da la libertad de hacer
literalmente lo que se te antoje. Desde ir a jugar bolos con un amigo
o prospecta, hasta ir a robarte un camion de resguardo de valores.

Las misiones estan bien estructuradas y categorizadas. La curva de
aprendizaje es corta y constantemente te recuerdan cual es cada uno de
los movimientos. El celular se vuelve pieza fundamental en el
juego... Que buena bateria tiene por cierto. Ya que nunca se te
descarga!!!!

El desarrollo del personaje se da como el de otras entregas de GTA.
Empezando desde abajo hasta convertirte en el padrino de la ciudad.

La inteligencia artificial es impecable. Los resultados a veces no son
predecibles lo que da esa sensacion de sorpresa.

Pero sin duda., un valor importante es el multiplayer. Que entretenido
es. Uno se puede pasar en compania de 15 jugadores mas, destruyendo,
quemando y causando destruccion en la ciudad sin verse interrumpidos.
Con un arsenal que va desde granadas hasta bazucas.

Otras categorias de juegos van desde simples carreras hasta
persecuciones al estilo belico que solo GTA te puede dar.

Una excelente recomendacion para videojugadores mayores de edad (sorry
ninos) que buscan libertad en la calida comodidad de su hogar.

Guitar Hero Rocks with a Band

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Activision Inc (ATVI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) is adding drums, bass guitar, and microphone to its popular "Guitar Hero" video game, a move aimed at winning away fans of MTV's rival musical title "Rock Band".
"Guitar Hero World Tour" will include the ability for two groups of four people each to compete online, as well as let players compose and play their own music, Activision said on Thursday.
The game will feature songs from bands such as Van Halen, The Eagles, Linkin Park and Sublime, with every song being an original master track, unlike past games where many of the songs were cover versions.
Due out in the fall, the game will mark a new direction for the "Guitar Hero" franchise, in which players push colored buttons on a plastic guitar-shaped controller to match notes on the screen.
"I certainly think it takes the edge off 'Rock Band'," said Mike Hickey, an analyst with Janco Partners. "What's 'Rock Band' going to do now, add a flute and banjo?"
Activision's money-spinning franchise got its first real competition last November when Viacom's (VIAb.N: Quote, Profile, Research) MTV unit launched "Rock Band", which featured drumming and singing in addition to guitar playing.
The "Guitar Hero" series has raked in more than a billion dollars for Activision and has helped drive a 72 percent rise in the company's stock over the past 12 months.
That compares to virtually flat performance in the shares of Activision's top rival Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O: Quote, Profile, Research), which distributes "Rock Band" for MTV.
Shares in Activision were up 19 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $32.82 in late morning trading on Nasdaq. Activision did not say how much the new game will cost. Last year's "Guitar Hero 3", which came with one wireless guitar controller, sold for about $90. "Rock Band", which came with one guitar, a drum kit, and a microphone, sold for $170.
"World Tour" will be the third "Guitar Hero" game coming out this year.
Next month will see the launch of "Guitar Hero Aerosmith" focusing on the best-selling American rock group, as well as a portable version called "On Tour" for Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research) popular DS handheld device.
"Guitar Hero World Tour" will come out in versions for Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, and Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 consoles.
(Reporting by Scott Hillis; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Source: Reuters

All time games in Japan by Famitsu

Here are the Famitsu Readers All Time Favorite Games in Japan:

Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (PSP, Capcom)
Final Fantasy X (PS2, Square Enix)
Dragon Quest VIII (PS2, Square Enix)
Final Fantasy VII (PS, Square Enix)
Dairantou Smash Bros. X [Super Smash Bros. Brawl] (Wii, Nintendo)
Persona 3 Fes (PS2, Atlus)
Oide yo Doubutsu no Mori DS [Animal Crossing: Wild World] (NDS, Nintendo)
Machi (Saturn, Chunsoft)
Final Fantasy XII (PS2, Square Enix)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2, Konami)
Tales of the Abyss (PS2, Bandai Namco)
Tactics Orge (SFC, Square Enix/Quest)
Super Robot Taisen Original Generations (PS2, Banpresto)
Okami (PS2, Capcom)
Lost Odyssey (X360, Microsoft)
Dragon Quest IV (NDS, Square Enix)
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo)
Biohazard 4 (PS2, Capcom)
Final Fantasy IV (NDS, Square Enix)
Ryuga Gotoku 2 (PS2, Sega)

Source: Famitsu

Fourth Doom is preparing to rock...

Shortly before Doom 3 launched to much fanfare--and solid sales--in August 2004, id Software announced it was working on an all-new IP. That turned out to be Rage, a visually innovative, open-world driving and shooting game first unveiled at the MacWorld Expo last year. The game was a marked departure from the Texan studio's signature Quake and Doom series, whose future remained shrouded in mystery.
Although the possibility of a Quake 5 remains up in the air, id today formally announced that work is beginning on Doom 4. Typically such announcements are accompanied by bluster, but id took a different approach, using the news to hang up a big "now hiring" sign on its suburban Dallas headquarters, saying it was "expanding its internal team."
"Doom is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth," id CEO Todd Hollenshead said in a statement. "It's critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards synonymous with our titles."
Though the Doom 4 announcement carefully avoided any mention of platforms, it did direct potential hires to id's official jobs page. There, every single job listing has "PlayStation 3, 360, and PC" as "applicable platforms." Many are specifically for Rage, but a listing for a cinematic art director asks for "an experienced and creative visionary...who want[s] to apply their craft to the development of legendary id brands like Quake and Doom" for the "PC, Xbox 360, [and] PS3."
Reps for id declined to comment on the listings or on any potential Doom 4 release date.
Traditionally, id has focused on the PC, farming out port duties--such as the Xbox Doom 3--to external operations. However, since Doom 3's release, the studio has shifted to focus on not only next-generation consoles, but also on the Mac platform as well, as revealed by the Rage announcement.

Source: GameSpot

Verbinski Bioshocks Hollywood

Gore Verbinski is returning to Davy Jones' locker. Having completed work on the Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy, Verbinski has signed on for another oceanic epic with the big-screen adaptation of 2K Games' award-winning action game BioShock.
The publisher today announced the project in conjunction with Universal Pictures. The studio is in talks with Academy Award-nominated writer John Logan (Aviator, The Time Machine) to provide the screenplay.
In an interview with Hollywood trade magazine Variety, Verbinski said the film won't be on the same scale as his summer blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean films.
"It's a much more intimate story than Pirates," Verbinski explained. "Although it's an adventure, its a dramatic adventure. I see it more along the lines of Blade Runner."
Although the Disney ride-based films are his best-known work, Verbinski has worked on smaller-scale pictures as well. He directed the US remake of The Ring, as well as the 1997 family picture Mousehunt. Three months ago, he gave the keynote address at the DICE Summit, telling hundreds of the game-industry elite about his growing interest in games.
Verbinski also told the trade that he was prepared to make a BioShock movie rated R. Beyond the dark tone and violence of the game, Verbinski also said the "graphic nature of the story is smarter than that."
"The utopian references and the way the characters and world are drawn in that delightfully inspired Jules Verne and Ayn Rand style places the film in a more elevated realm," Verbinski said. "It's the realm of a graphic novel. It has to have that edge."
Variety also reported that Take-Two Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick dismissed fears that the project would end up in turnaround like Universal's last big game adaptation--Halo--saying that the BioShock deal was structured specifically to avoid such a fate.
No projected release window for the film was announced, nor was the casting of any major characters--including the silent, faceless protagonist--revealed.

Source: GameSpot

Sony en investigación junto con otros fabricantes de LEDs

In February, HD DVD creator Toshiba officially called an armistice in the high-definition video playback wars, saying it would cease production of its format standard and let it fade into obscurity alongside Sony's Betamax. While Toshiba's pullout defaulted the victory in the HD disc war to the Sony spearheaded Blu-ray Disc Association, skirmishes surrounding the format linger on.
The US International Trade Commission said this week that it will be launching a patent infringement investigation of "certain short-wavelength light emitting diodes, laser diodes, and products containing same." Parties named in the investigation include Blu-ray creator Sony, along with 30 other top electronics manufactures, including Nokia, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, Pioneer, and Hitachi.
The investigation stems from a complaint filed by Gertrude Neumark Rothschild on February 20. Rothschild claims diodes currently imported for use in "hand-held mobile devices, instrument panels, billboards, traffic lights, HD DVD players (e.g., Blu-ray Disc players), and data storage devices" infringe upon one of her patents, and thus are in violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. As such, Rothschild is requesting that the US trade body issue exclusion and cease and desist orders to all companies named in the investigation.
Sony had not responded to requests for comment on the investigation as of press time.

Source: Gamespot

Parece que fue ayer...

Es increíble como pasa el tiempo. El último update fue de diciembre del 2007. Es decir, nos la hemos pasado de Baketones por lo menos 3 meses. Ya casi cuatro. Créanme que no fueron vacaciones, sino que estos humildes escritores no vivimos de postear, sino de apostearle a la chamba de cada día. Sin duda, este ha sido un año lleno de trabajo y muchos retos. Creo que ya estaremos más holgados para darle a este asunto.

¿Que ha habido en las últimas semanas? Ya para no darle más al asunto de los meses. Primero, MGS 4 (Metal Gear Solid 4) se nos retrasó una vez más. Hideo Kojima pretende que esperemos un poquito más para apreciar su masterpiece. Sólo espero que el MGS 5 no salga primero que este.

Gears of War 2. Esto fue para mi una excelente noticia, ya que soy fan de la serie. Incluso de la sierra eléctrica que Microsoft quería eliminar en el 1. Ahora, se trata de un icono de la franquicia.

Súper Smash Bros. Brawl. El juego más vendido de Nintendo en el menor tiempo posible. 1.4 millones de copias en una semana. Enhorabuena. Ahora, a arregar el problema del Lag que están teniendo en los servidores por el combate en línea. Un poco de expertise de Sony y Microsoft ayudaría.

Nuevo récord Guinness en Guitar Hero... 841,000 puntos en Through the fire and flames en Expert. Vean el video en YouTube bastante impresionante, principalmente por la tranquilidad de aquel individuo para tocar.

Street Fighter IV y Super Street Fighter II Remix HD. Dos juegos, uno remasterizado, otro increiblemente mejorado. Una consola anunciada a la fecha: PS3 para el primero, Xbox 360 y PS3 para el último. Descarga Online esperada para diciembre de este año.

Espero poder decirles que hemos vuelto, pero la verdad prefiero esperarme a los acontecimientos.

Sony confirma las tarjetas prepagadas en América

El título tiene la liga a la nota, pero le dejo el link aquí.

Wii entra al mundo LIVE. Wii gets into the LIVE world.

Jugar en línea con CV y chat con vozEl presidente de NOA, Reggie Fils-Aime posiblemente esté planeando una significativa actualización a la Consola Virtual de Nintendo; “no nos sorprendería” si la opción de chat con voz llegara al Wii. Por Tom Magrino
Pokémon Snap, llega esta semana como parte de la agenda de la actualización de la Consola Virtual, permitiendo a los jugadores compartir las fotos que ellos tomen en el juego y enviárselas a sus amigos vía internet gracias a la funcionalidad de compartir fotos que tiene el Wii. Viendo estas capacidades traspasar un juego de la Consola Virtual es tangible. Ahora se corren los rumores de que pronto le agregaran una nueva funcionalidad de jugar en línea con títulos de la CV así como tablas de puntos o algunos modos multijugador como se puede encontrar en selectos títulos de Xbox Live Arcade classics.
Sin embargo, esos rumores se eliminaron el día de hoy durante una charla telefónica con el presidente de Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime. Aunque la principal preocupación que tiene en estos momentos Nintendo es la falta de consolas en los almacenes para la temporada navideña, Fils-Aime dio algunas pequeñas pistas acerca de los planes a futuro que tiene la consentida consola de Nintendo.
"En términos de la Consola Virtual, nuestro principal objetivo es dejar esos juegos legendarios intactos justo como fueron lanzados hace muchos años,” dijo.
"Una de las pequeñas excepciones de eso fue que hicimos unos mínimos cambios con Pokémon Snap, por ejemplo. No nos anticipamos haciendo la compatibilidad en línea para juegos de la Consola Virtual. Sólo realizamos modificaciones para el intercambio de imágenes."
Además de darnos puntos interesantes con respecto a los planes de la Casa de Mario. Fils-Aime también nos hizo algunos comentarios con respecto al servicio de chat con voz que posiblemente será algo que tenían pensado desde hace tiempo, una vez que el apropiado periférico de comunicación esté listo.
"En términos de chat de voz en línea, como tú sabes, estamos haciendo constantes cambios," dijo el ejecutivo. "Ciertamente nuestro sistema tiene la compatibilidad para chat de voz en línea; lo que estamos finalizando es el periférico que permita hablar al usuario mientras se encuentra jugando, de hecho es algo que se encuentra disponible en el DS ciertamente es algo que nosotros valoramos y algo que nosotros constantemente estamos viendo y no me sorprendería ver esa capacidad en nuestro sistema."

Fuente: Game Spot en Español

Source: Game Spot in Spanish

Sales Charts in Japan

Now, let's have a look to Japan :)

Here are the latest console hardware sales in Japan for the week of December 17 - 23.
NDS Lite - 279,551 [6,948,478]
Wii - 232,907 [3,544,308]
PSP - 171,804 [2,908,095]
PlayStation 3 - 58,167 [1,131,412]
PlayStation 2 - 20,391 [746,609]
Xbox 360 - 7,908 [234,335]
GBA SP - 100 [50,634]
GameCube - 31 [10,526]

- Here are the latest console software sales in Japan for the week of December 17 - 23.

Mario Party DS (NDS, Nintendo) - 329,826 [1,156,000]
Final Fantasy IV (NDS, Square Enix) - 287,697
Wii Fit (Wii, Nintendo) - 214,334 [749,000]
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) - 113,831 [664,000]
Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 2 (PS2, Bandai Namco) - 108,717
Mario & Sonic at Bejing Olympics (Wii, Sega) - 104,948 [317,000]
Dragon Quest IV (NDS, Square Enix) - 94,425 [963,000]
Dorabase: Dramatic Stadium (NDS, Bandai Namco) - 84,639
Wii Sports (Wii, Nintendo) - 83,882 [2,425,000]
Layton Kyouju to Akuma no Hako (NDS, Level 5) - 83,293 [527,000]
Hajimete no Wii [Wii Play] (Wii, Nintendo)
Mario Party 8 (Wii, Nintendo)
Taiko no Tetsujin DS (NDS, Bandai Namco)
Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon: Toki no Tankentai (NDS, Nintendo)
Kousoku Card Battle: Card Hero (NDS, Nintendo)
Mario Kart DS (NDS, Nintendo)
Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon: Yami no Tankentai (NDS, Nintendo)
Pawafuru Kun Pocket 10 (NDS, Konami)
Powerful Pro Baseball 14 Final Edition (PS2, Konami)
Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisecchi (NDS, Bandai Namco)

Source: The Magic Box.

Top Sellers this season eve based on Amazon info.

GamePro examines the top selling game products from the world's largest online retailer.

Quickly after gamers and non-gamers unwrapped their gifted Wiis earlier this week for Christmas, they have flooded the internet to buy peripherals, accessories, and Mario Galaxy. Behold the current best sellers this week:
1. Wii Play with Wii Remote
2. Wii Nunchuck controller
3. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360)
5. Rock Band (Xbox 360)
6. Nyko Wii charge station
7. Wii Remote
8. PS3 Sixaxis Controller*
9. Nintendo Wii
10. Wii Zapper with Link's Crossbow Training

Source: Amazon (updated hourly) * denotes promotional price cut.

Source: GamePro

Microsoft and their plans to have a Wii alike controller?

Will Microsoft release a first-party motion controller for Xbox 360? The company isn't talking.

"Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation. And I have nothing further to share," a Microsoft official told Next-Gen on Friday, when asked if the company would be releasing a motion controller add-on.
Rumors of a 360 motion controller surfaced on Wednesday, after XboxFamily.com reported that Microsoft would release a Wii-like peripheral this fall with the help of Gyration, the same company that first worked on prototype designs of the Wii Remote for Nintendo.
Microsoft is currently the only console maker not supporting some form of motion controls.
In May of 2006, Microsoft founder Bill Gates told MTV News that motion controls are "not mainstream for most games," before adding, "there's a lot to be learned about these controllers."

Source: GamePro

GamePro's most significant news

GamePro published what they think are their most significant new of 2007. Here is the link: http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/international/games/features/154488.shtml

Otherwise, you can read it here:

GamePro lists the biggest stories of the year - some shocking, others far-reaching, everything you need to know.

PlayStation 3 strugglesAfter a dismal launch in 2006, PlayStation 3 continued to stumble in 2007. While running the public relations gambit, Sony denied soft-demand for the console in January, derided the competition in July, before conceding a first-year defeat in November saying they'll need "to play catch-up." The future shows promise, however, given a recent price cut and some solid year end games. But Sony has its work cut out if they wish to keep the PS3 from becoming the GameCube of this generation (read: a worthy system unable to realize its full potential).

Bungie leaves MicrosoftLess than two weeks after the release of Halo 3, Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios jointly announced the disolution of their partnership. It wasn't a bitter break-up, however, as Microsoft retained long-term Halo rights and a minority stake in the newly-formed independent developer. While the Halo-maker is only working on 360 titles for now, the possibility of Bungie-made games on non-Xbox consoles still exits.

The Father of the PlayStation retiresKen Kutaragi, the mastermind behind every PlayStation system ever made, relinquished the driver's seat to Kaz Hirai in June, leaving behind a brilliant yet tarnished legacy. His most noticeable contribution was in taking video games to the mainstream with both the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, each which sold an unprecedented 100+ million units worldwide. But despite his heavy influence, Kutaragi may unjustly be remembered as the man responsible for the PS3's controversial design and high launch price.

Grand Theft Auto 4 delayedThe Grand Theft Auto series is on the verge of surpassing total Tetris sales of 70 million. Tetris people -- the game that everyone and their dog played in the Eighties! But all-time sales don't do the franchise justice. Over the last six years, combined GTA sales have made it the most popular series in recent history, by far. So when the latest sequel gets delayed for development issues, gamers panic, and panic they did. You can only wait so long for sand box tyranny.

Review integrity called into questionLong-time GameSpot editor Jeff Gerstmann was abruptly fired in November for what his employer called "internal reasons." That didn't stop numerous reports, however, from speculating that the seasoned game critic lost his job due to his negative review of Kane & Lynch. A recent Kohnke Communications' court filing saying the PR firm was successful "in convincing reviewers to write positive reviews" didn't help to simmer the incident. The real story, however, was in the examination and subsequent scrutiny of video game coverage. While allegations of payola and advertiser pressure are nothing new to the industry, Gerstmann-gate helped redraw the lines for both the gaming press and publishers seeking favorable review scores.

Xbox 360 failures go criticalMicrosoft says, "the best games are on Xbox 360." But what difference does it make if you can't play said games due to unreliable hardware, aka the Red Ring of Death? This fatal error, said to be affecting some 33 percent of all Xbox 360s in existence, just won't go away, despite Microsoft's promises and the hopes of patience gamers everywhere. While on track to outsell its predecessor (extended warranties be damned), think of what the 360 could accomplish with dependable hardware. Microsoft needs to nip this one in the bud, or else.

PS2 stays relevantSince first launching in 2000, Sony has sold more than 120 million PS2s worldwide, making it the best-selling system of all time. The six-generation console celebrated its seventh birthday in October, and shows no signs of slowing. Amazingly, this last-gen platform outsold the Xbox 360 in seven of the last 12 months according to NPD figures (20/25 when considering life-to-date 360 sales); the PS3 has never outsold the PS2. So even though it no longer has that new car smell, the PS2 still gets the job done.

DS finishes as top-selling system overallPortable or not, the DS is the most popular video game system in the world. It may not be the most glamorous news item of the year, but never before has a handheld dominated video games (including consoles) like the DS. It's home to a ton of great games (traditional, quirky, and innovative), and it appeals to both gamers and non-gamers alike. Given its current sales rate, Market researcher DFC Intelligence even predicts that the DS will end up being the most widely purchased platform ever.

Wii catapults Nintendo into the spotlightAs of this year, Sony no longer leads the video game industry -- that honor currently belongs to Nintendo for a second time. Here's why: the Wii outsold both the Xbox 360 and PS3 every month this year save only the Halo 3 release in September, it uses a radically new controller, it's still hard to find more than a year after its launch, it has the most exclusive games in development, it has the largest selection of downloadable titles, it overtook total Xbox 360 sales in less than a year, it helped Nintendo displace Sony as the largest software maker, it sorta helps fat people lose weight, it's inexpensive, and even your mom likes it. Never mind who's buying the thing, Wii is exciting people. Welcome back, Nintendo.

Video games go pop culture (and the rise of casual games)Casual games became something of a movement, not to mention a dull buzzword this year. EA formally joined the party at E3, as did Ubisoft, Midway, Activision, THQ, and a slew of others when endorsing the initiative. Even Microsoft showed Wii-envy before releasing a casual-friendly controller and a trio of games this fall. But not only did casual awareness help make games more mainstream this year, Halo 3 created a pop culture riot by selling millions, and the industry recorded its biggest year ever since Atari first started selling games (read: more people play games today than ever before). And don't be fooled; the courtship of non-gamers doesn't come at the expense of fewer conventional games, so long as you and I keep buying them.
MOST OVERRATED NEWS

Activision merges with BlizzardNothing to see here (for now) as each brand will independently run as usual -- the move was merely a stock name change that hardly affects gamers, only people who wear suits to work. The bigger news (though still of little relevance to gamers) is that Activision overtook EA as the largest game publisher in 2007 before the merger, fueled largely by the success of Guitar Hero 3 and Call of Duty 4 across multiple platforms.

Source: Game Pro.

Xbox Live with intermittent problems during Christmas

We hear a lot of people are having problems with Xbox Live today (we're not, for the record), but if you're feeling a bit sheepish about giving the gift of a 360 + Live service to a loved one, just imagine how Microsoft must feel. The service -- which we'd like to remind everyone is paid, unlike the competition's -- has been up and down since Christmas weekend. And it's not some surprise that there would be an influx of users today, nor is it any mystery to Microsoft how many Live accounts and Xboxes were sold over the past couple of weeks -- which is precisely why this kind of thing is so annoying. Thankfully, it seems to be a bit less widespread than last weekend's outage. Feel free to shout it out in comments.

Source: Engadget

Top Ten Games of the Year based on Wired Magazine

The Wired Magazine published its Top Ten Games of the Year list. The link below:

http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/multimedia/2007/12/YE_games_2007?slide=1&slideView=11

Source: Wired.

Final Fantasy IV The After goes mobile

Square Enix revealed new info on Final Fantasy IV The After for mobile phone in Japan:
The protagonist is the son of Cecil and Rosa named Cedore
The story takes place years after FFIV
Returning characters include Cecil, Cid, Kain, Rydia, Edge and Yang
The game will have 2D graphics like in the original version of FFIV.
The game uses an altered Active Time Battle system, where you can see enemies inputting their attacks while you enter your own.
FFIV The After will be distributed in multiple episodes, which are downloadable from the mobile network.
The prologue episode will be free of charge

Source: The Magic Box.

Hardware and Software Sales Chart in Japan

Here are the first day sales of new games released in Japan on December 20, 2007:

Final Fantasy IV (NDS, Square Enix) - 180,000
Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Hero Accel 2 (PS2, Bandai Namco) - 45,000
Kousoku Card Battle: Card Hero (NDS, Nintendo) - 30,000
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri: Kakera Asobi (PS2, Alchemist) - 23,000
Powerful Pro Baseball 14 Final Edition (PS2, Konami) - 17,000
Time Crisis 4 (PS3, Bandai Namco) - 10,000
Hajimete no Ippo Portable: Victorious Spirits (PSP, D3P) - 6,000
Patapon (PSP, Sony) - 5,000
Powerful Pro Baseball 14 Final Edition (Wii, Konami) - 4,000
Medal of Honor Airborne (PS3, EA) - 2,500
FIFA 2008 (PS3, EA) - 1,700
FIFA 2008 (X360, EA) - 1,200

- Here are the latest console hardware sales in Japan for the week of December 10 - 16:

NDS Lite - 222,132 [6,665,838]
PSP - 184,610 [2,736,291]
Wii - 170,558 [3,311,301]
PlayStation 3 - 63,720 [1,073,245]
PlayStation 2 - 18,025 [726,218]
Xbox 360 - 8,561 [226,427]
GBA SP - 103 [22,023]
GameCube - 32 [10,507]
GB Micro - 28 [27,814]

- Here are the latest console software sales in Japan for the week of December 10 - 16:

Mario Party DS (NDS, Nintendo) - 180,042 [826,000]
Wii Fit (Wii, Nintendo) - 124,238 [535,000]
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (PS3, Sony) - 115,748
Layton Kyouju to Akuma no Hako (NDS, Level 5) - 74,378 [444,000]
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) - 74,113 [550,000]
Dragon Quest IV (NDS, Square Enix) - 73,061 [868,000]
Mario & Sonic at Bejing Olympics (Wii, Sega) - 64,228 [212,000]
Wii Sports (Wii, Nintendo) - 55,102 [2,341,000]
Hajimete no Wii [Wii Play] (Wii, Nintendo) - 54,696 [1,921,000]
Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon: Toki Wasure No Meikyuu (Wii, Square Enix) - 40,580
World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 (PS2, Konami)
Mario Party 8 (Wii, Nintendo)
Power-Pro Kun Pocket 10 (NDS, Konami)
Kirarin Revolution Tsukutte Misechao! Kime*Kira Stage (NDS, Konami)
Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon: Toki no Tankentai (NDS, Nintendo)
Mario Kart DS (NDS, Nintendo)
Taiko no Tetsujin DS (NDS, Bandai Namco)
Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon: Yami no Tankentai (NDS, Nintendo)
Minna no Golf Portable 2 (PSP, Sony)
SD Gundam G Generations Spirits (PS2, Bandai Namco)

¡¡Felicidades!!

A nombre de todo el equipo que trabajamos en la elaboración de este Blog queremos desearles una muy felíz navidad y un próspero 2008. Que todos sus sueños, deseos, anhelos y que jueguen mucho!!! :)

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.