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.