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Gamestop Buys Kongregate
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Culture, Downloadable Content, Editorial, Internet, PC,
Kongregate, a community with a firm back bone made up of thousands upon thousands of free games, is about to get even more backing thanks to its recent fusion with gaming giant Gamestop. But will this unlikely pairing hurt the Kongregate gaming community more than it will help? And what exactly does this mean for your beloved local Gamestop?
Kongregate (or Kong for short) averages over 10 million active users with more than 23 million hours of logged game time a month, and puts forward games provided by eager young developers. Indie developers are supported by Kong not only in having a platform to present their wares to such a large community, but also by given a share in ad and transaction revenue. The owners Jim and Emily Greer wholeheartedly support this community, and do their best to give developers and gamers the best possible community for them. They also believe that Gamestop wholeheartedly support the Kong community as well.
Click to continue reading Gamestop Buys Kongregate
Read More 
| Kongregate via Gamasutra
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E3 2010 Post-Coital Shame: The Sky is Falling - Kinect Edition
Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: E3, Editorial, Features, Music, Simulation, Xbox 360,
If you didn’t go to E3 this year, well, you didn’t miss much. I mean, well, you missed dancing. And space marines. And Skittles.
You missed Skittles the Dancing Space Marine, the unofficial mascot of E3 2010.
Microsoft hatef*cked their audience with scripted hilarity and dated motion control games. Sony pimped a new 3D TV technology that costs thousands and can only be watched by a few people at a time. Nintendo was the show’s net positive with a bunch of new, awesome games and the 3DS’s grand appearance.
Some commentators looked at this year’s presentation and predicted the fall of the game industry. Others sighed and walked away. Some of us were unable to post because we were caught somewhere inbetween the NBA Finals riots and my third vodka and red bull, which was weak, and I took notice of that.
I’m here to tell you that things aren’t quite as grim as some would have you believe. This time around, I want to talk about Kinect. Hit the jump for some ill-informed musings.
Click to continue reading E3 2010 Post-Coital Shame: The Sky is Falling - Kinect Edition
PSX4Droid - Playstation 1 Games on Your Android Smartphone
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Casual, Downloadable Content, Portable/Mobile, Retro, Sony,
Are you an Android user who is jealous of all those iPhone users’ jailbroken ability to play classic PS1 games? If so, then ZodTTD and Yongch have provided a green-eye curing elixir in the form of PSX4Droid. The duo which has brought you game emulators for iPhone and Palm Pre have now managed to have their PSX4Droid emulator available to Android users in the Android App store for $5.99. This means that no jail breaking is needed in order to get your hands on classic games such as Final Fantasy 7, Ridge Racer, Crash Bandicoot, and more!
While paying $5.99 for an emulator that you can find online for free may seem silly, it is still a good deal for those who don’t want to risk jail breaking their phone. And also for those who need something a bit more handheld in comparison to a netbook when gaming on the go.
Features for the Android emulator include:
- Uses formats BIN,ISO,IMG,PBP,Z,ZNX, and Eboot (compressed too)
- WiiMote controller works
- Trackball d-pad
- Memory card & save states
- Virtual control overlays
- Scaling modes
Street Fighter X Tekken Announced
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: CAPCOM, Fighting, Namco,
There’s been quite a bit of speculation surrounding a Capcom Vs. Namco title, and finally all questions are put to rest as Capcom and Namco teamed up to announce Street Fighter X Tekken. Street Fighter X Tekken (pronounced “Street Fighter CROSS Tekken”) is an unprecedented match up of two classic fighting franchises. One a king of the 3D world, and the other a champion of 2D fighters. Bringing them together requires the other to forfeit their familiar terrain and succumb to an entirely new style of play. In other words, Namco’s fighter becomes Street Fighter-ized in order to make the cross over possible. Now before you Tekken fans start pouting about how unfair of an advantage that gives Capcom, you should also note that Namco is developing their own separate game - Tekken X Street Fighter. We can only speculate on Namco’s version at this point, but we suppose it will transplant the Street Fighter universe into the fully 3D world of Tekken, along with Tekken’s fighting mechanics.
According to Capcom, SFxTK is not going to come out “for awhile”. The real question, however, is if there are going to actually be two separate games released, or are they going to pick the best one? Perhaps they will find a middle ground out of the two and merge into one title. Whatever the case, we cannot wait for this dream fighter to come out. At least we have Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 to tide us over until then! We’ve got a few more images of Street Fighter X Tekken after the break.
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Read More | Capcom
Halo: Reach introduces Forge World
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Bungie, First Person Shooters, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
It’s no shocker that Bungie’s Halo: Reach finale is going to be epic, to say the least. But no one was prepared for just how ambitious the last Halo world would be. That is, until ‘Forge World’ was shown for the first time. In fact, epic is an understatement referring to Forge World. To envision the vastness only a word such as ‘Brobdingnagian’ is befitting. To put it simply - you are not ready.
By now you’re scratching your head wondering “what the heck is Forge World?!” Basically, Forge World is five multi-player maps rolled into one - Canyon, Island, “The Rock,” Quarry, and Coliseum. Each of these maps is set in a different location of the colossal map. In Forge World the player is god, able to customize these areas as they see fit, à la the forge editor from Halo 3. However, unlike Halo 3’s forge editor you are given more options to create developer worthy maps. In fact, Bungie had so much fun in forging these new maps that they even added six of their own Forge World creations to be put into regular game rotation in Halo: Reach’s online multi-player. One of which is a remake of the classic ‘Blood Gulch”, now called ‘Hemorrhage’. To get an idea of the scope of Forge World, Hemorrhage is like a mere sandbox in the middle of the desert.
Bungie is aiming to have gamers create their own multi-player maps with newer forge tools that allow greater creativity. In this new Forge World you will have access to about 150 transferable objects. Thankfully, the physics of objects can be altered accordingly to make mid-air and other placements easier. Also, you now have the ability to “phase” objects into other parts of the map, creating whole new structures and consequently different ways to engage in combat. Created maps can then be “tagged”, allowing other gamers to download them. Think of Forge World as your own personal Inception - “it’s pure creation”. With even more objects to place, a much larger scale world, and the player’s own creativity driving them, we can expect to see some insane multi-player maps start to surface immediately after D-day (September 14th).
Read More | Bungie.net
Disc-Less Netflx Finally Coming to PS3
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, Sony,
Playstation users have had access to Netflix for awhile now, but it’s been somewhat of a clumsy experience up until now. This is because unlike its Xbox 360 equivalent, PS3 requires a disc to run Netflix. This has proven to feel like a tacked on experience rather than the full quality experience seen on the 360. A little frustrating when you have to constantly swap out the Netflix disc in order to play a game or watch a film. However, it seems that PS3 users will finally have a Netflix app added into the actually dashboard that will allow them to seamlessly enjoy the Netflix experience. There’s no official date for when this change will happen, but according to Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, it will happen very soon.
“Before our next call in October, we expect to be launching a major new version of our Sony PS3 user interface which doesn’t require a disc and is dynamically updated continuously with the latest Netflix UI improvements,” states Hastings.
Hopefully these Netflix updates will make for a similar experience to the one seen on Microsoft’s machine, and a less stiff experience than the one currently offered on PS3.
You can grab a two-week free Netflix trial to try out the service yourself.
Read More | AllThingsD via Ign.com
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Preview
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Action, Activision, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360,
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is Activision’s way of trying to please fans of Spidey all across the spectrum. This game is more like four games in one, as you fight through different universes each with their own take on the Spider-Man character. Noir Spider-Man, for example, is a 1930s version of the webbed head crusader. When you play in this universe you will notice the lighting is very dark à la film noir, and the game play is centered around stealth rather than action. The Amazing Spider-Man universe flips this on its ear and chooses full frontal action as its main source of game play. As amazing Spidey you will encounter waves of baddies looking to get their skulls crushed by the non-stop assault of fists and webs you will throw at them. No creeping around in the shadows here. Ultimate Spider Man finds Peter Parker donning a black suit in a cell shaded visual style. Here your suit is your main means of offence against the waves of baddies. With the black suit you will smack, slap, and spike your way to victory. While 2099 Spider-Man takes the universe to the future, where Spidey aerially duels with robotics and other variety of baddies in amazing futuristic cities.
Whether Activision can pull off this four narrative adventure to please the hardcore and mainstream fans of Spidey while making a great game is yet to be seen. Look for this to hit stores September 7, 2010. If you pre-order it on Amazon you’ll get a concept art book and unlock the Iron Spider-Man costume as a bonus.
Kinect for Xbox 360: $150 on Nov 4 with Kinect Adventures
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hardware, Microsoft, Release Dates, Xbox 360,
Even with companies like Amazon, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart all listing Kinect at $150, Microsoft decided they’d wait it out on naming the price officially, for whatever reason. Today, however, they’ve announced that Kinect for Xbox 360 will launch on November 4th at $149.99, and it’ll come bundled with Kinect Adventures. Adventures is gonna be like their Wii Sports, a collection of minigames that are fun and highlight what Kinect can do.
For buyers who want to get Kinect with an Xbox 360 console, there will be a $300 bundle that will include one of the new Xbox 360 consoles (with 4GB built-in storage,) the Kinect sensor, and Kinect Adventures.
Aside from Kinect hardware pricing, Microsoft has also said that Kinect games will sell for $50 each, which is $10 less than the normal $60 price. However, Microsoft sold all their first-party Xbox 360 titles for $50 before, and quickly stopped that practice. Also, it’s a shame to see that Joy Ride will now sell for $50, when originally it was supposed to be free.
You can pre-order Kinect on Amazon.
Summer of Arcade 2010 Xbox Live Arcade lineup
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Adventure, Driving, First Person Shooters, Microsoft, Release Dates, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade,
The third-annual Xbox Live Arcade Summer of Arcade kicks off on Wednesday, and goes through August 18th with a block of five titles that Microsoft thinks are worthy of knocking your socks off. Things start off with the release of Limbo on July 21, which is the black and white mystery game where a boy sets out to discover the fate of his sister. On July 28th, Hydro Thunder Hurricane drops, with Castlevania Harmony of Despair coming the week after, bringing the 2D side-scrolling goodness of Castlevania back to the forefront. On August 11th, Monday Night Combat, a fresh take on the multiplayer shooter comes out, and things wrap up on August 18th with the return of Lara Croft. Nope, this one isn’t a Tomb Raider game. Instead, it’s Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, a fun mix of exploration and combat.
The Summer of Arcade is generally when Microsoft looks to release a back-to-back string of amazing titles. This year, they’ve upped the ante a bit with a special promo. If you buy any three of the five Summer of Arcade titles listed above by the end of August, you’ll receive 400 Microsoft Points back. If you decide to spring for all five, you’ll get 1200 Microsoft Points. How’s that for putting their money where their mouth is?
Microsoft pulls plug on 1 vs 100 for Xbox Live
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Well, it was definitely fun while it lasted, but Microsoft has decided that their 1 vs 100 Live game show was not worth continuing, and we won’t be seeing a season three. The whole 1 vs 100 Live experience was completely new and different from anything else ever tried on a game console, bringing thousands together at the same time to take part in a game show with a live host (Chris Cashman.) Our take? Sure, Chris Cashman may have been overbearing, but we aren’t gonna pin this on him. We think Microsoft has realized that the 1 vs 100 concept has run its course—we’re guessing we see something new (and better) step in and take its place soon enough. For now, the Sprint Theater is closing up shop.
Read More | Xbox
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