Wii Bowling Ball Accessory Pushes Limits of Absurdity
Written by from on June 20th, 2009 | 0 CommentsThere have been plenty of Wii accessories released to (purportedly) make certain experiences feel more “authentic,” like an attachable tennis racket, or a plastic sword blade. But this, this may be going too far: Gearfuse picked up on a new Wii accessory from CTA Digital that literally encases a Wii remote into a faux bowling ball. This assures not only an “authentic” bowling experience, but also that if you ever do forgo the safety strap and accidentally let this hulking husk go, you’ll have a spectacularly damaged television for your troubles. “This ultra-realistic accessory allows you to mimic all the critical motions a ’striking’ performance requires,” reads the product’s official description . “This Wii peripheral is the first of its kind to be fashioned after an authentic bowling ball, turning your wii-mote into the optimum performance-enhancing accessory!” This statement reminds us of the simple truth that some things are a “first of their kind” because they’re legitimately brilliant new ideas, and others because no one was ever crazy enough to bother making them before. But if you do want this bowling ball accessory, you may have to do a little work to find it. CTA Digital has a list of retailers that carry their products, but no pricing or availability details for specific items.
Tekken 6 to Feature Penny Arcade’s Cardboard Tube Samurai?
Written by from on June 20th, 2009 | 0 CommentsAfter battling taco-related demons , saving the lives of pigs , and conquering fatherhood , what could possibly be left for Penny Arcade’s Cardboard Tube Samurai? The King of the Iron Fist Tournament, apparently. As Destructoid reports , Twitter feed tekkenbob — the official Twitter account for Tekken 6 — recently posted the image above. Although it’s unconfirmed, it certainly looks like the legendary Cardboard Tube Samurai, doesn’t it? The Twitter post only mentioned “a sneak peek at something I can’t talk about yet,” so it seems we’ll have to wait a little bit longer to know for sure whether ” The Waking Dragon, coiled, as spring dawns ” will actually appear in the game. But although the Cardboard Tube Samurai would seem to be a better fit for Soul Calibur, having a sword has never stopped Yoshimitsu from appearing in Tekken before, has it? Besides, if the game actually did unleash the full fury of “The Famine-Of-Winter, that kills the babe at its mother’s empty breast,” it would surely make Tekken 6 way too unbalanced.
Sony Outlines New Motion Control Details to Developers
Written by from on June 20th, 2009 | 0 CommentsSony dedicated a large chunk of their E3 press conference to their new motion controller , but many questions remain to be answered. As Kotaku reports , Sony has now begun filling developers in on at least a few additional details in a document sent to many of their partners. The document reportedly described the new controller as being suitable to “any games across all genres from casual to core.” It also confirmed that the controller will have rumble functionality built in, and that up to four controllers can be independently tracked by the PlayStation Eye at the same time. Also mentioned in the document is that Sony is currently “looking into the possibility” of combining the new wand with the motion controls already built into the Sixaxis/DualShock 3, such as using “the motion controller as a sword and [the] DualShock 3 as a shield.” One tech demo Sony showed at E3 was using two new wand controllers as a sword and a shield, but this would at least open up more motion control possibilities without forcing PS3 owners to buy two new controllers (and it also sounds like it could become a combination somewhat similar to a Wii remote with a Nunchuk).
Sony Responds to Activision’s ‘Threat’ to Cease Supporting PS3
Written by from on June 20th, 2009 | 0 CommentsIn this corner: Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who earlier this weak issued a passive aggressive warning to Sony that if PlayStation 3 sales don’t pick up in the future, “we might have to stop supporting [them].” And in this corner: Sony themselves, who have fired back with their own scathing response to Kotick’s comments: “PlayStation has tremendous momentum coming out of E3, and we are seeing positive growth with more than 350 titles slated to hit across all our platforms, including many anticipated games from our publishing partners,” said PlayStation spokesman Patrick Seybold, in a… well, strikingly non-scathing statement. “We enjoy healthy business relationships with and greatly value our publishing partners and are working closely with them to deliver the best entertainment experience.” Missing from this response is any specific mention of Kotick, his veiled threat, or the complaint he raised: that if sales of the PlayStation 3 don’t increase with price drops in the future, it will make less and less financial sense to continue to support the platform. “It’s expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and Xbox are just selling better. Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation,” Kotick said.
Lord of the Rings Online "Still Growing," Turbine Says
Written by from on June 19th, 2009 | 0 CommentsLord of the Rings Online contemporaries like Hellgate: London and Tabula Rasa are long gone. Age of Conan — which arrived more than a year later — merged it servers not longer after launch. But Lord of the Rings Online is not only not merging its servers, it’s growing, Turbine producer Aaron Campbell told Videogaming247 . He was speaking in response to the question of whether the two-year-old MMO had seen a drop-off in player activity. “If anything, The Lord of the Rings Online is growing,” he said. “We have no plans to merge servers.”
GameStop Says No "Addressable Market" For Digital Distribution Until 2014
Written by from on June 19th, 2009 | 0 CommentsThe last time GameStop decided to talk about digital distribution , they predicted that full games wouldn’t be digitally distributed until roughly 2020. Now they’re back, citing a new study that says that digital distribution won’t be an “addressable market” until around 2014. Calling GameStop’s recent study “the most thorough study to date on [the capability of digital distribution],” Sterne Agee analyst Avind Bhati told IndustryGamers that GameStop believes only 25 percent of the population will have access to the technology required to download full games. And even then, GameStop believes users will still face issues of price and storage capacity. Meanwhile, “Management… feels that digital growth and brick and mortar growth can co-exist,” said Bhatia.
Infinity Ward Says Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer Still Free
Written by from on June 18th, 2009 | 0 CommentsWhen a survey surfaced a few days ago suggesting that Activision might try and “enhance the multiplayer experience” for Call of Duty by charging separate fees, fans weren’t too pleased. Thankfully, Modern Warfare 2 at least will continue to feature free multiplayer. “This rumor has absolutely nothing to do with Infinity Ward or our games, including Modern Warfare 2. We would never introduce such a system for Modern Warfare 2 so don’t worry,” an Infinity Ward representative said on their official message board . “Multiplayer will always be equal and free for everyone.”
Blizzard Still Aiming For 2009 StarCraft II Release
Written by from on June 18th, 2009 | 0 CommentsIt’s been a little more than two years since StarCraft II was announced, but the end of the long wait appears to be in sight. Rumors abound that the open beta is nearly upon us, which suggests that it will indeed be arriving this year. But what does Blizzard have to say about it? Lead designer Chris Sigaty told press2play (via Kotaku ) that the team will indeed be trying to get it out this year. But that promise comes with a caveat. In what appears to be a return to tradition for Blizzard, Sigaty said, “We’re not going to ship the game if it’s not ready.” Seems they learned their lesson from the World of WarCraft launch.
New Xbox in 2010 Confirmed by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
Written by from on June 18th, 2009 | 0 CommentsWhile our sources had suggested it wouldn’t be until next year’s Game Developer’s Conference that we heard about the next evolution of the Xbox 360, we’ve actually received some confirmation well ahead of next March. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke today at The Executive’s Club of Chicago and confirmed that a new Xbox 360 will be released in 2010. Ballmer didn’t come right out and reveal all the details, but he made a number of allusions to the details that suggest this is the Xbox Natal that we reported on late last week. According to TG Daily , Ballmer claimed the system carries technology “really, really close” to becoming a reality, has a “natural interface,” and includes a camera that can sense both movement and voice. None of what he discussed mentioned the current hardware being beefed up, but with many months between now and next year, plenty of time remains for further details to be announced.
1UP @ E3 ‘Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2′ interview HD
Written by from on June 15th, 2009 | 0 CommentsGuha Bala of Vicarious Visions demos the upcoming Superhero action brawler game.