March 2006 yielded one of the greatest games to grace our humble hearts, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. Oblivion is a highly acclaimed game, having received very positive reviews since its release. Why? Many people fell in love (and continue to do so) with Oblivion’s eye-catching graphics and vivid landscapes. Plus, Oblivion’s numerous side adventures holds player’s attention span and increases the game’s longevity.
Now, Oblivion gets a chance to work its magic on the PS3 and PSP. That’s right, Oblivion is coming to the PS3 and Sony’s handheld, the PSP. Another tidbit of surprising news is that Oblivion (for the PS3) will launch on the same day as the PS3 launches. This is positive news especially after Sony’s recent PS3 production problems. The PSP’s version of Oblivion is named Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion and few details have been released about it thus far. Look forward to seeing Elder Scrolls Travels for the PSP in the spring of next year.
Family members of three people slain by a 14-year-old on newsman Sam Donaldson’s New Mexico ranch sued the makers of the video game “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” on Monday, claiming the crimes would not have occurred had the teenager never played the violent game.
The $600 million lawsuit names several companies and Cody Posey, who it alleges played the game “obsessively” for several months before he shot his father, stepmother and stepsister in July 2004. Posey, now 16, was sentenced earlier this year to state custody until he is 21. The games and others in the “Grand Theft Auto” series depict police killings and other acts of violence. The lawsuit calls various editions of the game “virtual reality murder simulators.”
“But for Posey’s use of these products … he would not have killed,” the lawsuit claims.
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At this year’s Tokyo Game Show (TGS), Tecmo went all out for its booth presentation. Tecmo sports booth girls and Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 girls on a big screen for everyone to watch. But TGS attendees do not come only to see booth girls only, they also come for the plethora of games on exhibit!
In addition, to Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, Tecmo showcased Ninja Gaiden Sigma, a remake of Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black for the Xbox. Ninja Gaiden Sigma may resemble a rerun of its predecessors at first glance. A closer inspection reveals many major tweaks to the original game. Ninja Gaiden Sigma offers brand new weapons, more intense boss battles and bonuses. Furthermore, Rachel will be one of several playable characters, adding more variety and longevity to the game. Ninja Gaiden Sigma is an excellent addition to the PS3 lineup, but it leaves us wondering, “When is the real Ninja Gaiden sequel going to launch?”
The exhibition is the last major event in the gaming calendar before the PS3 goes on sale on 11 November. The third incarnation of the popular games machine made its first TGS appearance last year. Since then, Sony has delayed the launch, prompting a backlash from some parts of the gaming community. Japan has been a loyal market of Sony, with nearly a quarter of the 100 million PlayStation 2 (PS2) consoles sold worldwide bought by Japanese gamers. TGS will be the first time that gamers will be able to get their hands on the PS3 and a raft of playable titles.
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Many people have heard of the Big Three’s (Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony) measures to prepare for the inevitable showdown this fall on the world stage. Sony plans to out show its competition at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show and Nintendo is bundling Wii Sports with the Wii console. Now, our gaze turns to Microsoft. Microsoft’s loose grip on Japanese gamers resulted in lagging sales compared to Nintendo and Sony’s sales. Microsoft plans to excel this time around and Microsoft’s launching of the Xbox HD DVD player in Japan might enable Microsoft to do so.
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With Destroy All Humans 2 just a little under a month away, whats a guy to do till he can get his hands on Crypto and terrorize the ’60′s, Alien style? Head down to your local retailer and pre-order it, thats what! GameStop and EB Games have announced that Pre-Orders on DAH2 are now being accepted. It has also come to light that each person who pre-orders will receive a free Demo disc for Destroy All Humans 2 to hold them off until October 17.
Nintendo fans highly anticipate the impending launch of the Wii console on November 19. Unfortunately, not all of the games gamers wanted to get their jittery hands on will be available at the Wii’s launch. One of the games in this group is the acclaimed anime Bleach.
Bleach is one of Sega’s games for Wii alongside Monkey Ball. Monkey Ball will be released prior to Bleach Wii (fully titled Bleach Wii: Shiraha Kirameku Rondo) in Japan. Recently, Sega elaborated on the Bleach Wii’s gameplay in which the Wii-mote is a key player.
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Nintendo of America’s Perrin Kaplan recently stated the Wii will be free of regional restrictions. A Nintendo UK spokesperson provided information to the contrary. The spokesperson commented that the Wii console is region-locked, thus making it incapable of playing games from other countries. So, all of our hopes and dreams of playing Japanese games on our American Wii’s are scrapped. In addition, the Wii will also lack DVD playback, a feature Nintendo believed would only increase the price of the console (due to the commonality of DVD players). But what can we expect from a console that costs less than its competitors?
Microsoft has been sued over their Xbox Live online gaming platform in a Texas district court. A company called Paltalk Holdings Inc. are suing MS for breaching their patent, 5,822,523, which covers “multiplayer games conducted over wide area networks generally involve difficult technical issues”.
Since the patent covers a wide part of online gaming and networking, there’s little chance of Microsoft ending up in trouble, Paltalk might just as well sue anyone offering online gaming. Read the patent in detail here.
It’s the news we have all been waiting for! Nintendo fans rejoice! Nintendo finally announced the price and launch date of its highly anticipated Wii console. The Wii will launch simultaneously in North and South America on November 19, 2006 for $250. The announcement eliminates any false speculation of the subject and unfortunately any hope of a Wii launching price below $250.
Nintendo’s Wii will come with a nun chuck attachment, Wii-mote, AC adapter, audio/video cable, sensor bar and sensor stand, a console stand, and two batteries. Nintendo will also add a copy of Wii Sports to the package, an action not seen for a launching console in quite some time. The Wii’s Virtual Console will contain a collection of about thirty games before the end of the fourth quarter of this year. These games will cost somewhere in the range of five to ten dollars a piece.
Nintendo is full of surprises, and appears to have created a unique and innovative console with an impressive lineup of games. The announcement was worth the wait, now we just have to remain sane until the Wii launches on November 19!