The company also tells us that the PC version's release on Steam last week went well and, to celebrate, is making the game available for 20% off the usual price -- just $7.99 after the discount.
Ronimo Games has released a new patch for Swords and Soldiers on the PlayStation Network, bringing PlayStation Move support to the cartoony and entertaining 2D RTS title. Now you can control your little Vikings and Aztecs just by waving your hand -- presuming that your hand is holding one of those Move wands with the glowing ball on top.
The company also tells us that the PC version's release on Steam last week went well and, to celebrate, is making the game available for 20% off the usual price -- just $7.99 after the discount.
The company also tells us that the PC version's release on Steam last week went well and, to celebrate, is making the game available for 20% off the usual price -- just $7.99 after the discount.
According to a report from The Korea Times, Blizzard CEO Paul Sams is none too happy with Korean channels MBC Game and OnGameNet. They've been broadcasting StarCraft tournaments without the company's consent, Sams revealed in a press conference in Seoul yesterday. Last month, Blizzard filed to sue both networks and he says the company is currently considering filing against the Korea e-Sports Players Association (KeSPA) as well, who manage these tournaments. Bupropion seems to be having little effect on the popularity of the game in the country.
The other side of the argument, uh, argues that games used in public tournaments such as these should be considered part of the public domain and Blizzard has no right to charge licensing fees. "StarCraft is not a public domain offering, as Blizzard has invested significant money and resources to create the StarCraft game and the overall StarCraft universe,'' Sams said. "Classifying StarCraft and other e-sports as part of the public domain deprives developers such as Blizzard of their IP rights. There will be no incentive to do what Blizzard had done to balance the games for competition, which is a more difficult task than creating a normal game." Back in August, Blizzard inked a deal to the broadcast rights for StarCraft 2 with GomTV.
Currently, the company is deciding whether to file a preliminary injunction against the broadcasts, which would legally halt all contests until the dispute could be settled in or out of court.
The other side of the argument, uh, argues that games used in public tournaments such as these should be considered part of the public domain and Blizzard has no right to charge licensing fees. "StarCraft is not a public domain offering, as Blizzard has invested significant money and resources to create the StarCraft game and the overall StarCraft universe,'' Sams said. "Classifying StarCraft and other e-sports as part of the public domain deprives developers such as Blizzard of their IP rights. There will be no incentive to do what Blizzard had done to balance the games for competition, which is a more difficult task than creating a normal game." Back in August, Blizzard inked a deal to the broadcast rights for StarCraft 2 with GomTV.
Currently, the company is deciding whether to file a preliminary injunction against the broadcasts, which would legally halt all contests until the dispute could be settled in or out of court.
The 144-page page-turner includes a retrospective interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, a collection of Mario manga, stickers and a poster, and a CD of orchestrated Mario music from the Press Start Symphony of Games concert series. If you don't mind a little (okay, probably a lot) of Japanese text along with your Mario ephemera, you can pre-order a copy from Amazon Japan for ¥840 -- that's about $10.
In a lot of ways, this WoW video taken in Stormwind by MrZoddiak defies classification -- it's not a music video, nor is it a re-enactment. Regardless of what we all finally agree to call it, one thing is certain: it's damn impressive. ... continue reading.
Inspired by the PlayStation Plus-exclusive lounge inside of Home revealed this week, we figured it was only appropriate to set up a mixer. Not in there, of course. No, we don't have the cred to get past that velvet rope. We'll just have to have a pity party outside, standing with the rest of the dregs. Crying helplessly into our highly ethanol-infused cocktails on our couches, missing out on the Studio 54-type antics going on inside.
What's everyone playing?
What's everyone playing?
Wired recently spoke with Ron Gilbert, creator of the Monkey Island and DeathSpank series, and the conversation turned to the latter's conventional hack-and-slash combat. Though he didn't stick around long enough to guide the final releases of this year's dual-developed DeathSpank games, Gilbert was their lead designer and said, if he could do it over, he'd likely add more depth to the combat. Instead of just "hacking through a bunch of enemies," he suggested "treating combat as if it was a puzzle to be solved [...] might have helped people a little bit with not just having to button-mash their way through battles."
Gilbert cited Dragon Age as an example, "not in its turn-based nature," but "more of the intellectual element" of requiring some strategy to combat. Perhaps that's not the best example. How about Diablo 3? That's shaping up to be a hack-and-slash game that introduces a satisfying level of strategy through its myriad spells and tactics. Now, if you were to marry such fine-tuned gameplay with Unicorn poop, you're talking "Game of the Year." Easy. Next time, Mr. Gilbert?
Gilbert cited Dragon Age as an example, "not in its turn-based nature," but "more of the intellectual element" of requiring some strategy to combat. Perhaps that's not the best example. How about Diablo 3? That's shaping up to be a hack-and-slash game that introduces a satisfying level of strategy through its myriad spells and tactics. Now, if you were to marry such fine-tuned gameplay with Unicorn poop, you're talking "Game of the Year." Easy. Next time, Mr. Gilbert?
We'll offer some free advice to other retailers: if you want any chance of attracting us away from this irresistible offer, you're going to have to take the loss and bundle a bigger Chibiterasu plush. It's a burden, we know, but if you want to succeed in this world, you have to give us really cute toys of baby Japanese wolf-gods.
Better re-mark those calendars. SyFy's Red Faction: Origins movie, originally slated for next March, isn't coming out until May. That's according to a tweet from THQ CEO Danny Bilson, who says that the company started prep work on the film this week, will be shooting in January and that the finished product "airs in May with game release."
"Game release," of course, means Red Faction: Armageddon, which recently got pushed back to May. Hopefully those ostriches they're using don't get too cold out there on the Martian landscape during filming.
"Game release," of course, means Red Faction: Armageddon, which recently got pushed back to May. Hopefully those ostriches they're using don't get too cold out there on the Martian landscape during filming.
Well, lookie what our amigos at Engadget have stumbled upon: a purported video of the Sony Ericsson ZEUS-Z1 "PlayStation Phone" being handled by a YouTube user by the alias of "xxmajstor." Whoever they are, they show the very PSP Go-esque phone off for upwards of two minutes, sliding it open to reveal the previously reported on game controls, including the "touch strip" that evidently sits in for dual analog sticks.
Looking at the top of the device, you can clearly see the L and R shoulder buttons and what appears to be a volume controller rocker right in the same spot where it appears on a Go. The back of the phone features a camera and LED flash. Perhaps the most telling bit of the video in terms of this being the PlayStation Phone (as if the controls aren't enough) is the presence of a PlayStation controller icon among the other apps on its screen.
Hit the break for the full video and let us hear what you think of it in comments.
Looking at the top of the device, you can clearly see the L and R shoulder buttons and what appears to be a volume controller rocker right in the same spot where it appears on a Go. The back of the phone features a camera and LED flash. Perhaps the most telling bit of the video in terms of this being the PlayStation Phone (as if the controls aren't enough) is the presence of a PlayStation controller icon among the other apps on its screen.
Hit the break for the full video and let us hear what you think of it in comments.
Speaking at the Italian Videogame Developers Conference, former Atari head and current co-founder of London Venture Partners, Phil Harrison, discussed his vision of the future of video games. Harrison believes that "the next generation platform for games" will be powerful web browsers, programs that will "deliver console level 3D graphics, video and audio." Such a browser will be able to deliver a title on par with Modern Warfare 2 noted Harrison, saying, "I think in the next five-to-ten years we will easily get this level of game inside a web browser, on your mobile platform, on your iPad, and we will be able to deliver that level of immersion to any kind of screen."
He added further that the boxed retail industry is being replaced by "a service industry where everything is delivered digitally on the internet." He pointed to the music industry as an example of this shift, saying that it's indicative of what's happening to the game industry. The crux of Harrison's speech, lest you haven't gathered, is that the future is online, a point he illustrated by noting that online games garner 68 percent of the industry's venture capital.
Head over to Develop for the full scoop on Harrison's keynote.
He added further that the boxed retail industry is being replaced by "a service industry where everything is delivered digitally on the internet." He pointed to the music industry as an example of this shift, saying that it's indicative of what's happening to the game industry. The crux of Harrison's speech, lest you haven't gathered, is that the future is online, a point he illustrated by noting that online games garner 68 percent of the industry's venture capital.
Head over to Develop for the full scoop on Harrison's keynote.
In a somewhat inconvenient science lesson, Nintendo has posted three different trailers across the web, each representing a different state of water in the upcoming tilt-em-up, Fluidity. We've got all three for you -- like having a glass of water, with ice, in a sauna. ... continue reading.
These Kinect hacks just keep getting better and better. This latest is from YouTube user TakayukiFukatsu and turns him invisible. Just let that sink in for a moment then hop past the break to see him do his best Kevin Bacon impression. ... continue reading.
As Kinect and Move continue to make headlines as the season's hottest hardware, THQ is quietly enjoying the apparent success of its uDraw GameTablet, which launched November 14 for Wii. Early indications from the company suggest the kid-targeted device is selling well at retail (for around $70), as one tongue-in-cheek tweet from VP Danny Bilson hinted.
Without sharing specific sales figures, Wayne Cline, director of product development for THQ's Kids, Family and Casual division, got a bit more specific about uDraw's performance. "Our early reports are looking very promising, and I know we're doing very well at Walmart, Best Buy and Toys R Us -- outlets like that," he told Joystiq. "And we're getting really good first-look feedback from a lot of things like parenting magazines and such. It's looking very positive." But how long will that last?
Without sharing specific sales figures, Wayne Cline, director of product development for THQ's Kids, Family and Casual division, got a bit more specific about uDraw's performance. "Our early reports are looking very promising, and I know we're doing very well at Walmart, Best Buy and Toys R Us -- outlets like that," he told Joystiq. "And we're getting really good first-look feedback from a lot of things like parenting magazines and such. It's looking very positive." But how long will that last?
The latest Homefront developer diary is all about the multiplayer, with Kaos Studios emphasizing the game's sense of "large scale warfare." The video details the Battle Points system, which allows players to purchase vehicles and weapons during matches. Also: Futuristic robo-drones. ... continue reading.
We're not sure if it's too soon to name our 2011 Game of the Year, but we're awfully tempted to just go ahead and give it to Bandai's DS soon-to-be-classic, Fly Mr. Science. Based solely on the box art alone (the full version of which is posted below), we can tell it's going to be ... important. ... continue reading.
Just because we're past the torrent of new releases for the year doesn't mean we don't have anything to talk about. You still like Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, right? Well, we're talking about that! Also, there's a Spoiled Rotten for Fable 3 -- you don't wanna miss out on that, do you?
Thanks to Alan Black for the photoshop of which we are almost certainly not worthy.
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See all of this week's links after the jump.
Thanks to Alan Black for the photoshop of which we are almost certainly not worthy.
Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast in iTunes
[Zune] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace
[RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly
Hosts: Justin McElroy (@justinmcelroy), Ludwig Kietzmann (@ludwigk) and Chris Grant (@chrisgrant)
Music: "Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer" by A.C. Newman
For fans: Joystiq Podcast Facebook group
New to the show?: Listen to Episode Zero
The Do It Line!: 1-(877)-JOYSTIQ
See all of this week's links after the jump.
The slow-to-adapt music industry has finally caught on that Christopher Tin's "Baba Yetu," an amazing piece composed for Civilization IV, is worthy of a Grammy nomination. The song was originally created for the 2005 game, but has since made the pro choir circuit over the years, and has also become a staple of Video Games Live. The track, which is nominated in the "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists" category, is from the composer's debut album, Calling All Dawns.
Video Games Live Executive Producer Tommy Tallarico tells Joystiq that this is the first time a song made for a video game has been nominated for a Grammy award. He explained, "We've worked very hard through the Game Audio Network Guild for the past decade to gain game composers the ability to be nominated for a Grammy and to get the recognition they deserve. ... We've always been very honored to work together with our good friend Christopher Tin to bring this wonderful song to the world. As video games start to evolve more into our culture and become a bigger part of mainstream society, we're hoping to see a lot more of this kind of thing happening in the future."
The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 13, 2011. Best of luck to Tin on grabbing the Grammy: he'll win an award and hold a record that will stand the test of time.
Video Games Live Executive Producer Tommy Tallarico tells Joystiq that this is the first time a song made for a video game has been nominated for a Grammy award. He explained, "We've worked very hard through the Game Audio Network Guild for the past decade to gain game composers the ability to be nominated for a Grammy and to get the recognition they deserve. ... We've always been very honored to work together with our good friend Christopher Tin to bring this wonderful song to the world. As video games start to evolve more into our culture and become a bigger part of mainstream society, we're hoping to see a lot more of this kind of thing happening in the future."
The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 13, 2011. Best of luck to Tin on grabbing the Grammy: he'll win an award and hold a record that will stand the test of time.
However, Amazon still shows the release date for all three versions as December 26, and Best Buy shows only the PS3 version in stock. We've asked Mad Catz to help clear it all up for us, but it's likely most of you won't need one of these until the March release of the Stratocaster controller anyway.
Update: Mad Catz tells us that the release date confusion is just part of the nature of accessories: retailers obtain stock at different times, unlike the hard release dates software has. And Best Buy will stock the 360 adapter first simply because it'll be the first retailer to receive its shipments.
We've heard some horror stories about the arduous nature of the Xbox Live certification process, but whoa man, this is a little excessive. Do you guys remember back when they made a video game interpretation of the Ghostbusters franchise like, a hundred years ago? Well, the 360 version of that game had some niggling issues preventing users from unlocking four of the game's multiplayer Achievements -- issues that were fixed in a patch which went live earlier this week, some eighteen months after the game's initial release.
Of course, we're only assuming the certification process is to blame for the patch's late arrival. Maybe it just took that long for developer Terminal Reality to fix these problems. Or maybe Slimer was up to his old tricks, delaying the dev team with his incorporeal shenanigans.
Of course, we're only assuming the certification process is to blame for the patch's late arrival. Maybe it just took that long for developer Terminal Reality to fix these problems. Or maybe Slimer was up to his old tricks, delaying the dev team with his incorporeal shenanigans.
Images that seem to depict these two characters appear in the same leaked Xbox 360 Achievement image that showed Yun and Yang. So it would appear that all four of these characters are headed to the console game as well -- either that Achievement image is accurate, or a really clever (and prescient) fake.
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Joystiq Podcast 160 - Get Marky edition
Latest episode: Friday, December 3rd, 2010