"Not a Whole Lot More" Wii Add-Ons Coming

Posted on Aug 5, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Wii Fit"s balance board. Wii Zapper. Wii Wheel. Wii Speak. Wii MotionPlus.

Is there no end to the parade of Wii peripherals?

"Most of the ideas for accessories that we had initially come up with are out now," Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata told the Wall Street Journal. "We might think up some more, and we might make them if we do, but we don"t have any plans to release a whole lot more."

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Analyst: GameStop to Continue Explosive Growth

Posted on Aug 5, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Grapevine, Tex.-based retailer GameStop already has over 5,000 stores worldwide, but there"s still "plenty of room ... for new store openings," one analyst says.

Colin Sebastian with Lazard Capital Markets said in a Monday investor note, "We believe GameStop continues to generate positive and steady [return on investment] on new stores despite increasing penetration in North America and in some international markets."

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Exclusive Interview: Don Mattrick

Posted on Aug 5, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Former programmer, Test Drive designer and Electronic Arts worldwide studios head Don Mattrick, now senior VP of Microsoft’s interactive entertainment business, tells us about the business he inherited a year ago.

Many of the changes you’re making to 360 are related to Live. Is it a risk to rely on online to broaden its appeal?

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GTA IV Sales Suspended in Thailand

Posted on Aug 5, 2008 at 1:08 AM

A Thai distributor has pulled copies of Grand Theft Auto IV after a teen said the game inspired him to commit a murder/robbery.

"We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games," Sakchai Chotikachinda of New Era Interactive Media told Reuters.

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Gaming’s 20 Greatest Challenges

Posted on Aug 5, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Here, Edge investigates the 20 biggest challenges facing the game industry, and how they might be overcome.

They include the obstacles we face in the changing ways games are made, marketed and sold. Also, the shifting profile of consumers, new competitors and strange technologies.

Gaming is a business that has always been able to claim a good record in the face of change and yet, never quite good enough. Again and again, the business has been stumped by events that were sometimes predictable, though often not.

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"No Turning Back" on Diablo III Art

Posted on Aug 5, 2008 at 1:08 AM

A petition with over 52,000 signatures isn"t enough to change Blizzard Entertainment"s more colorful art direction for Diablo III.

“There’s no going back now,” lead designer Jay Wilson told MTV Multiplayer. “We’re very happy with how the art style is. The art team’s happy. The company’s happy. We really like this art style, and we’re not changing it.”

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Preview: Diablo III

Posted on Aug 5, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Diablo III may well be the sequel that all the fans want, but after the long rumbling drum-roll of rumours and hints that presaged its announcement, there is an odd sense of anti-climax.

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Xbox Live Avatars "May" Bring Charges

Posted on Aug 5, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Microsoft might charge for virtual accessories for the recently-announced Xbox Live Avatars, a new report says.

Asked if Microsoft will utilize microtransactions with Avatars, Live boss John Schappert said in an interview with Venture Beat, "That may be in the future. In the near term, we want to launch these with great customization and a great library of accessories this fall.

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DMC4 PC "Getting Pirated to Hell and Back"

Posted on Aug 5, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Devil May Cry 4 for PC is underperforming at U.S. retail, and one factor is piracy, suspects Capcom.

"I"m not sure about how Capcom in general feels, but [Devil May Cry 4 for PC is] not doing as well as I would like in the US at retail," wrote Capcom business development VP Christian Svensson in a recent post on Capcom"s community message boards.

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Gamescampus Announces Open Beta for Asda Story

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 9:00 PM

Gamescampus announces open beta and guaranteed fun promotion for Asda Story, starts tomorrow August 5th. More...

Atlantica Online, Nine New Screenshots

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 3:09 PM

nDoors has released a batch of new screenshots from their new MMORPG Atlantica Online. More...

FunFun, New concept casual online game by Lizard Interactive

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 12:48 PM

A new Free to Play casual online game developed by Lizard Interactive announced its CBT to be held on August 6. More...

Myth War II: Guild Quests Preview

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 12:32 PM

Today the Myth War II team is going to give their players a sneak preview of six brand new captivating and essential guild quests. More...

Wonderland Online: New “Leo” Server

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 12:23 PM

IGG has announced that a new “Leo” Server will be added into Wonderland Online. More...

Report: Square-Enix Yet to Begin FFXIII on 360

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Development on the recently-announced Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy hasn"t begun, according to a report on consumer site GameSpot.

"We haven"t changed the direction of the development [of FFXIII]," said director Motomu Toriyama during Square-Enix"s DK Sigma3173 event. "We"re making the PS3 version first, and then porting to the 360 later."

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Microsoft: We Want More Exclusives

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Microsoft, which has been able to capture some important (timed) third-party exclusives such as Rock Band 2 and BioShock, continues to chase more exclusive deals to differentiate Xbox 360 from competitors.

Asked about Xbox 360"s weaknesses, Microsoft interactive entertainment boss Don Mattrick replied, "We’d love to have more exclusive hits on our box, absolutely. Are we investing in that? Yes we are. Does that take a lot of time? Yes it does."

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"No Turning Back" on Diablo III Art

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 1:08 AM

A petition with over 52,000 signatures isn"t enough to change Blizzard Entertainment"s more colorful art direction for Diablo III.

“There’s no going back now,” lead designer Jay Wilson told MTV Multiplayer. “We’re very happy with how the art style is. The art team’s happy. The company’s happy. We really like this art style, and we’re not changing it.”

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Peter Molyneux Writes for Edge

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 1:08 AM

It has always been the same, and it will continue to be the same. People also say that there’s no innovation in films and books, and then there’s a flash of writing, a clear blue sky, and you get a Harry Potter.

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New 360 Price Cut in September?

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Microsoft will be cutting the price of its Xbox 360 hardware lineup in early September, new reports claim.

Citing an unnamed "mole," tech site Ars Technica said in about a month, retailers will begin selling the hard drive-less Xbox 360 Arcade for Aug 4, 2008 at 1:08 AM99 (down from http://www.mmoabc.com/a_8a8080d21b8c4d20011b8c4d7026000b./New-360-Price-Cut-in-September.htm79), the 60GB Xbox 360 Pro for http://www.mmoabc.com/a_8a8080d21b8c4d20011b8c4d7026000b./New-360-Price-Cut-in-September.htm99 (from Kris Graft49) and the 120GB Xbox 360 Elite for Kris Graft99 (from $449).

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Xbox Live Avatars "May" Bring Charges

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Microsoft might charge for virtual accessories for the recently-announced Xbox Live Avatars, a new report says.

Asked if Microsoft will utilize microtransactions with Avatars, Live boss John Schappert said in an interview with Venture Beat, "That may be in the future. In the near term, we want to launch these with great customization and a great library of accessories this fall.

read more

DMC4 PC "Getting Pirated to Hell and Back"

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Devil May Cry 4 for PC is underperforming at U.S. retail, and one factor is piracy, suspects Capcom.

"I"m not sure about how Capcom in general feels, but [Devil May Cry 4 for PC is] not doing as well as I would like in the US at retail," wrote Capcom business development VP Christian Svensson in a recent post on Capcom"s community message boards.

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PSPs Japanese Sales Streak Continues

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 1:08 AM

The Sony PSP continues to reign as the best selling hardware platform in Japan, according to the latest Media Create charts on hardware sales for the week ending July 27th.

The handheld managed to move 67,452 units—down from the previous week’s 74,024 but still quite up from two weeks ago. This trend could possibly attributed to the cooling sales boost provided by newly released metallic blue PSP models.

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Crash, Spyro "Ripe for Reinvention"

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 at 1:08 AM

Now that Crash and Spyro are under the Activision Blizzard roof, the old mascots may have a new chance at regaining their former glory.

Speaking of the two franchises, Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith said during a Thursday earnings call, "We feel these brands have a lot of runway left and will positively benefit from our consumer research and testing."

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"No Turning Back" on Diablo III Art

Posted on Aug 3, 2008 at 1:08 AM

A petition with over 52,000 signatures isn"t enough to change Blizzard Entertainment"s more colorful art direction for Diablo III.

“There’s no going back now,” lead designer Jay Wilson told MTV Multiplayer. “We’re very happy with how the art style is. The art team’s happy. The company’s happy. We really like this art style, and we’re not changing it.”

read more

DMC4 PC "Getting Pirated to Hell and Back"

Posted on Aug 3, 2008 at 1:07 AM

Devil May Cry 4 for PC is underperforming at U.S. retail, and one factor is piracy, suspects Capcom.

"I"m not sure about how Capcom in general feels, but [Devil May Cry 4 for PC is] not doing as well as I would like in the US at retail," wrote Capcom business development VP Christian Svensson in a recent post on Capcom"s community message boards.

read more