Gaming Blargh/random bits

[bishopcruz]

Yeah, HDMI is convenient, but not much else. The Elite is nice, but mainly for the harddrive. Personally I think MS should have waited until they could introduce this at $400, but that's just me.

[Newtype]

And to think that Nick an I were talking how cool this shit would be a few weeks ago.

 

Although John Woo's much-anticipated game Stranglehold is scheduled for release on both Xbox 360 and PS3, Midway has announced a special collector's edition exclusive for PS3 owners. According to a recent Midway press release, encoded on the same exact 50 GB Blu-ray game disc of this limited edition product will be a full-length version of the 1992 action hit Hard Boiled, the original Hong Kong film that contributed in catapulting both director John Woo and action star Chow Yun-Fat into the realm of international stardom.

 

The film tells the story of a hard-nosed cop, named Inspector "Tequila", who struggles to take down a mobster-run gun-smuggling operation -- the results of which lead the characters to the film's infamously bloody shootout in the middle of a hospital. Stranglehold, which will be released to console systems this summer, will continue the tale of Tequila as he wreaks havoc on criminals with both fists clenched tightly around two smoking pistols.

 

This special edition will be priced at $69.95, $10 more than the price of a normal third party PS3 title. Midway's announcement also states that the film Hard Boiled appears courtesy of The Weinstein Company and Genius Products, who plan to re-release the film in a special 15th anniversary two-disc set through the Dragon Dynasty DVD label on July 24th of this year.

[Newtype]

Man, those Square-Enix types just love to piss in the punchbowl. According to IGN, producer Shinji Hashimoto, who's just the king of bad news lately, told the Nikkei BP that the Xbox 360 isn't going to see any Final Fantasy games for a long time. No Final Fantasy XIII. No Final Fantasy XIII Versus. Nothing!

 

He describes the current development plan for Final Fantasy titles as "a completely blank page" meaning Xbox fans with a hankering for stuff from the school of Square-Enix RPG development will have to settle for The Last Remnant.

[The NZA]

im telling you, sony needs FF and MGS. Theyre beating 360 in europe and Japan but its fucking marginal and theyre still way behind...even closing that gap by the holidays (not gonna be easy with Halo 3) still leaves both PS3 and 360 trying to figure out how to possibly catch up with the Wii (looking to possibly overtake #1 by the fall) with price cuts.

 

PS2 is said to have sold 100-120 million; ive read like 80% of that didnt start till the $200 price tag. Its the sweet spot, and the closest anyone's gonna see that anytime soon is maybe the 360 core.

[Losifer]

Wow, So now EA came back to drop some games on the MAC. It's been a...what....20 year absence of EA games. If i remember correctly, EA had put the nails on the coffin of the Mac gaming community back in the 80's. Well, its nice to see them going back to the crypt to check up that cadaver. OH and Kudos to id software for their upcoming support on the Mac Platform too (then again, they've always been cool with the mac).

[Newtype]

 

For months, the community of virtual-world publishers, players, and economists has been holding its breath, waiting for the US Congress to issue its report on the potential taxation of virtual goods. Well, we don't have to wait much longer.

 

Dan Miller, a senior economist with the Congress' Joint Economic Committee, told CNET News.com on Friday that he expects the committee to issue its report during the upcoming Congressional recess next month. What that report will say is unknown, as the committee has kept entirely quiet about its thoughts.

 

"Given growth rates of 10 to 15 percent a month, the question is when, not if, Congress and IRS start paying attention to these issues," Miller, who is a fan of virtual worlds and economies, told CNET News.com in December. "So it is incumbent on us to set the terms and the debate so we have a shaped tax policy toward virtual worlds and virtual economies in a favorable way."

 

Meanwhile, a lot is riding on the outcome. If Congress signals it intends to start taxing in-world commerce, that could create huge problems for publishers, who may have to figure out efficient ways to track all such trades. If Congress goes the other way, many people will feel that it is just punting and that it will still only be a matter of time before some major government decides to step in.

 

Politicians = stupid dumbassess

[The NZA]

what the world, needs now...is 8-bit figures.

 

tell me that shit isnt ridiculously cool. damn you, San Diego Comic Con.

[Newtype]

Proof that rumours can come true (and also that the PS3 just lost another promising title), the latest issue of Famitsu states that Beautiful Katamari is no longer coming to the PS3. 360 yes, PS3, no. No reason was given for the cancellation, so your guess is as good as mine. Providing your guesses involve either moderate sums of MS cash or the tricky nature of the PS3's architecture, making ports difficult. If they don't, they're rubbish guesses, and you should really try harder next time.

 

This is from Ign so take it with a grain of salt.

Edited July 10, 2007 by newtype

[The NZA]

eh, im told its not on the japanese site anymore, so with no iffical word, im sorta assuming they shifted to the Wii version for the time being. Timed exclusive or not, im not sure, but even with me looking to get a 360 in 2008, its upsetting.

[Newtype]

Game Politics is reporting that federal judge Ronald Whyte has ruled the 2005 California law targeting "ultra-violent" video games unconstitutional, ruling that "evidence does not establish that video games, because of their interactive nature or otherwise, are any more harmful than violent television, movies, internet sites or other speech-related exposures."

 

The bill, authored by former child psychologist and then-speaker pro tem for the California State Assembly Leland Yee, was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in October of 2005. Judge Whyte issued an injunction in December of that year, but did not issue a ruling on the law until today.

 

That law would have levied fines against retailers who rented or sold video games to minors that featured violence that was "especially heinous, cruel or depraved in that it involves torture or serious physical abuse to the victim."

 

Finally someone with a brain!

 

BUT

 

Just hours after Judge Whyte ruled on a 2005 California game law targeting "ultra-violent" video games that would have imposed fines on retailers who sold age inappropriate games to minors, Governor Schwarzenegger issued a press release stating that his office will "vigorously defend this law and appeal it to the next level." The politician maintains the bill is critical to aiding parents make sound purchasing decisions for their kids.

 

Ahnuld's response to the ruling follows bill author Leland Yee's statement that he was personally "shocked" to learn of the unconstitutional ruling, urging the Governor to appeal the decision.

 

Obviously, Arnold and his team will need to determine if the ruling has the ability to bleed, as that is the determining factor whether such a thing can be killed. It's possible that the Governor will look into the eyes of Judge Whyte and inquire "What the hell are you?" or call him "One ugly son of a bitch." Then Whyte will initiate a self-destruct sequence in his alien gavel amid booming laughter. Sorry, just trying to add some flair to an otherwise dry turn of events.

 

[Newtype]

Ex-Terminator takes on video games

Gov. Schwarzenegger -- no stranger to making money from violent media -- is appealing a court decision allowing minors to purchase graphic games.

August 13, 2007

 

Having made a career off fantasy violence, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is an odd advocate for the regulation of violent video games. After all, his face (and, sometimes, his voice) helps to sell a number of electronic kill-fests. Yet there he was last week, pledging to appeal a federal judge's decision against a state law banning the sale of such games to minors. "Many of these games are made for adults," Schwarzenegger said, "and choosing games that are appropriate for kids should be a decision made by their parents."

 

Of course parents should screen the games their kids play. Parents should also limit the amount of time their kids watch TV, and shield them from all sorts of content they may be too young to process critically. But those are parental duties, not governmental ones. And the more lawmakers try to take over for parents on these issues, the more they run afoul of the Constitution.

 

In particular, it's well nigh impossible to regulate violent video games without violating the 1st Amendment's free-speech guarantee. The problem starts with proving that video game violence, in and of itself, is detrimental to children. Though some studies have found a link to increased aggression, others suggest that games are just one piece of a violent media environment that kids inhabit. And even if you assume that kids can be influenced by the games they play, it's hard to specify what level or type of violence is unacceptable for minors.

 

Nevertheless, state lawmakers pushed through a bill in 2005 that required violent video games to carry large labels (sounds good to us) and barred their sale to anyone younger than 18. Hoping to meet the Supreme Court's standard for restricting speech, they defined violence in much the same way the court defined obscenity: depictions of mayhem or rape that lack serious value for minors and are patently offensive when judged by community standards.

 

U.S. District Judge Ronald M. Whyte in San Jose agreed that the state has a compelling interest in protecting minors, but found that the law was too broad. Games are likely to have very different effects on 17-year-olds and 10-year-olds, yet the law treats everyone under 18 the same. And there's no proof that the law would be more effective at keeping violent games out of the hands of children than the industry's game ratings, Whyte wrote. Retailers have volunteered to enforce the ratings system by not selling or renting adult-themed games to minors, and the latest generation of game consoles can be programmed to block children from playing such games.

 

With Whyte's decision, the courts have now thrown out attempts by seven states, one county and one city to regulate violent video games. There's no reason to believe that appealing his ruling will change the outcome, or that it should. The governor shouldn't waste tax dollars in a relentless pursuit of certain defeat.

[The NZA]

First up: an amazing time-delay video of a really great Shenmue painting, tell me this isnt impressive!

 

 

next up: Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD something something is scheduled to come out next week or so (yay!!), there's minor changes to the block patterns: Click here to get ready for Puzzle Fighter HD

 

PS....WANT

 

[The NZA]

Holy shit, color me surprised but the Simpsons game might be fun after all.

 

 

Theyre blatantly ripping off Medal of Honor, Okami and Katamari? This one just went up a notch or two! Acalis has to see it.

[Jables]

For all the random bits of news and review and nowhere to put 'em. Case in point my psuedo-review of Saints Row 2, wrongfully posted in the HL3 thread.

 

The two are about as comparable as Oblivion to Mario 64. You can't lump all sandbox(and more specifically) all urban gangster sandbox games in the one category. SR appeals strikes a different nerve to GTA. ANd while GTA is clearly the new industry yardstick and just flatout owns the rest of the marbles, SR & SR2 aren't trying to be GTA, and therefore can't be compared. It's fun with more emphasis on fun. GTA has some crazy cool missions but do they even have Frenzy mode any more? I miss shit like that. GTA's the Puffy of the set, SR's like, Idunno, the Game or some terrible beast that just has fun scrapping in the filth. Point is, SR2 may not be classy or graphically gorgeous, but activities like Fight Club(with a pretty okay combat system in place too), Septic Avenger, and most importantly Mayhem will keep this game interesting once the joking facet of a story's buried.

[bishopcruz]

 

+

 

Soul Calibur IV

 

=

 

AWESOME!!!!!

[Iambaytor]

For all the random bits of news and review and nowhere to put 'em. Case in point my psuedo-review of Saints Row 2, wrongfully posted in the HL3 thread.

 

The two are about as comparable as Oblivion to Mario 64. You can't lump all sandbox(and more specifically) all urban gangster sandbox games in the one category. SR appeals strikes a different nerve to GTA. ANd while GTA is clearly the new industry yardstick and just flatout owns the rest of the marbles, SR & SR2 aren't trying to be GTA, and therefore can't be compared. It's fun with more emphasis on fun. GTA has some crazy cool missions but do they even have Frenzy mode any more? I miss shit like that. GTA's the Puffy of the set, SR's like, Idunno, the Game or some terrible beast that just has fun scrapping in the filth. Point is, SR2 may not be classy or graphically gorgeous, but activities like Fight Club(with a pretty okay combat system in place too), Septic Avenger, and most importantly Mayhem will keep this game interesting once the joking facet of a story's buried.

 

Nah, Saints Row one was fun if it was a bit of a novelty and had surprisingly little replay value for a sandbox game. The problem was they kept bragging about how this was gonna be the GTA killer and if Driv3r, The Getaway, and Just Cause have taught us anything it's that no such animal exists. Also comparing a PS2 game to an Xbox 360 game was just a low blow, which made it all that more sad when San Andreas was still the better of the two.

[the division of joy]

I want Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. now!

[Jables]

Septic avenger is way more fun than it should be. Graphically the game ain't setting any fires, but hosing down cops & buildings in liquid waste as well as meat bricks looks very convincing. Pause for a slapstick moment as we watch the odd pedestrian walk into a shitpuddle and slip over.

[The NZA]

Dead Space is like Event Horizon: the game that can occasionally kick my ass.

[soldier of fortune]

Is Bioshock worth buying, or should one rent?

[Jables]

Buy. For the love of all that is Sony or MS, BUY!!

[The NZA]

Yeah, totally worth a buy, for me. favorite game of last year.

[Jables]

Just like Kevin Smith beating us all to naming his kid Harley Quinne, I resent Kertz for beating me to the idea of that Bioshock label on her lappie. I'm slow but I'da gotten there eventually

[the division of joy]

Alan wake trailer's been released, i posted it in blargh, check it out bitchez.

[Iambaytor]

Dead Space is like Event Horizon: the game that can occasionally kick my ass.

 

I thought I saw shades of "The Thing" in there as well.

 

Alan wake trailer's been released, i posted it in blargh, check it out bitchez.

 

I haven't read the books but the game had obvious shades of Silent Hill going on. How are the books?