1UP.com is reporting that in a post at the NeoGAF forums, Che Chou, Microsoft's community manager for Forza Motorsport 2, let slip that Forza 2 will not be available this holiday season and has been pushed back to 2007. According to Chou, Microsoft will announce the corrected release date at the X'06 event in Barcelona, Spain.

I can't say I find this news overly surprising, as I've often said that it was somewhat surprising that there was nothing in the way of actual game footage available yet, and we were closing in on the games projected release date. In fact, other than a few screenshots released in the past week at the official Forza site, there's been nothing other than pre-rendered images of the game. Still, any time a game is delayed so it can be done right, I say bravo.

For more information, click here to head over to 1UP.com and here to check out the original post at the NeoGAF forums.

Posted by nylatenite at 2:03 AM EDT

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TrueGameHeadz is reporting that they've gotten an early scoop on what Capcom plans on announcing this friday in regards to Devil May Cry 4. According to the TGH article, the game will be taking place between the first and second games, and interestingly, Dante will not be the main character in the game. Here's the information they've managed to compile from Famitsu magazine;

• "Nero has devilish right arm. He can draw enemies toward himself and then throw them.
• He starts to realise his powers in DMC4. DMC4 portraits Nero when he earns his powers and hereafter.
• They chose Nero because Dante was overused (3 games) & they wanted to put the new users and the old fans in the same starting line for DMC4.
• Nero looks like Dante because the silver hair and red coat is more like a symbol to the DMC series
• “Dante is grim and he can’t settle down. As story progresses the situation changes, how’s that?” says Kobayashi meaning that Dante might be playable.
• They introduced the right arm draw-throw system because in DMC3 when you beat the enemies, combos brake. Besides expect the sword and weapons this system provides multiple choises and the fun expands, However depending on the enemy you can’t draw and throw everyone of them.
• The combo system has as base the one from DMC3 & they are revising/reworking details according to the fans’ comment-remarks.
• Nero’s sword has a bar. The sword has somekind of a driving force in it. It’s a new way/element to enjoy the sword handling.
• In TGS there will be real time footage. " -TrueGameHeadz

How come I suddenly find myself thinking of Raiden and Metal Gear Solid 2? For more information, head on over to TrueGameHeadz at this link to check out the article.

Posted by nylatenite at 2:02 AM EDT

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Dear Electronic Arts,

I don't know if you guys are aware, but the NFL season starts tonight, and last time I checked, you still haven't corrected that fatigue issue in the Xbox 360 version of Madden NFL'07, nor have you updated the rosters to reflect all the player changes since the game has launched. It's bad enough that the 360 version of the game is once again a HUGE disappointment, but could you at least make it look like you're trying?

One last thing, while you're at it, why not drop the act and admit the Hall of Fame players in franchise mode is a huge mistake too and make it so you can turn that wonderful "feature" off.

Stuck with you until 2009,

-G.P. "NYLatenite" Fornasiero

Seriously, I realize Electronic Arts pretty much has a stranglehold on everything but high school football, but c'mon, throw us a bone - could we get those updates some time this century, or are you guys trying to figure out how you could charge for them? Somehow I doubt they'd be taking things this casually if there was some competition.

Posted by nylatenite at 1:35 AM EDT

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Well folks, I wasn't able to get any updates posted today due to there just being too much to get done at work, but Gamespot has reported that Sony has confirmed both the European launch delay and the much lower number of Playstation 3 launch units in North America and Japan. In addition, there are reports floating around the internet now that Sony is also having problems getting games to run at decent frame rates in 1080p, and that many developers are now scaling their games back to 720p.

To make life easier, here are the key things going on at the moment;

• Sony confirms that they are indeed having serious problems with blue laser diode production
• Sony has announced that the Playstation 3 European launch has been delayed until March 2007
• Sony has cut the number of units available for the North America and Japanese launch from 2 million units to 500,000 units
  • North America cut to 400,000 units
  • Japan cut to 100,000 units
• Sony lowers the number of units available by the end of 2006 from 4 million to 2 million units.
• 1 million to 1.2 million of those 2 million units will be allocated to the North American market.
• Sony states they still plan on having 6 million units available by March 2007
• Microsoft and Nintendo release statements showing they plan on taking full advantage of the delay.
  • "Wii is on track to ship in Q4, Nintendo plans to ship 6 million systems to retailers around the world between its launch in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2007." - Nintendo
  • "We know how challenging it is to pull off a global launch, particularly with unproven technology, so it's not surprising that Sony has backed away from their previously announced launch plans. Europe remains a priority for us and that is why gamers have been able to experience Xbox 360 from day 1 and why we're confident we're going to have a great holiday, regardless of what competitors are or are not in the market. Xbox 360 will have over 160 high-definition games including Viva Piñata from Rare, Gears of War from Epic, Pro Evolution Soccer 6 from Konami and FIFA 2007 from EA, a robust and continuously growing online gaming community in Xbox Live, fantastic entertainment capabilities, optional HD-DVD movie playback capability and a great-value price." -Microsoft
• Rumors circulate that many developers are scaling back their games to 720p because they can't get them to run at a decent frame rate at 1080p.
• Just as a point of reference, the Xbox 360 global launch figure was 1.5 million units.

Needless to say, it has not been a good day for Sony, and I can't imagine ANY of the third party developers are happy with this latest bit of news. With the high cost of developing next-gen software, the already low launch numbers and the fact that the Playstation 3 isn't even in production yet (meaning there's still a LOT that can go wrong), I've got to imagine that there are going to be a lot of companies getting burned come November 17th. Just like the Xbox 360 launch, unless your title is a must-have, by the time there's a good sized install base, your game is going to be considered a has-been and will quickly be outshone by the newer titles.

For more information on this story, here are some links you can check out;

• International Herald Tribune - European sales of Sony's PlayStation 3 delayed until March
• Kotaku - Sony delays PS3 until 2005 for PAL countries
• Kotaku - PS3 at launch, North America, 400k. Japan, 100k.
• Kotaku - Microsoft: This X-mas Will Be "Great"
• Kotaku - Nintendo On The PS3 Euro Delay
• Kotaku - No 1080p For PS3 Games
• CNN Money - Sony Delays European PlayStation 3
• ArsTechnica - Sony Scales Back PlayStation 3 launch plans
• Gamespot - Confirmed: 400,000 PS3's for U.S. launch
• Firing Squad - Microsoft And Nintendo Respond To PS3 Euro Delay
• Joystiq - Sony: 1 million to 1.2 million PS3's for North America in '06
• Gamasutra - Playstation 3 Delayed To March 2007 In Europe
• Gamasutra - Kutaragi: 400,000 PS3's For U.S. Launch
• Kikizo Games - No 1080p PS3 Games Yet, Says Sony

Now it remains to be seen if Sony can even live up to it's current estimates. Want to sound off on the issue? Why not drop a line in the comments section?

Posted by nylatenite at 1:30 AM EDT

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Word on the street this morning is that Sony has officially delayed the Playstation 3 European launch until March of 2007 and has cut their estimates of launch units available in the North America and Japan dramatically.

Kotaku is reporting that Sony has issued a press release stating that they have delayed the Playstation 3 launch in Europe until March of 2007. Here's the text of the release as per Kotaku;

"Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Announces New March 2007 date for European Launch of PLAYSTATION 3

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Announces New March 2007 date for European Launch of PLAYSTATION 3
No change in launch date for Japan and North America

London, Wednesday 6 September 2006 - Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that it would revise the launch date of its PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system in the PAL territories of Europe, Russia, Middle East, Africa and Australasia from 17th November 2006, as previously announced to March 2007.

Launch dates for Japan and North America will remain the same, which are November 11th and November 17th respectively.

The revision of the launch date in the SCEE territories is caused by the delay in the mass production schedule of the blue laser diode within the Sony Group, thus affecting the timely procurement of key components to be utilised in PLAYSTATION 3.

The previously announced PLAYSTATION 3 shipment forecast of 6 million units globally within the fiscal year ending 2007 is not changed. " - Sony press release as per Kotaku

In addition , According to a report in the International Herald Tribune, a paper I'm not at all familiar with, Sony has also officially announced the number of systems that will be available in the North America and Japan at launch, and it isn't pretty - 400,000 units in North America, 100,000 units in Japan - well shy of the original 2 million unit estimate. Looks like those production problems and delays are pretty real - and it looks like Sony is going to be in for a rough holiday season.

I'd follow this story as it breaks, but unfortunately, the story is breaking early and work calls - I'll update as I can. For more information, check out the Kotaku articles here and here, and the International Herald Tribune article here. Looks like I won't be alone in the "I don't have a Playstation 3 club come November.

Posted by nylatenite at 8:05 AM EDT

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Rockstar sent word today that the website for their upcoming Playstation Portable game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is now live. Those of you with a PSP and a hankering for some more GTA action, click here to head on over to the site to check out all the details and take a peek at the official trailer for the game.

Update 9/05/06 2:09am: The first trailer for the game is now available over at YouTube, so here it is for those of you who don't feel like clicking a few extra buttons.

Since embedded videos still aren't working in the archives, click here for the video.

Posted by nylatenite at 12:35 AM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 6 September 2006 2:12 AM EDT

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Xbox Live director of programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb has announced that the Xbox Live Arcade port of Konami's Scramble, which was scheduled to be released today, has been delayed. According to Major Nelson, Scramble should be arriving next wednesday, September 13th 2006.

Taking it's place is an additional deck design for Uno. The design supposedly will feature a Project Gotham Racing 3 theme and cost 100 points. ($1.25) - I don't have official confirmation on the price, but I've got to say if the price is correct, I find it a bit of a ripoff that a single deck not only costs 1/4 the cost of the game it's made for, but is essentially an advertisement for a Microsoft game to boot.

For more information, check out Major Nelson's blog posting here. The sheer amount of greed that's starting to pop up on Live is really getting astonishing.

Posted by nylatenite at 12:34 AM EDT

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If you normally use the http://www.nylatenite.com address to get here, you've probably noticed that the layout has changed. What you're seeing is one of the proposed skins for the new site design, which I truly hope gets back underway now that the Viewsonic mess seems to be winding down to it's end.

If you're a fan of the darker colored original page, you can still access it via the site's original link here, and it will be supported at the very least until the skinnable new design supports the same color scheme. (If you got here from the original site link, which is probably still prevalent in most places, you also probably have no clue what I'm talking about. Click here to head to the nylatenite.com url.

If you're wondering what I mean by "skinnable design", what I mean is that once finished, you'll be able to select what color scheme you want to view the new page with, and have your browser remember that choice on most future visits. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me, and this way it will allow me to maintain the same url with different schemes so users can choose their favorite. Personally, I like the white CSS style sheet that's now the default at the main site link, as I find it MUCH easier to read.

So again, if you like this new style, keep your browser pointed to http://www.nylatenite.com, if you like the dark colored older version, use this link to access the site for now. Finally, feel free to let me know what you think of either design, which you prefer and what else you would like to see in the new design by clicking on the comments bar below and leaving a comment in the archives.

Posted by nylatenite at 8:55 PM EDT

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You know, I'm pretty sure I won't have a Playstation 3 at launch, or for quite some time after that, and while I may sound overly pessimistic when I talk about the Playstation 3's chances of success, I certainly don't deny the fact that there are going to be some truly amazing games on the console. One of those titles, and the one that makes me truly wish I had a pile of cash lying around, is Heavenly Sword. I could begin to explain what the game is about, but instead, I'm going to let the trailer do all the talking;

Yes, the model for that "king" looking character was Andy Serkis, and yes, Heavenly Sword is a Playstation 3 exclusive. Those of you who are going to grab one on day one, know that you are envied by many, and loved by few. Bastards, all of you! (sorry, just the PS3 denied gamer in me talking)

Of course, there's still no video support here in the archives, so click here to see the trailer for Heavenly Sword. 

Posted by nylatenite at 12:18 AM EDT

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Saw this in the Sunday Circuit City flyer - both Call of Duty 2 and Ninety-Nine Nights for the Xbox 360 are on sale for $34.99. While I'm not crazy about N3, and this news certainly won't be enough to make me want it, if you don't have CoD2 yet, there's now no excuse to go pick it up.(beyond, "but I don't have an Xbox 360")

While you're there, be sure to give them crap about their backwards compatibility "installation" service... even if it is Labor Day.

Posted by nylatenite at 1:32 AM EDT

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