As the title suggests, Capcom has posted a survey as they're looking for some feedback on what gamers think of Dead Rising. In fact, they want that information so badly, they're willing to give away a HDTV to get it. Check out the survey site here and let them know what you think.
CNN Money has posted a report that states industry analysts are predicting another (this time real) price cut for Sony's Playstation Portable. According to the report, analysts believe Sony is currently stockpiling PSP units in preparation for a holiday price cut in an attempt to take some of the Nintendo DS-Lite's momentum away.
While at $150 I (and I'm sure many other people) would be tempted to pick up a PSP, I've got to say that Sony shouldn't expect that temptation to improve their software sales numbers. Other than a few titles, most of my interest in the handheld would be on the homebrew or emulation end of the spectrum, which Sony continues to attempt to rebuff at every turn. I can't count how many times I've seen the comment that "I'd like to buy (insert new PSP game here), but I don't want to mess up my homebrews with a firmware update."
Simply put, Sony's constant attempts to thwart homebrew applications via firmware updates is actually hurting sales. The updates are generally overcome by the community within a short time and as stated above actually entice people to not purchase new software. Until Sony figures out some way to fight the piracy angle while embracing the homebrew scene, I don't see them moving a ton of software - even with upcoming titles such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and the title that interests me the most, Ultimate Ghosts & Goblins.
Check out the full CNN Money article here for more details. While we're talking about the PSP, if you own one or are interested in picking one up, what is it about the handheld that interests you? Let us know in the comment section!
Nintendo has announced that Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day has now shipped over 4 million units worldwide, setting a new sales record and adding yet another trophy to the Nintendo DS's display case;
"The latest craze to sweep the planet is Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day for the portable Nintendo DS. Selling more than 4 million units worldwide, including 600,000 in the Americas, 3 million in Japan and 500,000 in Europe, the top-selling title redefines how millions of people now think about video gaming." -Nintendo press release
As you may be aware, Brain Age was a major force behind the massive sales the DS experienced over the last year in Japan and while some may question just how effective it really is as a brain training tool, no one can question it's ability to sell systems. Nintendo views games such as Brain Age as the front-runner in their "going after the non-gamer" market segment approach;
"Brain Age is a cornerstone of Nintendo's new Touch Generations brand, which helps gaming newcomers identify which titles might be appropriate for them. The second title in the brain-training series, Big Brain Academy, launched in the Americas on June 5 and already has sold more than one quarter million units. Both titles have helped to lay the foundation for Nintendo’s upcoming Wii console, which also will include fun, simple games that everyone in the family will want to try." -Nintendo press release
Check out the full press release at this link while you ask yourself if the game is making you sharper, or if you're just learning how to perform the tasks it asks you to perform.
Major Nelson brings word that a PC demo of Microsoft's Flight Simulator X is now available for download. The demo includes 3 missions, weighs in at 636mb and can be downloaded directly from Microsoft at this link.
Capcom has released the first bit of downloadable content for Dead Rising in the form of 8 keys that can be used at various locations in the game to unlock new bits of clothing for Frank.
The content pack can be obtained via the Xbox Live Marketplace, and while it's not an earth-shattering addition to the game, it is free, so stop complaining. It's not like they're charging you $2.50 for horse armor or something - that would just be crazy.
Rockstar Games has released the first trailer for their upcoming controversial title, Bully. Watching the trailer, I'm struck by the thought that the game isn't quite what I expected. It seems to me to almost be an over the top send-up of all those "80's school" type movies.
Regardless of what the plot of the game actually is, I'm sure the controversy over this one will continue unabated - hell, it could turn out to be a game about a choir boy who stands up to bullies while feeding the homeless and supporting world peace and it wouldn't make a lick of difference at this point. Here's how Rockstar describes the game on it's official website;
"The Rockstar tradition of groundbreaking, original gameplay and humorous tongue-in-cheek storytelling invades an entirely new setting: the schoolyard.
As a mischievous schoolboy, you'll stand up to bullies, get picked on by teachers, play pranks, win or lose the girl, and ultimately learn to navigate the obstacles of the worst school around, Bullworth Academy - a corrupt and crumbling prep school with an uptight facade.
The story follows Jimmy Hopkins, a teenager who's been expelled from every school he's ever attended. Left to fend for himself after his mother abandons him at Bullworth to go on her fifth honeymoon, Jimmy has a whole year at Bullworth ahead of him, working his way up the social ladder of this demented institution of supposed learning, standing up for what he thinks is right and taking on the liars, cheats and snobs who are the most popular members of the student body and faculty. If Jimmy can survive the school year and outsmart his rivals, he could rule the school. - official Bully website
That said, I now present for your viewing pleasure, the Bully trailer courtesy of the good folks at YouTube.
Bully is currently scheduled for release on the Playstation 2 game console this October and is sure to be at least rated "M". For more information. you can check out the official Bully website at this link.
Still no progress from Tripod on being able to embed videos in the archive, so click here for the YouTube page.
Next Generation is reporting that Activision has completed their acquisition of Red Octane, developer of Guitar Hero, for 99.9 million dollars in cash and company stock. Not much else to report here other than there are apparently incentive clauses that could add another 51 million dollars to the price depending on how Red Octane's IP's performs in the next year.
Check out the Next Generation article here and the original Activision press release regarding the acquisition here for more details.
The third interim update to MAME v.107 is now available. According to the update notes, v.107u3 centers around a driver improvements and a few game fixes, including updates to Bubble Bobble, Zaxxon and Virtua Racing. The files can be found at the official MAME page at Mamedev.org. You can Click here to see what's new in this update.
Will Wright sat down with the folks over at Gamespot and spoke a little more on his upcoming game, Spore. According to Wright, the game is now at a state where it's fully playable and just needs some more tuning and polishing - which is good news indeed.
"We've basically got all the levels playable at this point, so we have a lot of tuning ahead of us, because we've finally integrated all the different styles of [gameplay]. At this point, it's basically iterating on the gameplay, doing a lot of tuning, finishing up some of the [art] assets, interface, design...stuff like that. So, in some sense, we're in the home stretch. Although the home stretch is pretty long nowadays" -Will Wright
The article goes into depth on how the team designed the creature editor and what challenges the open ended nature of said editor created. It's pretty interesting stuff from a design standpoint and shows the level of care that's being put into the title.
Wright also reveals that Spore will be playable on the floor of the Leipzig Games Convention and that Wright himself will be on the show floor giving the demonstrations of the game. Sadly, despite the progress being made, the game is still scheduled for release in the 2nd half of 2007, so we've got a bit of a wait before we can try our hands at creating life.
The article is definitely a must read for anyone who is desperately waiting for Spore to come out, and probably pretty interesting even to those who aren't, so be sure to check it out here for all the juicy details.
Gamasutra is reporting that Atari has signed a deal with Japanese publisher AQ Interactive for the U.S. publishing rights to their Xbox 360 title Bullet Witch. According to the article, the agreement signifies the beginning of a co-publishing agreement between the two companies;
"We are very pleased to announce this partnership with AQ Interactive Inc. and look forward to working with them on Bullet Witch and beyond, to offer an engaging and unique title such as Bullet Witch to kick start our partnership underlines Atari's commitment to bringing interesting and different titles to gamers all over the world." -Nique Fajors, Atari's vice president of sales and marketing
From what I saw of Bullet Witch in the E3'06 videos, "interesting and different" were not the terms I'd use to describe the game. Let's just say it seemed less than impressive, at least in the footage I saw.
Check out the Gamasutra article here for more details and AQ's Bullet Witch site here for more information about the game.
