It looks like Capcom has finally gotten around to taking a serious look at the issues involving Dead Rising and the way it displays text on standard definition televisions. 1UP.com is reporting that Capcom has announced that due to the amount of effort it would take to change all the text in the game to something more readable on non-hdtv sets, there will be no patch to correct the issues. That's right, they looked at the problem and basically said "Oh well."

"Due to the amount of text and the size of the patch necessary to change the text, a patch isn't possible for this issue. We had asked the team if it was even possible but ... due to the scope of what a patch would need to cover, it wasn't possible." - Capcom as reported by 1UP.com

So now we've gone past the point of releasing a buggy game and fixing it via Xbox Live, to releasing a buggy game and not even bothering to fix it after release. You may be saying "so what?" right now, but as more and more companies continue to barely test their games and release them with glaring bugs (Dead Rising text, Madden fatigue, King Kong darkness, etc) because they think they can just patch any problems later, stories like this are probably going to become more prevalent. It's bad enough when something that should have been caught on the first day of testing gets through, but when you then stick your fingers in your ears and proceed to shout "I'm not listening" over and over, that's unforgivable.

Hopefully Capcom is at the very least going to come up with some way for people to return their copies of Dead Rising, as they kept everyone on the hook so long that I really can't imagine many stores would take the game back at this point. For more details on Capcom's announcement, head on over to the 1UP.com article via this link.

Posted by nylatenite at 2:23 AM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 13 September 2006 2:41 AM EDT

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Next Generation is reporting that Sony has announced the answer to a question we've been wondering about since they slashed their available launch unit projections for the Playstation 3 - namely, how many of those launch systems will be the $499 low end model PS3, and how many will be the $599 high end model.

According to Next Generation, Sony has confirmed that 80 percent of the launch units will be the higher end ($599) model Playstation 3, which is a small bit of good news among a sea of bad for Sony - and good news for those who don't feel like paying through the teeth for PS3 upgrades after launch. Sony has also reportedly firmed up their projections for the remainder of 2006, stating that they expect to have 1.2 million units available in the United States by years end.

Check out the Next Generation article at this link for more details on Sony's most recent comments on the launch situation.

Posted by nylatenite at 2:10 AM EDT

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ArsTechnica is reporting that the next movie series to get the LEGO treatment will be Batman. The article isn't very clear on what exactly has been announced for the game, or what exactly it will cover, but it does at least make it seem apparent that someone is working on LEGO Batman somewhere. Here's to hoping it can break the seemingly endless string of horrible Batman games.

Check out the ArsTechinca posting for more details at this link.

Posted by nylatenite at 1:43 AM EDT

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Firing Squad is reporting that Capcom has decided to double the television advertising budget for Dead Rising in hopes of continuing to expand on the success the title has already seen. Capcom had originally budgeted 3 million dollars for advertising, and given the games brisk sales,they've decided to double that amount and take out more advertisements on Fox, ESPN, MTV, VH-1, Comedy Central and the like. if you thought the initial TV blitz was big, get ready for round 2.

Check out the Firing Squad article here for more information.

Posted by nylatenite at 1:31 AM EDT

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Ok, so it's not completely newsworthy, but I get a little antsy when I haven't spoken about Gears of War in awhile, so deal with it. Epic Games official Gears of War website has posted the finalized list of what you can expect to find in the Gears of War Collector's Edition. Here's what you get for that extra $10;

"The Gears of War® Limited Collector's Edition ships in a highly collectible embossed metal box suitable for self-defense against most Locust Horde adversaries, and includes Destroyed Beauty: An Inside Look at Gears of War, the Gears of War hardbound art book by Cliff Bleszinski, Jerry O'Flaherty, and Eric Nylund

The Gears of War Limited Collector's Edition also includes a bonus "Special Features" DVD with inside information on the game and its creators!

• An inside look at the making of Gears of War
• The "Art of Gears of War" trailer
• Gears of War: The Race to E3" - Gears of War official website

So there you have it - that's what you can expect should you order the limited collector's edition of the game. Mine has been ordered since April or May, so I know I'll have mine.

Posted by nylatenite at 1:19 AM EDT

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Barfly over at the Gamer's Lounge forums posted a link to Ben Heckendorn's latest marvel of miniaturization - a laptop style Xbox 360. You know, every time I think the guy can't top himself, he goes and proves me wrong.

It looks like his site is down due to high volume, but here's the deal - he took a commission to build a laptop computer style Xbox 360 - and pulled it off. The thing not only has all the features of the 360, but incorporates water cooling, a keyboard built into case, wireless internet, a 17" widescreen monitor, standard built-in ports for both component and VGA connectors as well as a headphone jack. Just plain awesome - if I was rich, I think I'd be making him an offer to build another one right now. I'm hoping that he gets the go ahead to write a second book with the instructions for building all the systems he's worked on since the publishing of his first book.

Here's one of the many pictures of the system he published just so you know this is something worth spending your time to check out;

Now if you don't think that thing is "all that, and a bag of chips", I don't know you, I don't want to know you, and you should get off of this site immediately and go back to knitting or something. (Please don't, but c'mon, this thing is COOL)

Check out Heckendorn's website here, the posting on the Gamer's Lounge forums here, a story with plenty of pictures at TechEBlog and yet another story about the system at Kotaku. That's a lot of links, but I think the machine is worth it.

Hell, I like this thing so much, i'm not even done raving yet. Here's a video of the system in action during the building process (note that the keyboard has not been put in place yet in this video, because as we all know, you never seal up a machine before you know it works.

Thanks for the heads up, Barfly! 

As usual, no video here in the archives, so click here for the video of the system in action. 

Posted by nylatenite at 1:08 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 12 September 2006 2:17 AM EDT

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Kotaku is reporting that the latest issue of Vibe magazine features the Nintendo Wii in it's VStyle section with the following description;

"Nintendo's Wii (pronounced Wee) has a crazy name and an even crazier premise--motion-sensitive wireless controllers that require you to flail about to control gameplay. But once you start whacking a virtual tennis ball using an actual swinging motion with your arm, you're hooked. Small, sexy-looking, and affordable, Nintendo's newest gaming system, which promises such motion-activated titles as Excite Truck and Wario Ware to Metroid and Madden 2007, is a winner. $150; www.nintendo.com" -Vibe Magazine (as reported by Kotaku)

Has Vibe been let in on some inside information, or did they just have someone who doesn't know jack about games write the article? I'm betting on the latter. With some luck, we'll know both the price and launch date on thursday when Nintendo holds a special media event in New York City. Yes Nintendo fans, it looks like your wait for official Wii information is almost over.

Check out the Kotaku article here for more details. Oh, and if the Wii does turn out to only cost $150, I don't think 10 million consoles would keep it from selling out this holiday season, so expect shortages.

Posted by nylatenite at 2:47 AM EDT

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There are a ton of releases this week, and a little bit for everyone. First off, just about everyone gets LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - at this point, I wouldn't be surprised to find that a Dreamcast version is coming sometime soon. Next up, hockey fans get both NHL '07 and NHL 2K7 to choose from, though 2K7 fans without an Xbox or Xbox 360 will have to wait until next week for their versions. Nintendo DS owners not only get 2 new colors for the DS-Lite to choose from, but Mario Hoops and Harvest Moon DS. Finally, Rule of Rose reaches the PS2 and Scramble makes it's delayed debut on the Xbox 360 via the Live Arcade. Yup, it's a busy week indeed.

So without further delay, here are the week's scheduled releases;

• Backyard Baseball 2007 - PC - 9/12/06
• Company of Heroes - PC - 9/12/06
• Company of Heroes Collector's Edition - PC - 9/12/06
• Fuel - XBX - 9/12/06
• Mario Hoops 3-On-3 - DS - 9/12/06
• Nintendo DS Lite - Coral Pink - DS - 9/12/06
• Nintendo DS Lite - Onyx - DS - 9/12/06
• Avatar: The Last Airbender - PC - 9/13/06
• Bomberman - PSP - 9/13/06
• Bounty Hounds - PSP - 9/13/06
• Call of Duty 2: Big Red One - Special Edition - PS2 - 9/13/06
• Cooking Mama - DS - 9/13/06
• Everquest II Classic - PC - 9/13/06
• Faces of War - PC - 9/13/06
• Harvest Moon DS - DS - 9/13/06
• IGPX - PS2 - 9/13/06
• Joint Task Force. - PC - 9/13/06
• LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - PC - 9/13/06
• LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - PS2 - 9/13/06
• LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - 9/13/06
• LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - XBX - 9/13/06
• LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - PC - 9/13/06
• LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - PC - 9/13/06
• LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - PC - 9/13/06
• LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - PC - 9/13/06
• Little Einsteins - GBA - 9/13/06
• Mech Assault: Phantom War - DS - 9/13/06
• Mega Man ZX - DS - 9/13/06
• My Little Pony: Crystal Princess - GBA - 9/13/06
• NHL 07 - 360 - 9/13/06
• NHL 07 - PC - 9/13/06
• NHL 07 - PS2 - 9/13/06
• NHL 07 - PSP - 9/13/06
• NHL 07 - XBX - 9/13/06
• NHL 2K7 - 360 - 9/13/06
• NHL 2K7 - XBX - 9/13/06
• One Piece: Pirates' Carnival - GC - 9/13/06
• One Piece: Pirates' Carnival - PS2 - 9/13/06
• Pro Stroke Golf: World Tour 2007 - XBX - 9/13/06
• Rengoku II: The Stairway to Heaven - PSP - 9/13/06
• Rule of Rose - PS2 - 9/13/06
• Scramble - 360 - 9/13/06
• The Cheetah Girls - GBA - 9/13/06
• Great Invasions - PC - 9/15/06

Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.

Posted by nylatenite at 2:39 AM EDT

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It's been a slow couple of days on the news front, so to make it up to you, here's the next installment of Lazy Day Trailers. Today we're taking a look at the E3 2006 footage of Crytek's first person shooter Crysis. If you're not familiar with the game, Crysis is a sci-fi fps where the player must help fight off an alien invasion and prevent the destruction of the human race. Sounds pretty standard, doesn't it? Well here's the kicker - Crytek has stated that they are working on making the game as non-linear as possible.

As an example, imagine if you will a game in which you can accomplish a mission in a varied number of ways (destroy an enemy or just escape, etc) and a game in which what happens as you play, dynamically affects the rest of the game. There's a great example of this in a preview of the game over at Gamespot, so I'll just quote and link that preview for you;

"Crysis is a game that will forgive failure, so you don't have to worry about being perfect every time. For example, you'll battle alongside other Special Forces operators who are part of your team. Each of these guys may have an important role in the game, but if they get in a bad situation and you can't save them, they can be killed off before they can perform that role. In most games, this would require you to reload to the most recent save point and attempt to get the rescue right, but in Crysis, you will be able to proceed with the story anyway. The latter parts of the game might turn out to be a bit more difficult as a result, because the dead comrade in question might have had some critical piece of information that would have made your life easier, but you'll still be able to complete the game without them." - Gamespot

Even more than it's storytelling aspects, Crysis is currently known more for it's jaw-dropping visuals and it's subsequently insane predicted minimum system requirements. As usual, rather than blather on for a few hours, I'll cut to the chase - the game is going to be big. Check out some of the gameplay footage from E3 2006 below.

Crysis is being developed by Crytek, published by Electronic Arts and is currently scheduled to be released in the 4th quarter of 2006 exclusively on the PC, though rumors of Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 versions abound. For the record, Crytek has stated that they feel the next-gen consoles don't have the power required to do justice to Crysis - so console only gamers may have quite a bit of a wait ahead of them.

And yes, as usual, the video isn't showing in the archives, so if you're accessing this story in there, use this link to see the video.

Posted by nylatenite at 1:42 AM EDT

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According to a report at Playfuls.com, Electronic Arts has stated that despite rumors to the contrary, right now they are only concentrating on bringing Will Wright's Spore to the PC, but have not ruled out porting the game to other systems at a later date.

"Right now we’re 100% focused on finishing SPORE on the PC and PC only. Though we’re investigating the possibilities of bringing the franchise to other platforms in the future, any announcements or confirmations for the Wii or any other platform would be premature" - Electronic Arts statement as per Playfuls.com

So, if you believe EA, you can forget about seeing a Wii, DS or any other console version of the game anytime soon. What you can take solace in, is that knowing EA, if Spore is as successful as EA hopes it will be, it'll eventually be ported to every system known to the human race.

For more information on this story, check out the original article over at Playfuls.com. I'm not familiar with the site or it's accuracy, so you may want to take this news with a grain of salt, just to be on the safe side.

Posted by nylatenite at 1:17 AM EDT

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