The only thing that Tiger Woods likes more than golf is probably… money. If you thought I was going to write women, then I fooled you! Even with his recent image of being a squeaky-clean athlete has been tarnished because of his third love, multiple women, and advertisers axing his face on their products, EA Sports is still sticking with him.
The giant publisher has announced Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and iPhone, will be released sometime in June of 2010; however, no specific date was revealed. The game will feature the same famous golf star that your girlfriend most likely slept with, among other golfers from around the world. Of course, we don’t know any of their names because it’s well…golf.
So there you go, Electronic Arts promised Woods would still be their cover athlete for the sports game, and they were true to their word. With the announcement, EA Sports was unable to provide any screens or trailers — so, you’re just gonna have to wait a tad longer.
Tonight is one of the biggest nights in the videogame industry because Spike TV is broadcasting the seventh annual Video Game Awards. While it pales in comparison to such conventions as the Electronic Entertainment Expo; it does give us a glimpse into what games we should expect in 2010 — thanks to the world premier trailers, announcements and surprises during the show. Not only that, it will honor the very best of what 2009 had to offer, by handing out select VMA awards to the outstanding titles of this past year.
After the jump, we will live blog the award ceremony. If all you want to see is the latest trailer, just refresh our homepage, and it will be below this live blog — as we are making this a sticky post until the show ends.(more…)
Ubisoft has just confirmed a new Prince of Persia game, subtitled “The Forgotten Sands,” is going to be available for next-generation consoles and handhelds. According to the small official press release, the next installment of the highly-praised series is expected to launch sometime in May of 2010. What is probably not a coincidence is the fact that Disney is set to release the film adaption of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time the same month and year.
Not only that, Ubisoft revealed this next PoP game is going to “feature many of the fan-favorite elements from the original series as well as new gameplay innovations.” Is it sounding like a sequel to the 2004 critically-acclaimed The Sands of Time to you? Well of course it does and the company confirmed it will be returning to the storyline of the Sands of Time. Although, I’m not convinced it’ll follow the game — but rather the film.
All and all, the publisher looks as though they’re trying to capitalize as much as they can when the film hits theaters, as they obviously should. Every time a new Prince of Persia hits stores the game does very well with the critics; however, they don’t seem to sell like they should — hopefully the film will help this next version become a blockbuster.
I should also note that the “Prince” has had a different look in every game he had starred in. It will be interesting to see if this time around he’ll look more like Jake Gyllenhaa from the Prince in the film, or be more like the videogame character of The Sands of Time.
On the same day it was announced, Activision has released Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The portable first-person shooter, has the player kill zombie Nazis, and if you remember was a mode that was available for the console version of World at War, which was released last year.
Up top is a video of someone playing the actual game and as you can see, has mighty impressive graphics considering the device it’s running on is a phone. While it looks like the game has potential of being fun, there are some flaws — especially when it comes to the facts about the title.
First and foremost, the action title is rather expensive for an iPhone game. While most videogames run anywhere from $1 to $6 or $7 on the App Store, Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies is priced at $10. While it certainly won’t break the bank, it seems a little too much mainly because it includes only one small level for you to roam. Actually, judging by the video above — it looks like just a room. Although, the publisher did confirm more maps will be available in the future to download; however, no word if that will cost extra. But there are some positives, besides the graphics and I’ll tell you what they are.
The game can be played on WiFi with up to four-additional players, or you can play a two player mode over bluetooth (iPhone only). Unfortunately you can’t kill zombies on a bus with a friend over the net using 3G. the company decided to disable that feature. There is also a leaderboard to see where each gamer ranks, when compared to other players around the world — along with achievements.
Is it worth buying? Maybe. It really depends on how much you want a decent first-person shooter on your iPhone. Sadly, the lack of levels might discourage people to spend their $10 on a game that feels more like a demo.
Today, Apple has announced that their App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch has exceeded over 100,000 applications. That number obviously makes both units the largest selection of applications for any platform, and there isn’t a sign of slowdown either. “The App Store has forever changed the mobile gaming industry and continues to improve,” said Travis Boatman, VP of EA Mobile. “With a global reach of over 50 million iPhone and iPod touch users, the App Store has allowed us to develop high quality EA games that have been a huge success with customers.”
It’s hard to argue that Apple won’t be a serious gaming machine in the next year or two. Sure, hardcore gamers argue that both devices will never achieve that goal, Mainly because they hate the control scheme on the unit, but the numbers are starting to prove otherwise. Even companies like Rockstar Games, who are releasing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for Apple’s phone and Touch, sees the potential of the portable units. Having them release a flagship title like GTA on the iPhone and iPod, makes me believe they’ll be doing even more with the device. If it proves to be successful, expect to see even more companies jump onboard with Apple and developed well-known franchises, that even the hardcore gamer would download.
Today, Apple has announced that their App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch has exceeded over 100,000 applications. That number obviously makes both units the largest selection of applications for any platform, and there isn’t a sign of slowdown either. “The App Store has forever changed the mobile gaming industry and continues to improve,” said Travis Boatman, VP of EA Mobile. “With a global reach of over 50 million iPhone and iPod touch users, the App Store has allowed us to develop high quality EA games that have been a huge success with customers.”
It’s hard to argue that Apple won’t be a serious gaming machine in the next year or two. Sure, hardcore gamers argue that both devices will never achieve that goal, Mainly because they hate the control scheme on the unit, but the numbers are starting to prove otherwise. Even companies like Rockstar Games, who are releasing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for Apple’s phone and touch units, sees the potential of the portable units. Having them release a flagship title like GTA on the iPhone and iPod, makes me believe they’ll be doing even more with the devices. If it proves to be successful, expect to see even more companies jump onboard with Apple and developed well-known franchises, that even the hardcore gamer would download.
Apple believes their iPhone is the future of the gaming handheld market. It just might be, I mean look at it, it’s powerful, a phone and even could be considered a mini-computer. But one thing the company needs to address before anyone can give them the crown for the king of portable gaming — piracy. According to an iPhone developer, Smells Like Donkey, almost 80 percent of all the downloads for Tap-Fu have been illegally downloaded. The sad thing is the game isn’t even expensive. Right now, if you head over to the Apple’s app-store, you’ll find the game only to be the cheap price of $1.99. But that hasn’t stopped people from getting the game for nothing.
This is sad and terrible news for the gaming industry. One of the great things the iPhone has done for the industry over the last year or so, is giving the designers the chance to create their own idea for a title. Believe it or not, making an independent game was both hard and financially a huge risk. But thanks to devices like the iPhone, anyone who has decent knowledge on programing and has the time, can actually make a title for the fraction of what it used to be.
If piracy becomes more of an issue and Apple doesn’t fix it, we’ll see less and less of these entrepreneur take the risk — which in turn means less original games.
We already know that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS was met with fantastic reviews, but the majority of DS owners didn’t purchase the game. Later, the publisher, Rockstar Games, announced it was headed to the PSP. Although I don’t think the dismal sales initially forced Rockstar to port the title over to Sony’s handheld, but it certainly didn’t discourage them either.
If you thought the decision to port the game over to the PSP was big, then you’re gonna surprised by the company’s new revelation. Rockstar Games has announced that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is going to be ported over to
Apple’s iPhone/iPod Touch. The game is expected to be available in the App Store starting this fall which is around the same time the PSP version ships, but an exact date has yet to be revealed.
This is huge for Apple because they have been trying to convince gamers that their platform can be a real gaming system. We already know how big of a franchise GTA is and having it available for a device that so far, isn’t perceived as a serious gaming machine — is a win situation for Apple. Not only that, considering Rockstar doesn’t have to box and ship actual software for the iPhone; they just have to throw up a digital copy in the App Store, which means its not very costly to port and definitely worth the risk.
To everyone that lives in or around the Massachusetts area, we just wanted to remind you that “the biggest video game convention in the history of New England” begins tomorrow. Game Unicon takes place at the Best Western Royal Plaza in Marlborough, MA and when doors open at 11:00 am on Friday, they won’t close until the last day of the convention which is on Sunday at 6:00 pm.
The convention will showcase some of the best gaming tournaments in the country and will have over $10,000 in cash prizes. Some of the games included in the playoffs are; Halo 3,Street Fighter IV, Super Smash Bros. (Brawl and Melee), Rock Band, Gears of War 2 and Madden 10. They are even going to have some classic titles for you to compete in, like a Tetris tournament and a Battletoads speedrun; where the faster player to beat the game wins.
Read more about what the convention has to offer after the jump. (more…)
Earthworm Jim is officially ready to make a comeback. Gameloft has inked a deal with Interplay, the original developers of the classic 16-bit game, to bring Earthworm Jim to Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, WiiWare and mobile phones. When the sidescroller debuted on both the SNES and Genesis, it quickly became a smash hit and even spawned a sequel and a few spin-offs. However, there hasn’t been a new game since 1999.
“We are delighted to partner with Interplay to bring Earthworm Jim to multiple downloadable platforms,” said Gonzague de Vallois, senior vice president, Gameloft. “The game, with its humorous and edgy style, is a great fit for today’s gamer who craves a fully immersive experience that is fun and easily accessible. We look forward to delivering a fantastic game.”
The new deal is a bit vague. A press release was sent out, but it made it sound like both companies are planning to bring out the original, and not new installments. If this is true, hopefully the title sells well enough to warrant a brand new incarnation of Earthworm.
Basically, if it ends up being the first Earthworm Jim and you want a new story — make sure you purchase the download. And hopefully we will finally see a new adventure featuring your favorite invertebrate.
When I think augmented reality videogames, I think about walking around a real world environment but interacting with computer visuals. For the most part, I’m pretty sure most people think closely to the way I do.
A group of programmers over at Georgia Tech have done something a tad different and developed a cool idea for an augmented reality shooter for mobile camera-phones. Although the title has rather basic gameplay mechanics, the team has created something which definitely has potential in the industry.
I’m sure most people have seen some sort of viral campaign for either movies or even videogames, where you hold up a piece of paper in front of a computer webcam. Once you do that, a 3D graphical image appears on the computer display. The technology used for those things, is the basic idea that the Georgia Tech team did with their game called ‘ARhrrrr.’ Although this game is much more interactive.
The story is rather simple. Civilians are trapped inside a small town square, where a zombie invasion has begun. It’s up to the player to shoot and kill the undead, who are terrorizing the town square. The way you do this, is by lying a special paper with images on it, which made for the game, flat on a table. You then grab your camera-phone, and simply point the lens towards the paper and it’ll reveal an interactive 3D world. By moving the phone around the paper, it’ll seem like your flying inside a helicopter overhead the town in a 3D landscape. From there you’ll see swarms of zombies trying to attack people, and its your job to shoot them down by aiming your phone towards an enemy. Pretty awesome stuff.
NESynth is an iPhone App which is a “virtual synthesizer” and sounds like an old NES console. According newforestar, the developers of the application, expects the 8-bit music maker to be available in Apple’s App Store shortly. Although no date has been given.
Some cool features are also going to be packed in NESynth is downloaded. For instance, in order to control the pitch of the sound, simply move the phone around, which in turn will change the pitch because of accelerometer on the device. Not only that, their website reads that owners of the app, can have a P2P session with a friend and his or hers sound will come out of your iPhone as well.
Check out the trailer above, and make sure you watch the whole thing because their is a cool 8-bit song created by the application.
According to a post over at MultiChannel.com, Netflix’s streaming service could be coming to the Nintendo Wii and the iPhone. The report identified a source as an “industry executive familiar with Netflix’s plans,” told the site that Netflix is already preparing to launch the streaming service to both the videogame system and the iPhone and iPod touch series.
For the past year or so, rumors have suggested that the Wii would be getting access to the 12,000+ instant movie watching service, sometime soon. However, the iPhone getting something similar is news to us, and the idea is already getting our months salivating with excitement. Other than the revelation, no further details were revealed.
Because of the limitations of AT&T’s 3G network and their continued stoppage of anything that requires a lot of upload, Netflix would most likely only work on a WiFi network. But hey, it’s better than nothing.
The Wii getting Netflix is also huge news considering the system has sold 50+ million units which has the potential of giving the rental site millions of extra subscribers. But because of the Xbox 360 receiving the same thing a year ago, it doesn’t get me personally as excited.
If these reports are correct, I guess that would make the PlayStation 3 the odd-man out.
Yesterday, we reported that Nintendo’s sales were down about 40 percent. In hard economic times, this wasn’t exactly breaking news and if anything, proved the videogame industry isn’t recession proof. Thankfully Capcom is proving that not every company in the business is hurting, when compared to last year.
According to the Osaka-based videogame publisher, the company’s net sales are up 36 percent and their operating income is up 32.5 percent, when compared to last year’s first quarter. One of the biggest reasons for the noticeable increase was the release of their highly popular Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter IV games, which are both established franchises.
Things don’t look like their going to slow down either for the company. In the upcoming year, Capcom expects to release Dark Void, Lost Planet 2Dead Rising 2 and possibly a new Onimusha title.
The Showtime hit series Dexter, is quite possibly my favorite television show on right now. From the brilliant voiceover of Dexter Morgan’s twisted mind to the uneasy feeling of rooting for a serial killer — the show is almost perfect.
Marc Ecko announced during the Dexter Comic Con panel in 2008, that an iPhone videogame was on its way. Although it has been over a year since he confirmed the ‘killer’ simulator, the game is almost here. Up top is a trailer which features Dexter’s infamous dialog, which is actually voiced by none other than Michael C. Hall. At the same time, it shows in-game footage.
When I first heard a Dexter game was on the way, I was super excited. But when it was revealed that it was coming to the iPhone I was a tad disappointed. To this day, I would have rather experienced playing as a good guy serial killer on a ‘next-gen‘ system. With that said, the more I see about the iPhone game, the more I become impressed . The team behind the game, looks like they will be giving Dexter fans a full fledged game, with an actual story and everything. This is one aspect many games are missing on the iPhone, and it’s definitely a breath of fresh air when we see a company make a true original game on the phone.
The only problem I’m going to have to deal with, is my girlfriend having the ability to play as her super crush in her phone 24/7.
When the Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition was announced for the Xbox 360 and PC, I was immediately excited. I couldn’t wait to download the classic point-and-click adventure and play it once again, but this time with a re-recorded score, voice acting and of course updated graphics. When the game was released not to long ago, it didn’t disappoint.
Shortly before that, rumors were starting to emerge that LucasArts were looking into avenues to bring the same updated game to other platforms, most notably the iPhone. Out of nowhere and with no announcement at all, the company threw the same Special Edition onto the App-Store. For the part, the title is an exact port of the updated version, but with a minor change which is a menu template on the bottom of the screen.
Everything else seems to be working fine, from the music to the graphics — it looks like it runs perfect. The only minor complaint I’m hearing is the cursor. When you first pick up the game, you just want to touch the area of the screen for Guybrush to interact with it. This won’t work because you have to actually scroll your finger around the screen, rather than just tapping a specific part. Again, it’s only a minor issue, that could easily be fixed with a simple update.
The game is also cheaper on the iPhone. Right now it’s priced at $7.99, which is two dollars cheaper than its Xbox 360 counterpart.
Will this open the flood gates for more classic point-and-click from LucasArts to come to the iPhone? Maybe. But this one needs to be semi successful and only time will tell, if it is.
