posted by Chris on February 26, 2008 10:40 AM in Games
Hot off the virtual presses from Kotaku, Metal Gear Solid 4 finally has a release date (June 12, 2008). Also included in the announcement is the sweet, sweet rumor that an 80gig PLAYSTATION 3 bundle with MGS4 and a Dualshock 3 controller will ship at the same time. Finally, my waiting and whining will pay off. I've been shopping around on eBay for the last few weeks once I heard that the 80gigs were being taken off the shelf, because I thirst for backwards compatibility. Oh, the thirst! Also now that my HD-DVD player has become a paperweight, it would be nice to start building a library of Blu-Ray movies that I can actually, you know. Watch.
Cross your fingers and pray to Kojima that this rumor comes true.
UPDATE: confirmed!
[link via Kotaku]
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posted by Chris on January 3, 2008 8:28 AM in Games, Rant
The oft-rumored "360 Ultimate" has been recently "profiled" in the "magazine" entitled "Stuff", Kotaku brings to our attention this week. The system is supposed to cram all sorts of amazing junk into one box, in order to more fully compete with Sony's PLAYSTATION 3. To echo the almighty house of Crecente:
The Xbox 360 Ultimate, Stuff writes, will be hitting store shelves by this autumn and feature "1080p HDMI output, built-in Wi-Fi, hi-def audio output, cooler 65nm hardware architecture and a near-silent fan." On top of all that, the IPTV service that MS touted at last year's CES will be good to go.
Microsoft is a fan of making money, so as long as they can turn a profit on the hardware, this rumor sounds slightly reasonable. Readers of the site will know that I don't usually post articles about hardware rumors, or newly posted specs about a system. Usually, I just don't care. Sure, it's neat that eventually I can replace my clunky hd-dvd player drive hanging off of my Xbox 360 like a remora, but the best part of this article is the comments section on Kotaku. I've been a commenter there for a while, yet I hardly use the ability to comment there. Why? Ridiculous statements by ill-informed children such as this:
BY CHINEZEPANDA AT 04:43 PM
Never going to happen.
Even if it does..
SONY WILL OFFICIALLY HAVE THE UPPER HAND.
And by that I mean.. Microsoft will be acting in an act of desperation... and my 360 will be going on Ebay.
I love the use of the phrase "Microsoft will be acting in an act of desperation" so dramatic! So final! SO EXCITING. Conjures images of the stunning beauty Microsoft being strapped to train rails by the dastardly Sony, who now has the UPPER HAND! This one is classic, too. And they go on for a couple hundred comments of ridiculousness!
BY CAPT_BIRDSEYE AT 01/02/08 05:42 PM
You have all been Riped off by Microsoft, BTW that reminds me microsoft can't think of thire own ideas.
Now it gose to show why microsoft want a new console the so called "Xbox Ultimate" let me gess Sony have the upper hand? thire tryied with the core, premuim and the elite and now the ultimate. But sony have only made 4 versions of playstaion 3, 20gb, 40gb, 60gb and 80gb now in terms of that thire have only added more harddrive space and removing ps2 BC from most of thire modles. Micro$oft umm money crabbing creedy mofos if u ask me.
Ok, so making fun of this guy's spelling is a bit of a low blow, but come on. It's a company that wants to make money. That's what companies exist for. Microsoft is not some sort of happy shiny non-profit game company who just wants to give you exactly what you want. They want to make a bunch of fantastic games for you SO YOU WILL BUY THEM. It's pretty transparent. All this knee-jerking and fanboyism is really ridiculous. Can't you just say "hey, neat. Hope that comes out and is reasonably priced." and leave it at that? Not everyone is an analyst. Heck, I am not even an analyst. So quit thinking that you are. Or, at least, learn to spell. It's embarrassing.
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posted by Chris on January 1, 2008 6:45 PM in Podcast
This week, Qais, Chris and Mack start out the new year by discussing what we are anticipating in 2008. From rumors to hopes and dreams just waiting to be crushed. We open up the mailbag and talk about holiday familial technophobia, and cuss a bit. You know how we do. Download the show here or subscribe to the feed! Note: a version of the podcast was released earlier today that was borked. Please to be downloading the new version if you downloaded said borked version.
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posted by Qais on October 24, 2007 2:23 PM in Games
A while back I came across a game that was so addictive I completely lost myself in it for the better part of a year. That game was Animal Crossing. I obsessed over it. Every day would have at least several hours of Animal Crossing time allotted. If I didn't get my fix I was a force with which to be reckoned, withering all in my path with a look as I made my way to that sweet, sweet Animal Crossing fix.
Eventually I kicked my habit and went on about the business of living a real life instead of simulating one. Those fuckers at Nintendo knew what was up, and they released Animal Crossing for the DS. I tried to resist. I called my sponsor, even went to a few meetings, but Nintendo knows an addict and I came back to the fold. It's a strange sight to see, that of a grown man weeping uncontrollably over his DS at how incredibly weak willed he is. I only wish I hadn't been looking in a mirror. But eventually I regained control and put Animal Crossing away. Sure we still have a fling every now and again, but that bitch has burned me bad and you just can't forget the pain of pushing away your loved ones so you can make the purple tulip.
Once again, Nintendo is back on the block, slingin' the fiends that need a fix and bringing the wandering back home to the warm embrace of an Animal Crossing fix. But Nintendo is no fool, they know they can't keep feeding us the same thing without our addictions eventually moving to another seemingly pointless game. Oh no my friends, now we'll have the opportunity to feed our ravenous addictions together, in an MMO format.
Animal Crossing is ripe for the MMO treatment. The DS flavor of coop play has always been fun, and I'll be the first to admit that I love the Animal Crossing griefer crews lurking in the dark corners of forums rife with typos prevalent enough to make you want to bleach your own eyes. Granted, this is all speculation based on thinly veiled hints dropped by Katsuya Eguchi, head of development for the project, but Nintendo would be a pack of fools not to do this.
Need to get caught up? You can find Animal Crossing: Wild World in our store!
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posted by Qais on October 24, 2007 10:26 AM in Games
My day has effectively been ruined. Why? Before I even had time to hear the apocryphal whisperings about Psychonauts 2 being in the works the rumor has been quashed.
Apparently, over at Double Fine studios website a banner for Psychonauts with the words Coming Soon printed on it sparked a flurry of rumor mill tending and fan boy freakouts. Thankfully, before everything got out of hand and tents were set up outside of the local game store, Double Fine CEO Tim Schaeffer explained thusly:
“Man, who knew how much excitement a little darkness could bring? The truth is we are just putting together a new page about 'The Excellent Game Psychonauts.' We're not announcing any new games or anything. Sorry if we confused anybody! We lightened up the image to hopefully make things clearer.”
If slightly more information about Psychonauts (for which I'm sure you're all tearing your hair out in anticipation) can't sate your filthy lust then go pick up some awesome Double Fine merch. It's easily some of the least obnoxious game studio merch in existence.
Need to get caught up? You can find Psychonauts (for Windows) in our store!
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posted by Qais on October 1, 2007 10:57 AM in Games, Geek Culture
Today Ars Technica is reporting rumors of a supposed price drop for the PS3. The source of these rumors? A mysterious insider, slipping them tidbits like a thief in the night. I envision some kind of secret drop checked daily by a nervous Ars Technica intern.
Nervous interns aside, Ars Technica claims a good track record when it comes to mole produced rumors. The PS3 is potentially dropping to a price of $399, the price itself being speculation only slightly substantiated by Sony's FCC filing for a new model of PS3. Considering the previous drop in price to $499 and the holiday season being right around the corner a $399 price tag on the PS3 seems a reasonable assumption to make. Now the only question is whether this price drop will kick the legs out from under what could potentially be the final stumbling block keeping the PS3 from being a real contender in the console wars.
via Ars Technica
Want a Playstation 3 right now? Buy one from our store and support the site!
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posted by Qais on September 11, 2007 3:19 PM in Games
Today rumors abound about the possibility of the extension of top rated game (according to Metacritic anyway) Bioshock into a franchise ala 2k Games parent company Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto series. During a Q&A session Take Two chairman Strauss Zelnick hinted at the possibility of a two year release cycle for the proposed franchise, adding another GTA similarity. Considering the epic sales of the game itself combined with the record number of downloads of the demo they'd simply be foolhardy not to at least consider it.
Yet here is where the madness starts. Admittedly most of us love Bioshock, and we'd all probably appreciate some kind of sequel provided it's an actual improvement on the original (yes I did just intimate Bioshock has room for improvement). However a franchise of Bioshock games makes me tremble slightly, and not with the nervous excitement of an imbecile child on Christmas morning, I tremble with fear and trepidation and, perhaps, just a little excitement.
I love Rapture and all of the horrific genetic mutations it has to offer. Right now nothing provides me with the same glee I get from watching my character viciously stab a hypo of eve into his arm...I can almost hear the satisfied sighing now. However I am also finicky and bore easily, and while my adventures into the horrible blinding sunlight are few and far between I am told that many of my fellow gamers share my childlike attention span and temperament. It would be as easy as releasing one Bioshock franchise title that simply isn't up to the standards of the original to get me to turn my nose up at future offerings while proclaiming in high nasal tones, "I remember when Bioshock was good".
Now while I may or may not actually be the haughty, easily swayed, ne'er-do-well I just proclaimed, I will almost certainly eagerly take up any further Bioshock offerings, if for no other reason than to determine if they, like their forebear, are analogous to the second coming of Christ and the bringer of joyously shed life giving tears everyone seems to think Bioshock is.
Listen to us rant about Bioshock becoming a franchise on this week's podcast --Chris
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