Dead Rising confirmed for May

Capcom annoucned recently that their upcoming Xbox 360 title, Dead Rising will be ready to launch in May. This is good news for survival horror fans, as the game is one of the nicest looking in the zombie-genre thus far. Capcom also announced that Lost Planet: Extreem Conditions should be in Japan before the end of January.

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Dynasty Warriors 5 coming to 360

The hit tactical samurai action series, Dynasty Warriors, is coming to the Xbox 360 with the latest instalment, Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires. The game will launch on March 28th for the PS2 and the 360 version will be out by Christmas.

John Carmack of id software talks

In an interview with PC Gamer UK, John Cormack of id Software (makers of Quake) stated that the Xbox 360 will likely be their primary platform for the next-generation of gaming titles. He stated that Microsoft's developmental tools were vastly superior to PS3 or even current PC abilities. This looks good for fans of the system, id software is never one to disapoint in the graphics department.

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Itagaki-san talks DOAX2 and Ninja Gaiden sequel

Head boss of Team Ninja Itagaki-san has reported that they are in development of sequels to both Dead or ALive Extreem Beach Volleyball 2 and Ninja Gaiden. In the interview he said he was fearful of giving dates simply because he didn't want to disapoint if his team (19 people) can't deliver on-time. He also apologized for the lateness of DOA4 and talked about the future of the game. He said there will be little in the future as far as online upgrades or new material as his team is already imersed in their next project. This looks like a good sign for fans of ther series' and we should keep our fingers crossed to see the launch before too long.

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Microsoft learns the hard way, worldwide launches are tough

If there's one thing the Xbox 360's launch has taught us is that worldwide launches, while cool aren't the greatest idea. Apart from shortcomings in every continent but Japan the 360 has actually hurt Microsoft financially. Although to be expected when selling consoles at a loss, the system's lack of availability and glitches affected Microsoft's stock value, increasing only 9 percent this quarter (2 less than expected) the Xbox 360's flop-launch has proven to be more than just an annoyance. Although the launch of the console puts Microsoft nowhere near troubled waters yet, expect them to be trying doubly so to produce systems before the rest of the next-gens come out.

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Xbox' Thrasher hints at future update

In an interview with Major Nelson, Thrasher from Xbox Live's OS team said that they are constantly working on several add-ons for the system through instant downloads, similar to the one this week. One feature he reported was the ability to choose whether you'd prefer the system to launch the dashboard or game on start up. He couldn't hint at too much, but expect alot of the few annoying features about the dashboard and things you haven't even dreamed yet to come from that team in the not-so-distant future.

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DS sold-out in Japan, again

Even with the shiny new DS Lite coming in a few months hungry Japanese gamers couldn't hold off as stores across all major cities are reporting complete sell-outs of the system, once again. Even with Nintendo sending home thousands of the unsucesful pink and blue models from the U.S. it isn't enough to curb the huger for the awesome handheld. Now, if only the Japanese bought Xbox 360's in half this volume.

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Stargate gets massive, and multiplayer!

Yet another MMO has been scheduled, this time it's the portal hoping worlds of Stargate that will be featured in an online game. Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment announced they will be producing a game based off the sci-fi tv, comic, and movie series. No date has been set for Stargate Worlds, but expectations are withing the next year.

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First word on Sony's Live

In an upcoming PSM, Sony has an interview with the editors to talk about their plans for an all-inclusive online gaming system.

"President of Sony has made it clear that his company has an amibitious new online strategy."

"Cast aside any doubts and start gazing toward skyward, because thats where Sony is aiming with plans that go far beyond simple leaderboards and matchmaking."

The question is, will this be able to match Microsoft's Xbox Live and does Sony have enough money left to offer it at a reasonable price?

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Take-Two gets beat down hard

Take-Two, owner of Rockstar Games (Grand Theft Auto series) has been facing financial trouble lately. Stocks free-falling, employees quitting faster than you can say "severance", multiple lawsuits and more press trouble than you can imagine. The company's trouble started with the hot-coffee mod in GTA: San Andreas and with angry politicians hoping to scoe a few public interest points the games company is being hit left-right and center. This looks like it may be the end of the company, losing their court cases would be the final nail in the coffin. For fans of the GTA series, don't worry I doubt that other entertainment powerhouses would pass up the chance to buy Rockstar Games.

Microsoft makes Live 360 easier than pie

In their effort to have over 1/2 of Xbox 360 owners connected to Xbox Live Microsoft added a page on their website showing simple diagrams for those who may be too confused to understand how it works. The Plug-it-in program probably won't end with this page, expect to see e-mails and other various promotions around. This should help considering I tried a couple of the methods in Figure 2, not pleasant.

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Xbox 360 Dashboard update out!

Xbox Live released an update today for the Xbox 360 Dashboard. The patch adds the ability to save your games when deleting a profile, increased accuracy of the "Last Time Played", improvements for Xbox Live in the Netherlands (?), more details in the "unreadable disk" errors, aswell as various unamed improvements.

What is not stated is that the Xbox Live update also prevents downloaders from using the unprotected Kiosk Demo Disk. Looks like those crazy hackers will be back to square 1.

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Old School Revolution

I was browsing around and came across this IFILM video. Stirring, emotional, it made me cry. Check it out.

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Splinter Cell Double Agent delayed

Ubisoft announced today that it's upcoming title Splinter Cell: Double Agent will be delayed until the second quarter of it's 2006/2007 fiscal year. That means it'll still be ready for Christmas and make a lovely stocking stuffer.

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Microsoft delivers news, good and bad.

Microsoft released a memo to the heads of various game retailers today, the message said that another shipment of Xbox 360's will be headed to stores by Friday [Sans DVD remote]. It unfortunately also made mention that Halo 3 will not be releasing before 2007.

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No more mini remote for Xbox 360

The mini media remote that had been included in the Xbox 360 Premium bundle is no more. The "limited time" offer has now expired as Gamestop and other various retailers are being told to remove any advertising that show the system with the remote and that future shipments will not include the extra. This is disapointing for late adopters that couldn't get their hands on a system at launch, but on the bright side, it is news of a 360 shipment coming at last!

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Soul Caliber III hitting arcades soon

Soul Caliber III will be hitting Japanese arcade machines soon, estimated before 2nd quarter this year. The game will feature all the characters from the console version, plus 3 exclusive to the arcade. The game will also contain several multiplayer modes that were unavailable in the PS2 version. No date for North American arcades has been set yet.

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Revolution appears at Walmart

The first pages devoted to the Nintendo Revolution and PS3 at Wal-Mart.com have appeared. Nothing new, but it's a sign they're coming soon.

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EB Halo 3 pre-order boxart

I found these photos online, I'm pretty sure they're from EB, but I can't be certain. This is supposed to be the pre-order boxart, not the final boxart for the game.

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Xbox Live update, tomorrow?

Various websites are reporting that the rumoured Xbox Live Dashboard update will be tomorrow, January 30th. The update suposedly will include improvements for online play, webcam support, in-background downloads and various other improvements. This does co-incide with the fault in the CoD2 servers (I told ya, didn't I?) and is typical for an update. But lets just keep our fingers crossed for now, no word has been spoken from Microsoft.

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How to turn your NES controller into a TV remote

With all the crazy PSP and system hack mods running around lately I thought I should show you one of my favourite mods. The NES TV remote. The mod looks like an ugly process and probably shouldn' be tried by the novice, but check it out.

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Call of Duty 2 online gets worse

Players everywhere are reporting that they can't join or create online matches in Activision's hit Xbox 360 game Call of Duty 2. Various messages are being recieved and no announcement has been made by Activision or Microsoft regarding the errors. This could however be a temproary server shut down for an update. (You can't blame a guy for hoping.)

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Google Maps Azeroth

Powered by Google Maps some fanboys have mapped the map of World of Warcraft. Check it out, it's pretty cool. Too bad the map can't help MMO addicts find reality.

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Possible Revolution Interface?

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've seen all the ridiculous fake ps2 and Revolution pics. Some claim they were smuggled photos from a close relative or from a friend of a friend, but most are fake. However I think I have stumbled upon a very real one. This one seems to be the real deal. Geoff reveals he got this photo from:

"...my sister's husband's friend's dog's vet's brother's aunt's grandmother's niece's husband works for a game developer (I can't say witch [sic], obviously) and he sent me these screen shots of the Revolution interface, even though he signed an NDA and probably could never get a camera in there, but he did!!1"

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Earthbounds sequel, Mother 3, for GBA?

After 11 years, the sequel to Earthbound, Mother 3, is finally being finished. This news came from Shigesato Itoi himself, creator of the original games. The story gets stranger as the news comes that it will be released for the gameboy advanced!?!? Not that I am complaining as I have yet to purchase a nintendo DS (and I do have a GBA). Itoi won't release any information early to avoid making the same mistakes he made last time, but says Mother 3's release date will be the 24th of January, 2006. I am stoked. You should be too.

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Splinter Cell Double Agent trailier up

A trailer or the upcomg Xbox/360 game Splinter Cell Double Agent is now available online. Click HERE to see it.

Having fun with Gary's Mod

Since Half-Life 2's release I'd found it lacking the lustre of it's predecessor. The game didn't have any mods for it, which made Half-Life 1 famous. I recently however found Gary's Mod (version 9) and have fallen in love with the game's amazing engine once again. Gary's Mod is a sandbox mod that allows you to create any existing model; ragdoll zombies, furniture, dumpsters, whatever. You can move them, weld them, rope them, spin them, freeze them, throw them, and anything else you can think of using it's easy interface. The mod allows you to do anything you can think of, from making bathtub racers to still-life scenes. I've been making alot of crazy scenarios, enjoy the screenshots below. Oh, and if you get the chace, attach a rocket thruster to a headcrab. (check HERE for more info)

Super Mario Bros. now on DVD

The short lived Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is now ou t on DVD. The 4-disc set features 24 episodes, storyboards and an interview with Lou Albano (Mario). The DVD set is now available in stores.

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No Halo 3 until 2007?

An insider from Gamestop was recently quoted saying they have recieved e-mails from Microsoft saying Halo 3 will not be ready for 2006. I however, doubt that Microsoft would miss out on the holiday market if they had a choice and they will be pushing as hard as they can to meet their very vague "October 2006" release date.

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LA sues Rockstar

The Los Angeles city attorney has filed suit against Take-Two and Rockstar, suing the company for "leading a misleading marketing campaign and engaging in unfair competition." The lawsuit is over the hidden "Hot Coffee" minigame from GTA: San Andreas. This lawsuit is the first step in Ahnuld's campaign against inapropriate video games. Funny considering he's made dozens of rated R films.

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Edit: I changed the picture because some poozers were complaining.

There is a god.

Uwe Boll passes on the MGS license. That's right. Uwe Boll will NOT be directing Metal Gear Solid.“Look, I’m super busy, I can do three movies in two years … so the earliest time I could do Hitman or Metal Gear Solid would be the fall of 2007.” Thank god. I have faith in humanity again.

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General Games Podcast Episode 1

The first episode in our series of Podcasts reviewing video games, looking at classic moments and doing whatever the hell we want. Expect the sound qulity to improve with later editions.

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Show Breakdown:
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Reveiew: Mariokart DS
Review: The Warriors
High 5: Old School Games
High 5: Games Within a Game
Jeff's Old School Gaming Corner: Earthbound
Review: Dead or Alive 4
Showcase: Lazy Sunday

Virus plagues Wild World

Whether it's an in-game glitch or the first virus to cross Nintendo's WiFi, Animal Crossing: Wild World is experiencing a strange phenomina. If yo ufind a strange letter with a Red Tulip attached, don't open it. The Tulip will corrupt your game, and if you place it in your house you will never be able to move it. Just a warning, so be carefull.

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Parents blame NFS: Most Wanted for car crash

Two fans of the Need for Speed series collided this week in a serious car crash that caused the death of Scarborough cabbie Tahir Khan. Parents and news are pointing their fingers at the poular street racing title, but may I remind everyone, this is the only street racing game with a warning disclaimer video when you start the game up.

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Oblivion collector's edition details

Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion will launch two versions, the regular and collector's edition. When the collector's edition hits shelves it wil contain, aswell as the game; a full-colour map of Tamriel, a few replica coins taken from the models in-game, a bonus DVD with documentaries, special features and more, as well as a "Poket Guide to the Empire", which explains more about the rulers and kingdoms of Tamriel. It will all come packaged nicely with a big "Collector's Edition" title to show off.

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Xbox 360 Inventory finder

Are you tired of being told by a best buy employee that Xbox 360 is still out of stock, or that Walmart won't be receiving any stock for at least a week? Well fret not, for the Xbox 360 In-store inventory tracker is here!!! This desktop program allows you to know were the legendary moby dick...er, Xbox 360...Actual is. You can visit the webpage here to download the latest version (2.0 at the time I wrote this article) and start searching. The latest version supports future shop in addition to all previously supported stores. Thank you UNT1TLED for this awesome program.

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Microsoft to combat iPod

Microsoft has developped plans to combat the Apple iPod with their own portable music device. Each year Apple extends it's lead in the portable music marketplace and Microsoft plans to stop them dead in their tracks. Peter Moore, Xbox project manager, said that if Microsoft were to use the Xbox brand for the media player it would prove to be a great vantage. Analysts say however, that if Microsoft were to produce an Xbox-flavoured portable it would likely be geared closer to the handheld gaming market. This may be the first steps Microsoft takes to creating a portable gaming system, until then enjoy the mock-up image. But the question remains, when will Apple start putting games in their iPods?

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Wait a minute, so there is a DS remodel?

Today, contradicting all claims against the rumours, Nintendo Japan announced the Nintendo DS Lite. The system is smaller and lighter than it's predecessor and also has a 4-level brightness adjuster for the screens that will offer better illumination. Ths system is quite thinner and about 20% lighter and will cost 16,800 yen, about $145 USD. The system will debut in Japan March 2 this year, but no word on the American or UK launches, but Nintendo says announcements are in the works.

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Full Auto Demo arrives to Marketplace

A free demo for Sega's Full Auto is now available in the Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo is identical to the one released in the January issue of the Official Xbox Magazine, but with a slightly better framerate. The 650 MB demo features plenty of destructive racing action as players rip through the streets, firing guns, rockets and anything else. It also showcases the game's a rather cool "unwreck" feature that rewinds time to fix bad turns or dodge an incomming missile.

Uwe Boll gets more movies, I go Postal

Uwe Boll, the single most hated name in video game movies has gotten another film deal. The director of such great successes as "House of the Dead", "Alone in the Dark", and "BloodRayne" has landed not one, but four new movie deals. "Postal", based off the controversial Australian game by Running With Scissors, tells the story of an ordinary man who snaps and goes crazy. Uwe is not only Directing and producing the upcoming film, but he is also writing it, making game fans everywhere jump with joy. Uwe has also landed roles in the production of "Hitman", "Far Cry" and "Fear Effect".

Why does this man continue to get movie deals you ask? I did some research and it turns out that in Germany, due to some bizarre law, if a film is a total flop the production company gets a huge tax break. In steps Uwe, the worst director in the world. I'm not sure if these films are intentionally bad, but if they aren't, I prey the day he recieves the license for Half-Life never comes. Anyone that agrees please click here.

Opinion: Super Smash Bros. DS

With the sucess of the Nintendo DS recently I began questioning myself as to what titles would be excellent choices for the handheld system. I was going through libraries of old games and, like a smack in the face, realized that one game absolutely needed to be made for the DS if it is to reach it's full potential. I'm talking about a DS rendition of Super Smash Bros. The system could handle the graphics of the N64 version, and with the popularity of Nintendo's DS WiFi Connection online multiplayer for the game would go through the roof. This would, without a doubt, be the most sucessful DS game and would likely be the deciding factor in the handheld wars. Personally I doubt Nintendo is foolish enough to pass up an opportunity like this, so I think we should expect a release before the end of the DS' run. Until then however, I guess we'll just have to look forward to Super Smash Bros. Revolution, expected as a launch title this Fall with the next-gen console.

Marketplace gets Annapolis trailer. America hates everyone

An exclusive trailer for the upcoming film "Annapolis" has arrived at the Xbox Live Marketplace. The film, arriving this Friday, is an American military film similar to "Top Gun". However if you aren't in the U.S. of A. you won't be able to see it because Touchstone said so. My suggestion, make a second (free) Xbox Live Silver account if you MUST see this trailer. Otherwise forget it, it's trash.

Marble Blast Ultra hits Xbox Live Arcade

The long-awaited Marble Blast Ultra for the Xbox Live Arcade has finally arrived. The game features some nice graphics as well as 12 achievements, 20 hidden "easter eggs", 60 single player levels, and 10 multiplayer modes. A demo can be downloaded for free and the full version can be unlocked for only 800 Microsoft points (Aprox. $10 USD).

Nintendo UK reiterates; No DS redesign

David Yarnton, Nintendo UK's general manager, stated that there will be no chance of a DS re design for E3. This statement was made in response to several rumours online about a DS redisgn, ala GBA SP. This has put a damper on some fanboy's spirits, but this rumour has still spawned plenty of hilarious mock-ups.

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West Virginia incorperates DDR into curriculum

Across West Virginia Konami and over 750 middle schools and junior highs will team up to bring DDR to the physical education program. The first 2 years of the 3 year program will phase machines into 103 of the schools, Konami recieving valuable data for future releases, while the schools bring a fun exciting way to increase physical health. So finally, the geeky kid will be able to beat the jocks at something. It may be dancing to "Love Love Shine" on coloured blocks, but hey, it's something.

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Xbox 360 shortages well into spring?

Circuit City owner Jim Babb went on record stating that the 360 will likely not be in full stock for the next 90 days. This will likely be very damaging for sales when compared to the PS3 and Revolution launches. Even with Celestica on-board it appears that Microsoft will have a hard time keeping up production of the hot console.

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Booth babes banned?!?!?

The one thing that would make me come out of my basement after a two year addiction to Halo 2. Hot chicks. For years they have been a standard a gaming expos, booth babes. Hot chicks who know next to nothing about video games but who are hot, so we don't care. But now they are being banned? The 2006 E3 has put in place "Rules prohibiting the use of scantily clad young women to peddle video games" with tough new penalties "including a $5,000 fine on the spot for the booth owner if the "booth babe" is semi-clad." What is the world coming to, you say? I just don't know, I just don't know.

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Every single DS varient!!!!

This amazing site has compiled every single Nintendo DS varient, including a custom DS made for 50 cent, sparkle DS's and special DS's made only for the DS booth.

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