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Practicing a form of Social Darwinism, Circuit City has decided to steal money from those who are dumb enough to give it away. One quick-witted Kotakuite (that's what they call themselves ... ) spotted a poster in a Newport Beach, California Circuit City where they offer to install backwards compatibility into an Xbox 360 for the low, low price of $28.99.
Nevermind that backwards compatibility is available outside of the box, updatable through Xbox Live (or a disc that you can request from Microsoft). No, no, let Circuit City install it for you! It even brags that "every* game will be backwards compatible." Did you see the asterisk (*) mark? The fine print notes that one should "refer to the original Xbox games list to ensure compatibility on the Xbox 360." But if you know to do that, you also know that this deal is bullshit -- it's a Catch-22.
You are welcome to be mad at Circuit City, but wouldn't you do the same thing if you could get away with it?
Take Two just warned Wall Street analysts that their estimates for Take Two earnings in upcoming quarters are "too high," and disclosed new subpoenas from the NYC district attorney's office for documents related to stock options grants. Company shares dropped over 8% to $11.20 in after-hours trading.
Some gamers might be tempted to shrug off all this bad news and what it's done to Take Two's shares, figuring that what happens on Wall Street doesn't matter so long as Take Two delivers the goods next October with Grand Theft Auto IV.
But Take Two's financial woes do matter because the company uses its stock as compensation. When the company's shares drop, employees take a de facto pay cut, making it more difficult for the company to motivate and retain the brains that create hit titles. In the software and creative industries, it's said that 100% of company value walks out of the door every evening. If this keeps up, Take Two's going to have a harder time convincing employees to return the next morning.
[Disclosure: I own way too many shares of Take Two. My wife reminds me of this almost daily.]
With the news that MySpace drove more traffic to online retailers last week than did MSN search, nobody can deny this MySpace monster anymore, least of all game companies who hope to reach the MySpace generation.
Nintendo's weak (hard to guess, not obvious) MySpace URL also indicates that Nintendo registered their MySpace domain as an afterthought. Indeed, the first comment on the official Wii space is mid August, 2006, while the unofficial space at myspace.com/NintendoWii appeared 3.5 months earlier. When your fans are beating you to the punch by 3.5 months, there's a problem.
Sony's MySpace presence comes in dead last. Chances are, the Sony MySpace page isn't even official. With less than three months to launch, it doesn't look like Sony intends to build a proper MySpace presence at all.
In sum, the lack of Wii and PlayStation presence in the most powerful online community indicates marketing departments frozen in place even as audiences migrate away from traditional channels.
GameSpot recently cornered Capcom producer Jun Takeuchi to confirm that Lost Planet will stay on the Xbox 360 despite rumors that it wouldn't be the exclusive it was thought to be. Also, Takeuchi has revealed that the anticipated title will come to stores in January 2007.
Takeuchi says the plan was to always keep Lost Planet on the 360 and the 360 only:
Lost Planet is an exclusive Xbox 360 title. Typically when the development team sets out to create a game, we focus development of the title on a single platform and for Lost Planet that platform is the Xbox 360. We have no plans at this time of porting to or developing for another console as this would potentially dilute the final product.
Ever since E3 and the demo hit Xbox Live, we've been eagerly anticipating this chilly third-person shooter. How about you?
Electronic Arts has released estimates that show its yearly updated franchise, Madden, has just reached a new high: two million copies sold in the first week. EA says this is a record for a franchise that has been chugging along for 17 years now. A PR mouthpiece had this to say about the results: "Consumers are the most meaningful judge of game quality and based on sales and the record-setting online activity, our toughest critics think Madden NFL has delivered another great game experience."
We guess it pays to be the only NFL game in town. For those of you that bought it, is Madden NFL 07 the best Madden ever?
According to Microsoft, the Xbox Live Marketplace just passed the 50 million downloads marker which is double the 25 million point reached just three months ago. Clearly, Xbox Live is where the 360 is putting its faith in success, but this can't be anything but great and surprising news for the console and its fans.
The PR squad at Xbox also released these telling figures:
Texas Hold 'em set a one day record as the fastest download item ever on the Marketplace. There were over 100 downloads a minute in the first 24-hours of release.
Over 2 billion hours spent on Xbox Live by gamers across the globe since the launch of the Xbox Live online gaming network in November 2002
More than 60 percent of Xbox 360 owners are connected to Xbox Live
65 percent of all connected consoles already downloading and playing Xbox Live Arcade titles
Over 8 million downloads of Xbox Live Arcade games following the launch of Xbox 360
Over 2 billion Microsoft Points sold to date
It's going to be interesting to see the comparable numbers Sony will release when its new online service starts, as well as Nintendo. With Microsoft's huge head start in the online console market, how soon could either of them conceivably catch up to the numbers and potential of Xbox Live?
We just got a message from Vivendi telling us that the oft delayed, publisher-swapping first-person shooter TimeShift (360 and PC) has been moved to a 2007 release. Their message was quick and to the point: Vivendi Games acquired TimeShift with the view that it would become a stand out FPS franchise. Our commitment to that vision remains, and so the decision has been taken to move the title into 2007 to give it the time and resources needed to fulfill its potential.
As many times as this thing has been delayed, it may not be long until TimeShift is added to the long storied list of vaporware. Duke Nukem meet TimeShift. TimeShift meet Duke Nukem.
Following a PC Gamer report that Assassin's Creed is PC bound, Ubisoft has finally confirmed, "Assassin's Creed PC will indeed see the light some day." Still, the publisher remains vague about when that day will come and whether or not an Xbox 360 version will also be released.
The news puts an end to the mystery of Assassin's Creed's exclusivity, though Sony fanboys can still brag to their counterparts that they'll be playing first. Take that!
What happens when sales outpace creativity and originality? No, not another 50 Cent game. The real answer is more first-person shooters with a World War II theme -- Fall of Liberty is the name of the lucky girl this time. Ugh, do we really need another WWII franchise for next-gen? Well, Codemaster and Sparks Unlimited seem to think so.
Not content with the bazillions of other historical FPSers out there, the two have joined forces to bring us Fall of Liberty for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Due in late 2007, this latest Nazi smasher is actually a flip on the formulaic script as the game is set in the 50s shortly after the Nazis have won -- see it's different, this time, they win. Not only were the nasty Germans victorious, but they're poised to forever rule the good ol' U.S. of A.
We have just one question to ask you Joystiqers: Are you as sick of WWII-themed shooters as we are?
We're not sure where the above images originated, but both surfaced on internet forums this morning. If real (as the looks might imply), Wii kiosks won't use widescreen TVs like the console did at E3. Not that you'll enjoy the demo experience anyway trying to swing your arms in a cramped retail aisle with an on-looking crowd.
Nintendo has suggested they don't directly compete with Microsoft and Sony in their marketing statements with the latter companies suggesting the same in return (classic product differentiation). But mention forgone revenues and marketing talk sounds cheap quick-like. Case in point: In speaking to USA Today about the Wii60 phenomenon last month, Nintendo VP Reggie Fils-Aime said: "I'd much rather have the consumer buy a Wii, some accessories, and a ton of games, vs. buying any of my competitor's products."
Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony can say all they want in their PR fluff, but all three will directly compete with one another this fall in a very real console war, regardless if anyone pulls a Sega. See also:
Nokia's N-Gage was the last mainstream video game platform to call it quits due to poor sales, at least until 2007. With that, the recent September issue of Business 2.0 (online article pending) explores the secrets to a successful product launch and cites the N-Gage as failing one of the most important product development metrics: The "Sky Mall" test. That is, if your product can be found in Sky Mall magazine (that poopsky product magazine on planes that you read out of boredom) then don't launch the product if you hope to reach the masses. Generally speaking, "do-all" products with poor messaging are an easy find in the magazine.
So what other gaming products might be found in Sky Mall, and will selling convergence to a large audience ever be easy?
It was announced today that the successful next-gen boxing sim Fight Night Round 3 will hop from the 360 ring and into the PlayStation 3 squared-circle. However, for this round EA Chicago is handing off the port duties to EA Canada. And, instead of just a straight transition, a first-person mode called "Get in the Ring" will be added.
Also included in the PS3 version will be EA's ESPN ticker integration that has updated news and sports info. The game is scheduled to be released this holiday season. This all makes us wonder when Fight Night Round 4 will be released for both consoles. Is EA going to hold that back until Round 3 has collected enough prize money?
Greatest news ever or merely a ploy to get all you in-the-closet Aquaman fans to buy the upcoming Justice League Heroes game? Hmm, we'll have to see about that. Nevertheless, we just got word that everyone's favorite fish man in green tights will be making a fabulous appearance in Heroes, which is slated to hit the PS2, Xbox, PSP, GBA and DS sometime this fall.
Included as an unlockable character, Aquaman joins Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna and the previously announced unlockable Green Arrow in the fight against baddies. For those quick to dismiss Aquaman's worth on dry land, his character in Heroes will have the ability to create a whirlpool (temporary water whirlwind that traps enemies), use the sword of Atlantis and protect himself using a water shield.
In honor of such a delightful announcement, check out these timely Aquaman classics:
Wannabe game developers will now have the chance to delve into the world of criticism as Microsoft made available their XNA Game Studio Express beta today. The tools can be downloaded here. It's going to get a whole helluva lot more interesting to see what can come out of the brains of those who maybe lacked the funds but not the passion to make fun games.
As was stated earlier when it was announced, games built on Windows will also carry the ability to be migrated to the Xbox 360 starting this holiday as part of the XNA Creators Club. Of course, you'll have to cough up some dough first. The subscription is $99 for a year or a four-month trial cost of $49. Now it's time for those that complain about staleness in the industry to actually do something about it.
Check out the full press release after the break, which includes some info on the Torque X beta program.
Practicing a form of Social Darwinism, Circuit City has decided to steal money from those who are dumb enough to give it away. One quick-witted Kotakuite (that's what they call themselves ... ) spotted a poster in a Newport Beach, California Circuit City where they offer to install backwards compatibility into an Xbox 360 for the low, low price of $28.99.
Take Two just warned Wall Street analysts that their estimates for Take Two earnings in upcoming quarters are "too high," and disclosed new subpoenas from the NYC district attorney's office for documents related to stock options grants. Company shares dropped over 8% to $11.20 in after-hours trading.
With 
We just got a message from Vivendi telling us that the oft delayed, publisher-swapping first-person shooter TimeShift (360 and PC) has been moved to a 2007 release. Their message was quick and to the point:
