Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
It's about time! Microsoft finally announced the Xbox 360 Arcade (the replacement for the Core) will go on sale October 23 -- that's today, folks -- for $280. Even after being found in the wild and unboxed, Microsoft still refused to acknowledge the console's existence until this past Sunday. The console comes with a 256MB Memory Unit, a wireless controller, HDMI port, and a disc that includes five full Xbox Live Arcadegames: Boom Boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, Pac-Man Championship, and Uno. Despite the unit having an HDMI port, it only comes with standard-def composite cables (the red, white and yellow one), instead of the high-def component/composite hybrid cables bundled with its big brothers.
Also note, the inclusion of a 'Superman Indian Air' silhouette on the retail box (see the guy on the bike?) is not confirmation that an actual BMX game is forthcoming.
Update: Major Nelson just pinged us to correct the status of the packaged Xbox Live Arcade titles; they are full games, not trials; 2: Europe gets it Oct. 26 for £200 (no € given).
Which, if we're reading 1UP's interview with executive producer Alan Tuscan correctly, is to "add the polish." They must be having a devil of a time finding a translator, eh?
But seriously, folks, Army of Two has been delayed until the first quarter of 2008. While those looking forward to the co-op macho men antics of the high-profile shooter will restrain their bitter tears until they're alone, EA's November bail-out is probably for the best. "This is an important new IP for us and we don't want to spoil it," says Tuscan, displaying full awareness of the competition found in Halo 3 and even Gears of War. "Are they setting the bar at a certain level? Sure. But that's the bar we're hitting anyway -- it's the bar we were aiming for even before seeing these games."
Though it sounds like a slight against the game, it's clear that nobody is going to miss Army of Two in a holiday brimming with a ludicrous number of $60 epics, least of all an unpolished version of it. Let's hope a few more publishers realize the calendar goes on after you page past the holiday months.
Like the comically violent effects of the series's trademark weapons, some fantastic news comes flying in from the Official PlayStation Blog regarding Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. Due to manufacturer's expediency, the game started arriving in stores early and instead of getting angry and Hulk smashing everything, Sony's given retailers the green light to start selling the game next week. However, it's not yet known what stores will be selling it before the "official" October 30th release date.
This situation currently remains YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) given there's no list of stores, public anyway, who've received a slice of the Future early. However, expect fellow gamers to post tales of receipt on every forum they post on, which while annoying should aid you in your quest. Good morning, and good luck.
Though August was an unseasonably successful month for video games, we all saw September coming. Despite being released at the tail end of the month, Microsoft's Halo 3 juggernaut walked right up to the reigning NPD champ and rifle-butted it from behind. The Xbox 360 console jumped up two places with sales of over half a million units, nearly twice as many as in August. Total industry sales for the month: a staggering $1.36 billion thanks in large part to the efforts of Mr. Chief; hardware sales alone rose 188% to $418.6 million.
Do you remember when your fake ID couldn't fool the bouncer, leaving you outside sober, cold, and distanced from the girl you were looking to at least play ball with? That's kind of how we're feeling right now, after learning on the latest Kojima Productions podcast that there are no plans to bring a demo of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots to the PlayStation Store prior to launch.
Host Ryan Payton stated: "I can tell you, as of right now, we don't have any plans of uploading this demo on the PlayStation Store." And definitely, he added, no plans of "uploading [on PSN] next week." His statements were echoed by Konami's new flak master, Michael Shelling, adding "[E for All] is going to be your one chance to actually play it prior to it launching next year."
Yeah, while this news is certainly a crushing blow to the Metal Gear Solid fan base (many of which help run Joystiq), there was at least a little positive news: Shelling revealed that Konami has gone gold with Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops+, and is planning to release the game on November 13. That's a little antiseptic to the wound, no?
One headline, two reliable British sites. Read: "Okami confirmed for Wii." Following the Capcom Gamer's Day event in London yesterday and a subsequent resurgence of the Okami Wii rumor, comes frank -- and frankly bare -- confirmation from Eurogamer and MCV of the long-anticipated port. Capcom apparently announced Okami for Wii to the Gamer's Day audience, adding that the release is expected by next spring. We're anticipating more details tomorrow, as Capcom has hinted at additional announcements planned for Friday.
Reuters brings word that Sony has officially announced the 40GB Playstation 3 for North America, with the new SKU going on sale November 2. The 40GB PS3 will cost $400 USD and, as in Japanand Europe, will no longer feature backwards compatibility.
Also announced is a price drop for the 80GB PS3, bringing it down to $500 USD from $600.
Sony Computer Entertainment of America president Jack Tretton tells Reuters that they hope to continue focusing on the strong PS2 software market with the PS2 alone, and that backwards compatibility is a "secondary consideration" and not a "number-one priority" for the Playstation 3 (at least not anymore).
Experience has taught us again and again that despite being entirely empty, voids are often filled to the brim with danger. Should a friend ever spot one and inquire as to what exactly it is, you'd thoughtfully answer, "A void!" Of course, that's a purely hypothetical scenario -- your trite wordplay repels any potential friends immediately.
It's alright then, if you don't entirely trust Capcom when they invite you to experience "Dark Void", a new game announced at Capcom's Gamer Day in London. Not much light has been shed on the sci-fi actioner, though Games Radar describes its protagonist as a fellow with a jetpack and a habit of leaping into gyroscopic vehicles. You'll know more when we do.
After initially speculating that their frozen shooter Lost Planet could come to PS3, then stating (quite unequivocally) that neither Lost Planet nor Dead Rising would find their way to the Wii or PS3 (for reasons which, at that point, were apparently "quite convoluted"), Capcom has announced at their London Gamer's Day event that Lost Planet will indeed be on PS3 "early next year." A wise choice, considering the Xbox 360 shooter did quite well in North America but didn't make a dent in Japan (... we wonder why).
Games Radar says the PS3 package will sport 16-player online over PSN, as well as include "all bonus characters" from the PC version and "extra downloadable content" from the 360 version (apparently "made possible" by the platform's capacious Blu-ray format).
This sort of thing doesn't happen very often, you know. According to Games Radar, a Capcom Gamer's Day event in London has revealed a brand new (and not entirely unexpected) entry in the seminal 2D fighting franchise, Street Fighter. Most notably, this new entry increases the numeral at the end of the title as opposed to the number of Super Hyper Ultra adjectives at the start.
Not much is known about Street Fighter IV at present, save for the fact that its release is more than a year away. Other things you can likely expect while we wait for more details and media to arrive: Ken and Ryu in HD, Hadoukens and extremely pithy victory remarks.
The marketing for Tim Schafer's latest game is in full swing and – even though the game designer can't talk about the game himself (check out Double Fine's blog to watch him squirm) – the Game Informer cover and now video trailer sure as shinola confirm its existence. It turns out Brütal Legend is appropriately titled; the trailer is full of axe-assisted dismemberment on the part of protagonist (and rock roadie) Eddie Riggs.
So let's run down the checklist: Rockin' metal soundtrack? Check. Buckets of violence? Check. Overwrought mythology? Check. Bitchin' Hot Rod with flame exhaust? Check. Demon wings? Check. Sexy metal babes? Check. All in a video game format? Very check.
Wait a second, this game wasn't designed by Tim Schafer at all. No, it was designed by the collective fantasies of every teenage boy who's ever lived ... Schafer's just the tool they'll use to see their vision writlarge.
The last thing any street date's parents want to see is their kid hanging around with Target. No matter what sweet talking the red rings make, the street date's only going to end up one way: Broken. Just ask the Xbox 360 Arcade, or the Xbox 360 Elite, if the store's not selling items before their time, they're advertising them. The streak continues with this listing for the 40 GB PS3 captured at a Target price check kiosk.
It's all information that we expected though: 40 GBs, $400, late October. Now, if only Sony would announce it so the leakiest system in history can come ashore.
Good news for Americans: NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is confirmed for a December 18 release in North America, meaning that Wii owners can get their dream on in time for the holiday season.
As is the case with the eponymous character himself, Capcom thinks it's time to implant newfangled "Three Dee" technology into an old intellectual property. Gamespot reveals that the Bionic Commando franchise is set to return in a new game for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The robotic revamp, cleverly dubbed "Bionic Commando," follows one Nathan Spencer as he runs from the law (he was framed!) through a ruined city (badds terrorists blew it up!). His only companion? The trusty grappling arm, perfect for swinging across gaps, hurling objects, rappelling down buildings and rudely reaching across the table for the salt.
Capcom is collaborating with Swedish studio GRIN (surely you remember its Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter PC conversions!) on the project, which currently lacks release date and, as you may have noticed, a Wii version.
The last time we delved into the great mysteries of Rock Band, no other stand-alone accessories had been announced for the game. Now, Harmonix has confirmed that the music game will come in only bundles until 2008, with no individual guitars this year. We'll wait for the implication to sink in. Yep, that means that if you want the full guitar/vocal/drum/bass experience in 2007, you're going to have to buy a Guitar Hero controller. That seems kind of silly to us, but, hey, we're not the one's losing money.
Also, Harmonix says that the game will ship with between 40 and 50 songs. That, however, doesn't include unlockable tracks, so the final song count (like so many things Rock Band) is anybody's guess.
Carve a pumpkin and you could win Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles
We interview Metal Gear Solid 4's Ryan Payton
Wii Fanboy is giving away Crash of the Titans and console skins
Bungie jumps: Takahashi, Croal, and Totilo on the Joystiq Podcast Roundtable
All the Halo 3 news that's fit to print, and some that isn't
Listen to the Joystiq Podcast (because your ears can't read)
Posts with tag breakingnews
