Wii U and 3DS to Have Paid DLC

Nintendo CEO, Satoru Iwata, has stated that they are currently "currently preparing a paid item transaction system for both 3DS and Wii U" and it will be available for developers by the end of the year.


Nintendo is interesting in prolonging the life of games by releasing additional stages and features for paid download. They are not interested in low quality DLC such as unlocking keys and stat boosts as they believe it would likely damage their long-term relationship with their customers.


-Alex Brown

Is this the Future for Video Game Graphics?

Could this be the future for video games? I sure hope so! This video nearly had me drooling on myself. You have to see it to believe it. Take a look!


-Ashley

Giant 3DS Price Cut and Free Games

Nintendo has announced that the 3DS will be getting major price cuts this August, only half a year from its original release.

$249.99 to $169.99 in the US on August 12.
25,000 yen to 15,000 yen in Japan on August 11.
AU$349.95 to AU$250 in Australia on August 12.
No European pricing has been mentioned.

Those who already purchased a 3DS will have the opportunity to receive 20 free games through the Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors Program.

The List of games include:

Super Mario Bros. NES
Donkey Kong Jr. NES
Balloon Fight  NES
Ice Climber NES
The Legend of Zelda NES
+5 more NES games

Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 Game Boy Advance
Mario Kart: Super Circuit Game Boy Advance
Metroid Fusion Game Boy Advance
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ Game Boy Advance
Mario vs. Donkey Kong Game Boy Advance
+5 more GBA games

The NES games are slated for paid download in the future but Ambassadors will receive them early with free updates in the future. The GBA games will be exclusive to Ambassadors as Nintendo has said they have no plans to release those games in the future.

To become automatically enrolled in the Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors program, current 3DS owners must connect to the internet and log onto the 3DS eShop at least once before the price cut.


-Alex Brown

Help Decide Female Shepard's New Look for Mass Effect 3

Bioware is planning on changing Female Shepard's default look for Mass Effect 3 and they are letting you, the fans, help decide what that look will be.

Bioware posted six images of possible Female Shepard designs on facebook and asked fans to "Like" the one that they want to see in the game.

Shepard #5 (seen above) is currently in the lead.

Head over to Facebook to see the images and cast your vote!

-Alex Brown

Halo: Anniversary Sneak Peak

HD Resident Evil 4 & Code Veronica Get Release Dates

Capcom announced during the Resident Evil Panel at Comic-Con 2011 that Resident Evil 4 HD would be released on September 20 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica would be released on September 27, both for Xbox Live and Playstation Network. No Pricing was given.

-Alex Brown

Star Wars Xbox 360 Bundle

Microsoft revealed a new Star Wars Xbox 360 bundle that will be released this fall.

The bundle will include:

• R2D2 320GB Xbox 360 Console
• C3P0 Transforming Dpad Controller
• White Kinect Sensor
• Star Wars Kinect
• Kinect Adventures

Preorders for the bundle are priced at $449.

Source: Joystiq

-Alex Brown

Sony Invests $20 Million for PSN Exclusives

Director of Marketing for the Playstation Network, Brandon Stander posted to the Playstation Blog that Sony will be investing $20 Million for PSN Exlusives.

"We continually strive to make PlayStation Network the most innovative console game and entertainment service and that’s why we’re thrilled to announce a three-year, $20 million dollar investment plan to develop PSN exclusive games. Our line of PSN exclusives has had great success with titles such as Joe Danger, Critter Crunch, Flower and the PixelJunk series, and we’re excited to add new and different game experiences to this portfolio of games that can’t be found on any other game console. This investment includes support across both our own network of first-party studios as well as for the Pub Fund, which was first introduced at GDC in 2009."


Three of these games include Eufloria, Okabu, and Papo & Yo which had been shown off at E3 2011.


-Alex Brown

Mass Effect 3 New Character Reaction

James Vega has been announced as Mass Effect 3's newest character. Apparently the character is meant to reflect a player who is new to the ME3 universe, but capable in combat. So far the public reaction seems to be negative but appearance is all us fans have to go on. Hopefully his personality and voice actor will be a great addition to the Mass Effect Universe.

-Ashley

Last Story Trademark Issued to Nintendo of America

Nintendo of America have been issued the trademark for The Last Story after filing for the trademark in January 2010.

This does not mean that the game will be released in America and Nintendo of America has previously said that they have no plans to do so.

Source: IGN

PS3 Blu-ray HDMI Only

Sony spoke up about the rumors of the new PS3 models having only HDMI output and no component output.

Sony Senior Manager of PR, Al De Leon said, "The new CECH-3000 series PS3 requires HDMI only for BD movie output in HD, in compliance with AACS standards. PS3 continues to support component output for HD gaming and streaming content."

New licensing mandates all Blu-ray players eliminate analog HD output to stop illegal duplication.

Source: IGN

-Alex Brown

Activision tries to get ModernWarfare3.com

The domain ModernWarfare3.com has been used by apparent Battlefield 3 fanboys to put down the Call of Duty franchise. If you currently go to www.modernwarfare3.com it seems to have been shut down. But if you click on the cached copy you will be redirected to the official Battlefield 3 website. Earlier this website was posting insults to the franchise. Here is an example:

"Modern Warfare is crap. On November 8, 2011, the most over-hyped first-person action series of all-time returns with the copy and paste sequel to the lackluster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Check out the E3 2011 gameplay demo featuring the Black Tuesday level for a look at the epic fail of the campaign. Pre-Order Call of Duty MW3 Today for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC to secure exclusive bonuses only available online for Modern Warfare 3 fanboys who don't know that Battlefield 3 is the better game." 


The domain is not owned by either Activision or EA. Activision is currently filing a complaint asking for the domain name. You have to be a pretty big fanboy to go to these kinds of lengths.
-Ashley

Neil Burger's Uncharted Movie Starting From Scratch

CRAVE Online posted an interview with Neil Burger, the new director of the Uncharted movie. Burger mentions that he has not seen the former director's screen play and plans to start over.

"Mainly we're beginning from scratch and going back to the videogame. Because there's a lot of cool stuff, actually, from the videogame, if you know it..."

He also says that he is aware of fan's desire to see Nathan Fillion play the part of Nathan Drake and that he knows the difference between Uncharted and similar films like Indiana Jones.

You can see the full interview at CRAVE Online.


-Alex Brown

Xbox 720 Will Have Graphics on Par With Avatar

AMD, the graphics hardware supplier for the Xbox 360 claims that the next Xbox console will launch with graphics capabilities on par with James Cameron's film Avatar. 

Director of ISV relationships at AMD, Neal Robison, also said that the AI and physics capabilities of the next Xbox console will allow for every AI in a game to have their own reactions and be their own individual characters.

Source: examiner.com and August issue of Official Xbox Magazine

-Alex Brown

Goldeneye 007 Reloaded Coming to PS3 & Xbox 360

Screenshots posted on Videogamer seem to imply that the Activision title Goldeneye 007 Reloaded will be a high definition port for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 of the 2010 Wii game, Goldeneye 007.


Activision is set to officially announce the game at Comic-Con in San Diego.

-Alex Brown

Limbo Coming to PC and PS3

Good news for potential Limbo fans. Limbo is coming to the Playstation Network and Steam.


Playdead CEO Dino Patti posted to his Twitter today: "LIMBO is coming for PSN and Steam... Soon: www.limbogame.org"
Sony confirmed saying that Limbo would be released on the PSN in July.


Limbo was previously only available on the Xbox Live Arcade.


-Alex Brown

Win Prizes for Super Stardust Anniversary

Housemarque, the developers of Super Stardust HD, are celebrating the games 4th anniversary with a competition. The competition starts on July 1 and ends on July 29. To play all you have to do is play Super Stardust HD on the Coventina planet level and try to obtain the highest score. 


The top five players with the highest Coventina monthly score will win a 3D crystal of the Super Stardust HD ship and a limited edition Super Stardust HD poster signed by the game's creator. 


Five other players with their scores in the top 2000 will be chosen at random to win a Super Stardust HD Hoodie.

-Alex Brown

PSN Restoration Date

Sony updated their PSN Outage and FAQ today stating that they are hoping to have full functionality of the Playstation Netwok back up by May 31. Online Gameplay will be the first function to be restored. When between now and May 31 remains unknown. 

-Alex Brown

Assassin's Creed: Revelations Officially Revealed

Ubisoft officially revealed Assassin's Creed Revelations as the next game in the series. Assassin's Creed Revelations will, once again, follow Ezio Auditore as he travels to Constantinople to learn more about the Templars and the Assassins. The game will be the last in the Ezio Trilogy.

Assassin's Creed Revelations will feature a similar multiplayer mode as seen in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood with more maps and more modes.

Expect more information at this years E3.

-Alex Brown

Wii Price Cuts Confirmed

Nintendo has confirmed that Wii price tag is dropping to $149.99 on May 15 and will be packaged with Mario Kart Wii and the Wii Wheel.

Along with the Wii price cut, Nintendo is released The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Mario Super Sluggers and Wii Sports for $19.99 under the banner Nintendo Selects. This is similar to Nintendo's previous Players Choice titles.

- Alex Brown