After years of censorship, the Australian Governement is finally getting around to debating and voting on a bill that would add an R18+ rating to videogames, the equivalent of an ‘M’ rating in the USA. Former Federal Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor has been backing the legislation. However, with his move to the Human Services department, it is now up to Jason Clare of Home Affairs to decide whether to keep the bill going. Thankfully, he has said that the bill will indeed go before Australia’s first parliamentary session of the year on February 7, and if approved, before the Senate. In order to pass, the bill needs the support of two of five floating crossbench MPs. Support for the bill has been strong and there is a sentiment that Australia will indeed get the long awaited rating.
EA Sports announced today the addition of the Street Network, a new feature in FIFA Street which will encourage social interaction and competition amongst players on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Players will be able to capture videos of their best tricks and moments and share them with friends, as well as being able to track and compare each other’s progress throughout all the game modes.
“Street football is all about the one-on-one battle, when you pull off a trick to roast your opponent,” said FIFA Street producer Sid Misra. “The Street Network brings that real-world swagger into the game by enabling players to capture video of those moments and share them with everyone in their street network to see, and providing friends with a way to compare each other throughout the game.”
The street Network will enhance the World Tour mode, where gamers can create a team of friends to compete in a online, connected world against other FIFA Street gamers. Players will be able to follow each other’s status as they build their squads, unlock new tricks, and ultimately make their qay through to street football glory. In-game videos such as “Goals of the Week” will be broadcasted directly amongst friends once shared, as will accomplishments and progress.
FIFA Street will be out on March 15th for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
We wrote an article a bit ago that indicated that LEGO was considering the possibility of producing Minecraft LEGO sets. After the idea had been unanimously approved on Cuusoo, LEGO agreed to take a look at the proposal. And now they have reached a decision. LEGO will be “developing a concept that celebrates the best aspects of building with the LEGO system and in Minecraft. We can’t wait to show it to you—but it isn’t ready just yet. These things take time, so we appreciate your patience. More details to come.”
How do you think LEGO will handle this unique challenge? Are you excited for it, or not?
According to IGN and their sources, the next Xbox will be launching in October/November of 2013, with production of the GPU slated to go into ramped up production in 2012. No pricing has been revealed, but the GPU that the next Xbox will use will reportedly cost about 80 bucks. This GPU will come from the AMD 6000 series, which supports DirectX11, 1080p HD, multi-display output and 3D.
This GPU is 20% more powerful than the Wii U’s R77, which is itself stronger than the PS3 and Xbox 360’s respective chips.
Previous reports have indicated that the next Xbox will have built-in voice and gesture control.
All of those people who signed up for Call of Duty Elite on Xbox 360 now have the oppurtunity to download two new maps for Modern Warfare 3. “Liberation” and “Piazza” are the names of the two maps that anyone can have as long as sign up for Elite. All you need to do is click the “Download Elite Content” button in the MW3 store (which can be found in the multiplayer menu). If you are Elite, you MUST download both maps at the same time or you will encounter matchmaking errors.
People who wish to buy the maps without an Elite subscription must wait, as do PS3 Elite premium members and PC gamers, who have yet to be offered the chance to buy Elite.
The UK Magazine Play is reporting that the fourth iteration of Syphon Filter will be making an appearance within the year. The fourth God of War has also been rumored to make an appearance within that time frame.
Rumors suggest that Syphon Filter will be a PlayStation 3 exclusive, will be announced in February and will come out this winter. Developed by SCE London Studio (Sony Bend), the game will see the return of Gabe Logan and his shoot’em up stealth tactics.
Rumors also suggest that the next God of War will be made by Sony Santa Monica and announced in late February.
Death, second rider of the apocalypse, has been around for a long time, as the new trailer released by THQ and Vigil Games showcases.
Darksiders II, the sequel to the hit 2010 game, centers around Death’s quest to redeem his brother, and fellow rider of the apocalypse, War and perhaps even to redeem the fate of humanity itself. The “Death Eternal” trailer below showcases that constant historical connection between mankind and Death, and mixes in a good dose of creepy for good measure.
Darksiders II rides into stores this summer for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. A Wii U version will also be available when the Nintendo system launches.
Being the Father of a 2 year old, I have seen the power of childrens entertainment first hand, so its great so see it being used for further educational purposes as well as having the amazingly lifesaving ability to keep her quiet. They dont come much more powerful than the Wiggles when it comes to Australian television, who have just announced their move onto the iPad, with their new Alphabet Adventure app available now through the app store. Designed specifically for the iPad, to allow for more interactive play, The Wiggles Alphabet Adventure is a fantastic way to keep kids aged 2-6 occupied when travelling as well as improving their comminication skills in inventive and engrossing ways. The Wiggles Alphabet Adventure app was designed by Salmat digital and takes kids on a journey through the alphabet, in that fun and addictive way that only the Wiggles can deliver.
To visit the store and check out this cool app visit here
Toshiba have given their Australian lineup of tablets and notebooks a nice revamp, unveiling some sleek looking new hardware, with the stars of the attraction being the Toshiba tablet AT200, and the Toshiba Satellite U840 Notebook. The AT200 seems to be the epitomy of ultra light portability. It weighs in at an incredibly light 535g, and with a mere width of 7.7mm, this makes it the lightest and thinnest tablet on the market, shaving 30g from the Galaxy and 78g from the iPad. It doesnt seem like a lot, but it is when you consider it to be over 10% of the the products total weight and the idea to be as portable as possible.
The AT200 runs on the Android 3.2 Operating system, and with a 10.1″ Wide View HD screen made from Gorilla Glass, which I can vouch for as being tough as nails, is perfect for everyone from all walks of life. In terms of connectivity, the AT200 includes a micro HDMI, USB2.0 and SD slot, as well as 2 dual cameras ideal for video conferencing and chatting.
Also unveiled was Toshibas new U840 Notebook, which packs quite a punch for a notebook, featuring a 14″ screen which is ample for anything from spreadsheets to your favourite tv series. Powered by Intels ULV i5 core processor, this pocket rocket also features 8GB RAM, a 320GB Hybrid HDD as well as 16Gb of internal memory. All your HD movies will look crisp and clear through the 1366 x 768 LED backlit display or through your large flat screen through the full size HDMI port. Weighing in at 1.73kg and being 19.9mm thick, the Satellite U840 is slightly heavier than most notebooks on the market but is packed with every feature to satisfy the needs of all users.
Additionally, Toshiba unveiled a revamped AT1S0 tablet, their pocket sized 7″ tablet, also running Android 3.2 and now with a much larger 16GB of memory. Still small enough to fit in a handbag or jacket pocket, the AT1S0 weighs in at 375g and also features dual HD cameras as well as dual core processors for faster web browsing and multitasking.
Exclusive to Harvey Norman and developed specifically for hardcore gamers, Toshiba have also announced revisions to their very reputable Qosmios range, with the 17.3″ X770 now featuring 16GB RAM, 1.5TB Hybrid SSD and Hard drive, and a powerful Intel i7 Quad core processor. The F750 has also been upgraded with 16GB RAM and also is powered by Intels i7 Quad cores. With a slightly smaller HDD and screen the F750 is still a very powerful notebook more than capable of peforming everyday and high end media tasks. Both are very attractive looking pieces of hardware now featuring a new Ocean Blue colour option on the smaller version.
Details on the recently announcedResident Evil 6’s multiplayer aspects have come out via the game’s listing on Xbox.com as well as information divulged from the game’s official twitter page.
It has been officially confirmed that the game will feature 6 player online co-operative play as well as regular 2 player offline co-op. Not only that but 8 player online competitive play was also confirmed. How each mode will be presented is another matter altogether however and one that is yet to be revealed.
It can be expected however that the 2 player offline co-op will resemble the same mode as it was featured in the previous instalment in the franchise, Resident Evil 5.
Resident Evil 6 has been in development for 2 years now and is Capcom’s biggest project to date, with over 600 staff working on the title across the globe. It is set to horrify the masses as they attempt to survive the zombie apocalypse on the 20th of November, 2012.
