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Nintendo and its new genres

Darren Resnekov
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“Aiming for the next fiscal year, we are also working on new genres of software that may attract people who are not particularly interested in video games”. These are the words of Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, and yes, while they have been taken slightly out of context, one has to wonder what Nintendo have up their sleeve this time.

After posting less than impressive half year financial reports, the Nintendo President spoke, comparing the new range of products to Wii fit and Brain Training, not in the tangible sense, but rather aspiring towards products that perform over a long life cycle and act as catalyst for hardware sales.

In direct relation to the 3DS, Iwata had this to say, “As for our Nintendo 3DS, the hardware markdown has resulted in a huge loss in this fiscal year. However, as we are going ahead with gradual cost-cutting efforts, from a profit standpoint, improvements are expected to be made in the next fiscal year.”

“The present result of the markdown is just an improvement of sales pace of the hardware. After the upcoming November, however, anticipated titles for Nintendo 3DS will be continually released, which we hope will bring a big boost in the year-end sales season.”

From many of his comments, it seems Nintendo are heading in a new direction, or at the least, trying to expand their exposure beyond the traditional gaming market. Talking about the 3DS, Iwata believes the power of word of mouth communications are in their favour. He goes on to say “We can expect the Nintendo 3DS to enter into the phase where relevant information shall be communicated even to people who usually do not proactively seek video game information.”

There are also some exciting new features described for the next 3DS firmware update, specifically relevant to Nintendo’s eShop. All developers can now add DLC after launch as well as the addition of game demos and downloading whilst in sleep mode.

What would you like to see from Nintendo in terms of product development? Are they relying too much on their core franchises which don’t seem to have the influence they once exhibited? Let us know what you think?

Blizzards Mike Monhaime apologises for homophobic WOW video

Darren Resnekov
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President of Blizzard Entertainment, Mike Morhaime has apologized publicly, after a controversial World of Warcraft was shown at a recent Blizzcon event, containing homophobic comments. The Youtube video, which has angered many groups including Blizzards forum community, features George Fisher of the band Cannibal Corpse talking about the game and using many homophobic quips. As many forum users have pointed out, the fact that the speech is censored is little consolation, as the ideology and meaning is still intact.

Here is a copy of the letter sent from Monhaime to Gaygamer which was met with a mixed range of responses from its followers and has set off massive debate on forums and chatrooms.

Dear members of the Blizzard community,

I have read your feedback and comments about this year’s BlizzCon, and I have also read the feedback to the apology from Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftain. I’d like to respond to some of your feedback here.

As president of Blizzard, I take full responsibility for everything that occurs at BlizzCon.

It was short-sighted and insensitive to use the video at all, even in censored form. The language used in the original version, including the slurs and use of sexual orientation as an insult, is not acceptable, period. We realize now that having even an edited version at the show was counter to the standards we try to maintain in our forums and in our games. Doing so was an error in judgment, and we regret it.

The bottom line is we deeply apologize for our mistakes and for hurting or offending anyone. We want you to have fun at our events, and we want everyone to feel welcome. We’re proud to be part of a huge and diverse community, and I am proud that so many aspects of the community are represented within Blizzard itself.

As a leader of Blizzard, and a member of the band, I truly hope you will accept my humblest apology.

– Mike Morhaime President, Blizzard Entertainment

The letter seems to have been accepted as a positive step towards rectifying the situation, at least with senior members of gaygamer.com who described the apology as “a teachable moment”.

Tell us what you think about the situation; Do you think game companies should be more responsible in the content and attitudes they represent and portray to us. These companies are very influential in the mindset of many young adults and it would be sad to think that a lot of content which might have been seen as innocent in the eyes of the developers or publishers was actually shaping the opinions of the many who encountered it.

While this is a serious issue, Im not sure why Blizzard in particular have been singled out, as I hear derogatory material aimed at some minority group in most games and TV shows on a regular basis. Is it a sign of the times we live in, or is it time we start to take a little more responsibility for our actions and the effects it could have on those around us. Do we need to worry less about what others think and just get on with our lives. Easier said than done, as can be seen from reading the story from the brave reader who posted this in response to the Blizzard event.

Here is a link to the very interesting piece written in response to the controversial Blizzard incident, with some very interesting comments.

Asura’s Wrath tears up consoles on February 21st

Travis Bruno
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It seems that the best time to be a Capcom fan is in the first few months of 2012, because today they have revealed that they will be releasing a Resident Evil Asura’s Wrath sandwich. To be more specific, Resident Evil: Revelations will be released on February 7th on the Nintendo 3DS and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City will be released on March 20th.

In the middle of those two titles, is the newly announced release date for Asura’s Wrath which will be released on February 21st. This means that between killing various zombies you can also beat down enemies with six arms and get stabbed by a sword as long as the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City begins on March 20th

Travis Bruno
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Capcom has decided to un-classify a vital piece of information for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. Namely the fact that the title will be released on March 20th in North America. Before you get too excited, it is worth remembering that this Resident Evil title is a bit different from what you may be used to. Rather than survive a zombie outbreak and escape with your life, you instead play as an Umbrella Security Service team tasked with wiping out any evidence linking Umbrella to the Raccoon City outbreak.

Besides the release date they also revealed that those who pre-order the game through GameStop, Amazon, or Best Buy will receive an additional costume for each of the six playable characters as well as two bonus weapons that are unique to each retailer you pre-order from.

Those with a bit of extra money can also look for the Special Edition which will contain the game itself, a Steelbook with exclusive art, a stylized foil sleeve, and two patches. The patches are a Umbrella Security Service embroidered patch and a Spec Ops Field Unit embroidered patch. Plus if you happen to pick up this version you’ll receive every bonus weapon right off the bat.

Halloween Game game sales are everywhere!

J. Bradshaw
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Hey you want some cheap game games this weekend? Many of our favorite publishers have some great deals going on right now.

EA Mobile is discounting Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Mirror’s Edge, Dead Space, Plants vs. Zombies and Tetris on iOS. On Android, The Sims, Tetris, Madden NFL 12, FIFA 10 and Need for Speed: Shift are on sale.

Nearly everyone one of Namco Bandai’s iOS and Android titles is on sale, most for up to 50% off.

Direct2Drive sales include Dead Space 2 for $9.95, Borderlands for $4.95, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood for $19.95 and the Penumbra Collection for $4.95.

On GOG.com three Gabriel Knight games are $2.99 each, Sanitarium is $4.99 and Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption can be had for $2.99.

OnLive will allow anyone to play Amnesia: The Dark Descent, F.E.A.R 3, Metro 2033 and Orcs Must Die! for free all weekend long.

Steam also has a huge sale on a variety of titles including Bioshock 2 and Borderlands Game of the Year for $4.99 & $7.49 respectively, among other huge discounts. Check out the Steam Sale here.

Which games will you playing this weekend?

All of Dance Central’s DLC is on sale right now

J. Bradshaw
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Want some new tracks to dance to in Dance Central but your on a budget? Well your in luck! Harmonix has discounted every single pack of DLC for the game until November 5, 2011. Why have they done such a thing? Not only is it the first anniversary of Dance Central but it is also a celebration of Dance Central 2’s release. Tell us: which packs will you be getting? Will you go whole hog and buy everything up?

For more information on the DLC packs on sale, check out Major Nelson’s blog post here. He details how much you can save on each pack as well as what songs are available in each pack.

Uncharted 3 multiplayer tips video

J. Bradshaw
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0

Naughty Dog has polished multiplayer up so much in Uncharted 3 that it could be said they have almost reinvented the game type. With tons of options to take enemies out, lots of awesome gameplay mechanics and the sheer quality that the game is known for, Uncharted 3 will surely be one game to remember for a long time.

In this video for the game, we are shown how the Iron Fist works and how melee and traversal are integral strategies to the game. It will certainly be nice not having melee battles where everyone just circles each other. And picking off climbing enemies with a melee attack is absolute gold. November 1st can’t come fast enough!

Inversion 101 walks us through defensive strategies

J. Bradshaw
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0


The developers of Inversion are looking to flip the 3rd person shooter genre on its head. A new video from the people working on the game is now available. The producer and the community manager for the game walk us through how to use some of the weapons and features in the game while specifically focusing on defensive strategies.

Sabre Interactive has added a couple of interesting characteristics to Inversion. Besides the distinctive “You control gravity!” feature they have also added mobile cover (yep, that will be awesome!) and some other really neat things like destructible cover and a huge shockwave weapon. For an introduction to Inversion, check out this video here.

The Old Republic – EA unboxes the collectors edition

J. Bradshaw
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In just two short months Jedi and Sith will be battling on an epic scale. Bounty hunters and smugglers will be duking it out right alongside our favorite heroes and villains. Needless to say, we are excited and hopeful. So excited in fact that the Collectors Edition of the game shown off in the video below almost got us to get our pocketbooks out. Check it below and see if the Force lifts the wallet straight from your pocket and sends it straight to EA & Bioware. Don’t say we didn’t warn you either!

You can pre-order The Old Republic here. Get the Collectors Edition on Buy.com here or Amazon.com here.

Rayman Origins: Ten Ways to Travel plus Q&A

J. Bradshaw
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0

Ubisoft has revealed a new trailer for Rayman Origins as well as interviewed one of the developers on the Rayman Origins team. You can catch both awesome pieces of media below.

Q&A with Sebastien Morin, Game Director

– How many different worlds and environments will we be able to get around?
There are 5 universes and 10 different worlds to discover. Additionally, we have the Land of the Livid Dead, which is a bit hard to reach but is a whole new universe as well. At the beginning, each world is introduced one after the other. In each, you will gain a new ability and master how to use them. Then after you complete the first set of worlds, you’ve grown enough to be dropped in the wild. Just like that a whole new set of worlds are revealed and you have a lot of places to discover at your disposal.

– Will all these actions be available from the start, or will some of them be powers you unlock along the way?
At any moment, we give you enough abilities to explore exhaustively each world. So if you feel like playing a level again and again to discover every nook and cranny, it’s up to you. However, you won’t have all your abilities right away. At the beginning of the game, Rayman and his gang are still incomplete heroes. They’ll need to find and help the fairies to get all their powers back.

– Will running be an unlockable power too?
As a Game Designer, an important question is “how do you make gameplay better?”. In Rayman, it could be answered by “chain a bunch of acrobatic moves together faster and faster”. So it was natural to give this ability right away, for all the players that dare to run in a minefield.

– Will there be different “flight modes” as in previous Rayman games? (like the power to fly up?)
The best way to fly in the game would probably be riding on a mosquito. However, you’ll also learn quickly to glide. The glide ability allows you to fly in a number of different ways. At first it’s a very helpful tactic to extend a jump and land out of harm’s way. But we also put a lot of wind in the game, which can extend a glide to more of a flying action. But that’s not always a good thing. Winds are there to help or hinder you, push you to safety or towards a spikey death. Also, some enemies use the wind as traps and it should be noted that you’re not the only one who can fly!

– So many different moves must require a lot of different animations, how many are there in Origins compared to the first opus?
Way more! Rayman and his gang have a lot of new abilities, so there’s a lot more animation. Besides having all the animations for the abilities, you have to create more animations for combinations and transitions between those abilities you have. So each playable character has more than 250 animations! I can’t even begin to count the animations of the evil characters, because they can be defeated in a lot of funny ways.

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