1P Start

The title says it all, Square Enix anounced today they have licensed Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 to be used with upcoming next-generation games. This is a first for Square Enix because they have always done their own in-house game development and never relied on another company’s engine to make Square Enix games. The only question I could think of from this announcement is how will this effect how the games look? Square Enix has always been known for it’s amazing graphics no matter what the console was. Will this better them or make them worse? Only time will tell.

One thing to note from the press release,

I hope that’s a hint at multi-platform releases. I think Square Enix would be a lot more successful if they released their games on multiple platforms on day one. I’m sure they’d sell 2 or more million copies of their games if they take that route.

Official press release after the break.

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The PS3 was launched in Japan and in the US, now it’s time for Europe to get it on the Sony love-fest. Here are the launch details straight from Sony:

• March 23rd is when the PS3 will be released in Europe
• It will cost £425 ($842)
• Only the 60GB version will be available, but the 20GB will become available later this year.

The reason why Sony decided to release only the 60GB version of the PS3 in Europe on launch day was due to the response to ‘retail and consumer demand’.

Sony has also announced 30 games will be available at launch including the must-have title Resistance: Fall of Man, MotorStorm, and Ridge Racer 7 to name a few.

Along with 30 retail games, the European Playstation Network will also offer Gran Turismo HD Concept, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Go! Sudoku, Go! Puzzle, Blast Factor and flOw as downloadable content all on day one.

As for peripherals, here’s a list of how much you could expect to pay for additional accessories:

• SIXAXIS Wireless Controller - £34.99 ($69)
• Blu-ray Disc Remote Control - £17.99 ($36)
• HDMI Cable - £17.99 ($36)
• AV cable - £17.99 ($36)
• Component AV cable - £17.99 ($36)
• S Video cable - £12.99 ($26)

SCEUK Senior Vice President Ray Maguire commented,

I just have one thing to add to all this…I really hope you guys saved. If not, start…seriously.

[Via Gamasutra]

Sony, Playstation 3, PS3, Europe, release

Def Jam Icon is coming out March 2007 for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, and EA has released the official trailer. The trailer doesn’t show any gameplay, but it does give us a little bit of what to expect story-wise in this game. I have been a huge fan of the past Def Jam games, and I really hope this one keeps the tradition of fun Def Jam games going.

Video: 1PStart.com Presents: Def Jam Icon Trailer HD

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Sony, Playstation 3, PS3, Def Jam Icon, trailer

BioWare’s upcoming Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect might be heading over to PS3. This rumor comes straight from BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka who might have let the cat out of the bag to gamers who were attending the Video Games Live concert in Edmonton, Canada that his team is working with Sony’s PS3.

In other Mass Effect news, Microsoft has released the official box art for Mass Effect. So if your looking forward to playing this game, here’s the box your looking for kiddies.

[Via CVG]

Sony, Playstation 3, PS3, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Mass Effect, rumor

Only $49 to void my Xbox 360 warranty and install a clear case so I can see all of the pretty innards of my next-gen machine and make sure each and every piece of hardware is working hard in order to give me all of the gaming goodness I can handle? Where do I sign?!

[Via Wonderlandblog]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, mod, clear case

Prince of Persia: Rival Swords is coming out sometime this year for the Nintendo Wii and Ubisoft is promising to have full motion control. The reason why I put gameplay in quotes in the title is because this video shows off how Prince of Persia will play on the Wii… but the Remote and Nunchuck are in the video and are not shown as someone plays the game. My problem with that is if they are going to show off how the game plays with the Wii controls, you gotta show someone playing it real-time so we can really see how the game interacts with the player’s movements. Haven’t we learned anything from Red Steel?

Nintendo, Wii, Prince of Persia, Rival Swords, video, gameplay

When you fire up your PS3 today, you’ll find that there is a firmware upgrade waiting for you. Version 1.50 brings you the promise of fixing PSone and PS2 games that don’t display in progressive scan to no longer show any horrific jaggies.

Suffice it to say, I don’t have a PS3 to test this out on (hint hint), but I read reports from Kotaku that the games indeed are coming out properly. It’s about time Sony!

Sony, Playstation 3, PS3, firmware, upgrade, 1.50

We all know that everyone who owns a Wii has spent hours working on their Mii so it would look like an exact replica of yourself. Well, now all of your hard work is about to pay off. Allison McCarthy has a site up where you can order a custom built Mii sculpture that you can build a small shrine to at the corner of your desk at work.

As of this writing, there is no price yet for the sculpture, but she does have a link that allows you to sign-up for her mailing list and will let you know when the Mii sculptures will be available.

And don’t forget to tell her 1P Start sent ya, cause then she’ll know. I hope you weren’t expecting some sort of price cut or something, what blog do you think your reading?

Link: Allison McCarthy

[Update: Allison has informed me that the illustrator/sculptor who worked on Allison's Mii's name is Paul Thiel (www.mrthiel.com) Good job Paul!]

Nintendo, Wii, Mii, sculpture

In a recent interview with Edge magazine, Chris Butcher of Bungie Studios has finally admitted to the many mistakes in the development of Halo 2.

Wow, that’s one hell of a quote. And to think, even though Bungie was under the gun to complete Halo 2, millions of people still absolutely love it. This just adds another train to the already HUGE Halo 3 hype-train. Maybe, just maybe, this might turn out to be the best…game..ever?

[Via TeamXbox]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Bungie, Halo 2, Edge, interview

SEGA has announced via an official press release that their upcoming fighting game Virtua Fighter 5 has hit gold status and will be available for purchase on Feb. 20. It’s about time cause PS3 owners really have nothing to look forward to until then. Here’s the official press release:

I hope you PS3 owners have been saving up since your PS3 purchase, cause I’m sure this is going to be a must-own game for you guys.

Sony, Playstation 3, PS3, Virtua Fighter 5, gold

I don’t know if you guys knew, but back in the 80s, when Nintendo was developing the Nintendo Entertainment System, they were toying around with virtual reality (thanks in part to the movie Tron). This is a dramatization of a story of a man who actually applied to be one of the video game testers for this new system.

OK, that whole story was bull, but it’s the premise behind this video. It’s really a performance from Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center’s Building Virtual Worlds show. It was done by a technology called “Playmotion” which is a motion sensing technology that receives data on the user’s head and two hands. It’s a pretty cool video non-the-less.

Video after the break.

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It seems that GamePro is reporting that there will be no Xbox Live support when Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360 hits retail this March. That would have been one feature that would have made the Xbox 360 version the must-have version in comparison to the PS2.

In an interview with GameSpy though, RedOctane states that a multi-player update via Xbox Live is a possibility. I personally think this should be forced as an update once we pop our games into the console. I mean, the dream of playing Guitar Hero II against anyone on Xbox Live was one I was really looking forward to.

Oh well, here’s hoping RedOctane isn’t too busy with Guitar Hero 3 or whatever the hell they’re doing now to update Guitar Hero II.

[Update: A lot of people seemed to have been misleaded by the old title. I've added "Multi-Player" to the title now. Sorry for the confusion]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Guitar Hero II, Xbox Live

The latest issue of Nintendo Power is stating that Super Paper Mario is indeed coming out for the Wii and is slated for release this coming April. Here are some details on how the game will play,

Looks like another fine game from Nintendo!

[Via GoNintendo]

Nintendo, Wii, Super Paper Mario

The Halo 3 site updated what the link between Crackdown and the Halo 3 beta will be. You see kids, the Crackdown disc will actually be a “key” to be able to download the Halo 3. Here’s the official word from Bungie:

So for those you who were thinking about buying a copy of Crackdown, taking the Halo 3 beta invite, and then returning the game, it looks like you’ll be stuck with your game until March. None of you are going to do that because Crackdown is going to be the shiznit.

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Crackdown, Halo 3, beta, invitation

The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past. Today is finally the day US Wii console owners get The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past! I have been waiting for this day for a long long time. At 800 Wii Points, this is a bargain and anyone with any sense will be downloading this game.

But to be fair, there are other games that have been released today. Here’s the list:

• The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past (Super Nintendo; 800 Wii Points)
• Comix Zone (Sega Gensis; 800 Wii Points)
• Bonanza Bros. (Sega Gensis; 800 Wii Points)
• Gain Ground (Sega Gensis; 800 Wii Points)

As of this posting though, only A Link To The Past is showing up. Even though Sega’s site clearly states the other games should be released today.

Official Press Release after the jump

[Update: According to the press release, it looks like it's only A Link To The Past for this week]

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