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Archive for January, 2007

Square Enix Licenses Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3

Thursday, January 25th, 2007

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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,

in order to ensure both game quality and development efficiency for next-generation game systems including consoles, PCs and network titles

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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PS3 Europe Launch Details

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007

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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,

“Following the hugely successful launches of PS3 in Japan and North America, we are absolutely delighted to be able to bring significant numbers of PS3 to the UK. To be able to launch with over 30 titles including retail versions and great downloadable gaming experiences across every genre shows that this is our strongest launch line-up in the history of PlayStation, and is what PlayStation fans in the UK have been crying out for.�

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

[Via Gamasutra]

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Video: Def Jam Icon HD Trailer

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007

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

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Mass Effect Headed Towards the PS3? + Xbox 360 Box Art

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007

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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.

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[Via CVG]

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Clear Case Mod for Xbox 360

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007

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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]

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Prince Of Persia: Rival Swords “Gameplay” Video

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007

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?

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PS3 Firmware Upgrades to 1.50, Fixes BC Jaggies

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007

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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!

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Immortalize Your Mii By Having A Shrine Built To It [Update]

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

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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!]

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“We Screwed Up” Says Bungie on Halo 2

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

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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.

“We miscalculated, we screwed up, we came down to the wire and we just lost all of that. So Halo 2 is far less than it could and should be in many ways because of that. It kills me to think of it. Even the multiplayer experience for Halo 2 is a pale shadow of what it could and should have been if we had gotten the timing of our schedule right. It’s astounding to me. I f*cking cannot play Halo 2 multiplayer. I cannot do it. And that’s why I know Halo 3 is going to be so much better.

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]

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Virtua Fighter 5 Goes Gold

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

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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:

Virtua Fighter 5 brings the 3D fighting game genre to the next level making it the perfect arcade conversion with an all new Quest Mode, character customization options, two new characters, commentary feature and stunning high quality fighting environments. The Quest Mode allows players to compete in various arcades to win prize money to buy items and fully customize each character. Two new characters, Eileen and El Blaze, round out the roster to 17 dynamic and different characters. Eileen uses “Kou-Ken�, a Monkey Kung Fu style while El Blaze is a Mexican wrestling champion that uses the Lucha Lubre technique. Players will also be able to turn on the commentary feature allowing players to hear a play-by-play sports commentary audio while fighting their opponents.

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.

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Video: Testers Wanted - Nintendo Virtual Reality

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

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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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No Online Multi-Player Support For Guitar Hero II [Update]

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

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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]

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Super Paper Mario Confirmed For April

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

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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,

Takes place in the town of Flipside, where a giant black hole looms overhead, complete with floating math equations (that old story again huh?!)

Mario gains the ability to change perspective at will, switching from the normal side scrolling 2d view to a 3d view of the 2d “paper mario like� world

Switching camera from 2d to 3d is necessary. Some puzzles can only be solved by switching the camera to reveal new paths on a level

Wiimote is held sideways, 2 button is used to jump, A button to switch view.

Mario collects friends called Pixis that give him special abilities. These abilities make use of the Wiimote capabilities. One Pixi named Tippy allows you to point the Wiimote at the screen to learn more about enemies, or discover hidden passages.

Shaking the Wiimote at the right time when you jump on an enemy allows you to get more points

Graphics have received a noticeable upgrade since E3 videos

Looks like another fine game from Nintendo!

[Via GoNintendo]

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Crackdown Is The ‘Key’ To Getting In The Halo 3 Beta

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

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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:

When Crackdown hits store shelves (Feb 20 - North America, Feb 22 - Asian territories, Feb 24 - European markets), and you still haven’t secured a place in the Halo 3 multiplayer public beta you can still get in via specially marked boxes of Crackdown. These boxes of Crackdown include an invite to participate in the coveted Halo 3 multiplayer beta program when it becomes available. When the Halo 3 multiplayer beta surfaces in spring 2007, those owners of Crackdown that have access to an Xbox 360 Pro console or an Xbox 360 Core console with hard drive and a valid Xbox Live Gold subscription simply need to load their copy of Crackdown into Xbox 360 and use the disc as a key to download the beta from Xbox Live Marketplace and join the battle in Halo 3 multiplayer.

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.

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Virtual Console Releases - 1/22/07 [Update]

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

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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