1P Start

Since it’s Friday, and there really is very little real news, today has been all about the rumors and speculation. This story is no different, as Valleywag (think Kotaku for techies) speculates that Cammie Dunaway may be headed to Nintendo.

Who is Cammie Dunaway, you ask? …that’s a good question. I had no idea, so I asked Mr. Griswold Oogle, and he told me that she was the former Marketing Chief at Yahoo. You know Yahoo, they’re the bad search engine/bad e-mail/bad IM service. Either way,s he recently departed the company and has moved to a place that she describes as “a natural fit for someone who loves driving profitable revenue for big, well-loved consumer brands and can’t pass up the opporitunity to be the coolest Mom in the universe.”

Keep in mind that Nintendo has lost just about everyone due to their relocation to San Francisco, including two big wigs in marketing, and another in PR. San Francisco? Job openings? “Big, well-loved consumer brands”? All signs point towards yes, but until this is confirmed by Nintendo, this shall remain a rumor.

…a thick, juicy rumor covered in A1 steak sauce, but a rumor. Damn, I’m hungry.

[Valleywag]

Nintendo, Yahoo, Cammie Dunaway

Rumor runs rampant as several message boards have posted what is claimed to be a leaked e-mail from Microsoft Game Studios.

MGS is very pleased to announce that Mass Effect has passed certification and has been released to manufacturing.

While it took a bit longer than we originally anticipated to complete this epic title, we are all very proud of the game and early reviews (9.75 from Game Informer, 95 from Consol.at, and Game of the Month from GamePro) show that others share our enthusiasm.

While this [potential] news is indeed very exciting, I’m curious about the timing. Mass Effect is still weeks away from its November 20th release, so why, if true, would they go into manufacturing so early?

I’ll be keeping a close eye on this one throughout the day.

NOTE: I feel the need to remind everyone what “rumor” basically means — you can throw a dart at a board. Either it will hit, or it will miss.

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Mass Effect, BioWare

I am taking this all with a grain of salt because of lack of sources that will say their names, but then again, that is why there is a rumor section after all. The word on the street is this game is not only something that is thought to be coming out, but is actually already “coming along considerably well and is a step up in the genre of first person shooters.”

Step up? First is what I guess going to be another change in the character of Joanna, saying she is darker than usual and “the entire game has tints of grey surrounding all the character.” What that means exactly, I am not sure, but just thinking back of the N64 Joanna vs the Perfect Dark Zero incarnation, there was a definite change from a female lead character I could take serious to then the almost “please younger audience take notice of me!!!” chick with guns (still not as bad as Lara Croft though).

As with games like Mass Effect, the Fable series, and to a lesser extent, Bioshock, the new Perfect Dark will have some form of a morality system where the things you do will have a “huge impact” on the game.

I am not sure if this is going to be a plus or not, but the rumors also claim there is probably going to be no cut scenes throughout the game. I think of most current games and how cut scenes are most of the time now just using the in game engine and not all cgi’ed up, so having other characters reveal/further the plot without allowing the player to put down the controller may actually prove to be a more immersive experience.

I am hoping somebody out there is already on top of this rumor and get some sort of comment out of Rare about this, I mean, I can’t wait for the new Banjo as much as the next person, but a new Perfect Dark game that could possibly make up for the horrendous Perfect Dark Zero would be welcome with open arms (or just give us Killer Instinct!)

[GameGuru]
[CVG]
—

Perfect Dark Zero, PDZ, Rare, Rareware, Perfect Dark 2, Joanna Dark, Nintendo 64, N64, Xbox 360, First Person Shooter

Every time someone tries to tell me that video games aren’t art, I direct their attention to Team ICO’s creations Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Without a doubt, the artistic style, combined with the sheer size and scope, make those two titles prime examples of how video games have become interactive art, and ever since the release of Shadow of the Colossus fans have been clammering for a sequel.

Well, at the request of Team ICO Gamers (more like borderline harassment, but whatever), OPM (Official PlayStation Magazine) hunted down Kaz Harai and asked him what was going on with Team ICO.

We asked Sony boss Kaz Hirai what was going on with Team ICO a couple of months back. As he was pleading ignorance, one of the other execs present blurted out. “I’m pretty sure they’re doing the sequel.” Our fearless reporter immediately asked. “What, the sequel to ICO or Shadow of the Colossus?” Then the room filled with knockout gas…

If this were to be true, then I’d go out and buy a PS3 this very minute. As more info becomes available, I will pass it on to you all. Promise.

[Team ICO Gamers]

Sony, PlayStation 3, Team ICO, ICO, Shadow of the Colossus

For the record, a “Rumor Buster”… kind of like “Bunker Buster”… we use it to debunk rumors. Moving on…

It is being reported (by HDGameNews) that in the latest issue of the Official Xbox Magazine, Sony has been able to lock up the rights to the next Grand Theft Auto title, which would [allegedly] be the seventh in the franchise. The quote being supplied to support this, from HDGameNews, is the following:

“Rockstar really wanted to make a game that you can truly only do on PS3, harnessing the power of the Cell and Blu-ray disc and this deal lets them do just that” as said by Sony’s Michael Shorrock in a statement to the press. ” We handed Rockstar a signed blank check because we were short sighted enough to let Grand Theft Auto’s exclusivity get away from us. Oops!”

I’m here to tell you that this is wrong. I’ll explain why after the break.

“045496880088“. For those of you in the retail world, you may recognize this as a UPC code. Nothing too special about it, right? Well, that UPC code is owned by some company called “Nintendo of America Inc.”. Yeah, I’ve never heard of ‘em, either, but apparently they’re pretty popular. Something about plumbing, or something.

According to Codename Revolution, who first received this UPC code from their distributor contact, the UPC is for something being tentatively called the “New Pack”. It should be sent out to retailers sometime soon.

“New Pack”? Kind of vague. What do you all think? Could this be a holiday bundle (perhaps packed with Wii Fit?), or (fate willing) a new color? We’ll find out soon enough, and I’ll be getting in touch with my own contacts about this.

[Codename Revolution]

Nintendo, Wii, UPC, New Pack

You know the rumor that Bungie and Microsoft are through? Well, a new story posted by GameInformer on their website makes the claim that, based on what their inside sources have told them, Bungie is indeed set to leave Microsoft.

According to the GI article written by Billy Berghammer, an unnamed source at Bungie has told them that the developer is “tired of making Halo”. They have even gone so far as to buy back the Bungie name from Microsoft for an unspecified amount of money.

That’s code for “shitload of cash”.

The source also told GI that Microsoft also has, in essence, first dibs on all future Bungie-developed games. If they see something they like, Microsoft can come in and say “Yeah, we’re publishing this”, which will most certainly make things interesting when Bungie wants to make a Wii game.

[GameInformer]

[Digg This. This is important.]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Bungie

Today seems to be quite the day for friends of friends. First we heard of how an e-mail of a friend of a friend has spawned a million rumors regarding Microsoft and Bungie parting ways, and now a friend of a friend has broke the news that Ted Price, the founder of Insomniac Games, may be leaving the developer to create a new studio.

This friend says we can expect some sort of statement on the next official podcast from the studio.

If this were true, it would suck. Insomniac Games has been one of the better developers out there, having given birth to both Spyro and Ratchet & Clank. To see Price leave, if true, would be very sad.

[GameFaqs]

Insomniac Games, Ted Price

An anonymous e-mail to 8BitJoystick has spurred a bit of controvery, as the e-mailer claims that Microsoft has, essentially, fired Bungie.

Citing Microsoft’s distaste for how Bungie interacts with its fans and Bungie’s handling of its profits, as well as Bungie’s distaste for how Microsoft’s marketing and overall handling, the anonymous e-mailer cialms that Microsoft has allowed Bungie to become its own third-party developer, essentially leaving Microsoft.

The e-mailer goes on to say that Microsoft was to issue a press release on the matter today, but opted to wait until October 6th so that the announcement wouldn’t impact their quarterly results.

You can read the e-mail after the break.

(more…)

Here’s a rumor that made me just about wet myself. According to an IGN message board poster who supposedly has a “best friend” who works at Midway, the next Mortal Kombat title may be, indeed, “Mortak Kombat vs. DC Comics”.

The poster went on to say that the game would feature ten classic MK characters, and ten DC superheroes that included the likes of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, & The Flash. Since DC doesn’t want to see their heroes die, he continues, the game will feature no fatalities and will be rated T for Teen.

…I’m keeping this a rumor for two reasons. One, I don’t tend to trust IGN’s message board posters. Two, even if this were official and true, I would still mark this a rumor for simple ease of mind. I have a hard time believing that Ed Boon would allow his baby, Mortal Kombat, to be raped of everything that fans love about the series just for the opporitunity to beat up Aquaman.

Besides, I can tell you for a FACT that if you had a fighting game where you could have Sub-Zero rip Superman’s head off, people would cream themselves.

[TRMK]

Midway, Mortal Kombat, DC Comics

I know, I know. It seems that every other week there’s another “Final Fantasy VII remake” rumor floating around the internet. Well, after receiving the image above in an e-mail from a Mr. “SYLad” who claims to have taken a picture of it, I’m starting up another one. (I had originally said it was a scanned image — that was my bad)

Sorry, kids — I gots to.

Now, this is listed as a rumor because I have no idea where he got a hold of this, or where it came from. However, if it IS official, then I would say that it’s pretty damn likely that it’s hinting towards a FF VII remake.

It’s interesting to note that earlier this week it was reported that Final Fantasy VII was listed as one of the games on SquareEnix’s roster.

Sony, PlayStation 3, SquareEnix, Final Fantasy VII

Furthering the rumors that someone is going to try to spoil the ending to Halo 3, Bsams is reporting that, based on an “interesting tip” they the received, Sony itself may be attempting to spoil the Halo 3 ending by hiring people to go out and shout the ending at the crowds.

I don’t see the point in all of this. In the end, it’s not going to stop anyone from buying Halo 3, and at it’s worst, it could actually have a very, very heavy backlash on Sony. Sony hasn’t exactly had a spotless PR record the past year or so. I’m sure we all remember that piss poor “All I Want For Xmas is a PSP“.

EDITOR’S NOTE: “Interesting Top”? Yeah, I fail at spelling today.

[Bsams]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Bungie, Halo 3, Sony, spoiler, GameStop

If you’re planning on attending one of the many, many thousands of Halo 3 midnight launch events across the country, you may want to watch out. Rumor has it that members of the Sony Defense Force, a laughably bad blog that borders on satire (I almost have to believe that they’re faking it, for my own sanity) will be patrolling the streets, shouting the ending to Halo 3 over megaphones to the crowd assembled outside.

This is a fad that was made popular with the Harry Potter books, and even then it was annoying and rude. It’s pathetic, and these people are pathetic for taking part in such an act.

NOTE: I almost forgot to mention that the SDF and the Wii360 freaks… yeah, one in the same. So watch out for either/or.

[360WTF]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Halo 3, Bungie, Sony Defense Force

Remember all the “Resident Evil is racist!” talk from a month or so ago, about how some people who shall not be named on this site got all up-in-arms when they saw the trailer to Resident Evil 5? How they cried racism because Chris Redfield (a honkey) was shown killing zombified black people?

Well, you can stop the cries of racism, because Kotaku is reporting that Resident Evil 5 will be taking place in the birthplace of zombism, Haiti…

…because apparently the video game industry didn’t learn anything the last time they messed with the Haitians.

[Kotaku]

Sony, PlayStation 3, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Capcom, Resident Evil 5, Haiti, racism

It appears that Sony is preparing for a huge marketing blitz in the coming weeks surrounding the Blu-Ray release of Spider-Man 3.

Video Business reports that while this soon-to-be barrage of marketing focused on “digital marketing and cross-promotion with high-def hardware”, it goes much a bit further than hyping Spider-Man 3 on Blu-Ray, and trying to push a few stand-alone Blu-Ray players out the door.

Lexine Wong of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment told Video Business, quote:

Besides having a higher profile because of its box-office clout, we have also expanded the media reach with the plethora of digital and nontraditional media opportunities that are available

Now, I’m not a big PS3 guy. But my knowledge of “reading between the lines” from my Xbox 360 days tells me that “nontraditional media opporitunities” equals PS3. Which would make very good sense on Sony’s end. After all, packaging one of the top films of the year with a console that would run, say, $400 or so? Sony would sell an ass load. Hell, I’D buy it!

…so long as it’s the Spider-Man 3 movie, and not the horrendeously bad game.

[Video Business]

Sony, PlayStation 3, Spider-Man 3, Blu-Ray