There you have it, its happened, PAX East is completely sold out. If you were still on the fence it looks like you're going to have to go stand in the parking lot and attempt to scalp a ticket.
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BOSTON – March 19, 2010 – Badges for PAX East 2010 are officially, 100 percent sold out. We all knew it was going to happen and it finally did.
The strong response from fans shows the strength of the gaming community on the East Coast.
Your favorite podcast team (Shotgun!) will be there a long with Tintivilo. We'll be updating the forums as much as we can, including (hopefully) a video Shotgun episode from PAX!
Sega has updated their Blog with word that the Swarm Pack DLC is now available for Aliens vs. Predator.
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Looking for a bit of a change of scenery in your fragging? Look no further than the Swarm Pack, a collection of maps for play across Survivor and Multiplayer modes. The pack features four new maps: (Two Multiplayer & Two Survival)
Docks: The caustic alkali waters of BG-386 put an end to Weyland-Yutani’s planned shipping activities. But this dockyard soon became an historic battleground.
Machine: As well as processing exotic ores, the BG-386 Refinery provided electrical power to the colonists at Freya’s Prospect. The lights may still be on, but nobody’s home. Yet.
Outpost: The site of the original Weyland-Yutani colony on BG-386 was abandoned, and soon reclaimed by the planet’s voracious jungle plant life. It is now the perfect hunting ground for all manner of wildlife.
Hive: Deep in the heart of the Freya’s Prospect Refinery lays the Xenomorph Hive. Beware all who enter here.
The Swarm pack is now available on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Steam.
Looks like Gamestop might be feeling the heat from the free DLC in EA's recent games. Gamasutra has posted a couple of quotes from Gamestop CEO Dan Dematteo where he dismisses the idea that free DLC is hurting used sales.
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CEO Dan DeMatteo doesn't believe DLC opportunities are much of a deterrent to used game buyers, anyway: "Through our years in the used business, we have learned that the second-hand user is a value-oriented consumer... we don't believe that a $10 add-on piece of DLC is compelling to a used game buyer," he said on the company's call to analysts alongside its 2009 financial results today.
"Publishers can participate in our used business by offering add-on content for the most popular used titles, creating a win-win situation for publishers, retailers and consumers," he adds.
Publishers offering free DLC to used customers? I'm sure most publishers would rather get money from a game sale that benefitis them, instead of supporting your predatory business model, Dan.
No April fools here - Heavy Rain's "The Taxidermist" $DLC will be available for $4.99 on the PSN on April 1st.
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The first bit of Heavy Rain downloadable content, titled "The Taxidermist," will come out on April 1 according to the PlayStation Blog. The additional episode, which was released for free to those who pre-ordered the game, will cost $4.99. The episode takes place before most of the events of the game, and features Madison investigating a suspicious house while on the trail of the Origami Killer.
Ready for your next piece of Mass Effect 2 DLC? BioWare just recently tweeted that the Firewalker pack will be hitting the Cerberus Network on March 23rd.
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Mass Effect 2 Firewalker DLC featuring the Hammerhead coming Tuesday March 23rd!
Bioware big wigs Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk spoke with UGO last week and mentioned that Mass Effect 2's Cerberus Network was not designed to hurt used game sales. Instead, they are trying to build a "really good relationship with the customer" by providing some free DLC and make the customer feel like they are part of the community.
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Speaking to UGO at GDC last week, asked if the plan had worked either way, Muzyka said: “I think that from our perspective, it’s mostly around providing content, however someone got the game. As long as we are providing a great content stream for them to partake in, then I think that’s great. We all win in that concept.
“For us, we want to have a really good relationship with the customer: Mass Effect 1, Mass Effect 2, DLC stuff, Mass Effect 3, future things. What we are most concerned with is having that customer relationship. I think something like Cerberus is a great way to cement that because part of the game comes up in beginning messages from Cerberus, and it’s part of the community.”
If you've been waiting for the Episodes from Liberty City pack for your PS3/PC you'll just have to wait a bit longer. Rockstar has decided to push back the release date to April 13th in North America and April 16th everywhere else.
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This new date will enable us to rectify these changes for Sony Europe, and still allow for a level playing field for all of the Grand Theft Auto fans that have been waiting patiently for this release. In the meantime, we’re moving full speed ahead towards the new game release date. On that note – please be aware that the Grand Theft Auto IV PlayStation 3 leaderboards at Rockstar Games Social Club will be down for maintenance for one week starting March 22nd as we work on their re-launch in support of Episodes from Liberty City.
The achievement list for Microsoft's Game Room (due this Wednesday) has surfaced and it's worth a total of 1000 points. Achievements range from just entering the room to winning 10 + medals or even visiting your friends arcade.
You can check out the full list of achievements here.
The first thing I will be playing is mowing the lawn. Then weeding. And then killing bugs. Once I get done with those fun games I plan on playing some CoH and staying old school with X-Com. What are you going to be doing and playing this weekend?
A post to the official PlayStation.Blog from Zipper Interactive's Sr. Community Manager Jeremy "FreeIsGood" Dunham has word that the first (Free) DLC is heading to MAG on March 25th.
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On behalf of everyone here at Zipper Interactive, I’m pleased to announce that beginning March 25, our first official MAG downloadable add-on will be made available to players worldwide absolutely free of charge!
Dubbed the “Trooper Gear Pack,” our first DLC addition to the MAG universe will offer a number of cool goodies for veterans and first timers alike. Out of everything in the pack, the most popular will likely be the oft-requested “Flashbang Grenade” that can be used to confuse, disorient or distract your enemies in a single throw.
Of course, there’s more to the Trooper Gear Pack than Flashbangs. We’ll also be including new special edition Light Machine Guns for each PMC. Raven’s APEX 100SE, SVER’s RTK-74 Vla, and Valor’s Mk 46 Mod 1 weapons will provide both a new look for your favorite LMGs and a number of performance adjustments as well.
The last element of the pack will be two additional uniforms – “Trooper Dark” and “Trooper Light.” Available to all three PMCs, these uniforms are specifically designed for urban and interior combat situations and give you two more aesthetic options to diversify your character with.
Who is your favorite mancrush? Electronic Arts sends along a new DLC trailer for their Bro-mance shooter, Army of Two: The 40th Day, showing of the new 'Chapters of Deceit' Co-Op DLC.
It seems the 360 is getting USB stora.. yeah, the title explains it.
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Documentation obtained by Joystiq – and subsequently confirmed with two separate sources – reveals that "USB Mass Storage Device Support on Xbox 360" will soon be a reality. The document, authored by a senior software development engineer at Microsoft, states that due to "increased market penetration of high-capacity, high throughput USB mass storage devices, a 2010 Xbox 360 system update" will allow consumers to save and load game data from USB devices. The update is purportedly coming in Spring 2010.
IO Interactive has released the first in-game footage of Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days in a trailer titled ‘Welcome to Shanghai’, which gives players a peak in to the story and situations Kane and Lynch will be faced with. An extended version of the trailer can be can be found exclusively on the official Web site - www.KaneandLynch.com
Set Phasers to "Fabulous!" Cryptic Studios has released a second Star Trek Online trailer, with more details on Klingon PvE missions, Klingon Fleet Action missions, PvP maps and more.
If you have an XBL Gold account you can now access the Splinter Cell: Conviction demo by clicking here.
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Coming exclusively to Xbox 360, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction is the highly anticipated sequel in the multimillion-selling Splinter Cell series and one of the most critically acclaimed Xbox franchises of all time.An investigation into his daughter’s death leads former agent Sam Fisher to discover he’s been betrayed by his former agency, the Third Echelon. Now a renegade, Fisher finds himself in a race against time to prevent a deadly terrorist plot that threatens millions.
If your office is anything like mine today you'll need a good laugh to get through the morning. Check out Sony's latest Move commercial that pokes fun at the Wii and Natal.
Go ahead and grab the flash light for your XBL avatar, I know you want to. No really, it's okay....I won't look. It's not like I can judge, I bought an Altair outfit.
The good news? C&C 4 has no DRM, as EA community mod Apoc put it: “First thing to be clear about, Command & Conquer 4 has NO DRM. Zip, zero, zilch, none.” Now you want the bad news? You need a constant internet connection to play Command & Conquer 4.
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First thing to be clear about, Command & Conquer 4 has NO DRM. Zip, zero, zilch, none. We already made this clear.
Second, you do not need the disc in the machine to play Command & Conquer 4, however the following is how it works:
-AFTER you install Command & Conquer 4 with the disc on your machine, when you try to LOGIN at the Launcher for the first time, it will ask you for your serial key. You will enter in your serial key to activate your Master EA Account. The serial key, like in our past games, can only be activated for 1 master account. You cannot install multiple EA Master accounts on one serial key. You can create multiple Commander Personas however, so if you and your brothers each want your own Persona account with experience, etc, you can do that. Just has to be under the same Master EA account as in our past games.
-You can install the game from the disc as many times as you want on any machine. Re-install, etc.
-You do not need the disc in your machine to play. Your EA account just needs to have been activated by your serial key. After that, you can play Command & Conquer 4 on ANY MACHINE that has it installed. All you need to do is login.
-To play Command & Conquer 4, the computer needs to be connected to the internet. We've always made that clear as well.
In an amazing Open Letter, Ensemble Studios' veteran Ian M. Fischer talks about the closure of the studio, it relationship with Microsoft and the recent rumors that Ensemble was closed because it was "inefficient and expensive".
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Every single game Ensemble Studios made, across more than a decade, paid for it’s development and made a profit. Microsoft had it’s reasons for closing the studio but to imply that it was because we cost too much is fiction. ES enjoyed a long relationship with Microsoft (as many ex-Studios people now at Robot or Bonfire still do), first as a partner and then as part of the corporation after 2001 – if, at any point, the leadership in Redmond wanted to reduce the cost of making games in Dallas, they could have done so with a phone call.
Great letter. Microsoft fucked up bad when they closed Ensemble.
Square Enix sends along a new Just Cause 2 Anatomy of a Stunt trailer where "Agent Rico Rodriguez demonstrates that even a harmless island Tuk Tuk taxi can be turned into a deadly missile, and that island security guards may want to keep their eyes on the skies."
Just Cause 2 will be available for the PS3, 360 and PC on March 23rd.
Rockstar has released a new trailer for their upcoming old west shooter, Red Dead Redemption.
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Today we’re proud to reveal an in-depth look at the life teeming inside Red Dead Redemption. Titled Life in the West, this full length video uncovers the hardships early 20th century settlers encountered, where everyday life brought a new struggle for survival. The vast, sprawling world of Red Dead Redemption hides unique challenges in every area, with wild bears and snow in the North, bandits and cattle rustlers in the West, to unrest and revolution in the South. Hundreds of characters populate each of the three areas, each with a distinct personality, and every area has its own unique ecosystem with a variety of animals and plant life.
The rich diversity of each area offers several types of challenges and rewards. Hunting allows reformed outlaw John Marston the opportunity to skin and sell the skin in town, while a bloody battle attracts vultures, who if shot, unlock sharp shooting challenges. Full of possibility and activity, the world of Red Dead Redemption reflects the immensity that was the Wild West.
Square Enix and DC Comics have partnered up to create a custom comic series for the upcoming Action-RPG. The comic series will be revealed on the official website, www.NIERGame.com, between now and the game’s launch on April 27.
Click on the Headline for a larger version of the cover.
Jane McGonigal thinks that gaming can save the world. We currently spend three billion hours a week playing online games. McGonigal says we need to raise that total to twenty-one billion hours a week by the next decade, if we want to address the world’s problems. Counter-intuitive, yes. I thought there were only 168 hours in a week… Watch her talk below.
Click on the link to see the Video. Interesting ideas that should make you think... Discuss
Remember that whole debacle around the Nvidia 196.75 video drivers? If you don't I'll sum it up for you: If you installed the 196.75 drivers your video card fan may have quit working frying the card. To combat the .75 drivers Nvidia has released the following statement along with new 197.13 drivers that they claim will fix the issue.
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NVIDIA is aware that some customers have reported fan speed issues after installing 196.75 drivers from NVIDIA's website. NVIDIA has removed these drivers and asked its partners to also remove the drivers. Any customers still using 196.75 drivers are asked to immediately discontinue use and either roll back to their previous driver or install the new 197.13 drivers. Driver roll back help can be found here.
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NVIDIA apologizes to our customers that installed the 196.75 driver and experienced quality issues. For the small number of customers that did experience problems, in almost every case reverting back to our 196.21 driver immediately resolved their issues. We continue to work closely with our add-in-card partners and PC manufacturers to help resolve any additional customer issues not solved by reverting to the earlier driver. Any NVIDIA customer who has questions about their board as a result of downloading 195.75 driver should contact their board supplier.
Blockbuster video declared in an SEC filing that it may be forced to file Chapter 11. What would this mean for those of us who rent games there?
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The video rental store declared in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday that it might be forced to file Chapter 11 if cash flows don't improve and it is unable to restructure its debt. Blockbuster reportedly has about $1 billion in debt.
Is your computer MAN enough to tackle Splinter Cell: Conviction? Check out the computer specs below thanks to Gamikaze (via VG247):
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Recommended specs:
Supported OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Processor: 1.8 GHz Intel Core2 Duo or 2.4 GHz AMD Athlon X2 64
RAM: 1.5 GB Windows XP / 2 GB Windows Vista, Windows 7
Video Card: 256 MB DirectX 9.0c–compliant video card (512 MB recommended) (see supported list*)
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c–compliant sound card
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM drive
Hard Drive Space: 10 GB
Peripherals Supported: Mouse, keyboard, headset, 12-button gamepads with analog sticks
Internet Connection: Broadband Internet connection
*Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 / 7900 / 8 / 9 / GTX series
ATI RADEON X1800 / X1900 / HD 2000 / HD 3000 / HD 4000 / HD 5000 series
Laptop versions of these cards may work but are NOT supported. These chipsets are the only ones that will run this game.
Note: A permanent high speed internet connection and creation of a Ubisoft account are required to play this video game at all times and to unlock exclusive content. Such content may only be unlocked one single time with a unique key. You must be at least 13 to create a Ubisoft account.
IGN has the scoop on Kane & Lynch 2 with a first-look video and the release date: August 24th, 2010. You can check out the video here but you'll have to put in a fake birthday.
March 17, 2010 - Those ready to continue the story of the psychopath Lynch and the mercenary Kane now have a firm release date to look forward to. Square Enix and Eidos have announced the game will be published in North America on August 24, 2010. The game will follow in the UK and European territories a few days later on August 27.
The video has an Army of Two: 40th Day vibe to it, in my opinion.
To get everyone excited for PAX East, Twisted Pixel sent around a new video for their latest work in progress, Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley. Check it out below:
The Battlefield Blog has been updated with a new PSA entitled "Friends Really Against Grenade Spam." The PSA mimics IW's Fight Against Grenade Spam videos by introducing New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia who explains why you don't need to toss grenades to win a game of Bad Company 2.
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CC Sabathia and Private Terrence Sweetwater take time to talk about the problem close to all our hearts... random grenades. Together with Friends Really Against Grenade Spam (F.R.A.G.S) and the useful tips in the PSA video we can put an end to the shameful waste of grenades and team play, together.
Some folks calling themselves "The King Brothers," have put together a spoof on the Dante's Inferno Super Bowl advertisement, and it is totally awesome. Thanks Kotaku.
Rare's old school shooter, Perfect Dark, is now available on Xbox Live Arcade for 800 MSP.
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(ONLINE INTERACTIONS NOT RATED BY THE ESRB) Buy the full version of Perfect Dark to unlock the classic package in its entirety. Experience every twist of the story, every stray bullet, every gadget and upgrade, every newly polished texture – and top it all off with full access to multiplayer modes now playable across the globe through Xbox LIVE. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.
Be sure to take off your rose colored glasses before singing its praises.
OverClocked ReMix Releases Free Fan Tribute Album, Donkey Kong Country 2: Serious Monkey Business
OverClocked ReMix today released its 17th album, Donkey Kong Country 2: Serious Monkey Business. The album consists of 33 arrangements of composer David Wise's original score to the 1995 Nintendo game developed by Rare, Donkey Kong Country 2. Wise himself also contributed the album's closing track with an arrangement of DKC2's credits theme, featuring collaboration and live performances from former Rare colleagues Grant Kirkhope (Donkey Kong Land 2) and Robin Beanland (Donkey Kong Country).
The album is available for free download at http://dkc2.ocremix.org. Serious Monkey Business is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo or Rare. Over 30 artists participated in honoring Wise in this two-disc project which consists of nearly two and a half hours of music.
"This project is, first and foremost, a tribute to Mr. Wise - to have him contribute a track was a real honor," said Jeremy Waters, co-director and creator of the album.
Artists, including Wise, were given complete creative freedom to reimagine the game's music in new ways, resulting in diverse genres including new age, trance, metal, orchestral, pop, IDM, rhumba and merengue.
"The artists have poured hundreds, if not thousands, of hours into the music," stated co-director Wesley Cho. "I like to see people explore the possibilities offered by music of various genres, and I think we have succeeded in putting together a melting pot album with a lot of accessibility."
Comment by me: I'm Wesley Cho, co-director of this album - haven't been here in a long time as I've been pretty busy, but I thought this is something people might enjoy, and so I hope everyone enjoys something at the least, if not a whole lot more!
IO Interactive has tweeted an announcement that there will be a release date announcement for Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days tomorrow.
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This just in! Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days release date to be announced tomorrow! Pull up your food bowl and sit tight for more news today.
Yes! Let us all celebrate the release date to a sequel of one of the worst games of all time! When we are done, we can have a party the next time someone has a bowel movement!
Electronic Arts has announced that the closed beta for Need for Speed World (PC) is now underway and they have released a new trailer to celebrate.
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Black Box, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc., today announced that the closed beta for Need for Speed World, the massively multiplayer online action racing game has begun. Over the course of the next few months, thousands of players worldwide will have the opportunity to claim one of the limited slots in the PC beta test by enlisting at world.needforspeed.com. Need for Speed World testers will be the first in the world to get an insider’s look at this hotly anticipated racing MMO, and their constructive feedback will go straight back to the development team to help add polish, finesse and tuning to the final product.
When most fiscal years are coming to a close, it's time to start thinking towards the new year and trimming the fat. That means "Tis the season for layoffs". The most recent target looks to be the folks over at IGN. We're not sure how big or how many have been hit, but good luck to those touched by this unfortunate mistress.
Even the gaming journalism segment of gaming is fickle... Good luck folks.
UPDATE: Greg Miller is safe, but Andy Eddy and Chris Roper have been let go.
"Today's a hard day at IGN. We've had to reduce the size of our organization and are eliminating roles today in every part of the company. We are making every effort to be compassionate and fair to the people whose roles we've eliminated.
"We're doing this to reduce costs. While we've been doing well -- we're profitable and our audience continues to grow -- we're still feeling the effects of the economy, and we need to make sure we can invest where there is opportunity. Over the past couple of years, we have been focusing IGN on areas where we can not only grow, but be best in the world: serving gamers online, and serving advertisers looking to reach men. To do that successfully, we have to be as efficient as possible in our core businesses. The difficult actions we're taking today get us to where we need to be.
"We are losing colleagues who played an important role getting us to where we are -- #1 in games and men's lifestyle, and growing 40% over last year in the total size of our audience. We are deeply grateful to our colleagues for everything they've done. We as a company are absolutely headed in the right direction, and while today will be hard, it won't stop us.
"We'll have an All-Hands meeting later today to discuss this, and give you a chance to ask questions. Greg will be sending out a note with the exact timing, please be on the lookout for that.
"It probably goes without saying, but please keep this absolutely confidential to IGN. If you are approached by any member of the press, please direct them to Kris Sharbaugh.
