Posts in category culture
by Randy Nelson Jul 8th 2008 11:30PM
Filed under: Culture
Capcom has posted
a list of titles it will be showing off at this year's E3 expo on its official blog. The roster contains the usual subjects –
Bionic Commando,
Resident Evil 5,
Street Fighter IV – but, as we
reported last month, the company will have a couple of surprises in store for attendees.
We now know that one of them is titled
Flock, and is, as described by Capcom, a "new super-secret project." Well, it's not
that secret if we know its name. Still, it's an odd name ... one that conjures up concepts such as social networking or file sharing, not games. We'd normally say it's a working title, but Capcom's update doesn't list it as such.
Its most recent E3 lineup also includes
Mega Man 9 and the previously unveiled
Spyborgs. Neither were on the earlier list, so either could be the second "Capcom Project #2" it teased. Or, if you're really into conspiracy theories,
neither is, and there's still one secret to be revealed. We like surprises, so we're pinning our hopes on that being the case.
by Ross Miller Jul 8th 2008 9:00PM
Filed under: Culture, Business
Electronic Arts said today that it will not acquire publisher Take-Two until after the Federal Trade Commission finishes reviewing the acquisition for potential antitrust concerns (via Reuters). The FTC has until August 21 to complete its probe and we're betting they won't finish early.
After an innumerable amount of extensions, EA now says, because of the investigation, its offer to Take Two shareholders has been
extended to July 18, the last day of
E3 Media and Business Summit. We suspect there'll be some
thrilling behind the scenes action going on next week.
by Christopher Grant Jul 8th 2008 8:00PM
Filed under: Culture, Meta (about Joystiq), E3
Wanna know what's in those five boxes up there? We'll tell you: over 200 lbs of swag! And we're bringing it all to E3 for our Second Annual Joystiq E3 Afterparty!
And that's just part of what we've got in store. Ask any of
the 160 plus people who showed up last year and they'll spin tales of mountains of swag gathered from just three days of E3. This year we'll be doing that again, of course, as well as giving away three years worth of accumulated stuff, including hundreds of free games (over 50 lbs worth!), tons of t-shirts (including the very last of the Joystiq tees), faceplates, baseball caps, controllers, headsets, and more. Giving it away.
Gratis.
We'll also be providing free food and drinks, along with a bunch of video games to play on the projectors, so all you've got to bring is yourself. Just like last year, we'd like to give a shout-out to the folks over at
Mahalo.com for hosting the event. If you're planning on coming, be sure to let us know in the comments so we can scientifically deduce how many to expect or, even better, hit up the Facebook event page.
When: 6pm - 10pm PT on Thursday, July 17th
Where: Mahalo HQ, 902 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica 90401 (
map)
Who: Yes, this event is all ages!
RSVP:
Facebook by Ross Miller Jul 8th 2008 5:30PM
Filed under: Culture, Online, Polls
Yeah, we figured the
Zero Punctuation would do well in the
webcomic wrapup, by a large margin. Here's how it breaks down, with and without the Yahtzee factor:
With the Yahtzee Factor
Without the Yahtzee Factor
Thanks to everyone voted. We'll be going Yahtzee-less from now on; be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
by Alexander Sliwinski Jul 8th 2008 4:30PM
Filed under: Culture, Business
Ubisoft has
purchased Hybride Technologies, the Montreal-based visual effects studio behind several commercial, television and film projects; the studio is best known for its work on the films
Spy Kids, 300 and
Sin City. Ubi CEO Yves Guillemot says the acquisition is
part of the company's plans to extend its brands to
other forms of entertainment.
Hybride and
Ubisoft will move forward by sharing technology and developing tools for video games and visual effects. The acquisition is initially expected to generate sales of 6 -7 million Euros. We're certainly curious to hear what the first game will be that uses Hybride's artists post-purchase in its production.
by Randy Nelson Jul 8th 2008 3:25PM
Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action
We're putting two and two together and getting ...
Lost Planet. First we were tipped by a source close to Capcom that the company would have a movie-related announcement at next week's E3, and that it would involve someone "well known to gamers." Next we read that
David Hayter, voice of Solid Snake and screenwriter for such films as
X2: X-Men United and the upcoming
Watchmen, was talking
Lost Planet at last week's Anime Expo '08. It all adds up.
As
reported by IGN, Hayter said he is "just closing the deal with Warner Bros." to pen a
Lost Planet flick while speaking at AX08, although "nothing is confirmed yet." Of course, Capcom's E3 announcement could always be concerning
another movie, but the evidence before us is compelling.
[Via
Capcom-Unity]
by Justin McElroy Jul 8th 2008 11:15AM
Filed under: Culture, E3
Need yet another example of how E3 is going to the dogs? This year, Capcom is offering the chance for
common people to attend its E3 booth. Yes, you read that correctly. For an hour and a half on Thursday, the floor of the LA Convention Center will be sullied by regular Joes. If you'd like to participate in this atrocity,
instructions are here.
Now, if we can direct our attention on Capcom for just a moment: What the heck are you guys thinking? How do you expect us, the gaming press to feel special if we don't see exclusive stuff that nobody else can see? What if the commoners steal all your swag before we can steal it all? Can you even begin to comprehend what you've wrought? Dogs and cats living together ... mass hysteria, that's what.
by Geoffrey Brooks Jul 8th 2008 10:46AM
Filed under: Culture, Features
Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming:
I've temporarily relocated to Seoul for the summer to work for a consumer electronics firm, so I thought I'd spend a little time detailing some of the differences in gaming culture here in South Korea, and the impact that infrastructure has on the gaming business. In short, there are two notable differences in the Korean gaming industry relative to the United States. First, PC games are significantly more popular than console games; and second, gaming is much more mainstream in Korean culture than it is even now in the States. These differences have created structural factors in the country that have profoundly shaped the nature of the industry from a business perspective.
Perhaps the most salient factor is cultural - there is, as far as I can tell, almost no stigma attached to gaming in the country (at the least, it's viewed as a mainstream activity). A number of Korean acquaintances have commented on the Korean fascination with the new and fashionable: when one co-worker went apartment-hunting with a real estate agent, the agent refused to show him any houses that had been previously occupied, on the assumption that they would be of little interest. And part of that fascination seems to be technological, indicating a possible cause of Koreans' embrace of gaming as a form of entertainment. Indeed, I've seen countless people using a DS or PSP on the subway... and my cheap, used cell phone has more free games on it than I've played on any phone since I began using them in the first place.
Continue reading Counting Rupees: Korea bangs
by Alexander Sliwinski Jul 7th 2008 11:30PM
Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360
The word defining folks over at Merriam-Webster Inc. have
added "Fanboy," along with 100 other words, to the newest edition of its
Collegiate Dictionary*. Fanboy is actually one of the "oldest" of the "new" words, with its origins dating back to 1919. The wordsmiths define fanboy as a "boy who is an enthusiastic devotee, such as of comics or movies." Fanboys should feel free to write with self-righteous fury to MW and let them know it can also apply to video games ... tell them you'll never read their dictionary again if they don't correct this grievous oversight (also make an online petition).
This isn't the first time in recent memory some bit of gaming culture seeped its way into the good word book at Merriam-Webster; "w00t" became the company's
word of the year in 2007. So, w00t to all the fanboys out there, the dictionary acknowledges your existence.
*OSX users will find the Dictionary widget, which uses The Oxford American Dictionary, already defines "fanboy." Merriam-Webster is a different company.
by Ross Miller Jul 7th 2008 8:30PM
Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii, Sports
JoWooD Productions has
announced Yoga Wii (not to be confused with
Wii Yoga), coming second quarter of 2009 for the Nintendo Wii. The game will support the Balance Board as, according to the press release, "
it plays a central role for the exercising (gaming) experience." No other details or assets are currently available. We expect this to be the first of many no-brainer yoga titles coming to the Wii for the next decade or two.
[Via NWF]
by Ross Miller Jul 7th 2008 4:00PM
Filed under: Culture, Mac, PC, Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Xbox 360, Online
Just a friendly reminder that today (July 7) is
Bungie Day, which means free Bungie-related gamerpics and themes available on Xbox Live today (and
only today). Additionally, the new
Halo 3 map
Cold Storage is also available free of charge for today. As for that
announcement that was teased over the weekend, we've heard nothing so far. Trust us, though, if and when Bungie announces something, we'll let you know.
[Via
X3F]
by Jason Dobson Jul 7th 2008 8:00AM
Filed under: Culture, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Strategy
Pokémaniacs will soon have the opportunity to find out who among them is best at the cultivation and production of pocket monsters for battle, and dare we say,
delicious cuisine. This summer both Pokémon USA and Japan's The Pokémon Company will host the Pokémon Video Game Showdown 2008, which promises to pit the regions' best poké-trainers against each other in a multi-round tournament to discover once and for all who has the best poké-chops.
On August 16, 32
Pokémon aficionados from the US will make the trek to Orlando, FL to throw down against 32 of Japan's best poké-players, using the series' latest flavors,
Diamond and Pearl. The contest will be divided into two different age brackets, with those trainers born on or before 1995 making up the "senior" set. And there's more than just poké-pride at stake, as the top finisher in each group will walk away with a Nintendo Wii package and a shot at a grand prize that includes a 6-day vacation for four to either NY, Honolulu, or Tokyo. However, we should tell you that interested players must first survive
a qualifier round, and that registration has already closed. Even so, organizers note that additional players may be randomly selected from those in attendance at the events, so if you fancy yourself a poké-maestro, check out the dates below before you book fare on
Air Pokémon.
Continue reading Poké-trainers to face off in pocket monster showdown
Next Page >
