Game News: November 06, 2006

Microsoft to offer movies, TV shows on game service (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Microsoft Corp. on Monday said it would rent movies and sell television shows through Internet downloads to its Xbox Live video game service, pitting the software giant against long-time rival Apple Computer Inc. and others responding to the explosion of video on the Web.

Microsoft to offer shows on Xbox Live (AP)
   AP - Microsoft Corp. has teamed up with a handful of Hollywood studios to sell TV shows and movies that can be downloaded through the software maker's Xbox Live online video-game service and beamed straight onto television sets.

Retro Atari storms Xbox 360
   Atari arcade classics coming to Live Arcade in 2007.
Microsoft announced today that Atari is to release six of its classic games on the Live Arcade service.

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Epic hints of Gears of War 2
   "I wouldn't rule anything out!" Mr. CliffyB tells CVG.
Epic Games has hinted further at plans to develop a sequel to Gears of War, in a pair of interviews with CVG.

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New dustball ads a few hairs short of a carpet?
   File under "WTF!?" A new adland PSP entry from Sony baffles and annoys in equal measure.
Ah, Sony. Where did it all go wrong? It seems nothing the Japanese giant does at the moment hits the money, and alas, those new PSP adverts will do nothing to change that.

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Konami aims to kick PES probs into touch
   Your Pro Evo 6 online experience not all it's cracked up to be? Konami moves swiftly to address the XBL issues.
Pro Evo aficionados have hailed its next-gen debut on the Xbox 360, but there appears to be still room for improvement in Seabass's latest footy outing, especially in the online arena where Live users have been reporting a below par online play, with especial difficulty being reported in ranked matches.

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THQ gets Pixar's Ratatouille
   Videogame adaptation of Pixar's latest movie to hit a multitude of platforms.
THQ's Heavy Iron Studios will be developing a game based on a new Pixar license, with Ratatouille touching base with 11 different systems next year (from PS3 to mobiles).

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Medieval II: Joust in these new shots
   Fresh selection of the armoured warrior's finest pre-release screens.
Well, the CVG master hourglass is ticking slowly down and it's nearly time for us to brave the daily bout of carnage - or as you know it better, the London Underground - as we head for home. But we've just time to leave you with a fresh splurge of shots from Creative Assembly's finest which debuts on Nov 10.



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Harrison: 'PS3 problems will pale into zero'
   Head honcho admits Sony may have overreached itself on Blu-ray but it's 'catching up'.
Sony's worldwide studios boss Phil Harrison has gone on the record about his views of the PlayStation 3, concluding that the inclusion of Blu-ray may be stretching Sony too far.

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Sonic speeds onto 360
   Hedgehog protects human love interest (!?) from Eggman.
As Sonic the Hedgehog speeds towards its release, we managed to rattle some new screens off him as he zoomed past.



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Iron Man and Sega form crime-fighting duo
   Marvel superhero flexes metal pecs for next-gen showdown.
Marvel and Sega have formed a partnership that will see the much-loved game developer produce new next-gen titles based on Marvel Entertainment's first self-financed film, Iron Man. The deal will also have Sega produce games based on another, as yet unknown, franchise.

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What's Stronger: PS3 or Xbox 360?
   Silicon Knights, makers of 'Eternal Darkness,' are readying the forever-in-development 'Too Human' for the Xbox 360, as well as an unannounced title for the PlayStation 3. Speaking to the San Jose Mercury News, the company's President, Denis Dyack, says the next-generation systems are virtually iden...

PS3's Version 1.02 Update
   Sony Computer Entertainment has already released new firmware for the PlayStation 3 Test Unit -- updating it from version 1.0 to version 1.1 and then to version 1.2. Though there aren't any public notes citing what the new fixes do, Sony representatives have told IGN that the pair of updates address...

Sega Snags Iron Man License
   In a surprise announcement, Sega revealed it had wrestled the Iron Man license from Activision. Several years ago, when the Iron Man feature film was expected to release in 2006 or 2007, Activision had secured the rights to make a game based on the film. Developer Z-Axis, originally scheduled to mak...

'Dark Kingdom' Using PlayStation Network
   If you want to play Sony Online Entertainment's 'Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom' against your buddies across the country, then you'll need to sign in to the PlayStation Network for sure. Until today, it was unknown if the game's online co-op feature would use SCE's proprietary online service in conjun...

PS3 Needs Patch to Play
   While messing around with our new PlayStation 3 debug systems today, we also ran a few tests on the retail versions of EA Sports titles 'Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07' and 'Madden NFL 07.' 'Tiger Woods' works just fine and boots up right at the menu screen, but 'Madden' didn't work when inserted -- requir...

Mother 3 stays in Japan
   "I wouldn't look forward to it in the immediate future" says Nintendo localisation manager.
Despite the desperate pleas from RPG lovers in the west, it would seem the highly regarded, Japan-only Mother 3 is not likely to ever be released outside of Japan, after a statement made by a member of Nintendo of America's Treehouse localisation team.

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Games Releasing This Week
   After waiting all year for the 'next hot title,' gamers can rejoice as the Gaming Season hits critical mass. This week we see FOUR of the most anticipated games of the year touch down in stores, 'Guitar Hero II,' 'Call of Duty 3,' 'Tony Hawk's Project 8,' and the sweetest of them all - 'Gears of ...

Game Developer's Open Source Handbook Book Released
   

Course PTR and Charles River Media have announced the release of the Game Developer's Open Source Handbook, written by Steven Goodwin, to help developers with the technical and legal uses of open source software for games.

France Calls for Games as Art
   The French Minister for Culture has spoken for the need for videogames to be recognised as a serious art form, in a recent interview published by the International Herald Tribute. Ronald Donnedieu de Vabres said that 'People have looked down on video games for far too long, overlooking their great c...

'Medieval II: Total War' Goes Gold
   Sega has announced that the real time strategy game, 'Medieval II: Total War' has gone gold and will release on November 14th. Developed by The Creative Assembly, this visually stunning game spans the turbulent period of 1080 - 1530 and hands PC gamers the reigns in an attempt to become the greates...

'Castlevania' Coming To Theaters
   Rogue Pictures has hooked up with genre filmmaker Paul W.S. Anderson and Crystal Sky Entertainment to help bring the classic videogame 'Castlevania' to the big screen. Rogue, according to today's Variety will distribute the $50 million film in North America. Dimension Films, who had been previously ...

Listen to 'Guitar Hero II'
   ARE YOU READY TO ROCK!? Crack your knuckles and stretch out your fingers for the latest and greatest musical game, 'Guitar Hero II.' Listen to (almost) every track from the 'GHII' playlist courtesy of Rhapsody Unlimited before tuning up for your next virtual concert. 1. Opening Licks

New screens: Gods & Heroes assault PC
   A clash of steel and muscle in combat shots from SOE's massively multiplayer game.
Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising has been hovering around a bit under the radar in recent times but with new screenshots materialising today it's time to take a fresh look at the game.



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Mario Party Wii revealed
   The long-running Nintendo all-star party series goes motion sensitive.
The eighth instalment of the Mario Party series will be coming to Wii next year, with a whole list of multiplayer mini games that take full advantage of the Wii's motion-sensitive powers.

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Geometry Wars goes mobile
   Retro Evolved heading to mobile phones courtesy of erm, Sony BMG.
Flagship Xbox Live Arcade title Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved is heading to mobile phones, bizarrely courtesy of Sony BMG.



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Gamers give PlayStation 3 rave reviews (AP)
   

AP - Crammed in the corner of a hotel's banquet hall, they stood and stared silently, mesmerized by what they were seeing. They were watching a soldier gunning down a giant monster on one TV and Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade taking over an NBA game on the other screen. What they were really experiencing was the new Sony PlayStation 3.