Most Recent: News

State of California pays ESA $950,000 because of Brown v. ESA

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Remember that time the Governator tried to put unjust regulations on the video game industry? No? Well, you should.

In 2005’s Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association/Entertainment Software Association, then-Governor Schwarzenegger and State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) tried to turn the regulation of video games into a government affair. The Supreme Court ruled against it last June, arguing that “California’s effort to regulate violent video games is the latest episode in a long series of failed attempts to censor violent entertainment for minors… Even where the protection of children is the object, the constitutional limits on governmental action apply.”

The ESA was reimbursed $950,000 for legal fees, and plans to donate some of that money to create “after-school educational programs for underserved communities in Oakland and Sacramento,” according to their website.

“ESA’s new charitable education initiative, which will launch in the Spring of 2012, will harness young peoples’ natural passion for playing and making video games and connect them to the development of critical 21st Century job skills,” it reads. Considering what a colossal role the video game industry plays in California’s economy, this seems like a practical – not to mention righteous – move. Well played, ESA.

Posted in Etcetera, News |

New Releases: Final Fantasy XIII-2, Soul Calibur V, NeverDead, More

Posted on January 28, 2012 by John Scalzo

The 2012 video game year can officially begin… NOW! It’s been a long (and mostly dry) month, but publishers are finally ready to start unloading their big guns.

This week we can look forward to Final Fantasy XIII-2 Square Enix’s latest RPG sequel; Soul Calibur V, the next entry in Namco Bandai’s fighting franchise that still burns; and NeverDead, Konami’s dismemberment action game.

You can check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged , ,

MLB 12: The Show first trailer released, hits a home run

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Wow. I am not into baseball games, or sports games, or really sports in general, but this trailer made me want to get this game. It’s pretty awe-inspiring, especially pulling off wicked double plays. Add in PlayStation Move support and PlayStation Vita integration and this game is blowing my mind. Check out the full details over at the PlayStation Blog.

MLB 12: The Show will be out on March 6 for the PS3 and Vita.

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The Witcher 2 coming to Xbox 360 on April 17

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Nicole Kline

CD Projekt RED has announced they’re bringing their popular PC RPG, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, to the Xbox 360 on April 17. Two retail versions will be released, including the standard edition (which is actually called the Enhanced Edition) and a special edition known as the Dark Edition. The Enhanced Edition will contain all of the PC version’s currently released downloadable content, as well as Enhanced Edition-exclusive features such as new quests and locations as well as “the introduction of major new NPCs who intensify the struggle for power in the Northern Kingdoms.” All of the Enhanced Edition features will be available for free to those who already own the PC version.

The Dark Edition will include the entirety of the Enhanced Edition as well as all the special edition trappings including a soundtrack CD, an artbook, a Quest Handbook, and a Witcher medallion.

The head of CD Projekt RED studio, Adam Badowski, said, “The Xbox 360 version is a complete adaptation of the game to the new platform, we’ve rewritten the code so it feels native to the console. This latest version of The Witcher 2 has been expanded in many ways, and some experts believe it to be one of the best-looking games ever to make it to consoles.”

There will also be a brand new CGI introduction to the game, directed by Tomasz Baginski, a BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee. Additionally, the Xbox 360 version will also have lots of new cinematics. I wonder how it will compare to the PC version?

Posted in News, PC, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Warp release date announced for PC, PS3

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Trapdoor recently announced the PC and PS3 release dates for their upcoming game, Warp, via their Twitter feed.

The title will be coming to the PC and PSN on March 13, nearly a month after its release on the XBLA. It’s the first game in the latest XBLA House Party, available for Xbox 360 users on February 15 for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

I’ve been excited to play this game since last year’s PAX East. It promises to be a great downloadable game!

Posted in News, PC, PS3 | Tagged

“Bad Box Art” Mega Man, Pac-Man added to Street Fighter X Tekken

Posted on January 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

Ridiculous? Or genius? I can’t decide…

Capcom and Sony are definitely pulling out all the stops to ensure the PS3/Vita version of Street Fighter X Tekken is the one to get. You can check out all the insanity in the trailer above, but Pac-Man (riding the wooden fighting dummy, Mokujin) and Mega Man (in his Mega Man 1 “bad box art” costume) will be joining the fight.

Pac-Man and Mega Man join the previously announced PS3/Vita exclusive characters Cole (from InFamous) and the Sony Cats (Kuro and Toro).

So what’s the verdict? Ridiculous? Or genius? Street Fighter X Tekken will be available for the PS3 and Vita (and PC and Xbox 360) on March 6.

Posted in News, PS3, Vita | Tagged

Spring release for Aliens: Colonial Marines nuked from orbit

Posted on January 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

Apologies for the headline, but it was the only way to be sure you’d read this update on the release date for Aliens: Colonial Marines as the oft-delayed squad shooter has been delayed by Sega again.

Speaking to Game Informer, the publisher has confirmed that the delay was due to a desire to make sure the game is as polished as a Xenomorph’s head.

OK, not really, but Sega (and developer Gearbox Software) did cite a need for more development time as the primary reason for the delay:

Aliens: Colonial Marines is a process of creativity and invention and those don’t necessarily follow the structure of an assembly line. While setting clear goals, deadlines and predictions is helpful, they are often subjective. We don’t want to sacrifice the creative process just for the sake of following a blue print. We prefer to have the creative discovery shape that blue print because our goal is to make a great game, and we are prioritizing this goal over the previously targeted date.

Aliens: Colonial Marines will now be available in the Fall for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. A Wii U version will also be available sometime this Fall or whenever it is Nintendo’s new console will launch.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360 | Tagged

2D Mario game coming to 3DS before Q1 2013

Posted on January 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

Nintendo’s quarterly financial briefings are always full of surprises, and this week’s was no exception.

During the investor’s presentation, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata revealed that a 2D Super Mario Bros. side-scroller will be released for the 3DS during Nintendo’s next fiscal year. That’s sometime between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013 for those of us still using the good old Gregorian calendar.

We know that the game has been in development for at least a year as Shigeru Miyamoto revealed his involvement with a 2D Mario game for the 3DS during Nintendo’s October 2010 financial briefing.

See, there’s always something exciting happening at a Nintendo financial briefing.

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