According to “internal Activision estimates,” Black Ops has already topped last year’s Call of Duty release, generating approximately $360 million in sales across North America and Europe alone. That’s up from an estimated sell-through of $310 million for Modern Warfare 2. This was expected, but now it’s official. The record-shattering feat marks the second year in a row that Activision’s […]
Recently acquired Uppsala, Sweden-based development studio MachineGames is working on a new title powered by id Software’s proprietary id Tech 5, Bethesda announced today. It was revealed that Bethesda parent ZeniMax snapped up the studio last week. The dev house is chock full of ex-Starbreeze talent, many of whom were responsible for The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay. Unfortunately, the […]
Chinese hackers have devised a workaround of sorts for those wanting to access PSN on a modified PS3 unit. While security routines prevent anyone with an earlier firmware than the current required from logging on PSN, this circumvents that through a custom payload.
Independent developer Mediatonic has given us a status update on its aerial side-scrolling shooter Who’s That Flying?! – a Minis effort – will descend on PSN November 16 in North America. A European release is scheduled to follow on November 17. Last month, Mediatonic issued an abrupt, yet necessary delay over a technical issue with PS3 cross-compatibility that cropped up in […]
Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops is the seventh outing into Activision’s seminal first-person shooter franchise. With its debut following in the wake of Modern Warfare 2, arguably the most successful video game launch to date going by metrics, it becomes clear that Black Ops has vast shoes to fill. Fresh out of the box, it’s evident the game has a […]
Evidence proving Hitman 5’s existence continues to mount, this time in the form of job CVs. IO Interactive employee Damien Simper has let slip in his LinkedIn profile that he is serving as lead animator for the title. Additionally, programmer Theo Engell-Nielsen also drops wind of Hitman 5, alongside notable mention of a 2011 release window. Last month, a flurry of restructuring […]
Sony has refreshed its licensed PS3 Bluetooth Headset, trimming off around 30 percent of the fat from the previous model. The result? A sleek, glossy new look enclosed in a more compact form factor. Appearances aside, the headset now boasts “built-in noise cancellation for filtering out ambient noise when used with the PS3 system as well as your mobile phone.” […]
Bethesda’s latest entry into the atmospheric Fallout universe, New Vegas, has shipped 5 million copies worldwide — representing a sales volume of $300 million. Company president Vlatko Andonov lauds the Obsidian-developed RPG as a “must buy” title for this holiday season:
In a nod to the original, Battlefield: Bad Company 2’s forthcoming VIP Map Pack 7 will feature revamped renditions of fan-favorite BC: BF maps Oasis and Harvest Day, EA and developer DICE revealed today. The inclusion of both was determined by a series of polls EA ran on its website. With the transition comes an arsenal of perks, as EA […]
The growing popularity of free-to-play type games pose a significant threat to the walled gardens of console platforms, according to EA’s free-to-play head Ben Cousens. Speaking at the London Games Conference per a GameSpot report, Cousens reckons that in the next two to five years, titles like Battlefield: Pay4Free will win consumers over to the point of second-guessing whether to invest in […]
It seems Bethesda parent ZeniMax is on an acquisition spree as of late. Mere weeks after the company acquired Shinji Mikami’s startup Tango, word emerges that it has also inked a strategic move to snap up MachineGames, an upstart studio comprised mainly of former Starbreeze staffers. Starbreeze was responsible for 2004’s well-received hit The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher […]
Today marks the start of what is hopefully a new beginning for the PS3 scene, no longer dependent on ‘leaked’ SDK libraries. Developer CodeZombie has released Pongus, a derivative of the classic paddle game known as Pong. The visuals are primitive, but that’s besides the point. This has been compiled with the freely available, open-source PSL1GHT SDK, thus legal to […]
While multiplayer in the original Crysis was a solid effort, it arguably lacked polish and many of the usual hooks to hold interest. For the sequel, however, Crytek is touting multiplayer as a integral part of the experience. In fact, it aspires to compete with genre titans — namely, Activision’s Call of Duty franchise. That’s according to Crytek UK’s managing director […]
When it comes to product promotion, Activision is leaving no stone unturned with the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops. The publisher sent word today that the game’s November 9 release will coincide with availability of the official soundtrack. Scheduled to hit iTunes and “other major digital media retailers,” the 30-track offering features music of film composer Sean Murray, […]
Sony’s announced that all US-based PS3 owners will be able to sign up for Hulu Plus next week. Previously, the service was an invite-only affair, limited to PS Plus subscribers. For the uninitiated, Hulu Plus offers on-demand TV streaming, backed by a catalog comprised of over 27,800 movies and TV episodes from major broadcast studios. Accessible through the “Video” subsection on […]
While it may be hard to believe, EA’s parkour-inspired Mirror’s Edge hit store shelves nearly two years ago. Backed by a refreshing visual flair, the title garnered favorable reviews from critics and gamers alike. So where’s the sequel? It’s coming — when EA is ready to break the silence, that is. EA Europe prez Patrick Soderlund explains in an interview […]
While Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 may be a robust middleware solution, its out-of-the-box state hasn’t quite satisfied the needs of BioShock developer Irrational Games. Although the studio is using UE3 as a base for BioShock Infinite, several tweaks are being incorporated into the underlying codebase — many of them significant. According to technical director Chris Kline, Irrational is doing “whatever […]
The seemingly eternal wait is nearly over. According to a Jalopink report, Polyphony Digital head Kazunori Yamauchi has confirmed that PS3 exclusive Gran Turismo 5 has been sent off to manufacturing. In other words, it’s gone gold. “The discs are being stamped as we speak,” stated Yamauchi in response to a question asking when the title is due to hit […]
As an added incentive to pick up Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood on PS3, Ubisoft today announced that it has struck an deal with Sony that encompasses ‘exclusive’ day-one DLC. Here’s the skinny: the DLC, entitled Copernicus Conspiracy, sees Eizo assisting Renaissance astronomer Copernicus. Promised are additional assassination plots, joined by protection and courier missions. To sweeten the deal, it’s also free. […]
Last month’s release of the Medal of Honor reboot fell short of internal ‘quality expectations’ within EA, according to the company’s European VP Patrick Soderlund in a frank interview with EG. Mixed reactions aside, EA is hardly deeming it a failed effort. In response to average scores from critics, Soderlund’s believes the Afghanistan-set shooter was given unfair treatment in reviews. “Medal […]