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Blockbuster releases to be more spread out in future, says analyst

It seems that gaming publishers may finally be getting the message, shouted daily from countless enthusiast web communities, that we want to play good games all year round, not just in the fall. About damn time too; when a quirky, niche Atlus title is the most exciting release for three months, while the next three feature Mario, Mass Effect, and Uncharted, there’s something wrong. Thankfully, the SimExchange’s Jesse Divnich says there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

A broader release schedule could positively affect retailers such as GameStop and make them more attractive to the investment community as they will have more months of strong sales to hedge themselves against any negative short-term economic factors

It’s the same logic we enthusiasts have been using against game developers for years: while releasing at the end of the year is good for those who can stand out from the pack, just as many titles see decreased sales from increased competition. The logic hasn’t changed from last year, and sales numbers this holiday season were up from last year, so why expect change? While Jesse doesn’t offer an explanation for the publishers’ change of heart, he does provide ample evidence for his claims.

Before the first half of 2008 ends, we can expect the release of AAA titles such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl (expected to achieve 13.95 million units of GLS [global lifetime sales]), Wii Fit (expecting 8.7 million units of GLS), Grand Theft Auto IV (expecting 17 million units of GLS), and Metal Gear Solid 4 (expecting 4.7 million units of GLS).

While I’d be surprised if even half of that list actually releases in Q1 or Q2 2008, the point is well taken. This year’s early releases are the best recent memory. Call me cautiously optimistic that, burned by flops like Stranglehold and Blue Dragon, publishers will be less likely to flood the retail channel around the holiday season.

For more, see here.

2008 Better Than 2007?

So, another year has gone by and yet another holiday season full of awesome games has passed us by. Usually right about now I’m still playing all of the games that I bought over the past two months and I think to myself, there’s no way that next year can be any better than this one. This holiday was no different from the others in that aspect except for the fact that I actually think that it’s true.

How can next year possibly be any better than this past year? With AAA titles like Halo 3, Bioshock, Super Mario Galaxy, Call of Duty 4, The Orange Box, Rock Band, Mass Effect, yadda yadda yadda. The list goes on and on. Hopefully I’m wrong in that next year will be better than this one and the continuing trend of games becoming more sophisticated and more polished continues as more and more people pick up video games every year.

Developers will definitely have their work cut out for them this year. Hopefully they’ve got something up their sleeves.

CES 2008: Wii Wireless Nunchuk from Nyko

While we love our gadgets we hate wires. They are the bane of technology; always getting tangled up as if by magic. So it’s a good thing Nyko has unveiled a wireless Nunchuk for the Wii.

There’s just one little problem. After stories of Wiimote related accidents in the home doesn’t this make the Wii’s controls even more deadly?

Soulcalibur IV: Vader, Yoda exclusive to PS3, 360 respectively

1UP has been running an exclusive recently that the one game long awaited by both fighting game fans and deviant porn aficionados, Soulcalibur IV, will feature Darth Vader and Yoda in guest appearances. No wait, what? Yes, for real. Look at the screen above and you’ll know we aren’t making this up. They packed their bags and ran to Sony’s CES, where they found out what side of the Force the two consoles fell.

The PS3 (or Darth PS3) version of Soulcalibur IV is on the Dark Side and will feature Darth Vader, while the Xbox 360 (or Jedi Master 360) version will allow players to be Yoda. While Vader fighting Ivy is enough to get gamers like me spewing liquid all over the floor, we will probably not see a Vader vs. Yoda war in Soulcalibur, unless Namco Bandai decides downloadable content is cool.

Star Wars fanboys like me will see that the Vader and Yoda models as the most realistic ones seen in video games yet (and ironically, not handled by LucasArts) – they even look better than that Force Unleashed game coming out soon. And I don’t mean to nitpick, and I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something weird about that Darth Vader model. Hmm.

If downloadable content turns out to be a reality, it will also be great to see other Star Wars characters in these photorealistic renders, preferably Obi-Wan, Darth Maul and ~~Jar-Jar Binks~~.

Oh shit. Before I get sacked, here’s the Sony CES trailer to make up for the boo-boo. Note Yoda and Darth Vader in a sneak preview towards the end.

Ron Gilbert allies with Hothead for hilarious RPG-Adventure “DeathSpank”

Among the gaming halls of fame is a platinum bust of Ron Gilbert, famed video game designer, two great works of his being Maniac Mansion and The Secret of Monkey Island. If you had any assumptions that Mr. Gilbert had been abducted by adventure-game-loving aliens, think again, because you were somehow right. HotHead Games, developers of… uh… have taken dragged Ron Gilbert into their fortress of doom to design a video game he had in his mind for a long time – DeathSpank! This video game will truly be used for nefarious purposes to enslave mankind!

DeathSpank will be an RPG-Adventure hybrid, and I have a feeling we’re talking real adventure here, because that’s Ron Gilbert talking. He describes it as a Diablo-Monkey Island hybrid, which sounds like beautifully twisted fun for all ages. It will be an episodic game, with its first episode titled rather sombrely as “Orphans of Justice”, which will be coming rather soonish, according to the big poster on their website.

And now, because your subconscious mind really asked for it, here’s the official press release(!):

HOTHEAD GAMES TO PUBLISH NEW RON GILBERT GAME DEATHSPANK
Gilbert joins the Vancouver crew as Creative Director

The Great White North, January 9, 2008 – In a move that may upset the balance of the universe (or at least that around the 49th parallel), Hothead Games announced plans to publish Ron Gilbert’s long-awaited RPG-Adventure game, DeathSpank. Described as “Monkey Island meets Diablo”, the game will be released in episodic format and feature Gilbert’s unique style of humor and storytelling. In a related move, Ron Gilbert will be joining the company’s Vancouver-based studio as Creative Director, effective immediately.

Speaking from his secret game design cave, Ron Gilbert said, “I’ve spent over four years trying to find the right publisher for this strange little game. Now that I’ve done it, you just know that somewhere four horsemen are saddling up.”

The episodic game follows the thong-tastic adventures of a misguided hero named DeathSpank, a character that first appeared on Gilbert’s Grumpy Gamer website in a series of animated comics he penned with long-time creative collaborator, Clayton Kauzlaric.

Hothead prepared for Gilbert’s arrival by ordering the finest morsels of jellied moose meat and lager brewed with water from the nearest available glacier. “We’re all huge fans of Monkey Island and we love Ron’s unique vision and sense of humor,” said Joel DeYoung, COO of Hothead Games. “Ron shares Hothead’s goal of bringing much-needed humor and innovation into games, so having him here in Vancouver as our Creative Director is an excellent fit.”

“I’m really excited to be working with Hothead Games not only on DeathSpank, but as their new Creative Director,” said Gilbert. “I got to know everyone at Hothead while I was helping with On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. They really understand humor and being creative like very few publishers do.”

As Creative Director, Gilbert will work in the Vancouver-based studio on all of Hothead’s games. He is also expected to improve his hockey skills substantially during his stay.

Crysis v1.1 patch online.

Crysis

After what feels like forever the very long awaited patch for Crysis has been sneaked out during CES week. While most of the games journalists of the world have been looking at this years big up and coming titles the 140mb patch found its way onto a few websites. What isnt listed is a fix for the sound stuttering and mute issues during online play and a fix for the AA vehicle destroying itself when it fires. We can only hope. Also nothing has been said to its compatibility with the recently released MP map pack.

Fixes:
– Damage dealt to vehicles when shot by LAW has been made consistent
– F12 (screenshot) now works in restricted mode as well
– When player melees during gun raise animation, their gun will not be in a permanently raised position anymore
– Memory leaks and potential crashes

Updates:
– Improved SLI / Crossfire support and performance
– Improved overall rendering performance (DX9 and DX10)
– Enabled VSync functionality in D3D10

Tweaks:
– Reduced grenade explosion radius in multiplayer
– Clamped water tessellation to avoid cheating in MP
– Reduced LAW splash damage vs. infantry in PowerStruggle mode
– Slowed Rocket projectile speed down in MP slightly

Credit goes to Shacknews for the bug fix list.

Download links:

http://www.fileshack.com/file.x/11604/Crysis+Retail+Patch+1.1

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/crysis/download.html?sid=6184406&tag=top_downloads;title;0

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