Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Producer Speaks

Masachika Kawata is a name you're going to hear associated with Resident Evil quite a lot in the months to come. In addition to the twin 3DS projectsResident Evil: The Mercenaries 3DandResident Evil: Revelations, he's also simultaneously handling production duties for the newest console game in the series:Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, first revealed last week.

"The control system for this game has been changed to something you see a lot in third-person shooters,"Kawata told Japan'sFamitsumagazine in the lastest issue. I think fans of that genre will be able to enjoy this game a great deal. You play as a member of Umbrella as you fight off not only the US special forces, but Leon S. Kennedy and the T-Virus-infected zombies as well. It's a chaotic three-sided confrontation that we're depicting with this TPS gameplay, and I think that's the main draw for this title. The game is set somewhere around RE2 or RE3, but it's a completely new story that we're writing -- a parallel world, if you will. There'll be a lot of aspects that'll make series veterans smile, though."

The new RE is particularly noteworthy because Capcom is farming out its development to Vancouver-based Slant Six Games, whose release list up to now consisted entirely ofSOCOMtitles for Sony. As Kawata put it toFamitsu, this certainly wasn't by accident."The idea for this game got its start when we thought about taking the world ofResident Evil 2and using it to try something we've never done before with the series,"he said."It's a third-person shooter in order to take advantage of Slant Six's previous achievements with SOCOM. We've covered a lot of Raccoon City's story up to now, but I think putting the player on the side of the villains will give them a brand new experience. The main keyword during development is 'Kill Leon.'"

In addition to fighting off zombies and special-ops soldiers, you'll also have to deal with some of the Bio-Organic Weapons (B.O.W.s) that have shown up in previous REs, including adversaries like Nemesis and Tyrant."We'll have several B.O.W.s from previous games, including the Tyrant, appear in this title -- in what way, exactly, we haven't decided upon yet,"Kawata noted."We're also discussing plans for new B.O.W.s as well -- this game is all about new ideas and concepts that aren't beholden to previous titles, so that's the sort of thing I want people to look forward to."

Capcom PR has pegged development of Operation Raccoon City at 45% complete. The game has no official launch date or price yet, but a winter release has been touted for North America."Teaming up with a group like Slant Six that has such a good reputation in the TPS field will let us make a really solid package,"Kawata concluded."The design and other aspects of the game are really coming together well in a unique fashion. It's still a little rough right now, but I wanted people to see it as quickly as we could. I think we'll have a much more complete package to show off around E3, so stay on the lookout for it."

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Xbox 360 Getting New Disc Format, Testers Wanted

Microsoft is currently seeking"multiple thousands"of testers for an Xbox 360 system update preview program. Unlike previous previews, which were for upgrades to the 360 dashboard, this one includes physical items being sent to participants -- it's intended to help Microsoft"prepare for an updated Xbox 360 disc format."

No further details were offered about exactly what the new format is all about. Things will be kicking off in the next two weeks, so those who apply should be receiving a notification by email fairly soon if they've been accepted. You must be an Xbox Live member located in the United States in order to participate; being an Xbox Live Gold member will give you a better chance of getting in.

Those who are accepted will receive a copy ofHalo Reach"along with other possible rewards."Interested Xbox 360 owners can apply for the preview programhere.

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3DS Launch Deals Guide

Going without a pre-order means you run the risk of not getting a 3DS system this Sunday. On the bright side, you do have the benefit of shopping around and trying to maximize your savings.

A number of retailers are offering bundles and discounts on games, and there isn't necessarily a single best offer. Provided you live in a state that doesn't pay tax on Amazon items, that looks like the cheapest way to go -- buying the system gets you $25 off a launch game, but you'll of course have to wait for it to ship next week. More impulsive types can head to Kmart and get $25 off a launch game with the purchase of a system, thoughthatdeal (like all in-store sales) is somewhat mitigated by the need to pay sales tax. The Toys R Us offer of buy one game, get 50% off a second seems like the way to go if you're looking to stock up on games as quickly as possible.

Besides the usual avenues for selling systems, like Amazon and GameStop (both of which are offering up to $100 for DS trade-ins, depending on the condition and model), several other stores will be getting in on the action, albeit with less enticing offers. Target is offering a gift card of up to $50, while Toys R Us will give you as much as $75. Walmart will offerup to $100like Amazon or GameStop, but only stores incertain stateswill be participating.

Read on for the full look at deals being offered on 3DS hardware and games.

Amazon

• Buy a 3DS system, get a$25 creditfor use on select 3DS games.
• Buy a 3DS system, get a freeaccessory.
• Buy a 3DS game, get a$10 creditfor use on a second 3DS game.

Best Buy

• Buy any two 3DS games, get a $10 gift card. (viaCAG)

GameStop

• 3DS Super Street Fighter IV bundle (includes hardware, game, and system pouch) with free 3-day shipping -- $299.97 (black,blue)
• 3DS Samurai Warriors Chronicles bundle (includes hardware, game, and system pouch) with free 3-day shipping -- $299.97 (black)
• 3DS Starter Bundle (includes 13-in-1 gamer pack with car charger, case, headphones, game cases, and more) -- $264.98 (black,blue)

Kmart

• Buy a 3DS system, get $25 off any launch game.

Sam's Club

• 3DS Pilotwings bundle (includes hardware, game, and starter kit with car charger, case, headphones, and more) -- $299.88 (black,blue)

Toys R Us

• Buy one 3DS game, get one 50% off.

Walmart

• Buy a 3DS system, get a freeflex case.

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Halloween, Scream Movie Studio Getting into Games

The film studio behindHalloween,Grindhouse, andScary Movieis getting into the games business, opening the door for new videogames based on its properties.

The Weinstein Company announced today the creation of TWC Games, a label formed with the help of videogame consultancy firm Beefy Media. The deal will help TWC Games to find developers and publishers to produce its new games which, from the sound of it, might have a focus on the digital side of the industry.

"The video game marketplace is changing at such a rapid rate,"said Weinstein co-chairman Bob Weinstein."With all of the digital platforms, there are so many opportunities to broaden our audience with compelling, high quality, cost-efficient, video game entertainment."

The Weinstein brothers co-founded Miramax Films in 1979, which would go on to distributeClerksandPulp Fictionbefore being sold to Disney. The duo then formed TWC in 2005. Some of TWC's properties are specifically mentioned in the announcement, includingScream,Hellraiser,Halloween,Scary Movie, andChildren of the Corn. With the exception ofScary Movie, the company clearly has a sizable stable of horror films to based its videogames on. Given the success ofDead SpaceandResident Evil, that could be a genre that TWC Games chooses to focus on. It's also possible the fact that primarily horror films were highlighted is simply a coincidence.

Were aHalloweengame made, it wouldn't be the first. There was an Atari 2600 gamereleasedin 1983 based on the original movie. And although its box art featured the same images as the movie's posters, the game itself was devoid of any further connection to the big-screen version, including character names. Some imagination was required to connect the game's knife-wielding antagonist to Michael Myers, who went unnamed in the manual.

"Mobile, social, and console platforms"are noted as the potential platforms for TWC Games, so it's at least claiming it won't exclusively focus on retail console releases or Facebook games. Beefy Media will"oversee all production aspects of the games."A post on Beefy'sblognotes,"{W}e have a bunch of products in development,"although you probably shouldn't count on hearing about the particulars anytime soon.

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This Bear Wants To Eat Your 3DS

Those shopping around for something to protect their new 3DSes might want to take a look atCTA Digital's 2in1 Padded Puppet Pouch, the only videogame console protective case I know of that also functions as a bear puppet.

One of the cool undocumented features is that the bear can lay down flat, making it a perfect bearskin rug for your action figures. You can recreate the sex scene from the end of Metal Gear Solid 3 using the 2in1 Padded Puppet Pouch and some imagination.

The 2in1 Padded Puppet Pouch is available right now for only $9.99 onAmazon, hurry before they're all sold out.

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New Resident Evil Makes You One of the Bad Guys

A new team-based Resident Evil game fromSOCOM: Confrontationdeveloper Slant Six wasrumoredlast year, and we now appear to have the first real details about the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 title.

EntitledResident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, the game puts players in the shoes of an Umbrella Security Services member tasked with killing both zombies and"pretty much every survivor possible,"according to the May issue ofOfficial Xbox Magazine(as reported byStickSkills). The game will take place in 1998, during the initial outbreak seen inResident Evil 2and3. That means you'll be seeing key characters like Leon Kennedy at various points throughout;"Kill Leon"was a recurring theme during OXM's demo, though another of the game's factions, US Spec Ops, could be asked to save him. In other words, Operation Raccoon City will allow you to"change the history of Resident Evil."

It will have a much darker tone than previous games (as if the zombies and devastation weren't dark already) and will feature four characters in the USS squad, which was inspired by Hunk from RE2. Combat won't simply consist of headshot after headshot -- you can do things to mix it up like luring zombies into attacking other enemy soldiers. You'll also earn experience points that can be cashed in for new abilities and weapons.

Although it's not mentioned in the details that have been released, the game seems to lend itself to multiplayer, which fits in with the original rumors that Slant Six was working on a multiplayer Resident Evil game. Between Operation Raccoon City being scheduled for this winter,RE6on thefast track,The Mercenaries 3Dcoming to 3DS, and theHD re-releasesofCode: Veronica XandRE4set for this fall, it looks like there won't be any shortage of content from the series, which is precisely what Capcomwants.

Source:VG247

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This Week in Retronauts: Game Boy Advance Turns 10

At the end oflast week's episodeof theRetronauts podcast, I mentioned that the next show would focus on the history of 3D gaming. It seemed like a good idea at the time, what with Nintendo's 3DS launching in just a few days. But I had completely forgotten thatthis Monday was the 10th anniversary of the Game Boy Advance's Japanese debut. That seems like a more interesting call-in topic (in the sense that more people have owned GBAs than have owned systems capable of 3D imaging), so it looks like we're changing gears:Episode 6 of Retronauts Live will be centered around your memories of the Game Boy Advance.

As usual, the number to call is415-547-8778(Kids! Ask your mom or dad to help you dial!). We'll be accepting calls Friday afternoon from4 to 4:30 p.m.Pacific time (which is, as you may well know,7 to 7:30 p.m.Eastern).

Chances are pretty good that you owned a GBA and had some fun times with it. Or bad times! Like when you inadvertently set fire to your hair by sitting too close to a lamp because otherwise the screen was impossible to see. We would like to hear about these experiences, and maybe about the skin grafts you had afterwards. So, call us Friday and take part in our next podcast! We couldn't do it without you. Well, we could, but it would be 30 minutes of awkward silence, which would really make for much of a show.

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Konami's Consumer Software Head Discusses His Company's Future

When Shinji Enomoto, operating officer at Konami and head of its consumer software section, talks about turning points for his company, one stands out pretty well above the others."We had a mission to make a title that could appeal globally, and I remember gathering up all the best talent within our company to tackle that,"he toldFamitsumagazine in an interview published this week."The resultingMetal Gear Solidseries has grown into one with massive fan support; it established the Hideo Kojima brand. It gave us the confidence that Konami could fend for itself on the global market."

It's that ability to fend for itself globally that Konami and Enomoto want to expand upon in the coming years, which has forced them to re-evaluate the Japanese game-development method extensively."A lot of game makers in Japan enter the business developing consumer games with tools they receive from the hardware manufacturers,"Enomoto said."Most creators in the US and Europe, meanwhile, start with PC games and move on to consoles with tools they've developed themselves. So in Japan, if a designer wants to check the motion he's just built, he needs to get a programmer to work on it, whereas with Western systems the designer can do all the checking himself and proceed along that way. If we had the same amount of time and personnel to create a game with, a Japanese team would need three-fourths of that time to make the graphics, where it'd be about half for an overseas team. That's a major difference in the amount of brush-up time you have, and Japanese companies are starting to pay attention to that as they streamline their development process."

NeverDead(above), the Rebellion-developed action project Konami first showed off at E3 last year, is part of that streamlining effort."The theme here is to see what would happen if you combined their more efficient technical knowledge with Japan's game-design powers,"Enomoto explained."We can really feel that happening as we work alongside them, and the result is that we can realize Japan's game-design skills at a much higher technical level. Bringing that know-how back to Japan at the end of it will help us change how game creation works at Konami."

What's next for the industry in general? A lot of pretty graphics, Enomoto says -- that, and a lot of cost."We'll see a new generation of hardware within five years of the NGP's release,"he said."I saw a demo of DirectX 11 at the Game Developers Conference earlier, and while there was just a little bit of uncanniness to it, the person on the display was in no way inferior to real life. I don't think we'll be able to tell the difference from real life at all within five years. By that point, we'll be talking 'interactive Hollywood films,' although just thinking about how much it'll cost to develop those games gives me the chills!"

To deal with those higher costs, Enomoto sees for-pay downloadable content as not only a nice bonus, but an indispensable part of a publisher's strategy."Making a game requires a vast amount of time and money,"he said,"but if that game gets bad reviews from gamers on the day of release, then that's essentially it for that title. Even if you want to reflect user criticism in your new game, that takes another vast amount of time and money. It's one thing if you're expecting the game to be a hit, but the risks of working with original property will make pay-based DLC an effective way to go, I think."

It seems to be the way the industry is going, and Enomoto's ready for it -- that, and for a final, ultimate end to the console wars."Eventually, I think net-based streaming services will take center stage,"he concluded."The servers will take the role of the hardware, so the concept of specialized hardware will go away -- and since the data's on the server side as well, you'll be able to play the same game on both your large-screen at home and your smartphone on the go. The net connection will allow the games to go social, too, and it's really an ideal environment for us."

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Portable Memories: 1UP's Staff Remembers Game Boy Advance

We're all looking forward to the launch of Nintendo 3DS this weekend, but the timing of the system is an interesting coincidence: It falls within a week of the Japanese debut of the system's"grandfather,"the Game Boy Advance. The 3DS is pretty clearly derived from the the DS, which was initially presented as an alternative to the Game Boy rather than a replacement. But Nintendo retired the GBA a couple of years ago, and it's pretty clear that the Game Boy line -- which kept the company in the black for a decade and a half -- has been retired, never again to see the light of day. The GBA, we're sorry to say, was the end of that particular family tree.

In retrospect, the GBA fits somewhat oddly into the history of Nintendo systems -- a fact reflected by its unusually short lifespan. The GBA was barely around for more than three years before the DS arrived; Nintendo's hand was likely forced by Sony's announcement of the PSP, which made the GBA -- essentially a portable Super NES -- look painfully dated. Nintendo kept the GBA on life support for a while longer with a few interesting games and the so-tiny-it-was-cool Game Boy Micro, but once it became clear that the DS was a hit, the GBA was dropped with a quickness.

When it launched in 2001, the GBA had been a long, long time coming. Rumors of a 32-bit portable Nintendo handheld were circulated as early as 1996, and in fact a prototype of that system --a huge, chunky box called Project Atlantis-- was shown off at Game Developers Conference 2009. The enduring popularity of the original 8-bit, four-color Game Boy (thanks largely to Pokémon) allowed Nintendo to hold off on launching the GBA until it could be produced cheaply and in a far more compact form. In fact, both the Game Boy Micro and folding Game Boy Advance SP represent two of the most compact portable systems ever made: small, sturdy, simple, and fun.

The SP also addressed the single most crippling flaw of the original Game Boy hardware: the screen lacked any sort of integral light and was, frankly, awful. In fact, the dimness of the screen wasmemorably lampooned by Penny Arcadeand, more famously, addressed by enterprising hardware hackers, who created an aftermarket mod called Portable Monopoly (later renamed Afterburner after the owners of the Monopoly board game bitched about trademark violations). And even the SP bungled things; Nintendo may have added a light, but they forced people to buy an adapter in order to use headphones.

But despite its design flaws, and even if it goes down in history as a sidenote -- a momentary distraction between the classic age of Game Boy and the blue ocean of DS -- it was crammed with great games. And perhaps more importantly, it's where Nintendo perfected its tricks. Annual incremental hardware updates? Yep, the SP opened the door for moderate tweaks and a far greater array of collectible colors than the company could possibly have dreamed in the Play It Loud days. Selling our memories back to us at a premium? Absolutely: the NES Classics series proved to Nintendo that it could rake in a fortune with imperfect ports of 20-year-old games sold for the cost of some new releases. Yeah, the GBA was quintessential Nintendo, for better or for worse. But considering it gave us games likeBoktai,Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow,WarioWare,Ninja Five-O,Mega Man Zero, and more... well, it's hard to be bitter, you know?

Here's what 1UP's staff has to say about the GBA:

Jobert Atienza, MyCheats Contractor:The Game Boy Advance was the first handheld gaming system I ever owned, and I bought it at a time when I was into things that looked retro. I purchased a GBA SP NES Edition off eBay just because I thought it looked cool, and though I was a late-comer to the GBA party, it had its benefits: there was already a great library of games available that I could choose from. The GBA introduced me to titles likeAdvance Warsand WarioWare: Mega Microgame$, and even re-introduced me to franchises likeCastlevania,Final Fantasy, andMetroid. To this day, I continue my own tradition of buying or making my handhelds look"retro."I bought a Famicom-style GBA Micro, and each iteration of the Nintendo DS I've owned I purchased an accompanying NES-style skin or cover so they can match that GBA SP on my shelf.

Frank Cifaldi, News and Features Editor:The GBA SP was the first portable system I wasn't embarrassed to be seen with in public, and it's still my favorite aesthetically. When I first started getting paid to write about games as a freelance writer, my main gig was to review GBA games, which I did enthusiastically from my favorite bar. I'm getting paid a lot more now than I was back then, but in many ways my career has gone downhill! Protip: if you playWarioWare Twisted!in a bar, everyone will like you.

Justin Haywald, Editor:Growing up, I never had the opportunity to play a handheld that wasn't from Nintendo. So while I might've been jealous of my friends with their high-powered Game Gears, I felt vindicated when Nintendo released their own high-powered handheld. I didn't actually lay down the money for one until the backlit, clamshell version came out (did you try playing it without a backlight? It's one of the few handhelds thatrequiresdirect sunlight glaring off the screen to see). I still keep that one around in my closet, since it's the most modern console that's still compatible with my regular Game Boy library.

Sam Kennedy, Editorial Director:Ah, the GBA, a platform that definitely holds a special place in my heart. While I never viewed it as significant as the original Game Boy or the radically different Nintendo DS that followed, the two things that really stick out in my mind about it today are the ergonomics and designs of different models -- I still think the flip-top version is one of the most comfortable handhelds ever, and the mini version (I'm proud to own the special edition Famicom design from Japan) is so handy to take with on trips -- and, of course, the games. Similar to how people view the Dreamcast as a true gamer's system, the GBA was all about fantastic"hardcore"games to me -- from 2D action games likeMetroid Fusion,Metroid: Zero Mission, and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, to terrific 2D platformers likeYoshi's Island. While I loved all of the new experiences its successor brought, I still regularly find myself going back to the GBA catalog.

Matt Leone, Senior Executive Editor:I remember importing a GBA because I wanted to playSuper Dodge Ball Advance, and I didn't feel like waiting three months for the U.S. release. Maybe it's not the funniest/quirkiest/most memorable story on this list, but I played that game for a couple days nonstop, then played very little else before the system's U.S. release. And thus began my attraction to shiny things that I then discard two days later.

Mike Nelson, MyCheats Editor:Since the system was (essentially) a portable Super Nintendo, and I have many fond memories associated with that console, every time I would play my GBA SP with the NES 8-bit styling I would get a flood of memories of my youth spent indoors during the summer months tolling away atA Link to the PastandSuper Mario World. So just playing the system itself is one of the best memories for me.

Thierry Nguyen, Executive Editor:The game that really made the GBA click for me was Advance Wars. Probably because at the time, I was working atComputer Gaming World, and it was somewhat ironic that perhaps the most elegant and playable turn-based strategy game was on Nintendo's new portable. While most gamers were gawking at how the system was a portable SNES, I and other PC gamers bought the system because it was basically a newPanzer Generalunderneath its anime aesthetic. That, and the other thing that I remember most about the GBA was how, working in media, Nintendo was insistent that the official initialism was"AGB,"but I guess enough people, both consumers and media, used"GBA"that Nintendo personnel quietly gave up sending emails asking us to shorten the system's name to"AGB."

Jose Otero, Editorial Intern:The GBA was amazing, even if Nintendo didn't add a backlit display until future iterations. I remember playingCastlevania: Circle of the Moonand spending hours under a hot lamp trying to finish the game. Sure, the incredibly dark graphics in that game almost hurt your eyes, but as a system the GBA was so compact, light and affordable that I didn't mind spending my money and time indoors instead of running around outside with my friends. Plus, the GBA gave us a pretty diverse software library with games like WarioWare, Metroid: Zero Mission, and even the e-reader, but the thing that stood out to me most was how Nintendo delivered on the promise of putting the power of an SNES in the palm of your hands.

Jeremy Parish, Executive Editor:I have fond memories of the GBA, but I also have a lot of really unhappy memories associated with it, too; much of my time with the system was concurrent with grim unemployment (or, at the very least,under-employment). I picked up an early import unit and a handful of games a few weeks before throwing caution to the wind and moving across the country in search of fortune and romance in New York City. Once NYC decided it was having none of that, my GBA kept me company through a few years of fruitless job-hunting elsewhere. Games likeWario Land 4,Mega Man Battle Network, and Metroid Fusion kept me going during lean times. When I landed a job at 1UP a couple of years later, I immediately poured my efforts into making sure GBA was well-represented on the site; I figured I owed the system for keeping me going when things looked rough. And so began my ongoing tradition of being the only person at 1UP who consistently takes portable games seriously.

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Mass Effect 2's Final Chapter Out on March 29

BioWare is all done slowlyleakingout screenshots for the latestMass Effect 2DLC and has officially announced Arrival, which will be out later this month.

This final mission for ME2 will bridge the stories of Mass Effect 2 and3. Shepard is tasked with rescuing an undercover agent missing in Batarian space who has information about a Reaper invasion. Executive producer Casey Hudson says Arrival"will show players just how close the Reapers are to returning and completing their deadly harvest."It includes new research, three Achievements/Trophies, and a prominent role for Admiral Hackett (voiced by Lance Henriksen ofAliensandMillenniumfame).

$6.99 (560 Microsoft/BioWare points) will be the asking price upon its release on March 29. Click through the pages below to see some screens from the new DLC.

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River City Ransom 2 is Finally Happening

A sequel to the classic beat-em-upRiver City Ransomis in the works at developer Miracle Kidz.

The new game will be out on unspecified consoles in Japan, where it's known asDowntown Nekketsu Monogatari 2, this summer. That will be followed by an online-enabled PC version in 2012. It's being worked on by some of the original team from Technos that made the first game along with certain 'core players' who are being brought in to help with development.

The original River City Ransom (pictured above) was released in 1989 for the Famicom before being localized for the NES in North America in 1990. For those who have never had the opportunity to play it, it's currently available on the Wii's Virtual Console. A Game Boy Advance version known asRiver City Ransom EXwas released in 2004.

There's no word yet on a release outside of Japan, but fans will undoubtedly be clamoring for it to be localized. (There's also no indication regarding a return offree smiles.)

Source:Andriasang

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The Near Future of PlayStation Home

If you're in Japan, Sony's PlayStation Home social-gaming network is chiefly about attending live events modeled after anime shows and the like. If you're in the US, it's mainly about creating an avatar and finding/purchasing dumb stuff (above) to equip it with -- something that hasn't really changed since the 2008 launch, despite the addition of features like voice chat, in-network game launching, and original titles likeSodium One.

The service has over two million registered accounts in Japan alone, but Masami Kando, head of the Home project for Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, isn't satisfied."The number of users is continually increasing every week, so two million is really just a milestone,"he told Japan'sFamitsumagazine in an interview published this week."I think it'll be a while still before we reach a fully-mature peak level, so to me, it doesn't say anything more besides 'Yep, we've sure broken two million users.' I don't think we've explained the attractions of PS Home to all the users yet, and I think we've got ample room to make the experience more fun."

Version 1.50 of PS Home,first announcedat the Game Developers Conference earlier this month, seeks to help the platform shed its"light time-killer"rap and become a more serious tool for gaming."Version 1.50 makes possible the sort of real gameplay that people would be willing to pay for, I think,"Kando said."I'd like to see publishers think of PS Home not just as a promotional platform, but one they can conduct their business more directly on as well -- we're thinking about ways we can support this. They could distribute demo versions of games for free, for example, then charge for the full version or for extra items. If you released it on PS Home worldwide, that allows you more opportunity for business. I want to build a new business model that isn't just about selling clothing and furniture."

Several projects along these lines are in the works, according to Kando, although he didn't give any specifics.

In the interview, Kando also noted that there are no plans to make a full-on port of PS Home to either the PSP or the upcoming NGP portable, although he'd like to see some sort of link-up functionality available for both systems. Kando's focus is more on the experience than the platform."On the short term, version 1.50 will hopefully allow PS Home to be better focused on gaming and attracting users via games,"he said."The next step is to ramp up the community aspect, establishing stronger links between gamers, game makers, and ourselves at SCE. PS Home has evolved as a community for SCE, and I'd like to feed the experience we've gained into new community projects for the NGP as well."

The first game titles to take advantage of version 1.50's new features will hit Home this summer, starting with free-to-play racerSodium Two. If Kando's vision turns out, PS Home will become a lot more exciting -- but still, he emphasized, a fundamentally free one for gamers."Certain items like furniture and clothing cost money,"he said,"but our stance is to keep the core experience free, and that won't change. However, we also want to respect the direction that other companies go {with Home}. There's the possibility of having more pay-based services in the future -- for example, the right to watch or participate in special events. Of course, this doesn't mean we will be removing any features of PS Home that contribute to the fun that users have."

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Sengoku Basara Returns to PSP

This week's issue ofFamitsumagazine brings word thatSengoku Basara, Capcom's action series that re-imagines Japan's Warring States period as a soldier-bashing action game starting the world's most handsome set of ancient warlords, is returning to the PSP.

Sengoku Basara: Chronicle Heroestakes the basic Basara formula and remakes it into a 2-on-2 team battle game, with co-op multiplayer available via the PSP's ad-hoc mode. Characters from all three Basara games released so far will be available for play in the game, but there won't be any new characters exclusive to this title, according to Capcom.

Gameplay details are still scant so far, but among the promises made is that Chronicle Heroes will feature"air battles,"which likely refers to mid-air attacks and other wire-fu type moves.

Famitsupegged Chronicle Heroes' Japan release for this summer, although that may change given that the print magazine's content was finalized before the current earthquake and tsunami crisis.

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Postcard from PAX: Tina Sanchez Thinks She's Michael Jackson

Tina may think she's Michael Jackson, but really all she's doing is playing the Kinect Version of The Michael Jackson Experience. Heck, she's not even wearing a glove. But we'll humor her delusions and let you decide on her worthiness as the next King of Pop with the following video:

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Cosplay Gallery from PAX East 2011

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Reward Your Avatar by Testing Xbox Live

Microsoft haskicked offa program today known as Xbox Live Labs that is intended to solicit data from users to help improve Live. It's completely optional, and those who opt to participate will be able to run network tests from their Xbox 360 systems between March 10 and March 27.

Beyond helping to make Xbox Live better, those who run the tests will be rewarded with Achievements (worth zero Gamerscore points, but it's still an Achievement!) and exclusive Avatar items. Among the items that will be available are a lab coat, brain helmet, and crazy mad scientist hair. In other words, it sounds like you'll be able to dress up as Doc fromBack to the Future.

You'll need to be located within the United States in order to take part. (Other regions will be considered in the future.) During the test, you won't be able to do anything involving Xbox Live, such as playing games or watching movies. If that doesn't scare you away, all you need to do is head to the 'Community' section of the Xbox Live dashboard and download the testing app for Xbox Live Labs.

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3DS Battery Life Problems Solved

There has been some concern about the battery life of the Nintendo 3DS: When playing a 3DS game, you're looking at only 3-5 hours of usage. Compared with the DS, which felt like it could go for ages without a charge, that's not much gaming time. Luckily, that's where Nyko comes in.

Coinciding with the release of the 3DS on March 27, Nyko will release the Power Pak+. It's a battery replacement that is said to double the battery life of the 3DS' standard battery. The price isn't terribly unreasonable, either; it'll cost only $19.99.

Following"shortly after"the 3DS will be the Nyko Charge Base, a charging platform designed for the Power Pak+ (one of which is included). It has an on/off switch and an LED light to indicate when the battery is done being charged. It will be only $10 more expensive than the Power Pak+ at $29.99.

Without being able to speak to the quality of either product, this could be incredibly handy for gamers who want to play 3DS games in 3D or watchNetflix, two things that are sure to wear down a battery very quickly.

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The First-Person Shooter with 1,000 Players

Most first-person shooters allow no more than 24-32 players in a single multiplayer session. There are exceptions -- some of theBattlefieldgames,Resistance 2, and, of course,MAG, with its 256-player limit -- but generally speaking the numbers are kept fairly low. Pikkotekk, a Swedish networking company, is looking to blow those figures away and set a world record by creating an FPS that supports up to 1,000 players in one game.

"About one year ago, we were talking with CCP and we came up with this idea that if we made a MMO FPS in Unity, the technical achievement would be of such magnitude that it would even impress random women in bars,"said Pikkotekk's Christian Lönnholm, according toRock, Paper, Shotgun.

The basic idea is to create a server backend that works similar to cell phone towers that overlap each other. A cell phone user never notices when their phone switches from tower to tower, and in that same vein, a series of servers would each be in control of a small area and would overlap with others to create one seamless environment.

Pikkotekk's explanation, in part, reads:"The Pikko architecture consists of Pikko Server and several cell servers working together. Players in an online multiplayer game connect to Pikko Server, which handles load balancing between the cell servers. The cell servers handle physics, game logic and more."More technical details can be readhere(PDF).

As one would expect, this game isn't going to look likeCrysis. The video above demonstrates a battle between tanks and robots, which looks to be what theworld record attemptwill be comprised of. It sounds like the public will be able to participate in the one-time-only event, but Pikkotekk has yet to announce all the details.

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Next-Gen Xbox Job Listings Posted

If you still didn't believe the claims that the current generation of consoles would last longer than previous ones, new evidence has surfaced that would suggest it's going to be several more years before we the successor to the Xbox 360.JobpostingsonLinkedInseeking candidates for engineering positions have been discovered which refer to Microsoft's"next generation console."

The listings,discoveredby a poster on the Beyond3D forums, are for positions in the Interactive Entertainment Business division, which the Xbox falls under. More specifically, they are looking to hire new members to the Xbox Console Architecture team."The team is responsible for defining and delivering next generation console architectures from conception through implementation,"one of the postings reads.

Beyond that, there's little informatino that's of interest unless you're looking to land a new job. What is noteworthy, however, is that it would seem Microsoft is fairly early in the planning stages on its follow-up to the Xbox 360. With pre-production taking place now, it seems unlikely that we'll be seeing Xbox 3/720/Revolution, or whatever it might be called, prior to late 2013, if it even comesthatsoon.

The Xbox 360 has been out for nearly five-and-a-half years now, having released in November 2005. Microsoft beat both Sony and Nintendo to market by about a year, and given how that extra time on the market -- Red Ring of Death aside -- helped to give the 360 a sales cushion over the PS3, it could look to recreate that by being the first out of the gate once again with the next generation of consoles.

Source:Eurogamer

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Fifth Resident Evil Film Coming September 2012

Yet another film based onResident Evilis in development. This will be the fifth film since 2002 to be based on the surival-horror videogame series.

Resident Evil: Afterlife, the most recent of the movies, made more than $236 million at the foreign box office, according toBox Office Mojo. That's far more than it made domestically after it was released in September 2010 -- it brought in just $60.1 million last year, although that was an improvement over the first three films.

The new movie doesn't have a title at this point, but Sony Pictures annouced today that it's scheduled for a September release, just like the second, third, and fourth films. It'll be out on September 14, 2012 and, as a movie releasing in this day and age, it will of course be in 3D.

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A Facebook Game That Could be Bigger than FarmVille

Zynga's line of Ville games (CityVille,FarmVille, and so on) are certainly among the most popular on Facebook. Later this year, there will be a new game that could topple them all, and one that will most certainly be demanding your attention from the 'Game Requests' inbox. Rovio has announced that it's working on a Facebook version of the iOS phenomenonAngry Birds.

Speaking toWiredUK, Rovio's Mikael Hed revealed that the Facebook version will feature"completely new aspects to it that just haven't been experienced in any other platform."In addition to that, the"collaborative nature"of Facebook will result in those dastardly pigs having"a more prominent role."

There are much bigger plans for Angry Birds than simply releasing it on Facebook andconsoles."We are building our infrastructure with Angry Birds,"explained Rovio Might Eagle Peter Vesterbacka."So we have the distribution, the marketing, everything in place, so that we can basically take any IP and drop it in. And we have the capability of producing the games on all the platforms -- smartphone, consoles, PCs, Mac, online, Facebook -- you name it. Then the TV, the movie side, it will happen when the time is right."

In addition to the other iterations that are in the works, a special tie-in version of Angry Birds for the animated filmRiowill bereleasinglater this month. Earlier this week at GDC, it was announced that the game is close to breaking the 100 million downloads mark.

Source:Develop

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GDC: Cave Story and the Triumph of Pragmatic Game Design

Cave Storycreator Daisuke Amaya, better known as Pixel, presented a post-mortem of his influential indie game this morning at the Game Developers Conference. In breaking down the five essential factors of game design, Amaya painted his work as a masterpiece of pragmatic design.

Working largely alone on the game over the course of four years, Amaya made practical decisions at every point which helped to shape the tone and direction of Cave Story. He arrived at the game's simple, retro style in part because of his love of classic games, but also because the minimalist look allowed him to develop a large volume of unique art on his own.

The design of protagonist Quote reflects much of the famous thinking behind Mario's original appearance: the character's large head and small body allows him to be expressive, with exaggerated actions and a sympathetic face. Contrast was an important factor in the visual design; as most backgrounds were dark -- the primary setting being those titular caves -- the hero stands out against the blackness with a bright red-and-white color palette, and his bare white arms stand out against the red of his shirt. Secondary characters were designed with similar considerations in mind: the rabbit-like mimigas' white faces likewise stand out, while human characters were dressed in white.

This also worked to help differentiate the game's stages: many of the stages feature moisture and foliage to evoke a sense of humidity, while the Egg Corridor's color scheme conveys warmth; meanwhile, the simple hints of sand and desert-like enemies in the Sand Corridor feel arid and oppressive.

Amaya feels that music, story, and atmosphere come together in games in a way that is at once memorable and unique from any other medium."In good experiences, people tend to fall in love with music they hear repeatedly,"he says. Thus effectively written game music can evoke memories and fondness from players in a way that other mediums can't duplicate.

Before demonstrating the beta version of Cave Story (in which enemies were based around a universal"bar of soap"design aesthetic and the Balrog character appeared multiple times throughout the game as a recurring boss named Poo), Amaya spoke to the importance of balancing level design to guide players without making them feel controlled."Many games have tutorial levels,"he said."But I don't like those."Instead, Amaya stressed the importance of organic level design that"lets players feel like they've solved problems on their own."Cave Story's first area reflects this philosophy; much like Nintendo's Metroid, from which it draws inspiration, players are given two paths, but one is obstructed and can only be navigated once you collect an item collected by exploring the other path. The weapon system also expresses Amaya's love of intuitive design; each weapon has its own advantage, a situation in which it works best, and players can only power up the guns by using them.

The beta version is interesting as well; many story and game elements were changed before Cave Story reached its final iteration. Perhaps the most interesting unique element of the beta is the ability to play portions of the adventure as a frog prince character capable of easily navigating water. With luck, Amaya will release footage of the beta game to the public to give a hint of what might have been. If nothing else, though,Cave Story 3Ddeveloper Nicalis has promised that certain elements of the beta will be integrated into the 3DS remake.

And those who find the game's bonus"Hell"stage too challenging can take some comfort in knowing that Amaya was unable to complete it himself upon revisiting it when recording footage for this presentation."It's OK,"he said."You don't have to finish this level!"

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Gears of War PS3 is Something Epic Would Love

Since its inception,Gears of War, much likeHalo, has been associated with Microsoft and the Xbox brand. But unlike Halo, the Gears IP isn't owned by Microsoft, it's owned by Epic Games. Speaking about the possibility of ever doing a Gears game for the PlayStation 3, Epic president Mike Capps explained it's something he'd"love"to do.

"Do we wish we could take all those Killzone {players} and Resistance fans on PS3, and get them to say 'Gears is awesome'? Yeah, sure I'd love to ship the Gears trilogy on PlayStation. That would be fun. I want to be there; I want to be everywhere,"he toldIndustryGamers.

That doesn't mean Epic is eager to abandon the exclusivity it's granted to Microsoft with past Gears titles. Capps said he doesn't"regret what we're doing"with them, noting that the platform holder has made it"worthwhile."

"Time and time again, when it came down to figure out what we do next with Gears, we sat down with Microsoft and they've given us really good, compelling reasons to work with them again,"he continued.

Many will jump to the conclusion that Microsoft is simply paying Epic a lot of money, but Capps explained that it's not all about getting a big check:"They don't just market it; they do amazing work and they have a user testing team that makes our games better, and so each time we've come to the point of 'what do we do next?' we've been happy to work with them. They help us make a better product and do some really cool marketing on the platform, so we save some money there."

Mass Effectseemed like a series that would remain a 360-exclusive, yetME2came out for PS3 earlier this year following Electronic Arts'acquisitionof BioWare. Epic is in the same position as EA to release games on any platform it wishes.Unreal Tournament 3andBulletstorm(co-developed with People Can Fly) were both PS3 titles, so it's not as if Epic has completely ignored the system in the past.

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Help Retronauts Catch 'Em All This Friday

It looks like the Retronauts podcast just might be back for good thanks to its new call-in format. Episodes 1 and 2 of Retronauts Live have been a huge success, so now we're branching out into things thatdon'tinvolve The Legend of Zelda. Unfortunately, we're not straying too far away just yet: this Friday's episode will focus on the history of Pokémon.

Too much Nintendo, too soon? Yeah, maybe. But come on; the series celebrated its 15th anniversary a few days ago, and the fifth generation (Black&White) are due for release on Sunday. Why, we'd be downrightirresponsiblenot to commemorate its history.

To that end, I'll be joined in the studio by resident pokey-nerds Justin Haywald and Kat Bailey to field your questions and thoughts about Game Freak's long-running monster-catching RPG juggernaut. Just please don't ask us to recite all 650+ monster names. We will hang up on you before you can blink.

Call us between 4 and 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time (7-7:30 p.m. Eastern) this Friday (March 4) at 415-547-8778 and discuss your fixation on collecting imaginary creatures and slaving over hot spreadsheets to perfect your EVs and IVs and... all that other obsessive Pokémon stuff that totally terrifies the unindoctrinated (such as me).

We'll be back from Penny Arcade Expo East in two weeks to talk about things that have no connection whatsoever to Nintendo.

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GDC 2011: How a Dishwasher Nearly Killed Shank

The photo above was taken during the development of Klei Entertainment's downloadable hit Shank, after a neighbor's dishwasher exploded and flooded the building. Luckily, every one of the team's computers survived, despite being submerged in water.

The photo was part of a talk by Klei's Jamie Cheng at Tuesday's Independent Games Summit, as was the slide above. As you can see, beating Shank on hard would make you kind of a badass.

Sent from my iPhone

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Satoru Iwata GDC Keynote Liveblog

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata will be delivering a keynote at this year's Game Developers Conference entitled"Videogames Turn 25: A Historical Perspective and Vision for the Future."

1UP will be liveblogging the entire keynote thisWednesday, March 2, at 9:00am Pacific, so join us then to see what he has to say about the evolution and future of the games industry.

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