Global Gamer News Network

GGNN is moving!!!!!

2008-08-27T02:13:37Z

So I have decided to close down this ole' LiveJournal. I will still be bringing the great stories and videos as I have always done, but now the website is more of a personal/business one. You can visit it here (http://anthonyvalva.wordpress.com/), and I hope you all come over with me during this transition. LiveJournal has been great to me. It got my writing start here and it helped me get the newspaper and radio jobs that I have now. Its just time to move onto a more professional site.

The Good and the Bad

2008-08-21T17:28:06Z

The Bad: The website didn't go through. Months of prep and programming have gone to waste. I will have to start all over.

The Good: My reporting hasn't gone away, nor will it ever. I want to apologize to everyone for leaving this blog out in the cold. But now that the website is dead, I will start up the stories for this LJ.

The only thing you need to see today is this.

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-31T19:56:00

2008-08-01T00:56:24Z

Blizzard's Next Game Could Be More Successful Than WoW

Blizzard's team doesn't care for the term "killer app," used to describe a program or product — in this case, a certain MMO — that single-handedly shaped the market around its platform. In fact, when we asked about World of Warcraft's unshakable hold on the massively multiplayer biz, game director Jeffrey Kaplan was humble.

"I don't believe that WoW is untouchable," he said. "I completely believe that a game could come out and be more successful than WoW. I'm hoping that we're working on it right now."

Designing and developing any MMO, Kaplan said, simply distills down to a series of choices. "I think a lot of other companies have had great opportunities to do what WoW has done... usually for whatever reason, they miss the mark."

"I actually feel really bad, a lot of times, when new MMOs come out and don't do really well, because I'm not thinking of it from a business perspective. I know what it's like to be a developer on a team that you believe in on a game that you just love, and for some reason, you don't get enough time, or someone makes a bad decision... everybody's making a lot of small choices, and when those go wrong, your game ends up not successful."

Diablo III lead designer Jay Wilson believes that one can really focus on one MMO at a time, because of the time demand. He said he played Age of Conan for a couple of months, played Lord of the Rings Online a lot, and still goes back to City of Heroes every now and then. He thinks the key to MMO success is "not making choices based upon being different, but making choices based upon what's good for your game."

"If there was an MMO out there that had a tone different from WoW but was executed as well, I actually think there could be a huge audience for that. When I get disappointed, it's because I don't see that level of execution."

Another key factor for global success, said Blizzard's associate PR manager Bob Colayco, is that it takes a lot of time to develop the infrastructure to support a global audience. Players in any country around the world can receive service and support on WoW in their native language and the localizations are meticulous, he said, which contributes to the retention of a broad userbase.

But will Blizzard's next project be the game that finally tops WoW's global success?

"I believe it can be," Kaplan said. "The same challenge is on us. Are we going to make the right decisions? I don't believe that just because we made WoW, we're guaranteed on the next MMO that we make to have the same success." He also said that at launch, WoW was not what it is today — it's taken the game a five to six-year development cycle, plus two years on Burning Crusade and a year and a half on Lich King. Similarly, StarCraft 2 is renowned, he said, for its "perfect game balance" — but it didn't launch that way, the team recalled.

"I really believe you're only as good as your last game. I really think you gave to prove it every time," said Kaplan.

And is the bar especially high for Blizzard? "Yeah, for sure."

Said Wilson, "The only thing we get for free is faith that we'll follow up on any problems. Anything else, we have to earn."

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-30T16:42:00

2008-07-30T21:42:17Z

DC, Capcom partner for Resident Evil, Devil May Cry comics

18 Comments by Jason Dobson Jul 30th 2008 2:00AM
Filed under: Culture, Business

Whether it's a fist in Batman's gullet or the opportunity for cosplayers to suit up without ever putting needle to thread, it's become increasingly clear that DC Comics has a thing for video games. The latest example of this comes from a deal between DC and Capcom, which will see a pair of new comic book series created based on Resident Evil and Devil May Cry.

The agreement is DC's second in as many weeks following last week's deal with EA for a six-part comic book series based on Mirror's Edge, and like that series, both Resident Evil and Devil May Cry adaptations will be released under DC's Wildstorm umbrella. However, with so little to go on, and a creative team and launch month left unspecified until a later date, we doubt we'll be adding either title to our monthly pull lists just yet.

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-30T16:42:00

2008-07-30T21:42:00Z

GTA: Chinatown Wars site hints at Nintendo WFC features

21 Comments by Randy Nelson Jul 30th 2008 4:00AM
Filed under: Nintendo DS, Action

Rockstar has created a placeholder site for the semi-recently announced Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars which may be giving away a little more than it had planned. Along with the usual DS logo branding and ERSB "RP" badge is ... the official Nintendo W-Fii Connection emblem. It certainly looks like it's intended to be there, but we won't know for certain whether the first GTA on Ninty's dual-screen handheld will have proper online play until Rockstar says something – and that could be a while. In the meantime, we can only wait and dream of setting Liberty City ablaze with other DS users over the internet.

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-30T16:40:00

2008-07-30T21:40:57Z

Nintendo Q109 results drown company in billions

159 Comments by Alexander Sliwinski Jul 30th 2008 11:45AM
Filed under: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Business

"It prints money" just isn't going to cut it anymore in conveying Nintendo's cash flow. The House of Mario announced today that in its first quarter the company brought in $993 million (+34%) in profit! Net sales were up 24% to $3.91 billion. The company sold 5.17 million Wii consoles globally (+50%) and 6.94 million DS units, which means the total lifetime sales of the units are 29.62 million and 77.54 million units for the Wii and DS, respectively.

In the software department, Mario Kart Wii drove away with 6.42 million units sold and Wii Fit continued its quest to save the Fat Princesses with 3.42 million units in people's homes -- more than likely collecting dust, along with the Bowflex and Thighmaster. Nintendo maintains its forecast of reaching a net profit of $3.04 billion and operating profit of $4.97 billion by the end of its fiscal year in March '09.

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-30T16:40:00

2008-07-30T21:39:57Z

HAWX grounded until 2009

9 Comments by Randy Nelson Jul 30th 2008 4:15PM
Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Simulations

Ubisoft has shot down plans to release Tom Clancy's ~~Ace Combat~~ HAWX in September. The flight combat game will instead take to the skies in early 2009, according to a report by CVG, which also states that no reason for the delay was given. Online retailers have updated to reflect the change, with GameStop listing the new date as January 6. This news comes just one day after Ubisoft announced a delay for its WWII-era FPS, Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway. That game, which had originally been slated for an August 29 on-sale date, will hit one month later on September 26.

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-30T16:39:00

2008-07-30T21:39:45Z

Ubi to release Armored Core for Answer in September

5 Comments by Jason Dobson Jul 30th 2008 5:15PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Simulations

Armored Core for Answer, the thirteenth title in From Software's giant mech love fest, is preparing to stomp onto North American shores later this year. Ubisoft is set to publish the laboriously-titled game, which will unload onto both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in September.

Armored Core for Answer follows 2007's Sega-published Armored Core 4, and promises to once more let players slip behind the controls of a giant modular war machine, with "epic" boss fights, "seamless" 2-player co-op and 7-player competitive modes promised as well. Much like most games that come out of Japan, Armored Core for Answer pits rebels against a malevolent megacorp with the fate of the world, not to mention precious customizable parts (130 new, 400 total), hanging in the balance.

Zero Punctuation: The E3 Trailer Park

2008-07-30T21:32:39Z

Tourettes Guy: UPDATE!

2008-07-29T18:15:16Z

I am currently in the process of constructing a REAL website for GGNN (ggnn-online.com). No more of this LiveJournal stuff. I should have it up and running by Aug. 8th. It will still provide all the great stories and information that you've come to love, but it will give it in a nice organized more professional setting.

I will also be starting up the GGNN podcast soon. I know John is already on board, but if anyone else wants to join in you are more then welcome to do so. I don't have a solid date on when the podcast will start because I still need some software and an extra mic. I also will be doing a 5 min. video podcast each week (just a little soapbox for me to rant about stuff), so stay tuned for that.

Not much going on in the industry today, just this one little story.

Crysis: Warhead

EA Looking To Market Crysis Ready PCs

Now here's an interesting tidbit that came out of Comic-Con this past weekend. Electronic Arts is looking at marketing a line of desktop PC systems to coincide with the release of Crysis Warhead, branded with the Crysis name. The reasoning? More people who don't regularly use a PC to game will pick up a PC branded with a game name simply for the assurance that the system will run the title. They are looking at providing multiple systems at a price tag between $600-$800 to coincide with how well the gamer wants the game to run.

This is a brilliant idea. I've always felt that PC manufacturers were missing out by not marketing directly to gamers. I'm not talking high-end, higher-priced dedicated gaming systems here. Just a PC with a sticker on it that lists the games it will run out of the box - kind of like how console packaging shows popular titles available on that system. I wish EA the best of luck. Perhaps they'll start a trend!

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-28T12:07:00

2008-07-28T17:12:23Z

Resident Evil: Degeneration

2008-07-26T05:32:46Z

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-25T11:58:00

2008-07-25T16:58:42Z

Legendary Pictures co-financing "Gears of War" movie

As Dave McNary reports in tomorrow's Daily Variety, Legendary Pictures has come on board New Line's "Gears of War" movie to co-finance and co-produce.

Sound like boring Hollywood inside baseball? It is, in a sense. But it's also good news for fans who want the "Gears" movie to see the light of day and not end up another "Halo."

Legendary co-finances a lot of the biggest movies at Warner Bros., including a little film that came out recently called "The Dark Knight." Though it's no guarantee, Legendary doesn't tend to sign onto tentative, early development projects. And in fact, its agreeing to split the budget with New Line (which recently became a label within Warner Bros.) makes it much more likely that "Gears of War" will actually get made.

Thomas Tull, the head of Legendary, is not only a film guy, but also the co-founder of Brash Entertainment and very into videogames. Besides "Dark Knight," they have also co-financed "Superman Returns" and "Batman Begins" and are adapating a property you might have heard of called "World of Warcraft." They know how to make movies aimed at the geek gamer crowd.

As we previously reported, Len Wiseman, who directed the fairly awesome "Live Free or Die Hard," is attached to direct "Gears." With a director and a co-financier, there's a lot of momentum behind the "Gears of War" movie now. If all keeps going well, I wouldn't be surprised to see it in theaters in 2010 (perhaps around the same time as a "Gears of War 3?").

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-25T11:57:00

2008-07-25T16:57:27Z

Stan Lee Says Sometimes Games Look Better Than Movies

Let's jump right in. Here's Spider-Man creator Stan Lee talking about video games at Comic Con:

When you talk about games evolving over the years and becoming more like movies, in many ways, they've gone beyond movies," he said. "To do a movie is difficult, but it's linear. There's a beginning, a middle and an end, and that's it — you write a story.

In a videogame, you're writing many stories within the story. It's a totally different structure and a totally different philosophy of writing and, I think, a much, much more difficult one. I get the feeling more work goes into these videogames than even goes into the movies.

I marvel at the fact the games look as good, and in some cases better, as the most expensive movies. [Those] guys are just geniuses. Now you watch one of these games and it's like watching the greatest superhero movie, except you're part of it. It's indescribable.

Yep, Stan Lee is awesome. But we knew that.

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-25T11:56:00

2008-07-25T16:56:15Z

Peter Moore - Bring The Gamers Back To E3

Sega US boss Simon Jeffery wasn't the only big name in the industry who felt that this year's E3 Expo lacked a certain livelihood. Former Microsoft tattoo bearer and current EA Sports head man Peter Moore says that last week's event was "soulless and lacking an epicenter". All is not lost though. In a post on his official blog late last night, Moore assures us that the problems can be fixed, and that getting the fans involved is the key.

We’re confident that we can work with the ESA to make this right. There are important meetings ahead that we think will be substantive and be productive in finding the right path forward.
Let’s invite the community. With the right planning, involving our biggest fans in E3 would bring back some of the raw passion the event has lost.

A stance sure to be popular with fans, but how to make it work without hampering access to the publishers for members of the press? I suppose it could be solved by keeping the meeting rooms we had this year, and adding a centralized show floor where the publishers can set up their fancy kiosks. Gamers can access the show floor proper, press still has easy access to their private showings and meetings, and in case we need a little fan reaction to the new games we've got an absolute sea of people to pull aside and give the old man-on-the-street treatment.

It sounds like a winning combination to me, though frankly it sounds like several of the other game conventions that have sprouted up during the decline of E3 over the past few years. Bring the life back to the show without making it just another show - now that's the challenge.

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-24T21:58:00

2008-07-25T02:58:52Z

Bungie: E3 announcement cut 'no laughing matter'

20 Comments by Randy Nelson Jul 24th 2008 10:00PM
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

It's a case of "he said, he said" in the latest chapter of Bungiegate. This time around, the news centers on a comment made by Xbox senior VP Don Mattrick regarding Bungie president Harold Ryan's reaction to being told his company's new Halo game announcement was being struck from Microsoft's pre-E3 media briefing.

According to Eurogamer, the site was told by Mattrick during the show that Ryan had "just laughed" and said "We agree" upon receiving the news. Ryan recalls the conversation quite differently. ""Keeping things clean, I certainly didn't agree with the decision to delay our news until sometime after E3," he told Eurogamer today, adding, "Bungie is always concerned first and foremost with our fans. Whenever we are prevented from exceeding their positive expectations it is not a laughing matter." Oh snap. Begun, these Halo Wars have.

Zero Punctuation: Age of Conan

2008-07-23T22:10:48Z

Angry Video Game Nerd: Batman Part I

2008-07-23T03:28:44Z

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-22T00:21:00

2008-07-22T05:22:00Z

Required Reading

Gears Of War Novels Get New Author

How very odd. Back in January we reported that Steven L. Kent, author of the Clone series and The Ultimate History Of Video Games would be penning a series of novels based on Gears of War, but now Del Rey has announced an entirely different sort of clone author for the series. Karen Traviss, who wrote the excellent Star Wars: Republic Commando series of novels. No offense to Mr. Kent, but my excitement level just kicked up a notch.

“Playing Gears of War is a kick-ass experience,” said Del Rey editor Keith Clayton, “And the Gears of War books should remain true to the spirit of the game. I’m happy to announce that the marriage of Karen Traviss and chainsaw bayonets is a match made in heaven—or hell, if you happen to be a Locust drone.”

The first novel, Gears of War: The Battle Of Aspho Fields will go on sale October 28th, exploring the relationship between Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. Let's just hope there's no kissing involved.

Phil Spencer and Shane Kim Talk Halo

2008-07-22T05:21:30Z

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-22T00:17:00

2008-07-22T05:20:26Z

The Force Unleashed: Epic Moments And Mindless Slaughter

Along with the cartoony yet curiously compelling Clone Wars and the innovative Fracture that is hovering at the very edge of my interest, LucasArts presented one more game at E3 2008, and this one is truly going to be epic. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a game I have been secretly drooling over since it was first announced, from both a technical perspective as well as the story standpoint. Sure, die hard Star Wars fans complain about continuity, but what else is Vader going to do during the gap between movies? Kick back and eat some Hot Pockets? Sure, but that only takes like five to ten minutes.

Between the LucasArts presentation of the game and my brief hands-on, I walked away feeling confident that this could not only be one of the most exciting Star Wars video games of all time, it could very well provide moments more epic than anything we saw in the three prequel films.

One particular moment had me believing in the Star Wars franchise all over again. The story opens with Vader hunting down a surviving Jedi hiding out on the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk. He finds the cowering Jedi, but as he prepares to strike him down his lightsaber flies out of his hand, into the hands of a small child. There is a moment right then...Vader looming over this small boy, defiantly holding a weapon against one of the most powerful beings in the universe...it gave me chills. Nice chills.

From then on the story revolves around this secret apprentice, whose powers can only grow. He walks into a room filled with Rebels and Imperials, and everybody dies. He's a secret, you see? You see him, you've pretty much signed your death warrant. His is, for all intents and purposes, a Force ninja.

Despite the recent spoiler-filled trailer, there will still be plenty of surprises in The Force Unleashed for fans of the Star Wars films, from returning characters from the prequels to all-new characters never seen before in the Star Wars universe. During a brief bit of game involving a fight with a massive rancor a dark-haired male character flashed by the screen, and the gentleman presenting the game quickly blurt out "Who's that!?" before telling us we'd have to play the game to find out. I have my suspicions though.

As for the gameplay itself? While I didn't get to try out the Wii version with it's lightsaber controls, I did spend a bit of time with the Xbox 360 version in which our hero (anti-hero? villain?) wanders into a fight between Rebel and Imperial forces in a Tie Fighter factory, and carnage ensued. Force powers tossed enemies about like rag dolls as they desperately tried to save themselves from my wrath. While I longed for some of the powers I had been shown during the presentation, the potential was certainly there. The only problem I really had was overconfidence - I felt like such a bad ass that I wound up dying horribly. Should probably have channeled all of that confidence into hate or something. Whoops.

The graphics are nice and clean, but of course the physics are the real star here. The Digital Molecular Matter technology really shines in conjunction with NaturalMotion's Euphoria and Havok physics. I notice a few issues, such as trees that seem to break as if they were planks of wood instead of living plants, but for the most part it does the job quite nicely.

While LucasArts' Fracture gives you control over the forces of nature, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed makes *you* the force of nature. It could very well surpass Republic Commando as my favorite Star Wars game of all time, and it's really hard to top Sev and crew.

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-22T00:17:00

2008-07-22T05:17:27Z

Portal: Still Alive Is Portal + Free PC Map Pack?

Portal: Still Alive was announced during E3 last week. It bundles the original Portal with some "additional content", and it's due for release on XBLA. And ever since, PC owners have been complaining, wondering why 360 owners are getting new stuff while they're not. Well, according to former Shacknews boss Chris Remo, the "additional content" isn't necessarily "new content", as he says the bonus maps are those found in Portal: The Flash Version MapPack. Which PC owners can already get. For free.

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-22T00:16:00

2008-07-22T05:16:54Z

Jimi Hendrix joins Guitar Hero World Tour

58 Comments by James Ransom-Wiley Jul 21st 2008 4:20PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

Activision today (officially) scored a major player for Team Guitar Hero (take that Rock Band!), landing Jimi Hendrix, who will make his posthumous "video game debut" in Guitar Hero World Tour. Hendrix will feature as a playable character in the game, and two master tracks from the fire-casting rock star will ship on the game disc:

"Purple Haze (Live)" (recorded in 1969 at the San Diego Sports Arena)
"The Wind Cries Mary"

Additionally, Activision has announced plans to release more, unnamed Hendrix tracks as downloadable content. Seeing as how Rolling Stone has named Hendrix the "Greatest Guitarist Evar," it's about time we're able to honor his ineffable talent with five multi-colored buttons. So what's a guy like Jimi cost, Activision?

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-22T00:16:00

2008-07-22T05:16:40Z

Show of hands: Left 4 Dead box art gets a thumbs off

36 Comments by Randy Nelson Jul 21st 2008 5:50PM
Filed under: PC, Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters, Online

Valve's Doug Lombardi just shot us an email containing the final box art for ... wait, what was it again? Something about "Left" and "Dead." Ah, that's right! It's Left 4 Dead. Thanks, Mangled Hand! What would we have done without you? It's a shame you won't be able to grace the cover of the sequel, though. Perhaps your brother could ... unless he's let all that money he got from the Dead Space cover shoot go to his ~~head~~ thumb.

g_g_n_n @ 2008-07-22T00:15:00

2008-07-22T05:15:55Z

Mahalo Daily talks arcade games with Wiebe, Walter Day, Joystiq

6 Comments by Christopher Grant Jul 22nd 2008 12:30AM
Filed under: Culture

Not content to sit idly by while we party in their headquarters, the crew of Mahalo Daily was busy filming an episode of their daily video podcast while the Blueberry Muffintops rocked out in the background.

But, as luck would have it, another video game event was happening just down the street in Santa Monica, where would-be King of Kong Steve Wiebe was attempting to reclaim the high-scoring King Kong title. Mahalo Daily checked in on favorite arcade games at both events; keep your eyes peeled for totally super celebrity guest sightings like Wiebe, Walter Day, and Rosco "Totally Joking About Q*Bert" Miller.