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Atari announced NY Comic Con Line-up

Posted by: Chuck at 2/15/2007 8:03 PM - Comments (0)
More On: Atari
Those attending the New York Comic Con later this month will be able to check out four new Atari titles.  Atari will be showing off Godzilla:Unleashed, Bullet Witch, and Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai:Another Road. I'm interested to see what people think of Bullet Witch as I was intrigued by the game at Atari's spotlight event last year and I know they've made a few improvements since the game was released in Japan.  If you're in New York and get a chance to swing by the Atari booth drop us a note and let us know what you think.


NEW YORK COMIC CON 2007 LINE-UP

 

Never-Before-Seen Godzilla®: Unleashed, Bullet Witch™, and Dragon Ball Z® Shin Budokai™: Another Road to Appear Publicly for First Time

 

NEW YORK, NY, February 15, 2007 – Atari, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATAR), one of the world’s most recognized brands and leading third-party video game publisher, today announced the Company’s participation in the second annual New York Comic Con 2007.  The hotly anticipated Godzilla®: Unleashed for Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ system, Bullet Witch™ for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, as well as Dragon Ball Z® Shin Budokai™: Another Road for the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system will be available on kiosks throughout on the show floor at this year’s event, February 23 – 25, 2007, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

 

“Comic Con is a natural environment for Atari to showcase several of the Company’s upcoming games, especially those titles that lend themselves to the anime and popular culture worlds, “ said Nique Fajors, vice president of marketing and sales, Atari, Inc.  “While Godzilla: Unleashed, Bullet Witch and DBZ Shin Budokai: Another Road offer different gameplay features, storylines and visual flair, all three share a common bond of Japanese art and influence - a bond that has been extremely prevalent in comics and other popular art forms.”

 

The ultimate Goliath in fighting monster games, Godzilla: Unleashed will tear its way onto Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system in fall 2007. 

 

Bullet Witch, a neo-apocalyptic action adventure game, takes place in a world where magic and massive fire-power unite on a next-generation platform.  The advanced physics and creative graphics allow for intense environmental damage and incredibly innovative monsters. Fearsome weaponry and impressive spells are used to fight demons and supernatural monsters designed by one of Japan’s most prominent creative talents, making Bullet Witch a distinctive game where Japanese fantasy and American action blend.  Bullet Witch is scheduled to ship to stores in North America on February 27th for the Xbox 360 and will be available for a suggested retail price of $49.99.

 

Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai: Another Road takes the intense wireless multiplayer battles and thrilling combative gameplay made popular in last year’s hit and adds an improved fighting system with over 50 new fighting skills and ultimate attacks and will send players into a completely new story arc following the future world of Trunks on his adventures against rival Majin Buu.  Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai: Another Road is slated to release in March 20, 2007 for the PSP® system.

 

All three Atari games will be shown within the Jacob Javits Center in New York City for the duration of New York Comic Con 2007.  Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai: Another Road will be shown at Room 1E03, Bullet Witch will be shown in the Lobby Booth and Godzilla®: Unleashed will be shown at Classic Media Booth, # 765.

 

For additional information on Atari’s entire product line-up please visit http://www.atari.com.

 

About Atari

New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is a third-party publisher of interactive entertainment software in the U.S.  The Company’s 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining franchises such as The Matrix™ (Enter The Matrix and The Matrix: Path of Neo) and Test Drive®; and mass-market and children’s franchises such Dragon Ball Z®.  Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext – ISIN: FR-0000052573), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe.  For more information, visit www.atari.com.

 

Safe Harbor Statement

With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain certain "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. Some of the factors which could cause our results to differ materially include the following: the loss of key customers, such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, and GameStop; delays in product development and related product release schedules; inability to secure capital; adapting to the rapidly changing industry technology, including new console technology; maintaining relationships with leading independent video game software developers; maintaining or acquiring licenses to intellectual property; fluctuations in the Company's quarterly net revenues and results of operations based on the seasonality of our industry; the termination or modification of our agreements with hardware manufacturers; and other factors described in our SEC filings.

The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations

Spore getting 1 star reviews on Amazon because of DRM mostly

by: John - posted: 9/8/2008 2:40 PM - Comments (0)
While reviews have been OK for Spore, the game's getting a hammering on Amazon for the way they implement DRM. You can only install the game 3 times, then you'll have to call up EA and ask for another install after wards. Ars also has a nice little article on the situation. The game's been in development for a long, long time and guys like Will Wright deserve your support. But, seeing the game being railed on because of the DRM must be pretty tough. We went through something like this for BioShock as well.

The game was out on pirate sites days before release and it seems that all DRM is doing these days is hindering legitimate customers and not preventing piracy at all. Is it time for publishers to abandon this archaic practice of trying to protect their games by DRM? It might have worked many moons ago but things have changed and it doesn't seem any of these tactics are working in preventing the game from becoming freely available before the official release.

My quick take is, offer the game at a more reasonable price on the PC and don't use these complex copy protection programs. Don't treat your customers like they are criminals. Don't limit them on how many machines they can install on in their own home.  Know that your game's going to get pirated no matter what but change your practice to maximize the profits. You might be surprised at how many people do purchase your software if you make a good quality product and don't hamper it by over the top copy protection schemes that doesn't prevent copying at all.

Classic Gaming Trivia for 9/8/08

by: John - posted: 9/8/2008 1:09 PM - Comments (0)
Ok, now that I have some things taken care of we should be back to regularly scheduled trivia. The last trivia was the horrendous Time Traveler. I tried it a few times in the arcade and just gave up because it didn't really look that good and played horribly. I mean check out the bad acting.


Today's game was one I played at home a lot back in the early days because there wasn't a good hockey game for the system.

EA pushes Harry Potter game to next year

by: Chuck - posted: 9/8/2008 12:43 PM - Comments (0)
One of the fun things about movie tie in games is that you're always tied to the release date of the movie.  Normally that's not a problem but when Warner Brothers moved the release of the new Harry Potter movie to next year it forced EA to decide between releasing the game when it was ready (this year) and lose out on all the hype around the game or ship it with the movie and defer all the income generated from the game until 2009.

It looks like EA has decided to push the game back and now Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (i.e. the one where you know who kills that one guy) will hit stores when the movie is released next year.  I don't know if this means they'll continue development of the game until the movie is released or just sit on copies of the game until next year but it's probably for the best.  [READ MORE]

Gaming Gibs for 9/8/2008

by: Chuck - posted: 9/8/2008 12:31 PM - Comments (0)
Here are a few things I missed while learning to differentiate my Spocks:
  • Spore won't work on Macbooks made before 2007, take that Mac guy
  • Stephen Colbert latest person to shoot their DNA into space, this promotion is still a bit on the creepy side
  • Home impressions posted, still a lot of bare cupboards online
  • Check out the Rock Band 2 cymbals in their new ad, doesn't look too bad
  • Force Unleashed still not coming to the PC, may not be a bad thing as early reviews have not been kind
  • Chainsaw coming to Castle Crashers, hopefully a patch soon as well
  • Will Wright knows which side of the bread his toast is buttered
  • Chatpad hacked to work with the PSP, have to wonder if new Sony keyboard will do the same

Metallica Death Magnetic album hits GH III via DLC this week

by: Dan - posted: 9/8/2008 12:25 PM - Comments (0)
Pop in your Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock disk this Friday to download Metallica's Death Magnetic Album the same day it hits retailers. The album will feature two exclusive Guitar Hero versions of "Suicide & Redemption" (extended solos). In addition, the entire Death Magnetic album will be forward compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour when it launches later this fall at no additional charge. Death Magnetic will cost 1440 Microsoft Points for the Xbox 360 or $17.99 for the Playstation 3. [READ MORE]

Wiikly wiileases wiivealed

by: Chuck - posted: 9/8/2008 12:24 PM - Comments (0)
Another week, another trio of releases for Nintendo owners to think about purchasing.  This week's WiiWare title is Groovin' Blocks (800 points), a new music game that will punish those of us with no inner rhythm.  Retro fans are getting two TurboGrafx16 games with Cho Aniki(900 points ) and Final Soldier(700 points) now available on the service.   

Be sure to check back on Friday for Cyril's take on the games.  Until then here's the trailer for Groovin' Blocks
[READ MORE]

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Demo on Marketplace

by: Dan - posted: 9/8/2008 12:24 PM - Comments (0)
Those that know me are familiar with my distaste for Demos of games that have been released for weeks or months. And that is exactly what we are getting today from Activision, as they unleashed a demo for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith on Xbox Live Marketplace. We recently reviewed the game and gave it a mediocre C-, but if you really want to decide for yourself, then feel free to download and play the included songs “Sweet Emotion”, “Dream On”, “Walk this Way” and “I Hate Myself For Loving You”. Much like a movie trailer for a comedy that includes all the funny scenes, that's about it as far as recognizable songs go.

Spring Cleaning continues for Xbox Live Arcade

by: Dan - posted: 9/8/2008 12:10 PM - Comments (0)
 Another week of stuff for Xbox Live Arcade that was stuck in the back of the closet, as RocketBowl (800 pts), Samurai Shodown 2 (400 pts), Shotest Shogi (800 Pts), Buku Sudoku Puzzle Pack (200 pts) and N+ Levelpack (200 pts) will hit the service this Wednesday at 5:00 a.m. EST. That's a lot of stuff with some high point values to be throwing our way all at once. Check out all the details on the next page.... [READ MORE]

Dead Space banned in three countries

by: Chuck - posted: 9/7/2008 6:30 PM - Comments (2)
Despite what GamePolitics thinks, it looks like Dead Space has been banned in China, Germany, and Japan according to the game's official blog.  Germany isn't too much of a surprise but China and Japan are.  It does look like the gruesomeness of the game combined with the "would be suicides" are what pushed the game into the land of the banned.  Sucks for them as the game is looking to be one of the better games of the year.

Notes from the NHL 2K9 press call

by: Chuck - posted: 9/7/2008 3:50 PM - Comments (0)
For those too lazy to listen to Dan’s recording of the NHL 2K9 press call last week with Ben Bishop (Producer) and Jay Iwahashi (Online Producer) here my notes from the call:
-Virtual Concepts is replacing Kush this year
    -Felt like the first opportunity to rebuild the franchise, game had been extending old content for a while, chance to replace a lot of old code

-Fresh perspective to the game, try to bring the fun back to the game, The controls are really the focus, want people to be able to pick up and play right away
    -Lot of modern games are getting too complex, focus is on fun and making it easy to play
    -Old code base thrown out, completely re-worked
    -Simplified controls so that pass, shoot, check are all you need to know

-Zamboni and playoff beards coming to the game, along with custom Stanley cup celebrations
    -Can skate around the ice with the cup, can skate around, raise, kiss, and pass the cup to a teammate

-Some presentation content ported in from NBA 2K9 team, cross team sharing of resources
    -Game summary replays
        -Save and replay – make your own highlight reels
        -View all hits, goals, etc after game

-Should be a much different experience than last year
-Not concerned with being the underdog, the fans are the hardest audience to please
-Differences from NHL 09
    -Only Wii hockey game this year
    -Easier control scheme – bringing the fun back
    -Feels that the games are on a different path

-Had some issues with the Wii port, went from the 360 to the Wii
    -Trying to find memory and get the graphics to work

-Can switch between control schemes, can used advanced if you want to
    -Hybrid scheme
    -Pro-stick evolution – more focused on using right stick for shooting
    -Scheme from 2K8 not in the game
    -Cannot customize controls

More on the online modes and other changes after the break.

Here's the final teaser video for the game
[READ MORE]

Mount & Blade goes Gold

by: Elliot - posted: 9/7/2008 2:46 PM - Comments (0)
Get your saddles and riding boots all cleaned up because Mount & Blade for the PC just went gold. Look for the game online plus on store shelves September 16th for North America and September 19th for Europe. More information after the jump. [READ MORE]

New DS color launches today

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 9/7/2008 1:35 PM - Comments (0)
September 7th marks the release of the Metallic Silver DS Lite, so if you still don't have Nintendo's strangely popular portable this is another excuse to finally get one.  The silver DS joins a host of other colors already on the market, including a very limited edition gold Legend of Zelda DS.  I can imagine the lucky collectors with that piece of swag are comparing their DS bling to the new silver model.  Personally, I'll stick with my jet black DS, at least until Trauma Center makes me wear out the touch screen. [READ MORE]

New Puzzle Quest website launches

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 9/7/2008 1:30 PM - Comments (0)
D3 Publisher is gearing up to release the latest game in their popular Puzzle Quest series, Galactrix.  To get the fans excited and keep them informed, D3 has relaunched the Puzzle Quest website.  There is now comprehensive info for all the games in the series and preview material for Galactrix as well.  There is also a section dedicated to strategies for the XBLA expansion pack.  It's nice to see D3 supporting their fan base this much, and I know I'm looking forward to the new release even more. [READ MORE]

Dean Takahashi details the RROD problem

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 3:55 PM - Comments (0)
Dean Takahashi has published a long, in depth article that details the reasons behind the RROD problem that caused so many Xbox 360's to fail.  It's a long read (6 pages) but it's worth it just to get a look inside what went on and why there are so many defects.  There's some new information but the core reason of why the device failed was because Microsoft rushed it to market to beat Sony, even though they knew there were problems with the Xbox 360 when it shipped. 

While it certainly makes Microsoft look bad it's worth noting that the strategy seems to have worked as Microsoft is currently leading the PS3 right now.   The real question now is will people still line up to buy the next Microsoft gaming system when it comes out or will they wait until Microsoft fixes all the issues (real or perceived). 

Sierra demonstrates l33t Gin Rummy skills in new video

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 1:19 PM - Comments (2)
Gin Rummy was released on Xbox Live last week and the folks at Sierra have put together a little video showing off some tips and tricks for how to play the game.  Personally I'm not much of a card game guy (no guns, not enough explosions) but the video does provide some sound strategies for the game if you're into that kind of thing.

What we're playing this weekend

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 12:21 PM - Comments (0)
Ben Berry
Seeing as my fiance already downloaded it, I am going to give Pirates of the Caribbean Online a try. A little Rock Band will probably be mixed in as i anxiously await the two NHL titles due on Tuesday.

Elliot Bonnie
Not much time for gaming this weekend, but what time I do have will be spent blowing up stuff in Mercenaries 2.

Dave Gamble
I'm reliving the Summer Olympics with Summer Athletics for the Wii.  Between events, I'm racing Dodge Vipers around famous European race tracks with Simbin's new racer, GTR Evolution.

Charles Husemann
It's going to be a quiet weekend of gaming for me as I get revved up for Spore and the NHL games next week.  I'm hoping to get in a little more Pixel Junk Eden this weekend and maybe a little Rock Band.

Randy Kalista
There are over 3.3 million creatures and vehicles uploaded into Spore's online Sporepedia.  I wish I was kidding.  I'm entirely too lazy to sift through all that player-created content to find just the right creations to import into my own world.  So I'll be spending a little more time with the Spore Creature Creator myself.  Plus, on Sunday, I'll try and help everyone crash the GOG.com server by rushing in for a download of Fallout 2.

Dan Keener
Looks like I can get my 360 back from Sean Cahill, so that means I can finally download Castle Crashers and the Rock Band Rush masters.  Toss in some more Oblivion, and time to do some serious testing with the Polk Audio iSonic.

Matt Mirkovich
I've gone back to Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on the Nintendo DS. I've also picked up Infinite Undiscovery for the 360. It's RPG-mayhem at my place as I've also got Disgaea 3, and the Tales of Vesperia limited edition begging to be played. I've also got to get practiced up for my Forza Racing League, our final race is Monday and I'm looking to finish in solid 5th.

Nathan Murray
I have been playing Gutiar Hero III in preparation for the festivities this friday. I will be bringing my nifty new phone that has a 2 megapixel camera and an expandable memory card slot. What does that mean? That means recorded mayhem that will show up on my blog later this week mwah ha ha. Anyway I'll probably be playing more Call of Duty 4 this weekend. remember user name frophey is your ticket to a quick death.

Tyler Sager
I'll be waiting for the gathering gaming storm scheduled to arrive later this month, so I'll just be fiddling around with some old titles.  I've been playing a bit of Half-Life 2 and Portal lately, along with some strategy favorites. 

Eva Sines
After I get through canning crabapple jelly and crabapple butter, I hope to get in some solid time leveling my hunter on Silverlode in Lord of the Rings Online.  We'll also be playing D&D 4.0 Sunday evening.

GamingNexus writer appears on Game on! podcast (it's not Chuck)

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 9:16 AM - Comments (0)
Our own Eva Sines has graced the Game On! podcast with her presence this week to talk about MMO's and other gaming goodies.  Normally that's my role but Eva does have a special relationship with one of the hosts of the show.  Good stuff and well worth the listen.

Give me FUEL, give me fire, give me the screenshots I desire

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 9:08 AM - Comments (1)
Here are five pre-alpha screenshots from Codemaster's upcoming off-road racing game FUEL.  Codemasters has been on a bit of a tear with their racing games lately as last year's GRID was excellent.  I do wonder why they insist on capitalizing the name of the game though.
[READ MORE]

News Roundup: Skate Things On Wheels

by: Randy - posted: 9/6/2008 3:13 AM - Comments (0)
DEMOS, PATCHES
VIDEOS
SCREENSHOTS
ARTICLES Thanks to 3DXtreme, AtomicGamer, Cryptic Studios, TheTechLounge, Legit Reviews, Digit-Life, Techgage, and Tweaknews for today's News Roundup.

Several ESPN shows now taking a page from new EA Sports Virtual Playbook

by: Randy - posted: 9/6/2008 2:58 AM - Comments (0)
In a convergence of video game graphics and ESPN television, EA Sports Virtual Playbook launched today and will integrate into ESPN's Monday Night Countdown, NFL Live shows, and will debut this Sunday, September 7th, on Sunday NFL Countdown.  "EA Sports Virtual Playbook is born out of our deep football heritage at EA Sports and our drive to expand the impact of our innovative sports technologies beyond gaming," said Peter "F*** You, Yuji Naka" Moore.  And, not to get lazy, but I'll let the EA press release try and explain what's going on, in typically-convoluted EA language:
EA Sports Virtual Playbook is created using feeds from in-studio real-world cameras as well as an in-game camera that captures EA Sports in-game graphics depicting real game scenarios.  The real-world studio and game images of virtual characters are combined to create the effect of "augmented reality" -- virtual players appearing in the studio alongside real life hosts and analysts.  Both real and virtual people are able to move realistically around the studio set to demonstrate plays and scenarios.  The system accommodates, and in fact is controlled by, the multiple real-world cameras that are typical in today's sports analysis television programs.
Essentially, the aforementioned programs will use the EA Sports Virtual Playbook to analyze game matchups, demonstrate offensive and defensive schemes, and highlight mismatches. [READ MORE]

Rock Band DLC for next Week is All that Remains

by: Dan - posted: 9/5/2008 9:05 PM - Comments (0)
Well, Harmonix announced in their forums today that we will be getting another week of speed metal crap at a discounted price. Hopefully Harmonix is just cleaning out the coffers prior to releasing Rock Band 2 later this month when some real songs will start to show up.  For those that care, the All that Remains 3-pack will be 80 pts each or 240 for the pack for the first month (What...no discount!?!)

ALL THAT REMAINS 3 PACK - $2.99 (240 Microsoft Points) 

THIS CALLING - $.99 (80 Microsoft Points)
CHIRON $.99 (80 Microsoft Points)
TWO WEEKS $.99 (80 Microsoft Points)

Origins '08 late but still great interview: D20 Pro

by: Nathan - posted: 9/5/2008 7:10 PM - Comments (0)
What is D20 Pro? It is one of the greatest examples I have ever seen of the evolution and blending of traditional table top game with the interactive software experience. D20 Pro is software that gives players the ability to play Dungeons and Dragons or similar D20 (a specific type of table top game) games on a virtual game board. The software doesn't just look good but this very functional and can be a very powerful tool for any Game Master. The greatest advantage though of using D20 Pro is the ability to play online with anyone over a secure line making table top gaming possible from across the country. Now that's what I call progression. Check out the software at D20Pro.com
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Chronicles of Spellborn Music Featured in Black Symphony DVD

by: Eva - posted: 9/5/2008 6:01 PM -