The fourth annual Games for Health Conference will be showcasing the expanding role of video games in the Health profession. Video game technology is being applied in the field for rehabilitation, training and to encourage exercise.
Some highlights of the conference will be familiar to most gamers. A new version of Activision’s Guitar Hero is being introduced, which will be used in the rehabilitation of arm amputees. The results of studies based on the “Corrupted Blood Syndrome” form Blizzard’s World of Warcraft are also being presented.
Attendees will have the chance to play training games like 3DiTeams and the K.I.C.K. (Kid’s Interactive Creation Kiosk). 3DiTeams offers emergency health care training to medical professionals in virtual worlds. The full press release follows the break.
When Mad Catz announced it would be producing a line of Arsenal Football Club branded peripherals, it wasn’t hard to predict more of the like would follow. The latest team to sign up is Manchester United Football Club.
“Manchester United is one of the world’s most popular and historic sports teams, with millions of dedicated fans worldwide, and we look forward to providing retailers and customers across Europe with entertaining accessories that bring the excitement of Manchester United to the gaming experience of its fans,” said Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz. “The addition of the Manchester United brand further strengthens and diversifies our growing portfolio of high-profile licenses and allows Mad Catz to continue building on its success and product penetration in key European markets.”
Manchester United fans can expect to see videogame controllers, faceplates, Console Skinz™ and carrying cases featuring the Red Devil for the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, PSP, DS Lite, and Wii gaming consoles.
Looks like Tony Hawk is taking a break from the game business for a little while. Activision recently confirmed that there is no Tony Hawk game set for release in 2008, making this the first year without a Hawk game on consoles since the first one came out in 1999. Well, there will be one coming out for the DS sometime this year, but that doesn’t really count — though Activision is saying that it will “utilizes new technology not yet seen on the DS.” The publisher claims that the extra development time will be used for “reinventing Tony Hawk from the ground up.” We should see a new Hawk game in fiscal year 2010, which begins in April 2009 for Activision.
Oh no. No new Tony Hawk game in 2008? That’s…just…terrible…you know, I can’t even fake disappointment here. It took me hours to wash out the stink that Proving Ground left in my 360, and it still kind of lingers there a little. Sometimes there just isn’t enough Febreze.
They may have launched a teaser site for Quantum of Solace recently, but the one thing that Activision failed to mention about the game was that it will run on the same engine as CoD4.
While sitting here at my computer listening to the boring audio from the conference call - and wishing I had Irished up my coffee just to make it through the thing, I heard this interesting tidbit after the news that the game would launch the same day as the movie.
According to Chief Executive Officer of Publishing Mike Griffith, Quantum of Solace, “uses the Call of Duty 4 engine and technology to bring Bond games to a new level.” Since the game will be released onto multiple platforms, it will be interesting to see how it will differ from port to port. CoD4 was not released for the Wii, so I imagine (correct me if I am wrong) that either they will have to tweak things a bit or use a different engine for the Nintendo Console. Plus, a myraid of developers will be creating the game for different versions. Treyarch (Xbox 360 and PS3 developers), Vicarious Visions (handheld developer), Beenox (confirmed as the developer for the Wii) and Eurocom (PC devlopers.)
What this means, is that like most multiplatform games, you can expect each one to look drastically different from the next. Unless of course you are looking at PC/PS3/360 comparisons, which mainly just differ in matters of clarity - or so I have found. Of course, this could be because I added a bit of whiskey to my espresso earlier.
For more information on the Activision conference call, check out all the posts related to this bevy of information by hitting this link.
Apparently Microsoft will give Banjo-Kazooie 3fans what they have been wanting come Gamer’s Day. Microsoft UK confirmed to Videogaming247 this morning that assets will be released on Tuesday, May 13 at 8am PST - which is noon for those of us close to the Eastern Seaboard, stuck in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains, or fighting off mosquitoes in the Mississippi Delta.
Not only will Banjo-Kazooie 3 (working title) assets be shown, but a plethora of other Xbox 360 related goodies will be released as well, so please be sure and look us up four days from now.
We have known for quite some time that Activision has planned to release Guitar Hero IV sometime close to the holiday shopping extravaganza, but during their conference call yesterday they confirmed that it will be made available for all three major consoles plus the PS2 and DS. Still, that is no surprise.
What is surprising though, slightly at least, is that this yet unnamed title will provide what Activison calls a “significant leap forward in innovation” for not only the franchise but for music simulation gaming as a whole. Could this be the extra instruments they have been talking about recently? Who knows at this point, but during the call it was stated that information would be forthcoming soon.
As far as new concerning Guitar Hero: On Tour for the DS, Activision announced that the company and Nintendo are planning to release a bundle which will include a Nintendo DS, Guitar Hero: On Tour and the DS peripheral. Also, an add-on pack of new music will be released for Guitar Hero: On Tour sometime this year but contents, release date, and price was not given.
Stay tuned for more information on the ever growing assortment of Guitar Hero titles. I am sure Guitar Hero: Fergie is next somewhere down the line. God I hope not.
Thanks: Videogaming247 (here and here)
EA confirmed through a press release this morning that the demo for Battlefield: Bad Company will be available on PSN and XBL on June 5. Players will land on the battlefield as part of the ‘B’ or Bad Company, a wayward band of soldiers more interested in the pursuit of gold and personal financial gain than following the rules. Gamers will get a sneak peek at how tactical destruction changes the way shooters are played, both offline and online in the single player and multiplayer demo.Players can also gain early access to the demo by pre-ordering the game through participating retailers in North America and Europe. More details on this special pre-order campaign can be found here.
Players who missed their opportunity to participate in the closed beta will get a second chance to experience the multiplayer Gold Rush mode on the Oasis map while the single player portion starts gamers at the beginning of their ‘B’ company career. The single player portion of the demo sets the stage for players as they’re introduced to the humorous and sometimes irreverent set of characters that make up the ‘B’ company. As gamers embark on their quest for gold, they’ll gain access to numerous vehicles, weapons and open maps as well as tactical destruction.
Battlefield: Bad Company is slated to hit stores on June 25th in North America and June 27th in Europe for the PS3 and Xbox 360. For more information, check out our previous posts.
Via: Press Release
Codemasters has secured the exclusive video game rights to Formula One in a worldwide licensing agreement with Formula One Administration Ltd. In turn, the developer/publisher will create a new generation of the multi-million selling Formula One game franchise across multiple consoles, handhelds and PC.
Here are some “gushing” quotes pulled from the press release:
“FORMULA 1 is ambitious in expanding its reach with more circuits planned beyond recent additions in the Middle East and China. It is also ambitious in expanding its reach via technology. The digital communities that computer and video gaming creates will play a key role in further growing the FORMULA 1 audience and connecting them globally,” said Rod Cousens, chief executive officer, Codemasters.
“As a world-leading creator of driving games, this alliance with FORMULA 1 is the jewel in Codemasters’ racing crown and creates an undisputed segment champion. FORMULA 1 has gone with the best, the segment leader. It has gone to the home of the EGO Engine for quality; it has gone to the company that can host FORMULA 1 Online, to the company that is streaking away from the pack.”
“Codemasters’ success and recent innovations in the racing game space makes the company more than appropriately tuned for the challenge,” said Chris Deering, chairman, Codemasters.“The combination of FORMULA 1’s new momentum of expansion and Codemasters’ contemporary technology and past experience is the breaking of a new dawn for the sport, on the track and on the HD game screen.”
This deal will provide Codemasters with rights to feature all Grand Prix circuits, Formula One teams, cars, and driver likenesses. In addition, the FIA Formula One World Championship games will be developed using the evolution of the EGO Game Technology Engine, Codemasters’ cross-platform middleware technology. The EGO Engine is currently being deployed in the creation of Race Driver: GRID, the latest in Codemasters Studio’s international circuit-based racing series which will be released on May 30th.
The first FIA Formula One World Championship game is set to launch in 2009.
Criterion Games announced this morning that the popular driving game Burnout Paradise is being rebuilt specifically for the PC. Burnout Paradise will be the first Burnout title ever made for the PC, customized with expanded multiplayer, enhanced online features, and community driven content.
Originally released for the PS3 and Xbox 360, Burnout Paradise has won over 55 awards worldwide and delivers an open-world environment built for speed, excitement and exploration and boasts a nice transition from single-player offline to online gameplay. The PC version will combine all the open world racing, speed and action of the original game with additional new gameplay.
Want to know more? Then tune into a live webcast on the Criterion Games website at 8:00 AM PST on Friday, May 9th for more details on this announcement.
Ever since Midway announced the next Mortal Kombat title with MK Vs. DC, new media for the game has been somewhat scrarce. Now though, we can at least get a peek at what Scorpion will look like in the upcoming game. As you can see, not too much has been changed about his basic appearance, though his costume has undergone a slight makeover. Of course, there’s not much Midway could do to the guy that wouldn’t result in him looking like a badass.
No, I’m not ready to let go of Grand Theft Auto going-ons yet.
MTV Multiplayer compiled a list of eight glaring inaccuracies between GTA IV’s Liberty City and the real world New York City. As someone who is close but doesn’t frequent NYC, I really wouldn’t have had these things occur to me in the course of playing the game.
We are not a car town: No sensible New Yorker uses a car as their primary means of transportation in the city, unless — maybe — they commute from the suburbs. Car ownership doesn’t make much sense. There are never any parking spots. Parking garages are prohibitively expensive. And, most importantly, the subway is a faster, cheaper and more efficient means of transportation. We don’t drive here. Niko, to be a real New Yorker, should rely on the subway. But what would he be left to grandly thieve?
We have lots of two-story tour buses:GTA IV includes sports cars, sedans, taxis, limos, garbage trucks, police cruisers, buses, motorcycles and more. But where are the red double-decker tour buses? This a drastic oversight. Every major thoroughfare in Manhattan has a roofless double-decker bus from Big Apple Tours or some other company. These buses are used to show visitors the sights. A guide stands on the top level with a mic in hand, pointing stuff out. Hey, Rockstar, if there was one signature New York City vehicle I wanted to commandeer right off a short pier in Liberty City, this was it. You let me down.
We eat bagels: Have I missed something or is it not possible to eat a bagel in Grand Theft Auto IV’s Liberty City? Niko can eat burgers, hot dogs and go to diners. But bagels? The most famous New York City food? Never fear, visitors to our town, we have bagels that can be eaten and enjoyed, whether Liberty City acknowledges it or not. Burgers? Waste of time. You can eat them in any town.
Okay, he’s nitpicking, but it’s still fun to find out where Liberty City falls short of being a true virtual representation of NYC.
The unfortunate people who have had to send their Xbox 360 in for repairs have likely run into issues with DRM (digital rights management). If your DRM licenses weren’t moved, you’ll have to be logged into Live to access things like your Xbox Live Arcade games, downloaded TV shows, etc. There’s now a way to restore your licenses manually, so that anyone on the console can access the content — whether or not you’re signed into Live.
Prepare yourself, though, because it’s not going to be very easy.
Sign in to Xbox Live with the gamer profile that originally downloaded the content.
Go to Xbox Live Marketplace and select Account Management, Download History.
Select an item and then select Download Again.
Repeat step 5 for each item in your download history.
It’s straightforward, don’t get me wrong, but if you own a lot of content, you’re going to spend a LOT of time trying to re-download all of it. Fast internet or not, you’re still going to have to deal with keeping an eye on your downloads so you can queue up more. That’s not going to be pretty.
This is far from a perfect solution, but it is, at least, a solution.
Both Microsoft and Game|Life have each compiled interesting lists focused on numbers surrounding the release of Grand Theft Auto IV. So if either numbers or GTA isn’t your thing, you should probably just move on.
According to Microsoft’s US team:
Actual MS sales data from last week shows Xbox 360 console sales at retail went up 54% week-over-week as a result of GTA’s success
According to retailers more than 60% of all GTA games sold in the first week were the Xbox 360 version
Retailers are telling us that the game is attaching strongly to new console sales, with roughly 40% of new consoles selling with a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV
As for Xbox Live:
In the first week, more than 2.3 million people played Grand Theft Auto IV on Xbox Live
GTA IV is now the number one played game on Xbox Live
Over the weekend, we saw the Xbox Live service reach 1 million concurrent users
Gamers have unlocked more than 12 million achievements worth over 100 million gamerscore points in GTA
Grand Theft Auto IV set a new record for time played, with the average gamer spending more than four hours playing the game on Live in the first week alone
And some of the random facts Game|Life has compiled:
Damages sought by Take-Two after GTA IV ads were pulled from Chicago buses: $300,000
Steps included in official fix for PlayStation 3 issues: 12
Current Metacritic rating: 99
Restraining orders filed against the game: 1
The numbers don’t really lie, so it’s fun to take a look at them and try to crunch some of these numbers. And to think, the game’s only been out for a little over a week.
The first Assault Heroes game featured some huge screen-filling bosses that could challenge even the more skilled player. From the looks of these new videos, the sequel will also contain its share of strange, gigantic bosses to destroy. Sierra has just unveiled two new videos for the game that reveal most of the bosses you can expect to try and take down when the game is released next week on the XBLA. You can watch the second video, which shows off even more bosses for the upcoming game, after the break.
When Mortal Kombat Vs. DC was first announced, a lot of people went, “Whoa, that’s awesome!” Then they sat down, though about it for awhile, and went, “Wait…that’s ridiculous.” But what outraged people the most was when it was revealed the developers were aiming for a “T for Teen” rating, indicating that they would be abandoning the series’ signature “Fatalities” this time around. Recently, GameTap sat down to discuss these issues and more with Ed Boon, the creator of Mortal Kombat. At one point, Boon vaguely explained how Fatalities will still have a presence in the game:
“There was never any statement on our part that fatalities will be gone or that finishing moves will be gone. We did acknowledge that we won’t be able to do the same kinds of outrageous moves, like tearing someone’s head off and the spine being attached to it. But there are a lot of assumptions that there will be no blood in the game, that there are no fatalities in the game. It’s an assumption that, because the DC characters will be in there, those features will have to be dropped. My response is that, no, we’re modifying fatalities. But I have every intention to keep finishers. You know, to let gamers do a really cool secret button combination and follow with a really outrageous finishing move to end the match. The names of these moves, and the level of violence we use, are to be determined. But it’s certainly not a feature we plan on eliminating from the series.
…I certainly can’t speak with authority as to what DC will permit. There will certainly be some limitations. But my intention is that we want to push the envelope of a T-rated game as far as we can without being an M-rated game.”
He also went on to give some hints as to how they plan to make sense of these two universes colliding. Read the full article
I didn’t read into Realtime Worlds’ decision to buy back the rights to All Points Bulletin; it simply sounded like they wanted to have full control over the game, which I imagine is something many developers would like. But a tasty rumor has surfaced that seems too good to be true — Eurogamer has been told by what they refer to as a “credible industry source” that the reason Realtime Worlds bought back the rights to APB was so they could try to sell it to Rockstar as GTA Online.
Realtime Worlds, the developer of Crackdown, has pretty strong ties to Rockstar. It was founded by David Jones, who was formerly the founder of DMA Design, which you might recognize as the former name of the developer now known as Rockstar North, which of course developed Grand Theft Auto. Funny the way things work out, isn’t it?
When contacted, Realtime Worlds claimed they had never heard of this rumor and claimed that they reacquired the rights to APB only to “give themselves some options.” The spokesperson explained, “One of which is to launch it and support it themselves, and the other one is to look for another partner; someone else who may well be interested and have the infrastructure [to support it].”
Rockstar has yet to issue any comment on the rumor, but it’s unlikely they’ll give anything more than a classy “no comment.” We do know Rockstar is interested in a GTA MMO, so the pieces certainly seem to fit together. APB looks pretty awesome, so if that turned into GTA Online, you wouldn’t hear a complaint out of me.
Project Gotham Racing has always been published by Microsoft and developed by Bizarre Creations, who was also responsible for Geometry Wars. When Bizarre was acquired by Activision this past September, the recently released PGR4’s future — as well as that of the series’ — became unclear. We’ve seen some installments of downloadable content since then, including a new game mode and a variety of cars. But a post on Bizarre’s forums has revealed that we won’t be seeing anymore DLC for PGR4, or at least not from Bizarre.
Sorry but you won’t see any more PGR4 DLC from Bizarre Creations. We’ve handed over the reigns to Microsoft now. It’s possible that they may create some more content in the future, but we haven’t heard of anything in the pipeline I’m afraid.
It’s rather disappointing to see support cut off so soon, but don’t underestimate Microsoft’s interest in trying to get a few more dollars out of PGR4’s DLC scene.
Ninja Gaiden 2 is all over the news recently, especially since the fervor for GTA IV is (thankfully) starting to die down a bit. This highly anticipated game is looking pretty awesome, and the trailers I posted earlier can attest to that. However, these screenshots are nothing short of bloody awesome - and the lovely red blood flying about against Ryu’s black ninja suit as he decapitates monsters just makes me want to play the game all the more.
We have plenty more screens for your viewing pleasure over on FileFront, which span the months since the first screen trickled onto the internet. To check them all out, click here.
Over at the University of Michigan, some neuropsychologists have conducted a study that shows how mental exercise can make you smarter. Ok, but how does this apply to games? According to them, the more you play and the harder you play it, the “more smarter you’ll git”. Yes, I stated it that way intentionally.
During the study, participants were shown a computer screen with square patterns and if the pattern matched the same pattern that the participant was shown two squares earlier, they were suppose to hit a button with one hand while listening to letters being transcribed over a set of headphones. Just like the squares, id the said letter matched the one said two letters earlier, the participant would then hit a button with the opposite hand. One hand for letters and one for squares - basic multitasking I would think. The longer the game was played the longer the intervals - which means more squares and letters over time.
The study revealed to the neuropsychologists that 20 minutes of daily training over a period of time led to “significantly increased IQ vs. a control group”, and the “longer people played the game, the higher their IQ got”.
While this may sound a lot more boring than Brain Age, Christopher Null over on the Yahoo Tech Blogs has listed a few games that sound a lot less boring than the one the participants in the study were forced to endure. Null has listed five titles that will ” help you improve logical thinking, reaction time, and coordination”.
Here is the list pulled directly from his blog:
Lumosity (Web): This browser-based game offers about a dozen mini-games, each designed to help with one area of cognition, including memory, processing speed, attention span, and “cognitive control.” Many games are surprisingly similar in design to the one in the Michigan study and some present a real challenge. ($9.95 a month, pictured)
Brain Challenge (Xbox Live Arcade): Similar to Lumosity, this used to be a cell phone game that was ported to the Xbox. A series of mini-games asks you what comes next in a sequence of graphic designs, count items quickly, do basic math questions, and more. 30 types of rapid-fire games are available, and your progress is tracked by the game over time. (800 points)
Rocky & Bullwinkle (Xbox Live Arcade): No, I wouldn’t have expected a game based on a hapless cartoon duo to be good for the brain, but this set of WarioWare-like micro games are great for those looking to boost reaction time and improve eye-hand coordination. Nothing here is too complex (quick: click the correct button in the next 2 seconds!), but it’s all good for working on the “twitch” reflex. (800 points)
Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship (PSP): This challenging board game comes to the PSP, offering a grid in which you have to place your Tetris-like pieces in such a way that they touch only on their corners. It really works on your pattern recognition skills and gets exceptionally tough when playing with a group of four. ($20)
Wild Earth: African Safari (Wii): No, it’s not a brain game at all, but really little kids won’t be able to manage the controls and strategies of most of the above titles. Still they shouldn’t be left out of the fun. Wild Earth isn’t exactly the most thrilling title on the market, but youngsters will enjoy looking at the animals on this virtual photo hunt while learning the names of all the beasts of the wild. Good for very small minds. ($30)
I guess this means that the more LotRO I play the denser I get. Oh well, at least I am in ignorant bliss.
A spokesperson over on the Fable 2 forums named Sam, who also works for the Lion Head Studios site according to his profile, has given people itching for new information on Fable 2 something to be be gagging over until next week. Why next week you ask? Because that is when an announcement will take place regarding the hyped but not really hyped sequel to the mediocre first installment in the series.
According to Sam:
“A lot is happening. If you are anxious to find out something new about Fable 2, I suggest you make sure you’ve got access to the internet, next week! Yes we are planning something (quite) big-ish.”
Whatever this “big-ish” news is we will be sure to let you know about it the moment we find out. Hopefully this time it will not involve more gambling and hookers. Although that would make Bender a very happy robot indeed.
Looks like Tony Hawk is taking a break from the game business for a little while. Activision recently confirmed that there is no Tony Hawk game set for release in 2008, making this the first year without a Hawk game on consoles since the first one came out in 1999. Well, there will be one coming out for the DS sometime this year, but that doesn’t really count — though Activision is saying that it will “utilizes new technology not yet seen on the DS.” The publisher claims that the extra development time will be used for “reinventing Tony Hawk from the ground up.” We should see a new Hawk game in fiscal year 2010, which begins in April 2009 for Activision.
Apparently Microsoft will give 
Codemasters has secured the exclusive video game rights to Formula One in a worldwide licensing agreement with Formula One Administration Ltd. In turn, the developer/publisher will create a new generation of the multi-million selling Formula One game franchise across multiple consoles, handhelds and PC.
