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Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines fans have put out another unofficial patch for Troika’s favorite bit of the World of Darkness. Patch 5.3 restores the Jeanette scene for females and tweaks the new stealth rules among other things. The patch is available in two flavors as always. You can patch from 5.2-5.3 or from the vanilla official patch. You can grab them both on FileFront. The official unofficial patch notes follow the break.

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Earlier this month, we learned that both Activision and Vivendi had left the Entertainment Software Association. Shortly after that, we learned that several other developers wouldn’t be attending the ESA-sponsored E3, although they would remain members of the ESA. Now GamePolitics suspects that LucasArts might be the next company to leave the company.

Dennis over at GP noticed that the company is no longer listed on the ESA’s website. However, there’s been no confirmation from either side, with an ESA rep saying he would “look into that.”

Odds are, though, that this isn’t a coincidence and LucasArts will be added to the list of ex-ESA members. If that’s the case, one has to wonder what the future holds for the ESA and how much more it’s going to take for them to try and fix the situation.

While Nintendo might be trying to get the indie developer crowd’s attention, mainstream developers have been taking advantage of WiiWare, too. Next Gen spoke with a few developers to see what they thought of the young platform and how it stacks up with the competition.

Why did you choose to develop the game for WiiWare rather than Xbox Live Arcade or PlayStation Network?

David Braben, founder of Frontier: It was the way that you control the wind that was important and the control of the Wii was absolutely defined by that. We didn’t immediately think, ‘ah yes, it’s a WiiWare game,’ but we did think ‘oh, it’s a Wii game.’ There are games that use two Wii controls, where you have button combinations across the Wiimote and the Nunchuck, and that’s something that feels quite uncomfortable in my opinion. Then there are games that use the Wiimote purely as a pointer and don’t use the Nunchuck at all, but what we’re doing is subtly different in the sense that you’ve got one character controlled by the Wiimote, which is the wind, and the other where you’re directly controlling the character talking, and so it feels very natural to have the two controllers separated.

From a development point of view WiiWare is great. It means we can take bigger risks, we can experiment with new control mechanisms at less financial and commercial risk and I think that’s a fantastic thing.

Dave Grossman, Telltale Games design director: I do think that the Wii lends itself in particular to the kind of idea based gameplay that we do although ultimately I think we’d like it to be on all of the downloadable channels. The interface is meant to be very, very simple. You don’t need tons and tons of buttons but if you have something you can just point with that’s just great, so it was kind of an easier mindset for us to be on the Wii then perhaps on the other platforms, but obviously our games are meant to be simple and have a broad appeal and would probably be good on any of the downloadable channels.

Bill Swartz, Mastiff: The Wiimote was the killer, period. Does Xbox have a Wiimote? Honestly, we wanted to do a Wii game, we wanted to do a WiiWare game, that was really very much in the front of our minds, and we wanted to do something with a license attached. Tony Hawk was already taken. No seriously, I really didn’t want to go out there and just make up some random sport by myself, you know, let’s do a Marble Madness rip-off because no one’s done one for six months. That was really what we didn’t want to do. We wanted to do something with a license attached but the last thing I wanted to do was try to be a mini EA or a mini Activision or a mini Ubisoft because we’d get creamed. So we were looking for a sort of minor but cool license that had some value that would let us use the controls in a unique way and ideally something that hadn’t been done before. No one has done an eating game - well, at least an eating game like ours, and it has the advantage because it is so hand to mouth and that is a really neat way to use a Wii control.

I wonder what would happen if the 360 really did get its own Wiimote rip off. You can see more about what they had to say over at Next Gen.

Activision is taking a cue from Rock Band and will be including vocal, bass and drums in Guitar Hero IV. Joystiq has pics of the drum kit prototype for the game from the latest issue of Game Informer. The kit comes close to a midi compatible professional drum kit. It features a bass pedal and three snares and two dedicated symbol pads.

At this time, there’s no word on whether the kits for the two games will be compatible. However I doubt they will be considering the near open warfare between Activision and  Harmonix over guitar compatibility; and the guitar peripherals were almost identical in design.

via Joystiq

Activision is ready to bring the excitement of the hunt into your home with Cabela’s Legendary Adventures. No there won’t be zombies, but the players can experience the thrill of more realistic danger.

“In Cabela’s Legendary Adventures the missions are based on encounters with some of the most famous animals ever hunted in the wild,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “Focusing on these amazing once-in-a-lifetime stories has really allowed us to capture the essence of what hunting is all about – a quest for a legendary experience.”

Players will be hunting in different eras with both modern and period weapons. Trail white-tailed deer, Yukon moose, Alaskan brown bear and Roosevelt elk in their native environments including Kodiak Island, the Yukon and the Rocky Mountains.

Cabela’s Legendary Adventures for the PS2, PSP, and Wii will hit shelves in Fall 2008.

via Business Wire

Recently, a demo for LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures was released for the PC and it left console owners hoping for a version to hit their systems soon. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it is not going to happen.

According to Eurogamer, an Activision representative told the site that a console demo is not in the works or will there be one at all. So, if you are reading this, that means you have access to a PC, which means that you can still play a demo and that should give you an idea if you want it for your console, so try not to be so glum about it.

You can get the demo by clicking on the badge below.

A New patch for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock has been released for the PC and Mac versions of the game. Fixes include a new “Front Row Cam” option which allows better performance on low end configurations, with smoother gameplay, laptop specific optimizations for better performance, Intel X3100 graphics chips are now supported, a battery meter icon will display remaining battery charge on supported laptops, and a Wifi meter will display signal strength during multiplayer games on supported laptops.

For the patch, hit the badges below for the windows and mac versions, respectively.

You just gotta love the NeoGAF forums for their timely information updates, and spoilers too.

Today, they have posted some information that is supposedly in the June issue of “Game Informer” regarding Guitar Hero IV - and since I have not received mine in the mail yet I cannot back them up; plus we have zero info from Activision or Neversoft regarding this information, so please take this with a grain of salt until it can be considered reliable. Of course, NeoGAF is usually spot on, so just continue reading and let the speculation begin.

Here are the goods:

Guitar Hero 4 (PS3, 360, Wii, PS2)

• Create a song. Although these exclude vocals due to storage and possible copyright issues.
• You’ll be able to name your song as well as creating album art. After you’ve done all that you can upload it to GH Tunes where anyone can download it.
• You’ll be limited to 5 songs at first. But depending on the ratings you get you’ll possibly be able to upload 10 or more.
• The song sharing mode will be in the Wii and PS2 versions also, but GI says it’s unlikely that it’ll be as robust as the PS3 and 360 versions.
• Drums, bass, vocals guitar
• Create a rocker
• Create a guitar and drums
• All songs will be master tracks
• They don’t want to discuss specifics on track listing out of fear of being scooped by the competition. However they confirmed 4 bands: Van Halen, The Eagles, Linkin Park and Sublime.
• A new guitar designed by Red Octane that includes a new input mechanic that’ll “impact the way you play GH in the future”.
• GI saw see through notes while playing that Neversoft said was the new input mechanic and that they were trying to patent.

To be honest with you, all of this sounds good to me, especially Van Halen and the Eagles - as long as it is rocking Eagles and NO DESPERADO!!!!

Via: NeoGaf

Activision has announced a new Pitfall game for the Wii is set to hit store shelves sometime in the Fall. “Pitfall: The Big Adventure,” as it is being called, will of course feature the series’ protagonist, Pitfall Harry, as he goes in search of more lost treasure. Once again, he’ll be making his way through all types of exotic locales while dodging enemies and swinging over caverns. And as can be expected, the whole game will take advantage of the Wii’s motion-sensitive controls:

“Pitfall is one of the most legendary franchises in the history of videogames, so we look forward to releasing a new version exclusively for Wii,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “What could be more fun than using the Wii Remote™ to swing on a vine over blood thirsty crocodiles as retro-cool Pitfall Harry?!”

See, this is what I would call an example of nostalgia being a bad thing. Yes, Pitfall was a great game…back in the Atari 2600 days. Since then, just about every other Pitfall game has been a poor update trying to capitalize on gamers’ nostalgia. By now, the whole “jungle adventure” game has been taken to a much higher level with the likes of Uncharted and even Tomb Raider. Yeah, my “shovelware” meter is going pretty wild right about now.

Via Press Release

Activision has announced a new milestone Guitar Hero has achieved. Not to be upstaged by the former guitar heroes at Harmonix, who recently announced that Rock Band had passed the 10 million songs downloaded mark, Activision announced at a recent conference call that Guitar Hero has surpassed the 15 million downloaded songs mark.

That’s certainly an impressive figure that’s larger than Harmonix’s, but these numbers do, after all, include Guitar Hero II on Xbox 360. A commenter on Xbox 360 Fanboy made the keen observation that these don’t necessarily reflect the number of songs purchased, and Guitar Hero has seen several free tracks released.

But it seems clear that both companies are finding DLC to be a profitable form of business. Not profitable enough, though, as the cash-in known as Guitar Hero: Aerosmith proves.

via Joystiq

Blizzard has announced the next BlizzCon will be held this October in Anaheim, California. This will mark the third such convention, which has now expanded to two convention halls in order to accommodate more attendees. As usual, the whole event will celebrate all things Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo-related:

“Whenever we’ve been able to meet and interact with Blizzard gamers from around the world, it’s been a great experience for us,” stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re looking forward to seeing even more of our players at this year’s BlizzCon and delivering another entertaining and informative event for them.”

The event will rake place in the Anaheim Convention Center from Oct. 10-11.Tickets are expected to go on sale for $100 each in the next few weeks through www.blizzcon.com. Last year’s BlizzCon sold out quick, so if you’re planning to go, you’ll want to snag your tickets soon. And since Activision pulled out of E3, this will probably be the place where we can finally sit down and play Starcraft II (or possibly Diablo 3, if the signs are to be believed).

Via Press Release

Aside from World of Warcraft, the biggest MMO of 2007 and so far this year isn’t one you would name off the top of your head. According to the author of an article up on Eurogamer; it’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The piece goes on to defend the position that although CoD4 isn’t an MMO in the strictest sense of the definition, it does share many of the same gameplay elements that typify an MMO.

Call of Duty 4 proves that it’s possible to take some of the things that MMOs do right and distil them for a game that wouldn’t traditionally be seen as an MMO. The potency of the idea, even in this form, is obvious; the drive to play just a little bit more, because there’s a reward waiting just up ahead, is an incredibly powerful and addictive force for players

I can actually agree with the author on most of his points, and the idea isn’t one that hasn’t been presented before. The success of MMOs is changing the way traditional video games are being designed. One of the latest examples of this trend is the multi-player mode in RockStar’s Grand Theft Auto IV. I think we’re going to see the games industry moving ever closer to this formula as gamers demand more of a social element to their gaming experience.

via Eurogamer

Microsoft’s certification process is a pretty long-winding and complicated one, so who really knows with them how long something will take to pass through it. What we do know is that Vigilante 8 Arcade is essentially complete and has just finished its pre-certification with Microsoft.

Isopod expects it to be no longer than 2-4 weeks, and then the game will simply need a release slot — they’re guessing early June, but it could be sooner or later depending on the release schedule.

There are plans for “some neat DLC” which I’m going to go out on a limb and guess include new vehicles, maps, and/or modes. Daring, I know, but that’s just the kind of guy I am.

Jonathan mentioned last week that a Muse Track Pack for GH III would be available this week, and Chris mentioned that it was now available through PSN yesterday.Today, The Major posted that it became available last night for the Xbox 360 and here are the details:

Content: Muse Track Pack
Price: 500 Points
Availability: Not available in India
Dash Text: [ESRB: T (Teen) MILD LYRICS,MILD SUGGESTIVE THEMES] “Exo-Politics”, “Stockholm Syndrome” & “Supermassive Black Hole” as performed by Muse. For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.

Via: Major Nelson

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.

Read the full article

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.

Via DarkZero

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.

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)

Activision has published results for the company’s 2008 financial year and the numbers are pretty impressive. Raking in over $2.9 billion in net earnings gave them a 92% increase in monetary gains over last year’s figures. Activision’s net income stands at $344.9 million, up from $85.8 million last year and kudos goes out to Guitar Hero III and CoD4 helping them out by bringing in one billion dollars each in sales.

Head honcho Robert Kotick stated during a conference call following the published figures:

“During the fiscal year, we were the number one US console and handheld publisher in dollars for the first time ever, according to The NPD Group, and we grew our worldwide share of the console, handheld and PC markets year over year.”

Also mentioned during the conference call was the confirmation of a fifth Call of Duty game, the reinvention of the Tony Hawk series, the announcement of a new Marvel: Ultimate Alliance title and discussions relating to Guitar Hero 4 and its holiday release date.

This means that Activison will be another contender for number one publisher next year, especially considering that they have merged with Blizzard. Just think of the money they will earn when Wrath of the Lich King is unleashed upon the world.

Via: Eurogamer

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.

via Xbox 360 Fanboy