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I am loving all of the cool screens for the upcoming Ghostbusters game from Sierra and Terminal Reality, and the barrage of screens we received today is no exception. This looks like it is going to be a very visually stunning game, therefore lets all cross our fingers that the gameplay will equal the coolness we see in the screens.

You can get more screens for the game after the jump.

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Microsoft sent this letter to our inboxes yesterday and to be honest with you I never even gave it a second thought until this morning. What I found hilarious is that the letter states “In the last year, we have helped launch a wide range of stellar PC game titles”. Sure you have, because you have a monopoly with Windows…

Anyway, my hateful tone aside, I honestly have to agree with him. The console is huge right now, but as long as people are using PC’s and Laptops for work or home use, there will always be a demand for gaming on those systems. Unlike a lot of other nay-sayers, I personally do not see PC gaming going the way of the dinosaur anytime soon.

Read the letter:

Growth and Opportunities in PC Gaming

These are exciting times for the PC gaming industry. Over the past couple of years, Microsoft Corp. has increased its focus on investment in Windows gaming because we see the incredible growth and opportunities it represents not just for us, but for the industry at large.

Today I’m excited to report that Microsoft and a growing community of the gaming industry’s leading publishers, hardware manufacturers and retailers have made the Windows-based PC the largest gaming platform in the world. Every major region will see PC gaming continue to grow in audience, game revenue and hardware purchases for the foreseeable future. While the challenges we face as an industry are many, PC gaming has never been stronger, and we’re confident this trend will continue in the years to come.

The past year has seen exponential growth in online activity and sales, continued platform and hardware innovation, and continued success with the Games for Windows branding initiative, which adds prominence, a quality and technical bar, and a consistent look and feel to the retail PC gaming experience.

In the last year, we have helped launch a wide range of stellar PC game titles exclusive to Windows including “World in Conflict,” “Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar” and “Sins of a Solar Empire.” Other popular titles such as “Crysis” and “Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures” have sold and shipped more than 1 million copies, respectively. “Hellgate: London” now has more than 1 million active subscribers.

We are also dedicated to supporting the next generation of PC game developers with XNA Game Studio, a set of free, easy-to-use development tools for Windows-based PCs, Xbox 360 and Zune. Our goal is to assist a growing community of more than 1 million students, hobbyists and independent game developers realize their potential and enhance the Windows gaming ecosystem through their ingenuity.

Later today in San Francisco, Microsoft will be joined by our partners and select press at our Big Picture showcase event, where attendees will experience the PC gaming renaissance firsthand. Top game publisher Activision will premiere upcoming title “Call of Duty: World at War.” Attendees will also be among the first to experience AMD’s new Radeon HD 4800 Series DirectX 10 graphics card, NVIDIA’s new GeForce 9M notebook GPU and other stellar hardware from Dell Inc., HP, Gateway Inc. and Acer Inc.

Also today, 16 titles join the Games for Windows portfolio, including “Call of Duty: World at War” (Activision), “Ghostbusters: The Videogame” (Sierra Entertainment), “Crysis: Warhead,” (EA Partners), and “Zoo Tycoon 2: Ultimate Collection” (Microsoft Game Studios).

The Windows-based PC is the most connected gaming platform on the planet. Microsoft’s continued investments will enable game publishers to take advantage of that connectivity while delivering to consumers the kinds of gaming experiences they will love.

These are exciting times. We’re proud of how far we’ve come and excited for what the future holds.
Here’s to Windows gaming,

John Schappert
Corporate Vice President
LIVE, Software and Services
Microsoft

When we first started getting news about the new Ghostbusters game from Sierra, we were all very curious as to whether the original actors would be lending their voices to the videogame counterparts. Imagine our excitement when we were informed that indeed the original Ghostbusters, cranky genius Bill Murry included, would be starring in the game as well, but with this announcement, a couple of names were missing from the list. Both Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis’ names were missing from the press release, which led us to wonder if they had just not hopped on board yet or if Sierra was just saving that last tidbit of information just to add a bit of suspense to the title.

Unfortunately, that is not the case because thanks to Das Gamer, the light has been shed on why these two names were vacant from the list. Well, they tell us why Rick is not in the game but as for Sigourney, nothing is mentioned but I have a feeling it has to do with her just being a stick in the mud.

According to Bit-Net, her character will not even be included in the story:

The cast has also been trimmed down a little bit and Dana, who was played by Sigourney Weaver, has been cut completely and replaced with a new female lead character. The developers have said that again, they couldn’t find a way to re-integrate her into the story, but the general opinion is more along the lines that they either couldn’t afford the actress or that she didn’t want to be involved.

Not wanting to be involved is more likely the case. She lent her voice to other works, including a Futurama episode, so she can’t be THAT expensive. I mean, seriously, what noteworthy film or anything for that matter has she done in the past few years? Almost everything she has been in that has released to theaters worldwide has flopped at the box office, and her “indie” films are basically sitting on retail shelves gathering dust. Maybe she really was too expensive, but considering the fact that her career is headed towards hawking tires for your local mechanic shop, she should have reconsidered the offer. Maybe, though, Dan Akroyd and the others did not include her character because just do not like her and tore-up her invite to the party. For what I can remember, she had issues with certain cast members in the movies anyway *cough Bill Murry cough*.

Now, back to Rick Moranis.

Apparently, Das Gamer is reporting that his reason for not being in the game is because he is retired. During a preview of the game with Sierra producer Ben Borth and Terminal Reality development director Brendan Goss, Broth stated Rick’s absence was because:

“He made so much money off of Honey I Shrunk The Kids that he retired. He just doesn’t want to work anymore”

Ah, come on now Rick. How hard could it be to do voice work? I mean that is really all you have done since 1997 anyway, the last of which being in 2002. You could easily phone it in from the comfort of your lazy boy. Actors do it for The Simpsons all the time.

This is a bit depressing, and I think that I can speak for all of us when I say that DJ Lubel says it best in the video below. We miss Rick.

Via: Das Gamer

Sierra Entertainment has announced that one of the most iconic cars in Hollywood history, the Ghostbusters’ ECTO-1, is back and will be busting ghosts in a town near you! In conjunction with the eagerly anticipated Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Sierra is taking the classic caddy on the road to give fans of the franchise a chance to experience this one-of-a-kind machine and the game first hand.

ECTO-1 will be stopping at several destinations across the U.S. throughout the tour, five of which are in partnership with the Boost Mobile Nightshift and Hot Import Nights events. Additionally, fans will have the chance to get up close and personal with ECTO-1 at Knott’s Scary Farm and the L.A. Auto Show later this year.

ECTO-1 Tour Schedule:

June 21 – Nightshift New York (Belmont Raceway; New York, NY)
August 9 – Nightshift Pomona (Pomona Fairplex; Pomona, CA)
August 29-31 – Penny Arcade Expo (Seattle Conv. Ctr; Seattle, WA)
Sept. 20 – Nightshift Pleasanton (Alameda Fairgrounds; Pleasanton, CA)
Sept. 27 – Hot Import Nights (Minneapolis Conv. Ctr; Minneapolis, MN)
Oct. 11 – Hot Import Nights (Dallas Conv. Ctr; Dallas, TX)
Oct. 15 – Nov. 1 – Knott’s Scary Farm (Knott’s Berry Farm; Buena Park, CA)
Nov. 19-30 – L.A. Auto Show (L.A. Conv. Ctr; Los Angeles, CA)

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is planned to release this Fall for the PC, PS2, PS3, DS, Xbox-360, and Wii.

If any of our readers decide to go to one of theses events, please send us a picture of you next to it.

Via: Press Release

One Japanese modder apparently got tired of watching his plain old Roomba bounce around the walls. So he did was any gaming/gadget enthusiast would do and tricked the thing out with 448 LEDs to make it look like Pac-Man. With an added controller, he can make the device gobble as it moves and even go into Pac-Man’s famous death throes. All he needs now is a Proton Gun like the ones in Ghostbusters, so it can suck up actual ghosts.

Via Geekologie

PC gaming is dead!

We’ve all heard it over and over recently from many pessimistic sources in the games industry. They cite software piracy as a major culprit, claiming an incredible percentage of games are stolen. We’ve heard how PCs are so much more expensive to upgrade than consoles and with the seemingly infinite combinations of hardware, software and drivers is it any wonder consoles look so promising to developers? With each successive generation of systems, consoles have become more sophisticated and now rival the performance capabilities of midline PCs.

PCs are hard to write games for. Again and again, developers complain about the time and money involved in creating games for systems that have no standard specifications and have a wide range of performance capabilities. Consoles represent a base configuration, sure they may or may not hare a hard drive and even when they do the size might vary but its nothing like PCs and its use of different hardware, OS and drivers. There’s no guarantee that a game will work for every build out there even if the machine meets the minimum system specifications.

All these are legitimate complaints, but I think there is one very important reason why the cries of PC game death are false. PC games have an appeal that is uncommon among the proprietary game consoles by offering a training ground for future developers. Gamers modify PC games adding increased value for other players while granting the titles a longer life span if the mod scene takes off after release. Developers even plan for and encourage game owners to create new content and change existing code. What console offers this sort of tool? Some games come with tool sets packaged with the game, while others are free to download. Its become common for development teams to challenge amateur game makers to enhance or create new game content through contests, some - like the Make something Unreal contest, offer substantial prizes to the winners.

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Those lucky gougers over at Videogaming247 recently had an interview session with none other than Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddmore) from Ghostbusters. During the interview (which they plan to post later on in the week) Ernie discussed many things, and one of them was the size of the script for the game which has been written by Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis.

From the interview:

“You know, I read the script, and it’s a really good script. It’s huge. It covers every possibility. A regular film script is 120 pages, this thing’s 480 pages, or something. All the characters are back, including Bill Murray, which I was surprised at, because Bill tends to not do these things. If you look at his movies, I think the only time he ever did a sequel was with Ghostbusters. And it took five years to get him to do that.”

That is because Bill is not only a pretty sullen person, but is more concerned with alcohol, pot, and overseas hookers sexual liaisons apparently.

Hudson was at the MCM Expo in London promoting the Ghostbusters game, and as stated above you can read the full interview on Videogaming247 later this week. Hit the link below to go directly to the source.

Thanks: Videogaming247

Submitted for your approval are six new Ghostbusters screens from the forthcoming game in development at Sierra. These new screens depict Winston trying to fight off the slime with his proton gun, fighting a spectral force in a library (or archives), and one of them pretty much shows him destroying the environment around him.

These screens, along with yesterday’s news that the original soundtrack would be included in the game, just makes this another “must have”. Hopefully Vivendi will announce and exact release date soon, but until then keep checking back for more updates.

When the new Ghostbusters video game was first announced, I didn’t even consider whether they would include the classic Ray Parker Jr. theme song; I just thought it was a given for the franchise. But developers usually try to explore every option they can think of, so Terminal Reality at one time was very, very briefly considering putting in a remixed theme song in place of the original. Executive producer, Brendan Goss, explains how that idea went over with fans:

“When we were doing the focus group testing, we asked people how they’d feel about a remix done by a current band. We got booed out of the place,” Goss said. “People were really against it, going, ‘You can’t do that, there’s only one song for Ghostbusters!’ It was incredible. So we were like, okay, we won’t mess with the Ray Parker Jr. song then.”

It just goes to show, never mess with a truly memorable theme song (I’m looking in your direction, 21st century Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon). As an added bonus though, Terminal Reality has also revealed that the game’s soundtrack will include over 75 minutes of music that was cut from the original film. So basically, we’re going to get some “new” music that should fit the tone of the game perfectly, as well as the classic tunes. Awesome.

Via EuroGamer

GoNintendo has revealed a list on upcoming Nintendo games for 2008. Some of these have already been released, but if you look past those you will see many a title that has not. Granted, the majority of them have vague release dates and are for Europe, but at least you get an idea of what to expectThe good news though is that WiiWare and Super Smash Bros. Brawl have been dated for Europe. WiiWare - May 20th and SSBB June 27th.

You can get the full list of Nintendo titles headed our way (and ones that are already available) after the jump.

Thanks: Videogaming247

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Hey, any game company can put together a trailer; but not many can promote their game by rolling out a piece of movie history. That’s exactly what Vivendi decided to do though when they had the Ghostbusters’ famous Ecto-1 roadster make an appearance at a Best Buy in Minnesota. The event was held to promote the upcoming game that will continue the story following the second film. The car is being referred to as a “Restoration Project,” so I’m not sure if that’s the actual car from the films or an exquisite replica. But I think one thing’s for sure: we all missed out on one kick ass photo op.

Via GBFans

The website for Ghostbusters: The Game officially launched yesterday thanks to the folks over at Sierra.

Featuring an abundant of flash effects, some screens and a few other normal tidbits, it is basically your average, every day, normal, website except that it is Ghostbusters. You can also watch a teaser trailer, play a trivia game, sign up for the newsletter and other fun stuff. I am sure the site will expand more and more as a release date approaches, so be sure to mark it in your favorites.

Ghostbusters: The Game is slated for release sometime this Fall and will be available for multiple platforms.

Sierra has many titles in the works right now, and the ones scheduled for release sometime this year will stay on schedule. However, the titles that are currently in development and scheduled for a 2009 release are to have their fate decided soon by Activision.

Those of us who are eagerly anticipating The Bourne Conspiracy, Prototype, Brutal Legend, or Ghostbusters should just sit back, relax and wait for our games to hit shelves - they are safe. Sierra titles for 2009 though will have to be resubmitted to Activision and go through the approval process all over again.

Changes always happens when a new company buys your old one, and gaming is no exception. Hopefully all of the hard work that Vivendi’s Sierra line had put into these projects will not have been in vain, but you know something has to go and it may just be something you have looked forward to, so be prepared. One example of a conflict of interest may be Activision’s sequel to F.E.A.R. and Warner/Monolith’s Project Origin  -  I would sincerely hope that Activision is not dense enough to waste the time and money spent on these two massive projects - they may put them on  hold, but I doubt they feel the headsman’s axe any time soon.

When corporations merge, loads of changes happen and it is not always for the better. We will just have to wait and see how this goes down.

Source: Ben Fritz, Variety Online

I have been telling you about The Lost Crown: A Ghost-hunting Adventure since we got the first press release on it back in August 2007. By now, I am sure you have made an educated guess that the whole ghost hunting thing is a hobby of mine and that I have been pretty excited to see how realistic the game depicts the equipment that real ghostbusters use. After playing the demo, I can safely say that it is pretty realistic in that department and that so far it seems like a decently fun suspense-adventure PC game.

Today, Got Game Entertainment announced that the The Lost Crown: A Ghost-hunting Adventure is now sitting on North American retail shelves. Created by adventure gaming legend Jonathan Boakes (“Dark Fall”, “Dark Fall II: Lights Out”) and his Darkling Room team, this suspense-adventure game for the PC combines a dense, rich, spine-tingling story inspired by classic ghost stories with today’s modern ghost-hunting techniques. The intuitive interface allows players to wield the tools of a paranormal investigator, and the game contains actual E.V.P. (Electronic Voice Phenomena) recordings taken of “real ghosts” along with actual unexplained entities captured by Boakes while he was researching the game.

Inspired by the works of Charles Dickens, M.R. James, Arthur Conan Doyle, and E.F. Benson, The Lost Crown: A Ghost-hunting Adventure features a world of part black and white and part color against a backdrop of wind-swept coastlines and crumbling crypts featuring puzzles and interactions with the town locals, earthly and otherwise. Skills at ghost-hunting and detecting paranormal activity directly affect how the game continues.

For more information check out our previous posts.

Via: Press Release

It has been a month since Vivendi/Sierra officially announced a Ghostbusters video game was in development and due late 2008. Prior to that, Game Informer had dibs on the first preview while G4TV showed us the first glimpse of in-game footage.

One of the more exciting tidbits of news seems to be that fact that a Ghostbusters game of some kind will be heading to your favorite platform in 2008 (well, everything but the PSP so far). The most exciting news of all (at least to the Ghostbusters fan) is that a majority of the major actors from the two Ghostbusters movies will be reprising their roles in this new game (voice acting, mind you). Heck, even a few minor characters will have their original actors reprising their roles. This is a major plus in my book.

Hooked Gamers recently put up a rather small preview of the upcoming Ghostbusters game. After glancing at their preview twice, I didn’t notice anything new that hadn’t already been covered by Game Informer, G4TV, or the official press release. Granted, it’s been a while since I’ve read the Game Informer preview, and I don’t exactly have a copy handy to compare. Still, it might be worth a look (and if you spot anything I perhaps missed, feel free to post it in the comments here). If anything, it should serve as a reminder of why you should be pumped for this game. Hooked Gamers also has ten screenshots of in-game footage.

For some reason I feel compelled to say some witty line or quote from either Ghostbuster movie. You know what? I’m not going to. We’ve still got a ways to go before the game’s released. And you know plenty of sites will be burning through those popular quotes between now and then. I promote we save them until the game’s released, lest we get burned out on hearing them. Fat chance of that happening, eh?

Via Hooked Gamers

It seems everyone’s going Ghostbusters crazy these days. You may or may not have seen the trailer for director Michel Gondry’s (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep) latest film, Be Kind Rewind, but you can rest assured it will be kooky and hilarious. The film stars Jack Black as a man who unwittingly erases every video tape in his friend, Mos Def’s, video store. So the two set out to recreate classic films such as Robocop, Back to the Future, and of course Ghostbusters on a budget of nothing, developing an underground following. This new video shows a trailer for their fake version of the classic ghost-busting tale. The movie should be hitting theaters on January 25th.

More information about the new Ghostbusters game has been trickling out since Game Informer broke the news the other day, including a teaser trailer and some gameplay footage. Well, now Sierra has finally just sent out an official press release with some additional details as well as new screenshots. More cast members will be returning aside from the four original Ghostbusters (Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, and Ernie Hudson). Reprising their roles will be Annie Potts (receptionist, Janine), Brian Doyle Murray (the psychiatrist from the second film), and William Atherton (the man who tried to shut them down in the first film, a.k.a. “d***less”). Unfortunately, still no Rick Moranis. You’ll use a variety of weapons and gadgets while you try to capture ghosts in version of New York City that matches the period of the films. Full press release after the break.

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Following on the heels of the announcement for a new Ghostbusters video game, there’s also a new teaser trailer out now for it. Unfortunately, it’s pretty tame and doesn’t show anything more than a famous line from the movie and the logo. Luckily, Ron put up some gameplay footage here earlier today. However, the phrase “don’t cross the streams” has never sounded the same to me since I saw a clip in one episode of Robot Chicken (to make a short story even shorter, it showed two Ghostbusters standing in front of urinals).

We told you about the first screens for the new Ghostbusters game yesterday. Now, we didn’t know how far along production on this title was at that point. Heck, no one did. It turns out that things are farther along than we thought.

The game is being developed by the folks at Vivendi / Sierra, with a slated release for late next year on DS, PC, PS2, PS3, 360 and Wii.

The folks over at G4 TV have kindly provided us with the first look at gameplay footage from this upcoming title. Check it out, and remember, no matter what, don’t cross the streams. It would be bad. Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light. Yes, that bad.

Thanks, G4 TV!

As reported yesterday, Game Informer recently revealed a new Ghostbusters game in the works that will act as a sequel to the movies. Well, looks like the first screenshot from the game has made its way online as well, and it features none other than the Stay Puft marshmallow man. Don’t know how he’s showing up again, considering he got turned into s’more goo in the first movie. Still, it’s always fun to battle a giant, rampaging monster that’s made out of fluffy marshmallows.

Via Games Radar