GamerNode: Latest Game and Console News

DJ Hero controllers now available for $70

If you've been eager to thrown down with your friends in DJ Hero, but had no access to do so without having to plop down another $120 for both the game and controller, you're in luck. Activison has announced that the DJ Hero controller is now available at the Guitar Hero store (shouldn't this be called the Hero Store, or Music Hero Store now?) for $70.

You would think the controller would cost a tad less, as buying a regular edition of DJ Hero with a extra controller comes to a whopping $190 -- a lot to place down for a music game if you want to play with more than one person. Considering that a Rock Band 2 bundle is about $99 and you can get other similar bundles for far less, we'll see if this price stays for both the DJ controller and the regular DJ Hero bundle.

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Germany bans US version of Modern Warfare 2

Germany's media watchdog service has placed the US version of Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 on their primary ban list, which yanks the game out of the hands of those aged 18 and younger and prohibits the sale of the game at stores and other retailers.

Intriguingly, the ban only extends to the PC version of the game; the console versions remain untouched, as are the German and UK versions of the game. Additionally, Valve's Left 4 Dead 2 also came under the banhammer with the US PC version no longer able to be sold in the country.

We all know MW2's infamous "No Russian" single-player level (which was left out from the German version) could be the strongest culprit in causing Germany to make the game verboten -- but what about LFD2? No exact reason was given, but I have a sneaking suspicion ...

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Assassin's Creed II getting two DLC packs starting...

Two batches of DLC will be coming to Assassin's Creed II in the first two months of 2010, announced Ubisoft. The first, coming in January, is "The Battle for Forli" and will be followed in February by "Bonfire of the Vanities."

The DLC will be for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles and will require 1GB of free space each. Ubisoft has promised to provide more information on the DLC later this month.

It is believed that "The Battle for Forli" could be centered on Caterina Sforza, who had a very minor role in the game serving as the boat tutorial. Meanwhile, it is likely that "Burning of the Vanities," will be based on the mass burning of sinful objects in Florence.

Both events occurred during the memory gap Desmond is forced to miss due to complications with the Animus 2.0 in the game...

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Two million Left 4 Dead 2 copies sold in two weeks...

It appears now though that the ride has become smooth and easy, as the game has not only received high critic scores, but has now sold over two million copies in just two weeks. This has doubled the amount of sales to date made by the original.

"Left 4 Dead 2 is off to a great start with strong support at retail and great reviews from the press," said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. "Meanwhile the title has already been played by over 1 million Xbox LIVE Gold account holders, and news regarding L4D2 DLC 1 is coming very soon."

Expect GamerNode to cover said DLC news when it releases. Left 4 Dead 2 is available for the PC and Xbox 360 console.

[Kotaku]

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Ubisoft reveals plans for Natal, Sony

Nothing like a little corporate forecasting to start the week, right? Ubisoft heads into December with a bang by unveiling the company's plans involving Microsoft's Natal technology and Sony's as yet-unnamed motion capture device.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot says that his company's game plan (geddit?) will allot for nearly 10 games to support Natal once the tech launches -- and they mostly won't be some dragged-out sequel or spin-off title. Roughly 70% of the planned content will feature new IPs.

Additionally, four to five titles are in development for Sony's mysterious new motion capture controller. No further information is known about the device, other than a few tech demos featuring what looks like the bastard child of a Spin Pop.

[ThatVideoGameBlog]

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This week's releases: 11/30 - 12/6

Other releases include Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil 0 for the Wii and first-person shooter Rogue Warrior from Bethesda Studios for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Here is the full list of releases for this week:

DS:

Alvin & the Chipmunks: The SqueakquelJames Cameron's Avatar: The GameMight & Magic: Clash of HeroesMX vs ATV: ReflexPicture Perfect Hair Salonth!nk Logic Trainerth!nk Logic Trainer: Kids

PC:

Dirt 2James Cameron's Avatar: The GameRogue Warrior

PlayStation 2:

No New Releases

PlayStation 3:

James Cameron's Avatar: The GameMX vs ATV: ReflexRogue Warrior

PSP:

James Cameron's Avatar: The GameMX vs ATV: Reflex

Xbox 360:

James Cameron's Avatar: The GameMX vs ATV: ReflexRogue Warrior

Wii:

Alvin & the Chipmunks: The SqueakquelJames Cameron's Avatar: The GameRec RoomResident Evil Archives: Resi...

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Left 4 Dead 2 helps Microsoft turn Japanese

A new report crafted by the gang over at Gamasutra displays a remarkably strong presence for the Xbox 360 in Japan following the release of Valve's Left 4 Dead 2.

It's easily apparent that Western-based companies have their work cut out for them in establishing a beachhead within the Japanese market; homegrown companies such as Nintendo continue to offer top-notch products for their chief market, with every Wii and DS title gobbled up by the insatiable masses.

According to the report, Left 4 Dead 2 has managed to shamble its way into the top 10 of a weekly Japanese sales chart, with an impressive 28,000 copies sold.

1. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (DS) - 55,000 2. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 50,000 3. Wii Fit Plus (Wi) - 43,000 4. Inazuma Eleven 2: Kyoui no Shinryakusha (Fire/Blizz...

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Aliens vs. Predator multiplayer trailer shows Alie...

A new multiplayer focused trailer has been released for Aliens vs. Predator, the latest installment in the franchise, developed by Rebellion, the company that created the first game on PC. The trailer showcases some of the modes and gameplay elements from the upcoming shooter, and it looks to be a pretty fun multiplayer shooter.

The game will feature modes such as regular single species deathmatch, where only one race is allowed, species versus, allowing two races, and multi species deathmatch where it is a race free for all. The trailer goes on to flesh out a special mode where one player is a Predator and the other players are Marines. The marines have to hunt down the Predator, while that player has to take them out. The trailer shows the Predator jumping from pillar to pillar and using ...

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Square Enix: Console games will give way to digita...

The head of Square Enix has declared that console gaming as everyone knows it will die out in the next decade, and that the company is preparing for it.

"In ten years' time a lot of what we call 'console games' won't exist," said Square Enix chief Yoichi Wada in an interview with MCV.

Wada claims that the budding method of selling games through digital distribution, streaming, and server-based offerings will eventually lead to a new era of gaming that will wipe out software run on hardware. He warns that "all the distributors and sales firms will suffer a big negative impact."

Wada even pointed out the recent slow shift Microsoft and Sony have made through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network as a sign of the change.

"Somewhere around 2005 the console manufacturers' strategy shifted," he said...

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Call of Duty franchise now $3 billion strong in sa...

Activision and Infinity Ward can be proud of their flagship FPS franchise, as Call of Duty has now passed the $3 billion mark in sales with 55 million units sold worldwide.

"Call Of Duty has become one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time," stated Bobby Kotick in a press release. "If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history."

The franchise got a lot of help from the latest installment, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, as the game has made over $550 million worldwide in its first five days.

If anyone has been living in a hole and not heard of or purchased Modern Warfare 2, be sure to check out GamerNode's review for the game to see what al...

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BioWare labels PS3 a "key platform"

Inspired by the enormous success of Dragon Age: Origins for the PS3, BioWare has expressed interest in developing games in-house for Sony's console in the future.

At an interview with Joystik, BioWare co-head Greg Zeschuk praised the PS3 as a "key platform," worthy of the game developer to craft any future PS3 games itself.

"You know, I can't say anything about Mass Effect in that regard but you know, I can definitely say Dragon Age and other things we do will definitely be on PS3.

"It was great going through the experience of making Dragon Age, getting familiar with and understanding the PS3. Again, every platform is different, but now I think we're at the position where future PS3 stuff will be really solid."

As much as BioWare loves Sony at the moment, it seems that love just isn't enou...

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Splinter Cell official website "hacked"

Just in time to give those nefarious Americans a break from wolfing down turkey legs on Thanksgiving, a Russian entity has supposedly "hacked" Ubisoft's official Splinter Cell website.

Initially announced via the company's Twitter feed, Ubisoft has stated they are scrambling to resolve the issue; the funny thing is, this hack appears meticulously constructed in Flash, complete with a loading screen and flashy background effects. I'm not sure if anonymous hackers would wish to leave a calling card this garish--but everyday in Russia is opposite day, right?

Here is the translated message, thanks to the wonderfully accurate Google Translate:

"Occasionally the security system will be switched off for planned work and data protection. During such work may be a breach in security from external ...

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Free DLC coming to Uncharted 2 on Nov.27

Love Black Friday deals? Well I have the ultimate deal for Uncharted 2 owners. Naughty Dog is set to release the first DLC for the game this Friday, Nov.27. The update will bring the game's first multiplayer map, "The Fort", which is based on the fortress section of Uncharted 2. According to Naught Dog, "The Fort is a long rectangular map with wide open spaces and excellent flank routes." To make the deal even better, this update will be offered for the low, low price of free.

The update also brings a Double Cash weekend, XP for all those who aren't savvy to Uncharted 2's multiplayer, so you have no reason not to log on and get some multiplayer action in. Special multiplayer skins will also be available in multiplayer, with heroes getting Doughnut Drake and the villains get Doughnut Lazarev...

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IBM's POWER7 CPU to run PlayStation 4?

It might be a little early to advertise rumors involving the next tier of gaming consoles, but this might prick up a few ears: Sony has apparently spread the word that the PlayStation 4 will utilize IBM's upcoming iteration of its CPU architecture, the POWER7 CPU.

The PlayStation 3 already boasts some serious hardware under its hood, and the results show; with the potential of nearly 15 GFLOPS (that's about 15 billion operations per second, folks) and a hefty 256MB video card to boot, it's no wonder that the PS3's "Cell" processor can play host to some of the most striking visual imagery this side of the raging console vs. PC war. Heck, it's even being employed as a supercomputer network.

The POWER7 architecture looks to expand upon the stellar performance output of the PS3's hardware by inc...

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VGAs to unveil new Star Wars game

Geoff Keighley has been busy informing followers of his Twitter account of the big reveals that are to come at this year's Video Game Awards on Spike TV. In his most recent posting, Keighley announced that this year's VGAs will announce the next Star Wars game.

Just one week ago, Keighley announced on his twitter that the newest trailer for Halo: Reach would premiere on the VGAs. There is now a teaser trailer backing up his most recent announcement on GameTrailers. But the video simply shows scenes from old Star Wars games and state that the announcement will be made at the VGAs.

The 2009 VGAs will air live on December 12th at 8pm EST.

[Twitter]

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This week's releases: 11/24 - 11/29

It appears that the holiday season for gaming is coming to an end starting this week. The biggest launch coming to retailers from now until Sunday will be Your Shape, a Wii title with a camera that allows you to see how you are doing exercises compared to how it is supposed to look as shown on screen. Also releasing is Tekken 6 on the PSP.

The rest of the list of releases is extremely small. So for any gamer not looking to plan any workouts on their Wii or already own Tekken 6 on a console; keep playing Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed II, Left 4 Dead 2, or whatever other holiday season games you have on your shelf.

DS:

Fighting FantasyHands On! TangramsHello Kitty: Party

PC:

Playmobile Double PackTwin SectorSerious Sam HD

PlayStation 2:

No New Releases

PlayStation 3:

Karaoke Revolution (With Mic...

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Downsampled Modern Warfare 2 screenshots borders o...

It seems that the visual feast of Modern Warfare 2 wasn't enough for some gamers who wished to push it even further. Forum user "OC_Burner" over at 3DCenter managed to produce a slew of screenshots that utilizes a boosted resolution and downsampling techniques that winded up making the game appear frighteningly ultra-realistic.

To wit; downsampling is a process in which an LCD monitor is forced to render the game at an "internal" resolution much higher than it supports, but instead of crying pixellated tears of agony (as cool as that sounds), the monitor displays the image at an "external" resolution it can support--usually the monitor's native resolution.

The result is a gaming experience like no other, with jacked up visual effects and practically non-existant graphical artifacts or "jaggi...

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Undead Labs to create zombie MMO

Game industry veteran Jeff Strain has announced the formation of Undead Labs, a new Seattle-based game studio with one goal in mind: Create a console-based zombie MMO.

"Every time I see a good zombie movie with friends, we spend days debating our strategies for surviving the zombie apocalypse," said Strain. "The police station or the supermarket? Garden rake or staple gun? Bach or The White Stripes? I'm a game developer, so I'd probably be useless for anything other than ghoul bait, but I'm excited to have the opportunity to build an MMOZ that lets us put those strategies to the test and find out for sure."

Strain has plenty of experience when it comes to making and creating MMOs. He was team lead and lead programmer for World of Warcraft before leaving Blizzard in the middle of the game's p...

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Final Old Republic classes revealed

The final two classes for BioWare and Lucasarts' upcoming MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic have finally been revealed. The last classes, the Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor, were featured in an article of German magazine PC Games.

Both classes are force adepts, using and manipulating the force from a distance for greater effect. This is the opposite approach from the Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior classes, which rely on the force to aid them in the heat lightsaber-flailing battles.

The details on the two classes have been translated by Old Republic forum member Petrosis.

According to the translation, the Jedi Consular will function as a support character for healing or added damage from a distance. The Sith Inquisitor will act more as a heavy long distance damage dealer with some AoE (Area ...

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Microsoft being sued over Max Memory Card

If you haven't heard, game peripheral maker Datel released a memory card for the Xbox 360 that allows use of SD cards to expand the memory capacity. Microsoft didn't take kindly to this and blocked the memory cards via a firmware update. Datel, in response, has said they intend to find a workaround for those who purchased the cards. 

Now the latest salvo to be fired in this grand soap opera comes from Datel who is suing Microsoft. "Microsoft has taken steps to render inoperable the competing Datel memory card for no visible purpose other than to have that market entirely to themselves," Datel attorney Marty Glick explained in a press release. "They accomplished their recent update by making a system change that will not recognize or allow operation of a memory card with greater capacity th...

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