GamerNode: Latest Game and Console News

BioShock 2 gets a February release date

Those upset over the delay of Bioshock 2 from October 2009 to early 2010 can take solace now that it has a solid release date. The game, which puts players in the shoes of the original Big Daddy, will be released on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC worldwide on February 9.

As the original Big Daddy, players will awaken in the undersea city of Rapture and be tasked with taking down the Big Sister, who has been abducting little girls and bringing them to the city as new Little Sisters. The multiplayer compoment of the game will be set as a prequel to the first game, as players will see just how Rapture was when everything went so terribly wrong.

The game currently is not rated, but is expected to receive an M for Mature by the ESRB.

[Gamespot]

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Valve responds to Left 4 Dead 2 ban

News yesterday announced that the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification had refused classification for Left 4 Dead 2, essentially banning the game from the country. This of course came as quite a shock to developer Valve.

"We were surprised to hear of this news yesterday," said VP of marketing Doug Lombardi. "Obviously, everyone at Valve is pretty bummed."

The game was denied classification due to "realistic, frenetic, and unrelenting violence" and the gore that comes with severing limbs, decapitating, and killing the infected in other graphic ways. This, by law, prevents the game from being sold as it now lacks a rating in the country.

"It would be a shame if folks in Australia, or anywhere else, are unable to purchase Left 4 Dead 2 because of a ratings issue," Lombardi st...

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PS3 sales down from last week but have doubled yea...

Sales for the PlayStation 3 are still going strong despite a week-to-week drop-off. Sony's console has sold over 306,000 units this past week. The number is down from over 550,000 units the week prior but more than twice the 132,000-plus units from the same time last year.

The sales are also still up over 200 percent from the weeks prior to the new "Slim" model hitting store shelves, and are almost as much as the Wii and Xbox 360 sales combined. Xbox 360 sales dropped nine percent to 146,000-plus units and the Wii stayed at over 181,000 units sold.

On the software side, The Beatles: Rock Band sales for its first week beat out the sales for Guitar Hero 5 during its first week by 36 percent. The game based on the Fab Four sold a hefty 700,000 units worldwide.

Bringing in the top spot in sales t...

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Another big store circular hints at Wii price drop...

It would seem that Target has become the third major store chain to hint that a price drop for the Nintendo Wii is coming. A picture has surfaced online of a supposed Target circular showing the Wii with a $199 price tag and has joined pictures from Walmart and Toys-'R'-Us circulars doing the same.

The circular is for the week of September 27th, which has led to the belief that Nintendo will officially announce the price cut at either the Tokyo Game Show or Kyoto Cross Media Experience. Both are set to occur on the weekend before the circular's date.

Nintendo's only reply to this latest circular leak is the typical "Nintendo does not speculate on rumors or speculation."

[Kotaku]

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This week's releases: 9/14 - 9/19

The releases for this week will be flying, web-slinging, skating, slashing, and driving their way into stores as the first big week of the fourth quarter hits. Featured are superhero RPG Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, NHL 10 from EA Sports, third person action bloodfest Wet, and racer Need for Speed: Shift.

DS:

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside StoryMy BoyfriendPrincess in LoveAnimal Planet: Vet LifeBleach: The 3rd PhantomCloudy With a Chance of MeatballsDreamer: Top ModelLearn GeographyMarvel: Ultimate Alliance 2Naruto Shippuuden: Ninja Destiny 2Our HouseScribblenauts

PC:

Age of Empires III: Complete CollectionBatman: Arkham AsylumCloudy With a Chance of MeatballsMajesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom SimNeed for Speed: ShiftRed Faction: GuerillaResident Evil 5Runes of Magic Chapter II: The Elven Prophec...

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New Pac-Man world record set

In order to achieve the world record for highest score in Pac-Man, it not only takes a perfect score, but being the fastest person to get to it. David Race has become the fifth man since Billy Mitchell to get a perfect score in a faster time, setting the new Pac-Man world record. He beat Chris Ayra's time of 3 hours, 42 minutes, and 4 seconds by a mere 42 seconds with a time of 3 hours, 41 minutes, and 22 seconds.

For those curious to know just what it takes to get the perfect score alone, it means getting every possible dot, special fruit, and blue ghost in the game until it crashes out at level 256. To do this, let alone in under four hours, is close to impossible. Just think about that next time someone is heard complaining about the difficulty of Ninja Gaiden 2 or Devil May Cry 3.

[Destr...

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Exploring Exploration or "Sinan's Crazy Ideas" on ...

I've served out another brief sentence over at Big Red Potion, where our friends Sinan Kubba and Joe DeLia have once again invited your VS Node Podcast host to join in the discussion, this time about exploration in games. GamerNode's own Christos Reid was also scheduled to be on the show, creating a spiritual successor to VS Node #1: Playing in the Sandbox, but due to personal matters was unable to join. Still, the three of us managed to hold down a barely on-topic, but very interesting conversation pertaining to exploration, rewards, linearity, sandbox design, and the ills of particular gaming conventions.

You can catch the episode on www.bigredpotion.com, and be sure to subscribe to the BRP podcast, right alongside the Versus Node podcast on iTunes.

[Big Red Potion]

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Wii may see price drop in first week of October

The first hints at a possible price drop for the Nintendo Wii have arrived. Kotaku is reporting that they have received an early ad from Walmart for the first week of October with an interesting piece of information on the console.

The ad lists the Nintendo Wii and loosely dates, without price, a "rollback" for the console. The fact that there aren't specifics could mean Nintendo is intending to cut the price of the Wii, which has been at $249 since its release four years ago, but does not want to specify exacly when or by how much.

Back in August, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated that the company was not looking to announce a price cut. "Right now, there aren't a lot of discussions going on about what exactly to do about hardware pricing," said Iwata.

However, that was before Sony and ...

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G4TV.com: Halo: Reach Bungie's biggest game yet

G4TV.com staff writer Patrick Klepek is reporting that after speaking with Bungie community manager Brian Jarrad at the Penny-Arcade Expo about the developer's upcoming game Halo: Reach, the game is going to be much bigger than some people may have expected.

"To be honest, I thought it was a small, focused spin-off, ala Halo 3: ODST," said Klepek in the piece. "It's not. Halo: Reach sounds much bigger than I'd ever imagined."

Halo: Reach will be its own big release title and is going to give Halo fans an upgrade. Unlike Halo 3: ODST, which is a main series spin-off expansion set to hit stores on September 22.

"Reach is going to be a tough project for us to wrap just because the scope is really big -- it's up there," said Jarrard in the interview. "It'll probably be our biggest game ever just...

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August NPD report released: Madden 10 tops chart

The NPD Group has released their sales figures for both software and hardware for the month of August, with no surprise as to what software title topped the chart. Madden NFL 10 dominated the list of top ten software titles sold, with Batman: Arkham Asylum taking a good chunk of the chart itself.

August console software sales:

1. Madden NFL 10 (Xbox 360, EA Sports) - 928,000 units2. Wii Sports Resort (Wii, Nintendo) - 754,000 units3. Madden NFL 10 (PS3, EA Sports) - 665,000 units4. Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360, Rocksteady) - 303,000 units5. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3, Rocksteady) - 290,000 units6. Madden NFL 10 (PS2, EA Sports) - 160,000 units7. Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP, Square Enix) - 130,000 units8. Wii Fit (Wii, Nintendo) - 128,000 units9. Mario Kart (Wii, Nintendo) - 120,000 units...

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BioWare and LucasArts unsure of Old Republic payme...

One of the most highly anticipated games currently in developement, BioWare and LucasArts' Star Wars: The Old Republic, is still without a release date. It's also missing something else: a payment method.

LucasArts and BioWare are weighing a list of options, but they have yet to decide which they will use. These options range from subscritpions to micro-transactions, and the final method could also vary based on where in the world a player is playing.

"We're considering it all, absolutely," said LucasArts president Darrell Rodriguez. "You start looking at how different communities, territories such as Asia, actually play games, and we start to consider it all -- especially if we want it to be a worldwide phenomenon."

It seems interested gamers will have to be patient to find out just how th...

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Microsoft makes Valve price Left 4 Dead 360 DLC

Though the upcoming Left 4 Dead DLC campaign "Crash Course" is being released for free on Steam for PC players, Xbox 360 owners will have to pay for the content. But it's Microsoft, not developer Valve, that players of the Xbox 360 version have to blame for the charge, according to Valve's Chet Faliszek.

"We own our platform, Steam. Microsoft owns their platform. They wanted to make sure there's an economy of value there," said Faliszek.

Normally not charging the owners of their product for DLC, Valve was allowed to get away with letting players of both versions of the game have the first DLC, a survival mode and two new versus maps, for free.

"Well, they helped us get the first one out for free," stated Faliszek. "We had the one DLC out for free. And I think... they have to look and say, wow...

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Arkham Asylum getting free DLC on Sept. 17

If you've been paying attention to the news ticker in Batman: Arkham Asylum, then you may have noticed the message stating, "New free downloadable content coming in __ days!" If not, then here's the news: New free DLC coming to Arkham Asylum on September 17th!

There are no details on exactly what this DLC will consist of, and contact with Eidos has yielded a "can't talk about any DLC at the moment" response, so we'll all just have to wait until next week to find out the full scoop. Until then, make your wild guesses, hope, wish, and dream about what you'd like to see added... maybe it'll come true.

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FFXIII dated in Japan, estimated abroad

At a press event held this morning in Tokyo (which would be tonight in back-to-the-future Japan time), Square Enix announced an official release date for Final Fantasy XIII. The game will be available in Japan on December 17th, at the astronomical price of ¥8,800, or $95.

When asked about an international release date, producer Yoshinori Kitase responded, "In the past, it's taken a year or half a year to release our games abroad, but this time we are aiming for an international release this Spring."

Of particular note is Kitase's use of the word "international." Could this mean that FFXIII's release outside of Japan will be simultaneous across western territories?

GN will have more information as it becomes available.

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This week's releases: 9/6 - 9/12

Gamers will finally be able to relive the career of The Fab Four this week, as The Beatles: Rock Band releases on Wednesday. The group is leading the charge in the week's releases, and heading up the unofficial start of the flood of big titles that is the fourth quarter. Here's a list of all games releasing this week alongside The Beatles.

Ant NationDiRT 2 Imagine DetectiveMini Ninjas

Darkest of Days DiRT 2Heroes Over Europe Fallen Earth Time of Shadows War Leaders: Clash of NationsWomen's Murder Club: Twice in a Blue Moon

DiRT 2

The Beatles: Rock Band DiRT 2IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of PreyLittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition Mini Ninjas Trine 

DiRT 2Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days

The Beatles: Rock Band Darkest of DaysDiRT 2IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey Mini Ninjas Platinum Hits Triple Pack Qube...

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First week PS3 "Slim" sales around 500,000 units w...

Sony seems to have hit a home run with its new console model, as around half-a-million units of the PS3 "Slim" have been sold worldwide last week according to preliminary data from VGChartz.

The number represents over a 400 percent increase in sales week-on-week and is a definite shot in the arm for a console manufacturer that has been in jeopardy as of late with declining sales and poor quarterly reports. In its first three days on sale in Japan, the console sold 150,252 units, which dwarfs the 88,000 sold immediately following the PS3's initial launch. In the UK, PS3 sales are up over 1,000 percent! This recovery can be credited to the new, more affordable price of the PS3 at $299 that began just one week prior to the "Slim" model's release.

Software for the PS3 also saw strong increases ...

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Fighters Inc. sues EA over Fight Night Round 4

Fighters Inc., a fledgling group licensing organization for professional boxers, is suing Electronic Arts for "intentional misappropriation of the names and likenesses of professional boxers in its 'Fight Night Round 4' videogame," as well as "undermining the interests" of boxers participating in the MLBPA-like program. They are seeking $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

Said Fighters Inc. managing member Chip Meyers, "Not only did EA take money out of the pockets of all professional boxers who are participating in the group licensing program, but its intentional misconduct could completely destroy what we are trying to build to empower today's professional boxers with the same marketing and earning presence that is enjoyed by professional athletes in all major sports."

Profes...

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Sony working on Update 3.0 issues

Reports of the latest PlayStation 3 firmware freezing games and generally not playing very nicely have been flying around the internet since shortly after the update was first made available. Well, Sony knows about it, and they want you to know that they're working on it.

A post on the official PlayStation blog states:

"SCEA is aware of reports that PS3 owners are experiencing isolated issues with their PS3 system since installing the most recent system software update (v3.00). Rest assured that we are looking into the matter and will provide an update here as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience, as it's our mission to deliver the best consumer experience on all PlayStation platforms."

Glad to hear it, but I'm sure a lot of PS3 owners are thinking, "'Looking into the matter' ...

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Valve announces new boss, pre-order weapon exclusi...

Valve did more than just have Left 4 Dead 2's new "Dark Carnival" campaign on display to be played by attendees at the Penny-Arcade Expo. They announced a new zombie boss for the game and details on some exclusive pre-order weapons.

The newly unveiled boss zombie is the Jockey, which is designed to attack lone survivors and wrestle control of their movement away from them into fires, off ledges, or straight into the middle of a zombie horde. The Jockey joins the Charger and Spitter, announced at E3 and Comic-Con respectively, as new boss infected for the sequel.

Valve also announced that some of the 20 new items for Left 4 Dead 2 will be offered as a "pre-sell exclusive with select retailers" and named the "electric guitar, machete, and the American baseball bat" as examples.

[ShackNews]

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Analyst expects GTA Episodes from Liberty City to ...

With Take-Two Interactive recently reporting that it lost $55.5 million for its latest quarter on Tuesday, one would think that the company will have a hard time bouncing back. But stocks have rose over $1 so far based on the fact that the losses were less than expected and the company has a little title called Grand Theft Auto: Stories from Liberty City on the way.

The stand-alone disc will include both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony expansions for Grand Theft Auto IV at a price of $39.99 and according to Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter, is a decision that will pay off big time for Take-Two.

 "We estimate that around 7 million copies of GTA IV were sold on the Xbox 360, meaning that approximately 25 million Xbox 360 owners did not buy the game," he said. "While w...

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