30 WIRES - that’s right 30 WIRES
“We have received a tip that a European online retailer is to commence selling the first and only mod chip for the previously ‘unhackable’ D2C chipset Wii. It will reportedly go on sale in 10 days time but there is a huge catch, it requires a 30 WIRE installation. The features it boasts are as follows: ”
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Last week the Financial Times said Japanese role-playing game publisher Square Enix is looking for publishing allies in the US and Europe to help boost the amount of revenues it derives from foreign markets. According to the article, foreign sales accounted for no more than 20 percent of the company’s revenues, and the Final Fantasy publisher was hoping to make it 50 percent within three years.
Square Enix president Yoichi Wada today issued a statement contradicting that report. He said that the company already gets half of its revenues internationally, and wants to boost that even more.
“It is crucial for us to expand our businesses on a global basis,” Wada said. “Given the fact that the size of overseas markets is now more than three times as large as the domestic market, we recognize numerous growth opportunities. Our strategy to seize such opportunities is two-fold; (i) strengthen our own distribution channels developed by our local subsidiaries in these geographic areas, and (ii) diversify our content in accordance with user preferences in each area. Through these strategic initiatives, our initial goal within a time frame of three to five years is to raise our foreign sales ratio for console/handheld games from its current 50 percent level to approximately 75 percent. We shall continue our effort to better serve overseas markets.”
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Halo 3 for the Xbox 360 finally arrived in stores yesterday, giving gamers everywhere a chance to “finish the fight.” And just in case their taste for combat isn’t quite sated, the US Air Force wants to offer them another fight.
With the Halo 3 launch hype in full swing yesterday, The New Hampshire Union Leader reported on the efforts of a local group of Air Force recruiters to capitalize on the occasion. The Air Force cosponsored a Halo 2 tournament at an area GameStop store, with the winner set to receive a copy of the third game in the series.
However, that tournament was postponed by a GameStop district manager because gamers under the age of 18 had signed up to compete on the game, which is rated M for Mature (17 and older). But whereas GameStop sent eager minors away disappointed, the US Air Force stepped in to help them get their Halo fix.
The recruiters set up a party area in a nearby strip-mall parking lot, where the Union
Leader reported that they could scarf down pizza, choke down Mountain Dew, and play Halo 2 on a TV “from the back of a pimped-out military SUV.” According to the article, a 13-year-old gamer and three of his fellow eighth-grade classmates were there playing the game, which they’d been anticipating since Halo 2 came out in 2004, when they would have been 10.
“We expect a big showing,” recruiter Staff Sgt. Christopher Johnson was quoted as saying. “We have the same demographic as they do… Our target market is identical to that of video game stores.”
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Up until this morning, Activision, one of the world’s largest game publishers, was oddly lacking in representation for the lucrative racing genre, with this decade’s offerings essentially limited to MTX Mototrax and Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions. However, that noticeable hole was plugged today, as the Santa Monica-based publishing giant announced the acquisition of UK-based independent developer Bizarre Creations, maker of the widely acclaimed Project Gotham Racing series.
Weighing in on the news, Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes told investors the buyout was good news for Activision. According to Wienkes, “this acquisition makes sense strategically as it allows Activision to enter the $1.4 billion racing genre via a proven developer with a history of producing top titles.” As noted by Activision this morning, the Project Gotham Racing series has moved more than 4.5 million units in North America and Europe, not including PGR4, which ships out next week.
The Goldman Sachs analyst also noted that the move is in line with Activision’s professed interest in acquiring top-quality studios. “This acquisition is consistent with Activision’s stated strategy…in acquiring studios with a proven franchise history and average critical reviewer ratings exceeding 85/100,” said Wienkes. The Project Gotham Racing series’ cumulative Metacritic average currently sits at 88.
Wienkes also believes that Bizarre’s expertise in the racing circuit will help Activision capitalize on the growing online marketplace presented by the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii. “We believe racing titles are ideal to help expand Activision’s exposure to ancillary revenue streams presented with online connectivity…Activision is well-positioned to prosper as online connectivity of the new consoles accelerates growth in new revenue opportunities such as in-game advertising, digital distribution, and micro-transactions.”
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Master Chief can save the world, or your data.
We’ve already done two roundups of Halo 3 gear, and with launch day finally past, we were thinking they’d be the last. We were wrong, however, and almost missed what may well be one of the cooler, or at least the cutest, bits of Halo licensing. We’ve seen lots of Mimoco’s designer jump drives before in various garbs of Star Wars characters and other popular brands, but the Halo line is the company’s first homage to video games and easily our favorite.
Mimoco’s Halo mimobot Series 1 line will be available in limited quantity in three colors. The traditional green Master Chief will be limited to 5,000 units, while the red and blue versions will be limited to 3,000 units each. Three sizes will be available, priced at $49.95 for 1-GB, $69.95 for 2-GB, and $109.95 for 4-GB.
In keeping with Mimoco’s tradition of including exclusive media with its flash drives, the Halo editions will be preloaded with media including wallpapers, screensavers, soundBytes, unpublished pages from Marvel’s Halo comic books, selections from a Halo 3 strategy guide, and excerpts from the upcoming Halo novel. There will also be an exclusive episode of the in-game talk show “This Spartan Life” produced specifically for Mimoco.
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7-Eleven may have been the most and least unusual participant in the flood of midnight retailer launches for Halo 3. Although the all-night convenience-store chain doesn’t regularly carry console games, there are few–if any–retailers as accustomed to working the graveyard shift.
However, that nocturnal experience was all for naught at some 7-Eleven stores because 
they didn’t actually have any copies of Halo 3 to sell. A representative with the company told GameSpot today that the company’s distributor mistakenly sent out part of its allocation of games using second-day delivery instead of overnight express. Nevertheless, the rep did say that the “vast majority” of participating stores received their copies as planned. About half of the company’s stores were involved in the Halo 3 promotion.
Despite the bump in the road, 7-Eleven is hoping that gamers won’t be too turned off by the situation; the rep said the company is looking at a selection of other games to sell in its stores for 2008.
“We did some research early last year of our core customers, mostly male 18 to 24,” the representative said, “and asked what they liked to do best with their leisure time. Without a doubt, the top three responses were movies, sports, and computer and video games.”
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Of all the different movie monster clichés in the horror film genre, zombies undoubtedly have the best winning percentage. The rotting abominations chalked up another notch in the win column this weekend, as Resident Evil: Extinction feasted upon Good Luck Chuck and The Brave One to top the US weekend box office with a $24 million box office haul, according to Media By Numbers, LLC.
That’s the best opening weekend yet for the series, which saw the original Resident Evil take in $18 million and Resident Evil: Apocalypse net $23 million in their US debuts.
Resident Evil: Extinction once again stars Milla Jovovich as Alice, who finds herself hiding out in Nevada with a small group of survivors. Along the way, she’ll search for a solution to the zombie infestation threatening mankind and attempt to settle a score with the sinister Umbrella Corporation, which created the zombie plague in the first place.
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Electronic Arts has announced that its Redwood Shores development studio is working on new IP for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360–and this time, it’s moving into the sci-fi horror genre. Expected to ship in the third quarter of 2008, Dead Space is a third-person survival horror game set in deep space. EA’s announcement promises that the game will “deliver the ultimate in psychological thrills and gruesome action.”
Players will control Isaac Clark, an engineer who sets off on what is supposed to be a routine mission to do repairs onboard a mining ship in deep space. Perhaps not unexpectedly, the trip turns out to be anything but routine when he discovers that an alien infestation has killed off the ship’s crew, and he is left to fight for his life within the silence and darkness of deep space.
Executive producer Glen Schofield commented, “We are all such huge fans of the horror and sci-fi genres; we wanted to create the most terrifying game we could and keep the player on the edge of his seat the entire time.”
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In part fueled by Microsoft’s $10 million-induced publicity inferno, the hoopla surrounding the release of Bungie’s anticipated shooter Halo 3 is quickly rivaling that of a hardware launch. Microsoft today further fanned the flames today, revealing plans for several midnight events in the UK and the United States on All Halo’s Eve, September 24.
Early-morning Halo 3 launch events will encompass more than 10,000 stores across the country, with major events planned in the four corners of the continental US. In New York City, the Best Buy on the corner of Fifth Ave. and 44th St. will offer Halo fans a chance to log some prelaunch playtime against celebrities, professional athletes, and Bungie staff members. Similar experiences will be on offer at the GameStop at 1000 Universal Studios Blvd. in Los Angeles, Bungie’s hometown of Seattle at the Best Buy at 457 120th Ave., and the Circuit City at 8575 Northwest 13th Terrace in Miami, Florida.
Swag slated to be given away at the regional events includes Halo Action Clix from WizKids, collectible trading cards from Topps, Halo Ghosts of Onyx by Eric Nylund from Tor Books, Frag Fest T-shirts from Mighty Fine, accessories and hats from Changes, messenger bags from Enmon Accessories, console sling bag and hardware organizers from BD&A, Halo Graphic Novels published by Marvel, 2008 Halo calendars from Trends International, Halo Uprising Comic (issue one) from Marvel, Halo soundtracks from Sumthing Else Music, weapon replicas from Master Replicas, Zune Halo 3 edition, and limited-edition figurines from the diorama created for the Halo 3 ad campaign.
Rated M for Mature, the Xbox 360 exclusive is available in three versions: the $59.99 regular edition, the $69.99 limited edition, and the $129.99 legendary edition, which comes with a miniature helmet of the game’s hero, the Master Chief. A limited-edition Spartan green and gold-colored Xbox 360 Pro bundle–which includes a matching wireless controller, a 20GB hard drive, a headset, a play-and-charge kit, an exclusive Halo 3 theme and gamer pics, as well as support for HDMI output–went on sale September 16 for $399.
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Traditionally the sound most associated with basketball, hip-hop has dominated the soundtracks for past installments in EA Sports’ NBA Live pro hoops sim. However, as it did earlier this month with the FIFA 08 soundtrack, EA has announced that the NBA Live 08 set list will include an international mix of styles, from hip-hop to electronic to rock.
EA has tapped 19 acts from across the globe for the latest in its pro baller series. The eclectic soundtrack includes tunes from Norwegian dance-punk trio Datarock, Latino hip-hop/R&B crooners The Dey, and Swedish garage-rockers The Hives.
NBA Live 08 drives to store shelves on October 2 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii. A PC version is also expected in late October. Free trials of the game are currently available on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.
A full list of bands on this year’s NBA Live 08 soundtrack is as follows.
ARTIST/SONG
Aasim “Customer”
Cool Kids - “88″
Datarock - “Fa-Fa-Fa”
DJ Jazzy Jeff feat. CL Smooth - “All I Know”
DJ Vadim feat. Emo and Syrus - “Fear Feats”
Dub Pistols feat. Terry Hall - “Running From the Thoughts”
Eve - “Tambourine”
Joss Stone - “Tell Me ‘Bout It”
Kevin Michael feat. Wyclef Jean - “It Don’t Make Any Difference”
Kid Beyond - “Mothership”
KRS-One & Marley Marl - “Hip Hop Lives”
And More…
On the day Halo 2 launched in 2004, then-Microsoft corporate VP of marketing and sales Peter Moore made the seemingly audacious claim that Bungie’s shooter would gross $100 million within 24 hours. Rash as it seemed, the guesstimate turned out to be on the conservative side, as Microsoft quickly announced Bungie’s shooter had sold a record-setting 2.38 million units worldwide on day one, generating some $125 million in revenue.
Those are tough numbers to follow, but Microsoft doesn’t appear to be shying away from the challenge. Earlier this week, Brandweek magazine shed light on Microsoft’s spare-no-expenses $10 million marketing blitz for the game. Thus far, the publishing giant has cracked its coffers on ventures including branded food items, an alternate reality game, as well as other swag giveaways including a car. Most recently, Microsoft has partnered with Target for a custom paint job on Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 40 car (pictured), to be featured during the Dover 400 Nextel Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway on September 23.
In a note to investors this week, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian predicted Microsoft’s efforts could help Bungie’s franchise recapture the title of World’s Fastest-Selling Game from Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. Tabulating preorders and estimated initial sales, Sebastian notes that sales for Halo 3 could “quickly reach” the $200 million sales milestone.
“We expect that significant preorders and broad consumer anticipation of Halo 3 will result in one of the largest and most successful product launches in digital entertainment,” he said.
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Make a date with skate.
While Tony Hawk has stood unchallenged atop the videogame half-pipe for eight years, his first real competition has finally arrived. Today Electronic Arts announced skate has shipped and is waiting patiently on retail shelves.
“EA brought me in early in the development of the game to make sure they were authentically representing the skate culture and the actual feeling of skating,” said pro skater Danny Way. “I’ve been closely watching the game progress over the last few years and it’s come a long way. I think this game is going to make a lot of heads turn. The team has done a tremendous job in capturing a realistic skate feel and the reward of landing tricks. It’s a celebration of skating and not just focused on one man but everyone and everything that makes skating fun.”
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WizKids reveals four Flood figures from the upcoming FPS-inspired board game.
Ahead the Halo ActionClix boardgame release next week (September 19), WizKids has revealed four new Flood characters and shared a little information about how you can expect to use them in the game.
First up is the Flood’s Carrier Form, which is the primary method of spreading the Flood parasite to other species. In the game, the “uncanny speed of the Carrier will be their most notable trait, allowing them to move and attack at will”. They also release the Infection Forms, which share many traits of the Carrier Form, including speed.
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To be offered in a Best Buy contest.
In conjunction with a dizzying array of promotions hyping the launch of Halo 3 on the Xbox 360 on September 25th, Best Buy has announced it will be handing out this Halo 3 themed Pontiac G6 GXP Street Edition to a lucky contest winner. Interested contestants need to pick up a copy of Halo 3 (not necessarily from BB so far as we can tell), then hit up this site on launch day to register. After that, 144 random winners will get a big collection of Microsoft Points. Following that drawing, one of these 144 will be selected to win the grand prize Halo 3 Pontiac. Not too bad, especially when all you have to do is register and then play the game.
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Shaming the competition into submission just before their big debut is common and natural skate-park etiquette. With Electronic Arts set to drop Skate later this week for the Xbox 360, Activision has rolled past Xbox Live flourishing a handstand with a demo of Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground in an effort to remind prospective consumers that the reigning champ hasn’t lost his crown just yet.Weighing in at a substantial 1.04GB, the free trial of Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground takes players to the City of Brotherly Love. As detailed in GameSpot’s recent hands-on with the demo, the streets of Philadelphia will give players a chance to try out a few of Proving Ground’s new features, such as the video editor and environment modifier.
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Eclectic international musical offering to enhance futbal action.
The soundtrack to EA’s FIFA Soccer 08 is being billed as one of the game’s largest soundtracks to date with a playlist consisting of 50 artists representing 27 different countries, thus tying into the international appeal of the sport.
The FIFA Soccer franchise has set itself apart from other games by boasting an eclectic musical mix with artists hand picked to represent a diverse array of countries who thrive on the energy of soccer. For example, this year, the soundtrack will mark the debuts of new artists like Babamars (France), Bodyrox (UK), Junkie XL (Holland), Santogold (USA), and The Hoosiers (UK), just to name a few of the new additions to the soundtrack.
Additionally, the FIFA Soccer 08 soundtrack features cuts by CSS (Brazil), Datarock (Norway), Dover (Spain), Ivy Queen (Puerto Rico), Junkie XL (Holland), Maximo Park (UK), Mexican Institute of Sound (Mexico), Peter Bjorn And John (Sweden), Planet Funk (Italy), Simian Mobile Disco (UK), Superbus (France), The Cat Empire (Australia), and Wir Sind Helden (Germany).
“We’ve been working for nearly a year to deliver what we believe is the ultimate FIFA 08 soundtrack,” says Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music at EA. “These are the most songs ever in a FIFA edition representing the most countries in the history of the videogame. In addition to an unprecedented mix of great global artists and some killer debut acts, we’re also proud to showcase our premiere Artwerk signings Junkie XL, Jupiter One and Datarock. And as in seasons past, we know that some of the hottest new artists of the coming year will emerge from our soundtrack. This is the true spirit of the EA SPORTS FIFA games: An unparalleled experience where one-of-a-kind action goes head-to-head with the thrill of the unexpected. It’s the only way to play what has become one of the most popular and only truly international sports videogame in our world today.”
And More…
For Guitar Hero fans who find that going Pete Townshend on a plastic toy guitar after a monster encore is a little anti-climactic, a company called Art Guitar is offering an alternative with a little more heft. The company is now taking preorders for a life-size alternative to RedOctane’s official ax, the limited edition AG Riff Master Guitar Controller for the PlayStation 2.
The AG Riff Master is actually a real guitar from Peavey, but it’s been heavily modified to have the standard Guitar Hero fret buttons and strum bar embedded within it. The strings have been removed so players can actually use the guitar to play the game, but the rest of the guitar–including the rosewood neck, tuning pegs, and frets–are all intact.
As for the body design, Art Guitar’s first offering will feature the iconic masters of merchandizing, KISS, decked out in full stage garb and ready to rock and roll all night, with the obligatory partying every day to follow. KISS is no stranger to the series, having lent their song “Strutter” to Guitar Hero II, and having signed the aforereferenced “Rock and Roll All Nite” to appear in Guitar Hero III.
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Bizarre Creations’ over-the-shoulder gangster shooter pushed out Q4 07 window; takes to streets in February 2008.
In August, Bizarre Creations’ GT racer Project Gotham Racing 4 apparently hit a few speed bumps, causing the game to slip from its projected September release date to October 2. While Bizarre did not officially cite specific reason for the delay, one possible explanation could be the desire for separation from that other high-profile Xbox 360 exclusive on track for release in September.
Now, Bizarre Creations’ other high-profile 2007 release is dodging the end-of-the-year gaming blitz entirely. Sega announced today that The Club will be shipped to North America for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC sometime in February 2008. Previously, the game was slated for a Q4 2007 release.
The Club depicts modern-day gladiatorial combat, where the world’s elite wager on the bloody outcome of the world’s deranged. As detailed in GameSpot’s previous coverage, players select their thuggish persona from one of eight unique fighters and then traverse the globe, killing other combatants in a variety of urban battlefields in both single-player and multiplayer modes.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger made millions starring in some of the 1980s’ and 1990s’ most 
violent films. Whether it was gunning down unarmed housewives in The Terminator, skewering Martian spies in Total Recall, or taking out an entire armed compound with the contents of a tool shed in Commando, it seemed no act of brutality was beyond the muscular action-movie icon.
However, this week Schwarzenegger gave the following statement to the Reuters news service: “We have a responsibility to our kids and our communities to protect against the effects of games that depict ultraviolent actions.” But instead of a mea culpa for his celluloid résumé, the call to action was against another form of media: games.
“Many studies show the link between playing ultraviolent video games and violent behavior,” he said. “We protect our children from buying inappropriate movies and ought to be able to protect them from buying inappropriate video games as well.” Schwarzenegger himself has starred in several games, including Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
Schwarzenegger’s comments accompanied an appeal his administration submitted to reverse a judge’s decision to strike down a California law criminalizing the sale of M-for-Mature games to minors. Penned by California State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), the law had been suspended under an injunction granted in December 2005, just one month after Schwarzenegger signed it.
While beneficial for California game retailers, the bill’s near-two-years in legal limbo didn’t come cheap. The Entertainment Software Association, the nation’s primary game-industry lobby, is claiming that the State of California owes it over $320,000 in legal fees. The ESA filed a motion seeking the financial recompense with Northern District of California judge Ronald Whyte, the same judge who struck down the law on first-amendment grounds in August.
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Three quarters of all hardware sales are for Nintendo systems.
While Nintendo’s latest console and handheld systems are seeing success worldwide, their 
accomplishment is particularly impressive in the company’s homeland of Japan. According to the latest Japanese sales data from Famitsu, the DS and Wii combined to make up 75.4 percent of all hardware sales during the month of August 2007. The DS alone accounted for 53 percent. Japanese gamers picked up 578,233 DS Lite’s during the month and 245,653 Wiis.
Nintendo was also the top publisher for the month with 20 titles in the top 50, including the best-selling game of the month, Mario Party 8, which sold almost twice as many copies as the next-best selling game, PS2’s J-League Winning Eleven 2007: Club Championship. Along with recently released games like DK Jungle Climber and The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, Nintendo has several older titles in the top 50, such as Brain Age 2 (released at the end of 2005) and Nintendogs (released in April of 2005). Nintendo’s nearest competition (in terms of publishers) is Square Enix, with five games in the top 50.
Of course many of the 30 games in the top 50 not published by Nintendo are for Nintendo systems, such as Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
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