Grand Theft Auto IV coming to PC on November 18
Rockstar Games today announced the staggered arrival of GTA IV on PC, as has been the case with every GTA game in the past. "We are very excited to be releasing the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV," said Sam Houser, founder of Rockstar Games. "The game looks and plays beautifully on PC, and we can't wait for people to play it."
In addition to the already proven gameplay of PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, the PC port will feature a "newly expanded multiplayer" mode, said Rockstar. It is unclear what (if any) other additions will be made.
Regardless, PC players hoping to terrorize Liberty City will have their chance on November 18.
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07.08.2008Meteor Games Announces New MMOG
Meteor Games, the creator of Neopets, has announced their new multiplayer game called Twin Skies. Targeted towards players of all ages, users will have multiple access points for the game allowing them to play when, where and for however long they would like to. Players will be able to interact with one another through web-based games, mobile applications on cell phones, and social networks.
"We're excited to announce Twin Skies, […] a much more ambitious undertaking that aims to change the way gamers of all ages play and socialize in MMOs," said Adam Powell, CEO and creative director, Meteor Games. "Twin Skies' technology and design will allow players to access the game from anywhere and in any way they choose. The immersive world, advanced technology and accessible gameplay will be fun for gamers young and old, casual and hardcore alike."
The website for the game has already been launched and provides forums and games to enrich the experience. The online games will eventually provide users points that can be used in Twin Skies to purchase everything from avatars to unlocking new parts of the game and website. For example, achieving a high score in the Web-based Hungry Junkworm mini-game might create a huge junkworm in the Twin Skies game world which will then head off and attack players.
According to the creators, Twin Skies is the story of two planets locked together in close orbit. When one, named Stormia begins to crack apart, the other planet begins receiving visits from a many uninvited guests.
Twin Skies is expected to launch in 2009 and go beta soon. To take part in the limited beta test, potential players can visit them at the Penny Arcade Expo this year to sign up.
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06.08.2008Thailand Bans Grand Theft Auto IV
Copies of Grand Theft Auto IV have been pulled in Thailand after a teenager confessed to murdering a taxi driver. The 18-year-old high school student is accused of stabbing the cab driver to death by trying to copy a scene from the game. Thai newspapers say the teenager, whose name has been withheld, was arrested while trying to steer a cab backwards out of a Bangkok street with the driver still in the back seat. Police claim the 18-year-old confessed to stealing the taxi and said he killed the 54-year-old driver after he fought back. The teenager could face the death penalty if he is found guilty.
Bangkok police Captain Veerarit Pipatanasak said: "
He wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game." The biggest video game publisher in the south-east Asian country, New Era Interactive Media, has told retailers to stop selling GTA IV.
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05.08.2008Thai youth imitates Grand Theft Auto in cab murder
A Thai teenager has confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver after trying to imitate scenes from the controversial "Grand Theft Auto" video game, police said on Monday. The 18-year-old high school student, now in custody pending further investigations and a trial, faces death by lethal injection if found guilty of robbing and killing a 54-year-old taxi driver with a knife at the weekend.
Police said the youth, an obsessive player of the video game, showed no sign of mental problems during questioning and had confessed to committing the crime explicitly because of the game.
"He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game," chief investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak told Reuters. The youth, described by his parents as polite and diligent, was arrested late on Saturday after he was found trying to steer a cab backwards out of a Bangkok street with the severely wounded driver in the back seat, newspapers reported.
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04.08.2008id Software's Tim Willits Talks Rage
At last year's QuakeCon, id Software gave GameSpy a first good look at its latest major title, Rage. Using the new id Tech 5 engine, the game was presented with a setting of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and gameplay that would be part first-person shooter and part vehicular combat. We haven't seen much since then, however, including this year's QuakeCon, where id showed off a new two-minute trailer but nothing more. So to dig a little deeper, we cornered id Software creative director Tim Willits, who offered some insight into the game's setting and backstory.
"The game takes place in the near future after a comet destroys most of the Earth," said Willits. "You play a character from the past who wakes up in this new future world. There was supposed to be a plan to have been enacted to restart society but that plan has gone astray. It's first your job to survive the world, to learn about the world, and then to work with the settlers and different factions to fix the problem."
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03.08.2008Next Doom Game Announced
Kicking off the festivities at QuakeCon, id CEO Todd Hollenshead took the stage during the keynote presentation and promised he would be showing off either Rage or the previously unannounced Doom 4. So which did they actually end up showing? Well, kind of both. Before a brand new Rage video, Hollenshead officially announced "the next Doom game."
While id was not ready to spill any big details beyond a teaser, Hollenshead did promise some of the classic Doom elements: "There will be guns, blood, demons, and gibs." When one fan let out his desire for "flashlight tape" from the audience, Hollenshead joked that his Quake Live account should be banned.
Later in the keynote, after the Rage video rolled, id's John Carmack promised that the next Doom game will "look like it's built on another engine" compared to the already amazing-looking Rage. Carmack said that the Doom project will use "three times the horsepower," and as such it will run at 30 frames per second compared to Rage's 60. Both Rage and Doom will be running on the id Tech 5 engine.
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01.08.2008Activision: PlayStation 3 Will Outsell Xbox 360
During a conference call today, Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith detailed the company's expectations for console sales across 2008, revealing its belief that the PlayStation 3 will sell more systems than the Xbox 360 this year.
By the end of the current calendar year, Activision believes the consoles will sell:
* PlayStation 3: 8 million units
* Xbox 360: 6-7 million units
* Wii: 15 million units
* PlayStation 2: 4-5 million units
Griffith also noted the company's expectation that handhelds will grow "in excess of 24 million," but did not provide a specific breakdown between PSP and Nintendo DS.
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01.08.2008Station Voice Released for EverQuest II & Star Wars Galaxies
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - July 31, 2008 - Station Voice™, a service powered by Vivox® that allows players to talk to each other in online games, is now available in the role-playing games EverQuest® II and Star Wars Galaxies™, Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), announced today. Station Voice, which is scheduled to be available next month in EverQuest, is available for players at no additional cost with their current subscription plan.
"In-game voice chat is an enhanced new feature gamers of all levels can enjoy. Now, SOE's players can easily talk to one another and better enjoy the online gaming experience," said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. "The integration of Station Voice into these initial games was seamless, and we look forward to incorporating this added gaming experience into other SOE titles, as well as implementing the next phase of features to come soon."
The initial launch of Station Voice will allow players to:
* Talk person-to-person in game with any microphone and headset combo
* Chat with their party, guild or any other group in game
* Play and communicate without worry of a significant increase in game lag
* Manage group/user participation with moderator controls
* Individually mute and set volume per user
* Set up easily without the need for separate software, accounts or registration
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31.07.2008Next banned game "could be BioShock 2"
Vincent Scheurer has issued a warning over the possible future of a BBFC rated games industry, at the Develop conference in Brighton.
Scheurer, founder of the business consultancy Sarassin, said that the costs RockStar incurred in overturning the BBFC's ban on Manhunt 2 would have put an independent developer out of business, and further warned that due to the vague reasons given for the ban any game could be next.
"The costs of the Manhunt 2 ban to RockStar were massive - an independent developer would be out of business," he explained.
"It makes the business of making games that much harder."
During his talk, he explained the stated reasons behind the Manhunt 2 ban, including the level of realism, the lack of a puzzle element and the lack of humour.
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31.07.2008Successful Launch of The Sims Carnival
Tavant Technologies and Electronic Arts have announced the successful launch of their new website for
The Sims CarnivalThe Sims Carnival aims to turn millions of online gamers into game designers with no programming skills required.
By using the Wizard tool, users are given options to create their own games ranging from Action to Shooter style and customize and publish them when they are fully created.
Once published, users have the ability to create online communities based on their games as well as share them through their favorite social networking websites!
Easy and incredibly fun, The Sims Carnival is bound to succeed in not only turning millions into game designers, but in addicting much of the internet to new and exciting games!
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31.07.2008Nintendo closing in on 30 million Wii sales
Nintendo are closing in on 30 million sales for Nintendo Wii, with the company optimistic about future sales of their family oriented console.
The Nintendo Wii has become a massive crossover success for the company, cornering the family market and opening gaming out into whole new areas.
The motion-sensor driven gameplay has proven to be a massive hit with families – and the reintroduction of simple games that don't require hours of practices to play has inevitably marked it out as different from the more gamer specific PlayStation and Xbox.
Total Wii sales are currently at 29.72 million units – and with Nintendo predicting a 34 per cent rise in the coming year, the landmark of 30 million will follow sooner rather than later.
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30.07.2008Nintendo Sues Over Game Equipment
Game company Nintendo announced today that it had filed a lawsuit against five Japanese firms for importing and selling equipment that enables illegal game programs to be played on Nintendo's popular DS portable video game player. The company, maker of the popular Wii game console, said it filed the lawsuit earlier in the day at the Tokyo District Court together with 54 other Japanese software makers. Details are sparse at the moment, and we will update as more information arises.
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29.07.2008Brutal Legend, Ghostbusters, more dropped by Activision
Earlier today, Activision Publishing announced a streamlining of its Vivendi Games operations, saying it would be bringing into the fold five of that company's franchises: Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Ice Age, Prototype, and one unannounced game.
An Activision representative later confirmed for GameSpot that those would be the only Vivendi Games franchises coming out of the publisher. That leaves a number of high-profile projects in limbo, including Double Fine Productions' Brutal Legend, as well as Wet, Ghostbusters, Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, World at Conflict: Soviet Assault, 50 Cent Blood on the Sand, Zombie Wranglers, Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust, as well as several Xbox Live Arcade titles.
"The only franchises that Activision Publishing will release are based on Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age and Spyro, as well as Prototype and one other game that has not yet been announced," the representative said. "We are reviewing our options regarding those titles that we will not be publishing."
Activision Blizzard has other publishing arms like Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Value that were not covered by the press release and could be among the options being reviewed. As of press time, representatives from those companies did not return requests for comment.
A scheduled Comic Con International panel on the Ghostbusters game was abruptly cancelled last week, with no explanation given to attendees. However, the game was on the show floor in playable form.
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