Gaming News that doesn't need a thread

Dark Souls does DIY shield designing


You wouldn?t think that a punishing, niche game likeDark Souls and the social networking of Facebook would ever really mix together, but even the most dedicated on knights need to poke their friends from time to time.Thus, action RPG is hosting a competition via the social site. Fans are given three shield templates to sketch their own designs onto, which they can then submit to be voted on by other fans. Entries can be submitted all the way up to July 28, although only those submitted before or on July 13 will go through to the final vote.

http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/06/28/dark-souls-does-diy-shield-designing/

 

?We?re trying to figure out the next Mass Effect? ? BioWare



BioWare wants to create more Mass Effect games, this we know. What shape they?ll take though remains unclear, for the time being even for BioWare itself it would seem.Chatting with Forbes recently, studio co-founder Ray Muzyka said they do have ?a desire to continue the Mass Effect franchise? and that they?re ?working on the details, figuring out what the fans want, figuring out the right way.?They?ve been pondering over what?s next for a while now, too, with executive producer Casey Hudson back in April saying they?ve been searching for ?a way that makes sense for people to experience Mass Effect with their friends.?

http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/06/28/were-trying-to-figure-out-the-next-mass-effect-bioware/

 

Mortal Kombat's Kenshi DLC character will be out next Tuesday, July 5th

[video=youtube;TSebZA7WwJw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSebZA7WwJw[/video]

Video:Mortal Kombat's Kenshi DLC character will be out next Tuesday, July 5th, on both Xbox Live and PSN. Naturally, there's a trailer that gives a taste of what's to come; watch it here.

http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/06/28/mortal-kombats-kenshi-dlc-in-a-week/

 

Dirt 3 ships a million, new DLC out

Dirt 3 ships a million, new DLC outCodemasters? latest racer, Dirt 3, has shipped over a million copies worldwide, the publisher?s revealed today.The news goes well with the new Monte Carlo track pack that?s out on Xbox Live Marketplace and the PS Store today (800 MS Points and $9.99/£6.29/?7.99, respectively). The new content brings eight new Rally stages, all playable in all single-player, split-screen and online multiplayer.Head to the gallery for a first-hand look at what you?ll be buying.
http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/06/29/dirt-3-ships-a-million-new-dlc-out/

 

MotorStorm Apocalypse limited time demo races to PSN

A multiplayer demo of MotorStorm Apocalypsehas arrived on PSN. Though, strangely, the sampler will be available for download for 7 days only. A ?special week-long demo event,? the PS Blog has branded it.Online play will remain active until next Thursday, July 7 at 02:00 PDT.Included are three maps ? The Mile High Club, Off the Rails, Ship Shape ? for 16-player online and 2-player split-screen races, with five vehicle types ? Superbike, Buggy, Supercar, Racing Truck and Big Rig ? to choose from. Stereoscopic 3D support is also in.Worth the download? Jamie rather liked it; he gave high remarks to the fast-paced online modes in his review back in March.
http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/06/29/motorstorm-apocalypse-limited-time-demo-races-to-psn/

 

Sony restructures management

Sony announced today that the company is shaking things up at the top.Kaz Hirai, formerly head of Sony Computer Entertainment, is being pushed up the ladder and is now (deep breath) ?Representative Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation, and President of Consumer Products & Services Group (CPSG)?.Andrew House, formerly head of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, takes over his old job.Jim Ryan, formerly VP and Co-COO of SCEE, will in turn take up House?s old position.That means the Board of Directors now looks like this:Kazuo Hirai, Chairman Andrew House, President and Group CEO Kunimasa Suzuki, Deputy President Howard Stringer, CEO and President of Sony Corporation Masaru Kato, Chief Financial Officer of Sony Corporation The changes also mean that chairman Akira Sato will retire, and that Ken Kutaragi will retire from the role of Honorary Chairman of SCEI. Kutaragi, the ?father of PlayStation?, will still be around as the senior technology adviser of Sony Corporation.

 

Sony starts thinking virtual reality

With 3D technology just out the door, Sony is looking forward to what they expect to be the next big thing in gaming: virtual reality. According to Mick Hocking, the top man in*Sony?s worldwide studios stereoscopic 3D team, immersive VR gaming could be available ?in the not too distant future,? even with current technology.With the company?s recently announced head-mounted display (HMD), Hocking expects gaming to get where ?we really wanted to get with virtual reality in the ?80s,? but couldn?t due to the limited ability of the tech. However, he says we now have the power, as well as the*screen resolution, to do virtual reality gaming properly. Hocking continues, saying ?we?ve got the processing power to update fast enough so that we can have very, very immersive experiences on head-mounted displays in gaming in the not too distant future.?
http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/06/30/sony-starts-thinking-virtual-reality/

 

Portal 2 mapping contest produces downloadable results

There?s new Portal 2DLC to be had; it?s not official content from Valve, though. Instead, fan site thinkingwithportals.com has announced (via) the winners of its Portal 2mapping contest.It took 13 judges and 140 hours to play through the 240 total submissions. Serious stuff, but worth it as the winners have been crowned: first spot went to Patent Pending, second to Infinifling, and third to Edifice.All three are downloadable via the links above, with more available via the site?s announcement post here. Some nice co-op maps there too.Valve?s own DLC (and I don?t mean this cruel hoax) for the 3-million-seller is due out later in the summer.
http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/06/30/portal-2-mapping-contest-produces-downloadable-results/

 

PlayStation Plus turns one, gives users gifts

The official PlayStation.Blog has made it known that PlayStation Plus, Sony?s subscription service for the PlayStation Network, turns one this week. In order to celebrate, the powers that be aren?t asking for gifts or cards, they intend to mark the one year anniversary by giving Plus subscribers the gift of an extended life. Well, an extended digital life on the Plus subscription plan anyway.Available only until July 11, the birthday celebration offer gives PSN users who purchase a 3-month or 1-year PlayStation Plus package an additional 1 month or 3 months, respectively, tacked on to their subscription. Essentially, it works out to the buyers either getting 15 months for the price of 12 or 4 months for the price of 3. With the Plus service offering discounts, free DLC, free games, and other perks, PSN users should be all over this.
http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/06/30/playstation-plus-turns-one-gives-users-gifts/

 

Rage goes ?behind the scenes? ? new video

The 'making of' videos for id Software's Rage have kicked off. Titled "The Legacy of id," this first one starts the 6-part series by going all the way back to the studio's roots and how they pioneered the genre.
http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/06/30/rage-goes-behind-the-scenes-new-video/

 

Battlefield 3 recognized as ?risk factor? for Call of Duty

In a note to investors, Activision's Modern Warfare 3 is getting high praise from Stern Agee's Arvind Bhatia. The very impressive closing chapter of the Modern Warfarestoryline will probably out-do its 2010 predecessor Black Ops, the analyst believes. Regardless, EA and DICE's challenger Battlefield 3 is deemed a risk factor for the Call of Duty franchise in general. Battlefield 3; game looks good, writes the analyst, expecting it could take some market share from the Call of Duty franchise. Joining Battlefield 3 under a Risk factors heading in the note is EA-owned BioWares upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is still foggy on release dates: Star Wars MMO could bite into the World of Warcraft subscribers. Bhatia expects Blizzard to be very aggressive in defending its subscriber base though.

http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/20...3-recognized-as-risk-factor-for-call-of-duty/

 

BioShock Infinite gets Spike special next week, some gameplay now

A mammoth 15-minute demo from Irrational?s E3 showing of BioShock Infinitewill be aired on Spike next Thursday. It?s being dressed up as a half-hour special even, the first half of which will consist of chatter between creative man Ken Levine and host Geoff Keighley, and the other half of actual gameplay.Here to give a little taste of what?s to come is Levine now; watch the video below for additional deets as well as the first 2 minutes of gameplay.

http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/20...ts-spike-special-next-week-some-gameplay-now/

 

Media Molecule ?stepping away? from LittleBigPlanet

Franchise creator Media Molecule is ?stepping away? from the PlayStation-only LittleBigPlanetseries.According to studio director Siobhan Reddy, as tweeted by Edge (via) from the on-going Gamelab Conference in Barcelona, MM is looking to spread its wings and ?focus on some new ideas.? No word on what those ideas may be though.Since its inception back in 2006, LittleBigPlanetand LittleBigPlanet 2remain MM?s only games. The PSP and PS Vita versions were/are developed by different studios.

http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/07/01/media-molecule-stepping-away-from-littlebigplanet/

 

Batman: Arkham City ? 12 minutes of pure gameplay


[video=youtube;tCw_GKUK7bE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCw_GKUK7bE[/video]

Video posted on July 1st, 2011Batman: Arkham City ? 12 minutes of pure gameplayWB has made a lengthy gameplay demo of Rockstar's October-bound Batman: Arkham City available in video form; Batman, Catwoman, Two-Face, plus more thugs than you'd care to count all make an appearance.

http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/07/01/batman-arkham-city-12-minutes-of-pure-gameplay/

 

New Sonic games teased

During a chat with a rep from SEGA Mexico, some hints were given about some possible upcoming Sonic titles.Firstly, there will apparently be a new title in what are tentatively being named the ?Storybook? games, with Sonic and the Secret Ringsand Sonic and the Black Knightbeing the first two titles in the series.Secondly, we can expect more from the ?Superstars? series, where the first entries have been SEGA Superstars, SEGA Superstars Tennis, and SEGA All-stars Racing.TSSZ had sniffed out the news.If the above is true, SEGA is not really taking its own advice and releasing fewer Sonic games.
http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/07/01/new-sonic-games-teased/

 

ESRB: Original Crysis console bound

Thanks for the New Elmo-JO, Keep it coming

The original Crysisnever saw the light of day on consoles, despite the many, many, many rumors to the contrary. Let?s add another to that list then, shall we? If reports are to be believed, the Crytek FPS is headed to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 at some point in the future.It seems the ESRB is the ignition for this batch of speculation, listing the game as having been approved for an ?M for Mature? rating on PC and, now, the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles. What started the renewed search of the ESRB database was a listing on the Korean Game Rating Board website, which gave Crysisa rating, causing fans to scour the US site.Electronic Arts has made no official announcement, of course.
http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2011/07/02/esrb-original-crysis-console-bound/

 

The Daily Show Treatment Given to This Week's Supreme Court Decision

[video=youtube;5E9E6TFjlnI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E9E6TFjlnI[/video]
Jon Stewart talks about the Supreme Court's decision to strike down California's violent videogame bill.
As it's a political matter, this week's decision by the Supreme Court to strike down a bill that would ban the sale of violent videogames to minors is right up the alley of The Daily Show. It's a few days late in getting around to the matter, but the show spent a few minutes last night covering the decision and showing some particularly gruesome clips from Mortal Kombat. Jon Stewart himself admits, "Personally, I don't know if videogame violence affects children." He highlights how arbitrary it is that violent content can't be regulated while sexual content can be. It does seem to be a strange distinction and it's unclear exactly what side of the argument he comes down on personally.
http://www.1up.com/news/daily-show-treatment-supreme-court-decision

 

I didn't it's about fairness, nudity vs violence in games. I think it should focus on parent responsibility & monitoring what kids are playing.