Thursday, July 19, 2007, 08:55 AM
Well, the PC version of the game at least unless things change. Here's a post by Epic's Mark Rein:
UT3 does not use Games for Windows LIVE. We have not decided about cross platform play between PC and PS3. We're not 100% sure that users want that feature but if we get time we'll play around with it and see how it works. In the mean time we plan to be able to serve the PS3 from PC servers so that should help us gets lots of great servers going.
Thanks Planet Unreal.
This could be a big blow against Microsoft, but in the end I don't think it will actually make a difference. I think that eventually most games will use Game for Windows Live or Steam, but right now its still up in the air. I also think if they offered a different pricing model then it would be adapted faster, like $4 a month. Its teh same price, but it seems cheaper.
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Wednesday, July 18, 2007, 12:52 AM
Games are supposed to be fun, right? So why do they make negative headlines so often?
Here at GamePolitics we thought it would be fun to track the most publicized gaming scandals ever and we’d like your help. Check out our Top Ten below and then vote (right sidebar) for your choice of the biggest video game scandal of all time.
25 to Life (2006) - Politicians and police groups decried Eidos’ cops & robbers shooter; game reviewers hated it too, but for a different reason: it sucked
Hot Coffee (2005) - needs no introduction. Cheeky Rockstar programmers left hidden sex animations (accidentally or otherwise) buried in the PS2 code of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Modders made sure they didn’t stay buried for long. Rockstar’s denials only made things worse. And then Hillary got involved…
Xbox 360 Red Rings of Death (2007) - Microsoft hid the extent of the 360’s hardware failures for far too long; even now they won’t say what caused the failures or how widespread the problem is, but it must be a lot because MS has set aside a billion dollars to deal with it
SimCopter (1996) - a gay programmer making a social statement secretly coded animations of men kissing to appear during game play on certain dates; he got fired and Simcopter was re-released without the guy-smooching
Manhunt 2 (2007) - officially banned in the U.K. and effectively banned by an AO rating stateside; was it the intense violence level or the ESRB’s payback to Take Two for Hot Coffee? Either way, this drama is ongoing as T2 reviews its options
PS3 Launch (2006) - fights, riots, shootings - and we’re not talking about the games - these were the unanticipated features of the PS3 launch, fueled by system shortages and over hyped consumer expectations
Columbine (1999) - when it was revealed that Dylan Harris and Eric Klebold were fans of Doom, the news fueled a firestorm of criticism over game violence that reached the Clinton White House and continues even now.
Resistance: Fall of Man (2007) - When religious leaders at Manchester Cathedral learned that PS3 launch title Resistance: Fall of Man included a level based on the interior of the house of worship they demanded a recall, drawing a dubious linkage between Resistance and local gun violence in Manchester. The story made international headlines and earned criticism from then-Prime Minister Tony Blair and Parliament. Sony issued an apology, but officials still aren’t satisfied.
Super Columbine Massacre RPG (2006) - Designer Danny Ledonne wanted to use the video game medium to explore the reasons behind the Columbine shootings; Although some acclaimed Ledonne’s effort, others hated it; the game was blamed by some for Kimveer Gill’s shooting rampage at Montreal’s Dawson College and made more headlines when officials of the Slam dance Competition yanked SCMRPG from the event.
Night Trap (1993) - the bloody Sega CD offering featured down on her luck actress Dana Plato and became the subject of hearings in the U.S. Senate over its violence; the controversy helped launch the ESA and, ultimately, the ESRB.
There’s no doubt we left out some scandals, but we had to whittle the list down to ten. If we missed your favorite, feel free to let us know in comments, or use the “other” box on the poll.
Source
This article sounds like they just did a Google search and threw it together. Only 3 were not from the most recent 3 years. This business is over 30 years old, I imagine there has been a lot more juicy "scandals".
BTW I had to correct 4 spelling errors in that article. Not good for the ECA....
Tuesday, July 17, 2007, 05:43 PM
This looks like a good RTS game. I mean who the hell doesn't want to control giant walking mechs as they shuffle along destroying armies. It has always been very satisfying for me to use one LARGE unit and squash others like flies.
Monday, July 16, 2007, 02:29 PM

Ready for a fantastical summer getaway? Instead of a travel agent, visit the Wii Shop Channel, where this week's new game offerings invite you to explore some exciting and highly unusual locales. Magical 3-D realms, balloon-filled skies and a perilous space station are just a few of the exotic destinations you'll find.
Three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday. Wii(TM) owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points(TM) to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:
Paper Mario(R) (Nintendo(R) 64, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Comic Mischief, 1,000 Wii Points): Paper Mario is a graphically innovative game that breaks from the confines of the RPG genre. Now slimmed down, everyone's favorite plumber flips, spins, jumps and hammers his way through scads of exotic worlds that teem with a huge and hugely entertaining supporting cast. Players control numerous old and new characters in a complex, nonlinear story that follows different scenarios depending on player choices. A dizzying collection of spells, attacks, skills and special items can be collected by players willing to thoroughly explore the lush 3-D environments.
Balloon Fight(R) (NES(R), 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Control a character to pop your opponents' balloons before they pop yours. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Don't be fooled by this game's simple premise or cute exterior. Underneath you'll find a surprisingly addictive game with strategy to spare. After mastering the easy-to-learn controls, you still have to get a grip on the game's impressively realistic physics. And if that's not enough, there are the ever-increasing enemies and environmental hazards like lightning and water. Try the game's second mode, Balloon Trip, if you feel like taking a break from the action and just want to see how long you can stay aloft. And hey, who doesn't like popping balloons sometimes?
Silent Debuggers (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Fantasy Violence, 600 Wii Points): Make your way through a dungeon-like space station and defeat the prowling monsters in this real-time first-person shooter. You're a member of the elite Debuggers, a group of warriors who are jacks-of-all-trades. Assigned to inspect an unmanned space station, you have exactly 100 minutes to get in, destroy the monsters lurking in each block, make your way to the lowest level and deactivate the automatic detonator placed there. With each monster that slips by you, the core block becomes harder to survive in, so speed is key in preserving the facility and each separate block.
Experience the thrill of survival as the timer ticks away and you uncover the truth of the events that occurred.
Never got a chance to play the original Paper Mario, so I'll probably be downloading this sometime shortly...
Friday, July 13, 2007, 02:21 PM

How concerned are you about possible criticisms that you should have given European consumers what SCEA has given US consumers, i.e. the option to pay a lower price?
Well, they're not really are they, because what the US are offering from the 1st of August is a USD 599 version with one game. All they're doing is taking their stock in trade that they've got at the moment of the 60GB model, marking the price down and it will all be gone by the end of July.
So once the 60GB is gone, that will be the end of the 60GB then?
In America, yes.
Why not offer the 80GB model in Europe?
The difference between 60GB and 80GB is not really necessary. The difference in cost between a 60 and 80 is just Euro cents; it's nothing, because the cost of memory is so small.
Probably we could have gone for 80GB, but does it really make any difference? We just know that we get a better supply on the 60GB than we will on the 80GB. So we chose to continue with the 60GB until we find that we can get something better, maybe lower cost. It just didn't seem necessary to us.
But if as you say there's no difference between the 60GB and 80GB, is SCEA making the right decision in offering the 80GB?
The difference is that the 60GB we have now has about 88 per cent backwards compatibility. The 60GB they had had 100 per cent backwards compatibility. They felt that by going down for 100 to 88, for example, that they'd have to add something in - and that's what they did.
That was their decision. We just felt that we didn't want to complicate things; wewanted to have one model, and we've had one model, we've done very well with it, now we'll add value and we'll think about what we'll do closer to Christmas.
Source
This is shooting yourself in the foot in a way I could never have imagined myself. I mean lowering the price tag by $100 and saying "only while supplies last", it sounds like some crappy infomercial on late night TV.
Thursday, July 12, 2007, 09:32 AM
Thursday, July 12, 2007, 09:26 AM

More Pictures Here
This is going to make me finally break down and buy a PSP....
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