Thursday, January 24, 2008

Grand Theft Auto IV: Four New Screenshots


Rockstar released four more images of Grand Theft Auto IV today. The new screenshots show some car damage (finally) and what seems to be a mission in the game in the second picture. Enjoy the screenshots!

Rock Band Instruments Going Stand Alone In February

Starting February 12, 2008, individual instruments for Rock Band will begin shipping to stores in the United States. These instruments include the Guitar, Drum Set, and Microphone. You can view the press release below. [Thanks GT]

Harmonix and EA Confirm Plans to Ship Stand Alone Instruments for Rockband on February 12th

Harmonix, one of the world’s leading developers of music-based games, and MTV Games, part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), along with distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), announced today that individual instrument peripherals for Rock Band™ will start shipping to U.S. store shelves beginning on February 12th.

“The release of standalone instruments allows Rock Band musicians to enjoy the full Rock Band experience, including drum, microphone and guitar head-to-head modes, creating a whole new level of competitive fun,” said Alex Rigopulos, CEO and co-founder, Harmonix. “We’re also delivering a stand-alone wireless guitar solution for all versions of Rock Band as well as providing the opportunity for consumers to build their band one instrument at a time.”

With standalone instrument peripherals being made available, players have the opportunity to expand the full Rock Bandexperience by competing in challenging play modes such as Microphone vs. Microphone, Drum vs. Drum and Guitar vs. Guitar. With instrument “versus” modes, gamers can battle against each other in “Score Duel” mode for the high score or in the challenging “Tug-O-War” mode, where giving the best performance is key. These exciting “versus” modes can be played locally or online and work with all Rock Band downloaded song tracks. In order to play downloadable content for head-to-head matches all players must own the same downloadable track. In addition, gamers can buy a new wireless standalone guitar to round out their Rock Band Special Edition Bundle or choose to build their band piece by piece through the purchase of individual software and instruments.

BlazBlue: Exclusive 2D Fighter for PLAYSTATION 3


BlazBlue is an upcoming 2D fighter by the makers of the Guilty Gear franchise. This new fighter is apparently exclusive for the PLAYSTATION 3. The game takes place in December 2199, around 19 years after the Guilty Gear series.

The latest issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu contains new scans of this fighter. Enjoy them. [PS3 Fanboy & NeoGAF]

PLAYSTATION 3 The Cause of Grand Theft Auto IV Delay

Well, Grand Theft Auto IV Is finally hitting April 29, 2008. Of course, it was supposed to be released a few months back. Sadly, the PLAYSTATION 3 was the cause of the title's delay. Porting the code to the PLAYSTATION 3 is what held up development.

"It's really no surprise to anybody that the PS3 was definitely a contributing factor to [the delay]," Rockstar's Jeronimo Barrera tells MTV.

Well, now that they have it in order, and bother versions are identical, you can expect to be [virtually] killing innocent pedestrians (who knows, maybe Thompson is reading) in late April.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Devil May Cry 4: PLAYSTATION 3 vs. Xbox 360 Demo Comparison

It's actually pretty weird. Devil May Cry 4, which was once a PLAYSTATION 3 exclusive and the lead console platform, has better texturing and aliasing on the Xbox 360 version of the game even though it's a port. These differences are shown in the hair, face, and such. The pictures in the link below are from the demo released on both online services today.

[DMC4 PS3/X360 Comparison]

US PLAYSTATION Store Update: January 24, 2008


Well, this is the week people. The Devil May Cry 4 demo from Capcom is finally here. Let's see what else this PLAYSTATION Network Thursday brings to us.
PSone Classics
  • Jet Moto 2 ($5.99)
Games
  • PixelJunk Monsters ($7.99 for a limited time)
Demos
  • Devil May Cry 4 demo (free)
  • The Club demo (free)
Add-Ons
  • Folklore Create a Creature Winner Add-On (free)
  • Stranglehold Map Pack ($14.99)
  • Stranglehold Collector's Edition Map Pack ($14.99)
  • Rock Band Oasis Pack 1 ($5.49)
    • "Don't Look Back In Anger" by Oasis ($1.99)
    • "Live Forever" by Oasis ($1.99)
    • "Wonderwall" by Oasis ($1.99)
  • Need for Speed ProStreet Extender Pack Premium Car Bundle #1 ($5.99)
  • Need for Speed ProStreet Extender Pack Premium Car Bundle #2 ($5.99)
Game Videos
  • Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Stevie Williams' Skater Profile (free)
Theatrical Trailers
  • Step Up 2: The Streets trailer (free)
Blu-Ray Disc Trailers
  • Dragon Wars trailer (free)
Themes
  • PixelJunk Monsters theme (free)
  • Lemmings theme (free)
Not sure if the update is up, as my PLAYSTATION 3 is getting fixed at the moment, but expect i to get up soon. My thoughts though, it's a pretty weak update putting off the Devil May Cry 4 demo. Where is Street Fighter Alpha and Rayman?

PLAYSTATION Store Worldwide
  • EU PLAYSTATION Store Update: January 24, 2008

Grand Theft Auto IV Dated for April 2008

In what seems to be one of the longest waits to hear the release date of a game, Rockstar has officially announced the release of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Yes readers, without further waiting, here it is. The official release date for Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV is April 29, 2008. You can view the press release below.

Rockstar Games Announces Release Date for Grand Theft Auto IV

Next-generation Console Debut of the Grand Theft Auto Franchise Set for April 29, 2008

New York, NY - January 24, 2008 - Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV, the new title in the genre-defining Grand Theft Auto franchise. Developed by Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto IV will be simultaneously available for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and will be in stores worldwide on April 29, 2008.

"We are so excited to be releasing Grand Theft Auto IV," said Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games. "We've pushed ourselves very hard to make something incredible and hope the game sets a new benchmark for interactive entertainment."

For more information, log onto http://www.rockstargames.com/IV

Best Buy Discontinuing 80GB PLAYSTATION 3s

It seems that electronic retailer, Best Buy, are discontinuing the 80GB PLAYSTATION 3. A new e-mail to Best Buy employees confirms this. "The 80GB version of the PS3 is going closeout and won't be replaced at this time," it reads. "It will come off the planogram on Jan. 28. The 60GB version should already be gone from stores. Only the 40GB version of PS3 will be sold in Best Buy stores at this time."

Currently, the 80GB is the only version that supports backwards compatibility, extra USB slots, and memory card slots as well. The 40GB version lacks those features.

Currently, the 40GB costs $399 and is the cheapest available. The 80GB costs $499. There has been rumors of the 40GB dropping to $299 with a new white model coming as well. The end of this e-mail states "At this time, Sony hasn't made any announcements about new products." The big words are "At this time". Seems Sony is in for some changes.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Battlefield: Bad Company Delayed

If you were looking forward to DICE's upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company, then we have some bad news. You may have to wait a bit longer. The game, which was originally scheduled to be released in March, has slipped from an early 2008 release to a general 2008 release. That means it can release any time in 2008. We will update you when more comes.

[Via IGN] [Thanks Christoffer!]

First Ever "ICO 3" Screenshot Revealed

What you see here is the first ever screenshot of the upcoming 'ICO 3' from Sony's careers section. There isn't really any other information stated on the career page though, only job positions.

[Via Synthesis]

New Prince of Persia Appearing in Fiscal Year '08

Ubisoft is apparently working on the next Prince of Persia game. It is suspsected that a new prince will emerge in the next title, which is supposed to released this fiscal year '08 (April 08 to March 09).

Nothing else was mentioned in this release other than they are working on it.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]