Category: Xbox 360

SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 Reaches Greatest Hits Status

THQ has announced that the award winning WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 has achieved “Greatest Hits” status on Sony PlayStation consoles and “Player’s Choice” status on Nintendo Wii. Given the game’s stellar writing, this isn’t a surprise. Here’s a clip from the press release:

The latest edition to the renowned fighting videogame franchise, has achieved “Greatest Hits” status in North America for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and PSP (PlayStation Portable) system, as well as joined Nintendo’s “Player’s Choice” collection in North America for the Wii video game system.

The word on the street is that the writing in SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 is even more spectacular. I’ll be hitting up Summer Slam 2010 to get a better idea of how the game is shaping up and to hit on Nattie Neidhart.

Congratulations to THQ and everyone that worked on SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 — particular the outstanding writing staff.

EA Leaving Money on the Table with NBA Jam for PS3/Xbox 360?

As RPadholic smartguy mentioned yesterday, you have to buy NBA Elite 11 in order to play NBA Jam for PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. Depending on your perspective, the scheme is either genius or moronic. Certainly there are some gamers that want to play both games, but I know loads of gamers that love arcade sports and can’t stand simulation sports. My old sidekick Brian Leahy is one of them. He wrote:

Personally, I’m interested in playing NBA Jam on my PS3 or Xbox 360, but I’m not about to drop $60 on NBA Elite 11 to do so. I am, however, willing to pay $10 or $15 for NBA Jam itself.

Not sold as a standalone, I think EA is leaving money on the table.

That boy is wise beyond his years….

Anyway, what do you think of EA’s ploy? Is it clever? Or is it just dumb? Do you think EA will eventually sell NBA Jam through PSN and Xbox Live? Do you think the company has it planned out and is being dishonest by claiming NBA Elite is the only way to get NBA Jam on the aforementioned platforms? Conspiracy!!!

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EA Create Announcement Video

Here’s a video of Electronic Arts’ Create, a recently announced title that blends gameplay and game design. A lot of people are comparing it to Sony’s LittleBigPlanet. Certainly there are similarities, but Create appears to have enough features that differentiate it from Media Molecule’s award-winning game. Furthermore, it has the benefit of being a multiplatform title.

Check out the trailer and let me know what you think (please!). Will Create be able to reach a broader market than LittleBigPlanet thanks to being multiplatform and geared towards younger gamers? Will it be the media darling that LittleBigPlanet was? Are any of you interested in this game or games like it?

NBA Jam Gets Manute Bol and Spud Webb

As if having the legendary Detlef Schrempf wasn’t enough, EA Sports has revealed that the late Manute Bol and the diminutive Spud Webb will be featured in the NBA Jam remake. This downloadable game brings back the old-school gameplay of the original and modernizes it with motion controls. I checked out NBA Jam for Shacknews during E3 2010 and mentioned some of the NBA legends featured in the game:

The game also features NBA legend Detlef Schrempf…as well as Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Larry Bird, Dennis Rodman, James Worthy, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Kevin McHale.

Sorry…just wanted to quote myself. More importantly, creative director Trey Smith told ESPN’s Jon Robinson:

I’m able to confirm are Bird, Magic, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dennis Rodman, James Worthy, Kevin McHale, Detlef Schrempf, Spud Webb and Manute Bol. Manute was such a special guy and did so much humanitarian work. When he died, that really broke our heart. It was important for us to get him in the game, and he’s such a great shot blocker in the game, which is so important in “Jam.” We’re very honored to have him in the game.

That’s cool that the devs put Bol in the game as a tribute. He should have an alternate lion costume as a bonus. Dude did kill a lion after all.

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Sony to Overtake Microsoft in the Near Future?

A good number of my gaming industry colleagues believe that it’s only a matter of time before the global installed based of the Sony PlayStation 3 overtakes that of the Microsoft Xbox 360. I lean that way myself, but don’t want to make any predictions (I’ll leave that to Pachter). With that in mind, I was surprised by the number crunching and gathering done by Industry Gamers. The race is way closer than I thought it was. Check it out:

The respective global installed bases for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are showing 41.7 million units sold for Microsoft and 38.1 million for Sony. That’s a difference of just 3.6 million units on a worldwide basis, and considering that Microsoft got a full 1-year head start with the Xbox 360, it shows how strong Sony has come on of late.

It shows that Sony is doing something very right, or that Microsoft is doing something wrong and failed to really capitalize on its early jump on the next-gen market. Numerous analysts have said that PS3 could pass Xbox 360 in the years ahead, and if this PS3 sales pace keeps up, and if Microsoft doesn’t jump start its business with Kinect this holiday, then we could easily see it happening. Over the last fiscal year, 10.3 million Xbox 360 consoles were sold, but Sony shifted 14.3 million PS3 units.

Q4 2010 will be extremely interesting. Will Microsoft be able to snag new customers with Kinect? Will Sony be able to do the same with Move? Will Sony be able to maintain its momentum? Under optimum conditions, there’s a chance that Sony will be able to close the gap by the end of the year — something I didn’t think was possible until 2011.

Most importantly, I want to know what you think of these numbers. How do you think things will play out in 2010? Leave your predictions in the comments section (please)! You can even give yourself a two-million unit margin of error like Michael Pachter.

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20 Street Fighter X Tekken Screens

As promised, here are some screens from the upcoming Street Fighter X Tekken. There’s lots of Kazuya and Ryu, with a little bit of Chun-Li and Nina thrown in to up the sexy girl factor. As you can see, the game pretty much looks like Super Street Fighter IV, with some Tekken characters and a tag mode thrown in.

Check out the screens and let me know what you think (please)!

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Street Fighter X Tekken Unveiled at Comic-Con 2010

In arguably the biggest videogame surprise at Comic-Con 2010, Capcom and Namco announced Street Fighter X Tekken during a panel. The setup was brilliant — the Capcom panel featuring producer Yoshinori Ono was “crashed” by the Tekken team headed up by project leader Katsuhiro Harada. Capcom will be handling the 2D Street Fighter X Tekken, while Namco Bandai will be working on Tekken X Street Fighter (presumably 3D). Here a clip from the Capcom press release:

Utilizing the same technology that powered Street Fighter IV & Super Street Fighter IV, Tekken characters such as Kazuya Mishima and Nina Williams will make the transition into the Street Fighter universe having been re-imagined using the much-loved art style of these seminal titles; while retaining their unique characteristics and signature moves as they go head-to-head with classic brawlers from the Street Fighter franchise in what promises to be the ultimate match up.

As in Street Fighter IV, 2D gameplay will feature fully realized 3D character models battling for domination in both new and familiar highly detailed environments that are brought to life with engaging animations. In addition to modes such as Versus and Training that will feature new enhancements to make the fighting experience more in-depth and enjoyable, Street Fighter X Tekken will include Tag Team combat where players select two fighters to deliver knockout assist attacks and special combos.

I’m uploading a bunch of screens from the game, so stay tuned for those. For now, let me know your Street Fighter vs. Tekken dream fight.

Microsoft Partners with ARM, Portable Xbox on the Way?

Microsoft recently entered into a partnership with ARM Holdings, the dominant name in mobile processing. While there are all sorts of products that would benefit from ARM chips (Zune media players, Windows Phone 7 handsets), one (remote?) possibility is a portable gaming device. GigaOm’s Kevin Tofel wrote:

Another possibility arose a few hours ago in our weekly live mobile technology podcast. Folks in the chat room suggested a viable option for portable gaming — Microsoft has a large Xbox Live community but hasn’t leveraged it in the mobile space. While the upcoming Microsoft Windows Phone 7 phones will have some type of Xbox Live integration, they won’t be poised as true handheld gaming machines. Even with the Xbox Live effort generating $1 billion a year, Microsoft currently has no portable gaming initiative to compete with Apple, Nintendo and Sony.

What do you guys and dolls think? Will Microsoft compete with Nintendo and Sony on the portable front? Will it be able to nab a bigger slice of the mobile gaming pie than Sony? Would you be interested in a portable Xbox system with Xbox Live functionality?

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Halo Reach Limited Edition Xbox 360 is Slim, Silver, and Sexy

Microsoft has unveiled an Xbox 360 250GB Halo: Reach bundle featuring a silver Xbox 360 slim. Available on September 14, the console comes with two silver controllers and Halo: Reach. Here are more details from Captain Marketing Major Nelson:

Designed by Bungie, the Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo: Reach Bundle includes all the features of the newly designed Xbox 360 console, such as a 250 GB Hard Drive and the fastest built-in Wi-fi. Additionally, you’ll receive two Limited Edition Wireless Controllers and a standard edition copy of Halo:Reach. The bundle will be available for US $399 in limited quantities and only while supplies last.

It looks pretty hot. Any of you tempted to pick it up? Let me know in the comments section, please. If you need more convincing, check out these additional photos.

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Pachter Predicts Kinect Will Sell 2- to 4-Million by March 2011

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has gazed into his magic eight ball and come to the conclusion that Microsoft will sell up to four-million units of Kinect for Xbox 360. According to Gamasutra:

Wedbush analysts Michael Pachter and Edward Woo expect most existing Xbox 360 owners to wait until Kinect’s price drops before picking one up, but estimate that early adopters could still drive sales of two to four million units by March 2011.

Pachter says all sorts of crazy things between his accurate predictions. What do you think of his prediction for Kinect? Is it on the money? Or should this be filed under bat-sh*t crazy?!? I’m leaning towards the latter.

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