G-News

Ubisoft is to delay four games until next year, possibly including heavyweights Haze, Rayman Raving Rabbids and Assassin’s Creed, the French publisher has announced.

n a financial report put out by Ubisoft, the company announced that, “As a result of the positive trends observed during the first half of the year as well as the positive outlook for the third quarter, Ubisoft has decided to postpone the release of certain games”.

The titles in question weren’t confirmed, but the report went on to state that, “Six franchises are now scheduled for release in 2007-08 (Brothers in Arms, Far Cry, Rayman Raving Rabbids, The Settlers, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell and an

unannounced franchise), compared with the previously announced seven.”

The report then added: “Three new brands are now scheduled for release in 2007-08 (Assassin’s Creed, Haze, Tom Clancy’s End War), compared with the previously announced six … the four games concerned will now strengthen Fiscal 2008-09”.

Fiscal 2007-2008 ends on 31 March 2008.

It will certainly be interesting to see which of these games gets delayed. While it’s no surprise to see the likes of Brothers in Arms, End War and Splinter Cell (given the latter two had been confirmed as being for 2008 anyway), it’s slightly worrying that the likes of Assassin’s Creed, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 and Haze have also been mentioned in this context as well.

Certainly, with those three games representing the publisher’s big hopes this Christmas, a delay to any of them could be a major blow.

If we hear any more on the matter, we’ll let you know.

Konami is working to iron out severe lag PS3 owners are currently experiencing with PES 2008.

An online notification displayed when gamers enter the PES 2008 lobby revealed that the publisher has uncovered “issues which can affect the online gameplay quality of PES 2008” and is working “full strength to find a solution as quickly as possible“.

At the time of writing PS3 PES 2008 is practically unplayable online, with the ball pinging about uncontrollably and players randomly disappearing and reappearing.

Konami is already suffering criticism from gamers who say the PS3 version of the game suffers from frame rate issues and slowdown. You can see why we gave the game seven out of 10 in our review here. You can also see our exclusive gameplay footage here.

In further online notifications, Konami has revealed that between 25 October and 1 November there will be daily maintenance between 08.00 - 09.00 (BST), during which time online play will be shut down. This is in addition to ongoing regular maintenance every Monday between 07.00 - 08.00 (BST).

Here’s Konami’s notification in full: “Konami Digital Entertainment has uncovered issues which can affect the online gameplay?(sic) quality of PES 2008 on PLAYSTATION 3. We?(sic) are working at full strength to find a solution as quickly as possible. We sincerely apologise for this inconvenience.

Nintendo has done an amazing thing with the Wii.  It’s so amazing that I still don’t understand how they did it.  They took existing Gamecube hardware, upgraded it, repackaged it and added the Wiimote.  They threw in a free game called Wii Sports and now every mother, grandmother, aunt, uncle, father and grandfather who never gamed before has to have one.  They have successfully infiltrated a demographic that game publishers have been trying to crack for years.  In fact, the Wii’s success seems to be because of this new demographic.  The problem with these new casual gamers is that they aren’t really gamers.  So what does this mean for Nintendo in the months to come?

I consider myself a hardcore gamer.  I’ve owned everything from an Atari 2600 up to my recent PS3 purchase.  I love games and always have.  I know where to get information on games and where to find the games that I want to play.  I can tell you what’s coming out next year, what’s in development and what’s selling in other countries.  Most gamers can give you this information.  These new ‘Wii gamers’ are the next level of casual gamers.  They bought their Wii and maybe one or two games and play the hell out of them.  If you ask them about Eye Of Judgement they’d probably look at you with utter confusion.

These new ‘Wii gamers’ don’t know games.  They were bitten by Nintendo’s marketing campaign and invested in the Wii for the fun and exercise that it offered.  They know nothing of PS3 or Xbox 360 except for what they see on tv commercials.  Are these the people you want to try and sell multi-platform games like Need For Speed Pro Street or Soul Calibur Legends?  Well I guess you WOULD want to sell those games to these gamers, but are they even interested?

Game sales aren’t as hot as system sales either.  Right now the Wii is neck and neck with the Xbox 360 for number of systems sold.  If you look at what is selling on the Wii, it’s the same old story.  Nintendo first party titles are once again in the lead. Once Nintendo plays all their Mario, Zelda, Pokemon and Donkey Kong cards, what’s left?  It’s the same thing every time they make a system.  They rehash all of their great first party titles and when they are done, they start working on a new console.  It happened with the N64, then the Gamecube, and it’s bound to happen with the Wii.

The worse part of the Wii phenomenon is that 3rd party games just aren’t selling.  When 3rd party games don’t sell, 3rd party publishers jump ship.  They go to greener grass and setup camp.  So even with over 12million units sold, I still don’t see it outlasting the 360 or PS3.  And you have to remember, they haven’t even hit Gamecube sale numbers yet.  You have to understand that Nintendo, not unlike Microsoft and the Xbox, gave up on the GC after it had sold 21 million.

My question is this, with 2008 right around the corner, how is the Wii going to compare to the onslaught of Xbox 360 and PS3 titles?  Next year is supposed to be the BIG year for the PS3.  We don’t even know what’s in store for the 360 in terms of games but something like Gears Of War 2 would definitely sell millions.  The hardcore gamers are going for the Metal Gear Solids and Gears Of War games, but Nintendo will be sporting games like(I’m not kidding here) Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey, High School Musical, Barbie As The Island Princess, Puppy Luv and all kinds of other sugary goodness.  Resident Evil:  The Umbrella Chronicles and Super Smash Bros. Brawl will be hot, but will they be hot enough to keep the Wii afloat?  Is the Wii Too around the corner?

For now we can only wait.  I do plan on picking up a Wii for my son this Christmas, but I really don’t know what the future holds for this system.  I almost think I’d be better off getting another Gamecube off of Ebay.

Snarling demons, exploding barrels and rocket launchers can only mean one thing- id Software’s Doom. The company’s 14 year old shooting series continues to both terrify and thrill audiences eager for some fast paced monster blasting action, and to celebrate its success, here’s a hellish look at the franchise that not only influenced today’s developers to make “Doom clones”, but also made tons of religious nuts extremely angry, thanks to all those demons and pentagrams.

The official website for Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa patch is due out soon to herald a myriad of changes for the upcoming massively multiplayer online (MMO) RPG. If you’re not familiar with this upcoming has announced that the final BetaNCsoft title, Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa was developed by the creators of the monumental Ultima Online MMORPG franchise, and it tells the story of humanity’s last stand against an evil alien race known as The Bane.

Tweaks in enemy damage, NPC mechanics, balancing and bug fixes mostly comprise the adjustments to be made by the final Beta patch. Here’s the complete changelog:

• The Injection Guns used by Phanin Researchers, Phanin Scientists, Phanin Engineers, and Phanin Bioengineers now do significantly less damage, and have a slower rate of fire.
• Control Point Charon’s Crossing: NPC’s make a run for the waypoint when assault bane spawn.
• Fixed TOO bug across all TOO missions on branch/trunk that would prevent Operations objective from completing if player had already completed the required missions.
• • Increase cap on ingore list from 10 to 50.
• Increase cap on friend list from 20 to 200.
• Added counter to friend and ignore list.
• Fixed bug where no player message is sent when friend/ignore list is full.
• Howling Maw Mission – Electrician’s Charge: The Thrax Machina named The Electrician now drops his Control Chip properly when killed.
• Howling Maw Mission – Curtain Call: Placing detonator on second Fuel Processing Pump now registers in the mission objective once detonated.
• Howling Maw – Players will now spawn properly in the Gangus Outpost Hospital.
• Howling Maw – Players can now acquire the Dia Uyona Hospital.
• Fixed Bug with Explosive Reinforcements in Quasso Station.

BBFC senior examiner Gianni Zamo has told MCV that rating a game can be harder than rating an equally violent film, and that the process it follows is to be re-examined over the next year.

As part of its recent Violence in Games Special, MCV spoke to Zamo about the process of rating video games and the complications involved. He told MCV: “Many game narratives are often fractured and detached from the interactive element of the game, making it difficult to see them as a whole, coherent piece.

Church leaders of Manchester Cathedral has finally asked themselves “What would Jesus do?” and forgiven Sony for featuring the historic church in Resistance: Fall of Man. After the game failed to win a BAFTA award, the Church felt it was time to be magnanimous.

After it was announced that the game had not won an award, the Dean of Manchester Cathedral, the Very Reverend Rogers Govender said: “I think some important lessons have been learnt.“So we do forgive Sony for what they have done, even though they still believe they have done nothing wrong.

“In an industry that is breaking new frontiers, it is important that long held traditions of film and television are maintained.

“These traditions include having courtesy, respecting the dignity of your subject, and admitting when mistakes have been made.

“In so many ways Sony have failed to live up to these standards by disrespecting people of faith and the victims of gun crime here in Manchester.”

Incidently, the church also admitted that tourism and visits from young people were up due to the controversy over the game.

Sounds to me like it turned out to be a win-win situation after all. The Church’s attendance is up and Sony got much free publicity. Was this a failure of the church to do the Christian thing to begin with until they felt retribution from God had been exacted or did they see the whole confrontation with Sony as a way to get publicity in the first place?

XCMLive have given Maxconsole.com a first look at the XCM XFPS 360 Sniper Edition. This is their latest revised build of their product which allows keyboard and mouse use on the Xbox 360 which is ideal for first person shooters as well as allowing the use of Playstation controllers on the system. Anyhow, they have listened to customers feedback and promise greater sensitivity, smoothness and ultimately precision hence the name Sniper. They’re confident that after many months of fine tuning they have finally derived at the perfect solution which is free from any minor annoyances. More information should be released later this week.

An Australian website has reported Toshiba as saying Microsoft will release an Xbox 360 with a built-in HD DVD drive by the end of next year.

An interview with an unnamed ‘senior Toshiba executive’ apparently reveals the pressure the HD DVD founders are under to match the success the PS3 has had on Blu-ray sales.

The apparent console will also boast a universal MP3 dock, a bigger hard drive and dual TV tuners – a la PS3’s new telly-watching add-on.

As with every ‘Microsoft to add HD DVD to 360’ rumour – currently at about one a month – Microsoft is dismissing the claims. But so is Toshiba.

A spokesperson for Tosh told Stuff.tv: ‘Toshiba has no comment to make on this matter. The Xbox 360 is not a Toshiba product.’

Microsoft pulled a fast one on Sony by launching its Xbox 360 (pictured) without a built-in HD DVD player and keeping costs down. Since then, the PS3’s Blu-ray support has seen the format take a slim lead in the HD disc showdown.

Yes, an HD DVD-sporting 360 would be sweet, but we’ll believe when we see it…

Essentials
Contact: Toshiba

Related stories:
Xbox 360’s HD DVD giveaway
Gadget of the Day – Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition
PS3 to take over TV

If you look at the Wizards of The Coast website (the people who produce the cards for The Eye of Judgement as well as iconic games like Magic: The Gathering), you’ll find the UK distribution network less than inspiring.

I mean, who really wants to trot down to their not-so-local local Dungeons & Dragons hovel to get cards for a video game?
So you will be pleased to hear that as from this Friday (in line with the launch of the much anticipated PS3 exclusive) GAME are going to stock the cards across their 700+ stores in the UK and across Europe.
To help budding UK players, GAME will be running an offer in the first two weeks after launch whereby you will get ’starter’ and ‘booster’ packs at a lower-than-usual price of £4.99 and £1.49 respectively if bought with the game. These will usually be priced at £7.99 and £2.99.
We’re pretty sure other video game retailers will follow suit but we couldn’t get any other chains to comment ahead of the launch. Since GAME control about 80% of the UK video game marketplace it’s a safe bet most of our UK readers will high-tail it down to their local store anyway.
It’s not clear on whether GAME will continue to stock the cards forever - that will depend on how many Eye of Judgement packs fly out the door.
So if you want to do your bit to ensure a steady stream of card packs without having to take a trip down Nerd Lane, go pre-order The Eye of Judgement now.