Carrie Gouskos mentions her interview on ChaosCast no.4 and the sudden realisation that Warhammer Online is no 'little thing'.

Times they are a-changin' at Warhammer Alliance, and Garthilk posts about the state of WHA and plans for the future. Plans involving a reorganisation, a database and of course ... a wiki!

Vale writes a new Warrior Priest blog, huzzah!

John Darwin is on trial at the moment for faking his death in a canoeing accident while his wife cashed in on the life insurance. It's a bizarre case. Anyway, in her defense case earlier this week, she mentioned MMOs (saying her husband had met someone he'd gone on to have an affair with over one).

Relmstein classifies the different types of villains we meet in MMORPGs.

Keen posts his first article on E3 and Warhammer Online over at the Vault. His second piece is also up over there, or you can read it on his own blog.

mmorpg.com sent a journalist to check out WAR at E3 and she gives her reactions here. Will have to remember to go thank her if our dwarf girls get cool jewelry.

As I often see during demos, the guys showed me the various male characters. I wanted to see the females. So when I got the chance for hands-on, I scrolled through the various races and careers and decided to customize a Dwarven female. Sorry, no beards for female Dwarves. Okay... I could live with that but where was MY jewelry? Wait just one doggone minute. How come the male Dwarves got jewelry and the females didn't?

“We can look at that!” was the chorus of replies.

Bruce Everiss writes about virtual worlds, including MMORPGs and investment into these worlds. Not sure what his point is, except that they cost a lot and the earning potential is huge, but they often fail. I could have said that and I'm no 'veteran games industry marketer'.

For those who wanted, there's another white lion vid here, it includes some footage of a fully grown white lion. Oh, you wanted more info about White Lions in the game? Check out this brief preview at gamespot.

Games Workshop have posted a preview to Games Day UK 2008 on their site.

Random things you should watch this week: Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and the Watchmen trailer.

Love RPGs and hate saving money - this could be the product for you!! Of course, it's only available in Japan, but we hereby launch the quest to get it released over in the UK and US.

Straight from the steaming hot plate of E3 to your gaping mouth, comes the confirmation of the rumors we've all been suspecting.  That Bioware MMO you've been hearing about is indeed a KOTOR MMO, and is being worked on in partnership with Lucas Arts.  Portfolio.com has the pertinent information--here's an excerpt from the interview:

"We've got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development," said [EA CEO] Riccitiello. The first title, based on the Warhammer property, will launch soon. "And the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about -- in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it."

Does Riccitiello mean the oft rumored Knights of the Old Republic Online?  "Yes," he said.

So, are you excited about another Star Wars MMO, or have you been burned by Star Wars Galaxies?

--WG

"We've got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development," Riccitiello told Portfolio.com. "The one that people are dying for us to talk to them about -- in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it."

When asked pointedly if the game he was referring to was the oft-rumored Knights of the Old Republic MMO, the CEO simply responded "Yes."

BioWare has made several mentions of its in-development MMO project, but has remained characteristically silent on which, if any, property it would license for the title.

Earlier this year, however, BioWare and LucasArts announced that they had partnered for an unspecified project, leading many to speculate that the Star Wars MMO was indeed in development.

No release date or platforms have yet been revealed for the long-in-development MMO. A PC version is likely, though BioWare has made several comments indicating that it may be considering a console release as well.

Cell phones are not just for texting and chatting anymore. The ubiquitous devices now are becoming highly sophisticated mobile-gaming platforms as major firms such as Activision and Electronic Arts come out with mobile versions of their most popular games. "Guitar Hero" for mobile phones, for instance, has quickly been rising in the gaming ranks, according to M:Metrics. (The New York Times 7/17)

As of May, Guitar Hero's mobile version ranked ninth among top-selling games.

With an assist from MediaFLO USA, ESPN has launched EXPN, a mobile video channel that will serve up coverage of the cable sports network's X Games. The channel, available to those who have the AT&T Mobile TV and Verizon Wireless V CAST Mobile TV, will air 31 hours of live coverage of the event, which runs from July 31 to Aug. 3. (World Screen News 7/16, RCR Wireless News 7/16)

I sent Gamefly the following complaint:

I am a long time member and am considering canceling my account for this reason. As a mother of two children, I am disappointed with the graphic advertisements on your website. I can't even watch the game trailers with my kids because the previews before them are sometimes horrifying (shutter for example). My children like to go on Gamefly and pick out their games, but this is not possible because the advertisement pictures have BLOOD and GRAPHIC IMAGES. After this month I will be canceling if this is not corrected.

UPDATE  I'm satisfied with Gamefly's response on this matter. Here it is:

Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding our recent advertising campaign. While we screen the advertisements before they appear on the site, we do understand your desire to shield your children from inappropriate content. We will evaluate future advertisements with your concerns in mind.

If you would like your account to present GameFly Advertisements only, you can use GameFly's Parental Controls. To activate this feature, please visit the "My Account" link, http://www.gamefly.com/member/account.asp, and select "Parental Controls". By adjusting the game and UMD movie ratings, the only ads displayed will be ones promoting the GameFly service.

We would like to thank you again for bringing this to our attention in a thoughtful manner. Feel free to contact me if you have any further issues or concerns.

Sincerely,

Terri - Vice President
GameFly Customer Service
Email: support@gamefly.com

El juego de Electronic Arts sigue más y más sorprendiendo al publico, los detalles, cada movimiento plasmado son percibidos tan espectalures.

Éste juego en primera persona, mezcla Artes marciales y el deporte extremo Parkour, en donde nuestra "heroína", llamada Faith, deberá salvar a su hermana de un delito que no ha cometido.

Noting that Dragon Age is the "spiritual successor" to Baldur's Gate, EA promises that the game will feature "stunning visuals, emotionally-driven narrative, heart-pounding combat, powerful magic abilities and credible digital actors". Additionally, gamers can look forward to dark and mature gameplay. The publisher also revealed that the PC-exclusive game will be shipping early 2009.

Click through for a bullet list of game features, some of which will be demonstrated during E3 this week.

• Epic Party-Based Combat - Dragon Age: Origins will introduce an innovative, scalable combat system, as players face large-scale battles and use their party's special abilities to destroy hoardes of enemies and massive creatures.
• Powerful Magic - Raining down awesome destruction on enemies is even more compelling as players apply "spell combos," a way of combining together different spells to create emergent unique effects.
• Deep Customization - Players will develop their characters and gain powerful special abilities (spells, talents and skills) and discover ever-increasing weapons of destruction.
• Your Story, Your Way - With its emotionally compelling story, players choose with whom they wish to forge alliances or crush under their mighty fist, redefining the world with the choices they make and how they wield their power.
• Origin Stories - Players will select and play a unique prelude that provides the lens through which the player sees the world and how the world sees the player. The player's choice of Origin will determine who they are and where they begin the adventure, as they play through a customized story opening that profoundly impacts the course of every adventure.

Looks like a pretty slow week with only NCAA Football being the big hit of the week.

Electronic Arts reveló nuevas imágenes de Mirror's Edge, este juego que combina el "parkour" (este "deporte extremo" muy popular sobretodo en Europa) y el first person shooter, todo dentro de una gigantesca ciudad que luce verdaderamente espectacular.

Lo desarrolla Digital Illusions CE, saldrá para PlayStation 3, PC y Xbox 360 y visualmente será todo un deleite, ahora falta esperar que se juege tan bien como se ve.

Fuente: Gamekyo

Rock Band estas nova videoludo kie oni povas ludi kun kvar amikoj en virtuala rokbando. Oni povas esti la kantisto, gitaristo, basisto aŭ drumisto kaj ludi kune en propra domo aŭ pere de Interreto. Ĝi uzas originalajn majstro-diskojn de gravaj artistoj kiel Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, KISS, Iron Maiden, The Who, Police, REM, Radiohead, Aerosmith aŭ Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Krom la 58 kantoj havebla ĉe la Usona eldono, la Eŭropa versio de Rokbando inkluzivos naŭ kanzonojn:

• Blur - “Beettlebum”
• Oasis - “Rock ‘n’ roll star”
• Tokio Hotel - “Monsoon”
• Muse - “Hysteria”
• Les Wampas - “Manu Chao”
• Playmo - “New Wave”
• Die Toten Hosen - “Hier Kommt Alex”
• Juli - “Perfekte Welle”
• H-Block X - “Countdown to Insanity”

Aliflanke, Rock Band ofertas preskaŭ 200 kantojn por elŝuti el la bazaro Xbox Live (kontraŭ pago de 160 Microsoft Points). La kompleta kaj ĝisdatigita kantolisto videblas ĉe http://www.rockband.com/?section=gameinfo.

Jen la probablaj prezoj de Rock Band en Eŭropo:

• Nur la ludo: 69,99€
• Drumo: 89,99€
• Senkabla gitaro: 69,99€
• Kompleta pakaĵo (mikrofono + drumo + gitaro): 169,99€

I believe the average estimate on both earnings and revenue is a bit too low.  The video game industry is the fastest growing segment within the entertainment business.  Last year, video games revenues were significantly higher than the box office and home video sales.  The streak continue, as the month of June recorded another stellar increase of 53% in total revenue.  Even economic woes, gas prices, and inflation have not stopped the spending spree for video games.  This trend is not expected to end and will continue in a sharp upwards trajectory as more great games and more consoles are sold in the next few years.

EA should definitely outperformed this quarter.  With an increased focus on next-gen consoles, the average price point of games sold to consumers should have significantly increased.  In Q1 2008, the previous generation consoles (PS2) and the PC made up a signification portion of the company's revenue.  New games for the PS2 & PC sell at $39-$49 while older titles go for $19-29.  As more consumers migrate towards the newer consoles, the price point for new games increases to $49-59 and older games to $29-$39.  With sales of newer games increasing, EA is effectively recording an additional 20% increase in sales for every game sold.

Games wise for the consoles, EA had 2 major releases with Battlefield: Bad Company and UEFA Euro 2008.  Both games are expected to be a million unit seller by Q2.  EA also distributed Rock Band to the European region and a new Wii version for the Americas.  With the extremely high price point Rock Band commands, EA should be seeing once again significant growth in the top-line for their distribution division.  For PC Games, EA released several new expansion for the Sims and the highly awaited Mass Effect RPG game.  PC sales should see a spike in revenue from these new games, but because Mass Effect has already been released for X360, the spike should be relatively small.   Finally, EA released several well received games in Q3 and Q4 FY2008.  These games: Burnout Paradise, Army of Two, etc. continue to sell very well and will contribute greatly to both the top and bottom line.

EA's other revenue streams continue to grow at an extraordinary pace.  Cell Phone games have contributed more to the top-line than Nintendo DS games in Q4 2008.  In-game advertising have begun to become more prevalent, and EA's subscription service for Pogo.com is still signing on more and more customers.

Overall, all of EA's business lines have performed very well in the past and this quarter should be no exception.  In terms of profits, cost control is one key area.  In the prior year, a large portion of the revenue came from licensed games or distribution contracts, services that command at most single digit margins.  This year began with a renewed focus on internally owned properties.  These internally owned properties have so far proven to be quite successful.  In addition, as the restructuring continues and one time costs are factored out, EA should be seeing a very profitable fiscal year.

For Q1, my revenue estimates are $809.96 Million and a $0.01 EPS.

Right before E3 id Software (John Carmack and the guys who brought you Doom and Duke Nukem) announced that they would partner with EA to publish their upcoming title called RAGE ending their long time partnership with ActiVision. The deal however is only good, so far, for RAGE so we have yet to see what will happens once the game is released.....when it's done.

Valkyria Chronicles coming on the PSP... Oops no Wait! I Meant the PS3

On the other front it seems Sony can't do anything right this year. After a very solid presentation at E3 we might have thought they were back on track. Well apparently not. During their conference Sony unveiled Valkyria Chronicles as one of the major upcoming titles for their PSP. According to Kotaku, the problem is that is was never planned for the PSP but actually a PS3 title, they just messed up with the video. Sega quickly denied any rumor that the game was coming on the portable console. Ouch.

Veja no Banner Blog:

A dica é do Alessandro Novais.

This article was written before Monday, July 14 and therefore does not contain current E3 updates. More commentary on E3 revelations will follow. Sorry for the delay. We are kinda lazy. =P

Well E3 is coming up soon and I figured I might as well copy all the other gaming sites and announce the five top games that I am looking forward to the most. Unlike some gaming media websites who believe that another Guitar Hero with some updated graphics and billions of more songs to obsess with is something to get excited about (cough IGN cough), I believe that REAL games, not a DDR version for the hands, are the reason to get hyped up about E3. Now before the anticipation explodes into an array of trumpet blasts (sorry, I’m listening to Mars, the Bringer of War by Holst), here are my personal top games to look forward to at this year’s E3.

Final Fantasy XIII – Square Enix (PS3)

Even though I don’t have a PS3, this might as well be the best reason to get one. I’ve never gotten into the whole Metal Gear series and no other games in Sony’s current lineup interest me as much as this game. I admit, I’ve been a fan of Final Fantasy. I thought FFVIII had great gameplay, but the storyline got quite out of hand near the end. FFIX was paid homage to the old school days and was fun to play. FFX was just amazing, changing the formula but still managing to retain its old school roots. Ever since then, Final Fantasy as seem to wind down a bit. FFX-2 was a pure marketing cash-in. FFXI was an MMO (ugh) and FFXII just was too weird, with the new battle system and bleh story. The trailer than Square Enix released for FFXIII looked amazing, but they’ve been recycling the same trailer with a couple of seconds of new footage for each trailer release. Way to be lazy guys. I hope this E3 Square Enix will announce something epic related to FFXIII, or the other games they are developing for not only the PS3, but for the 360 and PC.

Fallout 3 – Bethesda Game Studios (X360, PS3, PC)

I’ll be dead honest with you. I have never played the previous two Fallouts. If you asked me before Fallout 3 was announced what Fallout was, I probably would have guessed a racing game. Since Bethesda Game Studios, my homeboys up in Maryland and mostly known for their work in the Elder Scroll series, are taking on the classical PC classic and adding a bit of Elder Scroll flavor to it. Fallout 3 is going to be huge, creating your own weapons, having up to 50,000 different endings, and other wild various unbelievable super-mega-awesome features. Fallout 3 could be another reason never to leave the house this year and hopefully we’ll see a new trailer or some gameplay footage this E3. On a side note, I heard Bethesda is making an MMO. If they can make the average human addicted to a single-player game, imagine what they will do with an MMO. The world might end. Literally.

Mirror’s Edge – EA / DICE (X360, PS3, PC)

This game has me so excited. I love games that attempt to revolutionize an old and beaten down genre. Now I know its EA. I hate EA as much as the next guy. They’re the super corporation that’s attempting to brainwash our minds into believing that this year’s Madden game is TOTALLY different from last year’s and is necessary to buy it to live. However, it seems as though EA is trying to change their image a bit. They’re sponsored a lot of more unique games that aren’t part of a series or franchise. Mirror’s Edge is just one of several games they have announced. If you haven’t seen the trailer, its almost mind-blowing. I go coo-coo for the whole utopian environment (I used to love 1984 before my transvestite English teacher killed it for me) and the new perspective and almost simplistic graphics could change our expectations for first-person shooters. Now, granted it is EA and DICE and therefore they could totally fuck it up. Not much has been released about this game at all and that actually gives me hope. If its secretive, it might be good. I don’t understand my logic either. Just try to comprehend with me.

Half-Life 2: Episode 3 – Valve Corporation (PC, ???)

WHERE IS IT?!?! WHERE IS IT!! I have never wanted a game to come out this badly. Valve is evil. They end off Episode 2 in a cliffhanger and don’t even give us a brief trailer like they did in Episode 1. I hate you Valve even though I did liked your Orange Box idea. I got the Orange Box for 25 bucks on Black Friday. Greatest deal I ever made, although getting two Dr. Peppers for the price of one comes in a close second. Doug Lombardi has cruelly announced that Episode 3 won’t be featured in this year’s E3, but a little boy can dream, can’t he? Instead, Valve will be showing off their multiplayer survival-horror zombie game Left 4 Dead, which looks phenomenal. Maybe Valve should come up with a package similar to the Orange Box, with Episode 3, Portal 2, and Left 4 Dead. Oh, and Natural Selection: Source. Man that would be sick. I’d call it… the Purple Box. Yeah, that’s what they should do. That wouldn’t be gay at all.

Spore – EA / Maxis (PC)

This game has been promoted for nearly three years and finally it is coming this year. The amount of interactivity of this game is incredible. The Spore Creature Creator has become a game of itself, now boasting its users have created over 1.8 million unique creatures (that’s more than known real species on Earth folks!). This game will be amazing without a doubt. Creating your own civilization from the tinniest molecule to the expanse of space. Whether you believe in evolution or not, this game will be entertaining and one of the many reasons to never go out and see the sun again.

That's it folks! Oh whoa don't freak out and yell at me. There are plenty of other games for E3. These are just five that I'm REALLY excited about. A man’s gotta cap it off an article sometime, right? Resistance 2, Banjo-Kazooie, Sonic Unleashed, inFamous, Prototype, DC Universe Online, the list goes on. I have never seen an E3 lineup of this epic proportions. Add all these games with rumors of a new Nintendo DS, new Sony PSP, price cuts, better Xbox Live / PSN / WiiConnect, and more. There is so much happening this E3, my brain can't comprehend it. Tune into your favorite source of gaming news and make sure to keep in touch with CEREV for our (not so) professional thoughts on the Big Three (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) presentations and more.

-Sheel Kumar

Como sabemos actualmente las redes sociales como Facebook, Myspace o Hi5 han tenido un boom de usuarios registrados, pues Electronic Arts se percato de esto y ha decidido crear una red social para no quedarse atrás.

Este servicio llevara el nombre Nucleus, tendrá una apariencia similar a los juegos producidos por EA y dentro de este servicio se podrán hacer micro transacciones. Se pondrá muy buena la competencia entre Second Life, Lively de Google y Nucleus de EA, veremos quien es el que acapara más audiencia.

Now there will be a new empire invading the latest Electronic Arts game series, Command & Conquer Red Alert 3; Empire of The Rising Sun.

"An nationalistic, zealous army of warriors willing to lay down their lives for their godlike Emperor and his vision. The Empire of the Rising Sun runs a strictly-disciplined military that takes great pride in its futuristic weaponry and ruthless tactics.

Get a first-look at the fanatical armies of the Japanese, intriguing new third faction, the Empire of the Rising Sun! This trailer features over 2 minutes of non-stop heart pumping gameplay with a heavy focus on some of the more unique "transforming" units in this third faction.

Comienza el E3, recalcando que es el primero sin Peter Moore a ver que tal se pone:

Comienzan con fotos, musica y gente encuestada en la “calle” una vez que sale Don Mattrick  y comienza la presentacion con Resident Evil 5. Chris está en África investigando un incidente que tiene que ver con bioterrorismo. Habrá juego cooperativo. El juego sale a la venta un viernes 13…. Del mes de marzo del 2009 L.

Llegó Peter Molyneux y lógicamente presenta Fable el juego ya esta al 100%. Tendrás un perro que te acompañará a todos lados. Habrá modo cooperativo, donde tus cuates son “esferas moradas” y se puede en cualquier momento durante la historia. El juego sale a la venta en octubre. 

Es el turno de Gears of War 2. Cliff muestra el modo cooperativo. En definitiva el aspecto visual esta mejorado. Hammer of dawn listo para usarse, tambien flamasos con un lanza llamas y podras montar y “robar”l Brumack. Fecha de salidal 7 de noviembre.

Numeritos Sucks se espera que el mercado genere 48 billones de dólares a nivel mundial durante el 2008, más que las industrias de la música y el cine. 

Xbox Live ya tiene 12 millones de miembros, con una descarga de 500 millones de archivos. Hay  más de 10,000 películas y shows televisivos claro en el pais de las barras y las estrellas, en el pais del nopal no hay nada. 

El Deshboard se pondrá de lujo, será en 3D, y varios canales: My Xbox (mostrando tu contenido). Si a los Avatars serán personalizables (cara, cabello y ropa). Disque son invención de Rare (Aquí entre nos es onda de Nintendo J ).

Habrá una comunidad llamada "live party" donde hasta 8 amigos podrán estar juntos “chatenado”. Tambien podran mirar videos con una nueva alianza, (ósea no solo le copian a Nintendo si no también a Sony y Home). 

Shane Kim muestra Banjo y Viva Piñata y un nuevo Scene It llamado "Box Office Smash!" lo mismo de las trivial pero ahora con los Avatars ahora famosos. 

Guitar Hero: World Tour. Juego en  línea hasta para ocho jugadores. 85 tracks. Incluyendo tres tracks del nuevo álbum de REM y Metallica presente con todo un disco.

Lips si existe y si sera un juego de Karaoke lo podras conectar al Zune (aunque al parecer a cualquier reproductor, ósea tus canciones). El micrófono tendrá sensor de movimiento. 

Rock Band 2 a la venta en septiembre de este año con un total de 84 tracks.

Square Enix comienza con. Infinite Undiscovery con fecha de salida para el 2 de noviembre. Es el turno de Star Ocean 4 para el próximo año 2009. The Last Remnant llegará primero al Xbox 360 (Noviembre) 

Patada en los genitales de los SonyFans FINAL FANTASY XIII PARA XBOX 360!!!

El E3 2008 comienza mañana sus actividades, algunos podran estar checando las noticias en el Xbox 360 via Xbox Live, otros en alguna pagina gringa con video en vivo, y claro este blog con las notas mas importantes de cada conferencia, les dejo los horarios que como podran notar, incluyen la hora de la Ciudad de Mexico.

Lunes 14 de Julio

• Microsoft : 12:30 am hora de México (10:30 am PT )
• Electronic Arts: 5:00 pm hora de México (3:00 pm PT)

Martes 16 de Julio

• Nintendo: 11:00 am hora de México (9:00am PT)
• Sony: 1:30 pm hora de México (11:30 am PT)
• Ubisoft: 4:30 pm hora de México (2:30 pm PT)
• Capcom: 6:30 pm hora de México (4:30 pm PT)
• Activision: 9:00 pm hora de México (7:00 pm PT)

Miércoles 17 de Julio

• Take-Two: 12:45 pm hora de México (10:45 am PT)
• ESA CEO Mike Gallagher: hora de México 3:00 pm (1:00 pm PT)
• Konami : 4:30 pm hora de México (2:30 pm PT)

Via Caja X

Currently playing: Frets on Fire(using my GH3 Guitar!)

Listening to: Nirvana...while playing Frets on Fire!

Watching: *points up* I'll be watching the screen as I play Frets on Fire. Hopefully, Brett will shut his mouth and stay retired long enough for me to enjoy it.

Eating:Nothing

Drinking: Nothing

Downloading: Song packs...

Thinking about:The lack of Basketball games for the PC. 2K Sports hates PC gamerss for whatever reason. EA is free to release glitchy games like Live '08 because they have no competition.

Looking forward to: E3

How about you?