September 13th, 2007 BennyB
Recently the head of FASA Studios, a small game developer owned by MS, posted on their official forum the following:
Dear Friends,
It is my sad duty to announce that FASA Studio has officially closed its doors. Today was the official last day of employment for those of us who had not moved on to other positions within Microsoft Game Studios. While the rumors have been circulating forever, we chose to wait on an official announcement because we didn’t want people’s attention distracted from our last product, Shadowrun, a game we love.
As a testament to the team’s commitment to Shadowrun, we released three title updates to improve the product even after the team learned we were losing our studio. We have kept our Community Manager and Technical Support Manager on the job to aid and support you and will continue to do so while people continue to play our game. I am pleased that about half of us have found great positions elsewhere in MGS and Microsoft where they can share their experience and passion with the great people there.
But now, as the last of us say our goodbyes to each other, I’m saying goodbye to you on behalf of a group of talented and dedicated professionals who busted their humps for the love of the game. I am proud to have worked with and represented them to you and know that wherever they go, they will continue to kick ass.
Mitch
This comes as no surprise after the disaster that is Shadowrun but one must wonder who is next on the MS chopping block. This concerned gamer suspects Turn 10 or Bungie might see staff cuts in the near future.
Posted in Industry News, Other Systems | 32 Comments »
September 13th, 2007 clowd
SquareEnix has finally given in to the countless petitions and emails.
Final Fantasy VII, the Playstation classic, will be remade exclusively for the Playstation 3 Computer Entertainment System.
It was discovered that when finishing the PSP Final Fantasy VII themed game ”Crisis Core” for a second time an alternate ending was unlocked. The alternate ending was similiar to the technical demo that was shown at E3 2005 but with one noteworthy phrase: “To Be Continued In Final Fantasy VII”
 If there ever was a single game that could end the console war as quickly as the atom bomb ended World War II it is Final Fantasy VII.Â
Ladies and Gentlemen, the console war is OVER.
 
Source
Posted in Industry News, Playstation 3 | 37 Comments »
September 12th, 2007 m0dus
The Inquirer chimes in on Halo 3 (and XBox 360 owners in general) labeling them stupid and a bunch of weirdos.
Weirdos begin to queue up for Halo 3.THERE IS A FINE line between dedication and mass stupidity. Most XBox360 hardcore gamers are not dedicated.
While we wouldn’t stoop so low as to resort to name calling, they go on further to explain why:
…take those lining up yesterday for Halo 3. Yeah, 14 days in advance, they are lining up outside the Metreon in San Fransisco.
And a final parting shot:
Halo is a game, nay a franchise, targeting those too stupid to play a real FPS
Source
Posted in Other Systems | 53 Comments »
September 12th, 2007 BennyB
Dan Cornelius, the UK marketing manager of Xbox 360 hardware actually said the following:
Sony is requiring a novice gamer to buy into things like Blu-Ray and wireless gaming by default. The 360 Core is about giving people the same experience as our other consoles, but letting them upgrade when they feel comfortable doing so – and not to foot a huge bill for technology they don’t need.
Of course he fails to mention that the “upgrades” from the Core are going to end up costing the ‘novice gamer’ much more than they actually would’ve paid had they bought the PS3 instead. Have fun paying $180 for a 120 Hard Drive all you ‘novice gamers’! It’s a good thing MS didn’t rip you off with outdated technology like CELL, Blu-ray, SIXAXIS, WIFI and system that doesn’t have to be replaced every 6 months.
One would also have to wonder what these ‘novice gamers’ think about paying $50 a year to play peer-to-peer online gaming…
Source
Posted in Other Systems, Playstation 3 | 28 Comments »
September 12th, 2007 m0dus
In a surprise announcement considering their sister company Warner was a main proponent of HD-DVD, New Line has announced that their future HD titles (which includes such titles as Lord of the Rings, Blade etc) will be exclusive to Blu-Ray with a cut down HD-DVD edition later.
New Line titles will be released the same day on both standard DVD and Blu-ray Disc, with a lag for the HD DVD version
Never fear 360 owners – you can still enjoy the low res DVD versions which will hit at the same time as the 1080p HD Blu-Ray versions.
Source
Posted in Blu-ray, Playstation 3 | 21 Comments »
September 12th, 2007 BennyB
Ninja Gaiden 2 was recently shown off and was announced to be a 360 exclusive title (for now). Due to the fact that it’s on 360 really shows how the Ninja Gaiden engine is starting to look dated. Ninja Gaiden Sigma, a PS3 exclusive remake of the original Ninja Gaiden, clearly bests it in the graphics category. Hopefully when they announce Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 for the PS3, with full Blu-ray and Home support, they’ll be able to gain back lost interest in this franchise.
Posted in Other Systems, Playstation 3 | 32 Comments »
September 11th, 2007 clowd
Weekly Xbox 360 sales show the system is continuing to decompose in Japan. Forget dead or dying the system is on the verge of disappearing all together. The Playstation platforms outsell it by a ratio of 24 to 1
Source
Posted in Industry News, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable | 35 Comments »
