Now That’s a Home Arcade You Can Be Proud Of

Do you always have to have the Biggest and best toys and show them off to your friends? If yes, the “Dreamcade Vision 120” is the must have game system gift for you this Christmas.

The “Dreamcade Vision 120″ isn’t just a game system; it’s an arcade center. In fact, the Vision 120 comes complete and ready to play with more than 145 classic arcade games, including all of your favorite classic games from Atari, Midway, Namco, Digital Leisure, and Capcom as well more than 7,000 classic console games. What did you just say; you already have a Next-Gen game system? The Vision 120 also comes with Component and HDMI video inputs for your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or Nintendo’s Wii console with a wireless sensor bar built right in. Play all of this in high definition with a 120-inch portable screen.

All this for the small retail price of $3,999, but can you really put a price on playing 145 classic arcade games on one system with a 120-inch screen?

Dreamcade Vision 120 Features:

• High powered projector - Bright enough for daytime use!
• 120-inch Portable projection screen - makes it simple to set up, move, and store
• Dreamcade 2.0 Gaming PC - modern PC games can be played using authentic arcade controls
• More than 145 classic arcade games including Ms. Pac-man, Centipede, Dig Dug, and many more.
• Free year’s subscription to more than 7,000 classic console games via Console Classix, including games for Atari, ColecoVision, NES, SuperNES, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Sega GameGear, and GameBoy.
• Component and HDMI video inputs for your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii for the ultimate in modern gaming as well as classic arcade games.
• Arcade Control Panel Features:
• Lighted trackball - For authentic gaming action on games like Centipede and Missile Command
• Spinner - To play retro classics like Warlords, Breakout and Pong
• Full arcade control panel with additional side buttons allows playing nearly any game from Street fighter to MAME pinball as well as modern games and classic console games through Console Classix
• Removable control panel - Gives you the ultimate versatility

Wii And DS Setting Nintendo Sales Records

Nintendo of America has set a new sales record by selling more products during the Thanksgiving week than at any other time in the company’s history.

During the period November 18 to November 24, over 653,000 DS units were sold, smashing the previous record of 600,000 Game Boy Advance consoles sold in 2005.

A further 350,000 Wii home systems were also snapped up by Christmas shoppers, along with “millions of games and accessories”. Here is the full release:

In the first week of the 2007 holiday shopping season, Nintendo of America has sold more Nintendo products than at any other time in its history. This includes more than 653,000 Nintendo DSâ„¢ portable video game systems, 350,000 Wiiâ„¢ home systems and millions of games and accessories throughout the United States - and the season is just getting started.

Nintendo DS set a new all-time sales record for Thanksgiving week, eclipsing the previous mark of 600,000 Game Boy® Advance systems sold during the same period in the United States in 2005. Nintendo DS remains on track to be the top-selling video game system of 2007.

Nintendo’s 350,000 Wii systems represent the highest one-week U.S. sales total outside of its launch week one year ago. Wii has been dubbed the must-have gift of the 2007 holiday season and has been placed at the top of numerous gift lists. Nintendo has repeatedly increased its shipments and its fiscal-year sales forecast for Wii in an attempt to meet soaring demand. Wii reached 5 million sold in the United States faster than any video game system in history, after only 12 months of availability there.

Both Wii and Nintendo DS have continued their yearlong momentum into the holidays without altering their prices. And both remain attractive values for shoppers: Wii has an MSRP of $249.99, while Nintendo DS has an MSRP of $129.99.

“As shoppers look for ways to maximize their limited holiday spending money, they turn to gifts that can be used by the entire family,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “Wii and Nintendo DS offer something for every member of the family. They’re the most fun video game experiences at the most affordable price.”

With higher gas prices and fuel costs, and the lukewarm expectations for the 2007 holiday shopping season, Wii and Nintendo DS might be just what Santa ordered: Thirty-five percent of consumers said they plan to spend less than they did last year, according to a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corp. for the Consumer Federation of America and the Credit Union National Association. Similarly, a USA Today/Gallup Poll showed that 25 percent of Americans expect to spend less on gifts this year than they did in 2006.

Note that the internal Nintendo of America numbers referenced in this release represent sales from Sunday, Nov. 18, through Saturday, Nov. 24.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.

Nintendo, Microsoft epic fail, not green enough for Greenpeace

Greenpeace has given Nintendo a zero out of 10, the lowest score the organization has ever given, in it’s recent quarterly survey of top consumer electronics manufacturers. Microsoft also got a failing grade, placing 16th out of 18, while Sony whomped the competition, placing 3rd.

Greenpeace gave Nintendo a zero for not giving consumers various toxicity information and using certain materials.

Nintendo offered consumers no information on the use of harmful chemicals in its consoles, including offering no list of banned or restricted substances. The company also had no policy regarding the use of vinyl plastic (PVC) or brominated flame retardants and scored zero in four categories related to recycling, Greenpeace said.

Microsoft failed because it doesn’t plan to eliminate toxic chemicals from it’s products until 2011. Sony ranked third with its PVC-free products and improved reporting of recycling.

This is the first issue Greenpeace has included video game console and T.V. manufacturers in it’s survey. The highest scorers were mobile phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson and electronics manufacturer Samsun, who both scored 7.7.

Build Your Own RTS With the Sudden Strike Next7 Engine

Did you ever want to make your own RTS game and lack the programming skills to do so? Well now is your chance with FireGlow’s new Sudden Strike Next7 engine!

Fireglow publishing today announced its plans to use Sudden Strike Next7, the engine behind the upcoming Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory title. This engine will allow a variety of products to be created. Some of them will be announced soon.

Sudden Strike Next7 is a generic RTS engine to be used in subsequent games in the Sudden Strike series and other games from Fireglow. Fireglow is also developing thorough documentation in order to license the engine to third parties. The public version of the editor is being prepared and will be released with add-ons.

Here is a trailer showing how microAI works in Sudden Strike Next 7. After the Player gives the units a single command to unload, they can be left on their own to defend, supply and fight without orders from humans and without having to be managed.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

Highlights:

• The editor allows to process maps in range from 250 by 250 meters up to 2 by 2 kilometres. You can specify a level of detail for the landscape.
• The editor allows bending the landscape. Objects are adjusted by the landscape’s height, unless marked by a special flag. Landscape and objects on the ground have different passability. It is taken in account in pathfinding or when destroying an object upon collision. Each object also has it’s own transparency. Together with the height of the ground, the transparency limits the unit’s sight of view.
• The editor has a built-in splines processing mechanism. It allows creating a long twisted fences, roads and trenches. Any spline can be easily readjusted, and its size or elevation changed.
• Any object may be placed at any place of the map. If you wish, you can use the Automatic Placement feature, which helps optimizing the path finding grid.
• You can quickly place a number of objects, randomly taken from the list. You can change, store, and load the lists. Any group of objects may be rotated or moved.
• Any part of the map (landscape, objects, units, or all together) may be exported, and then inserted into the same or any other map, using an arbitrary angle.
• Current parameters of any unit (or a group of units) may be easily changed. Some of the parameters are: health, experience, fuel, primary and secondary ammo, crew and passengers inside (for guns & vehicles), broken parts (tracks, turret, hull etc).
• The editor allows to create and edit surf waves of different shapes. You can specify direction and force of the wind, which blows away smoke.
• The built-in visual scripting tool with an intuitive interface (you don’t have to be a programmer to handle them) and independent AI behavior templates allow trying various gameplay ideas within minutes.
• Any object or unit has special zones that receive damage. Damage in different zones cause different consequences. Damaged tracks immobilize tank, fire in the engine compartment causes tank to loose hit points for some time.
• In the editor, you can run your mission inside the editor and test the gameplay without further ado.

Deus Ex 3 confirmed, possible December 2009 release

Eidos has confirmed, through the announcement of their new branch in Montreal, Deus Ex 3 is in the preliminary stages of development. Eidos Montreal’s general manager Stephane D’Astous said the game just passed proof-of-concept.

This game was very highly rated at its release in 2000, and we have this great huge mandate to do the third one, and everybody is very excited.

D’Astous said they expect a team of about 80 to work on Eidos Montreal games for development cycles of 18 to 24 months.

We don’t want to become a huge studio where there’s over 100 people on a title. We want a smaller, multi-discipline group that are tightly knit together.

Based on this information, we should expect to see Deus Ex 3 by December 2009. Of course, we’ve seen companies delay products for years because “it’ll be done when it’s done.” 3D Realms (and to a lesser extent Valve), I’m looking at you here.

This longer development time will hopefully bring the franchise’s status back to greatness. The original Deus Ex was brilliant for it’s time, but the sequel, well, not so much. Let’s just hope the involvement of Warren Specter is a pre-requisite for a great Deus Ex game.

Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom Goes Gold

Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 exclusive action-RPG Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom has gone gold. The latest game in the Kingdom Under Fire series from developer Blueside will ship to stores in the US on Jan. 8. Here is a snip:

A departure from the action real-time strategy formula seen in previous ‘Kingdom Under Fire’ games, Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom is an action-packed role playing game (RPG) that makes full use of the Xbox 360 processing power to create a revolutionary gaming experience. Players will explore vast and randomly generated maps while battling bloodthirsty monsters attacking from all directions. As the game progresses, the six heroes will find increasingly advanced and spectacular ways to defeat enemies using new weapons and abilities as they progress through six varied acts. Players will also be able to interact with one another with a full multiplayer experience and up to four-player co-op on Xbox LIVE Gold.

Awesome’s Creed, pretty close to Assassin’s Creed

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Assassin’s Creed certainly has problems, but the area’s where it shines at least makes it a good game, if not the great game that was promised.

Now that the one sentence review is done, this video illustrates some really annoying aspects of Assassin’s Creed. The guards will attack you, swords out and everything, for walking too fast. Those beggars are annoying, too. I’ve never seen such energetic and persistent beggars! Seriously!

I’m just sayin…

The Romantics Sue Activision Over Guitar Hero Cover Song

Billboard is reporting that members of the real rock band ‘The Romantics’ have filed a lawsuit against Activision, RedOctane and Harmonix over the “Guitar Hero Encore, Rocks the 80’s” videogame, which uses a version the band’s “What I Like About You” recorded by musicians that the band claims sound too much like them.

The song was performed for Guitar Hero by the band Wavegroup Sound. However, The Romantics claim the cover version is “virtually indistinguishable from the authentic version” and as a result would cause consumers to believe that the version was recorded by the original group. (ummm DUH we consumers are really stupid)

Just admit it ‘Wavegroup Sound’ can play the song better than you, now get over it. Next time Activision needs a cover band that does not sound “too good” they can contact me here at OLGn. Because none of the songs I play sound anything like the original ones.

Happy Thanksgiving

From all of us at OLGn we wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving. News will be slow today we will update when we can pull our selves away from the turkey and football.

Tournament.com Goes Down The Drain

Tournament.com, a web site that presented a way to win money by playing and winning matches has now announced that after only about 7 months Tournament.com is closing its doors.

The Tournament.com website have given the lame excuse of “the servers are temporarily offline”, and added that “We have taken a step back to take a fresh view of our business model and have decided we need to change direction. We can give no guarantee as to when our service will resume.”

People who still have money in a Tournament.com account are asked to email them by Dec. 7 so they can get access to withdraw their money from a PayPal account. It is really kind of shitty to give so little time to get the cash that is rightfully your own off Tournament.com’s banking system.