Ghostbusters to be on six platforms by two developers

Variety has revealed even more information about the game based on the unmade Ghostbusters sequel. Apparently, in addition to the talents of the original Ghostbusters, Ernie Hudson, who played Winston Zeddmore, and Annie Potts, who played Janine Melnitz, will also be lending their talents. The article also says the game will be available on all the major platforms, with the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions being developed by Terminal Reality aimed at the “core gamer demographic,” and another version being developed by Red Fly Studio will develop a version for “families and casual gamers” for the PS2, Wii and DS.Terminal Reality, in case you aren’t familiar with the name, developed Terminal Velocity (a great DOS game), the Aeon Flux game, Blood Rayne and the Metal Slug Anthology. Red Fly Studio has started developing only one other game, Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars (I shit you not), though their about page shows some pretty impressive credits, including Deus Ex, Anachronox and the aforementioned Blood Rayne.

More players from the movies does up the chance of Ghostbusters goodness, but with two developers working on games for a total of six platforms, the liklihood these games will be anything more than a “But you used to love Ghostbusters!” holiday bargain bin title plummets much farther than Winston or Janine could hope to reach. Still, gotta keep the faith. Mushroom Men looks just wacky enough to be actually interesting, so you never know. Just have to keep our fingers crossed and see what happens.

(Found via Kotaku).

Rock Band not just a game but a platform for music

In general, I don’t like the full on publication of interviews. Call it my journalism brainwashing telling me the reporter has to cull the good quotes from the interview. OXM’s interview with Alex Rigopulos, CEO of Harmonix, actually has some rather enlightening dialog on what Harmonix really wants to achieve with Rock Band. (Found through 1up.com)

Among the many exciting things Rigopulos has to say, the most interesting for me was his vision of how we’re going to experience music in the near future.

In 3 to 5 years people are going to expect to be able to play with music as the normal way that they experience music that they love. If you have a favorite band that releases a new album, sure you’ll buy the CD but you’ll also want to go onto the Rock Band server the game levels based on those 15 new songs to experience them as an active participant in the music-making. But this is how people are going to come to expect to experience the music that they love.

He later said of music distribution through Rock Band:

In the same way that MTV has promoted artists through the video medium on their channels, we actually see Rock Band as a way to break and promote new artists to the audience of people that are playing the game. So that’s definitely something that’s part of our plans.

It’s nice to know that my thoughts on how to best utilize Guitar Hero turned out to be what they wanted to do all along.

Also exciting are plans to be able to export your character onto the Rock Band Web site and convert that into different kinds of merchandise, from t-shirts to bumper stickers. Figurines are mentioned by both OXM and 1up, but I don’t see it in the interview.

So, to get Rock Band or to not get Rock Band? That’s a lot of money to drop on one game, but if Rigopulos’ vision comes true it will be the future of music content delivery anyway.

Kmart selling PS3 for $319 with coupon

Kmart is turning into a gamer’s paradise by selling Playstation 3’s for the low price of $319 with a 20% off coupon you can print out. The coupon is good from Nov. 11 - Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 - Nov. 21. No idea is the coupon is good for Xbox 360 or the Wii but reading the fine print it says nothing about game systems.

Various consumer coupon websites have reported that the above coupon works at select Kmart stores valid this week only (Nov. 11 - Nov. 17). No word if the coupon is valid for Wii or Xbox 360 purchases.

Regardless, prospective PS3 owners are encouraged to take advantage of this deal while they can. Enlarge the above image, print, and check with your local Kmart store to pick up a PS3 for a cool $319 before tax. Go on — get out of here. Shoo.

[Source Gamepro.com]

ATARI Stops Game Development

Atari CEO has resigned as the ailing publisher announces that they’ve ceased any game development. They will still publish titles apparently. Atari is only trying to put a positive spin on a really bad deal for us all.

Amidst concerns about the company’s lack of funds and ability to continue its business, Atari officials announced today that the publisher will “re-focus its operations on publishing and distribution in North America, completing its withdrawal from the production business.”

According to the release, Atari’s operations going forward “will involve title acquisition, sales and marketing, and physical distribution of products from [Infogrames] IESA, its 51% shareholder, and other selected partners.”

Atari has agreed in principle to terminate its Production Services Agreement with IESA in the near future. The company is planning to transfer certain employees and contract other staff on a project basis for a limited period of time. Unfortunately for Atari’s employees, this restructuring initiative will also reduce the company’s current workforce “in order to re-align the Company’s cost structure with its on-going business base.”

Along with the withdrawal from production, Atari CEO David Pierce has also announced his resignation. Curtis G. Solsvig III, Chief Restructuring Officer, has been appointed interim CEO and will assume Pierce’s responsibilities for now. Atari said that an executive search for a new CEO has already been started.

Alone in the Dark Coming to Wii and PS2

Atari announces today some good news for Wii and PS2 users. Their upcoming version of the Alone in the Dark game will have Wii and PS2 versions. Developer Hydravision will port the game to those platforms while Eden Studios will continue work on the previously announced PS3, Xbox 360 and PC versions.

Developed by Hydravision, Alone in the Dark for Wii and PS2 follows the same story as the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC version, where over the course of one apocalyptic night, hero Edward Carnby must uncover the earth-shattering secret hidden in New York’s iconic Central Park.

“Realizing the enormous ambition of Alone in the Dark is a huge technological challenge,” said Hudson Piehl, Vice President of Production, Atari, Inc. “Hydravision has risen to the occasion to ensure Wii and PlayStation 2 owners will be impressed by the gripping gameplay experience.”

The game still does not have a release date.

Assassin’s Creed Launch Trailer

The Assassin’s Creed launch trailer is now available for download, if you didn’t already know the PS3 and Xbox 360 version of the game will be available this week.

Championship Gaming Series World Finals

The details on the world finals for the first season of the Championship Gaming Series, sponsored by DirecTV have been announced today. The finals will take place Dec. 6-14 at the Sony Studios in Los Angeles with 12 teams battling for a total of $1 million with $500,000 of that money going to the world champion team. Counter-Strike Source, FIFA 07, Dead or Alive 4 and Project Gotham Racing 3 are the tournament’s official games. In addition a World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade 2v2 tournament will also be held for a top prize of $30,000.

CGS World Final prize distribution is as follows:

TEAM WORLD FINAL
1st Place $500,000
2nd Place $150,000
3rd-4th Place $70,000
5th-8th Place $30,000
9th-12th Place $15,000
MVP $25,000

INDIVIDUAL WORLD FINAL
1st Place DOA4 (men’s) $5,000
1st Place DOA4 (women’s) $5,000
1st Place PGR3 $5,000 (x2) CORRECTED
1st Place FIFA 2007 $5,000
1st Place CS:S $5,000 (x5)

WORLD OF WARCRAFT: BURNING CRUSADE ARENA 2V2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
1st Place $15,000 (x2)

Grand Total Prize Purse $1,075,000

CGS WORLD FINAL EVENT SCHEDULE IS AS FOLLOWS:
December 6: CGS World Final press conference
December 6: First round day 1
December 7: First round day 2
December 8: WoW:BC 2v2 CGS Championship (Competition will be webcast on thecgs.com)
December 8: Individual World Final (Competition will be webcast on thecgs.com)
December 10: Quarterfinals day 1
December 11: Quarterfinals day 2
December 13: Semifinals
December 14: Final

The CGS official teams participating in the World Final are as follows:

Berlin Allianz
Birmingham Salvo
Carolina Core
Chicago Chimera
London Mint
Mexico City Furia
Rio Sinistro
Seoul Jinhwa
Singapore Sword
Stockholm Magnetik
Sydney Underground
Wuhan Dragon

Sony: Too much dust voids PS3 warranty

Kiss the warranty on your PS3 goodbye if you live in the desert. According to a post at The Consumerist, Sony officials told a PS3 owner who sent in his PS3 to be replaced that there was excessive dust inside his PS3, which Sony took pictures of, and if he wants a replacement he needs to pay $150.

The next day I got a call from the same guy, Saying he couldn’t get pictures, and there was no way they could replace the console unless I paid 150$ out-of-warranty replacement fee. I dais I needed to speak to his supervisor and it took him a while but he eventually transferred me to yet another person who just told me from the pictures they saw of the outside of the PS3, the memory ports and the USB ports, that there was dust inside of these ports, and that there was no way they would replace such a dusty console.

The PS3 owner later goes on to say the highest customer service rep. he could talk to told him he would have to subpoena the pictures to get them, and he could either pay the $150 or wait 10 days for his PS3 to be sent back.

I don’t get it! Sony is including Folding@home with their consoles, The auto-start feature makes it so its running almost all the time, OF COURSE ITS GOING TO BE FILLED WITH DUST! A few reps said that the reason they couldn’t replace it was because it looked as if it had about 2 years worth of dust in it rather than 8 months….. The console hasn’t even been out a year so obviously that is less than a years worth of dust.

I love the PS3, I’m a Sony fanboy, I have a copy of Heavenly Sword Un-Played because I’m waiting for the replacement to come back, For them to say they wont replace it because it is such a damn dust magnet is absolutely ridiculous. IM NOT paying 150$ for someone to use an air compressor to dust off my PS3 re-test it and send it back. MAYBE Sony should let their customers know that excessive dust voids the warranty, so that people can start selling air filter set’s for it, and air-sealed boxes for the PS3 to sit in.

Stories like this tend to spread like wildfire over the Internet, and things that spread like wildfire over the Internet tend to be PR nightmares for companies like Sony. Will Sony back off on this one and give they guy a new PS3, or is Sony going to stick with their original claim that excessive dust is an act of god? Only time and the interwebs will tell.

Update: A customer service rep. at Sony told the Consumerist reader Ive dust shouldn’t void the PS3 warranty.

The only way that it, um, voided is if it was neglected, um, abused, dropped or anything like, modificated like if you opened it up, modification, if you didn’t have your receipt, um, any power failures like mother nature or anything like that then that actually does void the warranty. Other than that any defective PS3s or anything like that is still, um, still under the warranty.

Sony is saying the dust in the unit in question constituted neglect.

I’ll keep you updated on how this develops.

Rock Band features Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld as a bonus track, makes irony laugh

For those who haven’t seen it, the full track listing for Rock Band, including bonus tracks, has been released at IGN. The bonus tracks include songs from Harmonix-staffed bands and Harmonix staple Freezepop’s “Brainpower.” One of the lesser known artists supplying bonus tracks is Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld. As far I’m aware, this is a band with just one, self-titled song, so it wouldn’t be surprising if you didn’t know who they are.

Also in case you weren’t aware, South Park recently aired an episode about Guitar Hero that has Stan and Kyle living a somewhat stereotypical rock band rise to stardom in Guitar Hero form.

In other news, sweet irony laughed and laughed and laughed…

PS3 Firmware 2.0 Details

Sony has released the new Firmware 2.0 update for the PS3 today, adding a few new features.

The main features for this update are:

• Remote Start - your PSP can turn on your PS3 remotely
• Information Board - Scrolling RSS headlines though the list is provided by Sony. A future patch will allow users the ability to add their own RSS News Links.
• View Media while downloading - Watch movies while you download them off the PlayStation Store
• Themes - Users can now customize their backgrounds, icons and fonts using companion PC software found on the PlayStation.com
• Enhanced Music & Photo Playlists
• Additional Sorting Options for the assorted media libraries
• XMB Color Selector
• DualShock 3 support
• New “PlayStation Network” XMB group
• Canon printer support