Joystiq [Xbox]

OK, Japan, you can have Batman: Arkham Asylum Jan. 14

by Randy Nelson { 5 days ago }

Hey Japan. Remember all those games you made for, oh, decades that we couldn't wait to get our hands on in the West? Well, we thought for once we'd give something back. We know you like Batman. And Batman: Arkham Asylum is really wonderful. So of course you've wanted it. Ever since it came out here in August.

So, Eidos is going ahead bringing you the game on January 14, 2010. Unfortunately, it's up in the air whether you'll get the cool extras we did, like a replica Batarang and really big packaging. Seems you will be getting the DLC though, according to Andriasang. So yeah, please enjoy this gift from us to you. We'll be watching the sales numbers closely.

(P.S. If you want, you can return the favor by sending over the Final Fantasy XIII edition PS3.)

MS Point-buying dog gets Gamertag, owner gets refund

by Richard Mitchell { 5 days ago }

Remember Greg Strope? No? Perhaps you'll remember his dog, Oscar, who purchased 5000 Microsoft Points -- worth $62.50 -- last week while his owner slept. At the time, we reported that Strope was out of luck thanks to Microsoft's "no refunds" policy. As it turns out, Microsoft contacted Joystiq to inform us that it will refund Strope's money after all, and will be "providing extra for good measure." In addition, Microsoft is sending Strope an extra controller and an Xbox Live subscription just for Oscar. The company even set the dog up with his own Gamertag: Oscar The K9.

Now, if Microsoft would just introduce a canine Avatar model, Oscar would be set for life.

Xbox 360 Fancast 141 -- Beware of Dropbears

by Richard Mitchell { 5 days ago }

We discuss a lot of things on this week's Fancast. Borderlands bugs,Modern Warfare 2 controversy, all kinds of stuff. None of that is really important though. What is important, is that we apprise our audience of the very real danger posed by dropbears. What's a dropbear, you ask? You'll have to listen to the show to find out. However, as a teaser, please direct your attention after the break, where you will find an artist's rendering of the vicious creature -- as drawn by guest host Dave Hinkle. Now listen. Listen and learn.

(Also after the break, see what Richard, Xav and Alexander dressed as for Halloween.)

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Hosts: Richard Mitchell (SenseiRAM), Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander), Dave Hinkle (KnifefightYoDad)
Produced by Xav de Matos

Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta. "Shine a Light" by Wolf Parade.

For fans: Xbox 360 Fancast Facebook group

Continued →

Watch out for Battlefield Bad Company 2 phishing, warns BF blog

by Alexander Sliwinski { 5 days ago }

DICE is letting folks know that there are currently no Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta sign-ups, meaning that any recent invitations you may have received represent scams. Battlefield producer Gordon Van Dyke is letting the community know that any site asking you to sign up for the beta is phishing -- he recommends you "give them the middle finger."

Van Dyke notes that if players aren't reading an announcement from the company's site or official Twitter, it just ain't real. Although we're sure you savvy consumers know better in this age, game companies aren't going to ask for your social security, mother's maiden name or other standard security questions.

This Wednesday: Wallace & Gromit episodes 2, 3 and 4 on XBLA

by Richard Mitchell { 5 days ago }

Here's hoping you really like Wallace & Gromit and, more specifically, Telltale's episodic Wallace & Gromit games, because that's all you're getting on Xbox Live Arcade this week. As promised, the final three episodes, The Last Resort, Muzzled! and The Bogey Man will all be dropping on XBLA this Wednesday, each priced at 800

($10). That brings the total for all four games to $40, which isn't too bad, although PC owners should be aware that Telltale is offering the entire season -- which includes a collector's DVD -- for $34.95 as well.

Still, if you've got a yen for some couch-bound, Achievement-filled Wallace & Gromit, it's a pretty good deal.

PS3 Bayonetta pre-orders slightly cheaper at two retailers [update]

by JC Fletcher { 5 days ago }

A couple of retailers are selling the PS3 version of Bayonetta at a slight discount over the Xbox 360 version. GameStop is temporarily knocking five bucks off pre-orders for the PS3 version only, bringing the price down to $54.99. Both come with a set of eight posters. Amazon has discounted both versions, but the PS3 release's $54.99 price tag is a little bit more discounted than the Xbox 360 version's 56.99.

Siliconera speculates that these discounts are a response to the outcry over Bayonetta looking a bit blurrier in its Sega-ported PS3 incarnation than on Xbox 360. Since these are special offers, though, it's a response on retailers' parts, and not Sega's. If it's really the case that it's an extra push for the "inferior" version and not just a semi-random sale, it seems like it could do the trick. After all, the most attractive version of Bayonetta is likely to be the one that comes with a five dollar bill.

Update: The Xbox version is now $54.99 at GameStop as well.

New Games This Month: November 2009

by Justin McElroy { 5 days ago }

While there are still a few games that you'll want to purchase, this is one of the mildest Novembers we can remember. Why, there's hardly anything you'll have to have after you pick up Assassin's Creed 2, Modern Warfare 2, Dragon Age: Origins and ... oh who are we kidding? No one's wallet is getting out of here alive.

Start your holiday shopping list right here.

Gallery: New Games This Month: November 2009

Now Playing: November 2-8, 2009

by James Ransom-Wiley { 5 days ago }

No one ever said slaying dragons was the cleanest line of work.

Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:

Last updated: Thursday, 10:16 AM

Continued →

Soccer reigns supreme once again in UK sales chart; DJ Hero breaks in at 20

by Griffin McElroy { 5 days ago }

Another football game came out in the UK last week and, once again, it came in first place in the region's weekly software sales charts. This time around, the game was Football Manager 2010, in which soccer isn't played, but rather, managed. That's far too boring a concept to discuss further, so instead, let's move to the other big debuts: Wii Fit Plus, for instance, came in second place for the week, which is -- wait a minute. Doesn't Wii Fit Plus have a "Soccer Heading" minigame? Oh, Nintendo. You know exactly what you're doing.

Episodes From Liberty City and Tekken 6 also made a splash during their launch week, garnering sixth and eighth place finishes, respectively. However, DJ Hero seems to be following its expected, slow-starting sales trajectory, debuting at twentieth place in last week's chart. We've got a small suggestion for FreeStyle Games to improve the rhythm title's performance in the UK: Needs moar Dizzee Rascal.

Source -- Sega's FM 2010 Kicks Off at No1 [Chart Track]
Source -- All formats chart [Chart Track]

Custom Modern Warfare 2 Xbox is riddled with bullets

by Richard Mitchell { 5 days ago }

Don't worry, no one actually shot an Xbox. No, this box was decoratively riddled with bullets. Specifically, notice that the face buttons on the controller as well as the buttons on the console are actually bullet shell casings. And let's not forget the custom Modern Warfare 2 artwork on the side, which is back-lit by LEDs inside the case. In short, it's a pretty nice mod. It was created by one Mr. Tornado and is featured at ModernWarfare2Forums.net. As you might expect, it's up for auction on eBay, and the bid is already over $200.

We think it would look great with the Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2 and, let's face it, if you can afford one of those, then snatching up this Xbox should be chump change. Hit the source link for more pictures.

Deal of the week: 50% off CoD 4's Variety Map Pack

by David Hinkle { 5 days ago }

This week, Xbox 360 and PS3 gamers will be able to snag Call of Duty 4's Variety Map Pack for half off, Activision announced. We've seen this with car dealers a million times. With next year's model -- Modern Warfare 2 -- about to hit the show floor soon, Activision is looking to get as much as it can out of the older model.

Still, if you're happy fragging folks in the older model, then you may want to check out the Variety Map Pack -- which has been discounted by half to 400

($5) on Xbox Live and $4.99 on PSN, culminating in a double XP event for both consoles this coming weekend. Though odds are, if you care about this dinosaur of a game still, you and a majority of the other 13 million or so players probably already own this content.

Gallery: Call of Duty 4: Variety Map Pack

Spicy Horse teasing Alice sequel for 2011 release

by Justin McElroy { 5 days ago }

We were surprised earlier this year to learn Spicy Horse was creating a follow-up to American McGee's dark take on Alice in Wonderland, which itself seemed like a concept so common and benign in today's market as to almost be kind of adorable. But consider us officially shocked after watching this video on the game's teaser site. It actually has us interested in the project -- apparently due in 2011.

If the creepy stop-motion animation is indicative of the final product's look we'll be more than a little intrigued; a notion surprising enough to make us wonder if we've been hitting the Caterpillar's hookah just a bit too hard.

[Via Videogamer.com]

Ubisoft not planning to release Assassin's Creed 2 demo

by Griffin McElroy { 6 days ago }

Much like that other highly anticipated Q4 blockbuster, it seems Assassin's Creed 2 won't receive a pre-launch playable preview. According to Connected Consoles, a Ubisoft representative recently confirmed at the Eurogamer Expo that the company has no plans for a demo. We've contacted Ubisoft to try and corroborate this report, and to see if the company has a good reason for not putting out a sneak preview of the title. You know, a reason better than "you guys already know what stabbing people is like."

[Via Kotaku]

Gallery: Assassin's Creed 2

Infinity Ward pulls 'Fight Against Grenade Spam' ad in light of backlash

by Griffin McElroy { 6 days ago }

After having their game leaked to the planet's pirating populace and catching flak for some of the controversial secrets revealed therein, one could say that the folks at Infinity Ward are having a fairly rough week. However, they brought their latest batch of hardships upon themselves. A recent viral video for Modern Warfare 2, which featured Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels delivering a PSA (video NSFW) about overzealous grenade use, drew the ire of many of its viewers.

This wasn't due to the light swearing featured in the video, but rather, because of the name of the PSA's sponsor: Fight Against Grenade Spam, which, when acronym-ized, spells out an offensive slur. Following the inevitable backlash which occurred when the gaming community realized the slur's inclusion, Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling responded by Tweeting, "I think the core gag is great, the end is a bit too far from the intent of the joke & can appreciate the concerns. Pulled." True to his word, the video was soon yanked from the developer's YouTube channel.

The complaints from those who viewed the offending ad were two-fold: First, they didn't like that the slur (even in its spelled-out state) was used at all. However, the bigger complaint seemed to be that Infinity Ward was catering to the sensibilities of the foul, hateful underbelly of the online gaming community. What did you think of the video, dear readers? Let us know in the comments section, but please -- keep it civil.

Capcom expects Lost Planet 2 to sell 3.7 million units in second half of fiscal year

by Griffin McElroy { 6 days ago }

Capcom's recently published financial report for the first half of the current fiscal year contains some fairly gutsy estimates for sales expectations of the developer's upcoming titles -- for instance, the report anticipates selling 300,000 copies of Resident Evil 5 Alternative Edition by March 31, 2010. However, the company expects one game to be its biggest blockbuster by a fairly enormous sales margin: Lost Planet 2, which, according to the report, will sell 3.7 million copies in the second half of FY 2010.

That's a fairly monumental increase compared to the sales statistics for the original Lost Planet, which has sold 2.28 million units life-to-date according to VGChartz. Don't get us wrong -- we've enjoyed what we've seen from the game thus far. However, if Capcom's hoping to approach that target, it may want to consider tossing some Pokémon in there. Perhaps a cameo by Master Chief, too, for good measure.

Read: Capcom Results of Operations and Strategies report (.PDF)

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