Author Archive for François Chang

Xbox LIVE $100 Platinum Membership the Next Step?

Most of us know by now that the Xbox LIVE price will be raised from $50 a year to $60 in November. What most of you probably don’t know is that Wedbush Morgan Securities’ Michael Pachter predicted that this price hike would occur, and that he made one other prediction. That prediction has to do with a higher tier membership level priced at $100. Currently, we have the free Xbox LIVE Silver membership and $50 a year Gold membership. Could a third be on the way?

Britain Defence Secretary Condemns Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor is making news before release, yet again. The upcoming title, published by Electronic Arts has caused the British defence secretary to call on retailers to show their support for troops by not selling it. Britain’s defence secretary Liam Fox had this to say:

“At the hands of the Taliban, children have lost fathers and wives have lost husbands. It’s shocking that someone would think it acceptable to recreate the acts of the Taliban against British soldiers. It’s hard to believe any citizen of our country would wish to buy such a thoroughly un-British game. I would urge retailers to show their support for our armed forces and ban this tasteless product.”

Despite not responding immediately to the statement made by Fox, EA spokeswoman Amanda Taggart made the following response:

“We give gamers the opportunity to play both sides. Most of us have been doing this since we were seven: someone plays cop, someone must be robber. In Medal of Honor multiplayer, someone’s got to be the Taliban. Nobody who plays video games is going to be shocked or surprised by this.”

Maybe she’s right, but maybe it’s just a little too soon. With something so recent and still an ongoing struggle, it’s understandable that people will react sensitively to the content of the latest Medal of Honor.

[bigpond]

Mad Catz’ Presence Will Be Felt at PAX 2010

The third-party titan, Mad Catz will have their presence felt greatly at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). From September 3rd until September 5th in Seattle Washington, Mad Catz has a bunch of activities and events scheduled for all the attendees.

Mad Catz will be located at booth number 3217 and if you click ‘Read More’ below, you can see all the stuff scheduled for the jam-packed weekend.

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Super Mario All-Stars Coming to Wii

According to reports from a Japanese retail event, Super Mario All-Stars will be released on Nintendo Wii in disc form. To go on sale October 21st, the re-release of the compilation classic is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. The title is set to go on sale for 2,500 yen, which is $30 in U.S. dollars.

The Wii version of the Super Nintendo game that included 4 games in 1 will also include a “Super Mario History 1985-2010″ booklet, and a CD of Mario music ranging from the originals all the way up to Super Mario Galaxy 2.

It is unknown if this awesome title will be arriving in North America, but it would be a great injustice if it doesn’t. We love Mario just as much!

[Kotaku]

Remember When?: Kids’ Meal Toys Were for the Gamers

Being a kid and being a gamer go hand in hand. All kids like video games. It’s not until we’re older that we decide gaming is no longer a “cool” thing to do. Being a kid also meant that we loved getting kids’ meals. With that said, remember when the fast food place had kids’ meal toys that were video game themed or oriented? It was like killing three birds with one stone. You got to eat, you got to play with a toy, and it satisfied your gamer side, too. What more could you possibly want being a gamer kid. Over the years, I have gotten the kids’ meal toys when they were associated with a certain video game at various fast food restaurants and I would just like to share some of the toys with you. I never went really hard at collecting every single toy each time they offered them, so it’s not much. I only have a handful to share.

Views: 284

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars HD is Coming to the iPad

Rockstar Games has announced that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars HD will be coming to the Apple iPad on September 9th, 2010. This new version of the handheld hit will come with brand new updated, high definition graphics. It will also include more than 50 missions, countless side activities, and the players will have the ability to customize their own soundtrack using music on Independence FM.

Each mission offers thrilling, fast-paced action and the best gameplay elements of the Grand Theft Auto series specifically created with mobile gamers in mind. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars HD will be available for $9.99 from the Apple App Store.

Yun and Yang Coming to Super Street Fighter IV Arcades?

According to the latest Arcadia magazine, Yun and Yang’s appearance in Super Street Fighter IV arcade machines will likely happen. If you remember not too long ago, Capcom was giving subtle (yet obvious) hints towards characters to appear in the console version of Super Street Fighter IV. Throwing stars were shown indicating Ibuki’s appearance. Blue boxing gloves were sent to various journalists indicating Dudley’s appearance. So the same reveal process has been used for Yun and Yang. Click ‘Read More’ to check out the image shown in Arcadia magazine.

Nintendo DSi Prices Are Going Down

Starting September 12th, the price for Nintendo DSi and DSi XL will be dropping $20.00 respectively. That puts the regular Nintendo DSi at 149.99 and the Nintendo DSi XL at $169.99.

“We know shoppers want to get the maximum value out of every dollar they spend,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Our new Nintendo DSi prices make it easier than ever for consumers to access the tremendous variety of games, applications and social tools on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL systems.”

Unfortunately, the Nintendo DS lite will still remain $129.99. I think it is interesting to note that a system that has been out for almost 6 years, no matter how much it has been “upgraded,” launched at $149.99 and will still sell well at that price. It is a true testament to how successful the Nintendo DS systems have been for Nintendo.

Xbox LIVE Prices Are Going Up

According to Major Nelson’s blog, the price for Xbox LIVE will be going up starting November 1st in the United States, Canada, Mexico and United Kingdom. Click ‘Read More’ to see the price bumps in from the places listed.

Nail’d Hands-On Impressions

Recently, I was able to get my hands on Deep Silver’s upcoming ATV/dirtbike racing game, Nail’d. Learning the controls took less than half a second, because it was very simplified and easy to pick up. Why were they simple and easy to learn? It is because the game is simple and easy. All you do is race to be number one. That’s it. No fancy drifting, no complicated boost mechanics, none of that stuff. All the controls consist of are to go, go faster, and steering. So how did I feel about this game that will be arriving in a little over a month…

GamesCom 2010: Two New Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Gameplay Videos

Possibly the last bit of news coming out of GamesCom 2010 are these two gameplay videos for Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. The characters announced during the event were Viewtiful Joe and Super Skrull, so what better way to welcome these two than to see them thrown into a match. The more characters they announce and showoff, the more exciting the game is shaping up to be. Hopefully, your favorite Marvel or Capcom characters get announced soon, if they haven’t already been. Click ‘Read More’ to check out the amazing videos.

Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Swamp Website Launch (Sort Of)

Are kids still into Scooby-Doo!? That’d be awesome if they were, because the upcoming Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Swamp for Wii, DS and PlayStation 2 (yes, PS2) has launched its official website. What can you find at this website? Well, tons of Scooby-Doo! stuff of course!

The website features wallpapers, buddy icons and screensavers, along with a soon to be unveiled mini-game. This can all be found by going to www.scoobydoovideogames.com

Oh wait…the website isn’t working. How unfortunate. As of right now the website is not functional. These people launch a website, announce it to the world, but all we get is a dead link. Something about this smells real fishy. We need Scooby-Doo! and the gang to solve this mystery!