Sony Euro VP Talks Up Gran Turismo 5 As ‘THE PlayStation Franchise’

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Gran Turismo 5 has been in development for roughly five years, which is quite an investment on Sony’s part. SCE Worldwide Studios Europe VP Michael Denny, however, thinks the time was well invested.

Far from looking dated, it will look state of the art, said Denny. I think it is the game that the driving genre absolutely needs. And Gran Turismo for PlayStation will move that on again. I think when you have got a game like Gran Turismo, which is THE PlayStation franchise, then you want the game to be absolutely right and to the highest quality.

I think that now we ve announced the date and we know this is a Gran Turismo year, it s not only exciting for us at PlayStation company, but for PlayStation fans and consumers. And it s going to be bigger and better than ever,” he continued. “From a worldwide studio perspective, our strategy is always to concentrate on the highest quality possible.”

We need exclusive games that differentiates our platform, Gran Turismo has always been our flagship title and I am sure it is going to be that again, he concluded.

Source: Develop

Ping Dinged With Spam

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Apple recently launched iTunes 10, along with Ping. The social media service has no spam or URL filtering, and many have said that the service has been quickly become inundated with spam messages.

Strangely, Apple seems to have anticipated a certain degree of malfeasance, as profile pictures that you upload will not appear until approved by Apple, writes Chester Wisniewski. They are likely filtering for other offensive content as well, so they probably have means in place they could use to stop the spam. Another problem that is likely to contribute to spam is that it is quite easy to create bogus accounts for the Ping service because no credit card or other positive identification is required to participate.

Coincidentally, the most common spam on Ping at the moment targets Apple itself, Wisniewski continued. The attacks are nearly identical to survey spams we have blogged about on Facebook, Google and Twitter. If half as many free iPads, iPhones and iPods were being given away as Ping comments might lead you to believe, there would be no reason to bother with going to an Apple store. But if you actually want an Apple device, my advice is to go out and buy one, as filling out surveys will likely only end in tears.

Source: Sophos

Duke Hits PAX

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PAX 2010 is truly serving as a coming out party for Duke Nukem Forever. While the game has been mostly hidden from view for the last decade, the recent announcement that Gearbox Software was preparing it for release in the coming months has meant the most public display of Duke promotions in many, many years.

Source: Kotaku

Inafune Thinks Japanese Gaming Industry Still In Trouble

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Last year, Capcom R&D chief Keiji Inafune declared that the Japanese gaming industry is done, finished. While he’s had a year to reflect on what he’s said, he doesn’t think anything has improved.

“I said that comment hoping that the Japanese creators were going to wake up,” explained Inafune. “However, there has been no change whatsoever to the situation since last year, so I’m still very pessimistic.”

“I feel that many people in the industry are still living the glory of the ’80s and ’90s, so they don’t admit that there is a problem to start with, he continued. However, looking at the domestic market, it’s shrunk. Therefore it’s really important that we realize that we’re behind the Western market now, get humble and start learning what’s going on. Otherwise the Japanese market is going to disappear completely, sadly.

“There are some publishers who are starting to buy up Western developers, he said, referencing Square Enix’s purchase of Eidos. However, unless they start working with them properly, rather than just commissioning a game and then putting their name on the final product, it’s just not going to work.”

Source: VideoGamer.com

Halo Kitty, Finally

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 Hello Kitty is a Japanese pop culture icon that transcends cultural boundaries. Fittingly, a fan has taken that image and crossed it with Master Chief, among many other nerd pop icons.

 

Clockwork Orange, Halo and Watchmen

Source: Toys R’ Evil

Splatterhouse: Future’s Past

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The new Splatterhouse game is a reboot of the franchise, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t built with respect to its roots. Check out the trailer below for all the nods to previous titles.

Dating Sim Promotes Japanese Resort Town

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Loveplus+ is one of the hottest dating simulations in Japan, having sold nearly a half million copies. It’s also helped act as a promotional device for Atami, a Japanese resort town outside of Tokyo.

 

Medal Of Honor Stripped From GameStop Stores On Military Bases

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It has been reported that GameStop stores located on military bases will no longer advertise or sell EA’s upcoming Medal of Honor. This is being done because of the playable Taliban characters in the game’s multiplayer mode.

“GameStop has agreed out of respect for our past and present men and women in uniform we will not carry Medal of Honor in any of our AAFES based stores . . .,” read a GameStop email. “As such, GameStop agreed to have all marketing material pulled by noon today and to stop taking reservations.

Customers who enter our AAFES stores and wish to reserve Medal of Honor can and should be directed to the nearest GameStop location off base, continued the email. GameStop fully supports AAFES in this endeavor and is sensitive to the fact that in multiplayer mode one side will assume the role of Taliban fighter.”

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service has confirmed that they requested the game pulled from the GameStop’s 49 stores located on bases in the U.S. It will also extend to all GameStop stores on U.S. military bases worldwide.

Source: Kotaku

Conan Keeps It Simple

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Conan O’Brien recently revealed over the Internet what his next show would be called. After joking that he spent millions of dollars on research, he wrote on a piece of paper that the show would be simply called Conan.

“There it is, Conan. Simple, pure, like the man himself,” O’Brien joked.

Conan’s new talk show will premiere on TBS on November 8.