Halo 3 ODST Facebook Party

BY

Bungie is taking the next step in engaging with their consumers on a social level by holding a huge Halo 3 ODST party in Seattle.  The event is open to the public and anyone can attend, with the details outlined below.  We love this idea of opening real world events to the public, and we ll have pictures and impressions from the event the very next day.

From Facebook:

ODSTs, your time has arrived. On September 21, the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle will be the place to be to celebrate all things Halo. Bungie and Microsoft invite Halo fans to take part in a celebration of the Halo franchise and usher in the release of Halo 3: ODST, the latest installment in the iconic video game franchise that has sold more than 27 million copies worldwide.

At the launch event, fans will have the opportunity to meet the creators who are driving the latest developments in the Halo universe, including Halo 3: ODST Creative Director Joseph Staten from Bungie and Halo Franchise Development Director Frank O Connor from 343 Industries. Fans will also receive hands-on time with Firefight and prepare for glory in an action-packed tournament for a chance to win coveted Halo -themed prizes. A select number of attendees will also be chosen for a special hands-on session with the Halo 3: ODST campaign.

Additionally, the event will feature special programming throughout the evening with panel discussions featuring Bungie and 343 Industries personnel. Through the panels, fans will learn more about the creation of Halo 3: ODST and get a sneak peek at the exciting new additions to the Halo experience such as Halo Legends, Halo Waypoint and more.

The launch event is free and open to the public.* The first 200 fans in line will receive a limited edition ODST T-shirt, so attendees are encouraged to arrive early. A panel of judges from Bungie and 343 Industries will be on hand to award prizes to the fans with the best Halo -themed costumes, so suit up and bring your best UNSC Marine/ODST/Master Chief/Cortana costume for all to see. During the event, all attendees are invited to tour the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame free of charge.

True Blood Continues TV Franchise Jump Into Games

BY

True Blood, a popular HBO series that centers around Sookie Stackhouse and her adventures with vampires, shapeshifters and the supernatural, is headed for a video game adaptation.

A recent trademark filing with the US Patent & Trademark Office shows HBO is interested in giving the show a full video game treatment, though there are no additional details at this time.

True Blood joins Dexter as a series you wouldn’t expect to see as a game, but it’s a testament to how the video game industry has grown in acceptance over the past year. Dexter, based on the critically-acclaimed Showtime show, recently hit the iPhone to solid reviews.

Microsoft And Activision Collaborate On New Xbox 360

BY

At a special event last night, Activision and Microsoft announced a special edition Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360 bundle.

Releasing this fall, the Modern Warfare 2 pack contains a copy of the game, two wireless controllers, a headset, a massive 250GB hard drive and, most importantly, a sleek Xbox 360 console branded with exclusive Modern Warfare 2 artwork.

The bundle retails for $399 and can be pre-ordered now, and is just another way Microsoft has been leading the charge in engaging people in their passion points which, in this case, is one of the biggest games of the year.

Pics at Kotaku:
http://kotaku.com/5360377/microsoft-releasing-250gb-xbox-360-for-modern-warfare-2

Brutal Legend Goes Old School With Special Edition

BY

Continuing the wave of publishers giving retailers a fighting chance against the likes of Amazon is EA and Brutal Legend teaming up with Best Buy for a very appropriate pre-order bonus.

Consumers who plunk down pre-order money for the game at Best Buy will be treated to an exclusive LP sleeve with Brutal Legend artwork.  The game centers around a metal and hard rock world, so the artwork on the sleeve harkens back to all the 80s metal bands you can think of. (We can’t think of any.)

But the LP and artwork will be greatly appreciated by gamers who want a flashback to dramatic album covers filled with babes, dragons and fire. Always with the fire.

 

Another Portable Coming

BY

Microsoft has been rumored to get into portables for years now, and they are looking at the Zune HD for their first foray into the market.  Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition, Vans Sk8: Pool Service and Audiosurf Tilt will kick off the Zune HD games push in November.

The move has a lot to do with Apple s success in the gaming market with the iPhone and iPod Touch, with the latter being heavily touted as the funnest iPod ever and a direct competitor to the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.

Video Of The Day: Fallon And Black At The VMAs

BY

Tim Schafer should be a happy man, as his creation Eddie Riggs is getting some good play ahead of his starring role in Brutal Legend.

Jack Black, the voice of Riggs in the game, donned fake muscles and a jet black wig to rock out at the VMAs, and today’s video of the day has Black interviewed with Jimmy Fallon on the red carpet. Black also promoted the game in the same get-up while presenting an award. Pretty impressive, EA.

Unfortunately it can’t be embedded, but it’s in the link below about a third of the way in, and gives you an example of how a big name can bring you exposure you would never expect.

[via Rolling Stone]

Most Wii Owners Do Not Own Xbox 360, PS3

BY

From IndustryGamers:

According to a new report from The NPD Group, console cross-ownership among Wii owners in the U.S. is fairly low. Wii owners, who represent 32 percent of all gamers, for the most part stick to Nintendo’s console. Only 14 percent of Wii owners also own a PS3, while 26 percent also own an Xbox 360.

In the meantime, PS3 and Xbox 360 owners are far more likely to purchase a Wii as a second console. How much of that is attributed to Nintendo Wii having such a broad customer base is unknown, but it is interesting information for those of us outlining a multiple console strategy.

Rather than just port the same game to all three consoles, special consideration should be taken to the audience the Nintendo Wii has built up, with credence to the top sellers for that system (namely Wii Sports Resort and Wii Play).  These are games that would not make it onto a hardcore machine, so why continue to try and push hardcore titles on this platform

More proof ?  How about Madden selling a paltry 67K copies on the Nintendo platform as opposed to 500K on the other two?  If you’re not considering the Wii and the 360/PS3 two separate audiences by now, you re doing it wrong.

Don’t Edit Your Own Wikipedia

BY

From Kotaku:

It seems that a Tecmo employee has apparently been altering the company’s Wiki page a user with the company’s IP address has been making changes to the page. Some of those changes seem related to the events of last year, such as trying to hide info about who quit the company. Wikipedia has warned Tecmo about editing its own Wiki page.

If this is true, Tecmo is hardly the only company editing its own Wiki page. The issue that Wikipedia seems to be taking is that Tecmo appears to be covering up factual information that might make the company look bad.

Tecmo has had a rough go at it the past couple of years, with the culmination happening when star developer and mastermind behind Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden Tomonobu Itagaki left the developer and came back . . . to sue.

Even if the news is bad and your game’s or company’s history is on shaky ground, it is never a good idea to edit your own Wikipedia page.  You only end up looking foolish because Wikipedia will find you out and a little bit of attention turns into a whole lot of it.