Red Hot Chili

EA unveils new Need for Speed trio

redhotchili — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:13:54 GMT

EA unveils new Need for Speed trio

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jan 30th 2009 at 7:30AM }

It seems EA's long-idling racing franchise isn't destined for the scrap heap at all, as the publisher has unveiled three new Need for Speed titles across several platforms. In an interview with Gamespot, EA's veep of marketing, Kevin Munro, insists that "the new brand strategy around three specific genres will keep the game fresh and players entertained." This refreshing and oh-so-entertaining trio of titles includes:

Need for Speed: Shift (PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PSP) -- A "hardcore racing simulation" overseen by Black Box executive producer Michael Mann, and Patrick Soderlund, the co-founder of DICE and current senior vice president of EA Games Europe. External developer Slightly Mad Studios will be responsible for putting a realistic spin on the franchise.
Need for Speed: Nitro (Wii, DS) -- As you might expect, this one will feature a "unique visual style," courtesy of EA Montreal. Nitro promises to take full advantage of the unique controls on offer for both platforms, but without sacrificing depth. According to Munro, "We do not want to fall into the trap of creating a 'Need for Speed Lite.'"
Need for Speed: World Online (PC) -- Jointly developed by Black Box and EA ~~Shanghai~~ Singapore, this free-to-play online racer is set to launch in Asia this Summer, with a North American release slated for next Winter.

You can look for Shift and Nitro on North American shelves sometime during Fall 2009.

Phantasy Star Portable gets new release date: March 3rd

redhotchili — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:11:51 GMT

Phantasy Star Portable gets new release date: March 3rd

by Andrew Yoon { Feb 3rd 2009 at 9:45AM }

PSP fans looking to join in on Sega's latest addition to the famed RPG series won't have to wait much longer. The US release is just one month away -- March 3rd.

Phantasy Star Portable expands the world featured in Xbox 360's Phantasy Star Universe. The RPG is heavily rooted in ad-hoc multiplayer, with up to four players doing missions in tandem. The game will retail for $39.99.

Fuse your powers with this Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 trailer

redhotchili — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:10:10 GMT

Fuse your powers with this Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 trailer

by Xav de Matos { Feb 6th 2009 at 7:45PM }

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 swoops onto game consoles everywhere later this year. In it, characters from the pages of your favorite funny-books will band together in teams and fuse power like never before. The latest trailer for MUA2 shows off some of the special fusion techniques players can expect. Ignite a tornado formed by Storm as the Human Torch, deflect Iron Man's energy blasts as Wolverine; combine any ability to create devastating attacks in battle versus evil-doers.

So far, the game looks interesting. What doesn't look even remotely interesting is Iron Man's character model. He looks like a hobo who uses the box he lives in as his suit to fight crime. Check out the trailer after the break.

Punch-Out!! coming first half 2009, and more US / Europe Nintendo release dates

redhotchili — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:08:08 GMT

Punch-Out!! coming first half 2009, and more US / Europe Nintendo release dates

by Ross Miller { Jan 30th 2009 at 10:36AM }

Nintendo has dropped a bob-omb of release dates for 2009 (via Videogamer). While mostly vague launch windows -- some of which will still likely be missed -- New Play Control! Pikmin and Mario Tennis will hit Europe February 6 and March 3, respectively, with the US getting both sometime in March. Other notable titles include Pokemon Platinum (March 22 for US, sometime 2009 for Europe) and Punch-Out!! (first half of 2009 for both regions).

Additionally, the Big N said Europeans will be able to welcome the DSi into their homes sometime this spring or summer -- not exactly the most narrow window there, and nothing we haven't already heard since president Satoru Iwata said the portable would be launching worldwide by summer 2009. Check out the the full list for Europe and US after the break.

Atlus announces Dokapon Journey, delays

redhotchili — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:05:38 GMT

Atlus announces Dokapon Journey, delays

by JC Fletcher { Feb 3rd 2009 at 7:00PM }

Last year, developer Sting announced two new games in their Dokapon board game/RPG series: Dokapon Kingdom for Wii and PS2 and Dokapon Journey! for DS. Atlus picked up Kingdom and released it in October, seemingly leaving the DS game behind.

Apparently, Wii and PS2 owners bought a sufficient number of copies of Dokapon Kingdom, because Atlus has announced that they're localizing Dokapon Journey, for release on April 14 -- just as Amazon.ca "predicted"!

In another press release, Atlus announced delays for some of their upcoming handheld games. The mindblowingly awesome-looking Tokyo Beat Down is now coming out March 31st, The Dark Spire is scheduled for April 14th, and Steal Princess is out April 21st. We don't mind having all the Atlus releases spaced out a bit, really.

Fire Emblem staff talk Shadow Dragon in conference call [update]

redhotchili — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:04:02 GMT

Fire Emblem staff talk Shadow Dragon in conference call [update]

Update: Nintendo sent out new screenshots to go along with the conference call report. You'll find them in the gallery.

Last night, we had the rare opportunity to take part in a conference call hosted by Nintendo, featuring members of the Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon team including producer Tohru Narihiro and directors Masaki Tawara and Masayuki Horikawa. The developers discussed the changes found in the new version of the ancient Famicom game and the motivations behind them, and answered questions from press about the new game and future plans. We've done our best to summarize the discussion without leaving anything out!

The discussion began with an outline of the new features in Shadow Dragon: an enhanced tutorial system that "gets the player so they're ready to play" and get into the main game more quickly; a battle forecasting system, brought in from the second game, that allows players to predict the outcome of battles given the units involved; six difficulty settings; and mid-map save points. As the developers mention later, these changes are intended to increase the accessibility of the game.

Twilight Sequel "New Moon" on shoot

redhotchili — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 03:36:46 GMT

The succesful book turned into movie twilight was a hit throughout the world, and the sequel to the vampire romance movie entitled New Moon is on the way..

Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII websites go live

redhotchili — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:56:14 GMT

Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII websites go live

Posted Jan 9th 2009 9:09AM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News

FOR LINKS CLICK READ MORE!!!

Wow! The official websites for Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII have gone live, and at least one of them is jam-packed with direct-feed images of this hotly anticipated game series. (The Versus XIII website, we're afraid to report, is quite bare-bones right now.) No more scans, please! This is the real deal.

HERE ARE THE LINKS:

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/fabula/ff13/
http://www.square-enix.co.jp/fabula/versus13/

Quantum Theory uses tech from Ninja Gaiden Sigma

redhotchili — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:53:38 GMT

Quantum Theory uses tech from Ninja Gaiden Sigma

Posted Jan 9th 2009 4:00PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: Interviews

Tecmo's upcoming PS3-exclusive shooter, Quantum Theory, isn't made by the notorious Team Ninja studio. However, why should developers Team Tachyon relearn a system that their peers have already mastered? The technology is owned by Tecmo, so why not share resources? "Team Ninja has already put out a game, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, on the PS3, and internally we've already shared the knowledge, and the know-how, and we're very aware of the technological challenges that they had," Keisuke Kikuchi explained to Gamasutra. "So, in a way, we have already been exposed to that."

Starting from an already existing base of technology will help the team get more out of the PS3's immense potential. Ninja Gaiden looked good, but the Tecmo tech can certainly be stretched even further. "We think that we can push it to the next level with Quantum Theory. So it's not like we're completely starting from scratch, but the luxury of having a team, internally, that has already worked on a PS3 title, definitely has been a help."

Tecmo has yet to release real-time footage of the game in motion, but we're hoping to see more from this exciting PS3 game in the future.

[Thanks, David B.!]

The year of the Nintendo DSi

redhotchili — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:02:17 GMT

DS Daily: The year of the Nintendo DSi

Posted Dec 31st 2008 10:30AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: DS Daily

Some of us were too impatient to wait for the Nintendo DSi, forking over good money to import the sexy handheld. But, with 2009 fast approaching, we're going to see a lot of great DSi content hit the market. And, for those of us in North America, we're actually going to see the DSi itself hit the market. We're sure it'll sell truckloads, there's no disputing that. There's also no disputing that 2009 will be the year of the Nintendo DSi.

Agree? What are you looking forward to? Can't wait to pick one up?