Laser Sharks

There was large grumble coming for cooperative-loving gamers when Bungie refused to confirm the existence of an online co-op mode in Halo 3.  Gamers with friends can all now breathe a little easier knowing that online co-op will be supported.  Wait, it gets even better.  Bungie has confirmed that Halo 3 will feature up to four-player co-op both online and offline.  However, four player offline co-op will be limited to system link - only two players can play cooperatively on the same Xbox. 

Co-op players will progress through the normal campaign mode.  Co-op mode must be selected from the main menu - additional players cannot jump into a pre-existing single-player campaign mode.  As we reported earlier, Player 1 will play as Master Chief, and Player 2 will play as the Arbiter.  Bungie has unveiled two new characters, one for Player 3 and one for Player 4.

Allow us to introduce them:

PLAYER 3 (Sangheili)

Name: N’tho ‘Sraom
Affiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Special Operations
History: N’tho ‘Sraom is the youngest member of his Special Operations unit and is one of a growing number of human sympathizers amongst the Sangheili youth. He is a fairly typical young male adult Sangheili—he began compulsory military service at the end of adolescence, and remains unmarried with no close, non-familial relationships outside of his martial order. N’tho Sraom refused to stand idly by while the Prophets replaced Sangheili units with Jiralhanae packs, and now bears deep resentment toward those Sangheili politicians who landed his kind in their current predicament.

Although N’tho ‘Sraom’s romanticized nationalism is emblematic of all Sangheili, he has developed a healthy respect for humanity—not for their physical abilities or martial prowess, but for their audacity and resolve.

PLAYER 4 (Sangheili)

Name: Usze ‘Taham
Affiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Fleet Security
History: Although Usze ‘Taham was born into a respected merchant family he was fathered by Toha ‘Sumai—one of the preeminent swordfighters of this age. Usze graduated with honors from the top War College in the Iruiru region of Yermo, Sanghelios (a distinction he shares with Rtas ‘Vadum). Shortly after receiving his first post within the Covenant Navy he was offered a place on the Prophets’ Honor Guard but he declined citing “lack of practical experience”. In truth, he had no desire to be part of a largely ceremonial unit, and at the end of his third combat tour, Usze ‘Taham again refused the post—even though his superiors warned him such behavior could be misinterpreted as apostasy.

Since that time Usze has evaded countless punitive actions, at least two assassination attempts, and served with distinction for two additional tours before the Schism. Following the dissolution of the Covenant, he was approached by the Ascetics to become one of their liaisons within the Navy.

Each player will have the same abilities, only their appearance will be different.  The one exception to this is starting weapons.  The Elites will start with carbines instead of the battle rifle.  We applaud Bungie for their commitment to online play and the decision to use four unique characters rather than four versions of Master Chief.

Popularity: 6% [?]

The latest Super Smash Brothers Brawl game item revealed is Pitfall.  Pitfall originates from Animal Crossing.  The Pitfall is buried in the ground and it disappears.  Whenever a player walks over the spot is is buried, that player falls through the map and gets stuck.

Here is the item

Throw a Pitfall at the ground

It disappears!

An unsuspecting player walks over it
 

Now they are trapped under the board

Popularity: 6% [?]

Sony can now add the Cell Processor to the growing list of PS3 features which have generated a lawsuit. Sony has already had patent suits over the construction of Blu-ray discs and the PS3’s digital security system. 

This time Newport Beach, CA based Parallel Processing Corporation has brought a suit over the patent for “synchronized parallel processing with shared memory.”  The orignal patent was assigned to International Parallel Machines on October 8, 1981.  Parallel Processing Corporation is calling itself an “exclusive licensee.” 

The suit claims that Sony products including the PS3 are infinging on the patent, but does not specify which of the patents’s claims are being infringed upon.  The suit continues to say that Sony’s actions “are causing irreparable harm and monetary damage.”  I can only assume that the suit is referring to Parallel Processing Corporation, but it seems that Sony is the bigger victim of these actions.

Parallel Processing Corporation is seeking damages and attorney fees with interest, as well as the destuction of all Sony products that infringe on the patent.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The Xbox 360 has become the gaming console with the most number of searches according to Hitwise, an online stat tracking group.  The Xbox 360 has surpasses the Nintendo Wii as gaming’s most searched for console. 

There could obviously be other reasons for these statistics other than increases popularity. Perhaps gamers are searching for “Ring of Death” or information on warranty repairs. However, General Manager of Hitwise, Bill Trancer, says this is not the case.

Searches can also be driven by other factors – namely recalls So is the growth in searches for Xbox 360 simply a result of the recent “warranty extension” and “Red Ring of Death”? Hitwise search data indicates it is not. The following table lists the top search terms entered into search engines in the past four weeks that include the words “xbox 360”:

 

He then continued to explain that searches for a price drop on the Xbox 360 have been much more popular than searches for a price drop on the PS3.

Demand is high for a price drop - in the past four weeks, the top search term with the words “price drop” was “xbox 360 price drop”. There were 70% more US searches for “xbox 360 price drop” than for “ps3 price drop”.

 

Tracer concluded his reasons for the increases in popularity of Xbox 360 searches.

So what is driving the increase in searches for Xbox 360? It appears to be a combination of hype for new games, rumours of a price drop and no doubt some queries about the recent problems.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Donkey Kong’s final smash in the upcoming Wii version of Super Smash Brothers is a throwback to Donkey Konga, the Gamecube game that dramatically strayed from the original Donkey Kong roots. 

The move is called Konga Beat.  DK is invulnerable while performing this move.  In keeping with the source of the move, pressing buttons in time to the rhythm will increase the damage caused.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Thanks to Wiis World for the heads up

Popularity: 6% [?]

The results are in for retail sales of console games for the month of June.  I have to say, it’s an interesting lineup.  According to market research firm NPD Group Canada, Nintendo held 10 out of the top 12 games sold for the month.

Here’s a list of the top 12 games for June, with publisher and platform:

1. Mario Party 8 (Nintendo of Canada, Nintendo Wii)

2. Wii Play (Nintendo of Canada, Nintendo Wii)

3. Pokémon Diamond (Nintendo of Canada, Nintendo DS)

4. Forza Motorsport 2 (Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360)

5. Pokémon Pear (Nintendo of Canada, Nintendo DS)

6. Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane/Activision, Xbox 360)

7. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (Capcom, Nintendo Wii)

8. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo of Canada, Nintendo Wii)

9. Super Paper Mario (Nintendo of Canada, Nintendo Wii)

10. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo of Canada, Nintendo DS)

11. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Nintendo of Canada, Nintendo Wii)

12. Pokémon Battle Revolution (Nintendo of Canada, Nintendo Wii)

It looks as if Pokémon and Mario are as popular as ever while the big-name franchises for both Xbox 360 and PS3 are conspicuously absent.  Actually, the PS3 is completely absent, but I don’t think that will hold true for too many more months.

Popularity: 8% [?]

New from hideapod.com.

Bill was a hired infomercial actor pretending to be on the brink. He used to lose at least half a dozen iPods to relentless and cunning thieves, continually able to outsmart him and relieve him of his portable music boxes. Then, like a shining light at the end of the tunnel, along came Hide-a-Pod*. “It was like a dream come true,” Bill exclaimed: “I picked up a Hide-a-Pod, and I haven’t lost an iPod since. If I leave it somewhere and go back later it’s always right there were I left it.” Harnessing the mathematical perfection of ugliness that only the Brown Zune possesses, Hide-a-Pod makes iPods physically invisible to lower standing members of society. You too can be like Bill, by ordering the Hide-a-Pod today!

Popularity: 5% [?]

 Gaming Mirror posted a list of why PSN will be better than Xbox Live.  He makes some interesting points, but I thought I would go ahead and refute some of these here, as they are typical arguments and my repsonse could apply to most any list of PSN superiority. 

Click here to read the original article.

Below is the gamingmirror.com list.  My responses are in bold italics.

---

Top 10 Reasons PSN will be Xbox LIVE’s Equal or SuperiorThe title signifies the single biggest problem with the list.  It says “will be.”  Whenever someone touts the superiority of the PlayStation Network over Xbox Live, it is always in future tense.  The reason is that currently the PSN is nowhere near the quality of Xbox Live.   The arguement is all based off  of Sony’s promises and hype.1. Playstation HOME. Home offers a rich avatar graphical interface for player interaction, activities, and trophies. Oh and can’t forget the posh apartments.

The apartment is neat.  The only thing I don’t like is that currently you have to be online for people to see it.  Not just online, but online and in your apartment waiting on people.  This could easily be fixed, but in its currently planned state it is something that will be used less often than a Mii Parade. 

2. Downloadable retro Playstation content (i.e. PS1 games).

This is a good feature.  The Xbox hasn’t been around as long and does not have a library of games that could easily be downloaded.  They do currently have a better line up of downloadable games on Xbox Live Arcade than what are on PSN.  A problem with many of the old 3D games is that they look like a really bad wersion of what we have today.  2D games are easy to play and have a definative retro feel to them.  Old 3D games tend to just feel crappy.

3. FREE, FREE, FREE! The PSN is completely free unlike Xbox LIVE.

The PSN is free.  XBL costs $50 bucks a year.  The advantage goes to the PSN.  You currently have a seamless XBL experience while every PSN experience is different.  I will predict that if PSN ever becomes something that rivals XBL and Sony manages to keep it free, XBL will likely go free as well.  Until then, I will gladly pay my $50.

3. Introduced downloadable multitasking/background downloading.

I am not sure what you mean by this.  XBL has supported background downloading since launch day for the Xbox 360, and it came out about a year before PS3 or the PSN.

4. Integrated web browser with the PSN store set up similarly for a layout that most internet gamers are familiar with. PSN thereby branches out from its own system to the world wide web (gosh, that’s so 1995).

To me it seems that your biggest point with this argument is that the PS3 supports a web browser.  I have plenty of web browsers.  I have a web browser on my desktop.  I have a web browser on my Wii.  I have a web browser on my PS3.  I have a web browser on my PSP.  I have a web browser on my Dreamcast.  I have a web browser on my PDA phone.  I have a web browser on all three of my laptops.  I have plenty of web browsers.  If someone has a connection to the internet they most likely have at least one of these devices.  I have never used any of the browsers besides my computers or phone for anything other than just seeing how it works.  I have never used any game console browser more than just a few times each.  My point is, it is more gimmicky than anything.

5. Future integration of Video On Demand, Music on Demand, Singstar.

“Future integration.”  XBL currently offers Video on Demand and is in fact the largest digital distributor of Hi-Def movies and the second largest digital video distribution network overall.  Music on demand would be nice, but I would rather have it on my computer where I can easily play it on my iPod or my Xbox 360.

6. Easier and cheaper access to the network for Wi-fiers. All PS3s come standard with wireless capability, whereas it costs $99 for a 360 (yes I shelled out the cash for my xbox)

Yeah $99 for a wi-fi adaptor is ridiculous.  No arguement here.

7. Folding@Home. Using the power of the PS3 and the PSN users can contribute to the understanding and possible cure of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and MS. Come on, PSN should win hands down for this humanitarian effort.

Kinda cool.  It is good to help a cause.  I have heard more about this than any other single feature of PSN.  However, if I were a heartless jerk I would point out that this does nothing for me as a gamer.

8. Frequent firmware updates. Some might gawk at frequency and like only the large chunky and infrequent updates from MSoft. But the slow yet steady addition of new bits and bobs is fun.

Frequent firmware updates.  The reason for so many updates is that the service is still trying to find its footing.  XBL does have more frequent fixes on a per game level that only affect software.  Frequent firmware updates mean one thing - increased chances of bricking the console.  I know it is bad compare realiability of the PS3 to the dismal failure rate of the Xbox 360, but firmware updates are the most common cause of failure for any electronics device that was working properly before.

9. PSN has already accomplished much of what LIVE has done/has in 9 months. LIVE has existed for nearly 5 years (circa 2002).

I would say taking consoles from a virtually nonexistent online experience to a point where it is one of the most important parts of a console is a much bigger accomplishment.  The Xbox wasn’t designed around online connectivity, it was added later.  To be fair, PlayStations have been online a lot longer than 9 months.  The Xbox Live did as much, if not more, in the first nine months of the Xbox 360 as PSN  has done.  It set the bar for what PSN hopes to be.

ADDED:The original Xbox wasn’t built around xbox live.  It obviously had an ethernet port that was made with Live in mind, but it wasn’t made around the benefits that an online console can bring.  Nothing ever dramatically changed about the Xbox except that it started offering online gameplay and a few per-game updates.  Xbox 360 was built with upgradability in mind and since its launch has dramatically changed how it works.  It has added more blades, more customizable themes, added a movie download service, added a download queue, added video support from windows XP, added a function that shows which game is in the tray, it now downloads even when the system is “off.”  These sorts of things were never done on the original Xbox because it wasn’t designed to have massive updates.

10. Free. Oh wait I already said that… oh well, it’s a biggy.

See number 3.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Jasman Toys will release the coolest non-game Halo-related product ever made this Fall.  Jasman is launching a life-size laser tag game featuring the Covenant Plasma Pistol and Plasma Rifle, two weapons featured in every iteration of Halo so far.  Bungie has discussed a Halo laser tag set before, and is finally releasing details with just two months left until the launch of Halo 3.

The prototypes are currently on display at Comic Con.  There is currently no price set.

Plasma Pistol

Plasma Rifle

A Bungie interview with Jasman Toys:

Q: Can you tell us a little about the faithful-to-the-game Features in the Halo 3replica weapons?

A: First off, would be the realism. The detail on these guns is amazing! We are still in development on the final pieces, so there may be some slight variation to some of the features, but the plasma rifle will have lights and recoil similar to those in the game. It will also have the real sound effects from the game as well as some of the special features including the “overheating” when shot too many times in a row. The plasma pistol will also have the lights and sounds as well as a recoil vibration when shooting and a “super shot mode” when holding down the trigger that will do more damage.

Q: How does Laser Pursuit differ from other, similar games?

A: Our Halo Laser Pursuit differs in the way that it is trying to replicate the game instead of just having your basic laser tag game. The target will represent the shields similar to the game. When you are shot the target will show the damage to your shield, if you can get away the shields will recharge back to full power.

Q: Where and when can we buy these things?

A: The Covenant Plasma Rifle and Pistol will be available at your local Hot Topics and other fine retailers starting October 2007. The Covenant Energy Sword will be available sometime in 2008.

Q: Why aren’t the UNSC weapons such as the BR and AR represented here?

A: Our Halo 3 Laser Pursuit replica weapons are going to be available at toy stores and we wanted to keep the detail as realistic as possible. The human weapons look too real and would need to be made in bright orange or green to be sold at retail. Depending on the success of the alien weapons, however, who knows what could happen.

Q: A little bird tells us these aren’t precisely the correct scale – now why would that be?

A: We originally made them at the correct scale, but they were huge! The Master Chief is something like 7 feet tall and when you held the weapons at that scale they were way too big. We scaled them down slightly so that they work for an average sized adult.

Q: Where can folks see these weapons at ComiCon?

A: The prototypes will be on display at the Tor booth (#1116)

Popularity: 12% [?]

Joystiq is reporting that the upcoming issue of GamePro magazine will feature a 3-page article about Harmonix’s new name Rock Band.  Among other things discussed in the upcoming GamePro article is the promise of “weekly downloadable content” as made by Alex Rigopulos, Harmonix’s CEO.  Rigopulos has already named bands such as Metallica and The Who as bands participating the once-a week downloadable content.  The big news in the GamePro article is that 90s grunge rock band

Nirvana’s classic Nervermind album will be available for download after Rock Band releases.

The upcoming GamePro article also gives some insight on the venues to be used in Rock Band.  Instead of the fictional venues used in Guitar Hero, Rock band will feature 41 real-life venues from cities that include Amsterdam, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, Paris, Seattle, San Francisco, Sydney and Tokyo.

Popularity: 7% [?]

According to Yahoo News, The PS3 sold 710,000 in the three months prior to June.  During this same time frame, the Wii sold 3.43 million units.  Sony is claiming to have lost 243 million dollars in during these three months.  How does Sony respond to the discrepency in sales and the profit loss?  They keep a positive attitude.

Sony’s chief financial officer, Nobuyuki Oneda, stated

“sales figure was somewhat weaker than our target but we still believe that the main battle is still ahead of us.” He then went on to say that “sales of the PS3 have risen but we booked losses due to our strategic decision to price it below the (production) cost.  Actually, because the number of units sold was not as high as we hoped, the loss was better than our original expectation.”

How bad is a product that selling it hurts your company. Console makers tend to lose money on console sales, and make up for it on game sales, but the CFO should not release statements praising weak sales to the press.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Thanks to Gaming Bits for the heads up on this one.  LucasArts will release a Lego Indiana Jones game in the summer of 2008.  Based on the history of the Lego Star Wars Games, this is one to watch out for.  The Lego series has managed to pull off the difficult balance of kid-friendliness, irreverent humor, and fanboyism.  Below is the full press release:

If Family Adventure Has a Name, It Must Be LEGO® Indiana Jones: The Videogame

LucasArts and TT Games Don Their Fedoras for the Next Great LEGO Gaming Experience

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – July 27, 2007 – LucasArts and TT Games today announced that LEGO® Indiana Jones®: The Videogame [working title] will whip onto game consoles everywhere in summer 2008. Developed by the same team at Traveller’s Tales that created the LEGO Star Wars™ series, LEGO Indiana Jones presents a tongue-in-cheek take on the first three cinematic adventures of pop culture’s most iconic archaeologist, including Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

“LucasArts and TT Games are setting the bar for next-generation family entertainment with the LEGO Star Wars franchise, and our incredible relationship continues with LEGO Indiana Jones,” said Jim Ward, president of LucasArts. “In addition to providing the quality bonding time inspired by any good family game, LEGO Indiana Jones delivers something a little different for everyone. Parents will enjoy the humorous take on some of their favorite movies, and their kids get some rousing action/adventure gameplay that may also introduce them to Indy’s original adventures for the first time.”

“It has been a real joy to work with LucasArts on the LEGO Star Wars games. Indiana Jones is the perfect character for the next LEGO-based videogame adventure,” said Tom Stone, director at TT Games. “Indy also presents us with wonderful and memorable cinematic moments. The boulder scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark in LEGO is hilarious!”

Lucasfilm Ltd. recently announced that the LEGO Group will begin releasing LEGO Indiana Jones playsets in January 2008. Meanwhile, LucasArts remains hard at work on its revolutionary, internally developed Indiana Jones videogame, which takes place a year after The Last Crusade in an original story overseen by George Lucas. For more information on LEGO Indiana Jones, please visit www.legoindianajonesgame.com

Popularity: 7% [?]