These calendars will be available at select retailers. Also hitting Japan is a playtest event, which takes place on Sunday, Nov 23rd from 12 to 5pm at Sofmap.

Link

It’s about time we heard something about the upcoming GTA IV DLC. Now Rockstar has finally revealed a few screens along with a release date of February 17, 2009 for it. Judging from the screens — and the title of this first episode — I’d wager the new content will bring up a storyline involving two rival biker gangs called “The Lost” and “The Damned.” Either that, or Hell has a different “Lost and Found” counter from what we’re used to.

More screens below.

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One of Nintendo’s major reasons for not supporting HD and keeping the Wii’s specifications conservative was to make it a viable platform for original IPs. The argument was that developing games on machines with multi-core processors and complex architectures was increasing development costs to such a degree, that the appetite for risk was rapidly diminishing within the industry resulting in endless sequels and me-too titles. Two years have passed since the Wii was released and it has since gained many original IPs that allow us to see if Nintendo’s decision has borne fruit, or whether it was just an excuse to limit R&D expenses.

Red Steel

VGChartz estimated worldwide sales:1,006,000

As of April ‘07, Ubisoft reported that Red Steel had sold 950,000 copies, and VGChartz has current sales of the game at just over a million; likely well short of the true number. The success of Red Steel cannot be in doubt - a game that was hyped to be sure, but one that also ended as being a pretty mediocre shooter made enjoyable because of the Wii Remote. The question of why Ubisoft has not tried to replicate its success with other Wii FPS games can be explained with other successful Ubisoft games from the Petz/Imagine series. The latter required smaller teams and shorter development cycles, so that even minor sales resulted in strong profits. Nintendo’s own strategy seems to have backfired in this case, as Ubisoft has since become reluctant to release anything other than mini-game compilations, albeit quality ones in the form of Rayman Raving Rabbids, and expanded audience games on the Wii. Motion Plus seems to have provided Ubisoft the impetus to make the sequel that so many expected this year: Red Steel 2 should see a release in the ‘09 holiday season.

Boom Blox

VGChartz estimated worldwide sales:560,000

Initially deemed a failure at retail, Boom Blox sold a paltry 60,000 copies in its first week. Many worried that gamers would simply see a glorified version of Jenga and balk at the $50 price tag. Though, like many Wii games, despite not having the front loaded sales so typical of games on the 360, it’s shown real legs due to a solid advertising campaign and strong word-of-mouth buzz. EA stated that the game had sold 450,000 copies in their first fiscal quarter, so VGChartz current estimate of 560,000 copies sold is likely well short of the actual number. It’s tough to determine just how much cash EA plowed into Boom Blox; Steven Spielberg’s influence and the superb level design can’t have come cheap, but ultimately it didn’t feature the lavish visuals and presentation that are known to really elevate development costs. If its sales approach 750,000 worldwide, it will surely represent a very good return for EA who are also strongly rumored to be preparing a sequel.

Zack & Wiki

VGChartz estimated worldwide sales:450,000

Capcom clearly lavished a lot of time and money on Zack & Wiki - the game’s art direction, level design and sheer length show that the company also invested a lot of its top talent on the project. In February ‘08, 4 months after its release, Capcom announced that it had sold 300,000 copies of the game in the U.S and Japan. A surprising figure as it had sold a mere 35,000 in its first week on sale in the U.S. VGChartz has current sales for the game at 450,000, but once again this seems a conservative estimate, and shows the site’s general inability to properly track sales figures for games that fall out of the top 20 yet still maintain consistent sales. Despite this, Capcom has not seemed eager to announce a sequel. The success of both Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles seems to be at the heart of this. Both games have sold over a million copies each despite one being a direct port and the other reusing art assets from earlier games. This is further proven by Capcom’s decision to port the 360 title Dead Rising to the console. Compared to Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition’s sales and development cost/time, Zack & Wiki appears to be an apparent failure. Judged on its own however; with its niche point and click adventure gameplay, high difficulty and kid friendly sound and visuals, its sales begin to look a lot more impressive.

And a few that didn’t make it

Perhaps the best game to have completely flopped on the Wii is We Love Golf. Capcom acknowledged in a press release that its performance was ’sluggish’ and VGChartz has its current sales at 40,000, though this does not include Europe. Quite why it sold so badly is a bit of a mystery - Camelot, the game’s developer, has been responsible for numerous golf games that have been successful for both Nintendo and Sony in the past. Konami’s overly cute Dewy’s Adventure and Leftfield’s poorly designed Nitrobike are other notable failures of original IPs.

In part 2 of TVGB’s look at how original IPs perform on the Wii; De Blob and Okami will be covered, as well as a look at whether the high sales of ports and spin-offs could be shaping developers’ release lists a little too strongly.

But he did follow-up over e-mail last night.

“Yes, we are working on further PSone additions to the PS Store and should see those launch shortly,” he said.

With that in mind, what PS One games do you want to re-buy? “Klonoa” and “Metal Gear Solid” would be very much appreciated, thanks!

This guide serves as a repository of knowledge on various BIOS options. It also serves as a guide on how best to optimize your BIOS. Every system is different and every user has different requirements. What is best for you may not be good for another. So, there’s only one way to decide what’s the best settings for your own BIOS - read the BIOS Optimization Guide and learn how to optimize your BIOS!

BOP v10.2 added or upgraded seven features:

• I/O Interface Security
• Intel Turbo Mode Tech
• Intel Dynamic Acceleration
• SATA AHCI Mode
• LCD Power Saving
• SATA Mode
• SATA Operation Mode

The BOG database now boasts over 350 different BIOS options so chances are you can find a descriptions to help you get your system running at optimal levels. You can consult The Definitive
BIOS Optimization Guide on TechARP.

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In today’s world of fad and fashion, there’s no reason for PC gamers not to show their fashion sense or bad taste in bling by decorating their gaming rigs with custom peripherals. PCMag has pulled together a list of 10 “stylish” computer accessories for your consideration.

Laptops have options including LapWorks Laptop Desk Futura which includes a leopard pattern and the Belkin Ceylon Messenger Bag. There are skins for your D-link router and USB hubs and portable hard drives included. There’s a retro webcam the\at looks like an antique camera and hand made custom keyboards from Japan. Some of these items are actually stylish, but most come at a price. For the full scoop on each of these hot options, read the full article on PCMag.

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• Patapon 2: story, multiplayer modes, new game plus, eggs, heroes, and Pata-screens galore
  

All formats - Xbox Live, WiiWare, PlayStation Network - are all viable formats for us. We started the in-house development team a couple of months ago and we're starting with downloadable content because the team is still small.

Gradually, I want to expand that team, and also evaluate lots of middleware, because western middleware is much more advanced compared to Japanese middleware. So we will study and feed back information to Square Enix in Japan.

I think it s always good to introduce new ideas, techniques, and processes into the company in order to stay on the cutting edge. The Last Remnant was the first time we had built a game using an outside development engine, and it taught our developers to find new and creative solutions in order to achieve their objectives.

We're not only working with Gas Powered Games, we're also contacting multiple studios in England, other European countries, and the US and Canada. We're talking with other studios right now.

We are interested in studios that have their own established IP and we're also interested in creating new IP as well.

I really believe so. Not so long ago the PS2 dominated the market so if we developed an exclusive game for PS2 then we could enjoy a very good profit. But that time is already over. To maximise and spread our games to as many users as possible I think we have to go to multiformat - the Xbox 360, PS3 and also the PC as well.

The Japanese market is very strong and back when we could concentrate on developing games for just one console, business was very good. But the one-console market is over

• Now hiring: Xbox 360 and Wii dev teams for US Studio -Square Enix
• Square Enix to publish Supreme Commander 2
• Sony on Xbox 360 exclusive DLC: "nothing is ever exclusive"
  

All formats - Xbox Live, WiiWare, PlayStation Network - are all viable formats for us. We started the in-house development team a couple of months ago and we're starting with downloadable content because the team is still small.

Gradually, I want to expand that team, and also evaluate lots of middleware, because western middleware is much more advanced compared to Japanese middleware. So we will study and feed back information to Square Enix in Japan.

I think it s always good to introduce new ideas, techniques, and processes into the company in order to stay on the cutting edge. The Last Remnant was the first time we had built a game using an outside development engine, and it taught our developers to find new and creative solutions in order to achieve their objectives.

We're not only working with Gas Powered Games, we're also contacting multiple studios in England, other European countries, and the US and Canada. We're talking with other studios right now.

We are interested in studios that have their own established IP and we're also interested in creating new IP as well.

I really believe so. Not so long ago the PS2 dominated the market so if we developed an exclusive game for PS2 then we could enjoy a very good profit. But that time is already over. To maximise and spread our games to as many users as possible I think we have to go to multiformat - the Xbox 360, PS3 and also the PC as well.

The Japanese market is very strong and back when we could concentrate on developing games for just one console, business was very good. But the one-console market is over

• Now hiring: Xbox 360 and Wii dev teams for US Studio -Square Enix
• Square Enix to publish Supreme Commander 2
• Sony on Xbox 360 exclusive DLC: "nothing is ever exclusive"