Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars Xbox 360 Release Date Announced, Demo coming soon

Today EA announced the release date for Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars. It will be in stores May 10th and a demo will be released on Xbox Live in the coming weeks. For the time being drool over these awesome screenshots!

[Source]

20GB PS3 Officially Discontinued

According to Gamedaily Biz, the PS3 20GB model is officially gone. Dave Karraker told them, “At launch, we offered two separate models of PlayStation 3 to meet the diverse needs and interests of our PlayStation fan base. Initial retail demand in North America was upwards of ninety percent in favor of the 60GB SKU, so we manufactured and shipped-in accordingly. Due to the overwhelming demand for the 60GB model from both retailers and consumers, we have ceased offering the 20GB model here in North America. In addition to the larger internal hard drive, the 60GB PlayStation 3 features added storage media slots and built-in Wi-Fi not found in the 20GB system. Based on retailer and consumer feedback, we have decided to focus our current efforts on the more popular 60GB model.”

Source

So what does it all mean? Sony not making enough money on the 20GB model? The new 80GB model coming? Price drop for the 60GB model? What do you guys think?

Wii Shortages ‘Could Last For Sometime’

Thats what Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo’s VP of marketing and corporate affairs said in the latest Game Theory Podcast.

“There is a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of working on what we are producing and the numbers continue to rise but the product is so very popular that we may see a supply / demand situation last for some time.”

She added, “We are at absolute maximum production and doing everything we can. The number of units that we have been able to produce has far exceeded our hardware production in the past and the production levels of a lot of our competitors but demand continues to be really high. People are being really diligent about working with retailers to locate one but we are cognisent of the fact that a lot of fans are not able to get their hands on one yet. We are asking them to be patient and to know that we are working on this as fast as we can.”

Kaplan was asked if, given the high demand, Nintendo could have priced the machine at $50 higher than the $250. She said, “There was definitely that possibility. There are so many people who are very much liking the system and while the price that it’s at is very much mass market we probably could have folded at a higher price but I think that it was always Nintendo’s intent to make it a product that is appealing to the mass market.”

To read the rest of the article vist: Wii Shortages ‘Could Last Months’ – Next-Generation

Not good news. I want to get a Wii soon but from the looks of it I won’t be able to find one anytime soon

PSU Interviews Insomniac Games

The guys over at Playstation Universe(PSU) did a interivew with Brian Allgeier, Creative Director/Design Director, Anthony Yu, Lead Gameplay Programmer, Mike Acton, Engine Director & Ted Price, President and CEO of Insomniac Games. Here is a little tid bit:

PSU: How long has Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction been in development?

Brian Allgeier, Creative Director/Design Director: We began pre-production several months ago after Ratchet: Deadlocked shipped. We formed a core team of 15 people that consisted of the project leads, some artists, programmers, designers, and a writer. Though the whole company contributed during the early brainstorming process, most Insomniacs were focused on Resistance: Fall of Man. The core team developed a lot of the prototypes and gameplay that gave us a plan for production. It was great working with a small team early on and developing Ratchet and Clank’s back-stories, new gadgets, crazy weapon ideas, and new gameplay concepts. After Resistance: FOM shipped, we started production with the full team.

PSU: Will F:TOD be using the same game engine used in Resistance?

Mike Acton, Engine Director: The unique technology built here at Insomniac for Resistance: FOM certainly formed the base of what we’re doing with Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. However, we’re making such significant enhancements that they absolutely cannot be considered the same engine.

Our tools team has worked tirelessly to provide our artists and designers with a brand-new set of tools that will let us build better and faster than we could have on our first-generation title.

Our technology team is one of the very few groups in the industry with experience in building fast, practical game engines for the PS3. Every day we’re focused on taking lessons learned and re-applying them to our engine to create new features and improve upon existing ones.

We also have a much better understanding now of how to take advantage of the RSX and the Cell architecture. We’re using that experience to give our players more of the signature Insomniac animations, characters and visual effects that they’ve come to expect.

No, you should not expect to see the Resistance: FOM engine in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. You should expect to see an even better one.

PSU: What is the basic storyline behind F:TOD? Will it tie into past titles and the PSP renditions?

Brian Allgeier: The Ratchet & Clank Future story opens with the shocking discovery that a villain from Ratchet’s distant past has tracked him down and wants him dead. This revelation brings up many questions as to Ratchet origins and launches Ratchet and Clank into a mysterious adventure where they begin to learn about his past, the villain’s current evil plans, and a glimpse of the future. The story takes place after the past R&C games. We’re bringing back a few of the favorite characters like Captain Qwark, who is working undercover to give Ratchet and Clank clues that help guide them on their journey. We’ve coordinated with High Impact Games (the folks who did Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters) to ensure that there were no story conflicts with the PSP game.

PSU: What is most exciting about building the game for PlayStation 3? Anything that you are able to do with the game that you could only do on PS3 hardware?

Anthony Yu, Lead Gameplay Programmer: The PS3 is a powerhouse if you know how to play nice with it. If you think of the PS2 as a shovel, the PS3 is a bulldozer. You have to invest the time to figure out what levers to pull when, but once you do, you’re ready to move mountains. The most exciting thing about it all is the revival of hope and inspiration that it brings to the Ratchet and Clank franchise. The boundaries are new and relatively uncharted, which gives us an opportunity to try to push all the boundaries again. A perfect example of something that we couldn’t have done anywhere else was the Tornado Launcher. The designers wanted a natural disaster in a box. It had to consume everything around it and spit it in a flurry. On top of that, they wanted the player to be able to control its path of destruction, but not affect Ratchet’s move set at all. On the PS2, we would have run out of processor time and run out of buttons, but on the PS3, it has become a reality. It’s instances of performing the impossible like this that revitalize the team and reinforce why we’re here. The PS3 gets people excited about making games, and nothing excites me more than excited people.

PSU: Rumors have been circulating that Rise of Man will be the sequel to Resistance: Fall of Man…any comment on this?

Ted Price, President and CEO: Rise of Man is a logical guess. But we’re not making a Rise of Man.

To read the rest of the interview click here.

Awesome interview guys I cannot wait for this game!

Guitar Hero II Song Packs now on the Xbox Live Marketplace

Got a bunch of Guitar Hero II stuff today themes,songs and picture packs. Here is the info for the song packs:

Name: Guitar Hero Track Pack 1
Price: 500 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Bark at the Moon as made famous by Ozzy Osbourne, Hey You as made famous by The Exies, Ace of Spades as made famous by Motorhead, For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com.

Name: Guitar Hero Track Pack 2
Price: 500 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Killer Queen as made famous by Queen, Take it Off as made famous by The Donnas, Frankenstein as made famous by The Edgar Winter Group, For all song credits please visit http://www.redoctane.com/.

Name: Guitar Hero Track Pack 3
Price: 500 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Higher Ground as made famous by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Infected as made famous by Bad Religon, Stellar as made famous by Incubus, For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com.

Source: http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2007/04/11/gh-ii-song-packs-3-of-em.aspx

Guitar Hero II Picture Packs and Theme on the Xbox Live Marketplace

From Majornelson.com:

Name: Guitar Hero II Picture Pack 1
Price: 100 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Assume the identity of your favorite Guitar Heroes Axel, Clive, Johnny, Judy, and Pandora or display the Guitar Hero II logo.

Name: Guitar Hero II Picture Pack 2
Price: 100 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Assume the identity of your favorite Guitar Heroes Casey, Eddie, Grim, Izzy, Lars, and Xavier.

Name: Guitar Hero II Theme
Price: 150 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Amp up your system with four Guitar Hero II wallpapers featuring your favorite characters Casey, Johnny, Pandora, and Xavier

Source: http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2007/04/11/gh-ii-picture-packs-and-theme.aspx

Boom Boom Rocket now available on the Xbox Live Market Place

Via Marjornelson.com:

Name: Boom Boom Rocket
Price: 800 Points
Availability: Not available in Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore or Taiwan
Dash Details: Single Player, Local Multiplayer 1-2, HD (High Definition). Buy the full version of Boom Boom Rocket and play the most compelling new game for Xbox Live Arcade. Get the hang of things in Practice mode, express your pyrotechnic creativity in Freestyle mode, or challenge a friend in Battle and Endurance multiplayer modes, with twice the number of fireworks! You can even upload music and watch a spectacular fireworks show set to your own soundtrack. Get the full version of the game now!

Source: http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2007/04/11/arcade-boom-boom-rocket.aspx