PAL PlayStation Store Update: Tester-Free [Europe]

It’s a pretty slim week on the PAL PlayStation Store, but then, looking at the stuff Europeans and Aussies are missing out on – like the Tester – maybe that’s not such a bad thing. More

The Rock Band Network Music Store Opens to Public Today

Harmonix today announced that the Rock Band Network Music Store opens to the public today, giving Rock Band fans and music lovers a new avenue to discover music and providing musicians and labels lots of all-new opportunities.

Read more:
The Rock Band Network Music Store Opens to Public Today

Postmortem: Sega/Other Ocean’s Super Monkey Ball 2

The first was an App Store sensation, but what of its sequel? Sega’s associate creative director on Super Monkey Ball 2 spells out the processes that led to the creation of the second game in the series — including all the major triumphs and mistakes.

More here:
Postmortem: Sega/Other Ocean’s Super Monkey Ball 2

Take A Tour Of The New, Improved Steam [PC]

So, Steam finally has a new style . And it’s a good one. Very clean, nice and modern. Let’s take a closer look. You’ll see that outside of an improved friends feature most of the updates at this stage are visual ones, with most of Steam’s core functionality remaining the same, meaning you can jump in and find your way around with no problems. The bigger improvements, like an in-Steam news service, are yet to be implemented. Here then are the highlights, showing how the update has affected each of Steam’s key areas. Your library now has a few display options, including this iTunes-like tiled display. It’s pretty, but if you’ve got more than a dozen games installed, takes a while to load. Here’s your “standard” library screen, which now has some artwork to liven things up. Also note the handy little cloud icon indicating support for Steamworks. Here’s the settings screen. As you can see, it’s exactly the same, so you won’t have any issues tinkering with your setup. Not much has changed at the store’s front page, either, though it does look a lot more presentable. The individual pages in the store have been tidied up, the clutter of information and links streamlined into something much more manageable. Game info pages are now much more helpful, presenting all kinds of useful information like how many of your friends are currently playing a game, and what achievements are on offer. While we’re on the subject…are those some Half-Life 2 achievements I see there? The downloads area is now a little more informative. Incidentally, as you can see, for some reason Steam began downloading Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer mode all over again, despite the fact I already had it installed. All 7.5GB of it. This happen to anyone else? Here’s the news page. Again, no big changes aside from a clean-up.

See the original post here:
Take A Tour Of The New, Improved Steam [PC]

EA’s "Project Ten Dollar" Invades Battlefield Bad Company 2 [Ea]

EA’s “Project Ten Dollar”, the company’s attempts at giving the used game business a dead arm, will be a part of Battlefiedl Bad Company 2’s launch, just as it was with Mass Effect 2’s . BBC2 will feature an in-game store, access to which will be given out for free to people who purchase new copies of the game. Buy a game without this access and you’ll have to pay to get into the store, which will be dishing stuff out for free to those plugged in. So, yes, it’s exactly the same as Mass Effect 2’s Cerberus Network. No word on pricing yet, but if it’s the same as Cerberus, you’d expect it to cost $15, which then begs the question, “why not call it ‘Project Fifteen Dollar’?” ‘Battlefield Bad Company 2′ Features ‘Mass Effect 2′-Style DLC Access Code, In-Game Store

View original post here:
EA’s "Project Ten Dollar" Invades Battlefield Bad Company 2 [Ea]

Tom Petty and Phoenix are Coming to Rock Band DLC Store

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that rock legends Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will add six more live tracks and that Phoenix will make their Rock Band debut next week in the store of DLCt for the Xbox 360 game system.

Link:
Tom Petty and Phoenix are Coming to Rock Band DLC Store

To-Do In NYC: Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom Nintendo Store Event [Event]

Because the Nintendo World Store always does their fun event days on weekends, Capcom’s claiming a Saturday later this month for some Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars festivities. The company’s official U.S. blog indicates that the Wii fighting game’s launch will be celebrated with the giving away of swag, the signing of autographs by the game’s producer, Ryota Niitsuma, and the handing out of Capcom’s “famous TvC towels.” This will all happen at the Nintendo World Store on Saturday, January 23 from 11am – 3pm ET. The last time I went to a game launch event at the Nintendo World Store was for the launch of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. It was rainy and a little scary . More details at the link. (Note: the game isn’t officially out until a few days after the event. I’m checking with Capcom to find out if it will be sold early during this event. Update: Nope, Capcom says the game, which launches on the 26th, won’t be sold early.) Tatsunoko Vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars NYC Launch Event! [Capcom-Unity]

See original here:
To-Do In NYC: Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom Nintendo Store Event [Event]

The Harvard Lampoon Skewers Twilight, Sega [Required Reading]

In The Harvard Lampoon ’s literary parody Nightlight, potential vampire Edwart Mullen warns the naive Belle Goose that he won’t always be around to protect her from Sega. Bookstore gift certificates are wonderful things. My older brother gave one of them to me for Christmas, which I used to purchase several fine publications. I picked up the first trade paperback for Y the Last Man, a copy of How to Draw Hell Beasts, so I could finally stop drawing halos and angel wings on my hell beasts, and I still had several dollars left. Wandering about the store, my girlfriend and I passed the obligatory table filled with Twilight-related merchandise, at which point my better half picked up a book and squealed. At this point I was sure I had accidentally switched girlfriends with someone else in the store. But no, the book she had picked up was The Harvard Lampoon’s Nightlight, a parody of Twilight featuring star-crossed lovers Belle Goose and Edwart Mullen. Despite the silly names, it’s actually quite good, in a horribly bad sort of way. I know this because it’s currently the only book in my bathroom. That’s how I learned that vampires hate Sega. In the movie, Edward rescues Bella from potential rapists after she leaves a bookstore. In the book, she leaves a video game store without the controller she purchased, prompting a grizzled old man to follow her into a dark alley, trying to give her the item purchased. In the nick of time, Edwart leaps from a rooftop to scare the old man away. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Yeah – why wouldn’t I be okay?” “Are you serious, Belle? Were you not aware of what that sick old man was trying to do?” He shook his head, seething. “You’re lucky I was on the roof all day. That old man . . .he was trying to sell you a Sega product.” “What were you doing waiting for me on a roof all day?” I asked, watching his knuckles whiten at his own reference to Sega. It turns out that Edwart was watching Mercury through his telescope and just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The near brush with Sega, however, brings out the passion in the pale young man. “Promise me you’ll never walk out in these streets alone again, Belle.” His face contorted in fitful rage. Suddenly he rolled down his window and shouted, “She plays Nintendo!” He inhaled deeply. “Play Nintendo,” he breathed out. “I won’t always be here to keep you safe from Sega.” And that, as you can imagine, is where love blossoms. You can find Nightlight wherever relatively horrible yet hilarious parody books are sold.

Here is the original post:
The Harvard Lampoon Skewers Twilight, Sega [Required Reading]

Style Savvy Review: Dressing Miss Michael [Review]

Join Kotaku’s tallest, broadest, and hairiest regular contributor as I explore the world of retail fashion design with Nintendo’s Style Savvy for the Nintendo DS. Style Savvy is a game marketed at girls that’s all about fashion – putting together outfits, running your own boutique, and maybe even making waves on the runway scene. The game was developed by syn Sophia , the developer formerly known as AKI Corporation. As you may or may not know, AKI Corporation was responsible for developing some of the best professional wrestling video games of the late 90’s / early 2000’s, including WWF No Mercy, the first two Def Jam games, and the Japan-only Virtual Pro-Wrestling series. And now they’ve created Style Savvy, which tickles me to no end. Now that I’ve gotten the irony out of the way, let’s talk Style Savvy. Is it strong enough for a man, yet made for a woman? Pull up a chair and let Miss Michael tell you all about it. Loved So Much To Do: I spent the first hour or so of Style Savvy helping customers pick out clothing while working as a clerk at an established fashion outlet. Soon things began to open up, and I found myself ordering new items from suppliers, customizing my outfits, and dressing store mannequins. Then the hair salon opens up. Suddenly I can change my hairstyle, makeup, and even take pictures to share with friends. Once you have your own boutique (which happens ridiculously fast), you’ll have so much to do you’ll find yourself sitting in Starbucks for several hours while your friends watch you, shaking their heads sadly. They just don’t understand how much the fashion show means to you. A Learning Experience: There’s a lot to learn in Style Savvy, particularly for the less style savvy among us. Right off the bat you learn the basics of good customer service, paying attention to what your customers are looking and suggesting outfits accordingly. You learn how to maintain stock at a retail outlet; the difference between running a store with a few select styles and keeping a highly diversified but hard to navigate inventory; and how to manage your money. Do you blow all of your cash on a fancy new hairstyle and makeup, or do you make sure you have enough cardigans in stock for your demanding clientele? After several hours of play you’ll also find yourself assimilating fashion terms you might have no business actually knowing, like boho-chic, or camisole. The World’s Biggest Closet: 10,000 fashions across 16 different brands equals nearly countless clothing combinations in which to dress yourself, your mannequins, and your customers. Shoes, jackets, sweaters, pumps, sunglasses, jewelry – it’s all for sale, and every time you make a new item purchase for your store you get the same item delivered to your personal wardrobe as well. The game uses the Nintendo DS clock to determine what sort of fashions pop up at what times, meaning it’s the sort of title you’ll want to return to on a regular basis. I mean, if you’re into that sort of thing. Online Shopping: The shopping fun doesn’t stop at your own Nintendo DS. Style Savvy players can connect to the internet to shop at other players’ stores or set up an online branch of their very own. It’s an excellent way for you to share your creations with the rest of the world, and the promise of new clothing available periodically through the DSi download service sweetens the game’s online options even further. Mmm, Unlockables: It’s beginning to become an obsession with me. Show me a set of items with placeholders for the things that belong there but aren’t there yet, and I will spend hours doing everything possible to fill those spaces. It doesn’t matter if it’s magical coins, machine guns, or in this case, hair and makeup styles. Hated Not Quite Creating Your Own Fashions: Perhaps this is a guy thing, which I somehow doubt, but when I think of creating my own fashions, I think actually designing clothing for the giant-headed women who come to my store to wear. Instead, Style Savvy is all about putting together a look out of what you have available. There is no design aspect. You are an outfit coordinator. This is not what I expected. Very Girl-Centric: Right from the start, Style Savvy assumes you are female. Your character is female, even if you name her Michael. I’ve spent the better part of 15 hours being referred to as Miss Michael, and I might be developing some sort of complex. I know, I know – the game is targeted at young girls. Still, I shouldn’t have to be called Miss Michael, no matter how adorable my little pink-haired avatar might be. I shouldn’t even have to say it – I wasn’t exactly all that serious about Style Savvy when the rest of the staff decided to volunteer me for the review. I expected to get a few laughs out of the game and maybe get negative bragging rights with my fellow members of the press at the next big industry event I attended. “Oh yeah? Well I had to review Style Savvy,” I would say, and we’d laugh and laugh. I had it all planned out in my head. And then I started enjoying the game. What can I say? On a certain level, Style Savvy really clicked with me. It has several elements that I really enjoy in my games. There’s the collectability aspect, the avatar customization, inventory management, and a fair amount of logic involved in making sure your customer is pleased with the ensemble you put together for them. Change the scenery a bit and you’ve got the formula for the sort of role-playing game I’d spend hours lost in. Sure, I’ve started critiquing my friends’ outfits, and I’ve been saying things like “retro chic” far more often than anyone really should as of late, but isn’t that the sort of immersion and involvement we seek in our more traditional games? If a burly, bearded, six foot, six inches tall man spending countless hours coordinating outfits for virtual women is wrong, then my friends were all right and I should probably not press the point any further. Style Savvy was developed by syn Sophia and published by Nintendo for the DS on November 2nd. Retails for $34.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played the game for approximately 20 hours, earning my own boutique and making little Miss Michael the talk of the town. Named my store “Mangina” in protest. Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ . NOTE: Throughout the month of December, Kotaku will review some of the games that we missed earlier in the year. We’re catching up.

View original post here:
Style Savvy Review: Dressing Miss Michael [Review]

Apple Want Someone For "Interactive Multimedia Experiences" On The iPhone [Apple]

Gizmodo have turned up an interesting job advert for Apple, the computing giants on the look-out for somebody to handle a project involving 3D graphics & environments, character design and multimedia experiences. All for the company’s iPhone. Now, on its own, that doesn’t count for much. While a project involving such things could be for games, it could easily be for something else, like, say, an avatar-driven contacts list. After all, there’s no specific mention of video games in there at all. But then consider this: Apple’s App Store is becoming almost unworkable as it grows in size. And games are the biggest thing on the store. Then factor in Apple’s recent hiring of ex-Ensemble lead designer Graeme Devine , and suddenly, we’re seeing a lot of seemingly unrelated things moving in the same general direction… Fancy a shot in the dark? Here’s my take: having taken a good look at how video game consoles operate (in terms of UI) over the past few years, Apple are working on a gaming “front” for the iPhone, complete with avatar mingling space (ala Home) and a marketplace for both games and add-ons, free of the current App Store. Apple Wants Video Game Artist for 3D Characters and Environments [Gizmodo]

Go here to see the original:
Apple Want Someone For "Interactive Multimedia Experiences" On The iPhone [Apple]

Next Page »