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The Official Mega-Super-Awesome Video Game Release Calendar for 2012
Dick Clark is in Times Square and the big ball will drop in less than 36 hours. That’s right folks, 2011 is coming to an end. But all that means is that 2012 is (quite literally) right around the corner. And with it comes a huge new year of gaming. In 2012, we’ll witness the launch of the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo Wii U. We’ll also welcome back the bullet-time action of Max Payne, the knee-cracking excitement of NFL Blitz, and a rousing return to the world of BioShock. There’s also the tomb raiding rebirth of Lara Croft, another count of Grand Theft Auto, the first Kid Icarus game in over two decades, and the gravity-defying feats of Inversion.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Here’s what else we’ll be playing in 2012 (Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments)… (more…)
Justin Verlander’s Major League Baseball 2K12 box art revealed
This wintry Wednesday can definitely be classified as a slow news day. Thankfully, 2K Sports has added some Spring to our steps with the reveal of Justin Verlander’s Major League Baseball 2K12 cover. The Detroit Tigers pitcher went 24-8 with 250 strikeouts in 2011 en route to winning the AL Cy Young and AL MVP award. He also threw his second career no-hitter and took two other potential no-hitters into the 8th inning before surrendering a hit.
That’s quite a resume for a guy who’s only 28.
Major League Baseball 2K12 will be released on the DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 6, 2012.
Rockstar answers your questions: Is GTA3’s Claude a mute?
In honor of Grand Theft Auto III‘s release on iOS and Android devices, Rockstar has decided to answer your burning questions about one of the most famous video games ever. They even reveal that truth about Claude’s lack of vocality. Turn back now if you don’t want to know THE TRUTH…
Rockstar says:
It may now seem obvious that people should all talk in games, but this was not necessarily the case in 2001, certainly not in an open world game. We were making up a lot of procedures as we went along, and we decided that the NPCs (Non Playable Characters) should talk and we would have to figure out how to make them talk (using motion captured cutscenes, something that had never really been done before, at least not on the scale we were doing it). So we decided that the game’s protagonist would not talk, partly to aid people identifying with him, but mostly because we had so many other problems to solve and this did not seem like a major issue. […] Oh and in San Andreas, CJ calls Claude a mute because he does not talk and CJ finds this unnerving.
So there you have it. Claude isn’t a mute, he just the original Johnny Tightlips.
Rockstar also confirmed that the three GTA “eras” are completely separate universes and will never cross over. So if you’re hoping to see Claude again, you can forget it:
[T]he “universes” are the worlds interpreted at different definitions, 2d, 3d and high definition, so we felt brands and radio / back ground characters would exist in both, but 3 dimensional characters would not. This is the logic (as far as it could be considered logical) behind it – so no, we don’t believe any GTA3 characters could exist in the GTA4 universe.
But following Rockstar’s logic, this means that Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto V will take place in the same “universe.” So who knows, we might get to see Niko one more time.
Posted in Mobile, News, PS2
Tagged Grand Theft Auto III
Obvious News Alert! Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim top November NPD list
The NPD Group has released their report of the best-selling games in November 2011 and in a stunning upset, the number one spot went to… Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
OK, a stunning upset that is not. And the rest of the top ten wasn’t any more surprising as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim breathed fire on the number two spot and Battlefield 3 was redeployed to the front as the third best-selling game in November.
The industry’s biggest month was able to supply even more new releases for the list as Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (#4), Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (#7), Saints Row: The Third (#8), and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (#9) all earned a spot on the top ten.
In fact, November 2011 turned out to be one of the biggest months for game sales ever. Anita Frazier, a spokesperson for The NPD Group, said, “This November marks the best November on record for sales of new physical content.”
Here’s the full top ten:
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC)
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
3. Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC)
5. Just Dance 3 (Wii, Xbox 360)
6. Madden NFL 12 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)
7. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)
8. Saints Row: The Third (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
9. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
10. Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Posted in News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Just Dance 3, Madden NFL 12, NPD, Saints Row: The Third, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Persona 4 stage play hitting Japan in March
Atlus’ RPG/school sim Persona 4 has been seeing a lot of attention lately in it’s home country of Japan. At the Tokyo Game show this year, two new games in the franchise were announced, Persona 4: The Golden for Vita and Persona 4: Ultimate Mayonaka Arena for Xbox 360/PS3. Even an anime based on the series, called “Persona 4: The Animation,” has begun airing in Japan and is on episode six.
The video game is breaking some entirely new ground as well… ground in REAL LIFE. The new production company Marvelous AQL has greenlit Visualive Persona 4, a stage play based on the popular video game. The play is set to run from March 15, 2012 through the 20th at the Sunshine theater in Tokyo.
The voice actor for Teddie (Kuma in the Japanese version) is even reprising his role from the video game on stage.
[Source: Anime News Network]
Posted in Etcetera, News, PS2
Tagged Persona 4, Persona 4: Arena, Persona 4: The Golden
New Releases: Assassin’s Creed Revelations, Zelda Skyward Sword, Halo Anniversary, More
Ladies and gentlemen, the biggest week of new releases has finally arrived. More games are released in the third week of November than at any other time of the year and, once again, the publishers have come through with an amazing array of titles including:
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the first Zelda game created exclusively for the Wii.
- Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), the conclusion to the Ezio trilogy.
- Saints Row: The Third (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), the wildest open world crime game, ever.
- Need For Speed: The Run (3DS, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360), a game about an illicit cross-country road race, which is just how we like our cross-country road races and our racing games.
- Rayman Origins (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360), the return of Rayman and there’s not a rabbid in sight.
- Jurassic Park (Xbox 360), Telltale’s take on one of the greatest films of all-time. Hold on to your butts.
- Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Wii), more multi-sport shenanigans with Mario, Sonic, and all their friends.
- Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic, Cooking Mama brings her culinary skills to the 3DS for the first time.
- Shinobi, Sega’s favorite ninja also comes to the 3DS for the first time.
- Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy, Namco Bandai’s fight sim comes to the 3DS for the first time as well.
- Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (PS3, Xbox 360), the ultimate crossover fighting game.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases, which numbers close to 70 games, after the break. (more…)
Battlefield 3 blows away the competition in October NPD report
The NPD Group has released their report on the ten bestselling titles in October and, not surprisingly, Battlefield 3 takes the top spot. EA’s modern warfare sim likely won’t hold onto the crown for long as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was released to record-breaking sales earlier this week.
Battlefield 3 was followed by a slew of new releases including Batman: Arkham City, NBA 2K12, Rage, Just Dance 3, Dark Souls, and Forza Motorsport 4. That’s right, the brutal action RPG Dark Souls outsold Microsoft’s big racing franchise.
Holdovers for this month include Madden NFL 12, Gears of War 3, and that other football game, FIFA Soccer 12. The complete top ten for October can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Dark Souls, FIFA Soccer 12, Forza Motorsport 4, Gears of War 3, Just Dance 3, Madden NFL 12, NBA 2K12, NPD, Rage
The Madden Curse Strikes Back: A Midseason Report on All 32 Cover Finalists
The 2011 NFL season is only at the halfway point and the Madden Cover Curse has already claimed another victim. Fans selected Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis as the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete, and while some joked about the curse at the time, few gave it much thought as the lockout consumed all NFL news. But here we are: the lockout is over and it’s safe to say that few players have been victimized by the curse like Hillis has.
The running back has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury and he has already been ruled out for this weekend’s upcoming game against the St. Louis Rams. Hillis also missed the Browns’ week three game against the Dolphins with a serious strep throat infection. Some reports say he lost as much as ten pounds in a single week.
As if these injuries weren’t bad enough, Hillis has only had one breakout game the entire season. In week two, against the Colts, Hillis ran for 94 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 27-19 Browns win. He even managed to catch four passes as well. It’s a disturbing return to form for the Madden Cover Curse, which spared Vince Young, Brett Favre, Larry Fitzgerald, and Drew Brees in recent years. Troy Polamalu (who shared the cover of Madden NFL 10 with Fitzgerald) was the last victim of the curse, missing 11 games in 2009.
But what about the other 32 players that Hillis defeated in EA’s single-elimination tournament to select the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete? Have they been cursed by association? All told, seven players besides Hillis have succumbed to the Madden Cover Curse, even though they were never on the cover! Two more are currently nursing injuries and may join their ranks.
I’m not sure if I believe in curses and superstitions. But the Madden Cover Curse has affected nine of the 13 cover athletes chosen since John Madden gave up his spot on the box, and while a regression to the mean is to be expected for the top players of the previous season, the curse seems to go beyond that. I’m sure some statistics grad student could create an interesting paper out of the percentage of NFL players that suffer a statline reduction from season to season. But until then, this study is the best we have. (more…)