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Plentiful new release slate sees Microsoft’s full-body motion control tech and launch titles hit shelves; portable Kratos adventure, pair of 007 titles round out the week.

Last week’s new release roster included heavyweights Rock Band 3, Fable III, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. This week the ante is upped even further.

Leading the pack this week is Microsoft’s full-body motion control technology, Kinect, and a smattering of launch titles for it. The camera controller goes on sale Thursday, November 4, for $150 by itself (Kinect Adventures included) and in Xbox 360 bundles starting at $299. According to a recent poll, Kinect is pegged to be a “big winner” this holiday, with Microsoft expecting to sell more than 3 million units by year’s end.

Kinect is finally ready for its close-up.

The list of launch titles for Kinect runs 17 deep and includes titles like Harmonix’s Dance Central (see video at bottom), Microsoft’s Kinectimals, as well as games like Konami’s MotionSports and Sega’s Sonic Free Riders.

Also being released this week is God of War: Ghost of Sparta. The latest PSP-exclusive installment in the multimillion-selling PlayStation-exclusive franchise will also be available as part of a hardware bundle. The God of War: Ghost of Sparta Entertainment Pack contains the game, a two-tone red and black PSP-3000, a download voucher for God of War: Chains of Olympus, a copy of the recent comic-book action movie Kick-Ass on UMD, and a 2GB Memory Stick Duo.

Ghost of Sparta is the second God of War game to be released on Sony’s portable. The title was developed at Irvine, California-based Ready at Dawn, which also handled development duties for Chains of Olympus.

The ghost of Sparta comes to life on Tuesday.

While the fate of the James Bond film franchise remains uncertain, there are two video games attached to the series due out this week. GoldenEye 007 hits the Wii exclusively on Tuesday, and James Bond 007: Blood Stone comes to the PC, DS, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on the same day.

Although GoldenEye 007 bears the same title as the Nintendo 64 title it’s based on, the new Wii title is not a simple remake of the intensely popular original. On top of a new single-player campaign starring Daniel Craig, GoldenEye 007 will include online multiplayer, a functionality its N64 cousin could not offer. In addition, players will be able to take part in 16 game modes, including GoldenEye 007 N64 favorites Paintball, Melee Only, and You Only Live Twice. On top of that, players can square off against each other in the game’s adversarial modes, with the roster including eight characters from the revered Bond classic, as well as 40 other unnamed virtual soldiers.

The other Bond game due out on Tuesday is James Bond 007: Blood Stone. Developed by Bizarre Creations (Blur, Project Gotham Racing series), the title stars Daniel Craig as the international superspy and features hand-to-hand combat, cover-based shooting, and driving sequences.

The single-player game will feature a brand-new story spanning Athens, Istanbul, Monaco, and Bangkok, with both land- and sea-based action. Blood Stone also sports 16-player multiplayer modes based around spies-versus-mercenaries team play.

Joss Stone has a license to thrill.

Blood Stone will also feature the voices and likenesses of Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, and Joss Stone. As well as appearing in the game, Stone will be providing an original musical track, titled “I’ll Take It All,” written and performed by her and Dave Stewart. Development of the DS version is being handled by n-Space.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1
Chuck E. Cheese’s Game Room–DS–UFO Interactive
Chuck E. Cheese’s Playhouse–DS–UFO Interactive
Haunted Domains–MAC, PC–Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
Hello Kitty Party–DS–Majesco Games
Learning to Spell–DS–505 Games
Monopoly Streets–X360, Wii, PS3–Electronic Arts
Pokepark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure–Wii–Nintendo
Robox–Wii–Dreambox Games
Sushi Bar Express–PC–Xing Interactive
Tommy Tronic–PC–Oasis Games
World Championship Spelling–DS–505 Games

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Back to School–Wii, DS–THQ
Art of Murder: FBI Top Secret–DS–City Interactive
Atari’s Greatest Hits Volume 1–DS–Atari
Auditorium–PS3, X360–Zoo Games
Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike–Wii–Ubisoft
Blood Drive–PS3, X360–Activision
Busy Scissors–DS–Little Orbit
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011–Wii–Activision
Dora’s Big Birthday Adventure–PS2–Take-Two Interactive
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2–X360, PS3-Namco Bandai Games
Eye Pet–PSP–SCEA
Family Party: 90 Great Games Party Pack–Wii–D3Publisher
Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage–PS3, X360–Tecmo
God of War: Ghost of Sparta–PSP–SCEA
GoldenEye 007–DS, Wii–Activision
Imagine Fashion Stylist–DS–Ubisoft
James Bond 007: Blood Stone–DS, PC, PS3, X360–Activision
Jeopardy–DS, Wii–THQ
Megamind: Team Unite–Wii–THQ
Megamind: The Blue Defender–PSP, DS–THQ
Megamind: Ultimate Showdown–PS3, X360–THQ
Mercury Limited Edition Bundle–PSP–Ignition Entertainment
Minute to Win It–Wii–Zoo Games
Noah’s Ark–DS–SouthPeak Games
Penguins of Madagascar–DS–THQ
Petz Nursery 2–DS–Ubisoft
Pro Evolution Soccer–PSP, PS2–Konami
Remington Super Slam Hunting Africa–Wii–Mastiff
The Amazing Race–Wii–Ubisoft
Toy Story 3–PS3–Disney Interactive Studios
Wheel of Fortune–DS, Wii–THQ
Winter Sports 2010: The Great Tournament–PS3, X360–RTL
Witches & Vampires: Secrets of Ashburry–DS–Crave
Ys: The Oath of Felghana–PSP–Xseed Games

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3
The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match–X360–SNK Playmore

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Adrenalin Misfits–X360–Konami
Dance Central–X360–Microsoft Game Studios
Dance Masters–X360–Konami
Fighters Uncaged–X360–Ubisoft
Kinect Adventures–X360–Microsoft Game Studios
Kinect Joyride–X360–Microsoft Game Studios
Kinect Sports–X360–Microsoft Game Studios
Kinectimals–X360–Microsoft Game Studios
MotionSports–X360–Ubisoft
Sonic Free Riders–X360–Sega
The Biggest Loser Challenge–Wii–THQ
The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout–X360–THQ
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved–X360–Ubisoft

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Babysitting Mama–Wii–Majesco Games
Football Manager Handheld 2011–PSP–Sega
Football Manger 2011–MAC–Sega

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Plentiful new release slate sees Microsoft’s full-body motion control tech and launch titles hit shelves; portable Kratos adventure, pair of 007 titles round out the week.

Last week’s new release roster included heavyweights Rock Band 3, Fable III, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. This week the ante is upped even further.

Leading the pack this week is Microsoft’s full-body motion control technology, Kinect, and a smattering of launch titles for it. The camera controller goes on sale Thursday, November 4, for $150 by itself (Kinect Adventures included) and in Xbox 360 bundles starting at $299. According to a recent poll, Kinect is pegged to be a “big winner” this holiday, with Microsoft expecting to sell more than 3 million units by year’s end.

Kinect is finally ready for its close-up.

The list of launch titles for Kinect runs 17 deep and includes titles like Harmonix’s Dance Central (see video at bottom), Microsoft’s Kinectimals, as well as games like Konami’s MotionSports and Sega’s Sonic Free Riders.

Also being released this week is God of War: Ghost of Sparta. The latest PSP-exclusive installment in the multimillion-selling PlayStation-exclusive franchise will also be available as part of a hardware bundle. The God of War: Ghost of Sparta Entertainment Pack contains the game, a two-tone red and black PSP-3000, a download voucher for God of War: Chains of Olympus, a copy of the recent comic-book action movie Kick-Ass on UMD, and a 2GB Memory Stick Duo.

Ghost of Sparta is the second God of War game to be released on Sony’s portable. The title was developed at Irvine, California-based Ready at Dawn, which also handled development duties for Chains of Olympus.

The ghost of Sparta comes to life on Tuesday.

While the fate of the James Bond film franchise remains uncertain, there are two video games attached to the series due out this week. GoldenEye 007 hits the Wii exclusively on Tuesday, and James Bond 007: Blood Stone comes to the PC, DS, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on the same day.

Although GoldenEye 007 bears the same title as the Nintendo 64 title it’s based on, the new Wii title is not a simple remake of the intensely popular original. On top of a new single-player campaign starring Daniel Craig, GoldenEye 007 will include online multiplayer, a functionality its N64 cousin could not offer. In addition, players will be able to take part in 16 game modes, including GoldenEye 007 N64 favorites Paintball, Melee Only, and You Only Live Twice. On top of that, players can square off against each other in the game’s adversarial modes, with the roster including eight characters from the revered Bond classic, as well as 40 other unnamed virtual soldiers.

The other Bond game due out on Tuesday is James Bond 007: Blood Stone. Developed by Bizarre Creations (Blur, Project Gotham Racing series), the title stars Daniel Craig as the international superspy and features hand-to-hand combat, cover-based shooting, and driving sequences.

The single-player game will feature a brand-new story spanning Athens, Istanbul, Monaco, and Bangkok, with both land- and sea-based action. Blood Stone also sports 16-player multiplayer modes based around spies-versus-mercenaries team play.

Joss Stone has a license to thrill.

Blood Stone will also feature the voices and likenesses of Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, and Joss Stone. As well as appearing in the game, Stone will be providing an original musical track, titled “I’ll Take It All,” written and performed by her and Dave Stewart. Development of the DS version is being handled by n-Space.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1
Chuck E. Cheese’s Game Room–DS–UFO Interactive
Chuck E. Cheese’s Playhouse–DS–UFO Interactive
Haunted Domains–MAC, PC–Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
Hello Kitty Party–DS–Majesco Games
Learning to Spell–DS–505 Games
Monopoly Streets–X360, Wii, PS3–Electronic Arts
Pokepark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure–Wii–Nintendo
Robox–Wii–Dreambox Games
Sushi Bar Express–PC–Xing Interactive
Tommy Tronic–PC–Oasis Games
World Championship Spelling–DS–505 Games

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Back to School–Wii, DS–THQ
Art of Murder: FBI Top Secret–DS–City Interactive
Atari’s Greatest Hits Volume 1–DS–Atari
Auditorium–PS3, X360–Zoo Games
Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike–Wii–Ubisoft
Blood Drive–PS3, X360–Activision
Busy Scissors–DS–Little Orbit
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011–Wii–Activision
Dora’s Big Birthday Adventure–PS2–Take-Two Interactive
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2–X360, PS3-Namco Bandai Games
Eye Pet–PSP–SCEA
Family Party: 90 Great Games Party Pack–Wii–D3Publisher
Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage–PS3, X360–Tecmo
God of War: Ghost of Sparta–PSP–SCEA
GoldenEye 007–DS, Wii–Activision
Imagine Fashion Stylist–DS–Ubisoft
James Bond 007: Blood Stone–DS, PC, PS3, X360–Activision
Jeopardy–DS, Wii–THQ
Megamind: Team Unite–Wii–THQ
Megamind: The Blue Defender–PSP, DS–THQ
Megamind: Ultimate Showdown–PS3, X360–THQ
Mercury Limited Edition Bundle–PSP–Ignition Entertainment
Minute to Win It–Wii–Zoo Games
Noah’s Ark–DS–SouthPeak Games
Penguins of Madagascar–DS–THQ
Petz Nursery 2–DS–Ubisoft
Pro Evolution Soccer–PSP, PS2–Konami
Remington Super Slam Hunting Africa–Wii–Mastiff
The Amazing Race–Wii–Ubisoft
Toy Story 3–PS3–Disney Interactive Studios
Wheel of Fortune–DS, Wii–THQ
Winter Sports 2010: The Great Tournament–PS3, X360–RTL
Witches & Vampires: Secrets of Ashburry–DS–Crave
Ys: The Oath of Felghana–PSP–Xseed Games

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3
The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match–X360–SNK Playmore

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Adrenalin Misfits–X360–Konami
Dance Central–X360–Microsoft Game Studios
Dance Masters–X360–Konami
Fighters Uncaged–X360–Ubisoft
Kinect Adventures–X360–Microsoft Game Studios
Kinect Joyride–X360–Microsoft Game Studios
Kinect Sports–X360–Microsoft Game Studios
Kinectimals–X360–Microsoft Game Studios
MotionSports–X360–Ubisoft
Sonic Free Riders–X360–Sega
The Biggest Loser Challenge–Wii–THQ
The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout–X360–THQ
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved–X360–Ubisoft

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Babysitting Mama–Wii–Majesco Games
Football Manager Handheld 2011–PSP–Sega
Football Manger 2011–MAC–Sega

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Industry veteran George Broussard claims Io Interactive has suffered staff reductions, project cancelation.

Earlier this week, 3D Realms cofounder and Duke Nukem champion George Broussard tipped off the industry to “seasonal roll-offs” at a handful of gaming publisher Electronic Arts’ Canadian studios. Today, Broussard returned to his Twitter account with more industry-insider scuttlebutt, stating Square Enix has enacted layoffs and canceled a project at Danish studio Io Interactive.

A hit may have gone out on Io developers..

“Layoffs at Io Interactive (Kane&Lynch/Hitman). As many as 35, and a project cancelled. – Tis’ the season,” Broussard said via his Twitter feed. The industry veteran offered no other details on the situation, and Square Enix had not returned a request for comment as of press time.

Io is among the many studios that were once the backbone of Eidos, before that publisher was purchased in April 2009 by Japanese gaming giant Square Enix. The studio is perhaps best known for its killer-for-higher franchise Hitman, with other game properties including Kane & Lynch and Mini Ninjas.

As for the canceled project, the only known, unreleased project in Io’s stable is Hitman 5, which was first teased in February 2008. However, whether or not Io is developing this project remains a mystery. In August 2009, British actor Mark Sloan indicated that he had completed voice work for the game, in the process indicating that Batman: Arkham Asylum developer Rocksteady Studios had taken over the project.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Don’t expect Nintendo to follow Sony into the smartphone market – it’s just not interested, according to NOA president Reggie Fils-Aime.

Reggie told Forbes, “Certainly we are adding more and more elements to fill out the experience and take away more and more time from competing devices. But our handhelds will always lead with games.

“3DS content will be dramatically unique to our platform, because I don’t think a smartphone manufacturer will invest to put a 3-D parallax screen in their device and not have the content to bring it to life.”

Read more…

[UPDATE] Industry veteran George Broussard claims Io Interactive has suffered staff reductions, project cancellation; Square Enix confirms.

Earlier this week, 3D Realms cofounder and Duke Nukem champion George Broussard tipped off the industry to “seasonal roll-offs” at a handful of gaming publisher Electronic Arts’ Canadian studios. Today, Broussard returned to his Twitter account with more industry-insider scuttlebutt, stating Square Enix has enacted layoffs and canceled a project at Danish studio Io Interactive.

A hit may have gone out on Io developers..

“Layoffs at Io Interactive (Kane&Lynch/Hitman). As many as 35, and a project cancelled. – Tis’ the season,” Broussard said via his Twitter feed. The industry veteran offered no other details on the situation.

[UPDATE] Square Enix has since confirmed for GameSpot that Io has indeed been impacted by staff reductions, though a representative declined to offer specifics surrounding the situation. “I can confirm that there have been internal changes at IO Interactive,” the Square Enix representative told GameSpot. “This a natural part of any studio’s existence when you ramp up and ramp down on projects. We wish those who have been affected by this the best of luck in the future.”

Io is among the many studios that were once the backbone of Eidos, before that publisher was purchased in April 2009 by Japanese gaming giant Square Enix. The studio is perhaps best known for its killer-for-hire franchise Hitman, with other game properties including Kane & Lynch and Mini Ninjas.

As for the canceled project, the only known, unreleased project in Io’s stable is Hitman 5, which was first teased in February 2008. However, whether or not Io is developing this project remains a mystery. In August 2009, British actor Mark Sloan indicated that he had completed voice work for the game, in the process indicating that Batman: Arkham Asylum developer Rocksteady Studios had taken over the project.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Hudson’s athletics compilation bundles motion-sensing-enabled tennis, boxing, dodgeball, skiing, more in time for Thanksgiving.

When Kinect launches for the Xbox 360 on November 4, gamers will have a handful of sports compilation games to choose from, including Microsoft’s Kinect Sports, Ubisoft’s Motion Sports, and EA Sports Active 2. Today, Hudson attached a date to its sports minigame compilation, saying Deca Sports Freedom will arrive for the Xbox 360 and its new motion-sensing controller on November 18.

Deca Sports Freedom offers all the emotional scarring of grade school dodgeball, without those nasty welts.

As its name implies, Deca Sports Freedom offers 10 different sporting events in which gamers can compete against one another. Included in these events are several traditional sports, including tennis, boxing, beach volleyball, and archery. Other sports packed into the game are paintball, dodgeball, kendo, mogul skiing, snowboard cross, and figure skating.

Beyond its single-player component, Deca Sports Freedom will feature local and online competitive play. For an idea of what to expect from Deca Sports Freedom, check out a trailer for the game, below.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

From Software currently has no plans to start work on a sequel to its critically acclaimed PlayStation 3 action RPG Demon’s Souls, producer Takeshi Kajii has revealed.

Kajii told The Guardian, “At the moment, my answer is ‘no sequel!'”

Dry your eyes though – he wouldn’t rule out the prospect of revisiting the franchise at some point in the future.

Read more…

There’s no price cut planned for the Wii this year according to Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata.

Iwata told The Associated Press, “Of course, we cannot say it will never happen, but we are not thinking of it for the near future.”

However, he did concede that a purchase incentive was required to attract new buyers.

Read more…

Percolating panchinko market propels House of Sonic into the black; game sales rise 2.9%, but game profits fall 1.3%.

Like its blue-haired mascot Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega Sammy managed to collect many coins over the past six months. Enough coins, in fact, to return to profit after struggling during the same period last year. For the six months ending September 30, the company reported ¥24.3 billion ($302.1 million) in profits on ¥217.8 billion ($3.4 billion) in revenues. That’s a massive improvement over the ¥6.3 billion ($78.3 million) loss and ¥153.4 billion ($1.9 billion) in revenues it took in during the same period the year prior.

Panchinko boosted Sega Sammy’s bottom line.

The big reason behind the company’s resurgence was a robust Panchinko and Pachislot division, which saw six-month net sales increase 96.5 percent to ¥134.2 billion ($1.66 billion). Operating profit for the division, which sells the pinball-like machines across Japan, more than tripled to ¥47.6 billion ($591.7 million).

The company’s consumer business division, which also includes the Sega game publishing label, saw sales rise 2.9 percent to ¥38.7 billion ($481.2 million) but saw operating income fall ¥1.3 billion ($16.2 million).

“In the home video game software industry, the demand was generally weak in the US and European markets due to…sluggish personal consumption,” read Sega Sammy’s report.

During the April-September period, Sega sold 6.6 million software units worldwide: 3.2 million units in the US, 2.15 million units in Europe, and 1.24 million units in Japan and other regions. The company called out two titles as bestsellers: the music title Hatsune Miku: Project Diva 2nd and Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinshou, the first PSP game in the Yakuza series.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Del Rey Books taps The Ferryman scribe Christopher Golden on all-new literary adaptation of Naughty Dog’s treasure-hunting franchise in 2011.

Get the full article at GameSpot