Show Notes: Episode 32
Byhttp://www.videogaming247.com/2008/08/15/live-to-get-warner-music-videos/#more-9558
Warner Music Hits Xbox LIVE
Tons of videos from Warner Music Group acts will be made available on Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE, beginning this week.
Over 12 million Xbox LIVE members worldwide will be able download music videos by featured WMG artists from Xbox LIVE Marketplace and watch them on their Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system. Video will include clips by Death Cab For Cutie, Flo Rida, Matchbox Twenty, Panic! At the Disco and T.I. among others, with more to come down the line.
“Xbox 360 has been an important partner in our efforts to offer consumers more ways to experience our artists’ music and this is especially true among gamers who are some of the most passionate music fans,” said Larry Mattera, WEA Senior Vice President Digital Sales & Marketing. “With this agreement, we can take advantage of Microsoft’s music platform and provide gamers what they want: music videos from their favorite artists that can be downloaded quickly and easily.”
And coming this fall, Microsoft will introduce a new Xbox experience that they say will “reinvent home entertainment from the inside out, changing the way people stay in touch and enjoy the best entertainment content.” Hmmmmmm…
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN1434644020080814
Nintendo Targets Latin Market
To further their world domination goals, Nintendo plans to target the Latin market:
“The long-term economic potential of Latin America makes this an extremely important market for video games,” Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime told an industry conference in the Pacific resort of Playa Bonita on Thursday. The company is rolling out a new ad campaign aimed squarely South of the Border after the holiday season.
Bill van Zyll, head of Nintendo in Latin America, said Latin America’s video game market could be worth $2 billion this year.
So if you’re hanging out in Brazil, and those smokin’ Brazilian ladies in bikinis aren’t exciting enough for you, get ready for Mario!
http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/688266/Grand_Theft_Auto_IV_PC_At_Leizpig.html
‘Grand Theft Auto IV’ PC At Leizpig?
According to a source “close to Rockstar”, VideoGaming247 reports that Grand Theft Auto IV for the PC will be showcased “behind closed doors” at the Games Convention in Leizpig next week.
While GTA IV’s other platform installments have been out for months now, the PC version is reported to have a “new expanded multiplayer” experience and the inevitable mods to cause more mayhem around Liberty City. How will Rockstar Games’s controversial title run on your custom hardware? We’ll let you know as soon as we get more info, straight from the floors of the Games Convention in Germany, so stay tuned starting next week.
Grand Theft Auto IV for the PC will be available this November 18 in North America and November 21 in Europe.
http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/688238/Sega_Leipzig_Lineup.html#readmore
Sega Leipzig Line-up
Posted by John Manalang – Friday, August 15, 2008 8:54 AM
Sega will be showcasing some impressive titles at next week’s Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, including an unannounced “world premiere”. Check them out:
* Samba De Amigo Wii
* Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
* Sonic Unleashed
* Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
More games after the cut.
http://www.videogaming247.com/2008/08/15/capcom-shows-games-convention-line-up/
Capcom’s Leizpig Roster
Capcom has revealed their Leizpig line-up for next week’s Games Convention in Leizpig, Germany. It may be short, but the titles are definitely damn sweet. Check them out:
* Street Fighter IV (PS3, Xbox 360 – playable version)
* Bionic Commando (PS3, Xbox 360)
* Moto GP 08 (PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, Wii)
* Dark Void (PS3, Xbox 360)
Make sure you check back with us when Leizpig starts on August 20-24.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/japan-xbox-360-outsells-ps3-25-1
Xbox Outsells PS3…In Japan!
It may be the end of the world. Last week, the unthinkable happened: The Xbox 360 outsold the PlayStation 3–in Japan. For the week ending August 10th, the 360 sold 24,962 in the Land of the Rising Sun compared with the PlayStation 3’s 9,673. That’s more than 2 to 1.
The reason for this bucking of the usual sales pattern in Japan: Namco Bandai’s Tales of Vesperia. People in Japan apparently love the RPG series so much that they went out and bought 360s. If you want to know what the fuss is about, Tales of Vesperia comes out in the U.S. on August 26th.
Oh, and if you were wondering, The DS and the PSP outsold everything else, with sales of 60,434 and 58,501 respectively.
The PS3 That Will Save A Thief’s Family
Is there some sort of klepto-trend going on with the PS3? First, there was the dude who bought a stolen PS3, then now there’s another pilfered system–this time to save a family. No really.
A man in an EB Games video game store, located outside St. Louis, pulled a gun at the clerk and demanded a Playstation 3 to save his family. According to the report, the man said his family was held hostage somewhere and the only way to guarantee their safety was to obtain Sony’s hardware. Before the man fled the scene, he told the clerk to call the police and alert them about his family’s situation. Umm..
Blu Ray saves the day?
http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/688250/Devo_Duran_Come_To_Rock_Band.html
Devo, Duran Come To ‘Rock Band’
Way back in May, we brought you the exclusive word that New Wave kings Devo were coming to Rock Band, and today we’ve got the tracks:
* “Girl U Want”
* “Through Being Cool”
Both tracks are “New Original Recordings,” which means they were recorded by Devo, but aren’t the original tracks. To round out the eighties vibe of next week’s DLC are these master tracks:
* Duran Duran – “Girls on Film”
* Duran Duran – “Rio”
Closing out the excellent selections:
* The Janitors – “Get Your Rock On”
They’ll be availble on Tuesday for the 360 and Thursday for the PS3 and cost $1.99 for the Devo and Duran and only $.99 for the Janitors’ track. In case you haven’t heard of The Janitors, it’s the Janitors from upcoming film American Mall.
http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/688242/17_of_GTA_IV_Purchasers_Were_Under_17.html#readmore
17% of ‘GTA IV’ Purchasers Were Under 17
According to a Nielsen survey, 17 percent of Grand Theft Auto IV buyers were under 17. Among the 17 percent that were underaged, 61 percent bought it themselves and 39 percent had a friend or relative do it for them.
Rating games is becoming similar to rating movies. All it does is serve to placate conservatives and people who can’t help but tell you how to live your life. No one at the point of purchase cares how old the customer is and the only people who want to enforce the laws are the out of touch fools that push them through.
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/54202
Activision Responds To Warners’ Profit Complaints
In response to Warner Music’s unsatisfactory performance, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said that the company is not “respectful of how much we’ve done to bring new audiences into the market.”
Warner Music chief exec Edgar Bronfman Jr. said that music titles such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band have a “very paltry licensing fee”, that contributed to their $9 million loss last quarter. Kotick added in the Financial Times interview, “We’re introducing a whole new group of artists to new audiences that is resulting in their iTunes downloads being exponentially higher than they would otherwise be, [as well as] new album sales and new merchandising opportunities.”
It looks like we won’t be seeing any Warner Music artists – such as Green Day, Depeche Mode, Led Zeppelin – featured in Guitar Hero anytime soon, as Kotick said, “We’re going to favor those publishers that recognize and appreciate how much we can add value to their artists.” There is a positive side to that though, as Warner Music is currently in charge of one “musician” we certainly don’t want to see in any music game – Paris Hilton.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/atari-inc-posts-3-5-million-profit
Atari Gains $3.5 Million In Profit
Posted by John Manalang – Thursday, August 14, 2008 1:56 PM
Before Phil Harrison’s takeover, Atari posted a promising $3.5 million gain in profit according to their latest financial report. The increase could partially compensate for the $11.4 million loss last year.
The company’s net revenue for the first quarter of the fiscal year is at $40.3 million, which is a significant increase from their $10.4 million post last year. Thanks to the impressive sales of their latest titles – Alone in The Dark and Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit – Atari has shown potential to continue its gradual success in the coming months.
Alone in The Dark, developed by Eden Studios, is now available for the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC and PS2 platforms. The PS3 version is still on its way for a release later this year. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, developed by Dimps, is also available for the PS3 and Xbox 360.