Tiger Woods PGA TOUR News Galore

Written on January 21, 2010 at 1:25 pm, by James Fudge

Tiger Woods Online Beta opens even more.

If there was ever any doubt that EA Sports and Tiger Woods would continue its relationship in the wake of all the controversy over woods’ extramarital affairs announcement should put those doubts to bed. Electronic Arts announced this morning that it has two Tiger Woods games in the works and on the way – one of them in June.

The focus of today’s announcement is the beta test for Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online. Since May of last year, EA Sports, with the help of beta testers, have been vigorously testing the game. During the course of that closed beta test EA Sports says that more than 500,000 rounds of golf have been played.

Today the beta test is opened up to the masses. Fans can now get a free preview of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online and invite others via Facebook to join the open beta. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online, developed by EA Tiburon, is a web-based online golf experience that doesn’t require a traditional game installation, no disc, and no additional peripherals required. Features include Facebook Connect support to easily invite friends into the game and share game data, daily challenges that give players a score to beat and experience for beating it, experience points for having lots of “fans,” realistic golf physics and realistic wind effects, a pro shop to purchase branded gear and a whole lot of other features.

And on a related note EA Sports announced that Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11 will in fact be available on the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and iPhone when it ships in June.

Find out more about Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online by visiting www.tigerwoodsonline.com. This is the last story I will ever write here.  Good night and good luck.

Tetris Hits 100 Million Paid Mobile Downloads Milestone

Written on January 21, 2010 at 10:01 am, by James Fudge

Tetris mobile game bought 100 million times.

EA announced this morning that that mobile versions of Tetris, a game that it holds the very precious publishing rights to, has been downloaded over 100 million times since its release on various carriers. This figure includes iPhone and iPod tocuh downloads as well, in case you are wondering.

Tetris is a game that is best described as timeless fun that most anyone can enjoy. It was created in 1984 by Russian-born mathematician Alexey Pajitnov, who got a big break in 1989 when Nintendo decided to put the game on the Game Boy. The rest, as they say, is history. Since that time the game has sold 125 million units on 30 PC platforms alone.

EA secured the mobile phone rights to the game in 2006, but the game had already been on the market since 2001. This move to EA’s care brought forth a renaissance for the game, and has been a huge win for all involved.

EA Mobile and Blue Planet Software (who controls the Tetris license), plan to formally announce the milestone on Thursday in Montreal. Tetris is available in 60 countries on about 64,000 different handsets, about 20 percent of which are smart phones. The game is also available on iPhone for $4.99.

Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment now on Xbox Live Arcade

Written on January 21, 2010 at 10:01 am, by James Fudge

Konami's popular RPG now available for 1200 MS Points.

Konami Digital Entertainment has released Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment to Xbox Live Arcade this week. In this tactical role-playing game, two rival kingdoms are on the brink of war on the continent of Sostegaria. Young Tobias Martin, an orphan left alive in the wake of the last Great War deals finds himself caught up in the events of the day, Joining forces with his friends to take on the enemy and avenge lost loved ones.

Konami has added a number of new features to the game like new mechanics, a visual presentation that looks good on the Xbox 360, fast-paced gameplay, and a character-driven storyline set prior to the events of Vandal Hearts.

The latest title in the classic tactical RPG series, is now available worldwide on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 1200 MS Points and is rated “T” for “Teen” by the ESRB. You can learn more about this game and the original game by visiting www.konami.com.

Report: EA in talks with Apple for Tablet Games

Written on January 21, 2010 at 8:40 am, by James Fudge

More details on what Apple will be revealing next week.

Apple’s Tablet is as real as rain and it will support games, digital newspapers and books according to an interesting report from CNN Money. Several reports that surfaced on the web this week revealed some secret deals Apple has been negotiating with U.S. content publishers, including Harper Collins U.S., The New York Times and Conde Nast. In that area these publishers are trying to nail down a pricing model for its content. Apple is also reportedly talking to CBS and Disney about setting up some sort of monthly subscription service, but the mass media market is not keen on Apple’s idea of a best of TV service – four to six shows from each channel.

Newspapers, books and television aside, our interest in this new tablet device lies in games, and the one thing the report confirms is that games are an important part of this device. According to CNN Money – who, by the way, heavily cites three sources for all this information – Bookseller.com, 9to5 Mac and the Wall Street Journal (subscription required to read)- says that Apple has been in talks with publisher Electronic Arts to create games for the device. What kinds of games, when they will be released, and whether or not these games are more like regular games or IPhone style games is unknown, but this is positive news for anyone that has written – this-yet-to-be-revealed device off as a glorified eReader to compete with Kindle. Yeah, it will take on Kindle judging by what’s been rumored, but it will also offer some other features that different consumer segments want.. like games and entertainment.

Apple is expected to reveal this new product next Wednesday at a “media only” press event. More information when we have it.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable Announced

Written on January 20, 2010 at 9:09 pm, by James Fudge

Atlus U.S.A.'s popular RPG coming to PSP owners this summer.

Atlus U.S.A., revealed that a PlayStation Portable version of its insanely popular RPG game, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, is in development. Aptly titled Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable, the handheld adaptation of one of the company’s highest-rated role-playing games of all time, will be released in North America in July.

The “Portable” version of game promises a new player-controlled female protagonist, dozens of additional hours of content – in addition to the 100 hours of total play time found in the original game, various improvements and enhancements to streamline play on the PSP, and a whole lot more to be announced.

SMT: Persona 3 Portable is currently scheduled for release on July 6. For more information, visit the official Persona 3 Portable website at www.atlus.com/p3p.

Halo 3 Mythic 2 Map Pack coming Feb. 2

Written on January 20, 2010 at 8:30 pm, by James Fudge

If you bought ODST you'd already have these maps, silly.

The second Halo 3 Mythic Map pack will be released on Xbox Live Feb. 2, Microsoft announced today. The Mythic 2 Map Pack developed by Bungie for Halo 3 consists of three multiplayer maps available previously only on the Halo 3: ODST multiplayer disc, brings the total number of Halo 3 multiplayer maps to 24. These new amps are Heretic, Citadel and Longshore.

Heretic brings players to familiar ground as the arena Midship from Halo 2 makes a triumphant return to the Halo universe in Halo 3. The stark interior of the Inquisitor require players to execute complex strategies in order to outplay their opponents.

The Citadel map puts players in a long abandoned Forerunner stronghold to slug it out in small, symmetrical confines. the fortress consists of two opposing bases that offer little safety for players looking for solace.

Finally, the Longshore maps puts players in an empty port for Old Mombasa. Designed for large-scale combat and well-suited for smaller affairs, Longshore’s multitude of industrial buildings, elevated walks, and open inlets create a complex battleground tailored for multiple combat scenarios.

Mythic 2 Map Pack will be available on Xbox LIVE for 800 Microsoft Points. Mythic Map Pack 1 and 2 are also included in Halo 3: ODST, which includes the complete Halo 3 multiplayer map collection, an all-new campaign and the popular coop mode, Firefight. Owning Halo 3: ODST is also the best way to get early access to the upcoming Halo: Reach multiplayer beta which goes live later this Spring.

Additionally, beginning today Halo fans can contribute to Bungie’s relief efforts for Haiti by participating in the Be a Hero campaign on Xbox LIVE. For every 1,000 people that wear a red heart emblem and play Halo 3 or Halo 3: ODST online today or tomorrow, Bungie will donate $100 to Red Cross, up to $77,000. To find out more about the Be a Hero campaign, visit Bungie at Bungie.net.

Sony delays PS3 Motion Controller to Fall 2010

Written on January 20, 2010 at 4:55 pm, by James Fudge

You'll have to wait a bit longer to wave those magic wands.

Sony announced today that its PlayStation 3 motion controller would not be released this spring, as was previously announced. The company said that it would now be released sometime this fall, though one would guess it will be in the late fall to take advantage of the 2010 holiday shopping season in the United States and abroad.

Sony said that the delay is to give the company more time to build a comprehensive catalog of release titles at launch, which to be fair, is pretty important. Probably what happened is that Sony only had a handful of first-party titles that would be done in time, and a lack of third-party titles that would be ready this spring. Several large publishers have said that they are working on both Natal and Sony motion controller games, but most had hinted that these games would not be ready to go until much later in the year.

We will probably start to see some of these titles at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles later this year.

The only real challenge Sony faces (besides getting PS3 owners to buy the controller) is that it is going head-to-head with Microsoft’s motion controller solution, Natal, which is set for release sometime in the fall as well.

More as it becomes apparent.