After Burner Climax confirmed for Spring 2010 on PSN, XBLA
Jan/100
Hey, you remember this morning, right? When we told you that the ESRB had rated After Burner Climax for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network? Wasn’t that just the tops? Well if that did it for you, here’s something that’ll positively tickle you pink: Sega has officially confirmed the game for a “Spring 2010″ release on the aforementioned digital distribution platforms! The Sega of America blog spilled the deets this afternoon, even handing over a handful of new screens via its Flickr account. We’ve dropped them below into a convenient little gallery, because we just like you that much.
After Burner Climax confirmed for Spring 2010 on PSN, XBLA originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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After Burner Climax confirmed for Spring 2010 on PSN, XBLA
Halo: The Aquarium
Jan/100
Flickr user Tom “Givintats” Keller has created a Halo-themed aquarium fit for a squad of cosplaying goldfish wearing cod-pieces. The scene includes hunters, marines, a warthog and some pretty blue lights that bring the Forerunner architecture to life. The scene is maintained through the use of putty and wire.
We’re certainly impressed — wonder if he does little fishbowl commissions? Check out the full set on Flickr.
[Via Hawtymcbloggy]
Halo: The Aquarium originally appeared on Joystiq Xbox on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Halo: The Aquarium
Activision UK head polls execs from ‘The Big Three’ on digital distribution, cloud gaming
Jan/100
If it weren’t for the fact that the recent “Andrew Brown asks” is a featured piece on UK-based MCV, the answers to his questions repeatedly starting with “Whilst” would have likely tipped us off to the Britishness of the feature and all involved. Both Sony’s Ray Maguire and Nintendo’s David Yarnton employ the subordinating conjunction whilst responding to questions about everything from the future of digital distribution to what the industry will look like in 2019. Though the Sony and Nintendo execs were a bit more reserved in their predictions, Microsoft’s Neil Thompson believes digital distribution will “explode in the next three years.” All three gentlemen admitted that retail will still play a major role for (at very least) a few more years.
As for cloud computing, only Microsoft’s Thompson seems to be on board. “I’m convinced cloud will play a central role in the games industry of the future … our strategy is certainly to enable people to connect to their key entertainment content through innovative services that span across multiple devices.” Our only worry is that, by the time all this future stuff arrives, we’ll be too busy cruising around in our flying cars to care.
Activision UK head polls execs from ‘The Big Three’ on digital distribution, cloud gaming originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Activision UK head polls execs from ‘The Big Three’ on digital distribution, cloud gaming
Modern Warfare 2 soundtrack in the works, Zimmer says
Jan/100
Sure, Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer mode has already sucked you in, but just imagine what would happen if you added an invigorating soundtrack to all those bullet-soaked moments? Well, guess what: The game’s soundtrack composer, Hans Zimmer, recently indicated in a Facebook note that the “soundtrack album is in the works.”
That’s right — soon you’ll be able to take the orchestrated drama from the single-player campaign and import it into a looping death march beat. But hey, at least your folks will be glad you’re listening to classical music, right?
Modern Warfare 2 soundtrack in the works, Zimmer says originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Modern Warfare 2 soundtrack in the works, Zimmer says
Why It Takes Some Mammals Longer to Walk Than Others
Dec/090
It really is miraculous how within hours of birth, some mammals find their legs and learn to walk. They might be unsteady at first, but it doesn’t take long for baby horses and other newborn animals to appear as though they’ve been walking for years, not days. Many animals seem to progress so quickly, but we humans do not, and a new study tells us why.
This study began in order to determine what’s holding humans back. Many animals walk within days of weeks or birth, while it takes human babies approximately one year to get on their feet and begin to walk. After examining the gestation period, adult body mass and adult brain mass, researchers discovered that brain mass plays the biggest role in which mammals walk faster. Those with a smaller adult brain mass seem to begin walking earlier on. Why? Well, they haven’t gotten that far yet. But it’s what sets us apart.
Humans might take longer to get on their feet than many of their fellow mammals on land, but we’ve got our larger brain mass to blame, or thank.
Image Via Flickr User Dingbat2005 with a Creative Commons License
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Why It Takes Some Mammals Longer to Walk Than Others
See screens and video from Perfect Dark on XBLA
Dec/090
We’ve all seen screens here and there from Rare’s upcoming high def-ified Perfect Dark port for XBLA. Today, we’re happy to report there’s a whole bunch of new media out there to sift through, courtesy of Gamertag Radio.
Head past the break for video of Perfect Dark’s Carrington Institute level or, if you’re one who worries about a sudden outbreak of motion sickness, check out some stills from the game over on GTR’s flickr page. Perfect Dark is currently scheduled for a “Winter 2010” release.
Source – Screens from Perfect Dark
Source – Carrington Institute level video
Continue reading See screens and video from Perfect Dark on XBLA
See screens and video from Perfect Dark on XBLA originally appeared on Joystiq Xbox on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Whale Fossil Discovered in Australia
Dec/090
This week in Australia, an ancient whale fossil estimated between 25 and 28 million years old has been discovered, and offers some unique insight into evolution and predatory habits.
The whale, which has been dubbed the ancient dwarf whale since it measures only about 9 feet in length. It’s believed that this whale shares eating habits of today’s baleen whales like the minke, humpback and blue whale. The jaw and skull structures indicate that like today’s species it might use a mud sucking and filter feeding method of eating. However, what’s also unique about this particular fossil of the whale is that it also has teeth – unusual for a whale of this type.
Researchers believe that this what is also a bit of an evolutionary anomaly. Likely an ancestor of larger similar whales that adapted in order to eat small prey through mud sucking methods as well as larger prey with its teeth.
Image Via: Flickr User Mike Baird with a Creative Commons License
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Whale Fossil Discovered in Australia
Forza 3 sales surpass 1m units; premium DLC released
Dec/090
Since it’s late October launch, Forza 3 has sped into over 1 million homes worldwide, marking a commercial milestone for Turn 10’s critically acclaimed racer. In conjunction with today’s release of the game’s second and now premium DLC car pack (the first one’s always free, ain’t it?), dubbed “Hot Holidays,” Microsoft has tallied up some Forza 3 stats.
According to the publisher, players have so far tracked 6.6 million hours and 590 million collective miles — no word on flats or oil changes. Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg tweets that “more than 4M [million] auction bids” have lead to “$18.7 billion” virtual dollars spent (we have to imagine at least a billion went to that gorgeous coop pictured above). Of course, Microsoft has it’s eye on the real dollars, offering today’s 10-car pack for 400
($5). The full list of cars is posted after the break.
Additionally, a second premium pack has been confirmed for January 12, and — wouldn’t you know it — that date coincides with the kick-off of the Detroit International Auto Show. Huh, you think that was planned?
Continue reading Forza 3 sales surpass 1m units; premium DLC released
Forza 3 sales surpass 1m units; premium DLC released originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We Have 5 Free Copies of the Excellent DisplayFusion Pro. Want One?
Nov/090
Want more free stuff? Today we’re giving away 5 copies of DisplayFusion Pro, a multiple-monitor taskbar and desktop wallpaper rotating application that we’ve been fans of for a very long time. And it now supports Windows 7!
It was more than two years ago that we first highlighted DisplayFusion as a great way to put more than one wallpaper on each of your desktops, and since then the software has continued to improve with full support for Windows 7 taskbars and Aero.
DisplayFusion, the Free Version
Arguably the best feature in DisplayFusion is the ability to put more than one wallpaper on your each of your multiple monitors, but you can also span a single wallpaper across the entire desktop, and size them different ways to make them fit.
You can also use the built-in wallpaper browser to pull in images from Flickr or Vladstudio.
You can then browse through and find a wallpaper that you like, and assign it to the desktop.
There’s an enormous amount of hotkeys that are built right in:
And you can add buttons to the window title bar for various functions, like moving windows from one monitor to the other. (Limited to 1 button for the free version)
For instance, here I’ve added a button that moves the window to the next monitor.
It’s an extremely useful software, but the best part is that you can just download and use all these features (and more) for free.?
Pro Edition Features
The Pro edition adds more functionality—you can add more buttons to the title bars, do a little more configuring with the hotkeys (or add new hotkeys), or the most interesting feature: Add a Taskbar on each monitor!
The taskbar isn’t identical to the Windows 7 one, but it does look very similar, and even includes mouse-over hover previews. Unfortunately the previews don’t seem to do Aero Peek yet, but one can only assume that feature will be coming eventually.
The Pro edition also adds the ability to rotate between wallpaper images, either on your computer, or from Flickr or Vladstudio.
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The Rules (Important!)
So you want a copy of the Pro version? We have FIVE copies to give away, and we’ll be selecting them randomly from the comments. Here’s what you have to do:
- Grab yourself a free copy of DisplayFusion (you can get a free trial of Pro if you want, or stick with the free one).
- Leave a comment explaining one (or more) thing you like about the software, and one thing you think could be improved. Be sure to use your real email address.
- To cut down on accidental spam filtering, include the keyword DisplayFusion in your comment.
- We will announce the winners in the weekly roundup, so you have a couple of days to participate.
Make sure that your comment includes something you like, and something you don’t like. If you don’t think it can be improved, say that, but if you completely hate it, maybe leaving a comment is a waste of time =)
Download DisplayFusion (Free or Pro) from binaryfortress.com
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Activision/Infinity Ward court documents detail ex-studio heads’ many, many complaints
Mar/100
Beyond a statement released by ex-Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella’s lawyer yesterday detailing the lawsuit the two are filing against Activision, we’ve seen little in the way of back history on the various events that lead us to the debacle we’re seeing this week. This morning, though, Joystiq obtained the entire 16-page court document (gallery-ized below for you) that details, among many other things, the ex-employees’ complaints about Activision in the wake of their untimely departure.
The initial claim of unpaid royalties is represented in the documents, even going as far as to claim that the publisher fired West and Zampella just weeks before having to pay out said royalties. “Activision fired them in hope that by doing so, it could avoid paying them what they had rightfully earned, and to seize control of the Infinity Ward studio, to which Activision had previously granted creative control over all Modern Warfare branded games,” the document reads. In the history lesson portion of the complaint, it’s revealed that Activision allegedly purchased the studio for just $5 million originally (in two different chunks), and the Call of Duty franchise (including Treyarch-developed titles) has earned over $3 billion since 2003.
Finally, the complaint claims that, before Infinity Ward agreed to develop Modern Warfare 2, the then-studio heads “were not eager to extend their employment” as Activision had apparently begun demanding a more constant development pace at the studio. “Despite assurances by Activision that West and Zampella would have complete freedom to run Infinity Ward as an independent studio, Activision had begun to intrude upon Infinity Ward’s ability to create quality games. For example, Activision forced Infinity Ward’s employees to continue producing the games at a breakneck pace under aggressive schedules, and West and Zampella were concerned that Activision was emphasizing quantity over quality.”
Regardless of the veracity of these allegations, it would certainly appear that the gloves have come all the way off. We’ll have a more thorough breakdown of the entire document later today, but for now you can see it in its entirety below.
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Activision/Infinity Ward court documents detail ex-studio heads’ many, many complaints