Announced today: Mass Effect has gone gold! The game is set to go retail on November 20th. If you pre-order the game you get a special pre-order DVD with a short documentary on the game as well as a demo of Blue Dragon and some videos of Halo Wars, Halo 3, and Lost Odyssey.
Also announced were the contents of the collector’s edition.
MSNBC reports that SanDisk, one of the more successful manufacturers of USB flash drives, announced Monday a new service and product to further bridge the gap between the PC and television.
The Service – FanFare is a video service offering premium television shows for $1.99 per download. The site is in beta right now and the catalogue is small, but if the product (see below) is successful, count on it expanding rapidly.
The Product – TakeTV Video Player is a combination of gadgets including a USB harddrive, remote control, and television adaptor. Simply load any content (currently supports multiple formats including mpeg, DivX, and xVid), onto the USB harddrive, plug it in to the cradle, connect the cradle to the television (s-video, composite, & analog) and watch your content on the big screen. For those who do not have a Home Theatre PC, this is a very exciting product. The editors of GamingShogun are attempting to obtain a demo and hope to post a review shortly.
TakeTV is currently available in a $99.99 4gb model, and a $149.99 8GB model.
[edit – TakeTV is scheduled to be relased 11/06/2007]
Activision has announced a Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock weekend and game demo release beginning Friday, November 2nd.
From the press release:
‘…fans 13 years old or older will be able to participate in a number of exciting activities online including a 72-hour Play & Win Sweepstakes where every hour winning axe shredders who register and play are awarded with special prize packages, such as a limited edition guitar faceplate signed by Slash, as they battle in a multiplayer showdown against the developers of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, as well as an exclusive Xbox LIVE leaderboard tournament to crown the top Guitar Hero player.’
AICN has posted their coverage of day two at the E For All gaming expo in Los Angeles, CA. It seems fairly apparent to most attendees that the crowds were not anything like those of E3, but that is okay. Hopefully next year the expo will have garnered enough media coverage to increase it’s numbers.
If all goes as planned we should have a couple folks there next year to bring the best of the expo to you as it happens.
From the expo:
GameSpot is reporting on a rumor first heard from Australian tech site smarthouse.com.au that Toshiba has partnered with Microsoft to begin production of HD-DVD drive-equipped Xbox 360s to combat the PS3’s built-in Blu-Ray drive.
From the article:
‘Now, if Smarthouse is to be believed, Toshiba is making another
move to increase the adoption of HD-DVD. ‘Insiders at Toshiba, owner of
the HD-DVD patents, claim that Microsoft is working on a brand new Xbox
that will incorporate not only a new HD-DVD drive but a larger hard
drive and new entertainment software that is a spin-off from its
struggling media center offering,’ the site claims. After
quoting a Toshiba executive saying ‘an Xbox with a built in HD-DVD
drive is critical,’ Smarthouse goes on to say the new 360 will also
have built-in Wi-Fi and true 1080p output–capabilities both versions
of the PS3 already have. Microsoft is also considering building in a
dual HDTV tuner, Tivo-esque program guide, and a new type of universal
MP3 player docking port.’
MSNBC reports that an employee of Absolutepoker.com hacked the system to allow him to see other players’ hole cards. The employee purportedly went on a major winning streak earning somewhere between $400,000 and $700,000 in very short order.
Apparently he was too chicken to spend the money, and when he got caught, he said he was simply trying to prove a point; that it could be done. The parent compeny to Absolutepoker.com is promising a full refund to anyone affected by this scheme.
1up.com is reporting on a Microsoft announcement today that Gears of War for the PC has gone gold.
From the Article:
‘Microsoft Game Studios announced today the game has gone gold for its November 6 release. Though PC enthusiasts may feel more at home with mouse and keyboard controls, the Xbox 360 controller can be used for a more familiar interface. Added content for the PC includes new achievements and chapters, three new multiplayer maps, and a game editor for map creation.
As usual, the PC version will launch at $10 less than the Xbox 360 version by retailing for $49.99. ‘
GameSpot is reporting that Capcom has recently announced one Xbox-exclusive shooter Lost Planet will be arriving on PS3 shelves early 2008.
From the article:
‘Capcom stated that the PS3 version of Lost Planet will feature all the content from the 360 version, plus all subsequent downloadable content from Xbox Live, along with extras included in the PC version. These include additional characters, including Frank West from Dead Rising and Mega Man.
The PS3 version will also allow gamers to battle in cooperative or versus battles with up to 16 players. These include elimination mode, where it’s every man for himself, team elimination, where whichever team is wiped out first loses, and fugitive, where one player tries to achieve a series of goals within a time limit without getting killed by the other players. ‘
GamesIndustry is reporting that Microsoft has announced a special HD-DVD deal for the holiday season.
From the article:
‘The company has announced that it will hand out five free HD-DVD titles from a selection of 13 films to customers buying an HD-DVD drive for their Xbox 360 between now and the end of January next year.
The titles available are: Serenity, The Chronicles of Riddick, Hulk, Children of Men, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Troy, Full Metal Jacket, Corpse Bride, The Prestige, Swordfish, Black Rain, Dreamgirls and Word Trade Centre’
The Register is reporting that Boeing has succefully demonstrated it’s HUMVEE Laser Avenger system, which, according to the article ‘is a gyrostabilised automatic turret from Boeing’s
existing Avenger air-defence system. Avenger normally packs Stinger
missiles and/or a .50-cal heavy machine gun, but this year Boeing has
fitted it out with a 1 kilowatt solid state laser’.
It could be useful in destroying unexploded ordinance or IEDs from a distance, however real combat applications would need a higher powered system.
Perhaps this is just a stepping stone in Boeing’s long-term plans?
