Gabe Newell: Portal 2 is “The Best Game We’ve Ever Done”
March 12, 2010
1UP: Was Portal 2 from the beginning always going to be a full price game?
Gabe Newell: "One of the nice things about The Orange Box was it allowed us to try out a couple of different things, and Portal really seemed to resonate. We got the signals that we wanted -- this is what people liked; this is what people didn't like. And to us, it was like, 'OK now we know how to take this big,' so that's what we're going to do with Portal 2."
March 12, 2010
Okay, let's just get both the "personal hygienic massager" and the "Wii HD" comments out of the way. Done. Now, we've already covered some of the basics of the upcoming PlayStation Move, and we also checked out a traditional hardcore enthusiast game that supports motion-control functionality. But what about the rest of the initial lineup so far?
Sure, Sony had the requisite tech demo that showed off all sorts of Move-specific possibilities, such as a marionette demo, or a "paint the screen" demo, a "wield a club/sword/object" demo, or even a "choose the color of your motion controller's light." But besides that tech, Sony also showed a fair number of actual games, and here's our quick round-up of how they felt after some Move time. In following Sony's "It can do everything" campaign, here's a quick question: so what can the PlayStation Move do, after all? Why, it can...
March 12, 2010
In an interview with 1UP after accepting the Pioneer Award at tonight's Game Developers Choice ceremony, Valve's Gabe Newell offered a few details about his company's upcoming Portal 2.
When asked if he could provide a piece of trivia about the game that people wouldn't know, Newell mentioned, "Jonathan Coulton is awesome -- he's just brilliant; he's a joy to work with," referring to the songwriter behind the now-famous end credits song in the original Portal. I followed up asking about a new song in the sequel, to which Newell replied, "He's brilliant."
March 12, 2010
Year-over-year sales were down, though the consoles saw moderate gains from January of this year. Still, all of the hardware manufacturers have reason to celebrate this month. The PlayStation 3 sales are up 30%, the 360 is on top of the console market, and Nintendo always has its trusty DS to sell like hotcakes.
March 12, 2010
Year-over-year sales were down, though the consoles saw moderate gains from January of this year. Still, all of the hardware manufacturers have reason to celebrate this month. The PlayStation 3 sales are up 30%, the 360 is on top of the console market, and Nintendo always has its trusty DS to sell like hotcakes.
March 11, 2010
As far as release dates go, this one is being dropped much sooner than most, as well as in an unconventional manner. But February 1 falls on a Tuesday next year, the traditional game release day, and an EA conference call already revealed the Dragon Age sequel would be hitting between January and March of 2011. While we'll have to wait for word from EA and BioWare to call it official, this fits comfortably in that range, and so it seems likely as the date for the sequel. Mark your calendars, Dragon Age fans. March 11, 2010
As far as release dates go, this one is being dropped much sooner than most, as well as in an unconventional manner. But February 1 falls on a Tuesday next year, the traditional game release day, and an EA conference call already revealed the Dragon Age sequel would be hitting between January and March of 2011. While we'll have to wait for word from EA and BioWare to call it official, this fits comfortably in that range, and so it seems likely as the date for the sequel. Mark your calendars, Dragon Age fans. March 11, 2010
Lionhead's Peter Molyneux dropped word of Cleese's inclusion during his GDC session. He also confirmed that it will be possible to sell weapons online, and showed off a bit of the new user interface.
Fable III revolves around the struggle for the throne as the player first takes power then administers their new kingdom. Once you've got your crown, it looks like you'll have Cleese to help you out.
March 11, 2010
God of War 3 is due out next week, and Sony is mulling over the idea of adding downloadable content. VG247 reports that design director Todd Papy hinted at DLC at this year's Game Developers Conference. "We're talking about DLC, and the possibilities of it, to see if it's worth for us to do it," he said. "From a fan standpoint, I think it's very worth it, but at the same time we don't want to compromise our next projects."
If DLC does come, it may not be for a while. "We're going to take a break, come back, look into new IPs, and at the same time we're going to look and see if there is anything left in the God of War series that we feel is very compelling that we can sink our teeth into," Papy said. If the team is planning to give the series a short rest before even starting development on DLC, it may actually be quite a while before any of it comes out. Papy refers to a few ideas the team is looking into, but says "we'll see if it ever comes to market."
March 11, 2010
ORIGINAL STORY -- Harmonix and MTV Games announced today that Green Day: Rock Band is set for a worldwide release on June 8, 2010. The game features over 47 tracks, including "Brain Stew," "Jaded," "Hitchin' a Ride," "American Idiot," "Wake Me Up When September Ends," and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." We expect to see a full track list teased in the coming months. It sounds like Harmonix is aiming to take a similar archival approach to The Beatles Rock Band, offering unlockable images and rare videos of interviews and performances.
Unlike the Beatles version, however, we apparently won't be seeing instruments in the style of Green Day's own. This could be a sign that the days of large instrument bundles may be starting to wane, at least for spin-offs. Instead, the Wii standalone version is the cheapest option at $49.99, while the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions will be $59.99. As previously reported the game supports song exporting, but it will cost you extra. The "Plus" edition is only for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and costs an extra ten bucks at $69.99. For the money, you get special packaging, the export feature, and access to six Green Day DLC tracks. From the sounds of it, these are the tracks already available on the Rock Band store, but with added visual flair.
Following this year's Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony, we were able to grab Valve's Gabe Newell for a brief chat about Portal 2, wherein he mentioned that he thinks it is the best game Valve has ever created. Here's the transcript of our interview:
PlayStation Move: Quick Impressions Of What It Can Do
Gabe Newell Teases New Song for Portal 2
February NPDs: 360 Overtakes Wii, BioShock 2 Tops Software
The Wii doesn't often fall off its perch atop the console crowd, and when it does it's worth noting. The Wii slipped below the Xbox 360 this month, though the reasons aren't easy to identify. None of the consoles have seen price drops, so this seems more of a natural equalizing of the consoles than we've seen in months past. The last time the Wii slipped below another console was September of 2009, due to the PS3 price drop and launch of the Slim. The last time the 360 topped the Wii was September of 2007, during the Halo 3 launch. Now that the three are on par without any particular mitigating factors, we may see them swapping spots for a while.
February 2010 Hardware Sales
February NPDs: 360 Overtakes Wii, BioShock 2 Tops Software
The Wii doesn't often fall off its perch atop the console crowd, and when it does it's worth noting. The Wii slipped below the Xbox 360 this month, though the reasons aren't easy to identify. None of the consoles have seen price drops, so this seems more of a natural equalizing of the consoles than we've seen in months past. The last time the Wii slipped below another console was September of 2009, due to the PS3 price drop and launch of the Slim. The last time the 360 topped the Wii was September of 2007, during the Halo 3 launch. Now that the three are on par without any particular mitigating factors, we may see them swapping spots for a while.
February 2010 Hardware Sales
EA Seemingly Drops Dragon Age 2 Release Date
EA and BioWare are supporting the Dragon Age franchise with ambitious downloadable content plans and even an expansion. On top of that, we may have just discovered the release date for the upcoming sequel. Retail copies of Dragon Age: Origins Awakening arrived at the 1UP offices today, and included in the box was a placard with an intriguing hint (above). The iconic bloody dragon accompanies the date, February 1, 2011.
EA Seemingly Drops Dragon Age 2 Release Date
EA and BioWare are supporting the Dragon Age franchise with ambitious downloadable content plans and even an expansion. On top of that, we may have just discovered the release date for the upcoming sequel. Retail copies of Dragon Age: Origins Awakening arrived at the 1UP offices today, and included in the box was a placard with an intriguing hint (above). The iconic bloody dragon accompanies the date, February 1, 2011.
John Cleese Voicing Butler in Fable III
Comedy legend John Cleese will soon be lending his voice to Fable III. The actor best known for his work on Monty Python and Fawlty Towers will be serving as the main character's butler.
Sony Considering God of War 3 DLC
Green Day: Rock Band Coming June 8
UPDATE -- HMXHenry has confirmed on the Rock Band Forums that exporting will also be free for those who pre-order through GameStop. If you aren't interested in the other Plus features, it looks like that's the way to go.
