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Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Destroys Sales Records

Zach Lott — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:55:34 -0600

Over at Capcom's website, John Diamonon has revealed in a blog post that Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix may very well become the highest-grossing digital game ever made, having already sold over 250,000 units since its release in late November.

Diamonon mentioned in his post that the game has "shattered" day one and week one sales records and is on pace to break the 30 day sales mark.

The game has been reviewed very well and has garnered praise for its music and artwork, the latter of which, interestingly enough, almost got the game cancelled at one point for a perceived lack of quality. You can download it either through the Playstation Store or Xbox Live Arcade.

Capcom announces dates for Super Street Fighter II HD for XBLA, PSN

Zach Lott — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:10:06 -0600

Capcom announced today the release dates for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix - November 25 for the PSN version and November 26 for the XBLA version.

Also announced was that various Street Fighter-themed DLC will be released for various XBLA titles while another "little surprise" will be coming for PSN later in the year. In addition, a downloable album of hip-hop music inspired by Street Fighter will be made available for PS3 owners when SSFIITHDR is released.

Parasite Eve Third Birthday Semi-confirmed

Shiva Stella — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:20:44 -0500

Remember Parasite Eve, the "cinematic RPG" from the bygone days of PlayStation? Remember the Japanese-onry PE cell-phone games that we didn't get?

Now you can stop being ridiculously angry. Take a peek at the video below.

Just in case you missed it, that's a leaked trailer for Parasite Eve 3, tentatively titled PE: Third Birthday, in the works at Square Enix and HexaDrive. As of now the word is that it's being labeled as a "cinematic action RPG", putting it in line with PE2's Resident Evil-like gameplay, with a slew of heavily customizable weapons and (one can only assume) lots of gross monsters.

And did I mention that it's a PSP exclusive...?

Rumor: PS4/Wii HD Planned for 2011.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:41:01 -0500

I never thought I would say this, but I think technology is moving too fast. Perhaps I'm growing old, but it seems as if this generation has hardly learned to crawl and already there are rumors of the next generation of consoles due in 3 years.

Within the last 24 hours, rumors for both the PS4 and Wii HD have surfaced on the web. Just for safety's sake, they're rumors, again, rumors. That being said, it's not implausible that both are interested in getting onto the market first after seeing how much having a first place spot helped the Xbox 360 and PS2 (Let's ignore Dreamcast for argument's sake.)

The PS4 is said to use a similar cell architecture with slight improvements and will be ditching the faster XDR RAM in favor of a more conventional form of RAM. Supposedly Sony has been mentioning the proposed specs to third parties. Other than that details are scant.

The Wii HD rumor is slightly more fleshed out citing rising R&D expenditures and various other tidbits. The tech end of it leaves much to be desired.

Maybe I'm just being cynical, but I'm not sure these tired bones can hope to keep up at this rate. The world seems to have gotten itself into a big damned hurry. Maybe the companies should work on maxing our their current product or providing enough to meet demand before they get too involved in producing what's next.

Thanks for both goes to NeoGAF for finding the information, and the respective sources found therein.

WipEout HD: How'd they do it?

Ryan Fulton — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:34:48 -0500

Now after playing WipEout HD you may ask yourself, how did they manage to keep the game running at a crisp 1080p with 60 fps? Well the answer isn't a demonic compact, nor is it wizardry of any sort. Ok maybe it's technical wizardry, but that's not really what I had in mind.

You see, rather than being rendered in true 1080p at all times, the game's engine uses a dynamic output that scales based upon how much the system can handle at any given point. After it pushes out the best resolution it can while keeping the game at 60fps the data is passed along to the PS3's hardware horizontal scaler to make up the difference, all the while maintaining the amazingly fast pace of the game.

Pretty neat, huh? Please hit the link to get a far more technical walkthrough of the process.

PlayStation Store Update: Best. Week. Ever.

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:08:41 -0500

With this weeks PlayStation Store update Sony seems to have gone out of their way to provide gamers with far more content than anyone who has a job and doesnt suffer from insomnia can handle. Including several highly anticipated titles, this weeks PSN store update may just (but hopefully wont) prove to be the biggest week that the service will enjoy. Now, lets make with the mind-boggling, thumb-destroying list.

WipEout HD: After what seems like a metric eternity, SCE Studio Liverpool has unleashed their much awaited futuristic racing title for the appealing price point of $19.99.
Burnout Paradise: Not to be contented with one robust racing title on PSN this week, developer Criterion has turned their disc-based title into a fully featured PSN title that carries a $29.99 price tag.
Megaman 9: Capcom brings back Inafunes titular little blue manservant for another round of stealing skills from the various and sundry bosses that have co-opted the Brady Bunchs opening title. Get down with Rockman for the moderate price of $9.99. (Or just play the demo repeatedly and imagine the enemies being different for free. And your parents said that your imagination would get you nowhere)
GEON Emotions: Bliss, rage, envy or fear use the power of your 8 emotions to purchase and play the title that XBL has had for the last year and a month. You can get in on some GEON for $9.99.
Various Rock Band songs: Rock out like Geddy Lee and Neil Peart with Rushs Moving Pictures. There are a few other songs too, maybe youre into them. If youre at all interested in this sort of thing you likely already know the pricing.

There are also a few demos this week including NBA Live 09 and, on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, NBA 09. As one could likely guess there are some videos that have been posted as well; Resistance 2 and Tomb Raider Underworld top the list. Backgrounds and such also make an appearance along with a few PSP games that made the cut this week: Untold Legends and Puzzle Quest. In a shocker to literally no one, there are still no PS1 classics worth writing home about.

So thats this weeks PSN Store update. Please be delighted, and if you dont mind give us a yell about what youre picking up. Youll likely catch me on WipEout HD.

HD DVD Production Stops For Xbox 360

Tim Grube — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:04:35 -0600

It was only a matter of time until the bug guys over at Microsoft decided to go along with Toshiba and every other company out there to stop production of HD DVD items. Microsoft just issued this statement today.

As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD. Xbox will no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market. As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace.

HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.

Blu-Ray wins. Horray! Now give me The Kingdom on Blu-Ray please. Thank you...

Space Ace To Release for Blu-Ray, HD DVD

Aaron Dunlap — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:12:20 -0600

Digital Leisure, a company that makes casual DVD-player games, has announced the upcoming release of Space Ace on Blu-Ray and HD DVD formats on April 8th. Similar to Dragon's Lair, Space Ace is a sort of interactive movie. Fully animated (hand-drawn animated lead by Don Bluth, of An American Tail and The Land Before Time fame) sequences are controlled by the player/viewer at certain junctures in the story, sort of like those "chose your fate" novels of yesteryear, except they're movies, or games.

The gamemovie...moviegame will have special features shot in 1080i, with an exclusive "Head 2 Head" online multiplayer type thing on compatible HD DVD players.

Thanks for sending in the tip, Robert!

Rez HD Coming to XBLA Next Week?

Solomon Lee — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:47:06 -0600

According to Kotaku, rumors are circulating that Rez HD is coming to Xbox Live Arcade on January 30.

The game was previously released on the Dreamcast and PS2 and is expected to cost Live users 800 Microsoft Points.

Here's to hoping that Rez HD appears on Xbox Live Arcade next week.

Toshiba Slashes HD DVD Player Costs to Fend Off Blu-ray

Shiva Stella — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:59:43 -0600

CNN Money is reporting that Toshiba is slashing HD DVD player costs and pairing the price drops with an "extended campaign of TV, print and online advertising to promote the format."

Toshiba has lowered the cost of its HD-A3, its cheapest player, to a mere $149.99 from $299.99; the HD-A30 has received similar treatment, going from $399.99 to $199.99 while the HD-A35 has dropped from $499.99 to $299.99.

You can bet that the price drops are Toshiba's attempt to bolster the HD DVD camp, now backed by two studios - Paramount and Universal (and shakily at that) - while Sony's Blu-ray format has received a recent surge of support from Warner Bros. abandonment of the HD DVD format as it moved to join four other studios in the backing of Blu-ray.

Said Yoshi Uchiyama, group vice president of digital audio and video at Toshiba America Consumer Products, "While price is one of the consideration elements for the early adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer."

Microsoft to 'Consider' Blu-ray Support if 'Consumers Want It'

Shiva Stella — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:41:44 -0600

In more Blu-ray news, Reuters is claiming that Microsoft would "consider" switching to the Blu-ray camp if "consumers want it".

Said Albert Penello, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware, "It should be consumer choice; and if that's the way they vote, that's something we'll have to consider."

As far as the rumor of Paramount switching sides in the Blu-ray/HD DVD format war, Penello stated that he didn't think that Paramount's decision (to abandon HD DVD) would have a "significant impact" on the Xbox 360 as it continues to go up against Sony's PlayStation 3.

I find this humorous because the PlayStation 3's 40GB model looks a hell of a lot more attractive as the most affordable Blu-ray player on the market. Plus it plays games, too (surprise!) and the PlayStation brand is still powerful despite the PS3's lackluster first year.

Paramount Not Ditching HD DVD... yet?

Shiva Stella — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:34:55 -0600

Though yesterday we reported that The Financial Times broke a story on Paramount abandoning the HD DVD camp in favor of Sony's Blu-ray format, Paramount has since declared that "[its] current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format."

Funny, because it looks like the "current plan" is changing and that Universal Studios will be left as the sole film studio backing HD DVD.

Blu-ray, HD DVD Format War Coming to an End?

Shiva Stella — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:48:43 -0600

Various sources, including the Financial Times, are reporting that Paramount will soon be following Warner in abandoning HD DVD support whilst turning to Sony's Blu-ray format.

The rumor goes that Paramount is relying on a "get out" clause in its exclusivity deal with the HD DVD camp - a similar clause to the one Warner used in making its switch.

From the article, "Paramount is poised to drop its support of HD DVD after Warner Brothers recent backing of Sony's Blu-ray technology, in a move that will sound the death knell of HD DVD and bring the home entertainment format war to a definitive end."

The news follows Sony's holiday sales announcement and lots and lots of PlayStation 3s getting off those shelves and joining the user-base since Christmas.

Panasonic Showcases 150-inch Plasma HDTV at CES 2008

Shiva Stella — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:01:58 -0600

Give to me now.

Simply because the staff can't help but giggle like small school-children when they glimpse this tv, here's some interesting CES 2008 news straight from Panasonic. The company showcased its 150-inch ultra-large screen plasma HDTV during its keynote, and my-oh-my the mind does wonder at its possibilities for providing stellar gaming.

The company claims that its technological advancements in the realm of PDPs (plasma display panels) will allow for "thinner profiles, larger screens, brighter images, higher definition and lower power consumption."

The 150-inch godly HDTV features "overwhelming image quality with an 8.84 million pixel resolution (2,160 x 4,096) - more than four times the 1080p HD specification (1,080 x 1,920)" and "provides stable and uniform images across the vast expanse of the screen... Featuring true-to-life color reproduction capability and quick response to moving images, the ultra-large PDP renders clear, crisp, spectacular images unrivaled by any other."

I want this tv.

More images at the jump.

New Screenshots of WipeOut HD for PS3

Shiva Stella — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:40:00 -0600

PlayFrance has posted some new imagery of WipeOut HD for the PlayStation 3, which you can view at the link.

WipeOut HD contains a mixture of tracks, weapons, and vehicles from previous games in the franchise along with new trinkets, including a radar to let players know the location of enemy ships as well as a gauge that warns gamers when they're about to be blown to bits by an opponent. Handy, that.

The US release is still listed as TBA.

Konami Patches PES 2008, No Need To Buy an HDTV. Still, Though, Get One Already

Aaron Dunlap — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:17:05 -0600

A while ago we told you about some problems with Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on the PS3 when played on a standard-def (oldskool) TV. Their solution at the time was to play the game on an HDTV with HDMI cables. A nice, thousand dollar solution.

Fear not, dwellers of the technologies past, Konami has released a patch that will fix the problem, hopefully.

Oh how I love this age of downloadable updates to free developers from the requirement that video games work before they're released.

If you have a PS3 though and don't have an HDTV, you might as well have a PS2 for cryin' out loud.

Konami Admits PS3 PES2008 Problems, Now Buy an HDTV

Shiva Stella — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:00:00 -0600

Buy me. I look even better with soccer.

In more game-issue news, Konami has commented on PlayStation 3 errors gamers are experiencing when playing Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on the console via a new published faq. Problems include multiplayer issues (everyone's favorite) when trying to play online, "stuttering", and freezing.

The solution? Purchase an HDTV. And don't forget those HDMI/component cables.

Here's an excerpt from the faq:

My PES 2008 on PLAYSTATION 3 is not running smoothly

Konami Digital Entertainment is aware that some players of PES2008 are experiencing stuttering by their machine when playing on PS3. (This does not occur on other formats). After checking the matter we have found that the problem is primarily taking place where the user is not playing the game in high definition.

The solution to this problem is to play the game on an HD TV (high definition screen) with an HDMI or component cable and the PS3 set to output in 720p resolution or above. This should prevent the problem and allow the player to enjoy the full HD experience provided by their PlayStation 3.

Please note: to achieve high definition it is necessary to use HDMI or component cables instead of the AV (composite) cable supplied with the PS3.

We are continuing to work on finding a solution for those people who do not have access to an HD TV.

In the meantime Konami would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Talk about pushing the HDTV market...

Dragon's Lair HD Announced

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 06:38:00 -0500

It seems that even old games can join the HD era with the announcement that classic Laserdisc arcade game Dragon's Lair is being remastered in high definition for a new PC version. For Dragon's Lair HD, publisher Digital Leisure has taken the original film of Dirk the Daring's adventure and had it cleaned and digitally remastered in HD with new 5.1 sound.

Elizabeth Foster, President of Digital Leisure said:

"Dragon's Lair HD is an achievement no classic gamer will want to be without. This version is truly a treat to all your senses! With the power of todays computers, gamers can now enjoy Dragon's Lair the way it was meant to be seen. The quality of the animation is absolutely stunning and the surround sound mix will have you looking over your shoulder!"

Dragon's Lair HD will be available for PC in the fall, with a planned HD remaster of Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp due in the coming months.

Originally written by Olly Dean

Gran Turismo 5 In 2007

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 11:33:00 -0500

Kazunori Yamauchi, boss of developer Polyphony Digital meantioned recently that Gran Turismo 5 is currently in development and is expected to hit the PlayStation 3 in 2007. He also stated that the game will be "100 times more detailed" than Gran Turismo 4. I would hope so, being that it will be released on a next-generation console.

We will probably hear more news about Gran Turismo at next months Tokyo Game Show.

Originally written by Tim Grube

New Crashday Screenshots

Tim Grube — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 12:54:00 -0600

This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

Atari has released a new set of screenshots this morning of Crashday. Take a look below.