EA Sports: Gamers Wanted Digital-Only Euro 2012

EA Sport's executive vice president has claimed that gamers wanted the Euro 2012 game to be made available as a DLC addon rather than a boxed release.

According to MCV, Andrew Wilson said the company delivered the title this way due to popular demand, and would consider doing the same for 2014's World Cup tie-in.

“

We’re going to listen and we’re going to do our best to deliver what is asked for by gamers.

"Gamers in all honesty asked for it to be delivered that way, and what you’ve seen from us over the last 18 months, is that we are listening to gamers more now ever before," he explained.

"When you asked ‘will all tournaments go this way?’, we will do things based on gamer demand. And you know with 25m people engaged playing 10m games a day with us, and with nearly 20m Facebook fans involved in a daily conversation about what we do and how we do it, not to mention the many millions of people in our forums.

"We’re going to listen and we’re going to do our best to deliver what is asked for by gamers."

UEFA Euro 2012 launched as a downloadable expansion pack for FIFA 12 in April to a review from us that centred on this very issue; whilst the pricing of DLC may be cheaper than that of a new boxed release, the absence of significant changes to gameplay made it hard to justify the premium price tag.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant.  You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

No Microtransactions in Final Fantasy VII Re-Release

The upcoming PC re-release of Final Fantasy VII will not feature any microtransactions, according to Square Enix.

The publisher made the announcement to Kotaku, explaining that none of the new features in the game will cost real money to use.

“

We'll have final pricing info on the game to share soon, but we can confirm that there will be no microtransactions for the upcoming re-release of Final Fantasy VII on PC.

A Square Enix representative said, "No, the Character Booster will not cost real money to use. We'll have final pricing info on the game to share soon, but we can confirm that there will be no microtransactions for the upcoming re-release of Final Fantasy VII on PC."

The Character Booster is one of several new features announced for the re-release, which allows players to boost their character's stats and gil to overcome tough sections of the game. Also new to Final Fantasy VII in this version is the inclusion of 36 achievements and Cloud saves.

While the only release date mentioned is a vague "coming soon", it's important to note that this title is not the remake fans have been wanting, though conditions for such a thing were recently revealed.

This version is based on the PC port previously available, but with up-res detail of the character and monster models in fight sequences and in-game cut-scenes. Rendered elements such as backgrounds and CG movies will be the same as in previous releases of FF VII.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant.  You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

The Dark Knight Rises: Biggest 2D Opening of All Time?

Ready for another round of wall-to-wall packed movie theaters? New pre-release tracking predicts Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises could very likely surpass the $158.4 million opening of The Dark Knight, which had the biggest three-day domestic debut of all time when it opened.

Rises will be hitting theaters on July 20, the same debut weekend as The Dark Knight in 2008. To this day, TDK remains the top domestic opener in terms of 2D feature films. Since then, two 3D pics -- this summer's The Avengers and last year's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 -- have taken the No. 1 and No. 2 spots with $207.4 million and $169.2 million, respectively.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, TDKR's overall tracking numbers come close to The Avengers,' but the latter had an added boost of 3D ticket sales. However, Nolan's final Bat-chapter will also screen in several hundred IMAX theaters, which charge at a premium. (Over an hour of the movie was shot using IMAX cameras.) What's more, the film clocks in at 164 minutes -- 21 minutes more than The Avengers and 12 more than The Dark Knight.

Females are reportedly less interested in seeing The Dark Knight Rises than The Avengers, but Warner Bros. still has two weeks to court this demo.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

First Look: The Hunger Games Bonus Features

In anticipation of the August 18, 2012 home video release of The Hunger Games (details here), Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment have unveiled a trailer for the disc's bonus features. Check it out:

Here's a breakdown of all the bonus features:

• The World is Watching: Making of The Hunger Games: An eight-part documentary covering the "making of" the film in all aspects from the pre-production process all the way through the theatrical release and fan reactions


• Game Maker: Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Games Phenomenom


• Letters from the Rose Garden featurette: Insights from Donald Sutherland on the development of his role as President Snow


• Controlling the Games: Stories and concepts behind creating the control center


• A Conversation with Gary Ross and Elvis Mitchell


• Propaganda Film (in its entirety)


• Marketing Archive


• Both the DVD and Blu-ray include a Digital Copy


• Preparing for The Games: A Director's Process (Blu-ray Exclusive)

Suggested retail for the Blu-ray is $39.99. You can pre-order the Blu-ray on Amazon for $22.96. The DVD suggested retail is $30.98. Amazon's pre-order price for the DVD is currently set at $18.96.

Stay tuned for more news, and look for a Blu-ray review of The Hunger Games in August!

"May the odds be ever in your favor." Become a friend of R.L. Shaffer on Twitter, Facebook or MyIGN for quotes, rants, reviews, news and more!

Source : ign[dot]com

Nolan: No JLA Movie or Batman Reboot for Me

While doing press for the impending release of The Dark Knight Rises, director Christopher Nolan was asked if he was involved with Warner Bros.' planned Justice League of America movie.

"No, none at all," Nolan said, according to Entertainment Weekly. "We’re finished with all we’re doing with Batman. This is the end of our take on this character. ... I’ve got no plans to do anything more, and certainly, no involvement with any Justice League project."

This lack of any future involvement with Batman movies also extends to any potential reboot of the character, which contradicts past reports that he would essentially godfather the franchise's future.

"Obviously, Warners will have to decide in the future what they’re going to do with him," said Nolan, adding that he and his team have told the Batman story they wanted to tell and the character will live on for future filmmakers to interpret.

Source : ign[dot]com

Rambo Game Out This Year

The Rambo video game announced last year now has a title. It's called... Rambo: The Video Game. And it's due for release on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sometime later this year.

The game's being produced by UK-based publisher Reef Entertainment. Speaking last year, CEO of Reef Entertainment Peter Rezon said, "I am a big fan of Sylvester Stallone movies, and when we had the opportunity to secure the video game rights from StudioCanal for the Rambo franchise, we had to grab it with both hands."

So why it's been so long since we've heard anything on the project?

Reef's marketing boss Craig Lewis explained: “We have been quiet since we acquired the Rambo license last August. During this time we have been dedicated to creating a videogame for consoles and PC that will allow Rambo fans and gamers across the globe to really get under the skin of Rambo and wield his iconic weapon-set in battle.”

Rambo: The Video Game will be shown off for the first time at Gamescom next month. In the meantime, check out the game's new artwork. Helicopters and explosions!

Daniel is IGN's UK Games Writer. You can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 Delayed Until October

Eurogamer has reported that the release date for Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 has slipped.

According to its publisher Namco Bandai, the game will now be coming out for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on 9th October, not the previously-announced 21st August.

The game is the sequel to Sniper: Ghost Warrior which was an unexpected success, selling over two million copies.

Daniel is IGN's UK Games Writer. You can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

World of Goo Dev Names Next Game

World of Goo sure was a bizarre, adorable and entertaining little puzzle game, but since its release in 2008 we've been dying to find out what's next for developer 2D Boy. Well, the wait is almost over...kind of.

While 2D Boy isn't announcing a new title, Kyle Gabler, the co-founder of 2D Boy and designer of the acclaimed World of Goo, is working with a couple of gents under the name Tomorrow Corporation to release Little Inferno.

Details on Little Inferno aren't currently available, but the developer's blog says that this "strange new game" will be released "this winter on multiple platforms." The "first bits of real info" will apparently be posted on the blog in the coming days, so we will be checking back on the blog as more gameplay elements are detailed.

In all likelihood, though, with a name like Little Inferno, as well as a blog post that asks the question, "What would you most like to set on fire?," we can expect arson of some sort to factor into how this game plays.

Source : ign[dot]com

The Before Watchmen TV Commercial

This week sees the release of DC Comics' Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1, the first installment of DC's controversial Watchmen prequels. While I gave my first impressions of the #1s a few weeks ago (Minutemen was my favorite), this Wednesday I'll have the full review. However, to promote the release of the hyped project, DC debuted a new television commercial over at Entertainment Weekly that is scheduled to air this week.

Advertising comics on TV is hardly ever done these days, so it's nice to see DC taking the steps to reach a new audience instead of the same websites over and over again. More of this, please.

We also featured it on this week's Comics Run:

Whatever your opinion on Before Watchmen, expect to be hearing a lot of chatter about it come Wednesday's release.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/04/the-before-watchmen-tv-commercial

Watch: IGN's Chronicle Contest Winning Video

A couple of weeks ago, IGN hosted a short video contest in honor of Chronicle's Blu-ray and DVD release. Participants were asked to submit their own 30-90 second clips sharing something awesome they'd seen or showcasing their own superpower. Chronicle director Josh Trank would then select the winner, who would be flown out to Hollywood to meet Trank and receive some invaluable filmmaking advice as well as a Canon Digital SLR camera, zoom lens and portable audio recorder.

And now, Trank has chosen his favorite video: "'Scavenger Hunt' wins for sure," he said. "Like, by a mile. So good."

So there you have it! Congratulations to Samgoma and Samtubia Edwards, who directed the winning clip "Scavenger Hunt." Check out the video below, as well as the shortlist of other top contenders:

Shortlist of other top contenders:

For more, check out the official Chronicle Contest YouTube channel.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/04/watch-igns-chronicle-contest-winning-video

AU: Win a Men in Black 3 Sony Prize Pack!

To celebrate the release of Men in Black 3 on May 24, IGN Australia and Sony Pictures Australia are offering you the chance to win a sweet Sony prize pack including a Personal 3D Viewer, a Sony Tablet, a Men in Black 3 cap, a pair of Men in Black 3 wayfarer-style sunglasses, and a double-in season pass to see the movie.

For your chance to win, simply like us on our Facebook page, find the Men in Black 3 Prizes picture on our wall (or click this link) and post a hilarious caption in the comments section in 50 words or less.

The wittiest entries – judged, as always, by IGN AU's editorial staff - will win a prize. Our favourite entry will win the following major prize pack, while there are fifteen runner-up prizes to be won:

MAJOR PRIZE

• 1X Sony Personal 3D Viewer
• 1X Sony Tablet
• 1X double in-season pass to Men in Black 3

RUNNER UP PRIZES

• 1X double in-season pass to Men in Black 3
• 1X Men in Black 3 cap
• 1X Men in Black 3 wayfarer-style sunglasses

Entrants must be over 15 and residents of Australia. Check out more Men in Black 3 goodness at www.MenInBlack3.com.au

©2012 Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/21/au-win-a-men-in-black-3-sony-prize-pack

From Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel

Marvel is gearing up for the release of their new Captain Marvel ongoing series, starring none other than Carol Danvers as the titular hero, having taken up the mantle and left the Ms. Marvel moniker behind. Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick with art by Dexter Soy, Carol's new adventure kicks off with a team-up with Captain America.

Captain Marvel #1 is set to debut on July 18, with a regular cover by Ed McGuinness and a variant by Adi Granov.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/18/from-ms-marvel-to-captain-marvel

Worldwide Samsung Galaxy S III Pre-Orders Reach 9 Million

Samsung, the largest handset vendor in the world, is approaching the release of yet another extremely popular Android phone, the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S III.

According to the Korea Economic Daily, around 9 million pre-orders have been placed across 100 global carriers, excluding the United States where carriers have yet to be announced, reports Reuters. The device will launch in Germany on May 29, with additional territories receiving the phone over the course of the new few months. To keep up with the high demand, the company's South Korean factory has been working at full capacity to push out 5 million handsets per month.

The Galaxy S II reached 20 million units shipped during its first 10 months on the market, and over 4 million units of Apple's iPhone 4S were sold during its opening weekend.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/18/worldwide-samsung-galaxy-s-iii-pre-orders-reach-9-million

Darksiders 2 Release Date Announced Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

The release date of Darksiders 2 has been announced by THQ. You'll be able to play with Death as he journeys to save his brother's name on August 26,2012. 

THQ has a lot riding on the success of Darksiders 2, as the company recently layed off a slew off employees and the company's president took a 50 percent pay cut, signaling to investors a desire to be a lean, more focused company that puts out successful games.

THQ also announced that the game's been pre-ordered five times more than Darksiders, which is great considering the state of THQ right now.

Once we hear more news on Darksiders 2, we'll be sure to update you with the latest info. To make the wait go by faster, check out our latest Darksiders 2 hands-on preview.

Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/722915/darksiders-2-release-date-announced/

Guild Wars 2 Release Date Revealed? Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

According to an ad spotted by game blog Kotaku, Guild Wars 2's release date is June 28. Before you mark your calendar in pen though, the ad was supposedly spotted at a Fry's in Texas, and retailers are notorious for using estimated dates for retail products. So it's unconfirmed.

Developers NCsoft has this to say in a statement: 

"We have not released an official launch date within 2012 as feedback from our closed and open marketing betas will help us determine an exact release date. We will release Guild Wars 2 when it is ready."

So who's playing Guild Wars 2's beta (other than half of G4's office)?

Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723814/guild-wars-2-release-date-revealed/

Diablo 3 Error Message Blocks Out Game Access Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

Diablo 3 is here at last, but the release hasn't gone as smoothly as Blizzard would like thanks to some launch day hiccups in the form of an "Error 37" message. Some players are reporting (via Shacknews) that they're greeted with a message upon launching the game that reads: "The servers are busy at this time. Please try again later. (Error 37)"

An update from the developer on Battle.net confirms that the issue is related to the servers being slammed hard with the influx of new users. "Due to high concurrency the login servers are currently at full capacity. This may cause delays in the login process, account pages and web services. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience while this is being resolved." There are also apparently issues affecting character creation that Blizzard is looking into.

This is a huge launch and issues were to be expected. Kudos to Blizzard for getting out in front of it and commenting quickly. How has your first-time Diablo 3 experience been so far? Is the game working fine? Running into these issues or any others? Let us know!

Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723780/diablo-3-error-message-blocks-out-game-access/

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier 'Arctic Strike' DLC Deploys This Summer Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

Ubisoft's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier hits stores on May 22, 2012, but the publisher is already looking ahead to the game's first DLC release with the reveal of the "Arctic Strike" pack. The July 3 release will set you back $9.99 (or 800 MS Points on Xbox Live), adding an assortment of multiplayer-oriented content to the game.

Like what, you ask? The press release offers no specifics, but you can definitely look forward to running your Future Soldier forces through new multiplayer maps, a new multiplayer mode, a new Guerilla mode map (think Horde), and six new weapons. It's a safe bet that much of this content will revolve around cold weather conditions, given the DLC's title. Should be a nice break from early July's hot summer weather.

For more on the game's multiplayer, check out our latest Ghost Recon: Future Soldier preview.


Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723697/ghost-recon-future-soldier-arctic-strike-dlc-deploys-this-summer/

Dishonored debuts October 9

October lost a major release yesterday when BioShock Infinite was delayed to next year, but it gained one right back today. Bethesda Softworks this morning announced that it would launch Dishonored in North America on October 9, with an Australian release October 11 and a European debut following October 12.

Boom goes the dynamite on October 9.

Set for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, Dishonored is a first-person action game that puts players in the boots of Corvo, an assassin tasked with protecting the empress of a stylized steampunk city known as Dunwall. However, the empress is soon murdered with Corvo framed for the killing, and sinister forces grant the accused assassin supernatural abilities to pursue his revenge.

Dishonored is being developed by Arkane Studios with co-creative directors Raphael Colantonio and Harvey Smith at the helm. Colantonio was lead designer and director on Arkane's first title, the 2002 role-playing game Arx Fatalis, while Smith made his name as lead designer for Ion Storm's influential first-person action game Deus Ex. Beyond Arx Fatalis, Arkane also handled the original PC version of Ubisoft's Dark Messiah of Might and Magic in 2006. More recently, Arkane assisted 2K Marin with BioShock 2.

For more on Dishonored, check out GameSpot's latest preview.




Source : http://gamespot.com/news/dishonored-debuts-october-9-6376063

Sons Of Anarchy Creator Reveals Console Game Plans Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

The previously mentioned possibility of a video game based on FX's biker gang series, Sons of Anarchy, looks to be moving forward for a console release, as confirmed by the show's creator, Kurt Sutter, on Twitter. Sutter writes in a new tweet that he "had a great meeting with a big distributor" and that he along with "everyone at FX and Fox is committed to making this happen."

This whole affair started back in February 2012 when the outspoken Sutter mentioned on Twitter that he was going to be taking meetings for a possible game adapation of the FX series. The plan at the time was for a "high-end browser game" since, as he put it, "to do a quality [console] platform-based game costs tens of millions and takes years." If I had to guess, I'd say that someone set him straight at the aforementioned meetings on the reach of a console game versus a browser game.



It's still very early on in the planning process, but Sutter confirmed his commitment to doing a proper console game in a subsequent tweet. "Yes, we definitely wanna do a REAL game. Console based. Not some slapcrap browser MP thing. It'll take awhile, but it's the right way to go," he wrote.

He had nothing to say about what fans might expect from the Sons game, though yet another tweet nods to another recently released title with ties to a popular cable TV series: The Walking Dead. Sutter wasn't a fan, explaining that he "really wanted to love it... but it felt rushed and a bit unsatisfying" without showrunner Glen Mazzara's "magic touch." Whether or not his words are an indication that the Sons game won't be going in an adventure game direction is anyone's guess, but it's all we have to go on right now.

Regardless, a proper biker gang game of some kind would be pretty nifty, and all the better if it's one that let's you cruise around the streets of Charming in a SAMCRO kutte. Aren't Deep Silver and Eutechnyx working on a open-world biker game, Ride to Hell? Since, like, forever? Wouldn't it be sweet if that project magically transformed into a Sons of Anarchy game?


Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723654/sons-of-anarchy-creator-reveals-console-game-plans/

BioShock Infinite Release Delayed To February 2013 Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

The planned October 16, 2012 release of BioShock Infinite has been pushed back to February 26, 2013, a message from Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine confirms. He explains that the delay will give the dev team the time that they need to polish everything up and make sure it all works as it should. It also means that we won't be seeing the game at this year's summer trade shows; Levine specifically names E3 and Gamescom as being off the table.

It's a bummer to be sure, but I think we can all agree that we'd rather see BioShock Infinite arrive late and whole than on time and unfinished. The coming holiday 2012 season is jam-packed with some huge titles, so it's not like we'll be wanting for things to play. You can find the full message from Levine reprinted after the jump.

A MESSAGE FROM KEN LEVINE

When we announced the release date of BioShock Infinite in March, we felt pretty good about the timing.

Since then, we’ve come to realize that some specific tweaks and improvements will make Infinite into something even more extraordinary. Therefore, to give our talented team the time they need, we’ve decided to move the game’s release to February 26, 2013. We wanted to let our loyal (and very patient!) fans know this as soon as possible.

I won’t kid you: BioShock Infinite is a very big game, and we’re doing things that no one has ever done in a first-person shooter. We had a similar experience with the original BioShock, which was delayed several months as our original ship date drew near. Why? Because the Big Daddies weren’t the Big Daddies you’ve since come to know and love. Because Andrew Ryan’s golf club didn’t have exactly the right swing. Because Rapture needed one more coat of grimy Art Deco.

The same principle now applies to BioShock Infinite.

What does this mean for you? It means a bit more waiting, but more importantly, it means an even better BioShock Infinite. The great can be made greater, and we owe it to both ourselves and to you, our fans, to take this opportunity. Irrational Games is one of those rare developers lucky enough to ask the people who sign the checks: “Hey, can we have a few more of those checks?”

We are also going to hold off on showing BioShock Infinite at the big events of the summer, like E3 and Gamescom. That way, the next time you see our game, it will be essentially the product we intend to put in the box. Preparing for these events takes time away from development, time we’re going to use instead to get the best version of Infinite into your hands in February.

Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723606/bioshock-infinite-release-delayed-to-february-2013/