Adam Creighton, Computer and Video Gaming: 08/01/2004

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Adam Creighton, Computer and Video Gaming (Subscribe)

Monday, August 30, 2004

Voice Acting updates, MK/UC crossover, Acclaim slips a little more

1. Voice acting updates in video games
2. Other video game stars join BloodRayne in Playboy
3. Mortal Kombat/Unreal Championship 2 crossover?
4. Intec announces wireless arcade sticks
5. Empower distributing Spherex's Xbox 5.1 speaker set
6. Plantronics announces customized Halo 2 headset
7. Majesco names Carl Yankowski CEO
8. Acclaim stocks drop to $0.10, trading way up
9. New Releases

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NEWS:
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1. Voice acting updates in video games
* Big names are getting back into video game voice acting, with some recent notable announcements:
- Men of Valor (VU Games): Sean Astin (Rudy, The Lord of the Rings trilogy)
- Area 51 (Midway): Developed by Inevitable Entertainment in Austin, Midway recently announced the remake of Area 51 will sport David Duchovny as lead Ethan Cole, Texas-native-turned-character-actor Powers Boothe as Cole's commanding officer, and in the most surprising move, shock rocker Marilyn Manson as Edgar (the gray alien).
- NARC (Midway): Star power includes Bill Bellamy (Any Given Sunday), Michael Madsen (Kill Bill Vol. 2, Atari's recent and critically maligned Driv3r), Ron Perlman (Hellboy), and Michael Wincott (The Crow). Midway stole Atari's marketing pipeline to the stars, Steve Allison, at the beginning of this year, and it seems to be paying off.
- The Punisher (THQ): Despite a poor showing at the box office, Punisher film star Thomas Jane will voice the video game likeness, which is thankfully based on the comic book, not the movie.
- X-Men: Legends (Activision): Patrick Stewart will reprise his movie role as Charles Xavier for the upcoming RPG incarnation of everyone's favorite mutie team.
- Brothers in Arms (Ubisoft): A little closer to home, I'll be auditioning for Plano-based Gearbox Software's entry to original WWII gaming. This is the game that allegedly gave Steve Spielberg pause at this year's E3, and is the only game (to my knowledge) endorsed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Foundation, so wish me luck.

2. Other video game stars join BloodRayne in Playboy
* In addition to the upcoming topless Rayne in October's issue of Playboy, the magazine confirmed the addition of Mileena (Mortal Kombat), Nina (Tekken), Luba Licious (Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude), the Kurenai (Red Ninja: End of Honor), and Darkwatch's Tala. Other than Rayne and Luba Licious, the other game publishers have decided to not showcase their characters in the nude.
* Are we going backwards here as we put video game geeks that much further away from seeing an actual naked woman?

3. Mortal Kombat/Unreal Championship 2 crossover?
* Now that Midway is publishing the next entry into the Unreal universe with the XBox-Exclusive Unreal Champtionship 2: The Liandri Conflict, fans received a surprise in the latest game trailer. The movie finishes out with promises of "special guest appearances from another realm....", and the Mortal Kombat dragon symbol. I've got chills -- anyone else? No? Then you're probably reading the wrong newsletter ...

4. Intec announces wireless arcade sticks
* Wireless gear keeps getting better, with Intec , Inc. announcing 2.4Ghz full-on arcade tablet for XBox. The unit sports that all-important auto-shutoff after 5 minutes of inactivity.

5. Empower distributing Spherex's Xbox 5.1 speaker set
* At least Spherex now has a distributer! These bad boys look incredible, and OXM has been waiting to do a full review (coming in the October issue) so we can find out how they sound. Empower Technologies, Inc. says they'll ship the speakers to retailers in Q4 of this year.

6. Plantronics announces customized Halo 2 headset
* After announcing the GameCom X10 and X20 Xbox Live headsets a couple of weeks ago, Plantronics has announced a custom Halo 2 XBox Live headset. The unit is lightweight, fits over one ear, and for $49.95 MSRP you get the Halo Logo and green that'll match that Halo-branded Xbox you also paid too much for.
*http://media.teamxbox.com/dailyposts/hardware/halo2headset.jpg

7. Majesco names Carl Yankowski CEO
* Moving from prolific publishing nobody to publishing powerhouse, Majesco Games has some hot properties, and recently brought in big-gun Carl Yankowski to help them deliver. Yankowski brings with him 30+ years of experience with companies like 3Com/Palm, Sony Electronics, General Electric, Pepsi-Cola, and Procter & Gamble.
* Upcoming Majesco properties include BloodRayne 2, Guilty Gear X2 #Reload, Advent Rising, and the oft-orphaned and weirdly cool Psychonauts.

8. Acclaim stocks drop to $0.10, trading way up
* Still in imminent danger of being de-listed from NASDAQ, shares dropped from $0.19 a share to $0.10, while trading for the week jumped from 3 million shares Wednesday and Thursday to 20 million shares Friday.

9. New Releases

August 29
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* Cabela's Deer Hunt 2005 Season (Sports)
* Carmen Sandiego: The Secret of the Stolen Drums (Strategy)
* Digimon Rumble Arena 2 (Action)
* ESPN NHL 2K5 (Sports)
* The Guy Game (Puzzle)
* NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup (Driving)
* Pro Fishing Challenge (Sports)
* Street Racing Syndicate (Driving)
* Vietcong: Purple Haze (Action)
* Wings of War

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SOURCES: Gamespot.com, joystiq.com, kotaku.com, Xbox.com, IGN, GameInformer, Official XBox Magazine, CNN, gamesindustry.biz, and others.

Sunday, August 22, 2004

No Halo 2 demo yet, gaming girls in Playboy, Non-plussed Nintendo patent

1. August 24 has come and gone
2. Fable golden, Exclusive review available Friday
3. Get ready for the BloodRayne 2 blitz
4. Ghost Recon 2 to be 2 different games
5. 'Tis a good time for 2D fighters
6. Microsoft to host World Cup FIFA Soccer
7. High-tech Euro dogfighter coming to U.S.
8. Plantronics announces new XBox Live Headsets
9. Acclaim to be delisted
10. Nielsen eyeing NPD's game-data
11. Nintendo patent revealed
12. New Releases

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NEWS:
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1. August 24 has come and gone
* For Halo 2 hopefuls, August 24th was supposed to be ... something. Well, it's come and gone, and the ilovebees.com viral marketing website has finished its countdown, and links now to a bunch of nonsensical .wav files.
* The Holiday preview issue of OXM hit stands, and not only does it not have a Halo 2 demo, it doesn't even have the expected demo disc with holiday titles!
* Viral marketing and Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are supposed to hype a product, but in this case, a bunch o' Halo fans are pissed, and sounding off around the 'Net.

2. Fable golden, Exclusive review available Friday
* The RPG-that-Would-be-King was certified gold, and is on schedule to be in stores on Sept. 14. TeamXBox.com will have a world-exclusive online review on the website Friday, August 27, and noon CST.
* Probably the most ambitious RPG to date (independent of platform), the XBox-exclusive, while published by Microsoft, is being deeply overshadowed by the publisher's marquee title, Halo 2. Not representative by any sense, but a local GameStop that has received 500+ orders for Halo 2, which ships November 9, hasn't broken 100 on the Fable preorder.

3. Get ready for the BloodRayne 2 blitz
* I'm all for intelligent, coordinated marketing for a great game (Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay), but Majesco's sequel looks to do some weirdness on the multi-marketing front:
- Cover of play magazine: A little racy, but a gaming and pop culture magazine, so we're good.
- MTV2: "Video Mods", the show that matches video-game footage to music video tracks, will showcase the titular character and her supporting cast against "Everybody's Fool" by Evanescence. The show airs September 18 at 8:30pm CST.
- Playboy magazine: Seriously. Rayne gets a spread in what the magazine touts as "a first in videogame history and trust us when we say that Rayne does not disappoint." Yeah, but why?

4. Ghost Recon 2 to be 2 different games
* In an interesting departure from same-platform sequels, publisher Ubisoft announced Ghost Recon 2 will be set in 2014 on the PC and XBox, but will be a 7-year-earlier prequel on the GameCube and Playstation 2, with "related story line and characters".

5. 'Tis a good time for 2D fighters
* After the "meh" reception of Marvel vs. Capcom and coulda-woulda-shoulda response to SNK vs. Capcom, things are looking good on the 2D fighter front. Ignition Entertainment is releasing King Of Fighters 2000 and King Of Fighters 2001 in a double pack. Majesco Games is releasing Guilty Gear X2 #Reload next month, and Sammy's Guilty Gear Isuka will hit Japanese Boxes this winter, likely meaning a stateside release isn't that far off. The best part? Full-on XBox live support for both Guilty Gear titles.

6. Microsoft to host World Cup FIFA Soccer
* Besides being a sponsor for the 2006 World Cup (qualifying matches are under way), Microsoft is taking advantage of its recent XBox Live partnership with Electronic Arts. When FIFA Soccer 2005 launches in October, game- and Live-owners will be able to register for a world-wide tourney, with 8 regional finals on 6 continents. The North American final will be in New York City.

7. High-tech Euro dogfighter coming to U.S.
* Yager, a futuristic flight shooter (no, not Chuck Yeager) that's getting higher scores than Halo overseas, is coming stateside, a la Kemco Games. More combat than sim, the almost-mech fighters have "jetmode" and "hovermode" operations, and feature sky-high and ground-hugging dogfighting. Though there's no XBox Live functionality, the game is expected to retail around the $20 price point, and is touted as having some of the slickest graphics available on XBox.

8. Plantronics announces new XBox Live Headsets
* The X10 and X20 have been announced for gamer's choice of behind the head or over-the-ear, with better comfort, sound, and pickup.

9. Acclaim to be delisted
* Having run out of runway, Acclaim Studios announced NASDAQ has begun the delisting process. Acclaim did say they are close to securing new funding, so things may turnaround.
* Acclaim Studios Austin is the development house responsible for the pending Juiced, The Red Star, and 100 Bullets.

10. Nielsen eyeing NPD's game-data
* It was inevitable. After announcing a partnership with Activision in April where Nielsen would do stats tracking on in-video game advertising, logos, and miscellaneous branding, rumor has it parent company VNU is eyeing the NPD Group -- who, despite not having access to #1 retailer Wal-Mart's sales figures, is the only player world wide for comprehensive computer and video game stats tracking.
* Nielsen said they were indeed considering NPD Group as an asset, and could envision additional services based on the data, like more efficient ways to market games.
* I told you in April, didn't I? Here comes the commercial, there goes the art ...

11. Nintendo patent revealed
* Ah, big government. Turns out the patent that raised all sorts of rumors was one that was filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office in 1999, and didn't see the light of day until last week. The patent is for the N64's online peripheral that received so little interest it was almost immediately canceled.

12. New Releases

August 22
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* Ghost Master (Strategy)
* Terminator 3: The Redemption (Action)
* Test Drive: Eve of Destruction (Driving/Demolition)

August 29
--------------------
* Cabela's Deer Hunt 2005 Season (Sports)
* Carmen Sandiego: The Secret of the Stolen Drums (Strategy)
* Digimon Rumble Arena 2 (Action)
* ESPN NHL 2K5 (Sports)
* The Guy Game (Puzzle)
* NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup (Driving)
* Pro Fishing Challenge (Sports)
* Street Racing Syndicate (Driving)
* Vietcong: Purple Haze (Action)
* Wings of War (Flight Simulation)

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SOURCES: Gamespot.com, TeamXBox.com, XBox.com, IGN, GameInformer, GMR, Official XBox Magazine, CNN, Anime Insider, Surge, gamesindustry.biz