On Wonderland is a pie chart showing the MMOG market share for June 2006, and boy oh boy, the results are quite fascinating. It’s no secret that World of Warcraft is immensely popular, but just how popular is it? Well, it controls over half the market, coming in at 52%; the closest competitor is Lineage at 12%. Both Star Wars Galaxies and EverQuest are doing bad, but it’s surprising to see Disney’s Toontown do so well against older rivals.
As with all big-budget upcoming games, TimeShift has gotten a star-studded voice cast of its own, including Michael Ironside, the man behind Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell. Hollywood stars Dennis Quaid and Nick Chinlund will also add their voice talents to the upcoming time-shifting FPS.
TimeShift’s lead character, Colonel Michael Swift, will be voiced by Dennis Quaid, who has worked on movies such as Frequency, Inner Space and Traffic. Best known for his role in Con Air, Training Day and The Chronicles of Riddick films, Nick Chunland will voice General Mitchell - the military overseer for Project TimeShift. Finally, Michael Ironside, the man behind Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher, will be the voice of scientist Professor Krone. Ironside is also well-known for his many television roles on hits like ER and Desperate Housewives, as well many films such as Total Recall, Starship Troopers and Top Gun.
In development at Saber Interactive, TimeShift is scheduled for worldwide release this September on PC and Xbox 360.
These have shipped:
- Civilization IV: Warlords
- CivCity: Rome
- Miami Vice (PSP)
- Birth of America
- Darkstar One
- Distant Guns
First up, the demos:
- Call of Juarez on 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, Computer Games, FileFront, FileShack, Gamer’s Hell, VGPRO and Worthplaying
- Ninety-Nine Nights (Xbox 360)
Activision has had a special agreement with Marvel to make games on its comics (and movie) properties through 2009. This included Iron Man, but according to Gamespot, it is no more.
The site, after the teaser poster (pictured right) for the upcoming Iron Man movie was released, contacted Activision regarding the movie-game adaptation and landed with some surprising information from a company rep: “[we] no longer retain the rights.” He did not say why the rights lapsed, or which publisher had picked up the rights, but a response from Marvel came to the rescue: “Expect an announcement this Fall.” No other details are known at this point other than the fact that the Iron Man movie is scheduled for release on May 2, 2008.
THQ has revealed that it has cancelled the Xbox 360 version of The Sopranos game. Previously announced for PS2, PS3 and Microsoft’s next-gen console, the mafia game is now a PS2 exclusive scheduled to hit stores later this year.
As for Scarface, Vivendi today announced that a PSP game based on the classic film will be released later this year. Dubbed Scarface: Money. Power. Respect., the game is in development at Farsight Studios, and unlike Radical Entertainment’s upcoming console game, the handheld offering will combine turn-based strategy with real-time combat.
The game will parallel the events of the movie, taking a different approach than The World is Yours. It will offer a single-player campaign as well as four-player wireless matches when it ships this October.
Two Wii rumors have been churned out of the mill today. The first one comes from Comic-Con, with an “unnamed” insider saying that Nintendo might make *big* announcements at the Leipzig Games Convention, which runs from August 24-27. No other details were provided, though everyone is expecting the company to reveal its online plans, among other things.
The second one comes from Kotaku: “Sources tell me that Nintendo is planning on showing the Wii around in the time leading up to the launch of the next-gen console. Rumor has it that the console will be launching on a big-ass, cross-country tour this fall, pre-launch, to bring Nintendo’s flavor of games to the people.”
The validity of these claims is still being challenged, though none can be totally written off.
Besides offering word that Call of Juarez is headed to “a next-generation console” in 2007, Techland announced that the Wild West FPS has also received a delay to the PC version. Improvements are cited as the reason for the delay, with their release stating that optimizations for Windows Vista are being integrated into the game.
The PC version is now expected to be released simultaneously with the console version; Europe’s release date remains the same.
Sony has updated the PSP’s firmware again, adding the ability to download video and image content through RSS feeds, among other things. Besides stopping the use of homebrew applications, the new v2.80 firmware update also lets users register devices with a wireless LAN access point, play AAC files with the 3.gp file extension, and play video and audio content saved in any folder on the Memory Stick.
With the release of the new firmware, Sony is offering a demo for World Tour Soccer 06. Unfortunately for users of previous firmware, the demo is exclusive to v2.80 and will not run on any other older revision.
Thanks to Gamasutra’s recent visit to China, the Xbox 360’s piracy situation has come to light. According to this article, the author discovered that game piracy for the next-gen console is “spreading notably” throughout the country, with at least one vendor offering a Xbox 360 game for $3.5 US.
The author tracks it back to a March 2006 event where hackers managed to flash changes to the firmware of the console’s DVD drive, allowing it to run unsigned code. Pirates in the region are basically exploiting this function, allowing for pirates copies of Xbox 360 games to be openly sold in stores. However, it is still low thanks to the high cost of the console, as compared to PS2 and Xbox, relative to average Chinese salaries.
Apparently, many individuals and stores are offering to flash the console’s BIOS to allow piracy. Large selections of pirated Xbox 360 games are also available, including Ninety-Nine Nights, Project Gotham Racing 3 and Fight Night Round 3, according to the article.
The trillionth Sims 2 expansion was announced today, and this time the geniuses at EA came up with the idea of letting players have… pets (finally)! The Sims 2 Pets will let players get their oh-so-lovable Sims pets - be it dogs, cats, guinea pigs or parrots - on PC, PS2, PSP, GBA, DS and Gamecube, with each platform featuring exclusive content.
The addition of a new friend is guaranteed to enrich the daily lives of your Sims! Not only will players have the opportunity to choose from a variety of existing breeds, and hot designer mixes, but they’ll also be able to personally design their new friend with the Create-a-Pet feature. The ability to customise gives fans the opportunity to create their ideal pet by choosing their body shape, unique markings, even their pet’s personalities! With so many different animals to choose from, there’s no telling what unpredictable experiences could occur!Players will also be able to teach their pet new tricks, take them for a romp in the park, outfit them with new pet accessories and even give them a job! As in real life, your Sims’ pet will require care and training. A neglected cat with an urge to scratch might claw up your new couch if you aren’t careful, and leaving your dog unattended near a freshly planted flower bed probably isn’t wise!
Screenshots and a video can be found on the game’s official product section.
Detailed platform-specific features can be found just after the jump.
(more…)
From Microsoft comes word that Dino Danger Pack for Zoo Tycoon 2 has been released. A downloadable content pack, Dino Danger offers players the option to build a Jurassic-themed zoo, letting them choose from four new dinosaurs: Carnotaurus, Styracosaurus, Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The pack also offers new challenges, as well as new objects including electric fences. Interested players can download the premium pack for $5 in North America and £3 in Europe.
Confirming our previous story, EA has officially announced The Rise of the Witch-king, an expansion to The Battle for Middle-earth II that was revealed some time ago. In addition to offering a completely new single-player campaign, the expansion will add new units for all six existing factions, as well as let players explore the evil side of Middle-earth.
The all new single player campaign’s innovative units will help to tell the story of the evil Witch-king’s rise to power, domination of Angmar and invasion of the great kingdom of Arnor, home to Aragorn’s ancestors. To fully experience the evil side of Middle-earth, gamers can now play as the Angmar faction in skirmish, multiplayer, and War of the Ring modes.Experience a whole new depth of strategy and upgraded War of the Ring and Create-A-Hero features. Create-A-Hero’s entirely unique Troll class boasts additional weapons and armor that will allow players to have even more freedom in customizing their game play. War of the Ring, a risk-style meta-game, offers upgraded army persistence, a new siege dynamic on the Living World Map, and unified territories that serve as major control points.
The Rise of the Witch-king is scheduled for release this Winter and will require an original copy of Battle for Middle-earth II to be played.
The sequel to Microsoft’s party game Fuzion Frenzy will be making its way to store shelves this Christmas. In development at Hudson, Fuzion Frenzy 2 is a party game for the Xbox 360 set in space, combining arcade action, mini-games, tournament modes, and custom tailored games with online features.
Players will be able to create their own unique games that can be shared via Xbox Live. Gamers will also be able to use tournament cards that are either own or given out to defeat opponents in rank. Over forty mini-games will be in the game, along with tournament modes such as Collision Collusion, Turbine Jumper and Super Slam Dunk.
Ubisoft has pushed back the release of three of its big titles: Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Dark Messiah of Might & Magic and the PC edition of Resident Evil 4. The publisher revealed this through its financial statements, stating that Sam Fisher’s next adventure, previously scheduled for September, can be experienced by gamers late October.
Those looking for the action title in the M&M universe will also have to wait till October; as for Resident Evil 4, no release date was provided and an official representative couldn’t say why the game is in limbo.
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