Halo Film Officially Postponed
October 31, 2006
Microsoft and Peter Jackson’s Wingnut Films representatives have confirmed that production on the Halo film has been officially postponed after suffering financial setbacks shortly after Microsoft’s recent X06 press event. Those setbacks came less than two weeks ago, when it was reported that both Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox had backed out of the project citing budget concerns, with costs for the film apparently exceeding the film’s already substantial allocated budget of $135 million.
Microsoft responded by stating its firm commitment to and backing of the project The company has maintained its “goal remains the same - to find a partner that shares our passion and will creatively collaborate with us to best represent the story and spirit of the Halo franchise, and promised it was “already in discussions with potential partners who recognize the value of the 
Halo brand and its appeal to consumers worldwide.”
In a joint statement from Microsoft and Wingnut Films the outlook for the film does not look as promising:
“As was previously confirmed, we deeply regret that both Universal and Fox did not choose to move forward with financing the Halo film under the original terms of the agreement. At this time Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with their partner, Microsoft, have mutually agreed to postpone making a feature film based on the Halo video game universe until we can fulfill the promise we made to millions of Halo fans throughout the world that we would settle for no less than bringing a first class film to the big screen.
We are fully supportive of Director Neill Blomkamp’s vision of the film. Neill is a tremendously gifted filmmaker and his preliminary work on Halo is truly awe-inspiring. While it will undoubtedly take a little longer for Halo to reach the big screen, we are confident that the final feature film will be well worth the wait.”
Sony Announces PlayStation Downloads
October 30, 2006
On Saturday, Sony revealed what downloads will be available through the PlayStation Store on November 11th, as well as downloads that will be out by the end of the year. In addition, Sony said it plans to add 10 PS1 titles each month, none of which are projected to carry a price tag of more than $14.99.
Blast Factor, flOw, Lemmings, Kazuo, Puzzle, and Mainichi Issho will all be available by the end of the year; all are downloadable. All of the games, not incuding Mainichi Issho, will have free demos from day one. Blast Factor and Minichi Issho will be available as full game downloads on the 11th, and, other than Minichi Issho, which will be free, no other prices have been announced at this time.
Ridge Racer 7 is the only confirmed game demo for November 11th, and Motorstorm will be up on the 17th. Both will be free.
In November, Sony will also begin offering PS1 games to download off the store. These games will only be playable on a PSP until the emulators are available, but once they are, one download of any given title will allow it to be played on both the PS3 system and the PSP. These are the first PS1 titles to be available:
Resident Evil Director’s Cut
Konami Antiques MSX Collection Vol.1
Konami Antiques MSX Collection Vol.2
Bishi Bashi Special
Arc the Lad (pictured)
Jumping Flash
Minna no Golf 2
Silent Bomber
Tekken 2
Mister Driller
Recalls and PS3 Start-up Hit Sony in the Pocket
October 26, 2006
Due to fallout from its global laptop battery recall and start-up costs for the PS3, Sony has announced the company’s fiscal results for the three months ending September 30th, showing an expected poor result. The company’s group net profit for the quarter was $14.3 million, 
down from $240.2 million at the same time last year. The recall of 9.6 million batteries alone cost the company $429.9 million, preventing Sony from enjoying any benefit from an 8% rise in sales to $15.59 billion. Research and development, manufacturing, and marketing costs in connection to the PS3 launch contributed heavily to Sony’s games division reporting a $366.6 million loss; operating revenue were down by 20.5% (to $1.43 billion).
PS2 and PSP prices were dropped due to a decrease in hardware sales worldwide. Software sales also decreased overall, even though PSP sales were up on the previous year. Worldwide hardware shipments during the quarter were put at 5.02 million for the PlayStation 2 (up 0.01 million) and 3.89 million for the PSP (up 0.14 million). The company recently cut its shipment targets for the PSP from 12 to 9 million. Software shipments for the PS2 were 47 million units (down from 50 million) and 12.9 million units (up from 9 million) for the PSP. These poor results have forced Sony to revise its fiscal year profit forecasts up to March 2007, down 38% $674 million, a decrease of 35% on fiscal 2005 results. Sales, are expected to increase by 10% to $69.34 billion.
Sony Refutes Lik-Sang
October 25, 2006
Responding to a press announcement made yesterday by Lik-Sang that blamed Sony’s legal action for its closing, Sony has countered the notion that they are responsible for the closing the online retailer. Sony claims that Lik-Sang didn’t show at court and has yet to suffer any legal costs. Sony did, however, make it clear that they have won substantial costs that have yet to be paid, and they are quick to note that they have no hand in the closing of the online store. Sony has also responded to the list of SCEE executives, released by Lik-Sang, who had allegedly bought imported PSP’s from the site. Sony stated that the list of Sony execs that are claimed to have imported PSP’s should never have been released, as it is an infringement on “data protection principles across the world.”
Sony has issued the following official statement:
“Sony Computer Entertainment successfully sued Pacific Game Technology (Holding) Limited (one of who’s company trading names is Lik Sang.com) for infringing our Intellectual Property rights. Lik Sang did not contest this case (ie. they did not turn up and therefore incurred no legal costs). We have been awarded substantial costs against Lik Sang which have not been paid. We would therefore strongly deny that our actions have had anything to do with this website closing (we assume the legal entity is still trading) and would suggest that this release is sour grapes on behalf of Lik Sang which is aimed to belittle Sony Computer Entertainment and the British judicial system that ruled against them.”
More Wii Titles from Zoo Digital
October 24, 2006
Zoo Digital has four Wii games on tap for release on 2007: Toot & Puddle, Sea Monsters, Balls of Fury (my old nickname) and a seemimgly dual-game package that includes Chicken Shoot and Egg Catcher. What else will Zoo Digital be releasing next year, you ask? The list is as follows:
• Actua Pool - DS
• Hot Wheels Ultimate Racing - PSP
• Princess Natasha ‘Student-Secret Agent-Princess’ - DS
• Uno/Skipbo/Uno Freefall Compilation - DS
• March of the Penguins - GBA/DS
• Another World - GBA
• Chicken Shoot + Egg Catcher - DS/Wii
• Hot Wheels All Out - GBA
• Harlem Globetrotters World Tour - DS
• Freedom Wings - DS
• Wiffle Ball Advance - DS
• Uno 52 - DS/GBA
• Uno Freefall - GBA
• Frisbee Freestyle/Frisbee Golf - DS
• B-17 Fortress in the Sky - DS
• Toot & Puddle (Call of the North) - GBA/DS/Wii
• Sea Monsters (Natinal Geographic) - DS/PS2/Wii
• Balls of Fury - DS/Wii
• Barbie Compilation - GBA
• Lionel Trains “On Track” - DS
Legal Woes With Sony Shut Down Lik-Sang
Lik-sang, the Hong Kong gaming retailer and video game importer, has been forced to shut down after multiple legal actions were brought against it by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Sony claimed the retailer and importer infringed PSP trade marks, copyright, and registered design rights by selling the handheld from Asia to European customers. Sony recently obtained a judgment in the High Court of London, England, rendering Lik-Sang’s sales of PSP unlawful.
Posted on Lik-Sang’s web site in a press release was the following: “As of today, Lik-Sang.com will not be in the position to accept any new orders and will cancel and refund all existing orders that have already been placed. Furthermore, Lik-Sang is working closely with banks and PayPal to refund any store credits held by the company, and the customer support department is taking care of any open transactions such as pending RMAs or repairs and shipping related matters. The staff of Lik-Sang will make sure that nobody will get hurt in the crossfire of this ordeal.”
“Today is Sony Europe[’s] victory about PSP, tomorrow is Sony Europe’s ongoing pressure about PlayStation 3. With this precedent set, next week could already be the stage for complaints from Sony America about the same thing, or from other console manufacturers about other consoles to other regions, or even from any publisher about any specific software title to any country they don’t see fit,” said Pascal Clarysse, former marketing manager of Lik-sang. “Blame it on Sony. That’s the latest dark spot in their shameful track record as gaming industry leader. The Empire finally ‘won’; a few dominating retailers from the UK probably will rejoice the news, but everybody else in the gaming world lost something today.”
The Latest PS3 Details from Sony’s Gamer’s Day
October 23, 2006
- Talladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby will ship with the first 500,000 PS3 consoles
- 20 launch titles confirmed, some of which are in 1080p
- PS3 hard drive can store and play HD movies directly
- AC cord, USB mini-cable, and multi-AV cable included
- No HD cables included
- No Blu-ray remote included
- Sixaxis controller will be shipped with console. In connection to concern over the longevity of the lithium-ion batteries, a Sony spokesperson promised, “The latest generation of Lithium Polymer batteries hardly suffer any memory effect at all, so it’ll be many years before there’s any degradation in terms of battery performance. When and if this happens, then of course we will be providing a service to exchange these items.”
- 1st party PS3 games - $59.99
- extra Sixaxis controllers - $49.99
- Memory card reader - $14.99
- Blu-ray remote (to be released this winter) - $24.99
- Resistance: Fall of Man – 16 GB, 720 p - not 22 GB, 1920 x 1080
- PS3 does not upconvert DVD over any connection
- PS3 will not enhance PS1 or PS2 games
- 400,000 is a “target” for the North American launch that very well may not be reached. “Clearly, we’ve had production issues,” conceded Jack Tretton, Sony co-chairman.
- No Gamer Scores for PS3. “It’s very difficult to draw analogies [between] your success on SOCOM and your success on Madden. Madden players care about peoples’ success on Madden.”
- Online multiplayer modes of PS3 games will cost money only if developers choose to charge for them; Sony won’t charge for their games. Multiplayer modes of Resistance, which supports up to 40 gamers online, will be free.
- Genji (pictured) is ready to be manufactured, making it one of the PS3’s first finished works.
- PS3’s online store will allow gamers to purchase and download trailers, demos, and add-ons for already-owned games. Debuting at the event were flOw and Blast Factor, an aquatic, bird’s-eye-view shooter game. Waves of enemies floating toward the player can be sloshed to one side with a tilted jerk of the PS3’s motion-sensitive controller.
- Orchestra tuning hums when PS3 is turned on.
Sony’s PS3 Launch Lineup
October 20, 2006
At yesterday’s SCEA gamers day event, Sony unveiled 21 video game titles to be launched on November 17, the console’s highly anticipated release date. Sony also revealed details of games set for release on its e-distribution service; Blast Factor is already on the launch list, and Go! Sudoku, Go!, Swizzleblock 2, Cash Carnage Chaos, Lemmings 2 and Criminal Crackdown are confirmed to be heading for the service. Sony says that a demo of next-gen racer Motorstorm will be available for download at launch, and the first 500,000 units sold in the US will come with a pack in Blu-ray movie, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Ready to launch:
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
Call of Duty 3
EA Sports Fight Night Round 3
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
F.E.A.R.
Full Auto 2: Battlelines
Genji: Days of the Blade
Madden NFL 07
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire
NBA 07NBA 2K7
Need For Speed Carbon
NHL 2K7
Resistance: Fall of Man
Ridge Racer 7
Sonic the Hedgehog
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
Tony Hawk’s Project 8
Untold Legends Dark Kingdom
Wait, no Tekken???
Nielsen Gets into Gaming
October 19, 2006
Nielsen Media Research announced yesterday plans to launch GamePlay Metrics, which is designed to give the video game industry a precise system of electronic measurements to standardize the burgeoning market for the buying and selling of ads in its video games – an industry first. GamePlay Metrics also will track the activities of gamers across other media platforms, including television and the Internet, and provide advertisers with data about the playing habits and tastes of gamers. Forecasters expect the emerging market for in-game ads to reach $1 billion to $3 billion by 2010, a fraction of the $60+ billion spent on television advertising.
“The value of an entertainment medium is directly proportional to how well it is measured,” Jeff Herrmann, vice president of Nielsen’s newly created wireless and interactive division, said in a statement. “A reliable and accurate standard of measurement for video gaming will drive advertising investment in this medium.” Nielsen spokeswoman Karen Gyimesi said the new video game service will build on the ratings sample the company already has in place for television, with some preliminary gaming data being made available in early 2007; the full service, Gyimesi said, would probably not be up and running until the middle of next year.
No “Gears of War” for Germany
The notoriously strict german Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) has decided not to age rate Epic’s highly-anticipated Gears of War for Xbox 360, Microsoft reports. The lack of an official USK rating means that Microsoft is not allowed to advertise the game, and shops are not allowed to display it openly.
The game will, however, be available “under the counter;” by now, committed German gamers are used to importing uncensored versions of games from cooler European countries. The USK has refused to give Gears an age rating (after several submissions from Microsoft) because of what it claims to be extreme violence.
Microsoft, after consulting Epic and the USK, says that a watered-down version of the shooter game is “not possible” without fundamentally changing the core gameplay. Such changes also would not have been compatible with other international versions on Xbox Live. Gears of War is the second major Xbox 360 exclusive to be denied a rating in Germany this year, after Capcom’s Dead Rising.
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