In answer to an Q&A question on the Ubisoft forums, a Splinter Cell Conviction developer has noted that the game will not be released on the PlayStation 3. “Splinter Cell conviction is a true Microsoft exclusive title and there are no plans to have Splinter Cell Conviction on other platforms,” he writes. “There are several reasons behind this choice. First of all, Splinter Cell games are historically linked with Microsoft platforms… The second reason behind this choice is purely linked to production. Having a single target platform means that we can optimize the game even further, because we only have one type of – console – hardware to support.”

There you have it, folks. That game that you saw and loved at E3 will be unavailable to you if you do not have an Xbox 360. Therefore, you will be unable to buy the game and give Ubisoft your money.

Earlier today, Rockstar confirmed that the much-talked-about downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV would be released on February 17, 2009, exclusively for the Xbox 360. The DLC will be titled ‘The Lost and Damned’, and it won’t star Niko Bellic. Details follow.

The DLC will feature a new character named Johnny Klebitz, a member of the gang you’ll likely recognize called ‘The Lost’. Rockstar’s vice president of creative development, Dan Houser, had the following to say:

“Johnny is a very different character than Niko, with a very different background. I can’t go into too much detail on the story, because we try not to give away too much plot before the game is released. But I can say that the story will show you a different side of Liberty City.”

“The story is not directly impacted by decisions you took in the main game, but tons of details and mysteries from the main story get explained, so it will add a lot of color to the main story. We feel like we’ve only scratched the surface in terms of the depth and detail.”

As previously stated, the DLC is expected to hit Live on February 17th of next year. Analysts predict it will end up in the $15-$20 price range. I personally predict that I won’t buy it.

Source: USA Today

Some of you may instantly reply “Duh!” to that headline, but as a fan of the Fallout series, I wanted to get it all. The Amazon exclusive ‘Survival Edition’ was a pre-order special that cost a whopping $129.99 — that’s right, a full fifty bucks more than the Collector’s Edition. While the package itself is quite nice, the only thing you get in the Survival Edition that you don’t get in the Collector’s Edition is the Pip-Boy clock, and therein lies my problem.

We did an article recently describing how limited/collector’s/special editions tend to lose their value at a much slower rate than standard edition games, and sometimes actually increase in value like their name implies they should. Amazon’s Survival Edition was exclusive to people who pre-ordered the game from their website. That was the only place you were ever going to get it.

Considering the assumed limited quantity, some people seem to have purchased it with the intent of reselling as there have already been listings of the Survival Edition at a jacked-up price, like $300. I, on the other hand, bought it because I was a fan and I wanted that Pip-Boy!

For an extra $50, I assumed the Pip-Boy was going to be awesome. It’s not. While it might be awesome for a cosplayer since it has a hinge and can be snapped onto your arm (not my arm, for I’m way too buff), its only option is to be battery powered — there is no way to plug it in.

So here you have a digital clock that looks like a Pip-Boy, and all it’s really good for is telling time. It sits on its poorly crafted ‘display stand’ (I broke a piece putting it together) and that’s it. It doesn’t even have an alarm. While you may be thinking “What did you expect?”, quite honestly I expected more than a cheap ‘replica’ of a Pip-Boy made out of toy-gun plastic if I was being charged $50 for it.  How about some metal or high-quality resin.

Everything else in the title picture is part of the Collector’s Edition, which was $79.99. The only thing you get extra in the Survival Edition is the Pip-Boy. Amazon no longer sells the Survival Edition (and you can’t even read the description any more), so those of you who may have thought that you missed out should rest easy knowing that you didn’t… at all. The Collector’s Edition contains everything you should want, especially the game, and is a much better deal. I would have been much happier if I had purchased it instead — the bobblehead and lunchbox are pretty sweet.

I am actually envious that you have me to tell you to not be me and waste that money.  And yes, that sentence totally made sense.

UPDATE: I thought it was just me, but commenter Koreeth had the same problem, so I’m assuming it’s more widespread. In addition to the cheapy crapness that encompasses the Pip-Boy clock, it also manages to burn through those only-power-option batteries in a week. That’s bullshit. Now every time I look at it, I expect the display to read “Sucker”… and maybe it would if it could only hold a charge long enough.

PS3 finally gets some exclusive DLC TLC.  Sony has entered into an “exclusive marketing agreement” with Mirror’s Edge publisher and evil overlords Electronic Arts to bring downloadable content to the title via PSN.  How’d they manage that without the exorbitantly deep pockets of Microsoft?

Sony has also gone on record to squelch rumors that Mirror’s Edge would be a timed exclusive, stating that the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC versions would all release on the same day.

This is one of the things that amuses me about the console wars.  People are quick to point the finger at Microsoft’s wallet every time they get something exclusive (mainly because they publicly stated how much they paid for GTA4 content), but they also argue that Sony is above paying for exclusives “because they don’t have to”.

So that begs the question: What did Sony do get exclusive content in Mirror’s Edge?  Obviously, they didn’t pay for it, so it must just be that EA loves the PS3 so much that they decided to give them something special.  Apparently Microsoft didn’t see Mirror’s Edge as worth the cost to buy the DLC away from Sony… or maybe Microsoft is finally running out of money (not likely).

In actuality, Sony getting exclusive content does not rule out the 360 or PC from getting their own exclusive content, much like the exclusive characters in SoulCalibur IV.  I’m still curious what the point of exclusive DLC is anyway, as it doesn’t seem to have made that big of an impact so far.

Sony used to agree with that, but apparently exclusive DLC now has a purpose and is way cool… or maybe they just couldn’t afford GTA4 and Fallout 3. What do you think? Are Sony and Microsoft bidding on exclusives, or do you think perhaps there are some console fans in the development houses themselves putting out content for the system they prefer?

Source: Eurogamer

After supposedly stating in an interview that the Mass Effect trilogy would be exclusive to the Xbox 360, BioWare reps claim that CEO Dr. Ray Muzyka, in fact, never uttered those words.

The story broke on the Internet via the website XboxOz360, which claimed their source to be the magazine Australian 360.  The quote directly from the magazine is as follows:

“Speaking exclusively to 360 at EA’s European Showcase, BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka restated his company’s commitment to bring the Mass Effect trilogy exclusively to the Xbox 360, despite having been brought up by Electronic Arts and analysts claiming it would go multiplatform.”

So, as you can clearly see, Australian 360 printed the word “exclusively” in their magazine. This apparently must have been a misunderstanding on their part, as BioWare reps claim Dr. Ray “never confirmed any plans of Mass Effect exclusivity for the trilogy,” and that the “site is incorrect”.

So while this doesn’t necessarily rule out the Mass Effect trilogy as being exclusive, it certainly has confirmed that nothing has yet been confirmed.

Source: Joystiq and GameDaily

After confirming that the Mass Effect trilogy would not be coming to the Playstation 3, BioWare CEO Dr. Ray Muzyka commented that “the most important thing is quality, so we’re never going to compromise that.” Does that mean that developing for PS3 would compromise quality?

Here’s yet another instance of nit-picking someone’s words. While most 360 fans will almost certainly assume this is what Dr. Ray was saying (taking a subtle stab at the PS3), I think it’s more than likely he just thinks starting development on Mass Effect for another console would be detrimental to the momentum they already have on the 360.

Mass Effect was always slated as a 360 exclusive and was planned out long before the EA deal. Everyone thought the Mass Effect sequels would go multiplatform because of EA, but BioWare probably feels it would just slow them down. After all, if the 360’s successor is supposed to be out by 2010 (ha!) and the whole Mass Effect trilogy is supposed to be on 360, BioWare is working on a very limited time frame.

Then again, maybe he was ever so subtly professing his love for Xbox since BioWare was Xbox exclusive up until now. Who knows? Dr. Ray knows, but I’m sure he’ll never come out and explicitly confirm anything. That’s just not how BioWare rolls. They remain morally ambiguous and let you, the gamer, decide for yourself.

Source: XboxOz360

I have been busy adding some new features to the site based on your feedback as readers, so please continue sending me your feedback about annoying ads, broken links, and pretty much anything you think can help us to improve the site.

That said, I am just NOW getting a chance to sit down and watch the leaked UT3 Xbox 360 Gears of War 2 exclusive multiplayer video. The footage was originally intended to be a bonus, available only to those who bought the upcoming Unreal Tournament 3 game for the Xbox 360, however as things often do, it found its way on to the web.

If you haven’t seen the video yet, here’s your chance to process it along with my impressions after the jump.

Bigger. Better. More Bad-ass. As cheesy as that sounds (and it sounds very cheesy) C-Blaz has every reason in the world to continue pounding us with the catch phrase. The second installment of Gears proves that Epic processed tons of feedback from gamers and put it into effect instead of just doing the minimal effort needed to crank out another sequel (cough EA cough).

New weapons like the flame-thrower and poison grenades will no doubt be sweet additions, but the ability to plant grenades on structural objects in the game and use them as proximity bombs will add a whole new level of complexity to the game. While I am excited about giving them a shot (and I will), I have a disturbing feeling that this feature will somehow be abused in tight quarters and areas of high traffic. Hopefully Epic has planned for this, and will allow for some sort of counter — i.e. tossing a grenade into a suspected area to set off the proximity bomb.

If defense is your thing, then you will likely enjoy being able to create cover on the fly with the introduction of shields. Not sure how I feel about this one personally, but I can understand the benefit and assume that more than a few gamers thought this would be a good idea. On the plus side, it seems you will be limited to a pistol fire arm while in what I will call “your not touching me, your not touching me” mode.

Crawling while you are down — another big addition that could mean the difference between life and death on the Gears battlefield. I can not tell you how many times I laid helpless, calling out to my buddy (you know who you are) for help, only to hear “I can’t make it over to you, they will kill me too!”. Simply having the opportunity to crawl a few feet to gain cover may not seem like much to some, but it will void certain “bait” situations used by the enemy, and for that reason alone, I welcome its addition.

Most shooters are all about the headshots, but I can honestly say that with the addition of several new brutal execution moves, I will be more interested in downing a player so that I can get up close and personal to finish them off. And on days where I feel a little more forgiving, I may choose to spare their life (initially) by taking advantage of the new “meat shield” feature, which will allow gamers to pick up a downed enemy and use them as a walking shield. Of course if you get bored of walking around with your new pal, you can always snap his neck and find a new toy to play with.

Cliffy acknowledges that the popular chainsaw feature had its short comings the first time around by stating that the team didn’t put much thought into head-to-head chainsaw encounters in the first Gears, and that the victor “was essentially random”. While the addition of a dueling chainsaw mechanic that puts control back into the hands of the gamer will likely ensure that the right man walks away, the gamer on the short end of the stick will probably still complain that they were robbed and smash their controller.

Last but not least, the game also boasts larger multiplayer maps and 5 player slots per team to help fill them. How can you not be excited about playing this game? Share your thoughts about the trailer below.

Video Source: xbox360fanboy.com

If you haven’t heard by now, rumors are starting to fly around concerning Resident Evil 5 and an announcement at E3. The biggest (likely nothing more than the result of Xbox Fanboys) is that RE 5 will have some sort of exclusive time frame for the Xbox 360. Meaning PS3 owners will have to wait months if not years.

Sounds 100% bogus to me. Capcom did put on paper that there will be a “huge” announcement regarding their beloved Resident Evil Franchise, however if there was some sort of time frame, what does Capcom or Microsoft earn?

Yes Microsoft could be in a position to sell a “few” more systems. But they would shell out a pretty penny for it. Ask yourself, is it worth it for them? The answer is clearly no. Look at RE4 for the Nintendo Gamecube. If you forgot, Nintendo and Capcom also had a time frame before the PS2 version. Did that even come close to saving the cube from ending up being in third place in the console wars? Of course not.

Also what would Capcom earn? Yes they get money from Microsoft, but at the same time they really limit themselves in terms of units sold. Remember, at this point, no matter what MS really does, they have a hard time moving systems in Japan. Even having exclusives that appeal to a Japanese market hasn’t helped. In the end this scenario (if true) could hurt Capcom’s quarterly sales. Would it be worth it? Probably not.

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Update 6/19:
Capcom Corporate Officer and VP of Strategic Planning and BIZ Dev, Christian Svensson, issued two separate comments concerning the rumored “exclusive MS timed release” on the official Capcom blog which confirm my prediction and hopefully put the exclusive release rumor to bed.

The first comment was made on Jun 18, 2008 – 11:13PM stating:

“The assertion is false. RE5 is a multiplatform release that fits with our oft-stated crossplatform strategy.”

The second comment was made on Jun 19, 2008 – 09:32AM stating:

For the avoidance of doubt… simultaneous release.

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So then, what info could they have at this years E3? Honestly — I have no Idea. I do however, have a few guesses.

1. This could be the least interesting. It could be nothing more than a “limited edition” costing you 20-30 bucks more with some DVD extra’s that you’ll most likely never get the chance to watch. Although I doubt that there will be only one thing announced, I do believe this could happen.

2. Maybe, just MAYBE Microsoft and/or Sony will have some kind of exclusive downloadable content available, much like MS did with GTA IV. Unlike an exclusive time frame, this one is much less risky and cheaper.

3. I save my favorite for last. How about some ONLINE PLAY!?! This would be a win win situation for both 360 and PS3 owners. Imagine something as simple 4 on 4 RE online action. Four humans vs four zombies. Online play for RE could be fantastic, and when you come to think of it, it seems to be the trend these days. Some may say I am reaching a bit, but nonetheless this would be something all RE fans could get truly excited about.

We’ll all find out at this years E3.

The Internet and mailbox movie delivery super-service known as Netflix, having seen a “clear signal from the industry” has decided to stop purchasing HD-DVDs and will exclusively support Blu-Ray.

Netflix plans to phase out their remaining stock of HD-DVDs by the end of the year. Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, had this to say about the situation:

“The prolonged period of competition between two formats has prevented clear communication to the consumer regarding the richness of the high-def experience versus standard definition. We’re now at the point where the industry can pursue the migration to a single format, bring clarity to the consumer and accelerate the adoption of high-def. Going forward, we expect that all of the studios will publish in the Blu-ray format and that the price points of high-def DVD players will come down significantly. These factors could well lead to another decade of disc-based movie watching as the consumer’s preferred means.”

Even though only a very small percentage of people even rent hi-def movies in the first place, a majority of those rentals are Blu-Ray. Personally, I don’t think this is really that clear of an indicator that Blu-Ray is better, or even preferred over HD-DVD.

What I think is going on is that all of these PS3 owners are sitting around with nothing to do since most of their games suck. They figure they need to get some use out of their overpriced gadget, so they rent a movie or two. Here, look at this ad while I put on my flame-retardant thong.

Okay, I don’t seriously think that, but I do think that more of this is happening than the studios realize. The masses haven’t decided on Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray just invaded your home when you bought that game console. You’ve supported Blu-Ray without actually pledging your support for Blu-Ray.

I honestly don’t care who wins the HD format war. I think both sides are trying too hard to shove the “next generation” down our throats, and I’m content to just watch DVDs until they start showing movies directly to my brain.

Source: Netflix

As if Wii owners weren’t already getting a sweet deal with the new Star Wars game, The Force Unleashed, apparently they will now also get 5 extra levels exclusive to the Nintendo console. Aren’t motion-sensing lightsaber controls enough for you?

Krome Studios, developer of the Wii version, said in an interview:

On the Wii we have places where the story veers off and we go and explore something, take the game in a different direction, like the Jedi Temple level.

This may be just another way for Krome Studios to differentiate its game from the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, which are both being developed internally by LucasArts. While LucasArts may have the better-looking games, perhaps Krome’s Wii version will have them beat when it comes to gameplay. We’ll let you know in about six months or so when the game finally releases.

Source: TVG

According to the February issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, it’s a definite “maybe”. Of course that could just be a typo.

Towards the end of EGM’s Game Over section, they always give a little sneak peek at the next month’s issue. This time, they happen to have Ninja Gaiden II listed in the previews section, but they have it listed for both the 360 and the PS3.

Now, I’m not one to start rumors, so let me just tell you now that I find this extremely hard to believe. I’ve been a reader of EGM for over 15 years, and I’ve seen mistakes like this before. Yes, I’m saying it’s a mistake — a typographical error.

Image courtesy of myself because it’s my magazine and I paid for it. The content, of course, is the property of EGM and Ziff Davis Media.

While it’s entirely possible that EGM knows something we don’t and inadvertently let the ninja out of the bag, I dismiss this idea for one main reason: Microsoft is publishing the game. Unless Tecmo and Team Ninja decided to let Sony or someone else (maybe themselves) publish Ninja Gaiden II for the PS3, I doubt the game is coming to the PS3 by way of Microsoft.

Then again, maybe EGM does know something, but they aren’t allowed to say, in which case they “accidentally” listed the game for both consoles. Again, I find this very hard to believe. They would all be killed!

EGM’s final page is all about the PS3 and how it’s going to have a big year. If EGM really did know that Ninja Gaiden II was coming to the PS3, I don’t think they would have excluded it from the conversation. You know, that would actually be some news worth talking about, wouldn’t it?

Unless you think this is how Ninja Gaiden II for PS3 would be announced, and it’s not just a three-letter mistake in the back of a magazine, I would just put this one in the “wishful thinking” department. Although the shockwaves could be significant, consider this just a simple error on EGM’s part. Great job, guys!

According to an earnings call transcript with Take 2’s CFO Lainie Goldstein, Microsoft has spent a total of 50 million dollars acquiring downloadable content for the upcoming GTA IV title.

“The first 25 million is for the first episodic content package that ’s supposed to go out and that is in March of ’08. That’s why it moved into current because it’s in the next 12 months. The second 25 will be for the second episodic, the episode, and that will be later in fiscal ’08.” – Laine Goldstein.

A copy of the complete transcript can be obtained online by visiting this link.