Global Wii U Launch By End of 2012

Faced with intense scrutiny, investor pressure and the first fiscal year losses for his company in over 25 years, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata once again reiterated plans for the future. Notably that includes making sure Wii U is available globally by the 2012 holiday season.

Though we've heard many times Nintendo plans to release the new home console sometime this year, this is the first we've heard Nintendo outright state it plans to bring the system to all major territories (North America, Japan, Europe and Australia) by the holidays.

In remarks to reporters, Iwata also emphasized he plans to restore Nintendo to profitability next fiscal year.
[source ign.com]

NBC Developing The Office Spin-Off About Dwight Schrute

NBC is planting the seeds for a spin-off of The Office centered on Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) and the Schrute family beet farm, Deadline reports.

The series, which would tentatively launch in early 2013, would follow Dwight's life outside of Dunder Mifflin at his family's beet farm and bed and breakfast. The beet farm has been featured in several episodes stemming back to Season 2, with The Office and Parks and Recreation executive producer Mike Schur playing the role of Dwight's business partner and oddball cousin Mose.

The potential spin-off will be introduced later this season in an Office episode set at Schrute Farms.

Wilson and his co-star/series executive producer Paul Lieberstein would executive-produce the new show with fellow Office executive producer (and former NBC Entertainment Chief) Ben Silverman, who has been helping develop the spin-off. Greg Daniels, who first adapted The Office for the U.S., is not involved.

News of the potential spin-off comes at a time when the flagship series is still in a transitional period. After longtime star Steve Carell left last April, some viewers (and the character Dwight himself) have not

Online Passes, DLC, and Your Money

More than ever before games are taking great strides towards adding post-release content to their repertoires, not just perfunctory extras like new songs, added skins, or avatar awards, but also in content passes and new release models.

To alleviate sales lost to the second-hand market and rentals, publishers use Online Passes. The Pass is free in a factory-sealed copy of the game, but once used, any additional owners need to then purchase the Online Pass to play online.

This means that people who rent the game or buy a used version, must pay to extract full value. Publishers have always hated rentals and used sales, because they bring back little or no money. Have they found a way to make everyone pay the full ticket price?

While not a brand-new innovation, Online Passes are spreading. Next month's

Why You Shouldn't Buy a 3G PS Vita

In just a matter of weeks, Sony's long awaited handheld, the PS Vita will make its debut in the United States. When it launches, customers will have two flavors to choose from -- a standard Wi-Fi-only model and a 3G-enabled version. But the luxury of having constant integrated connectivity comes at significant cost, including an extra $50 for the hardware itself and up to $30 a month in service fees. If the additional expense wasn't enough to dissuade you, here are three more reasons to pass on the 3G-enabled PS Vita. 

The Vita's 3G Functions are Limited

It'd be one thing if the 3G-enabled PS Vita provided constant, unhindered connectivity to the system's entire suite of online features, such as realtime online multiplayer and full game downloads via PSN, but that simply isn't the case. In order to regulate network strain, AT&T and Sony will only allow for basic functions to be accessed over 3G, such as web browsing, PSN messaging, asynchronous multiplayer (i.e. turn-based games) and leaderboard access. If users want to play with other players online in realtime or download a

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - "Deception" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

There were a lot of fun elements to this episode, though I kind of feel like we saw a glimpse at a missed opportunity.

A prison where Cad Bane, Bossk and Boba Fett are among the inmates? That's awesome! I would have loved to have seen a villain-focused episode or storyline about these guys and what their prison life is like. Instead, it was used as background for another storyline, where only Cad Bane really played an important role. Very cool background, but still, I can't help but think how that could have been its own separate story - seeing more of how these prisoners interact and co-exist together. Though hey, at least we did see that Bossk actually does have Boba's back and is watching out for the kid.

Meanwhile, the whole idea of Obi-Wan going undercover among the scum and villainy of the Star Wars universe is compelling. And the fact that he faked his death to do so, with even Anakin and Ahsoka not

Everything We Know About Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil 6 is the second main Resident Evil series game coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC

It has not been announced for Wii U. Capcom has confirmed that the North American release date for

Resident Evil 6 is November 20, 2012 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. No release date has been announced for the PC version, but it will be after November 20.[1]

More Resident Evil 6 Videos

The Resident Evil 6 Debut Trailer

What characters will return in Resident Evil 6?

For the first time in Resident Evil history, Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil 4) and

Microsoft Aims for Quality Over Quantity

Microsoft has yet to reveal their full 2012 lineup of original games for Xbox 360. While Halo 4 is scheduled to arrive sometime this year, as is Fable: The Journey, we still don't have a solid map of where the system will head in the coming months outside of a handful of downloadable release dates.

"Chief, we can't talk about new IPs yet."

                  
In a new interview with Game Informer, Microsoft Studios Corporate Vice President Phil Spencer stated that the important aspect of the Xbox 360's future is "quality and impact, not number of releases in a year."

"Creating core IP, as many first-and third-parties have seen over the years, isn't an easy thing," stated Spencer. And it's the "equal amount of sweat equity and heart" that he feels will drive the company's games into the future. He added, "it will continue to be something that we focus on with new partners like Crytek and new people that aren't announced yet. We do think that it's fundamental that core gamers look at 360 as the place they want to play games."

Crytek is currently working on the Kinect-powered fighter Ryse, and we hope to learn more about Microsoft's unannounced partners soon. Additionally, Microsoft purchased Twisted Pixel last year, developer of The The Maw, Splosion Man, and Comic Jumper. The Gunstringer was their first retail release for Xbox 360.

Thanks to GameZone for the report. What do you want to see out of original IPs on the Xbox 360?

Sony Reveals Top PSN Downloads For December

The PlayStation Blog released the bestsellers of the PSN during the month of December. Sonic CD took the lead, but there are some surprises sprinkled in there. I am happy to see LIMBO continuing to perform well despite releasing much earlier this year. Here's the list:

1. Sonic CD
2. inFAMOUS 2 Festival of Blood
3. NBA JAM: On Fire Edition
4. PAYDAY: The Heist
5. Trine 2
6. Castle Crashers
7. Saints Row 2
8. Resident Evil 4
9. Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection
10. Voltron: Defender of the Universe
11. Penny Arcade Adventures: OTRSPOD, Episodes 1 and 2
12. Scene It? Movie Night
13. Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD
14. Dungeon Defenders
15. Battlefield 1943
16. Midnight Club Los Angeles Complete Edition
17. Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition
18. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
19. REAL STEEL
20. LIMBO

Sony's blog post also breaks down a few other best sellers like top 5 PS3 add-ons, PS Once classics, and PSP games. Head over to the PlayStation Blog to check out all the best sellers.

[source gameinformer.com]

Freddie Prinze Jr. Plays James Vega In Mass Effect 3

Along with introducing a new partner for Shepard to shepherd around the galaxy, this video feature also introduces the actor who will be playing him.

James Vega seems like a pretty standard hard-headed marine, but I am sure he's hiding a dark past or an embarrassing tattoo that will get expanded upon during a mission in Mass Effect 3. Prinze probably wouldn't have been most people's first choice to play a muscular military dude, but he seems genuinely passionate about Mass Effect. And more importantly, he seems to get what makes Mass Effect great. He does insist on calling Shapard's partners, "henchmen," though, which is a little odd.

click over to Game Trailers to check out an interview with Prinze and some footage of the upcoming Mass  Effect 3, which releases March 6.

Oh, and by the way Freddie, you're not a nerd. You just like good sci-fi stories.

[source gameinformer.com]

Did Obsidian And Bethesda View Fallout Differently?

Obsidian Entertainment is currently working on the South Park game for THQ, but they’ve also worked on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and Fallout: New Vegas. In fact, many of Obsidian’s team members worked on the original Fallout titles before Bethesda bought the property. What did Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart think about working with Bethesda on a property that they’d help create? Someone actually asked him that question…that someone was us.

How did Obsidian’s and Bethesda’s opinions about Fallout differ? Urquhart explains: watch the video here

[source gameinformer.com]

Minecraft For Xbox 360 To Have Frequent Updates... Hopefully

In an interview with Edge Paddy Burns, chief technology officer at 4J Studios, says that Microsoft is aware of the need for more frequent updates for Minecraft.

4J Studios is the developer behind the the translation of Minecraft from PC to Xbox 360 and it is hopeful that Microsoft  will work with it to allow updates to Minecraft approximately every two months.

Rolling out updates for the Xbox 360 is a long process, and one that has received complaints from other developers. Ultimately, the process is arduous to assure quality, but if 4J Studios can get Microsoft to streamline the process, I'm sure many other developers would be happy. On the other side though, if Microsoft gives Minecraft special treatment that it doesn't afford other developers, then that could be a problem.

Pending any unforeseen delays, we should be seeing Minecraft for Xbox 360 in late winter or early spring of this year.

[source gameinformer.com]

Viral Website Teasing Resident Evil 6?

A mysterious viral website may be hinting at the next game in the Resident Evil series. A blog containing several photos and videos appears at nohopeleft.com, featuring graffiti scrawled on various dilapidated walls and billboards.

Most notably, a biohazard symbol can be seen in several photos, and one of the site's blog posts bears the title "biohazard sign." In Japan, Biohazard is the name of the Resident Evil franchise.

One of the photos seen on nohopeleft.com. Note the Biohazard logo on the O, as well as the date.

The site's Whois registration data yields no direct link to Capcom, but sleuths on the NeoGAF forums have dug up an interesting connection. Searching for the site's Whois data on GoDaddy reveals that it's registered

Fox Broadcast Programming Coming To Xbox Live

A host of Fox content, from Fox News to Family Guy, will soon be available on Xbox Live.

Through a new partnership with News Corporation (the parent company of Fox TV), a host of Xbox Live apps will launch this year featuring a wide variety of content. The most high profile content is Fox television shows like Family Guy, House, New Girl, and Glee (though the press release did not specifically mention The Simpsons, we hope that show will be included as well).

You'll also be able to access content from other News Corporation outlets like IGN.com and The Wall Street Journal.

In related news, Microsoft also announced some new Xbox Live media deals in other territories including Canada (AstralMedia's Disney XD, Real Sports) and Germany (Mediathek/ZDF).

[source gameinformer.com]

Doom Returns To Xbox Live Arcade

After a three month hiatus, Bethesda today said the classic first-person shooter Doom is now available for download again on Xbox Live Arcade.

In October 2011, Doom was pulled from the Marketplace store and no explanation was ever given. One theory is that Doom on Xbox Live was originally published by Activision prior to Bethesda Softworks' parent company Zenimax Media acquiring id Software and was causing a legal issue that has since been resolved.

Regardless, the game is back on sale for 400 Microsoft Points

[source gameinformer.com]

What Max Payne 3's Delay Means For GTA V

Max Payne 3's delay announcement this morning can only mean one thing: Take-Two wants to own the month of May. But where does this leave Grand Theft Auto V?

Ever since Red Dead Redemption’s May release two years ago, Take-Two has indentified the month as its personal release window that other publishers have quickly learned to avoid. Take-Two has proved that games don't need to be released during the holiday months to sell big
.
Red Dead Redemption quickly shipped 5 million copies in a matter of weeks of releasing in May 2010 and has seen sales reach the 11 million mark total since this past August. One year later in May 2011, Rockstar released L.A. Noire, and while the title didn’t blow up like Red Dead Redemption did, it still pulled in a

The River: Paranormal Activity Director's TV Horror

With the exception of Supernatural, horror fans won't find a lot for them on network TV these days. But that will be changing soon, as ABC debuts The River, from executive producer Oren Peli, the writer/director of Paranormal Activity.

When the cast and creators of The River spoke at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour today, Peli recalled how the idea began as a film concept he had, about a rescue mission to find a mission documentary crew. That idea got tabled, but Peli then humorously told us how Steven Spielberg -- one of the show's producers -- told him, 'Hey, we should do a TV show together!" and his natural, "Okay!" reaction. It was one of the Paranormal Activity 2 writers who then suggested that earlier idea would make a good TV show, albeit with some tweaks.

The result is a show focusing on the disappearance of Dr. Emmet Cole (Star Trek's Bruce Greenwood), a

DC Universe Online Gets Crafting

A new free game update is available for DC Universe Online, and this one adds "Research and Development." If that doesn't ring any bells, just imagine "crafting." Heroes and villains in the free-to-play MMO can now create new items and mods to "socket" them into existing gear to make an unmatched arsenal.

Imorive Your Gear, Go on a Raid

This stat-boosting option is available at Level 10 and includes...

• Finding and Researching: Plans to create Equipment Mods to upgrade gear and consumables can be collected throughout the world.


• Gathering: Throughout the open world (including Gotham City, Metropolis and Central City), players (1-30) can find exobytes and other items.


• Salvaging: Players can turn unused, uncommon or rare items into crafting materials, and they can recover a rare item and create a useful piece of new equipment.


• Collecting: Bosses will drop useful ingredients such as Focusing Elements and Plans throughout the game.

[source ign.com]

Bethesda, Interplay Reach Fallout Settlement

Bethesda and Interplay have been in and out of court for quite some time thanks to their spat over Interplay's Fallout MMO. Originally Interplay was given rights to develop an MMO based on the franchise, as long as, according to Bethesda, it "secured $30 million in financing for the MMO and commenced full scale development of the game by April 2009."

April 2009 came and went, and Bethesda contended that Interplay did not fulfill their agreement. After several legal bouts (including Bethesda having its most recent appeal denied), it started to look like one of those cases bound to last for years.

That is until today, when Bethesda announced in a press release that they've reached a settlement with Interplay. Per the settlement Interplay's rights to develop a Fallout MMO are "null and void, and all rights granted to Interplay to develop a Fallout MMO revert back to Bethesda, effective immediately." Each side will cover their own litigation costs, and Bethesda will pay Interplay 2 million dollars.

Interplay will be able to sell the older Fallout games until December of 2013. After that, they will then become property of Bethesda. Their merchandising rights will also expire then.

CES: Razer Debuts Windows 8-Based Gaming Tablet

Last week, Razer teased a new product that offered "PC gaming on an all-new form factor" to be announced at CES. Now, Project Fiona is official and we've got the full scoop.

Powered by Intel Core i7 processors, Project Fiona is a Windows 8-powered gaming tablet with a 10-inch touchscreen display and two analog controllers mounted to the sides. It features force feedback, THX-certified audio, Wi-Fi networking and front- and rear-facing cameras. It will run standard PC titles, such as FireFall, HAWX 2 and Assassin's Creed: Revelations, though specific graphics processing specs have not been revealed. It is currently just a concept, but Razer says that it plans on bringing a product based on Project Fiona to market before the end of 2012.

Most importantly, the company says that when a finalized version of Project Fiona arrives, it will retail for less than $1,000.

[source ign.com]

Why I will never ski again!

So today I got up at 4:30am after staying up past 2 playing Batman Arkham City, took a shower put on my clothes (a aperture science shirt) and headed to ski with my church.

Well after a good 3 and a half hour drive I got to the ski place wearing about four layers of clothing and big bulky ski boots and went down the bunny slope twice I felt like such s bis so I went to the intermediate slope. On

On the ski lift I was gonna fall out the whole ride up and at the top as I was getting off im ok Wesley here we gozz and BOOM! Face plant into the snow! I get up and position myself at the edge of the slope and go for it and I wipe out again and if that wasn't bad enough a four year old came to my rescue to see if I was ok the stupid kid was basically kicking my ego in the face the very same ego that felt like a boss on the bunny slope. I start to get up and fall again and then once I'm up I start going faster and faster and not knowing how to stop I just bail and get face full of snow while I'm sliding a good 20 feet before I stop and by then my body is twisted in more ways then God intended a body to move! After jacking up my body for days I took skis in hand and did the walk of shame down the hill while 4 and 5 year olds went by like pros Nd little kids in the ski lift mocking me the whole way back
to the lodge.

An hour later with the thought that little kids were showing me up I did it all again! And this time it was worse! I actually was worse! How was this happening? I was asking while I laid flat out I knew the kids were peeing them selves watching me fail! And this is why I will never ski again, or at least not where little kids are watching me!