TGS07 Round-up
Last week, most of the major players of the video game industry
congregated in a giant conference centre just outside Tokyo to outline
their plans for the future. Yesterday marked the final day of the
event, and here is a recap of what you may have missed.
Being on Japanese soil, much of the wares on display were aimed at the
local market. Microsoft, who haven’t enjoyed the same success in Japan
as they have in other territories, showcased many games that were
designed to appeal to the Japanese gamer. They devoted a large section
of their floorspace to a very Japanese-style theatre for the extremely
graphic Ninja Gaiden II - and it proved a big hit with the locals, with
queues to watch the trailer in such settings stretching to over an hour.
Their Xbox Live Arcade platform received a shot in the arm with
announcement that shoot-em-ups Rez and Ikaruga were bound for the
online-gaming service. Virtua Fighter 5, Devil May Cry 4 and the latest
installment in the Winning Eleven series also proved popular on the
event floor. Halo 3 didn’t command the attention of gamers as it does
outside Japan, however.
Going into the conference, Sony had much to prove with regards to their
under-performing Playstation platforms. With games like Talkman Travel
and MyStylist and the Japanese-only TV tuner, Sony seem keen to widen
the audience of the beleaguered handheld - though there was also an
abundance of established franchises on display, including Metal Gear,
Final Fantasy, Star Ocean and Silent Hill.
Playstation 3 owners received welcome news that a new Dualshock - the
Dualshock 3 - will be coming to gamers’ hands within the year in Japan,
and early next year for those in other territories. The joypad will
also boast motion-sensing controls like the current SIXAXIS, but it is
unknown if it will replace it entirely.
On the software front, Metal Gear Solid 4 was undoubtedly the game of
the show. With queues to play the game stretching for over 4 hours at
peak times, the demand was clearly high. A new trailer was unveiled,
and Metal Gear Online was also showcased.
At Sony’s booth, The Eye of Judgement and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
garnered much attention - but there was quite an array of software on
display. Games from established series like Time Crisis 4 (complete
with a new, complicated Guncon controller), Devil May Cry 4, Yakuza 3
sat beside some innovative-looking titles like the afformentioned Eye
of Judgement, LittleBigPlanet and Echochrome. Judging by such titles,
Sony should be in better shape going into next year’s show than they
are now.
With Nintendo absent from proceedings, third parties were left to pick
up the baton. For the Wii, Capcom dedicated much space to
platform-exclusive Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, but outside that
there were very little of note for owners of the innovative console.
Nintendo DS owners were also left largely disappointed, with a large
proportion of the games on show likely to never see light of day
outside of Japan.
Richard Dean Anderson to launch Halo 3 in Dublin; Record breaking attempt planned
Actor Richard Dean Anderson is to launch Halo 3 in Dublin on Tuesday, forming one of the main elements of Microsoft’s Irish high-profile release of the highly anticipated Xbox 360 game.
News that the actor, most famous for playing MacGyver and more recently Jack O’Neill on Stargate SG-1, will launch the game was confirmed this evening to Games Toaster by a Microsoft spokesperson.
However, his visit to Dublin is still somewhat shrouded in mystery as there is still little detail of Anderson’s visit.
Record breaking attempt
Meanwhile, tomorrow - in the build up to the European release on Wednesday September 26 - Irish gamers will attempt to set record breaking times completing Halo 2.
The Guinness World Record - also organised by Microsoft - will start midday at the Dublin city centre in the morning. Microsoft expects hundreds games to turn up to the event at the Xbox Live Gaming Centre / Xbox Live Cafe.
The current record holder is Cody Miller who finished the game in three and a half hours with the ‘legendary’ difficulty setting on in August 2005. The publisher and console maker will be incentives such as prizes of
the limited edition ‘Legendary Edition’ of Halo 3, Marvel Halo graphic novels, and Halo 3 branded merchandise.
Promotion around Ireland
Microsoft also said that the game will be promoted across mediums and are aiming to make it one of the most high-profile entertainment launches. The Halo 3 TV advert, a still of which is pictured above, is just one example.
On the streets, Halo’s star Master Chief - or at least a person dressed as him - will appear on Grafton Street in Dublin this Saturday and Sunday, and move on to Cork, and Galway after that.
By the time of the launch, shoppers entering the main entrance of the St Stephens Green Shopping Centre will be greeted by Halo branding. This will link in with retailer Gamestop’s midnight launch at their new store at the shopping centre. Full details of of Gamestop’s midnight opening across Ireland can be viewed here.
GameStop opens midnight for Halo 3
Gamestop say they will open 14 of its 46 in the Republic and Northern Ireland at at midnight on Tuesday for the European release of Halo 3.
The retailer are to have midnight openings at Henry St, Stephens Green, and Clare Hall in Dublin, along with their outlets in Belfast, Derry, Limerick, Drogheda, Wexford, Tralee, Letterkenny, Mallow, Midleton, Killarney, and Bangor.
Other retailers, such as HMV, GAME, and Smyths, are also likely to have midnight openings in at least the main cities.
A Microsoft spokesperson told us this evening that, in Ireland, “Michael Finucane from Game stop says that pre-orders are running at twice the rate of Halo 2″, while a statement released this afternoon says the company worldwide is “running off 81 games per second to ensure that they meet global demand for this title”.
“It is fantastic to see the level of interest shown by Irish gamers, all of whom are eager to be one of the first people in the country to get their hands on what is set to be the must have game this Christmas,” said Orla Sheridan, country manager at the entertainment and devices division of Microsoft Ireland.
Blizzard to open call centre in Cork
Games developer Blizzard Entertainment, owned by publisher Vivendi Games, is to set up its European call
centre in Cork, the move is designed to offer European gamers with a higher level of support.
The company’s investment in Cork is backed by the Irish Government’s IDA (Industrial Development Agency). As is standard, no details of what the company was offered to chose Cork were reviled.
Blizzard will created 50 jobs at first, with the total numbers employed growing to over 100 in the the next three year the IDA said on Wednesday, it was on the day Intel said they would look for 200 voluntary job cuts at their Irish plant.
Both Vivendi and Blizzard are headquartered in the United States, but are owned by France media company Vivendi SA. Blizzard is best known for developing the online game World of Warcraft (pictured above), which has 9 million subscribers worldwide.
Vivendi Games Ireland have run computer games localisation operations - including game testing - in Dublin since 1995. They are among a number of companies to do such in Ireland, including Microsoft and Activision, also in Dublin, and Lionbridge in Ballina Co Mayo.
“Blizzard Entertainment is a global leader in the entertainment software industry, setting the standard for online gaming on the personal computer,” said Micheál Martin, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
“This decision by Blizzard to establish a new European customer support centre in Cork is further evidence of how Ireland is viewed internationally as a leading location for cutting edge investment in the exciting world of digital content,” the Minister added.
Halo 3 demand high says Irish retailer
Microsoft Ireland are reporting “Huge demand” for pre-orders of Halo
3, what it is calling the fastest pre-sales in video game history,
while Gamestop are say the
demand has been “nothing short of phenomenal”.
Worldwide pre-orders of Halo 3 have exceeded the 1 million according
to Microsoft, the publisher of the game and maker of the Xbox 360 games
console. No Irish sales numbers were released.
It’s set to be released in standard, limited, and “legendary
edition” - according to the publisher, the ‘legendary’ version is
expected to sell out before its September 26 launch.
Midnight openings are expected across Ireland for the launch of the latest Halo game.
“What we’ve experienced is nothing short of phenomenal, Halo 3 has
eclipsed the previous record set by Halo 2″ said Michael Finucane,
commercial director at Gamestop.
“It set a benchmark for others to follow and is a real indication of
how video games has now come to the forefront of the entertainment
industry… The excitement for Halo 3 is incredible”.
Intel buys Dublin games firm Havok
Dublin games middleware company Havok is to be taken over by chip manufacturer Intel.
The deal will see the company that grew out of Trinity College become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel.
Havok’s software tools have been used on games such as BioShock,
Harry Potter, Half Life 2, MotorStorm, and Second Life, and upcoming
titles such as Halo 3, Alan Wake, and Indiana Jones (pictured above).
FULL STORY: Dublin gaming firm snapped up by Intel
IGN.ie launched, domain and business name conflicts with US site
A new Irish games website has been launched using the name IGN at ign.ie. It is not connected to the internationally known US-based website IGN.com.
The name of the Irish site stands for Irish Gaming Network, It’s
offering news, event listings, new release listings, forums, and online
arcade games.
The original IGN.ie site pre-dates the US site by the same name,
but the new Irish site is linked to a business name registered at the
Companies Registration Office in Dublin only at the end of June of this
year.
The US publication could endanger its future rights to protect its
trademark if it does not take action against the Irish site and
business name holder, it is understood no such moves have been made
so-far.
A user posting on internet discussion site boards.ie on behalf of the Irish site says that they were unware of the US site and the problems the use of the name might cause.
“And just in case the worst happens the site is also available at www.irishgamingnetwork.ie,” the user said in a recent post on boards.ie.
A statement on IGN.ie says the site’s goal “is to give full support
to the Irish gaming community and its events. We strive to keep the
Irish gaming community as up to date as possible with all gaming
consoles, games and events”.
Irish pricing for Halo 3 console revealed
Pricing for the limited edition Halo 3 Xbox 360 was released today by games publisher Microsoft.
When the console (pictured above) is released Wednesday two weeks,
September 26, it will retail at an estimated price of