Gaming Blog

With hundreds of MMOs sprawled all across the web, The Matrix Online never ever got to the forefront. So after four years – a time where none logged in except the very dedicated – Sony Online has had enough. The company has decided that it must plug out of The Matrix Online. On July 31st this massively multiplayer game will be gone for good. MxO was officially released on April 15, 2005, and has since many an Agent has fallen to the cause of human resistance. Game producer Daniel “Walrus” Myers posted on MxO’s official forums:

Firefly is up to its Stronghold tricks again. This time the franchise takes shape of what Firefly Studios describes as “the world’s first castle-based MMO”. Stronghold Kingdoms is a MMORTS that’s set in (where else?) medieval world. Players can play any number of characters as they start from a humble peasant and try to promote their character to a king. Simon Bradbury, Firefly’s founder, said on Eurogamer:

The Dark Knight’s latest adventure puts him in the twisted world of inmates at Arkham Asylum. But that much was known. Release date of Batman: Arkham Asylum, however, was not known. That has changed for good now. Eidos has confirmed that the action-adventure stealth title will be released on August 25, 2009 in North America, from where it will make way to Europe on August 28, 2009. It is further reported that the title will be out for all the three platforms – Microsoft Windows, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360 – simultaneously. Having previously been delayed to late summer from its originally slated June release, Batman: Arkham Asylum hasn’t hit the drag too much. As a matter of fact, gamers will get their hands on the title as soon as E3. Eidos has announced that playable versions of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Mini Ninjas will be displayed at the gaming convention. Also put on show at Booth #2422 will be a sneak peek of Just Cause 2. So we’ll wind up now and report on all that when E3 happens.

Via: shacknews

For your daily dose from the grapevine we have a little piece of hearsay about Wii Fit Plus. Macquarie Research believes that Nintendo will be going all out at this year’s E3 and will show off Wii Fit Plus. It goes on further to claim that the title will be sold both with and without the Balance Board. Macquarie Research says that Nintendo will “learn earn its lessons from last year and provide more gamer-centric announcements at E3”. Its report goes on to say that no price cuts are expected for the Wii hardware. With net abuzz with news (or rumors, whichever way you like) of Nintendo having trademarked “Wii Fit Plus,” at least one of the predictions seems to have caught everybody’s fancy. Daring? Hardly!

Japanese have been allowed access to rhino asses for far too long I say. It is time that Afrika moves on to other destinations. On cue is therefore Natsume’s announcement that PS3’s photography-oriented title Afrika will soon be coming to North American shores. Afrika has been developed by Rhino Studios and has been doing the rounds in Japan since last August. Afrika is a realistic brother of Pokémon Snap, wherein instead of shooting some imaginary fuzz-balls, you take a camera into the wilds of Africa. You don the shoes of a budding journalist and will be given instructions at the base camp of which animal to find and shoot. Thereafter you roam around and use the Sixaxis’ motion controller to aim the camera and click. Earn money, depending on the quality that you muster, and upgrade your cameras. Afrika has three different modes to play. More details on these and release date as soon as they come out.

Via: shacknews

It’s the proverbial case of good news bad news. Having reported good news, I must do my bidding and report that Take-Two has come out with financial figures for Q2 2009 and as expected picture is far from being perfect. Reporting decreased revenue and net loss to the tune of $10.1 million, reports are sorry indeed. Take-Two Interactive has reported net Revenue at $229.7 million and a loss of $10.1 million. In the second quarter of 2008 the figure for net revenue stood at $539.8 million, leading to a profit of $98.2 million. Company’s chairman Strauss Zelnick had this to say:

Recognising that this remains a challenging environment for our industry and the consumer marketplace generally, we are sharply focused on executing our business plan and working to enhance shareholder value.

Flaunting riches has just got a new weapon. GIGABYTE has announced a Luxury leather Mouse that comes with Swarovski crystals added to good measure. GIGABYTE GM-M7800S delivers fashion, class, style, panache and whatnot to your desktop. Built of high quality leather, the GM-M7800S is plated in 18K gold. Manufactures have also made sure it does not lack in substance as it loads up on style. Following specs are noted:

Neversoft has two acts to match up to; one is its own doing and the other Harmonix’s. Not only does Neversoft have to deliver a quality successor to Guitar Hero World Tour, but it has to match The Beatles: Rock Band too. The latter is on the cards as Activision has just unveiled an official page for Guitar Hero 5, also dating the game simultaneously. September 1 is when the next installment in the series comes out. Following in the track laid down by its predecessor, Guitar Hero 5 will provide a full band experience, and at the same time better it by refining the social experience on offer. This would take the form of two new gameplay modes: Party Play and RockFest.

At last Brit gamers have a chance to do some social good. And this chance comes in the guise of a gaming auction that’s sure to please them all the while. Capcom Europe is auctioning Mad Catz Street Fighter IV Tournament Edition FightStick, a version that’s been customized with a magnificent ink drawing of Ryu, courtesy Dave White. Of course it looks drop-dead gorgeous and sleek, and is also promised to be (what else?) unique. To participate in the bidding, presupposing that you live in the UK, just send in the bid amount to iheartdavewhite [at] capcomeuro.com. The deadline ends on June 16, after which Capcom will e-mail the highest bidder. Proceeds of the bid will go to Shelter, an organization dedicated to end homelessness across the UK. Gaming for a noble cause: now if that doesn’t get positive publicity nothing ever will. And if the tag of Good Samaritan does not interest you, you could always head to eBay. Not that we condone it.

Via: destructoid

Barring any major hiccups on the way, we have a date when we’d be able to take bio-warfare underwater. During Take-Two’s second quarter financial conference call yesterday company’s CEO Ben Feder announced that 2K Marin’s BioShock 2 will be coming on October 30 in Europe and on November 3 in North America. We also have news on the consoles which will be returning to Rapture (if I may say so). BioShock 2 will be coming on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, with all the versions being released simultaneously. However, that’s only confirmed on the official BioShock 2 page; Take-Two still lists consoles as a matter of “TBA”. Meanwhile head to somethinginthesea.com and witness some drastic changes. Prepare to be surprised.