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According to NewMediaAge magazine, Nintendo has become the first ever consumer brand to disable user communication and feedback on the popular social networking site Bebo.

Nintendo has launched a major campaign for a game on Bebo, but has disabled the wall feature that allows fans to comment across the campaign pages.

EA admitted they were surprised by this move, as talking is what people do one these sites.

To quote: The move to silence users has been met with surprise by brands and agencies, which said it contradicts the very nature of social media as a communications medium.

Nintendo global policy bans all comments, blogs and forums on Official Nintendo online material.

Nintendo said it selected Bebo as it reflected the social aspect of the Animal Crossing game, but it's the first consumer brand to block communication features on the social network.

The campaign, which also includes display advertising ... More »  


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The Official MovieSet Blog (linked above) has revealed new details about the 'King of Fighters' move which is based on the SNK Playmore fighting series and should be released in 2010.

It also appears as if The King of Fighters movie will introduce a new science fiction spin into the setting established in the games’ universe by following the surviving members of three legendary fighting clans who are continually whisked away to other dimensions by an evil power.

As the fighters enter each new world they battle that universe’s native defenders, while the force that brought them seeks to find a way to invade and infect our world.

To quote: The King of Fighters movie quietly began filming in Vancouver, Canada on November 27 under the eye of director Gordon Chan, the dynamic Hong Kong-born helmer of Fist of Legend, Beast Cop and the 2003 Jackie Chan movie The Medallion. The screenplay is by newcomer Rita Augustine.

The movie... More »  


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They’re bum rushing again; a cascade of gnawing, screaming, snarling, sicken bodies fly through every open crevasse of a charming little house that has become a barricade of fortitude against the undead.

All this because one of our token heroes made a last minute smash and grab for some ammo, broke up the typecast quartet, and was welcomed by a sludge of zombie pheromone vomit to the face.

If Half-Life and its sequel spelled the advent of the videogame sense of the cinematic, capturing the filmic while never using its exact form, then Left 4 Dead runs with developer Valve’s legacy to uncultivated territory.

On the surface it’s what you’ve come to expect, with perfectly placed spectacle and the crescendos in pace to match. But Left 4 Dead also takes that cinematic inheritance a logical step further, by slyly inserting an omniscient Director who puppeteers and schemes to abash your foursome’s every cooperative move.

With the... More »  


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Prince of Persia Producer Ben Mattes took the time to answer several interesting questions regarding everything from combat to the game’s new art style on PlayStation 3. Here are some of them as follows:

Charliesdad asked: Wondering how you addressed the balance issues from earlier entries in the series. For example, Sands of Time was amazing, but going back to it recently the combat wore thin after a while (especially in the first big group fight) to be followed by long stretches of almost no combat. Does the new game fall on one side or the other or is there a middle ground that you all shot for and hit? And Demo tomorrow? Maybe?

Mattes: First, one of our main goals in combat was to make every fight grandiose and meaningful, to make every encounter feel more epic. Thus, we decided to make the new combat system a duel mode in which every enemy has special attributes, a unique personality, cool moves, and his strengths and weaknesses. ... More »  


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Empire: Total War, is the new installment in The Creative Assembly’s Total War RTS franchise and will maintain the series 3D battles, grand turn based campaign map and rich historical flavor; while for the first time introducing 3D naval combat into the series.

Below is an interview with one of the game's developers:

WP: Who has the honor to speak with us? State your name, rank, and occupation!

Kieran Brigden, studio communications manager for Creative Assembly.

WP: Empire Total War marks the first time that the Total War series has had really intricate naval battles. Why have them now?

KB: Well, it's a combination of factors. One, we've wanted to do it for a while but the technology was ready now. Two, it's the period that's right for it. When you add naval battles to the game, you have to do it when it's interesting, enjoyable, and fun. The 18th century was the absolute height of cool naval warfare. You had thi... More »  


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It feels as though I’ve been writing about PlayStation Home for years. I haven’t, it’s only been months in reality, but with its release being delayed constantly, known and unknown development issues, and questions still remaining, it feels like the service has been a long time coming. Which makes any official word from Sony very interesting indeed.

Jack Buser, the director of PlayStation Home, recently sat down with IGN to discuss Home. He talks about why we should care about it, what experience it will give us, and what is it with all these delays.

He explains that Home is going to be a place to meet friends online, to find gamers of the same skill level and into the same games as you. It’s going to replace the arcade as the place to make new friends and share your hobby with them. All in all, Sony is excited about Home, and so, apparently should you be.

Great, so where is it and when can we, the great unwashed who haven’t been ... More »  


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One day, many years ago, a programmer playing Halo: Combat Evolved became frustrated by his lack of skill.

He died over and over again, so rather than practice until he could hold his own, he - as many programmers do - asked himself how could automate the experience. And thus, the infamous AimBot was born.

AimBots have been a thorn in the sides of many noble gamers for almost a decade. Talentless players have used them to bring misery upon their innocent foes; foes primarily out to have a good time themselves.

Unfortunately for the honest among us, AimBots are the least of our worries now. A plague of modded controllers have now entered circulation among gamers. These controllers are used to center on a target’s head, pull the trigger, and move on.

Others are used to make the buttons easier and faster to push, or are modified with a rapid-fire button (like an old SNES controlle... More »  


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Ziff Davis Media announced Wednesday that it was ending print publication of its 27-year-old flagship, PC Magazine, and would take the title online only.

PC Magazine’s circulation was 1.2 million in the late 1990s. It is the latest of several magazine publishers to drop a print edition, as advertising plummets and the cost of printing a paper version rises.

“The viability for us to continue to publish in print just isn’t there anymore,” Jason Young, chief executive of Ziff Davis, said in an interview.

To quote: Seven production, circulation and advertising employees will be cut as a result of the move, out of a total of about 140 who work on PC Magazine and PCMag.com. Mr. Young said the company was considering taking its other print magazine, the video-game publication Electronic Gaming Monthly, into an online-only format, but would not make a decision before the end of the year.


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