One Touch Gaming

Recent lack of posts

chrismgallen — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 17:57:05 +0000

Hi guys, sorry for the recent lack of any posts, this has been due to problems with the system here, but all iswell now.

chrismgallen — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:09:31 +0000

EA’s The Simpsons Game has showcased some hilariously astute parodies of various titles and trends in the gaming industry, but not everyone, it seems, appreciates being the butt of a joke. In an interview with CVG, The Simpsons Game lead designer Greg Rizzer admits they’ve had to pull a few punches. “I was always under the impression that when you do parody, it’s a sign of respect,” said Rizzer. “If we make fun of Grand Theft Auto, we’re not going to hurt the sales of Grand Theft Auto… But yeah, we’ve definitely had some reactions — we’ve had to pull stuff from the game.”

Although Rizzer doesn’t mention what specifically had to be removed, he does cite an incident at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany back in August, when a “Grand Theft Scratchy” poster had to be taken down after they received complaints from Rockstar. “I’m guessing probably more than anyone it was a lawyer. The people who work on that product, I doubt they were like, ‘Stop that!’” said Rizzer.

Not everyone has been a spoil-sport, though. Harmonix, for instance, was so enamored with the “Sitar Hero” parody poster (with Apu playing a 60-button sitar controller) that they asked for 20 copies. “They just loved it so much.”

If you want a taste of what to expect from The Simpsons Game, don’t forget a playable demo hit the PlayStation Network today.

Thanks, 1UP

Square Enix Releasing Star Ocean PSP in Japan

chrismgallen — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:07:01 +0000

The release of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core has been giving a more-than-healthy boost to sales of the new PSP Slim in Japan. Now, Sony no doubt has its fingers crossed for a similar jump in sales from the second franchise revival from Square-Enix to grace the PSP in Limited Edition form. IGN reports that on December 27, a limited edition bundle will arrive alongside the release of Star Ocean: First Departure. The bundle will cost slightly less than the Final Fantasy-themed one that’s been tearing up the charts, and so far artwork on the limited edition PSP is a mystery. Like the Crisis Core bundle, there’s no word on a domestic release. With the Star Ocean series less pervasive than Final Fantasy, it’s unlikely we’ll see a whopping 1800% jump in sales, but the bundle is sure to excite some fans regardless.

Sony Announces In-Game Advertising Unit

chrismgallen — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:05:57 +0000

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced a new in-game advertising unit aimed at developing ad content for the PlayStation Network and upcoming Home service. The new unit will be helmed by 25-year industry veteran Darlene Kindler, who previously worked at Nintendo of America and most recently Adscape Media, an in-game ad firm purchased by Google last March.”Darlene has an ideal blend of experience within the video game industry, including in-game advertising, making her a perfect fit for this newly created position,” said Phil Rosenberg, senior vice president of Sales and Business Development. “She will be tasked with the important role of working closely with our internal teams as well as our third-party publishers and external advertising agencies to develop business and marketing strategies for our newly formed online advertising group.”

Of course, in-game advertising itself is nothing new, and this unit seems a natural extension of how Sony has positioned their online network strategy from the start — Home has always been portrayed as an ad-based revenue stream, where entire areas could be brand-sponsored. “SCEA will depict brands in various forms within the game, where users would expect to see them in real life on billboards and posters, on shopping bags and soda cans and on images of TV screens,” reads the press release.

An inescapable barrage of corporate branding? Home really is a virtual reality! Sony’s not the only platform holder in the advertising action, though — Microsoft acquired in-game ad firm Massive Inc. last year. And hey, at least Sony’s ad-smeared online social network won’t have a yearly fee.

Nintendo confirm new Wii and DS games

chrismgallen — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:05:04 +0000

As part of a Japanese media-only event overseas — as in, we tried to get in but were told to get lost and wait for the American event that’s scheduled for later this week — Nintendo of Japan (via a live blog from Japanese gaming magazine Gemaga) has revealed three new games the company has in development: Fire Emblem on Nintendo DS, Wii Music (which we already knew about, but haven’t heard about since E3 2006) and Super Mario Stadium Baseball.Additionally, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata revealed additional details and the first games coming to Wii Ware, the company’s Xbox Live Arcade-esque service for Wii. Launching in March 2008, Wii Ware will feature a new version of Dr. Mario, Star Soldier R and — most surprisingly — Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: The Little King and The Promised Land

Global Warming: Sim City highlights an Inconvienient Truth

chrismgallen — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:03:58 +0000

Natural disasters have always been a part of the SimCity series, but now the latest entry will tackle what a majority of scientific research says is a growing cause: climate change. Electronic Arts has announced they’ve partnered with British energy company BP to include climate change education in SimCity Societies.The game won’t force any particular type of energy to power your cities, but offer various choices with realistic costs and benefits. If you use cheap sources of energy with high levels of carbon dioxide emission, you’ll save money but your carbon rating will rise. If it reaches a critical level, your city will be at a high risk of natural disasters, such as droughts and heat waves. Or, you could go green with a variety of BP-branded alternative energy sources with lower carbon emissions, but they’ll be more expensive and produce less power.

“With SimCity Societies, we have the opportunity not only to demonstrate some of the causes and effects of global warming, but also to educate players how seemingly small choices can have a big global impact,” said Steve Seabolt, VP of Global Brand Development for The Sims Label at EA. “BP was one of the first major energy companies to publicly acknowledge the need to reduce carbon emissions and begin taking precautionary measures. As such, they are the perfect partner to help educate people on this important social issue in SimCity Societies.”

Adding to the edutainment will be snippets of real-world facts regarding climate change and energy consumption that will help inform players of the dangers, both in-game and in reality.

Wii firmware to 3.1

chrismgallen — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:02:09 +0000

With the latest Wii firmware update a couple months ago, one little-known feature added support for USB keyboards. The reason most people didn’t notice was because it was missing from the spot it would be most useful: the internet browser.That changed today, however, as Opera announced a new update of the Internet Channel. The biggest new feature is USB keyboard support, allowing you to write e-mails, blogs or any of the other activities you probably do on the computer you’re reading this from. The update also allows you to send links to those on your Wii friends list, along with other incremental upgrades like updating the B button as a “Shift” key on the soft keyboard, a copy and paste function, and more storage for bookmarks.

Unfortunately, the Internet Channel hasn’t been free since June 30, so if these features sound like must-haves, you’ll have to pony up the necessary 500 Wii points ($5 USD) to access them.

Harvest Moon Plants Another on DS

chrismgallen — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:01:20 +0000

Marvelous Entertainment has announced Harvest Moon: Sun and Friends for the Nintendo DS, according to Weekly Famitsu.Mark and Chelsea, two characters from Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness, will return as playable characters. The new game takes place in Sunflower Islands, where you make new friends with villagers as wild animals help in the everyday tasks of being a farmer. Finding special stones allows you to uncover other islands for new areas to explore, and you can trade items and voice chat with friends over Wi-Fi.

Harvest Moon: Sun and Friends is expected to arrive this Winter in Japan.

Twat of the Day: PS3 Dev. Costs Caused Monster Hunter Wii Move

chrismgallen — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:00:32 +0000

One of the biggest surprises out of Nintendo’s media event in Japan was the announcement that Monster Hunter 3 would be released on the Wii. Understand that, for Japan, this is somewhere near the magnitude of when Grand Theft Auto IV was announced for the Xbox 360 — a major coup. But why would Capcom shift a PlayStation-exclusive series to the Wii, especially with a game that was already previously announced for PlayStation 3? Money.

Katsuhiko Ichii, Capcom’s managing corporate officer, explained the decision to Thompson Financial News (via Gamasutra). “Due to high development cost of titles for PS3, we have decided to switch the platform to which we release our Monster Hunter 3 title,” Ichii said. While it remains unclear whether Monster Hunter 3 is now a Wii exclusive, or simply being released on both Wii and PS3, this quote seems to suggest the former. Either way, the fact remains: the most popular new console in Japan just got that much more powerful.

Ten New Empire Earth III Shots

chrismgallen — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:54:36 +0000