February 2003

Friday, February 28, 2003

Marvel vs Capcom 2 for X-Box coming in March
Posted by White_Pointer @ 12:08:32 AEST
Still a little shocked after hearing the news that Capcom have cancelled All Stars, this news comes through fresh off the press desk. Capcom have released plans to release Marvel vs Capcom 2 on the X-Box in March this year, however unlike Capcom vs SNK 2 EO, this will not be X-Box Live compatible.
Don't let this turn you off it though, here's just some of the features it'll possess:

• Real 3-on-3 tag team battle!
  
• More than 50 playable characters
  
• Team Hyper Combo – Allows three characters to perform Super Combos successively.
  
• Snap Back – Forces opponents to change characters
  
• Assist Type Select – Players choose their favorite assist attack
  
• Crossover Attack – Players can change characters in the thick of battle
  
• Crossover Assist – Waiting character rushes on screen to assist your playing character
  
• Crossover Counter – Waiting character performs lifesaving counterattacks
  
• Crossover Combination – Three characters perform a Super Combo simultaneously
  
• Advancing Guard – Allows players to push back their opponent
  

Capcom Cancels Capcom Fighting All Stars
Posted by White_Pointer @ 6:00:14 AEST
Well, this is a bit of breaking news that has surprised a lot of us, myself included.
According to the Japanese gaming magazine Dorimaga, Capcom Fighting All Stars, the new 3D fighter that would have featured characters from various Capcom franchises such as Street Fighter, Final Fight and Rival Schools, has been cancelled for reasons that Capcom have not revealed as yet. Whether Capcom will reveal why they have suddenly canned the game out of the blue like this remains to be seen, but it certainly is a surprising piece of news that will no doubt disappoint Capcom fighting fans everywhere.
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Thursday, February 27, 2003

Mad Catz to launch GBA accessories
Posted by White_Pointer @ 5:12:44 AEST
Mad Catz Inc., the worlds leading third party manufacturer and marketer of video game accessories, yesterday announced that the Company's full line of accessories for Nintendo's recently announced Game Boy Advance SP, will be available to European retailers in time for the launch of Game Boy Advance SP in March.

Mad Catz will launch with an innovative range of core accessories for Game Boy Advance SP, which will include magnifiers, carry cases, game cases, charger kits, grips and link cables.

Mike Sale, Director of Sales for Mad Catz Europe (an appropriate name too, I might add) had this to say:

"We are expecting an amazing response to the launch of the Game Boy Advance SP, after the success that the Game Boy Advance received over the last two years. The Game Boy Advance SP provides Mad Catz with the opportunity to further strengthen our world class product line and to further enhance the SP gaming experience for all gamers. We have an exciting range of products ready for the launch of the SP in March and expect to add many more exciting and innovative products to our SP range as the year progresses."

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

X-Box Live to launch in Europe
Posted by White_Pointer @ 15:37:24 AEST
The launch date for the X-Box Live for Europe has been set for 14th of March, along with this impressive line-up of titles to choose from:

"MechAssault" (Microsoft Game Studios)

"Unreal Championship" (Infogrames Inc)

"Tom Clancy's Ghost ReconTM" (Ubi Soft Entertainment)

"Whacked!" (Microsoft Game Studios)

"NFL Fever 2003" (Microsoft Game Studios)

"Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO" (Capcom)

So European X-Box Live fans, it won't be long now before you can start playing Capcom vs SNK 2 EO online! Get yourselves ready for some serious action when X-Box Live launches in a little over 2 weeks!
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Sunday, February 23, 2003

Soul Calibur II action figures
Posted by White_Pointer @ 21:16:27 AEST
Yep, Todd McFarlane, who actually designed the character Necrid in Soul Calibur II, has started producing SCII action figures in his McFarlane Toys line of products. He's started out with Ivy, Astaroth, Nightmare, Voldo, and of course, Necrid.

Go here if you want to see what the actual figurines look like.
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Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus Preview
Posted by White_Pointer @ 17:04:33 AEST
Our affiliates Gamesplurge have written a nice little preview to an upcoming X-Box exclusive fighting title that's set to take the world by storm, Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus. Designed by Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias, it looks as though it's going to be taking gore in games to a new level.
You can read the preview here.
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Friday, February 21, 2003

January Video Game Sales in the UK
Posted by White_Pointer @ 19:44:22 AEST
Let's take a look at how well games sold in the UK over the month of January, thanks to NPD:

December / January / Title / Platform / Publisher / Average Price
* / 1 / The Sims / PS2 / EA / $49
* / 2 / The Getaway / PS2 / SCEA / $40
1 / 3 / Grand Theft Auto: Vice City / PS2 / EA / $50
* / 4 / Devil May Cry 2 / PS2 / Capcom / $49
18 / 5 / SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals / PS2 / SCEA / $60
2 / 6 / Dragon Ball Z Budokai / PS2 / Infogrames / $49
3 / 7 / Madden NFL 2003 / PS2 / EA / $49
12 / 8 / ATV Offroad Fury 2 / PS2 / SCEA / $40
7 / 9 / Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal / GBA / Konami / $30
* / 10 / Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball / Xbox / Tecmo / $50

Well, as far as fighting games go, there's only one on there, being the Dragon Ball Z game. Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball finishes up the top 10...even though it isn't a fighter it's part of the DOA series so worthy of a mention.

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance was released across all PAL territories, which includes the UK, on February 14th, so it will be interesting to see this sales chart next month.
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Thursday, February 20, 2003

X-Box outsells Gamecube thanks to the DOA series
Posted by White_Pointer @ 5:46:14 AEST
With a little help from DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball, the X-Box has outsold the Gamecube so far this year. It was immediately the best selling X-Box title of the month as well as the No.2 selling game across all platforms for the month.

"We're glad that the 'DOA' franchise continues to be a strong force behind the success of Xbox," said John Inada, general manager of Tecmo. "Following the success of our million-selling Xbox launch title 'Dead or Alive 3,' we were confident that the loyal fans of the 'DOA' series would embrace 'DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball' in full force. Combine the high-level gameplay and compelling game concept with the best machine and you really can't lose."

Tuesday, February 18, 2003

New X-Arcade Review
Posted by White_Pointer @ 5:10:06 AEST
Well, if you've taken a look at our affiliated sponsors section, you'll see that one of the products you can buy online is an arcade controller called the X-Arcade. Well, Cube Australia have written a pretty in-depth review of this new controller, listing it's Pro's and Con's and comparing it to other controllers on the market. If you were thinking of buying one, but weren't sure if it was worth your money, then this review should aid your decision. Read it here.
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Sunday, February 16, 2003

GBA SP Launches in Japan
Posted by White_Pointer @ 16:43:09 AEST
You might remember a few weeks ago it was reported here that Nintendo have made a new Gameboy Advance, one that has a flip-screen and lights around the edge of the screen so it can be played in the dark, called the Gameboy Advance SP. Well, Last Friday, the GBA SP was launched in Japan, and it's proven to be a huge success. It was reported that hundreds of people were seen lining the streets, eager to buy their own GBA SP. The European release date for the system is set for March 28th. It's also available in 3 colours: silver, black and blue.
David Gosen, Managing Director, Nintendo of Europe stated:

"As we anticipated, the reception the new GBA SP has received in Japan is fantastic. The stylish pocket-sized design, the front lit screen and rechargeable battery ensure the ultimate playing experience for gamers on the go."

Saturday, February 15, 2003

X-Men vs Street Fighter online!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 10:03:16 AEST
That's right, some creative people have put together an X-Men vs Street Fighter online game to be played on your PC. Apparently it actually works very well and has been very popular since it's release.

If you're a Street Fighter fan and hanging for some online action on your PC, then visit http://projectx.cyberfuturism.com and try it out!
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Friday, February 14, 2003

Capcom vs SNK 2:EO X-Box Live impressions
Posted by White_Pointer @ 22:43:58 AEST
Gamespot have published a rather short article which covers what they think about Capcom's new online fighter that's just been released for the X-Box. It doesn't say much, although it does mention the all important subject of whether the speed is acceptable when playing online.

If you are interested, give it a read
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MK: DA now available in Australia and Europe!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 6:18:39 AEST
Yes, Australians and Europeans, your wait is finally over. Today, February 14th, is the day Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance PAL version is available in stores! Who cares about Valentines Day...It's our very own "Fatality Friday!", so, get out to your nearest games store, and grab yourself a copy. You'd better believe I'll be getting mine during my lunch break! It's bound to sell like hotcakes if the US sales are anything to go by...if you were smart you would have preordered it, so if you didn't, make sure you get to your games store early before they sell out!
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Wednesday, February 12, 2003

Capcom vs SNK 2: EO for X-Box Live ships!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 19:38:18 AEST
You heard right ladies and gentlemen, the much anticipated X-Box Live version of the classic Capcom brawler has finally been released! Capcom have very much kept quiet over the whole game recently, without really confirming a solid release date, which explains the lack of news on the game. However, all you Street Fighter fans, your prayers have now been answered. Now you can fight online with your friends!

Capcom have published a lengthy press release on the game on their site which you can read right here!

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and get it now!
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Nintendo cracks down on Piracy
Posted by White_Pointer @ 14:48:48 AEST
Nintendo of America have recently announced that they have successfully conducted three antipiracy raids in China, which nabbed more than 300,000 pieces of pirated software, as well as a bunch of unofficial devices that are used to create pirated software. Nintendo claims that more than $649 million in sales are lost each year due to piracy around the world.

"Nintendo has never been more aggressive in protecting our unique global brand and our key intellectual properties, and China can expect the largest share of our attention again in 2003," said Jodi Daugherty, director of antipiracy, Nintendo of America.

50% off your MK: DA strategy guide
Posted by White_Pointer @ 8:23:18 AEST
This is for Australians only (and possibly the Europeans, although I'm yet to confirm this). If you pre-order your Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance strategy guide from Electronics Boutique, you'll receive a whopping 50% off the Recommended Retail Price. Not a bad deal eh? Unfortunately, you can't actually get a discount on the game itself, but, if you want the full, glossy, colour strategy guide, then that's the place to get it.
Of course, you can always get all the information you need right here at Blood-Sports.net for free! I know a lot of you like to have these kind of things though...so, get to your nearest EB and preorder it to get that discount. Remember this is for Aussies only.
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Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Forums back up?
Posted by Squash @ 14:35:46 AEST
Well, they work for me so they should work for you too :)
Now you have no excuse for not posting anything in the forums.
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And now for something completely different.
Posted by BobXFett @ 9:04:34 AEST
...
I know this is completely unrelated to current posts, but I just now got around to noticing the top 10 worst game to movie thing, and I have to voice my argument about Resident Evil.

It wasn't the best movie ever, but it was more than watchable, and I'm pondering buying the DVD. It had a couple really lame scenes, but overall it was full of creepy zombie-tastic goodness.

Plus the licker was pretty darn cool looking.

... We now return you to your regularly scheduled forum downtime.
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Sunday, February 9, 2003

Forums down again
Posted by White_Pointer @ 16:57:30 AEST
Nope, sorry...seems as though the problem we were experiencing with our forums wasn't completely resolved, the forums are down again.

We're all getting pretty frustrated by this...so please be patient and we'll try sorting these problems out as quickly as we can.

Saturday, February 8, 2003

Forums back up
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:05:29 AEST
Yep, our issues seem to have been resolved and our forums are back up and running, so head on over to our forums and restart that gaming talk!
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Friday, February 7, 2003

Congress vs. Gamers...again.
Posted by Spider @ 6:16:36 AEST
As some of you may or may not have heard, Congress is trying its hardest to pass a law that would pose stiff fines to anyone renting or selling "M" rated games to anyone under the age of 18; in otherwords, making it a federal crime. Anyone with common sense would see that this type of law is not necessary. The ratings on games were put there as a convenience by the gaming industry for parents concerned about what games they should buy for their children. Now all of a sudden Congress decides to step in and make it a law?
One should take note of the movie industry, which can sell tickets to minors as they please, and cannot be reprimanded. Now, wait a minute...it's illegal for a store to sell Diablo II to an underage kid, yet, it's not illegal for a movie theater to sell him a ticket to see any R rated movie?

Am I the only one who sees something very wrong with this?

Check out the news post by CNN here.
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Thursday, February 6, 2003

Forums down...
Posted by White_Pointer @ 14:04:53 AEST
Yeah, our forums are down again, and this seems to be due to a very suspect mySQL error. Suspect meaning that the database might have been attacked by an outside source. We need to talk to the hosts and check our server logs...we'll keep you posted on what is going on. We apologise for the inconvenience.
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Tuesday, February 4, 2003

X-Box doubles it's losses in Q4 2002
Posted by White_Pointer @ 10:10:45 AEST
Reuters have recently reported that Microsoft's losses on the X-Box almost doubled in the final Quarter of 2002. This boosted the overall losses in Microsoft's home entertainment division to a staggering USD$348 million. To put this into context, a year earlier when Microsoft's home entertainment division was comprised of PC games and accessories and TV Products, it only lost USD$180 million. It's a good thing Microsoft has had this money to just throw around like this, or the X-Box will already be dead. What they are going to do from here is anybody's guess, how long will they be willing to lose USD$100 on every console they sell? The sales figures indicate that the console has been selling pretty well, but at a loss like this, it can't be good in a business sense...
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Monday, February 3, 2003

The top 10 good video games made into bad movies
Posted by White_Pointer @ 12:48:56 AEST
Gamespy have announced their top 10 bad movies made from good computer games, and as you know, two of the biggest fighting game franchises of all time - Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, have both been made into movies. There's been talk about a Tekken movie to be made recently as well. This list that Gamespy comprised is the top ten good games made into bad movies...ranked from "best" to "worst", if you get my drift (ie, 10 is the best movie while 1 is the worst)

10. Mortal Kombat
9. Pokemon: The First Movie
8. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
7. Resident Evil
6. The House of The Dead
5. Double Dragon
4. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
3. Street Fighter
2. Wing Commander
1. Super Mario Brothers

I don't think many can argue there. If you want to read detailed descriptions of how Gamespy came up with this list, look here
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Sunday, February 2, 2003

New Poll
Posted by White_Pointer @ 11:35:46 AEST
Based on our last poll, it seems most people are looking forward to the console versions of Soul Calibur II out of any other fighting game that's recently been announced. Now that Namco have announced who the special bonus characters will be in each of the console versions of the game, which version are you going to buy? Gamecube, PS2 or X-Box? Vote now! The Gamecube will feature Link, the X-Box will feature Spawn and the PS2 will feature Heihachi. Don't forget to view our image galleries of these special characters when you get the chance!
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Poll Results
Posted by White_Pointer @ 11:28:36 AEST
Time to look at the results from the previous Poll:

Which of these new games are you most looking forward to?

39.5% Soul Calibur II (Consoles)
23.2% Another new Mortal Kombat game
13.9% Dead or Alive: Code Chronos
11.6% Capcom Fighting All Stars
6.9% Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2.3% More GBA versions of Street Fighter/SNK games
2.3% A sequel to Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee

Well, I guess it's no surprise to see that most people are eagerly awaiting the console versions of Soul Calibur II, and who can blame them? It's set to be a ground breaking game in all aspects.


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