In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Jamie MacDonald, former Vice President of Sony Worldwide Studios (the company responsible for EyeToy), gave out a few pointers to Sony and Microsoft regarding their respective motion controllers. MacDonald warned that gamers are expecting more from the 360 and PS3's motion gaming than they do from the Wii, due to both consoles' beefier hardware. However, he also warned about implementing "traditional long-form gameplay," lengthy sessions of which would leave players "completely knackered."

MacDonald's wisest words came when speaking about pricing the two pieces of hardware. He suggested they follow Sony's strategy with EyeToy, where the peripheral and a piece of software came bundled for the price of a normal game, which kept consumers from "paying a premium for the hardware." That's a sweet thought, but it's a little presumptive -- after all, we've yet to hear a price for the two devices. (Hell, we haven't even heard a name for one of them.)

Former EyeToy exec warns of the difficulties facing Natal, 'Arc' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Earlier today, we got a tip that Netflix would be getting 1080P Instant Stream to the Xbox 360 sometime this year. Yet, another story seemed to say that Netflix was instead misquoted, and instead would be developing it for next year – 2011.

We decided to check in with Steve Swasey over at Netflix, who has this to say,

1080p is not coming to Netflix and is not in Netflix development plans.

While it seems unlikely that they aren’t developing it, that is the official word thus far from Netflix.

PopCap today announced that the iPhone port of Plants vs. Zombies is heading to Apple's handheld on February 15, seemingly aiming for the exact day that it had originally approximated for a delayed release. What's more, the publisher has also released the first trailer for the game (seen above), showing off the port's pared down touch-based controls and getting us even more (trepidatiously) pumped for the impending release. Sure, some other games are releasing this month or whatever, but do those games grab us by the dopamine receptor and refuse to let go? Yeah, didn't think so.

Plants vs. Zombies shambling to iPhones February 15 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

With Activision's holiday fiscal report expected to release this week, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is predicting that the Call of Duty profit machine may not repeat its fantastic 2009 performance this year. As reported by IndustryGamers, Pachter believes the Call of Duty franchise will generate "sharply lower revenue," in 2010, to the tune of a $250 million decline. Not to worry, though, as he notes that Activision is likely to more than make up for that amount thanks to Blizzard's impending releases (hello, StarCraft II). Aside from that, of course, it's important to remember that we're talking about a $250 million decrease on almost a billion dollars, so it's not like Pachter expects Call of Duty to wind up in the toilet.

It's worth noting that the previous Call of Duty title, World at War, initially outsold Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, though Modern Warfare remained on top after the dust settled. Unsurprisingly to anyone paying attention, Modern Warfare 2 turned around to outsell the original Modern Warfare. Still, all three remain among the best selling games of all time, so maybe it's okay if the next one is only phenomenally successful.

Pachter: Call of Duty to decline $250 million in 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Normally I'd use this space to explain why you need to check out the behind-the-scenes pictures from the day's show. Not today though. I think the above picture of two hot girls in bikinis having a giggling pillow fight speaks for itself.

Square Enix has applied to trademark Deus Ex: Human Revolution in Europe (#008862153). A quick scan of other international trademark bureaus hasn't revealed anything similar. As Siliconera notes, it could very well be the official name for the upcoming Deus Ex 3, but that may simply be a conspiratorial assumption based on logic.

Information on Deus Ex 3 is still quite scarce, with the little tidbits we do know highlighted by Square Enix handling CG cinematcs and that whole PC-exclusivity kerfuffle. Hopefully, this trademark signals that the Deus Ex prequel is ready to pull back the fiber-optic curtain.

[Via Siliconera]

Square Enix applies for 'Deus Ex: Human Revolution' trademark originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Electronic Arts today announced that Ferrari is returning to Need for Speed. On February 16^th, players of Need for Speed SHIFT will be able to download a content pack that delivers 10 Ferrari cars including the 430 Scuderia and the ultra-rare FXX and F50 GT. Now, Need for Speed SHIFT players will feel the rush of being in the driver’s seat, realizing the true driver’s experience of being behind the wheel of a Ferrari car.

The Ferrari Racing pack is the latest DLC for Need for Speed SHIFT and will be available February 18 for 800 MSPoints (or $10.00).

var fo414_1 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowfullscreen : "true", bgcolor : "#FFFFFF"}, flashvars : { langOpenImage : "See Full Sized Picture!", langAbout : "About", xmlURL : "http://www.360Sync.com/wp-content/plugins/nextgen-flashviewer/xml/autoviewer.php?gid=414"}, attr : { styleclass : "autoviewer"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.360Sync.com/wp-content/plugins/nggflash-swf/autoviewer.swf", "fo414_1", "520", "320", "7.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } fo414_1.start();

In addition to 10 new cars, the Ferrari Racing Series will also extend SHIFT’s career mode with 46 new Ferrari specific challenges designed for the Ferrari cars to participate in including hot laps, eliminators, endurance races and a world tour. Completing the perfect Ferrari package are an additional 125 gamerpoints as a reward for undertaking various exciting challenges. All Ferrari cars can also be taken online where players can prove who has the skills to master these high-performance Italian racing machines.

The Ferraris available include:

1. 1996 Ferrari F50 GT
2. 2005 Ferrari F430 Spider
3. 2005 Ferrari FXX
4. 2005 Ferrari Superamerica
5. 2006 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
6. 2006 Ferrari F430 Challenge (Online/Quick event only)
7. 2006 Ferrari F430 GTC (Online/Quick event only)
8. 2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia
9. 2008 Ferrari California
10. 2008 Ferrari 16M Scuderia Spider

“Need for Speed is recognized globally for showcasing amazing cars, including some of the world’s most desirable high-performance vehicles,” said Keith Munro, vice president at EA. “We are thrilled to be partnering again with Ferrari.”

In a time-honored Peter Moore tradition, the EA Sports head recently opened up for an interview on a variety of subjects in the game industry. This time, the oft fake-tattooed gentleman exposited on the future of OnLive and his company's investment in the upcoming PlayStation Motion Controller (supposedly named "Arc"). "I don't know about OnLive," Moore told CVG, responding to the question of whether or not the cloud gaming service will become the "iTunes of gaming." He does, however, see opportunity in burgeoning distribution and pricing methods. "If a consumer's got five bucks to spend on some cool DLC; if they love Tiger Woods but want to be able to play online and invest $10 or $15 over a period of time ... those are the things we need to look at."

As far as his interest in the "Arc" goes, he says that he's seen the hardware in action and thinks it'll be a "great complement to what's out there." He directly points out its distinction from the Wii's motion controller and reconfirms EA Sports' development of games with Sony motion in mind -- he even names tennis and golf as prime contenders as each sport lends to an "authentic sports motion" (at least with what he's seen on the Wii). Frankly, we're just about as excited as could be to finally show off our lacking sports skills as games based on sports creep closer to reality.

Peter Moore excited about PlayStation 'Arc,' unsure about OnLive originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

We hate to be all Captain Obvious about it, but there's good reason the Gran Turismo series is still doing laps around the virtual track. People are voting with their cash, as the latest figures from Polyphony Digital show that Gran Turismo PSP has managed to sell 1.8 million copies. And through its success, it's hit one hell of a milestone for the Gran Turismo series at large. Here's the rundown of the franchise's success:

• The original Gran Turismo has sold 10,850,000 units
• Gran Turismo 2 has sold 9,370,000 units
• Gran Turismo 3 A-spec on the PS2 managed to sell 14,890,000 units
• Gran Turismo Concept Series sold 1,560,000 units
• Gran Turismo 4 "Prologue" invaded 1,350,000 homes
• Gran Turismo 4 has been the series' top earner, selling 10,980,000 units
• Gran Turismo 5 "Prologue" brought the series to the PS3 by selling 4,650,000 units
• Gran Turismo PSP recently recorded sales of 1,800,000 units

That brings the total to 55,450,000 units. It seems impressive enough -- over five million units sold in the last year-and-a-half ain't too shabby -- though there are some caveats.

For one, the Gran Turismo series has been around for over 10 years -- much longer than any of its competitors. Secondly, it's been the definitive diehard simulation racing experience on Sony's consoles, effectively making it the only show in town. Finally, the series has over seven Guinness World Records. Basically, when you have the world record for "Largest Instruction Guide for a Racing Game," it's, like, a guarantee people are going to buy it.

[Via GI.biz]

Gran Turismo PSP helps series top 55 million units sold originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

You may have assumed this from the climbing PS3 sales Sony reported last week, but a report from Research and Markets provides further confirmation that the system is increasing in popularity around the world.

"The PS3 is dominant in Japan and Korea," the report notes, "and as of June 2008, has begun to outsell the Xbox 360 in Europe. It is also steadily increasing its market share in all other regions across the globe, including in the North American market." The Xbox 360 is still ahead of the PS3 in North America. It's worth noting that the increase in sales in Europe predates the price drop and introduction of the PS3 Slim.

Research and Markets also provided a bit more information about the distribution of console sales. Though North America remains the largest market for consoles, "The high population density and rapid uptake of technology in countries such as Japan and Korea, and to a lesser extent in Singapore and Hong Kong, see a disproportionately high level of console sales compared to the rest of the world," the report reads." Console sales are also fairly high in Western Europe and are growing considerably in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, Latin America, and other areas in Asia."

Report: Global PS3 market share increasing originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments