As was foretold by The Predictor, you can now download the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 DLC again. Available on PSN and Xbox Live today, the $10 (800 Microsoft Points) DLC pack offers these five new playable characters and corresponding challenge missions:

• Magneto
• Black Panther
• Carnage
• Psylocke
• Cable

You can also download Juggernaut separately for $2 (160 Microsoft Points). You'll be able to download all of this DLC until December 31, 2010, when it'll once again make like Sue Storm and vanish from your preferred console's marketplace.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 DLC now available until Dec. 31 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If the unveiling of Nintendo's 3DS-based Kid Icarus game wasn't enough to make Nintendo fans smile, some brand-new characters from the company may very well be on the horizon. Speaking during a recent investor call, as picked up by Sankei Newspaper (via 1UP), Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto admitted that "We need new game characters soon," adding that we could see the new characters as soon as next year. While we might argue that Nintendo still has plenty of characters left languishing in a vault somewhere (Balloon Fight, anyone?), it certainly wouldn't hurt to see some fresh faces from the man who brought icons like Donkey Kong and Link into the world. (And no, Miis do not count. Seriously.)

Though Miyamoto didn't bring up where said new characters might end up, the possibility of it being on any hardware other than Nintendo's apparently doesn't exist -- during the same conference call, Nintendo head Satoru Iwata answered one analysts question about the subject with,"Nintendo's software and hardware are the same thing. Other companies don't share Nintendo's values or traditions when it comes to creating devices. We are absolutely not thinking of doing that." Yikes!

Miyamoto admits Nintendo needs new characters originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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XSEED's recent deal with Nihon Falcom means a truckload of role-playing games on PSP for us. The flagship product of the partnership is Ys Seven, the latest game in the long-running action RPG series and the first to be designed specifically for PSP. As someone whose experience with the Ys series can be described as "casual" at best -- I played the original Ys on a few different platforms -- I was pleasantly surprised to see the game evolve from the clumsy bumping-into-monsters adventure I remembered into an action RPG game that seems more than competent in the action department.

Continue reading Preview: Ys Seven

Preview: Ys Seven originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you own an iPhone or iPod touch, there's a pretty good chance you've played one of the Tap Tap Revenge games. Like, for instance, Nickelback Revenge. Well, Disney has evidently been keeping an eye on the developer of those games, Tapulous, because it's gone and struck a deal to make the company a wholly-owned subsidiary. (Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.)

Tapulous founders Bart Decrem and Andrew Lacy will take on new -- yet still key -- roles within the Disney Interactive Media Group. As for the Tapulous development staff, they're staying put, but will be required to wear comically large white gloves from now on. (We kid. Hopefully.)

Steve Wadsworth, president of DIMG, commented on the deal, saying, "We welcome the Tapulous team to the Disney family and look forward to integrating their popular games into Disney's offerings." Yes, Tapulous will keep making games for iDevices -- they'll just probably feature more anthropomorphic animals.

Disney buys iPhone music game giant Tapulous originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hoo-doggy! Look at them critters go! While video game hardware sales were down 20 percent month-over-month in May - yeah, we're looking at you, handheld sales - software sales were up! Sure, you're right, they're only up 4 percent month-over-month and the industry is down 5 percent in total, but can't you just relax and enjoy the vista? Red Dead Redemption sold 1.5 million units across both the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms this month and Super Mario Galaxy 2 came in at 560 thousand units on the Wii. Even dear old Alan Wake made the grade, though his sales aren't listed. Find them all after the break.

Of course, these numbers come courtesy of the monthly NPD report, which lists the top 10 selling games (stored after the break) and the hardware sales for North America. The DS continues its free-fall after dropping 37 percent last month, losing another 13 percent. Notably: It's still the best-selling console this month! The Wii is up 21 percent after a 50 percent dip last month, and the Xbox 360 is up 5 percent after last month's 45 percent drop.

Unfortunately, Sony is bringing up the rear, with the PS3 down 15 percent and the PSP down 10 percent. However, NPD's Anita Frazier notes that "The PS3 platform has enjoyed the greatest percentage growth, with platform sales across hardware, software, and accessories up 32 percent for the month, and 28 percent year-to-date." A reminder that it's not always as simple as hardware sales.

• DS: 384K down 57K (-13%)
• Wii: 335K up 58K (+21%)
• 360: 195K up 10K (+5%)
• PS3: 155K down 27K (-15%)
• PSP: 59K down 7K (-10%)

Continue reading May NPD: Red Dead rustles up top spots, Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes third

May NPD: Red Dead rustles up top spots, Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes third originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Strategy fans looking to get their fix on their shiny new iPad can now download an enhanced version of Square Enix's Crystal Defenders. Available for $7.99, the 69MB download provides new ... graphics. It's literally just a higher-res version of the game that's currently available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, though it surprisingly sports the same price as its lower-res counterpart.

Feel free to check out the cleaner sprites of the iPad version in our gallery below. And if you're looking to try before you buy, remember you can run the Lite version of the iPhone version for free on your iPad.

Crystal Defenders iPad (Square Enix, $7.99): App Store Link

Crystal Defenders now available for the iPad originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For the third time in five years, Mythic Entertainment has been renamed -- from Mythic Entertainment to "EA Mythic," back to "Mythic Entertainment," and now: BioWare Mythic. The "new" name was tested out in yesterday's Warhammer Online June Producer's Letter, with producer Carrie Gouskos asking readers, "Like the fancy new name? We're still getting used to it ourselves."

Actually, the "BioWare Mythic" name has been used casually for some time within the BioWare division; though the studio's homepage and game sites continue to use the Mythic Entertainment name and logo. An Electronic Arts spokesperson told Joystiq that the name change was never formally announced, but that it was reflective of EA's restructuring of Mythic last June.

At that time, the Virginia-based studio was placed under the direction of BioWare overlords Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, and is currently one of four development studios within the division, which includes BioWare Edmonton, BioWare Austin and BioWare Montreal. Uh-oh, do we sense a "BioWare Fairfax" name change coming on?

Mythic Entertainment quietly renamed to 'BioWare Mythic' originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon's list of bonus offers is a good resource for people who like to receive free money for basically no reason when they pre-order games. Metroid: Other M is among the latest to be bundled with Amazon credit as an incentive, to the tune of an extra $20. Other notable recent additions include L.A. Noire, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Disney Guilty Party (all three offering a $10 credit)

Amazon is continually sneaking new offers in among the ones like Halo: Reach and Call of Duty: Black Ops that have been available for some time. Which kind of makes sense, since new games continue to be announced even during the pre-order period for other games.

Amazon offers credit on Metroid: Other M, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, more originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony has a special surprise for Canadians today. To celebrate Canada Day (and the Canadian launch of the PlayStation Network video delivery service), Sony is offering a download of Charlie's Angels for free. To access the video service, go to the PlayStation Store on your PS3 or PSP, and click on the new "Video" tab at the top. An e-mail will be sent to the registered PSN account with a redeemable voucher.

The offer is valid in Canada only, and unfortunately, cannot be traded in for a better movie.

PlayStation Store celebrates Canada Day with free Charlie's Angels originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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