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Electronic Arts have posted a loss of million in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year (ending March 31st). Despite the high number of this loss, it is actually quite positive news for EA, who suffered a much more severe loss of nearly 0 million in the same time the previous year.

Overall, EA have said they are pleased with the result, which was actually better than what most analysts were expecting. Considering the state of the economic world at this time, it’s actually quite good to see some positive news (despite the negative numbers!)

With EA releasing some popular titles in the coming months, we can only expect the publisher to go from strength to strength in the long run. Some of these titles include Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Sims 3, both of which have been big hitters in the past.

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Despite numerous claims by critics that World at War is nowhere near as good as the previous Call of Duty, Modern Warfare, Treyarch has had tremendous success wit the first Map Pack dlc they released, reaching over 1 million gamers within the first week of being released on both the Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network online services.

Following on from this success Treyarch, with the backing of their publisher Activision, will be releasing their next Call of Duty: World at War downloadable content. In a similar style to the first, it will be a map pack containing three standard multiplayer maps and one new Nazi Zombies map.

But that’s not all, apparently it will also add new Trophies/Achievements, Perks, a new weapon and even “flaming Hell hounds” according to Joystiq.

The Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2 is due for a June release.

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PixelJunk 1-4 was recently announced, finally, along with a few teaser images which seemed to hint towards an underground type game. While this seems to be quite ture, the gameplay was somewhat different to what I personally expect. A trailer that has recently been released on the PixelJunk 1-4 mini-site shows off some of the gameplay elements that are also described on the site.

The trailer below shows how you can utilise the dynamic fluids system to obliterate enemies or simply shoot them using your ships(?) built in weaponry.

ALso on the new website is an announcement about a competition to name PixelJunk 1-4. The winner of which will have their name put amongst the staff credits, five runner-ups will receive a unique T-shirt.

The contest closes on May 11th, 2009.

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In February, Microsoft launched their “Deal of the Week” scheme on the Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA). As with most new gaming services, especially online ones, there was a technical hitch or two. The problem was, many people who ordered the game from the DotW were charged the full 1200 points instead of the discounted 800 points that was advertised.

This glitch was soon fixed so not everyone was affected by the issue, however those that were have been asking for justice to their over charged payments.

Finally, Microsoft has come clean on the issue, issuing emails apologising for the mistake and thanking users for their patience, loyalty and the usual PR blabber.

Customers who were ripped off accidentally overcharged may have, or should be, receiving the following email from Microsoft:

Dear Xbox LIVE Gold Member:
We launched Deal of the Week program on Feb 23rd, 2009 as an added benefit to your Gold membership and we are very excited to see the overwhelming response we have received from our loyal users such as you.

As a result of the increased transactions we know that you experienced an intermittent Xbox LIVE issue, which resulted in you being charged full price of 1200 points for the ‘Braid’ deal instead of the discounted price of 800 points. We sincerely wish to apologize for the technical glitch and would like to take this moment to thank you for your patience and understanding as our team worked around the clock to fix this problem.

We will not only be crediting back the 400 points that were overcharged, but also be crediting an extra 100 points as a token of our appreciation and as a thank you for your loyalty during this period. You will see a credit of 500 points in your account in the coming weeks.

admin PS3 News xbox, xbox live

A video has appeared on the Sony PlayStation website. It can be found amongst the slideshow of videos that appear on the homepage. The video is in the following 5 stages:

1. Text: “An electrifying announcement”
2. Picture: Infamous
3. Text: “will be revealed”
4. Picutre: Uncharted 2
5. Text: “04-27-09″

I even made a nice little picture for those of you that prefer visual aids.

Sony intrigues us with new website teaser video

I can only guess that this must have something related to the two games involved in the video sequence, namely Uncharted 2 and inFamous. But they might just be there for visual cues and it may be a general announcement related to Playstation. If the latter is the case, then it is most likely PS3 based, seeing as both the games are on that platform.

Any ideas? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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If you haven’t heard of the first downloable content map pack coming to Killzone 2 then you’ve obviously been under a rock the last few weeks.

As mentioned in my previous post about the Steel and Titnaium DLC, the release date was set as April 30th but no price tag had ben set at the time.

However, it seems a price has been settled, you can purchase the two new maps for .99. This emans in the UK expect something in the region of £4-£5.

The official PlayStation blog also released a trailer displaying some of the features of the enw maps, including the ability to jump moving obstacles on the Wasteland Bullet train level.

Take a gander for yourselves:

Update: Apparently the Killzone 2 v1.24 patch is now live in the US.

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Ah, Stephen Fry, one of my favourite Twitterers. Those of you who live in the UK, like myself, may remember he voiced the tutorials and some other narration tidbits for LittleBigPlanet.

Going on from this information and combining it with one of his latest Twitter updates, it seems the second edition of LittleBigPlanet may be in the works. If it does indeed refer to LBP then it is interesting to note how he used the term “second edition” as opposed to sequel or, for example, PSP version. Obviously he is trying to be cryptic so it could simply be down to that.

Fry’s Twitter states:

“Morning all. In studio today voicing 2nd edition of a video game. Will check when I’m there if I’m allowed to say what it is…”

Of course, he might be referring to a completely different game and it doesn’t necessarily state he did any work for the first iteration of the game anyway. Still, seems a bit coincidental.

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“Stealth? Stealth my foot! That word’s not in my dictionary!”

A huge update for Gears of War 2 today via press release! First up: some sales milestones. GoW2‘s already broken through the 5-million mark for worldwide sales, thus bringing overall series sales to 11-million. So to celebrate, Microsoft and Epic Games are announcing the new DLC Map Pack and an accompanying add-on retail bundle.

Confirming previous rumors, the new DLC is in fact called Dark Corners, to be available for 1600 MS Points. It’s going to contain seven new maps and a deleted campaign chapter which wasn’t included in the final cut of the game.

The deleted chapter’s called Road to Ruin where Marcus and Dom go back into Locust Hollow. What’s cool here is that you can do your usual shoot-anything-that-moves tactic, or… using a supposed all-new stealth mode.

As for the seven other maps included in Dark Corners, the press release details the following:

• Allfathers Garden: Honor the sacred grounds of the Coalition founders in this explosive map, where powerful weapons catalyze fast and furious action at this COG landmark.
• Memorial: Set near the Eternal Flame, which pays tribute to the fallen soldiers on the battlefield, a hard-fought battle ensues at the Tomb of Unknowns. Putting their flank formation and evasive skills to the test, players will fight to control the Boomshot.
• Sanctuary: Once a peaceful ground for reflection and remembrance, all that remains of the Sanctuary is the chill of death. Feast your eyes on the arsenal of weapons available as you make your way through the tight paths and blind corners of the Locust-damaged temple corridors.
• War Machine: In the abandoned train station that once served as a hub for travel, players will need to master the Longshot, Mulcher and Boomshot weapons to advance the fight while evading fire from the platforms above.
• Highway: Take the fight deep into the Locust Hollow in the complex passages of this underground highway system brimming with enemy vermin. Stick together, separate the enemy and have an exit strategy ready or it ll be a one-way trip.
• Way Station: Sitting in limbo between death and processing are Locust way stations filled with fallen COG soldiers. Tread lightly and practice patience as it s better to sacrifice firepower for stealth while navigating this minefield of hidden grenades.
• Nowhere: Set in the middle of what was once a destination for weary desert travellers, the land is now barren and devoid of life. Pick off your enemies with the Longshot sniper rifle and make your way to the stairwell with a well-fortified team during this intense firefight.

Now the new Dark Corners DLC will be included in the Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection. It’s going to be an add-on-only pack, much like Fallout 3‘s Anchorage-Pitt pack, which only contains download coupons for the DLC, and not a copy of the actual game. All Fronts gets you the following:

• Dark Corners DLC map pack
• Snowblind DLC map pack
• Compustible DLC map pack
• Flashback DLC map pack
• a Cliff Bleszinski intro of Road to Ruin
• custom Xbox Live theme
• collectible GoW2 poster
• and a strategy guide

The entire bundle costs US 19.99 ( 14.99, 19.99) on retail shelves starting July 28. Veeery tempting, is it not? Heck, even if you’ve been able to get some of those map packs from before, the bundle is still a steal.

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admin Xbox 360 News Free Xbox 360, xbox, xbox 360

“Y’mean we’re going digital download only? But… but…”
“Snow, the Patapons did it. Who says we can’t?”
I can hear Katy Perry’s “Hot’N'Cold” song suddenly play in the background (“cuz you’re hot then you’re cold, you’re yes then you’re no, you’re in th–” ahem). Square Enix has once again stamped out rumors of releasing the Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Xbox 360) demo outside of Japan.

However, there’s still that one thread of hope: when they say they’re not releasing the demo (videos here!), they’re talking about the Blu-ray version of the demo. That aside, there are other means of getting a demo, yes?

Speaking to VideoGamer, FF series producer Yoshinori Kitase said:
The type of demo version we released in Japan, we currently have no plan of doing that abroad, partly because we are going to carry on with the project alongside the Xbox version, so we really can’t just make it available only for the PS3.

But we hear that the demo version normally means something that you can download in the West, so that is a possibility we would like to check.
Ka-shwing! Hope springs eternal – just like that!

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admin Xbox 360 News xbox, xbox 360

A few days ago, we reported on a rumor of a motion-sensing add-on for the Xbox 360, which came complete with a features list and a picture. Today, we’ve got an update on that, albeit also as a rumor form, this time saying that it may even have been already demoed at the Consumer Electronics Show last year.

Ars Technica is not all too sure, but they do believe that they have played the “Wii Killer” already, claiming that they have, in fact, seen the “exact same technology at CES 2008.” To make things even more intriguing, Microsoft is making as much noise as it can for the upcoming E3.

Here’s the juicy bits of Ars Technica’s recount of last year’s suspected demo:

At CES last year we met with a company called 3DV that showed off a small Web-camera-like device that was able to detect movement and interaction in 3D space. We even played a boxing game that worked very, very well. Even more impressive was the ability to control media functions with gestures. You could swipe you way through your movies, interact with pictures, change channels, all with a small camera and your arms. Imagine a Microsoft Surface — without the Surface.

Doesn’t that sound like magic! But wait, this technology is from 3DV. It doesn’t have Microsoft’s seal stamped on it…

Actually, it’s not too far-off that seal will be there soon if not already. Back in February, Reuters reported that Microsoft was buying off 3DV. It doesn’t take rocket science to figure out why MS could possibly be interested in them, right?

All in all, it really does sound promising. And if this is the big thing that Microsoft is gearing up for E3, we say they just might steal the show.

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