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Posted Feb 05, 2008 at 04:04AM by Ryan A. Listed in: News, Games Tags: Bungie Studios, Gearbox Software, Randy Pitchford
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Gearbox Software working on its biggest project to date - Image 1Gearbox Software has done a lot of accomplishments in the past and has a lot of successful titles under its belt. How would you feel now if the company says that it is working on its biggest and most ambitious project to date?

Well, we are pretty sure that you will be ecstatic because that's what exactly what we felt. To know more about this, read the full article to read what company president Randy Pitchford had to say about the project.

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Posted Jan 21, 2008 at 09:04PM by Ryan C. Listed in: Off Topic, Super Mario Galaxy, Games, Opinions & Analysis, Humor Tags: Infinity Ward, Bungie Studios, Naughty Dog, Factor 5, Ubisoft Montreal
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Dubious Videogame Awards - Image 1There are video game awards, and then there are video game awards. This particular video game awards feature is probably of the latter, but with a lot of good-natured irreverence thrown into the mix. While it would have been easier for us to just make an article about our favorite games (and we did), we felt that the gaming year of 2007 had a lot to offer, and thus we're giving credit (and blame) where it's due.

Check out the winners in the full article.

Originally posted on January 21, 2008 at 1:14 PM.

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Posted Nov 07, 2007 at 02:14PM by Sally B. Listed in: News, Opinions & Analysis Tags: Microsoft, Bungie Studios, Sony, Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America
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Reggie Fils-Aime - Image 1Speaking before Nintendo's investors, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimes states that their rivals, Sony and Nintendo, made a grave mistake in developing expensive consoles. "They've gone down the path with building expensive machines that they lose money on. They've gone down the path with games that are hard to develop," said Fils-Aime. Pretty believable from someone who said that the "Wii isn't a fad, it is the future"? We'll see.

Read more in the full article!

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Posted Oct 31, 2007 at 11:54AM by Sally B. Listed in: Interviews, News Tags: Microsoft, David Yarnton, Bungie Studios
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Halo 3 - Image 1Remember Nintendo UK boss' David Yarnton's recent speech about Nintendo still catering to the hardcore set? The speech appears to have raised some hackles, particularly this part (in verbatim):

For all the recent talk of record breaking entertainment launches, it might just be that the defining and most influential video game of this generation is a simple game of tennis that the whole family can gather around and play and enjoy together.


Some people thought that "record breaking entertainment launches" quote is a dig aimed at Bungie Studios' wildly-popular Halo 3, which helped in Microsoft's current Xbox 360 hardware sales jump (as shown by the NPD group in their recent hardware sales chart). 

However, Nintendo clarified that Yarnton did not refer to any specific game in his speech, especially not Bungie Studios' opus. " We were merely putting Wii Sports into a wider cultural context alongside cinema, books and TV," said a Nintendo spokesperson, adding that they consider the Halo games as indispensable to the gaming industry.

Well, that certainly helped in stopping a console war storm before it even started...for now, at least.

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Posted Oct 31, 2007 at 10:02AM by Sally B. Listed in: News, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Opinions & Analysis Tags: Microsoft, Bungie Studios, Sony, Michael Pachter
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next-gen consoles - Image 1According to Wedbush Morgan's analyst Michael Pachter, it's all sunshine and roses for the console hardware sales this year. That would be thanks to the recent success of Bungie Studios' Halo 3 for the Xbox 360 (which moved a lot of Microsoft Xbox 360 units) and the entry of Sony's new 40GB PS3, PSP Slim units into the market. Pachter said that there will be a considerable increase in hardware sales due to the new options available to gamers.

He also opined that there will be no more price cuts for the remainder of the year, but there's a chance that the release of Nintendo's much-awaited Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii will spark a hardware price cut. "We do not expect a price cut for the Wii until supply and demand are in balance, but believe that the launch of Super Smash Brothers Brawl on February 10, 2008 presents an opportunity to adjust pricing," said Pachter.

Beefed up with an all-star cast and its fans further worked up by a release date delay, it's no wonder that Super Smash Bros. Brawl (you can check out how epic the game will turn out in this video) alone will manage to make an impact on the gaming market, aside from Halo 3.

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Posted Oct 24, 2007 at 11:26AM by Sally B. Listed in: Interviews Tags: Bungie Studios, Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America, Perrin Kaplan
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Perrin Kaplan, Marketing vice president for Nintendo of America - Image 1It's an undeniable fact that Halo 3 by Bungie Studios for the Xbox 360 is a an overwhelming success. Now, is there a chance that the widely popular game will be ported over to Nintendo's popular console?

When asked if Nintendo is willing to let Bungie develop a Wii game, Nintendo's outgoing marketing vice president Perrin Kaplan only has this to say: "We don't have any plans to reach out to them at this juncture. No, Nintendo’s got it’s hands full."

Well, that could be the end of the idea of a Halo game in the Wii. But there's still a remote possibility, however, though Kaplan said that it's hard to say if Nintendo really needs a Bungie title in the Wii library.

As for the much-awaited (and much-delayed) September surprise from Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, Kaplan gave a big hint: Fils-Aime never indicated which year the September surprise will be announced.

Will it be next year's September, then? Sounds like a long wait, but you can count on us to keep you informed as soon as we get more information.

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Posted Oct 17, 2007 at 05:22PM by Ceasar S. Listed in: News, Games Tags: Microsoft, Bungie Studios, GBA, Microsoft Game Studios, NPD
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Canadian hardware, software sales: NPD Group spills game industry numbers for September 2007 - Image 1The NPD Group has just released the retail sales numbers of Canada's video game industry, and for the month of September, hardware sales of the Microsoft Xbox 360 have jumped to 51,200 units. The rise was attributed to the September 25 release of Bungie Studios' Halo 3, published by Microsoft. Over all, the game industry was reported to have met a 96% increase in total sales from US$ 66.2 million to US$ 129.7 million, year on year.

Throughout the retail sale categories that the NPD report covered, console hardware sales have more than doubled for the month alone, confirming Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter's prediction. The revenue hit a high of 244% from US$ 13 million in September last year to US$ 44.7 million in September this year.

With it, console software sales rose 79% year-on-year, from US$ 27.8 million to US$ 49.9 million in revenue. Handhelds in contrast performed in the lowest margins, though both software and hardware revenue increased according to NPD's numbers.

Handhelds sold in the nation hiked up 29% from US$ 9 million in September last year to US$ 11.7 million this year, while handheld video games rose by a slim 2% from last year - US$ 9.5 million to US$ 9.7 million. The hardware sales ranked by most unit sales for the month of September stood as:
  • Microsoft Xbox 360 - 51,200
  • Nintendo DS - 45,000
  • Nintendo Wii - 42,900
  • Sony PSP - 2,200
  • Sony PS2 - 16,500
  • Sony PS3 - 15,600
  • Nintendo GBA - 8,600
You can also see the top 10 video games for September 2007 ranked by most unit sales at the full article.

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Posted Sep 27, 2007 at 10:17AM by Mabie A. Listed in: News Tags: Bungie Studios, Jack Thompson, Target Corporation
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what's Jack playing on his PC? - Image 1How many titles more before Jack Thompson succeeds in driving home the point that minors are being sold Mature-rated games even without the proper identification from retail stores?

After sending his 15-year-old son to purchase BioShock (PC, Xbox 360) a while back, the kid adds yet another to his growing collection, in the form of Bungie Studios' epic Halo 3.

In a press release circulated yesterday, the anti-game advocate claims that his son was able to purchase the game from a Target store without having to verify his age. Ironically, in doing so, he helped the very title he sought a TRO for just last week.

Miami attorney and anti-violent video game activist today did a successful sting on Target Corporation. His fifteen-year-old son, on the first try, was able to buy the "Mature-rated" Halo 3 without producing any age ID at the Dadeland Station Target.


Thompson is aiming to prove that the current game age rating system is majorly flawed and that serious revisions have to be made on it to make it more effective.

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