Persona 4 Golden's American Release Date

It was announced today that Atlus Games' role playing game Persona 4 Golden for the PS Vita has been given a North American release date of November 20th, 2012.

Image credit to  http://www.wallpapervortex.com/video_games-persona_4-wallpapers.html

Persona 4 was first released on the Playstation 2 platform in both Japan and the U.S. in 2008. The new Persona 4: Golden is a re-release of that game on the PS Vita that has been available in Japan since June 14th.  The re-release has a multitude of new features and additions which you can find summarized here.

-T

New Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Story Trailer

Image credit to  http://mashgaming.net/metal-gear-rising-is-it-a-step-too-far/ 

A new trailer was released from the Tokyo Game Show today for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Story.  The 5:18 trailer features Raiden, along with some new friends and some absolutely epic enemies in a hack and slash cybernetic gore fest that is an absolute feast for the eyes.  You can catch the new trailer here.

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Nintendo's "Play As You Are," Campaign Is Aimed at Female Gamers

On September 18th Nintendo of America announced their new "Play As You Are," advertising campaign.  The campaign features New Super Mario Bros. 2, Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Style Savvy: Trendsetters, and Sparkle Snapshots 3d, all available on the Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL platforms. Three notable female models will be participating in the advertisements displaying the games and promoting the idea that "all kinds of women and young girls can explore their interests and express their individuality using the portable Nintendo 3DS - whether they consider themselves gamers or not."

The models featured in this campaign will be:

Olympic gymnast and gold medalist, Gabrielle Douglas

Image credit to Ebony.com  http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/dougies-fresh-16-year-old-gabrielle-douglas-poised-for-gymnastics-gold

Actress and Blogger Dianna Agron, known for her role on Glee,

Image credit to  http://glee.wikia.com/wiki/Dianna_Agron 

and Sarah Hyland, actress on the television show Modern Family.

Image Credit to  http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/sarah-hyland?before=1339204365

"These women are all amazing role models with their own unique tastes and talents. They know firsthand how Nintendo 3DS can keep them entertained and engaged wherever they go.  We think young girls and women of all ages will enjoy hearing what they have to say about their favorite games  and activities on Nintendo 3DS," 

       -Scott Moffitt, executive vice president of Sales & Marketing for Nintendo of America.

You can look forward to seeing these faces a great deal when the campaign officially launches on October 1st, 2012.

-T

Nintendo Accesses3DS's Camera For More Adventure in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

New details have been released about Nintendo's newest addition to the  Pokemon Mystery Dungeon franchise and its use of the Nintendo 3DS's image capture abilities.  The "Magna gate software," uses the 3DS's image capture software to transform the images of "round objects," such as C.D.s, eggs, even the open area of a cup, and transform them into data that creates unique dungeons based on the qualities of the images.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon property of Nintendo,
Image credit to http://www.fanpop.com/spots/pokemon-mystery-dungeon/images/9121288/title/pokemon-mystery-dungeon-photo

The concept of accessing data from outside of a product and utilizing it to create individualized content is hardly a new one.  Games such as Monster Rancher, Audio Surf, Elite Beat Agents,  even the Guitar Hero Franchise have all made compelling content by accessing different flavors of this feature. The real questions about the addition of this feature spawn from the specificity of what is required to activate the software. How round must an object be before the game will recognize it as a possible candidate for image capture? Is 'quality of shape' the only standard by which the image is recognized and categorized? Will context, color, opacity, or stability of structure (I.E. if the photo is of a pond versus a soccer ball) play a part in the individuality of the generated content.  The addition of this feature could seriously add to the replay value of the franchise, or could simply pass under the radar as a small gimmick.  More to come as details are released.
Until then, you can access the Japanese trailer for the game and its use of the 3DS's camera software here
-T

NiGHTSIinto Dreams and Sonic Adventure 2 Return!

Sonic Image Property of Sega Enterprises

Sega announced today that both NiGHTS into Dreams and Sonic Adventure 2 will be available for digital download in October, and they will be in full HD!  Both games will be available for $9.99 on October 2nd and for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox live Arcade for the Xbox 360 on October 5th.

Image property of Sega Enterprises

Both games will feature either additional gameplay or bonus DLC. NiGHTS into Dreams will feature free access to the expansion content Christmas NiGHTS, and Sonic Adventure 2 will have Battle Mode DLC for an additional $3.00 or 240 Microsoft points that features extra maps and characters.

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Hand of Fate Further Expands DC Universe's Story

The online game DC Universe expands tomorrow with the addition of the Hand of Fate DLC, a Playstation news release says.  Players will recieve three new missions that allows to join forces with either Doctor Fate or Felix Faust, representing heroes and villains respectively.  The new DLC also adds on a whole set of missions called "Operations," aimed at expanding the experience for high level characters. These missions are basically large scale raids focused on bringing "magic" out into the cities of Gotham and Metropolis.  There will be 60 additional side missions added to the game as well that serve  to further develop the depth of story and flesh out the game's locales.

Image property of DC Comics

Players can dive into this explosive content when DC Universe: Hand of Fate releases tomorrow!

-T

New Borderlands 2 Launch Trailer Releases Monday!

Borderlands 2 Logo and Images property of Gearbox Software

After much questioning and fun-having at Gearbox Community Day this weekend the audience of the "Gearbox Software Panel," was treated to a little preview.  After a brief statement from president of Gearbox Software Randy Pitchford, the lights in the room dimmed and the insanity began.

Not too give too many spoilers the trailer focused a great deal on the ambitions of Handsome Jack and his "feelings" about the protagonists. Through many flashed scenes, explosions and hostility, the return of past characters, and the most epic of fist bumps, the gearbox team displayed just how much of themselves they put into this game, how much they listened to the fans, and how much this game is going to rock!

The new Borderlands 2 release trailer is scheduled to reach fans tomorrow!
-T

Quirky Pltformer "Dokuro" coming to PS Vita in October

Image credit of http://www.sonypsvitablog.com/2012/03/game-arts-reveals-dokuro-a-new-ps-vita-game-in-this-ragnarok-odyssey-video/

The chalk-drawn, quirky, skeletal platformer Dorkuro is coming to the PS Vita in October, a post by Antonio Cara of Playstation says.  The environment driven puzzle game focuses around the protagonist, Dokuro, and the object of his admiration, a princess that has recently been imprisoned by Dokuro's master, the Dark Lord. 

Image credit of http://www.sonypsvitablog.com/2012/06/a-bunch-of-new-screenshots-and-trailer-for-dokuro/

Dokuro's Gameplay is based around the protagonist's  attempts to assist the princesses in her escape from the Dark Lord's clutches and consists mainly of clearing her path of traps and pitfalls.  There are different collectable power-ups Dokuro can acquire along the way, allowing him to briefly turn into a sword-slashing hero, manipulate the surrounding chalk drawn environment, and gain many other abilities.

Loo for Dokuro to release on the PlayStation Store this October. But until then njoy the trailer thanks to http://facebook.com/GameNewsOfficial
-T

Microsoft's "Operation b70" Disrupts Spread of the Nitol Botnet

It was announced in a Microsoft release by Richard Dingues Boscovich that "Operation b70," organized and run by Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit, (DCU) successfully obtained the rights to host the infamous 3322.org domain name, subsequently providing Microsoft with the ability to block the operation of nearly 70,000 malicious sub-domains along with the C&C (command and control) server of the invasive Nitol botnet.

Digital Crimes Unit Logo property of Microsoft Inc.

Once present in a system, the Nitol virus hides itself in every application on a computer by burying its self within that application's directory under the file name LPK.DLL. This is a file that is accessed by every Windows application during that application's start-up process, but is normally accessed from the System32 directory.  The virus then takes advantage of the Windows Module Loading Process, in which an application first accesses files from its own directory to run in sequence, then expands into other necessary directories, with System32 being the last directory accessed.  In this way Nitol is activated silently and discretely.  The virus then functions as a program with no use interface operating behind the scenes and primarily serves as a tactical point for a third party to initiate a Distributed Denial of Service attack. (An attack in which many compromised systems simultaneously flood information into a single source eftively overloading the system.)

Image credit to http://computer.howstuffworks.com/zombie-computer3.htm

Once the Denial of Service attack is under way, it the attacker has the ability to open up other ports on the compromised computer opening it up to other malware spanning from "Back Doors," which allow an attacker to utilize all functions a normal user would have within a compromised computer, to "Remote Access," malware in which an attacker could activate a user's digital camera or microphone for a multitude of purposes.

The Nitol virus is transmitted primarily through removable media, such as flash drives, external hard drives, and .rar files, making it difficult to track as unwitting carriers could unknowingly spread the virus to a new computer simply by accessing stored applications, such as patches, on a removable drive. Would be attackers could simply install the virus on an old pc, then sell it at a yard sale.  That PC would then infect the buyer's flash drive, once the removable device was attached to the computer. The infected device might be taken to work, possibly to update system applications, patch software, or for many other reasons,and the virus would then self install and embed on the company computer. At that point,the attacker could then access that user's work PC, and activate code within the Nitol virus that would force the PC to download Trojans, or even keystroke monitors.  This simple process of passive invasion is just one of many risks surrounding the purchase of technology through chains and retail locations that are not highly regulated, also known as "Unsecure Supply Chains."  Microsoft has recently taken up a stronger advocacy of tight regulation of product and shipping in response to increased knowledge of the ubiquity of such supply chains. Boscovich proclaimed that at the end of his statement that "We will continue to protect people that use our products and services from these threats and the cybercriminals behind them. In addition, consumers should also exercise their right to demand that resellers provide them with non-counterfeit products free of malware."

After concluding their study of the Nitol virus and it's primary host domain 3322.org, Microsoft filed with the U.S. District court pointing out the violations the data presented. On September 10th, the court ruled that Microsoft could host the 3322.org domain name through Microsoft's new Domain Name System.  This system would allow Microsoft to block the operation of Nitol along with nearly 70,000 other malicious sub-domains, while at the same time allowing for normal traffic on legitimate sub-domains without disruption.

Jet Set Radio Available Soon, or Now?

Image credit to Doyleodo at  http://doyleodo.deviantart.com/art/Jet-Set-Radio-Beat-76401473 

Sony has announced that Jet Set Radio is coming to the PlayStation Network and PS Vita as one of many games in the "Sega's Heritage Collection." The musical collection has been expanded by merging the Japanese, European, and North American soundtracks, and the game is not playable in full HD. Complete with a new trophy system, the game will be available on September 18th on the PSN and October 16th for the PS Vita.  However, if you are a PlayStation Plus member, you should close your browser and log on to the PSN now because Sony released the game early for PlayStation Plus members yesterday!
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Real Racing 3 Further Buffers Electronic Arts' Mobile Gaming Armada

Image property of Electronic Arts Inc.

Electronic Arts has shown that today's word of the day is "mobile."  Not only did the new IPhone 5 show off it's flashy new hardware and processing power by featuring EA's Real Racing 3 in all of its chrome-textured glory, but in a release posted earlier today, EA also announced the immediate release of Madden 12 for the Kindle Fire. The game boasts early Playstation 2-era graphical quality but sells for $4.99 on the Amazon marketplace, making it an easy purchase for the Mobile/Digital gaming market.


The press release stated that "EA initially offered 10 games on the Amazon App Store for Android when the Kindle Fire first launched at the end of 2011 and currently has 24 top games available with plans to bring more in 2012."  Add these numbers on to the EA submissions to the ITunes application stores for the IPhone and IPad which feature 60 games and 58 games respectively associated with EA.

It's beginning to look like gamers should either start taking taking advantage of whatever upgrades their mobile phone services offer, or jumping on the "tablet" band-wagon because the release of Windows 8 Mobile, the IPhone 5 and the new Kindle Fire HD, sure make it look like mobile gaming is going to be a major, if not the prime player in this and next year's gaming market.
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Pokémon Pre-Order Perk!

In a Nintendo press release presented earlier today, it was revealed that fans who pre-order their copies of Pokémon White Version 2 and Pokémon Black Version 2 will have the opportunity to receive a special legendary Pokémon through a "free, limited-time distribution."  Gamers who purchase their copies of the games will be able to use their Nintendo DS systems to access the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection before November 12 to collect the mythical Bug/Steel type Pokémon Genesect.  Both games are available through a number of retail outlets at a suggested price of 34.99 each and the game will be released on November 7th.

-T

Skylanders Kindle Port is Marketing Genius?

In a press release yesterday (September 7th, 2012) Activision announced that the company would be releasing their game, Skylanders Cloud Patrol on the new Kindle Fire HD.  The game, available now for the Iphone, Ipad and Ipod Touch, features characters both new and returning from Skylanders Spyro's Adventure in a touch-screen based, troll-shooting, extravaganza.  In a Yu-Gi-Oh-like twist, parents and children can buy real-life Skylanders toys and use special codes found within the packaging to acquire a digital likeness of their newest purchase, and play as that character in-game.

There is a twinge of marketing genius in the addition of the Kindle as a platform for the game.  Players will now be able to purchase new toys/characters in game through the Kindle's connection with Amazon.com at the simple push of a button. The toy will be shipped to the already specified Amazon profile's address, and the character will be instantly available to the player without any need to wait for a physical copy of the code.

It's interesting to note that this marketing tactic is being used fairly soon after the release of the information by the NDP Group stating that Mobile Gamers are now the largest gaming populace in America, and that Digital Gamers have the highest number of games and apps acquired due to their affinity for instant access.  Spot-on marketing Activision, as always.
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*Skylanders logo property of Activision

Mobile Gamers Now Largest American Gaming Populace

In a report released just recently by The NPD Group titled "Gamer Segmentation 2012: The New Faces of Gamers," it was stated that mobile gamers have now grown to represent the largest American gaming populace. The study consisted of 8,488 Americans from age two and up, 5,687 of which were reported as gamers.  The gamers were divided into six different categories

Core Gamers
Digital Gamers
Mobile Gamers
Family and Kid Gamers
Avid PC Gamers
Light PC Gamers

Of these groups the Mobile Gamers rose to the top of the percentage pyramid by claiming a sturdy 22 percent of the populace.  Purring them 1 percent ahead of Core Gamers, which dropped in 2 percent from last year's report. This is a 9 percent increase from last year's numbers and shows a definite change in market attitude.  (It should be noted that time required to be spent gaming on a mobile device out of total time gaming didn't quite need to be 50 percent.)

Other notable information presented in the report is based around the Digital Gamers category; defined as people who are "Engaged in a variety of gaming, from PC to mobile, console to portable, online and offline.  Their focus is on digital acquisition. Heaviest game acquirers of all segments. Also highest number of digital games and apps acquired. More so than others, they like the immediate access that digital provides."  The interesting concept presented in that definition is that of "Heaviest game acquirers."  This group grew 4 percent from last year and stands at 16 percent of the population.

With these statistics, the recent Apple- Samsung trial, and the announcement that Valve has a team devoted to hardware, it's going to be interesting to see what form of new innovation will be coming to the Mobile Gaming market.

-T