Gaming - Page 2056

This might be nothing, this might end up as never seeing the light of day - but it's interesting nonetheless. Sony have applied for a new patent, which looks to be an interesting new form of controller for the company.

The new controller combines the usual dual analogue stick we've all come to know and love, with two of their motion-based move peripherals. It appears the controller can be separated into two pieces, which if used in the right way - could end up being a very cool twist on the now stale controller market (if your name isn't Nintendo).

The controller can be separated when needed, for a specific game or a specific part within a game, and then clicked back together when needed. The patent calls this a "hybrid separable motion controller".

We all know it's coming - but when exactly? Will the next-gen Xbox be revealed at CES in Las Vegas next month? Or will Microsoft wait until E3 in LA in June to unveil the Xbox 360's successor.

Well, "people familiar with the company's plans" have spoken up - telling everyone that Microsoft are preparing for the next-gen Xbox, which is usually referred to as the Xbox 720, and will be released in time for the 2013 holiday shopping season.

The next-gen Xbox, which I think will just be known as "Xbox", is rumored to pack a quad-core processor, 8GB of RAM, directional audio, Kinect 2.0 support as well as sport a Blu-ray player. We should expect a decent kick in the ass in terms of GPU capabilities, with full DX11 support and hopefully 1080p @ 60fps support and 4K support built-in.

If you were thinking of buying a second or third Xbox 360 this holiday season for your mansion, you might want to hold off on having one of your butlers order it for you as by this time next year, we'll be graced with a new Xbox console.

According to Bloomberg whose sources are "familiar with the company's plans," Microsoft will be making its next Xbox available for retail in time to be available for Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping next year. As of now, Microsoft isn't entirely sure when exactly they should unveil its next Xbox as its currently debating whether to unveil it at E3 in June or at an entirely different event completely dedicated to the unveiling.

With all of the recent rumors and possible leaks of the next Xbox's hardware, it does seem like much of what Microsoft has planned for its next console is already finalized at this point and they just need to decide when to announce it to the world. For now, we just need to sit back and wait to receive our invites to whenever Microsoft decides to announce its next Xbox, which will hopefully be soon as I'm sure many of you are waiting with your wads of cash in your hands right now waiting to throw it at Microsoft for its next-gen Xbox.

I've been enjoying my PlayStation Vita since it was released nearly a year ago, but I certainly have been feeling the big game releases have been too far and in between. With Sony's news of its PlayStation Plus service being made available on the PS Vita, they've decided to deliver a bundle that brings its popular premium service to new PS Vita owners.

The PS Plus Instant Game Collection PS Vita Bundle, which I hope you all take note as it may be a product with the longest name ever, comes with a 3G / Wi-Fi PS Vita, one-year membership to PS Plus, a voucher for Unit 13 and a 4GB memory card for $299.99.

With the PS Plus service on your Vita, you can access a number of the handheld's most popular titles like Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush and WipEout 2048. But if you plan on taking full advantage of PS Plus on your Vita with this bundle, you may think about investing in a new memory card as 4GB absolutely will not cut it with how much you'll download from PS Plus.

There's quite the gaming bundle available right now offering some amazing prices on a bunch of great games called the Humble THQ Bundle. Pay $1 or more for Steam keys for Company of Heroes (and its two full-blown expansions Opposing Fronts and Tales of Valor), Darksiders, Metro 2033, and Red Faction: Armageddon.

If you pay over the average price ($5.75 will do) you'l receive all of those games, as well as Saints Row: The Third. The games bought will be available through Steam, and included in the bundle are a collection of DRM-free soundtracks! You really can't go wrong here, folks.

Buying all of these games separately would set you back $190, but THQ are letting you, the consumer, set the price. At the time of writing, there had been close to $1.7 million paid with the average price of $5.71. Nearly 295,000 purchases with the top contributor being "Jason Rubin" who contributed a very nice $1050. Turtle Rock Studios' contribution of $1024 is second and @WrapBootstrap is third with $1000.

The Nintendo Wii U's launch library probably isn't strong enough right now to sell like hot cakes as fans are most likely waiting for the next Mario, Legend of Zelda or Smash Bros. title in order to pick up the company's next-generation console. Games like New Super Mario Bros. U, ZombiU and Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition will probably do well on the console, but nothing garners excitement like a new Mario or Legend of Zelda title.

A new Mario or Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U was inevitable as there's no way Nintendo would launch a new console without thinking about new versions of their first-party AAA games. But during an interview with IGN, Nintendo's Global President Satoru Iwata confirmed a new "3D" Mario and Legend of Zelda game are currently under development for the Wii U.

The question was never if, but rather, when we would be hearing about the new Mario or Legend of Zelda titles. Iwata had the following to share during his interview:

The Grand Theft Auto series is one of the best selling series of all time, with numbers passing 125 million units life-to-date according to Take-Two Interactive's CEO, Strauss Zelnick. Zelnick revealed the amazing milestone during his presentation at the Credit Suisse 2012 Technology Conference.

In September 2011, GTA series units were sitting at 114 million - so we're looking at 11 million units selling in the last twelve months alone. Zelnick didn't break the figures down, but a Take-Two Interactive rep confirmed that the 2008 released GTA IV shipped 25 million units. Zelnick attributes the success of the Grand Theft Auto series to the James Bond film franchise, which doesn't get a release every two years. The release schedule keeps the series "special", says Zelnick.

Zelnick doesn't like the risks associated with a yearly release like Activision's Call of Duty series, with Zelnick stating that this business model has risks that his company doesn't want to take. He adds:

The holiday shopping season is in full swing and what would the season be like without major video game console manufacturers bundling their previously released systems with an extremely popular game? It wouldn't be a holiday season without it as many parents will be enticed at the prospect of getting a hot game console with a great game for a great price.

Nintendo is the king of bundling their hardware with software and this year is no different as they announced a new 3DS XL bundle will be made available at major retailers starting on Dec. 2nd. The 3DS XL bundle will come with a Blue/Black Nintendo 3DS XL and comes pre-loaded copy of Mario Kart 7 for $199.99. Without this special bundle, the 3DS XL system and Mario Kart 7 would retail for a total of $239.98, which makes this one sweet deal if you were already planning on picking up both the 3DS XL and Mario Kart 7.

I still remember the feeling of booting up my fresh Xbox console with Halo - it was the same feeling that Half-Life on the PC gave me, and it looks like Bungie, now separate from Microsoft, could have lightning strike twice with 'Destiny'.

Details on the new game from Bungie have been leaked out and provided to IGN by a reader, including story details and concept art. According to the document:

New Super Mario Bros. 2 was released this past August and Nintendo has announced fans of the game have collected a total of 300 billion gold coins in a little over 3 months. To celebrate the milestone, Nintendo is offering a new piece of DLC called the Gold Classics Pack for free for a limited time.

The Gold Classics Pack includes three new courses inspired by older Mario titles like Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3. Each course can be played through the game's Coin Rush mode and will allow players to share their records with other player's through the game's StreetPass feature.

As of now, the Gold Classics Pack is completely free to download until Feb. 1, 2013 where the Gold Classics Pack will be available to purchase for $2.50.