Gamertell

And the corporate consolidation of media continues - Kotaku is reporting on CBS’ acquisition of CNET networks cache of sites, including gamespot. Apparently, CNET’s board of directors unanimously agreed to the merger, and the transition is slated to occur by the third quarter of this year.

From the post:

“Upon closing, CNET Networks’ sites will be combined with CBS’s stable of dynamic and growing interactive businesses. These include CBS.com, CBSSports.com, CBSCollegeSports.com, MaxPreps.com, CBSNews.com, last.fm, Wallstrip, MobLogic, CBS Radio and CBS Television Stations digital media platforms, and the distribution network of the CBS Audience Network, which is made up of more than 300 partner Web sites and reaches 82% of all online users in the United States.”

As if gamespot hadn’t already had its share of nasty business in the corporate relations department… but business is business, right?

Read [Kotaku]

Namco Bandai has just issued a press release announcing exclusive Naruto figurines for people who preorder Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress. If you pre-order the game, make a copy of your pre-order slip, register for the Hokage’s Room website (providing your home address during the account creation process) and then sign up for the Hokage’s Room Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 pre-order Mission, you’ll receive one Naruto figure from the six pictured above. No, you don’t get to choose which one.

Click through for more information…

MORE »

Though the countdown to The Sims 3 is undoubtedly running through the minds of the series’ fans, EA won’t allow The Sims 2 to be forgotten. Another The Sims 2 stuff pack has officially been announced - The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff. For those who are new Sims fans, or are simply unaware of the series, the stuff packs aren’t really expansion packs. They add no new interactions, neighborhoods or abilities. Instead, they contain a handful of extra furniture, clothing, building materials or hairstyles for the game.

This isn’t the first time a Sims 2 stuff pack related to a store has been released. The Sims 2: H&M Stuff was released on June 5, 2007, and contained H&M clothes and items that would allow you to create an H&M store in your game. The Sims 2: IKEA Stuff will focus on IKEA furniture and accessories. It will be in stores on June 23, 2008 and will cost $19.99, like all previous stuff packs.

MORE »

One of the most under appreciated games in recent memory is 2003’s Beyond Good & Evil.  Despite a having rabid cult following and near-universal critical acclaim, the game experienced less then stellar commercial success.  Because of this, publisher Ubisoft has been reluctant to create a sequel, but it looks as though director Michel Ancel is going ahead and making one anyways.

While speaking with French magazine Jeux Video, Ancel said that the sequel has been in pre-production for almost a year.  A team of 10-12 employees has been working on the game, but there’s a catch.  Ubisoft has yet to give the game the go ahead for development.

MORE »

Of course we all remember how Capcom held a We Love Golf poll to let fans determine which 2 extra characters will be in the North American release of the game. Capcom wanted to make the NA Wii release We Love Golf! special. Now we can see the poll results in action, thanks to new screen shots featuring Mark as Ken (Street Fighter) and Stephanie as Morrigan (Darkstalkers).

Both characters won’t always look like Ken and Morrigan. Like the other characters already included, Mark and Stephanie will just have addition costumes which can be unlocked to make them appear like the iconic fighting legends. These characters will only be available in the North American version of the game, which should be out before the end of summer, 2008.

Click through to see Mark and Stephanie in their normal attire…

MORE »

Sega and Platinum Games have just announced an exclusive four game partnership, where Sega will publish four new titles developed by Platinum Games. The titles will be on multiple systems, and so far three of the four have been formally announced. The new games will all be available in 2009.

The first title mentioned is MADWORLD for the Wii. It will be a third person, black and white action game which mimics the style of manga and graphic novels. In it, players battle opponents with all sorts of unusual weapons while an announcer offers running commentary. It could be out as soon as Q1 2009.

Click through to read about the other two titles…

MORE »

The Xbox 360 is going to enjoy strategic RPGs as long as Atlus is arround. Zoids Assault, a strategic RPG based on the Zoids toy/anime/manga. Players will command an army of Zoid mechs, which they can fully customize. The game, rated “Teen,” will be available in North America on August 26, 2008.

MORE »

Slingo has just released an updated version of its Match’Ums web game. Match’Ums 3.0 is a memory game where you collect matching tiles for Slingo Coins.

The adjustable modes make it different than Match’Ums 2.0. In Match’Ums 3.0 you decide the difficulty level at the beginning, along with what kind of items you want to match. There are Easy, Medium and Hard modes, and the items you match can be numbers, symbols or a combination of the two.

The game also contains Slingo character cards. First is the Joker card, which can match with any other card to create a pair. The second new card is the Devil & Cherub card. If you match a Devil & Cherub to its partner or the Joker, your score doubles and you get more coins. If you don’t, then your score is cut in half.

MORE »

By now, we’ve all heard the news that Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski will direct the big-screen adaptation of thoughtful underwater shooter Bioshock. We’ve already extolled the virtues of the game and it’s filmic possibilities elsewhere, so right now, let’s focus on the man himself. Is Verbinski up to the challenge of making one of the most fully realized game worlds (and cleverest narratives) come to life? Or are we destined for yet another lame game movie night? We check out the director’s earlier film work, his statements on the adaptation, and his gamer cred to make a long-term prognosis.

MORE »

Usually I don’t give any of the advertisements a second look, but when I logged in to play Flash Hero (a Guitar Hero-esque Facebook game), a fairly unassuming ad caught my eye.

“ACE YOUR FINALS - $25 - Get access to 45,000 term paper and essays right here!”

So right above a flash game that 13-24 year olds are likely to play is an ad endorsing cheating…

MORE »

Check out the gallery: Controversial facebook ad