When Activision announced Guitar Hero 5, we knew little more than the game would include some notes, and possibly a popular ditty or two. Now, we know all sorts of stuff, like the proposed “Band Moments” and the game’s release date (9/1/09). But, we still haven’t seen anything on what we’ve all wanted to know: The included artists. Now, we’re happy to report that would-be rockers and rockettes now have a definitive list of talent featured in Activision’s latest cash generator music rhythm game. And, it’s staggering. So much so that we were forced to place the info past the break, for fear of an avalanche on the front page.

Continue reading These are the artists rocking out in Guitar Hero 5

These are the artists rocking out in Guitar Hero 5 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 31 May 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Over 100 contestants competed in a seven hour (!) King of Fighters XII tournament in Hollywood yesterday, and when the smoke cleared, one winner was awarded a stately paper crown. Oh, and a full-sized King of Fighters arcade machine, straight from Japan. Reynold Tacsuan defeated Alex Phan in the best-of-three finals when his soldier Ralf Jones dealt a deathblow to Judo master Goro Daimon.

Multiple arcade units and PS3s were set up around the venue featuring the new game, which doesn’t hit U.S. shores until July 16, so attendees could face off while the tourney took place on the main stage. One station even went old-school with Intellivision, an Atari 2600 and an old Vectrex system. if only they’d had KoF back then.

I am 8-bit was on hand throughout the event with scantily clad nurses administering fake cuts, bruises, and wounds to unblemished skin in their Anti-ER. Which got us thinking: even though we’re all for friendly competition in gaming, it would takes things up a notch if some company starts turning these events into feats of skill and muscle. It’s high time they brought competitive arm wrestling to the world of video games.

King of Fighters wins giant arcade unit, paper crown originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 31 May 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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To be honest, we never expected it to happen. We’re so used to Japan getting awesome PS1 titles that never come to the US or Europe, we just assumed Final Fantasy VII would be one of them. The ESRB says otherwise, however, as it has rated the game for both the PSP and PS3, meaning that we could see it release at any time. Wouldn’t that make make a great E3 week treat?

Whether this will be released in Europe is at the whim of Square Enix, though there is no listing for the game on the European ESRB equivilent, PEGI. Like Resident Evil: Director’s Cut, this may be exclusive to America.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Your dreams come true: ESRB rates FFVII for PS3/PSP originally appeared on Joystiq Playstation on Sun, 31 May 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft seems to have developed two new areas of expertise over the past few months — accidentally leaking videos to the gaming press, and developing 10 to 15 second teasers for their highly anticipated titles. Today, we get an excellent example of both of these new habits in action — the massive French publisher recently leaked two 10 second clips from Assassin’s Creed II and Splinter Cell Conviction onto their FTP site. Watchful fans grabbed the vids and threw them on YouTube. We’ve got ‘em posted after the jump.

Our observations are as brief as the clips themselves. First, Assassin’s Creed II protagonist Ezio is made entirely out of springs, as evidenced by his survival following a spectacular dive. Second, Sam Fisher no longer looks like an emo hobo. Maybe — just maybe — he’s an emo hobo in disguise, walking amongst the world’s non-transients, hiding his penchant for My Chemical Romance and malt liquor behind his clean shaven face. We’re on to you, Fisher.

Update: It appears as though a “copyright claim by Ubisoft” has rendered the videos after the break moot. Sorry, folks, looks like we’ll all be waiting ’til E3 this week for more on these titles.

Ubisoft leaks 10 second clips from Assassin’s Creed 2, Splinter Cell Conviction [update: they’re pulled] originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 May 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft seems to have developed two new areas of expertise over the past few months — accidentally leaking videos to the gaming press, and developing 10 to 15 second teasers for their highly anticipated titles. Today, we get an excellent example of both of these new habits in action — the massive French publisher recently leaked two 10 second clips from Assassin’s Creed II and Splinter Cell Conviction onto their FTP site. Watchful fans grabbed the vids and threw them on YouTube. We’ve got ‘em posted after the jump.

Our observations are as brief as the clips themselves. First, Assassin’s Creed II protagonist Ezio is made entirely out of springs, as evidenced by his survival following a spectacular dive. Second, Sam Fisher no longer looks like an emo hobo. Maybe — just maybe — he’s an emo hobo in disguise, walking amongst the world’s non-transients, hiding his penchant for My Chemical Romance and malt liquor behind his clean shaven face. We’re on to you, Fisher.

Continue reading Ubisoft leaks 10 second clips from Assassin’s Creed 2, Splinter Cell Conviction

Ubisoft leaks 10 second clips from Assassin’s Creed 2, Splinter Cell Conviction originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 May 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a leaked interview in the June issue of Qore, Sony’s John Koller revealed new game announcements Sony is set to make at its E3 2009 press briefing. Among the titles mentioned are (a previously revealed) Jak & Daxter PSP and a re-emergence of Gran Turismo for the handheld — first revealed when the PSP was announced.

Koller also mentions a new Metal Gear Solid for PSP is in the works, which may be the subject of the current Kojima Productions countdown nonsense (seriously, stop). Also, around the 15 second mark of the leaked Qore video, footage appears that bares a striking resemblance to Warhawk — but (as comments have pointed out) the ship appears apart of the Jak & Daxter footage reel. Other clips include footage of LittleBigPlanet and Jak & Daxter.

Let’s hope, for Sony’s sake, this video doesn’t encapsulate the lion’s share of announcements the company was planning for June 2. Incidentally, crack out those bingo cards and a big red marker … you have a few things to cross off.

Qore leak reveals new PSP Metal Gear and more originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 May 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Update: A video from the June issue of Qore is now available on YouTube (and after the jump). In the video, Qore host Veronica Belmont discusses the new PSP Go handheld with Sony’s John Koller who mentions the handheld (which features 16GB of internal storage, a memory slot for expandable memory and bluetooth) will not replace the current PSP-3000 — they will coexist.

According to Koller, new titles will be revealed for the platform at E3, specifically: a new Metal Gear Solid and Jak & Daxter. Also, expect Sony’s E3 briefing to mention Jak & Daxter PSP (announced previously) and Gran Turismo PSP — which has been known since the birth of the platform. Get those bingo cards out, kids!

Original Article: According to images grabbed by the Gaming Console Network, PS3’s virtual magazine (Qore) made its latest issue available early and revealed the (long-rumored) PSP revision. As rumors and mockups theorized, the PSP Go in the images features no UMD drive and a sliding screen. It also features a single (and poorly positioned) analog stick. Adding fuel to the fire, PlayStation LifeStyle has posted an image it states is of the actual retail packaging for the soon-to-be announced handheld iteration — and both designs match.

As we have not been able to spot the images on Qore our self, we’re calling this rumor. It appears, with the video, PSP Go is all but confirmed. Only a few days until we find out if the madness is true.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in. Via GameTrailers Forum. Image Credit: Eurogamer]

Continue reading PSP Go revealed in June issue of Qore [update]

PSP Go revealed in June issue of Qore [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 May 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Side-by-side comparison shots of rumored box art for the (just leaked) PSP Go and a rumored slimline PS3 are turning online heads today, as both feature a nearly identical design. The comparison — slapped together by PlayStation LifeStyle — feature similar system positions, memory capacity icon locations and the same XMB wave design backdrop (albeit in different colors).

Of course, both images may be fake. However, the fact that multiple outlets were slapped with cease and desist orders following the release of the rumored PS3 slim images and that the PSP Go art features the actual system design (not a mock-up) when it appeared online alongside today’s Qore leak, makes the validity of the PS3 slim rumor an interesting topic of conversation leading into the industry’s big show.

Rumored PSP Go box bares striking resemblance to rumored slim PS3 art originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 May 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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… We mean cool. Did we say erotic? No, no. Cool. That’s what we meant.

Saboteur trailer blurs the good bits but still so sexy originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 May 2009 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grossly obvious statements aside, we will say this: Them’s some pretty sprites.

Latest King of Fighters XII trailer is a history lesson originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 May 2009 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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