Xbox Live dropping original Xbox support April 15

Cessation of online play will affect all XBL-enabled games for Microsoft's original console, including Xbox Originals and Xbox 360-optimized games like Halo 2; single-player games will function normally.
Halo 2 players better get their last frags in. At midnight, Microsoft announced that it is ceasing support for all original Xbox games, including digital copies of Xbox Originals that were bought for the Xbox 360. Disc-based Xbox games optimized for the Xbox 360, such as Halo 2, will lose their online modes on that date. Any offline single-player modes will still function normally, and single-player games with no online component will be unaffected.

Via -Gamespot.com

Sony sells 6.5M PS3s in Q4, posts $871.2M profit

Electronics giant back in black after months in red; PS3's sales jump by 2 million during holidays, but PSP and PS2 sales slump; annual game-software sales estimate cut by 40 million units.
After months of losses, Sony is back in the black. Following a massive restructuring which saw 16,000 jobs eliminated, the electronics giant today reported ¥79.2 billion ($871.2 million) in net income from October to December 2009. The 660.6 percent increase in profits came in spite of overall revenues rising just 3.9 percent to ¥2.24 trillion ($24.6 billion) during the quarter.
Sony's Networked Products and Services division, which subsumed Sony Computer Entertainment last year, also saw its fortunes improve from October to December 2009. For the quarter, it reported ¥19.4 billion ($213.4 million) in operating profit, up from a ¥5.9 billion ($65 million) operating loss during the same period the year prior. Overall operating revenue rose just 1.9 percent to ¥606.1 billion ($6.7 billion).

Via -Gamespot.com

Sony delays PS3 motion-sensing controller launch.

Camera-based motion-sensing controller release shifted from spring 2010 launch to fall; delay to affect all global markets.

Last August, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai placed a tentative launch window of spring 2010 for the PlayStation 3's upcoming motion-sensing controllers. It seems Hirai's original estimate has turned out to be too optimistic, with Sony confirming today that the new controller's release date has now been pushed back to sometime in fall this year.
According to a statement from Sony, the motion-sensing controllers--which as yet don't have an official name--will arrive in "fall 2010 in Japan, Asian regions and countries, North America and Europe/PAL territories." In the statement, Hirai said: "We will continue to work to have a comprehensive portfolio of attractive and innovative games for the Motion Controller, not only from SCE Worldwide Studios but also from the third party developers and publishers, whom we have been working closely with."
The delay pushes the PS3 controller's launch closer to the Xbox 360's tentative date for Project Natal, with Xbox division chief Robbie Bach pegging a holiday 2010 release for Microsoft's motion-sensing system. As for what games will initially support the PS3 controllers, Hirai outlined some key titles during last year's Tokyo Game Show, including Ape Escape, Echochrome 2, Eccentric Slider, Sing and Draw, Champions of Time, Motion Party, The Shoot, and Tower. Other games such as Pain, Flower, Hustle Kings, High Velocity Bowling, and Eye Pets will be made compatible via downloadable updates. Capcom has also confirmed that the "Alternative Edition" of Resident Evil 5 will feature motion-sensing control compatibility for its Japanese release.

Via -Gamespot.com

Call of Duty CCO Vince Zampella says publisher pushed for best-selling shooter franchise to remain in WWII period, PC-only.

Reporting on its April-June fiscal quarter in August, Activision said that revenues for the period surpassed $1 billion. The figure was bolstered in no small part by the unstoppable juggernaut that is Infinity Ward's acclaimed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which the publisher said has sold 14 million units worldwide since its release in November 2007 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, DS, and PC. (A Wii edition, titled Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: Reflex, is due next month.)

Considering Call of Duty 4's phenomenal success, it may come as a shock that Activision initially opposed Infinity Ward's decision to abandon World War II for a more contemporary setting. What's more, the publisher wasn't overly keen on bringing the developer's wares to consoles, either.

"Activision...did not want Modern Warfare," Infinity Ward chief creative officer Vince Zampella told Britain-based Official PlayStation Magazine in an interview, relayed by UK gaming site CVG. "They thought working on a modern game was risky and [thought], 'Oh my god you can't do that, it's crazy!' They were doing market research to show us we were wrong the whole time."

Call of Duty project lead Jason West went on to note, "We had to fight for everything. They wanted it to be World War II. Again."

In fact, Zampella said that Infinity Ward was ready to leave the WWII setting after the original Call of Duty, which received glowing reviews upon its release for the PC in 2003. Notably, Activision announced that it had acquired the Encino, California-based developer for an undisclosed sum one day after the original COD shipped in October of that year.

Full Story At- Gamespot.net

Big in Japan: Halo 3: ODST cracks top 10, PS3 wins Sept.

Xbox 360 makes rare appearance on weekly chart otherwise dominated by Tomodachi Collection, Pokemon, and Tales of Vesperia; Sony's slim console prevailed last month.
The last time an Xbox 360 game cracked Media-Create's top 10 chart was the week of July 27-August 3, when Gears of War 2 landed at number six. This week, another Microsoft Games Studios 360 exclusive, Halo 3: ODST, infiltrated ninth place on the chart by selling 29,734 units during the week of September 21-27.

The 360 shooter was the sole newcomer in the top 10, which otherwise saw a reshuffle of last week's biggest sellers. Once again, Nintendo had the most games in the top 10: Tomodachi Collection (DS, 1st), Pokemon HeartGold (DS, 2nd), Pokemon SoulSilver (DS, 3rd), and Wii Sports Resort (Wii, 6th).

In fourth place was the PlayStation 3 version of Namco Bandai's formerly 360-exclusive Tales of Vesperia, followed by Konami's PSP baseballer Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 4. Square Enix took seventh with SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu Goddess of Destiny (DS) and eighth with Dragon Quest IX (DS). Last and, numerically speaking, least, was Konami's Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4 for the PSP.

On the hardware front, the DSi continued its palm-sized reign with 63,342 units but was followed by a resurgent PS3 with nearly 40,000--far ahead of the Wii's 11,731 units. Indeed, according to Famitsu publisher Enterbrain, the introduction of the cheaper PS3 Slim made Sony the September console victor. According to a Bloomberg report quoting Enterbrain, 309,939 PS3s were sold from August 31 to September 27, more than the DS Lite and DSi's combined 297,060 units. It marks the first month since the PS3's introduction in 2006 that it was the top-selling platform in Japan.

Full Story At Gamespot.com

Kurt Cobain's likeness in Guitar Hero 5

With Guitar Hero 5 arriving in stores Tuesday, Activision is making its last big publicity push for the launch. The publisher has been announcing a steady stream of stars who will appear in-game, from Johnny Cash and Carlos Santanna to Garbage's Shirley Manson and Maroon 5's Adam Levine.
Today Activision capped off that list with the announcement that Nirvana singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain will be playable in Guitar Hero 5, performing the band's breakthrough hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and a live version of another single from the album Nevermind, "Lithium."

Via Gamespot.com

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Namco Bandai enlists Ninja Theory for mystery project

One of Sony's headline releases for the PlayStation 3 in 2007 was Ninja Theory's Heavenly Sword, a God of War-esque action adventure that featured a nubile heroine wielding a massive weapon. The game received substantial hype, appearing in a number of television spots advertising Sony's PS3. However, Heavenly Sword proved only a middling hit, selling less than 400,000 units in the US, according to The NPD Group.

Via Gamespot.com

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