Article originally posted Oct 27, 2007 at 02:20PM
(Editor's Note: Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble; eye of newt and... all that jazz. What's your costume going to be like this year? It's finally that time of year when CosPlay fanatics can run wild in the streets without fear of getting hounded by the cops. Do we have some people coming in as Kratos this year? Maybe wanna dress up as a character from a new IP, like say, Altair from Assassin's Creed - he seems to be pretty popular among the ladies. Be that as it may, it's time to don the QuickJump QuickPeek suit - hold the eye of newt, please! The 18th edition rolls out today!)
Clear the decks for this one, folks! Following last week's #17, QuickJump QuickPeek 18 has parked its merry bottom on the QJ blogs! Halloween is just around the corner and this edition of our weekly recap has nothing less than the most wicked news and updates. Of course, "wicked" here may connote either of two things: 1) wicked in the sense of being vilely putrid in nature, or 2) wicked in the sense of being made out of pure win, awesome, or [insert your own expletive of jubilation].
This week, we've got a heavy dosage of updates that'll make pumpkin heads roll. For one, Clive Barker's Jericho is already on shelves this week for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 - that right there is probably enough to give you some goosebumps for the next couple of weeks. Rawr. Now just to give you a slight swig from the QuickPeek cauldron, it's a potion of sorts with various PSP batteries colliding, highly-anticipated games finally getting the gold status, and some little after taste of bold remarks from iconic analysts, CEOs, and attorneys.
Something wicked this way comes! On with the pumpkin rolling!
Click the Full Article link below to read the whole of QuickJump QuickPeek 18!
Article originally posted Oct 27, 2007 at 02:20PM
(Editor's Note: Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble; eye of newt and... all that jazz. What's your costume going to be like this year? It's finally that time of year when CosPlay fanatics can run wild in the streets without fear of getting hounded by the cops. Do we have some people coming in as Kratos this year? Maybe wanna dress up as a character from a new IP, like say, Altair from Assassin's Creed - he seems to be pretty popular among the ladies. Be that as it may, it's time to don the QuickJump QuickPeek suit - hold the eye of newt, please! The 18th edition rolls out today!)
Clear the decks for this one, folks! Following last week's #17, QuickJump QuickPeek 18 has parked its merry bottom on the QJ blogs! Halloween is just around the corner and this edition of our weekly recap has nothing less than the most wicked news and updates. Of course, "wicked" here may connote either of two things: 1) wicked in the sense of being vilely putrid in nature, or 2) wicked in the sense of being made out of pure win, awesome, or [insert your own expletive of jubilation].
This week, we've got a heavy dosage of updates that'll make pumpkin heads roll. For one, Clive Barker's Jericho is already on shelves this week for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 - that right there is probably enough to give you some goosebumps for the next couple of weeks. Rawr. Now just to give you a slight swig from the QuickPeek cauldron, it's a potion of sorts with various PSP batteries colliding, highly-anticipated games finally getting the gold status, and some little after taste of bold remarks from iconic analysts, CEOs, and attorneys.
Something wicked this way comes! On with the pumpkin rolling!
PSP: Someone hit the savestate button on PSP batteries!
Since Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles just came out this week (consider it Konami's little treat or treat for all of you), we're quoting everyone's favorite Drac with: "What is a man? A miserable little pile of SECRETS!" [cue shattered wine glass] Well, there's definitely no secret here about the hubbub going around the PSP community. A little spark of magic here, a tad bit of flaming there... Ah yes, we see you guys stirring up your own witches' brew this week.
To start things off, some good news, if you please. We finally got word from StrmnNrmn this week. A biiiiig sigh of relief from the Nintendo 64 emulation crowd. Some of you may have been wondering about the release of Daedalus R13 for the PSP. Last we heard, StrmnNrmn said he'd release it sometime at the start of October. Well, it's almost the end of the month and still no R13. No worries though!
Daedalus R13 will be released very soon! StrmnNrmn hasn't forgotten about it, that's for sure. He's just tweaking the last few bits of the savestate feature. No specific date was given but sure enough, it's bound to surface within the week. We'll bang the doldrums once we get whiff of a release!
Link: StrmnNrmn: Daedalus R13 coming very soon, honestly
Opening up a can of worms, someone from Poland seemed to have caught the eye of much of the PSP homebrew community. DarkRayne had apparently created a JigKick battery for the PSP Slim. As shown in a video, 'brewer used a software modification process to turn a PSP Slim battery into Pandora status.
Unbricker batteries for the PSP Slim? Seems too good to be true, huh? For all intents and purposes, we had to notch it up as rumors. Well, most of you did air out your skepticism as well, and later DarkRayne promised to publish a tutorial of how to do it.
Link: Rumor: JigKick battery made from PSP Slim battery
Link: Rumor: DarkRayne downgrades PSP Slim with normal battery
Nothing much on the tube with DarkRayne, but just recently, someone else had been able to confirm the possibility of "pandorafying" a PSP Slim & Lite battery - all thanks to Hellcat's Pandora Maker kernel 3.xx. The interesting thing about this is that Hellcat himself said not to use the program on a Slim battery, but Xibit1987 and oorganic took the chance and published videos of how to successfully create a Pandora Slim! See, guys? With a little leap of faith, you can actually make a big impact in the homebrew community.
So for those who are asking, yes. All this time a Pandora Slim was possible. To quote iamback(unregistered), "Talk about 'right under our noses!'" You can view the tutorials below via the link, and we've even included a download to Hellcat's Pandora Maker kernel 3.xx.
Link: Confirmed: creating a PSP slim Pandora's battery possible
Download: Pandora Installer for 3.xx Kernels Second Revision
On to more gaming-related updates, probably what's on everyone's mind right now - and in their UMD trays, if we might add - is the God of War: Chains of Olympus - Special Edition: Battle of Attica demo disc. The rooting' tootin' crowd from Ready at Dawn studios finally managed to start shipping the discs by the end of last month, and this week, we finally have a couple of lucky PSP owners raving that their package has arrived on their doorsteps.
The demo contains the Cave of Eos stage and takes around 10 to 15 minutes. It might be too short for some of you, but that's 10 to 15 minutes of heaven Olypmus right there. The package also includes a US$ 15 off coupon for a PSP unit when you buy one at Best Buy and as a freebie, they even chucked in a God of War chain.
Link: God of War: Chains of Olympus Special Edition demo discs arrive
Kratos for the win. Pandora for the win. Seems like the PSP community is having some sort of Greco-Roman Mythos theme going on this week... Now to all of you guys who tipped us off on some of the news, our very biggest and warmest thanks to all of you!
- QJ.NET's PSP Team
PlayStation 3: Eying the future with constant sellers and golden boys
We open the PS3 curtains this week with a statement from SCEA CEO Jack Tretton who's responded to earlier complaints that the PlayStation 3 imposed a high learning curve for the developers. According to Tretton, this isn't something entirely new: what the game developers are saying now about the PS3 has also been said before for the PS2 and PSone.
Tretton notes that they "sacrificed short-term challenges for long-term wins." This was later echoed by Activision's CEO, Robert Kotick. He said that developers might be having a hard time working on the PS3 for now. In fact, he believes that few game developers are actually taking full advantage of the PS3's power. Thinking optimistically though, he mentioned that this could eventually change within the next four or five years.
Link: Sony CEO on PS3's perceived shortcomings: we've dealt with this before
Link: Activision CEO: PlayStation 3 most advanced, devs not taking advantage of it
Good news treasure hunters. PS3-exclusive Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has hit gold! Naughty Dog's Christian Gyrling from the AI and animations department confirms that the game is now "100% done and is currently going through the approval process." Great! Now it can hit the manufacturing line and eventually hit retail shelves come November 20!
But man oh man, listen up. Before that date even hits, we're going to get a bit of a taste of Uncharted waters. Gyrling later confirmed that a demo will roll out come mid-November on the PlayStation Network. Unfortunately, he doesn't know the specific release date just yet. Keep your eyes peeled, we'll be sure to post some form of announcement once details surface.
Link: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune goes gold
Link: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune demo in mid-November
Speaking of PS3-exclusives, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is coming along nicely too. For one, a video surfaced this week showing not one, not five, but about 13 full minutes of Solid Snake glory. A visual walkthough of the E for All demo was posted in four parts, showing different aspect of gameplay from close quarter combat to Snakes many gadgets and weapons.
You can watch the vids for yourself in a bit, but before that Ryan Payton from Kojima Productions also has a thing or two to say about their upcoming title. During the E for All, he expressed that MGS4 wouldn't be possible without the Blu-ray. It even turns out that they've maxed out the disc storage capacity to allow "hours and hours and hours" of in-game cinematics. The audio's going to remain uncompressed, and will come in pure form too.
Later, he also spoke of his expectations for MGS4's sales. He believes that it will be the leading title in 2008: they don't want a "big bang" - selling a millions of copies during its first few days - but what they really want is to have consistent sales all the way up until the holidays next year. How is that possible? His answer: they'll be rolling out updates upon updates for Metal Gear Online to make people come back again and again and again (...and again and again and ag-).
Link: Full video walkthrough: Metal Gear Solid 4 demo from E for All
Link: E for All 07: Konami on maxing out Blu-ray with hours of cinematics, uncompressed audio
Link: Metal Gear Solid 4 to be unrivaled, constant seller until 2008 holidays
Yeah, so Jericho's out and about and stalking unwary prey on retail shelves. Do know that Eye of Judgment is already out as well, and along with it comes the PlayStation Eye. Think of it as PS3's counterpart for the previous EyeToy. The new camera is to be integrated into the game (hey! no cheating with those cards, you hear?!) and comes with the EyeCreate photo- and video-editing software available on the PlayStation Network.
Link: EyeCreate software now available on PSN
Jeezus. Those are a lot of links, ya? Well, guess it won't hurt if... mumble, mumble... [psst... hey! You guys might also want to check out the supposedly new PlayStation Network logo. It surfaced on a Dutch magazine (Gratis Lidmaatschap FTW!), but there doesn't seem to be any confirmation of it being official just yet.]
- QJ.NET's PlayStation Team
Xbox 360: Altair, Shepard, Freeman, and Fenix find GOLD!
For those who own an Xbox 360 and a PS3, it looks like you're going to play a bit of eeny-meeny miny-moe next month. For those who are dedicated however, there's probably little doubt about what you've got your eyes set on.
If the PS3's got its golden exclusive, we've got our very own as a response. Mass Effect has already gone gold as well and is now ready to travel down the vast reaches of manufacturing space. And guess what! It's scheduled to hit right on the same date as Drake's Fortune! Mass Effect will be rolling out onto shelves on November 20. If you manage to pre-order a copy of the standard or limited edition can actually bag a bonus disc outline a lot of "the making of" content!
Bets are now open. Let's see who makes a bigger dent in sales once these exclusives come out!
Link: Mass Effect goes gold, pre-order bonus disc announced
Hold it! Sharing some news with the PS3 community though, we hear that the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Assassin's Creed finally hit gold as well! It's in its final form at last, ready for production. Both versions are to be released simultaneously on November 13. Anyone want to place bets on Jade Raymond's brain child?
Link: Assassin's Creed goes gold, PS3 and Xbox 360 release on November 13
Looks like Halo 3's sales spree is subsiding ever so slowly (because after all, anyone and everyone who's probably wanted a copy has already bought it right from the start). Over at VG Chartz, Halo 3 was finally kicked out of the top spot by none other than the Xbox 360 version of The Orange Box.
Valve Corporation's 5-game bundle (containing Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal) was able to sell 285,860 units for the week ending October 13.
Link: The Orange Box takes top spot in US charts: Halo 3 in second
Talking about all these AAA titles makes us reminisce of last year's Gears of War. Because as you know, everyone (and most especially Dom) wish they knew how to quit Marcus. Fortunately, no one's quitting anywhere. In fact, Gears of War is still earning awards. The results are in: chosen as this year's Ultimate Game of the Year in the Annual Golden Joystick Awards is (dun dun dun) Gears of War! in fact, it even won the All-Nighter Award, Editor's Choice Award, and is the Xbox Game of the Year.
Link: Golden Joystick Awards: Gears of War wins "Ultimate Game of the Year"
A pretty golden week for the Xbox 360 fanbase. Dr. Freeman, Marcus Fenix, Altair, and Commander Shepard are already iconic characters as they are. Pretty fun how they all ended up finding some form of gold this week.
- QJ.NET's Xbox 360 Team
Nintendo Wii: Nintendo has a smashing success over piracy
All these updates make us want to start cackling like a gaggle of mischievous imps. For a variety of reasons, of course. From more confirmation of Smash characters joining the roster to updates on Nintendo's ongoing struggle to vanquish piracy from the market.
First off: the encroaching grip of piracy over Asia just got smashed by a recent raid conducted by Nintendo. A press release from the company announced the successful seizing of over 10,000 game copying devices and mod chips used for the Nintendo DS and Wii. Upon Nintendo's request, the Hong Kong High Court ordered the raid of facilities owned by Supereme Factory Limited.
The surprising thing here is that, aside from the piratical paraphernalia, documents found at the raid site connected Supreme Factory Limited to French company Divineo SARL. Divineo SARL and its principal, Max Louarn, have also been named in the legal action initiated by Nintendo.
Link: Hong Kong raid nets 10,000 game copying devices, mod chips for Nintendo consoles
Considering this move by Nintendo, imagine the outrage caused by a leaked copy of Super Mario Galaxy over the internet. First things first though. It still remains unconfirmed if the leaked copy works or not. Some have already called it as fake. And we really hope it is. But until any of the parties concerned makes an official statement about this news item, then it still counts as rumor.
Anyways, the story goes that an EB Games employee leaked a copy online using one of the demo discs found at EB Games stores. The EB Games Super Mario Galaxy demo copies apparently have a ten-minute restriction on them. This ten-minute limit, however, works only with the store's proprietary demo machines. When played on consumer Wiis, the disc actually contains the entire game.
Will Nintendo push charges against EB Games? Who knows? Some have already flagged this as fake. An interesting comment from kaishou even states that the user who uploaded the leaked copy was banned from whatever uploading site he/she uploaded it into.
Link: Super Mario Galaxy leaked onto the Internet
Let's move on to the brighter side of life, shall we? And how brighter can we get than details about the upcoming Animal Crossing title for the Wii? The biggest news that surfaced this week was that the game is currently being developed as an MMO title. Sweet!
Given the games many features and whatnot, it's possible to deduce that Animal Crossing steering towards an MMO direction is very much feasible. The only question here is... How? According to statements from designer and project head Katsuya Eguchi, they are thinking of providing mobile and PC connection for basic features such as sending messages to other players.
Link: Animal Crossing Wii to become an MMO?
Link: More Animal Crossing Wii MMO details, Nintendo to soon support DS homebrew?
As for those waiting for Super Smash Bros. Brawl to come on by, we've got yet another charactered confirmed to join the lineup. King Dede of Kirby lore is to wreak havoc in the Smash arena! The King of Dream Land is to have a whole buzzard of creatures and gadgetry at his disposal.
Link: Kirby's King Dedede joins Super Smash Bros. Brawl roster
Link: Super Smash Bros. Brawl update: King Dedede's special moves
And that's it for this week! As some of you might have heard, Iwata just spilled the beans on a new feature for the Wii: a gift-giving option to send your friends some Virtual Console games!
- QJ.NET'S Nintendo Wii Team
General Gaming: OBJECTION!
Jack Thompson had a busy week, running around town and pulling a Miles Edgeworth on 'roids. First off, he seems to have caused a heated debate on Fox News' "Cashin' In" segment when he was asked to be interviewed on the subject of the ban over certain video games (i.e. Manhunt 2).
On the other side of town, Jack Thompson has also filed a lawsuit against Best Buy for indiscriminately selling M-rated games online to minors. While Mr. Thompson has the Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act up his sleeve to be used as a trump card on court, it must also be noted that according to the Federal Trade Commission, the mere use of a credit card is already an acceptable proof that the buyer is of 18 years of age.
This lawsuit led to what now seems to be a final showdown of sorts. Some may even consider this to be the ultimatum that will eventually settle the ongoing war waged between video games and how they are to be distributed. Because as it so happens, Jack Thompson is calling none other than ESRB into the lawsuit, and is now seeking to find its representatives in court as the defendants for the case.
Link: Thompson argues for Manhunt 2 ban on Fox News
Link: Jack Thompson to file lawsuit against Best Buy for selling M-rated games through website
Link: Jack Thompson names ESRB as defendant in Best Buy lawsuit
Science and Technology: Quicker than a ray of light... she's flying...
And the format wars just keep waging... and tipping! It's just been revealed that Blu-ray outsells HD-DVD 2 to 1 in the United States. These figures represent sales for the first nine months of the year.
As it turns out, Blu-ray has raked in a total of 2.6 million units from January 1 until September 30, while HD-DVD had a total of 1.4 million units. Compared to Europe (where it was previously revealed that Blu-ray outsold HD-DVD 4-to-1), it seems that the US is catching up with the Blu-ray fever.
Link: Blu-ray outsells HD-DVD 2 to 1 in U.S for year's first nine months
Comment of the Week: Valid
We know how comments on JT articles get out of hand. And seemingly, limiting users to register in order to comments hasn't done much in trying to keep JT flaming to a minimum. Here's a bit of advice though, coming right at you from HakatoX, who's got some valid points for all parties concerned:
