News Headlines

Because when fighting fans think memorable fighting characters they automatically think of Mega Man and Pac-Man, it was announced that both of them will appear in Street Fighter X Tekken (March 6 in North America; March 9 in Europe) as a Playstation 3 exclusive, which is in addition to the previously announced exclusive of Cole from inFamous.

And it’s not just any Mega Man, it’s “the version of Mega Man featured on the original Mega Man 1 box art.” (See above.) Pac-Man will take on “all challengers as he rides atop Mokujin.”

Street Fighter X Tekken is coming for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PS Vita, and PC (eventually).

Warner Bros. and CD Projekt RED have confirmed that Shacknews’ Game of the Year, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, will be hitting the Xbox 360 on April 17, 2012.

“The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings features an engrossing and very mature storyline that defines a new standard for realistic, non-linear game narration. With a mixture of beautiful visuals and dynamic action, the game puts players in a living and believable world. The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 is impeccably adapted for the console experience and delivers significant enhancements to the critically-acclaimed PC title. The game includes 3+ hours of new content and new gameplay and story elements, and marks the first appearance of the esteemed RPG on consoles. Read the rest of this entry »

No mention of Windows 7 Phones, but at least Valve has announced that a Steam app is on the way for iOS and Android devices.

While the app is currently in beta — download it now for free! – I already like what they’re aiming to include:

With the Steam app, gamers around the world may chat with Steam friends, browse community groups and user profiles, view screenshots and user-generated content for their favorite games, read the latest gaming news, stay up to date on unbeatable Steam sales, and more.

This is the kind of functionality that Windows 7 phone users have right now with the Xbox Live tile. (I’d still like a Steam one though!)

Set for a “Spring 2012″ launch, Warner Bros. Interactive and NetherRealm, have announced the coming of Mortal Kombat for Playstation Vita. No clear mention of Vita exclusive features but at least the gore and fighting will be included:

“In a triumphant return to the game’s original mature presentation, Mortal Kombat offers over-the-top fatalities and cringe-worthy X-ray moves. This latest iteration in the franchise brings the game back to a 2D fighting plane and introduces a number of new gameplay features including Tag Team, and a deep story mode. Several new features have been developed exclusively for Mortal Kombat for PS Vita system, which will be revealed in the coming months.”

“Free” is an attractive price by any standard so EA must be feeling pretty good about hitting the 25 million registered players for their Play4Free titles. I mean, c’mon there’s a press release and everything!

The bulk of that number comes from Battlefield Heroes and Need for Speed World, which each account for 10 million registered players. The remaining 5 million are a hodge podge of “Battlefield Play4Free, Dragon Age Legends, Battleforge, and Lord of Ultima.”  The overall number of registered users should probably get a boost from the “upcoming browser based MMO strategy title, Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances, which is now available in Closed Beta” when it’s available. Read the rest of this entry »

Today Capcom released details on the full complement of Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City (available March 20, 2012 on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) 4-on-4 versus modes. They include the following:

Team Deathmatch, battle for the most kills in brutal triple threat chaos that leaves players never knowing what’s behind them, an element that could only exist in the twisted Resident Evil universe.

Ensure that samples of the G-virus are returned safely to their base in Biohazard Mode while fighting off all the competing forces at play in Raccoon City.

Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to the gaming industry, numbers seem to garner the most attention. Review scores, frames per-second, units sold, units shipped… the list goes on!

Valve Software just released some numbers regarding the performance of its Steam platform; numbers which will set some jaws wagging. It’s not stated if the numbers are the result of an external audit or based on Valve’s internal data tracking. From the press release:

During 2011 the platform grew to offer over 1,800 games to over 40 million accounts. Year-over-year unit sales increased by more than 100% for the seventh straight year, and during the 2011 Holiday Sale Steam’s simultaneous user number eclipsed the 5 million player mark. Read the rest of this entry »

Tecmo Koei has announced the launch date for Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus in Playstation Vita: February 22, 2012. That is makes one of the “launch window” titles for the Vita.

This has been a long time coming and many, including this writer, thought it would never happen but Alan Wake is coming to the PC in 2012!

Scheduled for the “early 2012″ Alan Wake will include not only the full game but also the DLC that was released for the Xbox 360 version: The Signal and The Writer.

The press release notes that “the game will have the high resolution polish that longtime fans [of Remedy] will expect.”

Check Aaron’s review of Alan Wake if you somehow missed its original release in May 2010.

Every day in September, The Armchair Empire will be filling up a big box with miscellaneous gaming (and non-gaming) goodies. One of a kind items, games, and chunks of effluvia that you will want to win!

First item into the box is this:

It’s not really a can of soup! It contains an LA Noire t-shirt. Click here for official details and a breakdown of what’s going in the box!

While obviously not aimed at the same audience, I find it fascinating that anyone would go up against the likes of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The no man’s land separating the two titles is vast but you have to admire the cajones of Majesco and Empowered Media to release “Jillian Michaels Fitness Adventure” (developed by n-Space) on this of all days for Kinect for Xbox 360.

All I can say is good on you, Majesco!

Warner Bros. and Rocksteady Entertainment have confirmed the PC availability for Batman: Arkham City:

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today confirmed that the Games for Windows PC version of Batman: Arkham City will be available in North America beginning November 22, in Australia beginning November 23, in France and Benelux (i.e. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) beginning November 24, and in other European territories beginning November 25.

Or in other words, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launched today.

Released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC, it will likely sit atop this months sales figures. Even without the massive marketing machine behind the title, including the first Call of Duty XP event and midnight launch events, I’m sure it would have climbed to that spot pretty quickly.

I see a lot of press releases everyday and more than few times I’ve wondered about the people (or committees) that write them. In this case, the release for BurgerTime: World Tour was successful not only in telling me about the updated classic title BurgerTime (available now on Xbox Live Arcade for 800 MS Points), but it made me crave a burger, fries, and beer. So, am I being pitched on the game or going out for lunch?

Check the full release and see if it does the same for you! Read the rest of this entry »

A good news story for the game industry is always welcome. Usually it’s all so gloomy — profits down, lay-offs, etc. — so it’s good to hear that Dungeon Defenders has eclipsed 200,000 download mark (250,000 if you include Xbox 360 and Playstation 3). It retails for $14.99 on Steam and PSN, and 1200 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live Arcade.

And in case you’re behind the times on this, here’s a quick rundown of the game from the official release:

Dungeon Defenders brings together the best elements of tower defense and action-RPG progression in a fully 3D environment; spreading the four-player co-op mayhem out across 15 unique maps – 30 challenges, four difficulty settings – in all its loot-raiding, spell-casting, level-up stacking glory. Read the rest of this entry »