LEGO
Indiana Jones
Demo
Though
the new Indiana Jones movie won't be arriving in theatres for another
couple of days, fans who have been looking to try their hand at the
new
LEGO Indiana Jone: The Original Adventures
don't
have to wait any longer. Microsoft and Lucasarts announced that they
are debuting an exclusive playable demo of the Games for Windows
version of
LEGO Indiana Jones
on the official Games for Windows website (www.gamesforwindows.com).
This demo is the only way you can experience the game, on any
platform, before the release of
Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
this
Thursday. The game itself is only scheduled to release on June 3
rd
.
|
LEGO
Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
is
the latest installment in the LEGO gaming franchise, the next will be
LEGO Batman
, and it
includes more than 60 playable characters and dozens of memorable
Indiana Jones scenes.
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original
Adventures
will be available for
Games for Windows PC and Nintendo DS for $29.99 USD and CAD, for
Playstation 2 and PSP for $39.99 USD and CAD and for Wii, Xbox 360
and Playstation 3 for $49.99 USD and CAD, and is rated E10+ for
Everyone 10 and up.
SCE
Worldwide Studios gets a new president
Sony
Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) announced the appointment of
Shuhei Yoshida, Senior Vice President of the U.S. Studios for Sony
Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS), as President of
SCE WWS last week, effective May 16
th
.
Yoshida, who joined SCEI in 1993, was one of the initial members who
helped in the establishment of the Playstation business. In April of
1996, he was appointed Producer of the Product Development
Department, and joined Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) as
Vice President of Product Development in April 2000, where he took
part in the production of a large number of Sony's best selling
franchise titles. Yoshida was made Senior Vice President of the U.S.
Studios for SCE WWS in February 2007.
“
SCE
WWS has been developing global hit titles, sharing resources and
know-how within SCE Group since its foundation, and we will reinforce
our software business by further enhancing coordination among the
studios under a new leader,” said Kazuo Hirai, President and Group
CEO for SCEI. “Under the leadership of Yoshida, who has proven
track record in managing creative talent, SCE WWS will accelerate the
software development for the Playstation 3 and PSP platforms and
vigorously expand the gaming market.”
Yoshida
takes over the responsibilities for this position from Hirai, who
took them on in addition to his own responsibilities as President and
Group CEO for SCEI after Phil Harrison left the company in February.
Hasbro's
Family Game Night coming to consoles
The
Casual Entertainment Label of Electronic Arts announced last week
that it is currently developing a video game version of Habro's
Family
Game Night, a promotion that was originally designed to both
promote family togetherness and Hasbro board games. The new game,
called
Hasbro Family Game Night
,
will feature six games, including Battleship, Yahtzee, Boggle,
Connect Four, Sorry! and the all new Sorry! Sliders.
Hasbro
Family Game Night
will essentially be a digital version of the classic Hasbro board
games and a mix of new takes on those games, including Connect Four
Power Chips, Boggle Portal Cubes, Reverse Yatzhee and Battleship
Barrage.
Players
can deck out their very own distinctive digital game room in
HASBRO
FAMILY GAME NIGHT
by choosing a setting and adding earned trophies, cool furniture and
decorations all themed to their favorite games.
“
Hasbro
Family Game Night
is designed to bring family and friends of all ages together in the
digital living room for an evening of ‘anything goes’ fun,”
said Mark Blecher, General Manager of Digital Media and Gaming at
Hasbro. “Hasbro has been providing families with the best in game
play for decades, and now they can enjoy some of our most beloved
brands with an all-new digital twist.”
Hasbro
Family Game Night
is
currently scheduled to release for Wii and Playstation 2 this fall.
SingStar
releases
for PS3
SCEA
announced the North American release of
SingStar
for Playstation 3 today. Developed by SCE WWS London Studio, brings
the franchise to a whole new level, with hundreds of downloadable
songs and videos across multiple genres, and the ability for players
to build and customize party playlists and build a community of
user-created performances.
The
franchise's Playstation 3 debut comes with 30 singles and videos from
popular artists like The Killers, U2, Smashing Pumpkinds, Outkast,
R.E.M., Radiohead and more. In addition to the tracks available on
the disc,
SingStar
for
Playstation 3 gives players access to hundreds of downloadable songs
featuring the real artists and videos, via the Playstation 3 online
SingStore (yes, it's really called that). Individual tracks are
available for purchase at $1.49 USD or CAD a piece, and there are
currently over 200 songs available for download now. Sony says it
plans to add approximately 25 to 50 new songs each month.
SingStar
for
Playstation 3 also brings social networking and user-generated
content to the franchise, through the use of the Playstation Eye
camera. Players can use My SingStar Online to share their personal
SingStar
performances with the game's worldwide online community in video,
audio or photo form. Players in the community can also view and rate
other player's content, and even check out the community's top
performers through the game's new feature of weekly highest-rated
videos. The service has already proven popular, thanks to the game's
European release this past holiday season, which attracted 140,000
registered users. With the users from My SingStar Online and visitors
to www.singstargame.com
sharing a combined 20,000 videos of their performances, and the total
number of views of those videos having hit over 2.5 million views,
this service is likely to prove even more popular as the game starts
selling here.
“
The
worldwide success of
SingStar
continues
to spread across North America due in large part to its
casual-friendly, social gameplay,” said Jeff Reese, director of
software marketing for SCEA. “PS3 has allowed us to evolve the
SingStar
experience,
growing
f
beyond simply expanding the library with new tracks. Adding
new next-generation
eatures such as the SingStore
and
My SingStar Online,
SingStar
PS3 is the complete party package with an ever-growing downloadable
catalog, global community-driven content and innovative, social
networking features.”
Aside
from the highest-rated video feature, other enhancements to the game
were added to the game today via a free downloadable patch for North
America. Now available are enhanced harmony duets, separate Battle
mode difficulty selection, lag calibration for different TV types and
PSP Remote Play.
Singstar
for
Playstation 3 is available on its own for $39.99 USD and CAD or in a
bundle with two high quality USB microphones for $59.99 USD and CAD,
and is rated T for Teen. If you already own one of the PS2 versions
of
SingStar
you can use those microphones with this version.