Wii Servers Down

From about 3 PM EST to about 5 PM EST, Wii Servers were down. This was first noticed by me when I tried to connect online to The Conduit. I connected online, but it kept disconnecting when trying to connect to other players. I then connected to Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but I got disconnected when trying to match up with other players. Some people have claimed it to just be server traffic, but it is matchmaking maintanence. I am not sure if it is for any specific game or made any significant improvements, but it is supposed to help matchmaking be faster and more reliable. I am currently trying to contact inside sources from High Voltage Software to see exactly what went on.

Nintendo Sales plummet 40%

Nintendo has recently announced their sales figures for Quarter 1 of 2009. Their sales for Quarter 1 were an estimated $2.66 Billion, down from the estimated $4.45 Billion from last year's First Quarter.

It isn't just Nintendo hurting though, Sony is also in some pain.

These companies wonder what's going on, and why the 360 isn't suffering so much. That's easy, they have HUGE releases right around the corner, along with a new XBOX Live Dashboard update August 11. What have the PS3 and Wii suffered? There haven't been any huge new games for them. The Conduit was just released for the Wii, and those sales aren't included in the Quarter 1 sales, but one game isn't enough to do anything, and then Wii Sports Resort should help Nintendo out some. But what you need to do Nintendo, is a BIG update. I mean Wii Movie Channel big, or Free Demo Channel big. Something that will put the Wii at that caliber of the 360. A Movie Channel would be the perfect thing to catch gamers' attention to go get a Wii, and then you would make profit with every movie sold.

PC Gets No Prestige Edition

It has been confirmed by Infinity Ward that the PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will not be available in a Prestige Edition or any Limited Edition. That's right PC Gamers, there will not be any Night-Vision Goggles for you :(

Games afraid of Modern Warfare 2

Who would be afraid of a video game?

How about other game companies. Well Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 2 is apparently, REALLY SCARY. After seeing a really polished and excellent Multiplayer trailer emphasizing custom kill streak set ups, and flying planes after killing 11soldiers in a row. Bioshock 2, Heavy Rain, Alan Wake, and Splinter Cell: Conviction have all delayed from their Quarter 4 2009 release to an early 2010 release. Not only that, but apparantly Ubisoft is even afraid of Modern Warfare 2 affecting their Wii game sales, as they have delayed the release of the highly awaited Red Steel 2. This game sounds excellent!

Bungie done with Halo?

In an interview, Bungie representatives have stated that

Halo:Reach is the last console game they are creating.

This will be the last time Bungie is invloved with Halo.

Modern Warfare 2 Kill Streak and Multiplayer details released

Not all details, but just take a look and read


http://pc.ign.com/articles/100/1007907p1.html


Make sure to watch the trailer too.


All I can say is,

AMAZING!!!

Wii Movie Channel going w o r l d w i de

There is already live movie streaming in Japan for those with the Nintendo Wii. The other consoles already have that here in the United States and also in Europe, but with Nintendo being in Japan, everything is launched first in Japan (I know, it's no fair). But it is reported that there could be a Wii Movie Channel "Very soon." How soon? That, nobody but Nintendo knows. Hopefully the movies will be cheaper than my Verizon FiOS On Demand.

Note: It is not confirmed this movie channel will be run through Netflix, however it has been rumored that this is true.

Gears of War Movie, and how to get unbanned from a website

First lets get to the gaming topic. It is reported and confirmed that there will be a feature film based off of the popular video games Gears of War and Gears of War 2. There is no timetable or plot line set, but there should be a movie within the next year or two.

Now I know this is a gaming site, but I just found out how to get unbanned from most websites. I was banned from gamefaqs.com recently for advertising the site (silly me) and I figured out how to get unbanned. So if you ever get banned, leave me a comment, or email me at gamingnewsnrumors@yahoo.com and I will show you how to get unbanned.

Next Resident Evil in 3D

No, not the video game, but since there is also a movie series, I might as well post this here. It is reported that the next Resident Evil movie will have 3D capabilities.

Updates for The Conduit???

After speaking with the Design Director of The Conduit, I have sent in many ideas to create a better game experience. He has sent them along to all of the other devs and has said there is a strong possibility it can be done, but no guarentees. Now, we all know the Wii can't get DLC and map packs, but HVS might just be ready to push the Wii once again. Some things I sent in are videos of some glitches to get inside bases (Not saying which map) and other glitches to patch. He replied that those can definitely be fixed, but there are consequences they have to take into consideration. Another thing is xp boosts for certain game modes such as Last Man Standing, Three Strikes, and Bounty Hunter. The max amount of kills you normally get in these game modes is around 10, and only about 15-20 xp for a 15 minute match. They want to change this. Also, we might see some FFA game modes become Team Objective or Team Reaper game modes. One idea that was brought about by someone else was Team Bounty Hunter, or a Halo type teams of 2 game mode (6 teams of 2 or something). He said those are very interesting and the team will look into them. Also, he has said some more about all the bugs and hackers. There are no 100% definites on any of these, but they have some very good chances.

World of Warcraft Movie

No great details on it yet. But I will keep posted on it's progress and release dates.

New Gaming Social network

Head on over to http://www.fps-gamers.ning.com/ to chat with other gamers from either the game you play or from an entirely different game. It's a cool place to share photos, videos, machinimas, comments, blogs, and more. I already have one dev from High Voltage Software there (The lead animator for The Conduit) and I am also close to getting more devs from HVS and other companies to join. Just head on over to exchange Wii Friend Codes, or XBOX Live Gamertags also with other gamers.

Halo Legends is a go!!!

Microsft has confirmed that the Halo anime series "Halo Legends" will be a series of 7 short videos containing MasterChief as the main character. Nothing has been confirmed on the storyline, what channels it will air on, etc. They haven't even created anything yet. But eventually they will. There is no timetable, but Microsoft will be working with 5 or 6 Japanese animation studios. Now where it will be on TV we do not know (USA, Japan?) but I'm sure it will be on Hulu when it's all said and done :)

The Grinder Enemy Posters

http://wii.ign.com/articles/100/1006273p1.html

Some cool posters by High Voltage Software on some of the main enemies in The Wii's future release of The Grinder.

New XBOX Live Dashboard Update

August 11 - There will be many new features for your XBOX 360 Dashboard such as improved Netflix features, on-demand games, Avatar Marketplace, and even more.

New Microsoft Handheld

Rumor has it that Microsoft has begun plans on a new handheld with the name somewhere around the likes of the ZuneX. In typical Microsft fashion, they're making this the best they can be. They are rumored to be including apps, as well as a cell phone feature. Look out Apple, Microsoft is in the house.

Modern Warfare 2 Controller

On Infinty Ward's Twitter, it was posted that this person was going to a meeting about a Modern Warfare 2 controller, he then asked if the gamers preferred convex or concave grips on the joysticks. Pretty interesting seeing as how Infinity Ward already has Night-Vision goggles planned for this incredible game/"way of life." LOL. It's more than just a game.

Also, make sure to join my social network at fps-gamers.ning.com I already have 1 dev there from High Voltage Software and am looking to get even more devs from other gaming companies, but it must get popular first, and you can make that possible.

Sega's new Lottery game???

Check out the site and see for yourself.

- http://www.sega.com/jackpot/


Believe it or not, it is actually a countdown, but a cool way of counting down. Maybe it's pool, maybe it's table sports in general, or maybe it really is a lottery game.

Sega who is known to keep the gamers guessing (The Conduit website which requires decoding alien language and hidden secrets [conduitgame.com]) has once again stumped us a little. We'll just have to wait and see.

Wii System Update 4.1

Make sure to update your Wii if you have one. I'm not sure exactly what it is for, maybe a minor update for The Conduit??? I hope it's a fix for the shotgun.

New Social Network

Wanna check out the new Gaming social network? Head on over to fps-gamers.ning.com You can share photos, comments, blogs, and more with other gamers and friends.

July 21: Halo Wars getting Historical maps

On July 21st, Halo Wars will be leaving when you play on two new maps. They get rid of the futuristic feel to them, and bring in the old terrain with craters, valleys, trees, and more. The two new maps will be available for 800 Microsoft points ($10)

Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Pack

It has been confirmed after numerous teases from a username on Twitter of unboxings, that the unboxing was actually for a package of Night-vision goggles. Yes, Night Vision goggles will be included with the newly announced Prestige pack which will also come with a token to download Call of Duty 1. A price has been named for the Prestige Pack now at $149. The Prestige Pack will also come with a Concept Artbook.

The Grinder to have DLC?!?!

The Wii's version of Left 4 Dead which comes out aound Quarter 4 of 2010 may recieve DLC. Inside workers from High Voltage Software who have already made the number one game ever (The Conduit) are now making a new monster hunter for the Wii which will include Online versus mode and 4 player online co-op as well as many other features. Now an insider has told us that they really want to put in the ability for Downloadable Content and updates after the game's release. The said this too for The Conduit, but The Conduit was being created before the 4.0 Wii System Update with the addition of an SD card menu to directly store data to an SD Card. They are working closely with Nintendo to do this, and are looking for ways to do DLC on the Wii as it has not been done.

Halo just isn't what it used to be....

From various people I've heard from and gamers everywhere, they just aren't intrigued with Halo 3 or even the future release of Halo 3: ODST. Without any masterchief in the picture, a new game means nothing. They just want to wait until Halo Reach...

Lower the risk of bugs and freezing in The Conduit

As many Conduit players know, there are some annoying bugs in the online multiplayer. Some of these are freezing, spawning outside of the map when first joining a game, etc. The frequency of these happening has decreased lately as High Voltage Software and Nintendo have made sure the servers update themselves to better fit the game, but these still happen occasionally. To lower the risk, I found first of all you should join a Regional mode. With Worldwide you now run into the risk of playing in a match with players across the globe since yesterday was the Europe release date. Regional doesn't force the servers to try and connect you or authenticate you on someone else's Wii who is far, far away. Next I found to join either Team Reaper or Team Objective the best. Most players play Free-For-All, so the servers are more full in that game mode. Lastly, don't play in the evening around 4-6 PM. This is when everybody is getting home and turning on their console to play The Conduit.

I hope I helped.

Also, High Voltage Software has stated they are working closely with Nintendo to fix these bugs completely hopefully just server-side, but it might require an actual firmware update through the Wii Shop Channel.

Put the "COD" back in Modern Warfare 2

Activision: "Okay."

Activision has confirmed after an inside Twitter post was made that the name "Call of Duty" will now be a part of the Modern Warfare 2 game. After first announcing it would just be Modern Warfare 2 because the series was splitting away from Call of Duty, they decided to bring it back. Pre-Sales were not doing nearly as well as those of Call of Duty 4 before release or Call of Duty World at War before release. It apparantly took away a lot of gamer awareness. So now you can call it COD 6 again :)

NOTE: Photo from gamespot.com - http://www.gamespot.com/images/6213177/modern-warfare-2-regains-call-of-duty-prefix/1/?path=2009%2F189%2Fcodmw2553_screen.jpg&caption=Bask%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bglory%2Bof%2Bthe%2B%2522first%2Btrue%2Bsequel.%2522&blog=1&cvr=bMn0

Hacker Prevention Being Worked On

After contacting both Nintendo and High Voltage Software, they have bot replied with basically the same message, and these weren't automated/automatic replies, these were real people, not the company in general. I have my inside contacts. Anyways, they said they are working on a way to prevent hackers from ruining online games such as The Conduit. This could mean a new system update for the Wii to scan for re-written files whenever a user connects to Wi-Fi connection. I certainly hope this truly happens.

Maps in Halo 3: ODST

Here's a link for some snapshots of new maps in Halo 3:ODST.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/100/1001564p1.html


In my opinion, they just look like regular maps from Halo 3. They look all the same. Nothing exciting, but I could be wrong. That is just a sneak-peek.

Epic sticking with the classic controller

While there was recent news of Bungie and Epic being given Natal cameras to experiment with, Epic has come out and said that they do not believe they will be using the camera anytime soon according to IGN.com. And I don't understand right now either how first-person shooters would become pure motion sensing without any controllers. How would the player run? How would they shoot? How would they do anything in a shooting game without a controller. It will take one brave company to think of a way. But as far as I can guess, you won't be seeing any Call of Duty or Halo type games using Project Natal anytime soon.

New game consoles to look for

While we have heard to not expect the next generation of game consoles until around 2013-2015, there are some expected updates to the current consoles. Microsft is supposedly planning a new XBOX 360 to better incorporate Project Natal, Sony is expected to also create a new PS3 to incorporate their motion-sensing controller, and there have been rumors for years that Nintendo is planning a new Wii HD. We should start seeing some of these as early as 2010.

July 3rd- All hackers banned by Nintendo?!?!

Yes, Nintendo took action. After on-going complaining about hacking, Nintendo sent out a global banning of any hackers - including Wii gamers who currently have the Homebrew Channel installed on their Wii console. This is after on-going complaints by Wii gamers, including myself, about hacking of specifically Mario Kart Wii, Call of Duty World at War, and especially The Conduit. And it's a shame these hackers ruin games too. The Conduit is a great game as expected, but there are many hackers. While High Voltage Software has done their best to remove videos on YouTube of how to hack (they removed all of them because they claimed them as copyrighted), Nintendo now did the banning. The only problem is...You can actually just call Nintendo back, and they will un-ban you if you give a good explanation. But hopefully it puts some fear into some hackers. But HVS members if you read this, these are hackers to look out for - RobPWNS, K3vinPWN, and Hetoan2. HVS and Nintendo are well aware though, and hope to put a complete end to video game hacking. This is a good step forward though.