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Gamer Chip - June 2008

blizzard logo


Blizzard, creators of the all comsuming World Of Warcraft, have waded into the PC gaming platform debate, suggesting that Microsoft needs to put in more resources and focus more heavily to bring gamers back. This follows the Valve press conference in which it was inferred that Microsoft should be taking the lead in promoting PC gaming and informing the community, rather than the individual developers taking the lead.


Blizzard COO Paul Sams says, "And I kind of look at it and say to myself, and I think similarly to Rob, is that it would be great if they put more emphasis on the Windows operating system, certainly probably the most prominent operating system in the world. Even more so than console boxes."

Sam also says that he understands that consoles are currently Microsofts' bread and butter, but highlights that they develop the OS that runs the show, "And they own and operate that system, so having them put more energy and effort against it - and they would say that they are, but I think that there's more that can be done."

Microsoft are yet to officially respond.

Although it is recognised that there is no accurate way of tracking PC game sales at the moment, it would suggest that the future of PC gaming is at a pivitol moment. If the focus remains on consoles, and PC gaming is left to stagnate, the fear is that the platform that has created the whole gaming industy could be left far behind. Blizzard and Valve own PC gaming, and with the incredible resources behind them, it is comforting to know that they are fighting to keep the platform where it has always been - at the forefront of gaming.
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ps3 v2.4


The official feature list for the latest firmware update for the PS3 will give Xbox360 users something to think about.

If you have been a 360 owner or a slightly jealous Playstation fan, the list will look pretty familiar, although Microsoft hadn't included quite a few of these features in their first attempt at XBL.


A few of the features are as we expected. Trophies to match the achievment system, viewing and managing downloads, and playing music from the HDD in game through a new music player interface.

Where the PS3 has the opportunity to jump ahead is in the unique features. A Google search will be accessible via the controller, text messages can be sent to PSN users on your friends list and launching into a new game directly from another, perhaps taking advantage of the maligned install system.

If the marketplace features can match that of the 360 you would have to say that Sony may be looking at a console selling online service.
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WWI - Day One Video Wrapup

June 30th 2008 06:46
world wide wrapup


Day 1 of the Worldwide Invitational is behind us, with Day 2 already underway in Paris, but that doesn't mean we can't wax nostalgic anyway. Everyone's favorite star of (internet) radio and (internet) television, the Turpster, has thrown together a short and sweet retrospective on day 1 at the Invitational. Peppered among all the excitement are a few shots of Death Knight gameplay and the costume contest, topped off with some commentary on the dance contest that closed off the night, Turpster style. Be sure to give it a watch, and check out Turpster's other WWI Videos as well, as he runs amok in Paris and gets to know the people in the queue.
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Wii smash bros brawl


There has been a new commerical on Australian TV showing four dazzlingly white toothed, good looking 'Friends' completely immersed in the new Wii game Super Smash Bros Brawl.
Slightly out of focus in back of shot a girl player looks to be having a better time than Meg Ryan at a coffee shop with Tom Hanks. I realise that Nintendo believe they are a girl friendly console, but are we really expected to believe that your girlfriend or sister (hopefully they are different people) is going to get into Smash Bros? Apart from those girl gamers (whose name I strangely enough cannot recall) who were more booth babes than serious players and a few well written articles from ladies who are the exceptions that prove the rule, it's a fact that girls don't get into video games, not even if they have puppies tied in pink ribbons in them. Next they'll be showing a couple hugging and cheering together after hacking apart the last twitching pieces of Holly Summers in No More Heroes.

I won't go through the too well trodden path of why this is the case, but Nintendo, please consider us guys. When you put girls in your ads having a ball playing games, you make us believe that it could actually happen. Then we convince them it could happen. Once. And it is that once that tells you once and for all... Girls like stuff, sometimes us guys, but not video games. And not those that have "smash" or "brawl" in the title.

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game collection


From the list of upcoming titles I was able to obtain we will see another 176 titles hitting the shelves between now and christmas. I was able to narrow it down to 19 titles that I would like to own, which suggested to me that there are too many games being released


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Valve steam


It was the conference we had to have


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Diablo 3


Blizzard have put us out of our collective miseries by finally revealing Diablo 3 will be hitting shelves in the foreseeable future (although being Blizzard that time will be when they decide it's the right time). And in a questionable departure from the tried and true formula that has rarely been successfully repeated since, Blizzard says RPG elements will be heavily featured


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fan pack


One of the most disappointing releases of the year has to have been Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Fans has rightfully blasted Ubisoft for releasing a game that was nothing more than an expansion of the original title. It it were half the price the fans may have accepted it, but with very few new gameplay innovations and ported maps from the original Rainbow Six, most gamers just felt ripped off. Sales have reflected this, turning the much loved franchise into a turkey


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diablo 3 forum


Is this the official confirmation we have been waiting for? Battle.net now have an official General Discussion Forum page ready for your rabid cries of lust over the possible third coming of Diablo


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Star Wars Unleashed


LucasArts have taken the extrordinary step of risking one of its most highly anticipated titles yet by laying off staff from the development team of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed


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Diablo 3 Must Have First Person

June 26th 2008 23:44
Diablo 3


It is as good as confirmed - Diablo 3 will be announced over the weekend. And add this to your list of rumours, it will contain the option for a first person view


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Qore


Sony have recently released a subscription service that gives users access to what can best be described as an online magazine. When your money is paid, you can access exclusive interiews, videos, demoes and the holy grail of gaming nerdom, early stages beta testing. As Sony beefs up their online offerings, Microsoft have counterpunched with the news that IGN will be delivering new content, named "IGN Strategize", via the Live service from Friday June 27th


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Zune360


There is a world that the people of T3 magazine live in. It's a world with a pimped out computer, fully licensed version of Adobe Photoshop and, if you've seen any of their magazines, hundreds of scantily clad woman. Woman brandishing electronic devices in a way that makes me both frightened and excited... but mainly frightened


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Yeah, this one's a rumour. A crazy rumour, right? Maybe not as crazy as you think, so bear with us. Here's what Quartermann says in the latest issue of EGM


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Sony At E3 - Gods Of War III

June 26th 2008 02:28
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Squeeballs


It has been announced that the first next gen controller (excuse me Wii owners, i'm talking PS3 and 360) incorporating mutli-axis motion control will be arriving, bundled with it's own title


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MMO's To Be Made For PS3

June 25th 2008 06:56
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Gamers Are Not Just Shy Nerds

June 25th 2008 02:58
nerd gamer


Todays video gamers are a special breed. Once we were shunned, outcasts of society. You could find us herded together with role players and accountants (not that any of us would talk to each other, or understand the other if we did) in a world of mockery and pity


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Puzzle Quest


We have all felt this way, but a few gamers have taken their frustrations to a new level over a glitch


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EA Sports


Just when you thought you had fit as many drum kits, steering wheels and tennis racquets into the lounge room, EA plans to include peripherals with its sports titles


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assassins creed 2


Fans of the Assassin's Creed franchise need to start flooding the forums and emailing their votes through to get a sequal according to Ubisoft


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Halo 3 body count


In a totally useless but interesting piece of news, an observant gamer from the Bungie forums has discovered that the entire human race has been virtually wiped out by players of the Halo 3 Campaign


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Left 4 Dead Release Date Announced

June 24th 2008 02:39
Left 4 Dead


For everyone who has ever watch a Romero movie and wanted to be in the thick of the dripping, rotting undead, we finally we have the date to block out our windows and calanders to blow the zombie hoards back to Hell in Left 4 Dead. For a sample of the action, check out the video


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360 and PS3


It has long been held true that gamers from the Playstation and Xbox communities are a completely different species. You may agree or disagree (and I urge you to examine the forum posts to help you decide) but Experian Consumer Research has decided to put some hard facts on the table, and the results may be shocking for some


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sony developer
The process for developing on the PS3 can be quite arduous


Sony have at last faced the awful truth that we have all known from the outset, that has given us a library of uninspired ports, frame rate issues and uninspired unique IP's: The difficulty in developing for the PS3 has driven away developers


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Archlord


Codemasters havea announced the details of the latest update to their free MMO Archlord. The 500,000 strong tiitle will be receiving an overhaul in the shape of the all-new, FREE Expansion Episode 3: Spirits Awakening


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Xbox 360 - Forward Compatibility

June 19th 2008 04:11
xbox720 2


Is it time to start thinking about trading in old Xbox360 titles? How many, if any of these are going to be compatible with the next version of the Xbox360


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GTA IV header


After having played GTA IV over the last few weeks online with a friend, the stupidly huge amount of fun that was had due to the fantastic Havok engine and driving mechanics had to be shared. And so without further delay, here it is, the definitive list of the Top Five Moments in GTA IV online


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Spore Creature Creator Out Now!

June 17th 2008 02:24
Spore title

For those that have been living on an unevolved world without contact from other species, the feverishly anticipated Will Wright game Spore is a unique look at the RTS genre. With it's claim of infinite creature creation, the ability to play from the microbe level to the furthest reaches of the galaxy through a network of player created worlds, the gaming community is watching carefully in the hopes that one of the gaming worlds living legends can pull of this massive feat successfully.

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Guitar Hero World Tour


The rock god in Australian gamers has had to keep their leather pants on the hanger since the launch of Rockband across the rest of the globe. But the announcement of Guitar Hero World Tour has at last given us some hope


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Battlefield Heroes


The news for the gaming industry could not be better. Sales have overtaken Hollywood and more recently the music industry. This golden era has been brought about by the changing of the guard - PC's, once the bastion of the gamer, is now seemingly relegated to the internet cafes and basements of the hardcore Starcraft or World of Warcraft player. The ease in which casual gamers can pick up and play the latest title without the fear of hardware issues or constant patching, combined with the quality of next generation graphics and gamplay has opened the console floodgates. Only Superman flying around the world against its current rotation could change the fact. Opinions vary as to the health of PC gaming. Sales figures for 2007 state that the PC platform consists of 14% of the market and with the recent console success of titles such as GTA IV this can only have dropped. Those with a vested interest in the PC platform site the lack of digital distribution sales data being included as the reason


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L.A Noire


Team Bondi, the up and coming development studio based in Sydney Australia are working on a new title to be published through the indstry powerhouse Rockstar


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Call Of Duty 5 and 6 news

June 11th 2008 04:12
COD 5
Activision's chest gets even bigger


With a nod to the extended development time of today’s games, Activision have already indicated that the venerable Call of Duty series will continue with a fifth, and rumoured a possible sixth instalment. Stepping back to the games original WWII era, number five plans to take what many feel to be a tired setting into the next generation. Destructible terrain is set to reshape the battleground, with players able to take down buildings and burn through fields with new weapons such as the incredibly fun sounding flamethrower. To avoid too many cliché’s from the back catalogue of WWII games COD 5 will see us fighting against a new enemy - Japan. For added variety we will also be transported to the Russian front to fend off the invading Germans. To cater for the strategically minded a command function will allow you to order your forces to best take care your foes


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GTA IV New Content Delayed

June 10th 2008 03:08
GTA IV
Rockstar's PR person has faced criticism in the wake of the news


Rockstar have announced that their highly publicised exclusive Grand Theft Auto IV content for the Xbox 360 will be delayed until late 08 - early 09. Initial feelings have been predictable with forums and websites critisizing the move. For regular gamers though this shouldn't create too many ripples. The GTA IV world is already brimming with content and for many of us the delay should match up with our finishing the single player game and beginning to tire of the multiplayer mode. The good news is that the content will stay exclusive, so those that had purchased a 360 version can sleep well at nights, knowing that those cursed PS3 owners will still suffer in their jocks


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Fallout 3


Before you sell an infrequently used organ to finance the purchase, the exciting announcement made by Amazon.com that they would be supplying "Fallout 3: Exclusive Survival Edition" turns out to be only for the American market. Due to shipping policies set in place by the online retail giant, no versions of the limited number release will be available to the enthusiastic Fallout fanbase in Australia


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S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky Preview

June 5th 2008 05:55
S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky


S.T.A.L.K.E.R began life as the game voted least likely to appear. Years passed before it finally arrived, so many that we thought the mock up game box would be placed on the shelf next to the new Duke Nukem. Thankfully the time was well spent, producing one of the most atmospheric games experienced, a brooding mix of desolate landscapes and grungy characters, covered in the dyamic lighting and weather effects that perfectly set the scene for a well fleshed out RPG set in post-meltdown Chernobyl. Amazingly, only a year later and the prequel is well down the development road. An eager and optimistic fanbase are expecting S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky to hit shelves and virtual stores on August 29


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We are currently in the era of the accessory. Gaming platforms have gotten to the point where graphically they are good enough for most people. Software developers are trying to find the next big drawcard to entice buyers to their games, but most of these are gameplay elements rather than bright shiny things that would normally get our attention, such as the new physics engine in GTA 4, Euphoria. Check it out out, it's really impressive.


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Zzap 64
I used to have to walk through sno' to get magazine in old dae


Want to know something? Anything? You go to the internet. An almost infinite stream of real time information accessable by anybody at any time. There is no topic that does not seem to have its own permanent devotee pouring over it at every second of the day. Especially in gaming. Hi there by the way. The original computer geeks are todays gamers, the two are a perfect fit. And yet every month, without fail, I buy PC Powerplay. The irony is that I've only loaded one PC game since S.T.A.L.K.E.R. And even that I'd bought second hand a good year after it's release. If it wasn't for Crisis I probably would never have even upgraded my PC


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cinema screen
Home cinema is getting a little out of control...


We all know the story: Little Company (say Brisbane based Pandemic,) gets in on the ground level, putting out great work in a field that is growing and starting to get some mainstream exposure. Little Company hangs on to its pants as all of a sudden the world jumps on to the same bandwagon. Little Company is then consumed by Large Company (for arguments sake, Bioware) through a merger. As the dust settles, Large Company is then acquired by Huge Company (perhaps EA), forming Monolith Entertainment (if you go out and trademark that… damn), consisting of half of the game developing universe and their own film studio


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The Last Starfighter is back!

June 2nd 2008 06:07
“Greetings Starfighter, you have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Zur and the Kodan Amada.”

What self respecting Geek does not know the origins of this quote? The teen boy fantasy flick ‘The Last Starfighter’ took us all of a journey gamers have fantasised about - being so good that an intergalactic army, fighting an evil beyond comprehension to save galaxy kind, recruits you as their top gun. And to top it off, you get the girl… if you’re a big fan, probably your first girl. Although it’s a little far fetched to think that a game could be used as a military recruitment tool


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GTA 4 - Dial MA for Murder

June 2nd 2008 04:27
GTA 4 game shot
Don't look back in anger, GTA

The controversy rages on as it ever has, GTA 4 being the latest in the line of video games to hit our shores that has tested the boundaries of our morality. Too much has been written about the issue already for there to be need for me to add to it, suffice to say that anyone who had played the game, which is meant to be the watered down version, knows that an R rating is essential. Don't get me wrong, kids today have as much right as anyone to run over the elderly with a fire engine, it just seems constitutional when you think about it. As long as you don't spray paint anything, al la Mark Ecko: Getting Up, which was banned from our shores.
For all of this though, the storyline for GTA 4 is getting as much of the attention as the gratuitous content. Rockstar are pushing boundaries on all fronts, with their style and content


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