GTA IV Banned? Ministry Of Information moves against Videogames

Around an hour ago, at 2 PM today, two inspectors from the Ministry of Information raided a "Euphoria" shop in Seef Mall and confiscated all Grand Theft Auto IV titles, Both PS3 & Xbox 360.
Two men, wearing traditional dress, came in, identified themselves to the man behind the counter, took his CPR and started writing down his details in an official inspection form. They also wrote down what they took (Around 4 or 5 titles of GTA IV for PS3 and the same for X360). They gave the receipt to the man and walked out with the titles in a plastic bag.
Now this does not necessary mean that GTA IV is banned in Bahrain, but it means at least that someone (individual or the ministry it self) complained about the title and the ministry is looking into it.
Given the nature of the title and the notion that games are (still) for kids, I expect the title to be banned very soon.
The title was banned for some time in neighboring Saudi Arabia. Saudi gamers have always came here to get their GTA fix. it seems that will continue no more.
I am appalled at this movement especially since other types of media (Video, Audio) are not dealt in this manner. I do agree there are some questionable materials in the game, however, I would suggest that age ratings are enforced as they should be rather than simply banning the thing altogether.
This blog will keep an eye out on the matter.

MGS4 PS3 bundle is on Amazon

Amazon have listed the Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 bundle. If you do not have a PS3, this is the bundle to get. Why? It has an 80 GB hard disk, the new Dual Shock 3 controller (not the Sixaxis) and comes with the amazing MGS4. Sign up to get an email once it is open for pre-order.

PS3 redesign: loses 2KG

As you can see from the poor picture I took; T3 magazine (middle east version) reports that Sony will release a slim version of the 80G PS3 console in 2008 4th quarter. They hint at it being released in December, probably for Christmas.
The magazine says it will retain all of the bluray goodness and be 2 kilograms lighter.
This sounds odd as the console is still young in its product life cycle. But it'd be rather interesting to see if it did prove true.

My little Wii boy grows up

Everyone is on Nintendo's case saying that it is a kiddie company. In part, Nintendo brought it on itself, what with the fake blood in SNES's Mortal Kombat (If you don't remember, you're too young). Nintendo throws loads of fluffy coloured themes of Mario, Zelda and Pokemon. Even Metroid which is more serious than the rest is rather clean.
Nintendo, being wise and learn from mistakes, saw what the Playstation did and acknowledged that gamers did indeed grow up (I for one am 30). We did see Resident Evil 4 come up on Wii. I did pick up that and it was amazing. But it was merely a rehash of an old PS2 game. No biggie, huh?
In come Ubisoft with their soon to be released "No More Heroes".
Think Grand Theft Auto but with lots of combat in it. This game is basically about a killer that enters a killers competition to deter main who's the best killer. By Killing them.
Have a look at the Video preview. Looks like something to keep an eye on.

SEGA is in Dubai!

I can't believe my eyes! SEGA will be coming to Dubai!

DUBAI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Dubai's Emaar Properties EMAR.DU and Japan's Sega Corp have agreed to develop theme parks in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, Emaar said on Thursday.

They will first start to develop one in Dubai Mall next to Burg Dubai (that monstrous skyscraper). Is this a comeback for the long extinct Arcade?
I used to frequent Arcades back in the golden days of the Fighters Genre. Spent hundreds of Dinars in Sindbad (now closed) on Street Fighter 2 back in '92. Later on King of Fighters series and Tekken in Ardh al sighar. Met friends and created rivals. Arcades was very much like..um.. a Gahwa of competing Carrom & playing cards players, but for this generation. A more complex and tech savvy one.
Arcades are all but dead now. The Playsttation, Xbox & Wii are doing a great job of providing quality gaming and letting people interact cyberly. What would the Emarati SEGA theme park be like? Will it bring Arcades to its next Golden Age or will it be reduced to simple kiddie rides?
Time will tell, but for now, I am ecstatic.

Smash Brothers gets a Perfect Score

Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the highly anticipated Wii game recently got a perfect 40 score by Famitsu Magazine. Famitsu is a Japanese videogames publication that has pretty much accurate scores. 4 editors rate out of 10 and their ratings are added up to form the final score. In its lifetime, Famitsu gave 7 games only a perfect score. SSBB is their Eighth.
I hear good news of it and I read only good things. This game will be fully online, which is a major turn-on on its own. It is visited by then Nintendo enemy, Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Time passes and I see Sonic next to Mario on a Nintendo machine. The shame.
Another Guest is Solid Snake of the Metal Gear Solid series that Konami produces. If anything, it means that several third parties are working with Nintendo in sort of like a "handshake". I reckon we will see more offerings from them in the future.
The video shown is Solid Snake using his codec. Snake usually talks to HQ in his Metal Gear Solid games, where they brief him and he reports back. But when he sees Wario, this is what happens.
More Codec movies can be found on the Smash Bros. DOJO!

Teach yourself Videogames in 10 Days

Right, after the Wii & NDS successfully attract non-gamers and made them play casual video games, up comes Bandai-Namco and says: Here's a thought, lets teach them how to play video games!

Bandai Namco announced Videogame Training DS for NDS, a collection of 500 mini games based on 30 Namco classics such as Xevious, Mappy, Galaga, Sky Kid, Valkyrie, Shadow Land, Wagyan Land, The Tower of Druaga, Famista and Dragon Buster. The mini games will test your game skills, reflex and memory. Videogame Training DS will be released in Japan on March 30, 2008.

This is very very depressing to me. I'm sorry, it just feels sad.

Street Fighter IV first images

The first images of the highly anticipated Street Fighter IV game, is released. Everyone was wondering how the graphics would look like after the teasing trailer. Here is your first look.

CAPCOM (the game developer) have announced that the graphics shall be in 3D polygons, however, much to the relief of die hard fans, the actual game is strictly 2D.

As usual, new places, characters and moves will be included and the 6 Button system of old remains (3 punches: jab, mid and fierce, and 3 kicks: jab, mid, and fierce).

So far, only Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li & Dhalsim have been announced. The game is expected to hit the Arcades (if there are any left) in 2008.

Boy survives animal attack thanks to VIDEOGAMES

A Norwegian boy and his sister were attacked by a moose.

The boy taunted the moose towards him away from his sister then feigned death, making the moose lose interest. How did he know what to do? The boy said:

"Just like you learn in level 30 in World of Warcraft"

Moral of the story: Gamers have a better chance surviving moose attacks than non gamers.

Tekken 6: Heading to a PS3 near you

Bandai / Namco have allowed a few images to slip showing their flagship fighter game's digital prowess. Seems like the game is ready and will be in Arcades (if there are any left that is) by the end of this month. A shout out goes to all GCC gamers, please report any sightings of a Tekken 6 machine here.
It is set to be released for the PS3 in 2008. No idea if it will be exclusive or if Xbox360 will get a taste of it. If it is exclusive, then the PS3, after the price cuts and the stellar games, is beginning to sound like a sweet deal. You get a BLURAY player, Tekken, Metal Gear Solid, Winning Eleven, Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy. Not bad.
The PS3 sales have been modest but picking up pace recently. I expect it to accelerate even more in 2008, should they stay their course.

Poll results: Street Fighter IV

with 8 people voting on my humble poll, it seems your opinion on Street Fighter IV is so:

Excited beyond belief!	6 (75%)
Happy, but not that excited.	0 (0%)
Don't care anymore.	1 (12%)
Always hated Street Fighter	0 (0%)
Don't play videogames.	1 (12%)

Votes so far: 8
Poll closed

Frankly I don't have time to game anymore. I lost my skills and can't remember any moves for Tekken or any other fighter.
I seriously think video games are mental excercises, and each genre exercises your brain in a different way. The fact that I am a worse video fighter now basically tells me my thinking and mental ability in a certain aspect have degraded. Maybe it is not noticeable in daily life but in a controlled environment like that it could surface.
Must game more.

Street Fighter IV: Prepare yourself

It was 1992
over 15 years ago. Yes, Fifteen.
Street Fighter II was out and it took the world by storm. I spent untold amounts of cash at the Sindibad arcade at the Exhibition avenue (now le Ancien Cafe, or something).
Street Fighter II was a revolution. It made Arcades popular again, and gave rise to the fighting genre. Street Fighter II was as popular as Michael Jackson in his days, the characters more known than Micky Mouse or Mario even. Capcom was on top of the world.
As I said, that was 15 years ago.
The fighting Genre is almost dead, if not for true die hard fans. Arcades are dead. People are talking about ipods, wiimotes and 1080p now. They forgot the hadokens and shoryukens.

Now, it's coming back. Street Fighter IV is soon to be. I feel like crying at times, at times I feel giddy.
I seriously can't wait!

Ninja Gaiden

The images of Xbox 360's Ninja Gaiden are looking mighty sweet!

Winning Eleven 11 is near!

The Winning Eleven series is extremely popular the world over and in the GCC more specifically. Heck, in Saudi they even rent out Playstations in coffee shops so you can play the thing with your mates.

the 10th incarnation was released on the PS2 last year. The 11th release (which sounds confusing yet cool) is coming out on BOTH the X360 and PS3.
This will be amazing, no reviews needed. It's just updated and improved more of the same. You can see some of the new additions in the pictures below
If something is gonna increase PS3's sales in the Middle East, this will be it.

"Bio Shock" is reaping praise

Bio Shock has been causing Tsunami sized waves for the X360 fans. It has extremely detailed visuals and attained very high marks already.
1Up gave them a 10/10, Games radar: 10, Eurogamer: 10, Game informer: 10, IGN: 9.7, Game spy: 10.
Essentially it is a first person shooter. But it seems to be done remarkably well. The X360 becomes more Solid everyday. Look at the trailer and tell me what you think. You play the man that tries to kill the little girls. I know, sick but novel notion.

PS3 prices drop in Bahrain

Sony fought back with a global plan, it seems, to cut the prices. Today we saw ads for new reduced prices for PS3s in Bahrain.

Just a couple of months ago, it debuted to the tune of BD 270 ($715) for a bare bones system. Games were priced BD 30 ($80) at least.

We now see three bundles on display.

The first two has one game attached: Eithr "Resistance: Fall of man" or "Moto storm" and a controller.

System + one game now costs BD 229 ($606).

Another third bundle includes both mentioned games for BD 260 ($687) but for 2 controllers rather than one. Compared to the initial offering price, this is a pretty sweet deal. This deal could have set you back BD 360 ($952) at least had you got it at launch.

Similarly, I just heard this morning that PS3 prices in Malysia reached about BD 180 ($476). This is of course great news. Sony is doing exactly the suggestions I previously wrote in my March next gen forcast. They seems to be on the brink of a reform which can very much be very successful. If these moves could get retail customers intrested again, this will pull back the cautious 3rd party developers to the Sony side again.

In the mean time, Nintendo has NO Middle east representation nor official releases. And the choice of games are leaving hard cores hungry. Can't belive it, but This round Sony 1 / Nintendo 0.

The X360 is enjoying the Middle East presence of Microsoft and got price cuts and more distribution as well. Although it is still not the house hold name the Playstation is here.

Any way, It will be intresting to watch the public's reaction to the price cut.

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles trailer

File Front have released the first official trailer of Capcom's upcoming "Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles". In case you don't know what that is (Who are you?) It's an FPS shooter in the sense of Time Crisis and house of the dead. Have a look.


Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles Trailer

PS3 Price drops! I knew it!

I saw it coming a mile away. Ken gets fired, then a crisis management plan is underway.
The number 1 gripe amongst consumers is the PS3 price. Well, CHEAP ASS GAMER reports that:

the PS3 will be $100 cheaper at Circuit City from 7/15 to 7/21 (according to their Sunday Ad), but this is a pretty good indication that there will be a price drop (announced at E3) at retailers across the USA.

Fair enough. Sound logic. So, the PS3 takes a lower price making it much more appealing instantly. BD sales will go up, and Sony gets to gauge interest until the holidays when it will bombard you all with top tier games and bundles and maybe rebates. That's my prediction anyway.

Sony is getting on their feet again. Good!

Spiderman 3 games SUCK!

As anticipated, the Spiderman 3 games suck.

Gamespot scored the Spiderman 3 game for the PS3 a 6 (fair). The X360 got the same score.
It is also released on Wii, PC, GBA, NDS & PSP (God! did they leave any gamer untargeted?), still unrated but I wouldn't hold my breath.
In fact, look at this image on the right. That's not an SNES with an FX chip nor an N64 even. This is the Spiderman 3 game for the Wii.
Sucks huh? It almost surprises you just how much it does suck. Its inexcusable. People are furious.

Reasons in my opinion are:

1- Quantity over quality attitude (lets release games to every system there is!)
and the other greed driven reason
2- Franchise a hot name now and they'll buy it.

They might as well package Spider poo and slap a Spiderman 3 logo on it. It will still sell.
Angry Videogame Nerd seems to share my view point.

Nintendo refutes Wii hoarding.

Nintendo refuted Gamestop's claim that they were intentionally holding Wiis. GameStop's COO, Dan DeMatteo, said that he believes Nintendo

“intentionally dried up their supply because they made their numbers for the year”

with the Nintendo Wii.
In English: He claims that they had a target for this fiscal year (ends March), and instead of selling more Wiis, they thought of holding the systems to contribute to thier new sales target starting April.

Not true says Nintendo’s George Harrison, senior VP of marketing and corporate communications. As "Next Generation" reported, he said

“No, that’s not at all the case. We have worldwide territories that are all competing over the available production. The Japan and European markets are doing extremely well with the Wii. People in Japan at NCL [Nintendo Co. Ltd.] are making the best decisions that they can about which products get shipped to which market and when.”

While Gamestop's claim is a typical and possible conspiracy theory, Nintendo's claim is believable, as it coincides with my sales analysis.

Let me take this as an example to compare between Nintendo's PR & Sony's. Just recently Sony continued its appalling PR activities. In contrast, Nintendo dealt with this very wisely, in the next response, Nintendo justified what many would think is an unjust accusation by Gamestop:

Harrison:

“Every retailer would want to have more [Wiis]. I think [DeMatteo’s comments] may have been GameStop’s way of trying to request more”

He succeeded in defending Nintendo, while making both Nintendo and Gamestop look like companies who care for thier customers. Textbook. Sony should hire him.