Poor Jimi, he must be twisting and puffing in his grave right about now, to see what became of his musical legacy. As it turns out on CBC News (via Eurogamer), two of his songs - "The Wind Cries Mary" and a live version of "Purple Haze" - will be playable in the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour game, when it's released this autumn. And more will be added through downloads at a later time.

On the other hand, it was about time! Having several Guitar Hero games without the legendary Jimi Hendrix was a bit of a paradox. Even though, as EG points out, a cover of "Spanish Castle Magic" was previously featured in the series' first installment, and Guitar Hero III also had an avatar which looked a lot like him. Now, at last, he's officially denigrated.


Hey Joe, where you goin' with that Guitar Hero peripheral in your hand

A very interesting move from Nintendo – the fellows of Kotaku just received a press release wich states that the Japanese company will be kindly skipping Leipzig’s Game Convention this year. The reasons are plenty – and not that, God forbid, GC would somehow totally suck ass, but because, well, “the country where the sun shines” (to quote an illiterate and extremely retarded ex-colleague of mine, who, sadly, is not dead yet) already hosts too many similar events that Nintendo has attended so far. And will probably do so even more, as the time casually passes by.

And the results, being the positive results they are, convinced Nintendo to skip this year’s most awesome European gaming gathering. So, after E3, they will stick their heads back in their asses and return to Japan and their daily routine, because:
1. Japanese girls are the best.
2. Japanese girls look the youngest.
3. Local legislation is many times tolerant regarding doing various things to Japanese girls.
4. Akihabara.

This decision should only last one year though.

Yep, it's official. The Suzumiya Haruhi Wii game that was announced last year - along with that PS2 game and a PSP game, both released back in winter - will be a dancing game, and it could come out later this year. Shock and awe.

A random Japanese blog posted a couple of Famitsu scans showing images from the game - see them here and here - and based on them, Sankaku Complex has a brief description of what it will play like.

"The latest Haruhi game for the Wii will be a dancing game, involving timing Haruhi and company's dancing with the Wiimote. (...) there will be a story mode advanced by skilful dancing, a free mode in which you can freely choose costumes, music and stage, and the dancing will be accomplished with three characters, so Kyon is unlikely to feature with Haruhi, Nagato and Mikuru on hand. Apparently, there will also be a version packaged with a figure."

Moar Haruhi dancing? In 3D? With booze? Hell yeah!

Taking a cue from the hollywoodian habit of milking games from movies before they even premiere, the Japanese anime and gaming industries are coming together in the production of a Wii game based on the upcoming The Sky Crawlers animation film. The project was revealed in the pages of Famitsu (via Gamersyde), who say that the Wii game is being developed by the Namco Bandai team responsible for the Ace Combat series.

The only reason I give a damn is that the Sky Crawlers anime is directed by Mamoru Oshii, who made a name for himself by directing the Ghost in the Sell animation film and its sequel Innocence (among other anime and live-action stuff). It's based on a novel series which follows a group of young fighter pilots involved in dogfight warfare, during an alternate historical period, and it's animated by Production I.G. The film premieres on August 2 and, by the way, I lied: I don't really give a damn about the game.

- The 360+ MB Crysis patch 1.2 is finally up for download. But it has issues. And also some dedicated (albeit beta) nVidia drivers.

- "We have no plans to have in-game advertising in StarCraft II", says Blizzard via Blizzplanet. Well, they have no plans for announcing the next Diablo game today, either. But that doesn't mean it's not there...

- Dark Sector has just gone Gold, and is now ready for releasing in North America this March 25 on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

- Capcom dismisses Resi 5 date rumours, the ones placing the release of Resident Evil 5 in October 2008 (just before Gears of War 2). So it might only come out in early 2009.

- Huxley, that MMOFPS nearly gone vaporware, was featured this week in an IGN preview saying that Webzen plans to release the PC version by the end of 2008, followed about six months later by the Xbox 360 version (which will take place 50 years later, but will still have "cross-platform interaction" with the PC version, oddly enough).

- Each game from the Orange Box package - Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Half-Life 2: Episode One + Two - will be available as separate PC titles at retail on April 9, as confirmed by Valve on Joystick. Too little too late.

- Europa Universalis III: In Nomine announced for this summer (or some time before it). It's like an expansion for another expansion, since it will require the Napoleon's Ambition add-on, and the idea for it was born on Paradox' forums. Sounds... promising...

- Various WiiWare games were announced lately, but the vast majority of them look like pure, double-distilled shit. One exception is LostWinds (which we covered last month), and another one will hopefully be Lit - a 3D horror action-puzzler coming from WayForward (Contra 4, Shantae), which I found out about on Gamasutra.

- The U.S. Air Force wants 300... Spartans? Moonkins? Nope, PlayStation 3 consoles. Awoo! Awoo! Awoo! They're supposedly "conducting a technology assessment of certain cell processors", and the PS3 is perfect for playing while on-duty their top-secret research.

You have to just love the guys and gals at Gamasutra. All the info they provide comes in such huge detail, that I seldomly forget to read some piece of news from top to bottom, either because I am in a middle of a wanking session, either because I get bored reading quotes from the developers.

Anyway, here is some interesting stuff. Dudes behind titles such as Fallout or Medal of Honor have teamed up in an attempt to show recent crappy developers ze finger, forming WhiteMoon Dreams, a new and, hopefully, stupendous studio, which focuses its interest on Wii, PS3, and X360. For starters, they work on a title for a certain Japanese publisher.

Great news, indeed! The guy pulling all the strings will be Jay Kootarappallil (pronounced “koeiwruweoiudiojfsod”), which, at some point, used to be a technical art director for EA. Now why does it seem familiar to me that EA dudes have all the money?

While Loli WhiteMoon Dreams wants to mainly focus on original, in-house, series, they do not bash the possibility of working alongside major publishers, in an attempt to boost some of their francizes. What can I say, good luck to them, and may your titles live long and prosper.

Gamasutra scoop.

This right here is what's wrong with today's "gamers". How can a casual title like Mario & Sonic at the Olympics sell 5 (five!) million copies in just over three months, while games like [insert personal hardcore favorite] are barely struggling to make up for the tens of million bucks invested in their years-long development? And yet, it's happening right under our noses, as proudly announced by SEGA today.

"With adored icons and fun game play, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has shot to the top of the sales charts and is clearly resonating with the growing audience of casual gamers that want an engaging and accessible gaming experience," said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America.

Grats to SEGA and everything, but this is just way too fucked up (... says a guy who's nuts about Wii Sports and can barely wait for Super Smash Bros. Brawl).

- New Red Alert 3 details have been discussed in the latest BattleCast web-show, including the revelation of the new faction: The Empire of the Rising Sun, "which was produced after a desperate Soviet leadership went back in time to erase Einstein, presumably to stop him creating the atomic bomb". One does not simply erase Einstein.

- Okami finally gets a firm release date on the Wii (or delay, from GameSpot's point of view): April 15. Cool, right on my birthday. But something tells me I'll still be busy air-punching my comrade in Super Smash Bros. Brawl at that time.

- IGN talked to Ubi about the new stuff in Assassin's Creed for the PC, such as four new investigation missions (archer assassination, rooftop race challenge, merchant stand destruction challenge and escort challenge). And they also got some new screens. The PC version is coming in early April, having slipped again.

- Dark Sector is also coming a bit later than expected, in April, with a demo "likely" to precede the final launch.

- A fresh new release schedule we received from cdv USA lists Sacred 2: Fallen Angel as coming in September 2008 on the PC and Xbox 360. Precicely, yet another delay. Also, Stranger releasing this March 17, Sudden Strike 3 on March 24, and Theatre of War on May 12 (it's been out in Europe since last autumn).

- Demigod, at least, is not getting delayed... yet. Gas Powered Games' new strategy game is "completely playable" and "fairly certain" for a 2008 release. Should be worth the wait, "heck [they] have a giant walking castle as a demigod"!

- A Grimm preview is up on GameTap (the very website that will be launching this dark episodic game in July), with quotes from American McGee, who seems rather frustrated by Disney's versions of the classic murderous fairy tales. "Look at Pinocchio, for instance. In the original story he kills Jiminy Cricket, his conscience. Pinocchio was a real jerk in the original story. But nobody knows that because they've only seen the Disney version."

- A game based on the TV show Dexter is in the works, through a partnership between Showtime Networks and Marc Ecko Entertainment. Right, as in Marc Ecko's Getting Up pile-o-crap from a couple of years ago.

- Sony Japan confirms Skype for PSP from March 18, plus new hardware and limited edition Bronze handheld. Any colour you like.

Looks like I was spot-on last month, by suggesting a skiing game for that Wii Balance Board which Nintendo will be bundling with Wii Fit. Curiously, though, the new game announced today isn't called Wii Ski - but We Ski. The reason I'm hesitating to call it a "new" game is that this is, in fact, an older Namco Bandai project initially known as Family Ski. Along with the change of title, the dual publisher also said it would release We Ski during spring 2008, and revealed a few more gameplay details.

According to IGN's feet-on preview, the good news is that We Ski can be played entirely with the Wiimote and Nunchuk, but the bad news is that even if you will have a Balance Board, it can only be used in single-player mode - so no drunken balancing in multiplayer, boo!

More gameplay features after these screenshots.

 (...)

 Continue reading 'We Ski Announced For Wii Balance Board'...

- WiiFreeloader has been released for our region-free gaming pleasure. So no matter the game's country of origin, this baby will take it for a spin, for $19.99 / £9.99. Just in time for Super Smash Bros. Brawl this March 9, which is still missing a European release date.

- There will be no GTA 4 demo. But don't worry, they're not hiding anything. Just a gangload of criminals and whores waiting to be sodomized with broken bottles of vodka. Something the whole family can look forward to this April 29. If you have 100 hours to finish it.

- And by the time the GTA fever cools out, Metal Gear Solid 4 will be coming this June 12 on the PS3, as eventually confirmed - and detailed - by Konami. European date same as US, by the way. But, alas, Blu-ray disc doesn't have enough space for MGS4! Oh well, Metal Gear Online beta begins April 21.

- Why EA rocks (and sucks) in 2008 - five reasons why Electronic Arts 'rocks', and five reasons why it 'sucks'. I could add plenty more to the latter.

- Eidos parent company SCi cancels 14 games and fires 25% of its employees, in a radical attempt to stop (or at least slow) their downfall. Tomb Raider, Deux Ex and Hitman still alive. So is Battlestations, considering last week's announcement of a sequel. Oh and Tomb Raider: Underworld "is now scheduled to launch during the 2008 Christmas season".

- THQ director blames piracy for Iron Lore closure. And hardware vendors. And reviewers. And stupid gamers. Anything but the real problem.

- 38% of gamers are female. That leaves about 60% males, and 2% emo kids?

- And finally, some new games releasing this week, including Army of Two and God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP. Oh, speaking of God of War... (cue sequel post).