Neowin.net / Gamers

No Doubt sues Activision over use in Band Hero

Matthew Hopson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:04:21 +0000

Rock group "No Doubt" have filed a law-suit over the band's appearance in Band Hero, Activision's latest spin-off of the Guitar Hero video game franchise. The group contend that the game has transformed them into "a virtual karaoke circus act," singing the songs of other bands. In the suit filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Country Superior Court, No Doubt allege that Activision broke the contractually agreed use of the in-game likenesses of band members Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young. Band manager, Jim Guerinot said, "The band are bitterly disappointed that their name and likeness was taken and used without their permission. They agreed to play three No Doubt songs as a band. . .

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MW2 dedicated server petition suspect, server capped at 9v9

Joshua Seed — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:21:29 +0000

Speaking in an online chat with the Best Buy community, Infinity Ward's Mackey McCandlish and Ryan Lastimosa discussed the petition for dedicated servers in Modern Warfare 2 and also let slip that servers across all platforms will max out at eighteen players. When asked if there will be dedicated servers added later, the developers had this to say: "We feel the PC game is great in it's current form. We put a lot of work into IWnet in an effort to make the PC experience better for our users. We believe MW2 is better than CoD4:MW. The reason iw.net exists is to improve the gameplay for our users.

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Walmart: Xbox Arcade and $100 gift card for $199 on Nov. 7

Sam Symons — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:15:07 +0000

Rumors have been going around recently regarding a supposedly upcoming Walmart deal, in which an Xbox 360 Arcade will be up for offer, along with a $100 gift voucher, for $199. All of a sudden this morning, the retailer has confirmed the deal, scheduled to hit on Saturday, November 7. According to Kotaku, the deal will last for just one day, and is part of what will be regularly weekly deals leading up to the retail bonanza that is Black Friday. As noted by Walmart, the sale will begin at 8:00 AM, and will (as mentioned) last for just one day.

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L4D2 Realism mode: Glows dropped, one-hit-kill Witch

Joshua Seed — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:33:58 +0000

Speaking at the recent Eurogamer Expo in London, Valve's Chet Faliszek has finally confirmed proper details on Left 4 Dead 2's Realism mode. The new gameplay option will be playable at all difficulty settings, will remove character glows to force teams to greatly increase communication, and give the Witch super-kill powers. "Realism mode isn't just making Expert harder. We have our four skill levels again, and you can play Realism mode with any of them.

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Impulse Top 10 Weekly Games for October 31st

Island Dog — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:41:48 +0000

The weekly top 10 selling games on Impulse for the week of October 25th - 31st has been published. Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment, Demigod, and The Witcher make the top 3 for last week. 1. Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment 2. The Witcher - Enhanced Edition Director's Cut 3. Demigod 4. Sins of a Solar Empire Bundle 5. Red Faction: Guerrilla 6. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 7. Fort Zombie 8. Sins of a Solar Empire 9. Machinarium 10. AI War: Fleet Command

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Neowin hands on: Left 4 Dead 2 demo

Sam Alderwick — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:02:45 +0000

The Left 4 Dead 2 demo has been available for a day or two now, if you pre-ordered the game, and I've managed to get my hands on it too. The sequel to the popular Left 4 Dead is due on 18 November 2009, which is only a matter of weeks away now. Players are given some of the new weapons at the start of the level - others they must find. I've played through the demo several times now, on different difficulties, and there are several new features that have been improved since the original. The first thing is the weapons.

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Microsoft: Xbox 360 "has the best games out there"

Joshua Seed — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:30:18 +0000

Jerry Johnson, General Manager of Xbox Live Europe, has told VideoGamer that the Xbox 360 has the best games. "I'll come back and say that Xbox has the best games out there. It's got the best first-person shooter games out there," he said. "The exclusives we've had over the past years and what we had going into this holiday prove the point that this is still very much at its heart a gaming console. "There's nothing we're going to change with that.

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Nintendo DSi LL revealed

Michael Brown — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:29:47 +0000

As previously rumored, Nintendo have issued a press release today confirming the upcoming release of a new Nintendo DS. The Nintendo DSi LL has two screens both measuring at 4.2 inches, but the resolution is exactly the same as the current DSi, meaning it's more likely to be marketed towards the elderly or those with poor eyesight. Due to the larger screens, the device itself weighs 100g more, but it also benefits from a larger stylus and a longer battery life. Right now, it seems Nintendo are only releasing the DSi LL in Japan, where it will go on sale for 20,000 yen (about $220).

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Rumor: Wii 2 specs leaked, Blu-ray enabled and 1080p support

Joshua Seed — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:58:45 +0000

As reported by MaxConsole, a Nintendo of France marketing employee appears to have leaked the specifications of the yet to be announced Wii 2. Due to be released in the third quarter of 2010, the Wii 2 will contain a Blu-ray drive with the intention of minimizing piracy, as well as 1080p support for games and movies. Additionally, there will be an option to trade in the original Wii for a discount on the updated Wii 2. More details include (translated from French): This is a nice exclusive we have here at MaxConsole courtesy of Artik from www.Logic-sunrise.com on the Wii 2.

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DICE confirms dedicated servers for PC Bad Company 2

Joshua Seed — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:55:44 +0000

DICE Studios, the developer behind the Battlefield series has reiterated a tweet by Karl-Magnus Troedsson, Executive Producer for Battlefield who said that dedicated servers are the only way to go for multiplayer on the PC version of Battlefield: Bad Company 2. "A lot of buzz has been floating around the internet lately about dedicated servers," said Gordon Van Dyke. "Since Battlefield 1942 DICE has used dedicated servers for all platforms. This formula has worked well, and still works well, for us and for the gaming community. We have stayed true to this practice and will continue this tradition into the upcoming title Battlefield Bad Company 2.

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