GameStop Stops Offering Xbox 360 Replacement Warranties

Although the Xbox 360 is an outstanding console with a wide-variety of excellent games, it’s no secret that, in terms of hardware reliability, it has been struggling. We’ll never truly know the actual percentage of faulty consoles thus far, but when hardware failures are as widespread as the 360’s, there’s clearly something wrong.

Because of these issues, mega game store chain GameStop is ceasing the ability to purchase a warranty on any Xbox 360s bought at their stores. Stores typically make a killing off of warranties (usually you won’t receive a defective product), but apparently GameStop was losing an enormous amount of money because of the high-amount of faulty Xbox 360’s on the market.

This news re-confirms two things:

1. That your 360 is destined to break sooner or later and…

2. Warranties typically never benefit the buyer.

Source

Capcom Announces Street Fighter IV And Several Other High-Profile Titles at Capcom Gamers Day

Finally, the news fighting enthusiasts have been waiting for – the confirmation of Street Fighter: IV. While it has been long speculated that the world’s best 2D fighting series wouldn’t reach a fourth entry, the news revealed from this year’s Capcom Gamers Day tells us we will be seeing one. Very few details have been released on the next entry in this legendary series, but Capcom did put this rather swanky trailer:

Also announced during Capcom Gamer's Day 2007 was the release date of the high-res update of Street Fighter II (titled Street Fighter II: Turbo HD for the Xbox Live Arcade), which will hit sometime in 2008.

Lost Planet, Capcom's well-received Xbox 360 shooter, will also be making an appearance on Sony's black box with exclusive new features.

A new game similar to one of my personal favorite hand held series, Phoenix Wright, has also been confirmed for the Nintendo DS. Called Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice, it is strikingly similar to Capcom's other series, except with brand new characters and events.


Okami, which managed to craft a hardcore following (many of whom say it's superior to Nintendo's uber-popular Zelda series, which it is similar to) last year when it was released on the PS2 will be given another go on the Wii. Since it bombed sales-wise the first time around, hopefully more people will give this stylish-adventure title a chance on a more current console.

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New PS2 Bundle Set for November Release

While original Xbox consoles are long out of production and Gamecubes are being phased out of stores, thousands of brand new Playstation 2 consoles are still finding their ways into homes every week. Yep, that’s right – even after being on the market for nearly seven years and moving millions of units, the Playstation 2 is still selling like hot-cakes, even outselling it’s more technically advanced brother, Playstation 3, each month.

To celebrate this, Sony will be releasing a fresh new Playstation 2 bundle in November. Available for a limited time only, this upcoming bundle will not only come with Sony’s highly-praised karaoke game Sing Star (along with two microphones), but will introduce a slick new color to the system as well: white. This bundle could be yours for the reasonable sum of $149.99 next month.

I’m perfectly content with my slim silver Playstation 2 (and I don’t dig karaoke), but if you’ve waited this long to purchase Sony’s little box of joy (or just want yours in another color), maybe this will finally convince you to do so. You’d really think everyone would have a Playstation 2 at this point, but if the sales charts are any indication, plenty of you are still buying ‘em every month.

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Halo.... Will Microsoft's Largest Property Ever Invade the DS?

Last year's well-received Metroid Prime: Hunters proved that first-person shooters could work well on Nintendo's quirky handheld. Will we ever see a Halo title released for the DS, though?

Your initial thought after hearing this might be,

"Of course not. Microsoft owns Bungie, and they would never want to see their largest, highest-grossing property on a rival company's game system. What are you, some kind of loony?".

But ah, here is proof that the idea doesn't sound as crazy as it might have the first time you read about it.

The screen shots you see above are indeed legit. Said to be based off the Goldeneye: Rogue Agent (an early FPS for the Nintendo DS that bombed sales-wise and critically) engine, IGN has went on the record of saying that they've actually played Halo DS in its early form. And, according to them, it's quite good stuff, too. Here is actual game play footage of Halo DS:



And despite the comments from skeptical YouTube users claming that it's just a mere mod of Goldeneye: Rogue Agent, Bungie confirms that it's the real deal, albeit in very early form:

From Kotaku
"Kotaku: The whole Halo on the DS rumor just doesn’t want to die, do you see that in the cards?

Brian Jarrard: This rumor has been circulating for a while and as you know we even saw some real life screens and assets this week. Ultimately it’s up to Microsoft to decide if and when they take Halo to a different platform. That particular demo was in fact created and I believe it was an unsolicited pitch a long time ago but nothing ever came of it.".

So will this game ever see the light of day? Ultimately, as Bungie says, it's up to Microsoft to decide. Would they want to see their flagship franchise on another platform? Only time will tell... but it will be intriguing to see if this project ever comes to light.

Source (Kotaku)
Source (IGN)

One Year Ago This Month in Pro-Gamer... (October 2006)

At the beginning of each month I will take a stroll down memory lane and see what incongruous subjects I was writing about at this time last year.

On this particular month last year, I was speculating on whether the 3D Sonic demo Sega originally unveiled for the DS in 2004 would eventually become a full-fledged game.

I also found time to review Luxoflux's shockingly-good Grand Theft Auto inspired game, True Crime: New York City.

Oh, and did I mention that I wrote about reprints of highly demanded Playstation 2 games like Disgaea, Zone of the Enders: the 2nd Runner, and Suikoden III?

Last, but certainly not least, I shed some light on a mostly unknown boxing game inspired by a manga series.