Sony Unveils Uncharted: Fight For Fortune For PS Vita

Developing…

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.

Source : ign[dot]com

Microsoft Makes Special Consoles for Xbox Live 10th Anniversary

Microsoft is rewarding the members who have been on Xbox Live the longest with special consoles. As revealed by Xbox Live’s Major Nelson on Twitter, Microsoft is “surprising some of the Xbox Live members that have been with us the longest” by sending them a special limited edition console featuring 10 year anniversary imagery.

A Microsoft spokesperson explained to IGN that “we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Xbox Live by conducting special promotions for our members worldwide and today we began to surprise a select number of our loyal 10 year Xbox Live members in the U.S. with special edition anniversary consoles. These consoles were created for a special promotion and will not be available at retail locations.”

The console features a special “Xbox Live: A Decade of Entertainment” logo that includes imagery from the original Xbox, Kinect, the Vision camera and much more from Xbox’s history. In addition, the disc drive says “XBL 10” instead of the usual Xbox 360.

It’s unclear how many of the systems will be manufactured and what the specific qualifications are to earn one, but we’ve reached out to Microsoft and will update with any additional info we receive. Until then, watch out interview with Bungie’s Harold Ryan about Xbox Live’s 10th anniversary on Up At Noon:

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

U.S. Gets Limited Release of Pink 3DS XL

Nintendo of America announced via Twitter today that U.S. gamers can now purchase a pink and white 3DS XL. Well... sort of. The Kirby-colored system, which came out not long ago in Japan, is only being made available in limited quantities. You must be a member of the shopping site Gilt to purchase it.

The pink XL is available in two bundles - one with Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (read our full review here) and one with Style Savvy: Trendsetter. Both are being offered for $219.99.

Audrey Drake is an Associate Editor at IGN and a proud member of the IGN Nintendo team. She is also a lifelong gamer, a frequent banisher of evil and a wielder of various legendary blades. You can keep track of her wild adventures by following Aminka on IGN or @GameOnAminka on Twitter. Game on!

Source : ign[dot]com

Lord of the Rings Online Developer Hit by Layoffs

Layoffs have hit Lord of the Rings Online developer Turbine. News of the layoffs first emerged this morning on Twitter, and a representative from Warner Bros. Interactive has now confirmed the news, providing IGN with the following statement:

“As part of the continual review of our business operations and fluctuating market conditions, we have had to make reductions in our Turbine workforce. The group continues to remain an integral part of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.”

Turbine previously worked on the Asheron’s Call franchise, Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online. The studio most recently developed Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan, which was released last month, and is also said to be working on a next-gen MMO.

IGN wishes the best of luck to anyone affected by today’s news.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Report: Major Layoffs at Zynga Austin

This morning during Apple's iPad Mini event, Zynga employees began taking to Twitter en masse to report on significant layoffs at the troubled social gaming giant. Zynga has yet to make any official announcement and have not yet responded to our request for comment.

Individuals close to the situation are reporting that Zynga Austin bore the majority of cuts, with more than 100 jobs lost at that location. The entire Zynga Bingo and theVille teams have reported been let go, leaving only teams developing mobile products left at the office.

Gamasutra is also reporting layoffs or perhaps the closure of Zynga Boston and Zynga Chicago. TechCrunch reports that the San Francisco office is not seeing any layoffs today.

More Zynga employees have reported that an all-hands meeting has been scheduled for later this afternoon. A more solid picture of the extend and location of the layoffs is likely to follow.

Today's layoffs are the latest in a growing line of bad news for the social game maker. SuperData Research noted today that Zynga has less active players now than it had two years ago. Social game players are increasingly leaving Facebook in favor of mobile play. Most analysts agree that Zynga has failed to make the mobile transition rapidly enough.

Justin is Editor of IGN Wireless. You can follow him on Twitter at @ErrorJustin and on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Everything You Should Know About Professor Layton

Lucas M. Thomas is campaigning that all currency on the planet be replaced with Picarats. You can follow him on Twitter, @lucasmthomas.

Source : ign[dot]com

NBA Live 13 Would Have Been Downloadable

Microsoft has revealed that EA’s canceled NBA Live 13 would have been a downloadable title. In a post on Twitter, Xbox Live’s Larry Hryb (Major Nelson) wrote “NBA Live 13 was supposed to be today's XBLA title, but EA made the decision not to launch it today.”

Hryb is referring to EA’s announcement last week that NBA Live 13 will not be released, as EA will instead hold off to focus on next year’s entry. While no platforms were ever discussed, it was previously assumed that NBA Live 13 was scheduled for a retail release since the last entry in the franchise -- NBA Live 10 -- was released on disc. Whether or not the game would have been exclusive to Xbox or multiplatform is unknown.

EA has discussed plans to continue the NBA Live franchise in the future, but whether that will be at retail or as a download remains to be seen. For more on EA’s decision not to release NBA Live 13, you can read the full statement from EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

NBA Live 13 Would Have Been Downloadable

Microsoft has revealed that EA’s canceled NBA Live 13 would have been a downloadable title. In a post on Twitter, Xbox Live’s Larry Hryb (Major Nelson) wrote “NBA Live 13 was supposed to be today's XBLA title, but EA made the decision not to launch it today.”

Hryb is referring to EA’s announcement last week that NBA Live 13 will not be released, as EA will instead hold off to focus on next year’s entry. While no platforms were ever discussed, it was previously assumed that NBA Live 13 was scheduled for a retail release since the last entry in the franchise -- NBA Live 10 -- was released on disc. Whether or not the game would have been exclusive to Xbox or multiplatform is unknown.

EA has discussed plans to continue the NBA Live franchise in the future, but whether that will be at retail or as a download remains to be seen. For more on EA’s decision not to release NBA Live 13, you can read the full statement from EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

PlayStation All-Stars: No More New Characters

Sony has revealed that no more characters will be announced for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale’s launch. In a post on Twitter, PlayStation Blog senior social media specialist Sid Shuman wrote that “We have revealed the full launch lineup of characters,” confirming that All-Stars will ship with 20 fighters.

Keep in mind that All-Stars could easily add additional characters via downloadable content, so this doesn’t necessarily mean the roster will stay at 20 forever. For now, though, at launch you’ll have the following options:

1. Big Daddy
2. Cole MacGrath
3. Evil Cole MacGrath
4. Colonel Radec
5. Dante
6. Fat Princess
7. Heihachi Mishima
8. Jak and Daxter
9. Kratos
10. Nariko
11. Nathan Drake
12. PaRappa the Rapper
13. Raiden
14. Ratchet and Clank
15. Sackboy
16. Sir Daniel Fortesque
17. Sly Cooper
18. Spike
19. Sweet Tooth
20. Toro

Rumors in the past have suggested additional fighters such as Metal Gear Solid’s Snake and Kat from Gravity Rush, though neither has ever been confirmed by Superbot.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale will hit stores on November 20th for PlayStation 3 and Vita, and buying the console version will get you the Vita version for free. For a look at all 20 launch characters in action, check out 30 minutes of expert videos from Superbot’s Seth Killian. For even more, be sure to see our official PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale wiki guide.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Remender Confirms Exit from Uncanny X-Force, Secret Avengers

Though it's been suspected since the announcement of Uncanny Avengers, Rick Remender confirmed today via Twitter that he'll be leaving Uncanny X-Force and Secret Avengers. Remender's final issue of X-Force will be the conclusion to Final Execution in issue #35 -- which will also serve as the series finale.

As for Secret Avengers, he'll be wrapping his run with issue #37, but seemed to give no indication that the series itself was ending. Presumably a new team will be revealed soon.

Remender tweeted:

Yes, unfortunately my time on UXF is coming to an end. It's like a friend told me, "Know when to get off the stage."

— Rick Remender (@Remender) September 10, 2012

Lots of the UXF story threads I set up are moving to Uncanny Avengers. And the people involved in the series moving forward are ACES.

— Rick Remender (@Remender) September 10, 2012

Yes, my SECRET AVENGERS ends at issue 37. But we still have the best to come in the finales of SA and UXF. We're going out loudly on both.

— Rick Remender (@Remender) September 10, 2012

The writer also told CBR in an interview, "Hopefully, I'll be able to stick a nice landing with Final Execution and people will really enjoy it, so the series will never have that part where it tapered and stopped being as good. That's the upshot. You do your best work -- and we all have -- and then you wrap things up and walk away from it."

But hey, it's nice knowing that a lot of the threads will be continuing on into Uncanny Avengers. Until then, strap in for the ride of your life on the road to Uncanny X-Force's end.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.

Source : ign[dot]com

Win A Copy Of Risen 2: Dark Waters Today

The epic pirate RPG Risen 2: Dark Waters is out now and we've got five copies of the game to give away today on @IGNUK's Twitter feed. We've got three PS3 copies and two copies for Xbox 360 up for grabs, and entering for the chance to win a copy couldn't be simpler.

HOW TO ENTER

For the chance to bag a copy of the game for yourself simply follow @IGNUK on Twitter and Tweet us this message below, deleting as appropriate your platform of choice.

I want to win a copy of #Risen2: Dark Waters on Xbox/PS3 today please @IGNUK! #ARRRR

To be in with a chance of winning you need to send your Tweet to us before 5pm today when we'll five people to win a copy of the game!

This competition is open to UK residents over the age of 18 only with full terms and conditions on the next page.

Source : ign[dot]com

Karl Urban IGNUK Twitter Takeover

Karl Urban, the star of the upcoming action smash Dredd 3D, doesn't do Twitter. There are people out there claiming to be him, but the Kiwi star of Lord Of The Rings, Star Trek, Chronicles of Riddick and many more, isn't on the social networking site.

All this will change though at 18:30pm BST (or 10:30am if you're PT) today on Friday August 31st as the star of Dredd 3D takes over the @IGNUK Twitter feed for 30 minutes to answer your questions!

"Stop following me!"

Karl will be taking over the 140-character reigns to answer your questions about Dredd 3D, his past and future projects, and anything else you care to quiz him about. So, if you've ever wanted to ask whether the Judge helmet is comfy, if he gets asked medical questions when playing Bones, or just his preferred crisp flavour, this is the time to do it.

To submit a question for Karl simply tweet it to @IGNUK using the hashtag #DREDD3D and we'll try to get as many of your questions answered as we can between 6:30pm and 7pm.

Dredd 3D is out in UK cinemas on September 7th. Get all the latest Dredd 3D info from https://www.facebook.com/dreddthemovie.

Source : ign[dot]com

Report: Layoffs Hit PopCap, International Studios Shuttered

New reports suggest that layoffs have hit PopCap Games. According to information originating from the Twitter account of 3D Realms founder George Broussard, approximately 50 employees have been let go from PopCap’s Seattle headquarters, and its international offices in Dublin and Shanghai have been shut down.

The report has been corroborated by VG247, who writes that an anonymous source familiar with the matter says PopCap has been “very quietly” laying off staff for “several months.”

PopCap was acquired by publisher Electronic Arts for $750 million in July 2011. The studio is best known for the release of Peggle, Plants Vs. Zombies and Bejeweled, among others. Just yesterday, PopCap announced that a Plants Vs. Zombies sequel will be released in 2013.

We’ve reached out to both EA and PopCap for confirmation of the layoffs and will update with any comment we receive. IGN wishes the best of luck to anyone affected by the news.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Tech Fetish Podcast: Read It and Weep

This week Justin Davis, Mark Ryan Sallee and Nic Vargus talk about Twitter's strict, new requirements for developers, the review process in general, and oh yeah, something about music.

If you've ever wondered how things are reviewed, why the Nexus 7 got an 8, or what music the dude's love, this is the episode for you.

Once again, mad props to IGN listener Isaias Frias for an awesome photoshop job!

Tech Fetish Podcast - Episode 140 (Must Right Click to Save)

Subscribe to IGN's Podcast Series

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Email us questions, feedback and topic suggestions!

Source : ign[dot]com

BioShock Infinite Developer Moves to The Last of Us

Former BioShock Infinite art director Nate Wells has moved to Naughty Dog. As announced on his Twitter profile, Wells will now be working on The Last of Us and “can’t wait.”

Wells departed Irrational last week, where he previously served as art director on BioShock Infinite. He was with the studio for 13 years.

Wells’ exact role hasn’t been revealed, but we’ve reached out to Sony for clarification and will update with any info we receive. For more on The Last of us, check out our interview with audio lead Phil Kovats and our impressions of the game from E3.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Gears of War Dev Joins BioShock Infinite Team

Former Epic Games director of production Rod Fergusson has joined Irrational Games. Fergusson himself confirmed the news on Twitter, writing “Yes it's true, I'm leaving my family at Epic to join my new family at Irrational in Boston starting tomorrow. And yes I've played Infinite and it's amazing! Can't wait for you guys to get your hands on it.”

While Fergusson’s formal title hasn’t been revealed, he’s presumably replacing director of product development Tim Gerritsen who departed Irrational yesterday. Gerritsen’s responsibilities included “overseeing the product development division of the company,” reporting progress to corporate, negotiating contracts, hiring and recruitment.

Meanwhile, reports from Kotaku suggest that two multiplayer modes originally planned for BioShock Infinite have been canceled, including one that involved fighting waves of toys inside of an arcade machine, and another that offered a co-op option for completing missions. News of both comes from sources allegedly within Irrational, though creative director Ken Levine simply commented “As I've always said we are experimenting with things, and only if they are good enough will we put them in the game” when asked.

BioShock Infinite is currently set to hit Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on February 26, 2013.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Lundgren Returns for Universal Soldier 4

Magnet Releasing announced today via Twitter and Facebook that they will be distributing Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning On Demand and in theaters.

The fourth installment, which stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, picks up where the third film, Regeneration, left off. The franchise centers on Luc Devereaux (Van Damme) and Andrew Scott (Lundgren), two soldiers who kill each other in Vietnam but are subsequently reanimated through a secret government project along with a large group of other once dead soldiers.

John Hyams, who wrote Universal Soldier: Regeneration, has co-written and directed this latest film.

Source : ign[dot]com

Arkham Asylum Writer Not Returning for Next Game

Paul Dini, the writer for both Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, has revealed via his Twitter that he won't be returning for the recently announced prequel. In a post on July 27th, Dini said:

Kinda hoped I'd be doing another Arkham game in London during the Olympics.Esp, as I had a good source for tx.Ah, well.

— Paul_Dini (@Paul_Dini) July 27, 2012

If the initial tweet didn't make it crystal clear, the team at ArkhamCity.co.uk went on to look through a series of Dini's tweets to absolutely confirm he won't be returning as the writer for the next Arkham game.

Dini seems a bit broken up over it as well, saying, "I wish I could, but it's not my call." Dini is responsible for not only penning the first two games, but also the beloved Batman: The Animated Series cartoon.

No word has been given about who will replace Dini on the next project.

Anthony Gallegos is a part of IGN's PC team, and loves him some Batman. You can follow him on IGN and get to know him a bit better by reading his Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Lady Gaga Cast in Machete Kills

Random casting news of the day – Robert Rodriguez has apparently cast Lady Gaga in forthcoming sequel Machete Kills.

Rodriguez took to Twitter to make the announcement and post the below poster of Gaga as Lady Chameleon.

The film is still in production, with the singer starring opposite Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Michelle Rodriguz, Sophia Vergara, Amber Heard, and Danny Trejo - returning as the title character.

Source : ign[dot]com