According to a translation of an official Capcom announcement, Resident Evil fans will have a few SKU choices to make when Resident Evil 5 hits both the PS3 and Xbox 360 next year.

First of all, there are console specific bonuses that come with the standard editions of Resi 5. The PS3 version gets a behind-the-scenes making-of video (apparently created by “Hollywood staff,” whatever that means), while an Xbox 360 ‘Deluxe Edition’ will ship with a metal case and a soundtrack CD. Once the ‘Deluxe Edition’ runs out, the Xbox 360 standard edition will contain only the game, while the PS3 standard edition has the making of video on the same disc as the game.

Besides the choice between which console you’ll be buying the game for, you’ll also be faced with the option of buying the ‘Limited Edition’ of Resident Evil 5. This edition comes with a 2 GB memory stick (shaped like an in-game object), a 32-page art book as well as a waist pouch (also shaped like an in-game pouch), all contained within a fancy box.

Resident Evil 5 is coming next year March to both Xbox 360 and PS3. For previous El33tonline coverage, head on over here. Images of the Limited Edition items can be found below:

Post continues, click to read more…

A huge update graced the PlayStation Store last week, with tons of demos, full games and the usual selection of videos, themes and add-on content, as well as Rock Band and Guitar Hero: World Tour DLC.

The pick of the bunch would have to be Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix on the US PSN, while Europe got Age of Booty. On the US side, there were also a variety of temporary price drops for an assortment of games, including The Last Guy, echochrome and PixelJunk Eden. The full US and European PlayStation Store updates follow below:

Post continues, click to read more…

The Nintendo Wii console has passed the 7 million sales mark in Japan. According to Enterbrain figures in Famitsu magazine, the Wii reached this landmark last week after it was boosted by sales of Animal Crossing: City Folk which debuted at number 1 on the software chart (for the period 17 - 23 November) with 303 000 copies.

Famitsu figures also reveal that the Wii is outselling the PS3 by almost three times in Japan. The PS3 has sold 2.37 million units (as at the end of September) in comparison to the Wii’s 6.83 million for the same period. The Xbox 360 lags even further behind. It has yet to reach the one million sales mark with current sales sitting at roughly 749 000 units.

Another eclectic collection of Rock Band downloadable content will be available this week on the PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Marketplace, with songs from bands such as Children of Bodom and Tokio Hotel.

There are nine incoming songs total, one of which (Headphones On by Miranda Cosgrove) is free, while the rest (except one) feature a lower than normal price for one month, after which the price will revert to normal (i.e. the price doubles).

The tracks will be available December 2nd on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and December 4th on the PlayStation Network. The full track listing follows below:

Post continues, click to read more…

It was recently announced that the online service, MyPSN, has now been integrated with the European PlayStation.com website, allowing you to manage your friends list, see what games they’re playing, participate in special events and create a Portable ID, a graphic that can be embedded into websites and forums showing off your PlayStation Network stats. From the official forum:

“From November 27, 2008 all user accounts at eu.playstation have been updated with new features. By combining these with PlayStation Network accounts, you can update your email preferences, register your console and enter prize draws.”

Sign in and go to the My PSN page in the PlayStation Network section to see which of your friends are online, create an official Portable ID to show your friends your favourite games, and take part in events to suit all tastes by checking out the Events Calendar.”

Head on over to the official website to register.

Early reports indicate that Black Friday sales were successful despite the economic climate in North America being dismal at the moment. General sales mania can probably be attributed to the massive discounts that were offered across the country.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and traditionally marks the beginning of holiday spending in the States with consumers heading to retail stores in their droves to score deals.

After scouting sales at various outlets, the NPD Group issued a report from the frontlines that stated: “The overall initial conclusion for Black Friday is that sales and traffic were strong, likely on par with prior years. Consumers were drawn by the appearance of bargains and low prices and electronics are increasingly the primary driver of consumers’ interest in Black Friday shopping.”

The NPD Group will release their weekly data on the 8th of December as well as an annual Black Friday shopping report which will shed more light on Black Friday sales.

Preliminary estimates from Shoppertrack reveal that total sales in the US reached $10.6 billion with retail sales for the day after Thanksgiving up 3 percent from 2007. Consumers also indulged in a bit of internet shopping, helping web shopping traffic to increase 11% from last year (per comparison shopping site PriceGrabber.com).

According to data collected from PriceGrabber and eBay (including PayPal and Shopping.com), the Nintendo Wii was the top product of the day. The most searched-for product on eBay was the Wii, followed by none other than Wii Fit. Eager consumers bought 3 171 Wiis (average price recorded was $349) and 1 059 Wii Fit units (average price recorded was $140) over eBay.

Sources: news.cnet.com, NPD Group

After it was widely reported that the PS3 version of Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon had been cancelled, it’s been announced that that isn’t the case entirely, as the PS3 version will still be released in Europe, while the US version has been cut. The European release has been delayed, however, as a THQ spokesperson said:

“Destroy all Humans: Path of the Furon will be released on both the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3 formats on February 13th 2009 across Europe.

“Due to the game being shipped earlier in North America on December 2nd, a decision was made to proceed exclusively with the Xbox 360 format in that market.”

Destroy All Humans, if you’re new to the series, follows the misadventures of an alien named Crypto, running around an open-world, free-roaming environment, with this edition set in the “Funked Out ‘70’s” as Crypto sets out on “a journey of Destruction and Enlightenment.” The title can clue you in to what you’ll be doing in the game. Path of the Furon will be the third entry to the series.

You can watch the E3 trailer over here, or look at some newly released footage from the game, following below:

Post continues, click to read more…

If you’ve been playing Mortal Kombat games for any amount of time, you would have heard the bass-booming sounds of the announcer reverberating through your speakers, commanding you to ‘Finish Him!’ or commending you on a ‘Flawless Victory!’

‘The Voice’ can say other things as well, as an interview with Maxim soon proves. Hernan Sanchez, the man behind the voice, has been convinced to utter sayings related to the series but of a different nature altogether, such as ‘Tickle Him!’ and ‘Obama Wins, Flawless Victory!’ Pretty funny stuff.

Click through below to hear Sanchez rumble through some other sayings, such as ‘Epic Fail!’ and ‘Forgive Him!’

Post continues, click to read more…

Our gaming hobby might be movie like in this day and age, but it is because of consoles pushing the limits by outclassing each other with each new generation that this industry evolves so quickly. Some of you have been with us since the Atari 2600 days in the 70’s and some might have only joined recently without any knowledge of where it all started. Come back every week, as we will be looking at each console and what exactly it did that made us buy into it and how it helped the industry to become the monster we know and enjoy today.

Continue reading El33tonline’s third editorial on the rise and fall of console gaming as we take a closer look at the SEGA Master System. Stay tuned as we put the SEGA Mega Drive in the spotlight next week or check out our thoughts on the Atari 2600 or NES.

Check out this amazing Super Mario Galaxy cake. All I can say is wow. It was made by a father for his 4 year old daughter’s birthday. I wonder if she will grow up to be a gamer?

Head over to Kotaku for a closer look at the cake in action. Yes, the cake moves, complete with Bowser stomping, Mario outrunning Bullet Bill and Luigo spinning.

So, how did dad of the year contender make it? Here’s what he had to say.

“I had an extremely hard time deciding what to put on the cake. If you’ve played the game you might understand. There are so many levels its ridiculous. I had to have the castle and one round world. And for some reason I got bent on having the glass pill looking planet thing which I just thought would look cool on a cake. The silver disc was an add on at the end of my decision so I could add Luigi and some Galaxy like spinning. Seriously, I had the worst time cutting out worlds I wanted on here.”

Anyone have anything remotely similar to this growing up?

Great news for Durbanites. Core Gaming has announced “Nintendo Week,” a chance for you to check out the latest that Nintendo has to offer.

Head down to Gateway shopping mall this December to check out the Wii and Nintendo DS as well as test your brain age and put various Wii games through their paces. If you step up to the challenge you stand the chance to win great prizes in daily tournaments and you can even have your photo taken with Mario and Luigi, who will be on stage three times daily.

No matter what games you enjoy there will be something for you, ranging from Big Brain Academy to Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit. You can also test your musical ear with Wii Music, the latest game to hit our shelves, by joining a band and trying out 60 different instruments. The entire Nintendo catalogue will be available for game requests so don’t be shy, have a go at Family Ski, Super Mario Galaxy or even Mario Strikers Charged Football.

There will be daily tournaments running – get behind the wheel with Mario Kart Wii at 11:00, build up a sweat with Wii Sports at 15:00 or bend your grey matter in Big Brain Academy at 16:00.

You will also be able to check out the DS Lite as well as the latest DS games. If you are up to the challenge, make sure you don’t miss the dedicated area for Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training where you can participate in daily Brain Age Challenge sessions.

If you have a competitive streak you can join in the Mario Kart DS multiplayer action at 15:00. You can also share your puppy’s latest trick in the Nintendogs Bark Mode sessions.

Head over to the big stage at Nintendo week at the Gateway Promo Court from Tuesday the 9th of December until Monday the 15th of December. The Nintendo Team will be on stand between 9am and 10pm each day.

Post continues, click to read more…

Just a reminder that we have some great competitions running at the moment.

We are giving away two Devil May Cry 4 hampers, each with a copy of the Xbox 360 version of the game tucked inside as well as some other really cool goodies. This is your chance to add some bling to your gaming collection with Juiced 2 red fluffy dice and keyring as well as a Metal Gear Solid 4 keyring and pen. To enter tell us who you would rather play as, Nero or Dante, in one great fan-induced paragraph.

If you are more of a wrestling type of gamer, you will be interested to know that we have two copies of TNA Impact! (one for PS3, one for Xbox 360) worth R599 each to giveaway. Simply tell us who your favourite wrestler is, it’s as easy as that!

Lastly we have an awesome Wall-E notebook and a copy of Wall-E for the PS2 up for grabs. Send us a drawing of the famous little guy and you will be in the running to win this cool hamper. We enjoyed our time with Wall-E so why not give it a go?

Gears fans find out how to win a cool Gears of War 2 hamper here.

Go! Go! Go!

If you are a Gears fan you won’t want to miss out on the chance to win this awesome Gears of War 2 hamper.

The winner will walk away with a cool Gears of War 2 T-shirt and cap as well as a copy of ‘Beneath the Surface,’ a must-have GOW2 art book. We also have another five art books to giveaway as runner-up prizes.

Head over to our Gears of War 2 competition page to enter today. If you haven’t played the game yet, read our Gears of War 2 review to see what you are missing out on.

Hardware sales were in general higher this week, no doubt helped along by the boost in software sales. The Nintendo DS was again the best-selling console in Japan, selling 107 423 units, roughly 18 000 more than last week. The DS Lite accounted for 18 580 of these sales and the remainder, 88 843, were sales of the DSi.

The DS dominated the software side of things, racking up six of the Top 10 games, most notable of which was Chronos Trigger DS which sold 271 000 copies to land second place on the chart.

The PSP also experienced a significant boost in sales, selling 61 226 units this week in comparison to last week’s 38 153. Although there was just one PSP title in the Top 10 software chart, that title (Gundam vs Gundam) performed well in its debut week with sales of 267 000 copies.

Post continues, click to read more…

Square Enix has announced that downloadable content for their the Xbox 360 version of their latest RPG, The Last Remnant, will be available in December.

The first challenge pack will be available on the 1st of December. Titled ‘Purgatory’s Sins,’ this free DLC pack promises gamers the chance to level up with challenging guild-tasks.

‘The Key of Ancient Ruins’ will also be available for free on the 1st of December and set players on a path of discovery once they have unlocked the gates to the Ancient Ruins. Silver Xbox Live members will have to wait until the 8th of December for both of these packs.

Post continues, click to read more…