Kotaku

Sony Have "No Plans" For PS2 Downloads On PSN

Aussie Retailer Adds To 360 Price-Cut Chorus

It's not just American retailers convincing us that a 360 price-cut is imminent. Australian retailers are now in on the act as well. The local branch of K-Mart is advertising a 360 Pro bundle for AUD$449 (USD$430), a steal when you consider the rrp for the console is AUD$579 (USD$555). Sure, you can account for a few dollars saved here and there when you consider we've got our end of financial year sales on, but even then, consoles here are rarely cut by $30, let alone $130. Have K-Mart posted their price-cut prices a little early?

Console yourself [Screen Play]

Friendly Dragon Ball Reminder!

Last minute rush! Don't forget! Those hoping to enter our make-dragon-balls contest need to get their entries in by midnight Kotaku Time tonight. Voting will be later this week. Need inspiration? Check out the jello dragon ball reader Caleb made — complete with fruit roll-up stars. To bring everyone up to speed: Make a Dragon Ball. The best damn Dragon Ball you can! It cannot be drawn or virtual — it must be an actual three dimension Dragon Balls. Now! If you don't know what Dragon Balls look like, you can click here. While the Dragon Balls you make should look like actual Dragon Balls, feel free to get creative with what you use to make them. The finalists will win either the PS3 version or Xbox 360 version of Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit. Be sure to send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom and include a Kotaku sign. Losers get INTERNET FAME.

Another jello DB from reader wasabi32746 after the jump!

Treyarch Offers Apologies To Gearbox Software

Just when we thought we were set for a good developer versus developer war of words, we find out that Treyarch has taken the high road, apologizing for remarks made about Gearbox Software and its Brothers In Arms series. You may remember that earlier we quoted Activision producer Noah Heller, who had a few unkind words for Hell's Highway in comparison to Call of Duty: World At War.

JD, Community Manager here at Treyarch wrote on the official Xbox forums of the Gearbox-aimed slam, "We want to let everyone know that we found those remarks offensive, and they do not in any way represent the feelings of any developer at this studio or at Activision. We hold all of our peers in the development community in the highest regard. We have nothing but respect for the guys and gals at Gearbox."

Hugs all around!

A Message from Treyarch [Xbox Forums - thanks, Beau!]

2.40 Q&A Gives Us That Morning-After Feeling

It's puzzling to think that Silicon Knights has been plugging away at Too Human for well over a decade now. Sure, it's been planned as epic stuff from the get go, back when it was a PlayStation title and boasted of a scope that would require four game discs over 80 hours of gameplay. It later became a GameCube title, a transition that obviously required much of its previous iteration to be scrapped.

But as I hacked my way through the Xbox 360 game's first six hours of the single player campaign — putting me at about half-way through, according to the game's own Stats ticker — I began to mostly puzzled by what it was the team was doing with its time. Too Human seems surprisingly unpolished for a game that's been in some form of development for a decade, delayed multiple times, one due to be released in less than two months. Granted, the letter that accompanied our preview copy of Too Human did warn that our pre-release build was not "final retail code" and may have gameplay bugs that "will be addressed in the final retail game."

That was certainly taken into consideration as I completed Too Human's first two chapters, but some of the core issues I had with the game aren't the kinds of things that will likely be ironed out in the final thrust of development.

Crysis Warhead Sure Looks A Lot Like Crysis

Not that we were expecting the Crysis series to be turned on its head, but Crysis Warhead looks perhaps a bit too familiar. Maybe we're reading a bit too much into this action packed teaser trailer for the EA published shooter and, no, it's not a proper sequel and maybe Crytek has already spoiled us with the gorgeous original, but I can't shake the feeling of deja vu.

Crysis Warhead HD [GameTrailers]

BioWare Intrigued By iPhone Possibilities

Former EALA studio head Neil Young is not the only one interested in iPhone games - looks like the BioWare team is "looking at" the possibility, too, as CEOs Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk recently spoke to MTV Multiplayer about it:

“We look at every platform that comes along. Obviously, something that’s as big a cultural and technical success as the iPhone is something you really got to take a close look at. Certainly, there’s nothing written in stone yet but we’ve got a lot of folks looking at it. It’s intriguing. I think one of the things that we’ll have to see how it shakes out is what type of consumer buys games on it and what type of experience they’re looking for. You want to always mash the consumer experience with what you’re building. We want to understand what people are going to do with it. Who knows. We’re definitely looking at every platform.”

They were speaking, by the way, as part of an interview in which they reiterated their fealty to the PC platform, calling the market "vibrant." So are iPhone games about to become "the hot new thing," or are they already?

BioWare Confirms PC Support, ‘Looking At’ iPhone Development [MTV Multiplayer]

Here's The Who Rock Band Owners Get In July

Yes, a heaping helping of The Who is coming to Rock Band next month. It won't be "Who's Next," as originally planned, but the week of July 15th, you'll get a consolation line-up of classic Who jams, including three selections from "Who's Next." The Who's official web site has announced the full list of tracks to be included in the The Best of The Who Rock Band Edition pack.

• Amazing Journey
• Baba O'Riley
• Behind Blue Eyes
• Eminence Front
• Going Mobile
• Leaving Here
• My Generation (LIVE)
• Real Good Looking Boy
• Sea & Sand
• Summertime Blues (LIVE)
• Who Are You
• Young Man Blues (LIVE)

Sure, we could complain that "Bargain" master tracks seemingly didn't survive from "Who's Next", but we already have "Won't Get Fooled Again" and look forward to "Eminence Front." We'll take what we can get! Full press release after the jump. Thanks to Max for the heads up.

Ivy's Soulcalibur III Outfit Surprisingly Less Whorish Than We Recall

If the Soulcalibur IV media flood has you pining for a simpler, more demure Ivy, perhaps this Soulcalibur III era Ivy from Enterbrain will fit the bill. Oh, sure, the breasts are still obscene and the outfit isn't exactly appropriate for Sunday mass, but at least there's some amount of coverage here. Plus, it's perfect for displaying on your work desk. What co-worker wouldn't impressed by $120 USD worth of PVC, molded perfectly into Ivy form?

If the cost and shame hasn't scared you off yet, inquire with your immobile action figure importer of choice, because there's not a ton of time between now and September.

Soul Calibur III 1/6 Ivy [HobbyStock]

Grand Theft Argument

Doubtless you've by now heard of the book entitled Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Video Games, yes? It surely sounds like the kind of novel you all would want to get up in arms about, but relax, the authors, Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, found that violent games don't make kids psychopaths, but merely allow them to experiment with dangerous behavior in a context that can be healthful (a position I myself tend to take in my editorials).

Of course, any position either overtly against or in defense of gaming is likely to be controversial right now, and GamePolitics has been documenting the argument between University of Michigan professor Brad Bushman and the book's authors. Bushman published an article in the Detroit Free Press essentially disputing Kutner and Olson's findings:

Activision Takes A Crack At Gearbox's Hell's Highway, A "Crappy War Game" [Update]

Blizzard: Microsoft Could Do More To Support PC Gaming

Speaking to Gamasutra recently, Blizzard COO Paul Sams said that he'd like to see Microsoft focus their gaming business a bit more on Windows, though he said he understood the depth of the company's investment in the Xbox 360.

"And I kind of look at it and say to myself, and I think similarly to Rob, is that it would be great if they put more emphasis on the Windows operating system, certainly probably the most prominent operating system in the world. Even more so than console boxes.

And they own and operate that system, so having them put more energy and effort against it – and they would say that they are, but I think that there’s more that can be done.

Sams told Gamasutra it makes sense to him that Microsoft is currently putting so much energy on the console, as it's their "gaming bread and butter."

Blizzard's Sams: Microsoft Should Put More Emphasis On PC Gaming [Gamasutra]

Bling Gnome Pays Visit with Golden Offering

The Bling Gnome, which sounds like such a great idea in virtual practice, leaves a lot to be desired when discovered squatting on your kitchen counter late Sunday night. There's nothing that could get me to pluck that reticent gold coin free from its housing, even if it were real. Borderline unsafe for work pics on the jump.

Rumor: New 60GB Xbox 360 To Replace 20GB Model

Microsoft may be dropping the price of the mid-range model of the Xbox 360, if a scan from an upcoming Kmart circular can be trusted. The price slashing to $299 may not just be an effort to kick start lagging Xbox 360, according to a "usually trustworthy source" of Ars Technica's. Communication passed on via their mole points to a new, 60GB hard drive-equipped model replacing the current 20GB model, a change that's alleged to be announced at E3.

Ars Technica's source writes that the new hardware SKU will be launched "throughout July" and that the 20GB model will be officially discontinued. Consider this rumor, Microsoft-style, for now, but don't be surprised when whomever's piloting its E3 keynote mentions some extra storage breathing room.

Mole: Microsoft to drop price on 20GB 360, make room for 60GB [Ars Technica]