Digital Games

The rest of us, though? The demo will include one track, playable in both single player and split-screen modes. If you have any interest in Sony’s upcoming ModNation Racers, you’ve probably already read our review (and entered our giveaway). According to Chuck Lacson, associate marketing manager at SCEA, developer United Front Games is “looking into further optimizing the game via a post-launch patch.”

That should be good news for those already sold on Sony’s “Race, Create, Share” motto. Apparently we weren’t the only ones to notice. You’re familiar, then, with our biggest grief with the early review code: obnoxiously long load times.

In unison? Kid Rock to provide songs for the game. The novelty of the guitar controller — which has, like, real strings and everything — is definitely one advantage Power Gig has over its peers. Seven45 revealed another today: agreements with Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews Band, and … Seven45′s Power Gig: Rise of the Sixstring, the guitar game controlled by an actual electric guitar, has been slated for an October launch, where it will compete against other fall 2010 music games like Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and DJ Hero 2 (so far). “We think Power Gig is a much needed and much welcomed game because, unlike any others before it, it puts a real guitar into the hands of aspiring musicians, and we hope it inspires our fans and others to start playing even when they’re not playing the game,” the Dave Matthews Band is quoted as saying. The whole band? Gallery: Power Gig: Rise of the SixStringTags: Dave-Matthews-Band, Eric-Clapton, Guitar, Kid-Rock, microsoft, Music, playstation, power-gig, power-gig-rise-of-the-sixstring, ps3, Release-Date, Seven45, xbox

As first outed by ESPN last week, basketball hall of famer Michael Jordan is coming out of retirement again, this time to feature on the cover of 2K Sports’ NBA 2K11. Jason Argent, the label’s VP of marketing, confirmed the deal to CNBC today, saying that, “Actually getting this done is the most ridiculous win of all-time.”

The original ESPN report noted that Jordan — and even some of his former teammates — would likely be playable in the game, but Argent had nothing to offer CNBC on that front, other than to say players can expect “some really good surprises.” However, in the same article, Jordan is quoted in a statement as saying, “I’m looking forward to getting back out on the court, virtually.”

We’re guessing he doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing his likeness painted on the hardwood. Tags: 2k-sports, michael-jordan, microsoft, nba-2k11, playstation, ps3, xbox

Update 2: A Square Enix representative confirmed the bundle will retail for $199.99.Tags: bundle, Kingdom-Hearts, kingdom-hearts-birth-by-sleep, release-date, rpg, sony, square-enix It’s been too long. A trailer embedded in a post on the U.S. PlayStation.Blog has revealed that Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, which had previously been promised to hit North American store shelves this summer, has received a firm release date of September 7. If you’re extra enthusiastic about vanquishing the Heartless, the post explains that you’ll also be able to pick up a hardware bundle that includes the game, an unannounced movie, a 4GB memory stick and a “Mystic Silver” (that’s fancy-speak for “plain ol’ silver”) PSP-3000 on the same day. Update: A press release accompanying this announcement just arrived in our inbox, revealing a handful of the game’s auspicious cast of voice actors: Mark Hamill, Willa Holland, Jesse McCartney, James Woods and Leonard Nimoy. Oh, Nimoy, our oldest friend.

In addition to the marketing partnership, the AHA and Nintendo will host a “multidisciplinary summit of representatives from a variety of fields … Heart Walk” events this fall. to take a closer look at the synergies and benefits of active-play video games,” entitled the “Innovation Summit.” No details have been provided on when and where said summit will occur. “The brand serves as a chance to remind people about the benefits of a healthy approach to living and how active-play video games can be an integral part of a healthy lifestyle,” the partnership’s official website explains. Also, no, Nintendo hasn’t explained the Vitality Sensor yet.Tags: aha, american-heart-association, branding, start-heart-walk, vitality-sensor, wii-fit-plus, wii-sports-resort, wii-vitality-sensor Nintendo of America announced a strategic partnership with the American Heart Association this morning, effectively adding the AHA stamp of approval to all retail boxes of Wii Fit Plus, Wii Sports Resort, and the Nintendo Wii itself. Finally, various “active-play Nintendo video games” will be available to play at select ” Start!

Check it out, provided you’re not at work. Don’t worry, you squeamish so-and-so — that part gets censored in the trailer posted above. We would almost call it heartwarming, if said protection didn’t involve pan-frying a Shanghai police officer’s face. The latest trailer for Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days displays a new facet of morally dubious protagonist James Seth Lynch — a side who cares less about the theft of other people’s fungible assets, and more about the protection of his special ladyfriend. This video is as profane as it is stylish, which is really saying something, because it’s stylish as hell.Tags: eidos, kane-and-lynch-2-dog-days, microsoft, pc, playstation, ps3, square-enix, xbox

Check out WoW.com for a few helpful tips on how to grab your ticket hastily and definitively.Tags: blizzard, blizzcon, blizzcon-2010, events, tickets The second and final group of tickets for BlizzCon 2010 will go on sale at 1PM EDT (10 AM PDT) on the event’s official website and the Blizzard store for $150 a pop. If you’re hoping to join your fellow World of Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo fans in a two-day love-fest for all things Blizzard later this year, you’re gonna want to keep your fingers on your F5 button here in just a few minutes. Seeing as how the ticket queue for the last round of sales jumped from zero to 20,000 in two minutes, you’ll want to be as prepared as humanly possible if you want to acquire an entry pass.

According to the ACSM, that’s enough to “maintain proper health.”

Unfortunately, the game doesn’t actually stop you from playing Red Dead Redemption and connect the monitors up to you, so you’ll have to do that part yourself. Think the peripheral-equipped EA Sports Active provides nothing more than a wussy, girly-man workout? You might be right, but at least it’s a wussy, girly-man doctor-approved workout. So says a new study conducted by a researcher from the University of Wisconsin, who found that EA’s exer-game meets the requirements set up by the American College of Sports Medicine for “a healthy, active lifestyle.”

The researcher had 16 different adults use the game as directed, and had them performing with a high heart rate and oxygen consumption, burning a minimum of 200 calories a session, five days a week. Take that, ambulation!Tags: ea, ea-sports, ea-sports-active, electronic-arts, nintendo, study, wii Then again, this “walking” game doesn’t have any DLC coming, does it? And while 200 calories can be significant (depending on your diet), you can burn just about that much by walking for an hour.

And Virtual Boy? There are 70 million people who’d disagree with that one. The ultimate nutritional cooking supplement? Really? Like, auto-tuning, guys? And Olestra? Check out the full list of so-called failed products on Time’s site, and see if you share our feelings. [Via Kotaku]
Tags: farmville, inventions, list, tamagochi, time, virtual-boy, worst-inventions The world’s first fully-3D game console/amateur LASIK surgery machine? Around every turn, the list seems to get it wrong. One of the worst inventions ever? For instance: FarmVille? Did they read this list before they published it? We rarely, if ever, write rebuttals to stories posted on the esteemed, list-friendly publication known as Time, but we’ve got more than a few bones to pick with its recently posted ” 50 Worst Inventions” list. That’s about as progressive and brilliant as inventions get.

distribution — however, the image submitted alongside the filing (which has since been removed) is believed by some to give a few hints about the internal composition of the Nintendo 3DS. If this is a stripped-down version of the 3DS, this could indicate that only one of its two screens uses 3D display technology. We’ve contacted Nintendo to see if we can get a comment on the filing — at the very least, we should learn the accuracy of this speculation during Nintendo’s E3 press conference on June 15.Tags: 3d, 3ds, device, fcc, handheld, motherboard, rumor, technology A recent Federal Communications Commission filing made by Nintendo has been the source of no tiny amount of speculation over the past few days. Digital Foundry has a great breakdown of the image, which appears to exhibit the motherboard of a DS test kit or development kit. Also worth noting is the “CTR” designation the hardware is given in the FCC listing. CTR is a whole new callsign, which may indicate that this is a whole new piece of hardware. As Digital Foundry points out, each model of the DS has had a three-letter codename for internal use: The DSi was called “TWL,” the DSi XL was called “UTL,” and so on.