Because there’s no such thing as a surprise anymore, Sony Online Entertainment’s “mystery guest” for NYCC has been revealed by early shipping copies of Wizard’s latest issue. The man in question is living legend Marv Wolfman. With a tiny story in his past called Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wolfman has a pretty intimate knowledge of most every character in the DCU. Geoff Johns did the original plotting, and Wolfman will be working from those plots to further flesh out the missions your created hero or villain can undertake alongside DC’s best and brightest good and bad guys. He joins Johns and artist extraordinaire Jim Lee, lending three very high profile comic book names to the ambitious PC and PS3 MMORPG. More details on Wolfman’s involvement will be revealed next week at the convention. Regardless, this game is looking better and better.

When reached for comment, the game’s PR representatives were currently unable to confirm or deny, as they didn’t expect the issue in question to be out this week at all.

When you people lose your jobs, or are feeling down about the price of milk, it seems you seek one solace and one solace only: Video Games. While individual companies such as Midway, EA, and even Microsoft have had mass layoffs in the past few months, showing signs of financial strain, the video game industry as a whole has literally never been better.

$22 BILLION worth of video game software and hardware was sold in 2008. That’s the Gross Domestic Product of Costa Rica right there. Of this, over half, $11.7 billion was software, meaning it’s not all from people buying Wiis or taking advantage of price drops for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

December is perhaps the most baffling. In this month that was supposed to show the worst time for retailers, this 13th month of the then officially declared recession, sales weren’t just healthy, they were record breaking. For the first time ever in a single month, video game sales brought in over $5 billion. In fact, according to the ESA’s report on the sales numbers, they brought in more in December 2008 than in the entire year of 1997.

Mature games, which typically get the widest coverage in the “hardcore” market, accounted for only 15% of these sales, while E and E-10 made up 57%.

So, clearly, there are some well-entertained, starving, naked gamers out there. The question is, what is separating Video Games in people’s minds as still being such a strong value compared to comics, movies, or any other form of entertainment? While January has no doubt been a slow month, with games like Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil V, Halo Wars, and more on the horizon in just the next two months, it will be interesting to see if growth can truly be maintained.

[Via]

While Wonder Woman doesn’t look to be getting a live action feature release anytime soon (though there is an animated DVD releasing in March), and some people agree with a ridiculous statement made by a Warner exec a couple of years ago saying females can’t carry a big time action movie, Warners are nevertheless relaunching and rebooting the Tomb Raider franchise. When they bought 20% of Eidos Interactive, the producer and license holder of the Tomb Raider games, a few months ago, part of the deal was the movie rights, once held and used by Paramount for two pictures.

Dan Lin, Executive Producer of Terminator: Salvation and producer on this year’s Robert Downey-fueled Sherlock Holmes, as well as the on again-off again Justice League movie, is producing with Stephen Gilchrist (Rules of Engagement) and Executive Producer Ian Livingstone from Eidos Interactive. The movie, like the announced upcoming game, will see a revamped Lara Croft, going even further in giving her a new origin (and thus presumably a new raison d’être). As such, it is unlikely they’ll be pulling Angelina Jolie out of her semi-retirement from acting for the role. Megan Fox, rumored for the last few days apparently because of a blog post in South America (no kidding), has likewise been disspelled as a possible Lara.

So, who do you think can fill those… boots?

[Via]

I did NOT come up with that “Shell-ebration” bit, as it was actually in the press release. Ubisoft and Game Arts, the development team behind Super Smash Bros. Brawl, are bringing a new Turtle Power infused fighting game to the Wii this year. TMNT: Smash UP looks like it will share more than just a developer and the word “smash” in its title with its cousin, providing a similar gameplay experience in the world of the 25 year old Daredevil parody. Turtles co-creator Peter Laird is writing the single player story, which promises to be all original, “not tied in to any movie, comic, or tv show” storyline. And these are the first two screen shots. Enjoy!

It’s one of the many games getting great genre buzz this year, and even made out list of top 9 for ’09. It’s using the original cast, the original writers (who incidentally are one in the same). It is completely in continuity. It even picks up only a short time after the second movie, and according to Dan Aykroyd, has a story script 3-4 times the length of either movie. The Ghostbusters: The Video Game is bringing the franchise back in a huge way, and should be a boon to the reborn Atari when it comes out this June. Today, Atari released seven new screenshots, and from slime guns to close ups of digital Harold Ramis, it looks like this is going to at the very least keep the style of Ghostbusters intact. All screenshots are from the PS3 version of the game, and should match the Xbox360 version pretty well. Click Read More for the other six! (more…)

Some enterprising individual named Patrick Bolvin has developed a way to play a Street Fighter game IN YouTube. It sounds baffling, but its true. There are some great action figure animations, a rockin’ soundtrack, and a genuine fighting game built into videos. It is kind of like Choose Your Own Adventure, but with Street Fighter. After each move, it loads you into a new video, based on what you chose before. Check it out below:

[Via]

Variety got the list of nominees for the Writers Guild’s Best Writing in a Videogame 2008 award, and well, I’ll get right to it:

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 (EA). Writer: Haris Orkin. Story Producer: Mical Pedriana.

Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble! (Mousechief). Writing: Keith Nemitz. Additional Writing: Adrianne Ambrose.

Fallout 3 (Bethesda). Lead Writer: Emil Pagliarulo. Quest Writing: Erik J. Caponi, Brian Chapin, Jon Paul Duvall, Kurt Kuhlmann, Alan Nanes, Bruce Nesmith, and Fred Zeleny. Additional Quest Writing: Nate Ellis, William Killeen, Mark Nelson, and Justin McSweeney.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts). Writers: Haden Blackman, Shawn Pitman, John Stafford and Cameron Suey.

Tomb Raider: Underworld (Eidos). Story: Eric Lindstrom and Toby Guard. Screenplay: Eric Lindstrom.

It’s an…interesting list to say the least. There are some things to bear in mind here, though. First, far from every game is written under WGA guidelines by WGA writers. It’s a relatively new medium for the WGA (last year was the first time this award was offered), as story has only recently become a dominating factor in games. While there have been games using deep detailed stories for a couple generations of games now, with the current generation even racing games like Need for Speed have been heavily driven (no pun intended) by their stories. Also, for WGA awards, the first nomination needs to come from the writers, developers, or producers of the game. So, of the few that were WGA based, even fewer moved into the nomination pool.

Digressing, of the nominees I’d say the competition is likely between Fallout 3 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Fallout 3‘s sheer scope, offering multiple dialogue paths and personal choices is intimidating. The Force Unleashed, though, told the best acted out Star Wars story since the original trilogy, and did so with an important, in-cannon tale.

[Via]

Funcom’s Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures drew some attention for several reasons when it was released in May 2008. It was a Mature rated MMORPG (yes, that means vicious violence and bare breasts), it had a more realistic visual flare than most MMOs (based quite a bit on the look established in the Conan comic book), and it had a nearly 30 gigabyte install. Well now, less than seven months after its release, the MMO is getting attention, but likely not the kind Funcom hoped for. It seems server load is much lighter than they were hoping, and to increase interaction between players, they’re closing over 60% of the servers worldwide.

This is actually good news for those playing the game. With only one U.S. player-versus-player (PVP) server and two mission servers (PVE), players can expect to see many more possible friends and foes running around than they currently do.

The closures come in the midst of a recession in the U.S. that seems to be expanding worldwide; this obviously is not the ideal economic climate for a pay-monthly-to-play game. Of course, World of Warcraft continues to fly in the face of this, proving that if you just make the experience fun and accessible enough, people will continue to support it. Steep system requirements and the M rating have likely restricted the game’s growth more than anything else, so this doesn’t spell doom for MMOs just yet. With City of Heroes recently released for Mac, and Champions Online and DCUniverse Online coming later this year, the future still looks bright for more-piggers.

[via GI.Biz]

Activision today launched an official website for the game version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine at Uncaged.com. The game is being developed by Raven Software, whose previous Marvel Superhero work can be seen in the X-Men Legends games and the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance. The site is pretty bare bones for now, featuring a 360 degree version of the screenshot seen here, a link to 1UP’s first look coverage of the game (which was featured in what is now known to be the final print issue of EGM, sob), a new forum where fans can talk to producers and developers, and a “slash counter.” By moving your mouse down the logo in the middle of the screen, you can slash it apart with Wolverine’s claws. Once the slash counter reaches “numbers to their liking,” according to the press release, Raven will put up more info about the game. So go start slashing away, and hopefully the game will be as good as EGM was optimistic about it.

The New York Comiccon has announced a tentative lineup of its panel schedule!

Here are some of the highlights for this year’s programming:

The Do’s and Don’ts of Being a Comic Professional: Creating the work is one thing, but what should you keep in mind in order to present yourself well to an editor? Do personality and rapport play a part in how you’re perceived? What’s the difference between a pro’s attitude and a novice’s? How do you balance doing quality work with making the deadline? What’s the proper way to pitch? (Friday, 2-3pm)

BOOM! Studios: BIG! BOLD! BOOM! Join Mark Waid, Ross Richie, and Chip Mosher as they run down the most exciting new projects at BOOM! Including a special announcement by Mark Waid that is sure to make your head explode! (Friday, 2:15-3:15)

(more…)

I’m not usually one who likes to report on reporting, but we have something of an ongoing discussion here recently. The state of print media has been called into question more seriously over the past several years, as the internet continues to expand and things like iPhones and Blackberrys allow people to be directly connected to a constant stream of information. Whether it’s monthly comic books, newspapers, or magazines, no corner of print seems entirely safe.

After recent rumors, and several months of closeout sales by Ziff Davis Media following their Chapter 11 filing last summer, What They Play had a story today saying 1UP.com, the online source for video game news tied to long standing magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) (and until recently several other magazines) has been sold. The buyer is Hearst Corp, who already owns and operates UGO.com, itself reputed to have had financial difficulties in the past several months, including layoffs and long time contracted employees being reduced to freelancer status. Hearst’s plan, according to the report, is to fold 1UP into UGO, re-expanding the gaming section of the site. EGM comes along as part of the sale, and Hearst plans to make the issue currently in production the final issue of the magazine.

Now, 1UP.com has confirmed the sale of the site and its related properties, but has yet to comment on the future of EGM. As the sources got the first part of the story right, odds are the rest is, as well. The magazine was started in 1989. It leaves in its wake Gamepro and Game Informer as the last two major multiplatform gaming magazines published in the U.S.

UPDATED: January 7:

Joystiq has a list of employees laid off as a result of the merger. Included in the list are Shane Bettenhausen and James Mielke, two high profile EGM employees, including the now former Editor-in-Chief of EGM. This is noted as confirmation that EGM is, in fact, done. The full list can be seen here.

One of three things is necessary for you to enjoy the next minute and twelve seconds of your life. A knowledge of the Japanese language, a love for everything Street Fighter, or a love for kicking and explosions. If you happen to have all three, well, you’re in for a special kind of treat. Enjoy!

Well hot damn! Eidos Interactive and Warner Bros Interactive really want to make a good realistic Batman game. Lego Batman was tons of fun and all, but obviously geared to the funny. The graphics looked great, and the first trailer seems pretty cool, but now the best news yet about the game has come in the form of casting. Mark Hamill will reprise his role as The Joker, and Kevin Conroy will once again provide his trademark grit as Batman. They played the roles in the landmark Batman: The Animated Series, amongst other games and productions.

Cast, graphical prowess, and in-motion sequences are all a go, now we just have to wait for a chance to play it. So far so good, though, hopefully they can pull off the seemingly impossible. As of right now, I’ll remain cautiously optimistic.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is due next summer on PS3, Xbox360, and PC.

[Via Joystiq]

Activision has released this shiny promo image and a little bit of new information on the game that’ll come out next May alongside the movie of the same name. Raven Software (X-Men Legends 1 & 2, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Jedi Knight 2 and 3, etc.) is handling development on the game, which takes players from Wolverine’s “escape of the Weapon X Facility to the jungles of Africa and beyond.”

The game promises to let gamers not just experience Wolvie’s berserker rages, but also use all his other abilities. Wolverine will take damage, showing wounds and healing in real time while you play. Players will also use his heightened senses to “uncover hidden dangers” and hunt down enemies.

Previous games featuring Wolverine solo have frankly fallen pretty flat, but Raven’s résumé has been close to flawless the last few years. No word yet on whether any of the other Marvel characters announced for the movie will be playable characters in the game, but as the game will primarily follow the movie’s plot, you can bet on them at least appearing.

Atari’s phoenix-like rise from the ashes (See, there’s hope for you, Midway!) continues with the announcement today that they have acquired Cryptic Studios. Famed Marvel Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis, according to Brian Reed’s Twitters, is a big fan of City of Heroes/Villains, Cryptic’s well known entry into the MMO world. Coming up, they have three new MMOs: Champions Online, Star Trek Online, and an as-yet-unnamed one. The similarly-themed superhero MMO Champions Online is first up in 2009. They follow that up the following year (dated for the first time officially here) with Star Trek Online in 2010. The mystery MMO will follow that in 2011, helping the short attention span set continue their MMO habits.

Atari also gets to use Cryptic’s technology in other games, though none were specifically mentioned. A bit under $27 million was the going price for the Studio, with bonuses for performance allowed for along the next few years.

Overall, this is a tremendous move for Atari, and Cryptic is one of the closest to a “sure thing” that exists in the game industry right now. Their base technology has been praised as easy-to-use, with playable internal demos of Star Trek Online, for example, being made in just a few weeks, as opposed to the year or more of development usually required, especially for an MMO. Between this, and the official announcement that they’ll be publishing Ghostbusters The Game next summer, it’s been a good couple months for the company that nearly died completely just a couple years ago.

[Source: GI.Biz]

Midway Games, who have had some well documented financial problems in the last several months, has now hired what is essentially a last chance company, Lazard Ltd. (who hopefully have the same affect as a Lazarus Pit), to try to help them get out of their latest problem. The company, which was just sold off for $100,000 and a whole bunch of debt, is now being told it’s about to default on $240 MILLION in loans. The Chicago Tribune, covering its hometown company, has more:

According to the regulatory filing, the change in ownership triggers provisions in two series of Midway bonds that allow bondholders to ask for full repayment. Midway said it expects all of its bondholders to request this option. This would require Midway to pay out $150 million, an amount that the company said it would not be able to furnish based on its current liquidity.

So, essentially, the sale of the company that some looked to as hope for a change and a ressurection is actually what’s queued up this latest problem. What’s more perplexing is later in the article, where the Trib notes that Mark Thomas, the private investor who made the purchase, has gone on record as wanting no management control in the company. Why exactly do you buy a seeming sinking ship if not to personally plug the holes?

I am an unabashed, hardcore fan of Nerdcore Hip-Hop. For the uninitiated, Nerdcore is a movement by underground do-it-yourselfers who happen to be nerds and geeks, seeking to bring storytelling and topical conversation back to hip-hop. You won’t hear raps about guns and hos in these rhymes. Instead you’re more likely to hear about Star Wars, video games, comic books, and the latest technology. Being a fan of such rappers as MC Lars, MC Frontalot, YTCracker, Optimus Rhyme, and many others, I was excited to hear that RAVAGE aka MeccaGodZilla sparked a new personality, Ryu Black, for a single about Chun Li that will be followed by an album in 2009. The entire album will be Street Fighter themed, in honor of the Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li movie coming next year, along with Street Fighter IV. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, besides having the awesomest title of any game in recent memory, just came out on PSN and Xbox LIVE, as well. Check out the killer love song to Chun Li at THIS LINK HERE and head HERE for more of RAVAGE’s beats.

This trailer for the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum game gives a virtual tour of the Asylum’s facility. Sorry, no actual gameplay in this footage since it’s only a teaser.

Tiscali Games has the first screenshots from the upcoming Watchmen video game from Warner Bros. Interactive, Watchmen: The End is Nigh.

Developed by Deadline Games for PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, the episodic game follows Rorschach and Nite Owl in 1972. The first game will be released in March, around the time of the movie’s debut. A sequel is planned to coincide with the release of the Watchmen DVD.

(via Slashfilm)

… flying into the middle of what looks like could be a really fun Peanuts game:

According to Joystiq, the game doesn’t have a publisher yet, and it won’t be done until 2010. Rats.