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Damnation dev team damned, laid off

The entire team of Damnation (PS3, Xbox 360, and PC) has been laid off, following “issues” with publisher Codemasters.

According to reports there were a number of lawsuits that were filed before the sackings took place. Allegedly, the root of all this was when Blue Omega was “taken off” their own game by Codemasters, including another dispute of Blue Omega with two subcontracting studios.

Another factor for this sad state of affairs would be the dismal performance of the game Damnation.

• Steam-powered Damnation dev trailer steampunk art

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Joining the teaser: a boy and a dragon UPDATE and now a girl

After our initial report last week, the Square Enix teaser page has gotten clearer since we last saw it. It got updated with a dragon the following day, and now a boy can be seen riding the flying beast. Check it out.

So the picture’s getting bigger. Is the hint getting clearer too?

UPDATE

The sketch just got a new character in the teaser. A girl this time, who seems to be along for the ride, but it really doesn’t get us any closer to figuring this one out just yet.

• Teaser site countdowns anew: Square Enix hints with the number 4

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NPD: Gaming woes the ladies in 2009

According to the latest survey by the NPD, gaming has attracted a larger female audience in 2009 than in 2008, more significantly in consoles. The number of lady gamers out there increased by up to 4 both in “heavy portable” and “extreme games” as compared to last year.

For console gamers, the number rose from 23 in 2008 to 28 in 2009. This number can be attributed largely to the Wii, which rose in female users by 19 from last year. “Last year was one of the most transformative in history in terms of defining the audience for gaming, said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Even with the increased competition from mobile and social network gaming, the console gamer segment added the most new participants to its ranks in the last year.”

NPD Methodology:

The data was collected from more than 20,000 members of NPD s online consumer panel, ages two to 65 . Responses for consumers ages two to 12 were captured by instructing a parent to take his or her child in this age range to the computer to answer the questions, either with or without the parent s assistance. Qualified respondents reported they personally play video games on a PC, on a console or portable system, or on another device such as a mobile phone. The following four key variables were used to create the gamer segments: ownership; usage; frequency; and purchased/received video games. Final survey data was weighted to represent the U.S. population of individuals ages two and older. Fieldwork was conducted from January 7 January 27, 2009.

NPD also noted that this study was conducted way back in January, meaning data that refers to past three month behavior includes the holiday season of the previous year.

• QuickJump QuickList: Seven types of girl gamers

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NPD: Gaming woos the ladies in 2009

According to the latest survey by the NPD, gaming has attracted a larger female audience in 2009 than in 2008, more significantly in consoles. The number of lady gamers out there increased by up to 4 both in “heavy portable” and “extreme games” as compared to last year.

For console gamers, the number rose from 23 in 2008 to 28 in 2009. This number can be attributed largely to the Wii, which rose in female users by 19 from last year. “Last year was one of the most transformative in history in terms of defining the audience for gaming, said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Even with the increased competition from mobile and social network gaming, the console gamer segment added the most new participants to its ranks in the last year.”

NPD Methodology:

The data was collected from more than 20,000 members of NPD s online consumer panel, ages two to 65 . Responses for consumers ages two to 12 were captured by instructing a parent to take his or her child in this age range to the computer to answer the questions, either with or without the parent s assistance. Qualified respondents reported they personally play video games on a PC, on a console or portable system, or on another device such as a mobile phone. The following four key variables were used to create the gamer segments: ownership; usage; frequency; and purchased/received video games. Final survey data was weighted to represent the U.S. population of individuals ages two and older. Fieldwork was conducted from January 7 January 27, 2009.

NPD also noted that this study was conducted way back in January, meaning data that refers to past three month behavior includes the holiday season of the previous year.

• QuickJump QuickList: Seven types of girl gamers

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Half-Blood Prince video game out in stores

Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts will soon be out in cinemas, but here we have the accompanying video game, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, coming out before the movie, so fans can get sneak peeks through the game.

As serious as the plot gets in the sixth book, Half-Blood Prince will still have time for teenage antics, potions, and of course, Quidditch. Yes, there will be Quidditch gameplay and potion-brewing sessions with Horace Slughorn. Gotta stay in the Slug Club, yes? More importantly, there are wizard duels as well, where you and a friend can go head-to-head and see who would make a better DA member.

So until the movie’s out, the game will have to do for now. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is available now for Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, PS2, Wii, DS, and PC.

• E3 2009: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince features trailer
• Half-Blood Prince gameplay details revealed
  

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Metroid Prime Trilogy gets additional pre-order freebie

As if the current deal wasn’t enough, GameStop decides to throw in another item into the mix for every pre-order of Metroid Prime Trilogy. Curious? Then check the info right here.

As it previously went, pre-ordering Metroid Prime Trilogy at GameStop would net you a 1980s retro Metroid Prime Trilogy poster. This is available only for online customers. There’s also the Metroid art booklet filled with sketches, development images, and concept art, all accompanied by the history of Metroid and Samus Aran. This is a limited stock item, available for both in-store and online customers.

Adding to that now is a GameStop exclusive Metroid Proime Trilogy T-shirt, which I gotta say looks pretty cool.I could see myself going for the pre-order just for the shirt – I’m just a sucker for gamingwear. How about you?

• Nintendo comes clean – Metroid Prime Trilogy finally announced, coming to the Wii

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2K Sports confirms the NBA 2K10 10th anniversary edition

If you’ve got money to burn and you just love these special editions, then here’s another one to add to your collection – it’s the NBA 2K10 10th anniversary edition, confirming the previous report and packing goodies for those who want to pay for them. For package details, you can refer to the prior link.

As reported, the 10th anniversary edition will be priced at US 99.99, but there’s still no date and which retailers will they be available from. We’ll let you know when we know.

NBA 2K10 will be out this fall on Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, and PC.

• 2K Sports unveils the first NBA 2K10 screenshot – Shaq as a Cavalier
• Kobe stars as the NBA 2K10 coverboy
  

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Joining the teaser: a boy and a dragon

After our initial report last week, the Square Enix teaser page has gotten clearer since we last saw it. It got updated with a dragon the following day, and now a boy can be seen riding the flying beast. Check it out.

So the picture’s getting bigger. Is the hint getting clearer too?

• Teaser site countdowns anew: Square Enix hints with the number 4

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Wii homebrew – Snes9x GX v4.0.7

Homebrew coder Tantric has released a new update for Snes9x GX, a Super Nintendo emulator for the Wii based on the PC emulator SNES9x 1.51. The latest update has added new features and fixed some bugs from the earlier release.

Version  4.0.7 changelog:

• Fixed auto-update
• Increased file browser listing to 10 entries, decreased font size
• Added text scrolling on file browser
• Added reset button for controller mappings
• Settings are now loaded from USB when loading the app from USB on HBC
• Fixed menu crashes caused by ogg player bugs
• Fixed memory card saving verification bug
• Fixed game savebrowser bugs
• Miscellaneous code cleanup/corrections 

Download: Snes9x GX v4.0.7

• Wii homebrew – Snes9x GX v4.0.3

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Sega still interested in making Mature games for Wii

Despite lukewarm initial reactions to The House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld, publisher Sega believes that the Nintendo Wii is still a viable platform for putting out M-rated games.

“Whilst [Overkill] had a rather sharp tail at full price, they do bubble away at a lower price point for a long time,” Gary Dunn, MD of European development for Sega, told GamesIndustry. “You get your money back and a bit on full price, but over the years, if we do the final product return on investment, profits come from the lower price point.”

MadWorld, another of Sega’s M-rated Wii titles, similarly didn’t sell all that well, but Dunn says they’re still willing to take the risk of putting out another M-rated game on the squeaky-clean Nintendo console.

“You have to push boundaries and explore. I think whilst MadWorld commercially didn’t sell what we were expecting I wouldn’t say it’s game over for mature Wii titles from Sega,” said Dunn. “We’re taking a look at the resources we have now. We’ve got money to invest in development, we’re just considering where to invest it next.”

• Heavy Rain boss defends mature video games: no worse than 8 o’clock TV
• The House of the Dead: OVERKILL Collector’s Edition for adults only