Diablo III to be released in early 2012

In The Telegraph

Blizzard today announced that Diablo III won't be released until 'early 2012' in order to extend their beta test. The date, slightly later than fans had hoped for, was today announced in a press release.

"With every game we make, the temptation is always very strong to launch as soon as possible. However, we didn't put so many years of work into Diablo III to release a game that was almost ready," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "The beta test is going very well, and we look forward to making the most of the extra time we're taking to deliver an experience that lives up to our vision for the game and the expectations of our players. Next year is going to be an incredibly busy one for Blizzard, and we hope an incredibly fun one for Blizzard gamers."

The release date does mean the game will miss the Christmas shopping window but it does give developer Blizzard time for additional testing phases and to potentially open the game up to more testers.

Fifa 12 available to download

In The Telegraph

Fifa 12 will be downloadable from 5pm BST on 24th September for all EA Season Ticket holders 6 days before it's release to shops.

EA today announced that customers signed up to their Season Ticket initiative will be able to download Fifa 12 on Xbox Live and PSN as well as taking part in an exclusive EA Sports Football Club Challenge.

The challenge in question sees you thrust into the action, playing as Chelsea 3-1 down to Manchester United in their recent Premier League match. You job is to re-write history and claw back a win for the Londoners. Admittedly not a mouth watering prospect if you happen to be a United supporter. If you do succeed you will be generously rewarded with personal XP, giving you an early points bonus in the Support Your Club rankings. Fifa 12's first Football Club Challenge will only be available until the retail release of the game so get in there fast. Just one warning, Fifa 12 is a big download so it will take approximately 5 hours to download.

Having an EA Season Ticket will also get you free access to Creation Centre for Fifa 12, allowing you to create your own players, teams, leagues and for the first time, career mode. In addition to this, a Season Ticket gets you a 20% discount on all downloadable content for FIFA 12 as well as other EA SPORTS games.

EA Season Tickets cost 2100 Microsoft Points (around £17.13), here's how to get yours:

Step 1: Install the EA SPORTS App, then launch it by selecting “Play Game” from your Game Library.

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Step 2: The EA SPORTS App counts down to the Early Release availability in real-time, starting seven days before retail availability. Note that the exact day and time varies per region.

Step 3: When the countdown timer reaches zero, the menu will update with a “Download” option. You will need to confirm the download from the Xbox 360 Guide.

Step 4: If you have not already purchased an EA SPORTS Season Ticket you will be prompted to purchase before you can download an Early Release game.

Step 5: Once you have started the Early Release download, you can exit the EA SPORTS App without interrupting the download. Just don’t power off your Xbox 360 or disconnect from Xbox LIVE. Be aware that other actions (e.g. attempting to play a different game) might pause the download.

Step 6: Once the Early Release finishes downloading you can launch it from your Game Library.

Step 7: Once an Early Release has been made available for download, the EA SPORTS App menu updates to count down the time remaining before that Early Release becomes unavailable for download.

Playstation Vita Demoed at Tokyo Games Show

In The Telegraph

PlayStation Vita was demoed at Tokyo Games Show yesterday, with President of Sony's Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida showing off some of the handheld console's new features. Yoshida demonstrated how Vita can be used to play PlayStation 3 games remotely. As well, Sony's newest handheld device offers cross-platform play between PS3 and Vita gamers.

Playing Killzone 3, Yoshida showed why the Vita is being so hotly anticipated ahead of it's release. Overall it ran smoothly, with only two small glitches. The console which will be sold in Japan with a price tag of 24,980 yen (£206), has the ability to be used to play in a co-op mode with PS3 players. Along with another Sony representative, Yoshida played Little Big Planet 2, demonstrating the unique interaction the PS Vita brings to the market. In the keynote, the Sony team also exhibited the Vita's remote video capabilities, streamed live from the PS3. Allowing the user to watch video content wirelessly on the Vita without the need to buy cartridges, as was on the PSP.

Trying to distance themselves from the likes of Nintendo's much cheaper 3DS, Sony told how the Vita can be used to share data with the PS3 via the cloud. Along with the console, 26 new software titles are due to be released. However don't get too excited as the device, due to be released in Japan on December 17th, still has no date for the US and European release.

Football Manager 2012 will be released this October

In The Telegraph

The release date for Football Manager 2012 was confirmed on the game's official blog. Forthcoming posts will detail new content, improvements in the game, as well as demo screens and videos. Nearer the time of the launch, a demo will be made released through the blog, providing eager fans with access to a trial version of the game and the ability to continue straight on from their last saved point once they buy the full version.

Football Manager 2012 will include over 800 new features, imbuing the game with more realism by facilitating greater scope in transfer negotiations, including loyalty bonuses similar to those seen in the Cesc Fabregas deal), an adaptive new interface, improvements in their 3D match animations and a new tool which allows players to vary their conversational tone to add emotion to transactions.

This all means the game itself will require greater tactical skill and attention to detail, so luckily there is also a new stand-alone tutorial feature allowing inexperienced players to get to grips with it. All these new changes and more will be discussed in further detail in forthcoming entries on the Football Manager 2012 blog.

The game is available to pre-order here.

Splinter Cell 6 to be released in 2012

in n4g

Spy dream come true next year, which apparently comes the next installment of Splinter Cell. (PC, PS3, Splinter Cell 6, Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Toronto, Xbox 360)

Gears of War 3 gets a 3D makeover

In techradar


Gears of War 3, an upcoming exclusive on the Xbox 360, has been given a 3D makeover despite the format being described as "niche".

The Xbox 360 isn't known for its 3D capabilities but there have been a number of titles for the console released in 3D – CoD: Black Ops being one – and now another of the console's flagship games is getting the 3D treatment, albeit through some tinkering in the back end.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Rod Fergusson of Epic Games, which created Gears of Wars 3, said about adding 3D: "It felt like something we wanted to have. It was a feature we didn't want to be deficient in. When you look at Gears 1, it was what people used to demo HD at the time.

"It's still fledgling technology. It's still a niche feature. But it was something we could support, so we felt, why not?"

Better 3D incoming

Unlike the PS3, which has been properly equipped by Sony to handle high definition 3D gaming, devs that want to add 3D to games for the Xbox 360 have to use a small workaround.


The 3D signal is crammed into one 720p stream, so it is a little like 2D with added depth. The PS3 on the other hand has two distinct 1280x1470 streams.

This does push the quality down, as Fergusson explained: "[Although the difference] is not huge, It's a little bit jaggier in certain areas. Instead of 720p you're at five something."

Fergusson hinted that the Xbox 360 is to get improved 3D gaming, however, courtesy of the next Xbox Development Kit which will have "more support for 3D or more higher quality for native support for 3D."

Fergusson explained: "We're supporting the current state of the art for Xbox. Moving forward, the Xbox will be able to take it further."

This clarifies rumours back in May that the Xbox 360 was set to get the HDMI 1.4 protocol.

The Gears of War 3 UK release date is 20 September.

Pre order here

Madden NFL 12 Demo

In n4g

not the most exciting demo in the world, mainly because we know what to expect, but this year’s Madden is sure to be a hit. The demo also lets you watch some videos on all the new features so, even though you don’t get to see most of them in action, you can check them all out in one place. Let’s hope they remember to turn the commentators back on. (Madden NFL 12, PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

Download demo here

Battlefield 3, Theme Park iOS games

In GameSpot


In late July, Electronic Arts reported its latest quarterly earnings, saying 20 percent of total revenue came from its digital sector. The publisher will look to grow that business later this year, when it releases Battlefield 3 and Theme Park for iOS devices, according to The Pocket Gamer.


Battlefield 3 is coming to iOS devices, it seems.

The report doesn't offer anything in the way of details concerning either game, but it did note that EA will reportedly talk more about each at Gamescom 2011 next week. An EA representative told GameSpot, "We don't comment on rumors."

Battlefield 3 arriving on iOS devices comes as little surprise, as its predecessor Battlefield: Bad Company 2 graced Apple's mobiles. That version included a single-player component as well as online functionality. As for Theme Park, that game was developed by Peter Molyenux's Bullfrog Productions, published by Electronic Arts, and released in 1994.

God of War Origins videos show opening scenes

In Computerandvidogames.com


the God of War Origins Collection features remastered PS3 versions of the two PSP God of War games, Ghost of Sparta and Chains of Olympus, in HD on one Blu-ray disc.

Check out the first five minutes of each game below, courtesy of IGN:

More God of War Origins Videos

More God of War Origins Videos