Hey Got Gamers,

I’ve never claimed to be a music fan, but that doesn’t make me a philistine. I’ve been known to enjoy a song or two from bands that range from Treble Charger to The Band. However, my microscopic amount of musical knowledge has failed me this time because I have no idea what the life of a pig jousting beaver has to do with Justin Bieber. It appears that the Bieb’s people have drawn some connection though, because they’re in such a tizzy over this image that we promised to post in this show blog.

Luckily, my lack luster musical knowledge has never stopped me from finding the weekly post-broadcast podcast. This week, like every week, you can find the podcast in the audio file below this paragraph, but we just call it the February 26th 2012 edition of Got Game.

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This week, along with the Joustin’ Beaver story, our shortened bench discusses:

• How the coming of NBA Live 13 was brought to light by a tweet
• Nintendo’s effort to remind us that they also have a handheld console on the Vita’s big day
• Warner Brother’s recent release of The Midway Virtual Arcade
• Marvel Avengers Alliance

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AND WE DEDICATED OUR WHOLE REVIEW SECTION TO THE PLAYSTATION VITA THIS WEEK

Hey Got Gamers,

A single episode of Got Game never provides us enough time to talk about everything in the gaming industry. This week we used every single second we had, and we were still forced to drop stories like the SSX demo coming out earlier in the week.

That’s why I am posting my full interview with Josh Billeaudeau, Senior Designer at Playdom, in the audio file below this sentence.

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Josh has been working on a Free to Play facebook game that will probably fly under the radar due to big titles like Mass Effect 3 and MLB the Show coming out in the next few weeks. We did play a few minutes of the discussion I had with Josh on the show this week, but at best we got through half of the interview before we ran out of time.

Therefore, listen to the audio file if you want to hear the whole thing. Also, at the end of this post I have put a few screen shots from the game, and as Josh said, the game play does seem to resemble Final Fantasy (at least that’s the feeling I get from these images).

Today is a big day for Sony PlayStation. They’re officially launching their brand new handheld, the PS Vita, into the wild today.

If you’re interested in the Vita, know that we talked about it in detail on our show last week. We will certainly have more to say about it this week as well, so stay tuned.

Anyhow, Nintendo wanted to remind everyone that they also have a handheld console out on the market, so they decided that today would be a good day to announce a bunch of games for the 3DS (and even something for the Wii).

The flood of information included news of a new RPG for the 3DS by a creative mind behind Final Fantasy, Mario Tennis Open, and the news that Xenoblade Chronicles will be coming to North America in early April.

Here’s the video from Nintendo that announces everything we heard today.

Hey Got Gamers,

On this week’s show, we discussed the PlayStation Vita for as long as we could. However, there was one area of the Vita discussion that we avoided on purpose. We stayed away from the black and white technical specifications of the device because rambling off a bunch of numbers just doesn’t make for compelling radio.

Also, the beauty thing about these show blogs is that I can put up whatever information I think will interest a person, and you the listener can pick and choose what you want to spend your time on. Therefore, if the technical specifications of a Vita mean nothing to you, than by all means skip to the podcast knowing that you missed nothing.

However, just in case those specifications do matter to you, I’ve put them all here:

• CPU – ARM Cortex A9 core (4 core)

• GPU – SGX543MP4+

• Screen – 5 inches, 960 x 544 (16:9), Approx. 16 million colors, OLED Multi touch screen, capacitive

• Memory – 512MB

• VRAM – 512MB

• Cameras – Front 120fps@320×240(QVGA), 60fps@640×480(VGA)

• Rear – Up to 640×480(VGA)

• Ports – Vita slot, memory card, SIM if you have a 3G model, multi-use port, serial data, headset jack, accessory port

• Supported Photo Formats – JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, PNG

• Supported Music Formats – MP3, MP4, WAVE

• Supported Video Format – MPEG4

On the other hand, there are things that I personally think everyone should invest some time in. The post-broadcast podcast of our weekly videogame radio talk show in one thing. NASCAR is another, but I know that to be a battle I can not win. Therefore, and regardless of your views on motor sports, I hope you enjoy the podcast in the audio file below this paragraph. However, we just call it the February 19th 2012 edition of Got Game.

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This week in Got Game we talk about:

• The Launch of the PlayStation Vita
• A number of titles that will be launched with the Vita (like Mutant Blobs Attack!)
• The new SSX game coming soon from EA Sports

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AND IN OUR REVIEW SECTION WE LOOK AT TWISTED METAL

THE DARKNESS 2 BY CANADIAN DEVELOPER DIGITAL EXTREMES

AND GOTHAM CITY IMPOSTORS

Hey Got Gamers,

If you’ve listened to our show, you’ll know that we’re very proud of the Toronto indie development scene. Like the spurious parents that we are, we have no claim to anything but our radio show; however, that doesn’t stop us from being proud every time a local developer gets to stand in the spot light.

As I type, that’s exactly what’s happening to Ryan Maclean and Graham Smith of Drinkbox Studios. Their next game, Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!!! will actually be a launch title for the PS Vita. Now, I know some gamers have a Vita already, but the device’s officially launch date will be February 22nd. Mutant Blobs Attack will be out just before that official launch, and at $7.99 it will be the cheapest launch title (monetarily speaking) made specifically for the Vita.

However, after watching the trailer located above this sentence, I still had one or two questions that I wanted to ask the Drinkbox Team; therefore, I decided to corner the Studio’s CEO, Ryan Maclean, so I could ask him about the:

• Game they’re launching next week
• Toronto Indie Scene
• Experience of developing a game on the PS Vita

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Download Here’s my discussion with Ryan.

Unfortunately, Graham Smith (the studio’s COO) could not joins us for the interview because he was showing other Canadian journalists the game at that time. Regardless, the guy deserves a shout-out for putting up with me, and my inability to play videogames, while I was trying Mutant Blobs Attack!!!

Hey Got Gamers,

The modern arcade just doesn’t exist anymore. The invention of the all-in-one media centers that we call the current generation of consoles has erased the arcade from existence. However, a few groups are trying to keep parts of our collective childhood alive. The Barcade in New York City is probably the most famous, but locally A&C Games should certainly be applauded for the creation of their A&C World.

Another group has decided to step up and revive a part of those good old days. Jason and Rachel Hazzard will be opening up the Pinball Cafe here in Toronto on February 14th.  What’s the Pinball Cafe all about? We talked to co-owner Jason about his pinball cafe to find out, so check out the audio file below this paragraph for the answers. That audio file is our weekly post-broadcast podcast, but we just call it the February 12th 2012 edition of Got Game.

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This week on Got Game we also talk about:

• The rumours that Microsoft is working on a tablet controller for gaming
• The decision by 2K Sports to bundle NBA 2K12 with MLB 2K12
• The news that Sony will not be offer the UMD Passport program in North America
• The option to re-buy your UMD based PSP games for the PS Vita.
• Activision’s announcement that they’re making a First Person Shooter based on the upcoming Battleship movie

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AND IN OUR REVIEW SEGMENT WE TAKE A LOOK AT:
1. UFC UNDISPUTED 3 BY THQ

2. CURT SCHILLING’S KINGDOM OF AMALUR: RECKONING

3. KONAMI’S NEVERDEAD.

Hey Got Gamers,

You may or may not remember, but last November Valve’s Steam service was attacked by a group of hackers who broke into Steam’s database.

That same month Valve’s president Gabe Newell wrote a message to every Steam users warning them of the breached, because that “database contained information including user names, hashed and salted passwords, game purchases, email addresses, billing addresses and encrypted credit card information.” He also went on to warn the Steam users that they should start watching their credit card statements for any weird activity over the next few months.

Anyhow, I decided to jump onto another PC game that I got from Steam today, and found another message from Gabe Newell warning about more information regarding the information that could have been taken last year. I captured an image of the message I got and I put it on this blog.

Hey Got Gamers,

The Got Game crew would like to take a second to congratulate the New York Giants for proving EA Sports correct again. Going into the weekend, Las Vegas was backing the New England Patriots as this year’s Superbowl Champions and the annual Madden Superbowl simulation favoured the New York Giants. Since the Giants won, that means the the simulation’s correct prediction score (since they started in 2004) goes to 7 and 2, and Las Vegas is now 5 and 4 in the same stretch of time.

Drew Brees (quarterback with the New Orleans Saints), Jimmy Graham (tight end with the New Orleans Saints), and Tim Tebow (quarterback with the Denver Broncos) playing Madden 12.

I guess Vegas can’t win them all… well actually they could if they ever bet on the location of the weekly post-broadcast podcast. They would win every week because they know that you can find the podcasted version of our latest show in the audio file below this paragraph. This week it’s the post-broadcast podcast of our February 5th 2012  show.

Download

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This week on Got Game, along with the Superbowl predictions, the crew discusses:

• Jose Baustista landing on the Canadian cover of MLB The Show from Sony San Diego
• The vote that will allow gamers to decide the cover athlete of Madden 13
• The details surrounding the DLC season pass for UFC Undisputed 3

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We’ll also hear World Series Champion Curt Schilling, and Lead World Designer Colin Campbell, talk about their upcoming title: Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning.

Image courtesy of http://reckoning.amalur.com/

IN OUR REVIEW SECTION WE’LL LOOK AT SOULCALIBUR V.

AND THE RECENTLY FREE TO PLAY MMO: STAR TREK ONLINE.

Hey Got Gamers,

As everyone knows, the people who love Call of Duty, but only own a PS3, tend to get screwed over. Nothing malicious was ever meant by it (I think), but Microsoft was able to give Activision enough money to ink a deal that ensures that all the new Call of Duty content will only be on the Xbox360 for roughly the first month (and change) after release.

However,we now know that Microsoft’s exclusivity will be over soon. Activision has announced that the first bit of content for the PlayStation’s Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3’s Content Season will be available this February 28th. The PlayStation season will be a lot like the Xbox season with  a number of new content packs being released over the course of 9 or so months.

Like with the Xbox, the first bit of Elite content for the PlayStation will consist of 2 new maps: Liberation and Piazza. To quote Activision, Liberation will be “a militarized Central Park in the heart of NYC, featuring a vast landscape ripe for long-range sniper and LMG kills. Mounted turrets on opposing ends of the map offer overwhelming firepower to anyone brave enough to man them.”

In Activision’s words again, Piazza will be “set in an idyllic seaside village, Italian getaway gone rogue, where blind corners and a complex network of branching pathways pose danger at every turn. Visceral close-quarters combat dominates in Piazza, and attacks from above and below are an ever-constant threat.”

Back when we first wrote about the Xbox360′s Call of Duty content season, Activision also told us that non-premium (a.k.a. – gamers who didn’t pay for Call of Duty Elite subscriptions) will also have the chance to buy this content outside of Call of Duty Elite. They were vague on the specifics, but at some point in March of 2012 those gamers can start buying this Call of Duty DLC in chunks that Activision is calling Modern Warfare 3 content collections.

Hey Got Gamers,

THQ has announced that they will be offering a large selection of DLC for this month’s UFC Undisputed 3. The short version of this story is that you can purchase a variety of new fighters, historic UFC fights, career boosts and early access to unlockable content from the Xbox LIVE® Marketplace or PlayStation®Network for a one-time cost of 1360 Microsoft Points, or $16.99 in cash, when the game is released on February 14th.

If for any reason a season pass is not your thing, you can buy every piece individually over Microsoft’s or Sony’s marketplaces. The pricing gets a little confusing, so to keep it simple I copied and pasted that info directly from the THQ press release we got. Here’s how that DLC will breaks down:

Fighter Packs

• Fight of the Night Pack
o Featuring UFC fighters renowned for having the most exciting fights of the night – Joe Lauzon, Rory MacDonald, Charles Oliveira and Sam Stout, along with former UFC fighter Anthony Johnson – the Fight of the Night Pack will be available for a suggested purchase cost of 400 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360 or $4.99 USD via PlayStation Network in March 2012.

• International Pack
o Featuring UFC fighters “The Korean Zombie” Jung Chan-Sung, England’s John Hathaway, Germany’s Pascal Kraus, Australia’s Kyle Noke and Italian Alessio Sakara, the International Pack will be available for a suggested purchase cost of 400 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360 or $4.99 USD via PlayStation Network in April 2012.

Ultimate Fights Collections

• Ultimate Submissions
o The Ultimate Submissions collection, currently scheduled for release at launch and available free of charge on both videogame platforms, will include:
 UFC 109: Mike Swick vs. Paulo Thiago
 UFC 115: Mirko Cro Cop vs. Pat Barry
 UFC 116: Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin
 UFC Fight Night 19: Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard
 UFC Fight Night 21: Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi

• Ultimate Rivals
o The Ultimate Rivals collection, currently scheduled for release at launch and available free of charge on both videogame platforms, will include:
 UFC 92: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva
 UFC 111: Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy
 UFC 114: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Rashad Evans
 UFC 117: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
 The Ultimate Fighter® Season 9: Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida

• Ultimate Upsets
o The Ultimate Upsets collection, currently scheduled for release in March 2012 at a suggested purchase cost of 400 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360 or $4.99 USD via PlayStation Network, will include:
 UFC 92: Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
 UFC 109: Chael Sonnen vs. Nate Marquardt
 UFC 112: Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn
 UFC 116: Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
 UFC 121: Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar

• Mixed Bag
o The Mixed Bag collection, currently scheduled for release in April 2012 at a suggested purchase cost of 400 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360 or $4.99 USD via PlayStation Network, will include:
 Best of PRIDE® – Final Conflict 2003: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Mirko Cro Cop
 Submissions – UFC 125: Takanori Gomi vs. Clay Guida
 Upsets – UFC 110: Joe Stevenson vs. George Sotiropoulos
 Rivals – UFC 124: Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle
 Knockouts – UFC 120: Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit

UFC Heavyweight Championship contender Alistair Overeem can also be added to your copy of the game by doing some social media stuff on the UFC Undisputed Facebook page. However, if you hate Facebook, you’ll also be able to purchase the same virtual Overeem for a dollar in cash or 80 Microsoft points at some point in March 2012.