Godfather of gaming, Shigeru Miyamoto has recently confirmed that Nintendo is working on some new hardware.

Speaking at the Annual Japan Media Arts Festival, Miyamoto revealed the company was working on something new, though no specifics mere mentioned. Miyamoto also mentioned he himself is working on a new motion-based game that will use the Wii Motion Plus.

There have been rumours speculating new Wii hardware for a while now, and the words “Wii HD” have been thrown around a lot. Satoru Iwata also suggested a motion sensing DS not too long ago.

Anybody want to guess what it could be?

I dunno about my fellow writers here at The Gaming Vault, but I am definitely excited about Funcom’s new MMO The Secret WOrld, which combines real world history with myths, urban legends and pop culture into a new and “exciting universe”.

So far we’ve seen two trailers and some screenshots, but actual in-game footage hadn’t surfaced until this week. This isn’t gameplay footage, but it does show off the game’s in-game graphics.

The trailer introduces us to the small town of Kingsmouth, which should sound familiar to those who like H.P. Lovecraft. Not to mention the fact that a streetsign appears to read “Lovekraft lane”. The black and white footage shows off the town post-destruction, with a narrator explaining what happened. How it fits into the overall story remains to be seen.

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With access to the Heavy Rain demo coming to us earlier than expected, this gamer took it upon himself to download it as soon as he had the chance. My personal conclusion? It works, and it works far better than many cynical gamers thus far have been willing to believe it could.

The demo gives you three different segments to play through; a tutorial to guide you through the basic controls, an action heavy scene set in an run-down apartment block, and the crime scene of a murder committed by the Origami Killer, the character at the centre of Heavy Rain’s dramatic story-line.

The first part of the demo, the tutorial, begins with retired detective Scott Shelby making his way down a rain soaked alley, on his way to question someone in regards to their sons death at the hands of the Original Killer. Why he couldn’t just park his car in front of the apartment itself is never mentioned, but that’s a question for another time. For now, lets focus on the gameplay.

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You betcha! Phoenix Wright: Justice For All is coming to the Wii…and sooner than expected!

Before now, the game was set to have a release date in March, but thanks to a wizard and magic therein, you can now expect it in the WiiWare store this month!

Personally, I think it’s great news when games get release bumps when all you see are games getting pushed back.

Catch Justice For All in the WiiWare store for 1000 Wii Points ($10) on February 15th! Grab it especially if you missed out on the DS. The first game, Ace Attorney, is already available through the WiiWare store.

Perfect Dark is one of my all time favourite shooters, just behind BioShock and GoldenEye for the N64. Rare is currently working on an enhanced version of the game to be released on Xbox Live.

Rare announced that Perfect Dark will be playable at Microsoft X10 next week. This comes courtesy of the company’s twitter feed.

“In Perfect Dark XBLA news: the game will be playable at the X10 event next week, widespread coverage to ensue. Have some of that! #X10Xbox”

The new Perfect Dark will feature remastered visuals and 60 fps framerate. As you can see by the image Rare released with the tweet, people will still look fugly, but not as fugly as they did on the N64. read the entry »

It’s official. A Platinum Games title is popular. It almost sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

After trying (and failing) with titles like Okami and Madworld, Platinum Games has finally managed to create a title that sells. And can you really blame them? Bayonetta is fucking awesome, and the general public seems to think so too.

Bayonetta has sold 1,100,000 unites worldwide on both platforms, but it’s far from SEGA’s most popular franchise. That status goes to Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, with 5,670,000 copies sold on the Wii and DS.

Still, good on Platinum for finally making it, though it makes me worried about the future of the Wii.

I’m not a big fan of Twitter, but if it’s one thing that particular online service is good at, it’s creating a buzz around particular games or companies.

Aumeric Evennou, the Community Developer at Ubisoft has tweeted about a “thrilling new project” he’s working on with Community Developer Kimi Matsuzaki.

He continues to tease in a second tweet, stating: “I’d only say : “Big announcement coming up next week.” and I mean BIG!”

What could it be? Neither of us have any idea, unfortunately, but the title might possibly be revealed at Microsoft’s X10 event. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Remember the Xbox?

No, not the current one that dies if its out in the sun too long, the old bulky giant that kick-started Microsoft’s entrance into the console market. Remember how it was online enabled and everybody loved playing Halo 2 online as if it was the second coming?

It’s time to say your goodbyes and final farewells, as Major Nelson announced today that Xbox Live and online titles on the original Xbox will finally shut down on April 15th.

“We did not make this decision lightly, but after careful consideration and review we realize that this decision will allow us unprecedented flexibility for future features,” Nelson explained in regards to the closing of the service.

Rest in peace, you big hunk of metal you.

Harmonix has announced that Megadeth’s 1990 album “Rust In Peace” will be available as downloadable content for Rock Band and Rock Band 2 come February 9th for the 360 and February 11th for the PS3 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the thrash metal masterpiece.

Megadeth mastermind Dave Mustaine had this to say about the upcoming release: “This record is one of my favorites from my catalogue, and you will see the twists and turns that make Rust In Peace the quintessential Thrashterpiece that it is!”

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The Alien vs Predator demo is now available on the PlayStation Network, XBox Live and Steam for PC. Pick your platform and try it out!

Full release for all platforms due out February 16th, 2010.

Fallout New Vegas, which was announced nearly a year ago but which we’ve received absolutely no information on since, has just been confirmed for a release this autumn.

Bethesda, being the generous folks that they are, have provided a trailer to go along with the announcement.

The new Fallout tittle is being developed by Obsidian Entertainment, who were involved with the creation first two Fallout game, a fact that is likely to please many long time fans.

Now, if you’ll excuse me… Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own…

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The real title of SEGA’s Project Needlemouse was revealed this morning, and is now officially Sonic the Hedgehog 4. This is the first true sequel in series in over 15 years. This was announced through SEGA America’s blog

Sonic 4 will be digitally released in episodes, the first episode due this summer. The game will be in 2D with 3D graphics, meaning we’re finally getting a side-scrolling Sonic the Hedgehog game on consoles.

They listened! They really, really listened! We are excited! Check the trailer after the cut.

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Well, Team Teamwork has done it again. The creative mind that brought you The Ocarina of Rhyme has graced our ears with Vinyl Fantasy VII.

If you’re unfamiliar with either creation, what Team Teamwork does is take a game’s soundtrack, toss in some ridiculously fresh beats from famous rap and hip-hop artists and make something that’s, at the very least, fun to listen to.

Familiar names like Jay-Z, Outkast, MF DOOM, and Ghostface Killah grace the lineup of rhyme spitters.

Unfortunately, Team Teamwork’s Bandcamp page received a cease and desist notification for using copyrighted material, but you can still keep updated on current projects via the Team Teamwork Tumblr. You can also listen to other mash-ups on the official MySpace page.

Happy listening!

THQ has been able to ship a good 1.2 million copies of Darksiders during the first four weeks after the game’s release.

At least, that’s what THQ told us via a press release. Said article also stated THQ itself has been able to make a good $356.7 million in net sales.

Being a new IP, you could say shipping 1.2 million copies is a pretty decent success for both THQ and developer Vigil Games. Shipping a lot of titles doesn’t automatically mean they’re close to selling just as much though, so let’s try and keep things in perspective.

THQ also mentioned we’ll be seeing both Metro 2033 and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 – Chaos Rising before the end of the current fiscal year. Both games were already confirmed for a March release, but hey, we’ve seen enough games get postponed in the past few months.

Details on the upcoming Legend of Zelda Wii title are still scarce, but we’re slowly and steadily getting more and more information.

In a recent interview with Famitsu Magazine, Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma said that the game would be Wii Motion Plus exclusive.

“After actually making it compatible,” said Aonuma, “it just feels so natural. Link’s sword and the controller that you’re holding become one.”

Aonuma also mentioned that he hoped to be able to show off the game in a playable state at E3, and that the Zelda team is hard at work on finishing the game, but no spesific release date was given.

“We’ll work hard in order to get you playing it as soon as possible. We’ve progressed in development since last year,” said Aonuma. “At present, the core areas have come into clear view.”

Games retailer EB Games is doing what it can to push for an R 18+ classification for video games in Australia, recently launching an online and in-store petition.

As of February 2nd, Australian gamers could visit any of the 350 EB Games stores across the country or head to the official EB Games website to sign.

A recently set up online poll asked gamers if they support an R 18+ rating, and over 50,000 people responded in a matter of 10 days. 84% of these stated “Yes, it’s time for change!”

“Our customers have sent us a message loud and clear that this is an issue that needs to be addressed and we only get one shot at this. Once this Government paper is closed, it could be many years before we get another chance to voice our opinion on this issue. The time to be heard is now,” EB Games Managing Director Steve Wilson stated.

“This is not a call for violent video games,” he continued, “but rather a call for a better classification system that brings Australia in line with the rest of the world and other Australian entertainment industries, such as films.”

BioShock 2 is launching worldwide next Tuesday, so it’s only fitting that a brand spankin’ new trailer is getting released.

And it looks awesome!

We’ll let the video do the talking and leave you with it.

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It seems to me that a lot of gamers, not to mention game journalists, have gotten it into their heads that our chosen form of recreation won’t be taken seriously unless we recognise a landmark achievement within the history of gaming; the video game equivalent to Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane.

Being both a film student and a gamer this is a concept that really speaks to me, but before I go into the basic gist of things I’d like to take a moment to explain what I mean by the Citizen Kane of video games.

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In the mid-to-late ‘90’s, the PC gaming market almost seemed like a sort of secret society, offering a consistent level of thrills for quick-learning gamers who knew how to use their PCs for more than just The Oregon Trail. First Person Shooters were all the rage back then, adding fast-paced action, copious violence, and the occasional bits of profanity and nudity that made committed computer players feel truly rewarded.

Eventually, videogame consoles would catch up to the PC market with 3D visuals and “edgier” releases, and it was during the turn of the century that Serious Sam was released, almost as a send-off to the FPS days of yesteryear.

Fast forward to today, where the team behind Sam’s previous adventures brings back their classic for a console and PC re-release. Not content with merely porting the game at a budget price, developer Croteam has given the original game a serious HD makeover, appropriately titled Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter. But does the untouched gameplay still remain fresh in a time of an overabundant FPS market?

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BioWare has long been, in this journalist’s humble opinion, one of the masters of video game storytelling. Whether it’s in a futuristic sci-fi setting, a Tolkienesque fantasy world or a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the boys at BioWare know how to tell an engaging story. But the best is yet to come, says BioWare’s co-boss Dr. Ray Muzyka

In an interview with CVG, Muzyka said the developer is up to the challenge of topping its recent title Mass Effect 2, which has received universal acclaim from various gaming outlets.

“The way we approach it is that each game has to be better than the last one,” said Muzyka in the interview. “That’s always been true for the last 20 years we’ve been doing this, that’s just what we do. It’s kind of in our culture now.

“I think the team finds it reassuring that you’ve done something good, you’ve got great sales, great critical success, but they’re driven by making the next thing even better. That’s what drives me.”