While we belong to the second largest video gaming territory in the world, some publishers and developers treat Indian gamers like crap. Sure we don’t have a consumption rate as high as a lot of other countries and yes, piracy is prevalent, but we’re still a growing market with both the 360 and PS3 making commendable headway in gaining space into people’s living rooms. Though Microsoft and EA usually ensure a release date on par with the rest of the world (in some cases, earlier), other publishers such as Take-Two and now, Konami have decided to give us the proverbial finger. According to  Gaming Indians who are in touch with the distributors for MGS4, the game will see a delay. It seems that that the Konami representative for India is holidaying apparently.

 believe it or not konami’s india rep is on leave….how does a konami employee get leave with MGS4 just around the corner?

And to further add to our woes…

there is no guarantee of when the game is arriving…..although konami is sticking to its earlier promise…..E-xpress’ stand: “The game is still scheduled for June 12, but after GTA4 we’re keeping the date as July 12″

So there you have it folks, we get the shaft. Again.

You gotta hand it to Sony, they’ve got one of the best exclusive titles out this year and a solid winter line-up to boot. It looks like that Sony’s black box of gaming love is just coming into its own after a disastrous launch.

And suddenly without prior warning, two highly awaited titles, Eight Days and The Getaway have been given the shaft due to “the redistribution of resources and budget “. According to Game Industry other titles closer to completion have been given priority.
For those in the know, Eight Days debuted at E3 2006 to much fanfare and had production in full swing. The Getaway was still in early production stages. Just goes to show that things aren’t as awesome as Sony is making it out to be. Is this Sony’s way of going what industry gurus claim to be the end of single-player games or just a pathetic business move? Whatever the case may be, if you’re a PS3 owner or plan to buy one soon, check out the video to see what you’re missing out on.

With the hotly anticipated MGS4 just days away from hitting the stores, reviewers of the game revealed that the publisher, Konami had barred them from speaking about what we already knew. Namely lengthy cut-scenes and a 4.64GB installation. These two things however, seem to be the tip of the iceberg:

 According to two anonymous gaming media sources speaking to MTV Multiplayer, Konami representatives asked print reviewers to omit details concerning the cut-scene length and installation size. Moreover, a recently published MGS4 review on IGN UK says that the concessions were made in exchange for a pre-release review.

“In return for letting us play Metal Gear Solid 4 before its release,” wrote IGN UK editor Dave McCarthy. “Konami issued us with a list of things that we’re not allowed to discuss. This list of prohibited topics is pretty long, and even extends as far as several facts that the company itself has already made public.”

Most of these requests are reasonable such as being asked not to talk about the last two levels of Ninja Gaiden 2, popular gaming magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly has taken offense to the massive barrage of restrictions for MGS4. So much so that they’ve carried a roundtable discussion of the game rather than a regular review.

Is this a sign of things to come or is it just standard industry practices coming to light? Watch this space.

While Xbox 360 owners are going to get a taste of the latest installment in the visceral, tough as hell Ninja Gaiden franchise today, the series creator, Tomonobu Itagaki has other things on his mind.

After stating that Ninja Gaiden 2 would be the last game in the series, he’s announced that he would be leaving Team Ninja, the development team responsible for the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden franchises and suing the company president.

His official statement is as follows:

“I, Tomonobu Itagaki, hereby announce that on the 14th of May 2008 I filed a complaint in the Tokyo District Court against Tecmo Co., Ltd. for unpaid completion bonuses, and against the President of Tecmo, Yoshimi Yasuda, for such unlawful acts as unreasonable and disingenuous statements made towards me, claiming damages in total of 148 million yen. I also announce that this complaint was delivered to the defendants on May 22nd of the same year. In addition, I hereby announce that I have today submitted a letter of resignation to Tecmo Co., Ltd. stating that I will resign as of the 1st of July, 2008.”Before the start of development on Dead or Alive 4, Tecmo Co., Ltd. had agreed to pay a completion bonus to me for this Xbox 360 title, which I produced. However, when the time came for the actual payment, Tecmo Co., Ltd. went against its previous agreement and refused payment. President Yoshimi Yasuda chose not only to violate this agreement, but also turned defiant, telling me ‘if you are dissatisfied with the decision not to pay the bonuses, either quit the company or sue it.’ In addition, he made demeaning remarks about me to my subordinates and colleagues, causing me significant emotional distress and worsening my personal relationships and work environment. Thus, I have no choice but to resign from Tecmo Co., Ltd.

“The conduct of Tecmo Co., Ltd. and its president Yoshimi Yasuda towards me has been unbefitting of a publicly-listed company. I have filed this lawsuit with a strong intent to question the social responsibility of Tecmo Co., Ltd. and its President Yoshimi Yasuda, as well as condemning them for their unjust acts. Today, in addition to announcing the reasons for this lawsuit, I make clear my reasons for resigning.

“To All Game Fans

“I truly feel sorry to all the fans of the games I have made. Ninja Gaiden 2, which will launch on the 3rd of June will be the last Ninja Gaiden I will create. I will also never be able to make Dead or Alive 5. I regret the circumstances that have forced me to leave Tecmo, where I had worked for so many years, and I regret the disappointment this will cause my fans. However, I can no longer continue to work with President Yoshimi Yasuda, a man who chooses not to honor promises even when he is able to do so. I truly hope that nothing like this happens again in the future.”

 Well if anything else, this will make sure Ninja Gaiden 2 is an unqualified success commercially this controversy should ensure that.

While we got the dope that Hideo Kojima’s magnum opus should be bundled with popcorn due to feature film length comparable cut-scenes, it appears that the reviewer at Gamepro knows otherwise:

“I’ve completed the game twice, and am the author of the forthcoming [GamePro] review,” Shuman said. “Ninety-minute-long cinemas in MGS4 sounds like an exaggeration. Like the other MGS games, MGS4 definitely has a cinematic quality. And yes, some of the cut-scenes in the game are elaborate and occasionally lengthy. But not a one, to my recollection, even approaches 90 minutes.”

So there you have it. At least these cut-scenes can be paused and skipped. Essential for those mid-game bathroom breaks.

While the Metal Gear Solid series is known for it’s diabolical, brain strangulating plot, over-the-top, memorable characters and long cut-scenes, the final installment of the series to be directed by Hideo Kojima is set to break a few records and perhaps your patience with 90 minute cut-scenes.

Yes cut-scenes. In plural. As in more than one.

According to CVG:

  The news comes from PSW magazine, who’s been and finished MGS4, and then promptly whispered in our ears about the shocking 90-minute cut-scenes. The latest issue hits newsstands today, by the way.

We were expecting long story sequences (MGS2 approached the 45 minute mark in one) but an hour and a half of cinematics was unexpected.

The good news is that you can now skip or pause the scenes. Hands up though, how many of you are actually going to sit through the full 90 minutes?

“MGS4’s story is massive. The videogame equivalent of all three Godfather movies on one disc,” says the mag.

“As you’d expect, you’ll spend a lot of time watching cut-scenes, so if you found previous games’ story exposition laborious, then you’d better find yourself a nice cushion and plenty of teabags in readiness for MGS4’s.

“They can be skipped, but you’ll be missing out on some of the finely crafted examples of FMV footage anywhere in gaming,” the article boldly proclaims.

Well if the story is as well-crafted as the rest of the games, it isn’t a problem. This is the PS3’s ace in the hole this year after all. Though the 4.64GB installation might be an issue for some (pro-tip: delete the pr0n from your PS3 HDD), for the rest of us, a loading-screen free experience awaits.

It looks like the Xbox 360 is getting a lot of Japanese RPG loving. With Eternal Sonata and Lost Odyssey, two solid J-RPGs already out on the system, Infinite Undiscovery developed by Tri-Ace and published by Square-Enix (you know, just the guys behind Final Fantasy) is slated for a September 2 worldwide release. While Microsoft have been doing stellar things getting games here on time, here’s hoping this is no exception, what with RPGs being the last genre to arrive in a console’s lifespan.

The nice people at Kotaku have a list on what to expect on Sony consoles from Sony’s studios in the near future. While this year started off with a few solid titles for the PS3 such as Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and GTA4 and upcoming stealth ‘em up MGS4, the second half of this year and the beginning of 2009 is going to see the heavy hitters Sony fanboys have been talking about since the console’s launch. The list is as follows:

Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 — PSP (Available June 3, 2008 )

Secret Agent Clank — PSP (Available June 17, 2008 )

Wipeout HD — PSN (Available Summer 2008 )

Elefunk — PSN (Available Summer 2008 )

PixelJunk Eden — PSN (Available Summer 2008 )

SIREN: Blood Curse — PSN (Available Summer 2008 )

SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation — PS3 (Available September 16, 2008 )

LittleBigPlanet — PS3 (Available October 2008 )

NBA 09 — PS3, PSP, PS2 (Available Fall 2008 )

About BUZZ! Quiz TV — PS3 (Available Fall 2008)

BUZZ! Master Quiz — PSP (Available Fall 2008)

MotorStorm Pacific Rift — PS3 (Available Fall 2008)

Resistance 2— PS3 (Available Fall 2008)

Killzone 2 — PS3 (Available February 2009)

Some of the games would be available off the PlayStation Network (such as Siren which will be in the form of episodic content) which hasn’t been officially launched here but dead easy to access if you’re interested. Since Sony is quite efficient with their distribution most of these games would hit Indian shores in a week from the US and European launch dates.

The sheer quantity of titles is astounding and it’s good to see the PS2 getting some love, even if it is in the form of Buzz!. Let’s just hope some of them actually live up to the hype (heres looking at you Little Big Planet).