A bit more news on the much anticipated Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it looks like the fuzzzy blue hedgehog, Sonic, we have grown to love over the years will make an appearance. I wonder what kind of moves he will get and if this means we can also expect possibly Tails and Knuckles? I think next character they should add in is everyone’s own Loot Ninja, what do you think?

From the official press release:

SEGA’s gaming legend Sonic The Hedgehog to feature in Super Smash Bros Brawl for Wii

10th October, 2007- Nintendo of Europe and SEGA Europe Ltd today revealed that Sonic, SEGA’s legendary blue hedgehog, will be making his debut in the eagerly anticipated beat ‘em up, Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii. This brawling, battling, action packed video game features a varied roster of characters, from Mario to Link to Zero Suite Samus and now players can choose the iconic hedgehog to go into battle with.
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So of course with all the Halo 3 related news the good old big apple would not be outdone so they had a huge event at Best Buy for the Midnight Launch of Halo 3, complete with guys dressed up as marines riding around on quad bikes. The crowd was ridiculous as they awaited the arrival of Halo 3 as if the New Year were being rung in. There was even a pretty convincing looking Master Chief walking around, I wonder how much that would cost for Halloween? All and all a huge success in NYC.

Hit the jump for some more pics.
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Want to play Bioshock the second it comes out and not leave your house… well now you can. Bioshock will be available on Steam for download on August 21 and can actually be pre-ordered now.

Click the link below for more information on the game and system minimum requirements.

Check it out here.

In the latest v3.50 firmware update for the PSP, Sony unlocked the full speed of the CPU to run at 333mhz. However, this comes at a price.

Beyond3D got the 411 on the speed increase. The only way to use the full speed is to have the WiFi disabled, which means games with network play can’t take advantage of the increased power.

This has in fact some consequences for PSP game development. Game titles with network play could effectively be either limited to using 222MHz only during single player mode, or to using a downgraded engine and assets for multiplayer mode, which could complicate the development process. Meanwhile single player-only titles like God of War can take full advantage of the speed boost.

So it seems the boost in speed is only going to affect single player only titles for the handheld. Bummer.

Capcom announced today that they are releasing a new patch as well as new multiplayer maps for Lost Planet on the PC. The new DX enhancement for Lost Planet PC will be released as an automatic download on August 16 and will utilize Geometry Shaders to improve the overall visual quality through beter depth of field effects and improve motion blurring.

This update will also provide the PC users with basic chatting functions such as 4 default message options to communicate with others in lobbies.

In addition, PC Map Pack #2 will be available for free download on the August 16 and includes the following four maps: “Battleground,” an abandoned town scattered with rubble from ruined buildings, featuring indoor/outdoor areas with multi-level vantage points; “Lost Technology,” a throw-back to the good ol’ days of pixelated 8-bit gaming, “Ruins,” ancient temples set amidst a lush jungle; and “Ice Drop,” a frigid glacier with lots of peaks, nooks and crannies. The total file size for PC Map Pack #2 will be 400 Mb.

As for the Xbox 360 community of Lost Planet fans. The “Lost Technology,” “Ruins,” and “Ice Drop” maps in PC Map Pack #2 are currently available as Map Pack #3 in the Xbox 360 version of Lost Planet. In conjunction with the PC update on August 16 th, all these maps will also be made available for free download on Xbox Live Marketplace . A new patch addressing connectivity for players of the Xbox 360 version will be available in the next few weeks.

That is a lot of news from the folks over at Capcom, check it out.

So it looks like Nintendo has decided to give it’s Wii users a new update that looks to spruce up a few different things on the console. Some facelifts were given to the general page, which include a digital clock and now you can see the current weather without having to actually go into the channel. Aside from prettiness Nintendo also re-designed the Wii Shopping channel to make it more user friendly and also is addressing the whole modding scene.

You will get a Mod Chip Warning!

To me the best part of the update is Nintendo thumbing their nose at all the modders out in the world. You will be greeted by this message “IMPORTANT: If you do not wish to accept this upgrade you can shut down your Wii console … If your Wii console has an unauthorized technical modification, this upgrade could cause inoperability of your console.” And of course by “may” you know they mean it will wreck your modded system, well played Reggie. Nintendo is not taking modding lightly and looks to be incorporating “fixes” to dissuade people form modding, don’t be surprised to see SONY and MS follow suit as well with their own “system updates”.

Here is the official list of all the different changes:
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Rage will be the latest software title coming from iD who gave us a little title called Quake and the mind behind the game will be headed by John Carmack who help bring us another small game called Doom. Gameindustrybiz reports that they have also added a second dev team consisting of about 20 or so people to work and finish the title. What consoles will be included in this are not yet clear, but expect tons of content from us here at Loot Ninja to keep you updated.

Nintendo issued a press release today coming out in support of the recent raids in the US on modders, which we reported earlier today.

“Nintendo and its developers and publishers lost an estimated $762 million in sales in 2006 due to piracy of its products,” said Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America’s senior director of anti-piracy. “Nintendo’s anti-piracy team works closely with law enforcement officials worldwide to seize mod chips and counterfeit software. Since April, Nintendo has seized more than 91,000 counterfeit Wii discs globally.”

Like I said in the comments of that story, I agree with the goverment raids here. Software piracy hinders future development in the industry.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a press release like this from Sony in the near future. We’ve already heard reports that Microsoft is happy about the raids.

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If you are considering buying a modded system or even worse selling one, you may want to cease and desist according to a report from msnbc.com. More than 30 businesses and homes were raided by federal agents to put the exclamation on a year long probe into gaming. While the legality to mod your own system is in a bit of a gray area, it is very illegal to copy games that are not your own and even more illegal to sell the games on a modded system. Its sort of like owning a paintball gun. You can legally have it, but unless you are playing paintball on a designated range, chances are you are breaking the law. Owning a mod chip does not automatically make you guilty, but common sense would tell a reasonable mind that you are trying to subvert some copyright law and thats where they get you. There have also been reports of Xbox Live Memberships being revoked because of the detection of modded hardware and software. While the report does not go into much if any detail on how the accused were caught, it is safe to say there was a sting on the sale and purchase of these systems.

I am usually not one to side with the government on some very stringent copyright laws, I have to say I do agree with this course of action. Video games cost a lot of money as you all well know and modded software can either drive the price up or create the ability to cheat on Live play and that is just not acceptable. Notice the systems targeted, PS2, PS3, Wii, and Xbox360 are all still alive and kicking. When a system becomes defunct, it usually gives some leeway, but then again, do you really want an agent breaking down your door because you had to play NFL2K2? I guess the lesson here is that it does not matter how good you are of a computer designer/engineer/scientist, the Feds will remain several steps ahead.

Just received word from Sony that we’ve been invited to a Live Chat with the Development Team on God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP.

The live chat takes place this Friday night. I’ll be sure to report back on everything that goes on and any news that comes up surrounding the coveted PSP title.

If you, our loyal readers, have any questions you’d like passed on the development team, let us know in the comments.