 Yes, you did not misread that headline. Rumor has it that the developer of Oni and Myth, Bungie, is leaving Microsoft.
The rumor originated on a website I've never heard of named 8Bit Joystick.com. Today, Jake from that site posted that a friend of his who has a friend that works at Bungie told him that they are leaving Microsoft. Not exactly the greatest source in the world, but it sounds very plausible...
This "friend of a friend" stated that the split would have been announced today, but MS didn't want it to affect their 3rd quarter earnings, so it will be announced on the 6th of this month. However, the non disclosure agreement was lifted today.
Here is the email as quoted on 8Bit Joystick.com...
"So heres my big secret. You should google Bungie + Microsoft + separation this week.
You know that big ol BILLION dollar franchise Bungie has created for Microsoft, to show their appreciate Microsoft is letting Bungie leave. Of course Microsoft gets to keep all rights to the Halo franchise, but as today Bungie no longer part of Microsoft. Ask anyone who works there to search the global address book, they're no longer in there. Microsoft was supposed to release the press release today but if they wait till the 10/6 the impact wont effect the quarterly results. However today is the actual official date and the day the NDAs expire, however you still didn't hear this from me."
"Apparently MS just wants Bungie to make Halo for the rest of their natural days, and Bungie doesn't like how MS is constantly trying to "handle" everything they do; the way they market their games, the way they interact with their fans (basically the fact that they do appreciate their fans), and how stingie they are with the profits (comparable to the rest of the industry). So as of today they are their own independent entity. They'll probably make Halo 4 for Microsoft, however hey are also free to create new intellectual properties for whatever system they want. (Even though they prefer the xbox platform)"
"What a way to say thank you."
I certainly wouldn't be surprised if this rumor was true, because if you were a game company, would you want to stick to making one game forever and ever? I think not. And from Microsoft's point of view, this makes sense because they could make money off of selling Bungie, while still retaining the Halo license. That way, they can license the work on the Halo franchise out to other companies that would require less money to make it, and MS would still sell the same amount of copies since Halo is a big name. All the while, Bungie goes off on their own and makes games that Microsoft would never allow them to do. All parties are happy.
In response to these rumors, game blog Kotaku contacted Bungie, who redirected them to Microsoft's PR Firm who in response said "There's been no such announcement. We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3."
Is it true? Keep it on Channel 3 for the latest...
UPDATE:
The originator of the rumor is sticking to his word:
http://www.8bitjoystick.c...up_and_thats_my_story.php
Locks are being changes at Bungie's headquarters...
This is getting jucier...
[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/204325269947003e9e076a6141427082v7_240x240_Front_Color-BlackWhite.jpg[/img]
RF Generation is a community of gamers, collectors, and generally good people that make this place truly special. With this site though there are costs associated with it, whether it is domain registration fees, server costs, contingency budgets, or contests. Well, these costs add up, and for poor college kids such as myself it is a cost that we would love to be shared amongst the community. As such, today we start the 2007 "keep the site running" donation drive.
Any donation made during this drive will be used solely for server costs and contingencies. Over the past year, we've seen readership grow immensely, and we want to make sure that we have the funds available to ensure that the server and site are always running properly. With your help, we'll have the funds to keep the site going for another year. This year, we are looking for a goal of $500 to be raised.
The question then arises - what is the incentive for donating? Well, don't you love the site? Wouldn't you hate it if it disappeared? Well, while the site will never disappear, you certainly would make the poor college kids (and Scott) happy if you helped defray the costs of running the site. Additionally, there are perks. Anyone who donates money this year will get to be given donor status, which let's everyone know that they helped to keep the site running. Additionally, we have something new this year for donors - freebies! If you donate $20, you will get RF Generation Logo Magnet, and if you donate $50, a cool RF Generation ringer T is yours to keep! That's our way of saying thanks for donating! Please note that to get your shirt or magnet you will have to provide an address to us via PM, and while we're pretty sure we can deliver our merchandise anywhere, we can't guarantee it. If we find out that you live somewhere where we can't deliver the shirt we'll make every effort to make things right, including having the shirt delivered to our house and then out via UPS, DHL, or Fed-ex rather than having it shipped directly from the manufacturer.
To donate, click the donate button located in the navigation area of our forum, or click here. We certainly appreciate any donation that is made, and with your help, we'll reach our goal. Thank you!
 The rumored 40GB, $399, model of the Playstation 3 bundled with Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray is looking more and more likely. First, there's the rumor that Sony is turning to FoxConn to help make the new model. Then there's the picture of the label of the new model from the FCC website with the new model number of CECHG01. Now, the latest proof of the new PS3 model is on the Blu-ray Savings website. The new program lists a new PS3 model, CECHG01, which is the same one seen on the FCC website. Now, if you know your PS3 models, you'll know that CECHG01 does not match any current model. CECHA01 is the 60GB model, CECHE01/98137 is the 80GB+Motorstorm model, and CECHB01 is the discontinued 20GB model.
Is CECHG01 the new $399 40GB model? All signs point to yes. Now all that's left is for Sony to step forward and confirm it.
 According to Kotaku, an internal Gamestop email has been sent out requesting that all stores take down current signs and promotional material for the Xbox 360 Core model, because once the current stock is sold out, there won't be any more. In other words, the Xbox 360 Core is being discontinued.
Why would MS be eliminating the Core model (other than the obvious fact that it's a horrible deal)? To replace it with a new rumored Core model named Xbox 360 Arcade, which will not include a hard drive, but will include a 256mb memory card, a wireless controller, and 5 Xbox Live Arcade games.
What do I think of this rumor? I say, it's about damn time they get rid of the Core. No one is buying it, and it just makes sense to get rid of it. However, I don't know that replacing it with another model is a good idea either because if people just want casual games, they'll go to Wii or DS, which is where most of the casual games are these days.
[img width=300 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/J-136/bf/J-136-H-00010-A.jpg[/img]Casio of Japan, a successful electronics manufacturer, released their first video game console, the Casio PV-1000 in October of 1983 for 14,8000 yen ($129 USD). Debuting against the likes of the Sega SG-1000 and the Nintendo Famicom, this extremely rare and obscure system rapidly was an afterthought and not to be seen on video game store shelves shortly after its release.
The PV-1000 itself is not unattractive and the housing feels very well constructed utilizing thick, durable plastics. Dark-teal in color and rectangular in shape, the soft, curved molding culminates with the game cartridge tier. The front inputs are simple but elegant - two joystick ports are centered in the front of the unit face. The back features the same no-nonsense approach with the power connection and RF connectors anchoring the far left and right. The power toggle switch is located on the right side and there is a port on the left side of the system that resembles a PC connector of some sort (use unknown to me). Overall, the PV-1000 design is sleek, unobtrusive and modern compared to its counterparts.
[img width=300 align=left]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/J-136/bb/J-136-H-00010-A.jpg[/img]
Powered by a Z80A micro-processor at 3.5Mhz and 2Kb of RAM, this engine was able to display games at a resolution of 256 x 192 pixels in 8 colors. Games were released on cartridges approximately the size of Nintendo Famicom carts. A total of 15 games were released for this system, mostly ports of earlier Casio releases for MSX compatible computers including Pooyan, Amidar, Tutankhamon and Dig-Dug. Overall video quality is comparable to the Colecovision. Game control is driven through a solid joystick featuring one (1) fire button at the top of the it along with a 'start', 'select' and a large auxillary button at it's base (packed in with the system). Casio also produced the PV-2000 in December 1983, which was a computer version of the PV-1000. Both the PV-1000 and PV-2000 joysticks are compatible though the game cartridges are not.
Overall, the Casio PV-1000 was a below average system when it debuted and met its demise quickly. This is an extremely rare item and only recommended for the ultra-serious console collector. This console was released solely in Japan for a short period of time. I do not have a recommendation for price since I have only seen one of these systems once for sale - the one pictured in this review. Be prepared to invest heavily if you do wish to pursue - games are just as scarce and pricey.
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/180407488746fd6a4042c40Rock_band_cover.jpg[/img]
Joystiq is reporting a price point and release date for the Harmonix developed Rock Band. Who wants to take a stab at the price and date? No one? Well then, there it is:
PS3, XBox 360 - November 23, $170
PS2 - December 10, $160
I could have sworn that they said that the prices would be manageable, not nearing the price of a PSP! Holy crap! Certainly my desire to get this game has significantly dropped off, even if it promises me a harem of women I will not be purchasing this game at that price point. What's even more fun is that November 23 is a special day in the US. It would be... Black Friday. Who wants to fight hordes of shoppers for their copy of Rock Band? Certainly not me.
Sorry EA, but you just killed my interest in your Guitar Hero killer.
Ed: It should be noted that this price is for the Rock Band Bundle. The game is still listed to be $59.99 for the PS3/360 and drums / guitar look to be $80.
[Read on Joystiq]
HALO an objective analysis.
Now that Halo 3 has been out for exactly 17 minutes and we've already seen the epic simultaneous ejaculation of approximately 45692984u51 people who have never played a FPS with a mouse before, I thought a completely objective analysis of the series was in order.
But then I realized I'm incapable of being anything close to objective. So here's my dismissive and sardonic overview of the Halo series brimming with witty cynicism.
For a long time, Halo was the only good game on XBOX that wasn't also on PS2 or Gamecube or NES. Then Halo 2 came out and there were TWO good games on XBOX. Of course, this caused a dilemma for people like me who worked in the video game retail business at the time. People couldn't figure out how to put Halo 2 in the system. I had to explain to droves of fatasses, ages 14-29, that the XBOX has a “disc drive” in which you can place other games.
Sadly, I was unable to help the guy who glued the Halo disc into his system. He just kept saying “that part fell out once” over and over. Poor guy.
As it turned out, Halo 2 was actually somewhat inferior to Halo. I'm not sure why, because I never got to play it. Microsoft never ported it to PC, except as a reward for buying their shitty new operating system that people hate even more than their shitty old operating system. They did this for two reasons; A) They need to suck people into their next POSOP (Piece Of Shit Operating System) somehow, and B) Because the first Halo was a massive commercial failure on PC.
Why was Halo PC a massive commercial failure? It's simple. When you take the smartest kid in the retarded class and put him in with normal kids, he looks pretty dumb. What's that Halo? You can wipe yourself? That's my big boy! You're a superstar!
PC gaming is that normal class. Console gaming is kind of like the retarded class, but more ghetto and less intelligent. It's sort of like one of Cincinnati's inner-city schools. It's full of low-income minorities who do crystal meth and leave used condoms on the sidewalk. Halo can easily rocket to the top of the class there.
Half Life 2, stop showing your wee wee to the other boys!
In the world of PC first person shooters, where it's actually possible to do moderately important things like aim your gun, Halo is still the kid at the back of the room who just shit himself. Seriously, what is up with a game where the pistol is a better weapon than the assault rifle? It even has a longer range. What genius made that giant leap of logical ability?
So, its flaws and the PC port whose mother wishes she had an abortion aside, Halo is still a great console game with cool monsters, a sweet sci-fi story and amazingly creative level design.
So, its flaws and the PC port whose mother wishes she had an abortion aside, Halo is still a great console game with cool monsters, a sweet sci-fi story and amazingly creative level design.
So, its flaws and the PC port whose mother wishes she had an abortion aside, Halo is still a great console game with cool monsters, a sweet sci-fi story and amazingly creative level design.
So, its flaws and the PC port whose mother wishes she had an abortion aside, Halo is still a great console game with cool monsters, a sweet sci-fi story and amazingly creative level design.
So, its flaws and the PC port whose mother wishes she had an abortion aside, Halo is still a great console game with cool monsters, a sweet sci-fi story and amazingly creative level design.
Oh, oops. Did I just cut and past the same bland comment about Halo's level designs five times over again? Ah, the irony.
Then, of course, after you run through five or six of the most repetitive levels ever designed, you have to deal with the stock FPS zombie parasite monsters. This is getting ridiculous. These things are everywhere. Doom, Half-Life, Quake; it seems like every FPS on the planet has to try and surprise you with some kind of recycled parasitic monster zombie creatures. I was happy with the covenant. Those guys had personality. Then the Flood came out of nowhere and I realized more than ever I was just playing a Doom clone.
Ultimately, Halo sold so many copies that I ended up with two, and I don't even have an XBOX. Halo 2 sold more. Halo 3 will probably not sell so many. Why? It's on 360. There just aren't enough systems out there to pull the kind of numbers the first two managed, unless people buy extra copies for their summer homes (wink wink, Atari historians).
Since the ending has leaked on Youtube, my prediction is that Halo 3 will flop. People only play first person shooters for the storyline, and now we've already seen how it ends. For the record, (and this is safe to talk about now because the game has been out for 20 minutes already) the ending blows hard. It's like a four hour funeral sequence for the Master Chief. There isn't much else to it. That's pretty gay. It just lacks the kind of subtle character exposition of games like Unreal Tournament and Counterstrike.
Speaking of the Halo 3 release, where are Peter Moore's sweet tats for this one? I thought of a great place he could ink another ringworld logo.
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Posted on Sep 24th 2007 at 07:52:38 PM by ( Mezmoron) Posted under Site News, Amplitude, Elite Beat Agents, PS3 Bluetooth Headset, Tretiy, Playstation 2, PS2, Playstation 3, PS3, Nintendo DS, NDS |
[img width=200 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-072/bf/U-072-S-00070-A.jpg[/img]
This week we are taking a look at the Music and Rhythm genre. Our featured game for the week is Amplitude for the Playstation 2. This is a very unique game that has a ton of replay value. You are basically a DJ that takes the layers of songs (Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums, etc.) and puts them together to make the track. It is a fast paced game that relys on your musical ear and rhythm.
The image that we are featuring is from the Nintendo DS game, Elite Beat Agents. This is undoubtedly one of the best Nintendo DS games to date. It is basically like DDR in your hands! Don't believe me? Try it!
Our featured hardware is the Playstation 3 Bluetooth headset. This little product retails for a modest $49.99 and will also work with any cell phone out there that is Bluetooth compatible. This is obviously used for online communications. Now sure, your current bluetooth headset will work with the PS3, but the red and black colors really set this one apart.
The collection that we are featuring is from Tretiy. Now, he may have a small collection, but he has goals, which I like. Take a look at his collection page to see what he has in mind for the future. I think it's great that he has found a home here!
Well, that's it folks. Until next week, keep it tuned in to channel 3 here at RFG!
 This weekend, the biggest battle in gaming wasn't in stores, it was on the race track at Dover International Speedway for the Dodge Dealers 400, which is part of the NASCAR Nextel Cup series. The battle pitted David Stremme, driving the #40 Halo 3 car, and Greg Biffle, driving the #16 Nintendo Wii car. The results of the race are as follows.
Greg Biffle and the Wii Ford Fusion took home 2nd place, beat out by Carl Edwards. However, Carl's car failed the post race inspection, which could result in a penalty for him. As far as David Stremme and the Halo 3 Dodge Avenger is concerned, well, heh, it got a real life "Red Ring Of Death." The engine in the Avenger blew up, which took him out of the race.
Could this be foreshadowing for the future? Wii takes 2nd place while 360 just RRODs itself to death? Where was the PS3 car?! Could they not find any drivers for it? Who knows...
All I know is that I really don't give a crap about NASCAR.
(Image credit: Kotaku.com)
Deep within the depths of this site, we hid a page that perhaps some of you are not aware of. This page possibly has some things of interest for you... it is our promote page.
Why might this page interest you? Well, we know that you all really love RF Generation. Some of you practically live here (I am looking at you Scott). Well, why not express your love elsewhere! Want a promotional banner of microbar to use? We got plenty of them that you can use! You might even find some personalized content made just for you, provided that you are a member with a collection.
[img width=468 height=60]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/banners/generated/collection/den68.png[/img]
So, check out our promote page. You'll find some cool things there. Perhaps if you are not into the images you can still help to make the site known. Word of mouth works miracles, and without this word of mouth we'd be a really small site with a tiny community. But, you guys have all done a wonderful job promoting the site, and we hope that you keep it up. Tell your friends, and we hope that you'll keep it tuned to channel 3.
 Capcom has premiered the English language trailer of the fourth installment in its wildly popular Gyakuten Saiban series, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. There is no slated North American release date, but this trailer makes me hopeful for one, as it was already released in Japan earlier this year.
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is the first game in which Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey are not the lead characters. Replacing them are Apollo Justice (a guy with two tall spikes in his hair that seem to always stay in place, gotta love anime physics), and "Mysterious Magician" Trucy.
Also, a reminder for all you Phoenix Wright fans, the third installment in the series, Trials and Tribulations, hits Nintendo DS here in America on October 23rd. I know I'll be the first one to buy it.
Continue reading OBJECTION! Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trailer From TGS 07
 This weeks features look back at the days of the DOS game.
No mouse, and only armed with your keyboard, you had more control over your environments. Text adventures gave little to no instruction to navigate, leaving it up to you to figure out where to go. With small and expensive hard drives, reliance on floppy disks was important. Interplay's 10 Year Anthology is a compilation of a number of these types of games, and is a good sample of what to expect of games from this era. The high difficulty of some of these games can be frustrating at times, but looking back at them allows you to appreciate the advances that have been made in Western RPGs and adventure storytelling.
The Amiga CD32 is the featured hardware for the week. It is known as the first 32-bit CD-Rom based console released in western countries. With the ability to add a mouse, keyboard, and floppy drive, the Amiga CD32 feels more similar to a personal computer than console. Unfortunately, it didn't last long as Commodore filed for bankruptcy nearly a year after release.
The featured collection for the week belongs to TheBoss. He has several sharp pictures of his PC and Amiga CD collections; which are certainly not the easiest to collect for.
The featured image for the week is from the fantasy adventure game, Loom. Back in the day Lucasfilm's game studio (later to become LucasArts) actually made some memorable adventure games. Loom is noteable as the world's first fully voiced adventure game, and a decent copies have been known to fetch a pretty penny in online auctions.
 In a completely expected turn of events, someone has posted the full ending cinematic of Halo 3 on YouTube.
The leak will no doubtedly raise the ire of Halo fans, Microsoft and Bungie. However, it will make the next week very fun for internet trolls and people wanting to ruin the ending.
So, before I go all spoilery after the break let me just say this:
DO NOT LOG ON TO THE INTERNET FOR THE NEXT WEEK HALO FANS! You'll get the story ruined. 
Now for those of you who would like to help spread the word, hit the jump. 
Continue reading SPOILERS ABOUND: Halo 3 Ending Leaked Online!
[img width=250 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/125525993946e8d52450f76Xbox-mini.jpg[/img]In 2001, Microsoft took their first steps into console video gaming with the Xbox. Often criticized as being a PC in a box, the hardware's most noticeable feature is its large size and weight in comparison to consoles from previous generations.
In 2007, two years after Microsoft's cessation of Xbox production, a fellow named ghostravel took it into his own hands to remedy the size issue. A year of toil, and some specialty craftsmanship (laser-cut custom case, reworked power supply, etc.) have earned him impressive results.
Continue reading Honey, I shrunk the Xbox!
Holy crap. Three new announcements that make me glad that I just purchased a 360.
First, Rez and Ikaruga are coming to the Xbox Live Arcade. Both of these are easily worth the $10 entrance fee. Both are still rather expensive here on their respective consoles, so being able to play them at a reduced rate is just sweet.
Next, one of the most exciting announcements that I've heard in a while...
Ninja Gaiden 2
[img width=320 height=202]http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z275/JWKobayashi/ninja_gaiden_2-1.jpg[/img]
Finally! I've been waiting for this one for a while. There are some questions about the difficulty being reduced, but I say keep it in a "hardcore" type mode. I loved how hard the first Ninja Gaiden on Xbox was.
My wallet is already cringing at the barrage of games coming out at the end of this year and now the beginning of next year.
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