There have been plenty of stories over the years that Captain Obvious has posted, but I feel this might be his greatest achievement. Yes, the power to state the obvious has been granted to Activison and they've used it with great skill. Hold on to your hats, because here it comes: next year will have more Guitar Hero and Call of Duty games. Activision stated as much during a recent earnings call. We can only imagine that the announcement was followed by a slow clap building into a roaring applause as all the participants realised they were in the presence of the most obvious statement ever.

Also announced in this cavalcade of obvious was a new Spider-Man game and a new Shrek game. The latter of which is most likely based on next year's new Shrek film. We don't know much else at all about any of the games other than their impending release in the next year, but it's pretty clear that the new Call of Duty will move away from WWII and into a new time period with awesome music.

Yesterday, a video trailer for The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings was leaked online, prompting plenty of speculation and rudderless gossip about a followup to the well regarded PC RPG. Realizing that what has been seen cannot be unseen, developer CD Projekt RED has been forced to confirm the sequel.

"Of course, we can’t and won’t try to deny the facts," confirms said Adam Kicinski, CEO of CD Projekt RED. "The movie that appeared on the various sites yesterday presents our newest project, The Witcher 2, which we’ve been working on for some time.

"We made something about half a year ago, to present the first playable version of the game. Currently we are looking for a potential publisher (or publishers) for this title, and this leak is an uncontrolled side effect of that process. For today, we are not commenting on anything that concerns the game itself."

I'm still waiting for my damn console version of the first game, but in the meantime, I wish these chaps all the best in getting a publisher for the sequel. We need more solid RPGs coming out of Europe.

For some reason, GameStop has felt the need to announce that its stores will be holding Madden NFL 10 midnight launch events at more than 3,000 of its U.S. locations this Thursday, August 13. Uh, surprise? 

The retailer is promising "pre-game warm-up challenges" at the events, including playable Madden NFL 10 kiosks, "Ultimate Football Fan" contests, "Tailgate Party Challenges," "End Zone Dance" contests, and in-store tournaments. That's the plan at least.

In all likelihood, it'll be a bunch of hooligans standing in a long line for two hours, with maybe a few whining girlfriend scattered about for good measure. Banter will include uninformed talk about the PlayStation 4, the Xbox 720, baseball salary caps, and how Scarface was an underrated game. Also, someone will mention that they thought 2K Sports' football games were always better, and everyone will start yelling. Also expect poorly a organized trivia contest, and store managers trying to pawn off bags of useless Madden-unrelated-swag they've had sitting around for months to make room for Holiday inventory.

Or, you know, you can just go pick the game up on Friday morning. But if this sounds like your kind of thing, check your local GameStop (or here) to see if it's being forced by GameStop corporate to do a midnight opening.

I want to be jaded and scowl every time Square Enix makes some sort of announcement in regards to Final Fantasy XIII, but I have to be honest with myself: ever since that Japanese demo came out and I got to watch some video of it I've been more or less drooling Pavlovian-style every time I hear the game's name. I know it'll be some time until I can go buy my own copy, but I still keep an eye on what's going on with the Japanese release -- after all, the sooner it comes out there the sooner we get it here, right?

Square's Yoichi Wada recently announced that in a few weeks they ought to be ready to announce the game's Japanese release date. Gosh, that would put that announcement right around Tokyo Game Show time  ... wait, an announcement of the industry's biggest RPG release at TGS? It's too much to even imagine that you would choose that time to announce it, Square!

Anyway, release date coming at TGS time. Since Destructoid will be there, we'll be sure to keep you posted as soon as we hear more details on that. And by "we", I mean "me, panting with excitement".

[Via Kotaku]

Lots of things can raise your blood pressure -- traffic jams, stressful days at work, pictures of mostly naked girls writhing on a bed of cherries. Apparently the latest in this list is videogames, according to a study found over at HealthDay News. Here's what they had to say about the topic (Via GamePolitics):

American and Spanish researchers examined the association between sedentary behavior and blood pressure in 111 boys and girls, 3 to 8 years old. For seven days, the children wore a special device that recorded their activity levels. In addition, their parents reported how much time the youngsters spent watching TV, playing video games, painting, sitting or doing other low-level activities.

The researchers also measured the children's height, weight, fat mass and blood pressure...

"The results of this study showed that TV viewing and screen time were associated with elevated blood pressure independent of body composition in children," the researchers wrote.

So what you're saying is that participating in a form of media that causes children to react will raise their blood pressure? Really? I really don't get these common sense studies, but since they seem to be all the rage I'll keep reading them and wondering when the breaking report that the sun is officially in the sky today is going to hit all the major news outlets.

Here comes some BREAKING news, folks. Get ready for it: a recent study posted on The Hindu reports that playing games on the Nintendo Wii that require physical movement are better for you than games where you simply sit in front of your computer or TV holding a controller. WOW. From the article:

The study found that playing virtual sports such as boxing and tennis on the Nintendo Wii burned more than 50 percent energy than playing sedentary computer games such as the Xbox.

But wait! There's more

Professor David Dunstan, head of the physical activity lab at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, said; "Interactive games could be useful in helping to increase people's level of activity throughout the day."

The only good thing about this insanely obvious research is that it's great to shove in the faces of people who still insist playing video games is bad for you and rots your brain. Otherwise, we kind of knew. Hey, did you know if you get up and walk to the 7-11 down the street, you burn calories? Incredible, isn't it?

 

MTV Multiplayer asked Bungie's Brian Jarrard whether the Master Chief would be making an appearnce in Halo ODST. The answer: No. Duh. ODST takes place on Earth in between the events of Halo 2 and 3. The Chief is off on another Halo in some distant galaxy during this time so obviously he won't be appearing in the upcoming sidestory.

If you are wanting some more Master Chief in your life, then you'll just have to wait for Halo Reach. The Chief, or a bunch of other SPARTAN IIs, should have a starring role in Reach. Seriously, go buy the first Halo book. It's really good.  

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So, yesterday, Captain Obvious and I were kicking it real cool. We played some games and went out for drinks. After half a martini, Obvious was spewing all sorts of hot, insider industry news. He told me that Nintendo will develop another Mario title and that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 would have “guns.” But nothing he told me rivals the bombshell Halo franchise developer, Frank O’Connor, dropped on Game Hunters.

He said, “I doubt we have seen the last of Master Chief.”

Yeah, that’s right. O’Connor spilled the beans. Contrary to no reports, Master Chief will pop up again after Halo Wars and Halo: ODST. This should be exciting news for Halo fans (it was for Captain Obvious, he spit coffee into his receiver when I told him over the phone this morning) as this is a firm indication that Microsoft, or whomever handles the property in non-digital form, will continue pumping out Chief products.

[via Joystiq]

In a brilliant flash of almost Nostradamus-like insight, Famitsu Editor-in-Chief Hirokazu Hamamura has come out and announced that he believes that the upcoming Dragon Quest IX will sell faster than copies of Twilight (yes, it's sickening, but someone is buying that book). More from his comments:

"March [DQIX's launch month] will be bigger than the year-end sales war. Even side-stories (such as Dragon Quest Monsters) have sold a million copies, and the previous title in the series (DQVIII) sold 3 million plus. It [DQIX] should be expected to sell from 4 million to 5 million copies." 

I appreciate mr. Hamamura's expertise, I do, but saying that Dragon Quest is going to sell in Japan is kind of like saying Monster Hunter is going to sell in Japan -- it's kind of obvious, isn't it? At any rate, I'm looking very forward to Dragon Quest IX personally. Perhaps their new IPs are nothing to write home about, but I feel I can still expect an ass-kicking good time from Square's hardcore franchises. 

[Via Kotaku]

At a recent London event, Atari told MCV that "retail is still a priority," thus the company will continue shipping their games to stores in an attempt to get them in consumers' hands. Awhile back, the publisher was singing a different tune -- one of digital distribution. This has all changed and probably has resulted in Atari's hot new lineup of games. At the event, Ghostbusters, The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf, and The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena were announced for next year.

And that’s not all -- there are 11 other titles hanging out in the breeze, all slated for next year. But the new "priority" is still going to coincide with digital distribution. Phil Harrison told those at the event that "Atari is bridging the gap between the physical retail space and advancing the online one" and added that the company were giving developers a chance to publish their games. Captain Obvious wonders how a bridge can be built while the gap is moving around, but believes it is a good thing when developers can publish titles.

In the end, it is just a lot of talk. I have full faith in Atari’s ability to seek out money from consumers, though, so this retail plan could work. Just not in the way the Lawnmower Man probably wants it to.

Just thinking about violence in videogames and its social ramifications keeps us warm on those cold, wintry days when GTA IV isn’t blamed for some some tragic circumstance. Thankfully, the pundits in the media, as well as politicians, always help to fan the fire whenever a controversial videogame comes out. It keeps us interested and it keeps you entertained. Yet, when it comes to games in politics in the upcoming election, where does the majority of the industry stand? Surprisingly, it’s the communist, happy-go-lucky, loose-knit organization called the Democratic Party.

Captain Obvious almost fell out of the sky when he heard the news that the majority of videogame industry contributors have been giving their money to Barack Obama. GamePolitics went the extra mile and made a list of some public contributions. Here are some highlights:

Will Wright (Spore) $3,000 to McCain
Curt Schilling (38 Studios) $2,300 to McCain
Strauss Zelnick (Chairman, Take-Two) $2,000 to Obama
Sam Houser (Rockstar) $4,600 to Obama
John Riccitiello (CEO, EA) $4,600 to Obama
Gabe Newell (President, Valve) $2,300 to Dodd

I would have never guessed that we would live in an alternate reality in which developers and publishers would decide to back the party that best aligns with their interests. Captain Obvious and I are going to go out later and drink on this revelation. We’ll be back tonight to drunk post.

[UPDATE: John Carmack's name has been retracted. Apparently there are more than two John Carmack's out there on this vast Earth. Go figure.]

Instead of just sitting around grumbling about not being able to afford all the great releases coming out in the next few months, GameDaily called up some gamers to listen to them grumble about not being able to afford all the great releases coming out in the next few months. Specifically, they asked console owners how they felt about Xbox 360 and PS3 game prices being set at a default of $60, compared to last generation’s $50. Understandably, not many people were all that happy about it.

Based on the national sample’s responses: 43 percent said that they would wait for games to drop in price before they’d buy them, 30 percent said they’d buy more used games, 23 percent said they would buy fewer games, 17 percent said that they would rent more games, and 17 percent said that they’d pay full price so long as it was for the “right game.”

Along with the above data, GameDaily produced another magical chart that shows purchasing trends based on gender and age. It looks like guys are far more likely to shell out $60 for a new release than the ladies are.

How has the ten dollar price hike affected your videogame buying habits? Has it lead you to buy more games for the PC and Wii, where they still retain a sub-$50 price tag?

In an interview with gameindustry.biz, Proper Games CEO (Flock!) Paddy Sinclair was willing to say aloud what every executive in the industry only whispers in the vast labyrinth of developer-only smoking rooms underneath the Earth.

Fully aware that he broke the secret whisper oath bound by the ritualistic bloodletting of koala bears, Sinclair bravely stated that Xbox LIVE Arcade needs a better categorization system, so that consumers have the opportunity to find the games they may enjoy easier. He even went so far as to propose that there are currently “junk” games on XBLA.

At the moment there is a little bit too much junk on there - that's not to denigrate the guys who have stuff there, but a way to tier and rate content would be nice. Obviously as we're coming to Xbox LIVE for the first time, it would be nice to be prominent, and we could just get lost in the morass of arcade conversions... So to a certain extent I'm behind the concept of de-listing games that aren't selling, aren't well-received, but I think it's a combination of the two.

After nervously looking over his shoulder several times, Sinclair elaborated that he would like to have a few ways of “properly categorizing games” including most downloaded and popular tabs. It’s a good thing that Microsoft will never, ever have a dashboard update designed to reorganize content. We wish oath-breaker Sinclair well in the future, as the developer illuminati close in.

A few days ago, we reported that Gears of War 2 would utilize two socially acceptable filters. The first of which would censor out all of the dreadful language that Baird spits out of his colorful mouth. The second filter was the more intriguing "sparks instead of blood" switch. These options will be made available at launch for parents who have the slightest idea what the hell they just bought their kid. Today, Mark Epic Vice President Mark Rein spoke to Spong to reinforce the point that Gears of War 2 is indeed no Viva Pinata.

Nothing about Gears 2 is 'family friendly' - it is a MATURE title. However there are options for turning down 'strong language' and 'gore'

That is great news, because I was really confused. I assumed the chainsaw, bullets, toothy aliens, and red-tinted imagery was meant to convey wholesome values, as opposed to violence.  I’m glad Rein decided to clear up this issue before I inadvertently bought this title expecting party games and casual amusement.