Sega Stopping Mature Wii Games

Sega has announced that they are unlikely to publish any more Mature rated games for the Nintendo Wii.

This comes after relatively weak sales from MadWorld and House of the Dead: Overkill, as well as EA's Dead Space.

Not a horribly shocking revelation, I suppose. The Wii audience is younger than the PS3 or Xbox 360 audience, so I wouldn't expect impressive sales of "M" rated games on the Wii. Read the full story on gamasutra below:

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26667/Sega_Unlikely_To_Do_More_Mature_Wii_Titles.php

Mass Effect to PC!

BioWare has just announced that their new parent company Electronic Arts will be bringing Mass Effect to the PC in May 2008.

Mass Effect has received high scores from the media as well as many awards, including RPG of the Year from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. It is a sci-fi RPG originally available only for the Xbox 360. However, EA and Microsoft have recently come to an agreement allowing the title to come to the PC.

EA promises that the game will be optimized for the PC, with high-resolution visuals, hotkeys, customizable controls, and more!

Orcs and Elves Now In Stores!

Electronic Arts has recently announced that Orcs & Elves for the Nintendo DS is now available in stores across North America.

Orcs & Elves originally appeared as an award winning RPG mobile game created by famed developers id Software. Now on the DS, Orcs & Elves has been enhanced with more levels, weapons and fierce foes.

Taking the role of a young half-elf, players will dungeon crawl their way through a massive Dwarven fortress riddled with ancient treasure, powerful weapons, and waves of ruthless enemies, on a quest to expel the ultimate evil from the mountain’s core.

Interested gamers can look for Orcs & Elves on store shelves now!

EA Buys BioWare!?

Wow, major news for the RPG industry! Renowned RPG developer BioWare has recently been purchased by Electronic Arts.

BioWare is famous for creating top notch games like Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, with the latest title Mass Effect coming out next month.

EA acquired BioWare and Pandemic Studios for $620 million plus an additional $190 million in other charges. These studios and their 800 employees will now become part of Electronic Arts.

EA CFO Warren Jenson was quoted as saying, "We're very excited about the revenue potential. We see that in both '09 and '10 to be in excess of $300 million."

Will this have an impact on the quality of BioWare's games? Will it change anything about the highly anticipated Mass Effect? Let's hope not. BioWare is one of gaming's most respected developers, so it would be an atrocity to see something hinder their game development. One one hand, having the funding and resources of a massive company like EA behind them could be great! On the other hand, I worry that it might force BioWare into becoming a "slave" company of EA. I fear that BioWare might lose some of their unique identity and start churning out mainstream titles. After all, EA is known for making a lot of games, but they aren't necessarily known for making quality games like BioWare is. We'll have to wait and see...

Read more about this breaking story here!

The Orange Box.. Gotta Have it!

Totally un-RPG related, but The Orange Box comes out today. For those who aren't familiar with it, it's the latest installment in the acclaimed Half-Life series. Although, it's more than just a single game... it's an entire package that includes Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and the all new Half-Life 2: Episode 2. Not to mention the multiplayer Team Fortress and the interesting new Portal.

I'm particularly excited about this release because I never actually got around to playing Half-Life 2 at release. I've obviously played the classic Half-Life (and dabbled in some Team Fortress), which is probably my favorite FPS of all time due to its exciting storytelling, out of this world weaponry, and fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat gameplay. Other games have successfully mimicked this same formula, but Half-Life is the the original. Unfortunately, life, crappy computers, and various other games have kept me from experiencing the sequel.

Considering I've been wanting to check out Half-Life 2 for quite a while now, The Orange Box is a great deal that I can't afford to miss out on!!! For those that are interested, The Orange Box is available for Xbox 360 and PC with a price tag of $59.99.

Hellgate: London Pre-Order

Planning on pre-ordering Hellgate: London? EA and Namco Bandai have just announced three more reasons that you should!

Gamers in North American who pre-order either the regular or collectors edition of Hellgate: London will receive three special treats just in time for Halloween! First off, buyers will receive a key to an exclusive Beta starting next week and ending October 07, 2007. Secondly s one of four exclusive dye-kits that will give your hero's gear a cool color theme right off the bat when Hellgate: London officially opens on Halloween. Lastly, pre-ordering gamers will be eligible to take advantage of the Hellgate: London Founders Offer, giving hardcore players a chance to purchase a lifetime subscription to Hellgate's premium service for $149.99.

"We're excited to get our most passionate players into the early Beta test, and to reward them with a special look once the game goes live on Halloween," said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios.

Hellgate: London comes from some of the core developers of the Diablo team from Blizzard. It promises a deep, story-driven campaign with over 40 hours of gameplay and both online and offline capabilities. It combines RPG depth with the fast action of a shooter and may very well represent the evolution of the action RPG genre!

I've had a bit of gameplay time with Hellgate: London and have to admit I was very impressed. I'm definately looking forward to this one, so stay tuned to Just-RPG and The RPG-Geek for more info!

EA & New Line Extend Agreement

EA has announced today that they have extended their agreement with New Line, allowing them to create games inspired by the Lord of the Rings movies and novels, through 2008.

They have also announced that a new Lord of the Rings themed game is in the works, and will ship in 2008. Although, no definite details of the game have been released. Perhaps it will be their RPG, Lord of the Rings: The White Council? Lets hope.

EA Ships BFME Anthology

Electronic Arts has announced that their complete collection of the Middle-earth RTS series, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth Anthology, has shipped to North American retailers today.

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth Anthology includes The Battle for Middle-earth, The Battle for Middle-earth II, and BFMEII: Rise of the Witch-King. This compilation will be available for $39.99.

LotR: BFME Anthology Announced

While The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth is hardly an RPG, it has many elements of an RPG that I figure RPG fans will enjoy (a fantasy world, unit customization, etc.).

Anyway, EA has announced a Battle for Middle Earth Anthology for PC, containing Battle For Middle Earth, Battle For Middle Earth II Collectors Edition, and Rise of the Witch-King. The three games will sell for $39.99 and hit retailers on March 20, 2007. If you haven't picked them up yet, here's an ideal chance!