Joystiq

Here's the thing: A lot of different people read Joystiq. We once met a 142-year-old woman who read Joystiq every morning before heading out to hunt for her meals. Then, there was that 3-month-old infant whose uncanny ability to read the site was only surpassed by his 6-digit gamerscore. What we're saying here is that we've learned to never pigeonhole our audience. And with that lesson in mind, we bring you the following: A Flash version of Mirror's Edge – titled Mirror's Edge 2D (beta), naturally – built by Mr. Fancy Pants Brad Borne himself.

We're sharing this with you since we know the info would appeal to several totally distinct groups. Group A: Fans of Mr. Borne's Flash-based indie platformer, Fancy Pants Adventure. Group B: Those of you are interested in anything with the words "Mirror's Edge" on it. Group C: Those of you stuck inside the claustrophobic confines of an office cubicle, reading this on your dimly lit office CRT, yearning to try out some of those moves you learned playing Mirror's Edge last night. Lastly, Group D: Those of you who get simulation sickness and vomit just seeing the words "Mirror's" and "Edge" strung together. Don't worry folks, this is 2D. Like that Flash Portal game. Oh, and sorry about this:

Mirror's Edge.

Our buds at GameDaily BIZ are looking for a few good questions to ask Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime. Want to know why Nintendo has "omg forsaken the hardcore gamerz"? Leave a comment. Still wondering about that storage solution or Wii Motion Plus? Leave a comment. Everyone else: Do your part by voting up the good comments and voting down the bad ones.

Just a reminder: we've got a giant Gears of War 2 giveaway going on all this week. Included in the prize – in addition to everything from the Gears of War 2 Limited Edition, a Gears messenger bag, a Gears hoodie, and more – is this Gears of War 2-themed Zune (120GB model). You can enter the giveaway once per day, which means you've already had five chances to enter (you did leave a comment each of the five days, didn't you?).

Well, the good news is you've still got two days to enter: just leave a comment here.

Eager for more info on Bungie's Halo 3 expansion, Halo 3 Recon? The scoop addicts at Game Informer are sporting it as their December cover story which, far from being spartan, is chock full o' details on the unusual offering. As we saw in Tokyo, the boys at Bungie are downplaying the game's length, insisting it's not "a $60 game" and is more like "a three to five-hour expansion pack."

Perhaps most interesting – especially for the scrupulous amongst you – is the ability to earn Halo 3's ultra-rare "Recon Armor," previously reserved for Bungie staffers and their community-based BFFs. Now, instead of hacking someone's account to get the armor, you can instead complete the gauntlet of 0-point "Vidmaster Challenge" achievements included in the September title update; once you've purchased Halo 3 Recon, that armor will ostensibly be unlocked in Halo 3 multiplayer. Worth the not-$60 pricetag? For some of the Bungie hopeful, undoubtedly.

[Via The Escapist]

With little (no?) fanfare, Microsoft has rolled out an update to its also-ran Games for Windows Live service, ready to shed some of that bad name just in time for this holiday's GFW-branded lineup (think Fallout 3 and GTA IV). So what's in store for you, PC gamers? Mostly, a much needed UI refresh. Gone is the ill-advised, console-inspired Blades interface – in its stead is a much slicker (much quicker!) menu that pops down from the top of the display. All the features you'd expect to be there are there: gamertag, friends list, messaging, achievements. As announced earlier this year, they've also done away with the tiered subscription service for PC gamers. No more "Gold" service – all of this is free, including TrueSkill matchmaking.

Indeed, there isn't much new in the way of functionality with one notable exception: the Marketplace. Though it's not available just yet (we'll let you know when "in the next few weeks"), the standalone Marketplace app will be akin to its 360 counterpart, offering publishers and developers a place to host trailers, demos, and DLC – all integrated into the game. Available now: the ability for a game to alert you to patches, and then download them and seamlessly patch them into your game. Boot it up again and – voila! – you're running the latest release. No messy files to download or delete.

We'll have our writeup of the latest installment in the GFW Live saga tomorrow; however, for now, flip through some of these screenshots from yesteryear to see what's changed. If you've taken it for a spin, let us know what you think. Oh, hell with it: you'll let us know what you think regardless! (Full presser after the break).

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Try to follow along: In 2006, Epic Games – the North Carolina-based devs behind Gears of War – opened up its very own Shanghai-based studio to outsource its own Unreal Engine-related work to, as well as cater to external third-party licensees like Ubisoft Shanghai. Cost per man month in North America? $9000. Cost per man month in China? $4000, according to a Gamasutra report. So now we all know what Epic Games China is.

Which is why this morning's announcement that Epic Games China has formed Titan Studios – a "wholly owned subsidiary based in Seattle" developing Sony's colorful (albeit controversial) PSN title, Fat Princess – slightly puzzling. First, we've only known Fat Princess since Sony showed it off at E3 and, even then, the developers were known as "Titan Studios" and not their pre-Epic precursor "Darkstar Industries".

Second, why does the "content production outsourcing and game development services" component of Epic Games want to form its own development studio? (Or, in other words, why didn't Epic Games proper "form" Titan Studios in much the same way it acquired People Can Fly?) Epic's Jay Wilbur explains, "Not only are Titan developing award-winning, original IP of their own, they also have resources available to help other studios increase productivity and minimize risk." Their best business advice in these rocky economic times: Be owned by Epic Games.

Update: The entry period has ended. We'll announce the winner shortly!

It's Gears of War 2 re-emergence day and we've got a giveaway to celebrate! We're unloading this rather impressive mound of Gears swag, including:

• Gears of War 2 Limited Edition - Xbox 360 ($70)
• Gears of War 2-themed 120GB Zune ($280 - pics here)
• Gears of War messenger bag ($30)
  
• Gears of War hoodie ($50)
  
• Gears of War: Aspho Fields novel ($13)
  
• Gears of War comic book ($4)
• Limited edition red Xbox 360 controller ($65 - pic here)
• Gears of War art book
  
• Super limited edition metal COG, only 1000 made! (more info here)

We're going to be running this giveaway for an entire week, and you can enter once each calendar day, so don't forget to check back. Want some more chances to win this stuff? Xbox 360 Fanboy is giving away its Gears gear, but you've only got one hour to get your entry in. One last chance? Listen to this week's Joystiq Podcast for instructions on how to get some more Gears 2 stuff: the hoodie, the messenger bag, and the three books.

But for now, why not get today's entry into this giveaway outta the way? Leave a comment below suggesting an unofficial subtitle for Gears of War 2. Example: "The Gears of Wrath." Catchy, no?

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With Microsoft content with rolling back its own prices – thankyouverymuch – it's up to super-retailer Walmart to do what Sony won't do this holiday season: cut prices on the PlayStation 3. Okay, fine, it's not so much a price cut as it is a value add. You'll still end up blowing $399 plus sales tax but you'll also get a $100 gift card, which you can immediately apply towards LittleBigPlanet ($60), just the single-player and co-op portions of Resistance 2 ($40, if only they made it a la carte), and a lifetime membership to PSN ($0).

Here's the catch: you've got to get out of bed early on Saturday morning to be in line before 8am. With the console not getting any cheaper, and this economy not getting any better, something tells us that "minimum 4 per store" isn't going to last very long.

[Thanks, aaron]

Despite his rather stoic delivery during an Activision Blizzard conference call earlier today, Blizzard's Mike Morhaime undoubtedly took some thrill reciting the following statistics relating to players trying to leave World of Warcraft for the competition: Of the players who cited Funcom's Age of Conan as their reason for leaving WoW, a whopping 68% returned to Azeroth; of the players who cited Warhammer: Age of Reckoning as the impetus behind their departure, a less overwhelming (but similarly impressive) 46% of players ultimately leapt right back into Blizzard's no-doubt strategically receptive embrace.

So, what's the takeaway from this tale? Like broadband internet, hardcore drugs, or those 24-hour wicker stores, World of Warcraft is tough to stay away from once you've gotten a taste. And with Blizzard on the cusp of rolling out its latest and greatest expansion in Wrath of the Lich King, we're pretty certain there are plenty of cold-turkeyers getting the shakes just thinking about it.

Discussing what's in store for Activision Blizzard's 2009 lineup, Activision Publishing boss man Mike Griffith said we should expect a "significant increase in SKUs year over year" – specifically, over 70 retail SKUs representing 40% more than this year. So what's making up this increase? Unsurprisingly Griffith cites "innovative new titles for the Call of Duty franchise" along with "multiple Guitar Hero releases." We're not clear if Griffith means multiple Call of Duty SKUs – an Xbox 360 SKU, a PS3 SKU, etc. – or actual multiple Call of Duty titles; we are clear that he means multiple Guitar Hero games (let's see if they can beat this year's measly four games constituting some dozen-plus SKUs).

Also in the '09 lineup are movie games – including Transformers, Wolverine, Dreamworks' Monsters vs. Aliens, and Ice Age (thanks to that Sierra acquisition) – along with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, a "followup" James Bond (not tied to a film release), a "newly reinvented" Tony Hawk (which is almost surely being worked on "secretly" by Robomodo), Wolfenstein (finally!), and "a targeted selection of qualified new IPs" including Singularity (as shown at E3), Prototype (thanks, Sierra!), and "the new Bizarre Creation's title which will be [Activision Blizzard's] entry into the racing genre." Of course, there's still one yet-to-be-announced Sierra title that Actiblizzard held on to and we presume a handful of other unannounced games, getting us even closer to that 70 figure.

Claiming that GH Tunes – the make-your-own-song tool in Guitar Hero World Tour – has "greatly exceeded" its expectations, Activision's Bobby Kotick mentioned the potential to sell subscriptions to that content during a conference call earlier today: "In just 10 days, our GH Tunes has attracted over 25,000 user-generated songs which means we'll likely have up to 100,000 songs by the year end. These songs are easily downloaded by consumers and the ability to offer these songs on a subscription basis may very well result in the newest subscription opportunities in our portfolio."

After just one quarter of raking in that World of Warcraft money and Activision's already hooked on subscription fees, eying up its entire portfolio the way a hungry cartoon wolf sees the world in shades of ham bones. But (the currently unlimited) GH Tunes songs? Really? Why not a subscription to the regular DLC tracks (which Activision has sold over 25m units of, for both Xbox 360 and PS3 to date)? Because, really, what we want to blow our hard-earned blogging money on is poor facsimiles of classic rock hits and not the real things. Really.

It's Halloween! Besides being the one day of the year that your Red Power Ranger costume doesn't upset the neighbors, it's also a day where benevolent video game companies drop delicious discounts into your eager pillowcase. Take Old Man Sony for example, who's slashed prices on his digitally distributed survival-horror update, Siren: Blood Curse, from now through November 6th.

Want to buy the whole game? That'll cost you just $30, down from the usual $40 asking price. Already have one or two of the three available episode bundles? The rest will only cost $11 each, down from $15. Not interested? That's fine, but it's still better than the pamphlets on teen abstinence being handed out down the block.

With Left 4 Dead's zombie apocalypse scheduled to touch down in just a few short weeks, Valve's eager to spend all its lunch money before the undead invasion plunges our global financial system into (even worse) disaster. With $10 million in hand, it's buying up billboards, web sites, and even TV commercials in a coordinated effort to open our eyes to our impending fate. Here's the checklist: Zombies. Check! Four player co-op. Check! Apocalypse. Check!

Wait a second, what kind of checklist is that? We'd have blown some of that coin on important things, like crates of ammo, health kits, and totally convincing military surplus garb for just the right veneer of wholesome veteran mixed with fringe survivalist.

There are exactly two groups not projecting doom and gloom in the face of the current economic crisis: knapsack-on-a-stick manufacturers and Nintendo. A combination of clever marketing, unique products, and black magic resulted in a record six-month period, with Q2 quarterly profits up 36% thanks to strong sales of both the DS and Wii platforms. And things are still looking good, despite the company cutting its profit forecast some 3% due to the stronger yen. Nintendo upped its forecast for Wii console sales from 26.5m to 27.5m and upped DS software sales to 207m units from 197m.

Nintendo prez Satoru Iwata laughed off the economic "downturn" saying, "I think it is safe to say strong game demand is intact despite all this talk about the financial crisis." Fellow Japanese gaming giant Sony might not be faring so well but, indeed, its games business isn't the source of its financial woes. Here are some overall numbers from the Big N: lifetime Wii sales are 34.55 million; lifetime DS sales are 84.33 million (more than the Game Boy Advance!*); and Wii Fit has sold an incredible 8.7 million units since launching in Japan last December.

FT.com revisits a story it's been following all along: the inclusion of The Beatles library in one of the two reigning rhythm game kings. The winner, of course, is MTV's Rock Band. Though already confirmed last night by the Wall Street Journal, the official announcement isn't until 10am Joystiq Time, so we're offering you this as a second verification.

Beyond the basics – The Beatles haven't licensed their music digitally anywhere else; Activision made its own pitch for the content and while the FT piece doesn't offer much new, it does reflect the scale of these music licensing negotiations. That MTV acquisition sure makes a lot more sense now, eh? We'll bring you more around 10am.