February has been quite hush hush for video games. Not much has happened in this miniature month. Of course a few big name games such as Dante’s Inferno, BioShock 2 and others were released in February. We heard that a new console from Sega of all people was coming, as was a 250 GB HDD accessory for the Xbox 360, although this accessory would only be for Japan. We’ve also had a few rumors, the most pertinent of which are the next COD installment to be set in Vietnam, and a successor to the Nintendo DS already being in the hands of developers.
We’ll start with hottest console news. Sega seem to have woken up from a long slumber and apparently are set to launch a new console called the Sega Zone. The console can play your classic Sega titles and will also have some sort of motion control. It will come with wireless remote controls and is estimated to cost in the region of 50 pounds. In other console related news, the month of February saw Sony file a patent for a Universal Game Controller which would be able to work with consoles from Microsoft, Sega, Atari and others. The controller is said to have an LCD screen which could be used to choose a controller layout and input alpha-numeric characters.
Rolling over to Xbox 360 console news, a 250 GB HDD accessory for the Xbox 360 was revealed headed to Japan in March. The standalone 250 GB HDD is estimated to cost anywhere between 15,000 and 16,000 yen. Speaking of market prices, the next piece of news may turn out to be matter of much debate. Market analyst Michael Pachter revealed on his web TV spot, that Microsoft could set the price of their Natal accessory as low as 50 dollars. In fact he said he would be really surprised if the giant price Project Natal above 79 dollars.
February turned out to be a big month for game releases. Scratch that. It was a hellish month for game releases. We really never get tired of puns for EA’s Dante’s Inferno. As you must have guessed by now, the much talked about Dante’s Inferno was released in February, and let’s you take on the entire “entourage” of hell. Another big name and extremely highly anticipated release was BioShock 2, the sequel to 2K’s 2007 hit. The game provides an addictive single-player and an immersive multi-player experience and should be a sure pick-up for anyone who’s played the first. This brings us to the next big news. Heavy Rain was banned from releasing in the UAE, probably due to its strong content and 18+ rating.
Among the rumors doing the rounds, Nintendo’s successor to the DS console was alleged to already be in the hands of developers. According to this one, the successor to the DS also has a neat tilt function, similar to that of the iPhone and iPod Touch. Another rumour was that the next installment in the Call of Duty series would be set in Vietnam. After Modern Warfare 2’s immense success, we wonder what developer Infinity Ward is planning.
Well that’s it for this month’s hottest gaming news, and like we said, it has been quite a subdued month in gaming, except for the descent into hells’ many tiers in Dante’s Inferno.