Gadgets and Video Games

Sam and Max will bring their off-kilter humor to PlayStation 3 for the first time in The Devil’s Playhouse: The Penal Zone , the first episode in a new season of Telltale’s episodic adventure series. In a first for the PlayStation Store, the full season — consisting of five monthly episodes — will become available for pre-order on March 18 , nearly a month before The Penal Zone launches on April 15. While PC and Mac owners will receive substantial benefits for pre-ordering the full season, including a free game episode, access to developer chats and extra downloadable goodies, Telltale noted that it also has a deal in store (you know, actually in the store ) for console players. According to Telltale PR manager Chris Schmidt, pre-ordering the full pack will reduce the cost to $29.99, a minor but not unwelcome discount from the regular price of $34.95. Speaking to Joystiq at a meeting during the Game Developers Conference on Friday, Schmidt also addressed the obvious question: Will this season of Sam & Max come to Xbox 360 or Wii

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Sam & Max PSN pre-orders start March 18; other console versions a ‘definite possibility’

Much like the dreaded Kobayashi Maru , there really is no right answer to the question, “Where should I pre-order Star Trek Online ?” In its ongoing mission to make games as hard to purchase as possible, Starfleet has issued different pre-order bonuses to each major American retailer. Want to pilot the Enterprise? You’ll have to order from GameStop.

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No-win scenario: Star Trek Online pre-order bonuses

GamerDeals.net has posted what it claims are Wal-Mart’s Black Friday deals and, if accurate, there are some serious savings to be had. Probably the most prominent deal would be the doorbuster on Rock Band 2 Special Edition for PS3 or 360, which will net you the full band kit and the game for a paltry $50. Another impressive deal, shoppers can pick up a PS3, Infamous , “Batman” ( Arkham Asylum , we’re assuming) and a copy of The Dark Knight for $299. In comparison, the Xbox 360 gets the lukest of lukewarm bundles ever, an Xbox 360 Arcade unit complete with the Madagascar 2 game and both Madagascar movies on DVD. Other deals include select console titles for between $7 and $25, select PC games for $25 and a $98 doorbuster on DS Lites ( time to clear that stock , amirite?)

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Rumor: Wal-Mart’s Black Friday deals

Don’t worry, guys. We’re fairly certain that most of those copies are pirated. ( Click here for the full version of the image, as captured by PC Gamer forum poster Olu446.) [Via Rock Paper Shotgun ] How not to boycott Modern Warfare 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

Remember way back in August when THQ picked up around 40 percent of Midway San Diego (following that whole full collapse thing), but left off the TNA Impact property? It would appear that the reason for this exclusion was due to SouthPeak Games snatching up the license, as revealed by a recent Q1 2010 financial report released by the company. The “acquisition” is first noted in the report’s “Highlights of the Quarter” section. “Acquired in bankruptcy certain assets owned by Midway relating to video games based on the TNA iMPACT wrestling brand.” We asked SouthPeak who would be in charge of developing the next game in that series, said in the release to be released “this year” (2010), and found out that such information has yet to be announced, unfortunately. Currently, SouthPeak is only known to be publishing TNA Impact: Cross the Line for the PSP and Nintendo DS.

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SouthPeak earnings report reveals acquisition of … something involving TNA Impact

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Wallace & Gromit series, Telltale Games is offering Episode III of its Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures series, Muzzled! , for free! If you’ve been curious about how polite bumbling and cheese lust translate into game mechanics, now’s your chance to find out. This offer applies to the PC version. The company is also marking the auspicious occasion by discounting the full season of the PC version to $20 (from $35), releasing the whole set on Xbox Live Arcade , taking orders for a Collector’s DVD, and participating in a charity drive with the Wallace & Gromit Children’s Foundation and Penny Arcade (to which your full-season purchase will contribute).

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Free Wallace & Gromit episode and more for 20th anniversary of series

Even if you’re not willing to spend 20-40 hours creating an original Rock Band song , the upcoming addition of the Rock Band Network to Rock Band 2 will prove to be a worthwhile experience for all fans of the franchise. A new patch will add the Rock Band Network Store to Rock Band 2 this November, and will grant PS3 and Xbox 360 owners access to a whole new catalog of music that goes well beyond the scope of official Rock Band Weekly releases. To prepare for what could be an overwhelming amount of new content, the new store will offer an even more comprehensive sorting method

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Rock Band Network Store to offer free song demos

After teasing us with the carefully scripted Splinter Cell Conviction E3 demo — for the umpteenth time — lead designer Steve Masters commented on the game’s current status as a “March quarter” release today at Ubisoft’s “Holiday Preview” event (we’ll be celebrating well into 2010, you know). Masters echoed CEO Yves Guillemot in saying, “really [the delay] was just a decision to allow us to polish up and really deliver the experience that the fans are looking for.” “Right now we’re about to hit alpha — literally this week,” Masters confirmed.

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Splinter Cell Conviction designer on delay, exclusivity, Natal … and bowel control?

Korean development studio Blueside is hard at work, not only on Kingdom Under Fire II , but also a new MMO. According to Videogamer , it’s called Project T (the “T” is for “tentative”) and will be a fantasy MMO with a focus on “stylish action.” Blueside will be working towards a worldwide release by 2011 and has signed on Neowiz to help with some of the heavy lifting. While that’s all great, there’s just one thing we want to know: will Blueside’s fondness for the cornrow find its way into Project T ? Kingdom Under Fire dev working on new MMO originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST

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Kingdom Under Fire dev working on new MMO

Rock Band Wiikly ’s tap has flowed with massive quantities of tracks for weeks now. Sure, the releases aren’t exactly synced with Rock Band Weekly , but the back catalog of Rock Band DLC is certainly being filled in. Our concern that it would take until mid-2010 for the full catalog sync is slowly dissipating.

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Rock Band Wiikly: Pearl Jam, Mission of Burma, Offspring and more