Entertainment Electronics Blog

Diablo 3 is coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 according to Blizzard community manager.

Diablo 3 is set for a console release according to Blizzard community manager Bashiok.

Asked whether he could “confirm or deny Diablo 3 is coming to consoles?” via Twitter the CM replied: “Yup. Josh Mosqueira is lead designer for the Diablo console project.”

Blizzard has been more than open about the fact it’s exploring how Diablo 3 would work on consoles, with a large number of vacancies posted relating to the PS3 and Xbox 360 development.

It’s no surprise that there’s a lead designer on the case, but Blizzard has always stressed that a console version of the game has not officially been announced.

While it doesn’t constitute an official announcement, the confirmation appears to suggest that Diablo 3 will arrive on consoles in one form or another, while Diablo 3 game director Jay Wilson recently confirmed “Asia is not what’s holding us back. You’ll see soon enough.” Is a console announcement incoming?

Diablo 3’s cash-money auction house could prove a substantial stumbling block to a faithful console version, but Blizzard could be looking at a work-around.

Diablo 3 is currently in invite-only beta on PC – the game will launch in ‘early 2012′ but no release date has been confirmed.

We’ve dropped Blizzard a line for further confirmation.

Square Enix enabling Final Fantasy fans to try-before-they-buy three weeks ahead of release.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 will get a demo via PSN and Xbox Live next week, Square Enix has confirmed.

The demo will hit PS3 and Xbox 360 in Europe on 11 January, but is only set for PS3 in North America where it launch a day earlier, the publisher confirmed.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 launched in Japan last month to critical acclaim, while Square Enix has been keen to push promotion of the game’s improvements in the West.

Diablo 3 Game Director clarifies release speculation.

Diablo 3 Game Director Jay Wilson has confirmed that the South Korean game rating board is not responsible for holding up the worldwide release of the game.

“Asia is not what’s holding us back. You’ll see soon enough,” Wilson tweeted, adding that the game “is not done yet”.

A report by The Korea Times yesterday suggested that Blizzard’s promise of a simultaneous worldwide Diablo 3 release could be held-up by a Korean rating body after it took exception to the cash-element of the Auction House.

Diablo 3 remains in closed beta on PC, and Blizzard continues to explore the possibility of bringing the game to consoles. Could “You’ll see soon enough,” refer to an incoming announcement.

Keep those fingers crossed, console fans.

GTA 5 coming in May? Kratos headed online? Mickey Mouse going HD? Wii U getting an app store?

2012’s videogames are the subject of intense focus now that the new year has dawned, so NowGamer has rounded up the biggest rumours to emerge over the Christmas break.

GTA 5

The next Grand Theft Auto could be headed for a May release according to a piece on the NME’s site – does it know something we don’t?

God of War 4

The much-rumoured sequel will include an online co-op mode according to speculation. Meanwhile, the most recent confirmation that development on the game is underway comes from a composer’s online resume.

Epic Mickey 2

A sequel to the Warren Spector-designed, Wii-exclusive sequel has been long rumoured – but it will have split-screen co-op and also hit Xbox 360 and the PS3 according to a chunk of text alleged to have been included in a recent Disney newsletter:

“Disney Epic Mickey 2 is the latest game in the critically acclaimed Disney Epic Mickey videogame series. In this all-new action-platforming game available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii, Mickey embarks on an epic journey and is pulled back into a world filled with Disney’s forgotten characters. Players can choose to play single-player as Mickey or for the first time players can also choose 2-player split screen mode. In the 2 player mode one person can play as Mickey wielding magic paint and paint thinner to dynamically change the world and the second player can play as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit – Walt Disney’s first cartoon star – with the power to fly like a helicopter and use electricity to fight or friend enemies and solve challenges. Team-up and choose your path to save this forgotten world because the choices you make will alter the story and change the end of the game!”

Wii U

A Newsstand-style service will turn the Wii U controller (and the 3DS) into an e-reader according to a new rumour, while apps are also headed to the next-gen Nintendo console according to another.

Hitman: Profession

Square Enix registered the trademark ‘Hitman: Profession’ on 22 December. Is it the name of the first game from new studio Square Enix Montreal?

Quake, Rage and Doom developer wants pixel-perfect visuals on next-gen hardware

id Software programming genius John Carmack has revealed a preference for ‘pixel-precision’ graphics on the next generation of consoles, citing uncertainty with 720p resolutions on various displays.

“Targeting 1080P for next gen consoles brings pixel precision back to relevance. Almost every display screws with 720P,” Carmack tweeted.

Most HD console games aim for a 720p resolution, although this is often upscaled via 1080p TVs or the console itself.

Battlefield 3 actually ran at 704p on consoles.

Rage pushed hardware capabilities almsot beyond their limit with 720p, 60fps visuals on consoles, but despite a heavily recommended installation still suffered from texture issues on PS3 and Xbox 360.

id is currently working on Doom 4 but, so far, little is known of the project.

The latest speculation on next-gen consoles suggests the launch of the next Xbox will come in 2013.

Modern Warfare 3 DLC release dates for PS3, PC up in the air.

Modern Warfare 3’s first DLC has been dated for 24 January – but so far only for Call of Duty Elite members on Xbox 360.

Release dates for PS3, PC have yet to be revealed – when we asked  Activision for more details it told us it currently had “no further information”.

Microsoft has a long association of exclusivity periods with Activision for Call of Duty DLC, but with paying Call of Duty Elite customers expecting early access to content on Xbox 360 and PS3, some may feel that Activision hasn’t lived up to previous promises – if the DLC launches earlier on Xbox Live.

Exclusivity has traditionally lasted on Xbox Live for a month for past DLC packs.

Activision releases first official image of Park map, while, other MW3 DLC screens head online.

Modern Warfare 3’s first DLC pack will arrive on 24 January as announced by Activision via Call of Duty Elite yesterday, but now the very first image of new map ‘Park’ has been revealed, showing a Central Park-style location.

The MW3 map doesn’t look too dissimilar to Battlefield 3’s Operation Metro map, which combined the landscape of a Parisian park with urban sections.

Mean while an MW3 fansite has also sourced what appear to be static screens for the other rumoured maps Overwatch, Morningwood and Italy.

The Modrn Warfare 3 DLC map names were thought to have leaked last month.

The first MW3 DLC will hit Xbox 360 – Activision told us yesterday it currently has no details on DLC releases for other platforms.

MW3’s first DLC content to hit Xbox 360 next month announces Activision.

Update
Activision has told us it has no further information on MW3 DLC for PS3 or PC.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will get its first DLC pack on 24 January according to a new video on Call of Duty Elite.

The latest episode of Roll Call features details from Robert Bowling, who confirms the first content drop will arrive exclusively for Call of Duty Elite members on Xbox Live on 24 January.

No further details were revealed.

We’ve contacted Activision to see when DLC will hit other formats – we’ll let you know as soon as they respond.

Alan Wake’s next adventure stretches what’s possible via digital download says Remedy Entertainment.

Alan Wake’s American Nightmare will push the limits of digital content according to Remedy Entertainment’s Head of Franchise Development, Oskari Häkkinen.

Desribing the upcoming XBLA title as “two-thirds action, one-third story” to Alan Wake’s “one-third action, two-thirds story,” Häkkinen said it was accessible to Wake fans and newcomers alike.

“Anyone can pick it up and play but we did want the fans to be able to connect the dots to the first game,” he told Nowgamer.

American Nightmare will still enable players to interact with NPCs, and flesh out the back story via manuscript pages, and Radio/TV shows, despite an emphasis on action

Remedy’s adamant it’s breaking new ground for a digital release. “In terms of AAA… that’s really for gamers to decide. But we think we’re pushing the envelope and challenging the basic cnventions on XBLA, going a little bit further in terms of what’s available right now,” Häkkinen added.

“But at the same time when you’re doing something like this it has to be made for the medium. That’s why there’s more of a focus on action, pick-up-and-play and the arcade mode in there as well.”

Check out the new screens in our gallery or hit the link to watch the extended reveal trailer.

Alan Wake’s American Nightmare is scheduled to hit Xbox Live in early 2012.

DICE seemingly includes BF3 DLC with new updates.

Battlefield 3 got the Back to Karkand DLC on Xbox 360 and PC today – but DICE appears to have wrapped it in a free 2GB update for the game. Download it for free from Xbox Live.

Back to Karkand costs 1200MSP and is just over 100kb – the update is mandatory, so it seems that the DLC is contained in that file instead.

Check out the huge list of tweaks and updates to the game below:

Single Player Changes
Added missing blood effect on kill shot
Fixed a crash that could happen during level load in SP
Fixed issue with game crashing during intro cut scene of Campaign mission “Thunder Run”
Fixed a crash that could happen when shutting down levels
Fixed crash on last mission that could occur after the player is killed by the first enemy in the train
When a user got killed, after respawning, he heard sounds that remained as if bullets still were passing around him
Fixed glitch in melee showing your equipped gun instead of the knife
Fixed issues with texture streaming. Prioritizing of textures close to the user has become better, resulting in more detailed textures
Improved mesh streaming conditions to avoid situations with risk of corruptions and crashes
Fix blend into vehicle problem when entering a vehicle in the Campaign
Fixed issue where disconnecting a controller during the Gamer Profile sign out animation would cause the game to soft lock
Removed the hint “Shoot out the lights.” during SP mission Nightshift
Fixed issue with last mission not listed in REPLAY MISSIONS list
Fixed issue on the SP mission Night Shift where three of the marines that repel down from the Osprey at the start of the level have PLR models instead of the right marine models
Has been made harder to fail missions due to zero tolerance friendly fire
Fixed MG nest objective on Operation Guillotine
Fix for music climax on mission “Fear No Evil”
Fixed issues that occurred if user were backtracking after fight at elevator on SP mission “Comrades”
Adding a back button to SP campaign select difficulty screen
Removed slomo from jump into train on SP mission “The Great Destroyer”
Fixed glitches in subway Quick Time Events in mission “The Great Destroyer”
Increased quality of the loading screen images
Fixed glitch that made it possible to reach Solomon train QTE with the wrong weapon equipped in mission “Semper Fidelis”
Fixed final sound fade out on SP mission “Thunder Run”
Removed sound fade on convoy ride in mission “Operation Guillotine”
Fixed squad mates coming through wall after intro on SP mission “Operation Guillotine”
SP mission, “The Great Destroyer”: moved Campaign Cleared achievement until after the Dima outro
Fixed soldiers inside of terrain at start of level in “OPERATION GUILLOTINE”
SP mission, “The Great Destroyer”: Fixed streaming issue which could lead to out of memory when streaming in Subway ride
Improved music and music fade on tank encounter in mission “Operation Guillotine”
Sound on Operation Guillotine: Fixed trading floor crash camera shake and rumble
Fade later when driving in to tunnel on “OPERATION GUILLOTINE”
Hide cross hair during Solomon intro & climb out scene on “Operation Swordbreaker”
Fixes on “OPERATION SWORDBREAKER”: Skip VO urging the player to move forward if the player has already moved. Fixed VO playing from the wrong world position
Fixed crosshair being back on staging area in “OPERATION SWORD BREAKER”
Fixes on “THUNDER RUN”: Less delay after MICLIC scene. Friendly tanks start driving up to you sooner and are more likely to teleport into position. Enemies now spawn in front of you & to the right, instead of behind the approaching friendly tanks
Fixed Squad mates goes through the ground in front of the house before throwing in grenades in “OPERATION GUILLOTINE”
Fixed issue with player not being able to cross the plank as soon as its down on ground on mission “Operation Swordbreaker”
Fixed sliding into cut scene on roof top on mission “Operation Swordbreaker”
Tweaked difficulty levels in Single Player
Fixed a hang in terrain streaming, causing the user to get stuck on black screen under special circumstances in Singleplayer
Fixes in Night Shift: New save point after wave 2 in mall. Fixed bug where wave 3 was considered done way before all enemies were killed, causing a possible difficulty spike
Added tutorial for firing Stinger on “ROCK AND A HARD PLACE” copied from “OPERATION GUILLOTINE”
Delayed “The Professional” achievement/trophy to not pop up in the middle of the scene
Fixed issue on The Great Destroyer where you could equip a gun before entering the train

Multiplayer changes
Significant squad user interface changes detailed here
Added round duration and ticket summary at EOR
Advanced squad polish – should be more intuitive
Added back EOR sound for SQDM and TDM
Fixed sound for when climbing ladders
Fixed and issue with some first person weapon sounds
Fixed a swim sound loop error
You should no longer be able to damage a friendly vehicle when sitting in an open position
Grenades now drop to ground if you get killed while attempting to throw it
Spawn protection now should work in Conquest. You should no longer spawn on points too close to enemies
You should no longer spawn too close to enemies in TDM and SQDM
Fix for missing input restriction during intro movie, causing players to potentially fall and die while watching movie if moving controller (or having a controller with a bad stick zone).
Combat areas on Kharg Rush tweaked in order to disallow defenders to access the carrier ship after 1st base is taken and being able to enter the AA gun
Fixed a problem with revived players not being able to get suppressed
Fixed a problem with the camera when being revived in COOP
Spotting VO now plays when spotting from MAV/EOD
End of round now has round statistics like Team tickets and Round time display
Fixed several issues regarding the kill card. It was showing wrong weapons used for the kill
Fixed that sometimes you would be stuck on a black screen when kicked from server
Fixed so when a team captures two flags at the same time, the UI could show wrong owner of the flag
Fixed a problem where the capture progress bar was showed as friendly when the enemy was capturing
Fixed a problem with the bipod deploy sound
Fixed a problem that you could be spawned in with no weapons after being killed while using the EOD bot
Fixed problems with health bars not displaying health properly when using EOD bots
Fixed a problem with flickering name tags
Fixed a problem where friendlies could damage friendly helicopters
Fixed a problem where you could get stuck in the co-op menu when attempting to join the session twice
You should now be able to spot explosives
You should no longer spawn in home base if your selected spawn point is disabled while waiting to spawn. For instance your teammate dies right before you are about to spawn
Damage from bullets will now continue to cause damage even after the firing user is dead
Fixed several client crashes
Fixed a problem where players could get stuck in the join queue
Fixed the repair icon on the minimap
Deploy parachute now displays the tooltip to deploy parachute when free falling
Fixed some artifacts when using flashlights
Fixed several Xbox 360 specific crashes and freezes
Fixed a problem where a user sometimes could not go into iron sights
Improved shadow rendering
Fixed several issues with friend invites and joins
Vehicle boosts is now a toggle instead of momentary
Fixed several issues with the Hardcore mode
Fixed a few layout problems where the in-game controls and tooltips didn’t match those in the options menu
Removed the possibility to pick up weapons in a EOD bot
Fixed several interpolation issues
Fixed a problem where claymore is flashing in the wrong team color
Subway minimap updated to give better clarity
Fixed an issue where the UI would not show the way to your new unlocks
Increased quality of loading screen images
Tweaked MP rank up parameters
Fixed a problem with Metro Squad rush minimap where it looked like you were out of bounds
Fixed a problem where a user can become invulnerable after being resurrected
Fixed a problem where tank turrets would turn too slow
Fixed a bug on Exfiltration where you could end up outside the vehicle and not being able to enter it again, thus blocking the mission
Fixed a problem with the M60 reload sound
Fixed a problem with the falling antenna on Caspian Border. It should now more instantly kill anyone in its falling path
Fixed a hang in terrain streaming, causing the user to get stuck on black screen under special circumstances in Singleplayer
Fixed a problem where the enemy would not be able to get a roadkill on a user that was using the SOFLAM
Fix for soldiers disappearing in the mortar killcam
Fixed Laser Guided Missiles missing their targets if the target is moving too fast
Fixed a bug with terrain destruction not being reset on Operation Metro. Caused players to be able to below ground in some situations
Fix for Type88 and the MG36 zoom in animation that was offset when in supported shooting
Fixed a bad logic destruction connection causing clients to crash
Fixed several dog tags that had wrong stats referenced, meaning they would show wrong kill numbers on them
Tweaked the TV guided missile, so it can no longer bounce off objects
 
Balance Changes
Increased the damage of Helicopter Miniguns, AA guns, and Jet Cannons against infantry
Increased the damage of Helicopter Miniguns against jeeps
Reduced the physics impact of AA guns and Jet Cannons, players under attack from these weapons should no longer lose control
Increased the damage of the 44 Magnum slightly
Increased the range and minimum damage of the .357 Round from the MP412 Rex
Increased the range of all .45cal and 9mm weapons
Slightly increased the range of the P90 and MP7 and PDW-R
Slightly increased the range of the 5.56mm PDW-R and decreased the minimum damage at long range
Slightly increased the minimum range of the Mk11, SVD, and M39 EMR 7.62mm rifles
Decreased the maximum damage and maximum range of the G3 and SCAR-H 7.62mm weapons
Reduced the damage from FIM-92 and SA-18 IGLA missiles against aircraft
Increased the damage and range of the 40mm BUCK rounds
Reduced the damage .50cal weapons do against Helicopters
Updated T90 canister shell tweaks to match Abrams canister shells