Greetings Axeheads and welcome to that little slice of heaven we call the weekend! With this week’s blitzkrieg of news coming out of GDC we’ve seen a veritable ass-cake worth of new screens and videos to get us sold on a new slew of games. Impressive as some of them are, it all smells a bit dog to me.

You see, advertising isn’t about a clever product that solves a problem, or getting a laugh out of someone before you show them your URL (those all these can be effective tools). Advertising is about linking a product to a person’s identity or even creating that identity. To really sell someone something you don’t appeal to what they like, but rather who they are.

At this point you’re asking yourself, “Brent, what the shit are you talking about?” I’m talking about Valve. I’m talking about one of the most clever viral marketing ops in recent memory. And it all started with an innocuous update to Portal.
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Greetings Axeheads! We come, once again, to the end of a week full of insightful discussion and superb punditry. We’re going to close out the conversation on game delays with a Battle Cry that puts some pragmatic perspective on the high-profile delays of 2009. Were the rash of delays from late last year a good thing? Could we have afforded all those games anyway? Is the game industry harming themselves irrevocably by leaning on the delay crutch too often, rather than simply being smarter with their scheduling? AxedWheelie makes the case…
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Ubisoft’s Maxime Béland appeared on-camera recently to answer some fan questions. In the video, Béland confirmed that there will be a demo available for Splinter Cell: Conviction. What map will be featured in the demo? Well its a secret. When should we expect it? Secret.

If only they’d employed this same strategy when dealing with the actual game’s release date. Its difficult to even prove there’s been a delay when the release date is such a closely guarded secret.

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Greetings! As the discussion continues this week on delays and whether they help or hurt the games we play, we bring you another stellar Member BattleCry. We’re seeing a lot of good points raised in the dialogue on this subject and many people are pointing out two situations; one where the delay helped and the other where not so much.

Coky14 checks in with not only two such examples, but also so insightful comments on how gamers perception affects their attitude about the delay as well as the psychological impact of  a firm street date being broken vs a vague release window changing. Let’s turn things over to him…
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If you learn one thing today, know that EA DICE isn’t shy of taking on the 800 lb. gorilla named Modern Warfare 2. The same day (March 30th) gamers will see the first map pack hit for MW2, DICE will bring out its second VIP Map Pack for Battlefield: Bad Company 2. The new content will allow gamers to tackle Arica Harbor in Conquest Mode and Laguna Presa in Rush Mode.

EA DICE was more than happy to point out that their DLC will be available for all systems day and date (unlike the timed-360-exclusive DLC for MW2) and, further, they’re excited to offer their new maps ‘free’ of charge to ensure everyone can play together. Getting the new maps ‘free’ only applies if you purchased the game new; the same unlock codes that got you the first on-disc maps when BBC2 launched will also score you this one for free. If you picked it up used however, you’ll be shelling out more cash to get the new goodies. Hope you got a decent priced on the used copy to start with…

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Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest has been delayed once more. Publisher Warner Bros has revealed the release date is now projected to be fall 2010. Its not all bad news though. The PlayStation 3 version of the title will now support the recently announced PlayStation Move giving the Wii a little competition in the motion-control department. Both the Wiimote and Move will allow players to accurately control weapon strikes in the game as well as in co-op gameplay exclusive to the PS3 and Wii.

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We have news from GDC that Green Day: Rock Band, the latest branded entry in the Harmonix music franchise, now has an official release date…and a whole mess of details. The game will be hitting stores in both disc-only and ‘Plus’ editions; the later of which ships for the 360 and PS3 only, features free song export to those systems, and six DLC tracks from Green Day.

The disc-only version will still allow song export to Sony and Microsoft consoles for a small fee. The game spans Green Day’s career thus far, features 47 tracks, three-part harmonies, and 100 collectible images as well as 40 minutes of video to unlock. Green Day: Rock Band hits the stage on June 8th for 360, PS3, and Wii

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Krome Studios new game Blade Kitten is a 2D side-scroller that looks like a cell shaded Japanime fun-fest. In a recent interview with GameTrailers.com at GDC, Krome’s Creative Director Steve Stamatiadis talks about the game’s combat, the currency system, its length (3-6 hours) and the game’s graphics. For fans of the side-scrolling genre, this game looks to be quite an intriguing one.

Blade Kitten is a PSN exclusive that is set to be released this Spring. Check out the video interview here.

Greetings Axeheads and welcome! We’re hitting the downward slope of the week and we continue our series of Member BattleCries on delayed games. Do delays irrevocably harm a game’s standing with players? Does a delay permanently derail the buzz train? Or do delays make better games? Guaranteeing a better experience for players by giving more precious time for devs to tweak and perfect their work?

Today’s MBC comes from Gun_Metal_Tiger and he’s sounding off on one of the most anticipated and delayed titles in this (and possibly any other) generation. After years of waiting, countless delays, Gran Turismo 5 has reached true infamy at this point. However, through the release of GT5 Prologue and the more recent Time Trial demo, we’ve also seen how the additional time has affected the game. Lets turn things over to Gun_Metal_Tiger to make the case…
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Shields at the front and spears at the ready, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s skirmish, we reflect on the PSN ApocolyPS3, check out the Blur mutiplayer beta, mourn the delay of Red Dead Redemption, and ponder the graphic differences between Final Fantasy XIII on the 360 and PS3.

First up in the main course this week, we talk about Steam coming to the Mac and all that means for Apple gamers. We also take a look at the rumors Sony is prepping some sort of mobile device to compete with the iPhone. Next up, we look back over the drama between Activision and Infinity Ward and what the future holds for the Call of Duty franchise.

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to the G.G. Collection, Valve, Mafia II, and The Secret World.

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