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The country's biggest gaming chain is directing gamers to a June 2 release. Read more...

Sony has made it clear that the original development philosophy of the PSP -- porting console experiences to a handheld -- was a failed one.

The new model, as Sony has described it to MTV Multiplayer several times, is rooted in expanding big franchises with a new experience on PSP.

When I recently spoke with John Koller, head of hardware marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America, he specifically cited "Transformers" and "Iron Man" as proof that a new PSP development model, one anchored on franchises, was working.

But there's a problem...

Those games are only half of the "winning" equation he's talking about. "Transformers" and "Iron Man" are ports of console games. "Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core," however, is something wholly unique but rooted in a giant franchise. So, can franchise alone carry a game? If it's big enough, Sony argues.

The NPD Group told MTV Multiplayer that the PSP version of "Transformers" sold 442,000 copies, while "Iron Man" pushed 242,000 copies. In Sony's eyes, those are both extremely successful PSP games...even if they use a "failed model."

Koller has told me several times to expect big franchise games to be announced 2009. Those should start being announced soon. But will the inevitable "Transformers 2" and "Iron Man 2" follow the same formula?

[Image Credit: Paramount Pictures]

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If you wanted "Gears of War 2" or "Wrath of the Lich King" ahead of their publisher-dictated release dates, word on the street was that 7-Eleven was the place to go.

7-Eleven is usually where you'd go for a late-night snack or a Slurpee, but recently they've gotten into the business of selling video games -- and selling them early.

But they want to change that.

"[We need] to comply with industry standards," 7-11 spokesperson Margaret Chabris told MTV Multiplayer when we inquired about the chain's newfound reputation. "Not only do we council them [infringing stores] but right now we're working with our legal department to develop a policy that we're going to be sharing with our franchisees at our stores saying there would be repercussions if they didn't comply."

Considering that 7-Eleven announced last week they intend to become a regular supplier of games to their customers, that policy better kick in pretty soon.

Did you pick up any of this holiday's big games early at 7-Eleven?

I called an GameStop near me on two separate days to confirm the Wiis they were advertising as "in-stock" weren't overpriced bundles.

Turns out they weren't. Then, I went to Target and found another batch of Wiis -- none of them were bundles either. What's going on here?!

There aren't stacks and stacks of Wiis at retail, but it does appear you can start randomly walking into stores and having a decent chance of picking one up. Are you guys noticing the same thing happening elsewhere, or is San Francisco just saturated with Wiis?

Maybe this has been happening for a few weeks now -- October hardware sales would indicate that -- and I've just been conditioned to not look for Wiis.

Let me know what you guys are seeing in your neck of the woods.

"AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack" can "only" be purchased at Wal-Mart or at the retailer's online website. Those aren't the easiest options for people who don't live near Wal-Marts.

So MTV Games and Harmonix teamed with AC/DC to set up temporary mobile stores that would be situated around the country to sell copies of the game.

I haven't seen one in San Francisco, but just outside of my hotel in Los Angeles, guest blogger Michelle Zeller and I found one. Here's what it looks like…

Read more...

Atlus has a hardcore following that snaps up all of their games. They are not a Square Enix, but Atlus knows that and caters to their fans.

While checking out a demo for "Persona 4" last week, I noticed it was shipping on December 9, a date before Christmas but after the Thanksgiving sales rush.

I wondered whether a release date matters for a game like "Persona." Why not just wait until January or February, when people might have gift cards, etc.?

"The one problem is from a retail standpoint, retailers are very averse, across the board, to bringing anything in after Thanksgiving," said Atlus' manage of public relations and sales Aram Jabbari, as our demo came to a close. "If they can avoid any product in December, they will."

Until February, Jabbari explained, retailers want to move their excess stock. They don't want new products. Atlus recently received word "Persona 4" is approved for release and will hit its release date. If that hadn't happened…

"What that means is, if a game [like 'Persona'] is to slip and it was set for the first week of December, it's essentially the kiss of death," said Jabbari. "Every retailer would cancel orders. That's why you don't see many games coming out December through February."

An early year release didn't hurt "Resident Evil 4." Maybe companies like Atlus could avoid this problem with digital distribution. What do you think, readers?

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When XS Games decided to make "PopStar Guitar" for Wii, they intended to make a full-fledged guitar peripheral for it, a PR rep told me during a demo last week.

But retail pushed back. They weren't willing to stock yet another large plastic instrument.

XS Games went another route and produced a small add-on easily grafted onto the already existing Wiimote.

When XS Games sat down to demo "PopStar Guitar" to Wal-Mart, for example, one of the executives spent ten minutes explaining the problem of every single publisher coming out with a new, big controller. He let out a sigh of satisfaction when the Wiimote add-on was then shown. (A GameStop rep addressed the same issue of instrument-controller clutter with Multiplayer last month.)

With Activision Blizzard having jumped into the world of full-band music games with "Guitar Hero World Tour," are we about to see the death of new music game peripherals? There are already indicators this is happening -- Konami didn't make a guitar for "Rock Revolution." Or, perhaps, it will simply be limited to the guaranteed moneymakers like "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band."

Competition is good. But the sheer size of music game controllers could mean we're about to see some stagnation in variety. Are you okay with that?

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Sitting around the Xbox telling horror stories of trips to GameStop is a regular experience for the MTV.com Video Games team in my four-person office. As is the tradition amongst gamers throughout the world (they have stores in sixteen countries), complaining about the nation's most prevalent gaming retailer is almost guaranteed given the chain's tendency for sub par service by "know-it-all" fanboys.

I too have had many stories to tell, the worst of which happened on a recent trip to purchase "Beautiful Katamari," but instead of a story of frustration and defeat my story is one of triumph, and satisfaction. Sadly that is not the norm with this store, but hopefully we can make a difference by showing you how to turn a GameStop negative into a positive worth $25.

Read more...