FortressCraft, Minecraft Clone On Xbox Indies, Makes $1 Million

Castrum - This is why Xbox Indies are a joke:

Last year, Minecraft made about a zillion kroner in the time it takes to nuke a Hot Pocket. This year, FortressCraft, the Minecraft knockoff homage on the Xbox Live Indie Games channel, has now bagged a cool million inside of the first six months it was available on the service.

Developers like Robir and Ishisoft bust their asses to make original, interesting games, and then lazy opportunistic douchebags like Fortresscraft's make ten times as much money as they have in a couple of months. I also like how the game's devs vehemently state FC is nothing like MC, as if changing some enemy spawns and updating graphics somehow counts as any real difference.

http://kotaku.com/5829804/fortresscraft-breaks-the-1-million-barrier-on-xbox-live-indie-games

PSN Store Update - Week of August 7th

Castrum - Yeah, I know, late to the party. I figured you guys would appreciate knowing what came out on PSN last week anyways:

Games & Demos for PlayStation 3

Far Cry 2 ($29.99)
Madden NFL 12 demo
Driver: San Francisco single-player demo

Games & Demos for PSP

Gamelion Summer Minis Bundle 2011 ($2.99)

Add-ons & Expansions

ModNation Racers Haunted Parts Pack ($4.99)
LittleBigPlanet 2 Perseids costume (Free)
TestYourself: Attention ($1.99)
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon – Death From Above! Jet Armor Weapon Pack ($2.99)
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon – Pounds Of Pain! Battle Armor Weapon Pack ($2.99)
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3: Mobile Suit Pack 2 ($5.99)
Mortal Kombat – Freddy Kreuger ($4.99)
Mortal Kombat – DLC Warrior Bundle ($14.99)
Worms 2: Armageddon Forts Pack ($4.99)
Worms 2: Armageddon Puzzle Pack ($4.99)

Rock Band 3 tracks

• "Animal (Live)" by Def Leppard ($1.99)

• "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" by Def Leppard ($1.99)

• "Photograph" by Def Leppard ($1.99)

• "Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live)" by Def Leppard ($1.99)

• "Rock Of Ages" by Def Leppard ($1.99)

• "Undefeated" by Def Leppard ($1.99)

• Def Leppard Pack 01 ($9.99) – "Animal (Live)", "Bringin' On The Heartbreak", "Photograph", "Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live)", "Photograph", "Rock Of Ages" and "Undefeated"

Rock Band Network tracks

• "Crazy" by Nonpoint ($1.99)

• "Miracle" by Nonpoint ($1.99)

• "Positive Force" by Magnus ‘SoulEye' Pålsson ($0.99)

• "The Battle Of Lil' Slugger" by dB soundworks ($0.99)

• "What's Left Of Me" by Blessthefall ($1.99)

Game Videos

Pulse 8/9 Edition 

Starhawk: Telling The Story

Mortal Kombat Trailer

RAGE Untethered Trailer  

Phineas and Ferb: Across The Second Dimension – Gameplay Trailer

BloodRayne: Betrayal Trailer

Eufloria Trailer

Themes, Wallpapers & Avatars

Castlevania: Symphony of The Night Theme ($1.99)
Destination: Seattle Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
Orange Flares Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
Dynamic Bulldog Theme ($2.99)
Dynamic British Bulldog Theme ($2.99)
After Glow Theme ($1.99)
MotorStorm Helmet Avatar ($0.49)

Sales, Price Drops & Bundles

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad Of Gay Tony – Sale (PS3) (now $9.99, original price $19.99)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost And Damned – Sale (PS3) (now $4.99, original price $9.99)
Midnight Club Los Angeles – South Central Ultimate Content Pack – Sale (PS3) (now $6.49, original price $12.50)
Red Dead Redemption – Deadly Assassin Outfit – Sale (PS3) (now $0.49, original price $0.99)
Red Dead Redemption – Golden Guns Weapon Pack – Sale (PS3) (now $0.99, original price $0.99)
Red Dead Redemption – Legends And Killers Pack – Sale (PS3) (now $4.99, original price $9.99)
Red Dead Redemption – Liars And Cheats – Sale (PS3) (now $4.99, original price $9.99)
Red Dead Redemption – Undead Nightmare Collection (DLC Bundle) – Sale (PS3) (now $9.99, original price $19.99)
Red Dead Redemption – Undead Nightmare Pack – Sale (PS3) (now $4.99, original price $9.99)
Red Dead Redemption – War Horse Pack – Sale (PS3) (now $0.99, original price $0.99)
Megaman 10 – Mega DLC Bundle – Sale (PS3) (now $2.99, original price $4.99)
Megaman 9 – DLC Bundle – Sale (PS3) (now $2.99, original price $4.99)
Boom Beats – Minis – Sale (PS3/PSP) (now $1.99, original price $3.99)
TestYourself: Psychology Xl (Bundle) ($5.99)

PlayStation Plus

Comix Zone (free)
Crash Commando Add-On Bundle (free)
Far Cry 2 full game trial
Street Fighter 3: Online Edition pre-order ($11.99) – Releases 8/23
The Baconing pre-order ($11.99) – Releases 8/30
BloodRayne: Betrayal pre-order ($11.99) – Releases 9/6
Renegade Ops pre-order ($11.99) – Releases 9/13

I still have no idea why anyone would subscribe to PlayStation Plus. Yay, free games I won't have access to once I stop paying!

http://kotaku.com/5829264/playstation-store-update-a-nightmare-in-north-america

To The Surprise Of No One, Epic Is Working On A New Game

Castrum - Hopefully it isn't another macho explosionfest for all the ADD tweens out there:

The people who make Gears of War (and Unreal Tournament, Infinity Blade) also have a "new unannounced IP in development" at its North Carolina HQ, according to a gameplay programmer job opening. Surprising? Not really. But intriguing? Oh yes!

(Full disclosure: I enjoyed Unreal Tournament 1 and 2004, as well as Gears 1 and 2)

http://kotaku.com/5828930/epic-games-has-something-all+new-in-the-works-after-gears-3

Portal 2 Now $30, The Price It Should Always Have Been

Castrum - So Portal 2 is now $30 on Steam, which quite honestly should have been its launch price. Hell, it should be the launch price of any FPS these days with a 4 - 10-hour storyline (which, admittedly, would be most of them). I may pick this up now, though chances are I'll be waiting for Steam's annual Christmas Sale before I partake:

http://kotaku.com/5828879/portal-2-is-now-cheaper

Too Human's Third Anniversary

Castrum - Just thought I'd give a shout-out to the guys over at SiliconKnights.net. They're holding a big contest/event for Too Human's third anniversary, with co-op and developer chat for all. Head on over to SK.net to see the details:

http://www.siliconknights.net/

Personally, I loved Too Human, especially its premise and combat, but the game did have some big flaws. Word is a sequel's on the way, so hopefully those issues will be resolved by then.

Pandaren Finally Coming To WoW?

Castrum - And I quote:

With Blizzcon only a few months away, a trademark filing has surfaced hinting at what could be one of the last big hurrahs for the aging MMO.

Dated from last week in the US, it's for something called Mists of Pandaria...

Honestly, it's about time Blizz caved in to fanboy demand. At least now the Alliance (who will inevitably get to play as them) will look even more ridiculous and childish than they did before, what with all the Chinese Tony the Tigers running around. I wonder what race the Horde will get...

http://kotaku.com/5827221/is-world-of-warcraft-taking-giant-man+pandas-a-little-more-seriously

Single-Player Games > Multiplayer Games

Castrum - Personally, I couldn't give two shits about most Multiplayer games, except for wanting many of them to fail so that developers can stop wasting money trying to dethrone the latest Call Of Duty clone on Xbox Live and go back to making interesting, unique and immersive games.

I find Single-Player games to be vastly more entertaining, require far less set-up, and are as intense or laid-back as you choose to play. As well, there is also something to be said for the unique nature of Player-vs-Player gameplay, but I prefer Co-Op over PvP any day. I would rather help someone succeed in the game alongside myself than stomp them into the dirt, and vice versa.

http://kotaku.com/5826946/look-single+player-people-are-just-better