Gamestop Removes Onlive Codes from Deus Ex: Human Revolution

We have all heard the horror stories of some of the actions that Gamestop has taken in the past regarding the games they sell, but it may seem that they actually topped themselves. It has been revealed that Gamestop is now removing the complimentary Onlive version of the recently released Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which comes bundled in the retail box. Onlive, a fairly new cloud gaming service that allows gamers the chance to play PC games without a fancy gaming rig, had bundled a code into the retail version of Deus Ex which allowed all who bought the PC version of the game a chance to use the code for a complimentary version on the Onlive servers.

A scan of the email sent out to the Gamestop employee who reported the news to Gamespy.

According to a Gamestop employee, who contacted Gamespy on the issue, all employees received an email from Gamestop corporate offices to “please immediately remove and discard the On Live coupon from all regular PC versions of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Our desire is to not have this coupon go to any customers after this announcement.” This statement has been confirmed by a Gamestop representative who replied to Gamespy stating: “Square Enix packed the competitor’s coupon with our DXHR product without our prior knowledge and we did pull and discard these coupons”. Onlive and Square Enix have yet to comment on the issue.

Source: Gamespy.com

Game Releases: Week of August 7th, 2011

Puzzler World 2 (August 9^th / NDS)

Sniper: Ghost Warrior (Extended Edition) (August 9^th / Xbox 360)

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (August 9^th / NDS)

Picture Puzzle Collection (August 9^th / NDS)

Planet War (August 9^th / PC)

Hunting Unlimited: Expedition 3 Pack (August 9^th / PC)

Hidden Mysteries: Royal Family Secrets (August 9^th / PC)

The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (August 9^th / NDS)

Fruit Ninja Kinect (August 10^th / Xbox 360)

Eternal Destiny (August 11^th / PC)

Zoonies: Escape from Makatu (August 11^th / DSi Ware)

Edge (August 11^th / PC)

Kyotokei (August 11^th / Wii)

New Star Soccer 5 (August 11^th / PC)

Did we miss any game releases this week? Let us know at Gamertonic@yahoo.com or down in the comments.

Minecraft vs Bethesda and Maroon 5 vs Activision

Lawsuits are a very common thing in the gaming industry. Normally, they don’t come out in the open. Today, we have two different lawsuits out in the open.

First, Bethesda is suing the makers of Minecraft. Don’t worry though. It has nothing to do with the gameplay of Minecraft. Though, I could see your Skyrim character mining through to find items. No? Alright then, I’ll move on.

The reason that Bethesda is suing is because Bethesda wants to stop Notch from using the word “scrolls” when Minecraft releases. Bethesda has the phrase ‘The Elder Scrolls’ trademarked.

Six month ago, while getting the right to Minecraft, Notch also filed for the trademark of ‘scrolls’, the next project right after Minecraft. Around that same time, lawyers from Bethesda contacted Notch about concerns with the trademark. Notch seriously considered the concerns and tried to compromise, even though he believes that scrolls does not infringe on Bethesda’s copyright.

Notch has this to say about the altercation. “The implication that you could own the right to all individual words within a trademark is also a bit scary. We looked things up and realized they didn’t have much of a case, but we still took it seriously. Nothing about Scrolls is meant to in any way derive from or allude to their games.”

Nothing was heard of the lawsuit until today. Notch received a 15 page letter from Bethesda threatening to sue if the use the ‘scrolls’ was continued to be used.

“I assume this nonsense is partly just their lawyers being lawyers, and a result of trademark law being the way it is.” Notch stated after getting the letter.

That is not all of the legal news that came out today. Maroon 5’s lead singer Adam Levine is also filing a lawsuit against Activision for using his ‘likeness’ in Band Hero, a music game release back in 2009.

Levine did mo-capping for the game expecting that his avatar would only be singing Maroon 5 songs. Little did he know that his avatar was able to perform the over 60+ songs available from Band Hero.

The lawsuit states that his name and likeness are used in the game in ways that ignore his original agreement. Levine was not happy to learn that his avatar could perform songs from the game that he did not agree too. He also takes issue that his avatar can sing with voices that are not his own, including female voices. The lawsuit is for “fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, violation of the common-law right of publicity and unfair business acts or practices.”

The damages Levine is seeking are unknown at this time.

Sources: The Wrap, IGN.com, G4TV.com

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collector’s Edition Announced

This is the collector's edition for Skyrim

Bethesda  announced the Skyrim collector edition today. Fans have been craving it, and it has been searched for all over the internet. Now we have details about what is inside the Collector’s Edition, the price, and when it will be released.

The Collector’s Edition will be $149.99 (USD). It will contain an art book, a DVD about the making of the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and a 12” (inch) tall dragon statue. There is also a giant cloth map, located at the bottom of the picture.

Do you guys think this is enough to spend $150 on? What else would you have included for that price? Let us know in the comments, or at GamerTonic@yahoo.com

Source:  IGN.com

Twisted Metal Delayed Until 2012.

David Jaffe, co-founder of Eat Sleep Play, has announced that Twisted Metal have been delayed until early 2012. Twisted Metal was originally announced for an October 4^th, 2011; now we have no word on an official release date.

Jaffe explained that the reason of the delaying of Twisted Metal is “to ship the best Twisted Metal ever made.”

Do you think that this was the real reason Jaffe delayed the project? How do you feel about the game being delayed? Let us know in the comments, or at GamerTonic@yahoo.com.

Resistance 3 has Gone Gold, with Bonus Content on the Disc.

Resistance 3 has gone gold, and is ready for the September 6^th release date. It just so happens that the Resistance 3 beta started today also. Even though the game has gone gold, Insomniac games said that they are not done with the game. “Even now, our work isn’t complete, as we are actively working on the Online Beta, and will be bringing a Day 1 Patch to the game to bring updates and tweaks to the final product,” Senior Community Manager, James Stevenson said on the PlayStation Blog.

As said earlier, the Resistance 3 beta has started today. Check out my Resistance 3 beta breakdown. We talk about when you can get in, and how you can get in. Sadly, I will have no coverage of the game until August 23^rd, so be sure to check that out when it is put up.

Back to business, Resistance 3 will have a lot of bonus content on the disc. Killzone 3 and MotorStorm Apocalypse demos will be available in full 3D. 2D is also available on the disc. Trailers and developer interviews are also available for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, SOCOM 4, God of War: Origins, and Starhawk. Don’t fear people, there’s a lot more available. Sony Pictures and Sony Music will also add music videos from Ozzy Osborne, Foo Fighters, Incubus, and AC/DC are also available day one on the disc.

Resistance 3 is the 3^rd game in the series that started when the PlayStation 3 launch. Resistance 3 takes play 4 years after Resistance 2. I promise I won’t spoil anything, but you will be playing as Joseph Capelli. If you want to learn about the story, the Resistance dual pack is available for $40 at any retailer. Sadly, no beta code is available within the game.

Anything you want to add in the article. Do you have an opinion about the day 1 patch coming for the multiplayer? Let us know in the comments, or e-mail us at GamerTonic@yahoo.com.

Ono Talks Street Fighter X Tekken

For those of you (like me) that love fighting games, you probably saw Evo this past weekend. I just so happened to be there. Along with Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Street Fighter X Tekken was there. I did not play it enough to actually give out details, but that’s where the PlayStation Blog comes in. Since GamerTonic does not have enough press pull to talk to anyone big in the industry yet, I thought that I would share with you guys the interview the PlayStation blog put up.

Yoshinori Ono, the producer of Street Fighter X Tekken, and the PlayStation Blog talks about Ono and Katsuhiro Harada, producer and creative mind behind Tekken, fighting it out in a recent Capcom video. They also talked about other series that could possibly cross with Street Fighter, why Cole was introduced into the game, the PS Vita, and why they chose to collaborate with Tekken.

I’ll put a couple of quotes below, but it would be beneficial to read the fill interview, which I will link below.

“It was a good collaborative process.” Ono states, in regards of the addition of Cole from inFAMOUS 2. “Sucker Punch offered us a lot of information and data, so we’ve done our best to mimic the way he looks and feels. It was a fun process that’s still ongoing, but it’s been a real pleasure working with those guys.

We actually set up a meeting between the presidents of both companies (Capcom and Namco Bandai). I was a little nervous — I thought they might back out or be lukewarm on the idea. Sixty seconds later, they’re shaking hands and the deal is done. So this was the right time to do this.”

The full interview is right here.

PS: Let ‘em know that GamerTonic sent you.