If you didn't think every single third-party peripheral provider would try to snag a piece of the band game pie, we guess you thought wrong, huh? With outfits like Mad Catz and Ion already jumping in, it was only a matter of time before Logitech threw on its tightest jeans, blacked out its blond hair and threw up some horns. Details are admittedly scarce, but the company has promised to provide "premium instruments" for Guitar Hero: World Tour on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and the Wii. Rockers can expect the new gear to start shipping "later this year," though prices, designs and pretty much anything else of importance remains a mystery.
A few 60GB Xbox 360s may have already slipped out to retailers (as evidenced above), but if you're not interested in running around trying to track one down, you can now snag one from Amazon and rest assured that it'll ship out post haste. If you've been following this SKU's every move, you'll notice that's a few days ahead of the August 4th date that Amazon once listed, and the August 6th date that Circuit City still does -- but hey, we're not complaining.
Update: Microsoft's Major Nelson has now confirmed that there is no official street date for the new 60GB model, "they'll just appear in the retail channels." Is this what happens when Bill G is out of the picture? Next thing we know Microsoft will start showing up late for parties and asking to sleep on our couch.
Overview : The Wiimote is a smart device, allowing you to carry your "Mii" on the go, and use it at a friends house. But, all wiimotes look the same. Enter the wiiID. The WiiID includes a custom battery cover with a clear window in it, and 8 different templates that you can put behind the window so you can easily tell your wiimote apart from everyone else's.
The WiiID is practical and entertaining at the same time, as you can put funny pictures inside your wiimote (like rusty gears, or an ear of corn) making your wiimote unique and fun.
Of course, you can also make your own template simply by printing your favoriate photo on your printer, and cutting it to the appropriate size.
Let your wiimote join the party, with the wiiID.
Included:
1 replacement battery cover
20 ready to use templates
Quality/Usability : The Nintendo Wii is a great console for the entire family to enjoy regardless of ones age. In order to get the family to play, you'll need multiple controllers. Of course, all the controllers look the same but like some people, they have their own dedicated controller. I know I do. Its my controller and no one else uses it.
To distinguish which controller belongs to who, some paint them, some put stickers on them, some put different colored silicone skins or even a dot of red nail polish like on turtles. Ok, maybe not the last part.
Talismoon has released Wii-ID Wiimote Battery Cover Kit. This is a battery cover but whats different is the clear screen. This allows you to insert your own design and is displayed right on the battery cover. The battery cover has a bit of a glossy look to it. At the bottom, instead of a Nintendo logo, it has a Talismoon logo.
Included are 20 ready to use designs but I counted 19. The included designs is nothing fancy and looks a little cheesy to me. Also included is a plastic template. This allows you to print out your design, use the template to trace the size and cut it. The size of the design/cut is 1.5" (width) x 3.25" (height). Although it gives you a plastic template to cut it to size, it doesnt include anything for when you design it. A Photoshop file should at least be hosted or something so you can design around that instead of designing it from scratch and having to play around with size.
Conclusion : Overall, the Wii Wii-ID Wiimote Battery Cover Kit is a nice idea when it comes to customization and/or knowing which Wiimote belongs to who but it falls short in some areas. The cover is glossy and the plastic clear screen looks like it can scratch easily. It comes with a plastic template that lets you trace the size but nothing is provided for when you design it. No size, no template, nothing. So if you're designing, you'll have to set it up yourself. Once you set up the correct size, you'll have to find out where the design becomes visible and where it is covered by the battery door.
If Talismoon is reading this, I suggest releasing a template file that allows people to just import their design, adjust accordingly and print. Who wants to buy a product that makes you do extra work by having to play around configuring your own template just to print your own design? I dont.
After a long long delay from that March 2007 announcement, Sony Japan just opened its doors to applications for the closed beta testing of PlayStation Home. Sony expects to drop 10,000 gamers (18 years old and up) into the virtual world when it launches in beta sometime in late August. Closed beta tests are due in other markets (er hem, the US) at about the same time with an open beta coming sometime later in the year. Lucky beta testers will be able to explore the 3D world and play games like PacMan in the Namco Museum,
We've been following the rumor since January, today it's official: LG's BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player will begin streaming Netflix movies in the US this September. The player will cost "well under $500" and allow Netflix members to stream more than 12,000 standard definition TV and films through the device at no additional increase to their monthly paid subscriptions. Members will use the Netflix website to add movies or TV to their individual instant queues. Movies will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds when selected from the TV where users can browse, make selections, read synopses, rate movies, and fast-forward / rewind video streams using the BD300's remote control. While specs on the player itself are scarce, we do know that it supports BD Live and LG's SimpLink technology to integrate easily with LG TVs and AV products. One thing's for sure, with this deal announced and those with Roku and the Xbox 360 in the bag, it looks like Netflix is grown-up and ready for the digital age.
Although the 30-pin Dock connector in the iPhone 3G looks the same as it has since it was introduced in the 2G iPod, it's different in one important (and maddening) way -- it doesn't support charging the older FireWire charging pins, only the newer USB method. That means a whole host of older chargers and docks don't work with the iPhone 3G -- and it also means that we'll be seeing a lot of adapters like this one from Ridax make the scene. Hopefully other manufacturers won't see fit to charge a whopping $40 for two connectors and a resistor like Ridax, but if you're desperate enough to drop two Jacksons on this thing, you'll also be able to charge through the built-in mini-USB connector on the side. We'll wait, though -- we expect to see some cheaper, smaller options on the table by the time this thing ships in September.
Kotaku has a host of screenshot images from the new upcoming Wii sim, SimCity Creator. Looks like the new SimCity allows you to not only build and manage a city, but utilize a whole new range of disaster tools as well. Can't wait to introduce my citizens to the new hand of God.
JV Games was all set to release 'Beer Pong' for the Nintendo Wii when parents and lawmakers got a whiff, forcibly renaming the game to Pong Toss and filling its pixelated cups with water instead. But the game is still rated 'T' for teen, and anybody who encounters it will be able to draw clear conclusions as to its intended purpose (drink and get drunk)."
Lesson: Don't play games that simulate drinking before you play games that simulate driving, or larceny.
Veteran agent Sam Fisher is back. But he's never faced an enemy like this before. To stop a devastating terrorist attack, he must infiltrate a vicious terrorist group and destroy it from within. For the first time ever, experience the relentless tension and gut-wrenching dilemmas of life as a double agent. As you infiltrate a terrorist organization in its American headquarters, you must carefully weigh the consequences of your actions. Kill too many criminals and you'll blow your cover. Hesitate too long and millions will die. Do whatever it takes to complete your mission, but get out alive.
The Infem.In LCD Cleaner & Case is an officially licensed item, which made by super material, has high quatily.It has a LCD screen,and can an removes dust and dirt thoroughly.
It is for NDS Lite only.
The Infem.In Hard Cover is a officially licensed item, which made by super material, has high quatily.It also can give your console good protection.
It id designed simple but fashion,with fine patterns on the side. It is for NDS Lite only.
The Infem.In Card Case is a officially licensed item, which made by super material, has high quatily.It also can hold 4 cards.
It id designed simple but fashion,with fine patterns on the side. It is for NDS Lite only.
Square Enix's Dragon Quest V remake for the Nintendo DS enjoys another week atop the Media Create software sales charts, further proving my theory that Japanese people like Dragon Quest. A few new name make top ten appearances, including the excellently titled Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! DS Flame Rumble Hyper - Moeyo Mirai.
Wario Land: Shake It!'s debut, as well as that of the overseas release of Bully, is far less impressive. Nintendo-based titles continue to dominate the charts, with 19 of the top 30 games released on the DS and Wii.
01. Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu No Hanayome (DS) - 190,000 / 834,000
02. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 15 (PS2) - 84,000 / NEW
03. Gundam Battle Universe (PSP) - 43,000 / 180,000
04. Eiyuu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki the 3rd (PSP) - 39,000 / NEW
05. SIREN: New Translation (PS3) - 35,000 / NEW
06. Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! DS Flame Rumble Hyper - Moeyo Mirai (DS) - 32,000 / NEW
07. Wii Fit (Wii) - 30,000 / 2,410,000
08. Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii) - 25,000 / NEW
09. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 25,000 / 1,610,000
10. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 15 (Wii) - 22,000 / NEW
11. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (DS)
12. Persona 4 (PS2)
13. Kirarin * Revolution: Minna de Odorou Furi Furi Debut! (DS)
14. Densetsu no Stafi: Taiketsu! Dire Kaizokudan (DS)
15. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP)
16. Bimoji Training DS (DS)
17. Bully (PS2)
18. Wii Sports (Wii)
19. Derby Stallion DS (DS)
20. Bully: Scholarship Edition (Xbox 360)
21. Mario Super Sluggers (Wii)
22. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 3 (PSP)
23. Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi (PS3)
24. Meccha! Taiko Drum Master DS: 7-tsu no Shima no Daibouken (DS)
25. Family Trainer: Athletic World (Wii)
26. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
27. Twilight Syndrome: Kinjiratera Toshi Densetsu (DS)
28. Pokémon Diamond (DS)
29. Wii Play (Wii)
30. Mario Kart DS (DS)
Ron has released his Commodore 64 Emulator for Dreamcast, heres the release details:
Some already know that I'm going through the stage MBC and turns with Panera, which symbolically and in key humor is how I see the Commodore Vic 20 and 64.
This version is a port of the version that DreamFrodo 0.94 ported Tolga Abaci based on the 4.1 Frodo by Christian Bauer.
Initially developed to run on a version of KOS (0.9 * 1.0 + newlib) very primitive (version 2001 * 2002), and therefore not incompatible with the compiler toolchains current version is updated from 1.3 to KOS (KallistiOS 1.3 svn updated to 561) is the DreamFrodo 0.94 (2002). Therefore it comes to the rescue emulator and make it available to update with more modern tools.
Well, all you enjoy the C64 already have an emulator with a lot of options, all functional and above all the more surprising is its speed. This first version alpha is activated emulation unit 1541, which recommend that disable for greater compatibility and Joystick default is switched to port2 of C64 (most of the games use).
Supports two Pads connected keyboard and Dreamcast, has a virtual keyboard which is accessed through the X button to access the main menu emulator simply pressing START. Being totally lost in Castilian not be getting any for guiding the options.
In principle should open zip files, but yet has given me time to try it, so appeal to all those who want to collaborate with the development and updating of emulator doing the work of beta testing. You can post your views and comments.
Have lots of BUGS, are visible if you fijais, such as the blitteo depending on which games, so the most important thing is to go for future corrections detecting anything that improves the emulator on loyalty and quality.
In short days after a cleaning source publishing sources, which actually unchanged except all parts of KOS who have had to be rewritten to work in environments up to date.
In this version my thanks to my great teacher Troy Davis, aka GPF and my good colleagues Indiket and Guaripolo stamina when I'm in a trance DC.
WiiMU is a PoC "Channel Launcher" app for the Wii. It eventually aims to completely replace the System Menu in functionality. At the moment it is quite far from that goal, but it does have a start. It currently:
Lists all installed Channels. (Does not include those with only a ticket)
Allows selection of the Channel to load.
Allows launching of a disc.
Allows return to loader.
Allows return to real System Menu.
Has a NAND Dumper. Thanks to Redbird who released YaWnD, I was able to add this to the release. This is NOT my code, it is Redbirds.
Allows you to look at all save files on your Wii. Copying does not work yet.
Allows you to look at the configuration settings from your Wii.
Has a Main menu. Contains Launch Disc Launch a channel, dump NAND, return to Wii Menu, browse save files, look at configurations and return to Loader.
Please note that at the moment it DOES NOT REPLACE ANY SYSTEM FILES! It may eventually get to that point, but currently it is far from it. Only stable versions will be released with source.
Version 3 is out! New additions include:
Fixes a bug in which certain users couldn't get the list of channels.
Adds save file browsing. Copying does not work yet.
Adds a configuration viewer. Will eventually allow changing.
Adds launching a disc.
News/release from Vader347: of the Media Player for Wii.
Vader347's version of mplayerwii with the widescreen bug fixed can be found here. Vader347 claims that the only real change is one line of code (as recommended by pepsiman):
Ratatosk inaugurates section Wds Projects (project with WintenLib), with "Wdsrebonds v1.0 Alpha", it is of course a pong which proves that we can create homebrew with this library colors of the Windows XP .
The site's most famous player software for DS has just re-open! Well ... ok, it's really 15 days, but it is for our greatest pleasure!
And yes I speak well of ComicsBookDS!
The return of the site also means the return of publications online via WiFi that Gnese had put in place before the closure of its site a year ago and after the latest version of his work, version 3 (which is remember the collector) .
Possibility of changing the speed of the ball (If you put 2 bullets Thursday, the speed will be the same for 2)
Corrections several bug and big cleanup code
New ICON0 and PIC0
The Pong remains customisable
The files are optional customisation. If they are not present, the default will be used.
They are to be placed in the file of the homebrew, alongside the Eboot.
A Wallpaper: [Name: Fond.png] [Format: PNG] [Size: 480x272]
The racket left: [Name: Raquette1.png] [Format: PNG] [Size: 10x50]
The racket of law: [Name: Raquette2.png] [Format: PNG] [Size: 10x50]
The ball: [Name: Balle.png] [Format: PNG] [Size: 4x4]
The color used: [r.txt; Containing the value of your red color] [g.txt; Containing the value of your green color]
[b.txt; Containing the value of your blue color]
Tales of Vesperia is launching in Japan soon. August 7th, actually. And some people seem pretty excited. It's the tenth entry in the Tales series. The Namco Bandai title is an Xbox 360 exclusive, so that just might mean that Microsoft will move more than it's standard 3,000 Xbox 360s a week in Japan. Or not.
As of posting, Amazon Japan is sold out of new HDMI Xbox 360s (but does have Elites). HAPPINET, one of the major Xbox 360 distributors in Japan, are sold out of everything but the Elite. According to game store clerk threads on 2ch, the Xbox 360 will be restocked after Tales of Vesperia is released. What's more, the Tales of Versperia bundle is apparently limited to something like 7,000.
The reason for the shortages?
According to a 2ch. shop clerks thread, the problem is on the distribution end for the Tales of Vesperia bundle. And for the regular Xbox 360s, there could be increasing demand for Tales and other Japan-specific Xbox 360 titles. That, and the fact that there really weren't that many consoles in stock to begin with. Retailers obviously don't want to get burnt. Then there's always the matter of clearing out space for the new 60GB SKU.
Others think that the shortage is on purpose, because HAPPINET is run by Namco Bandai. Hey, if shortages work for Nintendo! Then again, this isn't Nintendo... This is Xbox Japan. They probably want to move as many consoles as possible.
But does that mean it's impossible to get an Xbox 360 in Japan at the moment? No, obviously not. Commenter Muu was recently in Tokyo for THE iDOLM@STER concert, telling us "I did see 360s still sitting around, but then again that's one of the biggest electronics hubs in the largest metropolitan area."
Sega's American president has compared his company to THQ recently, explaining that Sega's now competing with the "next tier" of publishers, but that it's not yet ready to take on the giants.
"THQ is a good company for us to model ourselves on and go after in terms of market share," Jeffrey said, adding that Sega has doubled its shares on the market annually.
To date, Sega's been successful competing with the likes of Capcom, Midway and Eidos, but Jeffrey said, "We don't intend to be an Activision or an Electronic Arts - one of those juggernauts. We're actually really happy where we are. We can be small and agile and yet extremely profitable and successful."
-mount/unmount the SD card and/or USB drive so you can swap them out without reloading MPlayerWii (thanks to rodries)
-added USB read-ahead cache (thanks to rodries)
-added preliminary samba network share support (thanks to scip)
-fixed startup crash when a usblan or usb keyboard is attached
-added network streaming cache
-added video scaling with the nunchuk (use joystick to move, Z button to stretch and C to reset)
-added configuration file (put in the SD root folder)
-new ascii logo by sensah
Another week gone and another round of console sales data from Japan is in, shown below:
Playstation Portable: 67,452
Nintendo DS Lite: 56,968
Nintendo Wii: 41,024
Playstation 3: 10,692
Playstation 2: 9,291
Xbox 360: 4,941
PSP drops roughly 6,600 but is on top as usual. DS Lite is next, up 2,400. Wii comes in, less 200. PS3 is next up, down 600. PS2 is 5th place, reduced by 250 or so. Xbox is last, up about 680.
Capcom in the US has admitted that sales of the PC version of Devil May Cry 4 are suffering due to severe piracy issues.
Writing on the official Capcom forums, vice president of strategic planning Christian Svensson said that the Japanese division has so far not allowed the title to be distributed digitally.
"I'm not sure about how Capcom in general feels but it's not doing as well as I would like in the US at retail," wrote Svensson.
"It's such a good version and it really deserves better sales. I know it's getting pirated to hell and back (it was up on torrents literally the day it shipped)."
"I certainly have pushed for digital distribution on the title but Capcom Japan so far has not allowed it."
Svensson added that all Capcom's US titles for the PC will eventually be distributed digitally, including the forthcoming Bionic Commando remake and new IP Dark Void.
"For the record all Capcom Entertainment developed titles will be distributed extremely widely via digital channels (not just Steam or Direct2Drive, but more than a dozen partners across more than 100 sites/portals for everything we do).
"I've spent the last year building up that channel and I'm continuing to add partners even in advance of Age of Booty, MotoGP, Neopets, Dark Void and Flock shipping," he said.
Svensson also hopes to convince execs in Japan that digital distribution would benefit the company, including titles such as DMC 4 which are developed in the region.
"I have a presentation I'm making shortly that I'm hoping will make that approach something we do with all of our PC content, even those developed in Japan, but no promises. It might not happen."
Id's next mobile game is Doom II RPG, the developer announced at QuakeCon tonight.
After showing off Wolfenstein RPG ("We've put the action-packed fun of kicking Nazi butt onto cell-phone") for mobile phone for a few minutes, Id Mobile's Katherine Anna Kang announced the game.
Thanks to id's new Tech 5 engine, Rage is one of the most absolutely stunning games on the horizon. But, according to tech god John Carmack, Doom 4 will look "three times" better. Wow-wee.
Speaking on stage at QuakeCon in Texas, Carmack said, "the next DOOM game will look like it's built on another engine, as it uses three times the horsepower," sending graphics whores into an uncontrollable spasm.
Apparently id's able to pull of such a massive leap in visual quality between the two because Doom will only run at 30fps, while Rage is locked at 60. Doom 4 will still feature "blood, demons, and gibs," too, said Carmack.
There's also hope for the series' usually lacklustre multiplayer mode, which will be afforded much more attention than it's usually received in the past. Doom 4 multiplayer will have a "much larger presence", said Carmack.
"[Doom 4 multiplayer] will not be as good of a multiplayer as Quake Live is, but it should still be good, and we will intend it to be better than Doom 3 or Quake 4 multiplayer," he added, being surprisingly frank for a games boss.
And while we're on the subject of Quake Live, which used to be called 'Quake Arena', Carmack revealed that the free-to-play shooter has to be renamed after an internet squatter hogged quakearena.com. Cheeky.
Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty is a $14.99 chunk of R&C goodness announced at E3 that picks up where the PlayStation 3's Tools of Destruction left off. It's got Ratchet hunting for his missing mechanoid pal, exciting new game mechanics to screw around with, and enough pirates to keep your booty moving for 3-4 hours. At $14.99 the game is a steal, but when can we steal it? August 21st, says the official PlayStation Blog, with Europe and North America getting the game simultaneously and Japan getting it on the 22nd, which could technically be the 21st for them anyway. Damn Japanese people, living in the future.
PlayStation 3 owners might not have long to wait for LittleBigPlanet, if a release date posted on the official Japanese website is anything to go by. Which it should be, to be fair...
Sony Japan has slapped a big October 30, 2008 on the Japanese LittleBigPlanet site, which you can see for yourself here.
Considering the game is being developed by British-based developer Media Molecule and SCEE is publishing it, you'd have thought they'd tell us first?
Anyway Sony UK is only saying 'October' at the moment. Play is listing the game for Oct. 31, but we think that might just be a guess. You'll have to wait and see then.
Microsoft has announced the demo for Too Human has been downloaded from Xbox Live 900,000 times.
Too Human, you may recall, is a 360 exclusive from Silicon Knights. Studio boss Denis Dyack is confident it's going to be marvellous - and he's not afraid to say so on the internet.
You'll be able to see for yourself next month as Too Human has gone gold and is on track for an August 29th release. Look out for a review soon.
As if Xbox 360 Avatars weren't controversial enough, Microsoft's games corporate VP John Schappert says micro-transactions "may be in the future" for the Xbox Mii-alikes.
The avatars, which will be released alongside the new Xbox 360 dashboard at the end of the year, can be used as an animated, cartoon-y replacement for today's Gamerpics - but you don't have to use them if you don't want to.
"That may be in the future," Schappert told Venturebeat, when asked if Microsoft would charge for extra customisation and accessories for the 360 Avatars.
"In the near term, we want to launch these with great customization and a great library of accessories this fall. I think there is a lot more we can do with them. You will see us continue to add experiences that make use of the avatar.
"Our goal is not to create a sterile environment where you move furniture around. It's about how can we make our gaming experiences better," he said.
Developers such as Bethesda have already expressed interest in including unlockable Avatar accessories with their games.
Sony Europe will release "the most terrifying and violent of the Siren games to date" on Blu-ray disc this autumn.
If you haven't got the bandwidth or gigage to be bothered download the whole thing then go for the disc version. That's what we'll be doing. All 12 episodes of the Japanese horror game will be available for around £20. When Sony nails down the date further we'll let you know.
Here's a bit about the game:
The chilling events surrounding Siren Blood Curse take place in the Japanese village of Hanuda, a dark, eerie place, frozen in the 1970s and surrounded by a red sea. A TV crew from America arrive to research and film an exposé on the so-called "Vanished Village" where human sacrifices are rumoured to have taken place.
You, the visitors, discover an ancient curse has been cast upon the town and it is your quest to save the remaining inhabitants. You are being hunted down by the vicious Shibito (living dead) and other terrifying monsters, and if attacked you'll be at risk of deforming in to one of these hideously deformed beasts yourself.
Throughout the game you'll play each of the visitors to the village. The game's unique Sight-Jack System enables you to switch seamlessly between the visions of the hunted (yourself) and the hunter. Meanwhile blood, guts and gore are super-enhanced by amazing graphic effects, an advanced physics engine and shockingly realistic facial animations.
Sony's much-delayed, but very ambitious, PlayStation Home online world is set to get the once-over from drooling fans.
Sony is looking to recruit 10,000 lucky PS3 owners between now and August 11 to enter the PlayStation Home world as closed beta testers, ironing out the kinks, decorating their free luxury apartments and generally running around causing virtual mayhem.
The beta will kick off at the end of August but will not be offering a full range of locations. It will though have a Game Venue developed with Namco, where you can hang with other avatars playing arcade classics like DigDug, Pac-Mac and Galaga.
Other locations on offer will include:
• Home Square: the main hang-out from where you can go everywhere else.
• Apartment: get decorating you slob!!
• Theater: Watch videos and trailers, spill nachos and slurp slushies.
• Bowling and Billiards: *snore*
• Marketplace: shop 'til your credit card melts.
See some shots of the Theater and Home Square here. Still no firm date on an actual launch though.
It's usually not until we roll out of bed on Monday morning that we find out what retro itch the Wii's Virtual Console will scratch. However, SNK has let the sword out of the sheath a bit early, confirming that next week's retro throwback will include arcade favorite Samurai Shodown II.
As great as SNK's 1994 2D fighter is, to say nothing about how much better it is than the original, it's starting to make less and less sense to pick up these Neo Geo titles piecemeal when SNK continues to bundle the games together at retail. It's hard to justify the digging through the couch for 900 Wii Points when we'll be able to pick up Samurai Shodown Anthology, which will include Samurai Shodown I-VI, on the Wii later this year for about $30.
Bethesda's Peter Hines has explained why the software Hines, who was in London to show off the mighty fine looking Fallout 3, told TechRadar that the Xbox 360 was very much Bethesda's lead machine on the title.
"If you have the PC as your lead machine you have the problem of not knowing what configurations people have, how many gigs of RAM or what graphics card they have," explained Hines.
"Obviously we are more familiar with the Xbox because we are familiar and the other thing is that the Xbox is much easier to take to tech shows.
"We can just pop the hard-drive off the Xbox and put it on any machine which is an advantage. Taking the PC or PS3 to these things just isn't convenient."
Hines also talked about the downloadable content for Fallout 3 insisting that exclusive for Xbox 360 and PC meant exactly that.
"When I say exclusive I mean it is exclusive to just the Xbox 360 and PC.
"If you want to play the Fallout 3 downloadable content you will need to have an Xbox 360 or a PC."
Finally, Hines was good enough to confirm that there are plans to extend the Fallout franchise to a fourth game.
"We didn't buy the Fallout franchise to just do Fallout 3 and then stop," he said.
"But let's get this one out of the door before we worry about the next one."
An external battery charger especially designed for both PSP / PSP Slim and Lite to provide 3600mAh battery power supply. The enclosed USB plug can provide power supply from any USB products.
Old Price : $ 49.95 You Save : $ 17
Buy at retail price : $ 32.95
Compatible with multiple systems (PC/PS3/PS2/PSX) this high quality wheel comes complete with pedals, gear stick and an adjustable wheel in both height and angle to make sure it will perfectly fits you and give you the optimal tool to
break records.
- Compatible with PS3, PS2, PSX and PC USB.
- Built in mega vibration
- Can adjust 6 different settings
- Comes with gear and foot pedal
- Supports with digital, negcon and analog mode (Dual shock and Dual shock 2)
- 255mm big size wheel
- 270° steering angle
- More confortable with rubber grip pad
Microsoft's 20GB Xbox 360 Pro already stooped to $299, but one particular mole -- the same one who correctly called the 60GB edition of the console -- is suggesting that further slashing is in store. To be specific, we're talking about a $199 Arcade (no HDD), $299 Pro (60GB HDD) and a $399 Elite (120GB HDD), all of which should be available at those prices sometime next month. Furthermore, it's likely that Microsoft will toss out a few bundles in order to reel in the holiday shoppers, though details are sparse about which ones we'll be seeing. Our take? Hold off just a bit -- we get the feeling this here is more than hot air.
We already knew that Id Software co-founder John Carmack was on board with the iPhone to some extent, but at the now-happening QuakeCon 2008 in Dallas he's revealed just how impressed with the device he really is. According to Apple Insider, while Carmack admits that graphics memory could be a limiting factor, he describes the phone's hardware as equivalent to a Dreamcast and almost on par with a PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox. He also sees it as far superior, at least in terms of raw specs, than the two big dedicated handheld consoles out there, saying that is "more powerful than a Nintendo DS and PSP combined." Unfortuantely, he didn't have any actual games to show off, but he did at least confirm that Id has two "tentative titles" in the works, including a "conventional mobile game," and one that pushes the iPhone's graphics capabilities.
We already knew that Id Software co-founder John Carmack was on board with the iPhone to some extent, but at the now-happening QuakeCon 2008 in Dallas he's revealed just how impressed with the device he really is. According to Apple Insider, while Carmack admits that graphics memory could be a limiting factor, he describes the phone's hardware as equivalent to a Dreamcast and almost on par with a PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox. He also sees it as far superior, at least in terms of raw specs, than the two big dedicated handheld consoles out there, saying that is "more powerful than a Nintendo DS and PSP combined." Unfortuantely, he didn't have any actual games to show off, but he did at least confirm that Id has two "tentative titles" in the works, including a "conventional mobile game," and one that pushes the iPhone's graphics capabilities.
We already knew that Id Software co-founder John Carmack was on board with the iPhone to some extent, but at the now-happening QuakeCon 2008 in Dallas he's revealed just how impressed with the device he really is. According to Apple Insider, while Carmack admits that graphics memory could be a limiting factor, he describes the phone's hardware as equivalent to a Dreamcast and almost on par with a PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox. He also sees it as far superior, at least in terms of raw specs, than the two big dedicated handheld consoles out there, saying that is "more powerful than a Nintendo DS and PSP combined." Unfortuantely, he didn't have any actual games to show off, but he did at least confirm that Id has two "tentative titles" in the works, including a "conventional mobile game," and one that pushes the iPhone's graphics capabilities.
Well, who knows what's going on here, but Nullriver's Netshare iPhone tethering app has made a reappearance for download by direct link only in the App Store, after getting unceremoniously yanked last night. It won't show up in searches, but you can still get it if you know the link -- that's a bit odd. Nullriver told Macrumors that it doesn't believe the SOCKS proxy violates any of the App Store SDK restrictions, and that while AT&T has tethering restrictions for its 3G network, other carriers around the world don't, making the app legit in its opinion. Looks like Apple's agreed -- for now. We did a quick hands-on video last night, check it out after the break.
Need some early impressions of how LG's BD300 Blu-ray / Netflix combo player feels from the couch? Crave got some seat time in front of the device last night, finding its handling of Netflix streams basically the same as the Roku Netflix Player, unfortunately with a much larger price tag. The remote's home button may also link up to music and photos from a PC or the USB port, while BD Live support is present and accounted for. Hit the read link for a few more details ahead of the September launch, and hope "well under $500" is more like $399 at most.
In further evidence of our rapidly eroding civil liberties, the Department of Homeland Security disclosed today that US Customs and Border Protection and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement have the right to confiscate and search a traveler's laptop or other electronic device without any suspicion of wrongdoing. The rules -- which we reported on in February -- allow for searches of hard drives, flash drives, cellphones, iPods, pagers, and video or audio tapes, and specify that the agencies can "detain" belongings for a "reasonable period of time," (i.e., as long as they please). Additionally, the DHS can share the data found with other government agencies or private entities for translation, decryption, or (astoundingly vague) "other reasons." The DHS says the policies apply to anyone entering the country -- including US citizens -- and claim the measures are necessary to prevent terrorism. In other news, Big Brother issued a statement today guaranteeing a bonus for turning over family members suspected of crimethink to the Thought Police.
It looks like Nintendo will finally be getting some challengers to its balance board monopoly... or one at least. Cheapo Wii accessory-maker Njoy is set to introduce its own version of the Wii Fit's footboard come September 12th for the weirdly more-expensive price of £64.99 (or about $130). Of course, Njoy's model does have a built-in LCD display (presumably for checking your weight even when the console is off), though it won't come bundled with any software, virtual trainers, or the assurances of a thorough Mario and Luigi inspection process.
Nintendo may not have been totally forthcoming with third-party devs about its MotionPlus add-on, but no secrets (okay, maybe a few) were withheld from AiLive. As it turns out, said outfit actually collaborated with Nintendo in order to create the MotionPlus hardware, and it's extra kindly offering up LiveMove 2 "to help game developers take full advantage of its capabilities." According to the company, LiveMove 2 can slash up to half a year off of the time required to tie basic functionality of the device into a game, though we're obviously in no position to confirm / deny. For the small minority that cares more about how MotionPlus works rather than just accepting the fact that it does, check out the read link for a few geektastic vids.
ruphus13 notes a new development in Blizzard's case against MDY, which we discussed last week. Blizzard, the maker of World of Warcraft, has now requested another injunction — to prevent the open sourcing of Glider code. Quoting:
"Blizzard has asked the court for a relatively unconventional order prohibiting MDY from making the source code for its MMO Glider software available to the public, and prohibiting MDY from helping people develop other World of Warcraft automation software. Blizzard had previously asked the court to shut down MDY's WoW operations in its motion for summary judgment, but the court's summary judgment order did not address Blizzard's request. Blizzard's requests to prohibit open-source release of MDY's software and prohibit MDY's assistance in development of independent WoW bots are new to this motion — and seem likely to raise eyebrows in the open source and digital rights advocacy camps."
Tactical Guild is a new tactics RPG from Success and Ninja Studio. It looks pretty standard in most ways - jobs, side-scrolling battles, skills and standard attacks. The main thing for this game is multiple heroines, and you can see some interactions between them in the mini theatre. But more than that (thanks Spencer) they've got a cosplay mode for the girls. Check the official video for some visuals. Unfortunately they're not cosplaying anyone immediately recognizable, so it may really just be a novelty. Since it's by Ninja Studio, you can guess Izuna will be in it though. They also seem to have cheated a bit by giving almost everyone the same poses and animation. Well, still a bit interesting! See more images via famitsu.
Another quickie you may have missed - Elminage, the PS2 Wizardry-style dungeon crawling RPG, is coming to the DS courtesy of Starfish. There's a movie tab, but no movie yet...but it stands to reason it'll look a lot like the PS2 version, considering the simplicity of the graphics.
In case you missed it, Siliconera discovered that UFO is bringing out that Wii shooter collection that Milestone released in Japan a bit ago, and which O~3 was planning to bring out at least some of. UFO is calling it Ultimate Shooting Collection, but no other details are available.
Money makes the world go 'round, so Hexus.gaming has a rumor that Sony is looking to pay the rent with a musical edition of its popular SingStar karaoke series. SingStar Hits from the Musicals is expected in 2009 and will allegedly be announced later this year. Some numbers rumored to be included are:
"Bad Guys" - Bugsy Malone
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" - The Lion King
"If I Were a Rich Man" - Fiddler on the Roof
"Over the Rainbow "- Wizard of Oz.
If the disc gets Trophy support we're certainly going to derive some sick pleasure from achievement junkies trying to sing songs like "Tomorrow" from Annie perfectly.
We gave the last Trackmania DS trailer a hard time for its ... well, its complete lack of gameplay footage, not to put too fine a point on it. Now, we have some actual footage of the game and we don't know what all the secrecy was about: It looks great to the TM fans in our digi-office.
We still have some concerns, chiefly that the game will be decidedly less free than its PC counterpart. But with the promised track editing and sharing features, it still sounds like it could be a worthy purchase when it's released later this year.
Without an explanation for missing its Wednesday debut, Ticket to Ride Europe just arrived on XBLA to pick up customers for the weekend.
The expansion to the digitized European board game costs 600 MS points ($7.50), which is far cheaper than the $30+ set in real life. We haven't downloaded the Europe expansion yet, but let us know if the red/orange color similarity issue found in Ticket to Ride has been fixed.
European gaming mag Edge got a sneak peak at the New Xbox Experience before its big E3 reveal. Why? Because, according to Microsoft brass, Europeans are "a key part of us getting the next 20 million on" Xbox Live. Why? Because "the gameplay style in Europe is more casual, more collaborative and social." And what does that have to do with the New Xbox Experience? Microsoft is hoping the interface reboot will help the Xbox "become something that's relevant to everyone."
Xbox's Marc Whitten explains, "The idea is to move toward this channel metaphor, so you can see at a glance the types of things that I can do on my box, to make these things much more relevant about me." While there isn't much news about the working bits of the service, the column – the first in a series on the new interface – details some of the "whys" behind such a radical transformation. In fact, we'll leave you with another quote from Edge: "it's radical enough to make Xbox 360 feel like a whole new console."
Welcome to this week's Movie/Music news roundup, containing new Japanese and Hong Kong Video and Music releases from this week listed at Play-Asia.com. Around 230 new items are covered in this week, including new J-Pop, Anime as well as Japanese, Hong Kong and Western movie releases and much more.
The fifth and newest Naruto movie, Naruto Shippuden Kizuna will be showed throughout Japan tomorrow, for all fans this must be exciting news. While those who are currently residing in Japan can go to their favourite cinema and join in the fun, those living outside Japan can still participate through Play-Asia.com.
The soundtrack of Kizuna is out, so you can prepare yourself for the impact of the movie by listening to the blend of hard rock and traditional Japanese music. To commemorate the release of the fifth movie, A special box set containing the first three movies are out as well, so revise with these three movies and watch the latest episodes from the TV series while you wait for the DVD release of the newest film.
Please see here a list of all Naruto anime releases and here for the music releases. For the full list of products under the Naruto franchise, please click here.
Ikkitousen is a modern retelling of a Chinese classic novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Its innovation lies in the fact that all warriors are substituted by pretty girls and instead of grounding the series's charm in its portrayal of military strategy, the series contain an ample amount of fan service.
The opening and ending theme to the series No x Limit has arrived as standard and CD+DVD limited versions. The songs are upbeat and energetic, complimenting the feel of the anime.
After introducing anime music, let's move on to the game soundtracks. Subarashiki Kono Sekai / The World Ends With You have released another soundtrack. This compilation is released by for fans as the songs contained in this CD are selected according to the favorite music polls on Square Enix's website.
Namie Amuro has also published her newest album Best Fiction [standard & CD+DVD standard edition]. The CD itself shows prove of how the hit singer is still an established chart topper and trendsetting throughout a decade of hardship in her personal and professional life.
The limited version of Best Fiction comes with a DVD with music video clips of the seventeen songs Namie Amuro did on the CD, through this DVD, you will understand that not only is she a good singer, but a good dancer as well.
As for Hong Kong action thrillers, Sha Po Lang a cop vs gangster film is out. Aside from fist and gun fights, the engaging plot and characterization are top notch. Gain a deeper understanding of the underworld in HK films by watching the veteran actor's portrayal of their roles.
Here's a summary of all new releases that were published between Saturday, July 25th and Friday, August 1st. If some specific item that you are looking for is missing, please don't hesitate to contact our customer service with your request.
J-Pop Music releases (87)
Anime Soundtracks & Drama CDs (25)
Video Game Soundtracks (8)
Hong Kong Version Music releases (3)
Blu-ray Disc Movies (11)
Anime & Animation (4)
Hong Kong Version Movie releases (23)
Japanese Movies (5)
Non-Japanese Movies / Japanese Version (8)
J-Pop DVD releases (13)
Misc Japanese Movie releases (5)
Idol DVD (38)
10,000 B.C. (~Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, ...) HK US$ 31.90
Bears US US$ 24.99
Beer League/The Big White (~Artie Lange, Ralph Macchio, ...) US US$ 24.99
Beowulf (~Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, ...) US US$ 39.99
Big White (~Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, ...) US US$ 14.99
Cecilia & Bryn At Glyndebourne (~Cecilia Bartoli, Bryn Terfel) US US$ 39.97
Clear and Present Danger (~Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, ...) US US$ 29.99
Dark City (Director's Cut) (~Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, ...) US US$ 28.99
Doomsday (~Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, ...) US US$ 39.99
Fatal Move (~Sammo Hung, Simon Yam Tat Wah, ...) HK US$ 27.90
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay [dts] (~John Cho, Kal Penn, ...) US US$ 36.99
Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (~John Cho, Kal Penn, ...) US US$ 28.99
Human Body: Pushing The Limits US US$ 29.98
Hunt For Red October (~Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, ...) US US$ 29.99
Lost Boys: The Tribe (Uncut) (~Tad Hilgenbrink, Autumn Reeser, ...) US US$ 35.99
Lust Caution (~Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Tang Wei, ...) HK US$ 31.90
Mortuary (~Dan Byrd, Price Carson, ...) US US$ 14.99
Never Back Down [dts] (~Sean Faris, Amber Heard, ...) US US$ 34.99
Patriot Games (~Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, ...) US US$ 29.99
Perhaps Love [dts] (~Jacky Cheung, Zhou Xun, ...) US US$ 29.95
Salvage (~Lauren Currie Lewis, Chris Ferry, ...) US US$ 14.99
Salvage / Mortuary (~Lauren Currie Lewis, Dan Byrd, ...) US US$ 24.99
Sha Po Lang (~Sammo Hung Kim Po, Donnie Yen Ji Dan, ...) HK US$ 27.90
Shine A Light (~The Rolling Stones) US US$ 39.99
Stargate: Continuum [dts] (~Ben Browder, Michael Shanks, ...) US US$ 39.98
Stargaze HD: Universal Beauty US US$ 24.95
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (~Agns Letestu, Jos Martinez, ...) US US$ 45.98
The Bands Visit (~Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, ...) US US$ 38.95
The Last Sentinel / Final Days of Planet Earth (~Katee Sackhoff, Don Wilson, ...) US US$ 24.99
The Lost Boys (~Jason Patric, Corey Haim, ...) US US$ 28.99
The Sum of all Fears (~Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, ...) US US$ 29.99
Tiger Blade (~Atsadawut Luangsuntorn, Pimonrat Pisolyabut, ...) US US$ 24.98
Top Gun [dts] (~Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, ...) US US$ 29.99
Vengeance (~Andy Tungkaprasert, Chalad Na Songkhla, ...) US US$ 24.98
Wolves US US$ 24.99
features
First SRPG on the Xbox 360 – True strategy role-playing makes its long-awaited debut on the Xbox 360! For those who can master it, a deep gauge system allows you to execute devastating combination attacks and contextual menus provide an array of strategic options at your fingertips
Affect the rise and fall of nations – As a mercenary group, you can choose to aid one master, or aid them all. The course of the Neverland War will be irrevocably changed by your actions.
Incredible gameplay value – Recruit up to 40 playable characters, each with individual sets of attacks. Gather components to build a vast assortment of equipment to cater to your personal strategies. With over 100 distinct missions, Spectral Force 3 is sure to quench your thirst for battle!
description
Magic Era: 996. The ten kingdoms of the land, seizing the opportunity provided by Overlord Janus's death, are attempting to unify the continent under their own banners. This is the beginning of the Great Neverland War. In order to bolster their defenses, kingdoms have begun hiring mercenary units. As new members of the Norius Mercenaries, you and your friend Diaz are eager to prove yourselves. When the squad’s commander Judo is mortally wounded in battle, the mantle of leadership is entrusted to you, and so the adventure begins…
Weekly Famitsu issue 1026 is attached with a booklet of descriptions and introduction on 100 games on Nintendo DS and Sony PSP that you absolutely cannot miss.
These titles span from Mario to Gundam to educational software, so flip through the quick guide and find out what you need for the summer.
Strategy guides for new hit games have always been one of the main features of the magazine. Continuing on from the last few issues, detailed guides for Persona 4, Power Pro baseball 15, Dragon Quest V and Siren: New Translation are out together with the new project Fatal Frame IV. Challenge the difficult stages with these comprehensive guides and be ready for the next stages by the coming week.
Take your chance and win one of the newest handheld or home consoles if you are currently residing in Japan and are planning to get at least 3 to 6 Weekly Famitsu issues between now and September 26th. Just find the coupon in the magazine and stick it to the filled out form. There are 500 prizes waiting to be claimed so get ready to try your luck.
As for other entertainment news, this issue features a report about a real life action trilogy based on the sci-fi adventure 20th Century Boys authored by the famous manga artist Naoki Urasawa (Monster). A cast list and a brief synopsis is provided in this issue and more details on the project may be provided in the next few issues, so fans of the series, stick around.
Your most comprehensive and up to date guide to the Japanese game world Weekly Famitsu (issue 1026) has arrived and is available for US$ 7.90 only.
Please find here the full list of Weekly Famitsu magazines available at Play-Asia.com. To ensure that you will recieve next week's copy, please make use of our preordering system.
features
Choose your Civ: Choose from 16 Civilizations throughout history (from Africa to Germany to America to China) to lead to victory
Lead your Civ: When you choose a Civ play as one of the world's most famous historical leaders (like Abe Lincoln, Otto von Bismarck, and Mao Tse Dong) and compete against the other leaders as you strive to create your own history in this epic game
Explore the world: Your quest to explore and discover will have you traversing the globe in search of long lost relics, rival civs, technologies, barbarians and much more
Ease of play: Accessible maps and streamlined time scale result in quicker games, intense combat, and constant action.
description
In Civilization, players strive to become Ruler of the World by establishing and leading a civilization from the dawn of man into the space age waging war, conducting diplomacy, discovering technologies, going head-to-head with some of history's greatest leaders, and building the most powerful empire the world has ever known.
Sid Meier's Civilization® Revolution™ is the latest offering in the legendary award winning Sid Meier's Civilization® series of strategy games, featuring the famous "just one more turn" addictive gameplay that has made this one of the greatest game series of all time. Civilization Revolution has been designed and built (by the legendary Sid Meier and his team at Firaxis) from the ground up for console and handheld systems delivering graphics, gameplay and controls that take full advantage of the hugely popular gaming platforms. Civilization Revolution is a watershed game offering players a chance to experience the epic empire building world of Civilization in a whole new way - in an accessible, visually immersive, fast paced, action-packed world that gamers crave.
features
New gameplay controls: Intuitive controls, now incorporating the right thumbstick, allow for precise movements and shot variety providing gamers with an unprecedented tennis experience.
Signature style: The world's best players including Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, and Andy Roddick are accurately depicted like never before with actual apparel, equipment, and even swing animations.
Tennis legends: For the first time ever, play with or against legendary figures such as Björn Borg, Boris Becker and Monica Seles.
2K Sports online: Play against anyone, anywhere, anytime in up to four game modes including singles, doubles, quick-match, and a comprehensive world tour with live stat tracking
All-new soundtrack: Great new music is included featuring Jamiroquai, Calvin Harris, Boys Like Girls, The Go! Team, Stone Roses, and Franz Ferdinand
description
Top Spin 3 brings the fun, action-packed excitement of tennis to your console with authentic features including signature styles and expressions for over 20 top ranked players, more than 40 breathtaking real world venues, jaw-dropping graphics via all-new Evolutionary Visuals™, fully licensed soundtrack, and much more! Top Spin 3 is the first tennis game to incorporate right analog stick controls, and to include classic legendary players of the past. Are you ready for the challenge?
Japanese manufacturer Kotobukiya unveiled these awesome Lightsaber chopsticks at last week's Celebration Japan—a huge event that marked the 30th anniversary of the Japanese Star Wars premiere. Unfortunately, there is no word on a pricing or release date for the chopsticks, but if they ever make it on sale in the States I will never use a fork again.
While the iPhone 3G definitely feels warmer than the original, it shouldn't get hot enough to cook human flesh. Or melt. But a MacRumors forum member says he fell asleep with his iPhone 3G in his pocket and woke up when he felt a burning sensation in his pants (not the good kind either). He says he pulled out the phone, which was incredibly hot. Like, plastic-meltingly hot. Check out the damage to the dock connector (and his leg), where you can really see the bubbly, heat-warped plastic:
As a tall guy I can appreciate that designer Nicholas Lee Dunderdale incorporated an adjustable roof into his 3-wheeled Kassou concept car. The rubber "neck" can be raised or lowered depending on the passenger's need for headroom or better aerodynamics. But, to be honest, this thing looks like some sort of crazy science experiment. Like an unholy mixture of a giraffe, bat and a vacuum that surely goes against the laws of nature. I mean, what are those wings for anyway? Despite its odd appearance, the Kassou actually earned second place in the Car Design News Contest for 2008—although I wouldn't expect to see it on the street anytime soon.
Despite the doom and gloom that seems to follow the future of PC gaming around there have always been a group of stalwart supports. Developers and companies whose best works appeared first on PC and later, if ever, on consoles. But these days those few shouts in the dark seem to be dwindling. The latest to make the jump? id Software.
But id CEO Todd Hollenshead, doesn't totally agree that they have switched sides, or that there even need to be sides for PC gaming to survive.
"That whole PC first thing, you have to go back in id history to see why id initially developed for the PC," he said.
It used to be, he said, that developers had to change so many things, jump through so many hoops, to get their games on consoles that it just wasn't worth it for some.
John Carmack is bummed. The iPhone App Store is live and there's not a single id game on it.
"John is pretty disappointed we didn’t have the manpower and resources to have a game for the launch of the" app store, id CEO Todd Hollenshead said.
Hollenshead said that Carmack and other id folks had been playing around with the iPhone SDK for awhile, but that the developer's small in-house mobile team just didn't have the time to put together a game in time.
"It appears that at this point that given the size of our team, we can only work on one mobile game at a time. We are probably partner up and the first (iPhone game) will be one where we work with a publishing partner."
Already the team is working on both Wolfenstein RPG and Doom 2 RPG for mobile phones, both of which id Software would like to bring to the iPhone, Hollenshead said.
"We have ambitions to have both on the iPhone," he said, "but it's too early to say if that's going to happen at this point."
As much as id seems to like the idea of iPhone gaming, they're taking a caution approach, but not for the reasons you'd think.
Last night was our monthly Geek Night in LA, held at Crosswayboy's pad, giving us a double-double of video game indulgence. I believe the line up consisted of Geometry Wars 2, PixelJunk Eden, Wario Land: Shake It!, and Soulcalibur IV, which obviously equals good times. A bit unimpressed by the new Wario Land, partly because of the smooth jazzy soundtrack, and extremely annoyed by the addition of Yoda to SCIV's roster.
This weekend, however, I'll be throwing down with some more PixelJunk Eden, more Soulcalibur IV and maybe even a little bit of Braid on my own time. It's time to take a break before we gear up for the Leipzig Games Convention. Anyway, whatchu playin' this weekend?
Saints Row, for all its problems, still did OK business for THQ on the 360. And it was supposed to come out for the PS3 as well, but hey, it never did. Why not? Yes, you guessed it. Problems with the Cell. Producer Dan Sutton:
In Saints Row 1 we got about half way through the process and then we realised that we just couldn't get our heads around Cell. It's just really complicated and I'm sure you noticed other games like Stranglehold push their dates up.
A sad, if familiar tale. But that begs the question: what about Saints Row 2? Don't lose any sleep over it, PS3 owners. Sutton goes on to say that thanks to increased assistance from Sony with some of the trickier aspects of the Cell, Saints Row 2 is coming along just nicely.
So far this generation, Microsoft's lineup of exclusives has done a pretty good job! Gears of War, Project Gotham Racing 3, Halo 3, Project Gotham Racing 4, Forza 2, Ninja Gaiden 2...all big sellers, all great games. Thing is, aside from Gears, those are all sequels! And Microsoft's two biggest games in 2008 are more sequels, one for Gears, one for Fable. Perhaps sensing an impending onset of acute sequelitis, Microsoft's Shane Kim wants you to know that new stuff is on the way:
We’re just at a point in the cycle where you’re seeing more sequels. I can tell you we have other new properties that are unannounced that we feel very good and are very confident about. We will continue to have new IPs alongside the franchises in our portfolio, no question.
In 2007 we'd have made a joke about their "new" men-with-guns game, but we're now looking forward to a "new" family quiz game instead!
Not only is Nintendo's legal action against R4 cart spiking the sales, it's also spiking the prices. Check out this Akihabara retailer on July 29th when the news was first announced. R4s were going for ¥2,980 (US$28). The following day, the price jumped to ¥4,980 at the same retailer. And today? This shop's price hit ¥5,980 ($55).
When it comes to keeping PC gamers in the loop on their console games, Capcom have long been one of the good guys. And how do PC gamers repay the favour? Same way a lot of PC gamers always do: with mass acts of piracy. When quizzed about the state of Devil May Cry 4's PC sales on Capcom's forums, Christian Svensson replied:
I'm not sure about how Capcom in general feels but It's not doing as well as I would like in the US at retail. It's such a good version and it really deserves better sales. I know it's getting pirated to hell and back (it was up on torrents literally the day it shipped).
Leading Capcom to throw their hands up and complain about the state of piracy in the PC market, right? Nope! Svensson instead goes on in great detail about the company's big plans for future digital distribution on the platform, which is encouraging reading for the kind of people that think playing DMC4 on a PC is a good idea.
One might think that HAL Laboratory's puffy pink protagonist Kirby has not a care in the world, that his disposition, due to his pinkness, would be beatific. Not so, according to virtually every video game box art appearance Kirby has made for the better part of the past decade. After Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, the spherical mascot went from tickled pink to pissed.
The transformations from pleased as punch to enraged were most noticeable in Kirby's journeys to America, going from happy go lucky to in a lather in games like Kirby Squeak Squad. Kirby Super Star Ultra changes all that, as Kirby's gay old times are back, with nary a furrowed brow to be seen.
Not sure if this is the right place for this post or not, but I've put together a clone of DosboxBlast by StreaK, except updated with the newest Dosbox key codes.
It has executables for Windows, Linux and Mac (any processor, hopefully). Its in development stages, but it seems to work reliably. Let me know if there are any problems.
A federal judge has put the brakes on a lawsuit filed over sex scenes buried in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
In a decision on Wednesday (full text), United States District Judge Shirley Wohl Kram wrote that purchasers of the game could not be lumped together in a class action. The claims of members of the proposed class would be affected by the law in each purchaser’s home state, Judge Kram wrote, and therefore could not be resolved in a single proceeding in federal court in New York.
“Accordingly, the court decertifies the settlement class on the grounds that common issues do not predominate over individualized issues,” the judge wrote.
The judge’s latest decision undermines a settlement agreement reached between lawyers for purchasers of the game who contended they were offended by the hidden scenes, on the one hand, and lawyers for the game’s makers, Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games.
Of the millions of people who purchased the game with the scenes, fewer than 3,000 applied for compensation from a fund established under the settlement agreement.
A lawyer for the game makers, Jeffrey S. Jacobson at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York, said that the decision was under review. A lawyer representing the plaintiffs could not immediately be reached for comment.
The civil lawsuit was filed after the disclosure of the sex scenes in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, released in 2004. The existence of the scenes, accessible to knowledgeable players using third-party software, drew fierce condemnation from lawmakers and sparked a frenzy online. The suit accused the game’s makers of defrauding buyers by failing to disclose the scenes.
You know, with all these politicians and TV pundits blaming video games for the downfall of western civilization, you would think that they would catch on that the real culprit is not Grand Theft Auto, but rather Sony’s PSP.
Rick Lee Miller and Audrey Ann Gordon were arrested at an Engelwood Wal-Mart after security cameras caught the happy couple trying to make off with seven PSPs. According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s police report, the two tried to make off with the PSPs after “acquiring” two of the keys to the electronic cases. Miller, the mastermind behind this operation, told deputies that they were both unemployed, and that they went to Wal-Mart “to get some money”.
Both Miller and Gordon are currently being held in the Charlotte County jail on charges of Grand Theft and Resisting a Merchant, both felonies. Miller is also charged with Posession of an Anti-Shoplifting Tool.
Sony revealed several new products for the portable at their press conference, but third-parties were mum on their support. At E3, I sat down with John Koller, Sony’s director of hardware marketing, about the state of the PSP in 2008.
What’s coming over the next 12 months? Why aren’t third-parties talking? Sony explains…
“Where we are today is the result of a development cycle from 18 months ago,” said Koller. “18 months ago PSP hardware wasn’t doing quite as well in terms of sales. Since then, it’s taken off. We’ve been talking to a lot of developers and really trying to change their thinking about how PSP is doing and they’ve realized it from what they’ve seen at retail.” This isn’t just hype. PSP has been the best-selling system in Japan for months, outselling the Wii, DS and PS3. This is a big change from 18 months ago when DS was still dominant. Credit is given to the introduction of the slim PSP late last year and the continued success of Capcom’s “Monster Hunter” series on Sony’s handheld.
Koller was surprisingly frank about Sony’s efforts to reach out to third-parties, but said it requires a little rethinking on how to approach the platform. “[We've told developers to think about] how they create the games,” he said. “Because the games they were creating were mostly ports and a lot of consumers were playing it at home and saying ‘well, I could play it on a screen like this or I could play it on a smaller screen.’ We don’t want to have that competition.”
As for when these new games will be revealed, Koller couldn’t say. He anticipates the next wave of PSP announcements will come before next year’s E3, but asked for fans to be patient. He did, however, tease what to expect from the games themselves. Koller pointed to “Resistance: Retribution” as an example of Sony’s first-party strategy, and said to expect similar levels of support from large third-party franchises, as well.
“Going towards the end of the year and going into 09 and beyond, we’re going to see a lot of very large franchise games come from third-parties,” he said. “They’re going to be a bit of a surprise, they’re going to be like ‘Wow, that’s coming to PSP?’”
Sony declared 2007 the year of the PSP. 2008 has been pegged as the year of the PS3. But the PSP isn’t going anywhere, said Koller, and their mandate for 2008 is to continue encouraging the development of franchise games for the platform that aren’t ports, highlighting the large, high-resolution screen on the device and diversifying the delivery of PSP’s content, whether it comes via UMD or through Sony’s online store.
In early 2009, however, Sony will roll out GPS functionality for PSP. Koller told me Sony will be at the forefront of creating game applications for that, though he didn’t talk about which games yet. But with so much multimedia functionality, are games getting left behind? Koller said it’s still their focus.
“It [PSP] has to be rooted in games,” he said. “We start every discussion with “What are the great games that are coming? Are there franchise-type games coming that are not ports to PSP?” We spread from there.”
With “Crisis Core” and “God of War” already out, much of PSP’s high-profile franchise titles have already hit. Readers, how do you feel about the state of the PSP in 2008 and what’re you looking forward to this year?
Dragonminded has yet again updated his Media Player for the Nintendo Wii, heres the release details:
Music player for the Wii. It has a nice interface and is skinnable. It plays mp3, ogg, flac and other formats but does not work with wma or aac. It is a native Wii application (no Wii Linux) with the intent of being a multi-source media player on the Wii.
0.13 Alpha
Added m3u/pls playlist support.
Fixed a few memory leaks (switching themes and playing songs should be more stable).
Fixed a few misc stability issues.
Originally scheduled in 2000 as a DreamCast title, Thunder Force VI is a side scrolling shooter game in development for the PS2, directed by SEGA's Tetsu Okano, known for Segagaga, Astro Boy: Omega Factor and Gunstar Super Heroes.
The setting of the Thunder Force games (excluding the fifth chapter) are centered around the war between inhabitants of the "Galaxy Federation" (protagonists), and the "ORN Empire" (antagonists). The games feature the "FIRE LEO" spacecraft and its iterations, developed by the Galaxy Federation under "Project Thunder Force" to be small, but maneuverable and powerful fighter craft. The Galaxy Federation feels that these ships have the best chance of defeating large forces such as the ORN empire's, as opposed to sending a host of larger ships. Thunder Force V details the discovery of Galaxy Federation technology by Earthlings and the conseqences this discovery causes.
Early games in the series had multi directional scrolling, overhead stages where the player would attack airborne and ground targets. These stages were later removed in favor of horizontally-scrolling stages that contained various gameplay elements derived from popular horizontal scrolling shooters Gradius and R-Type, such as an array of interchangeable and unique weapons, satellite turrets which provide the player additional firepower, and level design which encourages player memorization and skillful ship maneuvering/positioning in order to effectively pass.
Thunder Force VI is currently only scheduled for release in Japan, on October 30, 2008
Just to catch up, here are some of the updates for July:
- Final AV connector has been selected. It has enough pins to support line level inputs and outputs, TV output, UART, power and some GPIOS. It has 14 pins but looks like a larger USB OTG port so it has a lot of strength for hanging cables off of it.
- The new analog nubs will be showcased on final pre-production PCBs in August. They are all black with 2mm of travel in each direction. They have a nice smooth travel, but no center click. It was debatable whether this feature would have been a pain due to accidental pressing anyway. The nubs have a large 15mm diameter disc with a concave surface. Their position in the Pandora has remained the same as before due to some constructive negotiations with the nub manufacturer.
- Wifi/BT is now integrated into the final pre-production PCB. Software testing will begin in August.
- Several emulators that run on the GP2X have been ported over to Pandora to show that they work and that everything you have come to enjoy up to this point will carry over with no trouble, and in many cases (where needed), run faster.
- Early testing of the battery at 500MHz, full screen brightness, audio section powered but not providing sound, and no power management has yielded 8.5 hours before the system shut down. A lot of software can run at slower speeds, plus screen brightness control and power management should make 10 hours an easy reality.
Return to witness the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, in Soul Calibur IV. Warriors from far reaches of the galaxy battle to control the powerful swords and use them for their own goals. Should these fighters succeed, they will face the ultimate judgment. The ongoing story continues with new revelations, exciting new gameplay features and stunning visuals. And perhaps most exciting of all, a character from the Star Wars universe will also make an appearance.
Key Features
Newest addition to the Soul Calibur series features thrilling next-gen graphics brimming with intensity
Continues the struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge
Features the legendary Yoda as a guest character
Expanded customization options let you give your character a personalized look and specific abilities
Take both customized characters and original favorites online for the first time
Exclusive Special Characters
Beloved Star Wars legend Jedi Master Yoda appears as a guest character in the Xbox 360 version of Soul Calibur IV. In addition to that thrilling fact, you'll also discover expanded customization options that let you bestow your character with a personalized look and specific abilities. And, for the first time, you'll be able to take both customized characters and original favorites online to challenge an entire world of fans. Completely reinvented but with the same intensity you've come to know, Soul Calibur IV provides an adventure that never disappoints.
The world s premier weapon based fighting game franchise returns to deliver a true next generation fighting experience. Set to finally reveal the origins of the Soul Calibur saga, Soul Calibur IV features both new and familiar faces from across the galaxy, seeking the rival swords for vengeance, honor and salvation.
In a monumental alliance, legendary Star Wars icons, Darth Vader and Yoda invade the Soul Calibur universe! Soul Calibur IV continues the series tradition of reinventing, enhancing and breaking new boundaries. Now the world s favorite fighting game redefines the entire genre for the next generation of both new, and fiercely loyal Soul Calibur fans.
Return to witness the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, in Soul Calibur IV. Warriors from far reaches of the galaxy battle to control the powerful swords and use them for their own goals. Should these fighters succeed, they will face the ultimate judgment. The ongoing story continues with new revelations, exciting new gameplay features and stunning visuals. And perhaps most exciting of all, a character from the Star Wars universe will also make an appearance.
Key Features
Newest addition to the Soul Calibur series features thrilling next-gen graphics brimming with intensity
Continues the struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge
Features the legendary Yoda as a guest character
Expanded customization options let you give your character a personalized look and specific abilities
Take both customized characters and original favorites online for the first time
Exclusive Special Characters
Beloved Star Wars legend Jedi Master Yoda appears as a guest character in the Xbox 360 version of Soul Calibur IV. In addition to that thrilling fact, you'll also discover expanded customization options that let you bestow your character with a personalized look and specific abilities. And, for the first time, you'll be able to take both customized characters and original favorites online to challenge an entire world of fans. Completely reinvented but with the same intensity you've come to know, Soul Calibur IV provides an adventure that never disappoints.
The world s premier weapon based fighting game franchise returns to deliver a true next generation fighting experience. Set to finally reveal the origins of the Soul Calibur saga, Soul Calibur IV features both new and familiar faces from across the galaxy, seeking the rival swords for vengeance, honor and salvation.
In a monumental alliance, legendary Star Wars icons, Darth Vader and Yoda invade the Soul Calibur universe! Soul Calibur IV continues the series tradition of reinventing, enhancing and breaking new boundaries. Now the world s favorite fighting game redefines the entire genre for the next generation of both new, and fiercely loyal Soul Calibur fans.
Product Features
Wii remote Easily Connects To Guitar Linking The Guitar To The Console
No Additional Batteries Required, Guitar Powered By The Wii remote
Three Interchangable Pick Guards Allow Full Customisation Of Your Axe Hard Rock
With A Totally Unique Body Style And Colour Scheme The Frontman Is A Guitar With No Equal
Fully Compatible With Guitar Hero III
Feel the exhilaration, speed and adrenaline rush in the official game of the world's fastest production vehicle race - The Word Superbike Championship (SBK).
Live The World Superbike Championship (SBK) experience from starting grid to podium. Handling, acceleration, and control that delivers a breath taking racing experience - for racing game fans everywhere.
Product Features
Pick up and play arcade mode allowing the player to access the race in just a few seconds
A genuinely technically accurate extreme simulation mode for real petrol heads
4 well balanced racing styles giving genuine progression and satisfaction to the gamer
6 game modes - Basic, Arcade, Advanced, Simulation, Extreme and Custom
Next generation giving players the chance to challenge their friends and opponents all over the world
Product Features
180 new challenging puzzles
Play tournament mode online!
Rich graphics and immersive storyline
Engaging African music and themes
… and a whole lot more
Hi Octane motorized anarchy – Maximum fun, maximum chaos, and all in eyeball searing high definition, FlatOut Ultimate Carnage is PC’s most extreme destruction racer. With three distinct carnage-filled game styles, an integrated championship racing career mode and intense in-your-face destructive action, FlatOut Ultimate Carnage is the gaming world's most smash-tastic driving game to date!
FlatOut Ultimate Carnage Features:
Arcade destruction racing at its best: FlatOut's peerless real world physics engine combines vehicles built from 40 plus deformable parts with over 8000 destructible objects per track.
Huge number of race styles to suit your mood and preferences: Career racing. Compete in progressively tougher championship wrecking your way through 3 classes to become the ultimate FlatOut champion. Arcade racing. Deathmatch Destruction Derbies, time trials and crash filled challenges.
Highly competitive FlatOut racing action: Compete against 11 other drivers in single player modes from a choice of 48 cars on 39 tracks in 6 different environments. Wreck you way across parched deserts, massive storm drains and narrow city streets.
Fully supports Games For Windows live: Up to 8 player simultaneous Live play including Races, Derbies and Stunts, plus the all-new Deathmatch Derbies and the excusive Head-On race mode.
Hilarious Ragdoll characters catapulted in-race and in 12 crunching mini games: The Ragdoll is a unique to FlatOut - which is catapulted through your windscreen or, even better, the other driver's windscreen as they are wrecked out of the race. Additionally there are the 12 Ragdoll events which take some beating for their sheer body abuse (e.g. High Jump, Stone Skipping, Ring of Fire, Field Goal and Free Kick).
Cars look stunning: See every scratch and dent all with real-time environment mapping to create a grittier realistic appearance. flatout features dynamic shadow maps for every 3D object on the track including buildings, scenery and cars making all movement in Ultimate Carnage exceptionally smooth. Improved particle effects e.g. Dust, dirt, smoke, water splashes and bouncing sparks.
Product Features
Pick up and play arcade mode allowing the player to access the race in just a few seconds
A genuinely technically accurate extreme simulation mode for real petrol heads
4 well balanced racing styles giving genuine progression and satisfaction to the gamer
6 game modes - Basic, Arcade, Advanced, Simulation, Extreme and Custom
Next generation giving players the chance to challenge their friends and opponents all over the world
You are about to find out how exciting life on a farm is, and discover the fun that is to be had looking after cute horses!
20 games and activities are available for you to play as you explore the various locations in the stables.
Will you be able to win the big competition with Annie and her horse Snowflake? There are plenty of exercises for you to try, such as gymnastics on horseback, show jumping and an obstacle course to master. Help Annie feed and clean out the horses, and earn rewards.
The innovative stylus control of I Love Horses means the player will always feel at the heart of the action - there's no time to get bored with the vast array of things to be getting on with!
Product Features
Pick up and play arcade mode allowing the player to access the race in just a few seconds
A genuinely technically accurate extreme simulation mode for real petrol heads
4 well balanced racing styles giving genuine progression and satisfaction to the gamer
6 game modes - Basic, Arcade, Advanced, Simulation, Extreme and Custom
Next generation giving players the chance to challenge their friends and opponents all over the world
Product Features
Five multi-coloured fret buttons
A responsive and durable strum bat
Working whammy bar
Tilt sensors that can tell when the guitar is pointed straight up
An adjustable strap
Stylised start and select buttons that look like volume knobs off actual guitars
Compatible with Guitar Hero 1, 2 and 3
Product Features
Tear up the track...carve up the competition
The legend of Rally games is back as SEGA Rally motors onto PC,
Promising to push the boundaries of the Rally genre to a new level.
SEGA Rally looks and plays better than ever
Offering fans bumper-to-bumper, heart stopping, and adrenalin pumping action
This helps to ensure close competitive race action with rival cars all vying to be first
SEGA Rally retains the looping course of its predecessors rather than the point-to-point of other titles.
Sure, Wii is great and all, but we're guessing a man in China who tried to extort $1,400 from his parents by "kidnapping" himself and demanding a ransom after they refused to buy him a "Nintendo computer" was probably a little too infatuated with Ninty's white box. The man -- who we're hoping is more of a "boy" -- apparently hired two men to kidnap him, and was arrested after he withdrew his own ransom from an ATM. Genius. Quick tip, kids: real tennis, bowling, golf, and boxing are almost as much fun as Wii Sports, believe it or not -- and they involve just slightly less jail time.
It has technically been available for three weeks today (and a few hours in the US, but who's counting?), although we're confident quite a few of you are still waiting to actually hold your very own iPhone 3G. Still, those that have braved the excruciatingly long lines and got lucky with AT&T's apparently random Direct Fulfillment approach surely have something to say. We've already confirmed that firmware 2.0 has some serious issues that need dealt with, and aside from elaborating on those, what else would you have done differently with Apple's second handset? Would you have changed the overall design more dramatically? Finally included a user-removable battery? Used a casing material that wouldn't crack for no good reason under pressure? There's still time for your input to be heard before firmware 2.1 arrives (ahem, Apple?) -- sound off below!
Apple's deal with AT&T obviously got re-done in order to get the iPhone 3G on the street for a subsidized $199, but it looks like Steve gave in on a little more than revenue-sharing when he re-upped with Ma Bell: USA Today says that AT&T's US exclusive on the iPhone has been extended for an additional year, until 2010. The extension isn't officially announced, but it's being cited in the context of a long interview with AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, who's quoted as saying things like "The iPhone has repositioned AT&T as the premier wireless brand in the world." So yeah, dude's a fan -- and with iPhone customers spending almost double on rate plans than the average AT&T customer, it's not hard to see why. Looks like our dream of glorious data plan price wars will have to wait until Android makes a splash later this year.
An anonymous reader writes to point out the first in a series of articles from a while back about using the Playstation 3 as a development environment under Fedora. Here are the second and third parts of the series. Quoting:
"Early on, it was a bit of a challenge to get Linux natively installed on the PS3. Time has passed, and a great deal has changed. Fedora 7 installs on the PS3 out of the box, with the most challenging installation steps eliminated. This article introduces the basic configuration knobs and widgets specific to the PS3 running Linux, shows you how to use them effectively, and suggests the kind of trickery that gets improved performance
GamePolitics is reporting that a Judge has put another substantial hurdle in the Hot Coffee class-action case. Claiming that individuals involved in the suit could be affected differently by laws in their respective states, Judge Shirley Wohl Kram declared that this case could not be resolved by a single proceeding.
"'Accordingly, the court decertifies the settlement class on the grounds that common issues do not predominate over individualized issues,' the judge wrote. The judge's latest decision undermines a settlement agreement reached between lawyers for purchasers of the game who contended they were offended by the hidden scenes, on the one hand, and lawyers for the game's makers, Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games."
I don't know if anyone else picked up on this, but Sonic Unleashed has a much less XTREME title in Japan. It's called Sonic World Adventure, which is much friendlier - but unfortunately the videos feature obnoxious rock music throughout, as to the ones on the U.S. site. I can confirm though, that I heard some excellent sonic-like music in the game at Comic Con, especially in the 'Sonic is a werewolf-thing' mode. And that mode didn't even look too bad, as Sonic wasn't all edgy and weird, he was just a brawling guy with stretchy arms. I'm actually cautiously optimistic. I do think Sonic World Adventures might be a friendlier title than Unleashed, but maybe in the end it's too friendly. Also interesting to note that the JP site omits the PS2 version from the logos used. I wonder if it'll be released on PS2 there? A quick check of release-lists says no!
Landstalker was planned for PSP as of TGS three years back. I spoke with Kan Naito and Climax's vice president, who both stated that they'd gotten back all the key staff for the game, and were making good progress remaking the whole game in 3D. Tim and I spoke with them at length about changing the 2D world into a rotate-able 3D one, and I have the scratchy audio file somewhere if anyone's curious, as it never got transcribed due to its extremely unlistenable quality. Anyway, since that time there's been a placeholder Landstalker splash image and page up on the Climax site - and some time within the last two months or so, it became a 404. There hadn't been any new news about it for ages, so it stands to reason that it might be gone, but still a shame. Steal Princess seems to be a worthy successor, but I'd like to have seen how the original was turning out as well. I'll update this with a wayback link once their servers are working properly again.
Thunderforce VI for PS2 got announced while my HD was down, so I didn't get to mention it at the time. But I don't think everyone has seen the videos yet...if you haven't, check here (direct link). Still no word on the developer, aside from Sega director Tetsu Okada. The Tecnosoft site has little information on it, but does link to the Thunder Force VI page, and also say that licensing for existing and original Tecnosoft titles has begun. Looks like they're planning something new, as well.
I must admit that right now the game isn't looking so hot. Seems rather uninspired visually and in terms of the weapons available, and that rockin rock guitar in the trailer isn't really helping get that old Thunder Force feeling back. Time will tell though - the perspective shifts are nice at least
Key's popular 2004 visual novel Clannad is getting a very late port to the 360 in Japan, oddly enough. Prototype is doing the port which will have HD graphics, dolby digital 5.1 surround, and 16 downloadable side stories from the original staff at Key. This port sounded kind of silly when I started typing it, but all of that would really add a lot to a home visual novel title. I also continue to find it interesting when companies decide to bring very Japanese games exclusively to the 360 - perhaps it's because Clannad already got a PS2 port in 2006? Anyway, the game releases on the 28th of this month for 6,720 yen. And naturally there's a drama CD, and some cards and things, if you're into that.
What's wrong with this picture? It directly contradicts what Soul Calibur IV director Katsutoshi Sasaki said in a recent interview, that's what. Specifically, Sasaki responded "we don't have any plans for that" when asked by XCN if we'd ever see both characters from a galaxy far, far away battling each other on the same console.
You can't get much more official than the game's director, but his comments don't explain screenshots (such as the one above) and video that have appeared on the net clearly (and seemingly authentically) showing both Yoda and Vader in the same version of SCIV. We can't help but think Sasaki is practicing his Jedi mind tricks on us with this one.
What's wrong with this picture? It directly contradicts what Soul Calibur IV director Katsutoshi Sasaki said in a recent interview, that's what. Specifically, Sasaki responded "we don't have any plans for that" when asked by XCN if we'd ever see both characters from a galaxy far, far away battling each other on the same console.
You can't get much more official than the game's director, but his comments don't explain screenshots (such as the one above) and video that have appeared on the net clearly (and seemingly authentically) showing both Yoda and Vader in the same version of SCIV. We can't help but think Sasaki is practicing his Jedi mind tricks on us with this one.
When he isn't dabbling in rocket science, id Software's John Carmack is one of the world authorities on 3D graphics programming. Carmack, who recently revealed that he is turning his talents to Apple's iPhone (the graphics ones, not the rocketry smarts) for a "graphical tour de force," has provided his two cents on just how powerful the cell phone personal media device really is.
During an on-stage appearance at QuakeCon 2008, the man who's tinkered with every graphics tech under the sun likened the polygon-pushing capabilities of iPhone to that of Sega's late, great Dreamcast. Taking the comparison to more current game hardware, he stated that iPhone is "more powerful than a Nintendo DS and Sony PSP combined," perhaps even nearing the capabilities of the PS2 and original Xbox. Given his statements, we're even more eager to see the two projects id is developing for the device, a "conventional mobile game" and the aforementioned visual show stopper.
When he isn't dabbling in rocket science, id Software's John Carmack is one of the world authorities on 3D graphics programming. Carmack, who recently revealed that he is turning his talents to Apple's iPhone (the graphics ones, not the rocketry smarts) for a "graphical tour de force," has provided his two cents on just how powerful the cell phone personal media device really is.
During an on-stage appearance at QuakeCon 2008, the man who's tinkered with every graphics tech under the sun likened the polygon-pushing capabilities of iPhone to that of Sega's late, great Dreamcast. Taking the comparison to more current game hardware, he stated that iPhone is "more powerful than a Nintendo DS and Sony PSP combined," perhaps even nearing the capabilities of the PS2 and original Xbox. Given his statements, we're even more eager to see the two projects id is developing for the device, a "conventional mobile game" and the aforementioned visual show stopper.
When he isn't dabbling in rocket science, id Software's John Carmack is one of the world authorities on 3D graphics programming. Carmack, who recently revealed that he is turning his talents to Apple's iPhone (the graphics ones, not the rocketry smarts) for a "graphical tour de force," has provided his two cents on just how powerful the cell phone personal media device really is.
During an on-stage appearance at QuakeCon 2008, the man who's tinkered with every graphics tech under the sun likened the polygon-pushing capabilities of iPhone to that of Sega's late, great Dreamcast. Taking the comparison to more current game hardware, he stated that iPhone is "more powerful than a Nintendo DS and Sony PSP combined," perhaps even nearing the capabilities of the PS2 and original Xbox. Given his statements, we're even more eager to see the two projects id is developing for the device, a "conventional mobile game" and the aforementioned visual show stopper.
That's funny – we could have sworn it was August, not April. It was four months ago, after all, that we reported on Microsoft Game Studios' hiring push for director Peter Jackson's mysterious Halo universe project. Yet we're still seeing postings for what appear to be positions on the game's development team. In this case it's a biggie: creative director.
A new recruitment listing on Gamasutra states that "Microsoft Game Studios' Halo team is looking for a superstar Creative Director to help develop a new experience in the Halo universe." Of course, this could be another new Halo project, but further reading reveals otherwise. Additional responsibilities listed include "[partnering] with key Hollywood talent to collaboratively craft a masterful game experience," and "[collaborating] with game play designers, story writers, game writers, and said external luminary to deliver on a unique game in the Halo universe." We'll give you one guess who the "said external luminary is," and their name rhymes with "Eter Ackson."
Criterion's forthcoming "Davis" update for Burnout Paradise will deliver not only an array of two-wheeled vehicles, but a taste of automotive irony. Whereas the series' signature sports cars all spectacularly crumple into balls of mangled metal when they collide with walls, poles and, best of all, other signature sports cars, the bikes won't bend or buckle or break. And neither will the riders, safely disappearing from the game's E10-rated environment whenever they wipe out.
MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo explains that when it comes to Burnout Bikes, it's less about SMASH! and more about ZOOM! -- particularly in the update's speedy new single-player challenges and 8-player online, motorcycle-only events. Players can also expect a day-night cycle, weather effects (no, really!) and yes, wheelies.
We imagine plenty of people will bemoan the absence of bikers smashing their heads open on Burnout Paradise's pavements, but hey, Criterion is still giving us a pretty substantial (also: free) addition. The only drawback we can think of is not having a place to hang our pair o' dice.
In August 1982, about 26 years ago, the ColecoVision sported a 3.58MHz processor, 1KB Ram and 16KB VRAM, a 256x192 resolution with 32 sprites and 16 colors, 3 tone and 1 noise sound generators and storage cartridges ranging from 8 to 32 KB. Just thought it'd be fun to put some things into perspective.
We've been wondering how the people behind NetShare get their app approved by Apple for the iPhone App Store. It adds the ability to tether your laptop to your iPhone, using the handset's 3G modem as your laptop's own, meaning you can go pretty much anywhere you can find a decent signal and have full Internet access on your laptop without Wi-Fi, all for free. And then the app was pulled from the store. And then it was back. And now it's gone again. Hopefully you were lucky enough to grab it while it was available, because we're not sure Apple's going to let it out again.
To many of us, our gadgets are like our babies: we bring them everywhere, they're expensive, and we would go to great lengths to protect them. But just like babies, sometimes gadgets get dropped. The results are often tragic, and the guilt crippling. Maybe you haven't drenched your new $1600 keyboard in coffee, but have you accidentally plunked your BlackBerry in a urinal? Put your iPod through the wash? Has your adorable puppy destroyed your new laptop in a territorial gesture? What's your worst, your most embarrassing, your most expensive or just your most ridiculous "oh, shit" gadget moment?
Windows Mobile and S60 users get an update to Google Maps this week that includes public transit stops as well as user star ratings for local businesses. The free upgrade shows not just where stops are for particular transit lines but also allows you to incorporate them into building your route. Blackberry users have had this functionality for a few weeks now and it's likely a feature that will be updated for most other mobile operating systems in the next few weeks.
This just in! Malfunctioning technology causes anger! That's according to a new British survey, which finds that 73% of people have hurled a gadget in a fit or gage, while 75% admit to swearing or losing their temper. A really desperate 10% admits to turning to booze when their gadget isn't working. Only 10%?
Square Enix announced at its Private Party in Shinjuku today that both Final Fantasy Agito XIII and The 3rd Birthday will be released on the PSP. The two were previously announced for release only on mobile phones. Square Enix did not provide a date for Final Fantasy Agito XIII, but pegged the not-quite-a-sequel to Parasite Eve II for a 2009 release. The 3rd Birthday is said to follow the adventures of series protagonist Aya Brea but play differently from previous Parasite Eve titles.
Square Enix announced at the DKΣ3713 event in Japan today that the Blu-ray re-release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children would come with a playable demo version of Final Fantasy XIII for the PlayStation 3, according to reports from Famitsu. The disc will also ship with new videos of Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete will ship in Japan at some point in March 2009.
Since playing through Metal Gear Solid IV, I've gone through a dozen eggs a week. I never used to eat this many eggs, but there I am, nearly every morning, cracking open fresh ones into a hot frying pan, pausing to watch the egg white turn from translucent to opaque, humming a little song to myself. Hell, I never really ate eggs sunny side up before the damn game came out. I was a scramblin' man. Quick, easy, no fuss. What has this stupid game done to me?
Is this an isolated case, or have you folks ever found yourself eating, drinking, or doing things a certain way after seeing it in a game? I'm not talking purchasing large baskets of Axe deodorant due to an in-game ad here - we've all done that. I'm talking more subtle things here. Going on a fresh fruit kick after a Pac-Man marathon, or getting really into curry after watching the marathon curry cutscene in Xenosaga II? How much power do video games have over our daily habits? If only we had a comments section in which to discuss such things.
DCEmu Coder Dan369 has released a variant of Dragula96`s pong game with ai, heres the release details;
I've been learning Java 4 3 days know and i'd thought i might add Ai to drac's PONG game so here it is
Have Fun
Note: The Ai is VERY simple (cut me sum slack i've only been learning 4 three days!)
and the down movement isn't always the best.
and the collision is a bit dodgy.
ALL code was by drac (apart from the Ai), i take no credit 4 that
I did a little tweak on collision but nothing major aswell
EDIT: I'm gunna Do a re-code of the whole game. To make everything better, i might add a img but i currently dont know how 2 do that.
Dragonminded has yet again updated his Media Player for the Nintendo Wii, heres the release details:
Music player for the Wii. It has a nice interface and is skinnable. It plays mp3, ogg, flac and other formats but does not work with wma or aac. It is a native Wii application (no Wii Linux) with the intent of being a multi-source media player on the Wii.
Heres both newsposts of the recent AmplituDS v4 release:
AmplituDS was my first real project for the NDS, and it was also one of the first homebrew games to feature music and not only that, but on top of that it's actually also used as gameplay element.
I've been improving it since I released the first version to the public. A lot. Hopefully my efforts will not go unnoticed.
This game is actually based on the gameplay of Amplitude for the PlayStation 2, from the creators who also made Guitar Hero later on.
It seemed the v4 downloads I had up had two flaws:
1) Difficulty selection menu was -seriously- flawed.
2) AmplituDS wouldn't work on R4.
Both of these issues are fixed now.
If you downloaded AmplituDS v4 before this message was posted, please redownload. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Also, there's no need to register for the forums to be able to obtain the new, seperately downloadable stages. Each of the stages posts has a nice "Download" link in it which everyone should be able to use, even if not registered.
Yep, it happened again... I said I wouldn't work on it anymore, and voila, another version appears anyway.
V4 has quite a few bugfixes, a couple of new features, and three new playable stages from the get go, with more in the making.
The other two stages, are downloadable on the forums only, and can be found here. They are "Ode to Megaman" by Aaron, and "Unreal" by Dementedioser.
As for some other news: Aaron also made a nice new stage creator application for AmplituDS, which makes the process a lot easier. Thanks, Aaron. Check that out over here.
Now, what's new in AmplituDS v4?
A new and improved way of adding worlds and stages! With the ease of dropping in a folder.
New layouts and settings formats (made easy by a converter created by Aaron)
Making hitting the targets more visual.
Create several new looks for targets.
The bugs fixed?
Freestyle possibly working in menus; thanks to Dementedioser for bringing it to my attention
Instruments marked to be played in the background could fail; thanks to Aaron for bringing it to my attention
Wrong menu option highlighted for 1/30th of a second when going to a new menu; thanks to Aaron for bringing it to my attention
Scoring inconsistency when using autoblaster in certain situations; thanks to Aaron for bringing it to my attention
Thanks go out to all the stage creators and people who helped made this a reality. Special thanks to Aaron, Dementedioser and DevilSpawn for this one.
Speaking during the QuakeCon keynote, id Software's John Carmack has revealed that the Xbox 360's DVD format could result in the developer's upcoming game, Rage, being compromised on the platform.
According to Shacknews Carmack noted three DVDs will be needed for the Xbox 360 version, although royalty fees to include a third disc would rule out this option. Unless Microsoft makes a concession, id will be forced to release the game on two DVDs with heavy compression, thus making the game look worse than the PS3 version.
Speaking during the QuakeCon keynote, id Software's John Carmack has revealed that the Xbox 360's DVD format could result in the developer's upcoming game, Rage, being compromised on the platform.
According to Shacknews Carmack noted three DVDs will be needed for the Xbox 360 version, although royalty fees to include a third disc would rule out this option. Unless Microsoft makes a concession, id will be forced to release the game on two DVDs with heavy compression, thus making the game look worse than the PS3 version.
At Square Enix's DKΣ3713 Private party event in Harajuku today, attendees were treated to a large video montage that showed off ten of the company's upcoming titles. One of the surprises of the show was the inclusion of Final Fantasy Agito XIII, which was initially scheduled to be released as a mobile game, but is now coming to the PSP. While the title wasn't given a specific release date, some elements of the story were shown in the trailer, as well as quick glimpses of gameplay.
The trailer initially started out with one of those grainy film filters that seemed reminiscent of classic newsreel footage. It presented a flyover of a map that showed off different kingdoms, and highlighted one militaristic nation that due to the machinations and speeches of its leader, began invasions of its neighbors. Apparently, its march to war was unimpeded until it reached a lone island kingdom isolated from the rest of the continent, which appeared to be protected by a giant crystal. However, it does appear as though the crystal eventually shatters, leaving the kingdom unprotected and seemingly defenseless. That is, until a mysterious woman clad in a cloak emerged in front of the army, wielding both a whip like sword (reminiscent of SoulCalibur's Ivy) and other blades.
While the trailer focused on quick flashes of gameplay interspersed with CG cutscenes, the trailer eventually ended with the cloaked woman planting a flag, which appeared to be the colors of the invaded island nation. This rallied many other cloaked figures to arise and take up arms against their attackers. Whoever this resistance group is, they all look rather dangerous, with their own specialization of different weapons. The trailer then ends. While we were left with many more questions than answers, this definitely put the title on our radar whenever it is released on PSPs.
It's been way too long since Square visited their Parasite Eve franchise; in fact, almost eight years have passed since Aya Brea took on the threats of dangerous mitochondrial beasts. At the DKΣ3713 Private party event in Harajuku today, Square showed off a trailer that marked Aya's return in The 3rd Birthday, which appears to have moved from the cell phone to the PSP.
While the trailer was rather short, it started out by focusing on events that occurred from the previous two games. This included many of the visually striking cutscenes in a montage that highlighted many of the monsters that Aya destroyed. This quickly moved into a scene where Aya walked down the aisle of an empty church in a wedding dress. However, it didn't appear that the wedding would fully take place, as a figure appeared in the doorway of the church. Suddenly, the glass and pews of the church crumbled and fell to the floor, as did the decorative flower arrangements inside. As Aya turned and raised a pistol, a wedding ring fell to the floor. With the floor slowly being covered in blood, the trailer ended and the logo flashed up on screen.
Clearly, we don't have enough information yet as to what the setting or the premise is behind The 3rd Birthday, nor was a release date provided. But the fact that another Parasite Eve game is in the works is a great extra for Sony and survival horror fans.
Ever needed a coin or a die? Or worse... Have you ever needed a 22 sided die for Dungeons & Dragons or something like that and you've never even seen one? Well, you're in luck because this program works as all those and more!
This program is very clean and simple to run. You input how many face you want on the die, and you roll it! The program then picks a random number and displays it! You can use any number of sides from 2 to whatever amount you need!
If you have 2 sides it acts as a coin.
This program just... Well... Duh! It takes you to Systems & Sketches website straight from the XMB
Systems & Sketches is located at http://www.sands.co.nr/
Smarcyclem is, currently, the only working emulator for the Smart Cycle Physical Learning Arcade System. It does run full speed most of the time and only one game has any sort of major sound issue: Letter Creek.
Smarcyclem is easy to install and get running. No need for BIOS files either! XD
ChildBeGone is a simple, customizable program that was made to keep other people* from seeing your private files, updating your PSP, deleting your files, or generally playing with your PSP while you are not watching.
It can be set to be autobooted from the memory stick and is easily exited by you. The button scheme in exiting is simple to remember but hard to figure out because of the odd way you have to hold your PSP while pressing the buttons.
This also turns on USB mode to create quick file transfers or if you forget the buttons to quit the program.
What's great is that you can customize the message that appears on the screen whenever the program is ran so if there is someone who takes/steals/updates your PSP system often, you can directly tell them to leave your stuff alone!
*I use this to keep my little brother from messing with my PSP whenever I'm at school! It works great!
drk||Raziel has posted some info on his blog regarding the Dreamcast Emulator for the PSP:
nullDC/psp will only be for psp lite. The old(’fat’) psp just doesnt have the ram space needed, nothing i can do about that.
The current speeds are very low, but that is expected. There is no dynarec, no optimisation, not even a single mips assembly line on the current source. Most of the current code (everything, apart from 3d rendering) is based on the pc version of nullDC, and most of this code will be replaced. So yeah, IT WILL TAKE QUITE SOME TIME BEFORE THE PROJECT IS ANYTHING NEAR USEABLE.
The current speed (as stated by the on screen couters) is around 10%. THIS IS WRONG, IT IS ACTUALY LOWER. The interpreter runs underclocked (to make the speed bearable). This also happens on the pc build of nullDC when using interpreter (for the same reasons). The rps field (renders per second) is accurate.
After the code is cleaned up/rewriten there are plans to port to pandora ( www.openpandora.org, realy cool stuff ) and possibly other consoles (wii seems like a nice target, ps3 if theres a way to get 3D access). ALL THIS MAY(OR MAY NOT) COME AFTER THE CODE IS REWRITEN, SO DONT ASK ABOUT IT NOW(you’l just waste your time, realy). The code will be open sourced as soon as it gets stable.
While i think it is possible to get fullspeed on psp it is quite likely that i will be proven wrong. I CAN NOT MAKE ANY PROMISSES ABOUT THE SPEED, I ONLY PROMISE I WILL TRY TO GET IT FAST.
If you somehow think this project is wasted time, then dont waste any more commenting/thinking about it. My time is .. mine, i can do whatever i want with it. Seriusly, if you want to say something bad just save your time, it wont realy change anything .
There, i hope this clears up some things. If for some reason you’re still confused read over the bold parts, that will help
Lets hope and pray that NUllDC can be ported at a playable speed, i do have faith that the coder will do his very best, exciting news for PSP owners.
drk||Raziel has posted some info on his blog regarding the Dreamcast Emulator for the PSP:
nullDC/psp will only be for psp lite. The old(’fat’) psp just doesnt have the ram space needed, nothing i can do about that.
The current speeds are very low, but that is expected. There is no dynarec, no optimisation, not even a single mips assembly line on the current source. Most of the current code (everything, apart from 3d rendering) is based on the pc version of nullDC, and most of this code will be replaced. So yeah, IT WILL TAKE QUITE SOME TIME BEFORE THE PROJECT IS ANYTHING NEAR USEABLE.
The current speed (as stated by the on screen couters) is around 10%. THIS IS WRONG, IT IS ACTUALY LOWER. The interpreter runs underclocked (to make the speed bearable). This also happens on the pc build of nullDC when using interpreter (for the same reasons). The rps field (renders per second) is accurate.
After the code is cleaned up/rewriten there are plans to port to pandora ( www.openpandora.org, realy cool stuff ) and possibly other consoles (wii seems like a nice target, ps3 if theres a way to get 3D access). ALL THIS MAY(OR MAY NOT) COME AFTER THE CODE IS REWRITEN, SO DONT ASK ABOUT IT NOW(you’l just waste your time, realy). The code will be open sourced as soon as it gets stable.
While i think it is possible to get fullspeed on psp it is quite likely that i will be proven wrong. I CAN NOT MAKE ANY PROMISSES ABOUT THE SPEED, I ONLY PROMISE I WILL TRY TO GET IT FAST.
If you somehow think this project is wasted time, then dont waste any more commenting/thinking about it. My time is .. mine, i can do whatever i want with it. Seriusly, if you want to say something bad just save your time, it wont realy change anything .
There, i hope this clears up some things. If for some reason you’re still confused read over the bold parts, that will help
Lets hope and pray that NUllDC can be ported at a playable speed, i do have faith that the coder will do his very best, exciting news for PSP owners.
drk||Raziel has posted some very interesting news for fans of his Dreamcast Emulator and also those interested in getting a Pandora Console and owners of PS3 and Nintendo Wii
After the code is cleaned up/rewriten there are plans to port to pandora and possibly other consoles (wii seems like a nice target, ps3 if theres a way to get 3D access). ALL THIS MAY(OR MAY NOT) COME AFTER THE CODE IS REWRITEN, SO DONT ASK ABOUT IT NOW(you’l just waste your time, realy). The code will be open sourced as soon as it gets stable.
drk||Raziel has posted some very interesting news for fans of his Dreamcast Emulator and also those interested in getting a Pandora Console and owners of PS3 and Nintendo Wii
After the code is cleaned up/rewriten there are plans to port to pandora and possibly other consoles (wii seems like a nice target, ps3 if theres a way to get 3D access). ALL THIS MAY(OR MAY NOT) COME AFTER THE CODE IS REWRITEN, SO DONT ASK ABOUT IT NOW(you’l just waste your time, realy). The code will be open sourced as soon as it gets stable.
drk||Raziel has posted some very interesting news for fans of his Dreamcast Emulator and also those interested in getting a Pandora Console and owners of PS3 and Nintendo Wii
After the code is cleaned up/rewriten there are plans to port to pandora and possibly other consoles (wii seems like a nice target, ps3 if theres a way to get 3D access). ALL THIS MAY(OR MAY NOT) COME AFTER THE CODE IS REWRITEN, SO DONT ASK ABOUT IT NOW(you’l just waste your time, realy). The code will be open sourced as soon as it gets stable.
drk||Raziel has posted some very interesting news for fans of his Dreamcast Emulator and also those interested in getting a Pandora Console and owners of PS3 and Nintendo Wii
After the code is cleaned up/rewriten there are plans to port to pandora and possibly other consoles (wii seems like a nice target, ps3 if theres a way to get 3D access). ALL THIS MAY(OR MAY NOT) COME AFTER THE CODE IS REWRITEN, SO DONT ASK ABOUT IT NOW(you’l just waste your time, realy). The code will be open sourced as soon as it gets stable.
This is a pic from the latest issue Official Playstation Magazine, revealing that Left 4 Dead will be coming to Playstation3. It will be ported by EA (remember The Orange box for the PS3). Lets hope the do a better job this time.
- [Xe] new execution core.
- [Xe/Linux] Modified joypad analog axis access.
- [PC Engine CD-ROM2] Fixed audio status report.
- [Super Famicom] Fixed affine mode priority.
- [FM Towns Marty] Fixed floppy disk status. (Thanks to Parazythum for the Car Marty info)
- [FC-FX] PC-FX support.
- [Game Boy Advance] Game Boy Advance support
Burner (interface) changes
- Added board type, genre and family filters to the game selection dialog
-- Updated all drivers with the new flags
-- Amended the relevant dialogs to display the new genre and family information
-- Added the genre and family flags to the -listextrainfo output
- Added gamelist localisation functionality
-- It works in much the same way as the UI localisation, beware though, that if you have a large file it can take some time to start the program, try and keep the file small and with only the titles you want to translate
-- Maximum titles to translate is currently set at 5000
-- The advantage of doing it this way is that the whole program benefits from translated titles, not just certain parts and the speed hit is only felt once rather than every time a title is retrieved
-- Obviously this only works with UNICODE builds
- Fixed some issues with clicking behind some dialog boxes
- Fixed a problem with the config file, allowing multi-byte paths to be specified
- Double clicking on cheats in the dialog now selects the next option, thanks to sho
- Changed the menu in the game selection dialog to a basic menu
- Increased the width of the info boxes in the game selection dialog to use all available space (and not crop text unnecessarily)
Burn (emulation) changes
- Hooked up the SN76496's in Van-Van Car
- Finished up sf2m13 thanks to a small patch posted by iq_132 years ago
- Added various homebrew games and demos (can be filtered out if you don't want to see them)
- Added various decrypted C sets to the Neo Geo driver (can be filtered out if you don't want to see them)
- Fixed a rom size issue in 8ballact
- Matched all sets to MAME 0.126u3
Namco's recreation of the classic 1942 is less then perfect.
No one will argue that top down shooters are one of the greatest classic game types ever made. Still no one will argue that they can be fun to play. Take Ikaruga for example; its a top down shooter and uses a classic formula like all the rest. But tweaks and extra stuff make the game much more enjoyable, though its still tough like many 1942-esqe shooters. Nanostray is another example of how the classic can still be good today. 1942, the cult classic that inspired all of this, had you back in WWII fighting off Japanese bombers, and it was a great arcade game back when it first debuted, and an even better Co-op game. So here we are today with Capcom's remake of the classic dubbed as 1942: Joint Strike. As far as classic remakes go this is pretty well done. But Capcom might well have made it a little too faithful to its roots. Read on...
When you start up the game you'll see what may be the most annoying part of the game. The menu screen. Don't get me wrong, the menu screen is fantastic; the effects and old style mission cards are great. However, every move you make in the menu is marked by the absolutely annoying roar of airplanes flying in from the side of the menu, which at first is kinda neat, but after the twenty-seventh time, I've more then heard it enough. And here is the next problem; if you don't have anyone to play local co-op with you like I didn't, then you will miss the best part of the game. After uncountable attempts to find someone over XBL to play, I couldn't even finish the game because the connection timed itself out and made both of us log off. Since that one time I've never been able to find another gamer to play the game out co-op with, and even though I got enough in to write the co-op section of the review, no one is gonna buy this for single player. No one with sense, anyway.
The graphics had a major overhaul, and they are pretty nice.
Co-op is what this game is made for. Hence the name "JOINT" strike. (Which I never actually could do, btw....) As far as co-op goes this game is fairly impressive. 3 ships and 3 special Joint possible attacks add a bit more game time after you've played through the 20 minute campaign mode with a friend. Taking down bosses together is always fun, and if both you and your friend get the dual lasers power-up then you can basically keep a constant blue streak going across every part of the screen, eradicating most enemies before you even see them. No special modes, but 5 difficulty levels and some "decent" achievements. As for the difficulty levels...without a buddy, you almost can't beat campaign mode, period. No continues whatsoever, and you can't save the game at any point. This game can be even more frustrating then Ikaruga, believe it or not. And when you can't beat the game when you don't have a companion, and trying to find a fellow gamer on Xbox LIVE is like trying to find one on Space Giraffe, the games "game" falls flat. Co-op is the saving grace, but thats only even "good". The gameplay itself isn't broken, but this game has just enough problems to ensure that it breaks most of the fun the gameplay can offer.
The graphics aren't really too bad for a remake of an old sprite based game. 3D models for most enemies and environments, and they don't look very bad either. A good color pallete of pastels gives the game a lighter feeling, as opposed to a dark and serious feeling. I unfortunately can't rant on and on about the animations and character models as I would like to since there really aren't any. This is planes we're talking about after all. Screen tearing does occur, and it is a bit noticeable since there is usually not too much variety in the things going on on screen at any one time. The one time I was able to play online the framerate was pretty messy at some points, specifically during the 1st and 4th levels. The weapon effects are bright and neat though, but when you drop a bomb the explosion sometimes clips through the level. Overall though, the revamped graphics aren't too shabby. The old style DANGER screen is pretty cool too. Really though, this a top down shooter. How much more is there to say?
On 2 stars or higher, you will never make it here on singleplayer.
Wow...this is one of my shortest reviews I think I've made in a long time. But really theres not much to say about this game. Except maybe that for the value this game really isn't worth it. $5 maybe, but $10 is just cruel. If you've got a friend whos willing to purge the money with you, it may be worth it, but otherwise its just another shooter, and one thats almost impossible by yourself.
Story: N/A
Its not gonna be added to the score because its not supposed to be about the story. Graphics: 3.5/5
The graphics had a huge overhaul from the arcade days of 1942, and it really does work. Minor issues are still present though. Sound: 3/5
The menu airplanes drove me nuts, and all around the music is bland and the sound effects are decent. Gameplay: 3/5
The game is all about co-op, and quite frankly it does it well. However, single-player is boring and unfair, and there isn't a single soul to play against on XBL. Replayability: 2.5/5
If it wasn't for being able to go through it many times with a friend the score would be much, much lower. Campaign is only about 20-30 minutes long. Value: 2.5/5
$5 and we'll talk, but for $10 this game will rip you off. Ikaruga is a much better choice at the same price. Overall:
New from Divineo China and available in a 6 different colours
You can now save money and get all the accessories you need for your PSP Slim console with this 20 in 1 ultimate pack! 20 accessories includes all the must have for people caring for their console.
Airfoam pocket x 1
Screen Protector x 1
Crystal Case x 1
UMD Case x 2
Headphone x 1
Remote Control x 1
USB Power Charge Cable x 1
USB Data Transfer Cable x 1
Button Kit x 2
Dust Protector x 5
Handy Strap x 1
Carabiner x 1
Cleaning Cloth x 1
PSP Slim Console Strap x 1
Surely you feel like buying an all new TuneCast Auto just months after picking up the original, right? Trust us, we can hear the groans from here. For the scads of iPhone 3G owners who are downright perturbed by the inability to charge the thing with some older accessories, you'll be none too pleased when handing over $79.99 for this. But unless you flex your DIY muscle and come up with some other solution (please share, will you?), buying an iPhone 3G-friendly alternative looks to be the only solution. This FM transmitter boasts ClearScan technology in order to hunt down and lock into the best FM frequency (good luck with that), but as we've already pointed out, the biggest boon is the iPhone 3G charging ability. Hey Apple, Belkin says "thanks." Whatever that means.
While it may seem bizarre to think that Square Enix, developer of some of the deepest narratives to ever grace our video game libraries, would decide to travel the road less Peggled, the RPG juggernaut recently launched a new casual gaming brand named "Pure Dreams" in Japan. This joins their "DS Style" line of casual games, which offers players traveling tips as well as advice on choosing wine at a restaurant. We usually just ask the waiter, but they really love their DS Lites in Japan.
The first two blockbusters sliding down the Pure Dreams chute are both based off of popular licenses in Japan -- Snoopy DS: Let's Go Meet Snoopy and His Friends! lets the player create their own member of the Peanuts gallery and play minigames with their hydrocephalitic neighbors, and Pingu's Wonderful Carnival is also a minigame collection, based off of the popular Swiss stop-motion series. We absolutely cannot wait to see Peppermint Patty's limit break.
Exidy's Death Race, of 1976, might have been the first game adaptation and yeah, it was kind of lame, setting a standard for adaptations for decades to come. (It was inspired by 1975's Death Race 2000 starring Sylvester Stallone and David Carradine). But man did it cause a stink. Players ran down stickmen with a car, eliciting screams and turning the screen into a graveyard of pedestrians. The game had no color, no digitized sound, no blood splatter, no ragdoll physics, its violence was abstract in both audio and video, and it made 60 Minutes as a national outrage.
Well since retro-revival's as much the rage in cinema as it is gaming, there's a Death Race remake coming to the screen in a couple of weeks. And the movie's history as the inspiration for a hot-button game controversy is something any marketer would exploit. So the film's official web site has a flash advergame — top down racer with some weapons thrown in. It sucks.
I was 3 in 1976, so I can't speak for the state of people's thinking at the time. But I really do wonder if its level of violence is indeed trivial, even for its age, or if I only feel that way because I've seen so much more, and so much worse. It's hard to consider Death Race as the first pebble trickling off a slippery slope, and definitely makes it more important than it deserves to be.
Rockstar sent notices out sometime after midnight to players who achieved 100 percent completion in Grand Theft Auto IV during the game's "Key to the City" contest (now closed, so if you're at 98.3 percent, suck it up.) Reader Farnic sent us a screenshot of his (fullsize after the jump). The fine print: "If you do not respond within seven days, you will be made ineligible for the prize." Also, it could take up to 120 days to get your key, depending on how many they have to make.
I think there's a legal compliance reason for that. I got a prize for being a finalist in a bad-movie contest run by Radar, and they made me sign an affidavit and send it back in seven days too. OK, so that was my passive aggressive way of linking to some OT bullshit. Anyway, the Rockstar notice has the image of what looks like the key all the eligible 100 Percenters will receive. So congrats to Farnic and all who got it. When it arrives, take pictures of the unboxing and send them along.
Rockstar sent notices out sometime after midnight to players who achieved 100 percent completion in Grand Theft Auto IV during the game's "Key to the City" contest (now closed, so if you're at 98.3 percent, suck it up.) Reader Farnic sent us a screenshot of his (fullsize after the jump). The fine print: "If you do not respond within seven days, you will be made ineligible for the prize." Also, it could take up to 120 days to get your key, depending on how many they have to make.
I think there's a legal compliance reason for that. I got a prize for being a finalist in a bad-movie contest run by Radar, and they made me sign an affidavit and send it back in seven days too. OK, so that was my passive aggressive way of linking to some OT bullshit. Anyway, the Rockstar notice has the image of what looks like the key all the eligible 100 Percenters will receive. So congrats to Farnic and all who got it. When it arrives, take pictures of the unboxing and send them along.
FCEUX is a cross platform, NTSC and PAL Famicom/NES emulator that is an evolution of the original FCE Ultra emulator. Over time FCE Ultra had separated into many separate branches.
The concept behind FCEUX is to merge elements from FCE Ultra, FCEU rerecording, FCEUXD, FCEUXDSP, and FCEU-mm into a single branch of FCEU. As the X implies, it is an all-encompassing FCEU emulator that gives the best of all worlds for the general player, the ROM-hacking community, and the Tool-Assisted Speedrun Community.
We are particularly excited by the Lua scripting capabilities which have been ported over from FCEU rerecording and prepped for further development. In order to use Lua in the windows build you will need the luapack [fceux.com/luapack] which should be unzipped alongside your fceux.exe. The large numbers of dlls wasn't our choice; but it will enable the iup user interface library which will permit scripts to create their own guis, as well as rendering the base fceux distribution more compact. Examples of lua scripts may be found in the subversion repository here
FCE Ultra is BACK! Today, version 2.0.0 has been released as the new software FCEUX.
All users of FCE Ultra are encouraged to switch to FCEUX and bug us if something isn't working well.
Head to the download page to grab the most recent windows binary or portable source code.
- Thanks to the hard work of Flash and Headkaze for providing the tools, the first of the updated databases using the new format are in this release. These are for the Sega Saturn and NEC PC-FX
- I realised today that the MAME manufacturer list and filter had really become a useless feature due to the huge amount of MAME games now supported and the data accuracy issues in the MAME XML output. Therefore GameEx now performs formating on the Manufacturer, resulting in less manufacturers in the list and more games grouped under each one as well as fixing the data accuracy issues in recent MAME builds. This results in a smaller list making the feature once again worth having hopefully. An update list is required
Changes:
- For new installs by default GameEx will not set the resolution to 800x600 but will use the current windows desktop resolution. This is to provide a better initial experience for new users, and should only be a problem on really low end machines set at high resolutions
- There is a slight change to the 2d animations. Hopefully for the better. Feedback welcome
- When choosing the Lite or MAME only option on install, ebooks and search will be disabled. The theme is set at Media Center instead of MCE Glossy
Fixes:
- GameEx should be more usable in touch screen setups as the issue where clicking the page down error did not return focus to the list from the menu with the default V3 themes is fixed
- Fixes issue where the menu would not be visible after updating the MAME list
- Fixes ICONS only being created on a restart when the first MAME list update is done
This is the first emulator I've made. It's partially ported from Zion's Dreamchip (which is a port of TJA's chip8 emu for PC). Anyway, it has button mapping and speed options. SuperChip is coming soon along with saving options. Some games don't work perfectly for some reason but I hope to have that fixed soon. Enjoy =D
Roms go in the CHIP8 folder on the root of the sd card.
UPDATE: superchip should be working, and i think most of the bugs are fixed. i haven't added saving/loading configurations or sound but heres a pre-release of the new version, i'm too tired to finish it today but over the next few days i hope to add the following:
- save/load configuration
- save state / load state
- change colors option
- sound
- anything else you wanna suggest
if anyone finds any bugs, please report them here so i can fix them.
chip8 games go in /CHIP8 folder, superchip games go in /SCHIP folder (you can put them in the save folder and they should work anyway but this is neater)
UPDATE - Version 1.0 Released
The new version of Chippy is ready.
CHANGELOG:
-bug fixes
-SCHIP support
-save/load state
-options menu
-save button mappings
-sound
-cant remember the other stuff
KNOWN ISSUES:
-randomization sux
-speed
put games in CHIP8 or SCHIP folder on the root of the sd card.
Bushing has released what is basically an Homebrew ISO Template for the Nintendo Wii, now we know Bushing is against piracy as are most and that includes DCEmu, heres his full post:
In order to make legally re-distributable ISO images for the Homebrew Channel installer, we had to remove Nintendo’s copyrighted apploader code and replace it with our own; we based ours on the one from GC-Linux. You may find the source and binary for it here:
Just a short note about Arc Rise Fantasia, an upcoming RPG for the Wii from ImageEpoch, which makes the Luminous Arc games. This is a proper RPG though, not a tactics game. Here's the ImageEpoch site, and here is the Marvelous one, who's publishing the game. The latter is where updates will go. I point this game out because it looks to be the first "mature"-oriented RPG for the Wii, unless you count Namco Bandai's Fragile as an RPG.
Alchemist is bringing Triggerheart Exelica to the PS2 as Triggerheart Exelica Enhanced. No word on what these enhancements will be yet, but there's a tab for it on the site, so there's going to be something. Alchemist mostly does galge games and visual novels, but is also responsible for the console ports of the Baldr games, so they do have some shooter experience. The one new thing you can see now is the unpainted version of the figure that'll come with the limited edition. The release is planned for this winter, with the regular edition priced at 8,190 yen, and the limited at a rather astounding 13,440 yen. Incredibly high prices for a game that's been released twice over...I wonder how that will work out for them.
Here's a bit of actual arcade news that didn't get reported much. Global VR is making a proper Justice League arcade game. The bulk of the information can be found in the release, repeated here: "Development of this action-packed game is well underway. GLOBAL VR has taken elements from the most popular adventure and Global VRfighting games and combined them to offer players a totally unique and compelling arcade experience. Players will be able to play in single or multi-player modes as they command their heroes through a maze of villains such as Joker, Doomsday, and Darkseid, that are found on the different game levels."
Global VR is known these days for releasing arcade versions of console games, like Need for Speed Carbon, Blazing Angels, America's Army, and Paradise Lost, which takes the graphics from Far Cry Instincts and turns it into a rails shooter. It'll be interesting to see an actual new American-developed arcade game that's actually in the classic action vein.
We've all seen the adorably customizable lookalikes that we'll be generating with the Avatar system, due out with the Xbox 360 Fall update -- but we've yet to see the actual system that will let you let you create your virtual representation. However, a "super secret source" recently sent our green and white sister site, 360 Fanboy, a couple of images containing the icons used in the Avatar creator. Assuming they're legit, they give a great indication of what aspects of your avatar you'll be able to manipulate. Based on the images in the gallery below, it looks like our dream of walking through Xbox Live's virtual halls as a morbidly obese man in a rabbit costume might just come true.
If yesterday's video extravaganza for THQ's upcoming shoot-'em-up Red Faction: Guerilla tickled your ludological fancy, then a tip we recently received might interest you. Apparently, the Guerilla multiplayer beta from which yesterday's footage was gleaned is now open for Xbox Live Gold subscribers through FilePlanet -- though you have to be either a FilePlanet subscriber or an IGN Insider in order to gain the access code necessary to conjure the beta onto your 360 through Live Marketplace.
There is a beta application to fill out, though we don't think they would turn their precious subscribers away. It's of little importance to us, however, as we make it a point not to subscribe to things that aren't the Oprah magazine.
Do you find it difficult to slip the fact that you conquered a certain titular Lord of Terror into your daily conversations? Feel insecure when bragging about your latest successful Zerg Rush to your colleagues? Blizzard's got your back -- in a recent interview with MTV Multiplayer, World of Warcraft lead designer Jeff Kaplan revealed that there will be achievements in Blizzard's next two highly anticipated projects, Diablo III and Starcraft II.
These achievements will join the recently revealed achievements for WoW (which will make their debut with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion) -- however, Kaplan revealed that eventually, achievements from the three games will be linked to your Blizzard account, forming a "Blizzard Level". Kaplan likened the system to the Xbox Live gamerscore -- only without all the embarrassment one must suffer after earning 780 points from Pimp My Ride.
It appears that Activision is wasting no time with their bestselling FPS franchise Call of Duty -- though we're still a couple of months from receiving the Sutherland-infused Call of Duty: World at War, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick recently announced that his company is planning on releasing yet another Call of Duty title sometime in 2009. In equally unsurprising news, gas is still expensive, flan is still delicious, and the sun is planning on rising tomorrow morning.
Kotick remarked that the series would continue its "leapfrog" pattern between developers, making it fairly safe to assume that Infinity Ward, creators of Call of Duty 4, will take the reigns for the next wartime title. Last we heard, Infinity Ward was working on a sci-fi shooter -- could the next Call of Duty unceremoniously swap M4 Carbines for Plasma Rifles? We'll surely find out more about the next next installment as we inch closer to the first next installment this October.
The $199 Xbox 360 price cut rumor we reported on yesterday got a little more real today after a screenshot surfaced showing the updated SKU for the Arcade model. VGChartz got the scoop, and noticed that the September 7 release date for the updated SKU coincides with some other big Xbox 360 events: the launches of Square Enix's Infinite Undiscovery and Rock Band 2. Both titles are Xbox 360 exclusives around the price drop time frame (although as Kotaku notes, Rock Band 2 comes out for other systems in November).
Sure, the kids will have a blast filling their nostrils with various scents while playing PU: The Guessing Game Of Smells, but what about the grown ups? Where is our late-night olfactory adventure, made physical by a $28 game board? While the kids search for the mischievous skunk in P.U., using their noses to hunt for clues, what are we adults going to do to pass the time? These are the things I need to know. Meanwhile, I'll be playing P.U., by myself, trying to guess which cards are peppermint, burnt rubber, cut grass, or "the dreaded doggie doo doo."
The "Cagney" update for Burnout Paradise on the Xbox 360 will arrive via Xbox Live tomorrow. Developer Criterion posted confirmation of the release date on Friday, and commenter Sean Beanland mentioned it in yesterday's discussion of Burnout Bikes.
"Cagney," already applied to the PS3 version, was originally slated for release on July 10. The update is free and is far more than a patch or a fix. Three new online game modes, two additional cars, and 70 new timed multipart challenges come with the new version, as well as "a complete overhaul of our Online Racing System and a stack of other major improvement," says Criterion. http://kotaku.com/5032446/burnout-pa...rives-tomorrow
Very sad news from Redmond, Wash. Melissa Batten, 36, a software development engineer in Microsoft's Xbox division, was murdered by her estranged husband, who then shot himself to death, earlier this week.
Pocket Commander was inspired by the groundbreaking game 'Modem Wars' by Dan Bunten (1988). This was one of my all-time favorites! I wanted to pay my respects to Dan for his much-overlooked masterpiece. Long before the internet craze and real-time strategy(RTS) games like Command and Conquer, Dan created the first multiplayer (Modem to modem) real-time strategy game. This game is my attempt to recapture those 20 year old memories in a single player game for the GameBoy Advance.
Coder_TimT has updated his Music Player for the GP2X, heres the release details:
Definitely time for another update, so here is ommpc2x 0.3.3. Changes are as follows...
1. Updated SDL version with Senor Quacks touchscreen improvements. Should provide better touchscreen performance.
2. Fixed an occasional crash when switching songs with a scrolling title.
3. Keyrepeat was at least broken in my code, so I fixed it...not sure if the last release had issues or not.
4. Correctly clear "Updating Databse" text once update is complete.
5. Fixed drawing of overaly elements in scroll area that was causing them to blink.
6. Increased max ff/rw speed and shortened the time it takes to increase speed.
7. Added keyboards directory so that different keyboard images can be created and specified.
8. Made highlighted key more visible in default keyboard.
9. Fixed aliased "Playlists" text.
10. Fixed overlapping text when selecting "Unknown" when no songs are in database.
11. Added some command processing to keyboard code. 'X' now cancels out of keyboard mode, 'Y' is backspace, and "Start/Home" work as enter.
12. Since I was shown up by gmu with the queueing request(thanks alot wejp... ), I decided to implement something similar although not exactly as originally requested. You can now hold 'Y' on a song in the Playlist to immediately "queue" it to play next, aka move it to be next in the playlist. The currently playing song and queued items have a slightly different background color to set them apart from other items in the playlist. Queuing multiple items works as expected with each subsequent item being added to the end of the list. This feature is also available in the Song browser by also holding 'Y'. Holding 'Y' while on a queued song, removes it from the queue list and appends it to the end of the playlist.
13. Pretty icons to distinguish Files and Folders in the Song Browser. If you don't like them set "drawIcons=0" in the config file.
Prisoners across the country are being supplied with computer games consoles costing thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money.
The Prison Service has spent £221,726 on PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo systems and software to keep jailed criminals entertained. Ministers have previously admitted spending only £10,000 on the machines.
An audit carried out last month on Justice Secretary Jack Straw’s orders turned up 12,948 game consoles in prisons and young-offender institutions in England and Wales, showing how widespread their use is among the 83,600 prison population.
While most of them were bought by inmates themselves, a total of 1,715, costing between £100 and £300 each, was provided by the Prison Service.
The Ministry of Justice recently announced restrictions on the use of the games but critics said this was because the extent of their use was going to be made public.
Officials at the department admitted that there was nothing to stop violent 18-rated games being played on taxpayer-funded machines and conceded that prison authorities may have purchased violent titles for some inmates.
Tory MP Nigel Evans, to whom Mr Straw disclosed the figures in a letter, said: ‘Does being sent down for five years of hard PlayStation playing serve as rehabilitation or punishment?
‘This is rewarding criminal behaviour with equipment which many victims of crime could only dream of affording for their children. People will be outraged by this revelation.’
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Herbert said: ‘While Ministers protest that there is no money for prison places or rehabilitation schemes, they waste taxpayers’ funds on luxuries which prisoners shouldn’t have.
‘Offenders should be learning and preparing for the world of work, not idly playing Grand Theft Auto and preparing to return to crime.’
It was disclosed recently that thousands of inmates have access to Sky TV and computers, and last week it was revealed that more money is spent on food for prisoners in police cells than for NHS patients.
Prisoners are allowed to play 18-rated games such as Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt, which are notorious for their extreme violence.
However, from October, 18-rated titles will be banned in prisons altogether and the use of consoles will be restricted to only the best behaved prisoners or those on suicide watch.
In his letter to Mr Evans, Mr Straw claimed he had not known of the arrangement until recently. He wrote: ‘I was unhappy when I first heard [in April] that public money was being spent on games consoles, and ordered a review of this policy.
‘I have now decided that, with immediate effect, no public money will be spent on games consoles.’
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said decisions about purchasing consoles for inmates had been made on ‘a prison-by-prison basis’.
You’d think it was the year 2006 around here. Why else would I post the results of an exercise study for Wii launch game “Wii Sports“?
Good reason: While it seems like the folks at the American Council on Exercise are a little behind in releasing results of a “Wii Sports” fitness study in 2008, they’ve taken the time to present research that contains some useful data.
At long last we can now know how, in terms of calories burned, “Wii Sports” boxing compares to real boxing, “Wii Sports” tennis compares to real tennis, and so on.
The study reveals the following:
Compared to golfing at a driving range (3.9 calories per minute), playing Wii Golf burned 0.8 calories less per minute. Actual bowling burns nearly twice as much (7.2 calories per minute) as Wii Bowling, while baseball burns 7.3 calories per minute and Wii Baseball burns 2.8 calories per minute less. Similarly, Wii Tennis burns 2.8 calories per minute less than the actual game (8.1 calories per minute). Finally, Wii Boxing burns about 3.0 calories per minute less than conventional sparring at 10.2 calories per minute.
Now I don’t know how much exercise anyone expects to get when they go to a bowling alley, but this study’s report that “Wii Sports” bowling will give you only half the workout of the real thing should cancel anyone’s plans to drop weight via a Wii Bowling Workout.
Wait. No one was doing that?
(It should be noted that the people who conducted the study for the ACE at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse Exercise and Health Program did not allow their “Wii Sports” test subjects to just flick their wrists. They made them hop around like they were playing real sports).
A few weeks ago, we took a long, hard look at the state of the PSP. Software, we mused, was in short supply and the future was rather bleak. Luckily, E3 arrived to show us that the system wasn't completely dead and that there were some prospects for Sony's little wunderportable. Perhaps more disturbing, however, was the relative lack of new info on the PS2. Sony touched on their plans for a new bundle for the system, but they almost spent more time talking about pushing into Latin America during their E3 press conference.
Which got us thinking: is the PS2 finally on its way out? Lord knows the system has stood the test of time; still rolling into its ninth year with plenty of steam, the system consistently manages to pull down impressive hardware numbers every month here in the States, due in no small part to what is arguably the best games library in history. But we started wondering aloud just how much juice the PS2 has left.
The move to release just one version of the PS3 with no backwards compatibility obviously keeps the PS2 relevant -- at least in the short term. There's also the benefit of having the Wii out there, hardware that's far closer to the PS2 than the HD systems. First-party support may be drying up beyond trying to pump out some casual titles, but third parties are all too eager to throw their Wii-level games onto another system with close to a 140 million unit install base; not only are the engines for the PS2 extremely mature, but sharing resources makes a whole lot of sense.
So for the time being, the PS2 doesn't seem to be left in the lurch and seems destined to actually live up to the much-vaunted "10 year lifecycle" that Sony keeps talking about. Some developers, like Atlus and SEGA, are still supporting the system with new, exclusive games like Persona 4 and Yakuza 2, respectively. With no shortage of Guitar Heroes or Maddens, the system's library isn't nearly as bleak as one would assume for a console entering the full decade stretch.
In a very real sense, Sony has become something of an underdog. Whereas they commanded a nearly uncontested 70% market share when the PS2 was at its prime (a feat that would be all but impossible to repeat with two stronger, more aggressive competitors this time around), The Big S is now fighting on three fronts. Each of its systems trails the nearest competitor: the PSP is doing what no other handheld has ever done in that it's actually thriving next to competition from Nintendo, but software sales are another story; the PS3 has been building constant momentum heading into 2008 and doesn't show signs of stopping anytime soon -- but it still trails the 360 and Wii. Lastly, the PS2 as of last year has been repositioned to duke it out for a stake in the casual market that the Wii has captured so well.
No company has had to fight a three-way tug-of-war with three different systems like Sony has. Both Nintendo and Microsoft have serious linchpins in their casual-friendly and online offerings, respectively, so what does the PS2 have? Games, and lots of 'em, though obviously the release list has tapered off a little in recent years. Rather than concentrating on what already hit, let's look... to the future:
In stark contrast to our release list on, say, the PSP, the PS2 is absolutely slammed with titles hitting through the rest of the year -- more than eighty of them in fact. Now, if one were to take a look at both lists, one would notice quite a few similarities. If ever there was a case for the PS2 and Wii being competition, a cursory glance at the release lists of both is really all it would take. Both systems are home to more than a few games that we'll call... less than mind-blowing, but the PS2 is still being supported by both Pappa Sony and third parties to fantastic effect.
Nearly every genre is covered. You've got your action games like Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Warriors Orochi 2, LEGO Batman and Spider-Man: Web of Shadows bringing up the superhero side of things.
The success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band ensured the reign of little plastic guitars over the all-important rhythm action space; Dance Dance Revolution X, Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour are all making stops on the PS2 while on the mass SKU train to next-gensville. Even straight singing SingStar entries for Pop Vol. 2, Legends and Country will arrive before the end of the year -- and that's just the first-party stuff.
Still into sports but haven't felt the need to update to high-def yet? Cool, take your, pick: new versions of Madden, Tiger Woods, NHL 2K9/09, NBA Live/2K9/'09: The Inside and FIFA are all present and accounted for. Nearly every sport is getting a new update if it hasn't already (and Pro Evo fans, your update is coming early next year). Hell, even wrestling superfreaks are getting taken care of with TNA iMPACT! and SmackDown vs. RAW 2009.
For some of us around here, though, kicking, punting and dunking balls don't quite do it. We need fancy-pants stuff like a story and levels and experience and damage multipliers and magic missiles and... well, you get the idea. Role-playing/adventure games help us slake our thirst for an overall narrative and we're covered there too: Yakuza 2, Persona 4 and weird ass RPG/board game hybrid Dokapon Kingdom should help make the inevitable transition to next-gen a little smoother.
The bottom line is that the PS2 is hardly down and out. It's a little surprising, really -- even to us -- that the library has this much steam. Chalk it up to plenty of familiarity with the hardware (remember when developers were lamenting the difficulty in tapping it all those years ago?), an absolutely epic install base that's still growing and the fact that the PS2 is just plain awesome, and you can see why we're still staring down another monster end of the year.
Only one question remains, however: when the PS2 does finally turn 10, will the software be there? Will anyone still be playing it? We'll see you in a year to find out.
The Malta Institute of Management is organising two PS2 tournaments, Come and join us for a fun Tournament at MIM premises on Saturday the 23rd of August. The event will start at 10.00am and will end at approximately 8.00pm in the evening according to people and so. (FREE ENTRANCE and Participation)
Two Tournaments will be played during the day being PES 2008 and Tekken 5. The maximum number of players will be 24 players in each tournament that is 48 player in all. This will be on a first come first serve basis. What are you waiting for? Contact us immediately!!
Spectators are more than welcome to join in on the event, there will be a number of playstations available for spectators to use and also table tennis and other fun stuff during the day including an interesting presentation by the Malta Institute of Management. Come and have some fun at MIM! Food and drink will be provided during the day.
Participants under 18 must bring the application form duly signed by his/her parent or guardian; this can be sent by mail or email with participants before the event. For more information and application forms go on www.maltamanagement.com.
Ar tonelico 2 is an RPG that seamlessly combines simulation with role-playing, allowing gamers to not only customize weapons and items, but now design their character’s personalities, skills, and appearance through virtual interaction. Also past events will intersect with future game play as well as the outcome of the game.
Developed and published in Japan by Banpresto Co., Ltd., Ar tonelico 2 marks a new approach to the RPG genre by seamlessly combining simulation with role-playing. Gamers can not only customize weapons and items, but now design their character’s personalities, skills, and appearance through virtual interaction. Also past events will intersect with future game play as well as the outcome of the game.
The region of Metafalss surrounds Infel Pira, the second Tower, which is said to represent the goddess Frelia of the Trio A mysterious epidemic called Infel Pira Dependency (IPD) has been killing Reyvateils. Croix, a young knight from the Church of Pastalia, is sent to contain the epidemic. However, many more challenges await, which lead him to unraveling the mysteries of the planet Ar Ciel and seek the legend handed down by the people of Metafalss: the lost Song of Metafalica.
Key Features:
* Cosmoshphere: Ar tonelico features a revolutionary system that combines character development with skill acquisition. By diving into the Reyvateil’s subconscious world, one gets to y Reyvateil s know the character of the team member better, while acquiring new spells.
* Song Magic: When the fronline attacks an enemy, the song magic gauge increases. After a certain level, the Reyvateils are able to cast a powerful magic attack by singing.
* Replakia: Song magic can be powered up by Replakia which are replicas of Reyvateils you have saved. The more Replakias you have, the stronger and more unique your song magic becomes.
* Syncrinity: In this latest installment, song magic is cast by 2 Reyvateils. If their emotions are more closely synced, the stronger the magic becomes.
* Emotion Gauge: During battle, how well you cheer your Reyvateil becomes the key to victory.
Ar tonelico 2 is scheduled for release in December 2008.
Sega of America CEO Simon Jeffrey has spilled his beans on EA's behaviour concerning their possible takeover of Take2 and it isn't a positive opinion.
Speaking with Forbes, Sega's US CEO stated EA has been stupid to make their takeover attempts so public (although not with such words):
It feels like EA kind of needs [Take-Two], but it probably shouldn't have made it so public that it really needed it. I think that it's losing some investor confidence; the stock price is at a three-year low. And it seems like EA has been the petulant child instead of the professional market leader. However it's EA, and it's really good at coming back.
Yup, that's a nice way of saying they've been stupid.
Early this morning finally got a port of Frodo the c64 emulator running on my Wii, The display is the only thing i've got working so far, still have to figure out filesystem, keyboard/joystick controls. But thought I'd share what I've been working on lately.
here is a test binary if anyone wants to try it out.
Our very own GPF has posted about a port of Frodo, the c64 emulator for the Wii. Display is the only thing hes got working so far, (filesystem, keyboard/joystick controls to come later). But if your game, he has released the test binary for all you kids to try out.
Copies of Grand Theft Auto IV have been pulled in Thailand after a teenager confessed to murdering a taxi driver.
The 18-year-old high school student is accused of stabbing the cab driver to death by trying to copy a scene from the game.
The biggest video game publisher in the south-east Asian country, New Era Interactive Media, has told retailers to stop selling GTA IV. It is due to be replaced by another video game title.
Thai newspapers say the teenager, whose name has been withheld, was arrested while trying to steer a cab backwards out of a Bangkok street with the driver still in the back seat.
Police claim the 18-year-old confessed to stealing the taxi and said he killed the 54-year-old driver after he fought back. The teenager could face the death penalty if he is found guilty. Bangkok police Captain Veerarit Pipatanasak said: "He wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game.
He wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game.
Thailand's Culture Ministry has recently been pushing for tougher regulation of games like Grand Theft Auto. It wants stricter age ratings and restrictions on the hours that people can play games in arcades.
Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the ministry's Cultural Surveillance Centre, said: "This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse. Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."
30-year-old Raymundo Castaneda is suspected of having killed a man in December 2007 following a dispute over a soccer game. Wanted by the fuzz in Charlotte over the murder, Castaneda was apprehended by police in Jacksonville on Friday, who tracked him down after he was spotted at a local Wal-Mart. Spotted playing Guitar Hero in the games section. And playing it so damn hard he didn't even notice police first approaching, then surrounding him.
Today at its DK Sigma3173 Event, Square Enix made a series of announcements.
Director Motomu Toriyama didn't beat around the bush when Nomura asked him questions about the 360 FFXIII. Starting off, he reconfirmed that, "We haven't changed the direction of the development. We're making the PS3 version first, and then porting to the 360 later." That means that since the game will be released simultaneously on both platforms in North America and Europe, the PS3 release will be held back in those territories until the 360 version is complete.
Furthermore, Toriyama also revealed that, as of July 29, his team hasn't yet received the tools needed to begin work on the Xbox 360 version of FFXIII. "I'm telling them to not think about the Xbox 360 right now," he said. "We can think about it after the development kits arrive."
The designer also reassured PS3 owners that the game's quality would not suffer due to the 360 port. "We aren't going to change any specifications [of FFXIII] because of the multi-platform announcement," he declared. "Right now, we're fully concentrating on the PS3 version."
Microsoft, which has been able to capture some important (timed) third-party exclusives such as Rock Band 2 and BioShock, continues to chase more exclusive deals to differentiate Xbox 360 from competitors.
Asked about Xbox 360's weaknesses, Microsoft interactive entertainment boss Don Mattrick replied, "We'd love to have more exclusive hits on our box, absolutely. Are we investing in that? Yes we are. Does that take a lot of time? Yes it does."
Microsoft's exclusive deals go beyond the boxed product. Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3 will both offer exclusive downloadable content for the Xbox 360 versions. PS3 players wanting an extended experience for those games are out of luck.
Id Software technical director John Carmack has said that it's easier to realise the potential of the Xbox 360 hardware but that the PS3 has certain theoretical advantages, and he speculates that Blu-ray could play a decisive role in the console war in future.
"What you can say really quite clearly and not get into too much argument about it is that the 360 is much easier to develop for, it's easier to get the performance out of it that it can deliver, and the rasterizer, the GPU side is generally faster than what the PS3 has," Carmack told Eurogamer at QuakeCon.
"You could design a game where the PS3 would be the superior platform, but you'd have to go out of your way to do it. If you're doing a game like people just want to do games now, the 360's the better platform."
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