The Game Console provides a concise reference on the history of console video games from Magnavox's 1972 Odyssey all the way up to the recently launched Wii. Though not complete, photos of the hardware, retail boxes, controllers and game media do accompany the profiled systems. How can we know where we're going, if we don't know where we've been? Your 10,000 word essays are due Friday by 5pm EST.
The Homebrew and Emulation Scene has seen some great Emulators over the years, Snes9X, Zsnes, Mame (in all its versions), Bleem, Ultrahle, Project64, Chankast.
Those Emulators have brought many thousands to the Homebrew and Emulation Arena, since those emulators have come and gone we havent had the buzz of a killer emulator since then.
That is until the last few months, the might of Sony and Nintendo have jumped into the Emulation Scene with their own emulators for the PSP and Nintendo Wii.
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Sonys PS1 Emulator
-------------------------
Sony who using bullyboy tactics killed of Bleem and VGS have released what is the best emulator easily of the last year. The Playstation Emulator works at full speed with sound and decent controls in a widescreen on the Playstation Portable. The Emulator is being released in a single game format with PSX Games on the PS Network Shop. Luckily for the Homebrew Scene, Dark Alex released a custom firmware that opened up the emulator and now thousands of PSP Homebrew fans are enjoying all their favourite PSOne games in both NTSC and PAL format. Just about every game is perfect.
So well done Sony, for a company who hates emulators you have made the best one so far.
Nintendo`s Emulators for Wii
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The Nintendo Wii is an amazing console, not as powerful as the PS3 and Xbox360 but so unique it is gathering fans from all over the globe.
The Virtual Console is an awesome way to buy your favourite classic games and relive the best years of gaming.
For this Nintendo has written some excellent emulators for the Wii, So far we have Snes, Nes, PC Engine, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64 and within the next few months NeoGeo and MSX.
Nintendo have done what most homebrew coders take years to do and thats get fullspeed emulators for the consoles mentioned above and with that in mind have dealt the homebrew community a major blow. Most Homebrewers love Emulators and with Nintendo covering most of the best systems already the need to write emulators for the Wii lessens.
Conclusion
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It feels strange as a fan of Homebrew and Emulators for over 12 years to be thanking Sony and Nintendo. But this year they deserve all the thanks from all corners of the emulation scene for the best emulators released in the last year.
Thanks Again Sony and Nintendo
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Do you agree or disagree with this article, answer via comments.
Nintendo DS™:
Asonde Igo ga Tsuyoku naru!! Ginsei Igo DS JPN US$ 48.90
Asonde Shogi ga Tsuyoku Naru !! Ginsei Shogi DS JPN US$ 48.90
Bakegyamon: Ayakashi Fighting JPN US$ 48.90
Super Robot Taisen W JPN US$ 58.90
Unou no Tatsujin: Soukai! Machigai Museum JPN US$ 39.90
Magazines, Toys & Misc:
Animal Crossing Character Bottle Phone Strap Gashapon (Theater Version) JPN US$ 2.49
Animal Crossing Houses, Figures or Accessories Gashapon (Theater Version) JPN US$ 3.99
Arcadia Magazine [April 2007] JPN US$ 12.90
Dragon Quest Monster Mascot Collection 2 - Minisize Mobile Mascot US$ 3.49
FA4 Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Collection Figure US$ 6.99
Fairy Musketeers Konami Figure Collection Vol.2 JPN US$ 4.49
Famitsu Wave DVD [April 2007] JPN US$ 16.50
Fate/Hollow Ataraxia 1/7 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Saber With Beach Ball (Bikini Version) US$ 47.90
Final Fantasy XII Play Arts Action Figure - Ashe US$ 38.90
Final Fantasy XII Play Arts Action Figure - Balthier N/A
Final Fantasy XII Play Arts Action Figure - Judge Maser Gabranth N/A
Final Fantasy XII Play Arts Action Figure - Vaan US$ 38.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Pre-painted PVC Metamo Figure: Soryu Asuka Langley US$ 36.90
New Super Mario Bros. Pouch JPN US$ 2.99
Pia Carrot G.O. Pre-painted PVC Figure: Ayano Kunugi (Swimsuit Ver.) JPN US$ 46.90
Premium Heroines SNK Beach Volley JPN US$ 7.99
Zero no Tsukaima 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Louise US$ 49.90
Video Game related Soundtracks:
Neo Angelique - Romantic Gift - JPN US$ 36.90
Reijo Tantei -Office Love Jikenbo- Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Spica - Kokoro ga Tsumugu Okurimono - Ar tonelico hymmnos musical JPN US$ 29.90
Super Eurobeat Presents Initial D Fourth Stage Non-Stop Mega Mix With Battle Digest [2CD+DVD] JPN US$ 34.90
Not sure if any of you entered it but the prizes were very decent and even i had to enter it.
Heres the latest update:
The Lucky Lunar New Year Sale has officially ended. Winners of the draw will be announced during next week (between March 5th to March 11th). We thank all customers for the big support brought forward during this sale.
on the official website that BioShock will be hitting the US in the August 21st, and it should hit European shelves on 24th August.
They also announced a screenshot contest:
Welcome to our first screenshot scenario contest! For this scenario, you will be fighting a grenadier in the Medical Pavilion of Rapture. You are armed with your trusty wrench and a shotgun, but unfortunately the shotgun has only one cartridge left. You also have the electro bolt plasmid, and the telekinesis plasmid.
The grenadier is armed with handmade grenades which he is throwing at you.
Happy submissions! Click the link below to email your 1000-word-or-less solution to me.
Remember: There is no "right answer" for this contest -- We have counted at least six different ways to take down this grenadier.
We'll be posting the text of all the possible solutions we receive, and I will choose one of the most creative options to film and post in two weeks time.
In a surprising turn of events, the PSP has beaten off the Wii and PS3, selling more than both consoles in Japan last week.
The latest weekly sales figures for Japan reveal that Sony's portable placed second in the hardware sales chart for the week ending 25 February, with unit sales of 96,750.
This falls short only of the still storming DS, which sold 146,250 units according to figures on vgcharts.org.
However the PSP beat even the might DS in the software sales chart in the same period, selling 808,750 games compared with 618,250 for the DS.
The surge could be put down to the recent release of Capcom's Monster Hunter Freedom 2, a co-op-enabled monster catching/battling game, which topped the software charts with a colossal 755,500 copies sold. Second down was Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri, with 90,500 sales.
Warner Music and Microsoft have penned a deal that will see a greater emphasis places on pushing videogame soundtracks in your face.
Under terms of the deal Warner Music will claim, administer and license music compositions owned and controlled by Microsoft. Some of these will obviously include scores for Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Age of Empires, Fable, Kameo: Elements of Power.
Ed Pierson, Warner's legal chap, explains: "We're confident we can develop and identify some exciting and unique new licensing opportunities for these well-known game compositions."
So a Halo 3 pop single for the charts? Sung by the Scissor Sisters? We'll let you know.
Gamers from England have the most capacity for evil of all the world's videogame enthusiasts, according to Lionhead's Peter Molyneux, quoting statistics from a study of people who played his Xbox RPG, Fable.
The research also showed that most American gamers found it difficult to make evil choices during the game's freeform adventure, with roughly 90% of gamers in the US roleplaying as good characters.
"There was a disappointing number of people that tended towards good," Molyneux told US mag GamePro, "but it is also very interesting that the percentage of good players versus evil players varies very strongly by nationality".
For example, "the English are probably the most evil of all," but Molyneux reckons that 70% of the Americans researched played good characters, while 20% "didn't have the moral fibre to keep going down the evil path" and eventually turned to good.
Molyneux also revealed that in Fable 2 the divide between good and evil will be far bigger than before, explaining that gamers who wish to be either pure good or pure evil will be forced to make some sacrifices - and not just the bloody kind.
Although Molyneux has focused so hard on evil actions that, during a recent meeting at Lionhead, one staffer exploded that he would "never play a game" that had all the nasty things in it that Molyneux had suggested. We would, mind.
A port of Raiden IV for the Xbox 360 is apparently in alpha stage and is scheduled to be released in the US at some unspecified point in the distant future. This news comes from an interview with one of UFO Interactive's managers recently conducted by Team Fremont. (And don't forget, UFO is also bringing to the US the PS2 port of Raiden III later this month.)
This is all very surprising, especially considering that it's going to be a while before Raiden IV is even released in Japanese arcades (it's currently slated for July). Moreover, no news of a Japanese 360 port has emerged through any of the usual sources. What has me worried the most is that UFO is considering releasing this on XBLA, which could very well mean a shoddy port in unsuitable resolution and with no option for tate. On the other hand, even if this is a regular disc release it could turn out ugly. By Royal decree all Xbox 360 games have to be 720p minimum and Raiden IV is a 640x480 game -- which is not even a widescreen resolution. G.rev faced the same problem when porting Senko no Ronde, but then again their game was in yoko so things were much simpler. It will be interesting to see how this gets handled.
Japanese game site Eg has the the country's software sales data (via Media Crate) for the week of February 19th to February 25th. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd did better than originally thought. Way better.
1.) Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (PSP) Capcom — 705281 (Last Week) 705281 (Total)
2). Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (PS2) Alchemist — 80002 (Last Week) 80002 (Total)
3). Fire Emblem: Akatsuki no Megami (Wii) Nintendo — 75359 (Last Week) 75359 (Total)
4). Sim City DS (NDS) Electronic Arts — 50826 (Last Week) 50826 (Total)
5. Professor Layton and the Mysterious Town (NDS) Level 5 — 49979 (Last Week) 186716 (Total)
6). Wii Sports (Wii) Nintendo — 47053 (Last Week) 1090736 (Total)
7). Naruto Shippuden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX (Wii) Takara Tomy — 45792 (Last Week) 45792 (Total)
8). Dragon Quest Monsters Joker (NDS) Square-Enix — 40507 (Last Week) 1174576 (Total)
9). Hajimete no Wii Pack (Wii) Nintendo — 35811 (Last Week) 944586 (Total)
10). Picross DS (NDS) Nintendo — 26693 (Last Week) 183357 (Total)
Hardware hackers have developed a technique to hack Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console so that it might be possible to run alternative operating systems on the hardware.
The approach, which only works given physical access to the hardware and is strictly for fun, relies on a taking advantage of a vulnerability in the Xbox 360 hypervisor. Properly exploited, the bug allows tinkerers to run arbitrary code (even an alternative OS) with full privileges and full hardware access.
The hypervisor on Xbox 360 machines controls access to memory and provides encryption and decryption services. The approach means that all games and other applications running on the Xbox 360, in theory at least, need to be cryptographically signed with Microsoft's private key and run in non-privileged read-only mode.
Unprivileged code cannot change executable code, but flaws in the way unprivileged code interacts with the hypervisor via the syscall instruction laid the groundwork to the hack.
Full details on the ingenious exploit, including proof of concept code, were published on BugTraq on Wednesday. The anonymous hackers tipped Microsoft off about the issue last month and "following cordial discussions" the software giant quickly produced a patch. The hack has been possible since since the bug was introduced in late October.
The video portion of Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace continues to swell, thanks largely to an animated group of troublemakers from South Park, Colorado.
Microsoft's director of Xbox Live programming, Major Nelson (real name Larry Hryb), updated his blog with a list of new content coming to Video Marketplace this week, and fans of South Park will have plenty to watch.
I have no idea what's going on right now.
Seasons 5 through 8 of the program, which includes the classics "Cripple Fight," "Scott Tenorman Must Die," and "Good Times With Weapons," will be available for download exclusively over Xbox Live. The Academy Award-nominated South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut feature film is also due on XBL this week.
Other TV shows new to the Video Marketplace include teen dramas The OC, Laguna Beach, and One Tree Hill, season two of Robot Chicken, and new UFC brawls. New content from beyond the boob tube includes the geriatric romp Grumpy Old Men and trailers for Transformers, Bee Movie, and Blades of Glory. A complete list of this week's content is below.
Television Shows
South Park (Seasons 5-8)
The OC
Laguna Beach (Seasons 1, 2)
All of Us (Season 4)
New UFC Fights
Robot Chicken (Season 2)
Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job (Season 1)
One Tree Hill (Season 4)
Movies
South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut
Grumpy Old Men
Theatrical Trailers
Blades of Glory
Pathfinder
Bee Movie
Simpsons Movie
Fred Clause
Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
Transformers
Following Xbox360 Hypervisor Vulnerability released on Tuesday, Crawler360 just released the first Xbox 360 homebrew app (non XNA). It uses the shader hack found in King Kong and requires kernel 4532 or 4548. This will not work on newer kernel versions and downgrading is no longer possible due to the effuse being blown in the latest kernel update. The source file must be compiled before use, read the readme file for directions.
The readme file
Xbox 360 Hypervisor/King Kong Exploit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to Anonymous Hacker's great work, I' m now able to publish my own
little implementation of the exploit.
I've used the full version of the King Kong game, as it has been shown to
work by these anonymous people at 22C3, and it was the first one I found
with editable shaders. Most games have these - KK was just the first one
I've checked.
So you need a KK full (USA or PAL doesn't matter, they are the same) DVD
image (including video partition), and obviously a hacked drive firmware.
You could also try hotswapping from your (hopefully existing!) KK original
to the modified copy. Then you could go with a stock firmware.
Why not using the KK demo? It would work the same (though the shader file
format is different), but requires a firmware hack too, as the possibility
to run it from DVD-R was blacklisted in a very early kernel already, which
doesn't have the vulnerability.
So, how does the hack work? Basically, the bugtraq post
(http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/461489 in case you haven't read it
yet) explains it all. All I did was to convert the series of memory writes
into a shader, and writing a small serial loader stub.
You need to connect the serial port to use this hack. Ready Speedy22's
fine "Xbox 360 Motherboards and Headers" documentation, it's on J2B1.
NOTE: It's LVTTL. Do not even think about connecting to an RS232 port
directly.
RS232 is +-12V, LVTTL is 3V. Think about what's happening when you connect
your 110V equipment to 220V. You don't want to happen that on your
southbridge.
For example, use a MAX3232, or just use any of these USB serial port
adapters which already output 3.3V.
Speed is hardcoded to 115200/8N1.
To modify your existing game image, start the "patcher" tool. It will patch
your game image to include the loader. It is a bit lame, but works. The
tool will also remove the three startup videos for a faster boot.
When you launch the modified game, it will directly go to the main screen.
Press start on a controller. It should display "LOADING", and then freeze
while displaying "Acessing Content". If it doesn't freeze, you don't have
the correct kernel version (4532 or 4548, but only 4532 was tested). See
below on how to update.
Now, the serial loader gets active. You should see a "Xe>" on the serial
port. Now, upload your binary code (just as a binary blob). To terminate
your upload, send 16x 'x'. It will be loaded to 0x01300000, and executed.
Be warned, only CPU #0 is trapped. The other threads/cores are still
happily executing, so you need to catch them.
If you have 4552, you are screwed. Sorry.
If you have 4532 or 4548, it has to work. If it doesn' t work, something
else is wrong, but please don't try to update.
If you have pre-4532:
New 360 game that works on both US and PAL (UK etc) Xbox 360s:
features
Brilliant experience from a legendary game designer. From Dave Jones, the creative mastermind behind “Grand Theft Auto” and “Lemmings,” comes “Crackdown,” an explosive masterpiece set to define open-world, free-form next-generation gaming.
True next-generation visuals. Harnessing the power of Xbox 360, “Crackdown” players enforce justice against the backdrop of a crime-ridden metropolis that is massive in scale, monstrous in scope and meticulous in detail. The unique presentation style employs a highly stylized rendering technique that turns the game into a living graphical novel.
Cooperative gameplay for double the mayhem. From the game’s initial concept to final design, Real Time Worlds focused on delivering dynamic, engaging cooperative gameplay for double the carnage, action and intensity.
3-D free-form gameplay. For the first time ever, an urban playground has been created to encourage players to explore and exploit the full width, depth and height of a city. Players wage war on the crime syndicates by taking part in high-octane chases on foot and on wheels while using any appropriate route along, around, across, over, under or through the environment. Freedom abounds because it is up to the player to determine how best to complete the nonlinear objectives in a myriad of wild and creative ways.
Over-the-top action. All strategies and tactics are acceptable, provided players reclaim the streets by unleashing the awesome abilities inside each agent. As players develop and hone their gameplay skills, their agent’s genetic tendencies will increase, allowing players to realize their agent’s full potential. Players will be able to run at dazzling speeds, take death-defying leaps, handle the most incredible weapons, perform impossible vehicular maneuvers, move massive objects and deliver bone-crushing blows.
Music as environment. More than 100 licensed tracks, spanning a wide range of styles and genres, give audio identities to characters and locations in “Crackdown.” The music coupled with a next-generation use of 5.1 surround sound will let gamers know just from the music and sound effects they hear which crime syndicate is headed their way.
The environment as a weapon. Is a character low on ammo? No problem. Thanks to an amazing amount of props and a deep physics system, players can use whatever they can get their hands on as weapons — trash cans, vehicles, even people — to clean the streets of crime. In “Crackdown,” the effects of the players’ actions stay in place much longer than in other open-environment titles, giving gamers a far greater range of options when setting the scene for mass destruction. If players gather vehicles to create a barricade, they will be there when the they return with more. Gamers can create an arrangement of explosives and come back later to set the explosion. “Crackdown” remembers, and reacts, to the players’ actions within the game world.
Limited Time Offer - Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta
description
Crackdown™ pushes the action-driving hybrid genre into the next generation with the first ever truly 3-D playground. Enforce justice by any means necessary in a crime-ridden urban center built to encourage the exploration of the full width, depth, and height of the city. Coupled with highly innovative co-op gameplay, a first for the genre, and an interactive world where nearly anything can be used as a weapon, create a volatile cocktail of action as you clean up the streets.
Crackdown is developed by Scotland's Real Time Worlds exclusively for Microsoft Game Studios and Xbox 360™. Real Time Worlds is led by Dave Jones, the creative mastermind behind some of the most innovative and best-selling video games including the global blockbuster Grand Theft Auto and the legendary hit Lemmings.
It's a whole new ballgame! Major League Baseball 2K7 redefines the pure baseball video game experience with true, Next-Gen details, all-new throwing mechanics and a revolutionary presentation system. Featuring stunning, lifelike player models, Signature Style animations, Inside Edge data and more, Major League Baseball 2K7 delivers the most authentic baseball action to date.
After many delays, Worms will be available for download beginning Wednesday, March 7 at 0800 GMT (1 a.m. PST), and will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points ($10.00/Ł6.80/€9.30)
GAME FEATURES
* A mix of strategy and arcade action that, although simple to understand, contains real depth and massive replayability
* Turn-based multiplayer action for up to four players locally or over Xbox Live
* An assortment of game options:
o Landscape on which to do battle
o Turn and round times
o Starting weapon arsenal for each team
* Three detailed tutorials to introduce the mechanics to first-time players
* Twenty increasingly difficult single-player challenges
* Three graphical themes for play
* A random landscape generator to ensure that no two landscapes are ever the same
* Twenty-two weapons and utilities to deploy against your enemies
* Many customizable elements, including what worms and teams are named, what worms say, and which gravestone they have when they die
* High-definition visuals and many graphical improvements throughout the game
* Twelve achievements
* Weekly, monthly and overall leaderboards
Originally announced back in 2005 as Shrek 3, the now renamed Shrek the Third is a totally new quest with a plot running parallel to that of the movie.
As you work through the comedy fairytale, you will get to play as Shrek, Donkey, Puss-in-Boots, Fiona, Arthur and Sleeping Beauty.
All the usual stuff will feature - various collectibles, boss battles and a number of multiplayer mini games.
Shrek the Third will launch for... *deep breath*... Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, PC, PSP, DS and GBA in May.
The industry is currently gearing up in preparation of the Game Developers Conference 2007, to be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, March 5 - 9.
The event kicks off on Monday, with a focus on mobile entertainment and a keynote from industry veteran Trip Hawkins, who will be discussing Making Mobile Phones the Ultimate Game Platform.
Other mobile focused highlights include founding chairman of GDC Mobile Robert Tercek's keynote on The First Decade of Mobile Games, highlighting the key titles, turning points and pitfalls of the industry so far.
Also sure to cause a buzz in the mobile sector will be Nokia's unveiling of the new N-Gage platform, with numerous speaker session covering the SDK, publishing partners, software and hardware specifications.
Phil Harrison's keynote will be the must-attend event of Wednesday, with the worldwide studios boss expected to reveal the next stage in Sony's intention to dominate the digital home.
Also scheduled for Wednesday is Katie Perez's session on how to develop and pitch a successful Xbox Live game submission, and Warren Spector's speech on The Future of Next-Generation Game Development.
Thursday again kicks off with a heavyweight keynote, this time from legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who will be revealing how a singular creative vision guides his work.
Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux is also due to reveal more about his RPG sequel in Innovations in Fable 2 on Thursday, while Rare's Michael Boulton will take attendees on a detailed tour of the look and style of Viva Pinata.
One of Friday's highlights is likely to be id Software's Todd Hollenshead's frank session on The Videogame Piracy Problem, with insight from his experiences battling piracy over the past ten years. Also scheduled for Friday is Scott Kirkland's session looking at the physics of stand-out PlayStation 3 title Motorstorm.
It's is well-established that the science supporting a connection between video game violence and real-world violence is tenuous. A new article at Ars Technica examines why society finds a gaming-violence connection so comforting. From the article: 'Sternheimer suggests that gaming is simply the latest in a long series of media influences to take the blame. "Over the past century, politicians have complained that cars, radio, movies, rock music, and even comic books caused youth immorality and crime, calling for control and sometimes censorship." She terms the targets of such efforts folk devils, items branded dangerous and immoral that serve to focus blame and fear
features
Pages: 224
Coverage of every option in every dashboard blade to maximize performance.
Detailed instructions to use every multimedia facet, including Windows® Media Center, Windows XP, music, TV shows, etc.
Learn how to build your own library of music to listen to while you game!
Coverage on expanding usage beyond the Xbox 360, including Xbox.com, and more details on HD-DVD, Xbox Live® Vision Camera, and the Microsoft® Zune™.
Information on XNA™ compatibility and use with the Xbox 360. Learn how to turn your Xbox 360 into your very own video game development kit!
In depth look at the evolution of the Xbox 360 from concept design to bringing it home.
Foreword from Paolo “WildChicken” Malabuyo, Lead Design Program Manager for the Xbox Platform Experience.
description
Get the most out of your Xbox 360™!
In your hands is everything you need to know to turn your premier gaming system into the nexus of your home entertainment system and maximize its gaming potential.
http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/ has a count down to the GTA IV trailer, which ends later this month. Finally we get some more info on this much awaited game.
More than a third of young drivers are more likely to go faster on the roads after playing on-screen driving games, a survey suggests.
And 27% of motorists aged 16 to 24 admitted more risk-taking on the road after a gaming session.
A thousand drivers were questioned on behalf of driving school BSM.
BSM's road safety consultant Robin Cummins said the results showed an 'indisputable' link between gaming and dangerous driving.
A quarter of drivers even said they imagine they are in a driving simulation game while driving for real - men are the worst offenders for this.
The poll also found that 34% of the 1,000 young drivers questioned think computer games can improve real-life driving ability, with two in five reckoning the games can help their reflexes.
The guy in front, the music on the stereo...those are the things that make you speed up
David Perry
The survey revealed that just over half of frequent game-players pass their driving test first time, compared with only 45% of those who only play games infrequently.
Mr Cummins said: "With more than 200 young people killed each year due to speeding alone, it's crucial that they learn to 'keep it real' on the road."
But the survey's findings have been rejected by the US-based games designer David Perry.
The multi-millionaire from Belfast, who is currently designing a driving video game, said behaviour was affected by how drivers felt while behind the wheel, not before they got in their car.
"Anything that affects your emotions will affect how you drive. The guy in front, the music on the stereo...those are the things that make you speed up, not a game you played an hour ago."
Breathe a sigh of relief. As you can see from the list of games below, publishers are beginning to feel the warmth of spring approaching and are keen to hit stores with stock prior to the frenzy that will be PlayStation 3. Ket game releases listed right here.
It certainly beats last week's release schedule which was about as tempting as a meal in an Indian restaurant while you're sat next to Jade Goody.
Of particular note are two excellent DS releases in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin and Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. There's also relief to be had on Xbox 360 with the intriguing Bullet Witch and the solid Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2.
Sure, it's not a week that will go down in the annals of videogaming history but if you have a spare Ł40 (and it was pay day this week) there are definitely a few quality titles to encourage the money out of your purse.
The complete list of games released in the UK this coming Friday (09/03/07):
Bullet Witch, 360, Atari
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, DS, Konami
CSI 3 Dimension of Murder, PS2, Ubisoft
Garfield's Nightmare, DS, The Game Factory
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2, 360, Ubisoft
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, PS2, Rockstar
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, PS2/PSP, EA
Lionel Trains, DS, Zoo Digital
M.A.C.H., PSP, Vivendi
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, DS, Nintendo
Trash Talker for Xbox 360 is the ultimate weapon to flame, taunt and ridicule your buddies over Xbox Live. Sitting between your game controller and your plug-in headset, Trash Talker gives you a bank of buttons which activate pre-recorded sound clips, letting you assemble your own messages and activate them at will.
You can record your own taunts and insults if you wish, but Trash Talker’s capable of much more. Why not slip in a soundbite from your favourite film or TV show, to activate during the game? If you’re injured, you could utter “I ain’t got time to bleed” in Jessie Ventura’s sepulchral growl from Predator. If you’re killed, play Arnie’s catchline, “I’ll be back!”. If a talkative opponent is getting on your nerves, play him BA from The A-Team saying, “Shut up, you crazy fool”. The possibilities are endless…
Trash Talker for Xbox 360 contains everything you need. There’s the Trash Talker unit, a USB cable to connect it to your PC and a PC application with which to manage your sounds. You can store up to 16 samples at a time, and the device has a total storage capacity of one minute.
Taunt, strategise and control…
Easy to use.
Soundbites and recordings at the push of a button.
Stores up to 16 samples.
Crackdown microsofts newest hit is one that deserves being the best selling game for xbox 360 on EB games. Crackdown is like the game that everyone loves, GrandTheftAuto, except that this time your the good guy and not the bad guy. You take a roll as a new supercop that is just like a human but better. Through out the game you will progress your skills to jumping rooftop to rooftop,bring able to thorw deceased boddies and cars, and being able to use super cars. The theme of crackdown is that you are a supercop with the mission to kill Gang members and there leaders. With this unique idea to turn GTA into a super GTA no wonder the game is selling like crazy. If you want this game get it as soon as you can so that you can ensure your spot in the halo 3 online beta for free because it is first come first serve on this offer.
Microsoft and Viacom have teamed up to offer Xbox Live subscribers the first ever high definition episode of South Park.
According to Wired News, Xbox Live members in the US will be able to download the episode, Good Times With Weapons, for free from March 6 exclusively on Marketplace. Good news if you've got a US Xbox 360 but we're still waiting for this whole TV download service to kick in over here.
It looks like MS is pushing its HD DVD player too across the pond too, as US retailers are offering special deals on the 360 add-on. Best Buy will give away a free HD-DVD disc featuring the South Park episode with any purchase of Xbox 360 or the HD-DVD add-on for two weeks at the end of March.
Microsoft has finally revealed more details on its XNA contest dubbed Dream-Build-Play at the Game Developers Conference, which is quite appropriate when you think about it.
Four bedroom developers will each bag themselves $10,000 for their winning XNA games. It'snot been made official, but each winner will get the opportunity to have their game published Xbox Live Arcade.
The contest ends July 2 and the winners will be announced on August 13 at Microsoft's Gamefest 2007 event held in Seattle.
A rumour has appeared in the latest issue of EGM suggesting that Capcom will release a co-op mode for its hit zombie game (that's got nothing to do with Dawn of the Dead) Dead Rising.
The co-op mode is rumoured to be released in two different forms. The first will be with a platinum edition of the Xbox 360 game and the second as a download via Xbox Live, presumably for those that already own the game and don't want a co-op mode enough to pay out for the game again.
Capcom has yet to comment on the rumours so take this one with a pinch of flesh for the time being.
The first trailer from THQ's recently announced MotoGP '07 on Xbox 360 is now spitting exhaust fumes in our video player on the right. Take a gander.
Expected to release in September 2007, the sequel features the likes of brand new bikes, tracks and enhanced customisation options, and beefs up the Extreme mode of play that lets you race crotch-rockets around city streets.
Bungie has explained the confusion surrounding last week's rumours that there could be two separate Halo 3 betas.
The rumour suggested that people who scored codes via its website would be on a separate beta program to those that will gain access through Crackdown. This isn't the case as Bungie's community voice Frank O'Connor told CVG it's the "same beta. Different way to get in."
Speaking to Next Gen, O'Connor explained, "Like, we have time to be working on two separate betas? No, people have confused the issue. Bungie's going to have a friends and family program which is basically a tiny alternative to the Crackdown Beta program. We're going to get a bunch of beta invites sent to people in the Bungie community as well as those people who have bought Crackdown. Some people have decided that it was this whole separate beta but it's the same beta, we're just giving out our own tokens."
Late spring is the latest date Bungie has given for the Halo 3 beta.
Entertainment - that of Lumines Live! And Every Extend Extra fame - is to reveal a new Xbox Live Arcade game at this week's GDC in San Francisco.
The company previously released the much-anticipated Lumines Live! onto the service, which was greeted with a reception of controversy due to its pricey 'package' structure.
The exact identity of the new title is shrouded in mystery at the moment, though persistent rumour is expectedly bellowing claims that cult-classic music-shooter Rez is up for an Arcade re-jiggering - which would admittedly make us whet our pants.
But for all we know it could be a totally original piece of work, despite how good Every Extend Extra Arcade would look on our HD telly in the office.
A new 512MB Memory Unit has been confirmed by Microsoft for launch in April.
The original 64MB Memory Unit will now drop in price from $39.99 (Ł20) to $29.99 (Ł15). All this has been done because Microsoft has officially upped the size limit for its Xbox Live Arcade games from 50 MB to 150 MB.
The new 512MB Memory Unit will go for $49.99 (Ł29.99) and be available worldwide from April 3. The new MU will also come pre-loaded with the awesome XBLA title Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved from developer Bizarre Creations for a limited time.
Kicking off the Independent Game Summit at this year's GDC, veteran game coder and camel fanatic Jeff Minter has given a fresh showcase of his new XBLA game Space Giraffe, which he insists "is not Tempest 4000".
"Space Girafe is not Tempest. It may look like Tempest but that's basically because I wanted to have some kind of continuity with Tempest 2000," he told the keynote audience. "Plus I don't want to have to always worry about who owns the rights to the name Tempest," he notes as one of the reasons for ditching the shooter IP.
Minter demoed several levels of the psychedelic 360 blaster (including our favourites 'Stargate: Basingstoke' and 'Another Day in the Orifice') which shares technology with the Xbox 360's own visualization software, which Minter developed for Microsoft.
As for when Space Giraffe will hit Live Arcade, Minter says it will be ready for the submission process in "maybe March", after which it will take "maybe six weeks" to get through
The size limit for games distributed using Microsoft's popular Xbox Live Arcade service is to be tripled to 150MB, effective immediately - with the firm launching a new 512MB memory unit for the Xbox 360 to allow Core System owners to take advantage of the new games.
Previously, all software distributed on Xbox Live Arcade had to fit inside a 50MB file - which also meant that all software was compatible with the Xbox 360 Core System, which uses 64MB memory cards for data storage rather than the much larger hard drive in the "full" Xbox 360 system. However, Microsoft has made exceptions to that rule - notably for Konami's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which it admitted at the start of this year would not fit inside 50MB.
Now developers will be free to develop games up to a size limit of 150MB - a size which hits a sweet spot between giving flexibility to developers and maintaining accessibility for consumers, according to Xbox Live Arcade product manager Chris Early.
"The new size limit offers developers increased flexibility and continued opportunities for innovative game development, while also ensuring that the millions of gamers on Xbox LIVE can continue to easily access, download and play all Xbox LIVE Arcade games on Xbox 360," Early explained in a statement on the size limit changes.
"If you take a look at current games like 'Roboblitz' and 'Small Arms,' it's clear that our developers deliver amazing game experiences within a compact size limit," he continued. "Our focus is on continuing to provide developers with an environment that allows for the creation of cost-efficient games and that nurtures an artistic and creative approach to game development."
The 512MB memory unit for the Xbox 360 will launch on April 3rd, and is expected to retail at $49.99 in North America when it launches - with the existing 64MB memory unit set to drop in price from $39.99 to $29.99 at the same time. For a limited period, each 512MB unit sold will also come with a full copy of popular Xbox Live Arcade title Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved.
The announcements concerning the size limit change and the launch of the new memory unit came ahead of Microsoft's planned Xbox Live Arcade showcase at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week, where the firm plans to show off a range of Xbox Live Arcade titles including Boom Boom Rocket (EA / Bizarre Creations), 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures (Sierra Online / Wanako Games), Eets: Chowdown (Klei Entertainment), Jetpac Refuelled (Rare) and Pinball FX (ZEN Studios).
As a medium, video games have been blamed for a whole host of society's ills. Violence, obesity, and educational underachievement are just some of the high profile problems that have been laid on gaming's doorstep at one time or another. But now, video games are being portrayed as the cause of a much graver threat; namely, the decline in Australian pet ownership.
As Australian Veterinary Association President Kersti Seksel told the Sydney Morning Herald (and any other outlet that would listen) today's kids "interact more by playing computer games and less by going out there and throwing the ball to a dog." Why is this a problem, exactly? According to Seksel, "We need to learn people skills, physical skills, and sitting in the lounge room with a computer doesn't teach you that."
Leaving aside for a second the idea of learning "people skills" from playing with an animal, implying that game playing and pet ownership are somehow mutually exclusive is a little ridiculous. You might as well argue that reading books and talking on the phone are dangerous pastimes because they take away from time with poor, neglected Fido.
Pet ownership usually takes up only a small part of a child's day, and singling out video games for distracting from that time strikes us as a little opportunistic. And while "you can't hug a computer," as the SMH article points out in the lede, you also don't have to take a computer out for walks. Man's best friend, indeed.
Nielsen Media Research, best know for its TV ratings, has released an outline the American video game landscape in the form of "The State of the Console" report. Among the more interesting findings:
45.7 million U.S. households have at least one game system, out of 111.4 million that have TVs (41.1%). This number has risen from 38.6 million (35.2%) in late 2004.
148.4 million Americans have access to a console in their home, out of 283.5 million that have access to TVs (52.4%). Of those, 93.8 million Americans (33.3% of the TV population) actually used a console in the 4th quarter of 2006.
The top 20% of gamers are responsible for 75% of the console time, averaging 5 hours and 45 minutes of use per day.
Those last two factoids are pretty interesting, as they show console games are still appealing primarily to a very small niche of the potential market, and that a small slice of that niche is responsible for most of the actual playing time. If game makers can somehow attract these uninterested console owners, they'll have tapped into a much larger market than they might be used to.
Speaking from years of experience, we know how hard it can be to get your girlfriend interested in playing video games. Granted, it might be impossible to drag her into play-til-dawn Halo 2 sessions online, but dropping into casual gaming with a Wario Ware: Smooth Moves round or two is entirely doable. Need some tips? Wikihow has an entry up on how to get your girlfriend to play video games, which offers up some gender stereotypes like this:
"Don't get games that involve things like strippers, prostitutes, and sex. Unless she has a really good sense of humor about such things, she probably won't like it."
Well, where's the fun in that? Oh, we keed, we keed. True, most of the article is common sense, and it might actually be helpful to some of you out there who have had a hard time getting your significant others interested in jumping into the game with you. However, some of it is just plain whacked, like explaining to your girlfriend how to stretch and uncramp her hands. If your girlfriend doesn't know how to do this already, then you've got more serious problems.
For those of you who need a girlfriend in order to find this article useful, check out Wikihow's hilarious "How to get a girlfriend if you're a nerd" entry. We're not sure whether to laugh or cry. For all of you female gamers out there, let us know how they could improve this entry, and don't worry about being gentle ... blast away.
Battlestations: Midway blends intense 3rd-person action with epic, large-scale naval combat and brings to life the great Pacific battles of World War II. From the chaos of Pearl Harbor, through the Philippines, Java and the Coral Sea all the way to the epic Battle of Midway. Players can relive classic battles with realistic locations and accurate historical detail and take part in huge multi-unit online battles with up to eight players controlling over 60 units. Players can take direct control of over 60 different warships, planes and submarines, many of which are based on actual historical vehicles, from a 3rd-person perspective. Single Player mode features 11 large-scale campaigns with 12 bonus challenge missions while the online multi-player combat offers an entirely new online battle experience and features head-to-head and co-operative battles featuring over 60 Allied and Japanese units.
features
Over 65 new songs, including songs and dance remixes exclusive for the Xbox 360™, licensed songs, and popular hits!
New HOW TO PLAY, TRIAL and SUPER EASY modes aimed at first-time players and beginners
All-new nonstop megamixes now offer "DJ continuous mixes" of multiple songs just like a real dance club
New Relay mode lets friends and family play DDR like a marathon race, allowing players to switch off to other teammates and keep the dance party going all night long
Enhancements to the common modes and features from the original DDR series, including Workout Mode, Edit Mode, Quest Mode, Party Mode and more!
Xbox Live enabled online competitions, download new songs and dance steps, upload content, compete head-to-head, view internet ranking, instant messaging/email, talk live and more!
New Xbox 360™ exclusive downloadable song packs
Includes one (1) Konami Dance Dance Revolution Controller inside
description
The hottest revolution and bestselling video game in the music game category continues its long tradition of innovation and creativity with an entirely new game for the next-generation! Dance Dance Revolution UNIVERSE, exclusively designed for the Xbox 360™, takes dancing to a whole new dance floor - offering features and options not possible until now. Dance Dance Revolution UNIVERSE is designed to be a "universal" DDR - a game that everyone can play and enjoy, including anyone with two left feet.
features
Transfer files between your PC and your Xbox360 hard drive and memory cards.
Unique ‘docking station’ means your Xbox 360 does not need to be near your PC.
Includes Xbox1 memory card adapter so you can access saves stored on Xbox 1 memory cards for use on your Xbox 360.
Transfer gamesaves from the internet to your Xbox 360 hard drive to boost your achievements!
description
XPORT for Xbox 360 lets you back up your hard drive and your memory cards to your PC’s own drive, preserving valuable data and freeing up space for other projects and protecting valuable data in case of corruption or accidental deletion. Just plug your Xbox 360 hard drive or memory card into the dock unit, and connect it to your PC using a spare USB port.
You can also install files from your PC to your console’s hard drive, and inspect, modify and install files of your own using Datel’s impressive XPORT 360 PC application. Download fan-created files and enhance your games in ways Microsoft never intended…
features
Guns and Magic: Bullet Witch offers an exciting combination of overly offensive spells and massive upgradeable guns. The action sequences are incredibly intense and will challenge you to make clever usage of both firepower and magic power.
Intense Visuals: Offering mind-blowing environments and enemies, Bullet Witch is a true next generation title, exclusive only to the Xbox360. The interactive and fully destructible environments are brought to live through an advanced physics system. Cascading explosions, where blowing up one structure or vehicle causes others to explode in turn, causing massive destruction upon destruction.
Unique and Beautiful: Alicia, the Bullet Witch is a strong, sexy heroine with distinctive visual style and personality. As you progress through the story, her past and dark secrets are revealed.
description
Set in 2013, Bullet Witch tells the story of a desperate fight between humanity and an army of demons. Playing as a beautiful witch named Alicia, Bullet Witch is an action adventure game with riveting story sequences intermixed with intense gun fights and incredibly destructive magic.
Japan is divided into 25 warring states and it is up to you to resurrect a nation. A tantalizing blend of strategy and true warrior action. Unleash multi-Musou attacks with up to four officers. Choose from over 400 playable characters to choose, or create your own.
In light of the recent Xbox 360 hypervisor hack and possibility of widespread homebrew in the future, a trusted developer decided to show what he has been working on for some time. He released details and pictures about a port of MAME to Xbox360 and also mentions he has been working on a ScummVM port.
The first ever HD episode of South Park recently released on Xbox Live Marketplace is now available to all us Europeans. For free.
Initially, the episode was only intended for North America, Australia and New Zealand, the Netherlands, Belgium and Asian territories.
Microsoft's informed us that it's "made the episode available for free in ALL European Live territories" due to "a lot of negative feedback from the European community" regards its limited-territory release.
"Well, you made your voice heard and we've listened - the South park episode will now be available in ALL European countries with Live! We want to send our apologies for the disappointment the original announcement caused amongst the European community but hope that making the episode available helps to ease that disappointment", the company has said.
Bizarre Creations' new Xbox Live Arcade game Boom Boom Rocket will cost you 800 Microsoft Points when it hits Arcade this spring.
Boom Boom Rocket's been described as a "hypnotic rhythm music game". It finds players triggering firework rockets to the beats of original music tracks while travelling through a 3D cityscape.
Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Q Entertainment have revealed their new Xbox Live Arcade Game; a new version of PSP music-blaster Every Extend Extra, that looks quite bloody gorgeous.
Every Extend Extra Extreme (or E4 for short) will be arriving later this year with 5.1 surround sound, leaderboards and full online multiplayer via Xbox Live. There's also an option to implement your own music into the game via CD, which will certainly be interesting if Q maęage to pull it off properly.
As always we would've rather of had a HD version of Rez, but by the looks of the screenshots E4 has had a major 360 overhall and we reckon it'll lend itself to television play wonderfully.
A conversion of late 1980s arcade game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is releasing on Xbox Live Arcade this month, according to an IGN report.
It'll cost 400 Microsoft Points and features the original game's seven levels, which are playable on Live in co-op for two to four heroes in a half-shell if you wish to dabble with multiplayer. Alternatively, you could just play it solo and shout cowabunga at the bedroom wall, we guess.
We've contacted Ubisoft, which is responsible for putting TMNT on XBLA, to get a definite release date. We're waiting to hear back.
Minispy, the original kit from Talismoon that allows you to transfer data from your PC to your Xbox 360 (and from your Xbox 360 back to your PC) is now offered at a new rock bottom price of only $8.95. Unbeatable!
If you have ever attempted any repair or improvement of any kind, you know that the right tools can make the difference between a good experience and a bad one. The Access Pro Toolkit by Zoozen has everything you need to get into your console and accessories. It is the only toolkit that includes tools for every console and handheld on the market today. And it includes unique and custom tools that are only available from Zoozen.
This tool kit includes the tools you need for the:
· Microsoft products, including: Original Xbox, Xbox 360 and accessories like the Xbox 360 wired controller, and the Xbox 360 wireless controller. Special tools: the OneSnap, the only one-piece Xbox 360 case separator, and a special long neck tamper resistant Torx bit.
· Nintendo products, including: the Nintendo Wii, GameCube, GBA, DS, DS Lite, and most accessories like Nintendo Cartridges, Gamecube controllers, and power supplies. Special Tools: Triwing bits in two sizes and two sizes of rare Linehead Nut Setters in hardened steel. Also has the correct tools for most of the retired Nintendo game machines (those not currently for sale in the marketplace).
· Sony Products, including: PS3, PS2, PStwo, and PSP and many accessories (for example: Sony controllers).
· The Access Pro Tool Kit also has the correct tools to open most third party products.
The tools are all housed in a convenient plastic case that keeps all the parts just where they belong. And, duplicates of most bits are provided, just in case you drop a bit behind your desk during a critical procedure.
So, Microsoft is officially striking back to halt recent Xbox 360 hack-tivity after having been alerted to recent breach methods of the system's non-privileged memory areas, allowing users to run their own code. With potential homebrews beginning to surface, Microsoft concocted its own brew: a system-wide fix, or as it's officially dubbed, an "online system update," which doesn't mention the vulnerability patch or even what the update is for. The update was unleashed on Xbox Live, can be burned to a DVD or CD from the website, and ships with all games released after February 20. Unsuspecting hax0rz who fall victim to Microsoft's furtive "booyah" will be sent back to the drawing board -- and if they manage to find another loophole, they'd best think twice before installing a patch in update's clothing.
Zee-3's co-creator Ste Pickford believes that digital distribution services like Xbox Live Arcade are still too conservative and inaccessible for independent developers.
"Potentially, for people like us it's brilliant, but at the moment I think the do
