Those with PS3 consoles who are struggling to sell them may have to paint theres to get a great markup on the sale price, the group who painted theres white the other day sold their PS3 on ebay for $1425
Reports have been steadily trickling in since yesterday of stockpiles of Playstation 3s found sitting around in Best Buys untouched, or hardly touched.
Best Buy announced they would be selling a bunch of the consoles starting Sunday and according to several emailers, very few people took them up on their offer. Of course this is all anecdotally, so I'm not sure how widespread it is.
What I can tell you is that the Best Buy near my house had 31 Playstation 3s sitting in a lovely wall o' consoles this morning when I swung by the store. Many, if not all of them, were the 60GB model.
While taking pictures of the stack load of PS3s (and the nearby wall of Xbox 360s, twice the size) someone came buy and plucked one up. He happened to be right next to me when I was paying for my stuff and I heard him saying that the main reason he decided to get it was because it offered up games at 1080p and he wanted to see what it looked like on his plasma. It appeared he was also buying a Blu-ray movie and a copy of Madden for the system.
I can't help but wonder if this seeming lack of interest in the PS3 at Best Buys is because of a general post-holiday buying drought or something more about the system itself. It certainly doesn't look good, especially when coupled with the details were reported on last week about the PS3's grey market.
Like every year, Dengeki Online has put together a massive New Years feature. And as every year, the most prominent feature of this special is a collection of comments made by Japan's leading developers.
The director of Koei's online business and producer of Nobunaga's Ambition Online, Kenji Matsuhara, talked at length about the possibilities offered by the PlayStation 3's CELL processor. Using this new powerful hardware, Matsuhara wants to deliver an undisclosed game fans can freely enjoy.
Hiroshi Matsuyama, president of CyberConnect 2, the developers of Bandai Namco's .hack and .hack//GU series, emphasized the different functions offered by each of the three next-generation systems. He also confirmed that his company has begun to work with the new hardware, without going into specifics.
Phantasy Star Universe producer Takao Miyoshi obviously emphasized the online capabilities of the new hardware. In particular, he feels Nintendo's Wii offers enormous potential.
Miyoshi's colleague at Sega, Yuuji Naka, was particularly interested in the new input devices (the Wiimote and the PlayStation 3's SIXAXIS controller). Since games were, unlike movies, interactive, Naka felt these new input schemes will become very important in the future.
Nippon Ichi Software's Souhei Shinkawa offered a less enthusiastic view. He pointed to a shrinking market and declining sales of high profile games. Hence, the key to survival would be the creation of games by making good use of the next generation console's capabilities, focusing on one's idea, while balancing rising development costs. His main ambition for 2007 was the creation of a game fans could truly enjoy. While we was likely talking about Makai Wars, Shinkawa did not mention the title, which was first announced at Electronic Entertainment Expo in May.
Bandai Namco Games' Tales series producer Makoto Yoshidzumi also chose his words carefully. He explained that, traditionally, the Tales series wasn't about the latest technology and CG. Instead, the developers focused on using existing technology and offering players a story they can freely enjoy. However, the producer said he had no idea what the future had in store for the series. He feels the time has come for the entire concept behind Tales to be re-built.
Level 5 president Akihiko Hino, on the other hand, apparently has had no such trouble adapting. His Fukuoka-based company is currently hard at work on its first adventure title, Layton Kyouju to Fushigi na Machi, and Dragon Quest IX Hoshizora no Mamori Hito for DS. Hino did not comment on Shirokishi Monogatari, the PlayStation 3 RPG Level 5 is developing for Sony Computer Entertainment, as it is still early in development.
From Soft's Atsushi Taniguchi promised the announcement of a DS title would be forthcoming. The game is a new installment of an existing franchise and will feature multiplayer support.
Time have posted the top 10 games of 2006, lets see if you agree with their findings:
1. WII SPORTS (for Wii)
2. GEARS OF WAR (for Xbox 360)
3. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. (for Nintendo DS)
4. LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS (for Wii)
5. RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN (for PS3)
6. PREY (for PC, Xbox 360)
7. ROCKSTAR GAMES PRESENTS TABLE TENNIS (for Xbox 360)
8. GUITAR HERO 2 (for PS2)
9. LEGO STAR WARS II: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY (for Xbox, Xbox 360, Gamecube, PS2)
10.BULLY (for PS2)
I'm pleased to announce that a BETA LiveCD for PS3s and PowerMacs is making it's way onto the Gentoo mirrors as I write this. The LiveCD can be found on the mirrors in the ppc64 experimental section. You can check out a screenshot from the LiveCD at:
The LiveCD works on PS3s and G5 Apple PowerMacs. It contains a full Gnome desktop as well as:
Firefox-2x (Bon Echo)
Audacious
Xchat
Gaim
Evolution
Gimp-2
Among other things, we plan to add Thunderbird in the near future.
Please feel free to download and test the LiveCD; however, do not, under any circumstances, report bugs via Gentoo's official bugzilla mechanism. I'd prefer join us on #gentoo-ppc64 to report feedback.
Note to PS3 Users
The LiveCD contains a kboot.conf file which should allow you to boot the LiveCD. Choose the label that most closely matches your TV's resolution. This is an area where we plan to put some future enhancements.
Sound
Sound should be functional on the LiveCD. You need to unmute the master channel with the alsa-mixer application.
I would like to thank each of the following for their participation in the LiveCD creation: lu_zero, mtb, nickthecook, deadfall, wolf3l02, and mmschnei. Sorry if I missed anyone.
Gran Turismo HD Concept is now out in North America and Japan, the 'demo' version of planned-but-canned full GT HD PS3 game releasing for download - for free - over Christmas.
News of GT HD's demise and Polyphony Digital's decision to instead release Concept broke in December last year. PS3 owners, for the download, get GT racing supporting 1080p, 10 cars, unlocks - further tuned versions of the vehicles and game mode Drift Trial - and new course Eiger Nordwand. Unlocks are accessed by performing very excellently in Time Trial mode on Eiger Nordwand.
Drift Trial driving mode allows players to "master the art of drifting and achieve ultimate control of their car", Sony's explained.
"Gran Turismo HD Concept provides PS3 and automotive fans a glimpse into the future of Gran Turismo," said Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of Gran Turismo. "With the power of the PS3 technology, the world of Gran Turismo is refined by its full HD visual presentation and unique interactive experience, resulting in an even more realistic and true driving simulator."
Full sequel Gran Turismo 5 is not expected to hit until 2008, but this Concept demo may not be the last PS3 hears of Gran Turismo before 5's out. Yamaouchi has explained previously that it's possible additional Concept demos will be released further down the line.
Christmas '06 has proved to be the biggest ever for UK games, with game sales up nearly 10 percent compared to the same time last year and a staggering 30 percent in the week before Christmas - according to MCV
EA benefited most from the festive game-buying explosion, with Need for Speed: Carbon pushing the retail charge and FIFA '07 following closely behind. The Christmas period finishes off a successful year for the publishing giant, where it managed to grace the UK top spot a total of 26 times throughout 2006.
Meanwhile Nintendo's Wii saw a resurgence in sales over the holiday period, as hardware finally managed to trickle back into UK shops. Flagship launch title Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess climbed up to number 11 in the top 40, While Ubisoft's Rayman and Red Steel re-entered at 32 and 34 respectively.
Thanks to all who have helped in my absence, i did manage to do some newsposting on holiday but now we will be fully 100% back up to full speed once more.
By 2010, Xbox 360 and Wii will be trailing behind PS3 as Sony's console reaches a worldwide install base of 75 million, reckons Dublin-based market research company Research and Markets.
The educated forecast has appeared in an abstract of a study titled "The Transforming Global Video Games Market: The Emergence of Next Generation Gaming", according to a report on Next-Gen.biz.
But while it's said the PS3 will lead in the console war, it won't enjoy the same huge dominance achieved by PS2. This is down to "late launch issues in the PAL region and the early lead of Microsoft's Xbox 360."
Well, in three - and a bit, we guess - years' time we'll see how on the money this educated forecast turned out to be...
Who cares about waiting for a patented idea to come to fruition when you can just handle things yourself? In ebphondaprelude's case, the modder apparently didn't feel comfortable waiting for Sony's LED-infused SIXAXIS to make it to market, and cracked open the PlayStation 3 controller for a bit of hackeration. Seemingly on the less difficult end of the DIY spectrum (at least compared to some entries we've seen), this mod simply requires a steady hand, 2.8v LEDs, a bit of wire, and your trusty soldering iron. The end result gives you four LEDs across the top and a PlayStation symbol that emanates blue in the night. So if you've nothing better to do on this first day back from an entirely too short holiday pause, be sure to hit the read link and get to work.
Market analysts NPD have published a list of the top ten best-selling games in North America for 2006, with the PlayStation 2 version of Madden NFL 07 at number one.
More than 1.8 million copies of the game have been sold so far, and it's one of five PS2 titles in the chart - Kingdom Hearts II is at number three, followed by Final Fantasy XII at six, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories in seventh place and NCAA Football 07 in eighth.
Second position goes to New Super Mario Bros., which sold around 1.5 million copies. Fellow Nintendo DS game Brain Age finishes off the chart at number ten, having racked up sales of more than 790,000 units.
There are three Xbox 360 titles listed, with platform exclusive Gears of War at number four. More than 1 million copies of the game have been sold so far and it's the most popular title on Xbox Live.
GOW is followed by Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter in fifth place (913,000 units sold), and the 360 version of Madden NFL 07 in ninth (826,000 units).
The chart was published by USA Today. NPD has yet to release complete hardware sales figures for 2006, but has issued preliminary estimates which suggest that Xbox 360 won the battle for Christmas cash - beating the Nintendo Wii by a small margin.
Despite Sony's "official" statement that their BDP-S1 standalone Blu-Ray player only uses similar parts to the Pioneer BDP-HD1, there's been more than a few similarities noted in their reviews. The Pioneer and the Sony players all have the same format support, menus, disc drives, back panels, and load times. Now, with the release of The Descent they crash and burn in exactly the same way.
Reason? Both players don't support BD-J (Java enhanced discs), which is what Lionsgate produced The Descent in. Gee, if people are having a hard time telling DVDs from Blu-Ray and HD DVDs, how do you think they'll react when you tell them their player won't support BD-J discs? The PS3 plays back these discs just fine, and Sony's said they will release a firmware update to upgrade to BD-J support "sometime early this year".
Everyone knows that Sony's PS3 is the cheapest way to bring a Blu-ray player home, but is it the best? That's the question the folks at Home Theater Blog and Ultimate AV are trying to answer. Both agree that as a standard DVD player the PS3's image quality is a bit soft, but when it comes to Blu-ray titles the PS3 is no slouch.
Here's what they had to say.
Ultimate AV:
The PS3 more than holds its own in image quality, and wins hands down on boot up and disc access speed.
Home Theater Blog:
It would be hard for me to recommend a PS3 as a primary Blu-ray playback device; to those with zero interest in gaming. On the other hand for those with at least a passing interest in gaming, multimedia and Blu-ray playback, the PS3 does indeed offer an attractive mix of features.
So while it may be difficult to find (depending on where you live), the PS3 is your best bet as far as "bargain" BD players go.
Not only do owners of Sonic the Hedgehog have to suffer through bad gameplay, poor camera angles and lousy design decisions, but they also must endure painful loading, the kind that hurts in waves like a series of soft flicks to the family chaos emeralds. Anyone with the PlayStation 3 version on pre-order ought to watch the above clip, just to see what kind of mess they might be getting themselves into. Bravo, Sonic Team! Another job well done!
Sounds like Konami might have taken the Coded Arms: Assault criticism to heart. The latest rumor suggests that the PlayStation 3 FPS has been canceled. Most reports indicate that Famitsu broke the news, but there has been no official confirmation form Konami. The rumor can be traced back to German site GameFront.
GameFront's original entry is short, and reads (as translated by Google): "The Shooter Coded of arm: Assault of Konami is to appear allegedly no more. That comes out from Japanese trade price lists. Konami did not express itself to the report yet and the attitude of Coded of arm: Assault so far officially does not confirm." From this, it's unclear how Famitsu became involved in the rumor. Perhaps the Japanese magazine published its own report based on the alleged trade price lists; or perhaps Famitsu has been wrongly tied to the cancellation rumor.
True or not, the loss of Coded Arms would hardly deal a crushing blow to PS3's image. Good riddance. (May we remind you that there are more important Konami titles at stake?)
I was playing fl0w on my PS3 and dicided to see when it was comeing out for PS3(i own one) and to my suprise its in 2 days! YEY!
info on game as follows from GameSpot:
At the Tokyo Game Show, we came upon an unexpected, serene, aquatic action game called flOw that was just sitting there on the show floor, minding its own business, without any particularly informative English description. Luckily, Sony brought the downloadable game along to its San Francisco press event so we could try it again for ourselves and try to make some more sense of it. We also got to speak with Kellee Santiago, one of the game's original contributors, who explained a great deal about this mysterious game that will be available as an "e-distributed" title for the PlayStation 3 shortly after the system's launch next month.
So here's the story with flOw. It began as one of USC student Jenova Chen's graduate projects, which is available in simplified form as a Flash game that you can play right this moment. On the PS3, flOw has evolved with high-definition visuals (the game will run in 1080p at launch) and other, more sophisticated production values. But it's all based on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's 1990 work Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, which explores the human engagement with immediate activity, positing that man is happiest when completely at one with the action at hand.
What that means in gameplay terms is that flOw is as serene or as aggressive as you want it to be. You control a spiny-looking aquatic creature, swimming around and eating other organisms to grow and evolve. Or not. If you don't want to attempt to eat bigger creatures--which will in turn try to eat you--you're free to swim around lazily, and your fellow life forms will remain docile while you do. But to progress in the game, you've got to eat, which you do simply by swimming up behind and over other creatures. When you successfully eat another life form, its unique physical attributes will be added to your own, and naturally, the bigger you get the stronger you get and the more damage you can take from aggressors.
There isn't much more to the gameplay than that, from what we saw. A few colored organisms float nearby as you swim around. Eating blue ones will make you swim upward toward the surface and eating red ones will make you descend to the depths, where the boss of each area lurks. There are five playable creatures in the game, and each time you consume a boss, you'll rise to the surface and evolve into the next form to begin the new area.
flOw is simplistic from what we got to see, but it's big on concept, and it seems like the perfect sort of game to zone out with on your couch after a grueling day at the office. It's basically a game of eat-or-be-eaten, and you could probably swim around for hours and hours without actually engaging the core gameplay if you really wanted to. flOw's sparse visuals convey the feel of primordial underwater life quite well, and we imagine they'll look pretty nice on a good HD display, too. It's due out as a downloadable game on the PS3 sometime before the end of the year, so lucky early PS3 adopters should keep their eyes peeled for one of the more unique games we've seen in quite a while.
UK games retail is in the midst of a new year price-cutting blitz, with many PS2 games on sale for under a fiver and even current top ten Xbox 360 titles available for around £25.
Gamers have plenty of bargains to choose from at the January sales, with Christmas number one FIFA ’07 going for under £20 at Amazon and £14.99 at Play.com on PS2. The High Street is also getting in on the act, with PS2 FIFA ’07 selling for under £25 at major retailers including GAME, Gamestation, HMV, Woolworths and Tesco.
And online even current Xbox 360 chart titles are included in the price bonanza, with Play.com offering Pro Evolution Soccer 6, WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2007, Dead Rising and Saints Row all for £24.99, while next-gen FIFA ’07 and Need for Speed: Carbon are on sale for £27.99.
Amazon’s headline deals include Canis Canem Edit on PS2 for a bargain basement £14.99, GTA: Vice City Stories on PSP at £19.99 and The Sims 2: Pets on PS2 for £17.97, while its Xbox 360 range includes Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent for £25.97 and PES 6 for £24.99.
Leading specialist GAME is also shifting next-gen games at under £30, with Need for Speed: Carbon and Splinter Cell: Double Agent on Xbox 360 at £26.98 and £25.98 respectively. The retailer has a 'two games for £30' promotion running on DS and PSP titles, and also has releases like Brian Lara International Cricket and True Crime: New York City on PS2 for £4.98.
Supermarket giant Tesco is currently promoting a two for £25 deal on a wide range of PS2 games, while catalogue PS2 releases like Goldeneye: Rogue Agent, Wipeout Fusion and Area 51 are all going for under a fiver.
And Woolworths is starting to shift its old stock for staggeringly low prices too, with PS2 title Area 51 on sale for £4.73, Black available at £7.47 and Burnout Revenge on the shelves at £7.47.
Seems that two SKU's aren't enough for Sony. We've got our surprisingly acceptable $499 model of PS3 and the super-snazzy Wi-Fi $599 model, but how would you guys like to toss out those bits of trash and obsolete Sony nonsense for the amazingly awesome, beyond your wildest imagination $2500 model? No, we didn't put one too many zeroes on that (the words zeroes and zeros are both acceptable, so no worries). Rub your eyes and continue reading.
This rumored new model of PS3 in the works is a more "media-centric" build. It's going to look more like a video player and have upgraded playback features, including two HDMI connectors to keep your audio and visual separate. It's not the SCEI brand -- it's a Sony. It's not the PS3 -- it's the PS3.5 and it hasn't been verified, but it's slated to set you back $2500. Oh and yeah, it can also play those PS3 games. What do you guys think of this? Bad idea, or the worst idea?
We're quite aware that all of you aren't RPG fanatics, but that's okay. The Sony consoles became reigning champion of the RPG genre after the SNES drifted off to a tender sleep (but still gets woken up every so often by classic enthusiasts), so for that reason, it's important to hear what the developers of a "crutch" genre have to say about this coming year. Crutch genre, meaning that it's one of the major selling points of Sony consoles -- no other system has had such a focus on them. Anyway, let's make a neat list.
Koei is looking forward to using the cell processor to create "an undisclosed game" fans can freely enjoy. Freely, like downloadable content? Hmm.
Bandai-Namco emphasizes the various functions of all next-gen consoles and admits they have begun working with new hardware. No specifics.
Sega/Sonic Team/Phantasy Star Universe producer spoke of the online capabilities of each console and admitted there's a lot of potential in the Wii. They also mentioned the SIXAXIS and Wiimote as important to the future of gaming.
Nippon Ichi Software spoke of a declining market for high-profile games. Survival in the industry will be dictated by the ability to utilize the next-gen console's capabilities while balancing rising development costs. True enough, if a bit depressing.
Bandai Namco's Tales of... producer said specifically that it's time for the concept behind the Tales series to be rebuilt -- but is unsure about the future of the series at the same time.
Level 5 president Akihiko Hino is optimistic. He's got two titles in the works (one being the Dragon Quest IX game for the Nintendo DS) as well as White Knight Story. He didn't comment on that one, sadly.
From Software announces the development of the DS title also.
Could RPG's be moving more and more onto the DS because of rising development costs and the sheer number of DS's out there? Do you guys think Sony will have to share the genre with it, or will Sony lose it entirely? Either way, it'll be a good year for gamers who like dealing damage in the form of numbers.
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2, Splinter Cell Double Agent and Rainbow Six: Vegas are three of five titles that Ubisoft will have out for PS3's launch in the UK and Europe in March, according to the publisher's latest release schedule.
Arcade flight combat game Blazing Angels and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion also join the line-up.
'But what about original games?' you cry. Well, yes, but at the least Double Agent on PS3 features additional content in the shape of extra multiplayer maps. It was recently rumoured too that the game may well support the PS3 controller's tilt functionality in some way.
Keen eyes have spotted this careless passage published in the PlayStation 3 version of the NBA 2K7 instruction booklet: "Once you start feeling your heart rate pumping (via controller vibration), you'll be ready to begin! Shooting free throws in 24/7: NEXT is just like shooting free throws in a normal quick game" (page 15). The rumble citation is an amusing relic of pre-Sixaxis days when the manual's authors must have assumed (or were told) the final PS3 controller would feature a standard vibration function. Guess 2K Games didn't bother to hire a knowledgeable copy editor.
Please, let's not assume this means PS3 games have 'hidden' vibration features. A typo's a typo. And PS3 launch titles won't be a'rumblin.
GamersReports has posted a workaround for PlayStation 3 owners eager to download Tekken 5.
Unless you're living in Hong Kong or Japan you're forced to wait until Sony gets around to releasing Tekken 5 in other territories ... or you could cheat the system. This trick is relatively simple, if not inherently dishonest:
Create a new user (not sub-user)
When entering the credit card info, pick Hong Kong as country, and then a corresponding city
After account is created, select 'Add Funds' (a sub-option within 'Account Management')
Add $40 (Hong Kong dollars) to your 'Wallet' twice (total should now be 80 HKD); never add more than $50 in one transaction, as this will prompt a validation of the address registered with the credit card
Now go to the PlayStation Store and select Tekken 5
Opt to add more funds (bringing Wallet total to 125 HKD)
Purchase and download Tekken 5
Sony is no doubt taking measures to lock out this workaround as you read this. Act now if you must. Our advice: sit patient and wait for the official worldwide releases.
PDRoms the Home of Homebrew Roms for the Whole scene have today reemerged from a few months of being offline to announce a new Coders Competition for a ton of systems, heres the newspost in full from PD Roms:
Introduction Text :
It's time for a new coding competition, PDRC #3.666 hits the web. This is the sixth coding competition held by PD Roms. Due to the success of PDRC #2.5 we rewarm a topic...
PS: You are allowed to DIRECT LINK one of the banners if you wish.
Your job :
Create a one-screen LCD style game for one of the following systems:
Super Nintendo Entertainment System aka SNES (tested with ZSNES or Snes9x)
GP2x (tested on the real thing, one file games only, seperated readme files are ok)
Gameboy Advance (tested via Supercard on the real thing, if it does not work on a SC via Visualboy Advance or no$gba)
Gameboy Classic and/or Color (tested via BGB or no$gbc)
GP32 (tested on the real thing, one file games only, seperated readme files are ok)
Dreamcast (tested on the real thing, please submit a burnable cd image/selfboot plus scrambled or unscrambled binary)
Nintendo Entertainment System aka NES (tested via emulator)
Wonderswan Classic and/or Color (tested via emulator)
PC Engine / Turbo Grafix 16 (tested via emulator)
Neo Geo Pocket Classic or Color (tested via emulator)
Sega Master System (tested via emulator)
Sega GameGear (tested via emulator)
Intellivision (tested via emulator)
ColecoVision (tested via emulator)
Megadrive / Genesis (tested via emulator)
Neo Geo and/or Neo Geo CD (tested via emulator, submit drivers if required)
Nintendo 64 (tested via emulator)
Disclaimer: All mentioned trademarks are property of their respective owner and are in no way affilated with this competition.
General Rules:
All systems will take part in one pot!
Participants keep their full copyright.
Games must not contain any copyright violation (Use of copyrighted characteres, titles, etc.). By entering a title you guarantee to have (obtained) all rights on the used code, media, graphics, etc. We reserve the right to refuse and/or disqualify entries violating copyright. In case you have obtained permissions to use copyrighted stuff, we want to see a proof.
The game must be freely distributeable to everyone - We don't care under what kind of license your are going to release it.
Due to fairness we do NOT allow plain ports. Everyone should have the same base to start an entry. We don't have a problem if you get impressions from other existing games.
Games have to be unreleased and stay unreleased till the final results are out, but can be announced or promoted beforehand.
Submit as many entries as you like. Each entry seperated in one compressed file (.zip prefered)
Judges are allowed to enter, but their entry will not be voted/scored for a prize. Same applies if a judge is indirectly involved in a production (eg. leveldesign, graphics, music, ...)
Submit your entry to submission(at)pdroms(dot)de - By submitting your entry, you agree to have fully understand all given rules.
Submission Deadline is Sunday 04.03.2007 23:59 in YOUR timezone.
We reserve the right to modify rules, for better and clearer understanding. We are also in the position to RAISE the prize money or add more prizes at any time. Any changes will be stated out at the bottom of this page.
Rules for your production:
We do NOT accept Fenix, Python and LUA coded games - use a REAL coding language, thank you!
The entry must be child-proof - No abusive material (racism, pornography, extreme violence...)
You can use the full size resolution of your picked system, but the game has to be on one screen.
The "sprites" must be in one color, preferably black.
The background picture can contain as many colours as you like, but keep the colors realistic in relation with the foreground.
The game must play like those old "Nintendo Game & Watch" or "Q&Q" games. To get a proper impression have a look at this picture:
As start sequence you have to show all "sprite positions" at once (see picture), if you add a logo or anything before such a screen, is your choice (xy presents or similar stuff)
Please don't add funky music to your entry, a LCD game doesn't have real music. We expect beep sounds
Prizes:
#1 150 US$
#2 100 US$
#3 50 US$
If you submit three games and all three games rank in the TOP 3 you will take all the money.
The prize money is paid per winning title. If a team has worked on an entry, they have to share things themselves.
To claim your prize money there are a few ways: 1) Paypal 2) A bank account in the European Union or 3) Money transfer via Western Union (any transfer fees for that will be cut from your prize money!)
Judging:
We judge on gameplay, gamefun, realism and originality. Use the advantages or disadvantages of your selected submission platform in a wise way and get more out than other competitiors. We announce the name of judges by mid of February 2007..
UK sales of Nintendo's DS Lite in the run-up to Christmas last year eclipsed that of Sony's PSP, highlighting DS's broad appeal and value for money, and potentially boding well for long term success from Wii's similarly accessible quality.
Recently released figures from analyst ChartTrack shows that in the three weeks before Christmas nearly 250,000 DS Lites were sold, including a staggering 99,617 in a single week, compared to 166,000 PSPs during the same period. It's a truly fantastic achievement for the quirky handheld, which was only released in the UK last June.
Even so, Sony's much maligned handheld still managed to shift over 800,000 units in 2006. That's 50,000 more than the 740,000 Xbox 360s sold last year, proving that, despite some astonishingly bad press surrounding PSP and Sony's mentalist marketing tactics, PlayStation Portable ain't dead and buried quite yet.
PS2 continues to soldier on, turning out an average of more than 40,000 in each of the three weeks before Christmas - compared with paltry sales of the UK's remaining Xbox and GameCube consoles.
Meanwhile, Sega USA told BusinessWeek.com that it predicts PS2 will actually "sell more than any other format" during November to December this year, with yet another price cut "in the not-too-distant future" helping Sony's previous console to be "actively sold" well into 2008. Which is probably over-egging it a bit.
Big Island police say a teenager struck a Kailua-Kona man with a baseball bat today in an attempt to steal his Playstation 3 video game system.
The 26-year-old victim was treated for pain to his left arm, but refused treatment. The suspect was described as being about 18 years old and six feet tall, with short black hair. He was wearing shorts and a red T-shirt.
Police said the attack happened about noon, when the man was walking south along Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway with a Playstation 3. The man was walking with his 16-year-old brother. Police said the two were approached by a vehicle with three occupants. The assailant got out of the car and struck the victim with a baseball bat in an attempt to take the Playstation.
But the victim's younger brother was able to take the bat away from the suspect, who returned to his brown sports utility vehicle and fled the scene, police said. The license plate number on the vehicle is HCP 042.
Encouraged by the positive reception and high eBay sales price fetched by his white PS3 mod, Michal Berecki is expanding the operation to include silver and red system cases. The new colors are still in the concept stage for now, but Berecki has promised the brightly colored PS3s will be on sale in the coming weeks.
We can't help but be tickled by the idea of a home hobbyist filling in a market niche that a console maker seems unwilling or unable to fill. With three colors planned already, the sky's the limit. What kind of designs would you like to see on a future PS3 case?
Usually news from International Solid State Circuits Conference would leave us a little cold, however, a snippet of news has caught our attention. This relates to a 1:30pm meeting on Tuesday February 13th entitled: “18.1 Implementation of the CELL Broadband Engine in a 65nm SOI Technology” – specifically that:
” The chip operates at 6GHz at 1.3V and is fabricated in a 65nm CMOS SOI technology.
The CELL Broadband Engine is, of course, better known simply at ‘The Cell processor’ and is used in the PlayStation 3 (as well as IBM’s Blade servers and some HD TVs). The Cell currently powering the PS3 runs at 3.2GHz and is fabricated on 90-nano-metre (nm) Silicon On Insulator (SOI) tech.
We read on:
”The 65nm CELL Broadband Engine design features a dual power supply, which enhances SRAM stability and performance using an elevated array-specific power supply, while reducing the logic power consumption. Hardware measurements demonstrate low-voltage operation and reduced scatter of the minimum operating voltage.”
We were then drawn to the people attending the conference. Tucked in alongside IBM and Toshiba delegates, was an S. Tokito. We looked more closely to discover that S. Tokito was visiting from Austin, Texas – specifically from Sony Computer Entertainment in Austin, Texas.
Could this be Shizuo Tokito? A man whose name is writ large on several papers regarding blue light emitting diodes (Blue Rays)? Quite possibly. Now, there’s only really one connection between the Cell processor and Blue Ray – although they don’t communicate directly with each other, they do co-exist within the confines of Sony’s enormous, hot and heavy PlayStation 3.
Therefore, a knee-jerk reaction to this could be that Sony is readying the next-gen-Next-Gen PS3 with a buff new processor running at twice the speed of the current unit. The form-factor of such a new unit would also be smaller; the heat emissions would be less… all in all, you’d have a PS3 v.2 which would not require most of your sitting room to place it in. But, as we say, that’s knee-jerk.
This strikes us as more than unlikely – with problems with current PS3 production, the idea of two PS3s on the market would be disastrous.
More possible (notice that we are not saying, ‘likely’) would be for the new processor to be slotted into the existing PS3 and running at the current clock-speed. This would give a performance increase while cooling the system.
Another reaction could be that the company will be placing the new 6Ghz cell in the AV-centric PS3 mooted by Ken Kutaragi last December – and poo-pooed by the rest of the world as the ramblings of the ‘father of PlayStation’.
Final reactions could, of course, be that the conference organisers got Tokito-san’s company wrong – that this is not Shizuo at all, but some other Japanese uber-scientist who works with Sony’s HD-TV group instead; or even works with NHK.
LG Electronics (LG), a leader in consumer electronics and mobile communications, announced that it will launch the world's first dual-format high-definition disc player, capable of playing both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD content. The unit will be released in the United States in early 2007. Details will be provided at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held January 8-11 in Las Vegas.
LG expects this technological breakthrough to end the confusion and inconvenience of competing high-definition disc formats for both content producers and consumers.
People love to continue to characterize Blu-ray and HD DVD as VHS vs. BetaMax -- but it's vaguely reassuringly quite different. This time around we aren't contending with physical cartridge incompatibilities and differing analog tape types, thankfully now it's blu-laser based optical discs which do operate differently, but are at least different in the same physical form factor. Enter Warner's finally-commercialized Total HD discs, the hybrid double-sided Blu-ray HD DVD discs we originally heard about being patented are now being commercialized and introduced at CES next week. Of course, so long as some studios don't release in both formats on the same disc (say, for example, Sony Pictures Entertainment), this disc actually hinders the unwitting user who buys content that isn't double-sided, thinking that Blu-ray and HD DVD formats are no longer relevant in day to day buying decisions. We know this is indeed a great stopgap for all those crossover movies released in multiple formats, but we really think it's the hybrid players, not discs, that are going to save the day during this format war.
It was only a matter of time before we started to see the first wave of PS3 branded input devices, and no surprise, Logitech is leading the charge. Today they're introducing their Cordless MediaBoard keyboard for PlayStation 3, a wireless keyboard with vertical scrollbar and touchpad so you can forget stringing that mouse across the room. Although you can't exactly use it to games, it'll be available next month to sate your PS3 browsing and messaging needs for $80 -- two things sure to make Phantom weep a little harder over its scammy little Lapboard.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has told GamesIndustry.biz that the games industry is likely to experience more modest growth than has been predicted in the coming months.
"I think 2007 will be sloppy. It will start out quite strong, due to the PS3 and Wii supply situation being fixed in the US and the PS3 launch in Europe," he stated.
"Software sales in the summer should trend down to mid-single digits, due to impossible comparisons to 2006 and extraordinarily expensive console prices. I think that the PS3 and the Xbox 360 will continue to sell very slowly during the summer, because at the price, they are no longer an impulse purchase."
However, Pachter went on, software sales should pick up in the autumn - with an increase of around 15 per cent likely during November and December. He also believes that hardware sales are likely to be higher at Christmas than during past years, and will continue to rise in 2008 as the household penetration of high definition monitors grows.
"We expect to see only 30 per cent penetration in the US as of now and probably under 15 per cent in Europe; that should grow to 50 per cent and 25 per cent by year-end 2007, and to 70 per cent and 50 per cent by year-end 2008," Pachter stated.
"Once that many households have HD, PS3 and 360 sales should pick up dramatically, and software sales will grow as well."
Overall, Pachter said, the industry is likely to see "slightly more modest growth than many expect early in the cycle".
"We'll get a false signal in the first part of 2007 due to the next generation console supply situation," he added.
In a separate report, Wedbush Morgan predicted that publishing giant Electronic Arts is "likely to meet or modestly beat" its targets for Q3, with revenue estimates standing at US$ 1.3 billion.
WM has also issued reports noting that US rental service Netflix has launched more aggressive promotions after Blockbuster announced it secured 2.2 million subscribers - exceeding its year-end target by 200,000. According to the reports, Netflix is still likely to face difficulties in competing as many subscribers are signed up through Blockbuster's high street stores.
Gran Turismo HD, the bite-sized, high-def PS3 outing for The Real Driving Simulator series, might not be much more than a demo but it does feature a gorgeous new circuit, the Eiger Nordwand. Plus it'll be totally free to download, so we can't really complain. Hit the movies tab above to see us tear round this fantastic-looking track in a shiny Ferrari 599.
Already available in Japan and the US, we're expecting GT HD to be downloadable as soon as the PS3 Network opens in Europe, so we can enjoy some hi-def racing on our spanking new consoles. Sony has yet to confirm an exact release date but it'd be madness to deny early adopters this crisp new dose of Gran Turismo goodness. Hopefully we'll know for sure in the next few weeks.
Read our corner-by-corner guide for yet more GT HD.
A video posted on YouTube titled Moral Kombat is set to become a controversial forum topic - a trailer for the first full-length film documentary to tackle the videogame violence debate head-on, featuring none other than game-obsessed lawyer Jack Thompson.
According to the film's maker, Spencer Halpin (quoted on the Apple Pro/Video website), his aim is to show that "consumers need access to information about the content of games so they can make their own decisions about what to buy". Which seems a bit of a non-starter given organisations already exist to do just that (the BBFC and PEGI age rate games in the UK and the ESRB have a similar advisory role in the US).
From the look of the trailer it's all a bit alarmist, with one memorable sequence suggesting that videogames were in some way to blame for the World Trade Center attack. How? The pilots learned how to fly the planes by 'playing' a flight simulator, obviously. As you might expect, background footage is a roll call of famous game scapegoats including Manhunt, Grand Theft Auto and Hitman.
Despite high production values, and a balanced approach promised (the film includes interviews with videogame apologists as well as the likes of Jack Thompson), we can't imagine any major movie studios will want to sign up Halpin's film, given their close relations with videogame film and TV licences, many of which contain violent content. Good job, then, that Halpin has made the film without profit in mind. Instead he's going to donate all the money it makes to a kidney research foundation.
Check out the VIDEO HERE and let us know what you think.
Sorry to all, the release of the Dark Alex custom firmware took down our servers twice tonight and killed our stats counter and then stopped people from forum posting.
strangely enough the posting is back to normal but stats are still fubared. will update soon
Just check out the first screenshots from the upcoming Burnout 5 - vehicle pile-ups have never looked prettier.
Developed primarily for the PS3 - although an Xbox 360 version is also in the pipeline - the fifth Burnout is sporting an entirely new game engine and apparently has "the best crashes ever in a game," according to series developer Criterion's Alex Ward.
"If you don't believe the crash is real, then it's not going to frighten you," Ward recently told MSNBC. "The first crash you see on PlayStation 3 has got to go way beyond everything you've ever seen, beyond anything that we've ever done. Because every time we put our game out, people say, 'It's the best crashes ever in a game.' We've got to go beyond that now. We have to go beyond a game, and we have to go beyond a game car crash. That's what all of our work is focused on right now."
There's no official release date yet, though Criterion has hinted that it'll be out on PS3 before the end of the year. Screenshots are from the PS3 version of the game, but we're assuming the Xbox 360 version will look pretty much identical.
A new series of articles is out on IBM DeveloperWorks on programming the PS3. The first article is up, discussing the installation of Yellow Dog Linux and first steps in programming the Cell BE Processor on this platform. From the article: ' It is unusual for gaming consoles to allow foreign operating systems to be installed on them. Since consoles are usually sold at a loss, they are usually locked down to prevent games from running on them without the publisher paying royalties to the console developer. Sony decided to open up the PS3 console a little bit, and allow third-party operating systems to be installed, with the caveat that they do not get accelerated graphics. Because of this, you can now install Linux on the PS3. You have to jump through a few hoops, but it definitely works.
It doesn't take a scientist to figure out that playing a heated game of Dance Dance Revolution will burn more calories than sitting on the couch with a controller in hand. However, Mayo Clinic obesity researcher Lorraine Lanningham-Foster wanted to find out exactly how much more energy dancing games require, and her findings were recently published in the medical journal Pediatrics.
"In this day and time, children really love to play video games," Lanningham-Foster told GameSpot. "And even though we might want children to be outside and engaged in more traditional children's play, I don't think that children are going to abandon video games anytime soon...It's important to look at it this way because video gaming may potentially be a better way for obesity researchers to develop better interventions for children."
Led by Lanningham-Foster, a group of researchers measured the amount of energy expended by 25 children (10 of them mildly obese) in five states of activity. The children were tested sitting while watching television, sitting and playing a traditional game, playing two different types of games that require activity, and then walking on a treadmill at 1.5 miles per hour while watching television. The traditional game was Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure on the PlayStation 2, while the games requiring activity were the EyeToy-compatible Nicktoons Movin' on the PS2 and Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 on the Xbox.
The researchers found that children that watched television and played a traditional game used the same amount of energy, while those that played the Jellyfish Jam game on Nicktoons Movin' tripled the calories burned. However, the obese children used five times as much energy as they had when playing a traditional game. For both groups, the most energy-intensive of the activities studied turned out to be Dance Dance Revolution, with the obese children burning six times the calories of sitting still while playing the song "Samba" on speed setting 3 in the game's training mode.
"Activity-promoting video games have the potential to increase energy expenditure in children to a degree similar to that of traditional playtime," the researchers concluded, adding, "We think that converting seat-based screen time to activity-associated screen time is an essential approach for promoting an active environment that is also fun for children."
The study was completed months before Nintendo released its activity-oriented Wii, so Lanningham-Foster and her team couldn't include it in this round of research. However, she said she's fascinated by the system.
"I haven't had a chance to do some studies with it, but it's something I'd love to have the opportunity to do," Lanningham-Foster said. "The technology there is actually quite similar to some of the technology we use to monitor physical activity in children."
The researchers acknowledged that the study group used was small, but they consider the findings sufficient to warrant further studies in randomized trials.
360: Lost Planet, Crackdown, Medal of Honor: Airborne, Assassin's Creed, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, BioShock PS3: MotorStorm, Formula One Championship Edition, Assassin's Creed, Burnout 5, Alone in the Dark, Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Wii: Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Wii Play, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
A Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection gameplay sequence is today's most-watched GameTrailers video. The footage of the arcade game -- turned PS3 download -- looks true to the Tekken empire, with most of its moves based loosely in reality, instead of the complete fantasy of some fighters. Do you like a real-world grounding in fighters, or would you rather the game embellish more?
We think that the graphics and backgrounds look strong, but judge for yourself.
By Knuttz's count, it's taken 70 steps, including many retreads, to get from Odyssey to Wii. You can view each of these steps -- all 71 consoles -- in this scrolling gallery.
UK tabloid The Daily Mirror today leads with a story of a tragic holiday accident and a half-page headline stating: "Killed by Xmas Game Boy."
The story, also on the red top's website, tells of 7 year-old Connor O'Keefe, who was electrocuted while unplugging a charger in his hotel room in Thailand.
"There should be some kind of warning about different electrical currents you get abroad because this would not have happened in England," said the mother of the child, Kathleen Curry.
She also said that Connor was aware of the dangers of electricity, while police at the Sunset Beach Hotel in Phuket described the incident as a tragic accident.
All Game Boy handhelds come with numerous safety warnings in the manual and on printed leaflets, detailing consumer information and precautions. Instruction booklets also warn that devices 'must be used with the recommended power supply', and that they conform to the EEC's Low Voltage Directive.
Nintendo was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.
After narrowly escaping the horrors of the underground Hive facility, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is quickly thrust back into a war raging above ground between the living and the Undead. As the city is locked down under quarantine, Alice joins a small band of elite soldiers to rescue the missing daughter of Dr. Ashford, the creator of the mutating T-virus. Written and produced by the visionary director of Resident Evil, Paul W. S. Anderson (Alien Vs. Predator) and directed by Alexander Witt, RESIDENT EVIL: Apocalypse is a superior sci-fi suspense sequel.
GameStop released its sales numbers for the nine-week holiday period ending December 30. The news was good for GameStop and EB Games as sales topped $1.7 billion, a 29% increase from the prior year.
"Without question this holiday season was one of the most successful ever for GameStop," said R. Richard Fontaine, GameStop Chairman and CEO. "I am particularly pleased with the robust sales of hardware systems, even in the face of ongoing shortages of PlayStation 3 and Wii... We have never had a holiday season with more hardware choices or more accessory options, and perhaps what is most encouraging is that, we are seeing a broader base of customers enjoying the gaming experience than ever before."
The top five best-selling newly-released videogames of the holidays were Gears of War, Final Fantasy XII, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Guitar Hero II and WWE SmackDown Vs. Raw 2007.
Sony Computer Entertainment America confirmed that there would be no supported force feedback technology with its PlayStation 3. They told 1UP the following:
"All PS3 games are programmed for the SIXAXIS which doesn't have force feedback, therefore the force feedback in the wheels won't be recognized."
The only way to get a question answered sometimes is to ask directly so if anyone out there has a PS3 and a PS2 Action Replay Max Evo then can you post if it works on the PS3.
Of if you have seen the topic discussed elsewhere so i can gather the information needed.
Sega has released a batch of new Virtua Fighter 5 screenshots showing the PS3 version in action, in the wake of recent news that the game will also be coming to Xbox 360.
The hard-hitting fighter is currently scheduled for a spring released on PS3, with the 360 version slated for a latter arrival in the summer. PS3 launch title? We'd be surprised if Sega didn't make it happen.
Sony bolstered the ranks of games flashing about its American PlayStation 3 Store overnight, giving those of you with import consoles and, er, import credit cards the chance to try the PS3 version of PSP puzzle-racer GripShift.
Not only that, but there's another PSone game for those of you who enjoy downloading them and running off to play them on the PSP. This time it's Jumping Flash, which goes for US$ 5.99. GripShift costs US$ 9.99.
Kotaku has a follow-up feature to their earlier look at the declining PS3 market on EBay. Post author Michael Fahey has now gone back and looked at Ebay sales, comparing the PS3 and the Wii. Unlike the sharp dips and spikes the PS3 market has suffered, the price seems to be fairly constant for the Wii console. From the article:
"Considering the small window that the PlayStation 3 auctions had to turn a truly amazing profit, prospectors would have been better off in the long run purchasing a couple of Wiis, which have maintained an average profit margin of 45-50% since preorders became available. Definitely not a windfall, but a much more financially sound investment in the long run. Unfortunately these launches weren't about being sound financially. They were about betting on the big bucks, and the majority of the PS3 prospectors out there played the tables and lost."
Outspoken Tory MP Boris Johnson has declared that it's time to "garotte the Game Boy and paralyse the PlayStation", blaming falling literacy rates on the rise of videogames.
In a recent opinion piece for The Telegraph, Johnson wrote, "Millions of seven to 15 year olds are hooked, especially boys, and it is time someone had the guts to stand up, cross the room and just say no to Nintendo.
"It is about time, as a society, that we admitted the catastrophic effect these blasted gizmos are having on the literacy and the prospects of young males."
According to Johnson, less and less children are enjoying reading and more and more students are arriving at university without adequate writing skills. He added, "I refuse to believe that these hypnotic little machines are innocent."
Johnson went on to quote figures stating that the number of computer games per household is higher for Britain than for any other EU country, and that 89 per cent of UK households with children own a console.
"These possessions are not so much an index of wealth as a cause of ignorance and underachievement and, yes, poverty," he continued.
"The nippers are bleeping and zapping in speechless rapture, their passive faces washed in explosions and gore. They sit for so long that their souls seem to have been sucked down the cathode ray tube.
"They become like blinking lizards, motionless, absorbed, only the twitching of their hands showing they are still conscious. These machines teach them nothing. They stimulate no ratiocination, discovery or feat of memory."
Although Johnson is not a regular commentator on videogames, he is well known in Britain for his controversial opinions on a wide range of topics. He has hit the headlines for describing George W. Bush as "a cross-eyed Texan warmonger" and Tony Blair as "a mixture of Harry Houdini and a greased piglet", and last year angered the embassy of Papua New Guinea by referring to "orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing".
He has become something of a cult figure in the UK, with some fans calling for him to become Prime Minister - but according to Johnson, there is as much chance of this happening as "my being reincarnated as an olive".
Another out of touch idiot blaming Video games when they should really be looking and education and upholding the law, always a twat trying to make a name for themselves.
Gamasutra examines video game addiction as covered by mass media, its treatment by several clinics, and its lack of research. Sure, people have problems with excessive play, but can games be as addictive as other substances?
From the article: "Games are substance-free and value-free ... There are a million wonderful examples of community building in these games. There are a million wonderful examples that could be used to build a stronger and more wholesome society. You just need to look at games with the right eyes. The informed ones."
Where do you stand on game addiction? Has that stance changed for those with children?
