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Sony brings 4K SRX-R220 digital cinema systems to two Singapore theaters
Just a few short months after four theaters here in America were blessed with a number of Sony CineAlta SXRD 4K digital cinema systems, two Cathay Cineplexes in Singapore are getting to enjoy such luxuries, too. Sony is reportedly installing its latest CineAlta 4K SRX-R220 digital cinema projectors, together with the LMT-100 Media Block servers and LSM-100 Screen Management System, in the flagship The Cathay Cineplex along with one other less notable venue. Apparently, the project is slated to reach completion "early next year," and according to the president of Cathay Organization Holdings, it is looking at the possibility of introducing said technology into its cinemas in Malaysia and Dubai. Now, if only these things would totally infiltrate more theaters in the US of A, we'd have no reason to be completely envious.[Via DCinemaToday]
Wii Fit stretches its legs today in Japan
While American gamers still have some more time to wait before making themselves into contorted, balance-challenged fools, Japanese Wii owners can now pick up a copy of Wii Fit and stretch their way to reportedly fitter lifestyles (although deviance has been proven to work).The game's official street date isn't until tomorrow, but that isn't stopping a handful of prominent online retailers from already accepting orders (that surely won't arrive until after tomorrow). U.S. gamers who don't feel like dealing with the hassle of importing will have to wait until early 2008 for their copy of Wii Fit. [Via Engadget, Wii News]Read - Buy at Play-AsiaRead - Buy at Amazon JapanRead - Buy at Success-HK
RF Online on going free-to-play, localization differences
Warcry has posted a nice interview with Chris Dye and Kyle Rowley, Community Officer and Manager for RF Online, an MMO that sits in an interesting place-- it originally started out as a hardcore Korean MMO, and has now warped here in North America into a Westernized, free-to-play offshoot of the original. It's an interesting strategy, and only one that MMOs can pull off-- if your players don't like the game you release, just update it into a completely different one.One very interesting change they made was to up loot drops-- apparently Western players felt they weren't getting rewarded the way they want to, so Codemasters (who publishes the game here) doubled the drop rates, not once but twice. On the other side of this, they've gone RMT to make the game free to play-- players can play real cash for ingame money used to buy ingame items. For some reason, that's flown in the Eastern MMO market, but not here so far-- it'll be interesting to see how RF Online players get into it (or don't).Unfortunately, none of the interview actually focuses on whether RFO is any more fun to play. Then again, it is free now-- you could do worse than to go grab the download and check it out for yourself.
SOE blueprints India studio
EverQuest developer Sony Online Entertainment is seeking a summer home in India. Speaking at a conference in Mumbai, India (via Next-Gen), SOE VP of international operations Dave Christensen said that they are seeking local partners to help find creative talent and "chip in" towards founding a studio. "We need to have Indian content for our games and we are looking for local partners," said Christensen. SOE announced in August plans to develop an MMO based on Ramayan 3392 A.D., itself based upon an Indian epic. While an Indian-based studio sounds like a perfect fit for the MMO, no announcements were made regarding what projects the India study will be working on.SOE has already claimed land, with flags in tow, in Taiwan, Austin, Texas and Seattle Washington.[Via Massively]
Megapublisher Shandra sees 66% profit increase
Shandra Interactive Entertainment, the Chinese operator of MapleStory, Dungeons & Dragons Online, The Legend of Mir, and the positively ginormous Ragnarok Online let the world know that its profits for Q3 2007 are up 66% vs. last year and that it is expecting further growth in coming months.Shandra is the biggest publisher of online games in the Chinese market, and recently reached an agreement with NCsoft by which NCsoft will distribute its new title AION in China through Shandra instead of its old partner in the region, Sina (in which Shandra ironically holds a 20% stake).
Turbine talks Korean LotRO, Book 11, Book 12, and more
There's a lot of buzz going for The Lord of the Rings Online. Book 11 was recently released, and it was the game's biggest update so far. Book 12 is in the works. Most importantly from a big-picture standpoint, Turbine has secured deals to launch the game in the Korean and Chinese markets.Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel and Adam Mersky talk to Ten Ton Hammer about all these things and more in a new interview. The Korean launch looks like it might go very well, and it appears that Book 12 will be all about "customization." We've already picked up some details about new options for player housing, but that's only the beginning. Players will soon be able to change their characters' hair at a barber shop.Book 12 will also introduce some sort of system that will allow players to "maintain what they present outwardly to the other players and modify their stats in two different channels," meaning a player will have options if he or she really wants that new piece of armor that has great stats but that looks ridiculously out of place on his or her character.Cool! No details yet on how exactly that will work, though.
PS3 outsold Wii in Japan last week
Quick, grab your loved ones and head to that bomb shelter you built in the backyard just for such an occasion. (Apartment dwellers, find a local church or Wal-Mart and get nestled in.) Sony's PlayStation 3, after seeing its ego deflated a few weeks back when the Xbox 360 trumped it, has leapfrogged into third place for last week's hardware sales in Japan, dropping Wii to a meager fourth place by a margin of approximately 21,000 units (55,924 vs. 34,546).In its acceptance speech, Sony thanked the newly-released 40GB model and assured the attending audience that upon arrival the Four Horseman will no doubt hail the PS3 as their console of choice.But wait! Perhaps we spoke to hastily about this being a sign of imminent apocalypse. The Xbox 360 has moved back to its normal slot, between the PS2 and Game Boy Micro. "Phew," you say as you wipe the sweat from your brow, "that was a close one." Those with an ever-vigilant and watchful eye should look out for the following scenario: PlayStation 3 beating Wii Xbox 360 beating PS3 (and therefore, by chain rule transitive property, the Wii as well) Nintendo DS in any position other than first We have averted crisis thrice before today's scare, although the occurrences have happened more frequently as of late. We'll have more information later today.[Image credit: roland]
O2 Asia is dead, long live MWG
First, the bad news: the rumors have turned out be true, O2's pulling out of its Southeast Asian biz. Now the good: rising from the ashes is a new operation, MWG, that looks ready and willing to carry on with O2 Asia's product lineup. In fact, MWG's website says that they've outright inherited O2 Asia's entire management team, so really, it's the same company in shiny new clothes. Current offerings include the Xda Atom Life, Xda Flame, and Xda Zinc -- not a bad start, if Windows Mobile is your thing -- and they're promising "an exciting roadmap" through 2008. Best of luck, fellas![Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Super Mario Galaxy's quiet Japanese launch
Although we still have a little less than two weeks to go until Super Mario Galaxy arrives in the US (and not much more for Europe), Japan got its taste of the game today. Was their mass hysteria, long lines and rabid fans skipping school and work to be the first to own a copy of the latest Plumber Platformer? Not exactly, according to anecdotal evidence from Siliconera.Visiting Akihabara, arguably the mecca for video games in Tokyo, the folks at the site found no such hysteria or long lines, noting instead that most people waiting in queues were there for Xbox 360 games (no, really!) and pachinko machines.We're still wagering, as does Siliconera, that Super Mario Galaxy will be a massive hit for Nintendo in all territories, and that plenty of people reserved the title and are planning to pick it up after school or work today. However, Mario's presences just doesn't seem to cite as much rabid enthusiasm as a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. It'll be interesting to see how US and Europe handle the Mario Galaxy launches on November 12 and 16, respectively.
Wii comes to China, South Korea in 2008
On the same day he decreed the Wii's price will not be lowered, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announced plans to bring its money-printing home console to China and South Korea next year, following this year's supposed holiday season console shortage."We suffer a global shortage of the Wii," said Iwata in a news conference (via Reuters). "Our responsibility now is to deliver as many consoles as we can to existing markets ... But next year, I think we can bring the Wii (to China)."Though China received the Nintendo DS in a timely manner, South Korea didn't get an official launch of the portable until January of this year.[Via Engadget]
Hong Kong raid = success
During a court-ordered raid of Supreme Factory Limited facilities, over 10,00 game-copying devices and chips were seized. The whole seizure lasted three days, as Nintendo representatives seized devices used to copy DS titles from the internet and other devices that allow Wii game discs to be copied. On top of the equipment, there was also massive documentation of ties with a French company, explaining the scope of this illegal operation."Piracy affects the entire video game industry, from large companies to independent developers," says Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America's senior director for anti-piracy. She goes on further to say "It can destroy years of hard work by a team of very talented software developers, who strive to create games consumers enjoy playing. Copying the developers' work and spreading the game files globally is blatant stealing."[Via press release]
EA looks to partner, acquire Asian studios
Industry stalwart Electronic Arts is looking to land a partner in Japan, and who can blame them, what with the region's love of natural beauty and delicious cannibalism. According to a new Financial Times report, the company is entertaining the prospect of partnering with or even acquiring an existing Japanese company, no doubt in order to further EA's well known plans for world domination.The report quoted EA Asia president Jon Niermann, who during an interview at this week's Tokyo Game Show referred to Japan as a "strategic priority" for the company, which already owns a 15 percent stake in Chinese MMO firm The9. Earlier this year the company also invested in South Korean developer Neowiz, establishing the publishing powerhouse as the studio's second largest shareholder.Says the report, the region will still likely play only a minor role in EA's global plans, though Niermann was quick to point out the potential benefit of tapping into established talent in the area, noting that "EA offers a great global distribution opportunity in terms of taking Japanese products to other parts of the world and in turn there are certainly companies that are much better at local development than we've ramped up to be."[Via Gamasutra]
New HP Pavilion notebooks out in Asia
Just a quick follow-up to our earlier story about HP's new laptop bonanza: turns out the new machines are already announced in Asia, and US pricing has managed to tag along with them. Turns out there is more than one "fancy" pattern on the new laptop casings. Depending on if you buy the HP Pavilion dv2600, Pavilion dv6500 and Compaq Presario B1200 laptops, you'll get casing styles called Verve, Influx and Trace (or, in layman's terms, Wierd Wispy Black, White Notches, and Blue-ish Fingerprint, respectively.) All three models will be available from $1,049-1,099 and should be hitting Asia this month, with country specific models to come.
Analyst: Asian MMO revenues to hit $2.5 billion
Online gaming has blossomed all over the world, but it hasn't been embraced quite as much as it has in Asia. According to data compiled by Pearl Research (via GamesIndustry.biz), revenue from the online gaming market in the region is expected to grow 20 percent from last year to US $2.5 billion.In their study entitled "Online Games Market in Asia," Pearl Research cites ten publishers that in 2006 made over US $100 million. If that many companies can thrive in the region, who's to say that multiple MMOs can't coexist peacefully (and successfully) in regions dominated by World of Warcraft? Furthermore, to what extent is this profitability from business models such as subscriptions or from microtransactions? If it's the latter, expect to see more of that in future releases elsewhere around the globe.[Image Source]
Nintendo to use GCA to launch Wii in Singapore
As if there weren't enough gaming shows going on this time of year, Nintendo has signed on with a new one. At Games Convention Asia, Nintendo distributor MAxSoft will be launching the Wii in that territory. So, gamers over there will finally be able to see what all of the fuss is about and get their hands on the actual system. If E306 was any indication, just about everyone there who tries the system is going to fall in love with it.
Nokia, Shockwave ink deal to bring games to handsets
Shockwave, purveyor of its "Shockwave Mini" games to Verizon handsets in these parts, has entered an agreement with Nokia to offer some of its mobile entertainment through portals in Europe and Asia. Though it's not clear whether the games will eventually be bundled with phones (Nokia's own Snake in its various forms will always be near and dear to our hearts), it looks like the initial offerings will come through the manufacturer's Content Discoverer app. A quick game of Sumo Swinger, anyone?
O2 reducing Asia Pacific presence, to eventually withdraw?
Though it doesn't even operate any networks of its own in the region, O2's Asia Pacific outpost has been known to release (or tease us with) some of the more lustworthy Windows Mobile devices out there. They apparently aren't lustworthy enough, though, with DigiTimes reporting that O2 is looking to reduce its footprint in that part of the world or -- horror of horrors -- withdraw altogether. The company has apparently stopped placing orders and taking delivery of existing ones from its Asian ODMs -- Quanta, Gigabyte, and Arima -- a pretty solid reversal from its recent trumpeting of four new Windows Mobile-based models for the second half of the year. O2 naturally claims that it's simply "adjusting its product strategy" and has no plans to withdraw, but with no new hardware in the pipe, what else could it possibly mean?[Via the::unwired]
O2 Asia has four Windows Mobile models for 2H, ASUS left out
O2's Taiwan and Hong Kong chief has reaffirmed the company's long-standing commitment to rolling out Windows Mobile devices, recently commenting that it'll roll out four new models in the second half of 2007. That's good news for Quanta, Arima, and Gigabyte -- the ODMs taking on those orders -- but O2's partnership with ASUS has been scrapped, allegedly because it adopted Intel's 3G chipsets for its models when Qualcomm's are considered to be snappier. All four new models will rock out with Windows Mobile 6; one will be an entry-level piece with EDGE data while the other three will all burn rubber with downstream speeds of "at least" 3.6Mbps. At least this explains O2's untimely cancellation of the Xda Zinc, we guess.[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]
HTC Touch to launch first in Taiwan, US bound by year's end
Good news for those of you in Taiwan (and America, too) who can't wait to get acquainted with HTC's Touch, as its creator has reportedly announced that it will be deployed shortly in its "home base," with an American launch to go down before the dawn of 2008. Peter Chou, chief executive officer at HTC, has purportedly stated that it would "only be fitting if the first country in Asia to sell the Touch was Taiwan," and also noted that Chunghwa Telecom would be its "exclusive partner in distributing and retailing the handset" in that country. On the home front, all we know is that the Touch should indeed be found on American shelves before the year's end, but here's to hoping it's closer to today than December 31st.Read - HTC launch in TaiwanRead - HTC launch in USA
Get RE4 only two years late, instead of two years and two weeks
Does your hunger rival that of the undead horde? Grab a Snickers. If that's the case, you'd probably be interested to know that the extremely anxious will (probably) be able to obtain the Wii version of the much-lauded Resident Evil 4 several weeks early, via the import site Play-Asia. Sure, it'll cost you twenty dollars more than the standard U.S. price of $29.99, and it'll probably highlight your incredible lack of patience and discipline, but those pale in comparison to the two weeks of additional ecstasy.This is not officially confirmed, so you might want to check back at their product page for updates if interested. If you do happen to obtain the game early ... or if you're reading this article from the far-flung future, in which RE4 has already undergone standard release, feel free to post your impressions.
