console
Latest
PS3 Games: Not 1080p
We'll have to wait until Sony's conference later today and the rest of E3 to get more details about their upcoming console but from the Pre-E3 announcements we're already getting a few tidbits. Sony has been touting their ability to output 1080p via dual HDMI ports while some have claimed most games won't be able to use that resolution. Checking out Sega's announcement that Virtua Fighter 5 will be a Playstation 3 exclusive and Epic's interview regarding Unreal Tournament 2007 reveals one common thread, that both are targeting 720p. Obviously these will be early titles in the systems lifespan so we may see later games kick it up to 1920x1080 and with few having HDTVs that display or accept a 1080p signal this is of limited importance. Still one has to wonder if Sony will even call these games high definition, since the only True HD is 1080p at least according to Phil Harrison.Check for more live E3 coverage from Joystiq.
A look back at Hudson and Sega
With the bomb that Iwata dropped back at GDC about Sega and Hudson being onboard with the Revolution's Virtual Console, Game Informer wanted to take a look back at the two companies' past offerings in the video game industry to determine exactly what we can expect to see from them come time the system launches. If anything, it's a nice history lesson for all you young whippersnappers who were born after the 16-bit age of gaming and a tear-inducing bit of nostalgia and hope for the rest of us. Who else wants to see a Bomberman build with online play?
Official Nintendo Magazine scans cause mild stroke
The Nintendo-specific Sonic the Hedgehog game has been rumored for awhile, picking up a bit more steam thanks to the union of the two companies to offer games through the Revolution's Virtual Console service. According to gex's nintendo news, an upcoming issue of the Official Nintendo Magazine will divulge some info on Sega's upcoming Revolution games. The article also promises a look at Activision's hushed-about project and Ubisoft's groundbreaking Revolution title. Another page seems to hint at a finalized date for the release of the Revolution of around the 27th of October. This would fall in line with Iwata's comments about launching before Thanksgiving.
Wi-Fi Project Leader interview
During a sit-down back at GDC, DS Wi-Fi Service Project Leader Takao Ohara spoke on all things Wi-Fi, and even tap-danced around some questions regarding the approach towards the Revolution's online service when compared to the success the DS has received. Takao also states that Nintendo hasn't finalized anything about the online service yet.With the simplistic ease of the Friend Code system on the DS, can we honestly expect this same system, or even a variation of it, to appear in the Virtual Console of the Revolution?
Playstation 3 price: 500 euros ($600 U.S.)
That's what a few French websites are reporting, apparently stated by Sony Europe boss George Fornay in a radio interview. That would convert to roughly $613 American dollars and make the PS3 the most expensive videogame console out by quite a bit. He apparently confirmed that the Playstation was delayed to work out Blu-ray copy protection issues (that we still haven't seen a final design for the controller, system or a finished game does not appear to have been a contributing factor), and that it should launch in the range of 499 to 599 euros. He justified the high price by saying it was cheap for a platform capable of reading Blu-ray discs.With no confirmation or official announcement from Sony U.S. or Japan this is still in rumor territory, but its a little late for an April Fools. Their main competitor, the Xbox 360 Premium system, launched at 399 euros. Well, I guess we'll ask you again, is around $600 your price for PS3 Blu-ray? Personally, I'm not buying one until they announce a Bob Ross videogame.Previous Playstation 3 price news: Playstation 3: Coming to North America (and the world) in 2006 Playstation 3 price rumors: $599 for Blu-ray movies?
Rare Xbox 360 "console" faceplate
Alright collectors, feast your eyes upon this puppy. This "console" faceplate was part of the original preview of future faceplates, but was never released (yet). Somehow (presumably using black magic ... or an undiscovered exploit in the coding of reality), tacohead (probably not his birth name) at lowdown411.com managed to get his mitts on one. He's even generous enough to flaunt it in all our faces. Go and gaze upon that which you cannot have. [Thanks, tacohead]
Don't expect any Rare games on the Virtual Console...
...according to Matt over at IGN, who claims to have spoken with some key Rare folk about the possibility of some of Rare's past greats to be in Nintendo's Virtual Console's starting lineup during GDC. While it's pretty much a given that this would be the case, what with Rare being alligned under the cold, Borg-like, Microsoft Game Studios, no-shows will undoubtedly be Killer Instinct, Perfect Dark, Banjo & Kazooie, Goldeneye 007, and Blast Corps. That last one hits this Blogger especially hard. I know many people would say the N64's strongest game was Goldeneye 007 or Perfect Dark, some might claim its stellar first-party offerings in Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64 were superior, but for this Blogger no other experience on the console could top the sheer ecstasy of uppercutting buildings as a giant mech and bulldozing gas stations in Blast Corps. It was like a digital incarnation of my childhood with Tonka trucks and Transformers.
Rumor: game based on TV's Lost this fall for consoles
EGM's April 2006 issue sports a short entry under its monthly Rumor Mill section telling readers to expect a Lost video game this fall for unspecified consoles.The Q also claims that the playable adaptation will "even feature an online multiplayer mode called something like 'Passengers versus The Others.'" Predicting possible genres is sketchy at this point, but one could imagine modes such as Capture the Hatch, Pregnant Woman Rescue, and Team Freak-out popping up like a season or two's stranded passenger hallucinations. (Then again, maybe not...)
Retro-modded Nintendo DS
French modder Kotami, designer of the NEStation, recently tested his skills on the DS. No witty name has been attached to the project, but the work is another fine example of Kotami's ravenous NES fetish. The outer shell sports the simple design of Nintendo's debut console, while the inner work mimics the NES's original controller. Next time Nintendo considers a retro-themed incarnation, they should definitely consult this guy. Kudos.
Is it a console? Is it an MP3 player?
The PocketPlay handheld from Lavod can't quite make up its mind. Making its debut across Europe in April, the device lets users play digital audio files along with a selection of Sega classic games. Although not much solid information about the PocketPlay series is available (such as, crucially, its price), we can't help but wonder how it will be received.If you're bored with the Solitaire and Breakout clones that came with your iPod, then perhaps the retro games on the PocketPlay will soothe your gaming withdrawal symptoms while you wait for a bus. However, if you're the sort to get itchy when away from a console for too long, you've probably already got a DS or PSP; if you're really into your retro games, you've probably got something else that will play them already. Combining the buzzwords "portable", "retro" and "MP3" might work, especially if the price point is attractive, but we're not convinced just yet.
Confirmed: No World of Warcraft for the 360
The rumor that we might soon see World of Warcraft ported to the Xbox 360 has been a persistent one. After all, doesn't it seem a natural to match the online capabilities of the Xbox with the most popular MMORPG? Not so, says Blizzard, who has recently denied any plans for an Xbox port. Says Blizzard COO Paul Sams, "Porting PC games to console often compromises games, and we’d never allow the WoW gameplay experience to suffer.” You can insert your own joke about server performance, lag, and your gameplay experience - there are too many choices for me to pick just one. [Via TeamXbox]
Arcade games in the home: a rebirth?
Nostalgia's a perennial favourite for everyone, and gaming is no exception. We all lust after the arcade games of yesteryear, remembering disappearing coins and impossible high scores, and complaining that it isn't like it used to be.The arcade may not be dead, though--simply transplanted into a new location, our homes. Casual gaming and emulators on the PC, the Xbox Live Arcade and the Nintendo Revolution are all breathing, or promise to breathe, new life into our old favourites--so much so that some of them become more popular than full-price games. 2old2play puts it down to our being older--less time, more nostalgia, perfect for arcade-style games.[Via /.]
Playstation 3 hands-on....is 1080p gaming in the cards?
Gaming site Kikizo claim to have gotten some seat time with a PS3 development kit running on near final hardware and have found out some very nice tidbits of information from three separate (unnamed) developers.Among other things, they note that the hardware designs we've seen will likely change before launch, native 1080p games with full effects are unlikely, and that launch games are being designed with a 10x DVD drive in mind. There is also much praise for Sony's machine, with developers noting that it will probably be capable of handling more effects and geometry than the Xbox 360. These statements aren't surprising, 720p will likely be the sweet spot for gaming this generation, anything more than that increases memory needs to an almost impossible level, but the PS3 should be able to scale to match whatever your TV accepts just like the 360.Also worth noting is that the developers they spoke to are targeting a fall launch as most likely. Other recent PS3 news from Joystiq has suggested the 2x Blu-ray drive it is most likely to feature will be the same speed as a 12x DVD player. If developers actually do make a 20GB game we could be looking at loading screens for quite a while. The development kit Kikizo looked at had no Blu-ray drive so they couldn't test those capabilities at all.[Via Evil Avatar forums]
Gestures in the wild
Maybe the tech of CSI isn't so ridiculous after all. With the rumors of an Apple tablet and "gestures" in mind, check out this video. It's a demo of what appears to be a gesture and touch-based UI that is impressive to say the least. Don't miss the manipulation of photos (they appear to be spread out on a table, and the user easily enlarges the photo he's interested it) and the navigation of the map of Boston. This is really cool stuff. Incidentally, the software that is used to manipulate the flat rabbit and cactus characters can be found here.So, who wants an Apple tablet that does this? I do.Note: The server originally linked has been brought to its knees. Scroll down a bit in the comments of this Digg post and you'll find a mirror.
Blog debate: online PC gaming vs online console gaming
In his tech related blog Technovia, Ian Betteridge has responded to a blog entry by the well known Windows enthusiast Paul Thurrott. In an entry on his Internet Nexus blog, Paul disagrees with a Business Week article that portrays PC gaming in a positive light. Paul thinks that the PC market is slowing and that soon it'll be "game over" for computer based gaming. Ian's post offers a rebuttal to Paul's opinion. Giving the example of World of Warcraft on the PC platform, Ian believes that console-based MMOs will never reach the popularity of PC-based online games. Why does he think this? According to Ian, "MMORPGs are, at heart, about communication and communication requires a keyboard. Or voice, of course, but that's too intrusive."Let's break the argument down. The first debate is centered around the never ending console vs PC gaming argument. We're willing to say that consoles have already won this battle. The majority of games are played on consoles, therefore the majority of the money goes to console based publishers and developers. Does that mean PC gaming is dead? Not really. There will always be a demand for (as Becky mentions on Ian's blog) "'lean forward' desk-and-chair-gaming like The Sims, WoW and Age of Empires" as opposed to "'lean back' sofa-gam[es] like GTA."The second debate regards the future of MMOs on consoles. In the quote we mentioned earlier, Ian cites the lack of non-intrusive text input devices as a sign that MMOs on consoles will never reach the popularity of games like WoW on the PC. We disagree. Voice, no matter how intrusive, is much more efficient than keyboard based communication. The real issue that has, in the past, limited the popularity of MMOs on consoles is the lack of demand for MMO games. The original Xbox Live was used by a tiny percentage of the total number of people that bought Xbox consoles. With the Xbox 360 (and other next-gen consoles) an larger percentage of "connected" consoles will likely result in a market big enough to support several subscription based MMOs.
"Only in HD, Please"
It's official. I'm boycotting all things not high def. E3 was the start, and last weekend's Tokyo Game Show sealed it. The high definition gaming era is upon us, and I'm not squinting at low resolution photos and postage-stamp sized movie trailers anymore. I'm going to play it in high definition, why would I try to judge a preview of it in anything less? Microsoft and Sony have taken the right steps in person, displaying their wares on glistening high definition displays at each tradeshow, but finding proper quality trailers and screens is still much like panning for gold, a few shiny nuggets every now and then, but mostly just mud.Bus passes for the revolution after the jump, along with links to the best sources for HD resolution trailers and pictures I've found.
Numark introduces iDJ Mixing Console for iPod
Back in April, C.K. reported on a prototype of this device, but the sketchy details available at the time didn't indicate whether or not it would ever see the light of day. The good news is, today is that day.The iDJ allows your iPod to become a legitimate source playback device. It's a 2-channel mixer that features two iPod docking stations (that fit all model iPods!), a 3 band EQ with gain on both channels, a dedicated mic, phono/line inputs, a turntable spindle receptacle for connecting your vinyl and more. It's finished in polished white to compliment your iPod(s), charges docked iPods and allows for transfer of music to an iPod via a USB connection.You can find a list of your local resellers here. While specific pricing/shipping information is not available on the Numark website, I called a music store in my area, and was told that they expect to have them in stock by the end of the month, and priced in the "$250-ish" range. Update: It looks like the iDJ will be available in October, and retail for $400US.
