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PAL PSA: Black Wii bundle now available for pre-order, discounted in UK
We've got some welcome news for European readers who somehow don't already own a Wii -- or for those of you who already have one, but just can't resist the temptation of the new black model. Amazon.uk has opened pre-orders for the new Wii Sports Resort bundle, which includes a Wiimote, a Nunchuk and a MotionPlus all dressed in black, along with both Wii Sports games. The bundle will ship on November 6 and is available on additional Amazon branches, as well; though the release dates for other European territories is November 20.The UK pre-order price is even discounted a bit to £164.99 (roughly $270) -- the same bundle in boring old white normally retails for £179.99. (The black and white bundles are priced the same, at €209.99, elsewhere in Europe.) The white bundle, however, includes your choice of two additional games -- a small sacrifice for that spooky black coating, we say.As for you importers, we suppose this could be the ideal time to pursue a PAL model, if you simply can't wait for the black system to be announced for North America. Then again, in doing so, you'll also have to import all of your games. Patience.[Via Engadget]
European PSN releases for October 22
Yeesh. To say the European PSN update hit a dry spell this week would be offensive to dry spells. Let's see, we got ... some DLC for EyePet, those ten Queen songs for Rock Band, and ... some DLC for Hannah Montana: Rock Out The Show. One piece of this downloadable content is something called a "Hannah Montana Fashion Add-on," causing us to wonder what type of fashion is present in the game without this content in place. We may never know. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
European PSN releases for October 8
Look, we're not going to waste your time. A lot of new content for the PSN landed in Europe today, but only one piece of that content is a PSP Mini titled Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam. The rest of the game developing world might as well give up, because Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam exists, and only costs four pounds. How is anyone supposed to compete with that? Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
New Super Mario Wii, Zelda: Spirit Tracks & others dated for Europe
Arguably the two biggest titles set to release on their respective platforms this year, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks have both been dated by Nintendo of Europe. NSMBW is set to invade living rooms on November 20, while Spirit Tracks will be pulling into the station on December 11. But that's not all, as Nintendo has also dated Wii Fit Plus for October 30 and plans to cater to your inner fashionista with Nintendo Presents Style Boutique on October 23. Nintendo of America previously confirmed NSMBW for November 15 and Zelda for December 7; and Wii Fit Plus releases ... this Sunday! Time to sculpt that perfect figure again. %Gallery-64968%
European PSN releases for October 1
We hope you've been regularly exercising your ocular muscles -- they'll need to be pretty beefy to make it through this weeks European PSN update. There's a smattering of stuff that's been added for the PS3, the most notable of which being Watchmen costumes in LittleBigPlanet, but the star of this week's show is the PSP Go. Check out the list after the jump for a full list of downloadable titles now available for the platform. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Sony publishing DiRT 2 for PSP, PS3 in PAL regions
Sony continues its third-party publishing strategy in PAL territories today by taking up Codemasters' DiRT 2. Unlike the Ghostbusters venture, however, this is not a timed exclusive for PlayStation platforms. MCV reports that Sony will publish the PSP and PS3 versions of the game, while Codemasters handles publishing duties on all other platforms.Codemasters' senior VP of publishing for EPAC, Axel Herr, is glad to have Sony take over, citing the series' "great affinity with the PlayStation brand in PAL territories for over 10 years" as one of the key factors behind the decision. We're sure all of the buzz around the PS3 Slim didn't hurt either.
Non-Sony Ghostbusters releases dated in Europe
Namco Bandai partners has announced that Ghostbusters will officially arrive on European Wii, DS and Xbox 360 consoles (and PCs) on October 23, according to VideoGamer.com. Thus far, the game has only been officially available for the PS3 and PS2 thanks to its initial European publisher, Sony. That said, the North American Xbox 360 version is reportedly not region-locked, allowing European gamers to import the title. Still, for Nintendo and Xbox players longing for what Play Magazine calls the "best damn Ghostbusters game [they've] ever seen" (as opposed to the vastly superior version we were hoping for), the wait is going to be just a bit longer.
ASUS dabbles in HDTV arena with 1080p TV Monitor T1 series
It's not that ASUS hasn't dipped its toes in HDTV waters before (by the way, whatever happened to that altogether enticing Eee TV?), but we dare say that the TV Monitor T1 is a fresh, if not unsurprising new direction for the company. Arriving in 22- (22T1E), 24- (24T1E) and 27-inch (27T1E) sizes, this trio of sets features a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) panel, a 20,000:1 contrast ratio, 300 nits of brightness, five millisecond response time, built-in TV tuners (for the UK market) and a pair of seven-watt speakers. As for sockets, you'll find VGA, HDMI (x2), component, composite, S-Video and even a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack. Per usual, ASUS is refusing to dole out pricing and release date information, but hopefully it won't be long before Britons can indulge (and North Americans are notified of an NTSC-capable version).
ATI Theater 750 HD chip can bring OTA HD to PCs around the world
No matter what country one finds themselves in, a PC equipped with a TV tuner powered by one of ATI's new Theater HD 750 chips should be able to tune into any over the air TV broadcasts available. These give a step up over the hardware in the company's old TV Wonder 650 line by adding PAL, SECAM and DVB-T support to NTSC, ATSC and ClearQAM access. Of course Media Center PC owners can set up all manner of DVR features, and for that all-ATI feel combines with ATI Stream software and videocards to transcode video into a variety of formats. Expect the new tuners to come out in PCI Express, USB stick and other flavors later this year, if you can't wait, try a glimpse of the preview trailer embedded after the break.
Star Ocean getting PAL Special Edition
European gamers are getting their hands on an exclusive special edition of Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Launching on June 5, The Last Hope has already made the trek to North American gamers, but European users have an exclusive pack headed their way to sweeten a possible purchase.Included in the special edition is the game, a 32-page guide, five Last Hope character cards, a compilation CD soundtrack and limited edition packaging.While we should be jealous of the bonuses included in the pack, we're more envious of the digistack packing used for the set. Thanks to this special edition, PAL users won't all have to deal with three discs stacked on top of each other, like North American gamers did. Lucky!
Keepin' it real fake, part CCX: "iPozh" DVD player lacks Apple's style, but does the lack of Blu-ray support right
Copying Apple's style and fruit logo (this time it's a pear) is nothing new, but other than the packaging and no Blu-ray support, this Russian-born "iPozh" multi-region DVD player, found at reportedly one of the biggest electronic retail chains in Moscow, seems fit to look as generic and "un-Apple" as aesthetically possible. Still, if you're wandering through a store and you get caught in the vicious stare of that poster, you might fork over the 4,490 rubles (US $139) for fear of the gentleman on the right otherwise emerging from the poster and following you with his gaze for months to come. Look for this to hit outside of Russia sometime in... ah, who are we kidding? Enjoy the pics from afar, and in case you're wondering, that phrase on the blue poster translates to "time for you to play!" [Thanks, Michael and Mitch]
Bit.Trip: Beat makes a Bit.Eurotrip this week
Gaijin Games' ridiculously difficult music/Pong experience, Bit.Trip: Beat, just came out this week in Japan (where it is actually a gaijin game). Gaijin just announced that the game will be released on the PAL Wii Shop this Friday. "Sorry for the long wait, European gamers," the developer's blog states. "Start loadin' up those Wii Points and get ready for some BIT.TRIP BEAT insanity!"We can hardly think of a better use for your 600 Wii Points (if you already have Devil's Crush). Just be warned: you will not complete this game the first time you play it. You will not, in fact, complete the first stage.%Gallery-43105%[Via Cubed3]
Bluetooth 3.0 + HS gets official, adds speed with 802.11
The rumors were true, and today's the day that the Bluetooth SIG gets official with the latest, greatest version of Bluetooth. Bluetooth 3.0 + HS, as it'll be called, promises to be markedly faster than prior iterations thanks to the reliance on 802.11, which is the same protocol used by WiFi modules, routers, etc. The new standard obviously catapults Bluetooth into a new dimension; rather than being good for nothing more than sending images from one phone to another or syncing a fitness module to a DAP, v3.0 is nimble enough to handle camcorder-to-HDTV, PC-to-PMP and UMPC-to-printer transfers. In fact, the inclusion of the 802.11 Protocol Adaptation Layer (PAL) provides increased throughput of data transfers "at the approximate rate of 24Mbps." We had sit-downs with Mike Foley (executive director of the Bluetooth SIG) and Atheros CTO Bill McFarland in order to find out a few more details about plans for the protocol -- if you're eager to hear what they had to say, not to mention see a demonstration of BT 3.0 at work, follow us past the break.
Corleone staying power: Godfather II holds 2nd spot in UK charts
For another week in the United Kingdom, Godfather II has managed to secure the illustrious second spot on the top entertainment software list. According to Chart-Track, this is the second week in a row the game has been in the number two spot -- but there are some titles releasing to the PAL territory that could topple this kingpin. It'll be interesting to see what the charts look like next week.Of course, Godfather II was predictably bested again by Wii Fit, so it's not all gabbagool and broken kneecaps in the UK. Not yet, anyway ...
Momitsu BDP-899 promises out of the box region free Blu-ray for cheap
Looking for region-free Blu-ray and DVD support? The Momitsu BDP-899 fits the bill, including BD-Live and Dolby TrueHD output. It's not clear whether multi region support is included by default or only due to retailer mods, but the BDP-899 can be manually changed between DVD & Blu-ray regions when there isn't a disc in the tray via a code input by the remote. We found a few reviews indicating its region switching and PAL/NTSC conversion works as advertised, though checking out every possible combination could stress anyone's disc library. At $349, it's the cheapest BD-Live compatible region free player we've seen, although questions about how fast Momitsu will be in providing firmware updates in case of problems might have the region switching consumer eyeing more expensive modded players from other manufacturers instead. [Via CD Freaks, thanks Richard!] Read - Quick review of Momitsu BDP-899 BluRay player Read - BDP-899 (modified) Region FREE Blu-ray player review
VC Friday: Tee up and club some Monsters
Yours truly has hazy memories of spending an entire summer holiday glued to Mario Golf, unlocking Metal Mario, and jumping on the bed after fluking a hole-in-one (shamefully, I was nineteen at the time). And now, it's the fifteenth N64 game to appear on the PAL Virtual Console. Hell yeah! It might suffer heavily from the N64 fuzz, but for our money it's still the best in its respective series. It's accompanied this week by Wonder Boy in Monster Land. Mario Golf -- Nintendo 64 -- 1,000 Wii Points Wonder Boy in Monster Land -- Master System -- 500 Wii Points Videos of each follow the blue text.%Gallery-42959%
VC Friday: Lonpos finally leaves Japan
Oh goody, Nintendo slashed the price of a WiiWare game in PAL regions. Oh, it's ... Lonpos. The only neat, semi-interesting thing we can bring ourselves to write about Lonpos is that it was a launch title for the Japanese WiiWare service (but for 1,000 Wii Points), and that buying the starter pack and downloading all of Lonpos' extra content would cost you 5,300 Wii Points. We kid you not. Good luck with that, Genki. Lonpos -- WiiWare -- 800 Wii Points There's a video after the break of the game in "action." In short, it's a tangram puzzler, in the vein of Neves. Anybody else detecting a lack of excitement in our tone?%Gallery-19077%
VC Friday: Apes and bikes
Gaming's favorite ape returns to the PAL Virtual Console to cause havoc for arch-enemy Mario Stanley, but don't get too excited: despite being an early Miyamoto game, the 22-year-old Donkey Kong 3 has not aged gracefully. It's also a bit of an oddity in the series, in that it plays more like a shooter than the traditional run-and-jump Donkey Kong fare, so we ... guess it holds some value as a curio.Then there's Enduro Racer, a game in which it is possible to win races by driving in an almost entirely straight line. It would be fair to say Nintendo emerged triumphant in the 8-bit motocross wars. Donkey Kong 3 -- NES -- 500 Wii Points Enduro Racer -- Master System -- 500 Wii Points %Gallery-41214%
VC Friday: Fun! Fun! Strong Bad!
With our shelves and Wii fridges creaking under the weight of new games from the holidays, Nintendo has generously given PAL gamers a week to catch their breath -- at least, we think that's the idea. Both WiiWare titles this week probably only appeal to a handful of people. The fifth and final episode of Strong Bad Episode 5 is great, obviously, but only if you're in the teensy minority who grabbed the first four instalments. Meanwhile, Fun! Fun! Minigolf is allegedly so fun that maker Shin'en felt the need to tell us of its fun-ness twice over. But is a zany-looking chibi minigolf game really the title to stop us from getting our fingers gooey? Hint: no.
