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Cablevision adds Versus / Golf Channel content to VOD lineup
Outside of the Planet Green HD addition, Cablevision subscribers haven't had a whole lot to applaud over recently. For fans of Golf / Versus, however, we reckon you all can stop moping around and point your remote to an all new video-on-demand outlet. Starting this week, the carrier will begin offering its iO TV digital cable customers free access to VOD content from Versus and Golf Channel, but sadly, none of it will be shown in high-definition. Maybe one day...
Versus and Golf HD get their own channel, and E! HD on the way
Versus and the Golf Channel have been sharing an HD channel for some time and both have evidently graduated to the point that they're getting their own channel. This seemed like a pretty good combo to us, as we don't see much golf on at night, but we suppose some want to watch bicycle races during the day. What isn't very clear is if the current carriage deals will need to be reworked, of if everyone who has the combo now will automatically get the two dedicated channels when launched. On a who cares note -- E! is getting the HD treatment which we'll file right up there with Lifetime HD, but hey, at least maybe it'll help some poor sap talk his wife into a new HDTV.
SuperStardust HD devs planning split-screen multiplayer update
Our affection for SuperStardust HD just got a shot in the arm with news that Finnish dev Housemarque is putting the finishing touches on a multiplayer-focused update to the twin-stick PSN shooter. Following the already available "solo" add-on, this new "team pack" update will introduce several additions, from split-screen versus and co-op modes, to a skill balancer, ship editor, trophies, and a "true" 5.1 orchestral soundtrack. MTV's Stephen Totilo recently grilled Housemarque co-founder Ilari Kuittinen on the update, who commented that "a majority" of the development time spent on the update was focused on the new versus mode, which will feature "our 'sub' game modes and plenty of options so each gamer can tune the mode to suite their tastes." Even more interesting, Kuittinen adds that the team has been "experimenting with a game mode we call "Twin gun" mode (not disclosing specifics at the moment, maybe you can guess?) and how to make music generated levels, etc." It sounds like someone has spending a lot of time with Audiosurf, an addiction to which we can certainly relate. [Via PS3 Fanboy]
TWC New York fast-tracks Versus / Golf HD in time for NHL playoffs
Check it: Time Warner Cable has seemingly inserted Versus / Golf HD into the lineup some 20 days prior than expected, presumably to satisfy demands of avid hockey fans wanting their NHL playoffs in high-definition. We've had numerous reports from varying regions in the Empire State affirming that the channel is now live on slot 794, but be sure and drop a note in comments if you've somehow been left out. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Wii Warm Up: No More Heroes vs Endless Ocean
Two great titles hit stores this week, one for hardcore gamers, taking you through the twisted and stylized world of Travis Touchdown, the other for those with more casual tastes, allowing you to explore the Manaurai Sea and its marine life. So, considering your limited budget, which of these two are you considering picking up, No More Heroes or Endless Ocean?Or are you planning to skip them both, buying Advance Wars: Days of Ruin instead? But then what if No More Heroes bombs, and US publishers refuse to bring Goichi Suda's games stateside in the future? Won't someone please think of Suda 51?!%Gallery-4734%%Gallery-4611%
USA TODAY LIVE partners with MOJO HD, Versus for series-based programming
Though many of you may not be familiar with the "television arm of the USA TODAY brand," USA TODAY LIVE is announcing a new partnership with the likes of MOJO HD and Versus (and Fuse, for what it's worth) in order to pump out a smorgasbord of series-based programming in 2008. Up first is City Limits Fishing, a six-part weekly series (starting February 15th) on Versus that highlights world class fishing spots within some of America's most bustling cities. If that's not your bag, you can check out the ten-part Gotta Get Gold series on MOJO HD (starting July 28th), which concentrates on "what it takes to train and to compete at the highest levels in athletics." For more details on each show as well as what's available through Fuse, hit up the read link below.[Via TVover]
CNN, Golf / Versus finally added to Cox's New Orleans lineup
Although Cox inked a deal to snag CNN HD (and TBS HD, mind you) some three months back, it seems as if customers in New Orleans, Louisiana are just now getting a taste. According to a tipster, Cox has just recently threw CNN and Golf / Versus into the high-definition lineup, but stations such as History Channel HD, Science HD and NHL Network HD are still sorely missing. Anyone else enjoying the (admittedly late) newcomers in the area?[Thanks, Jose R.]
Wii Warm Up: Choose wisely, choose well
Yesterday, we talked about three very different approaches to customizing the Wii: a Lego zapper, a very shiny Wii, and a Photoshopped concept for a steampunk-style concept (v. old school). Today, the question we must ask is clear: which would you prefer? It comes down to a question of style: are you all up into bling? Blocks? Or Boilerplate? Okay, perhaps the last was a bit of an alliterative stretch, but surely you'll forgive us in the name of the letter 'B.' In the meantime, which customized style would you prefer?
DS Daily: Two fours enter, one four leaves
Our overlords at Square Enix have been making everything old new again, and since we soak up RPGs like starlets soak up fake tanners, we can't say we're exactly displeased. In fact, the only possible dilemma we face when considering the barrage of remakes is: which ones are we most excited about? We thought we'd put the question to you guys as well. So which is it: Dragon Quest IV or Final Fantasy IV? We figured it was only fair to pit two number fours against one another.
DS Daily: Pokemon vs. Zelda
In a battle of the franchises, what's your choice?
More College Football games in HD than ever before
Today's the first day of summer and now we can finally start looking forward to football season. First we learned that CBS is stepping up their NFL HD coverage, then the new Big Ten Network announced that they'd be delivering some HD coverage and now FSN has announced that they will also be producing 31 games this season in our favorite format. Ten of these games will also be carried by Versus to add to their eight HD games. While we're still a long way off from every college game being produced in HD, there is no doubt that we will have more HD football this season than ever before. Now all we have to do is wait...
Cablevision picks up Versus, Golf Channel in HD
Following directly in the footsteps of Comcast, it looks like Cablevision has become the next carrier to add Versus HD and Golf Channel HD to its high-definition lineup. Additionally, the deal moves Golf from Cablevision's $4.95-per-month sports tier package to its iO digital lineup. Interestingly, the company's CEO even mentioned that a whopping "80-percent of its cable subscribers were embracing digital television," but neglected to mention the concentration of paying HD customers. So while hockey may be a good ways off at this point, the Cablevision golfers in the crowd will have a lot to look at in the upcoming months.
Two sexy screenshots of two Final Fantasy XIII titles
Nope! No traditional Final Fantasy XIII for you today. On this day, we've got two high-res screens that have popped up thanks to Square Enix Party 2007. One is from Versus, the other is from Agito, which we've chosen to feature to the right. The full-size is also available here if you'd like to see it better. Now, if the latter is supposed to be on phones, how the heck does it look this good? Unless "mobile" means... handheld. In which case, we're very excited to get our hands on it. There's not much else to say except we wish we were at this party! Oh, we'd also wish we knew anything about these games. That would probably help.
Rumor: FFXIII chapter coming to the DS?
Final Fantasy XIII will be an odd beast, containing a primary entry (currently an exclusive for the PS3) and several spin-off titles, a la Final Fantasy VII; the collection as a whole will be entitled Fabula Nova Crystallis. However, only two spin-offs had been announced: Final Fantasy XIII Versus, also for the PS3, and Final Fantasy XIII Agito, available for mobile phones. These were apparently the only planned titles until the above (beside?) picture surfaced, clearly showing at least three more unknown entries in the series.Square-Enix knows how unbelievably profitable the DS is, and recently released review scores of FFXII: Revenant Wings will ensure solid sales in Japan. Personally, we find it hard to believe that one of these titles won't be coming to the DS, and heck, who knows ... there might even be a Wii title in there too.
How exciting! New FFXIII news and scans
In all honesty, there's not enough real news in the scanned pages to merit much discussion -- a lot of the text turns out to be fluff about what the PS3 is capable of. You know, stuff we already knew. However, a few tidbits worth mentioning were gleaned from the article coming out of PSM, but not much from the EGM page. Lots of magazines featured. Random battles are gone for good! XIII will build off of the elements introduced in XI and XII -- where player and foe enter combat naturally. But Toshiro Tsuchida (battle director) wants more than just the same ol' thing: he wants to create natural "ecosystems" where the creatures will react based on their environments, feelings towards the player and other creatures, et cetera. Versus is going to have an even stranger system -- every weapon has its own camera system and control algorithms... algorithms? Let's just say camera and control system. Even a third-person shooter weapon. Meh. The article claims that the graphics in these latest Final Fantasy games will pose a challenge to the incredibly well-received movie, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (sarcasm is fun). Doubt they mean the in-game graphics, but the cut-scenes? Yeah. We'll believe it. But really, a movie that took hundreds of computers and a game taking... the PlayStation 3? Time and technology... amazing stuff. That's it for now. We'd love to get a demo of this game soon. No promises, but that'd be nice. Right, Square-Enix? It would be nice. Heck, demos for any of the high-profile titles would make us giddy with excitement.
Epigon thinks it can make a true WiFi media player
Epigon is putting together all the pieces for what it's calling the "Versus," a new WiFi streaming media player, according to the EE Times. Now of course, this is just a reference design at this point, which means it could turn into any of a reported six possible branded devices. From what we can tell, the Versus is aiming to be what the Zune isn't. That is to say, it'll have real WiFi, according to CTO Jayakumar Singaram, who told the EE Times: "We think the most important feature such a player needs is Wi-Fi connectivity, and so have an on-board Wi-Fi based on silicon from NXP [Semiconductors], so that users do not need to connect to a computer via Ethernet or a USB to download." Beyond WiFi, the Versus may even have an Ethernet jack as well, in addition to the traditional USB jack option. It'll be an interesting project to keep an eye on.
CNET does the PSP fanboy proud
Yes, it's another one of those DS versus PSP videos. It's becoming a little tiresome putting out these videos, but it seems like a topic that many people are interested in, especially CNET. As cool as those Windows Movie Maker films were, they won't have the authority of a presentation made by one of the web's leading sources of tech news. Check out their video to see a thorough, fair review of the two systems, and see PSP emerge victoriously. (Free registration required.)[Thanks, Silver R. Wolfe!]
Incredibly old DS Vs. PSP video
Sometimes, you discover (or re-discover) a piece of internet gold. I searched and search the archives of PSP Fanboy, but I simply couldn't find this video anywhere! This video is a slick depiction of the DS and PSP battle, using two girls dressed up as the systems. Wow! These handhelds are pretty good at attracting women, huh? Although entertaining, the battle makes me recall Sony's awful black versus white advertising. And, I wouldn't necessarily agree with the bias of this fight: the winner in this video is played by the video's executive producer. Hmm.
Hackers vs Sony: the homebrew game
A new homebrew game by DreaDNoughT attempts to accurately chronicle the ongoing battle between Sony and the hacking community. The story begins as such: "Sony, previously considered a friend to the gaming community, has betrayed us... After some time Sony released the first plague: Firmware version 2.00... And now you must begin the quest to defeat the ultimate firmware."Uh... excuse me? Am I the only one that doesn't feel betrayed by Sony's firmware revisions? I, for one, do use the internet browser, RSS feeds, AVC, Flash and WMA support. Regardless, it seems like a notable effort by a fan, and might merit some playing for you non-updated PSP owners. And, as a bonus, the latest version lets you actually win.
WoW vs Star Wars Galaxies
Joystiq reports on an interview with Sony Online Entertainment's head honcho John Smedley, in which he enlightens us as to SOE's team spirit:One thing that I love about our company is that there is no "quit" in this company. It's about making sure that we have pride in what we do. People within the company feel so much pride in this game that they want it to beat the crap out of World of Warcraft.Unfortunately, SWG's new changes don't seem to be going down well with the community, and with only 250,000 recorded subscribers, we wonder quite which world this guy is living in. WoW subscribers can breathe easily, unless Sony have some dark magic up their sleeves.
