To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ColecoVision game system, here is my entry for the Minigame Competition 4k division.
You are the captain of the proud Maid of the Mist, taking tourists to view Niagra Falls. Sounds easy? Well, to keep from being fired you need to keep your ship in ship shape, by avoiding rocks and logs in your way. Hit one, and your ship will slow, and you will risk falling behind. Hit too many and you'll sink. Watch for the dreaded whirlpools which are sure to sink you.
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
It's been a strong release week, especially with plenty of great new Xbox360™ releases. Popular sellers for Microsoft's system have been Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (Japanese), Tomb Raider: Anniversary, The Simpsons Game, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (also available as Wireless Guitar Bundle), Conan and SEGA Rally Revo (all Asia releases).
For PlayStation3™ we've got SEGA Rally Revo, Clive Barker's Jericho, Conan and of course Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (Asia / US).
Nintendo's long-awaited Super Mario Galaxy has been released for Nintendo Wii™ today and the most interesting PlayStation2™ release in this week has been Banpresto's Super Robot Taisen: Scramble Commander The 2nd.
Top handheld sellers have been Front Mission for Nintendo DS™, followed by Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (US) and Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (Asia) for PSP™.
Last but not least, make sure to check out Gamepark Holding's GP2X F-200 Game System, the successor to the popular Korean handheld console.
As usually, here's a summary of all new releases of this week,
Xbox360™:
Ace Combat 6 Flight Stick EX JPN US$ 149.00
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation JPN US$ 69.90
Bee Movie Game US US$ 49.90
Blue Dragon (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Chikyuu Boueigun 3 / Earth Defense Forces 3 (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Clive Barker's Jericho US US$ 59.90
Conan ASIA US$ 49.90
Dead Rising + Gears of War (Platinum Double Pack) JPN US$ 49.90
Dead or Alive 4 (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Gears of War (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Guitar Hero II (Game Only) US US$ 59.90
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock US US$ 59.90
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock ASIA US$ 49.90
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle ASIA US$ 129.90
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 39.90
Oneechanbara vorteX (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Project Sylpheed (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
SEGA Rally Revo ASIA US$ 44.90
The Idolm@ster (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
The Simpsons Game ASIA US$ 44.90
Tomb Raider: Anniversary ASIA US$ 39.90
Tomb Raider: Anniversary US US$ 42.90
Xbox 360 Console Value Pack JPN US$ 399.90
Xbox 360 Rechargeable Battery Pack (Light Blue) JPN US$ 14.90
Xbox 360 Rechargeable Battery Pack (Pink) JPN US$ 14.90
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (Light Blue) JPN US$ 49.90
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (Pink) JPN US$ 49.90
PlayStation3™:
Clive Barker's Jericho US US$ 64.90
Conan US US$ 64.90
GI Jockey 4 2007 JPN US$ 69.90
GI Jockey 4 2007 (w/ Winning Post 7 2007 Premium Pack) JPN US$ 109.90
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights US US$ 64.90
Railfan: Taiwan High Speed Rail JPN US$ 59.90
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction US US$ 64.90
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction ASIA US$ 59.90
SEGA Rally Revo (English language Version) ASIA US$ 59.90
The Eye of Judgment Booster Pack US US$ 6.90
The Eye of Judgment: Biolith Scourge Theme Deck US US$ 14.90
The Eye of Judgment: Earth Emperor Theme Deck US US$ 14.90
The Eye of Judgment: Fire Crusader Theme Deck US US$ 14.90
The Eye of Judgment: Water Barrage Theme Deck US US$ 14.90
The Eye of Judgment: Wood Swarm Theme Deck US US$ 14.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Bee Movie Game US US$ 49.90
Dancing with the Stars US US$ 49.90
Namco Museum Remix US US$ 44.90
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution Revolution US US$ 49.90
Opoona JPN US$ 64.90
Super Mario Galaxy JPN US$ 59.90
The Sims 2: Castaway US US$ 49.90
PlayStation2™:
Bee Movie Game US US$ 44.90
Dancing with the Stars US US$ 44.90
GI Jockey 4 2007 JPN US$ 64.90
GI Jockey 4 2007 (w/ Winning Post 7 2007 Premium Pack) JPN N/A
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock US US$ 59.90
MotoGP 07 JPN US$ 64.90
Super Robot Taisen: Scramble Commander The 2nd JPN US$ 64.90
Gamepark Holding GP2X:
GP2X F-200 Game System US$ 169.90
Nintendo DS™:
Bee Movie Game US US$ 34.90
CSI: Dark Motives ASIA US$ 34.90
Chessmaster: The Art of Learning US US$ 34.90
Chessmaster: The Art of Learning ASIA US$ 34.90
Disney Princess: Magical Jewels US US$ 34.90
Dolphin Island ASIA US$ 34.90
Dragon Tamer: Sound Spirits JPN US$ 48.90
Ed, Edd & Eddy: Scam of the Century US US$ 34.90
Front Mission US US$ 39.90
Hannah Montanna: Music Jam US US$ 34.90
Master Jin Jin's IQ Challenge US US$ 24.90
Naruto: Path of the Ninja US US$ 34.90
Petz Wild Animals Dolphinz US US$ 34.90
Power Rangers: Super Legends US US$ 34.90
Sangokushi DS 2 JPN US$ 48.90
Shrek: Ogres & Dronkeys US US$ 34.90
Solitaire Overload US US$ 34.90
Spanish for Everyone US US$ 34.90
The Aly & AJ Adventure US US$ 34.90
The Sims 2: Castaway US US$ 34.90
Zaidan Houjin Nippon Kanji Nouryoku Kentei Kyoukai Koushiki Soft: 250-Mannin no KanKen JPN US$ 29.90
Sony PSP™:
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles US US$ 39.90
Gundam Battle Chronicle KOR US$ 49.90
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of WarLords ASIA US$ 29.90
SEGA Rally Revo (English language Version) ASIA US$ 39.90
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow ASIA US$ 39.90
The Sims 2: Castaway ASIA US$ 42.90
Books & Magazines:
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation Official Strategy Guide US US$ 16.90
Arcadia Magazine [December 2007] JPN US$ 12.90
Disgaea Afternoon of Darkness - The Official Strategy Guide US US$ 24.90
Famitsu Wave DVD [December 2007] JPN US$ 16.50
Toys & Misc:
Chrono Gate - Mylene Hoffman 009-1 Prepainted PVC Figure JPN US$ 59.90
Conan Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Black Wolf (Limited Edition) US$ 14.90
Creator's Labo #13: Air Gear Simca Prepainted PVC Figure JPN US$ 59.90
Dragon Ball DX - God Dragon Plush Doll JPN N/A
Dragon Quest Smile Slime Bean Bag Plush Doll: Bubble Slime JPN US$ 14.90
Dragon Quest Smile Slime Plush Doll: Angel Slime JPN US$ 14.90
Dragon Quest Smile Slime Plush Doll: King Slime JPN US$ 19.90
Dragon Quest Smile Slime Plush Doll: Slime Knight JPN US$ 17.90
Final Fantasy Miniature Trading Figures Vol. 1 JPN US$ 4.90
Final Fantasy Tactics Trading Arts JPN US$ 6.90
Funny Knights Prepainted PVC Figure Kurimu Kuru Nee (Custard Vers.) JPN US$ 49.90
Funny Knights Prepainted PVC Figure Kurimu Kuru Nee (Strawberry Vers.) JPN US$ 49.90
Halloween Girl 1/6 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure JPN N/A
Idolm@ster Xenoglossia - Yukihiro Hagiwara 1/8 Scale PVC Figure JPN US$ 39.90
Ikkitousen: 1/7 Scale Painted Story Image Figure - Ryofu Housen (Japanese Limited Edition) US$ 59.90
Interon Depot 4 Bullets: Space Pirates blue version 1/8 Scale PVC Figure JPN US$ 54.90
Interon Depot 4 Bullets: Space Pirates red version 1/8 Scale PVC Figure JPN US$ 54.90
Kamichu - Yurie Hitotsubashi 1/8 Scale Prepainted PVC Figure JPN US$ 59.90
Mai-Hime Z Pre-painted 1/10 Scale PVC Figure - Shizuru Viola (Swimsuit) JPN N/A
Megachu! 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Reukotea JPN US$ 59.90
Melty Blood Act Cadenza Painted PVC Figure Vol. 3: Hisui JPN US$ 17.90
Melty Blood Act Cadenza Painted PVC Figure Vol. 3: Kohaku JPN N/A
Monster Hunter - Hunter Goods Collection Life Figure Part 2 JPN US$ 4.99
Oh My Goodness - Beachside Collection Trading Figures JPN US$ 8.90
Rozen Maiden Traumend Costuma P Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Souseiseki JPN US$ 64.90
Rozen Maiden Traumend Costuma P Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Suiseiseki JPN N/A
SR Shining Wind Figure Collection Gashapon Part 2 JPN US$ 3.49
Sengoku Basara 2: Sanada Yukimur Prepainted PVC Figure with voice JPN N/A
Shakugan no Shana 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Shana (Ceremony Vers.)(Re-Run) JPN US$ 49.90
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Figure Gashapon Vol.3 JPN US$ 2.99
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Painted PVC Figure - Haruhi Suzumiya (High School HR Ver.) JPN US$ 14.90
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Painted PVC Figure - Mikuru Asahina (High School HR Ver.) JPN US$ 14.90
Transformers The Movie Pre-Painted Figure: Ironhide MA-09 JPN US$ 44.90
Transformers The Movie Pre-Painted Figure: Optimus Prime MA-01 JPN US$ 64.90
Water Game DS Lite Candy Toy JPN US$ 4.90
beatmania IIDX 1/8 Figure Series Vol.1: Candy Rabbit JPN US$ 69.90
Floor space for gaming exhibitors [at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show] will jump 65 percent on last year's available space, but to date the only companies to have confirmed a presence are Commodore Gaming, Entropia Universe, Red Lion Interactive, Shuttle Computers, War Machine, LumiSource, Red Beard and InterAction Laboratories.
However, Microsoft and Sony will both be in attendance on a wider scale, and gaming features are expected to form part of their respective booths.
Joystiq got their greasy manhooks on some interesting market data from NPD. Savvy Xbox 360 fans know that the Xbox 360 sells quite a few games, but according to this data, the Xbox 360 sells nearly twice as many games per console as the PS3 and Wii.
* Xbox 360: hardware to software ratio: 6.59 (hardware total sold = 6.8 million; software total sold = 44.8 million)
* PlayStation 3: hardware to software ratio: 3.58 (hardware total sold = 1.9 million; software total sold = 6.8 million)
* Wii: hardware to software ratio: 3.44 (hardware total sold = 4.5 million; software total sold = 15.5 million)
Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello suggests that publishers will soon have to "deal with" the $59 price point for next-gen videogames.
With the US videogame industry on track for its biggest year ever at $17-$18 billion in 2007 revenues, it would seem that consumers are just peachy with the current price of next-generation games.
"In the next five years, we're all going to have to deal with [the current pricing model]. In China, they're giving games away for free," he said in a Fortune blog report. "People who benefit from the current model will need to embrace a new revenue model, or wait for others to disrupt."
The latest in the long-running Final Fantasy franchise has topped the Japanese charts according to data from Media Create – selling almost double the amount of units as its closest competitor.
Final Fantasy Tactics A2 for the DS has sold over 142,000 units on the first week of release. Banpresto's PS2 game Ar Tonelico is at number two in the charts, debuting with 72,000 sales.
The top ten best-selling games includes a total of seven new entries, with World Soccer Winning Eleven DS: Goal to Goal at number three (29,00 units sold), Sega's Ghost Squad for Wii at seven (20,000 units sold) and Capcom's God of War II at eight (17,000 units sold).
The full Japanese top ten follows:
1. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS)
2. Ar Tonelico (PS2)
3. World Soccer Winning Eleven DS: Goal to Goal (DS)
4. Imabikisou (PS3)
5. DS Literature Collection (DS)
6. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (DS)
7. Ghost Squad (Wii)
8. God of War II (PSP)
9. DS Nishimura Kyotarou Suspense Detective Series: Deadly Intent (DS)
10. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Time Expedition Party (DS)
Metroid Prime 3 Corruption for the Wii has topped the Swedish multiformat charts on its first week of release, according to latest stats from Dataspelsbranschen .
And it's a one-two punch for Nintendo as DS hit The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass takes the number two spot, nudging soccer rivals such as FIFA 08, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 and Football Manager 2008 down the charts.
But it's a different matter in the single format charts, where Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is the number one seller on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2.
The best selling games in Sweden follow:
Multiformat
1. Metroid Prime 3 Corruption (Wii)
2. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
3. Football Manager 2008 (PC)
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS3)
5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
6. Half-Life 2: The Orange Box (PC)
7. Singstar Svenska hits Schlager (PS2)
8. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (360)
9. World of Warcraft (PC)
10. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC)
11. FIFA 08 (PS2)
12. Counter-Strike 1: Anthology (PC)
13. Half-Life 2: The Orange Box (360)
14. The Sims 2 Jorden Runt (PC)
15. The Witcher (PC)
16. Halo 3 (360)
17. Battlefield 2 (PC)
18. Warcraft III Frozen Throne (PC)
19. FIFA 08 (PS3)
20. World in Conflict (PC)
PC
1. Football Manager 2008
2. Half-Life 2: The Orange Box
3. World of Warcraft
4. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
5. Counter-Strike 1: Anthology
6. The Sims 2 Jorden Runt
7. The Witcher
8. Battlefield 2
9. Warcraft III Frozen Throne
10. World in Conflict
PlayStation 2
1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
2. Singstar Svenska hits Schlager
3. FIFA 08
4. Guitar Hero 2
5. Singstar Svenska hits
6. Final Fantasy XII
7. Need for Speed Carbon
8. Guitar Hero 2 Rock the 80´s
9. Singstar R&B
10. NHL 08
PlayStation 3
1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
2. FIFA 08
3. NHL 08
4. Skate
5. Folklore
6. Eye of Judgement
7. Colin McRae Dirt
8. Sega Rally
9. Heavenly Sword
10. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
Xbox 360
1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
2. Half-Life 2: The Orange Box
3. Halo 3
4. FIFA 08
5. Project Gotham Racing 4
6. NHL 08
7. Need for Speed Carbon
8. Skate
9. Eternal Sonata
10. Guitar Hero 2
Wii
1. Metroid Prime 3 Corruption
2. Table Tennis
3. Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess
4. Rayman Raving Rabbids
5. Mario Party 8
6. Boogie
7. Super Paper Mario
8. FIFA 08
9. Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition
10. Carnival Games
Nintendo DS
1. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
2. New Super Mario Bros
3. Pokémon Pearl
4. Pokémon Diamond
5. Mario Kart DS
6. Bilar
7. Magical Starsign
8. The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
9. The Sims 2 Pets
10. Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends
PSP
1. FIFA 08
2. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
3. Need for Speed Underground Rivals
4. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
5. Medal of Honor: Heroes
6. NHL 07
7. Tekken Dark Resurrection
8. GTA Vice City Stories
9. Daxter
10. Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
Flashlinker Europe.com have today added a preorder for a 6GB MicroSDHC Memory card thats compatible with most consoles (via adapters) for the rather cheap price of 59.00EUR
The Nintendo Wii is still outselling the PlayStation 3 by 2-to-1 in Japan, although the gap between the rival formats has closed for the fourth consecutive month.
The latest figures released by Enterbrain and reported by Reuters show that Nintendo shifted 110,415 units in the four weeks to October 28, while Sony sold 47,183 PlayStation 3 units.
Microsoft continues to struggle in the region, with sales of the Xbox 360 reaching 18,717 units for the same period.
MCV sister site Develop reports that Rockstar, no stranger to controversy, has once again hit the internet headlines, this time regarding the credits in Manhunt 2.
In a blog post by Jurie Horneman, previously the game’s producer, it has been revealed that the instruction manual of the recently-released US version of the game fails to credit any of the work done by Rockstar’s Vienna studio, which was unexpectedly closed in 2006.
“To the best of my knowledge, apart from the people who briefly went to Rockstar London to assist with development there, nobody from Rockstar Vienna is mentioned in the credits of Manhunt 2,” writes Horneman.
“I do not want to denigrate what Rockstar London did on Manhunt 2, but as far as I can tell (from analyzing screenshots, previews, etc.) the majority of the work we did at Rockstar Vienna is in the released game.
Following Take-Two’s admission that hackers had successfully unlocked Adults Only content supposedly cut from the M-rated version of Manhunt 2, California State Senator Leland Yee has called for the game to be reclassified again, while the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) has criticized the game for perpetuating “cruel, inaccurate perceptions that people who live with mental illnesses are violent.”
While multiple edits were made to revise Manhunt 2 so it would be granted a Mature rating (17+), hackers appear to have proven that the sections of the game in question were blocked but not entirely cut, allowing them to create a modified version of the title not meant for release.
“We hope that consumers will not engage in hacking or download illegally modified copies of our games. We encourage them to enjoy our games as they are meant to be played,” said Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick in a statement Thursday. However, as GamePolitics reports, Take-Two’s line of defense hasn’t been able to stop fresh waves of criticism.
“Not only should the AO rating immediately be reinstated on [Manhunt 2], the Federal Trade Commission should investigate Rockstar and the ESRB to determine how this was allowed to happen again,” said Senator Yee.
“Time and time again, the ESRB rating process fails parents. It is unconscionable that the rating board would downgrade Manhunt 2’s rating from AO to M and therefore make the game available to children. The ESRB and Rockstar continuously put profits before children.
“Parents deserve to know what, if any, content was truly removed to receive the downgraded rating. ESRB has refused to publicly disclose whether or not Rockstar divulged that such adult content could still be accessible. As if we needed more evidence, this episode further puts into question the validity of the entire rating system.
“The Manhunt 2 scandal further demonstrates the need for [California’s contested video game] law. I am hopeful that the courts will see that severe penalties are necessary for those who sell horrifically violent games to minors.”
The Gamer Gene also reports that NAMI’s executive director Mike Fitzpatrick issued a statement criticizing the title’s portrayal of the mentally ill.
“Even though some people may consider Manhunt 2 to be only a game, it unfortunately perpetuates and reinforces cruel, inaccurate perceptions that people who live with mental illnesses are violent.
“The U.S. Surgeon General has condemned such stigmatization, identifying fear of stigma as a major barrier to people getting help when they need it. The overall contribution of mental illnesses to violence in society is exceptionally small. In fact, people living with mental illness are far more likely to be victims of violence.
"We do not favor censorship, but we do ask for responsible exercise of creative rights when serious public health concerns are at issue. It is our right to demand a higher standard.”
Researchers long believed that human perception was limited to tracking four moving objects at one time. But a new study, challenging participants to follow 16 dots moving at a very slow pace on a computer screen, found that participants were able to track up to eight objects at once (or double what we previously thought possible).
The major downfall of our ability to track objects is speed. Because once these dots hit the on-screen speed of 0.15 metres per second, subjects were only able to track one dot at a time.
Subsidies, sponsorships and other forms of public funding for videogames developers is not a good solution to increasing development costs, according to Dr Klemens Kundratitz, managing director of Koch Media.
Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz he is worried about the uneven playing field that countries such as Canada create, but believes that public funding would lead to games for the sake of culture, rather than for the sake of the customer.
"I don't believe in sponsorship, public funding and subsidies at all, because I think that those systems will lead to games being produced for reasons that are not what the consumer demands, but because people think they should be for cultural reasons."
"It takes the attention away from what the customer wants, and if we create great entertainment then the customer will buy it and I'd rather not have everybody focused on how to get subsidies from various places."
This isn't new (obviously), but many of you might not know that back at CES 1985, Nintendo demoed an Advanced Video System that was the spiritual design predecessor to the grey and black NES we all grew up with.
This consoleputer was supposed to be entirely wireless and tied together via line-of-sight infrared, and contained a keyboard, joystick, light gun, NES controllers, something that looks like a tape deck, a Klingon Bat'leth, the hopes and dreams of one Japanese salaryman designer that has since offed himself, and design features that were slightly too ahead of its time. Still, if we had this instead of the NES, we'd probably be typing 180wpm instead of the 130wpm we do now.
Flashlinker Europe.com have today added a preorder for a 8GB MicroSDHC Memory card thats compatible with most consoles (via adapters) for the rather cheap price of 79.00EUR
Gamasutra has up a pair of articles discussing the numbers from this round of the console wars. One focuses on the current frontrunner, Nintendo. Their numerical superiority is highlighted by the number of million selling titles they currently have on tap. Both the DS and Wii are carrying multiple-million sellers, with the current tally for (recently released) Diamond/Pearl sitting at 12,170,000. Meanwhile, in a lengthy article, the site fully explores the impact of console sales in numerous markets and venues, with comparisons between all three consoles (and a focus on Nintendo's sales).
"PlayStation 2 titles make up the bulk of software sales in the U.S. and Europe again in 2007, as they have in previous years. The Wii's 2007 numbers equal the GameCube's in 2006, but its software growth isn't yet matching its hardware's. Microsoft's Xbox 360 has benefited largely from the Xbox's demise and the PlayStation 2 sales' slow decline. Even with the PlayStation 3 hardware's current state in Europe, its software sales in Europe are relatively low."
Jimi Game Shell Case
Manufacturer: Mr Smith
Site: Buy from Jimi
Price: $9.95
Overview : Jimi™ Game Shell is compact, water resistant and shockproof, and you can attach it to your backpack, lanyard or keyring. Within its recyclable sanoprene liners, each case securely holds two Nintendo DS games, two Wii (SD) cards, or two PSP (ProDuo game or music) cards.
Jimi™ Game Shell's translucent outer skin is made from 100% recycled and recyclable polypropylene. Combined with the cushioning sanoprene lining in planet purple, gunmetal grey, or fire red this splash proof shell makes it ideal for storing your DS and PSP game cards, music or camera memory cards, and it looks really sweet to boot.
Quality/Usability : There have been a couple of vacations where I carried my PSP and DS around with me. Each portable system in its own dedicated case but no place to carry my extra games or memory sticks.
Jimi may be your solution and even mine as well. Jimi is made of durable plastic with sanoprene lining (rubber). You can attach the Jimi to your keyring, bag or string for easy portability. The Jimi is small enough to fit in your pants pocket and light weight that you wont notice it. Jimi comes in three colors of sanoprene lining: Red, Grey or Purple. The plastic shell is all the same clear color.
The sanoprene is removeable. The mold of the sanoprene allows you to hold up to two Pro Duo memory sticks or two SD cards (one on each side) or one of each. Above the memory cards, you can hold two DS games. The memory sticks and DS games are held in place securely. Even if you only had one DS game and the other slot was open and was holding either a Pro Duo or SD, they wont come out unless it was banged on hard.
Conclusion : Overall, the Jimi Game Shell Case is a nice solution to holding your memory sticks and DS games at once and together. I'm not sure if it was my shipment only but it did not come with a keyring like the Jimi Multi-Media Memory Case as that came with a keyring. The price of the Game Shell Case is fairly reasonable as well.
Jimi Multi-Media Memory Case
Manufacturer: Mr Smith
Site: Buy from Jimi
Price: $8.95
Overview : Jimi™ multi media case is compact, water resistant and shockproof, and you can attach it to a lanyard or keyring. Within it’s recyclable sanoprene liners it can hold two of any of the 13 most popular formats of digital media or memory cards.
Jimi™ multi media case’s outer shell is made from 100% recycled and recyclable polypropylene. Combined with the cushioning sanoprene lining this splash proof shell makes it ideal for storing your digital camera media during snow sports, cycling and other outdoor activities.
Or if you just want somewhere to stash your flash memory cards when you’re traveling or living a busy mobile life this’ll do the trick. If you’re a digital photographer, or media or memory card user and have made a New Years resolution to get more organized, the Jimi™ multi media case is a great first step.
Quality/Usability : With my new interest in professional photography, I went and bought digital SLR camera from a family relative. I still have a regular digital camera that I carry around as well. For both these cameras, I have about 1-2 memory sticks.
Jimi is made of durable plastic with sanoprene lining (rubber). You can attach the Jimi to your keyring, bag or string for easy portability. The Jimi is small enough to fit in your pants pocket and light weight that you wont notice it. Jimi seems to come in one color, outer black case with light blue sanoprene liner.
The sanoprene is removeable. The mold of the sanoprene allows you to hold one of each on one side but you can hold a combination of the following formats:
xD Card
SM Card
SD Card
MMC Card
MMC Micro
MMC Mobile
Mini SD w/Adapter
1" Harddrive
MS Pro Duo
Memory Stick
Compact Flash
Compact Flash II
Micro SD w/Adapter
The media cards are held in place securely. If there were some slots that were not filled in, the media cards will not come out unless it was banged on hard.
Conclusion : Overall, the Jimi Multi-Media Memory Case is probably the best solution for carrying all your multi-media cards all in one place. Of course, that is if you have that many different media cards to carry around. What I did notice was that microSD w/adapter was mentioned as being able to be held in the Jimi Multi-Media Memory Case, although true, the adapter is actually a SD card. If you wanted to hold microSD card only, there is no designated spot for it. It will be moving around freely. Those who own a DS and PSP, may want to take a look at the Jimi Game Shell Case.
I just spoke to a contact at my local Target store, who informed me of an interesting internal memo. Apparently all Target stores are to stop selling Manhunt 2, going so far as to tell managers to refuse shipments of the title for all systems, with Take 2 agreeing to take back all unopened copies of the game.
Why is this action being taken? The extreme violence in the game is the given reason, but my contact (an employee but not a manager) was told that it was due in greater part to the unfavorable coverage the game got in the national press the last several days. Target stores had been selling the game since it's launch, but it was only today that they were told to pull the product and refuse further shipments.
The listing for Manhunt 2 on the Target website shows that the item is "not available in stores."
I've spoken to employees of several other large retailers (Best Buy, Gamestop and Circuit City) and none of them are, at this time, taking similar actions.
Sega of America released today the first trailer from the highly anticipated game Viking: Battle for Asgard. This stylish new game brings gamers into the rarely-explored and brutal world of the Vikings and their all-powerful Gods.
As Skarin, the powerful yet flawed warrior, take part in epic battles and fight savage magical beasts and barbaric warriors and ultimately face the challenge to stop Ragnarok – the apocalyptic battle that could destroy everything. In this spectacular new trailer, see massive battles and the horrific enemies for the first time and meet the hero who will inspire an army and save the world.
Made by the renowned developer The Creative Assembly, Viking: Battle for Asgard will be in stores for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in Spring 2008.
Overview : At long last it’s time for Xbox 360™ owners to feel the benefits of tilt sensation, something of which PS3™ owners have been privileged to since its inception. Moreover, the Nintendo Wii™ is a prime example of just how instrumental interactive controllers can be in providing a highly enjoyable gaming experience.
Talismoon’s Tiltboard sports a unique u-shaped board that puts the two Tiltboard control buttons within easy reach of gamers fingers, with one button conveniently located on either wide of the wireless controller battery pack. This gives gamers the ability to make on the fly tilt adjustments during a game without even stopping. This comes in particularly handy for instances in games when it is necessary to switch between both stick and tilt control.
The Tiltboard is an intelligent piece of kit and comes pre-loaded with TiltTune™ technology which is the most user friendly firmware available for such a device. Gamers have the option to adjust the tilt sensitivity, adjust the 0 degree in order to hold the controller at the most comfortable angle, invert the Y axis and turn the tilt function on and off. Everything required to enjoy the latest sensation in console gaming on Xbox 360™ comes in a convenient package and requires only seven wires to solder.
Features :
Custom Fit Design
2 multifunction buttons within easy reach
Requires soldering 7 wires
"Best practice" install method eliminates control loss as controller battery life weakens
Persistent memory keeps your TiltTune settings even if there is no power to your controller.
The new tiltBoard comes preloaded with tiltTune technology (TM), the most user friendly firmware available, including:
Adjust tilt sensitivity
Adjust the 0 degree so that you can hold the controller at whatever angle is natural for you
Invert the Y axis (independently for either the stick or the tilt)
Turn the tilt on and off (switch between stick and tilt)
Quality/Usability : The Xbox 360 was the first next-gen console out of the gate..a year before the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation3. With both next-gen consoles having motion sensing controllers except for the Xbox 360, Microsoft has not addressed this issue but 3rd party peripheral manufacturers have and have stepped up to fill in the void.
TiltBoard first started off as just a mod by Adam Thole (http://www.adamthole.com). Once word spread like wildfire that there was a motion sensing mod for the Xbox 360, modders and gamers wanted to know how to make one or buy one. With the huge interest in the mod, Adam Hole offered the TiltBoard for a price but only limited quantities. Adam Thole then put up instructions on how to make you own TiltBoard with diagrams. The original TiltBoard was on a rectangular PCB board.
With a high demand and Adam having to solder each TiltBoard himself, he negotiated a deal with a well-known specialist peripheral maker, Talismoon. With this deal, Adam will not have to solder each himself, new compact design, professional looking and packaging. As a result of this collaboration, this is the end result that you will receive...
Performing this modification will require some soldering experience. If you do not have any experience with using a soldering iron, its best to have someone who does help you. That is of course, unless you dont care on spending additional money on another controller if you mess up. Hey, at least its a $50 or so controller rather then a $400 system.
The TiltBoard requires you to solder 7 wires on to the Xbox 360 PCB board on the controller and drilling two holes to the Xbox 360 back controller cover. I wont go into the full details of installing as it is fairly long but for instructions on how to install the TiltBoard, you can get them directly from Talismoon's website. You can also get the operating instructions here.
After installation has been completed, its time to give it a test run. Accessing the two buttons on the back of the controller is fairly easy. The button on the left side (viewing back) allowed us to toggle between tilt mode and non-tilt mode simply by pressing the button (quick press). This is great since not all games will require the tilt function. When the tilt function is enabled, the analog sticks with not work.
Holding the button down (1 second) will invert the Y axis. So if you tilt the controller down, you will go up. However, inverting the tilt will not affect the stick control.
The button on the other side (right side) allows you to set the tilt sensitivity by pressing the button once. To use this feature, tilt the controller to the position that you want to be the "maximum" setting for full tilt. This allows you to set how sensitive you want the controllers to be. The sensitivity is set on box axis and is separate, so you can set a wide sensitivity for turning right and left but a narrow sensitivity for moving up and down.
Holding the button down for 1 second sets the controller in RELAXED MODE. By default, the controller must be held perfectly flat and level for your object to go straight towards the "horizon" in the game. There are times where you dont want to hold the controller flat to go straight. An example would be if you were to lean back and relax in your chair. Sitting straight up or standing, our hands are usually the same level as our stomach. But when you're sitting back relaxing, holding the controller flat would be uncomfortable while sitting and us gamers have a tendency of slightly tilting the controller up especially with our arms on the armrest. With our arms on the armrest, our controllers are no longer the same level as our stomach but now with our chest. So with the RELAXED MODE set, you will not have to keep the controller flat with your wrist bent but slightly tilted up and your wrist straight and your object will still go straight.
You can view a videos of TiltBoard demonstation and in action:
TiltBoard Demonstration:
Conclusion : Overall, the Talismoon TiltBoard Controller Mod is a great controller mod. The TiltBoard allowed on the fly adjustments by simply pressing or holding the two buttons on the back of the controller. The different settings that can be applied makes gaming easy. The Tiltboard also came with a drill bit to drill holes for the buttons. If they didnt come with that, people would either have too small or too big of a hole. It would of been nice if they included a template of some sort as to where to drill the holes.
Overview : The Neuros OSD allows you to store and access all your video when, where, and how you want. It connects right to your TV and allows you to record from any video source that uses the familiar red, white and yellow RCA jacks.
With the Neuros OSD, you avoid proprietary lock-in by creating standard format MP4 files that you can play back virtually anywhere (on your TV via the OSD or directly on PCs and portable devices like the iPod™, iPhone™, PSP™ and Blackberry™). Likewise, the Neuros OSD allows you to record directly to whatever storage you want. Typically, this means attaching a USB external hard drive (not included), but recording is also supported over a home network directly to your PC's hard drive, as well as to network attached storage drives and memory cards. Once recorded, you can easily transfer to portables and watch on the go or anywhere.
Specifications : Video Standard
Compatible with NTSC, Pal and Secam (input only) standards
Video Recording
ISO Standard MPEG-4 SP encoding (MP4, ASF)
QVGA (320x240) @30fps with AAC-LC/MP3/G.726 audio for smartphones, PSP™, iPod™, iPhone™ and PDA’s.
VGA setting (640x480) @30fps for PC, TV playback.
Video Player
MPEG-4 SP with MP3 audio, 30fps up to D1 resolution (720x480)
Quicktime 6
MPEG-4 AAC-LC stereo
MP4 format at up to D1 resolution
H.263 with MP3 audio
FLV (for Playback of YouTube videos)
ASF
AVI (including Divx and Xvid)
MP4
WMV (up to QVGA)
MOV
MPG
MPEG
YouTube browser
Watch YouTube videos on your TV
Search the entire Youtube library using keywords
build a list with all your favorite videos
Photo Viewer
JPEG decoder (baseline up to 32M pixel)
BMP
GIF (nonanimated)
Thumbnail view
Zoom in/out (2x, 4x)
Audio Player
Stereo MP3/WMA @ 30-320kbps (CBR & VBR)
Ogg Vorbis
FLAC
WAV
Stereo MPEG-4 AAC-LC
G.726
Features
Schedule (timer) recording
Customizable slide shows
One-click record
IR Blaster to control your set-top box
Run 3rd party applications
USB Host
Record to and playback content from any USB mass storage device
Ethernet
Connect to your network
Save recordings to network storage
UPnP support
Stream Audio/Video from Internet
Download multimedia content from Internet
Connect to Windows Networks (Samba client support)
Complete System Includes
Standard A/V RCA Interface Cables (European units also contain SCART adapters)
Quality/Usability : The Neuros OSD is a fascinating Linux powered piece of hardware. When I first saw images of the Neuros OSD, I thought the device would be fairly big. After receiving the Neuros OSD, I was fooled and tricked. The size is fairly small. The UI is not bad as its basic and to the point.
Setting up the Neuros OSD is as simple as it can get if you know how to hook up electronics such as DVD/VCR, computers or just even your video game consoles. Its pretty much self explanatory. There are even text to help you in case some ports look the same.
Those who have a network setup, hooking the Neuros OSD is fairly easy as well. Simply plug in cat5 cable and OSD will automatically configure itself according to your DHCP server. If you have a static IP, there is a devoted menu setting so you can set this up but may take a little longer to get it running.
Recording Video : OSD allows you to record and schedule recordings. To save your recordings, you'll need either a USB storage device, network or memory card. Unfortunately, there is no harddrive. Would have been nice if one was included.
Pressing the red "RECORD" button on the remote will present you with a menu as to where you would like to record to. Once you have chosen the destination, press the "ENTER" button and the recording will begin.
Scheduling a recording is a nice feature. The OSd a feature called IR Blaster. The IR Blaster changes the channel! For example, you want to schedule the OSD to record your favorite show at 8pm and then record another show at 9pm on a different channel, the IR Blaster will automatically change the channel on your cable box and will record both shows. At the scheduled time, OSD will automatically start recording to whatever destination you chose to save to.
Once finished recording, you can transfer the files to your PSP, iPod or other devices that support the format. The quality is not the greatest and you wont get HD quality, but it is enough to keep you happy.
Video Playback : You can choose playback from different sources such as SD, microdrives, compactflash, thumbdrives, etc. Once you have chosen the file you want to play, Neuros OSD will automatically playback the file. It can playback files such as MP4, WMV, ASF, Quicktime, FLV and many more.
There were some sync issues but this was probably due to the high bitrate. This can be fixed either with a slightly lower bitrate but this can also be due to the lack of memory on the Neuros OSD.
Audio Playback : Neuros OSD not only lets you playback video but it lets you play audio files as well. MP3 was only tested for this review and I did not notice any distortion during audio playback. It can also play back wma, ogg, aac, g.726, wav and flac. You can shuffle songs and build playlists.
Neuros OSD is capable of being a picture viewer by decoding bmp, jpeg and gif (non-animated).
Since the Neuros OSD is open source, there are communities that develop for such devices. So you can add third party applications to the Neuros OSD. Great thing about this is that Neuros listens and works closely with the community to help improve and add features. You can visit Neuros' community whether you're a developer, user or just want to provide feedback simply by going here.
Conclusion : Overall, the Neuros OSD Linux Media Recorder is a great piece of hardware. Some of its biggest features is open source, no DRM, the ability to do what you want to do and being able to save to whatever format you want such as thumb drives, SD, memory cards and even external hard drives! If there is ever a problem or a bug, it can be easily fixed or "squashed" since OSD is open source. The settings allows you to configure how you want to record your files such as such as playback device, resolution, where to save to, framerate, video bitrate, audio format and audio bitrate. The ideas, support are endless with the support of developers and from the community. This is what makes the product great rather than be locked in to the limited functions. However, the price range may scare some people but for a open source devices that lets you use any media format and the ability to playback and ability to schedule record...you cant go wrong.
Flashlinker Europe.com have today added the 4GB MicroSDHC Memory card thats compatible with most consoles (via adapters) for the very cheap price of 10.00EUR
Pages: 208
Detailed walkthroughs for every adventure in all six episodes!
Locations for all LEGO canisters, Challenge canisters, and red power bricks!
Exclusive maps!
Extensive tips for Freeplay mode!
New characters, vehicles, and game features revealed!
All-new quick reference guide with detailed information for every level!
description
Now Witness the Firepower of this Fully Armed and Operational Game Guide!
The Complete Saga takes players to the most beautiful LEGO galaxy ever assembled with high-definition graphics on the PlayStation 3 system and the Xbox 360. And with both consoles' online capabilities, families spread across the world can unite to rebuild a galaxy in pieces with cooperative two-player, drop-in/drop-out gameplay. Meanwhile, the unique Wii and Nintendo DS control schemes result in the most interactive LEGO Star Wars gaming experience yet.
From the Trade Federation's "negotiations" with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace to the space battle above Endor in Return of the Jedi, The Complete Saga allows players to kick some brick through 36 Story mode levels, including Episode II's newly added high-speed pursuit of bounty hunter Zam Wessell.
We here at DCEmu try to inform you on what may or may not be the latest consoles/gadgets that will be home to a new homebrew community. Recently we have written about the JXD301, Apple iPhone/iTouch and the as yet unamed Console from the GBAx Camp.
Well down to buisness, the Portable Game & Media Player from SuccessHK has been out a few months now but at a price of $109 and boasting NES, SNES & MD/SMC Emulation it sure is very interesting
Heres the ful spec/info:
Portable Game & Media Player integrates such functions as watching Movie, enjoying Music, Playing GAMES , Reading novels, sound Recording, browsing Pictures and Take pictures. Feature : Game Player : Game Emulator support NES, SNES & MD/SMC ( Sega 16bit ), You can run thousands of game which you can download from Internet Movie Player : Support AVI of MPEG-4 format ( DIVX 3.11/4.X/5.X and XVID codec : Sizes : 320*240 @ 30 fps ) Music Player : Support MP3, WMA, FLAC , with Equlizer Camera : Digital Camera Function with 1300K pixel Video Recorder : Record in 320*240 MPEG4 Voice Recorder : Voice Recorde in MP3 format in 128,192 and 256KPS E-Book Reader : Support E-Book in TXT format Picture Viewer : Support JPG, GIF , BMP format Build-in 1G memory, Support Max. 4G external SD card. Build-in Litum Rechargable battery wth 12000mah , Continue Video play for 6 hrs, or Music play for 20 hrs. With Auto Shut down, Firmware upgradable, 3.6" screen size ( 960*240) TFT , Theme Select, Multi Language support ( English, French, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese ) , Wallpaper changable ,
Can this be opened up to homebrew ?, has anyone already done it ? all questions we would like to know the answer of.
Do the consoles above interest you or are you sticking with your PSP/DS/GP2X for your handheld thrills ?
Im sure many of you own multiple consoles or at the least have access to them. How many of you are unhappy that the console you brought isnt as good as you were lead to believe.
Heres a few of my personal nitpicks about each console.
PSP
The PSP is by far the most poweful handheld and should play to its strengths, i want to see games such as Conflict Global Storm and the very best from the PS2 to arrive on the console.
I also wish that battery life was longer, that UMD Drives didnt fail so often and finally that the bloody screen didnt get so greasy and scratched up.
Nintendo DS
Easily the console which has brought more non gamers to the console arena than any other.
Why the likes of Nintendo need to use the stylus to control every game is beyond me, certain games like Starfox was ruined because of the stylus method.
Xbox360
Why cant Microsoft sort out the bloody overheating problem, surely after all this time it would be fixed. Other than that some type of Wiimote clone controller would be great.
PS3
Sony really need to get back to releasing killer games for this console, too many crap games has stopped me using my PS3 and we really need a game that grabs your balls and says buy this system.
Nintendo Wii
The Wii and its unique controller is excellent but some games are much better played in the conventional way, surely a mix of games would please the hardcore and casual gamer.
Thats just my views but if you agree or disagree or have issues i havent mentioned then please post via the comments
Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has held on to the number one chart position in the UK, selling twice as many units as FIFA 08, despite a 52 per cent drop in sales.
EA's FIFA 08 spends a third week at number two, with the publisher's The Simpsons Game making its debut at number three.
THQ's Ratatouille is proving to be a steady seller, shuffling up the charts to number four following five weeks in the charts, while Microsoft's Halo 3 has seen an increase in sales by 46 per cent, putting it at number five in the All Formats charts.
Sega's Football Manager 2008 slips to number six, while EA's add-on The Sims 2: Castaway breaks into the top 10 at seven.
The rest of the top ten is taken up with DS exclusives. More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima is at eight, Dr Kawashima's Brain Training at nine and Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is at ten.
There are two other new entries in the top forty this week – VU Games' Timeshift at number 24 and EA's Hellgate: London at 34.
Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 continues to dominate the charts in both Germany and Spain, taking multiple positions in the top ten for each region.
The PlayStation 2 version of the game is the lead format, proving there's plenty of life left in a console entering its eighth year on the market.
Nintendo's DS title The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is at number five in both charts, with Wii shooter Metroid Prime 3: Corruption at number six.
The top ten best-selling games for Spain and Germany follow:
Spain
1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
2. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS3)
3. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Xbox 360)
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PC)
5. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
6. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
7. FIFA 08 (PS2)
8. WWE Smackdown! Vs RAW 2007 (PS2)
9. Football Manager 2008 (PC)
10. More Brain Training (DS)
Germany
1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
2. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS3)
3. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PC)
4. The Witcher (PC)
5. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
6. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
7. Anno 1701 (PC)
8. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Xbox 360)
9. FIFA 08 (PS2)
10. More Brain Training (DS)
All sales information supplied by Media-Control GfK International
Infinity Ward president Grant Collier has opined that the next console generation wave will hit in around three to four year's time.
Describing the developer's Call of Duty 4 as the first game in the second wave of next-gen titles, Collier told Next-Gen.biz:
"When the games first started coming out I remember thinking, 'oh my gosh, they look so realistic, they can't possibly get more lifelike than this"
"...but then if you look at the games coming out now the photorealistic quality of them is so much higher that I'm kind of amazed."
"I definitely think we have another three or four years left in this cycle, with people making games for the next-gen platforms."
This comes after Nintendo boss Sotoru Iwata declared the typical four-year life cycle for games hardware as "too inflexible" for the Japanese giant - Nintendo won't make a new console until it's needed.
Collier additionally noted that Infinity Ward hasn't experienced any issues developing for PS3, something he puts down to the studio's "development philosophy". .
This year's UK Christmas videogames chart is set to be spearheaded by EA, Microsoft and Konami titles, if the odds on Paddy Power are accurate.
It places the latest Need for Speed title - ProStreet - as the favourite to claim the top spot on evens, with FIFA 08 at 2-1, Halo 3 at 6-1 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 at 10-1.
Other prominent titles include The Simpsons Game, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Super Mario Galaxy and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
While most people are unlikely to bet against those games hitting the Christmas number one spot, there are a few games that might raise an eyebrow.
Manhunt 2 is listed as 25-1, despite the game being effectively banned by the BBFC in the UK, although an appeal is pending.
Additionally the main contenders are dominated by titles that will appeal to the traditional gaming market, including Super Mario Galaxy, despite many predictions that the Wii will continue to be the market-leading console for some time yet.
At the other end of the betting list, the longest odds available are for Balloon Pop, which weighs in at a hefty 250-1.
Over at Newsweek's Level Up blog, N'Gai Croal is reporting that the NPD will start withholding more info this month from those who aren't paying (read: the media). Most crushingly, the group says it will no longer release monthly console sales numbers and will only release the top five in software, rather than the top 10 we're used to. These numbers will eventually be available on a quarterly and annual basis. Console makers can still release the data themselves (and you can bet they will if it makes them look good) but that's not a guarantee.
It's bad news for both journalists like us who like to pass that information on to you and those who follow the numbers like they were sports scores. Now listen, forum kids and comments flamers, we know we've had a rocky relationship in the past, but we're going to need each other to get through this. Come, let your tears fall on our shoulders.
Sweet merciful cr*p. A seriously obsessive gentleman spent 30 years of his life collecting video game consoles and games, and now he's selling his entire 1,768-piece collection on eBay in one shot, presumably at the command of either the courts or a lady. Just the system list is insane, not to mention the games.
The full the system list:
Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, Coleco ColecoVision, Coleco Gemini, Coleco Telstar, Commodore 64/128, GCE Vectrex, Mattel Aquarius, Mattel Intellivision, Mattel Odyssey 2, Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Xbox 360, Miscellaneous APF TV Fun, Miscellaneous Handheld Games, Miscellaneous PC Games, Miscellaneous SC Eight Thousand, Miscellaneous Sega Pods, Miscellaneous TV Games, NEC Turbo Duo, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo NES, Nintendo Nintendo 64, Nintendo Super NES, Nintendo Virtual Boy, Nintendo Wii, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Sega Saturn, SNK Neo Geo, SNK Neo Geo Pocket, Sony Playstation, Sony Playstation 2, Texas Instruments TI 99/4A, VM Labs Nuon.
See anything missing in there? Because I don't. Wait, where's the TurboGrafix 16? And he calls himself an obsessive collector.
As for games, he has, well, a lot of them, including weird rare stuff like the Christmas version of NiGHTS for Sega Saturn and the Gold Cartridge Micro Machines for NES. Gold Cartridge!!! How can you resist?
You really need to see the full list to really appreciate how bananas this auction is. Right now it's at $6,100[£2,923], but the Buy It Now price is $10,979.00 [£5,263]. Plus free shipping! What could you possibly be waiting for?!
See the eBay auction here. More photographs of the console collection are here. Complete list of all items with prices here.
A push to standardize how game developers are credited in their projects was already underway before the recent brouhaha involving Rockstar Games' snubbed Vienna studio, but the issue has picked up momentum in the story's wake.
In September, the International Game Developers Association posted a public "beta" of their proposed Credit Standards Guide in wiki form on their web site. Today, the organization announced its Credit Standards Committee will host a roundtable discussion during the 2008 Game Developers Conference entitled "The IGDA Credits Movement: The Revolution Is Already Here."
In a statement on its web site, the IGDA said that "the recent controversy around the credits of Manhunt 2 serve as a significant example of why crediting standards are needed in the game industry."
Last week, a former producer at Rockstar Vienna complained on his personal blog that his team worked on Manhunt 2 for more than two years but was not credited on the final product.
We're all for giving game-development credit where it's properly due (after all, we're the nerds who actually read them), so we're all in favor of the IGDA's efforts. We do have one request, though.
All end-game credits should follow the Portal format, for the good of all of us. Except the ones who are dead.
Today the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) went on an anticipated strike over new media residuals. TV programs like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will begin airing reruns tonight because of the strike. The union does represent some videogame writers and is giving an award for best videogame writing at next year's Writer's Guild Awards. So will the strike affect us here in the game industry?
Not to worry.
A Writer's Guild representative told IGN today that only a handful of game writers are currently represented by the union, and that they fall out of the jurisdiction of the current strike. Part of the impetus for the Videogame Writing Award is to draw more game authors into the WGA fold.
"By recognizing the skill and craft of videogame writing, the Writers Guilds intend to raise the profile of these writers so that they can get WGA contracts and benefits for this work" WGA West President Patric M. Verrone said at the award's announcement back in September.
While the film and television industries will be inconvenienced by the strike, we gamers should be in the clear.
Reggie Fils-Aime reckons Nintendo's rivals have trapped themselves in a box in this current console generation cycle due to their decision to invest heavily in cutting-edge technology.
Microsoft and Sony have "gone down the path with building expensive machines that they lose money on. They've gone down the path with games that are hard to develop," the Nintendo of America boss said when comparing the approach Nintendo has taken to its competitors.
Reported on CNN, he described the challenge that Sony and Microsoft face in this console cycle as "significant".
"They've put themselves in a box. I don't know how they're going to get out of it", he added.
A couple of days ago the rumors started popping up: Target was pulling Manhunt 2 from store shelves across the country. Now GameSpot (must not type GameStop) has the official word from the company on the reasoning behind the ban.
"Target strives to provide merchandise that will appeal to a wide variety of guests. We also want guests to be comfortable with the purchasing decisions they make at Target. All video games and computer software sold at Target currently carry ratings by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)--from early childhood through mature audiences. While Manhunt 2 was given a Mature rating by the ERSB, we received additional information that players can potentially view previously filtered content by altering the game code. As a result, we have decided not to carry the game."
Note that I am no longer finding the game on Target's web site either, but they do still sell the guide in case you suck that badly.
WASHINGTON (Nov. 7) - Millions of Chinese-made toys for children have been pulled from shelves in North America and Australia after scientists found they contain a chemical that converts into a powerful date rape drug when ingested. Two children in the U.S. and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing the beads.
With only seven weeks until Christmas, the recall is yet another blow to toy industry - already bruised by a slew of recalls this past summer.
Millions of Aqua Dots art sets were recalled on Nov. 7 after several children in the U.S. and Australia were hospitalized. The toys contain beads coated with a chemical that converts into a powerful date rape drug when ingested.
In the United States, the toy goes by the name Aqua Dots, a highly popular holiday toy distributed by Toronto-based Spin Master Toys. They are called Bindeez in Australia, where they were named toy of the year at an industry function earlier this year.
It could not immediately be learned whether Aqua Dots beads are made in the same factories as the Bindeez product. Both are sold by Australia-based Moose Enterprises.
The toy beads are sold in general merchandise stores and over the Internet for use in arts and crafts projects. They can be arranged into designs and fused together when sprayed with water.
Scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolizes into the so-called date rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. When eaten, the compound - made from common and easily available ingredients - can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.
Naren Gunja from Australia's Poisons Information Center said the drug's effect on children was "quite serious ... and potentially life-threatening."
The recall was announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday several hours after published reports about the recall in Australia.
The two U.S. children who swallowed Aqua Dot beads went into nonresponsive comas, commission spokesman Scott Wolfson said Wednesday afternoon.
In Australia, the toys were ordered off store shelves on Tuesday when officials learned that a 2-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were hospitalized after swallowing the beads. A 19-month-old toddler also was being treated.
The news jolted the toy industry because Aqua Dots has been one of the few bright stars of the toy selling season, which, along with overall retailing, has gotten off to a sluggish start. The item, which had been heavily advertised, had appeared on many toy experts' list of must-have holiday toys, and toy sellers are now in the midst of canceling advertising and scrambling to figure out how to replace it.
Chris Byrne, a New York-based toy consultant, noted that the incidents could have been isolated, and Spin Master may be erring on the side of caution.
"This is something that they could not have foreseen. This is an extremely hot toy. ... It's a little scary," Byrne said.
In a statement, Toys "R" Us Inc., said that it issued on Tuesday a "stop sale" on the entire Spin Master Aqua Dots product line in its North American stores and on its Web site after it learned of the news. "We understand that Spin Master and U.S. regulatory authorities are investigating this product and we have asked Spin Master to fully explain what it believes happened," said the toy seller in a statement.
Meanwhile, a separate recall was announced for 405,000 children's products made in China, most of them toy cars, because of dangerous levels of lead.
The recall includes about 380,000 Pull-Back Action Toy Cars imported by Dollar General Merchandising Inc. of Goodlettsville, Tenn., and 7,500 Dragster and Funny Car toys imported by International Sourcing Ltd. of Springfield, Mo.
Four of the recalled products were imported by Schylling Associates Inc. of Rowley, Mass., including the items Duck Family Collectable Wind-Up Toy, Dizzy Ducks Music Box, "Robot 2000" collectable tin robot and Winnie-the-Pooh Spinning Top. The company recalled another 66,000 spinning tops Aug. 22.
Representatives from Schylling Associates Inc. were not immediately available for comment.
Wednesday's recalls include about 7,200 "Big Red" Wagons imported by Northern Tool & Equipment Co. of Burnsville, Minn. Totaling about 405,700, the recalled children's products all had excessive levels of lead in their surface paint.
Although no illnesses connected to the toy car recall have been reported, lead is toxic if ingested by young children. Children's products found to have more than 0.06 percent lead accessible to users are subject to a recall.
Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii has rocketed into the Japanese software chart at number one, selling over a quarter of a million units in its first week on sale, according to the latest data from Media Create.
That represents a number that's almost equal to the rest of the top ten put together, despite Ace Combat 6 entering the chart at number two, and Final Fantasy Tactics A2 continuing to sell well.
The Xbox 360 flying action game sold 77,000 units, and was one of three titles in the top 30 for Microsoft's platform, otherwise dominated for the most part by DS, which accounted for over half of titles.
The full list is as follows:
1. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
2. Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (360)
3. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS)
4. Super Robot Wars Scramble Commander the 2nd (PS2)
5. DS Literature Collection (DS)
6. DS Nishimura Kyotarou Suspense Detective Series: Deadly Intent (DS)
7. Wii Sports (Wii)
8. Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (DS)
9. World Soccer Winning Eleven DS: Goal to Goal (DS)
10. Pokemon Mysterious Dungeon: Time Expedition Party (DS)
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
As we are heading towards Christmas, one hot release week is following after another. Especially the Xbox360™ seems to be very strong this Winter with plenty of interesting new games released.
Starting with top Xbox360™, Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has been the biggest mover; the title is currently on backorder, a restock date has not been confirmed. Other hot games have been the Asia release versions of Timeshift, Clive Barker's Jericho, Viva Pinata: Party Animals, NBA 2K8 and an English language version of Eternal Sonata.
PlayStation3™ software supply hasn't been too bad either, with Midway's Stranglehold (Regular / Collector's Edition), Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle and The Simpsons Game.
Not to forget as well, Koei's Shin Sangoku Musou 5 has already hit shelves as Asia versions, available for both HD console platforms.
Top Wii™ sellers have been the US versions of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle and Battalion Wars 2. For PlayStation2™ we've got Rockstargames' Manhunt 2 (also available for PSP™).
Looking at popular handheld releases, Dementium: The Ward, Mario Party DS and Yosumin.have been leading sales for Nintendo DS™, while Silent Hill: Origins (as English Asia version), Akumajou Dracula X Chronicle (Japanese / Asia / Konamistyle Limited Edition) and Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness have been strong PSP™ movers.
Last but not least, with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Hellgate London and Timeshift, three interesting PC game releases have also become available.
As usually, here's a summary of all new releases from this week,
Xbox360™:
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation US US$ 59.90
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ASIA US$ 49.90
Clive Barker's Jericho ASIA US$ 49.90
Conan US US$ 59.90
Eternal Sonata (English language Version) ASIA US$ 44.90
F.E.A.R. Files US US$ 49.90
Gears of War (Platinum Collection) ASIA US$ 29.90
Just Cause: Viva Revolution JPN US$ 64.90
Major League Baseball 2K7 JPN US$ 64.90
NBA 2K8 ASIA US$ 49.90
NBA Live 08 JPN US$ 64.90
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja US US$ 59.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 JPN US$ 68.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 ASIA US$ 64.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 [Treasure Box] JPN US$ 129.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 [Treasure Box] ASIA US$ 119.90
The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles US US$ 34.90
The Simpsons Game US US$ 64.90
Timeshift ASIA US$ 49.90
Timeshift US US$ 59.90
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 JPN US$ 64.90
Virtua Fighter 5 US US$ 59.90
Viva Pinata: Party Animals US US$ 49.90
Viva Pinata: Party Animals ASIA US$ 44.90
Xbox 360 Rechargeable Battery Pack (Light Blue) ASIA US$ 14.90
Xbox 360 Rechargeable Battery Pack (Pink) ASIA US$ 14.90
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (Light Blue) ASIA US$ 44.90
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (Pink) ASIA US$ 44.90 PlayStation3™:
Cars: Mater-National US US$ 49.90
FragFX Controller US US$ 59.90
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle ASIA US$ 129.90
NBA Live 08 JPN US$ 64.90
Playstation 3 Eye Camera US US$ 39.90
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction JPN US$ 59.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 ASIA US$ 64.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 JPN US$ 68.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (w/ PlayStation3 Console 40GB Ceramic White) JPN N/A
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 [Treasure Box] ASIA N/A
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 [Treasure Box] JPN US$ 129.90
Stranglehold US US$ 64.90
Stranglehold [Collector's Edition] US US$ 72.90
The Eye of Judgment Booster Pack (Japanese) JPN US$ 4.90
The Simpsons Game ASIA US$ 49.90
The Simpsons Game US US$ 64.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Battalion Wars 2 US US$ 49.90
Ben 10: Protector of Earth US US$ 44.90
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle US US$ 129.90
Hooked! Real Motion Fishing (w/ Controller) US US$ 69.90
The Simpsons Game US US$ 49.90
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 JPN US$ 59.90
PlayStation2™:
Ben 10: Protector of Earth US US$ 34.90
Buzz The Mega Quiz Bundle (w/ Buzzers) US US$ 49.90
Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party US US$ 34.90
Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party Bundle (w/ Buzzers) US US$ 49.90
Buzz! The Mega Quiz US US$ 34.90
Cars: Mater-National US US$ 44.90
Guitar Hero & Guitar Hero II Dual Pack US US$ 59.90
Kuri no Okurimono JPN US$ 64.90
Kuri no Okurimono [First Print Special Edition] JPN US$ 64.90
Manhunt 2 US US$ 49.90
NBA Live 08 JPN US$ 64.90
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Ubisoft the Best) JPN US$ 34.90
Nintendo DS™:
Ben 10: Protector of Earth US US$ 34.90
Cars: Mater-National US US$ 34.90
Dementium: The Ward US US$ 34.90
El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera US US$ 34.90
Interactive Storybook DS Series 2 US US$ 24.90
Interactive Storybook DS Series 3 US US$ 24.90
Katei no Igaku: DS de Kitaeru Shokuzai Kenkou Training JPN US$ 39.90
Mario Party DS JPN US$ 48.90
Neves US US$ 34.90
O.M.G. 26 - Our Mini Games US US$ 24.90
Ratatouille Food Frenzy US US$ 34.90
Super Collapse! 3 US US$ 34.90
The Simpsons Game US US$ 34.90
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody: Circle of Spies US US$ 34.90
Yosumin. DS JPN US$ 29.90
Sony PSP™:
Ben 10: Protector of Earth US US$ 34.90
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles / Akumajou Dracula X Chronicle ASIA US$ 39.90
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles / Akumajou Dracula X Chronicle JPN US$ 48.90
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles / Akumajou Dracula X Chronicle [Konamistyle Limited Edition] JPN US$ 99.90
Die Hard JPN US$ 27.90
Die Hard 2 JPN US$ 27.90
Die Hard 3 JPN US$ 27.90
Die Hard 4.0 JPN US$ 27.90
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness US US$ 39.90
Gremlins JPN US$ 9.90
Manhunt 2 US US$ 39.90
Minna no Golf Ba Vol. 4 JPN US$ 58.90
Minna no Golf Ba Vol. 4 (w/ GPS Receiver) JPN US$ 95.00
NBA Live 08 JPN US$ 48.90
Namco Museum Vol.2 KOR US$ 49.90
Silent Hill: Origins (English language Version) ASIA US$ 39.90
Tales of The World: Radiant Mythology (PSP the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Under Siege JPN US$ 9.90
Xyanide Resurrection ASIA US$ 34.90
Zodiac JPN US$ 14.90
PC Games:
Bazooka Cafe US US$ 29.90
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 34.90
Fifa Manager 08 (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 39.90
Hellgate: London (DVD-ROM) US US$ 52.90
NBA Live 08 (DVD ROM) ASIA US$ 36.90
Timeshift (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 34.90
Books & Guides:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Official Strategy Guide US US$ 19.90
Clive Barker's Jericho: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 16.90
Fire Emblem: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Folklore Official Strategy Guide US US$ 17.90
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 16.90
Manhunt 2 Signature Series Guide US US$ 17.90
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction Signature Series Guide US US$ 17.90
Resident Evil 2008 Calendar US US$ 16.90
Super Mario Galaxy Collector's Edition: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 29.90
Tomb Raider Anniversary (360 & PS2): Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Virtua Fighter 5 Official Strategy Guide US US$ 16.90
Toys & More:
Animal Crossing DS Stylus JPN US$ 3.99
Assassin's Creed 7" Action Figure: Altair US$ 16.90
Bible Black 1/6 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Kaori Saeki JPN N/A
God of War Action Figure 7'': Kratos Ares Armor (closed mouth vers.) US$ 14.90
God of War Action Figure 7'': Kratos Ares Armor (open mouth vers.) US$ 14.90
Ikkitousen: 1/7 Scale Painted Figure - Ryofu Housen (Gothic Lolita Version) JPN N/A
Jingai Makyo Chaos Gate 1/6 Scale Painted PVC Figure: Ignis The White JPN N/A
Nohohon Nonbiri Island's Leaf Windmill US$ 21.90
Onegai Teacher Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Mizuho Kazami Wedding Dress Limited (Pink Version) JPN US$ 24.90
Revoltech Yamaguchi Series No. 34 Macross Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Super Valkyrie VF-1J Ichijo Hikaru Type (TV Version) JPN US$ 19.90
Revoltech Yamaguchi Series No. 36 Macross Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Strike Valkyrie VF-1 S Foccer Type (Movie Version) JPN N/A
The Idolm@ster Xenoglossia 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Haruka Amami (Swimming Suit Version) JPN N/A
World of Warcraft Series 1: Blood Elf Rogue - Valeera Sanguinar Collector Figure N/A
World of Warcraft Series 1: Dwarf Warrior - Thargas Anvilmar Collector Figure N/A
World of Warcraft Series 1: Orc Shaman - Rehgar Earthfury Collector Figure N/A
World of Warcraft Series 1: Undead Warlock - Meryl Felstorm Collector Figure N/A
Video Game related Soundtracks:
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles / Akumajou Dracula X Chronicle Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 38.90
Que Perfect Vocal Collection JPN US$ 27.90
The compilation of the data, shown below, is especially timely due to the NPD Group’s recent decision to scale down its release of monthly sales figures. Everyone loves knowing who’s selling how many consoles and games, and Next-Gen is always happy to provide our own monthly statistical breakdown of NPD numbers. To that effect, like many, we’re none-too-pleased with NPD’s recent announcement.
Hopefully these numbers will do for now, and serve to provoke some healthy debate on the likes of the 360’s high installed user-base and software attachment rate, the increasing momentum of the Wii approaching the holiday season, and the continued efforts of Sony’s PS3 to stake more than just a Bronze place on the podium.
Note that the totals shown are lifetime, not yearly sales. Having totted up the yearly sales figures, the Wii is leading the trio of next-gen home consoles during 2007 having shifted 3,439,400 units, followed by 2,222,900 Xbox 360s and 1,172,500 PS3s.
By Margot Carmichael Lester
Here are the facts, ladies. Two-thirds of all men in television-owning households between the ages of 18 and 34 have videogame consoles, according to media research company, Nielsen. That means your chances of going with a gaming guy are pretty high.
What can his choice of gaming system tell you about him? We convened a panel of experts to give you the scoop:
* Carl Arinoldo, Long Island, NY-based psychologist
* Ed Magnin, chairman, Game & Simulation Programming, DeVry University’s Dallas Metro campus
* Ted Owen, CEO, GGL, an online gaming network in Santa Monica, CA
* Shane Satterfield, editor-in-chief, Santa Monica-based GameTrailers.com, an online gaming site
Q: What does a PlayStation reveal about a dude?
Arinoldo: The PlayStation 3 may indicate that the user is any “early-adopter,” someone who likes to be the first on the block to have things. Owning the PS3 may also send the message that the person may have deep pockets.
Owen: This is your 21st-century individual who enjoys gaming and demands the best out of his experience—and probably his women. The PS3 guy enjoys life to its fullest. He is sophisticated, intelligent, enjoys competition and is willing to wait for a good thing. He is loyal as well.
Satterfield: This guy is in the know. He knows the right people, goes to the best restaurants and doesn’t wait in line to get into the club. This guy will be difficult to keep up with, as he is always working. When he’s not, he uses videogames as a chance to unwind and relax.
Q. What does a Wii tell a gal about her potential date? Owen: That he is selfish about his passion, but he knows the Wii is acceptable because of its social interaction functionality. He is smart enough to find a way to continue to game and not scare his date away.
Magnin: Wii says he’s a fun guy. The Wii-mote will force him to get up off the couch and actually get a little exercise while he’s playing. Of all of the consoles, the Wii is probably the best date machine, as a lot more of the games appeal to both sexes. Challenge him to a game of tennis or bowling.
Satterfield: This guy is not the typical slack-jawed, bleary-eyed gamer who wants to sit on the couch staring blankly at the screen for hours on end. You can rest assured that this type of guy is smart with his money as the Wii is only $250 compared to $399 for the Xbox 360 and $599 for the PlayStation.
Q. And what does the Xbox divulge about its owner? Arinoldo: There is a wide variety of games available through the Xbox 360... so one may be better able to find games in common with a significant other who may not be an avid gamer. Preferring the Xbox 360 may say that the owner is willing to play cooperatively.
Magnin: Xbox 360 says he’s probably into serious gaming. Take a look at his game stats. Ask him to show you how many hours he spent playing his favorite games. Many guys log 100 to 200 hours on their favorite games.
Satterfield: These guys tend to like extremely violent, visceral games, as well as the social aspect of connecting with friends online. They may be living out an active and social life through games, because they are a bit on the shy side. Xbox 360 fans tend to make good money and like to spend it. These guys are passionate about gaming and that transfers into the bedroom as well.
Of course, these expert opinions won’t apply to all men who own these consoles, so don’t consider them absolutes. But they should help you gain some solid clues about that videogame-playing guy you’re seeing.
This isnt gaming or homebrew related but its one of the funniest things that ive read about for ages and even funnier because both of my children attend the school in question, heres the news posted in the times:
A stripper peeled off her clothes and whipped a 16-year-old student in front of his class, ensuring that the boy’s mother had achieved her aim of providing a birthday surprise he would never forget.
But it was not the surprise gift that she had intended when she booked a man dressed in a gorilla suit.
Arnold Hill School in Nottingham launched an inquiry yesterday into the bizarre sequence of events after the stripper performed a significant chunk of her routine before the shocked teacher intervened.
The teenager’s unsuspecting mother had asked an agency to provide her son with a birthday surprise, even getting his teacher to agree to film it on a phone.
But a stripper dressed as a police-woman turned up instead. A student who witnessed the routine said: “She asked the lad to stand up, which he did, and told him he had been ‘a very naughty boy’ because he hadn’t been doing his homework.
“Then she put on some Britney Spears music and got out a collar and lead from her bag and told him to put them on. No one could believe it. Next she ordered him to get on all fours, led him around the classroom and hit him sixteen times ? one for each year ? on the bottom with her whip.”
The stripper then stripped down to her bra and panties before inviting the student to rub cream on her ? at which point his shocked teacher finally stepped in.“To be fair to the teacher, you could tell she was just stunned and when the cream came out she told the stripper, ‘That’s it. That’s enough.’
“The boy just ran out, and the stripper very calmly put her things back in her bag and walked out of the room. No one has been suspended, but the teachers have just asked us all to keep quiet.”
A spokeswoman for the school said: “There was an incident, we are aware of it, and it is being dealt with.”
Nottinghamshire County Council confirmed that it was investigating the incident but police are not involved.
It is not known whether the stripper, who managed to evade the school’s security measures, was booked through an agency.
As a parent of 2 at the school its a concern that someone got in without being checked but what a lucky lad to have a stripper in his class at school.
I do hope the teacher doesnt get the sack over it but its hilarious
If i can get pics of it ill post a new post at some stage
Microsoft's Xbox 360 has seen a massive sales boost in Japan, with the system managing to outsell Sony's PlayStation 3, according to data from Media Create.
The Microsoft console sold 17,673 units compared to only 3718 the previous week, fuelled by the uptake of Namco Bandai's Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, which debuted in the Japanese charts at number two this week.
Sony's PlayStation 3 sold 17,434 units, a drop in performance compared to last week's 18,785 units. Sales of the PlayStation 2 also dropped, with 10,209 units sold.
However, the latest handhelds are still the best-selling consoles in the region with the DS shifting 78,597 units and the PSP 59,714 units during the same period.
And Nintendo continues to outperform both Sony and Microsoft by racking up another 37,617 sales of the Wii during the past week, helped in part by the release of first-party title Super Mario Galaxy.
The Atari 2600 videogame console, which recently turned 30 years-old, has been inducted into the Strong National Museum of Play's toy "Hall of Fame."
While not the first home videogame console, it quickly became the most popular when it was released in 1977.
It is the first electronic "toy" to be inducted, joining such classics as the Etc-a-sketch, Frisbee, Barbie, Mr. Potato Head, Play-Doh, the yo yo, jigsaw puzzles, the hula hoop, and Legos.
"It may look primitive compared to the advanced video game systems available today, but it helped make these possible," said the museum's curator, Patricia Hogan.
The Atari 2600 was inducted along with Raggedy Andy (brother of the Raggedy Ann doll, who was inducted five years ago), and the kite.
While the videogame system is the most recently invented member of the hall, the kite - believed to have originated in China almost 3,000 years ago - is probably the oldest.
All three platform holders have told MCV that stock of PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii hardware may not meet demand over the festive period.
Microsoft's regional VP Chris Lewis added: "We're working hard to make sure that shortages don't happen. Inevitably the odd pocket of the EMEA region will have the odd blip, but we've got a lot better at this over the years."
Welcome to this week's Movie/Music news roundup, containing all new Japanese and Hong Kong Video and Music releases from this week listed at Play-Asia.com. Around 450 new items are covered in this week, including new J-Pop, Anime as well as Japanese, Hong Kong and Western movie releases and much more.
Here's a summary of all new releases that were published between Saturday, November 3rd and Friday, November 9th. If some specific item that you are looking for is missing, please don't hesitate to contact our customer service with your request.
J-Pop Music releases (151)
ENKA Music releases (48)
Anime Soundtracks & Drama CDs (18)
Video Game Soundtracks (2)
Hong Kong Version Music releases (10)
Blu-Ray Disc Movies (5)
HD DVD Movies (2)
Hong Kong Version Movie releases (35)
Japanese Movies (21)
Non-Japanese Movies / Japanese Version (79)
Anime DVD releases (70)
J-Pop DVD releases (26)
Idol DVD (4)
UMD™ Video & Music (4)
First off, let me tell you that I normally will raise the score because of combos in replay value. I'd normally do this because my personal tastes believe that when you have endless combos, that really enhances replay value. But for those whom combos do not help at all, I will set aside my feelings on this matter for now...
I'm not gonna lie. When I bought this game, I was desperate. Bored until Mass Effect arrived, and didn't want an overly gorey game (cough manhunt), I got Tales of the World and expected very little. What I got was a game brimming with polish and RPG elements that were enough at to make me instantly love this game (And I'm not that big an RPG fan either, fancy that.) The game begins in the land of Terresia, a land where man is the life force for all things. That mana has attracted a monstrous planet eater, the devourer, to it. You are a Descender, the planets last ditch effort to save itself. Immediately found by the Descender of another unfortunate planet, your quest begins to rid existance of the Devourer.
The character creator appears very simple at first, offering little in the way of clothing. Don't be fooled. Your clothes look like rags because every of the over 100 armors you can buy latch onto the character model, instead of raise defense without being seem. Helmets, boots, gloves, charms, all things have a model....and often a purpose.
Gameplay is the best aspect of it all. Fusing startegy from games like Final Fantasy and the physical real time combat of PSO and a small bit of Kingdom Hearts, Tales of the World has a combat system all its own. Quite difficult to explain, but let me put it this way: 360 degree fighting with 3 teamates and endless combos while controlling strategy for each and every character with special attacks and 7+ class groups?
HE** YEAH!
With all its great parts comes the bad as well. Your teamates.... well, they are never just smart. Sometimes they are brilliant and do things just like a player would and other times....your glad with they get knocked cold, one less thing to block your view. However, as far as RPGs go, I have yet to find one par with Tales. (Kingdom hearts rivals it, but doesn't have much in the way of strategy...)
Graphics are great for what they are. Character models show up fine, weapons, armor, all the items are inspired, but there are slowdowns during some of the more crazy battles. Not as bad as Final Fantasy Tactics, but, they get annoying. The levels (and this is where some of PSO's influence comes in) are pretty bear (Yes bear. Grizzly bears. No I just forgot how to spell it right.) But it doesnt matter so much as you never fight on the level itself but an arena when you meet an enemy.
Sounds is nice, but forgettable.
Anyyyyywayyy, heres a fine summary:
Presentation: 4.5/5
Great story, easy menus, even online trading. Still, the artes can get confusing at times.
Sound: 3.5/5
Like I said, its fine for what it is, but you won't be humming it inside your head.
Graphics: 4/5
Great character models brought down by moderately bland backgrounds.
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Like I said, I'm putting my love of all things combo behind me for this. Yet this game still shines even if they weren't there.
Replay Value: 4.5/5
Yeah that right. Its high as the you were last year at the Christmas party. Yeah you remember it. I've logged 25 hours and have only done 27.6% of all quests, meager as they may be. Collecting items, armor, going on training excursions....good fun. Good fun.
Overall:
A must have for all RPG lovers out there. A thing you SHOULD have for everyone else.
Overview : D2CKey is the worlds first Wii modchip that is compatible with D2C consoles. D2C is the name of the chipset that the Wii modchips need to exploit in order to work. Before D2C it was a lot easier to mod a console as there was a massive security flaw left open by 'the Big N'. They have now closed this flaw, and for 2 months, people with D2C console had to sit there with their thumbs in their mouths. That is until the D2CKey team (a spinoff of WiiKey) figured it out. If you know WiiKey, you know that they are perfectionists, and don't bring out hardware that isn't perfect.
Many people think it is a curse to get a D2C console, but with the D2CKey, you actually might be the lucky one. The modchip features an Actel chip, which is known for its reliable and stealth features.
Access control LEDs
LED 1: disc access indicator.
LED 2: data patching indicator
Flashes smoothly during disc insertion and detection
Lit when backup is detected (after disclogin)
Off when original is detected
DVD media compatibility
DVD+-R
DVD+-RW
Dual-layer DVD (movies and GCOS)
Game disc support
Direct boot of Wii original and backup games from the same region
Direct boot of Gamecube original and backup games from the same region
Direct boot of different NTSC region Wii and GC games on USA and JAP consoles
Partial region free support on Wii and GC original and backup games with different videomode (ie PAL<->USA, JAPAN)
Improved readsettings for recordable media
Supports running GC games at Wii diskspeed
GC Audiostreaming Fix
Supports full-size DVD and DVD9 discs for GC homebrew
Supports GC multigame discs
Supports Wii and GC multidisc games
True stealth mode
Does not modify RAM, making it virtually undetectable for the Wii
Full command set emulation
Quality/Usability : For those who purchased a Nintendo Wii with a D2C chipset have been sitting at twiddling their thumbs waiting for a way to play homebrew and other games on their Nintendo Wii. Nintendo has revised the Wii to prevent modchips whether it be revising the motherboard, new chipset or cutting legs. But like all hackers/modders, they are reluctant to give up.
The D2CKey is the worlds first D2C modchip for the Nintendo Wii and the first to be able to bypass Super Mario Galaxy's encryption that prevented current modchips to not be able to play the game (WiiKey, CycloWiz and others have released upgraded firmwares to be able to play Super Mario Galaxy). D2CKey is brought to you by the same team who released the well known WiiKey.
D2CKey only and I mean only works on D2C Wii's. If you have a DMS, D2A or D2B, use the WiiKey. The WiiKey will not work on D2C Wii's, that is why there are two different modchips. If you dont know what chipset you have or if it has the cutlegs, you can find out by entering your Wii serial number into the WiiTracker database and it would give you an estimation of what is inside your console. You can also help out by adding your serial number along with origin, whether or not pins are cut, missing WiiKey solder pad #3, and if you're a modder/hobbyist or installer/repairer. This will help expand the database for those searching.
The D2CKey is built on a high quality PCB board with a Actel chip that powers it.
Installation : I wont go into detail on installation but let me start off by stating that the installation is NOT for the novice and should not be performed if you are a newbie or have little experience in soldering. I have no soldering skills so I had a friend who is experienced perform the installation on a recently purchased Wii. Reason for this is because installation requires 31 wires to be soldered. You can find installation guides at D2CKey's Resource page.
To enter region free compatibility, you will need to close the jumper(s) JP1 and/or JP2 on the D2CKey to match the region of your Wii. If you do not close JP1 or JP2, there will be no region override. Closing JP2 will patch PAL. Closing JP1 will patch USA (NTSC) and if both JP1 and JP2 are closed, this will patch Japan (NTSC).
Once installation is completed, whats different about the D2Ckey from the rest of the other modchips is that there is no need to set up, reflash, upgrade, or fiddle around. D2Ckey automatically detects what kind of disc is inserted, and configures the drive accordingly.
There are two LEDs on the D2CKey. This will inform you when discs are being read and detected. Of course, this is only visible when you still have the Wii disassembled. Once you close up your Nintendo Wii, you wont be able to see it unless you have the chip hanging on the outside.
Wii/GameCube Compatibility : All original Wii games booted up and flawlessly. Testing backups of the original games also resulted in a flawless boot up. Testing GameCube games posted the same result. But I noticed if you're switching from a GameCube game to a Nintendo Wii game, it sometimes would not work. This would require you to reset the Wii. Whats great for those playing GameCube games is that the GameCube audiostreaming fix is built-in.
Homebrew Compatibility : Unfortunately, I wasnt able to try the homebrew out.
Conclusion : Overall, D2CKey Wii Modchip (D2C only) is well built and works flawlessly. Considering its the first D2C modchip, its excellent. Great thing about it is no more set up discs. Just install and start using. No word on how the D2CKey would update if it was to be needed. Probably via DVD/CD like others. There is also no word on what future upgrade features we will see for the D2CKey.
Please note that none of the "upgrade" products listed in this site are endorsed by Nintendo, Sony and/or Microsoft. DCEmu Reviews and DCEmu Network does not condone piracy. The primary functions of a "modchip" and/or "flashcart" are to allow you to play imported games and homebrew software that you legally own or simply just for experimenting with hardware. We in no way endorse piracy, and encourage all users to do the right thing and support the developers/manufacturers that support them. We do not take any responsibilities for any use outside of these parameters or where the use of such a device is illegal.
Lazard Capital analyst Colin Sebastian has predicted that THQ will retain its focus on Nintendo platforms and Microsoft's Xbox 360 - and be slow to increase its commitment to PS3.
Sebastian made his prediction after hosting investor meetings with THQ managament. The meetings followed the company's recent announcement of disappointing results for the second quarter of its fiscal 2008.
"We expect THQ to remain more closely aligned with Nintendo and Microsoft platforms over the next couple of years," Sebastian said.
"This reflects THQ’s historical strength on handhelds (GBA and DS), increasing development slate for Nintendo’s Wii, early success with titles on the Xbox 360 (e.g. Saints Row) and a slower ramp on the PS3."
He also said that THQ was optimistic for the success of its next title licensed from a Pixar fim. Wall-E is expected to have "broader consumer appeal" than recent release Ratatouille.
THQ also has high hopes for sequels to its own properties, Saints Row and Red Faction. It expects that 40 per cent of its revenues will come from internal studios in fiscal 2008, up from 30 per cent in fiscal 2006.
Ahead of the release of US videogame software sales data for October, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter is predicting a 50 per cent increase from the same period last year.
He is forecasting sales of USD 555 million, compared to USD 369 million in October of 2006.
Most of the sales growth was driven by Activision's Guitar Hero III, which accounted for USD 100 million in sales. Pachter's estimate reflects USD 425 in sales from new platforms and USD 130 million in sales from current generation software sales.
Once again, in his estimate, the Wii will lead the market in hardware sales. He estimates sell-through of 450,000 Wii consoles, 325,000 Xbox 360 consoles, and 125,000 PlayStation 3 consoles.
Although share prices for the major videogame publishers have pulled back sharply of late, as investors again appear concerned that next generation console cycle strength will be insufficient to overcome a weakening economy, Pachter disagrees and thinks that solid software sales growth will continue well into 2008.
He expects October revenue to be up for Activision, EA, Majesco, and Take-Two, and down for Atari, Midway, THQ, and Ubisoft.
Last week's decision by the NPD Group to discontinue posting monthly reports on console hardware sales didn't go over too well. The gaming press hated it because the NPD console numbers are an excellent resource. Gamers hated it because console sales numbers are an excellent source of angry, gloating forum posts. NPD PR rep David Riley was caught unawares by the backlash, but now he's back with good news.
The NPD had been waiting to hear back from the console manufacturers, and now Riley has informed GameDaily BIZ that the "Big 3" are in fact on board. Therefore the NPD will continue to provide media with the monthly hardware sales tally...
Ah sweet, sweet console sales numbers are now ours to behold each month indefinitely, and everyone lived happily ever after. The end.
the NEO PCE Super Flash Cart 128M version (Driver V1.1) released
download : the NEO PCE Super Flash Cart 128M version released
Function:
- support all PC-E
- support all PC-E CORE
- support all TG16
- support all DUO
- support all GT
- support all SuperGraphx
- support multi PC-E rom,and use switch to swap the game,one cart can store 63 PC-E games maximum
- support 20M Street Fighter II
- memory size up to 128M
- use USB Slim Loader to burn
- plug and play
- reset function support, not need power off console to select the game
Homebrew on the iPhone/iTouch has today joined the mainstream homebrew scenes with the stunning release of a Full Speed GBA Emulator for the iPhone/iTouch by ZodTTD, the release is unique because the iPhone/iTouch are touch screen gadgets.
Solar-powered PMPs still aren't exactly all that easy to come by, but it looks like they're slowly becoming a bit more plentiful, as evidenced by this latest bit of gear from HK Power. As you can see, this one plays up its gaming capabilities quite a bit, which apparently comes in the form of NES and Game Boy emulators, and not anything PlayStation-related, despite the familiar buttons. Otherwise, you'll supposedly also be able to take advantage of the PMP's solar-charging capabilities to power up some of your other devices, and you'll of course get all the usual PMP-related functions, with an SD card slot apparently your only means of storage.
The wailing and gnashing of teeth from the game-playing media seems to have gotten through to the NPD group. Despite earlier statements to the contrary, it looks like for the time being they plan to continue to release console sales figures to the press at large. Next Generation reports:
"NPD Group's David Riley admitted in an e-mail Monday, 'Honestly, it was terribly naive of me to think that we could simply stop providing these after giving them freely for a year ... Nothing is going to change. All will remain the same ... The 'Big Three' [Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony] are on board, so we'll be providing these figures indefinitely.'"
If you've been looking forward to a game's release, odds are that it's coming out this week. Gamasutra has the full list of titles hitting stores in the next few days, and it's a tsunami of gaming goodness. Assassin's Creed, Mario Galaxy, and Crysis are probably the three headlining titles, but no console is spared the deluge. PC Highlights: EverQuest: Secrets of Faydwer, EverQuest II: Rise of Kunark, Kane and Lynch, SimCity Societies. PS3 Highlights: Assassin's Creed, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Kane and Lynch, Beowulf. 360 Highlights: America's Army: True Soldiers, Assassin's Creed, Beowulf, BlackSite: Area 51, Kane & Lynch. Wii Highlights: Mario Galaxy, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Geometry Wars: Galaxies.
While Sega's Nomad handheld didn't exactly take off, Brazil's TecToy nonetheless looks to be ready to take its own shot at a portable Genesis console, although it's new "Mega Drive Portable" appears to be decidedly more limited than Sega's offering. The biggest drawback, as you might have guessed, is that the handheld drops the clunky cartridges in favor of twenty built-in games, including Altered Beast, Ecco, Kid Chameleon, and Sonic & Knuckles, to name a few. On the upside, it does at least appear to be a good deal more portable than the Nomad, and you'll also apparently able to hook the device up to your TV for some bigger screen gaming. If that's enough to put you in a nostalgic mood, you'll be able to grab one of these for about $110 when it hits Brazil on December 5th.
The New York Times has up a piece looking at the ongoing battle between websites and magazines in the world of games journalism. With magazine subscriptions falling every year and a non-stop churn of news online, the article examines the ways that mags try to stay competitive, and the views of the gamers that read them.
"The circulation for PC Gamer, a leading magazine from Future US, shrank to 210,369 this year from 300,271 in 2003, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Magazine publishers say that readers want longer features and in-depth articles as a counterpoint to the short, bloglike pieces they find online. But Kyle Orland, a freelance journalist who writes a media coverage column for Gamedaily.com, wondered if that strategy was working, saying that when a large feature is published, it doesn't get read. 'Attention spans are just getting so small that readers don't know what they want,' Mr. Orland said."
So here's a logical reaction: Parents who don't approve of their children's video game habits, instead of playing with them, simply voice their resentment of games and then look the other way. Makes sense, right? Right?
The results of a poll released by the Associated Press and AOL Games show that 43% of parents never join or even watch their children playing video games. The AP's coverage is peppered with the oh-so-normal parental sound-bytes in response to gaming, calling it a waste of time, and claiming that the violence and obsession are unhealthy for young kids.
What we don't get is if the parents are so concerned over what their kids are playing, then why aren't they paying closer attention? It seems that John Davison's latest venture couldn't come soon enough.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare blasted its way to the top of the charts this week thanks in particular to a strong performance on Xbox 360, which accounted for 63 per cent of the multi-platform game's weekend sales according to Chart-Track's latest data.
THQ's WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 claimed second place, having launched on six formats including next-generation consoles. However, PlayStation 2 owners accounted for 44 per cent of its sales, demonstrating that the console still has plenty of support.
Elsewhere in the top ten, The Simpsons Game held firm at number three thanks in part to the launch of PS3 and PSP SKUs, while last week's top two - Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 and EA Sports' FIFA 08 - sank to four and five respectively as sales slowed.
Nintendo once again bucked that trend, however, as both its Brain Training titles rose up the top ten to take sixth (Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training) and seventh (More Brain Training From Dr. Kawashima) ahead of The Sims 2: Castaway (down one place), Ratatouille (down five places to nine) and Microsoft's Halo 3 (down five to ten).
Other new releases fared less well, with Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga struggling to find purchase in a busy week, managing only 17th place, while Sony will likely be disappointed that the critically acclaimed Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction - described by some as the best PS3 game to date - could only find its way to 19th in the All-Formats Chart. Worse still, it could only make it to third on the PS3's own chart, taking up position behind WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 at number two and Call of Duty 4 at one.
Activision's multi-format first-person shooter certainly won the week - thanks to releases on PC, PlayStation 3 and DS - and picked up strong review scores in the run up to launch, including a 9/10 from our sister site Eurogamer. The game marks a return to form for the series after original developer Infinity Ward reassumed control for the fourth instalment.
It recorded the 11th biggest weekly sell-through ever, according to Chart-Track, and is second only to Halo 3 in terms of Xbox 360 titles in that regard.
Whether it will hold on for a second week is hard to say though, as Nintendo (Super Mario Galaxy - Wii), Ubisoft (Assassin's Creed - PS3/360) and EA (Crysis - PC) all make extremely strong claims starting this Friday. Nintendo, in particular, will be expecting an upsurge in hardware sales as it introduces Mario to the Nintendo Wii in his most traditional guise yet - and in a game critics are describing as the spiritual successor to Super Mario 64, one of its most acclaimed games ever.
The full top ten is as follows:
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2. WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2008
3. The Simpsons Game
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
5. FIFA 08
6. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
7. More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima
8. The Sims 2: Castaway
9. Ratatouille
10. Halo 3
PES and Metal Gear Solid house Konami has revealed that it believes no one format will dominate the playing field this generation, after the PS2 took the lead in almost every territory last time around.
With sales of over 120 million consoles worldwide, Xbox and Gamecube were left to fight for the PS2's scraps. According to Konami, it'll be a lot fairer split this time around.
"Previously, a single home gaming platform [PS2] was the market leader worldwide, but that pattern has changed," the company said in a statement.
"Whichever platform best caters to users' preferences in a particular country or region, in terms of the games available to be played on it, is now the one that will dominate the local market."
With the Wii's lead looking increasingly smaller over the growing 360 and PS3 userbase, we can see what they're on about. Does this mean we'll get MGS4 on Xbox, though?
The JXD301 a new console with several Homebrew developers already working on it is now available for preorder at a decent store rather than the like of dodgy ebay traders.
The JXD 301 has a LTPS TFT (Low Temperature Polysilicon Thin Film Transistor) screen, which allows for better screen performance than most other players. It can also play a large number of audio and video file types, most importantly RM/RMVB, which is growing in use due to is high compression/hi quality ratio, it also allows for FLV playback allowing users to download off sites like You Tube and watch the videos directly on this player. One of the nicest features is its ability to play NES, SNES, SMD, GBC, GBA and Neo Geo games.
Preorder this new Homebrew Console (with emulators already working) at GP2XStore , price $119
Media-Control GfK International has released sales data for the week ending November 9, with Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 still strong in both Spain and Germany.
PES 2008, Brain Training, FIFA 2008 and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass were the only titles to appear on both charts.
Interestingly enough, not a single current-generation title made the Top 10 list in Germany, which instead featured games for the PC, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation 2.
The PC title Fussball Manager 2008 was tops in Germany, followed by Hellgate: London for the PC and the PS2 version of PES 2008.
In Spain, PES took four of the Top 10 spots. The PS2 version was in first place, followed by the PS3 version, with the PC version at number 4 and the Xbox 360 version coming in at number 7.
The complete lists are as follows:
GERMANY:
1. Fussball Manager 2008
2. Hellgate: London
3. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
4. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
5. FIFA 2008 (PS2)
6. Anno 1701 - Der Fluch Des Drachen
7. Dr. Kawashima's Gehirn-Jogging
8. Dr. Kawashima: Mehr Gehirn-Jogging
9. The Witcher
10. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PC)
SPAIN:
1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
2. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS3)
3. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PC)
5. FIFA 2008 (PS2)
6. WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2007 (PS2)
7. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (360)
8. Mas Brain Training
9. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
10. Football Manager 2008
Ahead of the release of NPD's October hardware and software sales results, Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter and simExchange's Jesse Divnich have predicted the Wii will once again emerge on top of the hardware charts, and Activision will dominate software with Guitar Hero and Call of Duty.
Though the September release of Halo 3 saw Xbox 360 sales push just past those of the Wii, the analysts have said that despite hardware shortages, Nintendo's console will regain its top slot. Pachter has predicted 450,000 Wiis sold to simExchange's 467,000, ahead of their Xbox 360 predictions of 325,000 and 412,000.
Both see PS3 in last place with 125,000 and 136,000 units sold respectively, despite the 80GB model's recent price drop to $499.
What a difference a year makes. As we move into the one year anniversary of the "console wars," Game Daily takes a quick look at the current state of affairs. No huge revelations, just a standard assessment of what's going on written by our own Mr. Orland. The basics are:
Wii: The Wii blitzed the last year and is selling at a phenomenal pace. The only thing really holding it back at this point is software. Publishers weren't ready for the Wii's success, which has translated into massive quantities of reheated waggle ports. If third-party publishers start putting more effort behind the console, it won't be a "fad" created by Nintendo supporting Nintendo games.
Xbox 360: The console with an extra year under its belt really delivered this past year with BioShock, Halo 3, Gears of War and others. A third-party publisher darling, the Xbox hasn't gotten a hold in Japan and has to continue bringing the solid titles as the Wii and PS3 finish their warm-up year.
PS3: It's gettin' there, it's gettin' there. Hype may have gotten the heir-apparent through the end of last year, but '07 was not kind to the console. Things are slowly turning around now with Ratchet & Clank, along with Drake's Fortune and Heavenly Sword, but Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII are expected to get the ball really rolling next year.
A year into the console wars and the answer is that it's still anyone's game. A console is defined by its games, and it's still a little early to figure out the path of the two newest consoles. The Wii may pull out the third party support in '08 and publishers may finally get more comfortable designing games for the PS3. The Xbox 360 will continue to hold its own as long as it keeps having superstar type titles like BioShock and Gears of War. Year two of the console wars should begin showing the future much better.
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
Also in this week, further holiday season highlights keep coming, especially for all next-gen consoles. Xbox360™ sellers this week have been Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed (this Asia version on backorder, but the game is expected to arrive as US release next week), Need for Speed: Pro Street, Beowulf and Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (also available as Treasure Box).
Top selling PlayStation3™ games have been Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Need for Speed: Pro Street, Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (Regular / Treasure Box) and the Dual Shock 3 hardware releases (Black / Ceramic White).
Nintendo Wii™ highlights have been Capcom's Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (aka. Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles in Japan) and the US version releases Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.
For PlayStation2™ we've got Bandai's anime based Soukou Kihei Votoms and Capcom's budget release edition of Street Fighter Zero - Fighters Generation.
The most popular handheld game releases have been Orcs & Elves, Cooking Mama 2, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker and Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou for Nintendo DS™ as well as Silent Hill: Origins, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus and SOCOM US Navy Seals Tactical Strike for PSP™.
As usually, here's a summary of all new releases from this week
Xbox360™:
Assassin's Creed ASIA US$ 54.90
Beowulf US US$ 59.90
Beowulf ASIA US$ 49.90
Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War US US$ 59.90
Cabela's Big Game Hunter US US$ 44.90
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare US US$ 64.90
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Collector's Edition US US$ 79.90
Cars: Mater-National US US$ 49.90
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga US US$ 49.90
Need for Speed: Pro Street ASIA US$ 44.90
Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action US US$ 69.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 JPN US$ 68.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 [Treasure Box] JPN US$ 129.90
Xbox 360 Faceplate (Assassin's Creed) ASIA N/A
Xbox 360 Rechargeable Battery Pack (Blue) US US$ 19.90
Xbox 360 Rechargeable Battery Pack (Pink) US US$ 19.90
PlayStation3™:
Beowulf US US$ 64.90
Bladestorm: Hundred Years War US US$ 64.90
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare US US$ 64.90
Dual Shock 3 (Black) JPN US$ 69.90
Dual Shock 3 (Ceramic White) JPN US$ 69.90
Heavenly Sword JPN US$ 59.90
Need for Speed: Pro Street ASIA US$ 49.90
PlayStation3 Console (HDD 40GB Model) Clear Black - 110V JPN US$ 399.00
PlayStation3 Console (HDD 40GB Model) Clear White - 110V JPN US$ 399.00
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction JPN US$ 59.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 JPN US$ 68.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (w/ PlayStation3 Console 40GB Ceramic White) JPN US$ 499.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 [Treasure Box] JPN US$ 129.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Barbie as The Island Princess US US$ 44.90
Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles JPN US$ 64.90
Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles (w/ Wii Zapper) JPN N/A
Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey US US$ 44.90
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn US US$ 59.90
Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour US US$ 49.90
High School Musical: Sing It US US$ 49.90
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga US US$ 49.90
Manhunt 2 US US$ 49.90
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games US US$ 49.90
My Word Coach US US$ 49.90
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles US US$ 49.90
PlayStation2™:
Barbie as The Island Princess US US$ 34.90
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 US US$ 49.90
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle US US$ 129.90
Hayarikami 2 JPN US$ 64.90
Manea Sugoroku: Kabukuro JPN US$ 59.90
Shin Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams (PlayStation2 the Best Reprint) JPN US$ 19.90
Soukou Kihei Votoms JPN US$ 64.90
Street Fighter Zero - Fighters Generation (Best Price) JPN US$ 19.90
Nintendo DS™:
Arctic Tale US US$ 24.90
Barbie as The Island Princess US US$ 34.90
Betty Boops Double Shift US US$ 24.90
Build-A-Bear Workshop US US$ 34.90
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare US US$ 34.90
Compact Pouch DS Lite (Silver) JPN US$ 8.90
Cooking Mama 2 JPN US$ 48.90
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker US US$ 44.90
Dungeon Explorer: Jashin no Ryouiki JPN US$ 48.90
Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou JPN US$ 48.90
HameKomi Lucky Puzzle DS JPN US$ 39.90
Horse Life US US$ 34.90
Hot Wheels: Beat That US US$ 34.90
Karada Yorokobu Shokuji & Exercise: Kenkou Kentei JPN US$ 39.90
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga US US$ 39.90
LifeSigns: Surgical Unit US US$ 34.90
Monster Jam US US$ 34.90
My French Coach US US$ 34.90
My Spanish Coach US US$ 34.90
My Word Coach US US$ 34.90
Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots US US$ 34.90
Orcs & Elves US US$ 34.90
Pac-Pix KOR US$ 49.90
Panzer Tactics DS US US$ 34.90
Pro Yakyuu Famista DS JPN US$ 48.90
Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure US US$ 24.90
Snoopy to Issho ni DS Eigo Lesson JPN US$ 48.90
Wine no Hajimekata DS JPN US$ 29.90
World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets US US$ 34.90
Sony PSP™:
Anata o Yurusanai JPN US$ 48.90
Dungeon Explorer: Meiyaku no Tobira JPN US$ 48.90
Dungeon Explorer: Meiyaku no Tobira ASIA US$ 39.90
Inner Ear Earphone Portable (Black) JPN US$ 9.90
Inner Ear Earphone Portable (White) JPN US$ 9.90
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus (English language Version) ASIA US$ 24.90
NBA Live 08 KOR US$ 49.90
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes KOR US$ 49.90
Neckstrap Headphone JPN US$ 12.90
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike US US$ 39.90
Selection Pack Portable (Black) JPN US$ 24.90
Selection Pack Portable (White) JPN US$ 24.90
Silent Hill: Origins US US$ 39.90
The Simpsons Game ASIA US$ 42.90
World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets US US$ 34.90
Gameboy Advance™:
Barbie as The Island Princess US US$ 34.90
PC Games:
Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition ASIA US$ 36.90
Clive Barker's Jericho (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 39.90
Crysis (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 39.90
Crysis Collector's Edition (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 49.90
Death to Spies (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 26.90
Empire Earth 3 (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 34.90
F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 24.90
F.E.A.R. Platinum Collection: The Complete Collection (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 34.90
Legend of Heroes: Sora no Kiseki Second Chapter -Limited Edition ASIA US$ 37.90
Legend of Heroes: Sora no Kiseki Second Chapter -Tranditional Chinese Edition (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 29.90
Need for Speed: Pro Street (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 39.90
SimCity Societies (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 39.90
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 34.90
Guide Books:
Assassin's Creed Limited Edition Bundle [Guide + Artbook] US US$ 34.90
Assassin's Creed: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Battalion Wars 2: Prima's Authorized Field Manual US US$ 12.90
BlackSite: Area 51 Official Strategy Guide US US$ 16.90
Hellgate London Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
SOCOM US Navy Seals Tactical Strike Official Strategy Guide US US$ 16.90
Silent Hill: Origins Official Strategy Guide US US$ 16.90
Sims 2 Castaway: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 16.90
Super Mario Galaxy: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
TimeShift: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 16.90
Toys & More:
Act Cadenza Melty Blood Vol. 4 Non Scale Pre-Painted Figure: Arcueid JPN US$ 14.90
Act Cadenza Melty Blood Vol. 4 Non Scale Pre-Painted Figure: Len JPN US$ 14.90
Aero Flightech R/C Remote Plane - No.01 Blue US$ 31.90
Aero Flightech R/C Remote Plane - No.02 Red US$ 31.90
Aero Flightech R/C Remote Plane - No.03 Green US$ 31.90
Blacklist Crows X Worst The 3rd Collection of the List Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Stylish (Spring & Summer Version) JPN US$ 7.90
Chichinoe+ 2 Young Hip Cover Girl 1/6 Scale Painted PVC Figure JPN N/A
Chobits Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Chi (Pink Version) JPN N/A
Extra !Story Image Figure Trigun Maximum Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Trading Figure JPN US$ 4.90
Gremlins Gizmo Backpack Plush Doll US$ 24.90
Gremlins Gizmo Pillow Pal Plush Doll US$ 24.90
Mai-Hime 1/7 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Tokiha Mai (Y-shirt Vers.) JPN N/A
Marvel Legends Series 8 Pre-Painted Action Figure: Classic Captain America N/A
Marvel Legends Series 8 Pre-Painted Action Figure: Ultimate Captain America N/A
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny DX Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Cagalli Yula Athha JPN US$ 17.90
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny DX Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Lacus Clyne JPN US$ 17.90
Naruto Shippuden Naruto Mascot Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Key Chain Gashapon JPN US$ 2.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Extra Bianco E Colore Rosso Figure: Rei Ayanami JPN US$ 17.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Extra Bianco E Colore Rosso Figure: Sohryu Asuka Langley JPN US$ 17.90
New Super Mario Bros. Sound Plush Doll Vol.2: Goomba JPN N/A
New Super Mario Bros. Sound Plush Doll Vol.2: Question Block JPN US$ 19.90
New Super Mario Bros. Sound Plush Doll Vol.2: Star JPN N/A
Pia Carrot G.O. Pre-painted 1/8 Scale PVC Figure: Mimori Kugahara (Jogging Vers.) JPN US$ 19.90
Pocket Monsters Pokemon Super Talking Advance Generation Figure: Luke Rio JPN US$ 14.90
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Digital Wrist Watch with Ramune Candy JPN US$ 4.90
Resinya D.C. Da Capo 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Shirakawa Kotori (Cospa Version) JPN US$ 69.90
Revoltech Yamaguchi Series 039 Gaiking LEGEND OF DAIKU-MARYU Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Gaiking (Face Open Version) JPN US$ 19.90
Samurai Spirits Maid 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Iroha (Pink Version) JPN N/A
Shijo Saikyo no Deshi Kenichi Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Furinji Miu JPN US$ 59.90
Shijo Saikyo no Deshi Kenichi Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Kosaka Shigure JPN US$ 59.90
Shoku Chichi 2 - Sanae 1/4 Scale Prepainted PVC Figure JPN N/A
Superjambo Plush Doll Pingu (Head-shaking version) JPN US$ 16.90
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Ryouko Asakura JPN US$ 47.90
To Heart 2 Another Days 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted Figure: Chie Yoshioka JPN US$ 39.90
Zenmai Zamurai Plush: Mamemaru (head-shaking version) JPN US$ 8.90
Zenmai Zamurai Plush: Mysterious Cupola Helmeted Man (head-shaking version) JPN US$ 8.90
Zenmai Zamurai Plush: Zenmai Zamurai (head-shaking version) JPN US$ 8.90
Zenmai Zamurai Plush: Zukinchan (head-shaking version) JPN US$ 8.90
Sony is happy at the moment. PS3 sales have almost tripled in the US, and new official figures from Japan have revealed that Sony's console has actually outsold the seemingly unstoppable Wii for the first time ever.
For the week ending November 11, Media Create figures put PS3 sales at 55, 924, while Wii only managed 34,546.
This is great news for Sony, whose sales were probably helped along by the recent release of Dydnasty Warriors 4 - the latest in the mundane hack-'em-up that those guys seem to lap up.
The PSP did well, too, with over 58,000 sales - just 20,000 behind the DS with 78,000 sales. Could this be a turning point for Sony? Here's the complete list of hardware sales in Japan for the week ending November 11:
US videogame hardware and software sales increased 73 per cent in October according to NPD sales data.
Total sales were USD 1.1 billion, compared with USD 643 million a year earlier.
Nintendo's Wii returned to lead hardware sales with 519,000 consoles sold, ahead of 366,000 Xbox 360 consoles and 121,000 PlayStation 3 consoles. The Xbox 360 temporarily knocked the Wii out of the top spot in September, thanks to the release of Halo 3.
Total videogame software sales were USD 513.9 million, up 39 per cent from the previous October.
Halo 3 led software sales for the month of October, despite a significant drop from the prior month, with 433,800 units sold.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, bundled with the guitar controller, held the second, third, and fourth spots on the chart. The Xbox 360 version was the most popular SKU, with 383,200 units sold, followed by 286,300 units of the Wii version and 271,100 units of the PS2 version.
The PS2 version, sans guitar controller, came in at number eight, with 231,700 units sold.
Other titles in the top ten were The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the DS, at number five with 262,800 units sold, Wii Play at number six with 239,700 units sold, and the Xbox 360 version of The Orange Box at number seven with 238,400 units sold.
Rounding out the top ten were the PS2 version of FIFA Soccer 08, with 129,700 units sold, and the DS game Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day, with 116,900 units sold.
The simExchange October review report, based on information taken from the online prediction market simExchange, believes that the Xbox 360 will outsell the PlayStation 3 in the US by almost 2-to-1 between now and the end of the year.
According to analyst Jesse Divnich the Xbox 360 will sell just over 2 million units, while the PS3 will sell just over 1 million - although the Wii and DS will trump them both handsomely, shifting 3.28 million and 2.86 million units respectively.
The market, which isn't based on actual financial transactions but the predictions of thousands of gamers, developers and industry watchers, does take into account the introduction of the 40GB version of the PS3, but notes that actual software sales for October were lower than market predictions.
Ratchet and Clank Future only sold 74,500 units last month, compared to an estimate of 129,000, although promising reviews of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - predicted to sell 286,000 units in December - could spell an upturn.
In terms of software predictions, sales estimates for Assassin's Creed have fallen sharply on the back of lower-than-expected review scores globally.
Divnich points to an average score in the 80 - 90 per cent bracket, rather than the previously predicted 95 per cent, and revised sales estimates have fallen from 2.85 million units to 1.84 million for the Xbox 360 and from 1.48 million to 1.38 million for the PS3 edition.
Meanwhile the simExchange market predicts Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare to take the number one spot in the US in November - more Activision success following Guitar Hero III's triumph in October.
Finally the report predicts a bumper year for software sales, with November up 31 percent year on year and selling USD 1.05 billion, and December up 27 per cent to USD 2.19 billion.
The DS Lite regained the top spot in Japanese hardware sales during October 2007 after PSP claimed the title in September. According to Famitsu, the dual screens moved 318,000 units last month. Sony's handheld wasn't far behind, though, with 279,000 sold. The portable duo left all the home consoles in the dust.
The Wii came in a distant third with 110,415 units sold. The numbers drop off considerably from there: 47,183 for the PlayStation 3, 45,447 for the PS2, and 18,717 for the Xbox 360.
Fun fact: the 360 has now sold more units than the original Xbox in Japan. Cumulative sales of the current-gen system stand at 474,000 -- 1,000 more than the Xbox. The 360 only has two games in the Top 50, though: Beautiful Katamari at #36, and Halo 3 at #47.
The DS moved the most software during October as well, by quite a large margin. Just over a million, to not be exact. Coming in second with around half that amount in sales was the PS2 with 562,800 units. The PSP moved 301,800 UMDs, and the Wii sold 243,800 bits of software. PS3 and 360 sold 73,500 and 32,500 discs, respectively.
The best selling PSP game last month was Gundam Battle Chronicle, which was the second best-selling game overall.
Well, well, would you look at that, Lenovo's i909 gaming phone. Oh the specs are ok -- 2 megapixel camera, microSD, and 2.4-inch, 262k color, QVGA display on a 15.5-mm candybar -- but it's the on-board NES emulator and snap-on D-pad which has our attention. Sure, we've seen these mashups before, but they never do get old, eh Game King? China only, for now.
Next month's issue of Game Informer has a big, familiar symbol on its cover. On their website, they tease the announcement of a brand-new Ghostbusters video game. This isn't some knock-off, either:
"Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd are getting back together and revisiting their roles to make a sequel to Ghostbusters 1 and 2 - in video-game form, and we've got the first details. Both Aykroyd and Ramis are teaming up for scriptwriting duties and are going far beyond just the typical licensed add-your-voice-to-the-game-you-had-nothing-to-do-with formula"
Mario Party DS for the Nintendo DS has debuted in the Japanese software chart at number one, according to the latest data from Media Create.
The title sold 234,708 copies, and was followed by another new entry - Shin Sangoku Musou 5 for the PlayStation 3 which sold 188,456 copies. The Xbox 360 edition went straight it at number five, but only sold 21,837 units.
Super Mario Galaxy held up well in third for the week of sales ending November 11, with other new entries for Castlevania Chronicle on the PSP in sixth place and Ratchet and Clank Future for the PS3 entering in tenth.
The full top ten is as follows:
1. Mario Party DS (DS)
2. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (PS3)
3. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
4. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS)
5. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (360)
6. Castlevania Chronicle (PSP)
7. Wii Sports (Wii)
8. DS Nishimura Kyotarou Suspense Detective Series: Deadly Intent (DS)
9. Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (DS)
10. Ratchet and Clank Future (PS3)
The latest videogame sales data released for Germany and Spain shows Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare making a strong debut.
In Germany, Activision's first-person shooter captured the top three spots, with the PC version at number one, followed by the Xbox 360 version and the PS3 version in at number three.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was slightly less popular in Spain, but still managed to capture three of the top ten spots. The PS3 version debuted at number three, followed by the Xbox 360 version at number four and the PC version at number eight.
THQ's WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008 took three spots on the Spanish sales charts; Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 took the top spot (PS2 version) and the number six spot (PS3 version).
The official console and PC software charts for the week ending November 11, courtesy of Media-Control GfK International, were as follows:
Germany:
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360)
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)
4. Hellgate: London (PC)
5. WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2008 (PS2)
6. Fussball Manager 2008 (PC)
7. Singstar: Apres Ski (PS2)
8. Dr. Kawashima's Gehirn-Jogging (DS)
9. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
10. Singstar: Rock Ballads (PS2)
Spain:
1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
2. WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008 (PS2)
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360)
5. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (PS2)
6. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS3)
7. WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008 (PS3)
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
9. WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008 (PSP)
10. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
Gamepolitics and the site Physorg have an in-depth look at a study (pdf) done on the educational nature of violent games. While the implications of the study reinforce the old 'games lead to violent kids' saw, the authors of the research stress that they're more interested in talking up the benefits of games in education.
"When considered in the light of what is known to be the "best practices" of education, violent video games appear to be exemplary teachers of aggression ... It should therefore be no surprise that video games are excellent teachers, both of educational content and of violent content... The fact that learning occurs regardless of whether the effects are intentional or unintentional is irrelevant, and should make us more thoughtful about designing games and choosing games for children and adolescents to play."
features
Stereo Sound Detection System: “Hears” and reacts to sounds
IR Vision: Detects and avoids obstacles; tracks moving objects
True bi-pedal walking with multiple gaits
Precision gripping, articulated fingers
Realistic 2-axis turning head with animated LED eyes
100 pre-programmed functions
2 demonstration modes
6 programming modes
Multiple levels of environmental interaction, with humans and objects
Sight, sound and touch senses
Humanoid body movements, including bending, sitting and standing, lying down and getting up, dancing, waving, martial arts
Speech: Responds verbally to environmental stimuli and to controller commands
Color Vision System: Recognizes colors and skin tones
Remote control, autonomous “free roam” and guard modes
Sleep and auto-shut off function
60cm (around 24 inches) tall
description
Robosapien V2 is a highly evolved robotic fusion of technology and personality, combining fluid biomechanical motion with a multi-sensory, interactive humanoid personality.
features
Platform: PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, Nintendo DS, PSP
Pages: 464
Over 15,000 codes for over 1000 PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, Nintendo DS, and PSP games.
A great, inexpensive, gift idea for the gamer who has everything.
Adds replayability to any game.
Activate invincibility, gain infinite ammunition, unlock hidden items, characters, and levels!
Best selling code book in history!
All codes verified in house at Prima!
In the wake of the Manhunt 2 rating furor, several US Senators have called for a review of the ESRB's ratings process.
According to Game Politics, Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) sent the letter to ESRB president Patricia Vance yesterday.
All four Senators have been critics of the videogame industry in the past, with Lieberman generally credited with pressuring the industry to create the ratings system after Congressional hearings in the mid-1990's.
Brownback has legislation pending in the Senate which would mandate that the ESRB play games to their entirety before assigning a rating.
The letter made reference to the BBFC ban on Manhunt 2 in which it found that the game contained "unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone." It also noted that the BBFC refused to rate a revised Manhunt 2 in October 2007.
The Senators expressed concern over the Nintendo’s Wii version of the game, suggesting that the Wii's motion-sensitive controller "permits children to act out each of the many graphic torture scenes and murders."
"In sum, we ask your consideration of whether it is time to review the robustness, reliability and repeatability of your ratings process, particularly for this genre of 'ultra-violent' videogames and advances in game controllers," the letter stated.
Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed has shot to the top of the UK all-formats charts and become the second fastest-selling new IP on an individual format behind 2002's The Getaway.
The Xbox 360 version of the game claims 67 per cent of sales, with the PlayStation 3 version taking the remaining 33 per cent. It also becomes the third fastest-selling Xbox 360 game within a weekly sales period.
Last week's number one, Activision's Call of Duty 4, has been knocked from the top as it suffers a 33 per cent fall in sales.
At number three this week is EA's The Simpsons Game, taking a 9 per cent dip in sales, while THQ's WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 is at number four.
Nintendo's new entry Super Mario Galaxy only manages to debut at number five but becomes the fastest-selling Wii game, with Dr Kawashima's Brain Training staying at number six following a 62 per cent climb in sales.
Electronic Arts' FIFA 08 slips to number seven this week, whle Disney's High School Musical: Sing It! leaps into the top ten at eight with a massive 170 per cent boost in sales following a release on the Nintendo Wii.
Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is down to number nine and More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima sits at number ten.
The only other new entry in the top forty this week is EA's PC-exclusive Crysis at number 14.
That's right, according to RipTen the Sony PS3 outsold the Nintendo Wii for 2 weeks in a row.
The latest sales are in from Japan for the week starting 12/11 and ending 18/11, and surprisingly the PS3 is holding on in there with its new 40GB model, fighting off Nintendo’s Wii for another week. The Xbox360 also sees a rise, and Super Mario Galaxy and Heavenly Sword also having respectable sales. Find out the numbers after the jump.
Elite, the Metroid series, Dungeon Siege, God of War I and II, Half-Life (but not Half-Life 2), Shadow of the Colossus, the Grand Theft Auto series; some of the best games ever (and Dungeon Siege) have done away with the level mechanic and created uninterrupted game spaces devoid of loading screens and artificial breaks between periods of play. Much like cut scenes, level loads are anathema to enjoyment of game play, and a throwback to the era of the Vic-20 and Commodore 64 - when games were stored on cassette tapes, and memory was measured in kilobytes. So in this era of multi-megabyte and gigabyte memory and fast access storage devices why do we continue to have games that are dominated by the level structure, be they commercial (Portal), independent (Darwinia) and amateur (Angband)? Why do games still have levels?
Well, its a little past the 1 year birthday mark for the PlayStation 3 and Wii, as both launched a year ago in the US. The DS just went on 3 years since it launched in the US as well.
With the DS, PlayStation 3 PSP and Xbox360 being found easily in stores, what are your thoughts on the hard to find Wii? Its near impossible to find in the US. What about in other countries, are you feeling the same effect with shortages?
If the Wii is sold out and parents are unable to buy it for their kids, which system do you think parents will get next to fulfill the kids wishlist? (Divineo UK do have Nintendo Wii`s in stock)
Discuss your opinion on shortages and the upcoming holiday shopping. We want to know what you have to say!
Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed has topped the multiformat charts in Sweden, battling stiff competition from Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy at two and EA's Crysis at four.
Activision's Call of Duty 4 also performs well, with the PC, 360 and PS3 versions sitting at five, six and seven in the charts, respectively.
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters takes the number one position in the PlayStation Portable charts, while The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass holds on to the top of the DS charts.
The full Swedish charts follow:
Multiformat
1. Assassins Creed (360)
2. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
3. Assassins Creed (PS3)
4. Crysis (PC)
5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
6. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360)
7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)
8. Singstar Svenska hits Schlager (PS2)
9. World of Warcraft (PC)
10. Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction (PS3)
11. The Sims 2 Tonårsprylar (PC)
12. High School Musical: Sing It! (PS2)
13. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC)
14. Counter-Strike 1: Anthology (PC)
15. Hellgate: London (PC)
16. The Sims 2 Jorden Runt (PC)
17. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
18. Football Manager 2008 (PC)
19. En riktig jul - Julkalendern 2007 (PC)
20. FIFA 08 (PS2)
PC
1. Crysis
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
3. World of Warcraft
4. The Sims 2 Tonårsprylar
5. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
6. Counter-Strike 1: Anthology
7. Hellgate: London
8. The Sims 2 Jorden Runt
9. Football Manager 2008
10. En riktig jul - Julkalendern 2007
PlayStation 2
1. Singstar Svenska hits Schlager
2. High School Musical: Sing It!
3. FIFA 08
4. The Simpsons
5. Singstar Svenska hits
6. Lego Star Wars: The Video Game
7. Guitar Hero 2 Rock the 80´s
8. GTA San Andreas
9. Buzz: The Mega Quiz
10. Eye Toy Play 3
PlayStation 3
1. Assassins Creed
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
3. Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction
4. FIFA 08
5. NHL 08
6. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
7. The Simpsons
8. Lair
9. Lego Star Wars 1 & 2 The Complete Saga
10. Virtua Tennis 3
Xbox 360
1. Assassins Creed
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
3. Halo 3
4. FIFA 08
5. Naruto: Rise of a Ninja
6. Lego Star Wars 1 & 2 The Complete Saga
7. Scene it
8. NHL 08
9. Guitar Hero 2
10. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
Wii
1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. Metroid Prime 3 Corruption
3. Legend of Zelda: The Twillight Princess
4. Rayman Raving Rabbids
5. Table Tennis
6. The Simpsons
7. Lego Star Wars 1 & 2 The Complete Saga
8. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
9. Super Paper Mario
10. Carnival Games
Nintendo DS
1. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
2. New Super Mario Bros
3. Lego Star Wars 1 & 2 The Complete Saga
4. Pokémon Diamond
5. Pokémon Pearl
6. Bilar
7. Mario Kart DS
8. The Simpsons
9. The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
10. Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends
PSP
1. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
2. FIFA 08
3. The Simpsons
4. GTA Vice City Stories
5. Tekken Dark Resurrection
6. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
7. Need for Speed Underground Rivals
8. Medal of Honor: Heroes
9. Daxter
10. NHL 07
All chart information supplied by Dataspelsbranschen.
Mario Party DS continued to sell well in Japan last week, with 116,000 units of the Nintendo title flying off shelves to keep it top of the software chart.
Sales information from Media Create for the week ending November 18 put the latest Resident Evil title for the Wii - Umbrella Chronicles - at number two, shifting 83,000 copies in its first week.
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 for the PlayStation 3 was third, while new entries Pro Baseball Family Stadium DS and Game Center CX: Arino's Challenge were fourth and fifth respectively.
One surprise in the chart was that the much-hyped Heavenly Sword, only released in Japan on November 15, sold just 15,000 copies - over 100,000 less that Mario Party DS, and only 2000 more than old-timer Wii Sports.
The full software top ten for Japan is as follows:
1. Mario Party DS (DS)
2. Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)
3. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (PS3)
4. Pro Baseball Family Stadium DS (DS)
5. Game Center CX: Arino's Challenge (DS)
6. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
7. Heavenly Sword (PS3)
8. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS)
9. Wii Sports (Wii)
10. Armored Soldiers: Votoms (PS2)
A survey has found that almost 50 per cent of minors in the US have been able to buy games rated M for Mature from retailers.
The study found that of over 60 stores nationwide, 46 per cent sold M rated games to consumers under the age of 18, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The survey was carried out by the East County Youth Coalition and the National Institute on Media and Family.
The findings back-up a report from the NIMF last year, which also found that half of retailers willingly sold adult games to a young audience.
This week, US senators began to put pressure on ESRB ratings, calling for a review of the system.
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
As we've been expecting, it's been another tremendous release week, with plenty of new and exciting arrivals for Thanksgiving and of course the ongoing Christmas business.
Popular multi platform sellers this week have been Konami's Winning Eleven 2008, the US editions of Ubisoft's action adventure Assassin's Creed, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008.
The hottest Asian Xbox360™ seller this week has been the sci-fi RPG hit Mass Effect, followed by Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
For PlayStation3™ we've got Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the US edition of The Eye of Judgment and Time Crisis 4 with Guncon 3.
The most popular Wii™ arrivals in this week have been the US version of Super Mario Galaxy, followed by Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (US) and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Japanese).
There have also been a lot of interesting handheld releases, including Contra 4, Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, Ckoking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends and Ultimate Mortal Kombat for Nintendo DS™ as well as Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus, Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command, Alien vs Predator: Requiem and Sonic Rivals 2 for PSP™.
As usually, here's a summary of all new arrivals from this week, followed by coming week's preview, once again including plenty of hot new games.
Xbox360™:
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation ASIA US$ 49.90
Assassin's Creed US US$ 64.90
BlackSite: Area 51 US US$ 59.90
Final Fantasy XI: Vana'diel Collection JPN US$ 69.90
Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess JPN US$ 39.90
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix JPN US$ 64.90
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men US US$ 59.90
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga ASIA US$ 44.90
Mass Effect ASIA US$ 49.90
Medal of Honor: Airborne JPN US$ 64.90
Monster Jam US US$ 49.90
Need for Speed: Pro Street US US$ 59.90
Rock Band US US$ 64.90
Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action ASIA US$ 69.90
Soldier of Fortune: Payback US US$ 64.90
WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008 US US$ 59.90
WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008 ASIA US$ 49.90
Winning Eleven 2008 ASIA US$ 64.90
Winning Eleven 2008 JPN US$ 69.90
PlayStation3™:
Assassin's Creed US US$ 64.90
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix JPN US$ 64.90
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men US US$ 64.90
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga ASIA US$ 48.90
Need for Speed: Pro Street US US$ 64.90
Remy no Oishii Restaurant / Ratatouille JPN US$ 59.90
Rock Band US US$ 64.90
The Eye of Judgment US US$ 79.90
Time Crisis 4 with Guncon 3 ASIA US$ 99.90
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune US US$ 64.90
WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008 US US$ 64.90
Winning Eleven 2008 ASIA US$ 69.90
Winning Eleven 2008 JPN US$ 69.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Cars: Mater-National US US$ 49.90
Dragon Blade JPN US$ 59.90
Gegege no Kitarou: Youkai Daiundoukai JPN US$ 59.90
High School Musical: Sing It Bundle with Microphone US US$ 64.90
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games JPN US$ 59.90
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 US US$ 49.90
Need for Speed: Pro Street US US$ 49.90
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 US US$ 49.90
Smarty Pants US US$ 49.90
Super Mario Galaxy US US$ 59.90
Tomb Raider: Anniversary US US$ 44.90
USB Illumination Stand (Black) JPN US$ 19.90
USB Illumination Stand (White) JPN US$ 19.90
WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008 US US$ 49.90
PlayStation2™:
Dokapon Kingdom JPN US$ 64.90
EX Jinsei Game II (PlayStation2 the Best Reprint) JPN US$ 34.90
Exclusive Placing Stand (Ceramic White) JPN US$ 14.90
Exclusive Placing Stand (Charcoal Black) JPN US$ 14.90
Exclusive Placing Stand (Satin Silver) JPN US$ 14.90
Fatal Frame (PlayStation2 the Best Reprint) JPN US$ 19.90
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (PlayStation2 the Best Reprint) JPN US$ 19.90
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented (PlayStation2 the Best Reprint) JPN US$ 19.90
Final Fantasy XI: Vana'diel Collection JPN US$ 79.90
Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess JPN US$ 39.90
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix JPN US$ 64.90
High School Musical: Sing It Bundle With Microphone US US$ 59.90
High School Musical: Sing it US US$ 44.90
King of Fighters XI US US$ 24.90
Minna no Tennis / Everybody's Tennis (PlayStation2 the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Monster Jam US US$ 34.90
Pachitte Chonmage Tatsujin 13: Pachinko Hissatsu Shigotojin III JPN US$ 64.90
PlayStation2 Console Ceramic White (SCPH-90000CW) JPN US$ 179.00
PlayStation2 Console Charcoal Black (SCPH-90000CB) JPN US$ 179.00
PlayStation2 Console Satin Silver (SCPH-90000SS) JPN US$ 179.00
Pri-Saga! Princess o Sagase! JPN US$ 64.90
Pri-Saga! Princess o Sagase! [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 89.90
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords US US$ 24.90
Shiju Hachi JPN US$ 64.90
Swashbucklers: Blue & Grey US US$ 24.90
Umisho JPN US$ 64.90
Umisho [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 95.00
WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008 US US$ 59.90
Winning Eleven 2008 JPN US$ 64.90
Nintendo DS™:
1500 DS Spirits Vol.6 Trump JPN US$ 15.90
1500 DS Spirits Vol.7 Chess JPN US$ 15.90
1500 DS Spirits Vol.8 Darts JPN US$ 15.90
1500 DS Spirits Vol.9 2 Ninuchi Mahjong JPN US$ 15.90
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? US US$ 34.90
Bratz: 4 Real US US$ 34.90
Catz 2 ASIA US$ 34.90
Chou Kantan Boki Nyuumon DS JPN US$ 39.90
Contra 4 US US$ 34.90
Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends US US$ 34.90
Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi JPN US$ 49.90
Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends: Imagination Invaders US US$ 34.90
Hamsterz 2 ASIA US$ 34.90
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix JPN US$ 48.90
Hori Wi-Fi USB Adapter JPN US$ 38.90
Jenga World Tour US US$ 34.90
Juushin Enbu DS JPN US$ 48.90
Kodai Ouja: Kyouryuu King - 7-tsu no Kakera JPN US$ 48.90
Kouenji Onago Soccer 2 JPN US$ 48.90
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga ASIA US$ 34.90
My Best Friends- Cats & Dogs ASIA US$ 34.90
Nazotte Oboeru Otona no Kanji Renshuu Kanzenhan JPN US$ 39.90
Need for Speed: Pro Street US US$ 34.90
Petz Horsez 2 US US$ 34.90
Puzzle de Harvest Moon US US$ 39.90
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 ASIA US$ 32.90
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 US US$ 34.90
Ryuusei no RockMan 2: Berserk x Dinosaur JPN US$ 48.90
Ryuusei no RockMan 2: Berserk x Shinobi JPN US$ 48.90
Sankei Sports Kanshuu: Wi-Fi Baken Yosou Ryoku Training: Umania 2007 Nendo-Han JPN US$ 64.90
Ultimate Mortal Kombat US US$ 34.90
Unou Ikusei: IQ Breeder JPN US$ 39.90
WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008 US US$ 34.90
WanSeg TV Tuner DS JPN US$ 89.90
Wantame Music Channel: Doko Demo Style JPN US$ 48.90
Yomesou de Yomenai Kanji DS JPN US$ 39.90
Sony PSP™:
AIR JPN US$ 48.90
Alien vs Predator: Requiem US US$ 39.90
An Idol and a Baseball Fist 2 JPN US$ 37.90
Component AV Cable XL (4 meters / 13.12 ft.) US$ 9.99
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix JPN US$ 14.90
MAX Power Slim US$ 24.90
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus US US$ 24.90
Planetarium Curator Ohira Takayuki Kanshuu: Home Star Portable (Sega the Best) JPN US$ 19.90
Protection Filter Portable JPN US$ 7.99
Sakura Taisen 1&2 (Sega the Best) JPN US$ 28.90
Sarugetchu: Pipo Saru Racer (PSP the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Sarugetchu: Pipo Saru Racer (PSP the Best) ASIA US$ 24.90
Sonic Rivals 2 US US$ 39.90
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 KOR US$ 49.90
WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008 US US$ 39.90
Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command US US$ 34.90
PC Games:
Avencast: Rise of the Mage (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 34.90
BlackSite: Area 51 (DVD-ROM) US US$ 49.90
Final Fantasy XI: Vana'diel Collection JPN US$ 79.90
Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess JPN US$ 39.90
Book releases:
Assassin's Creed Limited Edition Art Book US US$ 29.90
Codes & Cheats Winter 2008: Prima Games Code Book (Codes & Cheats) US US$ 6.90
Crysis: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Mass Effect Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Viva Pinata Ultimate Sticker Book US US$ 6.90
Toys & More:
Armored Core Interior Mirage C04-Atals Foxeye Ver. 1/72 Fine Scale Model Kit JPN US$ 32.90
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 1/6 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Ayane - Venus on the beach JPN N/A
Dragon Quest 1/1 Scale Soft Vinyl Figure: Slime JPN N/A
Dragon Quest IV - Batoen G Drawing Set JPN US$ 8.90
Dragon Quest IV - Batoen G Pencil Set HD 011 JPN US$ 3.49
Dragon Quest IV - Batoen G Pencil Set HD 012 JPN US$ 3.49
EP3 Star Wars 1/7 Scale Pre-Painted Figure: Darth Vader US$ 29.90
Hanabi Shokunin Damasii Collection Trading Figure JPN US$ 4.90
Ikkitousen: 1/7 Scale Painted Cold Cast Statue - Sonsaku Hakufu (Wet Hair Version) JPN N/A
Kirby Plush Doll (sitting medium size) JPN US$ 19.90
Nakabayashi 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure JPN US$ 57.90
Nintendo Wii Collection Keychain Gashapon JPN US$ 2.49
Oh My Goddess - Everyone has Wings: Belldandy JPN N/A
One Piece Feeling Figure Collection: Styling 4 - Grand Holiday JPN US$ 4.90
Princess Crown - Gradriel Pre-painted PVC Figure JPN US$ 49.90
Robosapien V2 HK US$ 229.90
Video Game related Soundtracks:
Ace Combat 6 Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 32.90
Beautiful Katamari Damacy Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Bleach B Station Second Season 5 JPN US$ 24.90
Culdcept Second Original Soundtrack Deluxe JPN US$ 29.90
Ef - A Fairy Tale of the Two. SP1 JPN US$ 27.90
Follow The Nightingale (Tales of Innocence Theme Song) JPN US$ 10.90
Hatsunejima Best D.C -Da Capo- Best Selection JPN US$ 28.90
Insanity JPN US$ 11.90
Kira Kira JPN US$ 11.90
Rockman 7 Shukumei No Taiketsu Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 23.90
Rockman 8 Metal Heroes Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 23.90
Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Shining Wind Drama CD Vol.1 JPN US$ 27.90
Tantei Jinguji Ssaburo Inishie No Kioku Soundtrack JPN US$ 37.90
Im not sure about the rest of Europe but the UK is one of the worst in the world for being ripped off
The current frenzy to get hold of Nintendo Wii Consoles highlights that you need to pay well over the odds to get one unless your very lucky. Divineo UK have them in stock at £269 which yes is expensive but Amazon prices start at £300 and much higher.
Importing Consoles such as the Nintendo DS and PSP/GP2X will give you no problems whatsoever as they are worldwide region apart from UMD Movies on the PSP.
I myself prefer to import from the likes of Play Asia who have the US Version Nintendo Wii in stock at $399 which is £192 with shipping youll pay say £220 at most and use airmail if possible to avoid nasty customs charges or ask Play Asia to lower the value if you do get charged.
Yes if you buy a US Version Nintendo Wii and live in Europe/UK your stuck with US games but being as US Games are half the price of UK Games thats not a Problem.
The Same Can be said for the PS3 which SuccessHK sell for £206 and slightly more for the White 40GB PS3. Games are worldwide region free and as before with Nintendo Wii games they are much cheaper as US Versions.
Dont be ripped off and dont be afraid to import but always ask questions of seasoned gamers
Welcome to this week's Movie/Music news roundup, containing all new Japanese and Hong Kong Video and Music releases from this week listed at Play-Asia.com. Around 950 new items are covered in this week, including new J-Pop, Anime as well as Japanese, Hong Kong and Western movie releases and much more.
Here's a summary of all new releases that were published between Saturday, November 17th and Friday, November 23rd. If some specific item that you are looking for is missing, please don't hesitate to contact our customer service with your request.
J-Pop Music releases (272)
ENKA Music releases (79)
Anime Soundtracks & Drama CDs (74)
Video Game Soundtracks (13)
Hong Kong Version Music releases (1)
Blu-Ray Disc Movies (16)
HD DVD Movies (5)
Hong Kong Version Movie releases (20)
Japanese Movies (81)
Non-Japanese Movies / Japanese Version (181)
Anime DVD releases (146)
J-Pop DVD releases (40)
ENKA DVD releases (1)
Misc. Japanese Movies release (5)
Idol DVD (42)
UMD™ Video & Music (2)
Mass Effect is the start of what should be an RPG revolution, if RPG creators know whats good for them anyway. Mass Effect is a game set in the year 2148 after humanity discovers an advance called Mass Effect that successfully advances Earth's tech by 200 years. You are commander Shepard, male or female who had a past as deep as his/her future. It is soon placed upon you to save the earth from the geth civilization and Saren, they're "prophet". You will travers countless worlds, make decisions that will influence the universe. And this isn't a lie. This is the real deal.
This game is the peak of RPG evolution. Every choice, every action, every thing you do determines whether you, the universe, your friends, civilians, anybody and everybody, whether they live or die. In every conversation every choice you have is said in a full dialog with reactions fitting the choice you have chosen. Through words and a kind will, or threats and an iron will, EVERYTHING you do effects the world around you. You can became any character you can possibly imagine good or evil, or the often forgotten grey area that exists in the middle. You can even become romantically linked with others. This isn't your average romantics in a game. You have evry choice. You can talk to them, interact however you would in reality. However, unlike reality, you can actual get lucky in Mass Effect .
The visuals are absolutely some of the best out there. I have yet to see a game with such an amazing level of artistic design and execution as mass Effect. Textures and features are as detailed as they get, resulting in unbelievably realistic characters. Even the aliens look real! The problem: Slowdowns. Quite rare, and usually only during fight extremely explosive fight scenes, they are still there.
Gameplay is stunning. Gears style combat created extremely well, mixed with an RPG element that has no equal. The RPG allows you to became whatever you want, and allows you to effect the universe however you please. Combat is iffy at first, though, but you'll get the hang of it fairly quickly. Slowdowns annoy me constantly though, and glitches happen from time to time. Not enough to actually impact your experience very much.
Sound is just as spectacular as graphics. the loud booms of the ships, the sound of krogan warlord vying to attack or the haunting sound of undead creepers. Music is very fitting, as suspenseful sci-fi plays at points necessary as the adrenaline rush plays with intense combat scenes, and so on. The real deal is the dialog. The greatest voice acting a game has ever received since Bioshock.
This
Game
Rocks.
Final score:
This game is truly outstanding. This is a Pinnacle of the RPG genre, and there is as of yet not a single game with such innovation and choices as this gold in a DVD.
As US retailers shift into high gear the day after Thanksgiving, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter is expecting impressive results.
"The industry will crush all records," he told GamesIndustry.biz. "Hardware should be up 15 per cent over last year, and software around the same."
While noting the positive effect of recent price cuts, Pachter nevertheless expects Nintendo to remain the hardware sales leader.
"I think the Nintendo DS will sell the most units, followed by the Wii," he said.
Most publishers have now released their titles for the busy Christmas sales period, making it a crucial time for them. When the dust settles, Pachter expects Electronic Arts to come out on top with respect to software sales.
But which game will be number one this holiday season?
"Depending on when we start counting, Guitar Hero has a chance to be number one," said Pachter. "If we start back in September, Halo 3 has a shot."
That’s right folks, wrap your minds around this — a phone that features Playstation buttons, has a Microsoft Windows operating system, and plays Nintendo games. Confused yet? How about the fact that the phone was made in “Koera” — No, that’s not a typo, that’s what is printed on the phone. Sound to good to be true? That’s because it is. The Chinese made phone is very much illegal, and will probably never make it across the ocean. Even still, one can’t help but wonder what a phone with multiple emulators would be like. After doing a little research, I came up with an NES emulator for mobile phones called VNES, which claims to allow 8 bit Nintendo games to be playable on most newer series Nokia phones.
From a purely business standpoint, putting classic titles on cell phones seems like a no brainer. The arcady vibe of the late 80’s made for a pick up and play experience that lends itself well to a portable platform. Even still, it may be a while before we can legitimately get our 8 bit mobile gaming on.
With the re-releasing allot of it’s hits on Virtual Console, It’s doubtful Nintendo will part with its licensing rights for anything less than an exorbitant amount of money.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward
Genre: First Person
Players: 1
Well, unlike the other Call of Duty games this one is not set in a world war its set in the more modern times (note the name). This mean you have a selection or more modern guns while still having the classics.
The game is split up into 4 modes -
Requite - Stupidly Easy. This mode is really just the the first time FPS players.
Regular - For the average FPS player
Hardened - A level to give good FPS players a good challenge!
Veteran - No words describe how damn hard this is. You need to be a FPS god and you will still be throwing your PS3 out the window from frustration.
Right at the start of the game it goes through the story line that you have to get a man (not saying too much). Then it puts you into a training level. Which shows you pretty much what to do. This is before even choosing a difficulty mode. This is good for the first time FPS players but its a drag for the real FPS players.
Graphics - What can I say? Call of Duty 4 has state of the art graphics. The character models are beautiful. The guns are perfect. The framerate is stupidly smooth doesn't seem to drop at the most hectic times. Even things like the reloading make you go WOW! Explosions are done perfectly, you can see the bullets soar through the sky. It really is a fantastic experience. I am finding it hard to find something bad to say about the graphics. If i am really picky the dead ragdoll models sometimes gets limbs going through walls etc. but thats all to be expected.
Sound - It really sounds like you are in the game. I know it sounds stupid but it really does. After playing this for a while you really find yourself getting into it little too much because of the mix of great sound and great graphics. The sound could not be more perfect. You can even hear which way the bullets are coming from, and where the voices are coming from. All the guns have there own unique sound, so if you play this game a little too much (me!) you can tell what gun it is. I really don't see how the sound could be much better than this. Nothing bad to say about the sound.
Gameplay - The main story line is great, all varying from different types of play, stealth, sniper and running around like a idiot shooting everything that moves. Basically in the game you have to find people. Thats all i am saying. For my liking the Main story is a little too short. A longer story would be great, but when you have completed the game you still have the online play to fall back on (I will talk about this later). The story is good, everything works well, the AI is great. The only problem is the length.
Online - This game is amazing online. I would even say it is one of the bests games online. Even up against the Online Only Game Warhawk. For a game which was designed not just for online thats very good going.
The scoring works on XP points which go towards Ranks and Ranks go towards more Weapons and Perks. XP points can be achieved by playing games kills etc. and can also be given from Challenges. Challenges do what they say on the tin, you have challenges that you have to do while playing online (150 kills with AK-47 etc.) and when you do them you will be awarded with XP points, and if it was a gun challenge a Add-on to your gun (Scope etc.).
The ranking system unlocks new guns and perks. Perks are sort of advantages that you unlock. (Things like bigger bullet damage, or more health, or drop a grenade when you die). The higher your rank, the better perks you get. Guns work in a similar way the higher your level the better guns you get.
Ranks only go upto level 55, then 'prestige mode' is unlocked. Then you get the option to go back to level 1 loose all your guns and perks but have a different rank logo by your name. This is just for bragging rights really.
Create a Class is where you can make your own class of weapons to use in a game. So when you unlock a new weapon, you can replace it with the old weapon in your custom class. Here you can choose your perks for the classes too.
The game joining system is the one thing that lets this down. You hit find game, then hit the game you want to play and it takes ages and eventually puts you in a game. A system similar to Warhawk would of been much more effective.
Lifespan - This game has the ability to last for ever due to the amazing online play. The main story will last a while, and when you have completed it you will get the urge to complete it again on a harder difficulty. Longer main story is a big thing in my eyes though.
Replay Value 4.5/5 Sound 5/5 Graphics 5/5 Gameplay 5/5 Score:
This is my first ever review, please excuse the bad English and please tell me if you would like to see anything added.
PSP Slim 2000 Series Component Cable
Manufacturer: DragonPlus
Site: Buy from Goldenshop
Price: $10.00
Overview : PSP Slim 2000 Series Component Cable allows to display videos, photos and play music as well as games on TV.
Features:
High quality 3rd party product.
Enables component AV output.
Extra long cable.
Suitable only for the new Slim Series (PSP-200X).
Allow to display videos, photos and play music as well as games on TV.
For playing games, a TV which supports progressive scan is required.
Quality/Usability : DragonPlus has entered the PSP Slim scene with their own Component Cable. DragonPlus is well-known for their 3rd party peripheral in the videogame industry.
Like majority of DragonPlus products, the quality of the cables are sturdy. The biggest complaint about the PSP's video-out feature is that in order to play games, you'll need a TV that has progressive scan. If you dont have a progressive scan compatible TV, you'll be left with only looking at videos and photos.
Once you have selected the PSP's output setting, the image displayed on the TV does not fill it completely but is bigger than we expected. On my 32-inch LCD, it measured approximately 22-inches. This seems to be how the PSP outputs as another PSP Slim component cable that was reviewed also has the same result.
Images were a little washed out compared to the screen on the PSP screen but the images were still viewable and clear. There were jaggies but this is expected since you're taking a small image and stretching it to fit the screen.
Conclusion : Overall, the PSP Slim 2000 Series Component Cable worked well. There wasnt any big complaints except for the minor washed out colors and the noticeable jaggies was expected since you're scaling up an image. For $10.00, the price was very reasonable.
There is also a video showing the XCM 1080p VGA Box allowing you to hook up the PSP Slim component cable and be able to play on a VGA monitor. You can read the news here and our full review on the XCM 1080p VGA box here.
Overview : Improve your shooting skills with this 5-in-1 laser pointer gun.
Features
High quality 3rd party product.
Easy to install.
Natural Nunchuk trigger combined with the functional innovation of the Wii Remote.
Ergonomically balanced and weighted gun, comfortable for 1 handed or 2 handed gamplay.
Maintains Wii Innovation Motion.
Secure and easy installation. Extended grip for the directional control of the rear nunchuk analog joystick.
Full access to all buttons and digital pad.
Can be used as handgun only.
Can be used as tommy gun.
Comes with laser targeting - operated by 2 AAA size batteries.
The Nunchuk can be separated easily.
The folding angle of the Nunchuk can be adjusted.
Quality/Usability : All these light gun are just plastic shells so you can fit your Wii remote and Nunchuk into them. There are different kinds of light gun attachment whether they are shaped differently or colored differently. But these 3rd party peripheral manufacturers will add anything to their products to attract potential buyers. This time, PEGA has included a laser pointer underneath the gun.
Honestly, the moment I saw this attachment, I knew there was going to be a lot of faults with this. There are two attachments. One is for the Wii remote and the other is the attachment for the Nunchuk.
The top of the main base has a cover. This allows you to insert the Wii Remote control and secure it in place. The tabs that keeps this cover secure feels so cheap and flimsy. Every time I open it or close it, I'm afraid that I may break it. On both sides of the gun is a small opening. This allows you to put the Nunchuk cable through so you can connect to the Wii Remote. So if you're a lefty, you'll have the cable coming out from the right side and if you're a righty, you'll have to cable coming out from the left side.
The front bottom of the gun houses a laser pointer. Yes, the same laser pointer that you use for presentations or annoying people. Underneath the laser is a battery compartment. This battery compartment houses two (2) AAA batteries to power the laser pointer. The trigger itself though feels sturdy and reaches the B button on the Wii Remote. I personally wished it was close to the B button so I dont have to pull so far. Underneath the trigger is a small button. Pressing this button will turn on the laser pointer. The laser pointer fails horribly. It works..as in it points but not where you would think it would point. Instead of pointing straight, its pointed way off to the right. If you're sitting fairly away from the screen, the pointer will be pointed to the right of you. The further away you are, the more way off it will be. See attached images for picture of what I mean.
The Nunchuk attachment holder was poorly constructed as well. The Nunchuk holder is detachable but when its on the base, its not held securely or clipped in place. So you can easily slide it off. This is bad if you're in an intense gun battle and moving your hands around. When the Nunchuk holder is on the base, you are allowed to adjust the position of it by pushing it up. This only works when you hold the gun below your waist but even this feels uncomfortable. If it adjusted down than it would of been better. If you have your right hand on the trigger and your left hand on the Nunchuk, your left hand will be touching your right wrist.
Conclusion : Overall, the Wii 5-in-1 Laser Pointer Gun is one light gun shell you do not want to bother with. The only good things about the accessory is the laser pointer. It actually works and it feels comfortable, if you hold the gun on the left hand and Nunchuk on your right. You can also detach the Nunchuk holder and just hold the Nunchuk controller in your hands. Everything about the 5-in-1 Laser Pointer Gun is poorly constructed.
Here we are again with another update! Since the last update, all of the untranslated text including save game text, and ending text was translated and inserted. The Casino text was also dumped and translated, but I have yet to do the hacking work for the Casino games to handle English text. That certainly wasn’t worth holding up beta testing, so full beta testing began nearly three weeks ago.
I’d say we’re somewhere around 35% through beta testing. Beta testing has been going fairly smoothly for the most part. There have been a few significant issues reported, but otherwise reported issues have been minor ones such as text formatting issues, windows that needed expansion, and script errors. However, those issues have been enough to keep me busy.
At this point, I think I can definitely say I don’t think we’re going to make a Christmas release. I expect beta testing to last a few more weeks yet and there’s plenty of things left to do before a full public release. Everybody is working as quickly as possible, but as always, these things just take time and nothing will be rushed. I’d say a January release is probably more realistic right now. It will be worth the wait as the translation has come together nicely and I’m pretty happy with the way it has turned out.
If anybody has any artistic ability and wants to create an English title screen for the game, I will insert it into the final translation. Personally, I don’t have any artistic skills, so I can’t do it myself. If you’re interested, drop by the forum, or send me an e-mail.
With that said, I plan on updating again right around Christmas with the latest status of the project. See you all then!
Rockstar today launched its appeal against the BBFC's decision to refuse Manhunt 2 certification, accusing the board of putting its reputation above the interests of gamers.
Geoffrey Robertson, representing Rockstar, began the proceedings by claiming the British Board of Film Classification was a misnomer - suggesting it should instead be referred to as the British Board of Videogame Censors.
"There's no evidence that playing interactive videogames leads to a propensity to act them out in real life. We wonder why Manhunt 2 has been singled out for special treatment," he stated.
Robertson went on to accuse the BBFC of being "simply ignorant of the gaming experience" and "throwing adjectives with hyperbolic abandon at the game".
"Their reputation is not at stake; if it were we could show how, over the last century, they've been derided for some of the most stupid decisions in censorship history," he continued. "But we're not going to go down that road."
According to statistics presented by Robertson, there are 26.5 million gamers in the UK. Their average age is 28 and the gender split is 45 per cent female, 55 per cent male.
Addressing the panel from the Video Appeals Committee present to hear Rockstar's appeal Robertson said, "There you are, seven of you - not one of you has experienced, I'm told by the chairman, computer games, or are a gamer."
At this point one member of the panel interjected, stating, "That's not true. Some of us actually have played computer games." It was also confirmed that the panel did play Manhunt 2 in advance of the hearing.
Robertson described as "offensive and outrageous" the "allegation the board makes against adults in this country that they're somehow going to go and shoot or kill as a result of playing Manhunt 2.
"Millions of gamers play videogames and no crime has ever been directly attributed to them, with one exception."
The exception, Robertson explained, was the alleged connection between the original Manhunt and the murder of British teenager Stefan Pakeerah. The police later issued a statement which said Pakeerah's killer did not own the game and there was no connection.
Robertson added, "We say [Manhunt 2] has been banned not because of any likelihood it will harm gamers, but because of the likelihood it will harm the reputation of the BBFC."
An alarming press release made the gaming news circuit last week; stating in layman's terms that WiFi signals can interfere with the natural methods of passing heavy metal toxins (which are theorized as one of the causes of autism) through the body, which can accelerate and worsen symptoms of autism.
However, before throwing that DS or PSP into the nearest lead-coated dumpster, you may want to read Ars Technica's response to the press release. In it, they bring the credibility of the authors into question, and debunk the report's main argument, all the while showing the possible ulterior motives of the two writers.
Considering that the numerous health agencies that have studied the possible health risks of WiFi devices and mobile phones have never found any danger from using wireless technology, we're inclined to agree with Ars Technica. But considering the growth of WiFi technology, and the general lack of understanding about the causes of autism, we'd be surprised if this is the last report of its kind.
Greenpeace has publicly shamed Nintendo and Microsoft for lacking any environmental credentials when it comes to electronic waste.
The latest Greener Electronics Guide sees Nintendo become the first company to score 0/10 for its policies and practices on toxic chemicals and takeback.
"The Greener Electronics Guide is our way of getting the electronics industry to face up to the problem of e-waste," detailed Greenpeace.
"Nintendo completely fails to show any environmental credentials and Microsoft and Philips do little better," said the organisation, which for the first time is including home consoles and TVs in the report, alongside PCs and mobile phones.
"Companies shouldn't be under any illusions that we won't check up on their claims of green greatness," commented Iza Kruszewska, campaigner for Greenpeace International.
Greenpeace ranks companies on two criteria – the clean up of products by eliminating hazardous substances and the takeback and recycling of products once they become obsolete.
With no voluntary takeback of products, no information on banned products, no information on how the company communicates with its supply chain and no policy on use of vinyl plastics, Greenpeace notes that Nintendo scores so badly there is "infinite room for improvement."
Microsoft scored 2.7/10, with points for chemical management and for setting a timeline to phase out PVCs by 2011.
Sony scores much better than its rivals, with 7.3/10, although this covers the whole of the electronics company's products. With no mention of the PlayStation 3, it's noted that Sony produces many products that are free from PVC including the VAIO notebook, Walkman, camcorders and digital cameras.
Other companies featured in the Greener Electronics Guide include Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Dell, Panasonic and Apple.
The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed have charted in both Spain and Germany according to weekly sales data released by Media-Control GfK International.
For the week ending November 18, the PlayStation 3 version of Creed was number one in Spain and number four in Germany. The PS3 version sold more copies than the Xbox 360 version which came in at number five in both countries.
Super Mario Galaxy was the only Wii title to make the charts, but it earned the number two spot in Germany and number three in Spain.
The standard version of the PC title Crysis topped the German chart, with the collector's edition coming in at number six. The PS2 version of WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2008 remains popular in both countries, as does Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Interestingly enough, the PC and PS3 versions of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare made both charts, but the Xbox 360 version is no longer in the top ten in either country.
The complete lists are as follows:
Germany:
1 Crysis (PC)
2 Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
3 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
4 Assassin's Creed (PS3)
5 Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360)
6 Crysis Collector's Edition (PC)
7 High School Musical: Sing it (PS2)
8 WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2008 (PS2)
9 Unreal Tournament 3 (PC)
10 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)
Spain:
1 Assassin's Creed (PS3)
2 WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2008 (PS2)
3 Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
4 Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
5 Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360)
6 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)
7 WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2008 (PSP)
8 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (PS2)
9 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
10 Mas Brain Training (DS)
Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed has managed to hold on to the number one position in the UK all formats charts, despite a 32 per cent drop in sales.
EA's annual update of its key racing franchise – Need for Speed: Pro Street – debuts at number two in the chart, while Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare slips to three with a 46 per cent drop in sales.
The Simpsons Game is at four, with Nintendo's DS title Dr Kawashima's Brain Training seeing a 30 per cent sales boost as it climbs to number five.
Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 also fights its way back up the charts from nine to six, while Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii falls to seven.
THQ's WWE Smackdown Vs RAW falls to eight, EA's FIFA 08 is at nine and Activision's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock makes its debut at ten.
There are four other new entries in the top 40 this week, all of which have been heavily marketed by their respective publishers.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 exclusive Mass Effect charts at 12, while Sega's Mario and Sonic and the Olympic Games is at 14.
Eidos' new IP Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is at 16 and Midway's PC shooter Unreal Tournament III just scrapes into the charts at number 40.
Future Publishing has submitted cover discs for two of its UK magazines to the BBFC for rating, both of which contain footage of the US version of Manhunt 2, the game currently banned in the UK.
Refusing to answer questions from GamesIndustry.biz on how Future would ensure the content is not sold to minors if passed by the BBFC, the publisher only stated that, "Future is the only games magazine publisher to submit all of its cover discs to the BBFC for rating," and that "no Manhunt video footage has been published on Future's cover discs since the game was refused a certificate."
The publisher declined to offer any further statement on the matter.
GamesIndustry.biz understands that discs for PSM3 issue 96 and PlayStation World issue 103 are currently with the BBFC for classification, and that Rockstar Games has not given any permission for the magazine house to include the footage.
The footage is taken from the retail version of Manhunt 2 released recently in North America, although it's not clear at this point exactly what the discs will portray, and whether they will include specific examples of the sort of violence that led to the game's ban.
Yesterday, the BBFC and Rockstar Games went head-to-head in an appeal over the banning of the game in the UK.
Rockstar argued that the game has been banned in order to protect the reputation of the BBFC, but the classification board stood by its decision to refuse the game a release, citing numerous factors including the perspective of the player, the weapons used in the game and a decision to draw a line on acceptable violence.
The BBFC has accepted there is no proven link between anti-social behaviour and violent videogames - but said more research is required to conclusively rule any connection out.
Speaking at the appeal hearing yesterday Andrew Caldecott, representing the BBFC, stated, "The board's position is that there is insufficient evidence to prove, as a fact, there is a causal connection between violent games and behavioural harm… It's a perfectly fair point, and one which we accept, but it's not by any means a complete answer to the question the [Video Appeals Committee] has to decide."
On the subject of research presented earlier by Rockstar in defence of its argument, Caldecott said: "The research certainly achieves the objective of establishing that research does not demonstrate that there is a causal link. But what it certainly does not establish is that there isn't."
He went on to observe that neither side had suggested Manhunt 2 was suitable for people aged under 18 at any point during the hearing. "For a young person, this is a disturbing game, it is a shocking game, and there issues about innocence and matters of that sort in relation to young people.
"In a Utopian society, you would have effective measures where the over-18s could play what was suitable for them without being cluttered by the fact minors will see them. But you can't make classification decisions without regard to the social prevalence [of games]."
Caldecott went on to present the BBFC's response to the argument that videogames should be judged by the same standards as films such as Saw and Hostel. He told the appeals panel, "Film is a different medium; it is simply is a different experience. There are ways in which it is perhaps more involving, because you are dealing with absolute reality, with real people, in film.
"On the other hand, many people watch horror films to some extent from the point of view of the victim, or the point of view of what's going to happen - not with this very distinctive point of view of being the person who's wielding the weapon, and is rewarded for killing in the bloodiest way possible."
Caldecott also argued that games could not be effectively compared with films because of the nature of the technology they use. "Games and technology develop incrementally… If you take the comparable argument to its extreme, you get a gradual creeping towards ever more graphic violence, but you never draw a line at any particular point.
"If you're not careful you get into a peculiar game of Grandmother's Footsteps, where everybody's shuffling forward but Grandma's never allowed to turn round and say, 'Stop'… Is there never a point at which you can say, 'This is unacceptable'?
"If there is a point, the question then becomes much more difficult: where do you draw it?"
Caldecott later suggested that videogames with violent content are more likely to be seen by children than violent films. "A videogame is inherently less likely to be strictly supervised, and that is supported by research," he said, adding that violent films are usually watched late at night.
"You don't come home from work, have your tea and watch Saw 3. Games are played at all times of the day when children are about in the house."
Turning to Manhunt 2 specifically, Caldecott focused on the nature of the game's violent content. "In this particular game, the victims are people. They are not aliens or griffins or Daleks… You see lots of human beings quite mercilessly kicking and punching other human beings as you move through the game.
"It's a frequent theme of level one, which is the only one I've actually played right through. Even when you're not killing someone yourself, you're passing someone who's getting a good beating or having an unpleasant time."
He also pointed to the weapons used in the game as a particular area for concern. "They're not magic wands or Excalibur; many of them are everyday objects."
Concluding the hearing, the chairman of the appeals panel declined Caldecott's offer of a walkthrough of Manhunt 2. He confirmed the panel had played four levels and said all its members are "quite content we really have got a grip on what this is all about".
He added, "We have taken on-board the point that playing and watching a videogame are two different things.
"This is a very important case and there is an awful lot we must consider. We will work hard at it and get you a decision as soon as possible."
The Video Appeals Committee has yet to set a date for the results of the hearing.
The Ghostbusters game, due for launch next year on just about every format except PSP, will feature a Ghosts vs Busters multiplayer mode and ghost-catching face-offs on PS2 and Wii.
The PS2 and Wii versions, handled by developer Red Fly, will likely influence the multiplayer modes on other systems. Though Terminal Reality (handling the 'big' versions) is just as likely to have its own ideas.
Ghosts vs Busters will throw two teams of players together, one trussed up with proton-packs and khaki boilersuits as the Ghostbusters team hunting down a team of slime-launching disapperating ghosties. Ghost-catching modes will, clearly, be races or contests to see who can catch-'em-all quickest.
Co-op play is, according to the UK's Official Xbox 360 Magazine, "under consideration", though there are no details and main dev Terminal Reality don't want to disrupt the game's theme of you playing as a newbie to the old Ghostbusters team. Read the full Ghostbusters feature in this month's UK OXM, issue #28, on sale now.
Xbox 360 System Back Pack XB3400
Manufacturer: ALS Industries
Site: Buy from ConsoleShop
Price: $89.95
Overview : The System Back Pack bag is a official Xbox 360 licensed product. It can hold your Xbox 360, up to 4 controllers, the power pack, AV cable and the AC cord.
Features :
Holds Xbox 360™ Console, Up to 4 Controllers, Power Pack, AV Cables and Power Cord.
Main Pocket Holds and protects Xbox 360™ Entertainment System with Bottom Section for Power Supply.
Middle Pocket Holds up to 4 Controllers and Front Pocket for Games, Headset and Other Accessories.
Convenient Mesh Side Pockets for Ethernet Cable and Component HD AV Cable.
Comfortable Carrying Handle.
Adjustable Padded Sraps.
Fully Padded Bag for Maximum protection.
This product is manufactured under license from Microsoft Corporation.
Quality/Usability : We all know that the Xbox 360 isnt the lightest system nor the smallest. Since I'm the gamer in the family and pretty much the entertainer amongst the kids, I tend to bring my consoles to family gatherings to keep everyone entertained whether it be PSP, DS, Wii, PS3 and/or Xbox 360. Its not easy having to carry all those systems plus cables, controllers and games. Thats where the Xbox 360 System Back Pack XB3400 comes in play.
The XB3400 is a back pack so you can easily wear it and not feel uncomfortable while still leaving both your hands free to carry other things. The XB3400 has a flap with a clip at the end of it to keep it closed. When you flip open a flap, you are given three compartments and two elastic mesh pockets on the side.
The two elastic mesh pockets can hold your cables whether they are ethernet, AV, HDMI or the other half of the power adapter.
Lets start with the biggest compartment, the system area. At the very bottom, this is where you will place the brick they call the power supply. Near the bottom is a flap attached via velcro. This is actually a divider between the system and the power supply. When placing the system in, you may need to stick your hand in so that the system doesnt get stuck to the top of the velcro to prevent it from going down further.
The next big pocket accomodates up to four controllers. You can also use it to hold games, other accessories or mix and match.
The smaller compartment also allows you to hold more games or stuff you were unable to hold in the middle pocket.
Conclusion : Overall, the Xbox 360 System Back Pack XB3400 fits everything you would need and more. The bag has a nice thick backing but it would of been nice if the shoulder straps were a little thicker considering the weight of the bag will be all on your shoulder when worn. Downside? The price. $90 for a bag? Its an officially licensed product but I still dont know if this would justify a $90 purchase. This case can be bought from Amazon Luckily, ConsoleShop offers a price guarantee where they will beat any online price by 5%.
Legend of Zelda Wii Messenger Bag
Manufacturer: ALS Industries
Site: Buy from ConsoleShop
Price: $54.95
Overview : The Legend of Zelda Wii Messenger Bag (Z180) is an official Nintendo licensed product. It can hold Wii Console, games, Wii remote, Nunchuk, Wii sensor bar and AC Adapter. Official licensed product.
Features :
Main pocket holds Wii console
Zippered paded inside pocket for Sensor bar
Padded middle pocket holds AC adapter and controllers
Front pocket holds games and additional controllers
Comfortable carrying handle
Convenient mesh side pockets
Strong designer hardware
Adjustable shoulder strap
Quality/Usability : The Nintendo Wii is the smallest console amongst the next-gen consoles (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360). With the Nintendo Wii still hard to find in stores (Yes, even after a little more than a year of being released in the US, its still hard to find on store shelves), I had to bring my Wii to relatives house so we can all enjoy the family fun. Isnt that Nintendo's intentions?
As the name of the product/review states, the messenger bag has a Legend of Zelda theme to it. The flap has an a stitched image of Zelda and underneath is Zelda's shield made of hard rubber. The messenger bag has three compartments and two elastic mesh side pockets.
The two elastic mesh pockets can hold your cables or the other small accessories such as extra Wiimotes.
The flap has two clips to keep the flap closed and underneath the flap are two velcro strips that attaches to the bag. Also under the flap but above the main compartment is a small mesh pouch. This mesh pouch is for the sensor bar. Unfortunately, if you have a wireless sensor bar, it wont fit as they usually tend to be bigger and thicker. This is actually the first carry case or that I know of that has its own pocket for the sensor bar.
The main compartment holds the Nintendo Wii console. The compartment holds the Wii securely in place and has a lot of padding to give that extra protection. Inside the main compartment, is another compartment. This compartment allows you to hold two Wiimotes and AC adapter. There are even three elastic bands to hold them in place.
The front pocket lets you hold Nunchuks, Wii games and any other controllers or accessories you may need to carry such as classic controller, GameCube controllers, etc.
Conclusion : Overall, the Legend of Zelda Wii Messenger Bag is a well constructed bag. Even with all the pockets and compartments filled, the bag isnt too big compared to some carry cases on the market. Most cases on the market can only hold the system, cables, power supply and 1-2 controllers. This doesnt even include the sensor bar. While the Zelda bag can carry everything and then some. The images on ConsoleShop can be a little misleading as what I received (see image at top or attached) is not what is pictured on the site even though the images on the site is on the package itself. The image on the site is slightly different and the size of the bag looks like a regular normal messenger bag when the bag I received is smaller and almost the size of the Wii. The mesh pockets arent brown. They are black. The price isnt attractive at a very pricey $54.95 for a carry case. But if I had a choice of the Legend of Zelda Wii Messenger Bag or any of the 3rd party carry bags on the market, I'll choose the Zelda Messenger Bag as it offers more protection and it can store more.
features
High quality plush doll
Size: 29cm
From Sega's famous video game series "Sonic"
Official accessory
4 different characters available
description
You are a true fan of Sonic? Then this high quality plush doll is a must have for you. 29 cm tall, the little hero will stand out of your collection
Nintendo of America just announced record sales of their DS and Wii gaming rigs. According to internal sales numbers, Thanksgiving week resulted in more than one million DS and Wii units sold. That's one week, from Sunday, November 18 through Saturday, November 24th and breaks down to more than 653,000 DS units and another 350,000 Wiis. The previous all-time Thanksgiving week sales record was held by the Game Boy Advance in 2005 with sales of 600k at the time. Nintendo also said that Wii sales are on track to hit 17.5 million before March 31, 2008. Now, for those of you saying that Nintendo is purposely limiting production to drive up demand, Reggie has this for you, "A shortage benefits no one, we're disappointed. This was all about how we didn't accurately estimate demand. We need to be more bullish about the potential for the Wii." Come on Reg, you're only just now figuring this out?
Activision chairman and CEO Robert Kotick has told a conference in New York that he believes all of the next-generation consoles need to drop in price to USD 199 at some point within the next two years.
He said that the PlayStation 3 was a "good product" but that Nintendo's "wildly popular Wii was leading the way" at the Reuters Media Summit.
"The Wii at its price point is now setting a standard and an expectation, and people say, well, the Wii is less complex technically. I don't think that really matters as much to the consumer."
He noted that USD 199 was the key price point for mass adoption, and that the lower price would give Activision and other publishers a larger potential market - which would in turn lead to potentially larger game revenues.
"In the next 24 months they all will need to be at that USD 199 price point, and you can imagine Nintendo will be down to the USD 129 price point over the next few years."
Kotick went on to talk about Activision's policy for Wii games, and how the company has had to adjust its strategy in light of Nintendo's first party title dominance.
"We realized that, much like Nintendo, the pathway for success and the highest operating margin leverage on the Wii is a relatively small number of titles that really capitalize on capabilities of the hardware.
"Some of our competitors are doing a lot more talking about how they're organized than innovating for the Wii and if [publishers] are going to be successful they are going to have to step up to the level of innovation that Nintendo has proven themselves capable of."
Finally Kotick also hinted that Guitar Hero III might be the title that helps them break fully into Asian markets.
"We've never really had any content that would appeal to the Chinese consumer, to the Korean consumer, and this is a kind of content that lends itself very well to commercialization online.
"It's a natural thing to add as a different type of social experience within those environments so I think that's something you can envision us doing over time."
Activision raised its financial outlook for the third fiscal quarter and full year yesterday, a move which saw the company's share price jump over 12 per cent across the day.
AT Games have today released the Sega Mega Drive Portable Video Game Player, a new handheld boasting 20 of the finest Sega Megadrive games inc the likes of Ecco and Sonic the hedgehog built into an Handheld, the handheld also has TV Out so its great for the bigscreen too. Will this be handy for hacking/homebrew too, time will tell.
Heres the description etc
features
Plug & play portable video game system
20 built-in 16-bit SEGA licensed games
Built-in speakers
TV out connection
TV format: NTSC
Requires 3xAAA size batteries. (battery not included)
description
The Mega Drive Portable is a video game player, which is pre-loaded with 20 classic games from SEGA Master System. There is no need to buy game cartridges. The Mega Drive Portable game player has an A/V connector and with the included cable the player can be connected to any TV. The built-in SEGA games provide action adventure while testing your intelligence and skill. Enjoy playing classic SEGA games anytime, anywhere with the new Mega Drive Portable video game player.
Play Asia are selling for Price: US$ 39.90 (~19.47 GBP)
US DS-loving types mostly see mobile games as running on underpowered processors with rubbish buttons, and don't give them the time of day. Yet, shockingly, EA is making more money from mobile games than both the PS3 and PSP.
In a recent financial report for the third quarter of this year, figures revealed that EA made $37 million (around £18m) from mobile gaming, beating by a large margin PS3 profits of $17 (£8m) million. Even the equally portable PSP couldn't match up to mobiles, making EA $21 million (£10m) in the same period.
Clearly, the sheer size of the mobile user base has a lot to do with it, but it's surprising nevertheless.
Xbox 360, meanwhile, has no problems, raking in a massive $218 million (£106m) of EA's total $640 million (£311m) profit. PS2 comes in second ($73m, £35m), Wii third ($59m, £29m), and DS fourth ($47m, $23m).
These figures, on the not-so-good side of things, only show a 5.7 percent growth for EA, compared to its fast-growing rivals Gameloft (51 percent) and Glu (34.5 percent), according to Pocket Gamer.
A new anti-piracy system revealed by the French government will work to block anyone who's busted downloading or uploading copyrighted material.
The new system comes as part of an increased effort in France to crack on the growing problem of internet-related piracy, lead by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
The system will apparently warn users first, giving them a notice that illegal file sharing has been detected and threatens to suspend or terminate their internet connection if they don't stop.
According to Techtree, music and audio-visual producers, as well as internet service providers and public authorities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in support of the campaign.
Could this initiative make the jump over the English Channel? Quick, stop the torrents!
The Internet Rights Forum, a French lobbying group, has issued new guidelines for online game publishers and legislators.
Along with proposing an on-screen timer to let players know how much time they are spending online, the group is proposing changes to the ratings system for online games according to a PC World article.
Currently, European publishers use the voluntary PEGI rating system with categories based on recommended ages such as 3+, 7+, 12+, 16+, and 18+. Because online games may expose players to text messages and conversations beyond the control of publishers, however, the Internet Rights Forum wants to strengthen the ratings system.
The group is proposing that games which allow text messages cannot be rated 3+ or 7+, and can only be rated 12+ if the game's text messages are moderated by an adult.
The Internet Rights Forum also wants publishers to guarantee that age ratings will apply to in-game advertisements, and to put warnings on packaging if an online game contains ads.
Some of the groups' recommendations could be applicable across Europe, according to spokesman Laurent Baup, while others specifically address French laws restricting hate speech or defining intellectual-property rights.
The Internet Rights Forum plans to create a Web site for parents and teachers, warning about the risks of online games, that should launch early next year.
Activision's Guitar Hero III has shot to the top of the Swedish multiformat charts, with all four SKUs in the top ten.
Other new entries in the top twenty are Microsoft's 360 exclusive Mass Effect at three and EA's Need for Speed Pro Street at number 11.
Super Mario Galaxy is the best-selling game on the Wii, while Nintendo favourites The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and New Super Mario Bros are at one and two in the DS charts, respectively.
Electronic Arts holds the top three spots in the PC charts, with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Crysis and Need for Speed Pro Street.
The full charts for the Swedish market follow:
Multiformat
1. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock (PS2)
2. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock (360)
3. Mass Effect (360)
4. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
5. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock (Wii)
6. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock (PS3)
7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
8. Assassins Creed (360)
9. Singstar Svenska hits Schlager (PS2)
10. Assassins Creed (PS3)
11. Need for Speed Prostreet (PS2)
12. Need for Speed Prostreet (PS3)
13. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360)
14. Crysis (PC)
15. High School Musical: Sing It! (PS2)
16. Need for Speed Prostreet (360)
17. Need for Speed Prostreet (PC)
18. Unreal Tournament 3 (PC)
19. World of Warcraft (PC)
20. The Sims 2 Tonårsprylar (PC)
PC
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2. Crysis
3. Need for Speed Prostreet
4. Unreal Tournament 3
5. World of Warcraft
6. The Sims 2 Tonårsprylar
7. En riktig jul - Julkalendern 2007
8. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
9. Counter-Strike 1: Anthology
10. The Sims 2 Jorden Runt
PlayStation 2
1. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock
2. Singstar Svenska hits Schlager
3. Need for Speed Prostreet
4. High School Musical: Sing It!
5. Buzz: The Hollywood Quiz
6. Singstar Svenska hits
7. FIFA 08
8. Buzz: The Mega Quiz
9. The Simpsons
10. GTA San Andreas
PlayStation 3
1. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock
2. Assassins Creed
3. Need for Speed Prostreet
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
5. Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction
6. FIFA 08
7. NHL 08
8. Rainbow Six Vegas
9. Lego Star Wars 1 & 2 The Complete Saga
10. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
Xbox 360
1. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock
2. Mass Effect
3. Assassins Creed
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
5. Need for Speed Prostreet
6. Halo 3
7. Ace Combat 6 Fires of Liberation
8. NHL 08
9. Gears of War
10. FIFA 08
Wii
1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock
3. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
4. Rayman Raving Rabbids
5. Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess
6. Metroid Prime 3 Corruption
7. The Simpsons
8. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
9. Table Tennis
10. Lego Star Wars 1 & 2 The Complete Saga
Nintendo DS
1. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
2. New Super Mario Bros
3. Mario Party DS
4. Lego Star Wars 1 & 2 The Complete Saga
5. Pokémon Diamond
6. Bilar
7. Pokémon Pearl
8. Mario Kart DS
9. The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
10. Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends
PSP
1. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
2. Silent Hill Origins
3. The Simpsons
4. Tekken Dark Resurrection
5. FIFA 08
6. GTA Vice City Stories
7. Daxter
8. Need for Speed Underground Rivals
9. Crash of the Titans
10. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
Superintendent Bill Harrison, New Zealand's national manager of police youth services, has told a youth offending conference in Wellington that he sees a link between the rise of violent videogames and the increase in the number of young people arrested for violent conduct.
According to a report in the New Zealand Herald, Harrison noticed the link after finding his own son playing a game.
"It was desensitising him to violence. It was shifting his norm about how he would deal with conflict. You see these kids - their hands are wringing wet with sweat because their bodies are taking in what's going on on the screen and they are acting it out."
Harrison also believes that the crime rates in youths aged between 14 and 20 are also rising due because of a greater focus on family violence, which is leading to a greater detection rate.
But he added that the government would be commissioning research into youth violence, which should take in the influence of interactive media.
A new study from the University of Michigan has concluded that violence depicted on television, in movies and in videogames poses "a serious threat to public health" that is second only to smoking.
"Exposure to violent electronic media has a larger effect than all but one other well known threat to public health. The only effect slightly larger than the effect of media violence on aggression is that of cigarette smoking on lung cancer," said the report.
The research, carried out by L Rowell Huesmann and Brad Bushman, and detailed by Reuters, links a child's exposure to violence with an increased likelihood of actual violence in adulthood, for both males and females.
"Children are also spending an increasingly large amount of time playing video games, most of which contain violence… The research clearly shows that exposure to virtual violence increases the risk that both children and adults will behave aggressively."
The report did admit that not every child exposed to violence will show evidence of increased aggression, but concluded that more controls were needed from parents and society on what children are exposed to.
As nine new entries hit the Japanese software chart, the game-buying public snapped up 1.44 million new titles that made up just the top ten last week.
According to data from Media Create for the sales week ending November 25 Dragon Quest IV saw one of the biggest releases of the year, selling 597,000 copies in its first week and going straight in at number one.
The latest Winning Eleven title from Konami took second and third places for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 respectively - the former outsold the latter by two to one, although the install base of the PS3 is of course still much smaller at this point.
Other notable new entries to make the top ten included Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess for the PlayStation 2 - only making fifth place with 68,000 units - and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games in sixth.
Mario Party DS was the only survivor from last week's top ten - it held steady in fourth position.
The Xbox 360 editions of Winning Eleven and Final Fantasy XI both made the top 30, in 18th and 26th positions respectively.
The full top ten is as follows:
1. Dragon Quest IV (DS)
2. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 (PS2)
3. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 (PS3)
4. Mario Party DS (DS)
5. Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess (PS2)
6. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)
7. Dinosaur King: The Seven Fragments (DS)
8. Mega Man Star Force 2: Berserk × Shinobi (DS)
9. Mega Man Star Force 2: Berserk × Dinosaur (DS)
10. Pachinko Assassin III: Iron Pachi-Chonmage 13 (PS2)
