XBox Solution

The CEO of Activision – the largest third-party games software publisher in the world – has threatened that his company “might have to stop supporting Sony” unless the cost of the PlayStation 3 is soon reduced. “I’m getting concerned about Sony; the PlayStation 3 is losing a bit of momentum and they don’t make it easy for me to support the platform. It’s expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and the Xbox are just selling better. Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation,” Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told The Times . “They have to cut the price, because if they don’t, the attach rates are likely to slow,” he added. “If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony. When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console — and the PSP too.” Dystopian future for PS3 So, in Kotick’s currently rather dystopian view of PlayStation’s future, unless Sony can reduce the cost of the hardware to the consumer and boost sales considerably over the next twelve months, there is a likelihood that PlayStation gamers will stop seeing annual refreshes of their favourite Activision gaming series such as Call of Duty , Guitar Hero , Tony Hawk and more in 2011 and beyond. Activision currently has a market value of $16 billion (£10 billion). Guitar Hero alone grossed more than $1 billion last year. “It was as big as Titanic [the film] with better margins,” boasts Kotick. Via The Times Related Stories In Depth: The evolution of gaming graphics Exclusive: Native iPhone 3G S gaming a long way off Wii bowling ball accessory breaks cover Steve Ballmer confirms Natal Xbox 360 for 2010 Alt-Delete: Hollywood does videogame comedy

Read more…

Shigeru Miyamoto is not only a legend amongst the Nintendo faithful, with a new poll of over 9,000 games developers showing that he is also the developers’ development hero. In the survey, commissioned by the organisers of next month’s Develop Conference (which runs from 14-16 July in sunny Brighton) Miyamoto tops the game development hero charts, followed by id Software’s John Cormack, Will Wright and a number of other development luminaries. Innovative AND mass market “It’s no surprise that Miyamoto-san is the development hero of developers – over the last 30 years he has created games that have not only driven the evolution of the games industry but also changed people’s lives,” says Andy Lane, Managing Director of Develop organiser Tandem Events. “He has mastered the art of developing titles that are innovative but never at the cost of gameplay: games that are ground breaking, yet still mass market,” Lane adds. With no further ado, here is the top 10: 1. Shigeru Miyamoto – often referred to as ‘the father of modern video games’ for his role in creating legendary games franchises Mario , Donkey Kong , The Legend of Zelda , Star Fox , Pikmin and F-Zero and titles such as Nintendogs and Wii Music 2. John Cormack – co-founder of id Software and lead programmer on Doom and Quake 3. Will Wright – co-founder of Maxis and brains behind SimCity and The Sims franchise and, more recently, Spore . He now runs entertainment think tank Stupid Fun Club 4. Dave Jones – founder of Realtime Worlds ( Crackdown , All Points Bulletin ) and co-founder of Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), Jones created major game series Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto 5. Sid Meier – founder of MicroProse and developer of Civilization . Second person to be inducted in the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame behind Shigeru Miyamoto 6. Peter Molyneux, OBE – creator of God games Dungeon Keeper , Populous and Black & White , as well as Theme Park , Fable and Fable 2 7. David Braben – Brit programmer and founder of Frontier , Braben is best known for co-writing the hugely popular Elite. The studio’s work on The Outsider promises to deliver yet another ground-breaking title and a number of gameplay firsts 8. Masaya Matsuura – famed for pushing the frontiers of computer music, Masaya took the games industry by storm with the release of PaRappa The Rapper , winning notable awards and changing the landscape of gaming forever 9. Michael Morhaime – president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, the legendary creator of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo series and the world’s biggest MMORPG World of Warcraft 10. Jonathan Blow – developer of award-winning title Braid For more on Develop check out the conference website at developconference.com. Related Stories Exclusive: Native iPhone 3G S gaming a long way off Wii bowling ball accessory breaks cover Steve Ballmer confirms Natal Xbox 360 for 2010 Alt-Delete: Hollywood does videogame comedy Activision threatens to stop making PS3 games

Read more…

You probably haven’t heard about it yet, but Nintendo quietly announced a new version of the DS handheld gamer this week specifically designed to be used in classrooms. The Nintendo DS Classroom features no new hardware, but instead consists of a package of several handhelds, a PC and newly developed educational software for the DS. Free DS for the kids Nintendo, which developed the package with Sharp, says it hopes to persuade schools to take the bundle and issue a DS to each student. Once students and teachers are connected through the DS Wi-Fi link they should be able to share study materials instantly, with students also filing some work and test answers on the handhelds. Cutting bureaucracy The supplied PC software will also make it simple for teachers to keep track of student progress and, theoretically, cut down on administrative paperwork. Nintendo aims to start selling the as-yet-unpriced DS Classroom tool from next February, initially in Japan, with overseas launches likely if the reception is positive. Related Stories New PSP Go revealed accidentally by Sony E3 2009: Sony confirms arrival of PSP Go Sony to open UMD swap shop for PSP GO owners PSP-3000 Lilac bundled with Hannah Montana Exclusive: Opera delighted with Nintendo relationship

Read more…

Opera is hopeful that it will continue to provide browsers for gaming giants Nintendo after the success of its DSi and Wii software. The browsers on both of Nintendo’s blockbusting gaming platforms have been well received, with the Wii ‘Internet Channel’ browser being the most popular television-based browsers around, according to CEO Jon von Tetchner. And Opera’s relationship with Nintendo has remained strong, with the former keen to continue to work with the Japanese giants. Wii Friends “We have good relationship with Nintendo, confirmed Opera’s von Tetzchner. “The recent addition – the DSi browser – has been provided for free on the device and that’s a movement in the right direction. “We are very happy about the fact that Opera on Wii is the most used device to browse on televisions – that is the biggest volume of users. “We feel the browser is a very good user experience and working with Nintendo was very good. “They challenged us and we challenged them and it is clear that they are very focused on making easy to use applications for their products.” The Wii ‘Internet Channel’ was launched back in April 2007 and had been a poipular purchase for many Wii owners, while DSi owners can download a version of Opera 9.5 for their handheld for free. Related Stories New PSP Go revealed accidentally by Sony E3 2009: Sony confirms arrival of PSP Go Sony to open UMD swap shop for PSP GO owners PSP-3000 Lilac bundled with Hannah Montana Nintendo sneaks out new school edition DS

Read more…

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has insisted that his company ruled out motion sensing camera after trials suggested that the accelerometers the Wii uses were more effective. Nintendo’s hardware announcements at E3 were limited to a finger pulse-detector – which caused some bemusement at the exhibition – and further demonstration of the impressive Wii MotionPlus technology, which increases the sensitivity of the Wiimote and is arriving soon. Sony and Microsoft, on the other hand, showed prototypes of motion sensor tech that is not yet on the verge of being released; but Iwata told the Financial Times that using cameras to track movement was something Nintendo had experimented with but chosen not to implement. When and how much? Iwata also suggested that, until pricing and arrival dates are confirmed, it would be difficult to make a judgement on the likelihood of success. “Until they say when they’re releasing it, how much it costs and what software it comes with, we won’t know whether that is the route we should have taken. However?.?.?.?I think they couldn’t choose to release exactly the same thing,” said Mr Iwata. “Companies whose people said that motion-sensing wouldn’t work are now proposing motion sensors,” he added. Related Stories Nintendo to launch an HD Wii? EA: Xbox 360 gaming maxed out but not PS3 Valve: PS3 is ‘too complicated’ Microsoft funding prizes for 1 vs 100 Is Natal actually the next-generation Xbox?

Read more…

Ordinary punters who download bootleg copies of video games have been labelled terrorists by the leader of a prominent games industry copyright-protection body. The harsh verdict comes from Yutaka Kubota , who is president of Japan’s Association of Copyright for Computer Software , a trade body with close links to Nintendo. Information terrorism Speaking to Famitsu magazine, Kubota took particular issue with gamers who downloaded Nintendo DS titles to play on their own flash ROM cartridges.

Read more…

Nintendo has announced yet another keep fit focused game, this time for the DS, fronted by none other than Britain’s favourite ex-gameshow host and all-round brainbox Carol Vorderman. Active Health with Carol Vorderman includes a pedometer and will also feature Wii Fit synchronisation when it releases in August. The ‘game’ will feature a combination of healthy eating and exercise tips tailored for today’s “busy lifestyles” and “inputting your personal details into the software allows Carol to calculate your BMI and provide you with a personalised programme outlining how many calories you need to consume and how much exercise you should do to maintain or lose weight.” Motivational guidance Carol pops up now and then as your “motivational guide… helping you to achieve your personal goal whether it is to lose weight, boost energy levels, improve your fitness or all three combined!” There are 70 inbuilt recipes, a shopping list facility and “a variety of sample meal plans for the entire day, providing inspiration on how to eat healthy, varied dishes while sticking within your recommended daily calorie intake.” The pedometer or, as Nintendo is calling it, the “Activity Meter” is just dropped you’re your pocket and monitors your activity levels through the day. One click of the button on the pedometer will send over your personal daily activity data to your DS by infrared signal and “you can even sync Active Health with your Wii Fit to keep track of additional exercises completed on the Wii.” Active Health with Carol Vorderman launches across the UK on 7 August 2009. Related Stories Sega announces new Pilates game for Wii Sony halves its number of suppliers Exclusive pics of the Queen’s “Royal Wii” Turn your iPhone into an iGameboy Game of ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ announced

Read more…

E3 is back early next month, with a return to the spectacle of old – with games publishers and hardware manufacturers putting serious amounts of marketing cash into a show set to feature big booths, garishly-attired ‘booth babes’ and loads of new videogames. The speculation as to what Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony have up their respective sleeves has been raging online for months and it reaches fever pitch in the weeks running up to the event. And while PRs, journos and publishing execs start to plan what to pack for their trip to La La Land, the Entertainment Software Association – the organizers of the show – have just stoked up the excitement levels by publishing the show floor plans. Sony wins booth-battle The big news is that Sony wins the battle of the booths for E3 2009 – if that battle is based purely on the amount of floor space the company has booked up, that is! You can see all the floorplans over on the ESA’s website right here – which shows that Microsoft is the central attraction in the South Hall, while Sony and Nintendo dominate the cavernous West Hall. Stay tuned for all the E3 2009 fun and games from June 1. Related Stories New Carol Vorderman keep fit game on DS Sony halves its number of suppliers Exclusive pics of the Queen’s “Royal Wii” Turn your iPhone into an iGameboy Game of ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ announced

Read more…

The latest NPD sales data is in for US game hardware and software sales throughout the month of April 2009, with the recently launched Nintendo DSi ruling the retail roost. Over a million DS’s and DSi’s were sold in the US through April, while Nintendo was responsible for a phenomenal 56 per cent of all US hardware and software sales through the month. “Nintendo systems and software represented 56 per cent of the industry total shares in April, indicating continued strong consumer preference for quality and value,” said NoA marketing boss Cammie Dunaway. “Looking ahead, we are excited to introduce active-play games like Punch-Out!! and Wii Sports Resort into the market,” Dunaway added. Pre E3 booster The results could not have come at a better time for Nintendo, with many industry pundits and hardcore gamers alike wondering what the company has in store to reveal at E3 2009 in a matter of weeks. It will certainly be a disappointing E3 if Nintendo merely rehashes its recent successes with Wii Fit and reiterates its support to developers looking to implement Wii MotionPlus control into their new games. We can only hope that Mr Iwata and Mr Miyamoto have something clever up their sleeves to appease the hardcore… Elsewhere in NPD land, every other console’s sales were down on the same month in 2008. The Wii, for example, sold only 340,000 units in April 2009 compared to 714,200 in April 2008, though it is still at the top of the hardware chart by a considerable margin. “It is important to remember that last April, Wii hardware sales were fueled by two huge new titles: Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart . Taking that into account, Wii unit sales are still very strong,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in a statement. “April would have been a great month to release a big new game because there weren’t a lot of high profile new releases. In fact, you can see that the top 10 list for the month includes many games we’ve seen on the list for months, if not years,” said Frazier. Aaah, the benefit of hindsight! Those games publishers must be kicking themselves… Related Stories New Carol Vorderman keep fit game on DS Sony halves its number of suppliers Exclusive pics of the Queen’s “Royal Wii” Turn your iPhone into an iGameboy Game of ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ announced

Read more…

If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch, you’ve probably browsed or bought from the iTunes Store. With over 35,000 downloads currently available, finding the quality in all that quantity is growing increasingly difficult, frustrating and costly. For gamers, the situation is even worse. No-name apps with good user ratings are tempting, but usually disappoint once you realize the developers are amateurs and the scores were given by a casual audience. Well known titles aren’t much better, selling you a recognizable name without any recognisable gameplay. Fortunately, our colleagues over on GamesRadar have come up with 33 iPhone games that serious gamers will love . Here are the best 10… 1. Wolfenstein 3D Classic ($2) Quite possibly the best iPhone game in existence. 60 huge levels, laid out precisely as you remember them. Smooth, functional controls (touch or tilt – your choice!), designed by the original creator and legendary designer John Carmack. What could be better? Only the upcoming port of Doom . Buy it 2. Metal Gear Solid Touch ($8) – US Only Don’t expect any stealth. Touch is basically a glorified shooting gallery, set in Metal Gear Solid 4 environments against Metal Gear Solid 4 baddies. The graphics are so good and the gunplay mechanics are so satisfying, however, that you probably won’t mind a bit. Earning up to 50 reward wallpapers only adds to the bargain. Buy it 3. Myst ($6) What felt dated by modern PC standards – the static screens, repetitive sound effects, cheesy video and limited movement – now seems perfectly streamlined for on-the-go iPhone gaming. Let’s hope this is just the beginning of a portable point-and-click resurgence. Buy it 4. Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles ($10) You won’t find another free-roaming sandbox with current-gen graphics, but you will get a surprisingly deep, remarkably fun platforming game in the mold of last-gen Prince of Persia . You’ll also get 6-8 hours of mobile entertainment for half the cost of the DS version. Buy it 5. Vay ($5) This is an entire old-school role-playing game crammed into a tiny icon on your phone screen. Every dungeon. Every town. Every hero, villain and plot twist. Every monster, weapon and spell. While Vay is not the best or most memorable example of its genre, what other app can give you 40-50 hours of play for just $5? Buy it 6. Spore Origins ($5) – US Only For a casual, beginner-friendly adaptation of the Spore experience, this app is unexpectedly wonderful. Mind, it’s been drastically reduced… you now worry only about a single cell creature in a small petri dish. Tilting your little fella to feed on other spores is addictive, however, and customizing his body for greater offense and defense provides fantastic replay value. You can even pattern your spore with photos stored on your iPhone. Super nifty and, at the current price, highly recommended. Buy it 7. De Blob ($4) The premise of De Blob is incredibly simple – why complicate matters with a battery-sucking infrared remote, tangled Nunchuk cord and finicky sensor bar? Here, the gameplay is obvious. Swipe or tilt the phone to move the blob and paint objects. Tap INKT agents to squish them. That’s all you really need to know. Instantly engaging… and a bargain, since the upcoming DS version will no doubt retail for six times as much. Buy it 8. Ocarina ($1) You might only play it once or twice, but you’ll pull it out at parties to show off your iPhone to friends and strangers for months to come. And if you do decide to get serious? This thing truly functions as a musical instrument and can be mastered. Listen to uploaded samples from around the world in the global sharing submenu if you don’t believe. Buy it 9. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR ($10) – US Only Hard to believe, considering the publisher and the hefty charge, but Tiger Woods on iPhone is a terrific buy. Almost everything you love about the console games has been fit in here: the licensed courses, the extensive tournaments, the professional cameos, the character generator, the precise control scheme and over 120 holes to choose between. Wow. Buy it 10. Need for Speed Undercover ($10) – US Only The app store offers dozens of racing games, but Need for Speed Undercover is the best by far. The graphics are spectacular – you could easily mistake this for a PSP title – and the play modes are varied. Buy it Read the full article 33 iPhone games for real gamers Sign up for TechRadar’s free Weird Week in Tech newsletter Get the oddest tech stories of the week, plus the most popular news and reviews delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up at http://www.techradar.com/register Related Stories New Carol Vorderman keep fit game on DS Sony halves its number of suppliers Exclusive pics of the Queen’s “Royal Wii” Turn your iPhone into an iGameboy Game of ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ announced

Read more…

Nvidia launches its new stereoscopic 3D peripheral this week to allow you to give your movies, games and photos a three-dimensional make-over. “This highly anticipated technology will be available to buy from leading distributors, priced around £129.99,” Nvidia informs us. Inside Nvidia’s 3D Vision box you will discover a pair of wireless glasses, a high-power IR emitter and some software to flicker-free, stereoscopic 3D experience to PCs. 3D Vision is designed to work with monitors and TVs running at 120Hz and higher, such as the Samsung SyncMaster 2233RZ 120Hz LCD. Microsoft and EA gush “By including support for previously released and upcoming Games for Windows titles, PC gamers can expect a new level of immersion in full stereoscopic 3D, and enjoy broad support for the hottest games,” says Microsoft’s Marketing Manager for Games for Windows Corey Rosemond. “I expected to see a marginal improvement over the previous generation of this technology, but what I saw blew me away—crystal-clear 3D with no hint of flickering or ghosting! It had me grinning from ear to ear,” said Stephen Viljoen, Chief Operating Officer of Slightly Mad Studios, developer of the upcoming Electronic Arts title, Need for Speed: Shift . “For the first time, the technology is at a level where one can have full-on gaming sessions without any side effects. I’ve seen the future and it’s beautiful!” Nvidia GeForce 3D Vision is now available in the UK (also bundled as part of a £399 package including the aforementioned Samsung SyncMaster LCD monitor). For more details check out TechRadar’s in-depth review . Related Stories New Carol Vorderman keep fit game on DS Sony halves its number of suppliers Exclusive pics of the Queen’s “Royal Wii” Turn your iPhone into an iGameboy Game of ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ announced

Read more…

The newest version of Windows Live Messenger is out and available for download. This latest update places the stamp of approval on the messaging software and takes it out of the beta stages completely. So if you have yet to try the new Windows Live Messenger, give it a shot at the Messenger site.

Read more…

Opening a major new front in the entertainment software industry’s battle against
piracy, leading video game companies today filed a lawsuit to block the trafficking
and sale of software that cracks the copy protection systems used by game makers
to protect their titles from illegal copying, the Entertainment Software Association
(ESA) announced today.

Read more…

Over half of the 2,219 PC gamer respondents to a recent survey have recently
downloaded pirated software: that’s the conclusion of a wide-reaching poll conducted
by the copy protection experts Macrovision (Nasdaq: MVSN). And whilst estimates
on the impact of packaged software piracy suggest a figure of $3 billion worldwide
(source: Electronic Software Association), Macrovision believes the rise in
high-speed Internet file sharing – which currently isn’t taken into account
in the ESA estimate – pushes the figure substantially higher.

Read more…

Action Replay is only way to beat the roughest and toughest Xbox games. From the makers
of the world’s best-selling cheat code systems, Action Replay for Xbox
is preloaded with loads of game busting Powersaves, giving you total control
of the action. Now you can gain extra weapons, ammo and energy. Load special
levels and features. Access all areas, characters and vehicles. Action Replay
comes complete with an 8Mb memory card which can be used to store new Powersaves.

Read more…

Mad Catz Interactive, Inc., the world’s leading third party video game accessory
manufacturer, announced today that it has entered into a multi-year technology
agreement with Fire International Ltd. and its related
companies (Fire). Under terms of the agreement, Mad Catz has
secured exclusive North American rights, as well as non-exclusive rights in many
other countries, to Fire’s video game enhancement technology. Financial terms
of the agreement were not disclosed. Mad Catz will implement Fire’s technology
in its recently acquired GameShark brand of video game enhancements.
. .

Read more…

Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. has acquired the rights to the GameShark brand from Recoton Corp. subsidiary, Interact Accessories.

Mad Catz paid $5.0 million for the brand, which includes the www.gameshark.com URL as well. Mad Catz anticipates shipping its first products under the brand in March.

Read more…

There has been a ton of discussion about GameShark for the Xbox. This brings up a huge debate, with Xbox Live launching over the next couple of months. Gamestop has put a place-holder for the Interact Xbox Gameshark on their site, with an estimated release date of 12/2/2002. While this date may not be the most accurate, as we have seen in the past from Gamestop, it’s certainly the most definitive proof that there will be a GameShark for the Xbox console.

Read more…