The economy is still struggling, but that isn’t stopping the video game industry from pushing games out the door at a blistering pace. In addition to Sony’s new handheld video game system, the PSPgo , more than 40 different titles are being released this week. Clicking on any of the title names will give you a short description of the game. For more information on the PSPgo take a look at the PSPgo specs , learn about PSPminis , or head to the official PSPgo website . 09/28/09 Baseball Blast – Wii 09/29/09 Bass Pro Shops: The Strike – PC 09/29/09 Bass Pro Shops: The Strike – Wii 09/29/09 Bass Pro Shops: The Strike – Xbox 360 09/29/09 Battle of Giants – Dragons – DS 09/29/09 Beaterator – PSP 09/29/09 Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 – PS3 09/29/09 Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 – Wii 09/29/09 Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 – Xbox 360 09/29/09 Dead Space Extraction – Wii 09/29/09 Deca Sports 2 – Wii 09/29/09 Dream Dancer – DS 09/29/09 Family Feud – DS 09/29/09 Family Feud – PC 09/29/09 Family Feud – Wii 09/29/09 Family Fun Football – Wii 09/29/09 Hero’s Saga Laevatein Tactics – DS 09/29/09 Imagine Salon Stylist – DS 09/29/09 Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days – DS 09/29/09 MotorStorm Arctic Edge – PSP 09/29/09 MySims Agents – DS 09/29/09 MySims Agents – Wii 09/29/09 Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 – PS3 09/29/09 Obscure: The Aftermath – PSP 09/29/09 Rapala: We Fish – Wii 09/29/09 Red War: Edem’s Curse – PC 09/29/09 Shimano Xtreme Fishing – Wii 09/29/09 Smart Kids: Mega Game Mix – DS 09/29/09 Sudoku Ball Detective – Wii 09/29/09 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up – PS2 09/29/09 The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road – DS 09/29/09 Undead Knights – PSP 09/30/09 Axel & Pixel – Xbox 360 10/01/09 7 Wonders II – DS 10/01/09 Gran Turismo – PSP 10/01/09 Hooked! Again: Real Motion Fishing – Wii 10/01/09 Medieval Games – Wii 10/01/09 Shin Megami Tensei: Persona – PSP 10/02/09 Risen – PC 10/02/09 Risen – Xbox 360 10/02/09 Shutter Island – PC Cheats for the above games will follow soon. Follow AboutGameCheats on Twitter for the latest cheats and codes. DM me with any suggestions, requests, or comments.
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After watching Microsoft and Sony drop the prices on the Xbox 360 and the PS3, Nintendo has decided to jump in with a price cut as well. Starting September 27th, the Wii will cost $199 in North America, a $50 drop from the previous price. Japan will be getting a slightly smaller price cut, but Europe seems to be left out of this change. Nintendo is hoping this reduction and the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii Fit Plus in the coming months will boost slipping sales rates. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Xest writes “More and more reports are appearing about PlayStation 3 consoles failing in a similar way to the earlier models of the Xbox 360, except for Sony, it’s the ‘Yellow Light of Death.’ The BBC has an interesting article which suggests the problem could be almost identical to that which caused the Red Ring of Death — poor soldering connections. From the article: ‘Several of those businesses have told Watchdog that the vast majority of consoles they see with the “yellow light of death” can be repaired by heating up specific parts of the circuit board. This process is called solder re-flow. By heating the connections between the components and the circuit board to temperatures in excess of 200 Celsius, the metal solder joints melt, just like they did when the device was first assembled. Console repairers say that this process method is commonly used to repair fractured connections, or dry joints.’ But that’s not the only rule from Microsoft’s playbook Sony has been following; while they have admitted 12,500 out of 2.5 million systems have failed (a convenient 0.5%), they refuse to release full figures of failure rates, citing them as being ‘commercially sensitive.’ Unfortunately, Sony does not appear to be following Microsoft’s lead with regard to an extended warranty, stating that if a PS3 fails after 12 months, it is not their problem. In the UK at least, the Sale of Goods Act would disagree with that statement.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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If you haven’t been following video game news recently then you may have missed a couple of key announcements from two big players in the industry. First off, Sony announced a redesigned PlayStation 3 console aptly named the PS3 Slim. As you might have guessed from the name the size of the console has been tweaked down a bit, and so has the price… beginning September 1st you’ll be able to pick one up for $300. Apparently September 1st isn’t an official release date, as PlayStation Guide Roger Altizer points out here , you might be able to pick one up now. Microsoft, in swift fashion has now lowered prices on the Xbox 360 consoles. Beginning August 28th you’ll be able to pickup an Xbox 360 Elite for $300 as well. Other versions of the Xbox 360 have been lowered also. Turns out the struggling economy may be just what the doctor ordered to make video game consoles more affordable. And without a doubt, this will make holiday dreams for many a bit more accessible. Where is Nintendo in all of this you ask? Sitting pretty at number one watching Sony and Microsoft battle to the death.
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Bobby Kotick, President and CEO of Activision, one of the largest game companies in the world, has come out with a none-too-subtle warning to Sony that they need to seriously consider a price drop on the Playstation 3. Rumors have been circulating for months that such a drop was forthcoming, but Sony has staunchly denied that they had any plans to drop prices, Kotick said, “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. … They have to cut the price, because if they don’t, the attach rates [the number of games each console owner buys] are likely to slow. If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony.” While it’s unlikely that Activision would follow through with such a threat, it definitely adds to the pressure Sony is feeling to lower the PS3’s price. Sony issued a brief response which said nothing of consequence. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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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
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Hugh Pickens writes “Troy Wolverton writes in the Mercury News that in less than a year, the iPhone has become a significant game platform, but its bigger impact could be to help change the way the game industry does business. ‘It’s got everything you need to be a game changer,’ said Neil Young, co-founder and CEO of ngmoco, which develops games solely for the iPhone. With a year under its belt and an installed base of iPhone and iPod Touch owners at around forty million, the iPhone/iPod Touch platform has eclipsed next-gen console penetration numbers and started to catch up to the worldwide penetration of both Sony’s (50 million) and Nintendo’s (100 million) devices. Wolverton writes that not only is the iPhone one of the first widely successful gaming platforms in which games are completely digitally distributed, but on the iPhone, consumers can find more games updated more often, and at a cheaper cost per game than what they’d find on a typical dedicated game console. While an ordinary top-of-the-line game for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 sells for about $60, and one for Nintendo’s DS about $30, a top-of-the-line iPhone game typically sells for no more than $10. With traditional games, developers might wait a year or two between major releases; ngmoco is planning on releasing new versions of its games for the iPhone every four to five months. ‘You have to think differently,’ says Young. ‘It’s redefining what it means to be a publisher in this world.’” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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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
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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
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Another E3 went by this year and yet another chance for Sony to drop the price of the PlayStation 3 wasn’t taken. One of the biggest reasons behind this is that the company uses Blu-ray for both its gaming and movie capabilities – technology that in the grand scheme of things is still generally expensive to make. When PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai was asked in an interview with the Guardian recently if he regretted including a Blu-ray drive on the PS3 was a bad idea, he was quick to defend his decision: “Purely from a gaming standpoint there was no other choice for us,” he noted. “Last year’s Metal Gear Solid 4 was pushing 50GB as it was, if it was on DVD it would have been a 6-disc set. “The packaging and cost would have been prohibitive and it would have been hugely inconvenient to consumers.” Format war winners When asked if there was ever a though of taking the Blu-ray out of the machine, Hirai replied: “Conceptually it may make sense to remove the Blu-Ray drive but in reality it doesn’t make sense. “Also we never want to be in the position where countries without super fast broadband connections are locked out of the PlayStation business because the PS3 has gone download only.” He also reveals that having Blu-ray in the PS3 aided in Sony winning the format war. “The PS3 installed base certainly went a long way to making the movie studios side with Blu-ray rather then HD-DVD or supporting both,” said Hirai. “Ultimately it ended up being the right thing for the entirety of the industry as consumers don’t need to hedge their bets. We had a lot to do with making Blu-ray the de-facto standard.”
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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?
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We’re blown away by the potential of Microsoft’s Project Natal tech for the Xbox 360, but our minds quickly wandered. What would Microsoft call the final release? Our friends at Redmond hardly have the best pedigree when it comes to naming new releases and Microsoft’s long-meeting and focus group naming reputation has hardly been helped by the launch of Bing.
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Nintendo has already got a tough job on its hands if it is to hit the same level as Microsoft managed with the announcement of Project Natal and the prospect of controller-free gaming. But this is Nintendo we are talking about, and the makers of the Wii and the DS are more than capable of bringing their own special brand of gaming genius to the party. TechRadar will be covering the Nintendo keynote from when it starts at 6pm UK time, and although we can’t envision it bringing anything mind-blowing, Nintendo are past masters of injecting a bit of pizzazz.
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The same question keeps popping up: “how can Sony and Nintendo possibly top this ?” Microsoft’s E3 press conference started out as a parade of games most people either knew or strongly suspect were happening. Then, towards the end, they dropped the bombshell to end all bombshells. Project Natal, a sky-high ambitious body/face/voice recognition add-on for the Xbox 360 that, if it works as promised, changes not just the 360, not just gaming, but how humankind interfaces with technology. Rumours had swirled for a while that Microsoft, jealous of the Wii’s success with non-traditional gamers, was about to reveal some sort of motion sensing device for their own console.
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One of the worst-kept tech secrets of recent times has finally been outed, as photos and details of Sony’s new PSP have been leaked online. Images and video of the PSP Go apparently turned up in the latest edition of Sony’s Qore online magazine and were posted to the general web by Gaming Console Network . No UMD drive So far, it seems like most of the rumours were accurate – the PSP Go ditches the UMD drive in favour of 16GB of flash memory for storing games and there’s a new Bluetooth radio, although it’s not clear if the Wi-Fi link has been retained.
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Rockstar has pre-empted that there’s going to be a pile of stories coming out of E3 this year, and jumped the queue by announcing new content for its flagship title GTA IV . Again it’s Microsoft Xbox 360 users who will have access to the new expansion pack, which comes under the brilliant title of The Ballad Of Gay Tony.
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In slightly shocking news from Nintendo, it looks like the father of Mario and Zelda , Shigeru Miyamoto, will not be taking the stage at the company’s E3 press conference in LA next week, kickstarting rumours that a new Super Mario game could well be announced at the show. Miyamoto has been more focused on the family-friendly Wii titles in recent times, with experts suggesting that the decision not to push him forward this year could herald a return to the more traditional Nintendo core games. “Not to put the great man down but this is a good omen for the hardcore Nintendo fan,” says Editor of NGamer , Nick Ellis.
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Spike Jonze’s movie take on Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are is due to hit the cinemas later this year, with the news this week that a videogame version is also in the works. The development duty on this children’s classic is being handled by US developer Amaze Entertainment , that has revealed the Where The Wild Things Are game will be out later this year for all platforms.
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If you are a closet Nintendo fan with an iPhone then these latest Gameboy style makeover protective screen covers for your Apple mobile are sure to appeal. These ‘Monochrome’ stickers are produced by American company Infectious and, basically, turn your iPhone into something resembling a small Gameboy circa 1990. All you then need to do is to download EA’s superb £2.99 version of Tetris from the App Store and, hey presto, it’s like the last 20 years never actually happened!
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TechRadar welcomes Chris Boyd, Director of Research for FaceTime Security Labs , as guest columnist. A few days ago, I received a call from a friend in a bit of a state of distress – all I could get out of him was that his PlayStation 3 was “infected with a virus” and he couldn’t get rid of the warning the console kept throwing at him. To me, this was extremely interesting – I don’t recall ever seeing a genuine, honest to goodness virus capable of attacking the PS3, and security applications for the console go as far as blocking rogue websites – there are currently no virus scans, because there are no viruses. However, my friend was insistent that I check his console out, so off I went with a camera and a healthy dose of scepticism. At least, I would have done if he didn’t live in Australia. I had to settle for a long, drawn out description of the problem and it took a while to pin it down. Let me go off on a tangent for a moment – don’t worry, it’ll all make sense shortly… Rogue anti-spyware websites Rogue anti-spyware websites are great, aren’t they? Websites claiming you’re infected with all sorts of nasties, with the intention of having you buy a (fake) security product that doesn’t actually do anything….
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