New In The News

Sony’s boasting that the new Grand Theft Auto was “meant to be played” on the PS3, while Microsoft is touting the exclusive downloadable content—including, perhaps, a new city—that’s on tap for the Xbox 360 version of GTA:IV. PS3 vs. Xbox 360…fight!PS3 pros: From what the Rockstar developers are saying, the PS3 might have an ever-so-slight edge in terms of graphics, although that could me more a factor of aesthetics than anything else. “I like the way [the PS3] renders,” Rockstar founder Sam Houser told 1UP.com. “There’s a certain kind of softness without being blurry—some warmth to it—and then there’s a certain more clinical element to how the 360 looks.” That said, Houser thinks the differences are pretty subtle: “As far as I’m concerned, they’re neck and neck now.” 

There’s also talk that the PS3 will get Sixaxis “tilt” control for helicopters, boats, and motorcycles—which could be a plus or a minus, depending on your point of view. Luckily, Sixaxis control is reportedly optional.

PS3 cons: For now, at least, there’s no word of any additional downloadable content on the scale of what Xbox 360 users can expect. Then there’s the initial install time: five minutes, compared to—well, zippo for the 360—and longer load times thanks to the PS3’s Blu-ray drive.

Xbox 360 pros: Number one of the list, of course, is the promised downloadable expansion packs for later this year. Details are sketchy, but according to some rumors, we could be seeing entire new cities (although Kotaku, for one, calls the rumor “a bit tough to swallow”). Anyway, just the promise of significant new content—exclusive to the Xbox 360, for now—is a big plus for the 360 version of GTA:IV.

Then there’s the Xbox Live factor—and especially the draw of winning Xbox Achievement points, a concept that doesn’t exist in the PlayStation universe. 

Xbox 360 cons: On paper, the 360 should have a tougher time than the robust PS3 in rendering GTA:IV’s dense graphical world—but I wouldn’t take that to the bank quite yet. So far, I haven’t seen any side-by-side comparisons, and Rockstar seems to think the two consoles are “neck and neck,” at least in terms of GTA’s graphics. Still, I can imagine many 360 users wondering if they’re getting the shorter end of the visual stick.

On a different note, Rockstar has publicly complained that the Xbox 360 “create[d] limitations” because of its relative lack of storage (just a DVD drive compared to the PS3’s Blu-ray drive, and games must be built without depending on the 360’s optional hard drive). In other words, the Xbox 360’s “limitations” may have held back both the PS3 and 360 versions of the game.

OK, so who’s the big winner?: Not having played either version of GTA:IV myself yet, I can only rely on the bullet points—and on that basis, the Xbox 360 gets the edge. The promise of the 360-exclusive downloadable content alone must be making PS3 gamers green-eyed with envy.

That said, here’s my plan: As several of you have requested, I’m gonna march down to my local gaming store on Tuesday, snag both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Grand Theft Auto IV, and fire up my consoles for some side-by-side comparisons. (Tough life, I know.) Once I’ve had my fill, I’ll weigh in with a verdict.

Alright gamers, let’s hear it: Which version of GTA:IV—PS3 or Xbox 360—do you think will be better, and why?

Programmers will be able to earn money from games that they create and upload to Xbox Live

Tens of thousands of ‘bedroom developers’ are vying to create the next best-selling computer game after Microsoft effectively handed the keys of its Xbox console to the gaming community.

Microsoft has said it wants amateur developers to write games that can be played and downloaded via its Xbox Live web platform, which has ten million users worldwide - and for them to share in the revenues their creations generate.

The software giant said that a ‘toolkit’ it had released which enables developers to write games for Xbox had been downloaded 800,000 times and was being used by teams in more than 400 universities worldwide.

The first trials of the community-generated games for Xbox are due to begin in the spring, with a full commercial roll-out expected later in the year.

“I think of this as games created by the community, managed by the community and enjoyed by everyone,” John Schappert, corporate vice president of LIVE software and services at Microsoft, told the Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco.

Once a game is created for Xbox Live, it will be submitted for ‘peer review’ by other developers, who will check that it does not contain any prohibited material and that it is correctly labelled for graphic content, Microsoft said. The game will then be uploaded to Xbox Live Arcade and placed alongside other Xbox games that can be bought and downloaded.

Micrsoft also hinted that developers would be able to share the revenue generated from their games - either through download sales, or advertising that appeared alongside free versions - but said that the business model for the new venture was still being worked out.

The company released its free toolkit for creating games, known as XNA, two years ago, but until now the games developed using it could not be shared. Only seven community-generated games have so far been uploaded to the Xbox Live platform, Microsoft said, but by the end of the year this number would swell to more than a thousand.

“There are tens of thousands of developers out there chomping at the bit,” Mr Schappert said. “We need to unlock that potential.”

Third-party developers have always written games for Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo, but typically the software which enables them to do so is expensive, meaning that only established games developers have been able to afford it.

Microsoft’s announcement reflects an increasing desire on the part of the large console makers to tap the skills of the wider developer community. Nintendo has released a similar toolkit - called Wii Ware - and already about a hundred titles are in development, with the first due to be released in the US in May.

“It makes sense for Microsoft and others to develop their online platforms in this way,” Piers Harding-Rolls, an analyst at Screen Digest, said. “It doesn’t cost them much - other people are generating the content, plus it’s a way of maintaining good relations with the online gaming community, and there’s also a number of business models they can explore.”

Asked whether bedroom developers could compete with the likes of Activision, the company behind games like Guitar Hero, Mr Harding-Rolls said: “You can definitely make extremely interesting, entertaining and addictive casual games that become popular with a huge number of people.”

source: Times Online

Linda Beattie is trying desperately to pay Nintendo $250, but the company is not cooperating.Two weeks ago, Beattie went to a video game retailer in the Bay Area in search of a Wii, Nintendo’s intensely popular video game machine. She timed her visit to correspond with the arrival of a UPS truck that she had heard would be making its regular stop at the store, hoping it might deliver some consoles. She was out of luck.

So Beattie, 44, a permit expediter and not a stalker by trade, followed the truck to the next store, where it did drop off a handful of Wiis. She bought one, but store policy would not let her buy a second for a friend, so she quickly called him.

“He came from another game store that he was staking out,” Beattie said. “He got there two minutes too late to buy the last one.”

Shoppers across the United States have similar stories. With the Wii, Nintendo has created a phenomenon that recalls crazes of Christmases past: Cabbage Patch dolls, Furby, Tickle Me Elmo. in this case it is happening for a second consecutive holiday shopping season.

Nintendo has been unable to keep up with demand, costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in potential sales.

read the rest of the story at Herald Tribune
Nintendo Wii is available in Canada, as i heard it will be available starting from tomorrow Saturday 15th December, throught Hudson’s Bay Company at Zellers stores across Canada or probably Ontario only, i’m not pretty sure. Check Zellers website they might have more details or maybe it’s an in-store special offer.

Sony’s PlayStation 3 outsold Nintendo’s Wii for the first time in Japan during the month of November, game magazine publisher Enterbrain said on Friday.

In the four weeks leading up to Nov. 25, Sony sold 183,217 PS3 systems in Japan. By comparison, Nintendo sold 159,193 Wii consoles. In previous months, the Wii has outsold the PS3 upwards of 6 to 1.

The news marks a first for Sony on its home turf also given rise to the prospect that Sony may return to it former dominance over the last 11 years.

One analyst remained skeptical, however, saying one month is hardly enough to forecast a turnaround. “Overseas, I don’t really see the PS3 doing that much at Christmas time primarily because it’s still more expensive than the other machines and has less software,” said Hiroshi Kamide.

“It’s nice to see the system selling much better than six months ago. But is it a sustainable trend? Is it going to really escalate from here? I’m not so sure.”

Source: PCWorld.com

Pretty sad story. Tony (last name withheld) went to Iraq, along with his Nintendo Wii. When he started getting close to returning, he sent it back to the U.S. to his wife. More on this later, as it becomes evidence for any divorce proceedings.

Anyway, Tony returns in June of 2007 and hears reports of his wife’s indiscretions with another man while he was gone. Confronting her, she told him she shared one innocent kiss with the guy in October 2006 — but that was it.

Well, as Tony said in an email to GoNintendo, in November he decides to plug in the Nintendo (no explanation why he waited so long so “I can peruse the many friends that I have created with the guys that I played with in Iraq.”

What he found was a Mii he hadn’t created, but that looked quite a bit like the guy her wife “innocently kissed.” Upon checking the Wii Calendar he discovered his wife and this Mii had been together a lot, playing Wii Bowling. This despite the wife’s assertion that she never had contact with the guy after October 2006.

Pretty damning evidence, enough to convince Tony to file for divorce. Well, I’ll be honest, he also found some love emails, too.

At any rate, now you know — you not only have to wipe your PC in the event of a crime, but your game console, too!

source: SNAFU-ed

Stop the presses: Everything you’ve heard about Crysis is true. It’s a first-person shooter game that features a massive Lost-like island to explore, revealing it in naturally occurring areas that can take several minutes to sprint through and hours to fully experience.

Crysis simulates that island and its tropical ecology by employing visual technology so sophisticated that bullets fired through sun-streaked foliage cause leaves to shiver, while massive explosions thousands of meters away can produce clouds of dust that settle gradually over jungle canopies like smog.

Remarkably, everything in Crysis is interactive, from coffee cups and barrels to destructible shacks to the trunks of felled trees, which you can pick up and wield.

Your opponents, organized around the island in organic detachments, are not only tactically devious but work together with uncanny efficiency. And even without a gun, you’re a lethal weapon, kitted out with special nanotechnology that lets you hit, run, and jump like a superhero. Developer Crytek promised something that would “move the shooter genre forward substantially,” and with Crysis, it is firing on all cylinders.

Crytek has also produced something of a flawed masterpiece. Your enemies are smart, but only to the extent that they play better hide-and-seek. Rules that apply to you are occasionally broken by the creators to ramp up a challenge, violating the game’s internal logic and creating some of the most unnecessarily irritating moments in the story. And at the eleventh hour, the game’s much-touted sense of openness gives way to a design that narrows as you advance, culminating in a final battle where someone barks orders at you like a drill sergeant reading a grocery list.

That is not to say Crysis isn’t exceptional, and often extraordinary. But appreciating what it offers–an unconventional “emergent” adventure in an unspeakably beautiful setting–depends primarily on how you choose to engage it.

source: PC World

After two superb outings on the Nintendo GameCube, Metroid Prime has landed on the Wii for its third and final instalment. Part alien-blasting action, part puzzle-solving adventure, Corruption is engaging even when it’s simply exploring the weird environments and hunting for clues.

As bounty hunter Samus Aran, you have been roped into action by the Galactic Federation to help in its war against the evil Space Pirates. However, your first mission goes awry when evil entity Dark Samus infects you with an ominous substance called Phazon. The race is then on to save entire planets from being corrupted by the Phazon while dealing with your own mutation and the dangerous power it feeds you.

The moody soundtrack and imaginative visuals provide fantastic escapism but the immersion is made even more effective by the Wii’s motion-sensing control scheme. Hold the Wii Remote in one hand and the Nunchuk attachment in the other and the character’s arms become an extension of your own. This is easily the console’s best use of the Wii Remote yet.

Corruption’s strength also lies in its puzzle-filled level design. Weapon upgrades that you acquire along the way open up new possibilities for traversing the tricky terrain such as using ice missiles to freeze liquid or melting objects with a plasma beam. The hefty degree of lateral thinking required separates Corruption from other mindless shooters.

METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION
Wii
RRP: $99.95
Classification: M
Rating: 5/5

source: The Sydney Morning Herald

The revolution had begun but Australian developer Dale Rankine almost missed it.

In 2005 he was making games for websites using the popular Flash programming language. It was a good business but not a goldmine. He was getting by.

By chance, one day he came across an astounding nugget of information. In Japan, he was told, there were already 50 million mobile phone handsets “in the wild”, running Flash and waiting for developers to come up with applications.

The platform was there, the user base established. It suddenly seemed obvious, Mr Rankine thought to himself: “People might one day grow sick of SMS and want something more exciting to do.”

He started a mobile phone game development enterprise, the Brisbane-based Moket. Last week it launched its first game on the US market and it plans to have three titles available by the end of the year, with an online distribution model and more titles to follow.

Mr Rankine believes that this kind of game means people from all walks of life will become gamers. Consumers get a smorgasbord of instantly available, interesting “dishes” to try rather than “consuming games one big meal at a time”.

But Moket is far from alone in mining this rich vein of opportunity. In fact, Australia is punching above its weight in the so-called casual gaming market, with some of the world’s most successful developers.

It’s a good place to be. Experts from the financial sector and within the industry all point towards a major period of expansion in this relatively untapped area. Big Xbox or PlayStation games might steal a lot of the limelight but mobile phone gaming is gearing up to capture masses of players, many of whom will be new to gaming.

The casual gamer is coming and there is a mad scramble to develop products that will keep him - and, most importantly, her - happy.

Market analyst firm Juniper Research predicts that end-user mobile phone revenue should top $US10 billion ($A11.2 billion) by 2009. In a recent report, Juniper analyst Dr Windsor Holden suggests that mobile phone gaming will help penetrate massive markets such as India and China, which have not been effectively tapped by more traditional games makers.

This is borne out by the success of mobile gaming this year alone, as mobile game revenue in China has reached a peak of $US2.7 billion so far. Juniper Research predicts this figure will double by 2012.

read the whole story at The Sydney Morning Herlad

Big Rumour. Aparently This got leaked onto the official Xbox Forums, was deleted, posted again, then deleted. This is going to be a huge update of true. XviD compatibilty!!! Take a look at the below list.

Compatibility with 3rd party wireless controllers
Compatibility with messenger pad
Xbox Live Vision firmware upgrade, sharper image filtering
Many more Vision Cam settings
screensaver settings - when away from Xbox 360, screensaver will play for optional time, before screen goes dark
Xbox Live Arcade blade - where you can download, play and learn about Xbox Live Arcade
Brand “web based adver-games” flash games which aren’t downloaded, but are playable bite sized games, accessed via Xbox Live Arcade Blade
Screensaver option in Themes and Gamer Pics option in Marketplace blade
functionality with Messenger, works with chatpad
XNA Game Launcher for those that have the program, options
language, time and date settings
“advertising opportunities” in gameplay
Xvid support
“favourites” option via Xbox Live Arcade, can rate according to preference
IPTV Functionality - support for TiVo like PVR options. Will be able to record TV direct. Options include source by channel, director, actor and distributor
Filter friends list, will be able to filter friends via games
clan support - will be able to launch clan games direct from dashboard, can “fold” friends into clan category in friends list
Better translations in settings and other options for Japanese, German and Spanish languages
quick option to delete via X Button in memory viewer.
Option for having downloadable In-game content not inform when completed download
Option for having video content not inform when completed download
Faster settings for viewing unfinished video content downloads
option in Games tab - beta and others, will be launcher for MMO and multiplayer betas
option in Marketplace Games tab, search by letter, can be inputted via text pad or console
Smarter game settings - you can be messaged via publishers about in-game content for your games
Picture in picture functionality for DVD Drive and some other updated settings
Improved USB Keyboard settings
Improved voice chat settings in game and from dashboard
Faster response times to Redeem Code settings
Option to play a Redeemed Code game straight after redeeming code
Console will now recognise low Hard Drive space, will inform you immediately if can’t download current item, will automatically download next available that is able.
Increased space size for gamerpics and dashboard themes
Themes can now be animated
Themes may now have sound effects
Better slideshow capabilities, options added. sound effects and integration with Hard Drive/ PC music capable.
estimated timer for downloads, informing how long download will expect to take

Source xboxrally.com

SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. sales of video game hardware and software jumped 73 percent in October, with Nintendo’s Wii console regaining its spot as the top-selling console, industry data showed on Thursday.

Total sales were $1.1 billion, compared with $643 million a year earlier, according to market research firm NPD.

Nintendo sold 519,000 Wiis while Microsoft Corp MSFT.O sold 366,000 Xbox 360 consoles and Sony Corp 6758.T sold 121,000 of its PlayStation 3 machines.

In September, the Xbox 360 knocked the Wii from the top spot it had held all year, thanks to a boost from the release of Microsoft’s blockbuster ‘Halo 3′ game.

“What this demonstrates is that we are putting more and more product into the marketplace and we continue to sell out as soon as it hits,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime.

The console makers and game publishers are positioning for the holiday shopping season that can account for as much as half of the year’s sales of gaming hardware and software.

While Nintendo is scrambling to produce enough units to meet demand, Microsoft has touted its broad line-up of games and points to data showing that more money is spent on games and accessories for the Xbox 360 than its rivals combined.

“Software continues to be a real highlight for us. We had more softare sales in the month of October than the Wii and PS3 combined,” Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox Live, told Reuters.

Greenberg added that Microsoft had seen strong sales of its cheapest model, geared towards casual gamers that lie outside its traditional consumer base of young men.

Sony, meanwhile, has tried to spark interest in the PS3 by cutting prices and rolling out a slate of highly anticipated games that showcase its graphical muscle.

Sony internal data showed a 192 percent spike in PS3 sales after price drops, and it “expects a great deal of momentum moving forward this holiday and beyond,” the company said in a statement.

“Remember that the PS3 price cut came in November so we’ll have to wait until our data comes out next month to see the effect of that cut on retail sell-through of the hardware,” NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in a statement.

Microsoft’s ‘Halo 3′ was the best-selling game on a single console, moving 433,800 copies, but Activision Inc’s ATVI.O

“Guitar Hero 3″ needed just six days on the market to sell a combined 1.4 million copies across all three major consoles, as well as Sony’s older PlayStation 2.

“‘Guitar Hero’ has certainly established itself among the elite video games properties,” Frazier said. “Since it has broad appeal, it’s also the type of game that should continue to do very well throughout the holidays.”

 Canada.com

On the confirmed release date of December 4, you will be able to download a wide variety of orignal Xbox titles for roughly around $15 (1200 Microsoft Points). Microsoft, however is saying “there are some known issues” including choppy graphics, no content downloads, and at worst, system crashes. This is an emulator, so dont expecet the best.

According to Xbox.com, “there are also some issues unique to specific game titles,” such as frame rate drops in Halo and Fusion Frenzy, minor flickering in Crimson Skies, random bursts of audio static and texture issues on Fable, and lack of 720p support for Psychonauts.

In other Xbox news, XBL turns 5 today, and is offering a free XBLA download until midnight tonight, so get on it. Also, everyone who has been a member since 2002 will receive 500 MSP for free on November 16. *tries to count how long I have been active*. Don’t think I made the cut.

Wistron is reported to have phased out of Xbox 360 production and has ended its six year cooperation with Microsoft, according to market sources.

With Microsoft dropping its selling price of the Xbox 360 console earlier this year, it tried to push the profit pressure onto its three OEMs, Wistron (who accounted for 40% of shipments), Flextronics (40%) and Celestica (20%), by asking them to lower their OEM prices.

Wistron decided to stop taking Xbox 360 orders at the end of the third quarter after trying to negotiate with Microsoft over a quarter long period.

Flextronics has taken over the majority of the Xbox 360 orders, increasing its OEM production to over 60% of total shipments, while Celestica still remains as a second OEM.

Sources at component makers commented that with Wistron giving up on the Xbox 360, not only can the company prevent lowering of its gross margin, which dropped to 5.49% in the third quarter, it will also benefit the company over its growth into different markets.

Wistron declined the opportunity to comment on this report.

source: DigiTimes

Yep….sometime in the near future. With divx playback now we will all be able to watch our favourite pirated movies on our very own blu-ray player ..erm.. I mean Playstation 3. To be honest, I don’t see very much DivX out there anymore, its more XviD, which is open source, and therefore more easily accessible. This is a great step in gaming, since cinematics can be compressed into this format, thus allowing more room for game quality or size. Lets just hope this isnt a Sony buy-out. I want to see my 360 become a divx player too. Check out the full press release below.

TOKYO & SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–DivX, Inc. (NASDAQ:DIVX) today announced that DivX® video technology will be integrated into PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE). The popular computer entertainment system will be added to the ecosystem of devices that currently support DivX video playback. To date, over 100 million DivX Certified® products have been shipped into the market, and it is anticipated PS3 will significantly expand that number.

Source: Divx.com

This one came out of left field! Mark Wahlberg will star as Max Payne in a live-action adaptation of the video game to be directed by John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix, and The Omen). The video game is a bestselling hit from Rockstar that first debuted in 2001 and followed up with a sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, in 2003. The game is a third-person shooter noir crime thriller and is one of my all-time favorite games, so without a doubt I’m already looking forward to this.

Max Payne is a cop who is haunted by the tragic loss of his family and has little regard for rules as he investigates a series of mysterious murders. He finds himself up against an adversary bent on destroying Max and the streets he protects. The game used bullet-time as well as a noir and comic like feel to it, which will lend itself great to a film adaptation. The script was written by newcomer Beau Thorne. The film will go into production immediately after Wahlberg finishes The Lovely Bones with Peter Jackson, meaning yet another pre-strike movie.

Where I’m confused here is that Marky Mark has consistently stated that he won’t join films that don’t have incredible scripts. He won’t even do a sequel to The Departed because he think it won’t be as good as the first one! Yet he’s joined this, with a director who has had consistent tentpole crap films? I’m confused, am I missing something here? As much as I really, really want this to be great, I just fear for the worst.

I can tell you the path to success with Max Payne is to base it very strictly off of the video game, almost like Zack Snyder and 300 (with its exact frame-to-frame comparisons from the source material). It really needs that Sin City visual style and Matrix flair for it to really succeed. Without it, I can tell you it’s a guaranteed flop. And honestly, Moore is not the best guy for the job. Damn, why can’t the good directors be available more often!

Source : FirstShowing

A contact at Best Buy told me on Assasin’s Creed’s release date, you will be able to buy Call of Duty 4, and Assasin’s Creed together for $89.99 at Best Buy Retail stores across Canada. This is of course unconfirmed, but if you want both games, it might be worth the wait. Assasin’s Creed comes out on November 13