DCEmu Featured News Articles

Speaking in an investor Q&A session last month, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said that low sales of DS software could not be blamed entirely on the problem of piracy, instead citing lack of innovation as a central cause.

Answering a question about the company's revised financial forecast, which featured a reduced sales projection for DS and Wii hardware, the president pointed out that games like Art Academy had bucked the trend of poor penetration in some of the markets hardest hit by piracy.

Iwata singled out Spain as a market where DS games had a particularly hard time penetrating the sales chart, partly because of the difficulty in applying rigorous anti-piracy laws. However, he also made clear that DS games had always struggled to make a retail impact in the territory, and that games which managed to break into the public awareness could succeed nonetheless.

"Nintendo DS software could not make it to the hit software sales chart in the country for sometime," Iwata told investors.

"However, when we launched the Nintendo DS software Art Academy in Europe this summer, which shows you how to draw pictures, it was ranked number one on the software sales chart covering all the videogame platforms in Spain. If one software can attract many people and can become a social topic, that software can sell regardless of piracy."

Whilst Nintendo are obviously keen to deal with the piracy issue on DS and Wii, Iwata sees a lack of innovation in the games available as a bigger problem.

"Of course, as a responsibility of the platform holder, we will tackle piracy. For example, when we launch new hardware, such as Nintendo 3DS, it is a good opportunity to beef up the countermeasures, and we are actually working on that now.

"On the other hand, I do not think we should attribute bad software sales solely to piracy. Even with piracy, as long as we can create products which can attract attention from many consumers and which can greatly entertain them, that software can make it to the number one position of the hit software sales chart. "

Iwata also claimed that it is this lack of variety which is causing a downturn in software sales across the industry.

"For your information, the slower sales pace of games is not confined to Nintendo, but is now an issue the whole videogame market is facing. I understand that it is because consumers are having a hard time finding something new among the proposals videogame producers are making today. "

Nintendo has targeted the sale of four million 3DS units by the end of the fiscal year in March, 2011.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...software-sales ...

EA's FIFA 11 has retained the top-spot on the UK chart despite a challenge from rival PES 2011 at number two. FIFA's opening week saw ten times the sales of the latest in the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise, according to data from GFK Chart-Track.

It's the first time that a PES title has debuted anywhere but the top spot since the original game came second to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2001.

Capcom's Dead Rising 2 has retained its grip on third place in the chart, with F1 2010 slipping to fourth and pushing Halo: Reach to fifth. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the first Castlevania title to be overseen by a Western development team, takes the sixth spot in its release week, with Namco Bandai's Enslaved sitting at seventh.

PC exclusive Civilization V continues its rapid descent of the table by slipping to 30 from last week's number 10.

This Week Last Week Title
1 1 FIFA 11
2 New Entry Pro Evolution Soccer 2011
3 3 Dead Rising 2
4 2 F1 2010
5 4 Halo Reach
6 New Entry Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
7 New Entry Enslaved: Journey to the West
8 6 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2011
9 12 Just Dance
10 New Entry Wii Party
11 New Entry WRC: FIA Rally World Champonships
12 20 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
13 9 Toy Story 3
14 5 Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
15 7 Sports Champions
16 13 Red Dead Redemption
17 8 Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
18 11 Mafia II
19 New Entry NBA 2K11
20 16 Wii Sports Resort

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...rst-and-second ...

Microsoft has confirmed the new and changed features due to be introduced in its next Xbox 360 operating system update.

Headlining the Fall Update is improved in-game voice chat quality thanks to a new audio codec, as well as a more streamlined Marketplace UI, intended to reduce the number of actions necessary to find and play content.

Also overhauled are the Avatars, changing the user-designed animated characters' proportions in order to make them more suited to use in Kinect titles.

Wireless networking is purportedly improved, more easily offering a list of available connections, while the virtual keyboard has been redesigned, with frequently-used phrases such as logins a priority.

In addition, users can sign out other controllers in-game, intended to de-complicate , for instance, assigning the correct instruments in music games.

US users will also see access to sports channel ESPN 3 and improved Netflix and Zune services for movies and music respectively.

No release date for the new system software has been offered as yet, though Microsoft has already run a closed beta program, and promised to implement further changes based on user feedback.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...weaks-detailed ...

It's unclear if the tiny, little shot posted on French carrier SFR's Club SFR pour Palm blog is in fact the rumored upcoming Pre 2 or just an old Pre shot, but let's put it this way: considering that we can't readily tell the difference, it better be an old one. At any rate, the sparse details in the blog post line up with everything we're expecting so far, namely that the new model will use a 1GHz processor -- presumably a TI OMAP3630 -- and will sport a full half gig of RAM on board. Between those two spec bumps, we'd fully expect the refreshed webOS 2.0 to scream... but we won't really know for sure until Palm gives us something to work with. In the meantime, SFR, thanks for the teaser.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/11/f...-processor-51/ ...

Today is Windows Phone 7 launch day, and as such, there's a new Zune desktop client ready for you to download; it's version 4.7, and it brings with it a lot of user interface tweaks. I've just installed it and am checking it out now...and I'm seeing more than a few ugly surprises. Here's the official word from the Zune's PR people:

"As you may know, the Zune experience is built directly into the Music+Video hub on every Windows Phone 7, providing a great media experience on the handsets for personal media collection playback, as well as the ability to stream millions of songs wirelessly with a Zune Pass subscription in the US, UK, France, Italy and Spain. In addition, the Zune software will serve as the Windows-based PC sync client for the handsets allowing a user to manage and transfer their media between PCs and Windows Phone 7 handsets.

In support of the forthcoming availability of Windows Phone 7, we are beginning to roll out the updated Zune PC software (version 4.7) today. Zune PC software will be available to download for free from Zune.net. By having access to the software now, consumers around the world can familiarize themselves with all that Zune has to offer and get ready for Windows Phone 7.

The Zune PC software provides a best-in-class experience to manage, discover and enjoy digital media with a variety of exclusive features including new enhancements such as:

• First Connect: provides a simple out-of-the box experience for Windows Phone 7 customers with automatic updates to Zune content upon initial connection

• HD Streaming Video: enables instant-on HD video streaming available on your Windows-based PC for many rented and purchased videos

• Photo Sync: allows a smoother process for transferring photos from a Windows Phone to your Windows-based PC

• Sync Media: lets users purchase music and videos through Windows Phone 7 and sync content with their Windows-based PC

• Parental Controls & Rating on Videos: gives parents more control of available content streamed or downloaded to a phone

Additionally, customers in the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain will also be able to use the Zune software to access the Zune Marketplace - a one stop shop for music, videos and more. Customers in the UK, France, Italy and Spain will also be able to subscribe to Zune Pass for £8.99/9.99 to get unlimited downloads and streaming access to the Zune music catalogue using the Zune PC software.

For more information around the international availability of Zune services, click here. For more information on the new Zune PC software, please visit www.zune.net"

More to come...

http://www.zunethoughts.com/news/sho...te-to-4-7.html ...

And you thought the PlayStation Move third-party accessories were cheesy. One of Microsoft's highlight games for Kinect's debut demonstrations was Kinect Adventures! -- which includes a white water rafting "experience" -- so quite naturally someone somewhere came up with a fitting peripheral to the peripheral in the shape of... a boat. That's right, Atomic Accessories thinks that in order for you to be fully immersed in Microsoft's river slalom game, you need your feet firmly planted in an inflatable dinghy. For added value, we're told the Game Boat will accommodate two players (so long as neither is over the age of 10, by the look of it) and that aside from the Xbox 360, it'll also be compatible with your local pool or sea. Game changer!

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/11/x...-blow-up-boat/ ...

How does Nintendo's oft-delayed Wii Vitality Sensor work? According to a new patent filing, it's actually quite simple -- the unit fires infrared light right at your fingertip and reports how much passes through, just like the pulse oximeters the pros use. Games then translate the result to the unfortunately-named "relax fluid" number, which is the Vitality Sensor's equivalent of your Brain Age -- the more fluid you've got, the calmer you are. It's also allegedly sensitive enough to detect when you're breathing just by measuring the changes in your fingertip, as evidenced by a concept game where you have to closely adjust your inhaling and exhaling to get an avatar safely through a tunnel without hitting the presumably deadly walls. And now you know.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/11/w...-fires-righte/ ...

And then, there were three. Apple's Find my iPhone introduced a rather compelling idea -- one that involves locating your phone by tapping into the GPS lock that it was holding onto in someone else's arms. A few weeks back, Big Red announced a similar service for VZW-branded BlackBerry, webOS and Android phones, and now that Windows Phone 7 is making its red carpet reveal, we're learning that Microsoft's newest mobile OS has similar functionality baked in. The feature is teased in a new Microsoft video that shows off the cloud functions of WP7, which also demonstrates the phone staying in sync with contacts added on the PC, playing Xbox LIVE with friends and shooting an image on the phone just moments before viewing it on a Windows 7 laptop. We're hoping to get a better idea of how the handset recovery system works (and how much it'll cost) a bit later in the day, but for now that aforementioned video is embedded just past the break.

Update: AT&T has affirmed that this feature will be completely free of charge for WP7 handsets purchased from it. We're still waiting to hear if it'll be free across all carriers / countries.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/11/w...-microsoft-vi/ ...

More than two years after launch, nobody has found everything that Mega Man 9 has to offer, Capcom has revealed.

There is still one secret that no gamer has discovered, and it links in with another hidden easter egg in the follow up, Mega Man 10.

Capcom Community Manager Joveth Gonzalez told MTV's Multiplayer blog that the secret was still at large, despite widespread internet campaigns to track it down. There's an 88 page-long thread on the publisher's own Ask Capcom site, for example.

Gonzalez wasn't forthcoming with any details regarding what the hidden content involves but did reveal that "there's a reason that people haven't found it yet."

How cryptic. Do drop us a line if you manage to figure it out, wont you?

The fiendish but brilliant Mega Man 9 hit PlayStation Network, WiiWare and Xbox Live Arcade in 2008. Mega Man 10 followed last year, but wasn't quite as successful.

Next up for the Blue Bomber is Mega Man Universe, due on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live next year.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...secret-content ...