Via CVG

As Bizarre's shooter makes the jump to Wii and DS we quiz Kuju on a PS3 version

Geometry Wars was pioneered and perfected on the Xbox platforms, but news of the series making a surprise leap to Nintendo platforms has got everyone asking when PS3 will get a go.

We put the question to Roger Carpenter, senior producer on the Wii and DS game, Geometry Wars: Galaxies, who told us: "Geometry Wars is Bizarre's intellectual property. I can't comment on what else they might do with it on other platforms."

But he did go on to confirm that "Geometry Wars: Galaxies is a Nintendo exclusive", so that specific game will, for now at least, definitely not be seen on PS3 hardware.

Check out our exclusive interview and screens for lots more info on Geometry Wars: Galaxies, and that's not all because more details can be found here, too. ...

Via Nintendojo

It appears that EA is poised to be the first company to fully tap the potential of Wii’s online capabilities.

According to the latest edition of Nintendo Power, the sophomore Madden effort on Wii will feature everything from integrated Mii functionality to live ESPN ticker updates. Even more astonishing, EA appears to be departing from its longstanding precedent by offering downloadable roster updates for at least the 2008 season.

Here is the list of planned features, courtesy of GoNintendo:

* Exhibition match-ups

* Online lobby with real-time leaderboards

* EA Locker features

* EA “My Profile” when online, which includes country of origin, win/loss record, defensive percentage, overall ranking, and 5-star reputation score

* ESPN ticker updates

* Promised downloadable content such as roster updates planned for late 2008, early 2009

* Friend Code Implementation: Unknown as of right now, interface will be similar from other versions; Wii players will be able to randomly play against an opponent

* No voice chat, but will offer EA’s instant-messaging system

* Offline: 22-mini-game party mode, which allow players to play new drills such as the 40-yard dash. Also includes a football-trivia mini-game. Your performance in party mode will also affect your party mode rating, which can go as high as 99. This rating is recorded via your system’s own Mii roster.

Madden 08 is scheduled to release on Wii and other consoles on August 14. ...

Via Gameworld Network

Eternal Sonata (also known as Trusty Bell or even Trust Bell: Chopin’s Dream in Japan) is an upcoming Xbox 360 (and possibly PS3) RPG from Namco, specifically tri-Crescendo, the development team behind Baten Kaitos and its sequel.

The game takes place in a dream world, which is concocted by the legendary piano composer, Frédéric Chopin, who died at the young of age of 39 as a result of tuberculosis.

The premise of the game is that three hours before he died, Chopin dreamt of a fairy-tale world where people with incurable diseases were issued magical powers.

In this world, Chopin is destined to meet Polka, a young girl who lives in the Village of Tenuto, she too has a terminal disease, and her boyfriend Allegretto is searching for a way to convert her magical power into a cure.

The game is currently scheduled to launch in Japan on June 14, with a less specific September release planned for the US. In the meantime, be sure to check out our vast selection of newly added screenshots by clicking on the thumbnails above.


Click Here to View the Screenshots ...

Via CVG

It's the challenge everyone faces with a new system, says Dave Doak

CVG caught up with Dave Doak of Free Radical Design fame at a recent press event in Paris where he was there to showcase the latest build of FPS Haze.

A lot has been said of how PlayStation 3 is a challenge to develop for but Doak says this isn't unusual and most developers face the same challenge when getting to grips with a new system. "Its strengths are obviously that is has a lot of processing power. Its weaknesses are that its processing power is locked away at the moment," he told CVG in an interview. "But everyone's going to hit that wall across all platforms at first."

Doak sees the challenges of developing for new system becoming increasingly more complicated as technology shifts. "As people continue to make bigger and faster games, this will change as the technology isn't scaleable anymore because everything's going to be multi-core. It's not going to be two or four processors; it's going to be 64. And everybody is going to have to learn to make software for that and that's the big challenge that everyone faces. Developers are looking for skills that you can't get off the shelf anymore. Our best developers at Free Radical have leant those skills at the company, not anywhere else." ...

Via Nintendo Revolution


Good news for Wii gamers who can't wait for Pokemon Battle Revolution to be released -- we've received some additional details about the game from the Nintendo. Enjoy.

The game takes place on an island called Pokétopia. There are 10 different Colosseums to battle in. The objective is to win all the Colosseum battles and become the Pokétopia Master.

Players use Pokémon from their Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl games (sold separately) and battle them on the big screen. Pokémon Battle Revolution is the first title where players can link Wii with Nintendo DS. Players can connect Nintendo DS to Wii (compatible wireless router or Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector and broadband access required for online play).

DS Battle Mode (requires DS systems for all players, sold separately): Four players can gather together and battle while using Pokémon from their Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl video games. All players use the DS as their controller in this mode, and it uses the same battle interface found in Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl.

Players can customize their Trainers in the game.

Colosseum Battle Mode: There are 10 Colosseums (Battle Fields) altogether throughout Pokétopia. Many will need to be unlocked by playing through the others.

Nintendo DS Battle Mode: This multiplayer mode is for those who also own Pokémon Diamond or Pokémon Pearl as well as Nintendo DS systems. Four players can get together and battle while using their very own Pokémon from their Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl games. All players use the DS as a controller in this mode. The same battle interface that is used in Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl is used while battling with friends.

Battle Passes and Trainer Customization: Players can create and customize their own Battle Pass by transferring their favorite Pokémon onto the Pass. They can then save the Battle Pass to their Wii Remote and take it to a friend’s house to battle with them. ...

Via The wiire

Nintendo of America will release three new games onto Wii's V irtual Console service today. Those games are ActRaiser, Kid Chameleon and J.J. & JEFF. Descriptions for these games, provided by NOA, can be found below.

ActRaiser (SNES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): A masterpiece of game design originally released in the early days of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, ActRaiser's enduring popularity stems from its revolutionary combination of action- and simulation-based game play. The user plays the role of the Master, a dethroned deity whose once-idyllic world has fallen under the control of the Evil One. Stripped of godly power, the Master must somehow put an end to the Evil One's reign and rebuild his desolate realm. Game play alternates between two modes: Action and Simulation. In Action mode, the Master must battle against impossible odds to pacify six lands. Pacifying a land unlocks Simulation mode. In this mode, the Master must oversee the development and repopulation of the territory he has reclaimed. In doing so, he will gain followers who gradually restore his godly might, empowering him to take back the next land and, ultimately, defeat the Evil One.

Kid Chameleon (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): The local arcade is packed with kids, all lining up to play the latest, most realistic video game they've ever seen. It's called Wild Side, and it uses holographic images to immerse the player in a strange world. But there's a problem... Kids are literally getting sucked into the game, and now several of them are trapped. Throughout more than 100 levels, you'll take on several different forms, such as a Berzerker, a Micromax, a Maniaxe or a Skycutter, which will make you much more powerful. It's up to you, Kid Chameleon, the best gamer in town, to get yourself inside the game so that you can defeat the game's boss and bring your friends back to reality.

J.J. & JEFF (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points): This comical action game features two bungling detectives, J.J. and JEFF, as they travel through a total of six fields. One day, a request comes into their office to take a case that requires them to "rescue a wealthy man who's been kidnapped." Choose between the two characters and set off alone to outwit your partner and save the day. Each field is broken down into four areas, where enemies, as well as your partner, will try to keep you from your goal. There are many items throughout each area. Kick around in various locations to make them appear. Jump and spray-paint your way toward your goal. If you find a hidden room, you can regain health while being completely entertained by its short sketch and surreal allure.

In order to obtain these games, players will first need to purchase Wii Points. Players may buy Wii Points through the Wii Shop Channel using a credit card or, alternatively, redeem a Wii Points card. Sold in 2000 points denominations, Wii Points cards are available at select retailers. ...

Entertainment giants are battling for domination of the next generation of DVDs but an outright win is an unlikely outcome, reports Kate Bulkley.

Via TheAge.com.au

If it was a Hollywood movie it would be a remake of Alien v Predator. On one side is the giant Sony corporation, which is backing the Blu-ray high definition DVD format by building it into its PlayStation 3 games consoles. Facing it across the global battlefield is Toshiba, backed by Microsoft and Intel, promoting the rival (and incompatible) HD DVD format.

The stakes are very high indeed for both companies. Yet Sony, the pre-fight favourite because it has the best-selling games console franchise in the world and the backing of seven Hollywood studios (basically all of the big ones except Universal Pictures), which have made their movies available on Blu-ray, is nowhere near delivering the early knockout blow it was hoping for.

Instead, early defections from the Blu-ray camp and lagging sales of PS3 consoles have blurred the picture of which format will win. Samsung broke ranks with Blu-ray last month by announcing it will make players that play both HD formats, following a similar move by LG. In addition, most analysts acknowledge that the PC manufacturers will play a key role in the format war - and having Microsoft and Intel behind HD DVD is significant. Neither of these Toshiba allies has shown signs of switching camps so far.

Meanwhile, PS3 sales in Britain, the European market where PS3 has had its most successful launch, were 165,000 in week one but fell to 28,000 in the second week, a trend that has been echoed in other markets as well.

Sony took a big gamble bundling the Blu-ray player with the PS3, resulting in delayed release and higher prices for the consoles. Ken Kutaragi, the "father of the PlayStation", recently paid the price and resigned as chairman and chief executive of the Sony Computer Entertainment unit.

With the sales of PS3 lagging, the new machines may not be the cornerstone of a recovery at Sony, with videogame-related losses for Sony's year ending in March expected to amount to $US2 billion ($2.4 billion) - twice the original expectations.

Sony has a lot riding on the success of the PS3, especially after it was wrong-footed in the music player market by Apple's iPod. It certainly doesn't want to have another Betamax or MiniDisc story, either. For Sony, the PS3 and Blu-ray are part of an important corporate move to regain its pre-eminence in the consumer electronics business. ...

Entertainment giants are battling for domination of the next generation of DVDs but an outright win is an unlikely outcome, reports Kate Bulkley.

Via TheAge.com.au

If it was a Hollywood movie it would be a remake of Alien v Predator. On one side is the giant Sony corporation, which is backing the Blu-ray high definition DVD format by building it into its PlayStation 3 games consoles. Facing it across the global battlefield is Toshiba, backed by Microsoft and Intel, promoting the rival (and incompatible) HD DVD format.

The stakes are very high indeed for both companies. Yet Sony, the pre-fight favourite because it has the best-selling games console franchise in the world and the backing of seven Hollywood studios (basically all of the big ones except Universal Pictures), which have made their movies available on Blu-ray, is nowhere near delivering the early knockout blow it was hoping for.

Instead, early defections from the Blu-ray camp and lagging sales of PS3 consoles have blurred the picture of which format will win. Samsung broke ranks with Blu-ray last month by announcing it will make players that play both HD formats, following a similar move by LG. In addition, most analysts acknowledge that the PC manufacturers will play a key role in the format war - and having Microsoft and Intel behind HD DVD is significant. Neither of these Toshiba allies has shown signs of switching camps so far.

Meanwhile, PS3 sales in Britain, the European market where PS3 has had its most successful launch, were 165,000 in week one but fell to 28,000 in the second week, a trend that has been echoed in other markets as well.

Sony took a big gamble bundling the Blu-ray player with the PS3, resulting in delayed release and higher prices for the consoles. Ken Kutaragi, the "father of the PlayStation", recently paid the price and resigned as chairman and chief executive of the Sony Computer Entertainment unit.

With the sales of PS3 lagging, the new machines may not be the cornerstone of a recovery at Sony, with videogame-related losses for Sony's year ending in March expected to amount to $US2 billion ($2.4 billion) - twice the original expectations.

Sony has a lot riding on the success of the PS3, especially after it was wrong-footed in the music player market by Apple's iPod. It certainly doesn't want to have another Betamax or MiniDisc story, either. For Sony, the PS3 and Blu-ray are part of an important corporate move to regain its pre-eminence in the consumer electronics business. ...

Via Product Reviews Net

This is the Resident Evil 4 Nintendo Wii Edition which does have some breathtaking 3D graphics, effects and the same old great interactive gameplay.

I love fighting games and add the Wii Remote to a fighting game, and then you get to be right in the action by slashing with a knife, control action sequences and much more.

The Wii version of the game will have thrilling new chapters that were not included with the GameCube release of Resident Evil 4.

Other Features of Resident Evil 4 Nintendo Wii Edition Include:

* Supports true 16:9 widescreen and Dolby Pro Logic II
* Separate Ways”: Play as glamorous agent Ada Wong in five new chapters that reveal startling insight into the original storyline!
* Advanced AI: Enemies use their cunning abilities to team up and attack the player en mass.
* Behind the Camera View: Camera follows you from behind and allows for intuitive movement.
* Unsurpassed Visuals: RE4: Wii Edition features breathtaking 3D graphics and effects!
* Wii Remote Action! Moving the Wii Remote allows players to aim weapons, slash with the knife, control action sequences and much more.

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Screens can be found on this page ...