Not to be outdone by their North American counterparts, these German-speaking hackers have come up with a truly unique console mod. Although modding one system may be OK for most, the builders of this console decided to combine three systems into one clear plastic box. A stripped down Xbox360, Playstation3, and Nintendo Wii were all put together to form this “Extrem” system.
The build style should be very appealing to those interested in video game hardware. Combining the look of a tower PC with a clear plastic allows one to see all components in action. Since the box is lit up with electroluminescent lighting, one is able to show off this system in the day or at night.

http://hackaday.com/2011/08/24/extre...ng/#more-53432 ...

Innovative new hardware and software are needed to drive growth in the console market, according to Robin Kaminsky, Activision's former executive vice president of publishing.

Writing in an opinion piece for IndustryGamers, she said today's traditional games market "is in trouble", pointing to US industry sales in July, which were the lowest on record since October 2006. "Many believe digital sales and the economy are the core drives of the decline. I believe a lack of innovation - actual stagnation in game development - is the real culprit," Kaminsky wrote.

"For traditional games to grow, I believe a new generation of consoles is needed, consoles with real innovation and the resulting onslaught of new IP and innovative gameplay. Ideally these consoles will bring a breakthrough on how games are played or what kind of game experience can be delivered.

"It cannot be just bigger, more complex games or yet higher definition graphics," she added. "The industry, both traditional publishers and the console makers themselves, need something different in the next cycle... In an industry where new, innovative and fun is key there is no future in more of the same."

Kaminsky, who previously oversaw all studio and product development at Activision, went on to outline her hopes for the next generation.

"The next generation of consoles and games should recognize that consumers are mobile and active, value the player regardless of where and when they play, consider short and long play sessions, optimize both hardcore and casual games, embrace button/controller led play and new interfaces, enable content to evolve so games are dynamic not static, encourage alternative payment approaches like free to play, that drive more users to try the game, alongside the traditional buy it to play model, drive increasingly social and community driven experiences, and perhaps even allow play across devices regardless of manufacturer or form factor."

Last month, Kaminsky and former SCE Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison joined the board of Dave Perry's cloud-based game streaming service Gaikai.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ision-veteran/ ...

Sony has released this week's list of new content on the EU PlayStation Store.

This week's headliner is Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition. An arcade-perfect, feature rich version of Capcom's classic fighting game.

Other goodies include the original Dead Space, which is now available as a digital download, as well as demos of NHL 12 and Warhammer 40k: Space Marine.

Here's the full list.

Special Offer Selection
Trial & Unlock (PS3)
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition (£11.99/€14.99) Availability: Not available in Italy
Hamilton's Great Adventure (£7.99/€9.99)
Backbreaker: Vengeance (£11.99/€14.99) Availability: Not available in Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, India, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, or UAE
Crazy Machines Elements (£7.99/€9.99) Availability: Not available in South Africa
Full Games (PS3)
Disney's Cars 2: The Video Game (£47.99/€59.99) Availability: Only available in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden
Dead Space (£15.99/€19.99)
Arkedo Series: 01 - JUMP! (£1.59/€1.99) Availability: Not available in Australia or New Zealand
NEOGEO Station (PS3)
-Baseball Stars 2 (£7.19/€8.99)
minis (PS3 and PSP)
Revoltin' Youth (£1.74/€1.99)
Doodle Fit (£1.74/€1.99)
Demos (PS3)
NHL 12 Availability: Not Available in India, Portugal or Spain
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (Single Player Demo) Only available in Germany for Plus Subscribers
PES 2012 - Pro Evolution Soccer Rating
Add-On Game Content (PS3)
Dead Block - More Dead to Block Map Pack (£2.39/€2.99)
Brink
-Fallout And Spec-Ops Combo Pack (£1.19/€1.49)
-Brink Doom/Psycho Combo Pack (£1.19/€1.49)
EyePet - Lucky Dip Styling Pack: Rain 1 (free)
Dragon Age 2
-All-Class Item Pack II Bundle (£3.99/€4.99) (contains the following content also available separately)
-Mage Item Pack 2 (£2.39/€2.99)
-Rogue Item Pack 2 (£2.39/€2.99)
-Warrior Item Pack 2 (£2.39/€2.99)
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3
-'True Dynasty Warrior Gundam... May Your Life Be Eternal' (£0.79/€0.99)
-'Final Trial Against the Giants' Extra Mission (£0.79/€0.99)
-'Humankind and Gundams' Extra Mission (£0.79/€0.99) Availability: Not Available in New Zealand
Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planewalkers 2012 - Foil Conversion "Ancient Depths" (£0.79/€0.99)
Motorstorm Apocalpyse
-Eurogamer Racing Truck (free)
-Games Radar Superbike (free)
-Glowing Wheel Rims Pack (free)
-Summer Livery (free)
Rock Band Network
-Demons with Ryu - Emmure (£0.99/€1.49)
-Epic Symphony In A Flat Minor, Third Movement: Zero Hour - Van Friscia (£0.59/€0.79)
-Give It Up! Give It Up! - His Statue Falls (£0.99/€1.49)
-River Of Glass - Rishloo (£0.59/€0.79)
-Zombies!! (Coming Out Tonight) - Ultra Saturday (£0.59/€0.79) Availability: Not Available in Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, India, Israel, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Poland, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE
Rock Band 3
-Incubus Pack 01 (£2.49/€3.99) (contains the following songs also available separately)
-Adolescents (£0.99/€1.49)
-Pardon Me (£0.99/€1.49)
-Wish You Were Here (£0.99/€1.49) Availability: Not Available in Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, India, Israel, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Poland, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE
Yoostar2
-500,000 Bucks (£1.39/€1.75)
-Take Off Your Hat (£1.39/€1.75)
-Re-Entering Earth'S Atmosphere (£1.39/€1.75)
-From The Desk Of Tony Montana (£1.39/€1.75)
-Yoo Are The Light Of Zartha (£1.39/€1.75)
-Child, You Always Knock Me For A Loop (£1.39/€1.75)
-Sleep Tight, Daddy (£1.39/€1.75)
-Shut Up And Pick Your Weapon (£1.39/€1.75)
-I'M In Way Over My Head (£1.39/€1.75)
-All Hail K! All Hail J! (£1.39/€1.75)
-I Coulda Been A Contender (£1.39/€1.75)
-It Is A Good Day To Die (£1.39/€1.75)
-A Pandacide (£1.39/€1.75) Availability: Not Available in Belgium, India, Netherlands, Portugal, Russian Federation and Ukraine
White Knight Chronicles II
-Black Knight Ticket (free)
-Dragon Knight Ticket (free)
-Moon Princess Ticket (free)
-Sun King Ticket (free)
-White Knight Ticket (free)
Worms 2: Armageddon
-Retro Pack (£2.99/€3.59)
-Time Attack (£2.99/€3.59) Both available at 15% off for Plus subscribers
Avatars
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
-Akuma
-Alex
-Chun-Li
-Dudley
-Elena
-Gill
-Hugo
-Ibuki
-Ken
-Makoto
-Necro
-Oro
-Q
-Remy
-Ryu
-Sean
-Twelve
-Urien
-Yang
-Yun All available @ £0.20/€0.25 each
Themes (PS3)
Studio Themes
-End Of Anarchy Dynamic Theme By Check Morris (£2.39/€2.99)
-Peaks And Flow Dynamic Theme By Jeffrey Bowman (£2.39/€2.99)
-All You See Is Rbg Static Theme By Roya Hamburger (£1.59/€1.99)
-Feeding Time Dynamic Theme By Matthew Green (£2.39/€2.99)
-Elements Static Theme By On Repeat (£1.59/€1.99) All 20% off for Plus Subscribers
Games
-Bane Of Yoto Dynamic Theme (£1.59/€1.99)
Abstract
-Dynamic Abstract Background Theme 2 (£1.59/€1.99)
-Dynamic Jazz Session Theme (£1.59/€1.99)
Nature
-Dynamic Calm Lake Theme (£1.59/€1.99)
-Dynamic Swimming Pool Theme (£1.59/€1.99)
Sci-fi/Fantasy
-Alpine Assassin (£1.99/€2.49)
-Dragunov Theme (£1.25/€1.59)
-Gold Tiger Mp5 Theme (£1.25/€1.59) ...

Gaming cloud service OnLive has updated its client to support group cross-game chat and other enhanced features.

Speaking to Joystiq today, OnLive CEO Steve Perlman confirmed that users are now able to specify groups of people and maintain a chat session with them regardless of the game members of the group are playing. Invites into the chat room can now also be sent via email from the service.

New parental control options have also been added, allowing parents to controls the contents their children are able to play in line with PEGI and ESRB ratings. They can also add exceptions to these rules, watch in on the child's gameplay live and chat with them as they play, too. Poor child.

Facebook integration has now also been enhanced to support Achievement postings direct to your wall. OnLive will not only automatically tell your FB counterparts when you've got an achievement, it'll automatically include a video clip of the last 10 seconds of gameplay before you got it, which is pretty neat.

It's not all been good news for OnLive today. While the service revealed it's signed a cool deal with Square Enix to allow PC owners of Deus Ex: Human Revolution a free cloud version of the game, this hasn't sat well with GameStop, who's told its employees to open up the games and throw out the OnLive coupons included.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...me-group-chat/ ...

More zombie hordes are on their way to Home, but not before the service goes offline tomorrow for maintenance.

EU users won't be able to log into the service from 8am BST tomorrow, when it will go down for an unspecified duration. But once it comes back online, Sony says a zombie attack will be imminent.

"We have unconfirmed reports of a second wave of zombies ravaging the once peaceful island resort of Banoi this week as the undead virus continues to thrive," says the PS Blog. "It is as yet unknown how far the virus has spread throughout PlayStation Home and authorities advise stocking up on the weaponry now available at the local store before leaving the area."

Elsewhere in the update, you'll find a new Sodium-themed Silicon Lounge in the Lockwood Publishing store, new Alice Cooper items in the AAA store, paintball outfits and more.

Hit up the PS Blog (link below) for loads more info on that. But don't expect anything on Sony's EU plans for the Home overhaul it announced for US earlier this week. That update goes sadly unmentioned.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...zombie-attack/ ...

Motion control and glasses-free 3D screens aren’t a good fit, according to SCEE senior group studio director Mick Hocking, who has been explaining the reasons PlayStation Vita won’t support 3D. “At the time we were looking at Vita, there were several issues,” he told GameSpot. “One was the quality of the glasses-free 3D screens. It can work very well on small screens, but to get the best effect, you need to keep your head very, very still. Now with a handheld gaming device and Vita having Sixaxis motion control in it, there may be gameplay where you're moving the Vita around. And if you're doing that and having glasses-free 3D, the two things don't sit very well together. We wanted to offer a really, really high-resolution OLED screen, and the best way to do that was in 2D. At least for the first one.” Asked if slow early 3DS sales were an indication that gamers aren’t embracing 3D, Hocking added: “I wouldn't comment directly on 3DS, but I think what we've seen over the last 12 months is a strong correlation between good-quality 3D content and great response from our fan base. The opposite is also true. When people see 3D that doesn't work very well, or content that isn't very compelling, I think quite naturally they're not as interested in it.”http://www.next-gen.biz/news/sony-vi...iority-over-3d ...

Microsoft reserves the right to refuse an Xbox 360 release for games that are released first on other platforms, according to reports.
Eurogamer reveals that Microsoft's developer terms also stipulate that the company may also refuse to allow an Xbox 360 release for games that offer more features or content on other platforms.
Microsoft's content submission and release policy reads: "Titles for Xbox 360 must ship at least simultaneously with other videogame platforms, and must have at least feature and content parity on-disc with other platform versions in all regions where the title is available.
"If these conditions are not met, Microsoft reserves the right to not allow the content to be released on Xbox 360."
The terms apply to Xbox Live Arcade games, too, with Microsoft's online content terms stipulating that games "must simultaneously release on Xbox Live Marketplace in all regions where the game is available." Demos, too, "must ship within the same week of its launch on other videogame platforms or via magazines."
Microsoft's vice president of interactive entertainment, Chris Lewis, defended the policy, saying: "We're a little biased, so obviously we're going to look to protect our own space as best we can and get exclusivity…we seek to maximise our own advantage to ensure the playing field is even, and certainly plays to our advantage wherever possible."
Lewis goes on to sound a familiar refrain by saying that the company's restrictive terms benefit its users. "Honestly - and this is going to sound a bit contrived - we just want what our consumers want from us," he said. "We want to be where they want us to be.
"We want the quality bar of what they experience from us to continue to go up. I think it has to happen; everybody's got to do that. If we want to continue to command healthy average selling prices, which we all do, that which we offer our consumers has got to keep getting better."
One publisher, speaking on condition of anonymity, strongly disagreed. "Microsoft is suggesting that anything but parity will result in them not carrying a title," the source said. "They may think this is competitive, but it's not. They are killing any creative exposure of titles to make up for their own platform's shortcomings."
While it is no secret that Microsoft demands exclusivity for Xbox Live Arcade games included in promotions like Summer Of Arcade, the news that it demands feature and release parity across the board is something of a surprise. The claim that it motivated by the needs of its consumers, too, seems a little odd, as it seems designed not to reward those who own Microsoft platforms so much as punish those that do not.

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/microso...tform-releases
...

Japanese PS3 sales rose almost 50 per cent last week following the introduction of a price cut, although the console remained the nation’s third best performer behind 3DS and PSP.
Having enjoyed a massive spike following its own markdown on August 11, 3DS managed to hold its lead during the week ended August 21, although sales fell from 196,077 units to 105,639.
PSP sales were flat week-over-week at 40,000 units, while PS3 sales rose from 20,000 units to just shy of 30,000. No other system crossed the 5,000 sales mark.
On the software front, former chart-topper Everyone's Rhythm Heaven for Wii returned to number one, ahead of Monster Hunter Diary for PSP and Kirby Mass Attack for DS.
PS3 title Super Dimensional Game Neptune mk2 and PSP gameGrowlanser IV Over Reloaded were new entries at numbers four and six respectively, with 3DS release Super Pokemon Rumblesandwiched between the pair.
01. Everyone's Rhythm Heaven (Nintendo)
02. Monster Hunter Diary Poka Poka Felyne Village G (Capcom)
03. Kirby Mass Attack (Nintendo)
04. Super Dimensional Game Neptune mk2 (Compile Heart)
05. Super Pokemon Rumble (Pokemon)
06. Growlanser IV Over Reloaded (Atlus)
07. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of time 3D (Nintendo)
08. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)
09. Let's Make A J.League Pro Soccer Club! 7 Euro Plus (Sega)
10. Toriko Gourmet Survival (Namco Bandai)

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/japan-p...cent-price-cut
...

You could run entire websites based around nothing but Apple rumours. Indeed, folk actually do.
Picking the wheat from the chaff is a tough task when it comes to Apple, but now global news agency Reuters has come out with what it claims is reliable information about Apple’s 2011 plans for iPhone.
And as has been claimed elsewhere, it looks as if Apple is in fact preparing to launch two new iPhones before the year is out.
The most strategically interesting is the low-cost, 8GB version of the iPhone 4 that Apple will use to try and crack into emerging markets where more traditional manufacturers such as Nokia still dominate.
Apple is believed to already be in talks with Chinese carriers China Mobile and China Telecom about deals to get the handset into the hands of the public in that region.
The device is already at the manufacturing stage in South Korea
It is expected to arrive in September or October alongside its fully-fledged successor, the iPhone 5.
Reuters dismisses reports of a brand new design for the high-spec device, a move that many had claimed due to the rough start iPhone 4 had in its first few weeks on the market.
Instead it says that the handset may actually be an IPhone 4S, as aesthetically it is almost identical to the current model. The only differences are said to be a slightly larger screen and a modified antenna.
A low-price iPhone does indeed represent a change of tack for Apple, which is a company that has always shied away from budget. The biggest company in the world has proved that the public lust for premium is insatiable.
But with developed markets having embraced the iPhone so feverishly, it makes sense for Apple to target emerging markets going forwards.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/apple...e-4-sku/083649
...