The battery life on the 3DS will be as little as three to five hours, according to Nintendo estimates via Kotaku.

Answering pressing questions for the new machine, Kotaku reports that estimates for the console's battery life will take a hit from using the 3D mode, with the screen brightness up high and wireless mode activated.


Shutting down 3D alone could extend battery life to up to eight hours, estimates Nintendo, while shutting off wireless features, dimming the screen or running the system in a so-called 'power-save mode' will extend play time even further.

Elsewhere in the report, the more keen-eyed among you may have spotted the alarmingly short power cables attached to the 3DS' recharge 'cradle'.

But Nintendo says the inconveniently short wire on the demo units are "for illustrative purporses only," meaning final units should come with leads of a more acceptable length.

And just to make extra sure you're happy, it also revealed that the new handheld will be fully compatible with the current DSi charger, so keep one of those handy too, just in case.

Nintendo's recent 3DS press event blew open details of the console's launch, which sits at March 25 for UK, and March 27 for US.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

President of firm’s mobile arm says smartphones have taken the place of DS, PSP and PC
Smartphones are usurping traditional games hardware, says Capcom.
The firm told MCV that more and more gamers are leaving PCs and handheld consoles for smartphones, and as a result Capcom Interactive has invested in a number of upcoming titles due for release on iPhone this year.
“The casual gamer that used to play on the PC
and the hardcore gamer that used to play on a dedicated gaming portable now plays on their smartphone,” said Capcom Interactive’s president and COO Midori Yuasa.
“The iPhone and larger smartphone markets are extremely important to Capcom as, like no device before, smartphones have the potential to become a universal game platform.
“We have a lot of stuff on the horizon for both hardcore and casual gamers, so 2011 is shaping up to be huge on Capcom’s mobile front.”
The news comes following Capcom Interactive’s successful release of Smurfs’ Village on iPhone last November. It is free to download but charges for in-game items – as a result it out-grossed Angry Birds for a number of weeks. In-game items range from £2.99 to £59.99.
Yuasa added: “A freemium business model can be extremely effective as illustrated by the success of Smurfs’ Village. However, the key is that the game has to be designed from day one as a freemium title.
“If you try and shoehorn in an alternate revenue model into an existing design, you end up with a muddled experience that users either ignore or hammer with user reviews.”

http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/308...doned-consoles ...

Some of the most influential titles in gaming history will have their development processes laid bare by their creators at GDC this March, with each game being the subject of an hour long lecture by the leading figure behind it.

Eleven titles have been chosen from the last 30 years of development history, including games which created and changed genres for ever. First on the list is Toru Iwatani who created Pac-Man for Namco, a game which has spawned a massive franchise which still attracts the highest critical plaudits today. Next is Frontier Developments' David Braben, whose seminal space trading title Elite set the standard for 3D and open world games for years to come.

Eric Chai will be speaking about his side-scrolling adventure Another World, which revolutionised any number of aspects of storytelling, gameplay and standards of imagination. Also in the line up is Prince of Persia, whose creator Jordan Mechner will be discussing how his game managed to find such a fond place in so many hearts.

Mark Cerny will be covering his action maze title Marble Madness and David Crane will lecture on his Atari classic Pitfall. Legendary figure John Romero will unveil the secrets behind Doom, while Peter Molyneux goes behind the scenes on god-sim Populous. Jason Kapalka will be speaking on world-consuming match-'em-up Bejewelled. Finally, Will Wright will be talking about Raid on Bungeling Bay, the game which laid the foundations of Sim City, and Ron Gilbert will give insight into grand daddy point and click Maniac Mansion.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...d-for-gdc-2011 ...

A new update for Microsoft's Xbox 360 has strengthened the console's anti-piracy measures.

The latest firmware means attempts to play copied versions of Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops and Halo: Reach (and others) are blocked, and transgressors likely flagged for an Xbox Live ban.

This comes as the notorious PlayStation 3 hack is revealed to enable critical exploits in several Call of Duty games on Sony's platforms.

However, Digital Foundry observes that hackers may already have a counter-measure for the Xbox update in place, with a firmware patch of their own that can freeze a console before it is flagged for a ban.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...update-for-360 ...

Nintendo has revealed more information about the eShop - a rethought download store for its impending 3DS handheld.

While the new device will support the old DSiWare to some extent, its new digital channel will offer the likes of demos, videos and user ratings, as well as a version of the Wii's Virtual Console dedicated to Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles.

Purchases will no longer be made with virtual currency, as on DSi and Wii, but with a real-world cash system. Nintendo Points purchased on other systems will not be usable on the 3DS eStore.

However, Nintendo of America marketing manager Bill Trinen suggested to Joystiq that the eShop was very much a secondary concern to retail, with full 3DS games not yet planned for download availability. "I think, right now for us, the digital shop content is focusing on growing the digital ... distinguishing from the retail content in terms of what it offers."

Trinen also hinted that the eShop may not be released simultaneously with the 3DS itself. "In terms of specific announcements or when it's going to actually be available, we'll go into more detail on that as we get closer to the launch date."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ails-3ds-eshop ...

Sledgehammer Games' first Call of Duty title will be Modern Warfare 3, according to reports.

The Los Angeles Times has claimed that Activision has drafted in the new studio, founded by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield, to help the beleaguered Infinity Ward team with the game's single player campaign, for a planned November 2011 launch.

Further to that, the LA Times writes that Raven Software will be responsible for the online multiplayer portion of the game. The Wisconsin-based studio was responsible for 2009's Wolfenstein reboot and last year's Singularity. A job advertisement posted last month stating that the developer was working on "an established console-based, realistic, first-person military shooter" adds a little weight to the report.

If Infinity Ward was to get a new Modern Warfare title out of the door in time for November, it would certainly need all the help it could get. It's been reported than around 50 employees left the developer after the high profile sacking of studio chiefs Vince Zampella and Jason West last year.

Rumours circulated last year that Sledgehammer's debut Call of Duty title for Activision would take the franchise in a futuristic direction, setting the action in outer space. As of yet, it's not clear whether that title could be Modern Warfare 3 or a separate project.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...dern-warfare-3 ...

Hollywood cigar-chewers are finally taking Nintendo seriously, and it's all thanks to the 3DS, CEO Satoru Iwata has claimed.

Speaking in the latest Iwata Asks Q&A on Nintendo's site, Iwata explained how film studios were very excited about the 3DS's potential as a portal for 3D movies and trailers.

"People making 3D content today are having trouble because of a lack of output," he explained. "There may be an outlet at movie theaters, but not in televisions at home. While 3D televisions are on sale, I don't think 3D televisions requiring the use of special glasses will catch on that quickly.

"As a matter of fact, when we show Nintendo 3DS to people in Hollywood, they're intensely interested. I think lots of people would be happy if they could watch things like 3D movie trailers on their Nintendo 3DS."

At E3 last year, Nintendo showed trailers for a number of 3D movies playing on the device, including How To Train Your Dragon and Tangled, revealing that deals had been struck with Disney, Dreamworks and Warner Bros. to deliver their 3D films to the handheld.

Elsewhere in the interview, Iwata's sidekick Shigeru Miyamoto went on to speculate that this fruitful new working relationship with the film business could lead to more film tie-ins with Nintendo IPs.

So far, the platform holder's only dalliance with Hollywood was the execrable 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie but that could all change if the movie business supports the platform.

"Game developers used to have a complex about Hollywood," Miyamoto said. "There was an atmosphere of inequality, but recently Hollywood is taking Nintendo seriously.

"A long time ago, there used to be a lot of unusual projects out there - off the beaten path, you might say - that wanted to use Nintendo's characters in that way, but these days lots of people say quite seriously that they want to make movies of Nintendo's characters. I suppose one attraction is the wide range of ages covered by our fans.

"If those kinds of people seriously work with Nintendo 3DS, some interesting things could happen," he teased.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...erested-in-3ds ...

George "Geohot" Hotz broke open iPhone and broke open PlayStation 3. Apple wasn't happy and Sony has taken Hotz to court.

What would Microsoft do if Hotz broke open Windows Phone 7?

Nothing.

In fact, Microsoft wants to send Hotz a Windows Phone 7 handset so he can get cracking.

"Geohot, if you want to build cool stuff on WP7, send me email and the team will give you a phone - let dev creativity flourish," tweeted Brandon Watson, Windows Phone 7 team lead.

Hotz's jailbreak for PS3 allows homebrew applications and pirated games to run on the console. Sony's trying to stop him distributing it, but Hotz is fighting The Man every step of the way.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...s-geohots-work ...

George "Geohot" Hotz broke open iPhone and broke open PlayStation 3. Apple wasn't happy and Sony has taken Hotz to court.

What would Microsoft do if Hotz broke open Windows Phone 7?

Nothing.

In fact, Microsoft wants to send Hotz a Windows Phone 7 handset so he can get cracking.

"Geohot, if you want to build cool stuff on WP7, send me email and the team will give you a phone - let dev creativity flourish," tweeted Brandon Watson, Windows Phone 7 team lead.

Hotz's jailbreak for PS3 allows homebrew applications and pirated games to run on the console. Sony's trying to stop him distributing it, but Hotz is fighting The Man every step of the way.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...s-geohots-work ...