Split-screen co-op and local multiplayer are becoming things of the past. What happened to cramming a bunch of gamers into a room with two TVs and doing a system link match in Halo? Where have the all-night GoldenEye matches gone? Like the arcades of gamers' youth, the local multiplayer and co-op bonding experience has been replaced with individual gamers and a network

http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/1...Co-op-Is-Dying ...

Microsoft has refuted rumours suggesting that it is to release a Firmware update for Kinect that will "quadruple" the accuracy of the sensor.

The platform holder told CVG this afternoon that the news - which came from an unnamed source speaking to EuroGamer - was "completely unsubstantiated".


The rumours suggested that a downloadable Xbox Live update would increase Kinect's 320x240 resolution limit to 640x480 - allowing it to detect finger movement and hand rotation.

However, an MS spokesperson told CVG: "We're constantly working to expand and improve on experiences for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE, however, this rumour is completely unsubstantiated.

"We couldn't be more pleased with the fidelity of the technology and clearly consumers agree given we sold more than 2.5 million units around the world in the first 25 days Kinect was on the market."

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

The much-rumoured PlayStation Phone might just have got itself a name. Sony Ericsson has just logged an EU trademark for something called the Xperia Play.

The listing, spotted by PocketNow, offers no additional information, other than that the application was filed on 1st December.

However, an unofficial Xperia blog has added that Sony Ericsson's PR firm Jung Relations has registered a number of Xperia Play domain names.

The Xperia brand is a line of Sony Ericsson smart phones which first launched in 2008. The most recent version, the Xperia X8, runs Android 2.1, has 168MB of memory and a 3.15MP camera.

Very little else is known for sure about the gadget, however, a reveal is expected at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona in February.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ed-xperia-play ...

When Microsoft invented Kinect, wobbling boobies probably weren't top of the feature titlist, sorry, hitlist.

It's with a sigh, then, that Microsoft addresses the recent ThriXXX video that shows Kinect being used as a tool for virtual arousal.

"This isn't the first example of a technology being used in ways not intended by its manufacturer," Microsoft accepted, speaking to the LA Times, "and it won't be the last."

"Microsoft did not authorise or license its technology for this use.

"Xbox is a family-friendly games and entertainment console and does not allow Adults Only (AO) content to be certified for use on its platform, and would not condone this type of game for Kinect."

Sex-game maker ThriXXX took advantage of the hacked drivers for Kinect. The demonstration shows a disembodied hand, controlled by the user's own hand, fondling enthusiastic strumpets.

But there have been other more wholesome examples of what the Kinect technology can do. One clever sausage knocked-up a Minority Report-style demonstration that we duly dribbled over.

And despite Microsoft's condemnation of Kinect's pornographic potential, the company has openly promised not to prosecute hackers tinkering with the Kinect camera on PC.

Last week, Eurogamer broke the news that Microsoft intends to quadruple the accuracy of the Kinect camera - a feat that would make finger movements and hand rotation detectable by the device.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...inect-sex-game ...

In the US, brand Xbox is the clear winner in the battle of the high definition consoles. But globally, PlayStation has an insurmountable lead.

That's the verdict of one of the biggest game publishers in the world: Electronic Arts.

"Honestly, I think that Microsoft has done great work the last couple of years, and they've made a lot of smart moves: hitting pricing when they needed to, the right combination of hitting price points and disk drive sizes that allow them to hit price points that matter, and they've done a great job with Xbox Live," EA boss John Riccitiello told Industry Gamers.

"At the same time, the Xbox brand, the Microsoft brand, doesn't carry anywhere near as much sway as the Sony and PlayStation brand do outside the United States, and so I think the reality is the international marketplace is just so important and it's a natural advantage that no matter how good Microsoft is at growing their business, Sony has an almost-impossible-to-supersede head start."

While Microsoft currently enjoys a lead of a few million in the home console installed base battle - Sony had sold 41.6 million PlayStation 3 consoles as of 30th September 2010, Microsoft 44.6 million Xbox 360s – analysts predict the PS3 will overtake the Xbox 360 in 2011.

According to Riccitiello, the PS3's success is down to improved marketing and a better online offering.

"In the last couple of years, Sony's sharpened their marketing message, you know, 'the platform with everything.' Riccitiello continued. "They've actually gotten past simply Home as an online connected system for them. While I'm not sure that one would compare them in depth and breadth and features and support to what you have at Xbox Live, it's good now."

Ultimately, however, Riccitiello believes both Microsoft and Sony deserve credit for launching successful consoles.

"We have a similar share on both platforms. It's not that I wouldn't want to criticize one of the other; I'm not shy. I just think they've actually both done a pretty good job.

"The big disadvantage Sony carries is they have an expensive platform because of Blu-ray, so they have a harder time hitting price points. Microsoft has taken advantage of that and their online service, which really is the gold standard. Sony has [leveraged] their limited amount of unique content really well.

"They've done a nice job promoting the Blu-ray, their advertising and marketing campaigns have been stronger, and they've done a nice job of supporting some EA content to their own advantage. I don't know that you'd point to either of them and say they can't shoot straight or that they've given it up."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ats-brand-xbox ...

In the US, brand Xbox is the clear winner in the battle of the high definition consoles. But globally, PlayStation has an insurmountable lead.

That's the verdict of one of the biggest game publishers in the world: Electronic Arts.

"Honestly, I think that Microsoft has done great work the last couple of years, and they've made a lot of smart moves: hitting pricing when they needed to, the right combination of hitting price points and disk drive sizes that allow them to hit price points that matter, and they've done a great job with Xbox Live," EA boss John Riccitiello told Industry Gamers.

"At the same time, the Xbox brand, the Microsoft brand, doesn't carry anywhere near as much sway as the Sony and PlayStation brand do outside the United States, and so I think the reality is the international marketplace is just so important and it's a natural advantage that no matter how good Microsoft is at growing their business, Sony has an almost-impossible-to-supersede head start."

While Microsoft currently enjoys a lead of a few million in the home console installed base battle - Sony had sold 41.6 million PlayStation 3 consoles as of 30th September 2010, Microsoft 44.6 million Xbox 360s – analysts predict the PS3 will overtake the Xbox 360 in 2011.

According to Riccitiello, the PS3's success is down to improved marketing and a better online offering.

"In the last couple of years, Sony's sharpened their marketing message, you know, 'the platform with everything.' Riccitiello continued. "They've actually gotten past simply Home as an online connected system for them. While I'm not sure that one would compare them in depth and breadth and features and support to what you have at Xbox Live, it's good now."

Ultimately, however, Riccitiello believes both Microsoft and Sony deserve credit for launching successful consoles.

"We have a similar share on both platforms. It's not that I wouldn't want to criticize one of the other; I'm not shy. I just think they've actually both done a pretty good job.

"The big disadvantage Sony carries is they have an expensive platform because of Blu-ray, so they have a harder time hitting price points. Microsoft has taken advantage of that and their online service, which really is the gold standard. Sony has [leveraged] their limited amount of unique content really well.

"They've done a nice job promoting the Blu-ray, their advertising and marketing campaigns have been stronger, and they've done a nice job of supporting some EA content to their own advantage. I don't know that you'd point to either of them and say they can't shoot straight or that they've given it up."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ats-brand-xbox ...

News via http://www.romhacking.net/forum/inde...pic,11914.html

Aeon Genesis has released a complete translation for the SNES RPG “Ancient Magic”. A godawful amount of work went into this, probably more than was worth it, but it’s a fun little game in its own right. It has some minor plot malleability in some events, and the plot twists towards the end will totally throw you for a loop.

Everything’s done and working, barring one (to our knowledge) tiny cosmetic bug. Enjoy!

This is just the first of hopefully three releases coming this holiday season from AGTP. ...

News via http://psx-scene.com/forums/f6/wip-d...tor-ps3-73473/

The author of PS1 and Sega Megadrive emulators has announced his plans for a Nintendo DS Emulator!

Quote:
Anonymous, the now famous developer who recently completed emulators PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 3 on Sega Genesis is back with a new emulator. After a night's work, he offered us an exclusive version of its Alpha-based Nintendo DS emulator DeSmuME.

The emulator is currently in testing phase but you can play 2D games like Yoshi's Island with good fluidity. Anonymous is working on compatibility and accelerate 3D games as well as the inclusion of sound. It will also add a pointer to use the tactile features games, knowing that for now the L3 button enables a pressure on the screen, which is quite useful when a game requires to support it. Backups are functional and a menu selection opens ROMs when the button is pressed R3 to change the game without having to restart the emulator.

Anonymous wants to improve his first emulator before distributing it. You do not find on the internet yet. If you want to help financially so he could buy a PlayStation 3 debug to develop more easily, paypal address is: [email protected]. Here are some pictures of the emulator in action, we will keep you informed of progress of its work during the day.

http://www.ps3gen.fr/exclu-wip-emula...ite-14356.html ...

News via http://hackmii.com/2010/12/open-sour...analyzer-27c3/

We’ve seen a lot of interest in USB in the past few months — a slew of PS Jailbreak clones appeared from an USB trace taken with a $1500 Lecroy USB Analyzer, and marcan wrote a Kinect driver using libusb, based on some USB protocol traces taken with a $1200 Beagle 480 USB analyzer.

To build a decent USB 2.0 protocol analyser you don’t need that many things inside, and the designs aren’t all that much more complicated than the FPGA designs we worked with on the DSi. pytey and I have been discussing hardware USB 2.0 analysis on and off for 2+ years but we have never had the time (or funds) to create a gadget of our own. An opportunity arose when pytey showed me the absolutely fabulous Kickstarter site, where you can help fund fledgeling projects to get them off the ground.

Open-source hardware isn’t a new idea, but it’s not very easy to pull off designs of even modest complexity. Unlike open-source software (which can generally be made with free tools on any household computer, as long as you have the time to learn how to do so), hardware-hacking is … well … expensive, for lack of a better word, and slow. One attempt at making a board will generally take you from 5-500 hours of time to design it, and then a couple of weeks to have a prototyping house make you some PCBs. This will probably cost you $50-$200, and then you still have to buy the parts and assemble the board … assuming you have the right equipment to do so, this can take you another week (not including debugging!).

After you’ve done all that, if all goes well — you end up with one or two prototypes which you can then try to get working, usually involving some combination of firmware and client software on your computer. Unfortunately, you only have one or two boards, so it’s hard to do much collaboration online with people on one design.

pytey suggested that we might try to leverage Kickstarter to help us make the USB 2.0 analyzer a reality — and thus, OpenVizsla was born! This project has allowed us to collect enough funds ahead of time to have a factory make enough prototypes for all our colleagues to work on firmware, HDL and client software to make an open-source USB analyzer happen. We still have to put the work in to design the hardware, but we will have enough cash to be able to buy the parts for our boards in one chunk (achieving significant discounts with quantity), and we will be able to have enough prototypes made at once to justify a factory production run — no more hand-soldering for us! Once we’re done with this, we’ll end up with a design that people can tinker with and extend; there will be a project site that will soon host more details.

It seemed like a bit of a gamble, so we argued back and forth and picked a cash target high enough to ensure we would be able to make at least enough prototypes to have a decent chance of pulling the project off. I could never have expected the popular reaction to it; it seems like we really struck a nerve out there. We even got a couple of celebrities (Stephen Fry, DVDJon) on board, and our ploy to get some major backers (offering the right to directly participate in the early prototyping stages and a spot for a logo) paid off in spades. We even got support from Altium, who donated a couple of licenses of their lovely CAD/CAM software for us to use to speed up our design process.

Anyway, if you’re interested in the idea of playing with USB, I recommend you head over to the Kickstarter page; as of this writing, there’s still 3 days left for you to get in on the OpenVizsla production run.

On to CCC — our Console Hacking table at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin has become somewhat of a fixture there, so we’re trying to reserve some space this year. A few of you have already noticed that we have a “Console Hacking 2010″ wrapup presentation planned; the description’s still a bit vague because our presentation will depend on how much progress we make between now and then. There’s going to be a PS3 surprise though. No questions about the content, please — we’re still busy hacking away over here, so just come see us there or wait for the video! ...