Nintendo could be about to reveal its plans for the bizarre Wii Vitality Sensor, after announcing a press event with the American Heart Association.

The invite for the May 17 event doesn't offer any indication as to what its announcement might be, but the Vitality Sensor - which measure the pulse of Wii players - seems very likely.

Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata said at last year's E3 that he reckons the device has heaps of potential, with the possibility one day for it to help you sleep with special software.

"Everyone under pressure in our stressful society could use this to help us relax in a videogame. Videogames could be made for people to unwind or even fall asleep," he said.

Nintendo's previously said it will release the Vitality Sensor in 2010.

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

News via http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/...VkQWgPlSKB.php

The JS-TEAM released a new version of XexDash, an alternative dashboard for homebrew 360s.

What's new/fixed:
* Fix bugs
* Fix Fan speed control

Official Site: http://xbox.betalog.com ...

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), today announced a broad-ranging, first-of-its-kind programming partnership with Microsoft Corp. for Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 (E3 Expo 2010), the video game industry's leading trade show. For the first time, only MTV Networks will take viewers inside the spectacular controller-free games and entertainment with "The World Premiere of 'Project Natal' for Xbox 360" experience, a spectacular live performance imagined by Cirque du Soleil, and live to the Xbox 360 Media Briefing for game announcements, world premieres and breaking news on the future of the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system.

"We look forward to making entertainment history again at E3 Expo 2010 and can't think of a better partner than MTV Networks to exclusively share our news, experiences and Cirque du Soleil's amazing creativity with an entirely new audience," said Don Mattrick, senior vice president, Interactive Entertainment Business, Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. "Project Natal is one of the most exciting new product launches of the year, and MTV Networks is the perfect partner to bring this one-of-a-kind event from Xbox and Cirque du Soleil to its viewers and passionate gamers and all across the country," said Rich Eigendorff, chief operating officer, MTV Networks.

Heralded by TIME Magazine as one of the top inventions of 2009, "Project Natal" is set to forever change the way we interact with entertainment. In the world premiere experience, the creative visionaries at Cirque du Soleil created a stunning production that brings the idea of controller-free gaming and entertainment to life. Witness an original and exclusively created consumer spectacle that pushes the boundaries of live entertainment with cutting-edge technology, pulsating music, amazing puppetry, futuristic video projection and unbelievable physical dexterity. "The World Premiere 'Project Natal' for Xbox 360" experience, as imagined by Cirque du Soleil airs commercial-free on MTV, Tuesday, June 15 at 3:30 p.m. EDT, and on Nick at Nite, mtvU, MTV Hits and Logo , Tuesday, June 15, at 9 p.m. EDT.

SPIKE TV, home to the SPIKE Video Game Awards, the biggest night of the year for the gaming industry, will be the exclusive broadcast home for the Xbox 360 E3 Media Briefing. Set to air live and commercial-free in high-definition on Monday, June 14, at 1:30 p.m. EDT, the Xbox 360 Media Briefing is a blockbuster event where the future of the Xbox 360 system is revealed. Last year's presentation included the debut of "Project Natal," and Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison came together to reveal MTV Games and Harmonix's "The Beatles: Rock Band." Hosted by SPIKE TV's Geoff Keighley from the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, viewers won't want to miss breaking news on "Project Natal" and Xbox LIVE, surprise new game announcements, and world premiere demos of upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive games, "Halo: Reach," "Gears of War 3" and "Fable III." "Xbox 360: The Future Revealed" airs live on Monday, June 14, from 1:30-3 p.m. EDT.

MTV Networks' GameTrailers.com will provide live, high-definition video streams on the Internet of both the Xbox 360 Media Briefing and the world premiere of "Project Natal," powered by the global Akamai HD Network platform. In addition, GameTrailers.com will present exclusive live pre- and post-shows for the Xbox 360 Media Briefing on June 14 with additional video game world premieres and announcements. ...

Nintendo has fired yet another volley in its war on video game piracy, this time against a Queens, New York-based seller of "illegal video game copiers." Nintendo has filed suit against the owner of NXPGAME, which presided over a website that sold "illegal video game copiers that enable the user to download, play and distribute illegal copies of Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi video game software." Nintendo alleges that the owner agreed to shut down the website after several calls and letters from Nintendo legal counsel, but proceeded to open another website selling the same products. Nintendo adds that the old site also redirected users to the new one.

Nintendo doesn't specify exactly what the "Illegal game copiers" in question are, though it does mention a 2009 court case in which the California Central District Court judged the infamous R4 flash cart to be in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and deemed them illegal in the United States. According to Nintendo, such devices "circumvent the technological protection measures" of the DS and DSi and thus infringe on the company's intellectual property rights.

Jodi Daugherty, senior director of Nintendo's anti-piracy effort, noted that using such devices "is illegal and it's wrong," adding, "Piracy is especially harmful to smaller developers." Alex Neuse, CEO of Gaijin Games (Bit.Trip Runner) states in the press release that he estimates that "more than 70 percent" of his company's games have been obtained illegally. "Put simply," said Neuse, "if you enjoy a company's games, paying for them helps to ensure that they will continue to make products you'll like."

The news follows a recent win for Nintendo in a similar Australian court case this past February. That case saw offenders pay in excess of $500,000. In the same month, Nintendo won another case against a man that leaked New Super Mario Bros. Wii onto the internet, ending in a fine of $1.5 million. Once again, would-be pirates, Nintendo is serious about this.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/13/ni...al-video-game/ ...

Jesse Venbrux must be quite proud of his indie platformer, They Need To Be Fed. Not only did he recently win the top prize of the YoYo Games competition, he's earned a $1,000 cash prize, and a deal to port the game over to PSP.

The platformer can be best described as a 2D version of Super Mario Galaxy, with players navigating the unique gravity of each platform to reach their goal: to be eaten. If that doesn't make much sense, you can wait for the PSP version, planned for release this summer, so you can see for yourself.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/13/th...p-this-summer/ ...

If you want rapid-fire capabilities on your PS3 controller, but don't want to trust a potentially crummy third-party device, BGRMods has the crazy, MacGyver-esque solution to your problem. Originally released for the Xbox 360, the IntensaFIRE board uses a little custom circuit board to add autofire to the stock controller.

While that version required glue, the PS3 version looks even simpler (though still kind of crazy) -- you snap the chip over the chip on the Dual Shock 3's motherboard, and you have turbo on the R1, R2, and X buttons, with customizable settings controlled by the D-pad.

If you're daring enough to try this, make sure you have the CECHZC2U model of Dual Shock 3, and the $69.95 it costs to pre-order one. Even though it doesn't apply to the new Dual Shock 3 model, we've embedded the instructional video for the Xbox 360 version after the break. Enjoy!

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/13/in...s3-controller/ ...

Activision has announced that the Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence Pack will be released for Xbox Live users on 3rd June.

Inside are five new maps, although they're not named.

To celebrate, Infinity Ward will host two double-XP weekends either side of release: one on Friday, 28th May and Friday, 4th June.

There's no mention of price, but Resurgence offers the same amount of content as the Stimulus Pack, which cost 1200 Microsoft Points (£10.20/€14.40).

The Stimulus Package was exclusive to Xbox Live for 30 days, and the Resurgence Pack is likely to follow that example before appearing on PC and PS3.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ne...re-2-dlc-dated ...

Polyphony Digital has revealed that there will be three circuits from Germany's motorsport Mecca, the Nürburgring, in Gran Turismo 5.

The famous and daunting 14-mile Nordschleife (star of every single motorsport game made since, oh, PGR2?) will feature alongside the modern Grand Prix track and the Nürburgring 24 Hours course.

You can read more about it and see screens at the US PlayStation blog and the official GT5 site. Or, if you happen to be going to the Nürburgring 24 Hours race this weekend, you can try it out for yourself.

"For a car enthusiast, the Nürburgring is the equivalent to what places like the Eiger Nordwand or Mount Everest means to a mountaineer," said GT creator Kazunori Yamauchi. "There is that special allure about it that you just can't explain in words."

It seems there's still no-one at Sony brave enough to tell Yamauchi-san to stop adding things to his game and release it already. In recent months, the addition of NASCAR racing has been announced, and rumours have swirled around support for 3D and PlayStation Move.

Gran Turismo 5, first revealed in 2006, has had its March 2010 Japanese launch delayed and currently has no release date. On the PlayStation Blog, the game's US producer hints that we should look forward to more news from E3 next month. Let's hope it's a date, not a new feature.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/gt...rgring-courses ...

PlayStation 3 sales rose to 13 million units in the company's latest financial year, ended 31st March 2010, an increase of 3m units year-on-year.

PSP sales, however, sagged from 14.1m to 9.9m. PS2 sales dropped from 7.9m to 7.3m.

Sales of PS3 games rose to 115.3m units during up from 103.7m the previous year. In comparison, PSP titles were down to 44.4m units compared to 50.3m the year before. PS2 games felt the sharpest decline, dropping to 35.7m units from 83.5m.

Sony reckons software sales will remain the same across all three formats in the year ahead. However, Sony also reckons it will "increase significantly" the amount of dosh it makes.

"Sony also plans to aggressively launch 3D-related products, network services and other new business with the aim of future growth," the company said in a statement.

In money terms, the Network Product and Services division, which includes the PlayStation business, recorded a loss of £597m, which was a bit better - ¥4.4 billion better - than last year. Sony Walkmans apparently raked in the cash.

Overall, Sony enjoyed an in-the-green income of £228.1m for the year. The company lost money in the previous year. Sales of LCD TVs were picked out as a high point.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/so...USD889m-loss_4 ...