DCEmu Homebrew Emulation & Theme Park News
wraggster
by Published on April 13th, 2013 22:42- Categories:
- Apple iPhone
It's really happening. Starting today, you'll be able to pick up an iPhone 5 with that Magenta hue. T-Mobile's offering the device both in retail and online, starting at $100 plus 24 monthly installments of 20 bucks. You can pick from either of the two monochrome extremes and if you're looking to spend a little less, you can also choose an iPhone 4S or 4 instead. Remember; you won't get the same subsidized pricing from Apple directly, so scroll through the options at the Uncarrier source and ensure that you're ready for that Coachella stream this weekend.
https://explore.t-mobile.com/iphone-5 ...by Published on April 13th, 2013 22:31- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
More of the same isn't enough - and always-on could be the prelude to an utter disaster
Microsoft
microsoft.com
Sony
Sony's had the first of its big reveals - we still haven't seen a box, much to the consternation of people who clearly spend a lot more time staring at the space under their TV than I do, or a price tag, much to the consternation of everyone else - so now all attention has turned to Microsoft. After the longest hardware generation in console history, it's coming up to time for the next gauntlet to hit the floor. Having made enormous strides and gains during the past seven or eight years (although it may be pipped at the very end by Sony's installed base), Microsoft's next Xbox enters the fray with a weight of expectation on its shoulders.
Yet the next Xbox also faces a problem its predecessor didn't have to deal with - namely the fact that Sony actually has its act together this time, or so it seems. Microsoft got a lot of things right with the Xbox 360 - great controller, great online service from the outset, good developer tools - but what gave it its real head-start, papering over major cracks like the shocking hardware failure rate of the early years, was not of the company's own doing. Rather, the Xbox 360 confidently strode past every stumbling block because its major rival, the PS3, was tripping over its own feet and pratfalling off the track entirely. Arriving a year later to market, the PS3 was dogged by a ludicrous price point, daft, developer-unfriendly hardware, an anaemic approach to online services and a sense of corporate arrogance and entitlement that was soon to come painfully back down to earth.
This time, Microsoft will not enjoy the advantage of its rival shooting itself in the foot every few paces. Sony's overall corporate position may not be the healthiest it's ever been, but the company's approach with PS4 thus far has been intelligent, purposeful and has even, in a sense, felt quietly apologetic regarding the excesses of PS3's early years. There's a long way to go yet and plenty of rough ground to cover, and it's still entirely possible that Sony will trip over some obstacles (price point, price point...) but early signs are promising.
"This time, Microsoft will not enjoy the advantage of its rival shooting itself in the foot every few paces"
This begs an important question for Microsoft to answer - how will it differentiate itself? We've already seen a handful of leaked and highly credible specifications for the Microsoft box, so we know that it's not going to be more powerful than Sony's system (in fact, existing specs are less powerful, but it's unwise to rule out an eleventh-hour specification bump along the lines of Sony's surprise inclusion of ultra high-speed memory modules). Sony has effectively caught up in online services, and services like PlayStation Plus and the video integration offered by Gaikai technology give it a number of new strings to its bow. As for backwards compatibility, both PS4 and Microsoft's next Xbox are going to be based on hardware platforms so different from their previous efforts as to render backwards compatibility deeply unlikely at best.
In short, despite its success in the present generation, Microsoft is going to have to do a whole lot better than simply "the next Xbox - more of the same but better" if it wants to repeat or better its market share performance. With Xbox Live, it showed a fantastic ability to leverage its experience and knowledge of the PC and online markets in order to effectively "skate to where the puck will be, not where it is" (as NHL legend Wayne Gretzky memorably described it) - launching an online service and pushing it hard just in time to catch the rising waves of online gaming and social networking as they reached critical mass. Microsoft needs to repeat that feat in some form; at the very least, it needs to offer a vision of console gaming that's different enough from Sony's to make it distinct, memorable and appealing.
There are reasons to be concerned about that. One of them is the company's seemingly unwavering focus on Kinect, which seems set to be built in to the next generation of Xbox consoles. That's fine in itself - a motion sensing component is a handy feature to have for developers - but it had better not be pushed as the console's Big Thing. Kinect, like PlayStation Move, is great tech - but it only ever existed commercially as a response to the success of the Wii. With Nintendo's home consoles foundering at present, focusing on motion tech feels very much, to borrow Gretzky again, like skating to where the puck used to be, not where it will be in future.
"With Nintendo's home consoles foundering at present, focusing on motion tech feels very much like skating to where the puck used to be"
Then there's the heavily rumoured always-online aspect of the console. I remain in the "I'll believe it when I see it" camp on this - I simply can't believe that Microsoft is prepared to look at the significant percentage of Xbox 360 owners who never connected their devices to a network and ...by Published on April 13th, 2013 22:26- Categories:
- DCEmu
2.67m boxed games were sold last month in what was a decent March for retail.
That number is a slight 1.5 per cent drop over the same period in 2012, but it’s a big improvement over the significant declines posted in January and February.
In fact, games stores generated £70.6m in revenue, a rise of 4.2 per cent over the £67.7m retailers made in March 2012.
Tomb Raider was the clear winner of the month, more than doubling the sales of second place performer BioShock Infinite. As a result, Square Enix was the UK’s No.1 publisher last month.
Other new releases in the Top Ten includes Gears of War Judgment at No.3 and SimCity in fifth place. All data is courtesy of GfK?Chart-Track.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/uk-bo...-march/0114006 ...by Published on April 12th, 2013 00:54- Categories:
- PC News
Last month, Samsung outed an update to the 13-inch Series 9 that saw its 1,600 x 900 LCD display replaced with the glory of full 1080p. And starting today, that Windows 8 Ultrabook is going on sale with pretty much the same internal configuration it had in a previous, less Premium life -- save for the 2GHz Core i7 inside. For a cool $1,400, you're looking at 4GB of RAM, an integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU, WiFi a/b/g/n and a 128GB SSD all neatly packed into an aluminum unibody design. So, you can do your eyes a favor (and your wallet some significant damage) by trading up now. Or stick with what you've got. Don't worry, if they don't ask, you don't have to tell Intel.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...NR59TZARQP7XVK ...by Published on April 12th, 2013 00:47- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
A new report now claims that the new Xbox WILL be able to play games when not connected to the internet.
Instead, the often-reliable VGleaks claims the ‘always-on’ rumour stems from a second Xbox console that will be launched at the same time as the Durango-based machine.
The site says that an Xbox Mini will be launched in tandem with Durango. Crucially, unlike its bigger cousin it WILL offer Xbox 360 backwards compatibility and NOT have a disc drive.
MCV first broke the news of a disc-less new Xbox in March 2012, although a report earlier this month appeared to debunk the claims.
This new Xbox Mini WILL require an always-on internet connection and WILL run Xbox 360 games that have been downloaded over Xbox Live. It will also be designed for use as a TV box and is being pitched to compete directly with Apple TV.
And here’s another surprise – it will link up to Durango to offer owners of that machine backwards compatibility with Xbox 360 software, albeit only digitally. When connected both devices will function on a single display and can be controlled with a single controller.
However, those without an Xbox Mini attached to their Durango will be frozen out of the Xbox 360 back catalogue.
Durango has been designed to be permanently connected to the internet but will apparently NOT stop users from playing Durango games when offline. If true, the news will come as a huge relief to the trade which has warned Microsoft against such a requirement.
Nor, VGleaks claim, will the new console block pre-owned software.
Those who insert an Xbox 360 disc into Durango will be prompted to connect an Xbox Mini.
Part of the strategy, it is claimed, is to give consumers the option to reduce the upfront price of the new console, but spend more should they choose on 360 compatibility.
Xbox Mini is said to retail at $149 or less while Durango will retail for something along the lines of PS4 - £300, £400, £500, £1,000,000, who knows…
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/fresh...-again/0113921 ...by Published on April 11th, 2013 12:22- Categories:
- PS4
Asda anticipates that the UK PS4 release date will fall in 2013 and is now taking pre-orders for the console.
The Walmart-owned chain says it's the only supermarket currently offering a pre-order service for the system. You can reserve one now by putting down a £20 deposit.The console is "set to hit UK stores at the end of this year", claims a press release sent out this morning, although Asda's pre-order terms and conditions note that this could change.
They read: "The current expected date of release made by Sony is Christmas 2013. Asda make no Guarantees that this is correct or will not change and Asda shall not be held responsible if Sony change or delay the release date of the Sony PlayStation 4 in the UK and or limit stock."
Sony revealed PS4 in February, when it confirmed a PS4 release date of "holiday 2013" in at least one of Japan, Europe and the US.
Earlier this month, GameStop executive vice president Michael Hogan said Sony is planning a global PS4 release date in 2013.
http://direct.asda.com/Sony-PlayStat...efault,pd.html ...by Published on April 11th, 2013 12:11- Categories:
- DCEmu
Luigi's Mansion 2 and 3DS were Japan's best-selling game and hardware platform respectively during the week ended April 7.It's the third straight week the pair have topped the charts, according to Media Create data published onNeoGAF.The Wii U version of Dragon Quest X sold a further 10,000 copies in its second week of availability as it slipped from No.6 to No.12 on the software chart, while the PS3 version ofNinja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge debuted at No.15 in a quiet week for new releases.Software sales (lifetime total)
- Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS, Nintendo) - 68.423 / 459.413
- Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS, Nintendo) 49.140 / 3.025.368
- One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 (PS3, Bandai Namco) - 26.878 / 357.959
- Pro Baseball Spirits 2013 (PS3, Konami) - 15.411 / 141.665
- Pro Baseball Spirits 2013 (PSP, Konami) - 14.086 / 117.839
- Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission (3DS, Bandai Namco) - 11.674 / 151.881
- Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Super Deluxe Edition (Wii, Bandai Namco Games) - 11.533 / 442.322
- Muramasa Rebirth (Vita, Marvelous AQL) - 11.135 / 56.795
- Fate/Extra CCC (PSP, Marvelous AQL) - 11.128 / 84.011
- Game & Wario (Wii U, Nintendo) - 11.064 / 33.555
Hardware sales (previous week's total)
- 3DS - 56.864 (66.980)
- Vita - 19.328 (31.795)
- PS3 - 16.807 (19.069)
- Wii U - 14.783 (22.942)
- PSP - 8.876 (12.594)
- Wii - 1.718 (1.858)
- Xbox 360 - 536 (598)
- Total - 118.912 (155.723)
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ld-tops-spots/ ...by Published on April 11th, 2013 09:38- Categories:
- Apple iPad
There's been plenty of murmuring that Apple is working on a retooled fifth-generation iPad that's sporting the same design language as the iPad Mini and iPhone 5. The folks over at nowhereelse think that they've snagged a picture of the white facia for the latest iteration of the slate -- and the site does have prior form in this department. The biggest difference compared to the third and fourth generation devices is the narrower bezel that runs down the sides and those chamfered shiny edges, Word of the Day fans.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/10/n...ad-front-shot/ ...by Published on April 10th, 2013 23:19- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
While the world waits to find out the facts about Microsoft's next videogame console, new rumors have popped up suggesting what its plans to go all-in on the Xbox-as-media center concept entail. According to The Verge, multiple unnamed sources suggest the plan is to include an HDMI passthrough and guide overlay, similar to the method used by Google TV. There's no word on any possible IR blaster (or IRGamePad, Wii U-style) integration, but thanks to Microsoft's partnerships with cable TV providers, it's trying to provide integration that goes a "step further" than what we've seen so far. That includes Kinect control, with next generation hardware that can recognize when viewers have turned their heads away and pause video automatically, with additional features rolling out after launch. There's no confirmation of controversial always-on requirements for gaming, but it will apparently need to be logged on for streaming (of course) and controlling incoming TV signals.
A collection of rumors posted on Kotaku includes references to an "XTV", and a LinkedIn post that connects tagging of video to the project, similar to Shazam or IntoNow's features. Also dug up on various job profiles are mentions of a "cloud-driven, voice-optimized experience" and the next generation of SmartGlass.
Microsoft had great success with an evolving media approach to its console business with the Xbox 360 -- apps and original content are in, with Mediaroom and Media Center pushed to the side -- and even if these rumors are true, we wouldn't be surprised if what exists in a few years ends up changing just as much. Still, given the (lack of) response to Google's overlays and gesture control integrated by Samsung, LG and others, it will be interesting to see if a similar approach attached to an Xbox finds different results.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/10/x...i-passthrough/ ...by Published on April 10th, 2013 22:51- Categories:
- PS4
Revealing Mark Cerny's Knack first during PS4 unveiling an intentional decision to show off diversity
Sony would hate to see all of the games developed for the PS4 as first-person shooters or action-adventure titles, Sony’s worldwide studios president has said.
Speaking to Edge, Shuhei Yoshida said Sony made the intentional decision to show Mark Cerny’s latest game Knack first during its PS4 unveiling in February.
He said that while a plethora of people are interested in triple-A blockbusters and photorealistic titles, they were not the only kind of games players can enjoy.
“It was pretty intentional,” said Yoshida.
“Mark’s idea was like ‘what about [a] Crash Bandicoot for PS4?’ when he suggested the concept of Knack. We were like yeah we hate to see all the PS4 games being FPS or action-adventure or very photorealistic, you know big-budget blockbuster games. And you know people like these games but these are not the only kinds of games that people can have fun with.”
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...mes-to-be-FPSs
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Catherine: Full Body’s English translation for the Vita