Samsung has launched its inaugural Samsung Application Store Developer Challenge, which calls for developers to submit a game or application in order to potentially win a USD 100,000 prize.

The competition is open to UK or Italy based developers that are registered to sell paid apps through Samsung's Seller Office, and runs until December 10.

Games or applications that "buck the trend and deliver a unique experience" are what the judging panel will be looking for. The eight app categories that can be submitted into are Games, Entertainment, Health/Life, E-Book, Productivity, Reference, Social Networking and Utilities.

As well as a USD 100,000 grand prize, there will also be 36 individual cash rewards given to commended applications.

The target handheld device for submissions is the Omnia II and entries must be native to Windows Mobile. Full information and registration details can be found on the Samsung website.

http://seller.samsungapps.com/contes...ContestMain.as

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...oper-challenge ...

Nintendo has cut back the numbers of Wii units being produced, which has led companies providing parts for the consoles to predict steep declines in their profits this financial year.

According to a Nikkei report, the profits of Japanese companies Mitsumi Electric and Hosiden Corp are both expected to take a hit in the current financial year following the move by Nintendo.

Mitsumi predicted its net profit will fall 52 per cent and said it had seen orders from Nintendo drop roughly 30 per cent in the April-September period.

Hosiden is expected to suffer a sales drop of between 30-50 per cent for the second half of the financial year.

The Wii lost its place as the best selling console in the US in September for the first time in three years. Its subsequent price drop boosted it back to first place in October, however Nintendo's revised Wii hardware forecast has dropped six million units to 20 million for this financial year.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...wii-production ...

Electronic Arts' CEO John Riccitiello has said that the digital videogame market will overtake the traditional console and packaged goods business next year.

He added that if the publisher's digital business was a stand alone company, it would be seen as the "darling of Wall Street", with the recent Playfish acquisition a clear indication of EA's growth strategy as it strives to become a market leader in the online gaming sector.

"It's new to compete in that sector, so when people think of games they traditionally think of the Xbox, the PlayStation and the Wii, and they forget about all these online services that are out there – subscription, microstransactions, games they find on Facebook or if they go to Pogo," Riccitiello told Reuters.

"If you add all that stuff up, it's almost half of the industry now. It's about 40-45 per cent. Next year it's likely to be a larger share of the total industry and it'll be bigger than the console games all put together.

"A couple of years ago EA embarked on a plan to really build itself up in this new frontier. In the last quarter alone we did $138 million in revenue and if EA's digital business were a stand alone company it would be the darling of Wall Street," added Riccitiello. "It's in a larger company right now, but we're building it very quickly and our goal at Electronic Arts is to have a very profitable packaged goods business, but also to have a digital business of a similar scale over time."

The recent acquisition of Playfish for $300 million will allow Electronic Arts to bring its strongest brands such as FIFA and The Sims to Facebook and other social platforms, he revealed.

"We look for new business models that will help the rest of our business be stronger and allow our intellectual property to do well there," he said. "That's what we got with Playfish, it reaches 60 million people a month. And yet they don't have the same intellectual property that we have in terms of The Sims, FIFA... that can do well on that platform. We look at that combination and see huge synergy."

Any further acquisitions are likely are also likely to be in the digital market, said the CEO, as the company continues its plan to "conquer" new markets.

"From the perspective of Electronic Arts, when we look at M&A we look for three things. We're constantly trying to conquer new territory in particular on the digital side, so when you ask about deals, we're mostly looking at the digital side, we're mostly looking at compatible organisations from a culture perspective and of course you need to agree on price. And those are three hurdles that are often difficult to reach," he admitted.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...oles-next-year ...

News via PSPgen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVfu4...layer_embedded


It Seems the Gen Team have taken over the mantle for Custom Firmwares and the news from PSPGen is that a new version of the Custom Firmware is arriving in mid December, might be a good time now to start updating from your M33 Firmwares up to the Gen Firmwares, heres the translated news from french site pspgen:


So who on the M33 Firmware is now ready to move on ? ...

Juanvvc/Pickle/JoJo_ReloadeD have released a new version of the Gameboy/Gameboy Color emulator for the Wiz.


Download Here ...

A release date has been announced for the Japanese version of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

According to Famitsu magazine (as translated by Kotaku), the game will be released on 18th March. There's still no word on a European release date.

MGS: Peace Walker is a PSP exclusive and stars Naked Snake. You'll find previews, trailers and screenshots over on the gamepage.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mg...-japanese-date ...

APC Magazine details how Optus, an Australian mobile phone operator, has for months been deliberately blocking access to Android paid apps.
"Optus is the exclusive Australian mobile carrier for the HTC Dream and Samsung Galaxy Android phones, and yet people who signed a long-term contract for these phones have to date been blocked from buying paid Android apps and getting the full Android experience. ... APC found many angry and frustrated comments on the Whirlpool community forums by Optus & Virgin Mobile customers."
The article speculates, reading between the lines of the opaque comments offered by both Optus and Google, that the carrier is "demanding a cut of the sales revenue from Android apps if it is to remove its restriction on accessing them."

http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/09/...d-Android-Apps ...

News via http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/...cle6939481.ece

With big releases such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 grabbing headlines all over the world, 2009 was the year when video games finally completed their invasion of mainstream entertainment.

As sales of recorded music and DVDs continue to decline, video games are on the rise, and about to experience a Christmas boom.

This year, there are also likely to be more first-time games players and buyers than ever before.

With these people in mind, we present our selection of 50 games that cannot fail to please, whether you are buying for yourself or as a gift.

All of these games are for the current generation of games consoles: the Nintendo Wii; Microsoft's Xbox 360; Sony's PlayStation 3; the Nintendo DS; and Sony PSP.

Many of them have been available for a year or more, which means they can often be found for £20 or even £30 less than new releases.

All of the titles link directly to YouTube trailers, to give you an idea of what the game looks like.

The games are in no particular order, though we have separated them into Family and Adult titles.

Console gamers, please feel free to add your own selections and mini-reviews in the comments at the foot of the article.

GAMES FOR ALL THE FAMILY

Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (DS)
The second Layton adventure blends beautiful animation with a series of logic puzzles guaranteed to engage brains of all ages.

We were so excited by this game, and by its predecessor Professor Layton and the Curious Village, that we travelled all the way to Japan to meet its makers.

Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
The console that can do anything now offers this improved structured fitness course, complete with yoga classes. It's brilliantly executed, and it has the power to make you feel guilty.

Guitar Hero/Rock Band (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
The play-along genre really deserves a feature in its own right, but both of these series are great fun, and the instruments required to play are interchangeable (on the same console).

Check the track listings for individual preferences before you buy. Beatles Rock Band (see video link) and Lego Rock Band are both available.

Just Dance (Wii)
Before play-along and sing-along, there was dance-along. Here is the latest Wii version of an arcade staple.

Forza Motorsport 3 (Xbox 360)
While the world awaits the PlayStation's Gran Turismo 5, Forza on the 360 is just about the most realistic racing sim you can buy. One for serious petrolheads.

Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
Sky-diving, fencing, archery and more; it's all here in a package that combines Nintendo's propensity for cuteness with its ability to make even the dullest games seem fun.

Rabbids Go Home (Wii)
The latest in the series that includes two Rayman Raving Rabbids titles. None of them will disappoint, though for party fun the earlier games are a better bet with their stupid tasks such as cow-tossing.

Mini Ninjas (DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
A fabulous little Zelda-like adventure game in which you chase around the Japanese countryside liberating animals that have been turned into baddies. Great for adults and kids, though could benefit from a multi-player mode.

Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga (Wii)
The Lego games, which now include Batman, Indiana Jones and even Rock Band titles, are all great fun, but Star Wars remains the pick of the bunch. Familiarity with the films is a prerequisite.

Brain Training (DS)
With the backing of a Japanese professor, Nintendo re-aligned handheld gaming for an older generation with this collection of puzzles designed to maintain and improve mental agility.

Known as Brain Age in the United States, where the trailer comes from.

ScribbleNauts (DS)
A platform game with a twist: you draw your own solution to a level on the DS screen, and the built-in dictionary brings it to life. Addictive and entertaining.

Amazing Adventures: The Forgotten Ruins (DS)
A puzzle game that works equally well played casually or for hours at a stretch. It involves solving a variety of puzzles in order to get at a bigger mystery.

FIFA 10 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Electronic Arts' football series just about shoulder-charges the Pro-Evolution Soccer competition in our book. The 2010 version provides a plethora of AI tweaks, though not enough to justify the purchase price over the excellent FIFA 09.

Madden NFL 2010 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Another venerable sports series from Electronic Arts, Madden really does seem to get better with every iteration, and this new version is tougher and more authentic than ever before.

Ashes 2009 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Codemasters' first cricket game since the last Brian Lara in 2007 is the best cricket game on the next generation consoles, though there is still room for improvement.

Grand Slam Tennis (Wii)
This EA game may lack the graphical excellence of their efforts on the high-def consoles, but the Wii control system more than makes up for it.

Compatibility with Wii MotionPlus means that accuracy is unprecedented.

Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time (PS3)
We are highlighting the latest in the extraterrestrial platform and puzzle series, but any game that bears their name is a guaranteed hoot.

Inventive, brilliantly designed and executed and lovely to look at, the Ratchet and Clank games are one of the Sony console's best kept secrets. Watch the trailer and admire.

Okami (Wii)
One of the best of the late crop of games released for the last-generation PS2, Okami works equally well on the Wii. This mythical adventure relies, uniquely, on the power of calligraphy to get you out of trouble, and the storyline drags you right in.

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii, ...

News via http://www.nintendomax.com/index.php...35&format=news

Iron Hand has made a clone for the wii the famous arcade game released in 1980 on the Atari 2600, "Centipede".

Quote:
v1.0

* First release
* Hand finished game
* 4 kinds of enemys

http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Centipede

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