Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has said the company is "positive" on the opportunities offered by both Microsoft's Natal and Sony's motion controller, stating the company will support both.

"We're really positive on both," said the exec during a call to investors following the release of EA's Q1 financials.

"Our view is that motion-based gaming is something that is both going to drive install base, drive interest and drive growth. We’re positive overall."

He added: "We’re planning to support both. We haven’t yet announced our plans to do so, but we shall do so in the right time-frame for that, which is likely to be early-to-mid-2010."

Riccitiello's comments, reported by VG247, follow recent rumours Natal will be released towards the end of 2010. Sony's motion controller is scheduled for spring 2010.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...s3-motion-tech ...

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has said the company is "positive" on the opportunities offered by both Microsoft's Natal and Sony's motion controller, stating the company will support both.

"We're really positive on both," said the exec during a call to investors following the release of EA's Q1 financials.

"Our view is that motion-based gaming is something that is both going to drive install base, drive interest and drive growth. We’re positive overall."

He added: "We’re planning to support both. We haven’t yet announced our plans to do so, but we shall do so in the right time-frame for that, which is likely to be early-to-mid-2010."

Riccitiello's comments, reported by VG247, follow recent rumours Natal will be released towards the end of 2010. Sony's motion controller is scheduled for spring 2010.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...s3-motion-tech ...

Nintendo needs to concentrate on expanding its core user base as Sony and Microsoft muscle in on its casual audience with new technologies of their own, Marvelous Entertainment director, Yasuhiro Wada has stated.

"The Nintendo market is pretty humongous right now, but I think that's primarily because of all the light users; the casual users," he said, speaking to Gamasutra. "The core userbase for the Wii is really still small. One of the things that Nintendo is trying to do, like with the Motion Plus, is try to make it more advanced and more friendly to the gamer-gamer.

"But it's still not enough because Sony and Microsoft are starting to do the same sorts of technology. In those cases they are still weak, but I think it's really important to have more core titles such as Zelda and other titles from Nintendo to grow that core market area, so the whole market can grow as well."

While his company has developed plenty of games for Nintendo platforms, continued Wada - Marvelous created the Harvest Moon games and Little King's Story among others - it is only bound to those platforms because it doesn't have the technology to develop for the "HD-heavy platforms".

However, "at a certain point we will reach that place and we can advance to multiple platforms and different other venues," Wada predicted.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...elous-director ...

Domestic sales of the DSi reached 3,062,920 units as of August 2, according to new Enterbrain figures.

The updated console launched in Japan on November 1 2008, meaning the milestone has been reached in the space of just nine months, reports Famitsu.

Nintendo's latest quarterly financial results, released last week, showed that worldwide DSi sales for the three months ending June 30 had totalled 3.65 million. Worldwide, the system, which launched outside of Japan in April 2009, has sold 6.68 million units to date, confirmed the company.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...llion-in-japan ...

Pulling together all the facts into one place, Microsoft has detailed a final and confirmed list of new feature coming to 360 via the Xbox Live summer update on August 11.

Here's the full release:

Less than a week from today, the Xbox LIVE summer update will arrive to more than 20 million Xbox LIVE members and with it will come the next evolution of connected entertainment on Xbox 360. Get ready to meet the many new faces of your Xbox 360; whether it's new Avatar clothing and awards from Adidas or "Splosion Man", or even a private home cinema, Xbox LIVE has something for you.

Movie night on Xbox LIVE
Browse, select and jump right into your favourite movies from the top genres: comedy, action, horror...even a tear-jerking chick flick. There are hundreds to choose from, with many in HD.

Avatars are people too!
Now thanks to Avatar Marketplace the options for customising your avatar are endless. With an ever-expanding selection of stores, full of premium outfits and accessories from your favourite games and fashion brands, you can express yourself through your Avatar like never before. Your Avatar's one-stop-shop will launch with a growing collection from the top names in fashion and gaming including:

Top Brands: Adidas, Quiksilver, Roxy, Tokidoki
Unique Fashions: Steampunk, Recessionista
Your Favourite Games: "BioShock 2," "Halo 3," "Halo 3: ODST," "Gears of War 2," "Fable II," "The Secret of Monkey Island SE," "Splinter: Cell Conviction," "Star Wars Clone Wars: Republic Heroes"

You can also earn special Avatar clothes and items just by playing your favourite games, starting with a hot logo t-shirt from "Splosion Man," the hit Xbox LIVE Arcade title that kicked-off off the 2nd annual Summer of Arcade. And to keep your Avatars from getting bored, we're giving them fun new props to play with; everything from a basketball to pompoms, even a mobile phone...just try to stick with nights and weekends.

Full Xbox 360 games at the push of a button
Xbox 360 games: Games on Demand. Launching with a library of 21 great titles, Games on Demand marks the introduction of digitally distributed full Xbox 360 games: the titles you want, when you want them, straight to your Xbox 360 at the push of a button. You'll also have the option to easily purchase Games on Demand titles directly via credit card.

From award-winning hits like "Mass Effect," "and "Assassin's Creed," to family favourites like "LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga" and "Sonic the Hedgehog," Games on Demand gives you access to a growing catalogue of full Xbox 360 titles, updated weekly and available to browse and download 24 x7 from the comfort of your couch. Check out our line-up at launch:

Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)
Burnout Paradise (EA)
Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Fight Night Round 3 (EA)
Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios)
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts)
Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
Meet The Robinsons (Disney)
MX vs. ATV Untamed (THQ)
Need for Speed Carbon (EA)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (EA)
Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)
Prey (2K Games)
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games)
Sega Rally (Sega)
TEST DRIVE: UNLIMITED (Atari)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
Tomb Raider Legend (Eidos)
Viva Piñata (Microsoft Game Studios)
Viva Piñata 2: Trouble in Paradise (Microsoft Game Studios)

No more hide and seek
Now you can view, find and arrange your content on Xbox LIVE the way you want. Want to send a specific friend a message? Sort your friends list by Gamertag, status and even activity, so you can easily find the friends you want. There are also new options for viewing your Achievements and progress, improved matchmaking support and more.

Best of all, you can now rate every single piece of content on Xbox LIVE Games Marketplace using a five star system. Support your favourite XBLA game with a five star rating, or find the top-rated titles in the newly-updated Indie Games Marketplace - it's never been easier to find the best and most beloved game content on Xbox LIVE.

Just the beginning...
The Xbox LIVE summer update brings all new ways to play games, and connect with friends or friendly rivals anywhere in the world. It's another step toward realising the Xbox 360 promise of entertainment for everyone, and another reason why Xbox LIVE is hands down the best entertainment value in your living room. But this is just the beginning...

Coming soon, we're bringing a whole new wave of partnerships and custom features straight to your Xbox 360 - instant on 1080p streaming video with 5.1 audio from Zune, personalised digital radio stations from Last.fm, and the biggest forces in social networking: Facebook and Twitter.

In the meantime, have fun with your Avatar, or download that classic Xbox 360 game you've been meaning to pick up. Sit back, relax and enjoy and stay tuned for the next evolution in connected entertainment, courtesy ...

After Monday's story about intrusive, loading-screen ads being retroactively added to the PSN racing title Wipeout HD, the popular uproar has indeed succeeded in getting Sony to pull them. You can put your pitchforks down; your voice has been heard! A Sony spokesman said, 'The ad has been removed from Wipeout HD and we are investigating the situation to ensure that any in-game advertising does not affect gameplay.

http://games.slashdot.org/story/09/0...d-After-Uproar ...

via slashdot

We're running a competition to see who can program the best AI for a version of Super Mario Bros. It's about deciding what to do at each time step — run, jump, shoot etc. — based on a description of the platforms, items and enemies around Mario. This is hard. It's so hard we believe that some sort of machine learning algorithm will be necessary to reach good playing performance. But really, any approach is fair game. We welcome hard-coded submissions, commercial AI programmers, academics and amateurs alike. Whoever wins, it will be really interesting. The competition is associated with two IEEE conferences, and there are cash prizes available for the best submissions

http://julian.togelius.com/mariocompetition2009/ ...

The Jpcsp Team have released a new version of the Java PSP Emulator for Windows, heres whats new:


Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

You might have thought you'd heard the last of the PS3 Slim stories – well tough luck, because the torrent of rumours is unlikely to cease until this year's GamesCom.

UK broadsheet The Telegraph is rumouring that the slim-line SKU is to be announced at the Cologne show later this month – and is as bold as to detail some of the console's specifics.

The PS3 Slim, according to the report, is to come in 40 GB and 80 GB flavours, with a price point starting at around 260 GBP (which translates as 440 USD at the current exchange rate – though with the unique exchange system employed by the videogame industry, expect it to come in well below that figure if The Telegraph's musings are true).

That would mean that the new system would undercut the existing PS3 model, which currently carries a 299.99 GBP price tag.

The Telegraph cites the ramping up of production of PlayStation components in the Far East as potential evidence for the new console. If you're sick of all the PS3 Slim rumours, you'd be well advised to stick your fingers in your ears and keep them there for the next two weeks.

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/101/1010513p1.html ...