DCEmu Homebrew Emulation & Theme Park News
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by Published on August 18th, 2012 22:08- Categories:
- Android News
Samsung Apps and Game Hub services, both providing mobile gaming to Samsung devices such as the Galaxy S 2, are getting a little more blue. A selection of Sega games are available now on Apps and Game Hub, includingSonic CD, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 and 2, and Chu Chu Rocket! Hitting later on is Virtua Tennis Challenge and Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 is available for free for a limited time on the Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. A special edition ofVirtua Tennis Challenge will also be free for a limited time on the Galaxy 3 smartphone.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/18/se...some-for-free/ ...by Published on August 18th, 2012 22:05- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
Currently sitting on a Metacritic average of just 78 per cent, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is comfortably the lowest-scoring mainline Mario game to date. That tally may be acceptable by many standards, but for one of gaming's most consistent performers, the numbers aren't good.The figure is well below the 87 per cent accrued by New Super Mario Bros. Wii, or the DS original's 89, while every other 2D Mario game released since Metacritic began aggregating data is in the nineties. You don't have to look too hard to spot the common thread here.NSMB 2 is still a fine game, no doubt, but time was when a new Mario platformer was something of an event. In his review earlier this week, Oli claimed to be "blasphemously bored" for portions of the game, and as a fellow Mario fan I'd be inclined to agree. When an argument can be made that it's not even the best platformer of the week - Jonathan Mak's musical oddity Sound Shapes may be flawed but it's undeniably the more inventive game of the two - then you have a cause for concern.NSMB2's secret worlds host some of its best stages, but the Star World can't hold a candle to Super Mario World's Star Road....
Or do you? The NSMB series is a massive seller and Nintendo as much as anyone needs the safe hands of a star performer like Mario, especially given the threat to the dedicated handheld market from mobile games. In a console business increasingly reliant on franchises, it's hardly surprising that Mario is more cash cow than sacred cow these days.Quite aside from that, there's also the small business of satisfying the demands of a market Reggie Fils-Aime recently claimed to be "insatiable", the result of which was the announcement of yet another 2D Mario, this time for Wii U. For the first time it seems we're likely to see two Mario platformers in the same year. But I'm not convinced this is the Mario that enthusiasts are still clamouring for. Still, it's sales rather than scores that are of most concern to Nintendo in the present climate.It seems unlikely that Nintendo is unaware of the irony in NSMB2's cash-grabbing conceit. It does, however, feel rather out of character for Mario, not least because there's no explanation for this sudden surfeit of gold. Wario would surely be a better fit for this scenario, even if he's hardly as big a draw as his arch rival."Maybe it's time for some of us to realise that we're not the target audience for these games any more."
A bigger issue is that this one gimmick is hardly enough to sustain an entire game. Outside Coin Rush mode it's essentially meaningless, beyond giving you even more lives than you'd normally accrue. There is, of course, an ultimate goal, but the reward for achieving it is in no way commensurate with the effort taken. It's fair to say the game will earn a million coins well before the majority of its players will.There's one particular design choice that suggests something of a creative malaise at the house of Mario. In EAD Tokyo's effortlessly brilliant Super Mario 3D Land - whose achievements are now thrown into sharper focus - Mario leaps up to hit a coin block, only to find his head getting stuck. He then leaps around awkwardly, hiccupping coins for a while until he finally disappears. It's a delightful, surprising pratfall; a wonderful subversion of expectations. It's used just a handful of time, and perhaps only that many to ensure no one missed it.Perhaps it's time the Koopalings were retired. Or at least given some more creative attack patterns.
In New Super Mario Bros. 2, it's back, only this time it's no longer a one-off, but a feature. Certain blocks you hit and keep on hitting will eventually turn gold; jump into them again and Mario ends up with a moustachioed block for a head. It's charming at first, but it's nothing more than a faint echo of a brilliant joke.Otherwise its inclusion is meaningless beyond allowing you to earn some extra coins, and though it initially seems to encourage riskier play as the coins emerge more quickly the faster you run and the higher you jump, you can earn the same amount by simply jumping on the spot until the gold geyser runs dry. It's symptomatic of a lack of inspiration when it comes to new ideas.Even Coin Rush mode, ostensibly a speedrunner's dream, lacks the purity of 3D Land's time attacks, where good old-fashioned speed is prized over the ability to exploit each level's richest coin deposits. The random selection of stages, meanwhile, ensures that score comparisons are hollow outside of the StreetPass challenges."For the first time it seems we're likely to see two Mario platformers in the same year. But I'm not convinced this is the Mario that enthusiasts are still clamouring for."
Perhaps it's unfair to single out NSMB2 for criticism when other problems have been rumbling beneath the surface for some time. The art style, for example, may have been tolerable for one game, but after three it's grown decidedly stale. From the original Super Mario Bros. through to Yoshi's Island, each gameby Published on August 18th, 2012 22:04- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
The ability to download full retail games on 3DS hasn't gone down too well with Mario fans in Japan, nearly all of whom chose to grab his new quest via traditional retail outlets.
Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has told Wall Street Journal (thanks Joystiq) that just five per cent of sales in Japan were downloads.Japan's other digital offering, Brain Age sequel Demon Training, faired better with 20 per cent digital sales.
Iwata suggested that a greater portion of people bought Brain Age digitally because of the convenience of playing the mini games daily without having to carry/swap cartridges.
The CEO called initial digital sales "a good reaction" to the new initiative.
Considering the £39.99 price (£10 over a boxed copy) that UK customers must pay for the download version of New Super Mario Bros. 2, we can't see its digi-sales going down to well in the region either.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-japans-sales/ ...by Published on August 18th, 2012 22:02- Categories:
- Wii U News
Wii U is likely in line for some Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 action, it would seem.
If that news makes you happy, you have a Treyarch QA tester named Randall to thank for the info, having made the revelation in hisLinkedin CV (thanks IGN).Randall states that he's presently a "QA tester for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2," and that "duties include QA testing on PS3 and Wii U, multiplayer testing while collaborating with team, ad hoc testing, and regression".
You mean the unannounced Wii U version, Randall? Whoopsie!
It has already seemed highly likely that the game would be making its way to Wii U following reports in June of a Black Ops 2 preview in an issue of Nintendo Gamer.
And despite Activision having still not confirmed the game for Wii U, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia has said he believes the game will hit the new Nintendo console this holiday, and "should contribute to incremental sales of the title and also the Wii U console".
Wii U, Nintendo's new HD console with a touch-screen on its controller, is set to launch at a still unspecified date later this year. Coming to Xbox, PS3 and PC this November, Black Ops 2 could feasibly join the festivities as a Wii U launch title.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...y-treyarch-cv/
...by Published on August 18th, 2012 22:00- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
Hardcore Nintendo fans know that when Pikachu graces a certain-to-be-rare Nintendo console, he seriously inflates its future value.
Nintendo has revealed a special Pikachu-themed 3DS XL (3DS LL in Japan) that will only be sold via the Pokemon Center store in Japan.The Pokemon Center will take pre-orders on the console from August to September 14, and it will be sold exclusively to pre-order holders, reports Andriasang.
It's unclear whether or not the machine will be produced in pre-defined limited numbers or stay in stock for a set period. But it will be sold for the regular price of 18,900, and you can bet your granny they'll go for a profit on eBay.
Right, where's the local release petition?
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ites-jealousy/ ...by Published on August 18th, 2012 21:56- Categories:
- Xperia Play News
The Android Open Source Project has typically (and understandably) been a very Nexus-focused affair -- until now that is. Technical Lead for the AOSP, Jean-Baptiste Queru, announced this week that for a "new challenge" he'd like to target new hardware -- and Sony's Xperia S is the lucky benefactor. The choice of hardware is said to be due to it being a powerful, current device with an unlockable bootloader, with Queru noting that Sony has always been kind to the project. There's not a lot in the git project right now, but Queru appears keen to rally support from developers to get the ball rolling. Wondering how this might differ from CyanogenMod's device targets? Where CM might have a focus on stability, Queru believes that AOSP will head in a more experimental "bleeding edge" direction. Sound like something you can get behind? Head on over to the source for more info.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/18/a...-wants-to-get/ ...by Published on August 18th, 2012 21:54- Categories:
- Cloud News
The news is out. OnLive, Inc. is no more, having cut the bulk of its workforce loose and used anAssignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC) to absolve itself of massive debts incurred by the expansion of its services without a corresponding increase in its customer base. But what is this alternative to filing for bankruptcy, and why did OnLive choose this particular legal reset button to start over? We spoke with an expert on the matter, Martin Pichinson, co-founder and managing member of Sherwood Partners (which does two or three ABCs in a given week), to help educate us on this little-known tool used by companies irrevocably in the red.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/18/o...-of-creditors/
...by Published on August 18th, 2012 21:52- Categories:
- Android News
We only just learned in earnest that XBMC was coming to Android last month, and yet we're already looking at workable builds. Kermonine96 at the XDA-Developers forum has started offering his own, unofficial nightly versions of the media center front end, both for regularly supported devices with Neon processor code (most often HTC and Samsung devices) as well as Neon-free hardware, like phones and tablets carrying Tegra 2 chips. Needless to say, the alpha-grade code shouldn't be used as the heart of a mobile media center: hardware decoding isn't functional, battery life is low and even a stable picture isn't guaranteed. That said, anyone who's willing to risk a skip-heavy movie or miss out on plugins now doesn't have to receive the XBMC crew's blessing to get a preview of its Android efforts.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/18/x...ightly-builds/ ...by Published on August 18th, 2012 21:51- Categories:
- Android News
After leaking early and then being sold ahead of schedule at Best Buy, Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 7.0Student Edition Bundle -- yes, that's really its full moniker -- now has a confirmed street date. Starting tomorrow, $250 the bundle (which includes a 8GB version of the tablet finished in glossy white, a keyboard dock and USB peripheral connector) will be available for purchase until September 1st at Best Buy, Tiger Direct, Fry's Electronics, Amazon, and Costco. Specs-wise this Android 4.0 slate skinned with TouchWiz isn't exactly up to par with the venerable $200 Nexus 7, but it's still a potential step up from B&N's recently discounted Nook Tablets. Beyond that, it also stands out by packing an IR-blaster, microSD card slot and two cameras -- and lest we forget to mention that this particular GTab itself isnormally $250. Hit up the press release after the break if your interests are piqued enough to consider hitting the halls with this bundle.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/18/g...hits-stores-t/ ...by Published on August 18th, 2012 18:40- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
Many feel that a price cut would potentially give a shot in the arm to the PS Vita and possibly give it a lift before the coming holiday season. Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida, however, indicates that isn't likely to happen and that some of the recently announced bundles for the system will have to suffice.
"People like cheap or free," he said. "Of course, cost reduction is one area our engineering team is working on. But we just launched the platform earlier this year. It takes time to do so."
"At a certain point in the future we would like to address the pricing issue for some of the people who are waiting. But this year we are trying to add value by creating different types of bundles. We announced we will provide LittleBigPlanet PS Vita bundle pack. That's affordable for people who are looking for a good deal."
When asked flat out about a price cut, Yoshida said, "No, it's too early."
Nintendo cut the price of the 3DS from $249.99 to $169.99 in North America a half year after launch when early sales failed to meet company expectations. Sales of the system improved after the price cut and Nintendo recently launched the first 3DS variation in the 3DS XL.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...vita-price-cut ...- Search DCEmu
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