News/release from Torch


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What are you playing this weekend? On a Thursday? Sorry, but we got some independence to celebrate. That's what we'll be doing all day tomorrow instead of hunting for game cakes, posting crazy wild speculation and bringing you the freshest of Tifa hentai. We'll be shootin' guns, lighting M-80s and stuffing our fat faces with saturated fats and washing it all down with a frosty cold... well, you know. We might even find some time to do a few posts. In fact, I'm pretty sure of it.

We might even play some games! Playing through Too Human has given me a loot gathering itch that only Diablo II and/or Phantasy Star Online can scratch. Say, that reminds me. This weekend is a free Day of Defeat: Source weekend, meaning you can game on Valve's dime should you have a Steam account. Have a good one, America!

http://kotaku.com/5021992/what-are-y...oliday-weekend ...

Out with the old, in with the NEW. The weekly Media Create sales chart is packed with new Japanese releases, with Derby Stallion DS snatching first place from Tales of Symphonia. It's a big week for the Wii and Nintendo DS overseas, as a ton of new titles for Nintendo's hardware platforms sell and sell big.

This week's chart is potentially less good news for the PSP, as two of its big sellers — Super Robot Taisen A Portable and Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G — fall out of the top ten. Will this spell the end to PSP hardware dominance in Japan?

01. Derby Stallion DS (DS) - 148,000 / NEW
02. Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk (Wii) - 137,000 / NEW
03. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (DS) - 120,000 / NEW
04. Hisshou Pachinko * Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series DS Vol. 12: CR Neon Genesis Evangelion - Shito, Futatabi (PS2) - 55,000 / NEW
05. Higurashi no Nakukoru ni Kizuna: Dai-Ichi-Kan - Tatari (DS) - 42,000 / NEW
06. Wii Fit (Wii) - 34,000 / 2,292,000
07. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) - 34,000 / 566,000
08. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 31,000 / 1,508,000
09. Mario Super Sluggers (Wii) - 31,000 / 89,000
10. Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy (Xbox 360) - 28,000 / NEW

11. Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono (PSP)
12. Sengoku Basara X (PS2)
13. Super Robot Taisen A Portable (PSP)
14. Bleach: The 3rd Phantom (DS)
15. The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match (PS2)
16. DS Bimoji Training (DS)
17. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP)
18. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 (PSP)
19. Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360)
20. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (DS)
21. Ookami to Koushinryou: Boku to Horo no Ichinen (DS)
22. Bokura no Telebi Game Kentei (DS)
23. Wii Sports (Wii)
24. Aria the Origination: Aoi Wakusei no El Cielo (PS2)
25. World Neverland Olerud Okoku Monogatari & Pluto Kyouwakoku Monogatari 2 in 1 Portable (PSP)
26. The Tower DS (DS)
27. Taiko Drum Master DS: Seven Island Adventure (DS)
28. Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou! (DS)
29. Wii Play (Wii)
30. DS Yamamura Misa Suspense: Maiko Kogiku - Kisha Katherine - Sougiya Isa Akashi - Koto ni Maru Hana Sanrin: Kyoto Satujin Jinken File (DS)

http://kotaku.com/5022003/portable-h...r-sweeps-japan ...

Another retailer has shown that Microsoft is planning to drop the price of the Xbox 360 20GB model — formerly known as the "Pro" — to $299, as a Best Buy employee has forwarded us (obligatorily blurry) cell phone pics of an upcoming weekly ad. The model currently retails for a suggested price of $349 in the United States.

The ad, photographed off-screen from the Best Buy computer system, is said to run the week of July 13th. That matches up with previous price drop rumors from Kmart and an unnamed "major retailer."

http://kotaku.com/5022121/best-buy-a...360-price-drop ...

I feel, as a culture, we've gotten really joyfully achievement-obsessed. We check our point scores as compulsively as we do our bank accounts, we demand to know what achievements will be available in games that aren't even out yet, and we have anticipated the launch of PS3 trophies with fervor. Fervor, I tell you.

A big part of this is so that we can show our play habits and our performance off to our buddies; seeing a My Gamercard on someone's website is like an instant badge of recognition. So it's unsurprising that a company called Playfire has rushed to be the first to create a Gamercard service for PS3 trophies (hopefully 2.4 squares away soon). It's currently in beta, and here it is!

The... trophycards? support themes, too letting you skin the cards with Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet or SuperStardust HD.

http://kotaku.com/5022059/playfire-l...ercard-service ...

If you want to get your iPhone App into the App Store in time for the July 11 launch, you'll have to submit it by July 7. That's next Monday. If you're one of those kids who always does their homework at the last second, we suspect there's going to be less BBQ and more "OMGWTFBBQ we're not done!" this weekend. And there's no copying off the smart kid now either, so we don't want to see Super Monkey Ball and Super Orangutan Ball turn up next Friday. Of course you don't absolutely have to be there at launch, but there's a much higher chance of more press coverage if you are. Don't forget to look at our App Contest as well.

http://gizmodo.com/5021646/apple-set...p-store-launch ...

For those who don't like the floating steering wheel of Mario Kart Wii (because it lacks the realism of driving around a banana-spewing bulletmobile), this wheel mount by JTT isn't a bad solution. Using a suction cup to attach the wheel to any flat surface, the top tilts 120-degrees so you can compete old-lady or bus-driver-style. But for $28, we really wish it had the famous Chinese-girl-driving-wrong-on-one-way setting. Oh well. I guess good old fashioned psychotic "don't-cut-me-off"-mother****er-Caucasian will still serve me as well as it always has

http://gizmodo.com/5021790/wii-wheel...in-stereotypes ...

Sony's latest PlayStation 3 firmware update 2.4 brought what the fanboys have been crying about since the console's inception—in-game access to the console's Cross Media Bar (XMB). But I'll tell you something, in-game XMB is fine and dandy, yes, but there were more pressing issues that Sony should have fixed first. In fact, I count 10 of 'em (because a list of nine would get me fired).

Smarter Firmware Updates

Let me agree to terms and conditions—a tiny 1K file transfer—before downloading the whole software update. Then once the update downloads it can roll into an install without me having to push some stupid buttons on the controller.

Automatic Downloaded-Game Installation

We're really still manually installing most game and demo downloads? Seriously? No, seriously?

Real Keyboard Support

The PS3 "supports" a mouse and keyboard. But keyboard support is still not functional or assignable in most games. Some middleware solutions would be nice here, Sony. I should be able to play anything on a mouse and keyboard by mapping SIXAXIS/DualShock3 buttons.

In-Game Web Browsing

OK, so here's an instance where we can access the XMB while in a game, but we can't really access it. Because you can't browse the web while in a game. I'd love the option to look up walkthroughs...err...hints and tips without going to the computer.

Controllers Don't Charge Without PS3 "On"

Why do I need to leave on my entire PS3 to charge one controller? A firmware update could program the USB portion of the console to stay powered on while charging like, say, the Xbox 360.

PS Home

Oh, I haven't forgotten. Though I'm becoming more bored by this once novel concept every day it doesn't appear.

Account Management

Let's just stick all those account management menus into the PlayStation Store. That way if I need to make changes to my account (something that would probably be prompted by a transaction at the PS Store), I don't need to revisit dead gray screen land.

Background Folding@Home

I'm as lazily, unconsciously altruistic as the next guy, so work with Stanford to make Folding @ Home even better. Let me use it as a background process for when I'm just hanging out on the dashboard, or browsing the PS Store. I know that playing some MP3s doesn't use all of the PlayStation 3's power, so let's use some of that extra number crunching to cure the world, or whatever.

Screengrabs

Any game, any time, I want to be able to perform a screengrab. I want to then be able to save the screengrab to my photo library or message it to a friend. This software technology has long been figured out, and it'd be nice to have for showing everyone how awesome I am all the time.

Lower Power Standby

The PS3's primary standby mode is super low energy. But if you want to access Remote Play (XMB, pictures, etc) through the PSP, it's suddenly sucking as much power as five refrigerators just sitting there. Surely there is a clever way that the PS3 can be activated through an SMS or email system that would make it more eco-friendly than just being on all the time. Remote Play is not something I'll use every day. And because of that, I've turned off the function completely—which is a shame because it's a pretty incredible idea.

It's not that the latest firmware update is bad; it's that the whole interface is so pleasurable to use and packing so much customization (for a console) that the rough spots can stand out even more. Come on, Sony, let's make the PS3 unbelievable.

http://gizmodo.com/5021697/10-things...ot-in+game-xmb ...

Here's an interesting fact about Microsoft Points—the fake currency used in the Xbox 360 and Zune Marketplaces—that we just learned yesterday: points expire. If you've got promotional, contest, or giveaway points from Microsoft for doing something or other, you should check out their billing site. These actually expire after a given time. The good news is that points you buy normally don't expire, and would be completely ridiculous otherwise. Just keep an eye on your stuff.

http://gizmodo.com/5021928/psa-promo...-points-expire ...