We know Apple's had its Inkwell handwriting recognition software in OS X for years now, so we might have otherwise just totally glossed over this Handwriting Recognition Engineer job listing on Apple's site. Except for the part that reads: "The recognition technology you create may extend beyond Mac OS X to other applications and the iPhone." They always love to throw those little tidbits in there, don't they?

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/28/a...to-the-iphone/ ...

No matter how we might try and stop it, Nyko's wireless Wii nunchuk adapter / abomination ceaselessly advances upon the unsuspecting American consumer, stopping at nothing to ruin the delicate aesthetics of the Wii controllers and pump us full of even more unnecessary RF. The adapter and its receiver have just hit the FCC, and our nation's government has managed to use every ounce of photographic skill at its disposal to render these mutant hunks of plastic in as flattering a light as possible -- just look at that stained blue backdrop. Seriously, is anyone going to drop $20 on this thing? Isn't that money better spent on games? Explain yourself in comments, in ten words or less.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/29/n...tself-with-th/ ...

Newly released today:



features
Silent Hill Origins features a dark story that explores the events prior to the original Silent Hill and reflects the troubled past of the main character, Travis Grady.
An enhanced camera system elevates the sense of fear and horror that surrounds your every step.
Updated controls allow for more fluid combat and detailed exploration of the environment.
Encounter horrific new creatures, challenging new puzzles and uncover the mysteries behind the town as you try to escape the clutches of Silent Hill.
Silent Hill Origins features an original soundtrack by famed series composer Akira Yamaoka.

description
The renowned Silent Hill survival horror series continues on the PlayStation® 2 with a brand new adventure that reveals many of the series’ most hallowed secrets. Assuming the role of a lone truck driver who becomes trapped in Silent Hill, players must escape the city’s horrific inhabitants and confront the strange hallucinations that have haunted him since childhood. Featuring enhanced graphics, sound and control, Silent Hill Origins sets a new standard for this survival horror classic.

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-2nlh.html ...

via pspfanboy

On its online instruction manuals, Sony Computer Entertainment has a few images for use as labels. There's one for the original PSP-1000 series, and another for the current PSP-2000 series. However, curiously there's also a placeholder image for the logical next-step: the PSP-3000 series.

The availability of the PSP-3000 image on the PlayStation site shouldn't come as a signal that a redesign is impending -- it's clear that Sony plans on revising the hardware through its supposed ten year life cycle. However, it does seem to display a bit too much forethought from the web designers that created and uploaded this image. How long will it take before we hear rumblings of yet another PSP redesign?

http://manuals.playstation.net/docum...mg/in_3000.gif ...

It's been about four months since we had any substantial grappling news from THQ, but the Los Angeles County-based publisher put an end to that today: WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is coming.

Although it won't be formally announced until tomorrow, THQ has confirmed with IGN that the latest installment in the storied wrestling franchise will be making its way to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, PlayStation 2 and mobile devices this fall while boasting a bevy of bells and whistles.

Rest in peace (PS3).On the Xbox 360, PS3, PSP and PS2, the biggest change in the action will come with a strong focus on tag teams. For the first time ever, players will be able to team up for co-op storylines in the Road to Wrestlemania mode and take advantage of an overhauled tag structure to earn attributes on their way to the top. Tag teams -- both in and out of Road to Wrestlemania -- will utilize the same momentum meter, break opponents with double team finishers and make "hot tags" for the win. Also making its debut will be Create-A-Finisher, which allows fans to choose from more than 500 animations in their quest to build the ultimate move. Specifically on the 360 and PS3, fans can look for the debut of SVR downloadable content, although THQ is mum about what it might be.

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 marks the franchise's second title on the Wii, and THQ looks to be building on the motion controls and interactivity of the first outing. The game promises more match types, more weapons and the debut of online gameplay, which will feature matches and rankings. Although the title will pack Road to Wrestlemania like the aforementioned versions, the Wii copy of SVR '09 will be the only place to find interactive entrances and victory celebrations that range from posing on the ramp to slapping the taste out of a beaten opponent. Successfully get the crowd hyped on your way to the ring and you'll get an in-match bonus.

Seasoned players who pick up SVR '09 on the Nintendo DS will probably be in for more than a few surprises. Gone are the stylus-heavy controls of last year and in their place is a more traditional d-pad/grapple system gamers that have grown up with, although the stylus will still play some part in the action. Being developed by Tose, the folks behind Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, the DS version of SVR '09 will pack a season mode with an RPG approach. Players will interact with Superstars, upgrade their abilities and complete missions to become the champion. Create-A-Superstar will make its Nintendo handheld debut, there will be a larger roster of Superstars, and the title will pack a wealth of new match types.

Is he sneezing or attacking (PS3)?"The ambitious cross-platform launch of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 last year yielded tremendous growth for the franchise, as we delivered multiple gameplay experiences across seven platforms and greatly expanded our audience of WWE videogame fans," said Bob Aniello, senior vice president, worldwide marketing, THQ. "With dynamic new features and the extension of our gameplay experience through downloadable content, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 will bring more console, handheld and wireless gamers together to enjoy the virtual world of WWE."

Think that's all the news you'll get on this momentous day? It's not even close. First, let's confirm that Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Randy Orton, Mr. Kennedy, Undertaker and John Cena are all in the game. Second, why not click on over to our interview with THQ Creative Manager Cory Ledesma for nine pages of information about what Road to Wrestlemania is all about, hints on the DLC and tons more. Then, go download the brand new trailer. Next, grab some screens from the gallery below.

After all that, you have our permission to fall into a SVR '09 coma until the fall.

http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/862/862604p1.html ...

Joke all you want about poor PSP software sales over in Japan, but you'll have to always add a footnote thanks to Monster Hunter. The first one topped a million, the second one may very well top two million, and the third one, just released today, looks like it's off to a fantastic start.

Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G got Japan to rise early on a chilly Spring Thursday morning as many major retailers gave the game the Dragon Quest treatment and opened shop ahead of the standard 10:00AM opening time. One such shop was the giant Tsutaya retailer in Shibuya. The home to the official launches of products such as the Xbox, the Xbox 360, and any number of Dragon Quest games was given the honor of being the official starting point for MHP2ndG.

The Tsutaya launch event kicked off at 6:40AM, twenty minutes ahead of the start of sales. Famitsu.com reports that over 120 people were lined up for the event. But more telling was the presence of television cameras, signaling that Monster Hunter may have some mainstream appeal. Either that, or Capcom had gotten some celebrity talent to join in on the launch fun.

While Monster Hunter may very well have penetrated the mainstream, it turns out that there were, in fact, two major stars in attendance at the event. Junichi Koumoto and Satoshi Inoue from comedy duo Jichou Kachou took to the stage prior to the game's release and offered a few words on their love of all things Monster Hunter. In addition to being fans of the series, they're also featured in the commercials.

MHP2ndG producer Ryouzou Tsujimoto was also in attendance at the launch event. He greeted the crowd, then said he was surprised at the number of fans and media in attendance.

A crowd of 120 people is actually rather tame for a major game release in Japan. But it turns out that this was on the lower end of the lines that formed around Tokyo. Famitsu.com sent its reporters around town and found lines topping 200 in Ikebukuro. Just to the south, in Shinjuku, a line of 12 people that had formed at the large Yodobashi Camera at 1:00AM had grown to over 300 just prior to the store's early 9:00AM opening time. As clerks rushed to sell the game, the line kept on growing, eventually reaching into the 600s thirty minutes after opening!

No Monster Hunter for you, according
to this sold-out sign at a Tsutaya retailer
These were some hardcore fans, it seems. Famitsu spoke to a few who'd chosen to line up for the game and found that most had invested over 1,000 hours into Monster Hunter Portable 2nd. One person even claimed a total time of 1,400 hours!

"Things haven't been this lively since Smash Bros X.," an employee of the Akihabara Yodobashi Camera, itself having served a line of over 200, told Famitsu. "No, actually it's probably livelier than that. At this rate, it's possible that we'll sell out by the evening."

He wasn't exaggerating, as reports of sell outs were widespread. The Asobit City game shop in Akihabara sold out of the game within an hour of opening time. The Shinjuku Yodobashi actually sold out of the Hunters Pack G PSP bundle pack two hours before opening time (the store distributed tickets).

The PSP has been at the top of Japan's hardware charts for the past couple of weeks. Judging by the impressive showing today, it will likely keep that crown throughout the remainder of this month, and possibly into next month as well. This time, however, there's an unexpected cause to the system's success: a game.

http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/862/862513p1.html ...

kid101skater has claimed that he has via the PSP got an exploit working on the PS3, now this does make some sense because as we know the PSP is fully hacked to bits and possibly the most impressive homebrew scene exists on the PSP.

Heres the info that kid101skater revealed:


Now for the moment take this as a rumour,most hacks get debunked but its always nice to know that groups are trying their best to get homebrew on the PS3 and more interesting if its via the PSP. ...

DarwiinRemote is a tiny software which reads data from and sends data to Nintendo Wii Remote (aka. Wiimote).


http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...ease_id=587634 ...

PlayStation division worked on ‘online community’ for PSOne; ‘YouTube’-like video channel was created for PS2
Sony’s PlayStation division was tantalisingly close to spearheading the ‘online social community’ phenomenon – beating the likes of MySpace to the idea.

That’s according to former Sony Entertainment President Chris Deering, who revealed to MCV that a secret Facebook-style web networking platform was being worked on behind-the-scenes by those responsible for launching PSOne – but was canned at the last minute.

In addition, a ‘streamed PlayStation TV channel’ was also trialled for PS2 back in 2002 – four years ahead of YouTube – but was also thrown out because of a global lack of interest in broadband.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/30025/Sony...ok-to-Facebook ...