via gibiz

The spiralling costs of next-gen games development are embarrassing, unworkable and an ego trip for publishers, according to Blast Entertainment CEO Sean Brennan.

Speaking at last week's Northern Exposure conference, Brennan slammed publishers for embarking on multi-million dollar development projects that he believes are financially unworkable and nothing more than an ego trip in the face of competitors.

"What a joke. What embarrassment. There's no way on a USD 20 million development project that you can break even on a game – not now in the cycle," said Brennan.

"Maybe in two years time when the installed base is high enough, but it's an embarrassment at best. But all the publishers are doing it because it's a copycat mentality."

"Some of the costs are absolutely outrageous. I did a project for THQ about 18 months ago and it's like a big ego trip for publishers," he said.

Brennan noted that US publishers are keeping development internal, so company's outside North America are unlikely to get a slice of the pie.

"With these big budgets, all these big American publishers are looking internally. Because when you're spending USD 15 or USD 20 million you don't want to trust an external developer with that sort of budget," stated Brennan.

"And they want the developer in America, first and foremost. A lot of the reason behind that is cultural. Since 9/11 American publishers have become a lot more insular. That's going to continue to be a key issue, it's a worrying factor."

Offering advice to the UK development community, Brennan said studios should play to their strengths and understand that UK taste doesn't always work on a global scale.

"US culture and taste works globally. You may not like that, but that's how it works. UK tastes don't always work. The world is dominated by the big US players and there's an inherent danger there for the UK development community," offered Brennan.

"Yes, the market is changing, but the consumer base is changing as well. You've got to look to areas where you've got a critical advantage. The UK development community is the most vibrant and creative development community in the world, in terms of implementing new ideas and having great gameplay."

"What the American's do better is the production values, which they can afford to when they're spending USD 20 million on a game - the games look sumptuous but don't particularly play so well. UK developers need to play to their traditional strengths," he concluded. ...

via gibiz

SCEA president Jack Tretton has confirmed that the company has long term plans for PlayStation 3, playing down concerns over initial sales figures.

As reported by the LA Times, 1.2 million PS3 consoles have been sold in the US since November. The figure for Wii, which launched around the same time, stands at 2.1 million, while Microsoft's 18 month lead has given Xbox 360 an installed base of 5.3 million units.

"We didn't get into PS3 for the first six months of 2007 - we're into this for the next 10 years and beyond," said Tretton.

"A million units one way or another at this point isn't going to worry us."

Tretton's argument was backed up by IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon, who agreed that Sony is playing a longer game. "The PS3 is ahead of the market, while the Xbox 360 and the Wii were designed for immediate market impact," he said. Pidgeon also confirmed that he expects sales of Sony's next-gen console to ramp up in 2008.

However Kyoshi Shin of Japan's International Game Developers' Association was less positive, suggesting that many developers are shifting their focus to Nintendo Wii.

"When people talk about the PS3 on chat forums, they say it's like going to a very expensive restaurant and not getting anything to eat," he added. ...

via gibiz

SCEA president Jack Tretton has confirmed that the company has long term plans for PlayStation 3, playing down concerns over initial sales figures.

As reported by the LA Times, 1.2 million PS3 consoles have been sold in the US since November. The figure for Wii, which launched around the same time, stands at 2.1 million, while Microsoft's 18 month lead has given Xbox 360 an installed base of 5.3 million units.

"We didn't get into PS3 for the first six months of 2007 - we're into this for the next 10 years and beyond," said Tretton.

"A million units one way or another at this point isn't going to worry us."

Tretton's argument was backed up by IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon, who agreed that Sony is playing a longer game. "The PS3 is ahead of the market, while the Xbox 360 and the Wii were designed for immediate market impact," he said. Pidgeon also confirmed that he expects sales of Sony's next-gen console to ramp up in 2008.

However Kyoshi Shin of Japan's International Game Developers' Association was less positive, suggesting that many developers are shifting their focus to Nintendo Wii.

"When people talk about the PS3 on chat forums, they say it's like going to a very expensive restaurant and not getting anything to eat," he added. ...

via engadget

Mac users using Nullriver's Connect360 software to stream content to their Xbox 360 got an unpleasant surprise after installing the most recent Dashboard update, which beefed-up their 360's capabilities but unceremoniously severed the link with their Macs. As is often the case with such things, however, the software's developers have been quick to respond, not only fixing the problem but throwing in a few updates for good measure. Most notably, Connnect360 now boasts support for H.264 and MPEG4 video streaming, and you'll also now be able to stream podcasts straight from iTunes. While the update is free for exisiting users, the software itself is not (setting you back $20) -- although until Microsoft decides adds some Mac support itself, it looks to be about your only option. ...

via engadget

The fact that you all voted the Zune "Worst Gadget of the Year" in the recent Engadget Awards doesn't seem to be causing any hand-wringing in Redmond, as Microsoft confirmed today that they're building a dedicated Zune factory in China with an unnamed parter to crank out the oft-rumored next-gen Zune. It looks like Toshiba's not going to be involved this time around, as Zune marketing director Jason Reindorp has been quoted as saying that the rush to get the original Zune to market "forced us to take a look around at what was on the shelf...and get it out there," while this time they're interested in "the flexibility and control we have in creating a device from scratch." Ouch. Sorry, Tosh. Reindorp mentioned that the new manufacturing partner is someone MS is "very familiar with," and the new plant is located in the same city as the Flextronics plant that builds the Xbox 360 for Bill and Co., although nothing's been confirmed. For what it's worth, Reindorp also said that building a dedicated plant isn't going to bring "changes for the sake of changes" to the Zune (which is pretty funny given how many promo Zunes keep popping up) but here's hoping that it brings changes for the sake of actually making the thing better. ...

New from Divineo China



Magic Path is a PS1/PS2 compatible controller adapter for Wii or GC , allowing Playstation 1 and 2 compatible controllers to be used on the Wii and GC console.
Fully support rumble function without extra accessories. ...

New from Divineo USA



CycloDS Evolution is a multi-functional Micro SD adapter for NDS and NDS Lite (Slot 1) which allows you to play games, listen to MP3's, view images, read e-books and enjoy the vast collection of homebrew applications for NDS. You can also take advantage of the inbuilt cheat code system to enjoy more freedom with your favorite games.

CycloDS Evolution is the world’s most advanced Media Adapter for NDS Lite and NDS. Boasting superior functionality, European design and quality components, CycloDS Evolution is unparalleled in its field.

The unique enhanced mode offers powerful, unique features during game play which are activated through an in-game menu. These features include in-game LCD brightness adjustment, SlowMotion mode and in-game reset. The cheat code engine is directly compatible with Action Replay codes and CycloDS Evolution comes bundled with cheat codes for over 300 games so you can get started right away without any fuss.

CycloDS Evolution’s inbuilt OS can run software and homebrew without the need for any patching on the users part. ROM loading is fast and trouble free, simply browse and tap to execute. You don’t even need to apply DLDI patches to your homebrew software; CycloDS Evolution takes care of this for you with its automatic DLDI patching feature.

Evolution loads media from MicroSD cards, which means you’re free to buy more memory at any time, never constrained by the boundaries of onboard flash memory. Transferring software and homebrew is simple with the supplied MicroSD USB reader. Simply connect to your PC and drag and drop the desired files onto your MicroSD card.

Listen to MP3’s, watch videos or even read e-books via Moonshell. The Moonshell multimedia application will maximize the versatility of your handheld console.

The CycloDS Evolution GUI is user friendly and can be operated exclusively with the stylus if desired. Skinning is supported which means you’ll always have a fresh view of the CycloEvo at your fingertips. The user interface is multi-lingual and is currently supporting the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Latin American Spanish and Portuguese. ...

We're approaching six months after the Wii was released here in UK and it's still sold out across the country, but while reports suggest an increase in stock, retailers are still unsure when the situation will improve.

Wii Play moved up to number two in the all-formats chart, which Chart Track put down to renewed Wii hardware stock. "Nintendo chose to release quite a large supply of Wii stock last week, meaning that those eager to get their hands on the innovative new system would finally get their wish, thus impacting greatly on the UK charts."

CVG spoke to HMV, GAME and Virgin Megastores in London, who said Nintendo has typically been delivering units on a weekly basis but those are quickly snapped up. HMV stores told us they for 30 units each last week, which were gone by Saturday morning.

GAME and HMV said they expect the situation to improve by the end of May, with deliveries having steadily increased in recent weeks.

But don't get too excited because none of the three retailers had any Wii units in stock when we asked.

Via Cvg ...

Ahead of the public release of the Halo 3 multiplayer beta on Wednesday, Microsoft has released a final batch of screenshots and art showing what you'll be staring at for the next three weeks.

We've been hammering it all weekend (games are still going on in the office) and you can read our hands-on impressions right here.

And if you haven't managed to pick up a copy of Crackdown yet with an invite, you can secure your beta space via this 'ere competition.

Look out for our guide to the beta later today.

Screenshots Here ...