via kotaku

THQ Wireless announces an agreement with Team 17 to bring a new chapter their brilliant trajectory shooter Worms to mobile phones worldwide next month. Being a die-hard fan of the Worms franchise, I am officially starting to get intrigued by this...cell-phone gaming they speak of.

The game will be called Worms 2007 and will feature the same gameplay we all know and love (unless we don't) along with a host of new weapons and features, such as the ability to play over a cell phone. Always a good mobile game feature, or so I've heard.

The game will also feature full 3D backgrounds of high-end phones that support it, while allowing us low-teks a chance to play a depressingly flat 2D version.

So, anyone have any tips on what sort of phone I should get to dip into mobile gaming? Right now I have a Samsung SGH-P207 half-covered in dried crazy glue due to an unfortunate pocket explosion. Will that do? ...

via gibiz

Sony Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison has said the company would like to further open PlayStation 3 up to independent game developers in the future.

"I fully support the notion of game development at home using powerful tools available to anyone," Harrison said in an interview with Slashdot.

"We were one of the first companies to recognise this in 1996 with Net Yaroze on PS1. It's a vital, crucial aspect of the future growth of our industry."

Harrison went on to note that his involvement with games began in the 1980s as he tinkered with Commodore 64 games that appeared in magazines. "You'd spend hours typing in the code, line-by-line, and then countless hours debugging it to make it work and then you'd realise the game was rubbish after all that effort!

"The next step was to re-write aspects of the game to change the graphics, the sound, the control system or the speed of the gameplay until you'd created something completely new."

But he admits that these days the doors into the industry that might be opened by going through that process "are largely closed by the nature of the videogame systems themselves being closed".

"So, if we can make certain aspects of PS3 open to the independent game development community, we will do our industry a service by providing opportunities for the next generation of creative and technical talent," he added.

While Sony has encouraged legitimate independent development in some areas - notably with Net Yaroze with, in this generation, Beyond Playstation - it has been accused of adopting a heavy-handed strategy in its dealings with PSP developers, with legitimate or at least non-threatening projects often struck down by firmware updates designed to lock out pirates and the hackers who facilitate piracy.

Harrison's interest in allowing for homebrew development puts Sony on a similar path to Microsoft, which recently launched its XNA package of tools. XNA offers the ability to develop games on both PC and Xbox 360, with a complementary educational focus that will plug game development modules into a number of university courses.

Nevermind just PS3 we want PSP Homebrew plans too ...

via gibiz

Sony Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison has said the company would like to further open PlayStation 3 up to independent game developers in the future.

"I fully support the notion of game development at home using powerful tools available to anyone," Harrison said in an interview with Slashdot.

"We were one of the first companies to recognise this in 1996 with Net Yaroze on PS1. It's a vital, crucial aspect of the future growth of our industry."

Harrison went on to note that his involvement with games began in the 1980s as he tinkered with Commodore 64 games that appeared in magazines. "You'd spend hours typing in the code, line-by-line, and then countless hours debugging it to make it work and then you'd realise the game was rubbish after all that effort!

"The next step was to re-write aspects of the game to change the graphics, the sound, the control system or the speed of the gameplay until you'd created something completely new."

But he admits that these days the doors into the industry that might be opened by going through that process "are largely closed by the nature of the videogame systems themselves being closed".

"So, if we can make certain aspects of PS3 open to the independent game development community, we will do our industry a service by providing opportunities for the next generation of creative and technical talent," he added.

While Sony has encouraged legitimate independent development in some areas - notably with Net Yaroze with, in this generation, Beyond Playstation - it has been accused of adopting a heavy-handed strategy in its dealings with PSP developers, with legitimate or at least non-threatening projects often struck down by firmware updates designed to lock out pirates and the hackers who facilitate piracy.

Harrison's interest in allowing for homebrew development puts Sony on a similar path to Microsoft, which recently launched its XNA package of tools. XNA offers the ability to develop games on both PC and Xbox 360, with a complementary educational focus that will plug game development modules into a number of university courses.

Nevermind just PS3 we want PSP Homebrew plans too ...

via eurogamer

Pixel-Lab and Tandem Events have unveiled a new education event called GAMES:EDU:07.

It will take place alongside the Develop Conference in Brighton on Tuesday, 24th July.

Among those confirmed to be speaking their brains are Microsoft development bigwig Chris Satchell, MotorStorm man Matt Southern, all of Epic Studios including the tea lady, and Nick Burton from Rare.

There'll also be the chance to hop in on some workshops lead by the University of Abertay, the University of Glamorgan and Full Sail from the US.

Skillset, the sector skills council for the industry will also be there, hosting "The Skillset Sessions". These case studies will show us all how education can work better in the games industry, in the hope that the UK will become a hive of innovative talent as opposed to scum and villainy.

A full day pass will cost you GBP 120, or GBP 90 if you book before 1st July. It's part of the Develop Conference in Brighton that we'll all be going to. So pop down to sunny Brighton and say hello, and maybe even learn something at the same time.

http://www.gamesedu.co.uk/ ...

via eurogamer

Sony UK has confirmed to Eurogamer this morning that Go! Puzzle will be released on 11th May.

It was due to come out last Friday, but was held back for an unknown reason.

The game is made up of three separate puzzles that you can buy from the PlayStation Store for GBP 1.99 each, or all together for GBP 3.99.

The Aquatica offering challenges you with lining up mines to safely detonate them; Swizzle Blocks gets you to clear screens of mounting coloured blocks by twisting them around to match up colours; and Skyscraper lets you puzzle your way up seven cities' worth of lofty towers, each with its own quirks.

All of these will tie your brain into knots in various game modes, as well as head-to-head mutliplayer puzzling.

Sony also confirmed PSN dates posted recently on ThreeSpeech, the unofficial blog-voice of the company. So, expect to see Calling all Cars on 18th May, Nucleus on 25th May, and Super Stardust on 15th June. ...

via engadget



It came from Japan is all you need to know about this little gadget which charges your real PSP's battery. There really isn't much else to say here: it has a fake D-pad, fake control buttons, and is named PS-P so that it doesn't fully invoke the wrath of Sony's legal department. The PS-P relies on the idea that if you're going to charge your spare PSP battery, it might as well be in a cute little plastic box in-keeping with the style of the primary unit. We can't -- and don't want to -- argue with that, even if it could cost you more than the plain and simple $30 Sony charger.

More Info ...

via engadget

If there was any doubt in your mind that Microsoft is absolutely soaking us on the $179 pricetag of its new 120GB HDD, all should be laid aside by the fact that you can now brew one up yourself for a mere $80 -- the cost of the drive. The hack is based on that seemingly-useless HDD swap TheSpecialist unveiled a few months ago, but that was back when 20GB was the max size allowed my Microsoft for use with the 360, meaning a 40GB drive was no more useful than a 20 gigger. Now that 120GB is all legit with the console, you can run through pretty much the same hack -- which involves dumping a few sectors off of an original 360 HDD and onto your new drive -- and get your full 120GB to play with. Currently the hack only works with a certain type of Western Digital hard drive, with hopefully more drives to come and a more automated process, but for now it still shouldn't take an incredible amount of know-how to follow TheSpecialist's instructions and get a bit of leg room for you Marketplace downloads on the cheap.

More info ...

New from Divineo UK



With the Logitech® Cordless MediaBoard™, you can easily communicate on the PLAYSTATION®Network. Set up profiles, edit accounts and send text messages! You'll no longer need to enter text with a standard controller, and with the keyboard's built-in touchpad, there's no need for a separate mouse—navigate menus quickly with vertical scrolling and Left/Right mouse quick-keys. The lightweight design and slim, stylish profile make the Logitech® Cordless MediaBoard easy to handle, use, and store away.

price : £ 44.95

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New from Divineo UK



The Logitech® ChillStream™ technology helps keep your hands cool when gaming gets really intense. Three speed settings allow you to adjust the ventilation force of the integrated fan. No matter what you play, or how you game, ChillStream™ lets you play longer, play harder, play cooler. ...