via kotaku

A tipster sends word that The Porn Talk, a site backed by a secretive faith-based ministry in California, is prepping to attack Nintendo's Wii and other gaming devices, calling them "portals to porno" in a press release.

In the press release, leaked to Kotaku today, The Porn Talk founder Mike Foster does his best to stoke up some fear about the Wii saying that even though the device has parental controls, "parents don't see a need for them because they are unaware of the porn capabilities."

With a headline that reads "The Wii's Dirty Little Secret," the story's caustic tone is more off-putting than what little facts are presented. The full press release is on the jump.

I find it funny that a site that seems to go to so much effort to hide its ties to religion and ministry work is using the phrase dirty little secret. ...

This image-burst illustrates SBK-07 Superbike World Championship, the official game of this year's superbiking competition - which includes all riders, manufacturers and tracks from the full Superbike calendar, fielding an impressive 28 riders in each race.

We've had a chance to rev the game up for a swift test ride recently, and it's a suitably deep but appealing racer. Like Tourist Trophy, Superbike World Championship boasts an imposing level of realism, but for our money it's more accessible than the Sony-published biker, mainly due to its plain-and-simple controls and a satisfying sense of kneecap-threatening speed.

Also, there's a neat Scenario feature that places you in a compromising situation - fifth place with one lap to go, and you must win, say. Plus for anyone who just wants the rubber-burning action without the brake-balance juggling tinkering, there's a novice option available. The game also hits 360, PS3 and PC later in the year, which should add some next-gen visual flair to the game's already interesting gameplay.

Screens Here ...

via gamesradar

This week's UK entertainment software chart (all formats, all prices) makes us sad. It makes us sad because no matter how hard we look at it we can't see Okami anywhere. One of the most utterly original and delightfully entertaining games to ever bound its way to PS2 has vanished just two weeks after its debut at number 12, before sliding to 30 and, now, it's plummeted with a forlorn howl into the abyss...

Little Britain: The Videogame, on the other hand, is still doing good business. It's enjoying its fourth week in the charts (it's currently at number 18) despite the fact that it's complete toss. Released a week earlier than Capcom's masterpiece, Little Britain defied - and defiled - belief by reaching the number two spot. Number two. That's very, very nearly number one.

We know it's ten quid cheaper and it's on PS2 and PC and yeah but no but yeah but no Vicky Pollard is like well hard, but Little Britain outselling Okami is a tragedy beyond words.... It's the ugly truth about the state of UK gaming. ...

via gamesradar

Videogames are strangling the comics market, reckons long-time 2000AD artist Ian Gibson, as Judge Dredd's natural audience begins to overlook the ruthless enforcer's colourful antics in favour of the stronger appeal of PlayStation.

"The comics market, sadly, is dying," Gibson told the BBC News website, reasoning that "the PlayStation has taken over and comics can't compete". "Most comics I have come across haven't realised that they have lost the battle," explains Gibson, although he believes that comics do have an advantage over gaming, because "the PlayStation will never tell stories". We'll just assume he's never heard of such plot-strong videogames as Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and Half-Life 2.

Meanwhile, Marvel has revealed a stellar line-up of artists and authors for the upcoming Halo graphic novels. Promising more than just a single book from its deal with Halo developer Bungie, Marvel has enlisted big names (if you read comics) like Simon Bisley and French artist Moebius. Perhaps the way forward for comics is to embrace such crossovers? ...

Xbox Microsoft boss Peter Moore has hinted at a change in strategy for Xbox 360 going into 2007, to compete with the mainstream appeal of Nintendo's fun-focused Wii.

"From a first-party point of view, it's not just about E-rated games, it's going to be about the experience that, quite frankly, Nintendo has done a tremendous job in capturing, in bringing back fun - if you will - to the gaming platforms," said Moore in an interview with Game Informer.

"But we've got a few tricks up our sleeve as well to be able to do that. It's not something that we're going to be shy about, and it's not something that we're not painfully aware of that needs to be changed by this holiday. That has been the strategy all along, and we'll be making some more announcements in the coming month or two."

Could Microsoft, the only company in the console war without a motion-sensing controller, be cooking up some sort of motion-controlled trickery?

via gamesradar ...

As kids, we grew accustomed to the age-old debate where “our dad could totally beat up your dad.” Naturally, that argument segues into today’s “Xbox Live is totally hotter than PlayStation Network.” Well, now there’s more news to fuel that ever-swirling debate.

Next Generation is reporting that Bethesda - creators of the life-consuming uber-RPG Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - is having difficulty with Sony’s online service. Seems that Bethesda wants to support downloadble content for Oblivion, but has no clue about how to implement that feature. Oh, and the game comes out next month. Swell.

“We plan to support downloadable content on PS3, but we couldn’t tell you how or when it will be out, because it’s not clear how we’re going to do that yet,” said spokesperson Pete Hines. He added, “Although it’s impossible to say which is the better between [Xbox Live and PS3 Online], Xbox Live is easier to implement because we’ve had a much better sense of it an earlier state than with PS3.”

A case of a large third-party developer bitching about user-friendliness or another swipe at Sony’s continuing difficulty to ease the programming process? One thing’s for sure, the PlayStation Network does have a robust online service, but it'll be a while before the training wheels are off and it’s riding side-by-side with Xbox Live.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion hits the PS3 on 23 March.

via gamesradar ...

Sony has stepped up its initiative to establish Blu-ray as the high definition home entertainment format, by announcing a new Blu-ray disc player which will retail for US $599.

The BDP-S300 will go on sale early this summer and is priced the same as the recently released PlayStation 3. The previous model BDP-S1 currently retails for US $999.

The BDP-S300 is around the size of a standard DVD player and has all the features of the US $999 model, with the added benefit of being able to play CDs.

Sony is heavily promoting the Blu-ray format, recently offering initial European PlayStation 3 consumers a free copy of the movie Casino Royale when the console goes on sale on March 23.

via gibiz ...

Customers in Finland are already testing Nokia's next-gen mobile gaming technology in a live pilot running until mid-March.

Communications specialist and Nokia partner Elisa Corporation is combining its technology with the new N-Gage platform in a live trial to test quality, access to games and performance.

"The core of the Nokia games strategy is to make it easy for people to find, buy and play great quality mobile games and we're excited to expand our relationship with Elisa to help make this possible," commented Jaako Kaidesoja, director of games at Nokia.

"This pilot will help us to further refine the N-Gage experience for our commercial launch later this year," he added.

Nokia is expected to officially unveil the new platform at GDC next week, with the intention to launch in the second half of 2007.

"Our goal is to give our customers a new and unique experience they cannot get anywhere else," said Mikko Mattinen, head of consumer products at Elisa.

"People who enjoy mobile games are often the same customers who enjoy experimenting with new mobile services and content. Elisa can provide a wide range of content and services to meet their needs."

via gibiz ...

via cvg

SCEA's Managing Director Michael Ephraim has told attendees to a media launch event in Australia that Wii is a "completely different" product to Wii.

"We think PS3 is not a product to be compared with Wii, it is a completely different product. This is a digital hub, that is a games console, he said. "If you want to look at comparisons with our other competitors, to maximise Xbox 360, you need Media Centre, you need a PC. And now if you want to play high-definition movies (and we can argue which format is going to win) you have to spend another $249. Xbox is significantly dearer than PS3 for what it can do straight out of the box. Then you have Media Centre, HD-DVD drive, wireless adapter."

Ephraim has also come under fire over the high price of the system compared the US and Japan launches. "Compared to Europe and the UK, we're right in line. We can have an endless argument about who do you compare price with: US or Europe. If you compare to Europe, our price is spot on," he explained.

And what of the much-talked about price cut? "Consumers also need to understand that Sony has spent US$ billion on the development of the Cell chip, the R 'n D for PS3, and the logistics of bringing this product to market. A lot of analysts have commented that Sony is losing money on this device every time we sell one. So at least we can assure the punters in Australia that we're not 'ripping them off' if we're selling it at a loss. We're in line with UK and Europe, comparable products cost more in Australia, and we will do our best to bring the price down as soon as we can." ...