DCEmu Homebrew Emulation & Theme Park News
wraggster
by Published on March 15th, 2012 00:39- Categories:
- Android News
We were so busy fondling gaming machines and touchscreen Ultrabooks at CeBIT last week that we missed that tablet you see up there. That would be the Prestigio Multi 9.7, which -- surprise, surprise -- sports a 9.7-inch display. What's intriguing to us (besides the fact that we're generally obsessed with this sort of thing), is that we don't see nearly as many budget 10-inch tablets as we do 7-inchers. As you can see in the video below, it has a nice, fingerprint-resistant rubber back, along with an IPS display and Ice Cream Sandwich as an OS -- not too shabby for what's clearly a low-end device. Then again, the specs are appropriately modest: it has 8GB of built-in storage (expandable via microSD) and runs on a single-core 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 chip, bolstered by 1GB of RAM. According to Notebook Italia, it'll hit Italy in May for €199, though it's unclear if it will be available in other countries as well. Head past the break to find a video of it in action (skip to about 1:30 in), and hit that source link for more pics.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/14/p...id-4-0-tablet/ ...by Published on March 15th, 2012 00:38- Categories:
- DCEmu
It'll be another six to eight years before tablets can even match high-end consoles
Game consoles still dominate this industry, but with smartphones, tablets and digital distribution methods on PC, the pressure on console makers is continually increasing. Tablets like the iPad in particular offer a compelling experience, and they increase in graphical horsepower almost every year, but Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney still see consoles as irreplaceable... for another six to eight years at least.
Speaking to GamesIndustry International in a wide-ranging interview, Sweeney explained why consoles will remain in the driver's seat.
"The big difference between a console and a tablet is the console can consume 100 or 200 watts of power, while the tablet consumes one or two or three or four watts. That's really the limiting factor of performance there. Just on the grounds of the laws of physics, you'd have to think it is three to four hardware generations, or six to eight years before the current highest end desktop or console performance you can achieve becomes achievable on tablets," he said.
"To me, that really defines the role of consoles in the world. They define the highest and most impressive graphics experience anywhere in the industry. They focus on delivering teraflops of computing performance in a way that a portable device or an economical computer really couldn't, despite sheer focus on that one aspect," Sweeney continued.
As for Apple and the iPad, Sweeney remarked that Epic has been amazed by how quickly Apple has pushed technology forward. It's certainly benefited the game developer.
"I'm continually astounded by Apple's sheer will to push the industry forward," Sweeney said. "Apple is by far the leading phone provider in terms of profits or any other objective measure of how well they are doing. A company in that position could just rest on their laurels and keep making more and more profit from each new phone. Apple doesn't take that approach. Rather, they push the technology forward as fast, or faster than possible to go from lower resolution displays."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-and-heres-why
...by Published on March 15th, 2012 00:37- Categories:
- Wii U News
Rockstar's next major GTA may not launch this year after all
Rockstar Games
www.rockstargames.com
Take-Two Interactive
www.take2europe.com
GTA V was unveiled late last year with a trailer that clearly got gamers excited for Rockstar's latest, and while the consensus had been that the title would ship at some point during 2012, now some are beginning to doubt that.
It's not a delay per se, since Rockstar and Take-Two never mentioned an official release date, but Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia is now reporting based on retail channel checks that GTA V may launch in the fourth fiscal quarter for Take-Two (ending in March 2013).
Take-Two's fiscal year will therefore still benefit from the blockbuster release - the company is expecting earnings per share of $2.00 for the year - but the publisher will miss out on the key holiday sales season. Then again, GTA has typically not launched in the holiday period anyway.
Bhatia outlined the keys to this release timing: "We believe releasing GTA V in F4Q instead of F3Q will provide four advantages to TTWO: 1) a less crowded window away from the big holiday releases such as Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed etc. Recall, the previous GTA title (GTA IV) was released on April 29, 2008, i.e., also away from the holiday period; 2) smoother earnings in FY14 especially if GTA V launches in the last month of FY13 (March 2013); in other words it will result in stronger GTA V catalog sales in FY14; 3) a larger installed base including the potential for launch on Nintendo Wii U; and 4) an extra couple of months to polish the game."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ssible-analyst
...by Published on March 15th, 2012 00:36- Categories:
- DCEmu
Sony's portable offering didn't see a rise in sales from the company's Game Heaven announcements
Media Create sales data for the week of March 5 to March 11 shows Nintendo's 3DS dominating the charts while Sony's PlayStation Vita hangs on for dear life. Last week saw Sony put on the Japanese Game Heaven event with a number of announcements for PlayStation Vita titles, but sales don't seem to have budged. On the hardware side, the 3DS led with 68,951 units sold, down slightly from last week, while the Vita still hovered in the same spot with 10,041 units sold.
This week's sales leave the 3DS at 960,496 units sold in 2012 alone, with a million units being a safe bet this week if sales remain constant.
The 3DS also had 10 titles in the software Top 20, led by Sega's Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai at number 2 with 86,676 units sold. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D debuted at number 4 with 38,374 units sold, while Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, and Monster Hunter 3G remained among the strong performers in the 3DS lineup. The only Vita title in the Top 20 is SCE shooter Unit 13, which landed at number 15 with 8,089 units sold.
The 3DS retains strong momentum in Japan, while the Vita is still looking for a true system seller. What titles does Sony need in order to improve its fortunes?
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...lion-this-year
...by Published on March 15th, 2012 00:34- Categories:
- PC News
Digital Foundry assesses the remarkable rumours surrounding an open games platform
Valve making a games console? That can't be right, surely? The Verge's recent story suggests that the creators of Half-Life and Steam are putting together a hardware spec with "associated software" and creating an open platform that anybody can use to make their own Steam-compatible games machine, an initiative described as being akin to Android for consoles. There's even the suggestion that Alienware's recently released X51 is the first of these "Steam Box" designs, and will be firmware-upgraded to provide support for the new platform once it materialises.
"Does the notion of a Steam Box actually make any sense? How well is Valve positioned to effectively take on Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo? What form could this machine take?"
Backing up its story, the Verge links to a recent Penny Arcade interview with Gabe Newell where he says that, "If we have to sell hardware we will" suggesting that the company would work in tandem with manufacturers if necessary. That interview is well worth a read as it demonstrates that Valve is clearly well up to speed with the latest advances in hardware, and the underlying ethos at the firm is clearly against the closed platforms favoured by the traditional platform holders.
But does the notion of a Steam Box actually make any sense? How well is Valve positioned to effectively take on Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo? What form could this machine take?
There is a sense that the unit being suggested by the Verge article is an "all things to all men" design that perhaps sounds too good to be true. The spec is described as a Core i7 Intel CPU, backed up by an NVIDIA graphics core and 8GB of RAM (which some believe is a mis-understanding derived from a test machine Valve lashed up to showcase its new UI). The Verge article makes mention of a fixed platform architecture as being the key motivator behind this endeavour, but that doesn't really make a whole lot of sense for an initiative based on the concept of an open gaming platform - and you have to wonder what the advantage would be for the hardware vendors actually manufacturing the device if there is only very limited potential for competition.
Perhaps more likely is that Valve is developing its own APIs that will allow PC games developers to run their wares on a range of different platforms. Already Valve has its own networking and online systems - why not expand that to include other elements such as graphics rendering, file systems and audio? These could sit on top of any current OS - be it Windows, OSX, or even a custom Linux kernel for a games console - and allow game-makers to gain pretty much instant access for their games across a range of platforms that far exceeds the PC on its own.
"Perhaps more likely is that Valve is developing its own APIs that will allow PC games developers to run their wares on a range of different platforms - which might include a console at a later date."
Moving beyond computers and into the realm of console gaming would obviously be an excellent means to expand the reach of Steam, has enormous benefit to developers, and would undoubtedly be a Good Thing for gamers too. Buy your game on Steam, play it on the Mac in the study, migrate seamlessly to the console in the living room and grab a sneaky lunchtime session or two at the PC at work, with game progress all synchronised via Steam Cloud. Valve's ethos is unashamedly platform agnostic, which should also mean that there would be cross-platform compatibility for online gaming too where appropriate - something we've already seen working in Portal 2 for example, where PC and PS3 owners can tackle co-op in the same game instance.
But is the whole concept of Valve designing an entire platform simply a step too far for the company? Can a software developer seriously take on the likes of Sony and Microsoft? Well it's safe to say that when it comes to talent at least, Valve is aremarkably well-stocked company. There's the perception among developers that the company hires the best people even if there is no clear, distinct position for them - Valve simply wants the best minds it can get. Indeed, one developer described the company to me as the place you end up "if you've been good in a previous life".
Clearly the company has a knack for attracting top-tier engineers and developers, encompassing a range of fields. For example, it's not entirely clear quite what ex-Microsoft engineer Bruce Dawson does day-to-day at Valve (optimisation and bug-fixing is all that's mentioned), but he's well known amongst developers as the man who wrote the book on extracting maximum performance from the Xbox 360's Xenon CPU. Also, as pointed out on Twitter yesterday by Sony Santa Monica's Director of Technology, Christer Ericson, "American entrepreneur and self-taught computer chip designer", Jeri Ellsworth, is also now employed by Valve, but isn't mentioned on the company website.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-games-console ...by Published on March 15th, 2012 00:30- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
Electronic Arts gave "extra support" to UK retailer HMV for the launch of Mass Effect 3 last week, according to reports.
Retail Week (via MCV) claims that EA gave HMV a boost afterGame Group chose not to stock Mass Effect 3 because the publisher refused to relax its credit terms.
The strategy appears to have worked for EA - despite HMV's own financial woes - with Mass Effect 3 entering the UK chart at number one on Monday, outselling the combined launch-week sales of the first two games in the series.
It's also vindication for John Riccitiello, the EA CEO who last weektold investors: "If a particular retailer is gone, other retailers will absorb the business… If one goes away, the other guys pick up the slack."
http://www.edge-online.com/news/ea-g...-mass-effect-3 ...by Published on March 15th, 2012 00:28- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
The BBC's iPlayer catchup service will finally arrive on Xbox 360 next week, according to reports.
Eurogamer claims that the app will next week join similar offerings from fellow UK broadcasters Channel 4 and Channel 5 on Xbox 360. ITV Player is due later this year.
While iPlayer has been available on PS3 since 2009, it was feared the service would never make it to Xbox 360. Microsoft reportedly wanted it to be only available to Xbox Live Gold members, with the BBC insisting ensure UK viewers could access it for free.
That thorny issue was worked out - with Microsoft seemingly relaxing its terms as it seeks to reposition its console as an all-in-one, multimedia solution. The Metro dashboard update, released in December, heralded the arrival of video apps from a host of content providers around the world.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/repo...-due-next-week ...by Published on March 14th, 2012 23:17- Categories:
- DCEmu
One Piece: Pirate Warriors is the Japanese all-formats number one for a second week, despite sales falling by over 85 per cent week on week.
In second place is Sega's Hatsune Miku And Future Stars: Project Mirai for 3DS, according to Media Create data posted on NeoGaf.
Capcom's fighting game crossover Street Fighter X Tekken enters the chart at number three, with the overwhelming majority of its 67,000 sales going to PS3 owners. Konami's 3DS remake, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D, debuts in fifth.
3DS was once again the week's best-selling hardware, with 68,951 units sold during the week. Vita sales rose, but only by 18 units, to 10,041.
01. One Piece: Pirate Warriors (Namco Bandai, PS3)
02. Hatsune Miku And Future Stars: Project Mirai (Sega, 3DS)
03. Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom, PS3/360)
04. Mobile Suit Gundam UC (Namco Bandai, PS3)
05. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D (Konami)
06. Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega, 3DS)
07. Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo, 3DS)
08. Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo, 3DS)
09. Harvest Moon: The Land Of Origin (Marvelous AQL, 3DS)
10. Monster Hunter Tri G (Capcom, 3DS)
http://www.edge-online.com/news/one-...japan-top-spot ...by Published on March 14th, 2012 23:15- Categories:
- PS3 News,
- Xbox 360 News
Game budgets continue to rise with each successive console generation, and with the Wii U launching later this year, the industry is on the cusp of yet another costly transition. Publishers have been regularly charging $60 for games this generation, but that model simply cannot survive, Nexon America CEO Daniel Kim said in an interview. 'I think at some point the console makers have to make a decision about how closed or open they're going to be to the different models that are going to be emerging,' Kim remarked. 'Today it's free-to-play, and I'm convinced that that one is going to continue to flourish and expand into other genres and other categories, but there may be something else completely and entirely different that comes out that again changes the industry.' He cautioned, 'If your mind is just set on keeping the current model of buy a game for $60, play for 40 hours, buy another game for $60, play for 40 hours, that model I think is eventually going to change. It's going to have to change.'"
http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/0...-games-survive ...by Published on March 14th, 2012 23:13- Categories:
- DCEmu
While you might have often heard that PC gaming is dying — detractors have been claiming this for over a decade — one developer has a different take: that consoles are the ones on the way out. In a 26-minute presentation at GDC — available now as a slideshow with a voice-over — Ben Cousins, who heads mobile/tablet game maker ngmoco, uses statistics of electronic and gaming purchases, along with market shares of developers and publishers from just a few years ago, to come to some surprising conclusions. The old guard, including the three big console manufacturers — Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft — are losing out when compared with the new generation of gaming platform developers: Facebook, Apple and Google. With the new companies, the size of the audience is vastly increased because of their focus on tablets, mobile and browser-based gaming.
http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/0...says-developer ...- Search DCEmu
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