It turns out that Taito have gone for the more traditional peripheral route for their upcoming bullet train simulation epic on the Wii.

Being a moderate connoisseur of console peripherals, that does look awfully similar to the PlayStation 2 controller for Densha de Go! Shinkansen: Sanyō Shinkansen Hen though.

The game will be released february of next year for the princely sum of 6090 yen. For those that live near or in Osaka, you can fondly caress this controller at the Games Japan Festa opening in the next few days.

Screen Via Comments ...

It turns out that Taito have gone for the more traditional peripheral route for their upcoming bullet train simulation epic on the Wii.

Being a moderate connoisseur of console peripherals, that does look awfully similar to the PlayStation 2 controller for Densha de Go! Shinkansen: Sanyō Shinkansen Hen though.

The game will be released february of next year for the princely sum of 6090 yen. For those that live near or in Osaka, you can fondly caress this controller at the Games Japan Festa opening in the next few days.

Screen Via Comments ...

It appears Microsoft has struck a deal with Universal Music giving them a portion of the sales from every Zune they sell. This undermines the traditional strategy created by Apple where music labels received money from song downloads, and not player sales. Microsoft has also said that similar offers are on the table for other labels as well. Way to go.

I can see why they wanted to sweeten the pot just to make sure they got Universal onboard (Universal controls 1/3 of all music sold), but why did they need to try and make this standard procedure by offering it to the rest of the industry. Once again Microsoft kills the party for everyone else. ...

In September, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) gave ratings for unannounced Wii versions of a number of classic Sega games that were assumed to be part of the company's Virtual Console downloadable game service.

Those assumptions were proven correct last week as Nintendo and Sega both confirmed the same slate of Sega titles would be among the 30 downloadable Virtual Console games available by the end of 2006. And while the games have now been officially announced, they were pulled at some point from the ESRB Web site and have yet to be reposted.

The ESRB might have done it again, as the company's Web site today lists an assortment of unconfirmed games for the Nintendo Wii, all of which bear names familiar to longtime gamers. A scan of the ESRB Web site's ratings database culled the following unannounced titles, some of which have previously been hinted at:

Punch-Out
Pro Wrestling
Kirby's Adventure
Kid Icarus
Hogan's Alley
Wild Gunman
Duck Hunt
PilotWings

All of the games received a rating of E for Everyone. It's worth noting that while these games would be plausible Virtual Console candidates, GameStop has been accepting preorders for Wii versions of Duck Hunt and PilotWings for months, both with a $49.99 price tag that would be more suited to a new installment in each series, rather than a straight retro release. A Wii game strongly reminescent of Duck Hunt was also shown in an E3 tech demo meant to feature the Wiimote's light gun-like capabilities. A Wii version of Kid Icarus has also been rumored for several months.

A Nintendo representative had not returned GameSpot's request for comment as of press time. ...

In September, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) gave ratings for unannounced Wii versions of a number of classic Sega games that were assumed to be part of the company's Virtual Console downloadable game service.

Those assumptions were proven correct last week as Nintendo and Sega both confirmed the same slate of Sega titles would be among the 30 downloadable Virtual Console games available by the end of 2006. And while the games have now been officially announced, they were pulled at some point from the ESRB Web site and have yet to be reposted.

The ESRB might have done it again, as the company's Web site today lists an assortment of unconfirmed games for the Nintendo Wii, all of which bear names familiar to longtime gamers. A scan of the ESRB Web site's ratings database culled the following unannounced titles, some of which have previously been hinted at:

Punch-Out
Pro Wrestling
Kirby's Adventure
Kid Icarus
Hogan's Alley
Wild Gunman
Duck Hunt
PilotWings

All of the games received a rating of E for Everyone. It's worth noting that while these games would be plausible Virtual Console candidates, GameStop has been accepting preorders for Wii versions of Duck Hunt and PilotWings for months, both with a $49.99 price tag that would be more suited to a new installment in each series, rather than a straight retro release. A Wii game strongly reminescent of Duck Hunt was also shown in an E3 tech demo meant to feature the Wiimote's light gun-like capabilities. A Wii version of Kid Icarus has also been rumored for several months.

A Nintendo representative had not returned GameSpot's request for comment as of press time. ...

In September, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) gave ratings for unannounced Wii versions of a number of classic Sega games that were assumed to be part of the company's Virtual Console downloadable game service.

Those assumptions were proven correct last week as Nintendo and Sega both confirmed the same slate of Sega titles would be among the 30 downloadable Virtual Console games available by the end of 2006. And while the games have now been officially announced, they were pulled at some point from the ESRB Web site and have yet to be reposted.

The ESRB might have done it again, as the company's Web site today lists an assortment of unconfirmed games for the Nintendo Wii, all of which bear names familiar to longtime gamers. A scan of the ESRB Web site's ratings database culled the following unannounced titles, some of which have previously been hinted at:

Punch-Out
Pro Wrestling
Kirby's Adventure
Kid Icarus
Hogan's Alley
Wild Gunman
Duck Hunt
PilotWings

All of the games received a rating of E for Everyone. It's worth noting that while these games would be plausible Virtual Console candidates, GameStop has been accepting preorders for Wii versions of Duck Hunt and PilotWings for months, both with a $49.99 price tag that would be more suited to a new installment in each series, rather than a straight retro release. A Wii game strongly reminescent of Duck Hunt was also shown in an E3 tech demo meant to feature the Wiimote's light gun-like capabilities. A Wii version of Kid Icarus has also been rumored for several months.

A Nintendo representative had not returned GameSpot's request for comment as of press time. ...

Just as the long-awaited PlayStation 3 games consoles go on sale in Japan this Saturday, Sony will also be offering the first software update. The firmware update, offered as a free download, adds support for the PlayStation Network online service."
From the article:
"In late November the company also plans to offer a firmware update for its PlayStation Portable (PSP) games device. The update will bump the firmware to version 3.0 and add PlayStation Network support. With the new firmware in both devices the PSP will be able to access contents stored on the PlayStation 3 via a wireless LAN connection using a system Sony has dubbed 'Remote Play.' It will also make it possible to purchase and download PSP games content." ...

Reuters has some last minute discussion on the high price of the PS3, as well as their plans for shipping 2 million units by December. From the article:
"'We are very comfortable with the pricing we have announced and have gotten tremendous support from retailers for that price point,' Hirai said on the sidelines of the Dow Jones VentureWire Consumer Technology Conference. 'So it is full steam ahead with the pricing of $499 and $599.'" ...

With just over a week to go before the PlayStation 3 launches in North America, SCEA boss Kaz Hirai has confirmed that there will be no change to the price point of the system - despite the cut announced to the Japanese price in September.

"We are very comfortable with the pricing we have announced," Hirai told news agency Reuters this week, going on to claim that Sony has had "tremendous support" from retailers regarding the price point.

That means that when the PS3 appears in North America on November 17th - six days after the Japanese launch this weekend - it will be priced at $499 for the 20GB model, and $599 for the 60GB model.

There has been an undercurrent of speculation over the pricing of the 20GB model ever since PlayStation boss Ken Kutaragi announced a significant price cut to the Japanese 20GB model at the Tokyo Game Show in September. In Japan, that version will now retail for 49,980 Yen - around $425.

However, the other change to the 20GB model which was announced by Kutaragi at TGS will benefit US consumers, as the HDMI video connector - which had originally been for the 60GB PS3 only - will be included on the 20GB version of the console in all territories.

The US is also getting a better deal than Japan in terms of availability of the system, with 400,000 units of the PS3 due to ship to US retailers for November 17th, while Japan will see only 80,000 units in stores this Saturday. ...