The Czech branch of the software maker Microsoft will launch the game console Xbox 360 on the Czech markets on Nov. 3, the company’s general manager Michal Čupa confirmed to CBW, and in the initial phase “two games available in the Czech language.”


Microsoft said that the level of piracy in the Czech Republic is low enough that Microsoft expects gamers to buy the local language game versions in sufficient numbers to warrant their investment, but declined to comment on the game titles. Polish and Slovak launches are also scheduled in the coming months, Microsoft announced at the Leipzig Game Convention in Germany, from where rumors are circulating that the available game titles will be “Perfect Dark Zero” and “PGR3.”

“In the first phase we will concentrate on people who already have gaming experience, and the localization of the game isn’t so important for them,” Čupa said, adding that in the second phase the number of games will increase but there is no set minimum or maximum number for games in the Czech language.

“[The number] will depend on the reaction of the market,” he said about the second phase, due to begin a few months after Christmas 2006.

Microsoft’s Czech branch has a “quite exact” sales plan for the launch, but won’t reveal it, and is tight lipped about the price of the Xbox game console, although it has repeatedly said it will be very competitive. Both the core and the premium systems will be available and in other markets retail around for around $300 (Kč 6,620/€ 235) and $400, respectively. ...

The Sony® PSP™ just got a whole lot more portable! Talismoon’s latest devilish innovation offers a hands free mount for your PSP™ while on the road. Designed utilizing the highest quality materials to ensure a rock-steady hold, the Talismoon InTouch car cradle will keep the PSP™ within reach at all times and most importantly in a safe manner.

Boasting a super simple ‘stick and play’ installation, this product is ideal for hardcore PSP® owners who can’t stand to be without the PSP™ whilst on the road, perfect for traffic jams, lunch breaks or even to keep the kids quiet in the back seat!

Infact the In Touch is one incredibly versatile piece of kit and can be shown off just about anywhere with a flat surface. A specially engineered design featuring a super secure locking mechanism makes the In Touch a perfect accompaniment for watching media and movies, listening to audio, playing games, viewing map packs or perhaps one day befriending GPS navigation on the PSP™.

The Talismoon InTouch PSP™ car cradle is now shipping and costs $19.95 (USA) or £12.95 (UK).

More details Here ...

Japanese magazine Famitsu has reported that yet another old favourite is heading for the DS. It would seem that Electronic Arts are working on a port of Sim City 3000. The game, like its PC forefather, will feature the chance to manage real world cities, as well as a 'Save a City' problem solving mode where you are charged with troubleshooting in a city gone mad!

It's said to be hitting the streets of Japan this winter, though has yet to be confirmed for any other regions, with EA UK keeping disappointingly schtum about it. Mouse driven games seem to translate pretty well to the DS and its extra screen can't hurt either. We'll bring you more on this when we get it. ...

Japanese magazine Famitsu has reported that yet another old favourite is heading for the DS. It would seem that Electronic Arts are working on a port of Sim City 3000. The game, like its PC forefather, will feature the chance to manage real world cities, as well as a 'Save a City' problem solving mode where you are charged with troubleshooting in a city gone mad!

It's said to be hitting the streets of Japan this winter, though has yet to be confirmed for any other regions, with EA UK keeping disappointingly schtum about it. Mouse driven games seem to translate pretty well to the DS and its extra screen can't hurt either. We'll bring you more on this when we get it. ...

News Via Spong

Here at SPOnG, we love the Japanese. We try to be like them, and so should you. As we're sure you know, in Japan everybody starts the day with an impressive, acrobatic kendo workout, before powersliding down a mountain in a turbo-charged car to meet sexy twins in sailor outfits and sing karaoke over some sushi.

The other thing they love to do over there at the moment is buy Nintendo DS games by the bucket-load. More DS Lites were sold in Japan last week than all the other consoles put together. Even more impressively, the all formats software chart has been totally dominated by DS titles, with every single game in the top ten for Nintendo's facelifted double screen of delight.

Here's a full run-down, with new title Final Fantasy III slam dunking in at number one and shifting a staggering 500,000 copies:

Final Fantasy 3
New Super Mario Brothers
Rune Factory
Brain Age 2
Cooking Navi
Tamagotchi 2
Mario Basketball 3 on 3
Animal Crossing WW
Brain Age
English Training

Impressive, eh? Brain Age is what they call Brain Training over there, by the way. ...

News Via Spong

Here at SPOnG, we love the Japanese. We try to be like them, and so should you. As we're sure you know, in Japan everybody starts the day with an impressive, acrobatic kendo workout, before powersliding down a mountain in a turbo-charged car to meet sexy twins in sailor outfits and sing karaoke over some sushi.

The other thing they love to do over there at the moment is buy Nintendo DS games by the bucket-load. More DS Lites were sold in Japan last week than all the other consoles put together. Even more impressively, the all formats software chart has been totally dominated by DS titles, with every single game in the top ten for Nintendo's facelifted double screen of delight.

Here's a full run-down, with new title Final Fantasy III slam dunking in at number one and shifting a staggering 500,000 copies:

Final Fantasy 3
New Super Mario Brothers
Rune Factory
Brain Age 2
Cooking Navi
Tamagotchi 2
Mario Basketball 3 on 3
Animal Crossing WW
Brain Age
English Training

Impressive, eh? Brain Age is what they call Brain Training over there, by the way. ...

Good old Electronic Arts announces to the world today that they have signed a deal to bring 'dynamic' in-game advertising to a selection of their most popular titles. The agreement is with Massive Incorporated, a subsidiary of Microsoft set up with one goal - to further the penetration of adverts into the medium of the video game.

Under the terms of the deal, which will affect only EA's PC and Xbox 360 titles - the first will be Need for Speed Carbon - a portfolio of games will be incoporated into Massive's Video Games Network. Massive will then work with developers of the games and decide between them what they are going to advertise, and where. The idea is that adverts will be placed in areas where people most susceptible to them will find them. This is different to the static roadside adverts you may have seen in recent Need for Speed titles, and is described as 'dynamic' advertising.

How it will manifest itself in-game is anybody's guess. Perhaps if you've been playing a game for four hours, you'll suddenly stumble across messages promoting comfy chairs and tasty burgers. Both parties seem pretty pumped about the deal, with EA's online commerce VP commenting that the feature would be "...not only nice to have, but... an essential component to create the fiction of being there. This agreement with Massive allows us to vary what relevant ads are served to the game player".

Massive head honcho Mitchell Davis had this to add:

"Dynamic advertising opportunities in top EA titles across two platforms represents an unprecedented marketing opportunity for advertisers to target the youth demographic in the most engaging medium."

See? They care about you, kids. They really care. ...

Unveiled at the Leipzig Games Convention and seemingly ignored by most, the official PS3 slogan for Europe has Sony proudly declaring, "This is living." Reeking of hyperbole and only tenuously linked to gaming, it's the sort of marketing that fits in quite snugly with an industry asking us to "jump in" (with your credit card details) and assuring us that playing is the equivalent of believing (the praise or the criticism?). Of course, as with the other snappy lines, it's only a matter of time before witty internet personalities pervert Sony's message into something scathing and occasionally amusing.

"This is living. So, it's true. The cost of living really has gone up."
"This is living ... in abject poverty!"
"This is living -- it really does have four dimensions!"
"The PS3 is living? Well, at least that's a few steps up from the thinking Dreamcast."
"This is living (now attack its weakpoint for massive damage)." ...

Not 100% sure if the screen attached is real but it looks good enough, check out both the Wii and PS3 Demo Stations Via Comments. ...