Via Eurogamer

SCE UK boss Ray Maguire has dismissed suggestions that Sony is bullying gamers by forcing them to adopt its movie-playing technology with PlayStation 3 - claiming Blu-Ray is essential to the next-gen gaming experience.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Eurogamer TV, published today, Maguire vigorously defended the decision to include its proprietary Blu-Ray format as standard on the £425 console - amidst accusations levelled by Microsoft, which claims it is offering real consumer choice by launching a rival HD-DVD add-on for Xbox 360 later this year.

"Blu-Ray is really important for the games side of our business because what it does is it give us the ability to have 50Gb of information actually on the disc," Maguire said.

"With PlayStation 3 you're looking at a Cell chip that has immense computing power. That means you're going to need a huge amount of storage as well - we really need that Blu-Ray disc because what we don't want to be doing is swapping discs half way through loading. It's really important to us."

Maguire was also keen to stress that consumer appetite for HD was not just restricted to the burgeoning US market, despite relatively poor uptake levels in the UK.

"High definition is the way of the future; everyone's looking forward to it," he insisted. "Sky are eagerly trying to get boxes out for the World Cup and people are buying flat panels especially for HD.

"The reality is there's not very much High Definition content at the moment, and in a way PlayStation 3 is going to legitimise the whole of the High Definition experience for people.

"Right now 25 per cent of homes have got HD panels in the US. You've only got to go into stores now to see the old CRT is hardly available and it's all flat panels labelled 'HD Ready'. We know that there's an appetite from consumers and we're going to give them the product that makes it really sparkle."

Also in the interview, Maguire defends PS3's £425, reveals plans to continue to support PS2 for years to come and claims he is confident of a successful launch despite widespread fears of major stock shortages. ...

Konami's first-person shooter Coded Arms is coming back for a second go on PSP in the form of Coded Arms Contagion set for a 2007 release - and it looks a damn sight better this time round.

Developed by US company Creat Studio, Contagion will ditch the interesting-but-flawed concept of randomly generated levels in favour of more complex run-and-gun missions. A thick coat of visual polish has been added, too - even at this early stage in the game's development, it looks like a huge improvement over the PSone-esque graphics of the original PSP game.

Promising a stronger story mode and eight-player online infrastructure play, Contagion will likely hit stores in summer 2007. To see for yourself what the game looks like in motion, download the movie using the link above.

Check out the trailer and source for this news at Games radar ...

News from Play Asia

Naruto, Sasuke and other Ninjas of the Konohana clan return in Tomy's action packed Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu sequel for Nintendo DS™. The fourth installment in total and the second one on Nintendo DS™ promises to be bigger and better than any of the previous ones. The game features a total of more than 30 characters from the anime, new moves (such as an Air Attack, Throw Action, Rising Attack and Super Jump), a new Chakra control system, new missions and up to 4 player game play.

Tomy's Nintendo DS™ action game Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu is now available at discounted US$ 24.90 only.

More info --> http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...9-en-84-n.html ...

According to reports breaking of late, the Nintendo Wii could be much more powerful than even the most optimistic fan might have hoped. Several sources, believed to be taking information from western developers equipped with near-final development kits for Wii, have seemingly leaked some impressive specs for the machine that, if true, slash the power void between Nintendo and its two home console rivals.

According to an article on Daily Tech, widely ignored during E3 but since gathering some pace, "...the Wii will ship with a PowerPC 750GX CPU jointly developed between IBM and Nintendo. Nintendo says the codename of the processor is Broadway and was manufactured using a 90nm fabrication process. IBM claims the 750GX GPU is based on the 750FX processor designed by the company several years ago. The chip can run at frequencies up to 1.1GHz and includes a 4-way set-associative single core with 1MB L2 cache."

The big news here is the mooted use of a PowerPC 750GX CPU running at 1.1GHz with 1MB L2 cache well beyond the expectations of most.

The piece continues, "On Nintendo's official Wii hardware "specifications" page, the GPU of the console is listed as still being developed with ATI. Whether this means that the GPU is still being tuned or there was simply a grammatical error on the site is up in the air. Very little is known about the Wii's GPU, codenamed Hollywood except that it is part of ATI's R520 family."

The mention of the R520 has sent shockwaves of quivering anticipation around gaming circles, as if the news proves true, Nintendo would essentially be able to boast a massive leap forward from the GameCube with the Wii possessing the graphical grunt of a well-equipped gaming PC. The outlined chipsets are also highly versatile, a feature Nintendo will likely employ to throttle the Wii for standby use during WiiConnect dormant sessions.

For reference, Nintendo's own blurb on the performance of the Wii, an interesting if guarded read, can be found here.

The merging belief that there were two kinds of Wii hardware on show at this year's E3 has brought some understanding to the gulf in visual quality between certain titles. It does seem likely that the majority of Wii software was running on modified GameCube development kits, with other titles, specifically Mario Galaxy looking as though they were delivering far beyond what the Wii's predecessor could ever have achieved. This was in stark contrast to titles such as Metroid which looked unchanged from its GameCube outings.

We'll update you on the progress of all things Wii at time trickles on.

Via Spong ...

One of the more interesting factoids to come out of Nintendo's showing at this year's E3 was the widely-held belief that Nintendo was openly courting third-party peripheral manufacturers with the tantalising carrot of an open invitation to make the most of the Wii hardware.

Specifically, one Nintendo developer-relations meeting offered the Wii sensor technology under licence to any accredited company looking to have bespoke controls for future Wii projects.

Have a look at this interview excerpt with SNK's Ben Herman posted by Advance MN, in which the Sopranos-sounding executive concretes some of the gossip floating around the show. "[Nintendo] were very happy to have us back on board. They didn't come chasing us, but they allow us to have creativity. One of the things about the development kit for Wii is that, they said to us, create accessories. Do add-ons. If there are companies like Logitech and the like that are going to create all kinds of accessories that Nintendo. . .Nintendo's not going to corner the market or say that these are the only accessories that will plug in and play. They essentially are saying "be creative." Today I went to see the presentation. They had some accessories that had not really been shown. They have a classic joypad. They're working on a gun. Other third parties as far as accessory makers will work on other accessories and you know. . .just have fun with it."

Of course, we all know about the Zapper-holder for the Wii and the Classic Pad, though Nintendo openly inviting third-parties to release their own peripherals does come as something of a surprise.

Via Spong ...

New product from Success HK, heres the details:



This classic puzzle game of frenetic action is now on the PlayStation Portable system. As the Lemmings mindlessly wander about deadly environmental hazards, control their fate over raging rivers, steep cliffs and pools of lava. Command them to dig tunnels, build steps, stop traffic and climb walls so that they can escape each perplexing level. With more than 150 levels of addictive gameplay, enhanced graphics, a level editor, game sharing and more, you'll be obsessed with saving the Lemmings. ...

New product from Success HK, heres the details:



Different from the previous One Piece games, Pirates Carnival is a party game featuring over forty mini games. The mini games feature simple controls and promise to recreate well-known scenes from the original One Piece body of work. The game features support for four players, with some games featuring split screen play and others placing all four players in the same area. ...

New product from Success HK, heres the details:


MotoGP4 gets players ready for the ultimate in motorcycle racing on the PlayStation2. Players will able to reach insane speeds with licensed professional riders, tracks, bikes and all three engine classes from the 2004 season including MotoGP, 125cc and 250cc engine classes. All 16 tracks from around the world are accurately recreated with realistic bike physics, rider animations and wet and dry weather conditions to deliver an unprecedented sense of realism. Plus, MotoGP4 will allow players to conduct Parts Tests between races to upgrade bikes and improve performance. ...

New product from Success HK, heres the details:



On the hostile planet of Nu Earth, there are tales of a lone warrior. A man who appears out of thin air to take out whole platoons, then disappears back into the shadows. In the centre of a futile war, one man can swing the balance: the ultimate soldier and last survivor of the massacred Genetic Infantrymen, hell-bent on revenge ... the Rogue Trooper.
Based on the 2000AD comic series, Rogue Trooper, Rogue Trooper blends intense third person action and next generation stealth. Rogue's arsenal offers him a unique advantage over his opponents; encoded bio-chips containing the digitized personalities of his fallen comrades are implanted in his gun (Gunnar), helmet (Helm) and backpack (Bagman). Rogue Trooper features intense online gameplay modes, where gamers can experience up to four-player co-operative gameplay in all new maps. ...