Hurray for console pricing rumours, and hurray especially for PS3 pricing rumours! New gossip circulating the 'net is suggesting Sony's next-gen console could hit the UK cheaper than previously thought - at around 222 quid.

Apparently, these latest PS3 price-tag rumours originated in a US PlayStation magazine, grandly stating that the next-gen console will hit States-side for 399 USD in November (which, according to our abacus, works out at around the above mentioned 222 GBP). Obviously it'd never retail for 222 GBP - the 'ending in 9' pricing convention MUST BE OBSERVED - and, of course, it's unlikely we'd get anything near a direct dollar to pound conversion either, but that's cheap godammit. If it's true.

An intriguing rumour to be sure but one that, let's face it, is pretty hard to swallow - especially considering the expected supreme cost of Blu-ray players, which will feature inside the PS3. We'd love it to be true, but let's just wait for E3 where Sony will deliver concrete info on PS3 pricing. Well, it'd better do otherwise we're going to, er, do something bad.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=138676 ...

Well, the Revolution is no more it seems. Nintendo has finally revealed the name of its next-gen console and - drum roll, please - it's "Wii". Or possibly the Nintendo Wii - we're not entirely sure. And yes, it's pronounced "wee".

If it wasn't for the fact that we just recieved official confirmation from Nintendo itself - along with a brand new video demonstrating the console's final logo - we'd probably think the whole thing was a joke.

So, while you sit there in dumbfounded belief - contemplating whether you'll still be desperate for a Wii in the corner of your room come November - why not check out the video and read the tiny bit of explanatory gumph that arrived alongside the press release.

All we've left to say really is that we're looking forward to waving our Wii wands around at this year's E3.

Introducing ... Wii.

As in "we."

While the code-name "Revolution" expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.

Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else.

Wii will put people more in touch with their games ... and each other. But you're probably asking: What does the name mean?

Wii sounds like "we," which emphasizes this console is for everyone.

Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.

Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play.

And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.

So that's Wii. But now Nintendo needs you.

Because, it's really not about you or me.

It's about Wii.

And together, Wii will change everything.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=138673 ...

Nintendo has ended speculation about the name of its next-generation console - code-named Revolution. The company today announced it will be called "Nintendo Wii", pronounced as "We".

"While the code-name 'Revolution' expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer. Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else," Nintendo said in a statement on the Flash website it launched today revealing the name.

"Wii will put people more in touch with their games ... and each other. But you're probably asking: What does the name mean? Wii sounds like 'we', which emphasises this console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.

"Wii has a distinctive 'ii' spelling that symbolises both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play. And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.

"So that's Wii. But now Nintendo needs you. Because, it's not really about you or me. It's about Wii. And together, Wii will change everything."

Marketing-speak aside, the name clearly symbolises Nintendo's intent to break the new console away from the traditional games market, with the company opting for a moniker which is more like a consumer-friendly home electronics name than a game console name.

However, the name is unlikely to go down well across the large swathes of the English-speaking world - including the United Kingdom - where "wee" is a very common children's slang phrase for the act of urination. In Scotland and Ireland, however, the diminutive console will at least be appropriately named, as "wee" is a word meaning "small" in the vernacular of those regions.

Nintendo Wii will form a significant part of the company's pre-E3 conference, and playable demos of software are expected to draw thousands to the LA Convention Centre during the trade event itself.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=16413 ...

Half-Life developer Valve Software has announced that it is currently developing several as yet undisclosed titles for Microst's Xbox 360 console, using a customised version of its acclaimed Source Engine.

Although there's no official word on what titles the company is actually creating, Valve has said that its first 360 game would be coming out soon, making it extremely likely that a full disclosure will be made at the E3 expo in a couple of weeks.

President and co-founder, Gabe Newell, commented: " The combination of Source and the 360 provides game designers the chance to create powerful entertainment experiences. Whether developing a traditional FPS, RTS, RPG or delving into new genres, the Xbox 360 is a great platform for expanding Source and our game experiences."

Valve has worked with Microsoft before, the company's Xbox version of Half-Life 2 taking centre-stage on the platform holder's E3 2005 booth and achieving critical acclaim, though sales of the game were less than spectacular - something Valve says came as a surprise.

Undeterred, the company has committed to future development on Microsoft's next-gen machine and it is also likely - though unconfirmed at this stage - that console versions of existing third-party PC Source Engine titles currently available through Valve's digital distribution service, Steam, may be appearing on the Xbox 360 in the future.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=16408 ...

Awesome News article from Lik Sang



Lik-Sang.com has recently been contacted by SyberSoft about a couple of prototypes that have been built and that are considered ready for mass-production. Both projects are converters displaying the image of your Nintendo handheld on Television sets. One is for the Gameboy Advance SP, the other is, more interestingly for the smoking hot Nintendo DS system. The products follow up on a growing trend and were deemed to come out of the drawers at this point in time I guess... The first step in this direction was the TV de Advance for the Gameboy Advance back in 2002.



Both these new peripherals are based on the same kind of technology as the Blaze Adapter for the PSP: the image is being captured through a lens and mirror dispositive placed inside the product, then rendered through an AV Cable. All these modifications that were necessary using the good ole TV de Advance are no longer required. If this new technique is for sure welcome for those who don't like soldering irons and loss of warranty, it comes with drawbacks, as we have seen earlier. First of all, this method implies splashing out a low-resolution image, optimized for a small screen, into a larger and wider one on the big TV. For sure, some colors will look washed out and the graphics won't be amazingly bright. This was true with PSP adapters and it's even more visible using the GBA SP or the Nintendo DS, since the quality of the original signal you are tinkering with is already considerably less. On any television we used, the graphics appeared a bit blocky and slightly blurred up. In fact, when we played it on a Plasma TV of 44 inches, the image was converted into a smaller window embedded in the screen (see pictures below). Furthermore, any fingerprint or dust you leave on the handheld TFT or on the protective window of the TV Adapter will show up in a very obvious manner on your larger panel. Still, all in all, we have to reckon we actually expected worse results than what we actually obtained (again, because of the low-res signal the NDS/GBA are sending out in the first place).

Still, the list of "minus" points needs to be further extended when driving your focus solely on the Nintendo DS iteration of the accessory. Naturally, the particularities of the Nintendo DS make it difficult to emulate the experience on a big TV screen. As a matter of fact, the popular gizmo from Ninty offers two different screens, and one of them happens to be touchable with a stylus or your fingertip. There is no work-around for this. Hence, only the top LCD display can be broadcasted on a larger screen, and whatever needs to be done on the touchscreen, well, stays on the touchscreen. This will sometimes force you to move your head away from the TV in order to look at the tactile panel, and vice versa. We found it to be more troublesome than simply glimpsing from one small screen to another on the standard DS... as one could have guessed. Things won't go completely wrong in a game like Mario Kart DS, as you spend most of your time focusing on the road, turning with D-pad and triggering actions with buttons... But for the games that have their entire gameplay centered around the touchscreen gimmick, a TV Adapter session quickly turns things into a nightmare experiment.

All these problems and limitations are to be expected with such gadgets, which are usually appreciated by some for the fact that they allow to share a bit of the fun with those around you [rather than letting them watch your moves on a tiny screen], and also by those tech-lovers who just love any occasion to freak around. In other words, if the product is most certainly not the next big thing on the mass market, there is still probably some kind of a niche for it. Especially when you consider that the makers have an SRP of 29.95 US$ in mind for their baby. The current samples are respectively fitting only with Gameboy Advance SP (not with Gameboy Advance or Gameboy Micro) or with Nintendo DS (not with Nintendo DS Lite). But that of course could be changed through some redesigning work, if so would be wished by the potential partners, distributors or mass-manufacturers out there. The current team is in fact all ears open when it comes to feedback, advice and suggestions on where to go next with their plans. More importantly, they are also on the lookout for OEM buyers or other potential partners with an assembling arm and distribution channels, in order to bring the idea from conceptualization to mass production. Any interested party is welcome to get in touch with the team behind this effort through this email account: ronATNOSPAMsybersoft.lv ...

Awesome News article from Lik Sang



Lik-Sang.com has recently been contacted by SyberSoft about a couple of prototypes that have been built and that are considered ready for mass-production. Both projects are converters displaying the image of your Nintendo handheld on Television sets. One is for the Gameboy Advance SP, the other is, more interestingly for the smoking hot Nintendo DS system. The products follow up on a growing trend and were deemed to come out of the drawers at this point in time I guess... The first step in this direction was the TV de Advance for the Gameboy Advance back in 2002.



Both these new peripherals are based on the same kind of technology as the Blaze Adapter for the PSP: the image is being captured through a lens and mirror dispositive placed inside the product, then rendered through an AV Cable. All these modifications that were necessary using the good ole TV de Advance are no longer required. If this new technique is for sure welcome for those who don't like soldering irons and loss of warranty, it comes with drawbacks, as we have seen earlier. First of all, this method implies splashing out a low-resolution image, optimized for a small screen, into a larger and wider one on the big TV. For sure, some colors will look washed out and the graphics won't be amazingly bright. This was true with PSP adapters and it's even more visible using the GBA SP or the Nintendo DS, since the quality of the original signal you are tinkering with is already considerably less. On any television we used, the graphics appeared a bit blocky and slightly blurred up. In fact, when we played it on a Plasma TV of 44 inches, the image was converted into a smaller window embedded in the screen (see pictures below). Furthermore, any fingerprint or dust you leave on the handheld TFT or on the protective window of the TV Adapter will show up in a very obvious manner on your larger panel. Still, all in all, we have to reckon we actually expected worse results than what we actually obtained (again, because of the low-res signal the NDS/GBA are sending out in the first place).

Still, the list of "minus" points needs to be further extended when driving your focus solely on the Nintendo DS iteration of the accessory. Naturally, the particularities of the Nintendo DS make it difficult to emulate the experience on a big TV screen. As a matter of fact, the popular gizmo from Ninty offers two different screens, and one of them happens to be touchable with a stylus or your fingertip. There is no work-around for this. Hence, only the top LCD display can be broadcasted on a larger screen, and whatever needs to be done on the touchscreen, well, stays on the touchscreen. This will sometimes force you to move your head away from the TV in order to look at the tactile panel, and vice versa. We found it to be more troublesome than simply glimpsing from one small screen to another on the standard DS... as one could have guessed. Things won't go completely wrong in a game like Mario Kart DS, as you spend most of your time focusing on the road, turning with D-pad and triggering actions with buttons... But for the games that have their entire gameplay centered around the touchscreen gimmick, a TV Adapter session quickly turns things into a nightmare experiment.

All these problems and limitations are to be expected with such gadgets, which are usually appreciated by some for the fact that they allow to share a bit of the fun with those around you [rather than letting them watch your moves on a tiny screen], and also by those tech-lovers who just love any occasion to freak around. In other words, if the product is most certainly not the next big thing on the mass market, there is still probably some kind of a niche for it. Especially when you consider that the makers have an SRP of 29.95 US$ in mind for their baby. The current samples are respectively fitting only with Gameboy Advance SP (not with Gameboy Advance or Gameboy Micro) or with Nintendo DS (not with Nintendo DS Lite). But that of course could be changed through some redesigning work, if so would be wished by the potential partners, distributors or mass-manufacturers out there. The current team is in fact all ears open when it comes to feedback, advice and suggestions on where to go next with their plans. More importantly, they are also on the lookout for OEM buyers or other potential partners with an assembling arm and distribution channels, in order to bring the idea from conceptualization to mass production. Any interested party is welcome to get in touch with the team behind this effort through this email account: ronATNOSPAMsybersoft.lv ...

IGN have posted a preview of Juiced: Eliminator:

Coming from developer Juice Games, Eliminator aims for the same kind of action as Juiced on consoles, which shipped June 2005. You'll start the game as a no-name racer, then, by winning races in a collection of cities, you'll eventually earn respect from other drivers. And, of course, there's serious money to make, too. In addition to racing, you'll spend plenty of time in the garage modifying and personalizing your collection of vehicles. Plus, with your cell phone, you'll have the chance to contact local drivers and challenge them to races.


Like many race games, Eliminator splits into various game modes. The first, and simplest, is Arcade Mode. It's basically where you want to start if you just want a no-commitment race. Arcade itself actually splits between different types of challenges, such as Novice Series, Midnight Series and American Muscle Series. Once you pick the series you want, you can then choose individual challenges. Again, it's a great way to start playing right away without having to dive into the game's Career Mode, which is a little more involved.

Full article --> http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/703/703141p1.html ...

IGN have posted a great hands on of the soon to be released flying game:

Namco unveiled the first PSP iteration of the series, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception, at its pre-e3 event in San Francisco. It shoots for the same level of action and flexibility as the console versions, only shrunk to portable form. It includes just about everything fans have to come expect, such as realistic planes and other military hardware, as well as a story that blends history with a little bit of fiction. And when it comes to art and style, it looks just like the bigger-screen games.

full article --> http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/703/703303p1.html ...

New Commercial PSP Release:



A follow-up collection of adventure tales originally, on PlayStation and PlayStation 2 (one of the best-selling in the Simple Series), this series features a number of detective graphical adventure mini-tales. For the PSP game, there are a total of 68 stories: 18 from the original The Suiri, 20 from part 2, 20 more from the second PS2 version, and 10 brand new stories. New graphics and voices are now part of the game, and the PSP version features a new interface for easier play.

More Info --> http://www.yesasia.com/?/info.php?pro...6&lsaid=219793 ...