New Commercial DS Game:



One of Japan's most well-received comic and cartoon properties goes portable thanks to Konami in this second portable title (and first for DS) of the series. In this action-RPG, you play as Ginta Toramizu, who longs to travel to a fantasy world. He gets that chance one day when a door to another world suddenly appears before him. Ginta enters the door and his taken to a mysterious new world. Ginta's adventures begin as he gets a hold of a special "ARM" item found in this world. These items can be used both as weapons and for casting magic. The DS game features 3D character graphics and battle gameplay for up to four players.

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Nintendo has gone on the offensive again today and has been speaking in an exclusive interview with Next-Gen.biz about the Revolution's innovative controller (or wand or nunchuck, whatever you want to call it), claiming it's both extremely easy to use and likening it in the intuitive stakes to DS's touchscreen interface.
Beth Llewelyn, who is Nintendo's senior director of public relations, has assured anyone who reckons the controller looks too complex holds that opinion simply because they haven't played around with it. "The single controller is extremely intuitive,"

Llewelyn said, "You pick it up and maybe you press a button and maybe you just move it around and things happen on screen. That is very non-intimidating".

"I don't play games that often," continued Llewelyn, "but I love DS because I love the easy interface so this is very familiar to me. I think the nunchuck seems a little strange to many people but once you get it in your hand it feels completely natural," Llewelyn added.
Pheweee, well that's a huge weight of our minds because we were beginning to wonder, what with the controller being nicknamed the nunchuck and all, whether we'd have to undergo intensive ninja training before we could play a Revolution game. Llewelyn went on to say that, while as far as she's aware the controller has yet to tested on or by the public, response from the home crowd - i.e. Nintendo - and third parties who have dabbled has been "very positive".

"I think we'll get some positive feedback at E3. The reaction we've got so far has all been very good. That's just with demos so when we show actual games it should be very rewarding," Llewelyn continued, calling this year's E3 "the big coming out party for Revolution."

"The big thing is to get everyone to experience it. It's about the nature of the gameplay, the controller and the movement. People need to experience it for real and E3 will allow them to do that."

Llewelyn also responded to questions about Virtual Console and the recent news that Sega's pledged support, saying it's an "exciting way to build up the library. We certainly have a great library of legacy games and it adds excitement to add Sega's in as well."

Judging by Llewelyn's comments, it's highly possible that Nintendo will get other publishers and developers on board too. Apparently, "There are discussions going on all the time behind closed doors," in connection with the download service and she didn't rule out going back as far at the Commodore 64 for content.

It was announced at GDC recently, of course, that part of Nintendo's battle plan for Virtual Console is to support and make available new games too. "Mr. Iwata touched on that, talking about offering developers the tools to create new games. The idea is that there is an opportunity there for new games. Discussions have also been going on with publishers", Llewelyn stated about the Xbox Live Arcade-style aspect of Virtual Console.

She concluded: "We've shown that we are willing to disrupt the norm and go out on a limb and be successful with games like Brain Training and that shows third parties what can be done. Developers don't always have to go with massive budgets and two-year development schedules."

Similar opinion on supporting 'smaller' new games on Virtual Console has been voiced by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in an interview in CNN's Game Over column.

"If we can come up with an addictive, but simple title - such as Tetris 15 years ago - my attention should be focused on containing costs," Iwata commented. "So, I would make it available through the Virtual Console. I think the opportunity for ourselves will be much larger than software that costs $50-$60." Interesting stuff, although he did add that "Of course, there are a number of people waiting for a 'masterpiece' title. For those games, we'll utilized traditional distribution channels." ...

It's always been Nintendo's contention that it won't be taking on either Xbox 360 or PS3 in terms of sheer head-to-head horsepower, and latest reports from the US would seem to back this up, with a bunch of Revolution developers apparently revealing the tech specs of Nintendo's forthcoming console to IGN.
Speaking under conditions of anonymity, Nintendo devs have revealed the following tech info on the GameCube's successor (see below), and quite revealing reading they make too, indicating that Nintendo is indeed going its own third way.

We've reprinted some of the key specs below for you to mull over, but it seems Revolution can be thought of as GameCube squared or possibly, ahem, cubed at a push. According to the report, some of its features - especially in the GPU department - aren't that much of an advance over the original Xbox as we reported way back here.

However, perhaps direct comparisons aren't quite so fair as an ATI boss John Swinimer recently opined , and Nintendo will be able to really push its dedicated Revolution graphical hardware to the limit. Let's face it, not too many people were complaining over Resident Evil 4's graphics and Twilight Princess doesn't exactly look shabby, so it may just be up to devs to maximise what they've been given.
That's not to say Nintendo hasn't also got some intriguing technical ideas to make the most out of the Rev's horsepower too, but if these specs are true, then the console is certain to be the lower powered, lower spec console aimed at the mass market which we've long predicted.

Chew over the specs and let us know what you think in the comments field below.

Revolution runs on an extension of the Gekko and Flipper architectures that powered GameCube.

IBM's "Broadway" CPU is clocked at 729MHz. GameCube's Gekko CPU ran at 485MHz. In comparison, the original Xbox's CPU clocked at 733MHz.

Revolution's ATI-provided "Hollywood" GPU clocks in at 243MHz. By comparison, GameCube's GPU ran at 162MHz, while the original Xbox's GPU was clocked at 233MHz.

"The 'Hollywood' is a large-scale integrated chip that includes the GPU, DSP, I/O bridge and 3MBs of texture memory," a studio source told IGN.

Revolution will operate using 24MBs of "main" 1T-SRAM. It will additionally boast 64MBs of "external" 1T-SRAM. That brings the total number of system RAM up to 88MBs, not including the 3MB texture buffer on the GPU. ...

Source - NextGen

Reuters reports Hollywood sources saying that Wal-Mart is pulling out of UMD. The reports adds that UMD sections at retail are shrinking fast.

One unnamed president of a major studio is quoted as saying, "No one's watching movies on PSP. It's a game player, period."

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has ceased UMD production. One exec told Reuters, "Sales are near zilch. It's another Sony bomb."

Paramount is also considering its future with PSP's format. An exec said, "We are on hiatus with UMD. Releasing titles on UMD is the exception rather than the rule. No one's even breaking even on them."

Image Entertainment has moved out of UMD while 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Buena Vista Home Entertainment have reduced commitment. ...

Source - IGN

Electronic Arts is typically associated with sports games and movie licenses, so the company's latest title ought to surprise some. The most recent issue of Famitsu contains first details on Air Traffic Controller: Airport Hero Narita (in Japanese, Boku ha Koukuu Kanseikan: Air Port Hero Narita) for the PSP.


This simluation title, being developed by Sonic Powered, gives you direct control over operations at Tokyo's Narita Airport. You issue commands to both incoming and outgoing flights, paying attention to radar and keeping track of incoming messages. You get to choose runways, order planes to taxi, and even chose the arrival gate.
The main mode of play in Airport Hero Narita is the Operation Mode, where you play through two stages in beginner, medium and hard difficulty settings. The Challenge Mode requires that you deal with tough situations, including emergency landings and the approach of a typhoon. The game also includes an encyclopedia of Air Traffic Controller knowledge.

The Air Traffic Controller series has appeared on the PC and Game Boy Advance in the past, but the PSP version makes some improvements, in particular by simplifying screen data. The PC versions were somewhat overwhelming in the amount of data they presented on screen, sandwiching 3D images of incoming traffic between complex, text-based readouts. The PSP version moves all the data to the bottom of the screen.

A Japanese release is set for June. ...

New Press Release:

This isn't your dad's Atari or Game Boy system, that's for sure. The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is the ultra slick, portable version of the most popular console gaming system in the world, and it isn't just any ordinary handheld gaming device. Beyond its killer graphics and spectacular widescreen LCD for unparalleled game play, the PSP also sports wireless connectivity and a variety of multimedia features, including video, music, and digital photography. Your wildly versatile, endlessly powerful PSP practically begs you to hack and repurpose it to your liking.

To save you the trouble and show you how to make the PSP do more than you ever imagined--and more than Sony ever intended--"PSP Hacks" (Sample, O'Reilly) is one succinct volume of 50 of the coolest, most useful, up-to-the-minute hacks for this amazing device. With "PSP Hacks," you can accomplish a whole lot more than good gaming on the PSP. You'll also learn how to:

*Open your PSP's hardware and find out what to safely plug into it
*Customize the look of your PSP--from background color, LED color, to a custom case
*Convert your movie and music collection to look and sound great on the PSP
*Find ways to extend its wireless capabilities
*Surf the Web
*Chat in IRC
*Read web comics, ebooks, and RSS feeds.
*Fool iTunes into thinking the PSP is an iPod Shuffle
*Watch UMD movies
*Sync an address book to your PSP
*Write your own applications using JavaScript, Lua, and more
"Whether you're trying to dig into the guts of the PSP or simply attempting to play a video on it, this is the ultimate PSP resource," states Chris Carle, Entertainment Editorial Manager for IGN.com

The innovative hacks, tweaks, and how-tos in this essential guide make it easy to customize your PSP, and take full advantage of features, capabilities, and functionality far beyond what's listed in the PSP user manual. Turn your PSP into an all-in-one portable entertainment unit with "PSP Hacks."

For more information about the book series, including table of contents, and author bio, see:

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/psphks/index.html ...

Cant fault the japs for games with bloody long names, heres the latest Commercial PSP Game released:



Jissen Pachinko Hisshoho! Aladdin 2 Evolution Portable is a conversion of Sammy's popular arcade slot machine, based on the famous oriental tale Aladdin.

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A new commercial gambling game for the PSP, more info here --> http://www.yesasia.com/?/info.php?pro...0&lsaid=219793 ...

New Commercial PSP Release:



Capcom Classics Collection Remixed provides quality entertainment that delves deep into Capcom’s history, offering players more depth and gameplay challenges. Play this latest cache of classics in several aspect ratios including normal, stretch or, depending on the title, its original vertical orientation. Fully customizable controls enhance the gaming experience by allowing the reassignment of the analog stick to accommodate vertical games. Enjoy the timeless hits of yesteryear with the wireless capabilities the portable system has to offer such as joining no-fuss multiplayer games and downloading music. Players will need to be pried away from this game as the multitude of bonus materials will have them glued to the system wanting more. The 20 games in this collection include the following: 1941, Avengers, Block Block, Captain Commando, Magic Sword, Quiz and Dragons, Street Fighter, Strider, Three Wonders and Varth.



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