Source Gamespot

Nearly six months after the PSP version of TOCA Race Driver 2 went on sale in Europe, its publisher has announced the franchise's debut on US PSPs. UK-based Codemasters revealed that a reworked version of the game, called Race Driver 2006, will be released for Sony's handheld in May.

A "North American exclusive," Race Driver 2006 will feature the core gameplay of TOCA Race Driver 2, plus a vast injection of new content. It will add 10 all-new tracks from around the world, including ones in Nashville and Shanghai, bringing the grand total to more than 60. Players will be able to choose from more than 50 different cars such as the Buick Gran Sport 455, Pontiac Firebird Formula 400, Dodge Charger, Gemballa GTR 750 EVO, and Koenig GTD. Crashes of said cars will sport realistic damage and physics.

The game will also feature 16 different types of races: GT sports car racing, street racing, rally, DTM, V8 Supercars, Global GT Lights, Rally Cross, Formula Ford, Open Wheel Grand Prix, classic car racing, super truck racing, stock car oval racing, ice racing, convertible racing, and performance car events. Up to 21 cars can race simultaneously in each event, and up to 12 players can compete in multiplayer races via the PSP's wireless LAN functionality.

Race Driver 2006 will sport several multiplayer modes, including revised time trial, free race, and trans-world cup, a new short-course mode designed specifically for PSP play. Besides the multiplayer modes, Race Driver 2006 will also include the "entire" single-player career mode from the PlayStation 2 version of TOCA Race Driver 2. ...

Source - Gamespot

Trigger-happy PSP owners in North America were green with envy late last year when Konami revealed that Gradius Portable would be invading Japan this February. Stateside fans of the series could only hope that Gradius Portable would somehow make it to US shores, and apparently fortune smiled upon them.

As part of the Konami press event in San Francisco today, the publisher revealed that Gradius Collection would zoom into US stores sometime this spring. Like its Japanese counterpart, Gradius Collection will include Gradius, Gradius II, Gradius III, Gradius IV, and Gradius Gaiden, which was previously unreleased in North America. ...

Source Gamespot

The 2006 Konami Gamers' Day in San Francisco had more than just games on display today. Wilson Cheng, product manager at Konami Digitial Entertainment, said, "I am very happy to announce that Konami will be introducing a new type of genre that combines different types of media onto one UMD disc."

Thankfully for longtime Konami fans, the subject of the "new genre" is something gamers will be very familiar with. It also appears to answer questions raised by legendary designer Hideo Kojima, who recently told Famitsu that he was working on a non-game project for the PSP called Metal Gear Solid BD.

Metal Gear Solid Digital Comic (working title) is an interactive comic book-style story from franchise creator Hideo Kojima and producer Noriaki Okamura. Artwork will be provided by Australian comic book artist Ashley Wood, who fans may know from his work on Todd McFarlane's Spawn and the Metal Gear Solid comic books.

"MGS Digital Comic goes way beyond just clicking through scanned comic book pages," said Ryan Payton, international manager of Kojima Productions. "It provides an involved interactive experience as players must investigate the MGS story, link together plot points, and complete the puzzle of the Metal Gear narrative through multiple play throughs."

It's unclear just how interactive the comic will actually be, but a trailer shown at the event certainly confirmed it will be animated. Voice bubbles appear in sequence with the game's audio, and static images slide across the screen as comic-style effects like "Bang!" or "Pow!" appear onscreen when characters fire bullets.

Konami has not announced a release date or price for Metal Gear Solid Digital Comic. ...

Japanese videogames giant Nintendo has announced its financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year, revealing that profits surged to almost double their previous level thanks to strong sales and favourable currency movements.

The quarter ended December 31st saw profits rising to 55.6 billion Yen (392 million Euro) from 21.3 billion Yen (150 million Euro) in the same period last year, although operating profit remained largely flat at 63.2 billion Yen (446 million Euro).

Like most other videogames firms, the third quarter is the most important one of the year for Nintendo, encompassing as it does the vital Christmas season during which the company recorded incredibly strong sales for its DS console around the world.

The fourth quarter may also be a strong one for the Kyoto-based firm, with the Nintendo DS sold out throughout the retail channel in Japan - indicating that strong reorders are likely - and a new version, the DS Lite, set to launch at the beginning of March.

However, Nintendo has maintained its profits forecast for the full year, and continues to anticipate net profit of 75 billion Yen (529 million Euro), a decline from last year's profit figure of 87.4 billion Yen (616 million Euro).

That expectation may be tempered by concerns over the volatile currency market, which has in the recent past driven Nintendo into the red in its quarterly figures as the massive reserves of assets which the company holds overseas were devalued by the weakened dollar. ...

News from Lik Sang

The rumors have ended... 10 days later than what Japanese retailers and Lik Sang were speculating on. Nintendo of Japan has now made the official announcement everybody was waiting for: the Nintendo DS new look is named DS Lite and is coming out in Japan and on Lik-Sang.com this March 2nd of 2006, in five weeks from now. We are writing down reservations from this minute on for US$ 169. We recommend getting yourself in the preorder queue quickly if you want to be one of the first lucky few to hold it in your hands, "there is never enough of the good stuff on a launch day" as veteran gamers have learnt to know well already.

As the "Lite" extension suggests, the Nintendo DS dimensions and weight have been reduced by 42% and 21% respectively. The NDS Lite will be 148.7mm wide, 84.7mm high and 28.9mm deep and 215 grams only. The screens apparently will not be affected even though Nintendo did not go into that clearly in their statement. Oh, and guess what, it will be portable and fits in your pocket. Apart from that, there is no other major change except for a cool brightness adjustment feature that has been added, with four modes to select from. Start and Select are moved to the right, the power button is not visible on the face of the machine and may have been moved to the side, while the microphone has moved to the hinge between the two screens. Nintendo of Japan has only released two images of the fashionably-white Nintendo DS Lite at press time, we'll post more as it reaches our desk. ...

News from Lik Sang

The rumors have ended... 10 days later than what Japanese retailers and Lik Sang were speculating on. Nintendo of Japan has now made the official announcement everybody was waiting for: the Nintendo DS new look is named DS Lite and is coming out in Japan and on Lik-Sang.com this March 2nd of 2006, in five weeks from now. We are writing down reservations from this minute on for US$ 169. We recommend getting yourself in the preorder queue quickly if you want to be one of the first lucky few to hold it in your hands, "there is never enough of the good stuff on a launch day" as veteran gamers have learnt to know well already.

As the "Lite" extension suggests, the Nintendo DS dimensions and weight have been reduced by 42% and 21% respectively. The NDS Lite will be 148.7mm wide, 84.7mm high and 28.9mm deep and 215 grams only. The screens apparently will not be affected even though Nintendo did not go into that clearly in their statement. Oh, and guess what, it will be portable and fits in your pocket. Apart from that, there is no other major change except for a cool brightness adjustment feature that has been added, with four modes to select from. Start and Select are moved to the right, the power button is not visible on the face of the machine and may have been moved to the side, while the microphone has moved to the hinge between the two screens. Nintendo of Japan has only released two images of the fashionably-white Nintendo DS Lite at press time, we'll post more as it reaches our desk. ...

Another new Commercial Release for PSP fans:

Heres the info:



The best Tennis game across all systems, screenshots and more here --> http://www.yesasia.com/?/info.php?pro...9&lsaid=219793 ...

New Commercial release for the PSP, heres the info:



A new PSP version of the anime adventure game series originally released in Japan for PS one, produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and Production I.G. The game is a two-part graphic adventure based on Production I.G's animated film, with detailed images and over two hours of footage of the vampire girl's PlayStation adventure. The PSP title includes both the first and second volumes of the PS2 game along with a strategy flow chart, a CG gallery and specially edited movies.

More information and to buy go here --> http://www.yesasia.com/?/info.php?pro...6&lsaid=219793 ...

Nintendo have today announced a slimlined version of the Nintendo DS called DS Lite, The DS Lite will be less than two-thirds the size of the original Nintendo DS and more than 20 percent lighter. Screenshots and more information at Nintendo DS News. ...