GP2X.co.uk have posted this news:

Oct 4th: The first final units are complete, beta testing of the OS will take around 2 weeks (yes, lots of videos will be posted), then the units will ship out to all preorder customers. Its all pretty exciting here right now ...

Source - Gamespot

Rockstar Games recently updated the official Web site for Grand Theft Auto Liberty Stories for the PSP, and one of the most eagerly anticipated additions to the franchise has been confirmed: Liberty City Stories will have multiplayer modes. The series, known to the public for its glamorizing of a crime-ridden lifestyle, violence, and adult-oriented minigames, has also been long known to gamers for being almost strictly single-player. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has some two-player minigames.)

Liberty City Stories will feature several multiplayer modes, and it will, if a diagram on the Web site is accurate, support up to six players. The Web site details three of the modes, and it promises more to come in the future. The Web site does not say if the game will be playable over the Internet or in an ad hoc fashion.

The first mode, Liberty City survivor is the game's take on the typical deathmatch format. It will apparently be available as an every-man-for-himself format or in a team (referred to as "gangs") format. The games will be played with a time limit, and the first team to reach a certain number of kills or to have the most kills when time runs out will be declared the winner.

Protection racket sees gamers playing both sides of a gang attempting to destroy four limousines in another gang's base. Like the familiar multiplayer game of assault, play will occur in multiple rounds, and teams will be designated as being either on offense or defense. Once the four limos are destroyed, the teams switch sides. The new offensive team must destroy its rivals' limos faster than its opponents destroy theirs.

Get stretch is best described as capture the flag with a twist. Gone are the standard flags associated with this genre, as targets are now automobiles. Each gang's base has a designated vehicle the other team is required to steal and bring back to its home base.

Also released on the Web site is the latest trailer for the game, which shows protagonist Tony Cipriani interacting with some nefarious characters. The trailer also confirms, not so shockingly, the game's M for Mature rating (for Strong Language, Blood and Gore, Use of Drugs, Intense Violence, and yes, Strong Sexual Content--all on a handheld device).

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories will be released October 25 for $49.99. ...

Source - Gamespot

Rockstar Games recently updated the official Web site for Grand Theft Auto Liberty Stories for the PSP, and one of the most eagerly anticipated additions to the franchise has been confirmed: Liberty City Stories will have multiplayer modes. The series, known to the public for its glamorizing of a crime-ridden lifestyle, violence, and adult-oriented minigames, has also been long known to gamers for being almost strictly single-player. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has some two-player minigames.)

Liberty City Stories will feature several multiplayer modes, and it will, if a diagram on the Web site is accurate, support up to six players. The Web site details three of the modes, and it promises more to come in the future. The Web site does not say if the game will be playable over the Internet or in an ad hoc fashion.

The first mode, Liberty City survivor is the game's take on the typical deathmatch format. It will apparently be available as an every-man-for-himself format or in a team (referred to as "gangs") format. The games will be played with a time limit, and the first team to reach a certain number of kills or to have the most kills when time runs out will be declared the winner.

Protection racket sees gamers playing both sides of a gang attempting to destroy four limousines in another gang's base. Like the familiar multiplayer game of assault, play will occur in multiple rounds, and teams will be designated as being either on offense or defense. Once the four limos are destroyed, the teams switch sides. The new offensive team must destroy its rivals' limos faster than its opponents destroy theirs.

Get stretch is best described as capture the flag with a twist. Gone are the standard flags associated with this genre, as targets are now automobiles. Each gang's base has a designated vehicle the other team is required to steal and bring back to its home base.

Also released on the Web site is the latest trailer for the game, which shows protagonist Tony Cipriani interacting with some nefarious characters. The trailer also confirms, not so shockingly, the game's M for Mature rating (for Strong Language, Blood and Gore, Use of Drugs, Intense Violence, and yes, Strong Sexual Content--all on a handheld device).

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories will be released October 25 for $49.99. ...

Source - Gamespot

Rockstar Games recently updated the official Web site for Grand Theft Auto Liberty Stories for the PSP, and one of the most eagerly anticipated additions to the franchise has been confirmed: Liberty City Stories will have multiplayer modes. The series, known to the public for its glamorizing of a crime-ridden lifestyle, violence, and adult-oriented minigames, has also been long known to gamers for being almost strictly single-player. (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has some two-player minigames.)

Liberty City Stories will feature several multiplayer modes, and it will, if a diagram on the Web site is accurate, support up to six players. The Web site details three of the modes, and it promises more to come in the future. The Web site does not say if the game will be playable over the Internet or in an ad hoc fashion.

The first mode, Liberty City survivor is the game's take on the typical deathmatch format. It will apparently be available as an every-man-for-himself format or in a team (referred to as "gangs") format. The games will be played with a time limit, and the first team to reach a certain number of kills or to have the most kills when time runs out will be declared the winner.

Protection racket sees gamers playing both sides of a gang attempting to destroy four limousines in another gang's base. Like the familiar multiplayer game of assault, play will occur in multiple rounds, and teams will be designated as being either on offense or defense. Once the four limos are destroyed, the teams switch sides. The new offensive team must destroy its rivals' limos faster than its opponents destroy theirs.

Get stretch is best described as capture the flag with a twist. Gone are the standard flags associated with this genre, as targets are now automobiles. Each gang's base has a designated vehicle the other team is required to steal and bring back to its home base.

Also released on the Web site is the latest trailer for the game, which shows protagonist Tony Cipriani interacting with some nefarious characters. The trailer also confirms, not so shockingly, the game's M for Mature rating (for Strong Language, Blood and Gore, Use of Drugs, Intense Violence, and yes, Strong Sexual Content--all on a handheld device).

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories will be released October 25 for $49.99. ...

Source - Gamespot

Last week, Piper Jaffray analysts Anthony Gikas and Stephanie Wissinck released a report with some surprising forecasts for the gaming industry, not the least of which included a prediction that the Revolution's sales wouldn't live up to its name and the expectation of a new hard-drive-equipped model of the PSP to hit shelves next year.

Today, GameSpot caught up with Gikas for a bit of explanation on his analysis, starting with the forecast that the Revolution would have no significant impact (positive or negative) on Nintendo's place in the console market through 2008.

"As a starting point, that's essentially what we're looking at," Gikas said. "Nintendo will have the same 15 percent plus or minus market share."

As shocking as the Revolution controller might have been for many gamers, Gikas didn't think it would substantially affect Nintendo's fate in its first couple of years of release. "I don't think that the controller's a big enough deal that it's changing [Nintendo's] place in the market," Gikas said.

As for the hard-drive-equipped PSP, Gikas considers it a natural choice for Sony for a couple of reasons. "If it really is going to be a multidimensional entertainment device," Gikas said, "it's going to need a hard drive so you can store greater amounts of data in it."

Beyond fulfilling the company's vision for the handheld gaming gadget, a hard-drive-equipped PSP would also let Sony reprice the hardware (possibly selling the base PSP for $199 and the new model for the original price point of $250) and stem the losses that come from regular price cuts on gaming platforms. It's a tactic Gikas said he expects to see from more console makers in the future.

"They're not making much money on these hardware devices to begin with, and to the extent that [systems] go historically from $300 to $200 to $150 to $99 to $79, you're just losing more and more money as the cycle progresses," Gikas said. "I think you're going to see smaller upgrades to these hardware devices as we move into this next cycle, and that will give the hardware guys an opportunity to reprice and keep those price points higher."

While multiple hardware configurations and upgrades have failed in the past (from the Sega 32X to the PlayStation 2 hard drive), the trend of regular hardware upgrades doesn't necessarily mean developers and publishers have to worry about which particular system configurations their customers might be using.

"There are things you can do to the box along the way that don't disrupt the development process for the publishers," Gikas said. "I'm not talking about a change to the underlying technology of the box itself. There are ways to upgrade that box that really don't interfere with anything the publishers are doing."

For instance, if Microsoft were to unveil an Xbox 360 model in the future with a larger hard drive or a high-definition DVD drive, publishers wouldn't have to worry about whether gamers had a 20-gig or a 50-gig hard drive. And as for upgrades that would impact the core functionality of a system, Gikas says there's just no call for them in the first years of a system's life span.

"For this first round of games on the Xbox 360, the publishers are only going to be utilizing half of the technology of that box," Gikas said. "It takes a couple generations of these products for the publishers to really ramp up to utilize the full potential of the technology of these systems."

Finally, Gikas expounded a bit on the growth of nontraditional software markets composed of in-game advertising, direct console downloads, and mobile gaming.

"We do project that [combined] market at about $900 million in 2007, so when you add that on top of the almost 9 billion in software from console, handheld, and PC, it's a big chunk. All of a sudden it's 10 percent of the industry in 2007."

That would make those nontraditional markets bigger than PC gaming by 2007. But while Gikas fully expects that sector to experience significant growth, the markets are so new and so small as yet that he expects that individual projections for all three of them will change dramatically in coming years.

"The point is there are real dollars there, they're coming, and they're coming over the next few years," Gikas said. ...

Source - Gamespot

Last week, Piper Jaffray analysts Anthony Gikas and Stephanie Wissinck released a report with some surprising forecasts for the gaming industry, not the least of which included a prediction that the Revolution's sales wouldn't live up to its name and the expectation of a new hard-drive-equipped model of the PSP to hit shelves next year.

Today, GameSpot caught up with Gikas for a bit of explanation on his analysis, starting with the forecast that the Revolution would have no significant impact (positive or negative) on Nintendo's place in the console market through 2008.

"As a starting point, that's essentially what we're looking at," Gikas said. "Nintendo will have the same 15 percent plus or minus market share."

As shocking as the Revolution controller might have been for many gamers, Gikas didn't think it would substantially affect Nintendo's fate in its first couple of years of release. "I don't think that the controller's a big enough deal that it's changing [Nintendo's] place in the market," Gikas said.

As for the hard-drive-equipped PSP, Gikas considers it a natural choice for Sony for a couple of reasons. "If it really is going to be a multidimensional entertainment device," Gikas said, "it's going to need a hard drive so you can store greater amounts of data in it."

Beyond fulfilling the company's vision for the handheld gaming gadget, a hard-drive-equipped PSP would also let Sony reprice the hardware (possibly selling the base PSP for $199 and the new model for the original price point of $250) and stem the losses that come from regular price cuts on gaming platforms. It's a tactic Gikas said he expects to see from more console makers in the future.

"They're not making much money on these hardware devices to begin with, and to the extent that [systems] go historically from $300 to $200 to $150 to $99 to $79, you're just losing more and more money as the cycle progresses," Gikas said. "I think you're going to see smaller upgrades to these hardware devices as we move into this next cycle, and that will give the hardware guys an opportunity to reprice and keep those price points higher."

While multiple hardware configurations and upgrades have failed in the past (from the Sega 32X to the PlayStation 2 hard drive), the trend of regular hardware upgrades doesn't necessarily mean developers and publishers have to worry about which particular system configurations their customers might be using.

"There are things you can do to the box along the way that don't disrupt the development process for the publishers," Gikas said. "I'm not talking about a change to the underlying technology of the box itself. There are ways to upgrade that box that really don't interfere with anything the publishers are doing."

For instance, if Microsoft were to unveil an Xbox 360 model in the future with a larger hard drive or a high-definition DVD drive, publishers wouldn't have to worry about whether gamers had a 20-gig or a 50-gig hard drive. And as for upgrades that would impact the core functionality of a system, Gikas says there's just no call for them in the first years of a system's life span.

"For this first round of games on the Xbox 360, the publishers are only going to be utilizing half of the technology of that box," Gikas said. "It takes a couple generations of these products for the publishers to really ramp up to utilize the full potential of the technology of these systems."

Finally, Gikas expounded a bit on the growth of nontraditional software markets composed of in-game advertising, direct console downloads, and mobile gaming.

"We do project that [combined] market at about $900 million in 2007, so when you add that on top of the almost 9 billion in software from console, handheld, and PC, it's a big chunk. All of a sudden it's 10 percent of the industry in 2007."

That would make those nontraditional markets bigger than PC gaming by 2007. But while Gikas fully expects that sector to experience significant growth, the markets are so new and so small as yet that he expects that individual projections for all three of them will change dramatically in coming years.

"The point is there are real dollars there, they're coming, and they're coming over the next few years," Gikas said. ...

Source - Gamespot

Last week, Piper Jaffray analysts Anthony Gikas and Stephanie Wissinck released a report with some surprising forecasts for the gaming industry, not the least of which included a prediction that the Revolution's sales wouldn't live up to its name and the expectation of a new hard-drive-equipped model of the PSP to hit shelves next year.

Today, GameSpot caught up with Gikas for a bit of explanation on his analysis, starting with the forecast that the Revolution would have no significant impact (positive or negative) on Nintendo's place in the console market through 2008.

"As a starting point, that's essentially what we're looking at," Gikas said. "Nintendo will have the same 15 percent plus or minus market share."

As shocking as the Revolution controller might have been for many gamers, Gikas didn't think it would substantially affect Nintendo's fate in its first couple of years of release. "I don't think that the controller's a big enough deal that it's changing [Nintendo's] place in the market," Gikas said.

As for the hard-drive-equipped PSP, Gikas considers it a natural choice for Sony for a couple of reasons. "If it really is going to be a multidimensional entertainment device," Gikas said, "it's going to need a hard drive so you can store greater amounts of data in it."

Beyond fulfilling the company's vision for the handheld gaming gadget, a hard-drive-equipped PSP would also let Sony reprice the hardware (possibly selling the base PSP for $199 and the new model for the original price point of $250) and stem the losses that come from regular price cuts on gaming platforms. It's a tactic Gikas said he expects to see from more console makers in the future.

"They're not making much money on these hardware devices to begin with, and to the extent that [systems] go historically from $300 to $200 to $150 to $99 to $79, you're just losing more and more money as the cycle progresses," Gikas said. "I think you're going to see smaller upgrades to these hardware devices as we move into this next cycle, and that will give the hardware guys an opportunity to reprice and keep those price points higher."

While multiple hardware configurations and upgrades have failed in the past (from the Sega 32X to the PlayStation 2 hard drive), the trend of regular hardware upgrades doesn't necessarily mean developers and publishers have to worry about which particular system configurations their customers might be using.

"There are things you can do to the box along the way that don't disrupt the development process for the publishers," Gikas said. "I'm not talking about a change to the underlying technology of the box itself. There are ways to upgrade that box that really don't interfere with anything the publishers are doing."

For instance, if Microsoft were to unveil an Xbox 360 model in the future with a larger hard drive or a high-definition DVD drive, publishers wouldn't have to worry about whether gamers had a 20-gig or a 50-gig hard drive. And as for upgrades that would impact the core functionality of a system, Gikas says there's just no call for them in the first years of a system's life span.

"For this first round of games on the Xbox 360, the publishers are only going to be utilizing half of the technology of that box," Gikas said. "It takes a couple generations of these products for the publishers to really ramp up to utilize the full potential of the technology of these systems."

Finally, Gikas expounded a bit on the growth of nontraditional software markets composed of in-game advertising, direct console downloads, and mobile gaming.

"We do project that [combined] market at about $900 million in 2007, so when you add that on top of the almost 9 billion in software from console, handheld, and PC, it's a big chunk. All of a sudden it's 10 percent of the industry in 2007."

That would make those nontraditional markets bigger than PC gaming by 2007. But while Gikas fully expects that sector to experience significant growth, the markets are so new and so small as yet that he expects that individual projections for all three of them will change dramatically in coming years.

"The point is there are real dollars there, they're coming, and they're coming over the next few years," Gikas said. ...

Source - Gamespot

Last week, Piper Jaffray analysts Anthony Gikas and Stephanie Wissinck released a report with some surprising forecasts for the gaming industry, not the least of which included a prediction that the Revolution's sales wouldn't live up to its name and the expectation of a new hard-drive-equipped model of the PSP to hit shelves next year.

Today, GameSpot caught up with Gikas for a bit of explanation on his analysis, starting with the forecast that the Revolution would have no significant impact (positive or negative) on Nintendo's place in the console market through 2008.

"As a starting point, that's essentially what we're looking at," Gikas said. "Nintendo will have the same 15 percent plus or minus market share."

As shocking as the Revolution controller might have been for many gamers, Gikas didn't think it would substantially affect Nintendo's fate in its first couple of years of release. "I don't think that the controller's a big enough deal that it's changing [Nintendo's] place in the market," Gikas said.

As for the hard-drive-equipped PSP, Gikas considers it a natural choice for Sony for a couple of reasons. "If it really is going to be a multidimensional entertainment device," Gikas said, "it's going to need a hard drive so you can store greater amounts of data in it."

Beyond fulfilling the company's vision for the handheld gaming gadget, a hard-drive-equipped PSP would also let Sony reprice the hardware (possibly selling the base PSP for $199 and the new model for the original price point of $250) and stem the losses that come from regular price cuts on gaming platforms. It's a tactic Gikas said he expects to see from more console makers in the future.

"They're not making much money on these hardware devices to begin with, and to the extent that [systems] go historically from $300 to $200 to $150 to $99 to $79, you're just losing more and more money as the cycle progresses," Gikas said. "I think you're going to see smaller upgrades to these hardware devices as we move into this next cycle, and that will give the hardware guys an opportunity to reprice and keep those price points higher."

While multiple hardware configurations and upgrades have failed in the past (from the Sega 32X to the PlayStation 2 hard drive), the trend of regular hardware upgrades doesn't necessarily mean developers and publishers have to worry about which particular system configurations their customers might be using.

"There are things you can do to the box along the way that don't disrupt the development process for the publishers," Gikas said. "I'm not talking about a change to the underlying technology of the box itself. There are ways to upgrade that box that really don't interfere with anything the publishers are doing."

For instance, if Microsoft were to unveil an Xbox 360 model in the future with a larger hard drive or a high-definition DVD drive, publishers wouldn't have to worry about whether gamers had a 20-gig or a 50-gig hard drive. And as for upgrades that would impact the core functionality of a system, Gikas says there's just no call for them in the first years of a system's life span.

"For this first round of games on the Xbox 360, the publishers are only going to be utilizing half of the technology of that box," Gikas said. "It takes a couple generations of these products for the publishers to really ramp up to utilize the full potential of the technology of these systems."

Finally, Gikas expounded a bit on the growth of nontraditional software markets composed of in-game advertising, direct console downloads, and mobile gaming.

"We do project that [combined] market at about $900 million in 2007, so when you add that on top of the almost 9 billion in software from console, handheld, and PC, it's a big chunk. All of a sudden it's 10 percent of the industry in 2007."

That would make those nontraditional markets bigger than PC gaming by 2007. But while Gikas fully expects that sector to experience significant growth, the markets are so new and so small as yet that he expects that individual projections for all three of them will change dramatically in coming years.

"The point is there are real dollars there, they're coming, and they're coming over the next few years," Gikas said. ...

The rubber's about to meet the road for next-gen motorcycle racing, thanks to THQ and Climax Group.

The publisher and developer today announced that they're bringing their popular motorcycle sim series, MotoGP 2006: Ultimate Racing Technology, to the Xbox 360. Fully licensed by MotoGP rights holder Dorna Sports, MotoGP URT on the Xbox 360 will give Climax a chance to combine the sim-style gameplay on which it built the series with the power of a next-generation system.

"The next-gen technology allows us to focus on developing an incredible visual experience with the unparalleled sensation of speed and adrenaline that is an inherent part of MotoGP," said THQ executive vice president of worldwide publishing Kelly Flock, "while also retaining the depth of realism that our relationship with Dorna awards us."

The most recent installment in THQ's MotoGP series, MotoGP 3: Ultimate Racing Technology, debuted on the Xbox and PC in August to a warm critical reception. In a break from series tradition, MotoGP 3 incorporated an extreme street-racing mode with fictional tracks, bikes, and riders. The Xbox 360 installment will offer players an "enhanced extreme mode" and new tracks, bikes, and riders. ...