The Nintendo DS took a strong lead in the Japanese game hardware ranking last week, with the platform accounting for almost 53 per cent of all hardware sold thanks to the launch of new coloured versions and key new software titles.

Sales of the platform are believed to have hit around 96,000 units for the week, compared with just 33,000 for the PlayStation Portable, as software including Nintendo's own Nintendogs and Tomy's latest Naruto game arrived for the console.

The top-selling software title for the week was Square Enix' PS2 RPG Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song, which sold around 217,000 units but was completely sold out at many retailers, according to market watchers Media Create, and should sell strongly again once it is restocked.

Nintendo's GameCube strategy title Fire Emblem: Souen no Kiseki was at number two, with around 108,000 sales, but in real terms it was outsold by DS exclusive title Nintendogs, which racked up 181,000 sales in total - an amazing number for a title on such a recently launched platform.

However, since the game was launched in three different versions (Shiba, Dachs and Chihuahua), these three were tracked as separate products - meaning that the puppy simulation title took places four, five and six in the chart, rather than being listed as a single product at number two.

Tomy's latest game to be based on the hugely popular Naruto anime franchise, Naruto: Saikyou Ninja Daikesshuu 3, is another DS title which performed incredibly strongly this week, popping in at number three in the chart.

The performance of the Nintendo DS this week, combined with its strong performance in the past month following the arrival of the first batch of new colours, has narrowed the sales gap between the two new handheld consoles significantly.

Year to date sales for the DS stand at around 675,000 units, while the PSP has racked up around 758,000 units - and of course, the DS entered the year with a massive lead in Japan, most of which it still retains.

Aside from the DS' 53 per cent market share this week, the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable had 18 per cent share apiece, with the Game Boy Advance on six per cent and the GameCube just shy of five per cent. ...

Following a spate of recent leaks, none of which Microsoft has been prepared to comment upon, news reaches us from the USA that the Xbox 360 next-generation console logo will feature swirly green lines on a white background.

Microsoft is, er, unprepared to comment, reminding this website that a logo has not been revealed.

"We have not announced the logo for our next-generation platform. I would recommend you tune in to MTV on the 13th of May if you're curious," a spokesperson told us this morning.

What's interesting about this particular "leak" is that the swirly design is very similar to that emblazoned upon the shiny invites Microsoft has been distributing to the press for its pre-E3 press conference on May 16th. It also matches up with an image seen in the trailer for the MTV show.

You can take a look at the logo - originally posted on GamerCentric - and a photo of the Microsoft E3 invite side by side over at our sister site, Eurogamer.net.

As you can see, there's an uncanny resemblance. The question, of course, is whether someone's simply taken a look at that and fashioned an image to fit. We'll know for sure on May 13th. ...

It's barely two weeks until Microsoft finally unveils the Xbox 360 to the world and yet we're still discovering scraps of info to sink our teeth into.
It doesn't help when Xbox Live's director of programming Larry Hryb, also known as Major Nelson, chucks out little teasers like this. Apparently he's just been privy to the 360's start-up screens and it's looking pretty sweet.

Writing in his weblog, Hryb said, "A lot of what I see and do during the day I can't talk about, but I am going to break that theme for just a moment. Today, I became one of the very first people to see the opening animation for the next generation console. That's the animation that you see when you turn the unit on. I can't say much more then that...but I will say this: it's really cool and goes by very quick... So quick that I asked to see it again."

Despite the pleading cries from Hryb's forumites the man would not be budged for more information. It has already been suggested that the start-up animation could resemble the end of the MTV commercial trailing May 12's unveiling. You can see it here.
It's a pretty weird state of affairs when the boot-up animation of a console gets us all excited, but such is our desire for the latest Xbox 360 details we can't help it. ...

Microsoft and Samsung, sitting in an HDTV, K, I, S, S, I, N, G. That's how we'd describe the newly announced love-fest between the Seattle-based computing giant and the Korean consumer electronics company if we were five years old.
But, alas, we're not. So we should say that Microsoft has announced that Samsung will be the preferred supplier of High Definition television sets (HDTV) for the Xbox 360.

Microsoft is making a big deal about the whole High Def thing, with J Allard's keynote speech at March's GDC discussing how HD technology will be an important part of the next-gen Xbox experience. "In the HD Era the platform is bigger than the processor," he said, "[this] new technology will redefine entertainment as we know it."

The Xbox 360 will be specially designed to exploit the greater quality and resolution available on HDTV sets, leading to more immersive and impressive game experiences. Thanks to this partnership Samsung will be the recommended manufacturer of these HDTV sets.
"Samsung is a natural partner to showcase the richness of the next-generation Xbox," said Peter Moore, Xbox's corporate vice president of worldwide marketing and publishing. "Samsung HDTVs will provide Xbox enthusiasts with the truest high-definition gaming experience available."

Samsung HDTV sets will be installed in over 25,000 Xbox 360 retail pods around the world to give gamers a taste of the HD love.

Technically speaking, Samsung's HDTVs offer super-fast 12 millisecond pixel switching speed, which means more stuff can happen on screen without blurring or ghosting. The Fixed Pixel Device eliminates scan lines, consigning judders and flickers to the bin. And improved audio technology means sound will be crisper, deeper and richer than ever before.

Of course, this announcement is more commercial than technical in nature. The partnership is essentially a marketing tool for both companies, and indeed huge cross-promotions on TV, cinema, and print media are planned. Interestingly, Microsoft states that the first Xbox 360 High-Definition game will "incorporate Samsung-branded products as well as instances of Samsung's logo as part of the overall HD gaming experience". Perfect Dark Zero, perhaps?

It's all very cosy, but surely the real question is how many people are willing to splash out on a new, expensive TV to go with their new games console? Let us know what you think in the forums. ...

Damn its been a hard two days without my internet work and sites to keep my free time busy (although Red Alert 2 got some major time) but its all resolved now and things are back to normal, our server admin Martin had to deal with problems out of our control and they pulled the network for 2 days, luckily we are back as normal and you can expect a mass of newsposts. ...

Here is a demo showing off the functions:
1) gluSphere
2) gluCylinder
3) gluDisk
4) gluPartialDisk
5) good ole Dovoto's textured cube

All have the ability to be textured inside and outside.
I have a bit more optimizing to do on the texture side...but I think I have the functions working pretty well. These functions will only work with GL_NONE (not smooth or FLAT), and GL_FILL (no point or line mapping?)

Press A to change the figure (or z on the PC):
http://forum.gbadev.org/viewtopic.php?t=5545 ...

Speaking with US publication Electronic Gaming Monthly, in their most recent issue, Nintendo producer Eiji Aonuma has revealed more details about the current Legend of Zelda work in progress.

According to Aonuma, the team working on the new Zelda has tweaked the combat system used in Wind Waker and introduced some additional attacks. The critical counter move will make a welcome return - an inclusion that made Wind Waker's combat feel like well-rehearsed and choreographed routines.

Link will also have the ability to Doolittle, or talk to the animals, although Aonuma didn't disclose how he would communicate with his furry little friends. We'd imagine that this would be a core feature of the game that is performed using a specific item, much in the same way that the ocarina and wand were both central to Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker respectively.

Anyone who enjoyed a relaxing spot of fishing at Lake Hylia in Ocarina of Time will undoubtedly be pleased to hear that players will be able to indulge in some rod action.

In terms of the story, Aonuma confirmed that poor old Zelda needs rescuing (again), and - surprise, surprise - the evil Ganon returns (again).

The new Legend of Zelda title will be out for Gamecube later this year ...

Namco Hometek today announced that Pac-Pix has shipped to retail outlets for the Nintendo DS. The game stars Pac-Man, one of the legends of the gaming industry in unusual territory--a puzzle adventure.

The Ghosts have returned to haunt Pac-Man with more nuisances, and it's up to him to do what he does best--eat 'em. After a wizard creates "ghost ink," everything subsequently drawn with the fluid turns into ghosts. Pac-Man tries to trap the ghosts in a book using his own trusty pen, but gets stuck in the book along with his foes.

"Pac-Pix lets players express their creativity through the DS’s stylus and touch screen by drawing Pac-Man and a variety of items to track down pesky Ghosts," said Yoshi Niki, Business Unit Director at Namco Hometek Inc. "People have been drawing Pac-Man for 25 years, and we now have the capability to let players bring these drawings to life in an all-new adventure."

Gamers will wield the DS stylus as Pac-Man's pen, and control the hero by drawing walls that direct him one way or another. As the game progresses, both ghosts and Pac-Man will travel between the dual screens. In order to attack enemies on the top screen, gamers will doodle arrows and fire them upward, coaxing the specters to the lower screen and into Pac-Man's gut. ...

Sony finally unveiled the European release date and pricepoint for the PSP this morning, and Nintendo was quick to react with a stinging barrage of sales figures and new game release dates.
The PSP will go on sale across Europe on September 1 (full details here), a full six months after the DS's release on March 11. Nintendo has already shifted over 200,000 units in the UK alone, with the worldwide DS sales figure now nudging 3 million.

Nintendo seems unphased by the forthcoming arrival of the PSP: "Nintendo believes that competition is healthy and vital to industry growth," said David Yarnton, managing director of Nintendo UK. "The Nintendo DS is out now; retailing at £99 and with over 200,000 consoles sold in the UK in just over six weeks, the Nintendo DS has firmly cemented itself as firm favourite with UK gamers."

We're tempted to say "Oooh, hark at 'er," but then we love a bit of cross-company sniping. It's just a shame we have to wait until September for the handheld wars to kick off in earnest.
And to really rub salt in Sony's delay wounds Nintendo announced release dates for three new DS games that will hit shelves months before the PSP launches. Retro racing game Ridge Racers DS will be available from June 3, quick-on-the-draw stylus masher Pac-Pix will launch on May 20, and touchscreen and mic-bothering RPG Another Code: Two Memories will be out on June 24.

Other high-profile DS game launches include Yoshi Touch & Go on May 6 and Need for Speed Underground on May 27. Nintendogs, the puppy training game that has us wagging our tails every time we see it, doesn't have a release date yet but Japanese magazine Famitsu has just given it a coveted perfect score. Good boy!

We'll bring you the latest on the handheld showdown as it happens. ...