via Eidos

As of February 27, 2008. Eidos will no longer be supporting on-line multiplay for for Project: Snowblind (PS2, Xbox and PC).

Existing support documents and content, however, will continue to be available through our website support.eidosinteractive.com. This Web site will continue to host a wealth of previous How-to, Troubleshooting, and Configuration content.” ...

via Eidos

As of February 27, 2008. Eidos will no longer be supporting on-line multiplay for for Project: Snowblind (PS2, Xbox and PC).

Existing support documents and content, however, will continue to be available through our website support.eidosinteractive.com. This Web site will continue to host a wealth of previous How-to, Troubleshooting, and Configuration content.” ...

VBA-M official forum has a new place, it's at http://vba-m.ngemu.com/forum/index.php

VBA-M is a Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance emulator for Windows. ...

via Gamasutra

[In this informal opinion piece, Gamasutra publisher Simon Carless looks at the 'hardcore game renaissance' on the PlayStation 2, thanks to an influx of Japanese imports and the apparent willingness of Sony to concept approve quirkier titles.]

Having just received the new issue of Game Informer magazine with Alpha Protocol on the cover, I was very interested to spot an ad for O3 Entertainment's Chaos Wars, which SiliconEra has been discussing for a while.

It's coming out in April now for PS2 - there's a pre-order page on GameStop's website. This is actually a pretty obscure product - as the Wikipedia page explains:

"Chaos Wars is a crossover between several companies' console role-playing game series: Aruze's Shadow Hearts, Atlus's Growlanser, Idea Factory's Blazing Souls, Gakuen Toshi Vara Noir, Spectral Force, Spectral Souls and Hametsu no Mars, and RED Entertainment's Gungrave and Samurai Police/Shinsengumi Gunrouden."

But yet it's managed to get a U.S. release on PlayStation 2, and that's part of an interesting trend. As the PS2 hardware has matured, but continued to sell (heck, it managed 350,000 units in the U.S. in February), we seem to be seeing SCEA relax its concept approval on casual titles and Japanese niche games alike.

Time was it that standalone 2D games wouldn't make it out on PlayStation 2. It's difficult to work out what was actually permitted, since there are some extravagant rumors, but it certainly seems that titles like Arcana Heart wouldn't have made it out previously. And now it has.

With that in mind, I've assembled a brief list of some North American PS2 titles of recent and upcoming vintages that seem oriented specifically for the so-called "hardcore gamer."I have almost certainly missed some, so that's what the comments are for:

- Arcana Heart (PS2, Atlus, April 2008)
"A 2D arcade fighting game developed by Examu (formerly Yuki Enterprise)... the game features an original all-female cast (each a variation of the moe Anime-Girl archetype), and after choosing a character the player chooses an "elemental alignment" which determines the character's special moves."

- Taito Legends 2 (Destineer, May 2007)
"Taito Legends 2 is a follow-up collection of... Taito arcade games for the PlayStation 2 [including Cameltry, Cleopatra Fortune, Elevator Action Returns, and a host of others]... Bonus content includes hints, cheats and tips for most games, original game flyers, and one interview with Taito."

- King Of Fighters XI (SNK, November 2007)
"The latest installment of The King of Fighters series. The game continues the story of The King of Fighters 2003." But also see a host of others, including Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, World Heroes Anthology, Fatal Fury Battle Archives, and more. SCEA sometimes allowed compilations of SNK 2D titles before, but it definitely seems like they are getting more friendly as resources shift to Wii and next-gen consoles.

- Heavenly Guardian (UFO Interactive, February 2008)
"The successor to the cult favorite Kiki KaiKai series, known more commonly as Pocky & Rocky in North America. It is not precisely the Kiki KaiKai 2 sequel that had previously been announced and canceled - however it is developed by the same company, Starfish SD, and has been described as a "spiritual successor" and is allegedly "very similar" to the cancelled game according to Kiki Kai World's publisher, UFO Entertainment."

Some other alternative titles to mention might include Baroque, Mana Khemia, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, Persona 3 FES and a host of others. Again, it's not as if these titles all wouldnt have been released before.

But in a time that a lot of people are concentrating on the 'next-gen experiences', it's great to see some exquisitely niche PlayStation 2 titles - often with wonderfully crafted gameplay - flowing into the West.

Sure, these are niche games which may only sell 10,000 or 20,000 copies, but with the titles already produced for the Japanese market, and with Japanese game developers increasingly targeting the Western market, we may well see more in the future. ...

via IGN

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system has shipped to retailers nationwide. Featuring the original Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation game console, the director's cut of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3, fans and newcomers have the chance to get fully immersed in the Metal Gear Solid universe before the release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Additionally, the title comes in a commemorative package with artwork by renowned Metal Gear Solid artist Yoji Shinkawa.

"The Metal Gear Solid series created a unique stealth action genre within videogames, and subsequently became one of the most popular game franchises in the world," said Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. "Now gamers have the chance to experience the evolution of a groundbreaking series in one collectible package. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection is an amazing value for gamers.

Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection is rated M for Mature by the ESRB and sells for a suggested retail price of $29.99. For more information visit the website at www.konami.com. ...

via IGN

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) announced today the release of SingStar '90s, the latest installment in the ever growing multi-million selling SingStar franchise, available exclusively for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's Worldwide Studios, London Studio, SingStar '90s brings a hit list of Grunge, R&B, Rap and Pop music from artists that defined the decade including Paula Abdul, En Vogue, Vanilla Ice, Boyz II Men, Nirvana and more.

Available both as a stand-alone disc and packaged with two high-quality USB microphones, the addition of SingStar '90s as the fifth installment to the SingStar catalogue provides PlayStation fans with over 150 chart-topping songs and music videos to sing, compete and have fun with friends and family. Players can easily access any of the song lists while playing from SingStar '90s, SingStar Rocks!, SingStar Pop, SingStar '80s, or SingStar Amped with the disc swap feature which allows for seamless transition between titles.

"The SingStar franchise has been instrumental in making PlayStation 2 a social entertainment hub in the home. SingStar '90s will build on this success and provide fans with the songs and videos that made boy bands and flannel shirts all the rage," said Jeff Reese, director, software marketing, SCEA. "This year will be landmark for SingStar as we continue to deliver compelling content on PlayStation 2 while also revolutionizing the franchise as we bring it to PlayStation 3 on May 20 by giving players access to purchase hundreds of songs and videos across multiple genres, build and customize party playlists, and build a community of user-created performances."

Regardless of music or gaming ability, aspiring rock stars can select from 30 hit songs to sing along with while watching the actual music video on screen. Performing to such crowd pleasing favorites as "U Can't Touch This", "Pump up the Jam", and "Ice Ice Baby", players can take their turn in the spotlight solo-style or share the spotlight with multiplayer modes, including cooperative Duet Mode, one-on-one Battle Mode, and the team-based Pass-the-Mic which accommodates up to eight players. In addition, SingStar '90s is compatible with the popular EyeToy USB camera which allows players to watch themselves belt it out as the main act and record their performance for playback. Players can also save their favorite vocal performances onto a Memory Card for future audio playback and customize and enhance playback with numerous effects.

SCEA will support SingStar '90s with a media advertising campaign, full promotional support including in-store demonstrations, retailer supported Social Gaming Areas, merchandising support, broad-based public relations support, and an immersive and interactive SingStar website at http://www.us.playstation.com/singstar/.

The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has rated SingStar '90s "T" for "Teen". For more information about the ESRB, please visit www.esrb.org.

...

More progress on the upcoming homebrew game for Dreamcast.

From the official website:

Hello dear Giana-Fans!

First of all, let us tell you that the project is not abandoned and we won’t abandon it

Everyone has already read the story about the graphics artist issues severall times already and you boys and girls are probably already sick about it - which would be pretty much understandable. A pixelgraphics artist from France named [thUg] who was also active in the Amiga demoscene offered his help, which we will glady accept - things should move on soon.

So this was the status about Giana’s Retun itself… now time for something new…

We got hands on a very talented (but unfortunatly not free) graphics artist who is currently drawing sprites and tiles for a new Sci-Fi Jump’n'Shoot. We are taking essences from “Hard’n'Heavy”, “Metal Slug” and “Turrican” and mixing it up into a brandnew game, based upon the Giana’s Return engine. Of course we could have got that graphics guy also for our main project, but the background of this story is a bit more difficult and would probably fill a few pages to explain.

We have the main sprite “Little Bastard” ready and animated, white a nice and proper gun in his hands. Within the next three to four weeks, we should have everything ready to start. The game itself will be less complex than Giana’s Return as we want to head towards “Hard’n'Heavy” which was dealt as “The Great Giana Sisters II”.

We don’t have a music artist for this, as Operator is still busy with the Giana’s Return music and sound FX. Our organizer is already having some artists in mind, who could provide proper chipmusic. This time it might not be “exclusive” tracks as for Giana’s Return, but be sure that the music will rock the house - or better said “chip” the house.

Kudos!
Your’s Giana’s Return Team

PS: We answered most of the people who offered help, but most of them didn’t reply, did you guys checked your spambox folder? ...

After more than one year, we get news from Demul, the Sega Dreamcast emulator for PC.

Source:

After one year of delay Russian author of Dreamcast emulator Wind has been back in action. WIP version of new Demul emulator able to run some WinCE and Naomi arcada machine games all along with other unemulated games such Grand Thieft Auto 2 and others. Anyway, since Makaron and NullDC has presented it's emulations progress, this will be not enough for somebody. But, Demul was first emulator supports quicksave feature, render-to-texture mode emulated and more stuff like keyboard od so on. So stay tuned, any news available ot Emu-russia forum (link below), any other release news will be on official sit at demul.emulation64.com. Enjoy. ...

The author Richard42 said:

Emulator fans, come and test our release candidate of the upcoming Mupen64Plus version 1.3. The major features of this emulator are:

- runs on 32-bit or 64-bit Linux systems with optimized code
- includes 3 great OpenGL video plugins: glN64, RiceVideoLinux, and glide64
- massively cleaned-up interface code; GTK GUI build and "nogui" build are unified
- install/uninstall scripts to properly handle a multi-user environment
- bugfixes in the 64-bit dynamic recompiler, GTK GUI, and plugins

I would like to acknowledge Ebenblues, who put a lot of work into the enhancements and changes, and Günther, who made a backwards-compatible 64-bit port of Glide64 included here.

You can download the packages here.

Or you can get the latest SVN snapshot and build your own with this repository:
svn://fascination.homelinux.net:7684/mupen64plus/trunk/
There is read-only access for the username "mupen64" with password "Dyson5632-kart".

So please test it out and report bugs in this thread. We'll make an official release in a couple of weeks after addressing the issues reported here. We would also be interested to talk with distro packagers to get it included with upcoming Linux distributions. ...