news via gameindustry

Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of digital entertainment products and content, today announced Holly Hobbie & Friends for the Nintendo DS™. Developed by Frontline Studios, Inc. and scheduled to launch this fall, Holly Hobbie™ & Friends features the girl with heart, Holly Hobbie, and her best friends Carrie and Amy, as they take part in themed mini-games.

“With a growing licensed product line that includes DVDs, toys and craft books, the Holly Hobbie property is as popular as ever,” said Ken Gold, vice president of Marketing, Majesco. “Our Holly Hobbie™ DS game offers a positive play experience for today’s young girls while letting fans of the property interact with Holly on the go.”

In Holly Hobbie™ & Friends, players will get to know Holly’s family, her two best friends and their pets Bonnet, Doodles, Cheddar and Cider. Earning letters in the “H-E-Y G-I-R-L-S” club motto lets girls unlock additional mini-games including cooking, ice skating, biking, dancing, designing posters, organizing a sleepover and more. A Holly Hobbie Journal lets players record secret notes, drawings and high scores, while a Holly Pop Quiz tests how well players know their Holly Hobbie Trivia.

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news via aussie-nintendo

THQ announces that the upcoming sequel to its street-racing game will be heading to Nintendo DS.

THQ has announced plans to launch a Nintendo DS version of its upcoming street racer, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, alongside versions for PC and consoles, excluding Wii.

The game will feature unparalleled vehicle customization, an adrenaline packed drift racing experience and ultra-realistic “Driver DNA,” according to THQ, and it'll be the only title to allow players to showcase their skills at Hot Import Nights events.

Bob Aniello, the senior vice president of worldwide marketing at THQ, said, "THQ studio Juice Games is utilizing its vast racing pedigree and proprietary technology to deliver groundbreaking new game-play features in addition to working closely with Hot Import Nights to accurately capture the tuning and street racing culture. We look forward to bringing this global franchise to next-generation systems for the first time."

Colin Bell, the general manager of Juice Games, said the game will introduce "a thrilling new drifting component and lets players personalize their experience both on and offline with ultra realistic Driver DNA. In addition to a ton of exciting new features, we’ve significantly expanded the rewarding driving experience, track choice and customization our fans have come to expect," he added.

"Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights is an amazing extension of the Hot Import Nights lifestyle experience, bringing the modding, characters and racing finale to life for gamers and tuning fans worldwide," said Michael Munar, the Executive Producer of APG Events/Hot Import Nights. "This is the first time a top-tier racing game has blended with a true-to-life global tuner event and we can’t wait for its release." ...

news via presszoom



HGZine, for handheld gaming, brings top quality editorial to gaming fans of the Sony and Nintendo mobile platforms.

(PressZoom) - After the successful launch of 360Zine for Xbox 360 gamers and PCGZine for PC gamers in 2006, Cranberry Publishing Ltd is pleased to announce the launch of HGZine for Sony PSP, Nintendo DS and mobile phone gaming enthusiasts. The launch issue is available now from the Gamerzines website.

“As an avid handheld gamer myself, it's great fun to edit a magazine dedicated to DS, PSP and mobile games. They're usually herded to the back of multiformat print mags and never given the attention they deserve - it's time to redress the balance. ,” says HGZine Editor, Keith Stuart. “With HGzine, we can offer the editorial values and beautiful, readable design of a print publication, with the immediacy of online. It's absolutely the best of both worlds.”

Keith is a veteran game journalist, and is one of The Guardian’s game bloggers. He has previously worked on respected games magazine, Edge.

HGZine is written by professional games journalists and made available in digital format for free. On top of the high quality editorial, the magazine is enhanced with embedded video and interactive media, such as quizzes, annotated screenshots and animated images appearing on the pages themselves.

Issue 1 includes reviews of Sid Meier’s Pirates!, Mario vs Donkey Kong 2, Ghost Rider, Dungeon Siege Throne of Agony, Castlevania Portrait of Ruin and Bomberman Land Touch. There are also previews of Driver 76, Burnout Detonator, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Zelda Phantom Hourglass, Manhunt 2 and Call of Duty Roads to Victory, and many more.

HGZine is a Gamerzine, published in PDF format. Readers simply require a copy of the free Adobe Reader ( version 6 or above ) to read the magazines. Each Gamerzine includes more than 30 pages of professionally written games journalism and is enhanced with embedded video and multimedia.

HGZine can be downloaded now from: http://www.gamerzines.com/ ...

news via presszoom



HGZine, for handheld gaming, brings top quality editorial to gaming fans of the Sony and Nintendo mobile platforms.

(PressZoom) - After the successful launch of 360Zine for Xbox 360 gamers and PCGZine for PC gamers in 2006, Cranberry Publishing Ltd is pleased to announce the launch of HGZine for Sony PSP, Nintendo DS and mobile phone gaming enthusiasts. The launch issue is available now from the Gamerzines website.

“As an avid handheld gamer myself, it's great fun to edit a magazine dedicated to DS, PSP and mobile games. They're usually herded to the back of multiformat print mags and never given the attention they deserve - it's time to redress the balance. ,” says HGZine Editor, Keith Stuart. “With HGzine, we can offer the editorial values and beautiful, readable design of a print publication, with the immediacy of online. It's absolutely the best of both worlds.”

Keith is a veteran game journalist, and is one of The Guardian’s game bloggers. He has previously worked on respected games magazine, Edge.

HGZine is written by professional games journalists and made available in digital format for free. On top of the high quality editorial, the magazine is enhanced with embedded video and interactive media, such as quizzes, annotated screenshots and animated images appearing on the pages themselves.

Issue 1 includes reviews of Sid Meier’s Pirates!, Mario vs Donkey Kong 2, Ghost Rider, Dungeon Siege Throne of Agony, Castlevania Portrait of Ruin and Bomberman Land Touch. There are also previews of Driver 76, Burnout Detonator, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Zelda Phantom Hourglass, Manhunt 2 and Call of Duty Roads to Victory, and many more.

HGZine is a Gamerzine, published in PDF format. Readers simply require a copy of the free Adobe Reader ( version 6 or above ) to read the magazines. Each Gamerzine includes more than 30 pages of professionally written games journalism and is enhanced with embedded video and multimedia.

HGZine can be downloaded now from: http://www.gamerzines.com/ ...

news via pocket gamer

A real-time strategy game may be just what Sony's handheld needs

In terms of difficulty, securing a publishing deal as a start-up video games developer is as tricky as finding a suitable use for the Millennium Dome. And if what you're trying to get published isn't part of an existing franchise or licensed to a major brand, then you may as well step into a Canadian grizzly bear sanctuary wearing a blazer lined with the freshest Scottish salmon. You'd have a better chance of winning over the bear than attempting to sell an original game idea within a publisher's meeting room (and you won't get torn to pieces as much – grizzlies aren't a match for marketing men).

So it's tough to be lost in the gaming space without a publisher – but Tiki Games isn't afraid of boldly going where few have gone before. Undeterred by the cold darkness of uncertainty it faces, the developer has been working on Galaxy's End, an original sci-fi realtime strategy concept designed specifically for PSP. This means that the convoluted control system usually associated with such titles has been streamlined to compensate for the fact that the last time we looked, the PSP didn't come with a slide-out keyboard.

We don't know how well this works in practice (Tiki is reporting the feedback it's had so far in this regard has been encouraging) but judging from the work-in-progress screenshots and accompanying trailer (click 'Watch It!'), all of the staple elements of an RTS appear solidly in place.

Galaxy's End currently seems promising, even if unlikely to prove revolutionary. That's by no means a criticism – the PSP could certainly do with an RTS, if only to broaden its horizons, and in the absence of competition there's surely no need to re-invent the warp drive?

Of course, without a publisher on board we'll never know, so let's hope one keeps its marketing department at bay long enough to give Galaxy's End the chance it seemingly deserves.

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news via advancedmn

Not afraid of Nintendo's strong first party sales.

Translated from a Japanese interview with Hideki Okamura, Sega managing director, Sega will be shiftin their focus from PSP to the Nintendo DS.

"We have to do a lot of thinking about titles for Nintendo's hardware, because Nintendo's own titles are extremely strong. It really is difficult to sell a title as a third party. What that means is that we've got to go after it with force: 'heave-ho!'".

Included in the interview is mention of a DS title coming out this year that will "surprise absolutely everyone". More details as they arrive. ...

news via psu

You might feel that the PlayStation 3 is over-priced in your country but think yourselves lucky; Greece retailers will be selling the PS3 at 659 Euros, about 442 GBP.

Online stores are listing the 60GB package of Sony’s new entertainment system at the high price, and this is €60 more than the deal set to launch in the rest of Europe.

The PlayStation 3 will launch in Europe on 23rd March. Stay tuned to PSU as we’ll have full coverage of the event as it unfolds.

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news via ps3.ign

Activision gives Sony owners special treatment and unleashes the Goblin.

With all the Spider-Man 3 news, previews, and interviews hitting the World Wide Web today, some might think that finding original information that hasn't already been done to death might be hard to come by. And certainly for some videogame fans, that observation might be true... but not for PlayStation 3 owners -- they're getting something a little extra thanks to the folks at Sony and Activision.

So what exactly are they getting? The PS3-exclusive "Spider-Man 3: Collector's Edition," that's what.

Scheduled for a simultaneous release with the regular version of Spider-Man 3 in early May, Spider-Man 3 Collector's Edition will add a number of bonus features not available on other platforms. Webisodes from the Spidey 3 movie, an exclusive interview with producer Avi Arad, and behind the scenes talks with Tobey Maguire, Topher Grace, Thomas Haden Church, James Franco, JK Simmons, and Bruce Campbell are also included. Players will even be able to access special Spider-Man 3 trailers and a couple of other undisclosed goodies.

But that's not the best part.

No true believers, the best and most interesting addition to the PS3 Collector's Edition is the ability to play as a completely different character, the "New Goblin." Using a unique locomotion system that's entirely controllable with the Sixaxis gamepad, the New Goblin will be able to zip through the city streets and between skyscrapers and other buildings at super-high speeds.

Activision wouldn't elaborate much further than that, other than to say that New Goblin will have access to 10 exclusive race challenges and the ability to participate in every "Crime Event" in the city -- allowing him to use his pumpkin bombs against all three city gangs and a multitude of other plot-driven enemies.

Though we obviously have to wait awhile to learn more about the New Goblin and his unique abilities, PS3 fans can still discover plenty about the primary mechanics of Spider-Man 3 by following our list of newly-updated links located below.

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news via gamepro

High Moon Studios is organizing a developer workshop and collaborating directly with IBM to resolve issues it has with Sony's Cell microprocessor technology.

While Sony may be offering its services regarding issues involving their Cell microprocessor, some developers would rather go elsewhere. According to a report from Next-Gen, High Moon Studios, the team behind the PS2 game Darkwatch, has begun collaborating with IBM engineers to unlock the secrets of the Cell, the tiny, but powerful chip that makes every PS3 run.

Although the Cell processor was a joint collaboration on the part of Sony, Toshiba, and IBM, Sony had very little to do with the creation of the chip, says High Moon Chief Technical Officer Clinton Keith.

"We've been talking to Sony for almost two years now, but they didn't create the Cell," Keith claims. "They created the architecture for the PS3 and they've created a lot of the developer libraries. We've had access to those [Sony] engineers... but they're not the hardware engineers. We want to hit [the Cell] on all fronts. We're talking to the guys [IBM] who designed this chip and have been working on it for five years now."

As a result, High Moon has invited IBM engineers and a handful of other Vivendi Games studios, such as Swordfish and Radical Entertainment, to a workshop that aims to teach developers how to effectively harness the power of the Cell. The workshop will take place this week at High Moon's offices in Carlsbad, California.

High Moon hopes to use the information gathered at the workshop towards creating an as-of-yet unannounced PS3 project. The development studio is also currently working on an unnanounced Xbox 360 game as well, according to Keith.

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