news via mobiletechreview

Get ready to take on challenging adversaries and restore peace to the world of Mana in the latest installment of the legendary Mana series. Children of Mana launches exclusively on the Nintendo DS across Europe on 12th January 2007.

Square-Enix, the makers of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy, brings Children of Mana to the Nintendo DS featuring all the characteristic artwork, soundtracks and multiplayer functions that fans of the Mana series already know and love. Set on the island of Illusia where the legendary Mana Tree grows, players must prepare to embark upon various missions to restore peace to the world.



Ten years ago, chaos almost took over the world of Mana. Legend says, however, that a boy and a girl saved the world using a legendary sword. Now the land is threatened with danger from a most unlikely source, and the “Children of Mana” must rise to defeat evil before it consumes the very heart of their world.

Players must select one of four different characters, Ferrik, Tamber, Poppen or Wanderer, who each have different strengths and weaknesses. Once a character is chosen, players equip them with weapons and magical gems to help them traverse treacherous battlefields and mysterious dungeons.

When venturing out of Mana Village, players can be accompanied by one of eight elemental spirits. Each of these spirits have a unique magic power which can be used to assist players in battle. Players can take along Salamander to use blistering fire magic, or Luna to use the arcane powers of the moon – but choose wisely, as each spirit will have a different impact in battle.

Players have three different types of missions they can choose to undertake. Scenario Quests must be completed to move the game story forward. Players can also accept personal requests from the residents of Mana Village, or visit Dud Services an adventuring “agency” that offers players various quests with rewards for successful completion. These missions can range from finding a particular object to defeating all enemies in a dungeon.

Players can select from up four different types of weapons (depending on game progression) to use in battle: the sword, flail, bow, or hammer. Each weapon has its strengths and weaknesses, allowing for a variety of tactics on the battlefield. Once a weapon type is unlocked, players can purchase upgraded versions of each weapon in the village shop. If they are lucky, players may find a powerful weapon on the battlefield, or receive one as a reward for completing a mission.

One of the key features of Children of Mana is multiplayer mode, where up to four players can play together in the same game (each player requires a copy of the game) via the Nintendo DS Wireless function. Players can cooperate with each other to defeat powerful enemies, or compete against each other to obtain rare items.

Children of Mana launches across Europe on 12th January 2007 for the estimated retail price of around £29.99. ...

news via pocketgamer

Leather; it comes from cows (mostly), it’s good for making shoes, wallets, jackets and now, DS cases too. Although there are already plenty of carry case solutions out there for the DS, none of them have the Nintendo stamp of Nintendoness on them, but these new leather ones do (as well as that cool little leather stamp of leatheryness). A partnership between Nintendo and United Arrows has reaped a full line of DS cases in both leather and suede flavours.

The cases will be made available in Japan to begin with, costing between 8400 yen (37 quid) to 16800 yen (73 quid). So far, a European release date has not been confirmed. The mature design will no doubt be a hit with Nintendo’s new older converts; younger gamers however may be put off by the ‘a little bit like granny’s purse’ stylings. Game loving leather fetishists (they must exist somewhere) will probably just be glad that they can now combine their two favorite hobbies.

screen via comment ...

news via punchjump

Nintendo on Wed. announced that it will drop Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl to U.S. retail on Apr. 22.

The two titles are the latest installments in the best-selling Pokemon franchise.

New features in the game include a new region called Sinnoh, new Pokemon, and Pokemon transfer to the Game Boy Advance via the GBA game slot on the Nintendo DS.

"After recently celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Pokemon franchise continues to get stronger," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "These two new titles represent the best that Pokemon has to offer, and a great opportunity for Game Boy users to upgrade to Nintendo DS."

Pokemon games have sold 155 million units worldwide to date. Initial sales for Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl broke sales records in Sept.

The Nintendo DS is the current handheld market leader at over 21 million units sold worldwide. Titles include Yoshi's Island DS, Elite Beat Agents, and Brain Age. ...

news via punchjump

Konami's Pocket Racers for the PSP is a bargain bin race offering that offers basic single and multiplayer on the handheld. The insane story and no-frills race mechanics keeps the title in the rental category.

In Pocket Racers, average teenager partiers are transformed into cars by the Soul Stealer. The Soul Stealer forces the teens to race for their lives and for the main character to win each race to save his friends. The party may have included heavy hallucinogens that were not disclosed in the instruction manual.

Pocket Racers offers two modes: Soul Challenge for single-player races and online for Ad Hoc multiplayer races for up to four. The Soul Challenge features Time Trial, Practice, Soul Race, View Friends, and Select Car modes.

Each Soul Race championship includes five races to veer through. Six cars are available at start and more can be unlocked. Each car employs different weight, acceleration, speed, and handling features for a custom ride.

Racers can accelerate, brake, and launch weapons at competing drivers. The race mechanics are very basic and avoid properties like physics, damage, jumps, or velocity. The household raceways are standard and include obstacles like cups, boxes, and screwdrivers.

The graphics engine is average at 30 frames per second and less. The dark, flat shades and bland colors don't utilize the PSP's hardware efficiently. The music is generic rock and fits in the overall action.

Pocket Racers is too little to offer for PSP owners. The basic race mechanics, lack of physics, and absence of features is hard to recommend over better race titles for the handheld. Let the Soul Stealer win and let your friends rest in peace. ...

news via kotaku

A phone receiver. This mod shows a PSP being used as a phone reciver for a telephone. Apparently the modder was board and decided to come up with this corky mod for his own PSP.

screens via comment ...

news via boomtown

Several reports suggest that demand in the US for PlayStation 3 is not all Sony could hope for.

A company which tracks the availability of items at online stores says it has noticed a drop in demand for PlayStation 3. Rather than selling out, many consoles are being left unsold.

It seems that the outrageous bundles being forced on consumers by retailers have turned custom away. Ian Drake explained the difference his company had seen since the launch of Xbox 360.

"Last year, at NotifyWire.com, we tracked several one thousand dollar Xbox 360 bundles which would sell out in less than two minutes after becoming available," Drake told PWWeb. "Just today, a one thousand dollar (£507) PS3 bundle was in stock at eToys.com for over 12 hours. This sort of thing didn't happen with the Xbox 360 until well after Christmas."

A quick visit to Ebay also shows that PlayStation 3 consoles just aren't as in demand as you might expect. With many consoles going for just over retail price rather than the riches the sellers may have hoped for. In fact it's really easy to get hold of a PlayStation 3 via the auction site,

"I think we're already at the point where many people won't pay a premium for the console or be forced into buying bundles," added Drake.

It seems there are plenty of people who would like a PlayStation 3, they just aren't willing to get ripped off when doing so. ...

news via playfuls

Nintendo is making sure to keep those games rolling out by the lot all through the winter, and into the spring of 2007. The Japanese publisher has already promised to release another 26 Wii games and 66 DS games in the first quarter of 2007, complementing their already rich "launch period" line-up on the Wii and adding a staggering number of new DS titles. The overall quality may not look too high, but the sheer number of options gamers will have should be enough to keep Nintendo on par (at the very least) with their next-gen opposition.

Among the Wii games set for release in Q1 2007 are titles such as Wario Ware: Smooth Moves (the only one set for a January release), Excite Truck (in February), and then from March onward SSX Blur, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Sonic and the Secret Rings, Heatseaker, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Blazing Angels: Squadrons of (W)WII and many more.

Over on the DS, the list is topped by Children of Mana (in January) and includes Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (in February) and such oddities as Rayman Raving Rabbids, The Settlers or Theme Park. This is but a small fraction of what Nintendo has lined up for early 2007, and you can see both lists - for Wii and DS - complete with release dates for each game on N-Europe.

There are still many notable absents from those Q1 2007 line-ups, some of which won't be coming out until the end of 2007. As CVG has learned from "reliable sources close to Nintendo", Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption on Wii, and Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on DS will not see light of day until Christmas 2007, which could mean anything from October to December.

So 2007 is going to be yet another busy year for Nintendo, especially now that a new rumour also seems to indicate the arrival (or at least the announcement) of a new version of DS next year in Japan. The info originates from various Japanese blogs and boards (via JeuxFrance), and it tells about wider screens for the new DS (3.5-3.8 inches, instead of 3.0 in the current version). Also, Nintendo will supposedly release new colors for its Wii console during Spring 2007 in Japan. ...

news via gameSpot

Nintendo pushes minigame pack back to mid-February from previous date of mid-January.

With its motion-sensing technology, the Wii Remote is a perfect match for titles packed with minigames. Wii Sports, Rayman Raving Rabbids, and Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz are already out for the Wii, and WarioWare Smooth Moves is due out in a few weeks.

Another collection of minigames, Wii Play, is apparently giving itself a little breathing room from the crowded genre. On the Nintendo press site, Wii Play is listed as releasing on February 12, 2007. The game was previously listed as releasing on January 15--the same day WarioWare hits shelves.

Though the game is already available in Japan and Europe, Nintendo hasn't given any reason for pushing the game back in North America. One theory deals with the Wii Remote that is bundled with it. Hardware shortages aren't just limited to the Wii console, but also to accessories such as extra Wii Remotes. ...

news via upi

The multimedia abilities of the PlayStation Portable are set to garner more attention thanks to a video-downloading service from Japan's Sony Pictures company.

The Hollywood Reporter said Tuesday that Sony Pictures' new downloading service, which will launch next year, will allow PSP owners to gather movies online and play them on the portable media device via MemoryStick memory cards.

"We are in the business of providing content for download to computers through a variety of business partners and have said in the past that we are interested in making our content available on a wide range of mobile devices in the future but no decisions have been made regarding next steps," a Sony Pictures Home Entertainment statement stated.

The paper said that the downloading endeavor, which is still based in negotiations with downloading groups, comes after PSP sales have declined remarkably since move than 14 million units were sold in the year following its March 2005 debut. ...