news via cbgames

Nintendo’s Wii console launch kicked off with a midnight store opening at New York’s Toys “R” Us in Times Square on Boardwalk and Universal Citywalk’s Gamespot. No reports of gun violence, robberies, drive-by shootings, or hi-tech hijackings of deliveries have been attached to Nintendo’s new console. Definitely good news for the Big ‘N’.

A marketing director for Nintendo, Dawn Paine, commented that “The success of the Wii launch in the US this weekend was phenomenal and is very encouraging. Hundreds of people queued up to purchase a Wii and fans weren't disappointed by the atmosphere at New York’s Times Square Toys “R” Us and Universal Citywalk’s Gamestop.

With just over 3 weeks until launch, we are very excited about Wii arriving in the UK and look forward to a really successful launch. Whether you're a non gamer or an avid gamer, Wii looks set to be top of all the Christmas lists this year, following in the footsteps of Nintendo DS as a groundbreaking market leader.”

I bet there’s a lot of people shaking in their boots over there at Sony. Everything bad that could have happened for a console leading up to its launch, happened to the PS3: Hardware shortages, numerous reports of malfunctions, over-heating, and software glitches. Not to mention the criminal acts of robbery surrounding the release of the PS3 in both Japan and the United States. Nintendo was the nice one out of the big three, and here’s hoping they continue to have a successful launch. ...

news via cbgames

Nintendo’s Wii console launch kicked off with a midnight store opening at New York’s Toys “R” Us in Times Square on Boardwalk and Universal Citywalk’s Gamespot. No reports of gun violence, robberies, drive-by shootings, or hi-tech hijackings of deliveries have been attached to Nintendo’s new console. Definitely good news for the Big ‘N’.

A marketing director for Nintendo, Dawn Paine, commented that “The success of the Wii launch in the US this weekend was phenomenal and is very encouraging. Hundreds of people queued up to purchase a Wii and fans weren't disappointed by the atmosphere at New York’s Times Square Toys “R” Us and Universal Citywalk’s Gamestop.

With just over 3 weeks until launch, we are very excited about Wii arriving in the UK and look forward to a really successful launch. Whether you're a non gamer or an avid gamer, Wii looks set to be top of all the Christmas lists this year, following in the footsteps of Nintendo DS as a groundbreaking market leader.”

I bet there’s a lot of people shaking in their boots over there at Sony. Everything bad that could have happened for a console leading up to its launch, happened to the PS3: Hardware shortages, numerous reports of malfunctions, over-heating, and software glitches. Not to mention the criminal acts of robbery surrounding the release of the PS3 in both Japan and the United States. Nintendo was the nice one out of the big three, and here’s hoping they continue to have a successful launch. ...

news via cbgames

Nintendo’s Wii console launch kicked off with a midnight store opening at New York’s Toys “R” Us in Times Square on Boardwalk and Universal Citywalk’s Gamespot. No reports of gun violence, robberies, drive-by shootings, or hi-tech hijackings of deliveries have been attached to Nintendo’s new console. Definitely good news for the Big ‘N’.

A marketing director for Nintendo, Dawn Paine, commented that “The success of the Wii launch in the US this weekend was phenomenal and is very encouraging. Hundreds of people queued up to purchase a Wii and fans weren't disappointed by the atmosphere at New York’s Times Square Toys “R” Us and Universal Citywalk’s Gamestop.

With just over 3 weeks until launch, we are very excited about Wii arriving in the UK and look forward to a really successful launch. Whether you're a non gamer or an avid gamer, Wii looks set to be top of all the Christmas lists this year, following in the footsteps of Nintendo DS as a groundbreaking market leader.”

I bet there’s a lot of people shaking in their boots over there at Sony. Everything bad that could have happened for a console leading up to its launch, happened to the PS3: Hardware shortages, numerous reports of malfunctions, over-heating, and software glitches. Not to mention the criminal acts of robbery surrounding the release of the PS3 in both Japan and the United States. Nintendo was the nice one out of the big three, and here’s hoping they continue to have a successful launch. ...

news via usatoday



There's a reason "Legend" accompanies the title.

Nintendo's favorite hero, Link, kicks off the Wii launch with Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, another heroic adventure that cements the franchise as one of gaming's best.

Zelda returns with the same nail-biting action and brain-teasing dungeons. And new gameplay elements and the Wii's innovative controls immerse you deeper than any previous Zelda title.

The story begins with Link working as a farm hand. After friends from his village are kidnapped., Link is sucked into a dark realm and transformed into a wolf. There, he meets Princess Zelda, who details Hyrule's descent into eternal twilight. Link then sets off to destroy this new evil and pull Hyrule back into the light. The story starts off slow, but turns quite intense as you progress.

Visually, Zelda is enchanting. Graphics don't offer next-gen horsepower, but landscapes and dungeons still look stunning. The sound package is equally fantastic, especially with the Wii remote. Hearing the clangs of swords from the remote or arrows leaving your hand enliven the action. The game's music is powerful, adding to the epic nature of your adventure.

The pacing is superb, providing enough time to learn new skills yet not dragging the storyline too slowly. You'll master basic weapons from your sword to a slingshot before upgrading to items like boomerangs and bows and arrows.

Once you adjust to the Wii controls, Zelda is easy to pick up. The left nunchuk is used for movement and targeting. The remote controls weapons, items and your map. Whipping the remote left to right executes sword slashes, while a quick twirl of the nunchuk unleashes a powerful spin attack. Swordplay is decent, but occasionally borders on repetitive.

Fortunately, the gameplay elements keep Zelda engaging. Link can only enter areas blanketed in twilight as a wolf, including a new set of actions. Using your senses uncovers hidden areas and items, or dig into the ground to burrow under homes. You'll also receive the help of Midna, a shady character tasked by Princess Zelda to assist you. Mostly, Midna offers clues on conquering the game's puzzles, as well as warping between lands and reaching difficult areas.

What are especially impressive are the tasks you attempt outside the action. With a fling back and forth, the remote becomes a rod for Link's fishing tasks. In an attempt to access one of Zelda's early dungeons, Link must sumo wrestle a tribe leader to advance. Even as a wolf, you learn how to howl to access secret items. The action is almost too easy, but it's forgotten when you learn so many different things.

In many ways, Twilight Princess is textbook Zelda. Dungeons are as challenging as ever, heightening the levels of danger and action. Yet the inclusion of a new control scheme and subtle changes to gameplay keep Zelda as fresh a franchise as its debut 20 years ago.

If you're fortunate enough to secure a Wii, Twilight Princess is a must-own title. ...

news via usatoday



There's a reason "Legend" accompanies the title.

Nintendo's favorite hero, Link, kicks off the Wii launch with Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, another heroic adventure that cements the franchise as one of gaming's best.

Zelda returns with the same nail-biting action and brain-teasing dungeons. And new gameplay elements and the Wii's innovative controls immerse you deeper than any previous Zelda title.

The story begins with Link working as a farm hand. After friends from his village are kidnapped., Link is sucked into a dark realm and transformed into a wolf. There, he meets Princess Zelda, who details Hyrule's descent into eternal twilight. Link then sets off to destroy this new evil and pull Hyrule back into the light. The story starts off slow, but turns quite intense as you progress.

Visually, Zelda is enchanting. Graphics don't offer next-gen horsepower, but landscapes and dungeons still look stunning. The sound package is equally fantastic, especially with the Wii remote. Hearing the clangs of swords from the remote or arrows leaving your hand enliven the action. The game's music is powerful, adding to the epic nature of your adventure.

The pacing is superb, providing enough time to learn new skills yet not dragging the storyline too slowly. You'll master basic weapons from your sword to a slingshot before upgrading to items like boomerangs and bows and arrows.

Once you adjust to the Wii controls, Zelda is easy to pick up. The left nunchuk is used for movement and targeting. The remote controls weapons, items and your map. Whipping the remote left to right executes sword slashes, while a quick twirl of the nunchuk unleashes a powerful spin attack. Swordplay is decent, but occasionally borders on repetitive.

Fortunately, the gameplay elements keep Zelda engaging. Link can only enter areas blanketed in twilight as a wolf, including a new set of actions. Using your senses uncovers hidden areas and items, or dig into the ground to burrow under homes. You'll also receive the help of Midna, a shady character tasked by Princess Zelda to assist you. Mostly, Midna offers clues on conquering the game's puzzles, as well as warping between lands and reaching difficult areas.

What are especially impressive are the tasks you attempt outside the action. With a fling back and forth, the remote becomes a rod for Link's fishing tasks. In an attempt to access one of Zelda's early dungeons, Link must sumo wrestle a tribe leader to advance. Even as a wolf, you learn how to howl to access secret items. The action is almost too easy, but it's forgotten when you learn so many different things.

In many ways, Twilight Princess is textbook Zelda. Dungeons are as challenging as ever, heightening the levels of danger and action. Yet the inclusion of a new control scheme and subtle changes to gameplay keep Zelda as fresh a franchise as its debut 20 years ago.

If you're fortunate enough to secure a Wii, Twilight Princess is a must-own title. ...

news via usatoday



There's a reason "Legend" accompanies the title.

Nintendo's favorite hero, Link, kicks off the Wii launch with Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, another heroic adventure that cements the franchise as one of gaming's best.

Zelda returns with the same nail-biting action and brain-teasing dungeons. And new gameplay elements and the Wii's innovative controls immerse you deeper than any previous Zelda title.

The story begins with Link working as a farm hand. After friends from his village are kidnapped., Link is sucked into a dark realm and transformed into a wolf. There, he meets Princess Zelda, who details Hyrule's descent into eternal twilight. Link then sets off to destroy this new evil and pull Hyrule back into the light. The story starts off slow, but turns quite intense as you progress.

Visually, Zelda is enchanting. Graphics don't offer next-gen horsepower, but landscapes and dungeons still look stunning. The sound package is equally fantastic, especially with the Wii remote. Hearing the clangs of swords from the remote or arrows leaving your hand enliven the action. The game's music is powerful, adding to the epic nature of your adventure.

The pacing is superb, providing enough time to learn new skills yet not dragging the storyline too slowly. You'll master basic weapons from your sword to a slingshot before upgrading to items like boomerangs and bows and arrows.

Once you adjust to the Wii controls, Zelda is easy to pick up. The left nunchuk is used for movement and targeting. The remote controls weapons, items and your map. Whipping the remote left to right executes sword slashes, while a quick twirl of the nunchuk unleashes a powerful spin attack. Swordplay is decent, but occasionally borders on repetitive.

Fortunately, the gameplay elements keep Zelda engaging. Link can only enter areas blanketed in twilight as a wolf, including a new set of actions. Using your senses uncovers hidden areas and items, or dig into the ground to burrow under homes. You'll also receive the help of Midna, a shady character tasked by Princess Zelda to assist you. Mostly, Midna offers clues on conquering the game's puzzles, as well as warping between lands and reaching difficult areas.

What are especially impressive are the tasks you attempt outside the action. With a fling back and forth, the remote becomes a rod for Link's fishing tasks. In an attempt to access one of Zelda's early dungeons, Link must sumo wrestle a tribe leader to advance. Even as a wolf, you learn how to howl to access secret items. The action is almost too easy, but it's forgotten when you learn so many different things.

In many ways, Twilight Princess is textbook Zelda. Dungeons are as challenging as ever, heightening the levels of danger and action. Yet the inclusion of a new control scheme and subtle changes to gameplay keep Zelda as fresh a franchise as its debut 20 years ago.

If you're fortunate enough to secure a Wii, Twilight Princess is a must-own title. ...

news via palgn

Display PlayStation 3 content on the PSP.

The long awaited firmware update for the PlayStation Portable is now here, as Sony has released the online manual for the firmware and it reveals a few interesting tidbits.

According to the manual you'll be able to play content that is displayed on the PlayStation 3. Whether that actually means you'll be able to play PlayStation 3 titles on the PSP in some reduced form is anybody’s guess, but you're not able to play Blu-Ray discs or DVDs, as the material is copyrighted. Other things you may send from the PlayStation 3 could include music, video or photos. You'll also be able to set your PSP to automatically connect to the internet at a certain time to download new content automatically.

Finally, Sony has also enabled the ability to choose whether a UMD starts immediately once you insert the UMD, which is a handy feature. All in all it sounds like the 3.0 firmware update will be quite feature-packed.

heres some features

Remote Play - Remote play is a new feature in Firmware 3.00 that allows you to remotely control your PlayStation 3 from your PSP. This also includes the display of PS3 content on the PSP. "You can display a PLAYSTATION®3 system screen on a PSP™ system and play content that is on the PS3™ system. To use this feature, you must adjust the necessary settings on the PSP™ system and the PS3™ system." Using this new mode of playback, one can control the Photo, Music, Video, and Internet Browser features of the PlayStation 3 from a remote location via their Playstation Portable.

Video Compatibility - In this updated version of the Playstation Portable firmware, you are also able to play a few new video formats. The Motion JPEG format (M-JPEG), is an "informal name for multimedia formats where each video frame or interlaced field of a digital video sequence is separately compressed as a JPEG image" (Wikipedia). The PlayStation Portable plays both the Linear PCM and the μ-Law versions of the Motion JPEG video format. In addition, you will now be able to access the Camera (functionality) from the photo option menus, for quicker easier access when taking photos or video. Another nifty function is the ability to finally turn off Auto Play for inserted UMD Discs via UMD Auto Boot.

PlayStation Games - Here's the big tip you've been waiting for. Finally, Sony is going to drop their highly anticipated PlayStation One emulator onto the PSP. From the manual however, there seems to be a unavoidable catch. If you don't have a PS3, your not going to be enjoying PlayStation One games emulating on Sony's PlayStation One emulator for PSP anytime soon. From the manual it states that you must connect to the Playstation Online store with your PSP connected to the PlayStation 3 in order to download and play the games. In addition, they mention that you can in fact share the games, but you must activate the other system in the Friends menu as a PS3 Network Account.

3.0 firmware for the psp is now out. Check your network updates. ...

news via palgn

Display PlayStation 3 content on the PSP.

The long awaited firmware update for the PlayStation Portable is now here, as Sony has released the online manual for the firmware and it reveals a few interesting tidbits.

According to the manual you'll be able to play content that is displayed on the PlayStation 3. Whether that actually means you'll be able to play PlayStation 3 titles on the PSP in some reduced form is anybody’s guess, but you're not able to play Blu-Ray discs or DVDs, as the material is copyrighted. Other things you may send from the PlayStation 3 could include music, video or photos. You'll also be able to set your PSP to automatically connect to the internet at a certain time to download new content automatically.

Finally, Sony has also enabled the ability to choose whether a UMD starts immediately once you insert the UMD, which is a handy feature. All in all it sounds like the 3.0 firmware update will be quite feature-packed.

heres some features

Remote Play - Remote play is a new feature in Firmware 3.00 that allows you to remotely control your PlayStation 3 from your PSP. This also includes the display of PS3 content on the PSP. "You can display a PLAYSTATION®3 system screen on a PSP™ system and play content that is on the PS3™ system. To use this feature, you must adjust the necessary settings on the PSP™ system and the PS3™ system." Using this new mode of playback, one can control the Photo, Music, Video, and Internet Browser features of the PlayStation 3 from a remote location via their Playstation Portable.

Video Compatibility - In this updated version of the Playstation Portable firmware, you are also able to play a few new video formats. The Motion JPEG format (M-JPEG), is an "informal name for multimedia formats where each video frame or interlaced field of a digital video sequence is separately compressed as a JPEG image" (Wikipedia). The PlayStation Portable plays both the Linear PCM and the μ-Law versions of the Motion JPEG video format. In addition, you will now be able to access the Camera (functionality) from the photo option menus, for quicker easier access when taking photos or video. Another nifty function is the ability to finally turn off Auto Play for inserted UMD Discs via UMD Auto Boot.

PlayStation Games - Here's the big tip you've been waiting for. Finally, Sony is going to drop their highly anticipated PlayStation One emulator onto the PSP. From the manual however, there seems to be a unavoidable catch. If you don't have a PS3, your not going to be enjoying PlayStation One games emulating on Sony's PlayStation One emulator for PSP anytime soon. From the manual it states that you must connect to the Playstation Online store with your PSP connected to the PlayStation 3 in order to download and play the games. In addition, they mention that you can in fact share the games, but you must activate the other system in the Friends menu as a PS3 Network Account.

3.0 firmware for the psp is now out. Check your network updates. ...

news via ign

No price drop just yet.

November 20, 2006 - Sony seems to be doing everything (aside from dropping that darn price) to sell the PSP over in Japan. Today, the company announced yet another PSP bundle along with some accessory packs to compliment the year end PSP lineup.

Coinciding with the 12/21 release of Bandai Namco's Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology, Sony will release the (deep breath) PlayStation Portable Tales of the World Radiant Mythology Special Pack. Priced at 28,000 yen, this bundle includes a metalic blue PSP (PSP-1000MB), a copy of Radiant Mythology, a 32 megabyte Memory Stick Duo, a strap, a special pouch and a cloth. All this comes in a Radiant Mythology themed box.

While the Special Pack includes everything that's needed to get into PSP gaming, those who picked up a core PSP unit will want to look at the two accessory packs Sony announced today. The Play! Game Pack includes a 32 Meg Memory Stick Duo, pouch, strap and cloth. The Enjoy! AV Pack includes a white remote control headphone set, a USB cable, a stand and a cloth. Both bundles will retail for 3,500 yen and will be released on 11/22.

These bundles and accessories are due for release exclusively in Japan.

screens via comment ...