via IGN


Nintendo said today it will launch the 3DS in the United States on March 27, 2011 for $249.99.

Folks in Europe can get their hands on the device a few days earlier on March 25. Nintendo said European pricing will be set by retailers. HMV and GAME list the 3DS price at £229.99, while Play has it listed for £219.99.

The announcements came during the company's worldwide press events held in New York City and Amsterdam. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said that during the system's launch window - between the launch of the 3DS in March and E3 in June - that more than 30 first and third-party 3DS games will be released. Europe will see more than 25 games during the same time period.

"Nintendo 3DS is a category of one – the experience simply doesn't exist anywhere else," Fils-Aime said. "You have to see Nintendo 3DS to believe it. And it's like nothing you've ever seen before."

Nintendo also detailed many new features and software pre-installed in the 3DS.

Friend codes are now specific to each 3DS console, not each game. Exchanging friend codes will allow you to check your friend's list at any time to see who's online and what they're playing.

Also included is the Mii Maker application, allowing you to use the 3DS camera to take a picture of yourself and automatically be turned into a Mii. Other software includes Face Raiders, which asks users to "shoot at funny depictions of their own faces," and a pedometer that, while in Sleep Mode, will let users earn Play Coins by walking to be traded in for additional content in compatible games and applications.

The Nintendo eShop, which won't be available at launch, is a virtual store where you can purchase certain Nintendo DSiWare, 3DS, Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles. The eShop is a cash-based system where you can either enter your credit card information or purchase pre-paid cards.

Six augmented-reality cards will also be included, where superimposed 3D images can be put on display by pointing the 3DS' outer cameras at them. Nintendo notes that developers can "use this technology to add creative new experiences to their games."

The 3DS will launch in two colors - Cosmo Black and Aqua Blue.

Nintendo did not provide a list of games that will be available on launch day, however. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Activision could shut down the PlayStation 3's Black Ops servers as a response to a "huge number of connection problems with the game" according to reports.

The response comes in a blog post from independent journalist Jason Koblovsky who contacted Activision about connection problems he and other PS3 Black Ops players have been experiencing.

He claims to have gotten the following response from an Activision representative:
It's an odd response and, in our opinion, not at all likely to happen, but Activision has been getting plenty of aggravation recently when it comes to Call of Duty online.

Reports on Monday said that Modern Warfare 2 has been overrun by exploits and hacks with Infinity Ward pointing the figure at Sony, saying the problems can't be fixed until the security of the PS3 is addressed. ...

via MCV


Following confirmation earlier this week that eight games will launch alongside the 3DS in Japan on February 26th, Nintendo has now dated a further 16 games that will be out in the month that follows.

As reported by Andriasang, seven games have been given definitive release dates:

• March 11th: Super Monkey Ball 3D (Sega)
• March 17th: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3D (Ubisoft)
• March 24th: Dead or Alive Dimensions (Tecmo Koei)
• March 24th: Gundam The 3D Battle (Namco Bandai)
• March 24th: Rabbids Time Travel (Ubisoft)
• March 31st: BlazBlue Continuum Shift II (Arc System Works)
• March 31st: Pro Baseball Famisuta 2011 (Namco Bandai)

Also given a speculative 'March' release date are the following titles:

• Asphalt 3D Nitro Racing (Konami)
• Pro Baseball Spirits 2011 (Konami)
• The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)
• Tsukurou Ponta no Gardens 3D (Electronic Arts)
• Shanghai 3D Cube (Sunsoft)
• Naruto Shippuuden Nin Rittai Emaki! Saikyou Ninkai Kessen!! (Takara Tomy)
• Virus Shooter XX (Dorasu)
• Steel Diver (Nintendo)
• Nikoli Puzzle (Hmaster)

Absent from the list are any of Nintendo's big-name franchises such as Kid Icarus, Starfox, Mario Kart, Ocarina of Time, Paper Mario and Pilotwings. We're also still waiting on dates for Capcom's Resident Evil duo, Konami's Metal Gear Solid and THQ's Saints Row.

As revealed last week, the following titles will launch alongside the device at the end of next month:

• Nintendogs+Cats
• Super Street Fighter IV 3D
• Winning Eleven
• Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle
• Ridge Racer 3D
• Combat of Giant Dinosaur 3D
• Puzzle Bobble 3D
• Samurai Warriors Chronicle.

...

via Eurogamer


PlayStation 3 exclusive first-person shooter Killzone 3 contains over 70 minutes of cutscenes.

That's according to the BBFC, which has just slapped an 18-rating certificate on the gritty sci-fi FPS.

Predictably, Killzone 3 contains "strong bloody violence and strong language". Thankfully, it was passed with no cuts made.

The age rating comes as no surprise. Last year Guerrilla Games' Steven Ter Heide told Eurogamer that swearing had been curtailed for Killzone 3, but it was still "firmly aiming" to be an 18-rated game.
...

via MCV


Sony isn't going to take Nintendo's 3DS challenge lying down.

The format-holder is preparing a swift reveal for the true PlayStation Portable successor, due at Christmas. As was reported yesterday, the first announcement is pencilled in for January 27th.

Most importantly: the format-holder is pitching the device as a high-end portable equivalent of its next-gen home console, with rich games content to match.

Sony has told licensees the device ‘is as powerful as the PlayStation 3’.

High-level sources told us they expect Sony to start outlining its 2011 handheld strategy within days of Nintendo events in Amsterdam and New York detailing the 3DS Easter rollout plans.
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The new PSP is expected to arrive within the Q4 period, perhaps as early as October, and includes a HD screen with twin-stick controls in the familiar ‘brick’ form factor.

Sony has already consulted publishers about launch timings and the first wave of games.

It is specifically requesting richer, more in-depth content to differentiate its device from app-centric Apple and Android devices.

Plus, securing HD handheld games will help build launch excitement amongst publishers, developers and consumers over the next nine months.

Sony is already plotting to reveal more at GDC and E3 after this month’s first tease.

‘PSP2’ will even use a media format to make sure retail has a part to play in the console’s lifecycle by selling physical software.

But the device will also provide access to plenty of downloadable content, smaller games and apps via PSN – and maybe even incorporate a phone, but not as a primary function.

This next-gen PSP is separate from the games-oriented phone sister division Sony Ericsson is working on, which is due for its formal unveiling at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress in February. That device runs Android and downloaded apps and smaller games, plus potentially older PSone titles. ...

It would seem that more leaked imaged of Nintendo's new 3DS have appeared online, this time totally disassembled for everyone to see. Check the photographs out here over at the Facebook album hosting them. ...

via Eurogamer


The man behind ancient arcade classic Pong reckons that studios today are too afraid to take risks, thanks to the huge budgets involved in modern game development.

Speaking with VentureBeat about how the industry has grown since he made one of the first ever videogames back in 1972, Atari co-founder and Pong programmer Al Alcorn said "It wasn't my intention – I'm surprised as the next guy.
When asked if he had any advice for the current generation of developers, he called on them to be a little braver and resist the temptation to rehash existing concepts.
Allcorn left Atari in 1981 to become a tech consultant in Silicon Valley. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Microsoft wants the US Patent and Trademark Office to reject Apple's application for the name 'App Store', arguing that the term is generic and one the iPhone maker's competitors should also be able to use.

Yahoo reports that Apple's trademark application, which was filed in 2008, relates to goods and services including "retail store services featuring computer software provided via the internet and other computer and electronic communication networks".

In its motion, filed on Tuesday, Microsoft said: "'App store' is a generic name that Apple should not be permitted to usurp for its exclusive use. Competitors should be free to use 'app store' to identify their own stores and the services offered in conjunction with those stores."

While the term 'App Store' has become synonymous with Apple and its products, Microsoft and a number of other major players in the retail market also operate or are developing their own app stores.

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 now plays home to 5,500 apps in its marketplace, more than 60 of which carry Xbox Live features. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Microsoft wants the US Patent and Trademark Office to reject Apple's application for the name 'App Store', arguing that the term is generic and one the iPhone maker's competitors should also be able to use.

Yahoo reports that Apple's trademark application, which was filed in 2008, relates to goods and services including "retail store services featuring computer software provided via the internet and other computer and electronic communication networks".

In its motion, filed on Tuesday, Microsoft said: "'App store' is a generic name that Apple should not be permitted to usurp for its exclusive use. Competitors should be free to use 'app store' to identify their own stores and the services offered in conjunction with those stores."

While the term 'App Store' has become synonymous with Apple and its products, Microsoft and a number of other major players in the retail market also operate or are developing their own app stores.

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 now plays home to 5,500 apps in its marketplace, more than 60 of which carry Xbox Live features. ...