DCEmu Homebrew Emulation & Theme Park News
Shrygue
by Published on December 6th, 2010 17:08
via MCV
Profoundly blurry pictures and hearsay – as far as the PSP2 goes that’s as concrete as it gets for now, but the evidence is seemingly more than enough for outspoken US analyst Michael Pachter to write off the machine before it’s even revealed.
However, Pachter’s warnings weren’t just for the PSP – instead, he fears for the very viability of a handheld space he sees being increasingly controlled by Apple.
“I think the PSP was dead on arrival and I think the PSP2 is going to be dead on arrival,” he explained on his Pach Attack webcast.
Last month Ready At Dawn developer Ru Weerasuriya said PSP was “doomed from the beginning”.
“We’re approaching saturation in the handheld market,” he added. “We’re starting to see DS hardware sales crack, the iPod Touch is cutting into the handheld market. It looks to me like young kids are just as happy playing with the iPod Touch.
“The 3DS will prolong the handheld market for manufacturers, but ultimately I think handhelds are in trouble. What’s the difference if you play Tetris on an iPod Touch or on a DS? Well, you pay a buck on the iPod Touch and you pay $20 on the DS.
“After the 3DS has had its little rush I think the handhelds will continue to decline.”
Since its launch in 2004 the PSP has sold a staggering 60m units worldwide, making it – in raw unit terms at least – one of the best selling consoles ever made, lagging only behind the PS2, PSOne, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Wii and DS.
It’s currently the second best-selling games console of 2010 in Japan, ahead of the Wii and PS3 and behind only the DS. ...by Published on November 22nd, 2010 18:49
via Computer and Video Games
Crystal Dynamics has finally added co-op to the PS3 version of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light via a title update.
The co-op feature was conspicuously absent from the game's initial release. It was added to the Xbox 360 version via a patch in October.
The top down adventure game sees Lara team up with Mayan warrior Totec to defeat an evil spirit by... well, raiding tombs. ...by Published on November 4th, 2010 21:10
via Eurogamer
Gran Turismo 5 has been plagued by delays, and whether the game will launch this year still remains to be seen. But that hasn't stopped creator Kazunori Yamauchi revealing that work on the next instalment, Gran Turismo 6, has already begun.
Yes, and it was even earlier in August when he last let slip details about Gran Turismo 6.
"Yeah," Yamuchi told Autoweek - development is underway.
"It's not something that we can talk that lightly on," he added. "It took 2000 days to get all the ideas that went into GT5.
"It's just too early to be talking about GT6"
But 2000 days! That's five-and-a-half years. Not to mention the probable Concept and Gran Turismo 6 Prologue releases we'd have to endure first.
What about Gran Turismo 5, anyway? Kazunori Yamauchi offered a flimsy "I think so" on the likelihood of playing it before Christmas. An announcement should arrive "sometime soon".
Gran Turismo 5 has been a long time coming. Once upon a time, Kazunori Yamauchi promoted a summer 2008 Japan launch, and shortly before we got there Sony America told the world GT5 was "about a year away". Sony Europe said the racing game would be out for Christmas 2009.
Fast-forward to 2009. In June, Yamauchi said Gran Turismo 5 was "at a point [where] we can release it any time we want", and a few months later he confirmed a March 2010 release date for Japan. A European launch, he added, European launch would likely be in the same timeframe. Yamauchi added to the smiles by saying, in October 2009, that Gran Turismo 5 was "basically complete".
For a while, everything was on track: a GT5 Time Trial demo came out in December 2009 and had been downloaded 1 million times by January 2010. But celebrations were short-lived, as Sony soon announced that Gran Turismo 5 had been delayed in Japan - and only Japan, Europe was reassured (presumably because Europe never had a date). A few weeks later, Europe was given an autumn 2010 release date for GT5.
That date became "November" in June 2010, and then "3rd November" in August. Cue plenty of babble about 3D stereoscopic vision and we arrive in October 2010 and the most recent Gran Turismo 5 delay.
Right now, all Sony will say about a new date is that the game is coming out "before Christmas".
Earlier this week, industry sources told Eurogamer there was "not much hope" for Gran Turismo 5 in 2010. Yamauchi popped up a day later claiming discs were being stamped "as we speak". December, remember, is typically a barren month for releases past the first week.
Mind you, it strikes us as strange that Yamauchi would be so talkative if his game had been pushed back to 2011.
And why has Gran Turismo 5 taken so long? Because of Motor Toon Grand Prix on PSone, that's why. Autoweek heard how Yamauchi and his team had been crunching hard trying to "adjust it so it would be perfect". Sony thought the game was fit for release, though, and twisted Yamauchi's arm. It's a decision he's regretted for his entire career.
...
"At the time, I probably wasn't thinking very clearly, being as exhausted as I was, and I talked myself into thinking this was good enough and it went to release," he recalled. "But all the things I thought were not enough yet, the users said the exact same thing when the game came out.
"That was something I regretted very much when that happened because I knew it was coming. And that happened at the beginning of my career, and it was something I vowed would never happen again."by Published on November 2nd, 2010 18:10
via MCV
Wii owners will be able to download demos of key WiiWare titles through a new service that launches this week.
Nintendo announced that the first demos would be made available this Friday, and new ones will be added on a regular basis.
However, the demos will only be available for a limited time, with the line-up being constantly refreshed – similar to the DS demo service currently operating through the Wii’s Nintendo Channel.
The first games to be downloadable will be Furry Legends, Jett Rocket, ThruSpace and Zombie: Panic in Wonderland. Going forward, a list of the titles will be available on the official WiiWare website.
Nintendo has often come under fire for not offering demo versions of its WiiWare titles, prompting a trial that concluded earlier this year. While this announcement may not appease fans of rival systems Xbox Live and PSN – which permanently host any demos uploaded to their servers – it is a step in the right direction. ...by Published on November 2nd, 2010 18:03
via MCV
Microsoft has defended its decision to increase the cost of its online gaming service Xbox Live Gold.
The firm justified the price hike with mention of exclusive games such as Gears of War and Halo, and the fact that certain DLC packs arrive on Xbox 360 before rival consoles.
It also attributed the monthly membership rise from £4.99 to £5.99 to infrastructure costs.
Craig Davison from Microsoft’s Xbox Live marketing team told Gamasutra: “There are costs associated with maintaining a service at such a level – such as infrastructure costs. And we’re continuing to bring more and more content.
In the US annual Xbox Live memberships rose by $10 to $59.99. However annual Xbox Live Gold subscribers in the UK won’t be charged extra.
“Now we get those Call of Duty map packs before anybody else does. We’ve got Gears and Halo as exclusives. We continue to get exclusives on the service as well. And we’ve gone from 400,000 members in our first year to 25m.
“We want to continue to bring that content in. We also want to continue to innovate on all dimensions, whether it’s social, entertainment, or gaming.”
Users can also opt for Xbox Live Free membership instead, but this does not allow players to take part in online multiplayer gaming. ...by Published on November 2nd, 2010 18:01
via Eurogamer
Yesterday's overhaul of the Xbox 360 dashboard has upset a number of independent developers, who claim it makes it even harder for their games to find an audience.
The revamp moves Xbox Live Indie Games out of the games store proper and hides it under a new tab titled Specialty Shops alongside the Avatar Marketplace and Game Room.
Gamasutra reports that developers are taking to the App Hub forum to voice their discontent.
Weapon of Choice studio Mommy's Best Games posted, "I'm hear to mourn Indie Games being known as 'games', which I suppose we must now rename Indie Specialties."
"I'd like to know the rationale behind it - at least then the community could try and come up with constructive alternatives, rather than being pushed further into obscurity," said Deej, developer of Clover: A Curious Tale.
Developer Projector Games added "Steam Heroes was one of the first games to come out after the new dash change and I have to say that our sales have been beyond horrible - which is suprising, as I'd say it's one of the better games I've released on XBLIG."
We've contacted Microsoft to explain the move and will update when it responds. ...by Published on November 2nd, 2010 17:57
via Computer and Video Games
Sega's top brass have acknowledged the overwhelming reader response to CVG's 'Would you buy Shenmue 3?' feature - and told fans that their dream may not be dead yet.
Our 'Debate' article generated over 100 comments from readers earlier this month - with many more on CVG's Facebook page and around the web.
Nearly all responses were positive. Only 777's post summed up the mood: "I would buy Shenmue 3 even if it cost me my soul."
The president of Sega West, Mike Hayes, noted the reaction. He told CVG:
So there you have it. There is a light, and it never goes out.
"While at present we have no plans for the franchise [on next-gen consoles], the response to CVG's question has certainly shown the Shenmue legacy ignites a lot of passion among fans. Never say never..."
Meanwhile, Sega is preparing a new Shenmue for iPhone and PC.
Shenmue City will act as a 'side-story' to the original Dreamcast classic. It will be free-to-play, with in-game items to buy.
Sega is yet to slap a release date on the title - or hint that it will ever make its way outside of Japan. ...by Published on October 26th, 2010 23:28
via Eurogamer
An Xbox 360 demo for Game Republic's Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is available to download now.
Queue it up here so it's sitting pretty in your Xbox 360 harddrive when you get home. But know this: it weighs in at 237.4 MB.
What is Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom? It's described as a "new fusion of cooperative stealth and action".
You play a hero alongside the AI-controlled monster Majin. You have to combine your talents to overcome obstacles and horrible beasties. There are "over 30 hours of gameplay" on offer.
Christian Donlan went hands-on in May. "Can Game Republic hit the sweet spot between something tender and something thrilling? Can the developers offer a simple fable that still has room for a bit of substance along the way?" he asked. ...by Published on October 26th, 2010 23:24
via MCV
Microsoft is unlikely to pillage its back catalogue of Xbox titles for the high definition remake treatment on Xbox 360.
The admission comes from Microsoft Game Studios VP Phil Spencer, who told IGN: “I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea. I'm going to think about it from the customer's perspective, and are we really delivering something of value to the customer at a price that they want?
The assertion flies in the face of what is increasingly becoming an established tactic in the industry. PlayStation platform holder Sony has already released an HD re-working of its God of War duo from PS2, and has further projects on the way.
“We obviously have a lot of new things going on, so the thought of re-doing a bunch of things is probably difficult to just weave into the overall portfolio. If you can provide real value to the customer, there could be possibilities for that, but I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it.”
Ubisoft, too, is to resurrect both Beyond Good & Evil and Prince of Persia for modern consoles while Sega is also revisiting some of its Dreamcast library and releasing them on Xbox Live and PSN. ...by Published on October 26th, 2010 23:22
via IGN
Travis Touchdown, the foul-mouthed, beam katana-wielding anime enthusiast, is officially coming to the PlayStation 3 next year. The original No More Heroes, which hit the Wii in 2008, impressed gamers with its over-the-top sense of style, gruesome boss fights, and hilarious video game references. Now, the action is making the jump to the HD space with No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise, exclusive to the PlayStation 3 in North America.
Heroes' Paradise will once again put players in the boots of Travis Touchdown as he fights his way to the top of a ranked assassins association. Heroes' Paradise will include new bosses not available in the original Wii version, as well as PlayStation Move support to keep up the tradition of motion-based attacks.
Heroes' Paradise is scheduled to launch sometime next year. ...- Search DCEmu
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