via Eurogamer


Rare has told Eurogamer that Banjo-Tooie will cost 1200 Microsoft Points (GBP 10.20 / EUR 14.40) when it's released for Xbox Live Arcade on 29th April.

The date was confirmed yesterday but the price remained unknown. We expected the inflated price point, however, as previous retro-revamp Banjo-Kazooie cost the same.

But that trip down memory lane ended in tears, as camera and control issues sullied our rose-tinted view of a game simply not worth that much of today's money. That's not to say Banjo-Tooie will repeat the same errors, of course. ...

via Engadget


HTC's been pretty coy with pricing on the Touch Pro2 and Touch Diamond2, but now that units are starting to trickle out overseas, the numbers situation is getting slightly clearer. HTC's just announced that an unlocked Pro2 will set Singaporeans back S$1,328 ($887), while a Diamond2 will hit 'em up for S$1,088 ($726) -- a little more than in Taiwan, but probably close to what we'll see off-contract in the States. A little rich for our blood, though -- let's hope T-Mobile cleans the goo off soon. ...

via Kotaku


While looking into the issue of Nintendo potentially making the DSi's anti-piracy tech more robust, I also checked to see if it was possible that legitimate copies of DS games weren't working in the DSi.

The short answer is, probably not.

Based on the people calling in to Nintendo to talk about DS games they own not working in their DSi, Nintendo figures it most likely due to dirty game cards and not bad coding.

Here's their official statement:


Yes, they mean .025 percent, not 2.5 percent, as in 1/40 of one percent. If I were to do the math on that, based on Nintendo's announced first three days of DSi sales in North America, we would be talking about 75 people. Of course sales have to be higher than that by now, but it still a pretty small number it seems.

Where do you store your DS carts? Me? When they're not in LittleFoot's mouth or the washing machine, they're safely sitting on my desk. ...

via Eurogamer


Hideo Kojima has admitted that there is "definitely pressure" to continue working on the Metal Gear Solid series, even after he repeatedly said that he saw last year's Guns of the Patriots as his last instalment.


Kojima also confused the matter slightly at the Game Developers Conference last month when he described his final mission as "The Next MGS".

At the time he said that he wanted to approach the game using a mixture of Japanese and Western development philosophies.


As for what Kojima is working on, there's still no more word than there was last month when he said, "An official game announcement will be made at E3." ...

via Games Industry


GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo has gone on record saying that he'd like to see a price cut for the PlayStation 3 in order to bolster sales.

Speaking to CNBC he also poured cold water on the recent USD 50 cut to the PlayStation 2's price cut, saying that it came a year too late.

"That price point is clearly an issue in this economy," he said, referring to the USD 399 price of the PS3 in the US, ahead of on obvious opportunity for Sony to act by announcing a cut at E3 this year.

And on the PS2 price drop he said, "I don't know that USD 50 gets you that much. To be honest, it really wasn't worth doing. If they'd done it earlier, publishers probably would have kept making games for the PS2, but once they've stopped, they've stopped."

Meanwhile he also added his comments to the recent speculation that Nintendo might consider dropping the retail price of the Wii for the first time since launch, a move the company has strongly denied as it has instead moved to increase the unit's price point to counteract Japan's strengthening yen.

"I think [demand for] the Wii could slow down to the extent that Nintendo may want to cut the price," he said. "Nintendo has it within its arsenal to do that. The component costs have come down considerably. They used to break even on the Wii, but now they're making a considerable margin."

GameStop's business performance has been strong in the past six months, bucking the economic downturn by posting record results last month. ...

via Games Industry


Basara Battle Heroes for the PlayStation Portable has debuted at the top of the Japanese software sales chart for the week ended April 12, selling 86,000 units.

Wii title Oboro Muramasa Youtouden also debuted, selling 29,000 units and taking second place, according to data provided by Media Create.

Mario & Luigi RPG 3, for the Nintendo DS, dropped one place to take number three, while Monster Hunter Portable 2 G (PSP the Best) held onto it's position at number four.

Pro Yakyuu Famista DS 2009 came fifth, followed by the previous week's top title Mobile Suit Gundam: Senjou no Kizuna Portable for the PSP at number six.

Arcana Heart 2, for the PlayStation 2, was the last new title to enter the top ten, coming in seventh with 11,000 units.

Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2009, also for the PS2, and Musou Orochi Z, for the PlayStation 3, took eighth and ninth places respectively, while Wii Fit closed the chart at ten.


Full Japanese software sales chart follows:

01. Basara Battle Heroes (PSP)
02. Oboro Muramasa Youtouden (Wii)
03. Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (DS)
04. Monster Hunter Portable 2 G (PSP the Best) (PSP)
05. Pro Yakyuu Famista DS 2009 (DS)
06. Mobile Suit Gundam: Senjou no Kizuna Portable (PSP)
07. Arcana Heart 2 (PS2)
08. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2009 (PS2)
09. Musou Orochi Z (PS3)
10. Wii Fit (Wii) ...

via Engadget




There hasn't exactly been a rush to flood the market with Nintendo DS-based GPS mods over the years -- and when we have seen them, they've been largely DIY affairs. Looking to fill a niche that most reasonable folks assume does not exist, GBalpha has announced the upcoming release of Ranger, its new touchscreen solution for those of you wishing to saddle your handheld with navigation duties.

If you're curious, this bad boy sports a u-blox GPS module, 32MB extended memory, Google Earth map integration, and optional Mandarin and Cantonese voice prompts. Are you stoked? What if we gave you a price and a way to order it? Well, we can't do that for you. Sadly, large swaths of the product website are mum on those details. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Still playing Halo Wars while you wait for Halo: STD? Then here are a few fixes that'll be released soon to make your online experience a little more wholesome.

No date's been set for the title update but the Halo Wars website does tell us that matchmaking bugs will be tweaked and one new feature, "that fans have been asking for", will also make the update. Guesses below? A first-person viewpoint?

The update also re-balances things such as the Prophet of Regret's landspeed. To be honest we didn't notice he was a bit quicker. The Flaming Warthog and Honor Guard Wraith will also be made available for multiplayer skirmishes. Does that tick all your boxes?

More info over on the official Halo Wars website. ...

via Computer and Video Games


God of War 3 director Stig Asmussen has said that the complexity of PS3 development forced his team to "re-think things", but backs Sony's decision to go with the more complicated hardware.

Speaking about statements made by Sony boss Kaz Hirai, that insinuated Sony intentionally made PS3 hard to develop for, Asmussen said: "From my perspective he is essentially saying that Sony made the conscious decision to make the PS3 as powerful as possible, and if that meant it was going to be a beast to program for, 'so be it'."

...