A PS3 dev has spoken out against one PS3 hacking site:
http://blackbird.usask.ca/wordpress/?p=267 ...

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With VBANext rolling on in the background we took a small side step and got SNES9xNext repository going. To help mark this release I prepared a port of SNES9xNext for Android. This is particularily interesting since all current SNES ports on Android are of SNES9x 1.43. The SNES9x 1.43 branch is known for its raw speed so it is a chose candidate for running on slower CPUs. Since SNES9x 1.5X the team has gone towards improving audio by adding blargg’s audio core among other things. In turn the SNES9x 1.5X branch is quite a bit slower. Putting arguments aside which is better the plan here is to streamline being able to quickly deploy each version. Currently SNES9x 1.43 runs full speed with frameskip=0 on all games on most native Android 1.6 or higher devices. While SNES9x 1.52 requires a newer tablet basically. On my HTC Incredible S which has a 1Ghz ARM-7 CPU I get ~55fps on most games with frameskip = 0 and full speed with frameksip = 1.

http://code.google.com/p/snes9xnext/ ...

Phil Harrison, former head of Sony Worldwide Studios, has offered his thoughts on the next generation of consoles - and foresees a business model that breaks away from the one that's served the industry for the past 30 years.

Speaking at this week's Develop in Brighton, Harrison saw consoles moving towards a service-based model over the retail one that's previously defined the industry.

"I think the era of the console where hardware companies spend $3-4 billion to build a chipset and then it's supported on a tax on the software - that's the business model of the last 25-30 years - that's over," said Harrison.

"The new business model is going to become a combination of retail and services, and it's going to be an interesting decision for the likes of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, is the next console race about chips and CPU, clock speed and graphics, or is it about business models and monetization and discovery, and I think it's probably going to be about the latter."

While Nintendo has already announced its next console - the Wii U, complete with its innovative controller - Microsoft and Sony are being coy on their plans, although some picture of what they'll be technically capable of has recently started to emerge.

But could the rise of streaming services such as OnLive and Gaikai spell the end of traditional consoles? "I don't think this means PlayStation the brand goes away or Xbox the brand goes away, but it just manifests itself in a different way."

"The technology to stream high-quality games directly to your living room or computer or TV is not some kind of science-fiction fantasy - it works, and it'll only get better over time. I think that's clearly going to be a future for our industry."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...s-new-xbox-ps4 ...

Gaming is heading towards a free-to-play future, with leading industry lights predicting the business model will take hold within the next few years.

Speaking at Develop, ex-Sony executive Phil Harrison, and Chris Lee, co-founder of DJ Hero developer Freestyle Games, discussed gaming's free-to-play future.

"I think by and large we're moving towards a free-to-play business model where the entry point is going to be free and you're monetizing the engagement," said Harrison, formerly head of Sony's Worldwide Studios and currently acting on Gaikai's board of directors. "70-90 per cent will be playing for free, but that other per cent will make the game far more profitable than you could ever get selling it in the shop."

Harrison himself is evidently a champion of the free-to-play model - earlier this week it was revealed that he pushed for Media Molecule's PlayStation 3 hit LittleBigPlanet to launch as a free-to-play downloadable game.

There are, however, challenges to an immediate switch, one of them being the expectations surrounding console games - though Lee offered that it'll just take a courageous leap to prove the model's worth. "The console audience expects a certain amount of visual fidelity," added Lee, "the challenge is are you willing to put £5-10 million up front to create a compelling console experience and then flip it to free-to-play - I think people should and I think people will."

Phil Harrison was happy to offer one tangible example. "I think in some short period of time, if a Call of Duty game on the next PlayStation or the next Xbox starts life as free-to-play" he said, "you've got hundreds of millions worth of product development open to the world to play. Then the industry will change overnight, instantly and forever."
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...future-article ...

Horrendously addictive Nintendo puzzle franchise Picross makes its 3DS debut in Japan next week, with the release of Picross E on the eShop.

The game, which returns to the series' classic 2D template after Picross 3D on the DS, is out on 27th July for ¥500 (£3.90), according to the game's official site.

There's no mention of a European release just yet. Nintendo wouldn't deny us this one, would it?

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...or-3ds-article ...

Yes, that's an R2-D2-themed Xbox 360 and accompanying gold C-3PO controller, which are both part of a new Star Wars Kinect bundle that Microsoft officially announced at Comic-Con today. Also included in the bundle is a matching white Kinect sensor, as well as a 320GB hard drive, and both the Star Wars Kinect and Kinect Adventures games -- all for $449. Did we mention it also has some custom console sounds? Look for it to land in the fall, with pre-orders starting today. Check out the gallery below for a closer look.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/21/m...star-wars-kin/ ...

GE Global Research announced earlier today that it has managed to cram up to 500GB worth of data on a standard DVD-size disc, an increase in storage density of roughly 100x. What's more, the tech arm of conglomerate General Electric Company says that the storage solution will record data at the same speed as Blu-ray discs while increasing storage capacity by 25 times. The Blu-ray Disk Association says that the commonly available 12x speed Blu-ray writers have a maximum writing speed of up to 400Mbps (or 50MBps) which means that in theory, it would take just over three hours to fill that new holographic hard disk. GE has confirmed that its R&D and licensing team will be sampling the media to qualified partners that may be interested in licensing the technology.

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/1...ize-Discs-Soon ...

The UK games industry is in danger of being reduced to four-man iPhone development studios.

That's according to Bodycount game director Andy Wilson, who blames a tough economic climate and the way in which hopes for tax breaks were "torpedoed".

The Codemasters Guildford dev told Gamerzines it's "painfully obvious" why so many UK studios are closing "when you look at the level of support in North America".

"The UK is primarily tough, in my opinion, because the bright, shining hope of tax breaks for the games industry got torpedoed," he said.

"It's a tough economy for sure, but we need to start supporting the industry properly or the whole thing is going to melt into iPhone developers - and there's only so many four-man teams who are going to find success.

"When you look at the level of support in North America it becomes painfully obvious why so many developers here are closing their doors, including my former home Black Rock. I'm still sitting in disbelief at that one."

He added: "Codemasters already has a studio in Malaysia for production of art assets, but I would think it unlikely we'll move full scale development overseas any time soon. We're still flying the flag as the last British publisher, after all."

Head of the new UK Codemasters studio, Ian Johnson, touched on the same subject last week when he said that UK developers need to work together to counter foreign tax incentives with domestic efficiency.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...s-codemasters/ ...

Two factors are dovetailing to create growth in the pre-teen gaming market.Firstly, there is the traditional migration down the demographic that comes about as a generation of hardware enters its second, third and fourth years.

Secondly, the popularity of the Wii plus the Move and Kinect peripherals mean that games can now be simpler – and more instinctive than ever – to control. Simplicity, in fact, is a virtue like never before.

A third background factor, of course, is the long-term and ongoing mainstream adoption of gaming as all-pervasive popular culture. The audience is broader than ever – younger as well as older. This isn’t just a window opening up in this generation’s cycle – it’s a permanent shift and a major opportunity.

Rachael Grant, brand manager at Ubisoft, says: “I think the market for younger consumers has been consistently growing for a couple of years now, and this has very much been a focus for Ubisoft.

“The Imagine range led the trend for a variety of games designed specifically with the younger consumer in mind. Now, more than ever, this audience is a very important part of our business and the industry in general – and this will continue for us into 2012.”

She acknowledges the influence of Kinect and Move, saying that “they are making gaming more accessible to wider groups of consumers” and adding that “they are expanding on the experience that Nintendo has created with Wii”.

One of Activision’s senior brand managers also pays tribute to Nintendo, saying that the motion controllers from Microsoft and Sony both “provide greater opportunities on top of the revolution that Nintendo Wii started”.

Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment’s UK sales and marketing director Spencer Crossley agrees, arguing that the Wii taught a family audience to expect motion control ahead of fiddly buttons.Warner, as a group, is packed with properties that are perfect for pre-teens, but the publisher also thinks creatively and forges external alliances to boost its presence in the sector. Crossley says: “Games for younger players have always been a staple part of WBIE’s portfolio and none more so than our hugely popular range of LEGO video games, developed by the legendary TT Games. These are the gold standard in the kids games sector.

“We also launched the critically acclaimed Scribblenauts series for DS, Game Party: In Motion as our first Kinect title and The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest as our first Move title. “We’ll also be publishing Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster for Kinect late in the year, which our retail partners are tremendously excited about already.“Our release schedule shows that whilst quality games linked to quality entertainment franchises will always do well, there is still room for the launch of new IP in this sector.”

HAPPY MEAL

Interestingly, at Disney, UK country director Matt Carroll believes that whilst the audience of younger gamers is growing, it is not being driven by traditional consoles: “My sense is that today the number of games for young consumers has reduced on traditional gaming platforms as we know them, but there is an increase in the number and variety of games on different and emerging platforms such as apps on mobile or sites like Facebook.

“Parents by and large are now much more comfortable providing controlled access to gaming via the web for a broad arrangement of interactive entertainment and games such as Club Penguin, whilst mobile phones and social media networks are increasingly providing access to games for the younger teenage audiences. This has resulted in increased popularity and prevalence of both types of games.”

He adds that whilst Disney was delighted with the success of Toy Story 3 last year, and has high hopes for Cars 2 and the recently announced Disney Universe, “gaming on next-gen consoles still appeals mainly to the hardcore”. Carroll continues: “For younger demographics, I feel that both the pricing and the poor economy has had a major impact in delaying the adoption of these platforms to a more mass market audience, an audience that was seen earlier in previous cycles.

“Functionality improvements such as Kinect and Move are welcome innovations, but they do not replace lower prices to drive penetration. The danger for the ‘traditional games industry’ is that younger consumers turn to new formats, above all mobile, as they feel these next-gen consoles remain out of reach.”

So, is that Disney calling for price cuts? Do we have our headline? Maybe not.

“The first parties have a very tricky balancing act to maximise the business from their consoles – so to that end they need to do what is right for the long term sustainability of the industry – and third-party publishers benefit hugely from the long term view.

“Any price move would generate huge interest and attract new audiences, but I would say they should choose the timing that matches when consumers will have the intention to buy, such as during the Christmas period.”

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