The latest version of a Chrome browser may not be quite the event it once was since Google switched to a six-week release schedule, but the company seems to be plenty pleased with the just-released Chrome 12 nonetheless, which it's dubbed "safer and snazzier." That's because the browser now boasts a number of new measures to prevent malware and phishing attempts (and give you more control over data stored on your computer), as well as support for hardware accelerated 3D CSS, which will let you try out things like Aardman Studio's "Shaun the Sheep" HTML5 experiment pictured above (and linked below). And if you're reading this in Chrome, chances are your browser has already updated itself.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/08/g...2-web-browser/ ...

Glorious last-gen adventure Beyond Good and Evil arrives in HD on PSN today - but at a price. At £11.99, the PSN version is almost double the cost of BG&E HD's Xbox Live Arcade release.

An 800 MSP price was one of the reasons BG&E HD scored 9/10 on Eurogamer. One reason, but far from all.

A downloadable version of electrifying new open world sequel inFamous 2 is available today for lazy people. It costs a full RRP of £50.

Second Castlevania: Lords of Shadow add-on Resurrection also makes its way online for PS3 owners today, as does the Arcade Edition upgrade to Super Street Fighter IV.

You can read the full listing below, courtesy of the EU PlayStation blog.

PS3 Games

Beyond Good and Evil HD (£11.99/€14.99)
InFamous 2 (£49.99/€59.99) - not available until Friday here
Dante's Inferno (£15.99/€19.99)
Beyond Good & Evil HD on Xbox Live Arcade.
PSP Games

SSX on Tour (£7.99/€9.99)
White Knight Chronicles: Origins (£21.99/€26.99)
minis (PS3 and PSP)

Ninjamurai (£2.49/€2.99)
PS3 Game DLC

Castlevania Lords Of Shadow - Resurrection (£7.99/€9.99)
Duels Of The Planeswalkers 2011 Gold Edition (£15.99/€19.99)
EyePet - Lucky Dip Animals 2 (free)
Marvel Vs Capcom 3 – Shadow Battle 08 (£0.79/€0.99)
LittleBigPlanet: Cats Costume Kit (£2.39/€3.99), Dogs Costume Kit (£2.39/€3.99)
Hyperdimension Neptunia: Cat Ears (Black Heart) (£0.79/€0.99), Closed Mail (H) (£0.79/€0.99), Mail (L) (£0.79/€0.99), Mail (S) (£0.79/€0.99), Mail (W) (£0.79/€0.99), Mystic Hat (Green Heart) (£0.79/€0.99), Mystic Hat (White Heart) (£0.79/€0.99), Open Mail (H) (£0.79/€0.99)
White Knight Chronicles 2 – Online Service Entitlement (£7.99/€9.99)
Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition (£11.99/€14.99)
Super Street Fighter IV Update Kit (free)
PSP Game DLC

Dissidia 012 [Duodecim] Final Fantasy
Cloud – Kingdom Hearts Costume Pack (£0.59/€0.79)
Shantotto – Extra Costume Pack (£0.59/€0.79)
Final Fantasy Xi Music Pack (£0.79/€0.99)
White Knight Chronicles 2 – Online Unlock (£7.99/€9.99)
Rock Band 2

Dragonfly (Symbion Project Remix) – Universal Hall Pass (£0.59/€0.79)
Exploited & Exposed – Symbion Project (£0.59/€0.79)
Fox Hunt – Larkspur (£0.59/€0.79)
Midnight Ride – Midnight Riders (£0.59/€0.79)
One Bad Man – Midnight Riders (£0.59/€0.79)
Second Sight Blackout – Children Of Nova (£0.99/€1.49)
Synthesized – Symbion Project (£0.59/€0.79)
The Fall Of Aphonia – Children Of Nova (£0.99/€1.49)
The Order – Children Of Nova (£0.99/€1.49)
We Collide – Children Of Nova (£0.99/€1.49)
Rock Band 3

Bruno Mars Pack 01 (£2.49/€3.99) (contains the following songs also available separately)
Just The Way You Are (£0.99/€1.49)
Marry You (£0.99/€1.49)
Grenade (£0.99/€1.49)
Rise Against Pack 02 (£2.49/€3.99) (contains the following songs also available separately)
Audience Of One (£0.99/€1.49)
Help Is On The Way (£0.99/€1.49)
The Good Left Undone (£0.99/€1.49)
Yoostar 2

A plethora of piñatas (£1.39/€1.75)
The Rent (£1.39/€1.75)
Axel Checks In (£1.39/€1.75)
I'Ll Teach You Some Spanish Words (£1.39/€1.75)
Who Are You? (£1.39/€1.75)
John Who? (£1.39/€1.75)
Doug Is Missing (£1.39/€1.75)
Drag Race (£1.39/€1.75)
Missile Chase (£1.39/€1.75)
Tremble Before The Kraken (£1.39/€1.75)
I Want To Play A Game (£1.39/€1.75)
Killing Is Distasteful To Me (£1.39/€1.75)
Soldier Pack (£2.99/€3.59)
Wizard Of Oz (£2.99/€3.59)
I'M Gonna Get The Job Done (£1.39/€1.75)
Scorcher Vi Trailer (£1.39/€1.75)
A Grow Loan (£1.39/€1.75)
Is That The Witch? (£1.39/€1.75)
Toto Didn'T Mean To (£1.39/€1.75)

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...h-june-article ...

Shigeru Miyamoto has blamed the perception of Nintendo as a casual game maker on the decision not to support HD gaming with the original Wii.

At the same time his boss, Satoru Iwata, acknowledged that the 86 million-selling console was not "able to cater to every gamer's needs" – with Wii U the company's attempt to "resolve" this.

The comments came in the latest massive Iwata Asks chinwag between the pair.

Miyamoto said: "One of the key reasons that such things as the core and the casual exist today is that we decided not to adopt HD on the Wii console."

"I'm sure everyone would agree that we tried really hard to go wider," Iwata added. "But even though we worked aggressively to go deeper in certain areas, the general public's impression that Nintendo was casual grew as time went by."

Wii U, both claim, can break down the barrier between casual and core, which Miyamoto reckons is "psychological".

"I think this is an opportunity for those games that were considered to be core up to now, to evolve into something [with an] even more interesting structure," he said.

"That core vs. casual debate seems like something that can never see a resolution, but with Wii U, I have a feeling that it all may change.

"If we are able to break those psychological barriers with Wii U, I feel like we will be able to take our goal of expanding the gaming population even further to the next step."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...e-casual-split ...

Real Racing 2 developer Firemint has revealed that its state-of-the-art mobile driving game will be the first title to stream gameplay to the TV, via an AirPlay upgrade coming in the new iOS 5.

In the press release issued by the developer, a photo (reproduced below) shows Real Racing 2 HD gameplay is beamed from the iPad 2 across to an AppleTV connected to a high definition display. The iPad 2 screen is used for telemetry data and a map of the circuit, exactly as it is when the HDMI dongle is attached for 1080p gameplay.

In theory, the whole process shouldn't add any kind of performance overhead to the iPad, ensuring the game remains as smooth as ever: Apple's processor features a hardware h.264 encoder used to record movies at 720p, with frame-rate topping out at 30 frames per second. This encoded signal is then beamed out over Wi-Fi and decoded by the AppleTV.

The approach Apple is taking could be described almost as a reverse of Nintendo's concept: processing is carried out in the mobile device and beamed to a receiver connected directly to the screen. Picture quality and latency will be the aspects to examine when the iOS 5 Real Racing 2 HD update ships.

In contrast, it is believed that Wii U's approach uses high bandwidth, zero latency technology for a perfect image with no lag, so comparisons with Apple's tech will be very interesting...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/di...omes-to-gaming ...

Wii U promises PS3 and Xbox 360 levels of third-party support - many of the same types of games, in fact.

But there have been tech demos and there have been showreels (flaunting Xbox 360 and PS3 code). So which games have been confirmed for Wii U so far?

Confirmed:

Pikmin 3
Smash Bros.
Lego City Stories
Darksiders II
Ninja Gaiden: Razor's Edge
Batman: Arkham City
New Ubisoft FPS IP
New Ubisoft multi-sports family IP
Ghost Recon Online
Assassin's Creed
Rabbids
Probables:

Aliens: Colonial Marines (showreel - prototyped, considered)
Dirt (showreel)
Metro Last Light (showreel)
Tekken (showreel)
FIFA
Battlefield
Madden NFL
Possibles:

BioShock (Ken Levine was a talking head on video at Nintendo conference)
Zelda HD (one of the demos)
New Super Mario Bros. Mii (one of the demos)
Demos (hands-on impressions in Eurogamer's Wii U preview):

Chase Mii
Shield Pose
Zelda HD
New Super Mario Bros. Mii
Battle Mii

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ll-wii-u-games ...

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has revealed that the camera built-in to the Wii U controller may feature facial recognition.

Speaking in the latest Iwata Asks, he revealed: "It certainly seems possible from an engineering standpoint that the camera will recognize you if you position the new controller to look at you".

He cited WiiFit as an example of why this would be useful. As seen in the the Wii U reveal trailer (see below), the controller can be used in conjunction with the Balance Board so you can weigh yourself without using a TV.

Facial recognition – as it does with Microsoft's Kinect – would speed the whole process up. "It would be much more accessible if all you have to do is to hold it, press a button and stand on the Wii Balance Board," Iwata added.

"I think so," Shigeru Miyamoto agreed. "I hope it turns out that way".

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...al-recognition ...

A new study from the Entertainment Software Association suggests that the average age of today's gamers is between the 37 and 41 years old. If true, does this mean that game studios should be adjusting their demographics accordingly? Is Generation X the next 'baby boomer' market for the gaming industry?

http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/0...s-37-Years-Old ...

Microsoft isn't exactly known for its hardware prowess. Sure, it's churned out plenty of nice mice, keyboards, and game controllers over the years, but success with actual devices has been mixed. The Xbox 360 has exceeded all expectations, while the Zune and Kin hardware have been monumental failures. According to industry sources in Taiwan, however, Microsoft is working on a Windows 8 tablet that will be powered by Texas Instrument's next-generation 1.8GHz dual core processor.

http://slashdot.org/story/11/06/08/1...ndows-8-Tablet ...

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has reportedly told Japanese newspaper Nikkei that the new Wii U console will "likely" be more than ¥20,000 when it launches in Japan.

That price, translated and reported by Bloomberg in a longer piece on the console, would convert to more than $250 or £150.

The Wii was initially retailed at ¥25,000 in Japan, $249.99 in the US and £179.99 in the UK, a price point which put it below that of its competitors - a factor considered important to its success.

However, the recently launched 3DS saw a less direct price conversion, with the ¥25,000 Japanese launch translating to $249.99 in the US but £229.99 in the UK and €249.99 in Europe.

What the final cost of the console will be in any territory remains moot, but interest remains in whether Nintendo will factor in the strength of the Yen against the pound and Euro in calculating its prices.

Retail laws prevent Nintendo from issuing a static RRP for its hardware, but there will be a standard cost to shops, who will also have to absorb a fair amount of the UK's stringent 20 per cent VAT rate in order to remain competitive.

As the disparate offers for 3DS in the UK illustrated, there is some leeway in setting that profit margin, but how much of the cost the retail sector can absorb remains to be seen.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...re-than-20-000 ...