Indie developers have praised Nintendo's DSiWare channel for offering them an avenue which with to get their games directly to consumers, but have highlighted a number of ways in which the service could improve.

Echoing comments made by studios of WiiWare earlier this week, developers called for an increased advertising push by Nintendo focusing on the DSi's internet capabilities in order to increase the number of owners using it to go online, as well as a more user-friendly DSi Shop.

Developers also cited problems with marketing their titles, due to a convoluted system in place for gifting points to the press for them to download games, and questioned the lack of a ranking system in the store in order to properly rank titles.

"We're extremely happy that DSiWare even exists," said Jason Schreiber, CEO of Powerhead Games, the studio behind acclaimed DSiWare title Glow Artisan. "A year ago we had no way to put out Glow Artisan. From our perspective, how cool is it we self-published our own original DS game?"

But the service could improve further as Nintendo continues to grow it, said Schreiber, suggesting that a 'spotlight' section of the shop would make it easier for users to pick out good games.

It's essential the ergonomics of the whole shop are improved, added Mateusz Makowiec, VP of business developer at Teyon, creators of Robot Rescue and Ball Fighter.

"Browsing games in the DSi Shop becomes more and more difficult as the number of titles grows and there's a lack of trailers or demos," he said.

The lack of rankings within the store make it tricky to navigate games, agreed Thierry Platon, creative director at BiP Media, the studio behind DSiWare Viking Invasion. "Your game stays one week with the label 'new' on the DSi front page - if you are lucky Nintendo will only release three games on the same week - and after it's in alphabetic order.

"For now, there are few games on DSiWare - but at the end of 2010 this will be a real problem."

"As Nintendo grows its service I'd love it if great games were easier to find," added Schreiber. "There should be a one-click solution to buy DSiWare games online. Marketplace.xbox.com is an example of one way to do this, but any system that can turn a website link into a sale would be a win-win-win for all involved."

In terms of marketing titles, developers shared many of the same problems those developing WiiWare had encountered - little notice of when a game will go live on the DSiWare channel makes it difficult to plan promotions or get code to press in a timely fashion.

"When it comes to release dates [Nintendo] could work more closely with developers on this issue. It would make release dates more predictable for us and allow us to plan PR activities," said Makowiec.

It should also introduce some sort of promotional points for the press - "We'd like to be able to gift points for reviewing purposes - right now it's complicated," he added.

Schreiber however argues that while an Apple-like beta program to distribute pre-release games to the press would be welcome (if a lot to ask), the onus of marketing still falls primarily at the feet of the developer. Although he says it would be helpful if the press paid more attention to digital titles.

"May I politely suggest the press could be less concerned with games that aren't out yet in favour of finding great games players can actually buy? Indie games live and die based on the reaction in the press and word of mouth," he said.

Despite that, Powerhead released Glow Artisan "in the dead zone between Christmas and New Year with almost no hype," he says.

"We spent our marketing budget on the ESRB rating and crossed our fingers that the game was good enough to generate its own buzz. The nature of independent games - DIY everything, including marketing - requires patience at times. We expect Glow's popularity to grow as more people find it, play it, love it and spread the word."

Marketing for the service itself is a different matter, with most developers agreeing Nintendo could do more to push the DSi's internet capabilities and its digital store.

"I think Nintendo doesn't promote their digital services with the energy we expect from such a successful company," said Makowiec. "It looks like it's not their priority at the moment. Everything else is a consequence.

"I agree with Nintendo that digital download publishers should take care of PR activities for their games. However a promotion of the whole service would help everyone, including Nintendo.

"Due to limited resources, we can't build DSiWare or WiiWare awareness among DSi/Wii consumers. Nintendo could also improve their consoles' connectivity rate - I expect it still doesn't look very well."

Overall though, developers agreed the potential for the service was good, with all of them planning further DSiWare releases based on the performances of their released titles.

"We consider Nintendo digital platforms a tremendous opportunity to expand our publishing," said Makowiec. ...

Xbox group product manager Aaron Greenberg has said that Microsoft doesn't want to mislead people with its MS Points virtual currency and that it is looking to display real currency alongside points following the success of doing so for Games On Demand.

"We never intended to mislead people," Greenberg told G4. "We want to be transparent about it, and so it is something that we're looking at.

“How can we be more transparent and let people see it in actual dollars? You've got to think that we have one service that we're offering around the world. The nice thing about Points is that no matter if you're on the JPY or the EUR or the USD – something that's 200 Points is 200 Points everywhere around the world.

"There's more technical complexities to being able to put local prices in. You have to do that for every product in every country and you then have to deal with currency fluctuations. So there's some challenges to that, but we absolutely did it with the Games On Demand, response has been good and absolutely it's something we're looking at doing."

Greenberg added that Microsoft was also looking into another fix that users have been calling for - the ability to have more than 100 people on a friends list.

"I've been answering this question for so long," he said. "It's something that the team's looking at. It's more complicated than you would think.

"Exactly when that happens I can't say because there's some technical requirements tied to it. But I can tell you that, just like consumers, I share the same frustration and I, too, want more than 100 friends, and so know that we all want that and that we are working on getting that fixed."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...mislead-people ...

Sony Corporation is making a concentrated push to bring 3D entertainment to the home in 2010, with it's technology applied to games such as LittleBigPlanet, Gran Turismo 5 and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift already impressing advocates of the format.

Firmware updates will add 3D gaming capabilities to the PlayStation 3 and 3D movie functionality to the Blu-ray player later this year, and alongside the launch of its own dedicated 3D TV channel, and the success of the billion dollar Avatar movie, 2010 could be a break though year for the format.

"3D is an added thing and it hits every division that Sony has got," said Andrew Oliver, chief technical officer at Blitz Games, speaking in an interview published today. "Sony is really pinning its hopes on the world wanting 3D and everybody is basking in the glory of Avatar."

Sony used CES earlier this month to show off LittleBigPlanet, Gran Turismo 5, Major League Baseball, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and Wipeout to the crowds, along with other tech from the entire Sony electronics division.

"The Sony stand was big with 3D games. They had an enormous stand with a theatre at one end and cinema projectors that are made by Sony, movie cameras made by Sony and they were showing Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – a Sony ImageWorks film – in 3D, they had a Blu-ray player playing 3D film and then the PlayStation 3's were showing various games," detailed Oliver. "They looked absolutely stunning."

A standard format for 3D and the glasses required to view it has been adopted by all TV manufacturers, putting an end to early signs of a format war that could have hampered the adoption of 3D in the home, and fears that viewing 3D can be uncomfortable for the user are fading, said Oliver.

"3D isn't being done badly any more. You do it right and everyone loves it. Everyone feels that they don't need to keep trying to convince people now, it's been done for us with Avatar.

"The TVs have got one good standard which is perfect and exactly what we want and what the film companies want. Every TV manufacturer is bringing out a 3D model and there's no talk of 'what if it gives you a headache'. If you can watch a three hour film you've passed the test."

Blitz has already released one game in 3D, the digital download title Invincible Tiger, and Oliver revealed that the company has now signed off on a big new contract currently under wraps.

"We have agreed a very big 3D deal which is very good for us," he confirmed. "There are some people out there who really want to push 3D but I think when it comes to more general publishers, CES and the Avatar film will have turned a lot of heads."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ts-hopes-on-3d ...

Besides that hidden blade you've fashioned for yourself out of old rollerblade bearings and a letter opener, there hasn't really been a great way to get the feeling of Assassin's Creed 2 while on the go. Sure, there's the Nintendo DS game, the first AC on iPhone, and the limited time accidental release of Assassin's Creed 2: Discovery a few weeks back, but now we've finally got an official release date of February 1 for the DS-to-iPhone port.

Like the DS game, Ezio's adventures on the iPhone will take him to 15th-century Spain where he's tasked with rescuing assassins that are "being held under the guise of the Inquisition," when he learns of "a Templar plan to sail west and discover the New World." What a bunch of discoverers those guys are -- sheesh!

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/20/as...on-february-1/ ...

Atlus sends more Persona love to the PSP, announcing Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable for July release in North America, complete with dozens of hours of additional gameplay and a new player-controlled female protagonist.

http://kotaku.com/5452936/persona-3-...ter-on-the-psp ...

Today Sony Computer Entertainment America announced the domestic release of the game previously known as One Million Ton Bara Bara, now known as Patchwork Heroes, an original action puzzle game for the PlayStation Portable.

So what is Patchwork Heroes? A game about destroying massive sky ships, tearing them apart piece by piece, and, you know, saving the world. And it will come to PSPs in North America this spring via the PlayStation Network as a digital download.

The game comes from developer Acquire, responsible for the similarly interesting and quirky Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! series. We'll obviously keep an eye on Patchwork Heroes to see if the PSP game will be worth the download.

http://kotaku.com/5452968/sony-bring...h-american-psp ...

It could have happened to any man with any console. But for Chris O'Brien, newspaper columnist, it happened with the Wii. The father of two bought his kids a Wii for Christmas, but returned it. Too many hidden costs.

The San Jose Mercury News columnist recently explained the sticker shock that had him returning his $199 Wii and all the stuff he felt he had to buy along with it.

Hmmm. One controller + two kids = eye-gouging fights Christmas morning. I knew I needed another one, which cost $49.
Then I began looking for a couple of games to go with it. I knew we'd be paying a bit more for these. But as I looked at some games we wanted, like "Lego Rock Band," I realized that I needed other controllers, like a microphone, drums or guitar. These could run another $100 or more if I got all of them. So I passed and didn't get any games, figuring they could just play the games that came with it for now.
As I examined the box, I realized that I had forgotten that the Wii could also be connected to the Web. The problem here was that our cable modem is in the kitchen (don't ask) and the TV is in the living room. Guess that's a headache I'd have to figure out later.
As I was finally checking out, the cashier asked if I wanted any batteries. "Batteries? For what?" I wondered. She explained that the controllers ran on batteries. Gulp. I grabbed a package of rechargeable batteries, for about $30.
Having spent about $90 more than I expected, I had a few knots in my stomach on the way home and was kicking myself for not doing my research. Bad columnist. Bad.
He talked to his wife about it and returned everything.

If you want to know how O'Brien's Wii-less Christmas went, read the rest of his column. Gaming consoles may be dropping in price, but they never are as "cheap" as the price tag says, no?

http://kotaku.com/5453144/no-wii-for...console-return ...

That was a quick turnaround, wasn't it? Palm wasted no time in retailing 3D games that are as visually engaging as the best the iPhone has to offer just as soon as it made the big announcement back at CES, and now it's taking things to the next level by heading out to GDC in San Francisco this March. The Game Developers Conference is -- as gaming goes, anyway -- what you'd call a Big Deal, so the fact that Palm is leading a session there to educate interested parties in its Plug-in Development Kit is a promising sign that these guys are taking the concept of webOS as an entertainment platform very, very seriously. Of course, it would've been nice to see this kind of drive about a year ago -- but better late than never.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/20/p...-gdc-this-yea/ ...

News/release from anmabagima

Hi there,

I've always got very good support in this community and I guess it's time to give something back ;o)

I've seen that there are very often always the same steps needed to get started with a homebrew...As I'm using objec oriented C to develop I've created a "hombrew common" library which provides base classes doing most of the initialization stuff which from my point of view is common to the most homebrews. It's my first "release" and I would still see myself as newbie - so if you have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to provide valuable feedback )

Hope you enjoy

However, enough words...
Here is the link to the library and header files:
http://psp.anmabagima.de/__oneclick_...brewcommon.zip
The library was created using eclipse and minimalist PSPSDK on windows. I'm not sure if it works with cygwin as well.
To use this you could simply extract the zip file to the pspsdk folder:

Full details --> http://forums.ps2dev.org/viewtopic.p...asc&highlight= ...