DCEmu Homebrew Emulation & Theme Park News
DCEmu Featured News Articles
by Published on September 28th, 2012 00:33- Categories:
- Nintendo Wii News
There is 'no proper marketplace' for digital games on Nintendo platforms, claims dev
Nintendo doesn’t push the WiiWare and other digital games enough on its consoles, Lexis Numerique’s business development director has said.
Speaking to Strategy Informer, Djamil Kemal said the developer, which has released a number of titles for PSN, XBLA and WiiWare, had found it difficult to work on Nintendo platforms.
He added that whilst the console giant pushed blockbuster-style games, there was currently no proper marketplace for smaller developers, making it hard for users to find new releases.
“In theory, yes, but to be totally honest it is really hard to work on a Nintendo platform,” said Kemal.
“Not because of technical reasons but we feel that Nintendo just doesn’t push its WiiWare and other digital games. They do blockbuster-style games like in previous eras, but if you look at what is happening with WiiWare at the moment for instance, there no proper marketplace, making it really hard to check out the latest releases.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...digital-enough
...by Published on September 28th, 2012 00:31- Categories:
- PC News
Minecraft developer would rather 'the game not run on Windows 8 at all than play along'
Marcus 'Notch' Persson has refused to have Minecraft certified for Windows 8 due to concerns about the openness of the new operating system.
Windows 8 is highly anticipated in many circles as the first truly multi-platform operating system, but some call the measures adopted by Microsoft to ensure compatibilty between desktops and tablets draconian.
Persson has long been an advocate of more open platforms, refusing even to place Minecraft on Steam due to his fears about a single vendor controlling the PC space.
It comes as little surprise then that he has refused the certification neccessary to list Minecraft on the Windows 8 store.
"Got an email from microsoft, wanting to help "certify" minecraft for win 8," Persson told his Twitter followers.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...-certification
...by Published on September 28th, 2012 00:29- Categories:
- PC News
PCR speaks to Nvidia's director of GeForce gaming Jason Paul about the resurgence in PC gaming.
Hardware lives in a chicken and egg relationship with content. Without software, there’s nothing to show off things like new graphics cards. And without new graphics cards, there’s no reason to produce new software.
Execs at Nvidia, then, must be punching the air: earlier this year it released the first of its line of Kepler next-gen graphics cards, such as the GTX 680 and GT 640M, and the timing was perfect. As developers turn their attentions away from ageing consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, some of the biggest hits in games are either PC-only, or PC-first in their development.
“Developers are no longer just thinking of console and porting to PC,” explains Nvidia’s Jason Paul. “They are developing for the PC as a platform and taking advantage of PC-only tech that will really shape the experience. And that is helping to encourage gamers to switch from console to PC to get the full experience.
“You’re seeing developers more readily build in DirectX11 support, 3D, multi-monitor support, and hi-res texture elements, just to make PC gaming superior to console. Even the games that are typically console-first, like Max Payne 3, the publisher is investing in making the PC version better because they understand how far ahead PC is in terms of technology.”
THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR PC
It really has been a ripe time for quality games on PC, says Paul. Nvidia has seen first-hand how games like Mass Effect 3, SWTOR, Diablo III and event recent releases like The Secret World have pushed high-end PC games back to the top of the agenda for gamers and retailers.
Rich pickings lie ahead, too. Call of Duty Black Ops 2, World of Warcraft expansion Mists of Pandaria, Far Cry 3, Assassin’s Creed III, MechWarrior Online and Hawken are all hitting PC with advanced DirectX11 functions that won’t be found on console and need a good card to run.
And, even further into the future, developers have been using Nvidia technology to shape the games of tomorrow. Stand-out titles at this summer’s E3 games expo in Los Angeles, such as Star Wars 1313, Watch Dogs and other next-gen tech demos, were even showcased using a GTX 680.
“A lot of the big demos were running on 680s as they wanted to put the best foot forward to show what the next-generation of gaming would look like,” says Paul.
It helps that all the big hot genres in core games right now are also a good fit for PC. And that we are at the point in the games life cycle where PC is leading the way as consoles stagnate before their successors arrive.
Plus, Paul points out, even those making the tools to produce new games – such the team behind the ubiquitous Unreal Engine – are using Nvidia technology as its base.
“The big step is that the tools continue to get better in terms of games development. Unreal Engine 4, for instance, was shown running on 680s at E3, and natively uses advanced functions like Direct X11 or Nvidia PhysX from the off.”
“Today it’s very clear that PC is leading the way in games - early in a console lifecycle there’s some debate about that, but today even when a game is multiplatform it leads the way on PC,” asserts Paul.
And while dedicated games consoles and PC games hardware are also locked in their own symbiotic relationship, it’s arguable that with new hardware like the Kepler architecture and low-end games successes like Facebook or free-to-play games, PC has a bigger edge than ever over other platforms.
“I’m sure when the new consoles come out they will innovate – although often a console’s innovation is in areas to do with interface or online,” says Paul. “And even then, after that early bump in performance, PC keeps growing and widens the gap a bit.
“It’s been the classic lifecycle.” But maybe the cycle is starting to be broken...
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...onsoles/029259 ...by Published on September 28th, 2012 00:28- Categories:
- Android News
Android app store celebrates by slashing selected content to just 25 cents.
Google Play hit 15bn app downloads back in May, and just four months later the platform has notched up another ten billion to cross the 25bn milestone.
Of course, it's still some way behind the App Store which reached25bn and 30bn downloads in March and June, respectively.
That said, Google Play is miles ahead of the 3bn downloads BlackBerry App World reached in July.
The app store formerly known as Android Market also plays home to 675,000 apps, and is celebrating its latest milestones with discounts for the next five days.
Users will be able to secure content from Gameloft, EA, Rovio and more for just 25 cents, choosing from games, magazines, films and so on.
Jamie Rosenberg, director of digital content, Google, said: "Twenty-five billion is more than twice the distance, in miles, that the Voyager 1 spacecraft has travelled since its launch 35 years ago.
"It’s the amount of time, in minutes, that have passed since some of our earliest ancestors began to set foot in Europe. And now, thanks to all of you, it’s a Google Play milestone. We look forward to the next 25 billion."
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...00-apps/019479 ...by Published on September 28th, 2012 00:25- Categories:
- Apple iPhone
Apple device really is holier-than-thou.
It shouldn't be common for a new phone to come with glitches, but it is.
The Lumia 800 had battery problems, and the Galaxy Nexus had sporadic earpiece volume variations.
Of course, Apple is renowned for faults, demonstrated with the signal failure on the iPhone 4 and Siri unlocking 4Ss to unauthorised users.
Now, CultOfMac reports an error on the iPhone 5 camera, despite a revamped 8MP design that comes 25 per cent smaller than its predecessor.
Users have taken to forums to complain of a 'purple halo' effect, which causes an unavoidable lilac flare to splash across the photo when a bright light is in the frame.
The common belief is that the halo is caused by light refracting off of the camera's Sapphire lens cover – a new feature that wasn't used on previous devices.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...-photos/019485 ...by Published on September 27th, 2012 23:19- Categories:
- DCEmu
Today saw the beginning of a four-day gaming extravaganza which Samsung are hosting at the UK’s premier consumer video game event, the Eurogamer Expo, in Earl’s Court, London.
The Samsung stand is hosting the national final of the World Cyber Games (WCG) FIFA 12 competition, where gamers will battle it out to be crowned the UK champion to win their place at the December finals in China. And to get the games under way, TV presenter Pollyanna Woodward made an appearance on the Samsung stand.
Known for her prowess in the technology arena, Pollyanna turned her skills to the digital sporting stage by launching the final wave of UK WCG qualifiers for FIFA 12. The qualifiers, which will take place across the Expo (27th-30th September), are free to enter and open to anyone who believes they have the gaming talent to represent the UK.
In addition to hosting the final WCG qualifications, the Samsung stand will offer -
· A showcase of the best Samsung products designed to enhance the overall experience for gamers, from notebooks to tablets to TVs and smartphones, ideal for home or on the move
· EA Games’ Need for Speed official Aston Martin car will be on the stand for fans to have their picture taken by
o Daily an artist will be drawing pictures of the cars from Need for Speed – all the artwork created can be won
· There will be a competition to win a Galaxy Note 10.1 – budding artists need to just draw a picture on the Galaxy Note, on the stand, and the best picture wins!
· Ultimate gaming experience room – gamers must check out this special booth to have a demonstration of the best gaming kit on offer
· FIFA 12 World Cyber Games qualifiers will be held daily on the stand on 27th, 28th and 29th for gamers to win their place in the final on 30th – its free to enter, gamers just need to register on the stand, on the day to take part
· Galaxy Note II – Samsung will be unveiling the Galaxy Note 2, the latest product from Samsung, currently not on sale yet in the UK ...by Published on September 27th, 2012 00:46- Categories:
- Apple iPhone
As the initial wave of iPhone 5 reviews hit, it looked as if Apple's dual-core A6 processor was sporting a clock speed of around 1GHz. We saw reports (and confirmed with our own handset) ranging between 1.00 and 1.02GHz, but a new Geekbench build (v2.3.6) has today revealed a horse of a different color. According to Primate Labs' own John Poole, the latest version of the app -- which landed on the App Store today -- "features a dramatically improved processor frequency detection algorithm, which consistently reports the A6's frequency as 1.3GHz." In speaking with us, he affirmed that "earlier versions of Geekbench had trouble determining the A6's frequency, which lead to people claiming the A6's frequency as 1.0GHz as it was the most common value Geekbench reported."
When we asked if he felt that the A6 was capable of dynamically overclocking itself for more demanding tasks, he added: "I don't believe the A6 has any form of processor boost. In our testing, we found the 1.3GHz was constant regardless of whether one core or both cores were busy." Our own in-house iPhone 5 is regularly displaying 1.29GHz, while a tipster's screenshot (hosted after the break) clearly display 1.30GHz. Oh, and if anyone wants to dip their iPhone 5 in a vat of liquid nitrogen while trying to push things well over the 2GHz level, we certainly wouldn't try to dissuade your efforts.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/a...-overclocking/ ...by Published on September 27th, 2012 00:44- Categories:
- Wii U News
Nintendo of America boss also expects the original Wii to continue to sell millions
Nintendo of America
Meeting consumer demand and managing unit allocation is critical to any hardware launch, and it was something Nintendo had to grapple with during the Wii's launch. Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aime believes that his company has a handle on things to proceed with a smooth launch for the new Wii U this holiday.
Speaking to Forbes, Fils-Aime commented, "We've learned a lot of lessons from the launch of the DS, the launch of Wii and the launch of 3DS. And our supply chain is solid. My job is to work with retailers, work with other business partners to create demand for the product, and have the consumer get excited. And I think we're well on the way to doing that."
He continued, "My expectation is that we will do a phenomenal job helping the consumer understand the benefits of Wii U, and that our retailers will do a wonderful job of merchandising the product and getting it into consumers' hands. We want to satisfy all of the demand that's out there. That's our goal."
The excitement certainly appears to be there, as specialty retailers like GameStop are dealing with huge demand. GameStop recently halted pre-orders due to "overwhelming demand." Its PowerUp Rewards members who ordered the Wii U had to be placed on a waiting list. Of course, if the supply chain is as solid as Nintendo says, it could be asked why GameStop is being made to halt additional pre-orders. Exact numbers on how many have been pre-ordered have not been made public yet.
As for the original Wii, Fils-Aime fully believes that the old console has plenty of life left in it. He compared it to the PlayStation 2 and thinks that "millions" of potential sales are out there.
"The broad marketing for the Wii is not going to change. The Wii is focused against today the late adopter, the consumer who is spending $149 or less to have a gaming experience. And we believe -not only in the U.S. but through all of the Americas- there's still millions of these types of consumers available," Fils-Aime remarked. "So it's a sizable opportunity. But that's a different consumer than who is going to look at the Wii U and get excited by the latest graphical capabilities, all of the services that are included, and new types of games. We see these as two different market opportunities."
Fils-Aime praised Sony for its strategy to prolong the sales curve for PS2, and he anticipates Nintendo doing the same thing with the Wii.
"You know, PlayStation has done a phenomenal job driving sales on what is a [twelve] year-old machine. They've done a phenomenal job, and they have been able to address different marketing over time, to build an incredibly large install base. We believe that the Wii system, similarly, will keep selling for quite some time," he said. "They're going to be different addressable markets, not only from a US perspective but from a global perspective… [but we'll] hopefully continue to drive sales at a historic rate."
For more on the Wii U's upcoming launch and Nintendo's opinion on pricing, please read our own interview with Reggie Fils-Aime here.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...id-says-reggie
...by Published on September 27th, 2012 00:42- Categories:
- Wii U News
Digital Foundry on console build costs and the decisions facing the platform holders this holiday season.
The Q4 debut for Nintendo Wii U signals the coming of the next-gen consoles and the final hurrah for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 - before the debut of their replacements next year, at least. Is it a time to maximise userbase, slashing prices and recouping the investment through software sales? Or alternatively, should the platform holders play it safe and keep prices high? Initial indicators seem to suggest that it's the latter strategy that is being pursued, provoking some level of controversy within the industry.
It's Nintendo's pricing on Wii U that has surprised many, with the 8GB pack coming in at £249/$299 while the 32GB premium version with Nintendo Land pack-in weighs in at £299/$349 (note that UK prices include 20 per cent VAT, whereas US prices lack sales tax). As launch prices go, this isn't bad in comparison to the precedents set by previous console releases, and Nintendo will point to its innovative tablet controller and exclusive games to set it apart from the competition.
However, it's safe to say that the Wii U isn't a typical launch - at its core, the guts of the unit itself has far more in common with current-gen consoles than Nintendo would probably care to admit, improved by various measures in some regards, but noticeably weaker elsewhere. There's also the fact that a lot of the launch software will already be available on consoles that cost significantly less.
"Wii U benefits from a more modern GPU and a useful memory boost, but it's a machine built to a budget and the price-point is around £50 higher than we expected."
To a great degree, price-points are defined by BOM - the Bill of Materials. On the plus side, Wii U benefits from a significantly more modern graphics core, equated by many with an entry-level enthusiast GPU a couple of generations old, provided by AMD. Our sources tell us that the hardware is rich in features compared to the Xenos core within the Xbox 360 (also supplied by AMD) but somewhat lacking in sheer horsepower: still a useful upgrade overall though. However, on the flipside, the tri-core IBM "Espresso" CPU is an acknowledged weakness compared to the current-gen consoles - the processors consisting of revised, upgraded versions of the Wii's Broadway architecture, in itself an overclocked version of the main core at the heart of the ancient GameCube. Nintendo clearly hoped that tripling up on cores, upping clock speed and adding useful features such as out of order execution would do the trick, but key developers are saying otherwise: GPU-heavy games get a boost, but CPU-dependent titles are challenging to bring over to the new platform. Debate still rages over the extent to which Wii U is a next-gen console at all, and whether its pricing fits accordingly.
The overall conclusion one can draw from the core components here is that Nintendo hasn't really paid so much attention to competitive forces, targeting a spec that can be mass-produced relatively cheaply. Areas where we know Nintendo easily outperforms Xbox 360 come to down commodity items such as RAM and flash storage: these are upgrades that won't significantly affect the bottom line. We also know that the silicon is manufactured in the 40-45nm range, giving the platform holder significant leeway to cut costs going forward in the medium to longer term (next-gen consoles will all be fabricated in the region of 28nm next year).
Wii U is a console built to a budget, its silicon almost certainly produced at the same 45nm process as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. While some may argue its premium comes from its tablet controller, even the build cost there is very modest indeed.
Of course, Nintendo's key point of differentiation is the tablet controller - which obviously adds to the bill of materials, but once again we see a piece of technology built to a price. In a world where Chinese no-name manufacturers can develop capacitive 7-inch touchscreen Android tablets with ARM processors, 8GB of flash storage and 512MB/1GB of RAM priced at £50-£60, Nintendo's resistive screen tablet produced in the millions would clearly be significantly cheaper to mass-manufacture - even factoring in the latency free AV transmission tech.
Bearing in mind the challenge Nintendo faces in competing against Microsoft and Sony - with a significant amount of its launch titles already out on the rival platforms - the pricing on the Nintendo console does look a touch on the expensive side, and I expected price-points closer to the original Wii - £180/$250 was instrumental in Nintendo's success back in 2006. Up against the £149/$249 4GB Xbox 360 (where prices fluctuate downwards significantly) there is the sense that Nintendo could well be repeating the mistake it made with 3DS. However, this time I suspect there is more leeway for the platform holder to cut costs if it has to.
"Sony's strategy in bringing a newer, cheaper PS3 to market at much the same price as its higher ...by Published on September 27th, 2012 00:27- Categories:
- Apple News,
- Apple iPad,
- Apple iPhone
Indies speak out on lack of discoverability and claim new OS favours established studios
The App Store in Apple’s newly released iOS 6 is a disaster for developers and users, it has been claimed.
As discussed on the LightWood Games Blog for developers, Chris Newman and a number of other indies said there were a number of problems on the latest OS, particularly concerning the lack of visibility for new apps.
He explained that there was no longer a “sort by release date” option, with tabs for games searches restricted to paid, free and top grossing.
Newman questioned how small developers and studios could become successful and get noticed on the App Store given that exposure was restricted to options which largely listed the same games.
“For a small developer, this is terrible news,” said Newman.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...for-developers
...- Search DCEmu
- Advert 3
News Categories
- Links of Interest
Sony Consoles News
- Nintendo Consoles News
- Sega Consoles News
- Apple & Android News
- Xbox Consoles News
- Open Source Consoles News
DCEmu News Archive
- Advert
- Retro Consoles News
- PC News
- Latest DCEmu News
- DCEmu Network Sites
-
Menu 
Forum Stats
- What is the DCEmu Homebrew & Gaming Network
Catherine: Full Body’s English translation for the Vita