via Gizmodo


A couple of weeks back we revealed that Italian iPhone fans will be forking out a wallet-burning £395 and £450 for the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) 8GB and 16GB iPhones.

Today, it's been revealed - unofficially - that UK punters can expect to pay a slightly less, but no less painful, £370 for the 8GB model but a steeper £470 for the 16GB version. Ouch! indeed, but unlikely to dim fans' enthusiasm. ...

via Kotaku




Still the better part of a month away from release, the fact that Square Enix saw fit to tease us with these images from the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV is painful enough, but the image up at the top there was really mean. Palom and Porom represent the first time a video game ever made me cry, and while I know how the story ends now I still sniffle every time I get to that one particular part. Next month I get to relive it all over again, with voice acting potentially endearing me to the characters even more before the incident. So mean, Squenix. So very mean.

Screenshots ...

via Games Industry


Sony has said that it needs to revitalise the development community and educate studios that making PSP games is a profitable business.

Speaking to consumer site Pocket Gamer, the company admitted it has "probably suffered" due to a high reliance on third-party content which is no longer appearing on the PSP as regularly as previous years.

"We need to revitalise the developer community to get behind PSP," said Zeno Colaco, VP of publisher and developer relations for Sony Europe.

"One of the issues when you rely on a business model that relies on 25 per cent games from Sony and 75 per cent from other publishers is that if they start to refocus, you can't recover that space because you don't have the internal capacity, so we've probably suffered from that," he admitted.

Colaco said that SCEE is hoping to encourage developers to create quicker, cheaper games for the PSP – a similar model to DS titles – as Sony continues to push the handheld in different directions.

"Our sales for PSP is over 37 million units, which is huge, particularly when you take into account the level of third-party sales there are for PSP compared to DS.

"So from my perspective, what's important is we continue to tell publishers and developers that there's an opportunity to make money on PSP, which is something that will become apparent over the next two years as the network services are developed," said Colaco.

He also stated that with support of the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Network, the company hopes the handheld will enjoy a ten-year lifecycle.

"We definitely have the ambition for it to feature very strongly in the future, both on its own and also complimentary to PlayStation Network environment and the PS3." ...

via Computer and Video Games


Rockstar has released a new patch for GTA IV that should quash the majority of freezing and online connectivity issues on both the PS3 and 360 versions of the game.

The new patch, which should install itself next time you play the game with your console connected to the internet, tightens the nuts and bolts on many of the errors that had gamers in an uproar shortly after launch.

Here's the official list of repairs:

• Fixed an issue where players were unable to enter or exit vehicles in GTA Race.
  
• Fixed an issue where scripted vehicles were causing games to unexpectedly crash.
  
• Improved reliability and frequency of PS3 online leaderboard updates.
  
• Fixed a rare hang some players encountered when moving from a Race or GTA Race lobby into gameplay.
  
• Fixed a hang that would occur when players were switching teams during the countdown in the lobby.
  
• Fixed an issue where players were able to get ridiculously high scores from Cops 'n Crooks matches.
  
• Changed GTA Race and Race so that the last player remaining always receives a reward of $250.
  
• Fixed an issue where spectating players would prevent the game from finishing.
  
• Fixed an issue where players were unable to spectate in Round 2 of Cops 'n Crooks games.
  
• Changed countdown timer in lobby so that it no longer resets when new players join a game.
  
• Changed the kick option so that kicked players are no longer brought back to single player.

...

via Computer and Video Games


Rockstar has released a new patch for GTA IV that should quash the majority of freezing and online connectivity issues on both the PS3 and 360 versions of the game.

The new patch, which should install itself next time you play the game with your console connected to the internet, tightens the nuts and bolts on many of the errors that had gamers in an uproar shortly after launch.

Here's the official list of repairs:

• Fixed an issue where players were unable to enter or exit vehicles in GTA Race.
  
• Fixed an issue where scripted vehicles were causing games to unexpectedly crash.
  
• Improved reliability and frequency of PS3 online leaderboard updates.
  
• Fixed a rare hang some players encountered when moving from a Race or GTA Race lobby into gameplay.
  
• Fixed a hang that would occur when players were switching teams during the countdown in the lobby.
  
• Fixed an issue where players were able to get ridiculously high scores from Cops 'n Crooks matches.
  
• Changed GTA Race and Race so that the last player remaining always receives a reward of $250.
  
• Fixed an issue where spectating players would prevent the game from finishing.
  
• Fixed an issue where players were unable to spectate in Round 2 of Cops 'n Crooks games.
  
• Changed countdown timer in lobby so that it no longer resets when new players join a game.
  
• Changed the kick option so that kicked players are no longer brought back to single player.

...

via Computer and Video Games


Who needs colour, anyway? Killzone 2 ignores your TV's ability to display a zillion colours at the same time, and still manages to look nice.

They look to have been taken from the same outdoor battleground as levels we've previously played through, and you can read all about that here.

You never know, this is an alien planet - maybe later stages are set in a colourful toy land where environments are made of sweets and chocolate and the sky is full of rainbows.

Or maybe not.


Screenshots ...

via Eurogamer


BioShock lead programmer Chris Kline has said that "constantly messing up, and pushing dates" is "the only way to make a good game".

Speaking at GDC Paris this week, in comments recorded by Gamasutra, Kline explained that "BioShock should've failed."

"In fact, it did fail a lot, over the course of time," he added, pointing to "big mistakes and corrections and slipped ship dates".

Kline's contention, however, is that Irrational Games - these days known as 2K Boston - wouldn't have enjoyed so much success without learning things the hard way.

Examples include the need to emphasise the game's first-person shooter credentials - something that only really became clear after its first E3 showing - and a decision early on just to remake System Shock 2 with "all the things that kept it from being financially successful".

Like System Shock 2, BioShock debuted to huge critical acclaim - it currently has a Metacritic average of 96 on both Xbox 360 and PC, which means a lot to publishing types - and became the first shooter in some time to win credit for its narrative as well as its ambitious location and mechanics.

Just last week, an associate professor of classical studies at the University of Connecticut in the US said that BioShock was "capable of the depth of artistic-philosophical expression reached by the Iliad in the Choice of Achilles".

We didn't say exactly that, but it was on the tip of Kristan's tongue throughout his review, probably.

BioShock 2, developed by 2K Marin, is currently in development, while a PS3 version of the original is due out this year. ...

via IGN


Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon was released on the Nintendo DS last summer and provided a refreshing twist on the long-running Harvest Moon formula. Today publisher Natsume confirmed that its sequel is slated for this fall. Rune Factory games take the Harvest Moon premise of raising a farm and place it in a fantasy RPG setting.

"The first Rune Factory title was a great success for us and our fans have been eagerly awaiting a sequel," said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO at Natsume. "The Rune Factory series is a great expansion of the Harvest Moon universe; it takes the addictive Harvest Moon gameplay that fans know and love and combines it with the action and adventure of a fantasy RPG. Rune Factory 2 offers better graphics and even deeper gameplay than the first, along with many innovative new features."

The sequel takes place several years after the first game. The world is at peace, but in a mind-bending twist that no other RPG has ever come up with, "dark premonitions foretell of dangers to come." In addition to raising their farm, players will have to raise monsters, marry, and go on adventures. This time around, the story is "multigenerational," playing as both Kyle and, eventually, his son.

Natsume will be showing Rune Factory 2 at E3 next month.


Screenshots ...

via IGN


Nintendo has just issued an updated European release schedule for both the DS and Wii, with the most prominent addition being Wario Land: The Shake Dimension which is set to launch on September 26.

Not much has been seen of Wario's latest outside of a Famitsu preview, but expect a side scrolling jaunt that takes some cues from Treasure's time with Mario's mischievous foe. Elsewhere on the list of forthcoming Wii games there is Manhunt 2, due out in August following its protracted travails through the High Court.

Nintendo's DS also gets a few morsels, with a new Ace Attorney game – titled Trials and Tribulations – coming on October 3, and Activision's Guitar Hero: On Tour being given a July 18 street date.

Feast your eyes on selected highlights of Nintendo's summer schedule -

Nintendo DS Release Dates, Summer 2008

• Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword (Ubisoft) - June 26
• Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: Grimoire of the Rift (SquareEnix) - June 27
• Sid Meier´s Civilization Revolution (2K Games) - June
• Top Spin 3 (2K Sports) - June
• Bakushow(Rising Star Games) - July 4
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Explorers of Darkness (Nintendo) - July 4
• Guitar Hero: On Tour (Limited Edition Bundle) (Activision) - July 18
• BangaiO Spirits (D3Publisher of Europe) – August 22
• Imagine Figure Skater (Ubisoft) – August 28
• Gauntlet (Eidos) - August
• Spore Creatures (EA) – September 5
• Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (Rising Star Games) – September 12
• Dungeon Explorer (Rising Star Games) – September 19
• Ontamarama: Music Maniacs (505 Games) – September 19
• SimCity Creator (EA) – September 19
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts/Activision) – September 19
• De Blob (THQ) – September 26
• Make 10: A journey of numbers (Nintendo) – September 26
• Nanostray 2 (Majesco/Codemaster) - September
• Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (SEGA) - September
• Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations (Nintendo / Capcom) – October 3
• Naruto Ninja Council 2 (Nintendo / TAKRA TOMY) - October
• Arkanoid (Ubisoft) - Summer
• Space Invaders Extreme (SquareEnix/Ubisoft) - Summer
• Skate It (EA) - 2008
• Sonic Unleashed (SEGA) – Late 2008

For the Wii game list, see here ...