via Computer and Video Games


The world of dodgy console peripherals has struck again with another laughable invention, this time to add rumble to your bog-standard SixAxis controller.

If buying the £300 console left your wallet too empty to import a DualShock 3 controller, peripheral company PEGA wants to help with its $17 [£8.55] contraption pictured below.

It's called the Vibrating Bag, for some unknown reason, and features a vibrating unit that straps to your SixAxis, with a transmitter that is attached to your PS3.

Only, the transmitter has a massive '80s-style aerial antenna on it, ruining the neo look of your PS3, and by the looks of it, the shaking unit responds to sounds in the game (like a sort of small vibrating speaker), not the game's proper rumble signals.

But don't let that put you off because it also has a built-in FM radio tuner - cutting edge stuff. And according to the packaging it was "specially designed for PS3 game chip" so it must be good.

Why did we ever spend £40 on a DualShock 3 when we could have just got this?


A couple of images of the gadget here ...

via Eurogamer


Xbox marketing bigwig Jeff Bell says Microsoft has been talking to Blu-ray about the possibility of a partnership all along.

He was speaking about Warner Bros.'s recent decision to exclusively pick the Sony-championed disc format, and did not rule out the possibility MS will adopt it at some point in the future.


Microsoft still counts Universal, Paramount and DreamWorks among the supporters for HD-DVD, and Warner Bros. continues to be one of the largest contributors to its IPTV service.

Interestingly Bell also highlighted the relationship between Microsoft and Sony, as its rival uses Windows software on its laptops and what not. They do more talking than you might expect. Bell calls it "coopetition".

Xbox Live Video Marketplace launched last December in the UK, offering downloadable films for digital rental; you splash out 250 MS Points (GBP 2.13 / EUR 2.91) for standard definition and 380 MS Points (GBP 3.23 / EUR 4.42) for high definition, and films will become unwatchable 24 hours after you first start viewing them or within 14 days of download.

The service has been available in the US since late 2006 and also lets you download television shows like CSI or Star Trek. No word on when this will happen here yet. ...

via Eurogamer


Five schools in Worcestershire have been using the Wii in physical education classes to encourage youngsters to get active.

The initiative is being lead by the Droitwich and Worcester City School Partnership, which boasted positive heart rate-quickening results to UK newspaper the The Daily Mail.

"The use of computer games to increase physical activity levels and raise attainment to some would seem contradictory, but with rigid structures in place and by using specific games students soon found themselves being active and engaged almost without realising it," enthused a spokesperson for the Partnership.

But not everyone sees the benefit. The Mail claims a recent study proved playing a game on Wii only expends 2 per cent more energy than playing on traditional consoles.

And Nick Seaton from the Campaign for Real Education is worried it will encourage children to play videogames instead of doing conventional exercise.

"I think most sensible parents will think this is surrendering to the laziest pupils, it cannot possibly be any replacement for serious games and competition between peer group," said Seaton.

As we all know videogames are often cast as villainous in the mainstream media, blamed for causing children to eat less healthily and burn less calories and attack old ladies and play quiz games.

Slightly ironic that Nintendo should come under fire for moving away from a seated gaming environment then, particularly as its new Wii Fit product quite literally tells you how fat you are before making you bob around and head footballs.

"We now want to turn the living room into a fitness centre for the whole family," said Nintendo UK marketing mouth Dawn Paine. "Perish the thought, but video games can now make you fit."

Apparently as many as one in five boys and girls will be obese by 2020. Hover boards to follow. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Until now we've only seen scans of Resistance 2 - but here we have the first seven proper screenshots from the PS3 sequel.

Recent info on the game revealed the Chamelion and Stalker, beasts that have stealthier tactics than the Chimera, with the ability to cloak themselves invisible and sneak up on you. Insomniac has apparently listened to feedback from the first game, and focused on improving the enemy AI, checkpoints and health system in the new game.

The sixty-player multiplayer gameplay will take on a new focus on squad-based gameplay. There will be three main classes of player, a Tank class who have the big guns, Special Ops handle the long-range sniper action, and the Medic to patch up the n00bs.


Screenshots ...

via Computer and Video Games




Three new screenshots from Grand Theft Auto IV have found their way onto the internet.

Last week Rockstar confirmed the massively anticipated sequel will go on worldwide release on April 29, while admitting that PS3 contributed to the game's delay to this year. News that like writes itself.

We recently tripped over the Rockstar's UK HQ for a new look at GTA IV, and in case you missed it you can read our MASSIVE in-depth report here. ...

via Eurogamer


Korean developer Blueside is teaming up with Phantagram to create a Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders sequel.

It will take the series back to its tactical roots after upcoming action RPG spin-off Circle of Doom, and will be a self-confessed pioneer of the MMOARTS genre (massively multiplayer online action real-time strategy).

This, ambitiously, means you and thousands of others can siege castles and wage war online, as any one of three factions: Human Alliance, Dark Kingdom and mysterious new addition.

There will be a single-player campaign to romp through as well, promising a deep storyline and lots of drama between characters. Like Neighbours.

On top of all of that are boasts of spectacular graphics which, judging by the first batch of shots, sounds reasonable.

Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders appeared on Xbox in 2004 and blended action with RTS. It was well received and followed by KUF: Heroes a year later.

Kingdom Under Fire II is due out on PC and consoles in 2009. ...

via Next Generation

There are nearly 40 million PS2s in the United States. Top-shelf Triple-A products have all but abandoned the system, yet there remains an entrenched market for new PS2 games. Sony has relaxed restrictions on what can come out for its old workhorse, as evidenced by late 2D fighters like NeoGeo Battle Coliseum and inexplicable trash like Crazy Frog Arcade Racer.

This combination of facts means one thing; that the PS2 has been repurposed as fertile ground for budget publications priced to move. In general, publishers will look at this situation and capitalize upon it with kids fare, licensed junk and unnecessary paring-downs of current-gen blockbusters.

But there is another way for American publishers to take advantage—by taking a second look at the strange or unique foreign titles that have long since been passed up for US release. Below are our personal favorites; we would love for a brave publisher to pick up any of these, yet this would not be charity. Yes, under other circumstances these games would not have stood a chance at American retail. But today, all the conditions exist for them to find their market.

Some Notes:
• To avoid the most visible added cost to publication, we have avoided text-heavy games where localization could come at a premium.
• While none of these games have been announced for a US release, a publisher may have already picked one up and may have yet to announce it.
• Of course there is some bias here; we would love to play these games without having to import. None of these games are great (or they would have made it over by now), but they all have something interesting and/or marketable to present. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Several "anonymous sources" have this weekend emerged from the woodwork to spread news of the 80GB PS3 being pushed aside to make giving way to a new larger SKU.

Stories suggest that the 80GB SKU currently on sale in US is due for the chop, with a 120GB version set to replace it.

This would go hand-in-hand with a previous statement from SCEE president and CEO, who hinted last year that a 120GB PS3 could be possible.


Sony UK, however, dismissed this weekend's reports as "rumour and speculation".

If the rumours turn out to be true, the 80GB console will be the third SKU axed in just over a year since the console's release. But does Sony really need to release another new PS3 so soon? It might be a different story once PlayTV is up and running. ...

via Eurogamer


Author Cooper Lawrence has apologised for publicly attacking the EA over the sexual content in Xbox 360 title Mass Effect.

She admitted jumping to conclusions when she slammed the game on Fox News. Having now seen the offending content, Lawrence admits it's no worse than the kind of sauciness you'd see on TV.

"I recognise that I misspoke," Lawrence told the New York Times. "I really regret saying that, and now that I've seen the game and seen the sex scenes it's kind of a joke.

"Before the show I had asked somebody about what they had heard, and they had said it's like pornography. But it's not like pornography. I've seen episodes of Lost that are more sexually explicit," she confessed.

However, Fox News is refusing to budge - sticking to its claim EA was invited onto the channel to tell its side of the story.

Jeff Brown of EA previously wrote an open letter to the news channel to refute an ignorant stance made from misinformation.

Ray Muzyka, boss of developer BioWare, added: "We're hurt. We believe in video games as an art form, and on behalf of the 120 people who poured their blood and tears into this game over three years, we're just really hurt that someone would misrepresent the game without even playing it. All we can hope for is that people who actually play our games will see the truth."

Cooper Lawrence originally accused the role-playing game of portraying female characters as sexual objects in a storyline that has the male lead "deciding how many women he wants to be with".

Lawrence later laughed and said "No" when asked if she had actually played Mass Effect.

Subsequently angry fans of the game found her book The Cult of Perfection: Making Peace With Your Inner Overachiever on Amazon and decided to apply the same logic, resulting in its user rating plummeting from hundreds of negative reviews.

By Friday it had 472 reviews, 412 of which were one star. Most had not read the book. ...