via joystiq

Just when we were ready to forget this whole Sadness debacle, Nibris drops a few more pieces of artwork and information to keep our attention, some of which we were already aware of. At least they didn't contradict themselves and start a brand new round of "NIBRIS IS TEH FAEK!!!!111!".

We knew Sadness would feature two main characters: a woman (Maria) and her son Alexander. Now we know that Maria is around 30 years old and of Polish-Hungarian descent. Not exactly earth-shattering information, but what the heck, it's interesting. The game's length has been upped from 15 to 20 hours, and Nibris will use voice acting extensively. Fog will also be a major part of the game, allowing the in-game visuals to match the quality of the concept art released over the last year.

A few other interesting factoids:

There are nearly 50 people involved with the making of Sadness.
There are 18 species of monsters throughout the game, and different ones will appear depending on how you play.
Some of the monsters will be "friendly", but don't expect flowers and a shoulder massage.
The music will be performed by "one of the best" orchestras.
Release date on the official site is still 2007.
So there you have it, more tidbits for the game we're still afraid to yearn for. ...

Over the weekend a few European PS3 owners got lucky and got a little taste of Home (not the place, the beta version). Although there is no official confirmation from Sony that it was released, there are definitely people out there posting images proving that they have what boys like and what guys want.

With only a select few G.A.P. members getting in, we imagine people are staring at their 30 person buddy lists in jealousy as a single one of their friends enjoys the thrills Home has to offer. Americans seem to be particularly jealous right now, as nobody on Western shores has yet confirmed their acceptance as of this writing. However, we've been hearing the date May 1st as confirmation for acceptance into the North American beta, so if that date is indeed true nobody will have to hold their breath for too much longer.
That makes America the land of the Home-less (yuck, yuck, yuck), but if you're desperate to have it now, you and/or a friend from Canada can sign up to be beta testers before the release.

via kotaku ...

via kotaku



Super Timsy over at Gay Gamer posted this awesome illustration yesterday of a very stout-looking, ("sexy") Italian Mario with little background to be found, so I went trolling around looking for answers and trouble. What I found was a photobucket account with two more Nintendo artwork gems. The Petey Piranha is hilarious, and I fully approve of the squishy-take on Mario.

All that digging, and no additional details have come out about the artist(s) details or whereabouts, but whoever they are, they're tops! ...

via kotaku



Super Timsy over at Gay Gamer posted this awesome illustration yesterday of a very stout-looking, ("sexy") Italian Mario with little background to be found, so I went trolling around looking for answers and trouble. What I found was a photobucket account with two more Nintendo artwork gems. The Petey Piranha is hilarious, and I fully approve of the squishy-take on Mario.

All that digging, and no additional details have come out about the artist(s) details or whereabouts, but whoever they are, they're tops! ...

via kotaku

Everyone's panties are getting all tied up in a bunch after a recent IGN Mailbag question revealed a lot more in the answer than previously known:

Time Crisis 4
Have you guys heard of any rumors or anything that would involve seeing any information regarding time crisis for the wii?

Sorry, but it doesn't look likely. Time Crisis 4 will be coming exclusively to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 complete with a pretty sweet wireless gun, so say little, dirty birds. However, no Wii version is currently planned.

-Matt

Although asking if Time Crisis would be available for the Wii is a valid question (even it was supposed to be a Playstation exclusive game), it seems that some heads were scratched when there was a confident thumbs up pointing in the direction of Xbox getting the game as well. Does this mean that a wireless gun controller will come out for the Xbox 360 to compliment the GunCon controller that will be coming out on Playstation? No official word has come out of Namco Bandai, but if the PS3 (with GunCon) version will be release November of this year, then surely we'll will find out before then. Right? ...

Gauntlet II will be arriving on the Playstation network for the PS3 on May 3 for about $5. Not bad for a little Warrior-Needs-Food action.

The game's four characters and 100 levels will also come with some hot online multiplayer action via the Playstation Network.

via kotaku ...

After the PSP, here is the GP2X port of the tecnoballz arkanoid like game

A dirty readme and download link, with sources like always, on my crappy webblog http://mydedibox.fr/modules/smartsec....php?itemid=12

Or a direct one : http://mydedibox.fr/modules/wfdownlo...hp?cid=5&lid=7

http://linux.tlk.fr/games/TecnoballZ/screenshots/







...

via gamespot

Earlier this month, gaming blogs like Joystiq and SPOnG lit up with word that Nintendo's Zapper peripheral for the Wii was set to go on sale shortly, as evidenced by an at-the-time detail-barren GameStop product listing. The peripheral was previously seen only in prototype form at last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo.

The GameStop page being referenced listed a release date, name, and price for the product. It was to be called the "Wii Blaster," was tagged with a May 1 release, and set to cost under $20. However, the product page did not list a manufacturer for the accessory. Nintendo representatives told SPOnG the news was "pure rumor and speculation," and GameSpot's attempts to ferret out the manufacturer drew denials and silence from third-party peripheral manufactures Pelican and Mad Catz, respectively.

GameStop has since updated its page for the Wii Blaster, providing a picture of the product and verifying that it isn't a Nintendo offering at all. Instead, the white-and-orange shell into which a Wii Remote can be snapped will be made by third-party peripheral manufacturer Core Gamer. The company's previous products include plastic casings for Wii Remotes shaped like steering wheels and sporting equipment.

The release date of the Wii Blaster has also been updated. It is currently expected to ship June 26. As for the Wii Zapper, a Nintendo representative had not returned GameSpot's request for comment on the peripheral's status by press time ...

via gamespot

Though several retailers jumped the street date, the Xbox 360 Elite did not officially go on sale until yesterday. The new edition of Microsoft's popular console sports a sleek new black finish, a 120GB hard drive, and HDMI audio-video output. It also has a higher price of $479--$300 more than the stand-alone 120GB HDD sold separately to existing 360 owners.

Ironically, the 120GB HDD does come with a piece of equipment not included in the Xbox 360 Elite--a cable to transfer content from older 20GB 360 HDDs. This comes as no surprise, as Microsoft said the Elite would not come with the accessory when it announced the Elite back in March. The company's rationale was that the Elite is intended for consumers who hadn't purchased a 360 yet, so no transfer should be necessary.

Following weeks of grumbling on game blogs, Microsoft is offering data transfer cables for free to Xbox 360 Elite owners for a "limited" time. However, to obtain a cable, gamers must first jump through a few bureaucratic hoops. First, they must download, print, and fill out an authorization form with both consoles' serial numbers. Said form must then be sent via standard US mail to a redemption center in Indiana, which will then send out an Xbox 360 data migration kit gratis.

Once the kit is received, its cable is connected to the old Xbox 360 and the Elite's 120GB drive. Then the transfer--which can be performed only once--commences, erasing any existing data on the 120GB. Said data will then be replaced with all nonmovie content from the old 20GB, which is then itself blanked. The cable is thrown out, the 120GB drive is connected to the new console, and--voila!--the Elite is complete.

Though cumbersome, the data transfer process will likely prove only a mild headache to the tech-savvy consumer. However, some of those same key customers are voicing their frustration about a potentially maddening side effect of transferring Xbox Live Arcade Games. Said frustration has even prompted some Elite owners to swear off all future XBLA purchases.

Why all the fuss? As anyone who has ever brought a 360 HDD to a friend's house (or had to replace a broken system) knows, Microsoft's digital rights management (DRM) software ties each Arcade game on said HDD to a single console. When the HDD is removed and attached to another 360, the games are playable only in demo form unless said console is online and signed into Xbox Live. Even then, transferred XBLA titles can be played only with the gamer profile used to buy the game, not other profiles.

The widely read tech blog Ars Technica vented about the fact the DRM affects XBLA games transferred from regular 360s to Elites--even though the same person owns both. "Why can't this be something that turns on when you move the games, and then you can call and get them unlocked again?" Kuchera said. "If I bring my Elite to a friend's house that doesn't have ethernet in the living room, we can't play Geometry Wars? That's silly."

The DRM on XBLA games also affects television content downloaded on Xbox Live Marketplace--and is apparently permanent. "While all of your Xbox Live Arcade games and Xbox Live Marketplace TV shows will transfer [to the Elite HDD], you will have to be connected to Xbox Live (to verify your identity) in order to access that content," the company said in a statement. "This process is permanent and we advise [you to] not transfer your data if you wish to access it while offline."

While TV shows bought from Marketplace can be transferred to and watched on Xbox Live-connected Elites, movies rented from the service cannot. "In all cases, movie rentals downloaded from Xbox Live will not be available after content transfer," said Microsoft. "If you have movie rentals, watch them first!" ...