via Computer and Video Games


Sega has flung out an updated release schedule of its upcoming games so you can save any Easter cash you get, or don't spend on chocolate eggs.

Several new and recently announced games have been added to the list and a few have moved seasons. The lack of any of the recently announced Aliens games (to be developed by Gearbox and Obsidian) pretty much confirms the fact that we won't be seeing them this year.

Here's the firm's current roster of games:

• Crush (PSP) May
• Alien Syndrome (Wii, PSP) June
• Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars (PSP) June
• Touch Darts (DS) Summer
• Virtua Fighter 5 (360) Summer
• Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms (PC) Autumn
• Sega Rally (PS3, 360) Autumn
• Universe at War (PC) Autumn
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (Wii, DS) Winter
• NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Wii) Winter
• The Golden Compass ("multi") Winter
• The Club ("next-gen") 2007
• Golden Axe (PS3, 360) 2007

...

PS3fanboy
We all know MotorStorm took #1 in the US and Japan with software sales, which is awesome. We're not ashamed to admit that -- neither should you! It's a fun game. Lots of mud. Anyway, alongside Resistance: Fall of Man, it's taken the top of the charts across the world. It's not an easy feat to say that you've been number one in the US, Japan, and Europe!

Evolution's boss, Martin Kenwright, issued this statement: "Developing Motorstorm to a standard we were all happy with was certainly a challenge - but the team here really delivered. Evolution has a reputation for delivering high quality racing titles, but the consensus was to come up with something really special for Sony's new hardware. We're delighted that the public has agreed with the press and made Motorstorm a worldwide number one PlayStation 3 title." Shall we raise our mugs and sing a song to honor this accomplishment? ...

via Nintendo Wii Fanboy


We've noticed something lately, and thought it worth mentioning this fine morning: there are lots of people talking about the "failure" of the Wii. We've seen dozens of op-ed pieces on the various things that have "killed" the Wii (lack of supply, lack of games, lack of third party support), and we see lots of rousing posts on various interweb forums about how Nintendo can "turn things around." Frankly, these kinds of pieces make us rub our eyes and make comic faces that demonstrate our disbelief. Is this bizarro world? Because in this world, we see a lot of people playing Wii. We see a lot of people buying Wii. We're watching Nintendo ooze money right now. So, uh, just what is it we're missing here? ...

via Kotaku


Another week, another round of Virtual Console games. This week, though? Well, you'll be eating eggs and hanging with your family, so you probably won't be hankering for retro gaming. Which Nintendo seem to be well aware of.

Sonic Spinball, The Story of Thor and VECTORMAN (their caps, not mine) are new today. For Australia, that is. I have good memories of Sonic Spinball, but not enough to spend money on it. Not when that money can go towards yummy chocolate bunnies. ...

via Kotaku


Derek Ptacnik made this phony ad, called "Wii Transform," about a year ago for school, leaving us with one question: Why'd he wait 'till April 2007 to YouTube it? Very cool and way better than most "professional" TV ads.

Video clip here. Leave feedback via comments. ...

segadreamcaster started a campaign to save the European PSO servers:

SPREAD THE WORD FOR THE DREAMCAST SCENE





Source: Dreamcast-Scene.com ...

via Eurogamer


Atari has revealed to Eurogamer it is working on a new online initiative that aims to "spawn" a creative global gaming community.

It's been in development for roughly a year and will provide PC users with a hub to generate and share smaller, casual games.

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"We are seeing a new generation of game experiences emerging that leverages community, user generated content and casual or short session games," Chris Bergstresser, senior VP of online entertainment at Atari, told Eurogamer. "Atari Online is centrally positioned in this evolution."

It's a familiar concept, one we've seen spring to life recently in PS3 Home and LittleBigPlanet. However, Bergstresser insists it's a completely fresh and unique service, one that he believes can be viewed as Atari going back to its roots.

"That's a flattering comparison, but Atari Online is a completely different product and offering," said Bergstresser. "In the early days of Atari, the company encouraged 2600 fans to build their own games; to this day, that community still exists."

"So in a sense, this initiative can be viewed as going back to our roots while simultaneously moving forward and establishing a modern legacy for the company."

Atari will be working both in and out of house to develop this new service for a range of operating systems and configurations, which will eventually allow us to have enough freedom to create a variety of experiences with the tools.

Bergstresser was clearly holding some of the specifics back for announcement at a later date, but his enthusiasm for the new service was infectious.

Atari Online will be introduced into the US first, and elsewhere in the world at a later date. It's a bold move by the company and we'll be watching it every step of the way.

"Atari has always been about innovation and entrepreneurship," Bergstresser concluded. "We believe what Atari Online will accomplish will have global appeal." ...

via Kotaku

It isn't that this isn't as good as the actual game trailer, it's just not very good. At all.


The clip can be seen here. Leave feedback via comments. ...

As some of you might know, the most recent OpenBoR v2.0691 build for Dreamcast had a few problems. Here's what SamuraiX wrote about solving the issues at the LavaLit Forums:

When I read this, I thought it would be a good idea to ask the entire community for donations so Sam could buy a BBA.

In my opionion he would deserve it. There are so many incredible things he achieved for the Beats of Rage / Dreamcast scene since he started maintaining the OpenBoR code back in 2006. Here's just a short excerpt:
- Much improved performance
- Highly optimized and reduced memory usage
- Auto Memory Cleanup
- Sprite Database Management
- Fully functional 4 player support
- PAK File Selector

If you enjoy playing Beats of Rage mods and are interested in contributing, please transfer your donation to Sam's PayPal Account.


Thanks in advance. ...