via pspvault

Despite Sony's failure to release the GPS accessory outside of Japan, they're still churning out titles that support the device. Minna no Golf Jo, developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., will become the 5th title to support the GPS accessory. It comes after Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, MAPLUS Portable Navi, Minna no Chizu 2, and Homestar Portable. Minna no Golf is known as "Hot Shots Golf" here in North America and "Everybody's Golf" in the rest of the world.

Minna no Golf Jo, or "Everbody's Golf Course," isn't just a game. In fact, the official genre of the game is "Entertainment Golf Tool."

There are two primary uses for Everyone's Golf Course. The first feature takes advantage of the PSP GPS accessory. Basically, you take your PSP to an actual golf course and use it to help you with your golf game. Actual golf course data has been brought in for all kinds of golf courses in Japan thanks to Sony's cooperation with Digital Golf Inc.. By using the PSP's GPS functionality in conjunction with the course data, you're able to tell exactly where you are on the golf course.

If you've never golfed, this information is useful primarily because you're able to tell how far you are from the pin. This helps with your golf club selection. Also of importance is using such data to gain insight into your performance -- if for example your hits always land short of where they're supposed to, it will be very easy to tell exactly which part of your game needs improvement.

For those of you wondering if something like this has been done before, it certainly has. There's even debate in the golfing community about how use of such devices gives you an unfair advantage on the course... but we'll leave that issue alone. Regardless of what you think, it's nice to see such functionality added to the PSP.

Sony plans to have course data available for more than 120 courses in Japan with "VOL. 1" through "VOL. 4" of "Minna no Golf Jo." Volume 1 includes course data for 32 courses in Chiba Prefecture, including the Japan PGA Golf Club. Each volume will apparently feature two discs, making this the first multi-disc PSP game.

Of course, Sony wouldn't release a Minna no Golf "game" without including a game. That's why Minna no Golf Jo includes a custom character creation feature that allows you to create your own character and take them to whatever golf course you want. Unfortunately you can't use some of the more extreme golf moves that were in previous Minna no Golf games,

One final mode worth mentioning is the "Round Strategy Creator" where you can freely move around a course in 3D to plot out potential strokes for your future games. Minna no Golf Jo is expected to hit Japan on May 31st 2007 for 5,980 yen (~$51.36 USD). A version that includes the GPS accessory will go for 9,980 yen (~$85.72 USD). ...

via pspvault

A Japanese consumer electronics company called Logitec (note: unrelated to "Logitech") will be releasing some Bluetooth headphones specifically for use with the PSP.

They're certainly not the first Bluetooth headphones for the PSP, but they are the latest. More details inside!

Features:

Includes PSP adapter (powered by 1x AAA battery)

Designed to fit PSP

One-touch connection with PSP

Acts as PSP headphones and mobile phone/PC headset (simultaneously, even)

Specifications:

Bluetooth 1.2 (A2DP, AVRCP)

Integrated microphone for simultaneously pairing with your PC/mobile phone (HSP, HFP)

White or black body colors

Dual pairing -- easily switch between PSP and mobile phone

Phone call rings heard through headphones; one button push to pause music and answer call, one more to end call and return to PSP audio

Lightweight, open-air design

10 meter range

Impress Watch estimates a 12,800 yen (~$110 USD) price tag. After purchasing some Bluetooth headphones a couple months ago (from "Logitech" even), I must say eliminating wires is always awesome. The only other features I could really ask for in PSP Bluetooth headphones would be integrated/rechargable batteries and some sort of support for controlling the PSP itself (to skip tracks and such).

Press Release:
http://www.logitec.co.jp/press/2007/0307.html

Product Information:
http://www.logitec.co.jp/products/bl...btps100c2.html ...

via ign

The last we saw of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was at the Electronic Entertainment Expo last year where Nintendo cobbled together a four level demo for the show. Since then, all has been quiet in the first touch-screen Zelda game. At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco today, the company prepared a new demo for show floor attendees which spotlighted a new mode in the upcoming DS game: battle mode.

The demo at GDC did not have any single player component. When players booted up a system and touched the screen to begin a game, the system would automatically search out a system also looking for a second player. When two systems connected, the battle began.

In this two player competition mode, one player controls Link while the other controls three armored guards. Players who assume Link's control do so via the established touch-screen mechanics introduced in the E3 demo -- Link moves in the direction of where the screen's being touched in relation to him, so he'll move faster if the screen's touched further away from his centralized position. Players who take control of the guard have the map on the touch screen and guide them via drawn paths. The task: collect Triforces scattered around an enclosed dungeon and bring them back to your colored area while avoiding the guards that wander the playing field. If a guard captures Link, their turn's over and control swaps between the players.

There's a surprising amount of strategy involved in this mode. For example, the "Guard" player can always see Link on the map, but Link cannot see the guards on the map until he picks up a Triforce. The downside to carrying a Triforce is that it weighs Link down, and moreso as the Triforce pick-ups increase in size. Some Triforces are tiny and worth fewer points, but only slow down Link's movements a little bit. Huge Triforce pickups are worth more points but slow Link down to a crawl.

Almost as if the designers took a cue from Pac-Man, Link can hit escape tunnels at the top and bottom of the map, which are also surrounded by a "safe zone." While in these zones, Link cannot be touched by guards since the guards can't wander into them. Link also disappears from the guard player's map while in these zones...but if Link's carrying a Triforce, the Guard player can still see that Triforce move...giving away Link's location.

On top of all this, there will be power-ups scattered throughout the dungeon. Red power-ups can only be used by the red player, blue pick-ups by the blue player. Red players can run over blue power-ups to destroy them and take them out of play. Power ups include giving Link or the guards an extra boost in speed, or allowing Link to take a hit from the guard. Guards can activate power-ups that turn blowers on within the dungeon that will block Link's path with enormous gusts of wind.

At the end of three Link and three Guard turns for each of the competitors, the game calculates how many Triforce points each player earned within the battle and decides the winner...and in the demo it's a very uneventful "Win" or "Lose" screen.

It's a pretty cool tease of a mode that will eventually make it into the final product, but Nintendo's still not talking release dates for Phantom Hourglass. Nor do we know if the multiplayer will be accessible single cart or if it will be an online mode. Visually the engine nor the Wind Waker toon style hasn't changed since we saw the E3 demo.

We'll have more on The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass as the game continues in its development cycle. ...

Nintendo of America was on-hand at the Game Developers Conference 2007 with a handful of playable Wii titles, including the anticipated platformer/RPG Super Paper Mario. We took the gorgeously stylized sleeper for a spin and walked away completely dazzled. The title, which was originally planned for GameCube before it made the jump to Wii, is a sequel to the hit GCN game Paper Mario and bears many similarities to its predecessor. For one, it is brought to life with a quasi-2D style made possible with cardboard cut-out visuals. Mario is literally paper thin as he walks through colorful storyboarded environments complete with blocky clouds and skinny enemies. In addition, the title is neither a dedicated platformer nor RPG, but a combination of the two. That being said, in our experience Super Paper Mario leans closer to the former than the latter, as some of the turn-based battles of previous games have been thrown to the wind in favor or new real-time action. But the commonalities seem to end there because Super Paper Mario takes the 2D/3D relationship several steps farther and really bathes itself in new and improved play mechanics, which are deeper and more engaging than ever before, even as it oozes enough style to satiate any desire for nostalgic presentation.

In Super Paper Mario, gamers control not only Nintendo's classic Italian plumber, but also Peach and Bowser, too. The characters become unlocked and join Mario's party, so to speak, as he progresses through the adventure, which Nintendo promises will be lengthy and challenging. In fact, a company representative suggested that the title could take some players upward of 40 hours to complete. Gamers grip the Wii remote classic style and move the mascots through the levels with the D-Pad, sacrificing true analog controls - and trust us, nobody is even going to notice. The 2 button causes the selected hero (or heroine) to jump into the air and the 2 button executes special moves endowed by floating collected Pixls, which we'll explain in detail momentarily. But the most important function falls to the A button, which literally transforms the play field from 2D to 3D in an instant.

Full article at IGN ...

Infantile Paralysiser has updated Moonshell to version 1.71 and also released DPG Tools v1.3:

Moonshell is an all singing all dancing Media Player for the DS:

Heres whats new:


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Tassu has released a new drawing app for the DS that saves images as bmp.

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New release from Kukulcan of his game for the DS:


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New release from Kukulcan of his game for the DS:


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New release from Kukulcan of his game for the DS:


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