Rumor has it that Crave Entertainment is going to publish a version of Dave Mirra BMX Challenge on the Wii. The rumored release date is Q3 2007 and the game is said to retail for $39.99 USD. The source of the rumor comes from Codename Revolution, who say a distribution contact of theirs confirms the news. Still, even if it is true, is anyone even interested?

The weird thing about BMX titles is that none have really enjoyed the success of the Tony Hawk series. That isn't for wanting, though, as the Matt Hoffman and Dave Mirra games tried to enjoy the skateboarding game's success in the BMX world. So, are you one of those BMX fans? Looking forward to some BMX action on the Wii?

via wiifanboy ...

A pair of anticipated titles from Hudson are set to release a little bit earlier than expected. With Wing Island and Kororinpa both set to release on the 20th of this month and retailing for $39.99 each, this should help quench the thirst of gamers who feel they are suffering from a gamer's drought.

So, who's going to be picking these games up? Getting both, or are you only going to get one? Could you care less about either?

via wiifanboy ...

During an interview with IGN that mainly focused on the company's recent acquisition of Demonware, a third-party source for networking solutions, Activision confirmed its plans to bring online functionality to Wii games. What they implied during said interview, however, was that they would be the first third-party publisher to flip the online switch in its games.

What exactly was said to imply as such, you ask? Well, Duke Collins responds to the question of online play in Wii games, stating "If you look at our track record, we've always been pretty much the first network guys on any platform coming out," backing up that implication when asked directly if they would be developing online-enabled games for the system by saying "Yeah, I would say we do." Can you say rock?

via wiifanboy ...

Newly released for Nintendo DS:



Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana is a real-time strategy role-playing game for the Nintendo DS. The game takes place 19 years before Seiken Densetsu 3, and features an all new cast of characters, as well as a few returning heroes from Seiken Densetsu 3. Take control of Roger, a skilled sword combatant in the Pendan Kingdom army. Using an air ship as your base, summon monsters to defeat oncoming enemy attackers.

Buy Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana ...

A naruto theme that is currently on my own psp. Its a great background (edited by Acidburn). It shows the first encounter of Akatsuki and the two tails demon in the manga comic of naruto. Its kind of a neon green theme complete with green battery and green volume edits.

how to install-
-Download the theme pack via attachment below onto your computer
-extract the content of the download onto your computer
-enter recovery mode via your psp
-toggle the flash0 via usb
-go into the folder vsh/resource
-In the akatsuki two tails theme folder move the Impose_plugin.rco and system_plugin_fg.rco into the resource folder on your psp
-place the image into your PHOTO folder on your psp and set it as your background

contributers-
gunntims0103
Acidburn (for the great background editing for psp)

download, screen, and give feedback via comment ...

Newly released for Nintendo Wii:



Bomberman Land Wii features a collection of various, Wii Remote-based minigames.

The player uses the Wii Remote to point and destroy falling rocks coming out of a volcano located in the background. The player also receives bonus points for shooting at the rocks consecutively without missing. In the Pierrot minigame, the Wii Remote is used to balance a giant bomb on a stick, which grows in size as the game progresses.

The player must also avoid objects falling off from the balcony, which will cause the stick to tilt. If the stick manages to tilt too much, the bomb will fall off and explode. The Space Tube minigame uses the Wii Remote to tilt the tube that Bomberman runs through, which makes Bomberman jump or turn right and left. The player must also avoid obstacles including closing doors and spikes.

Buy Bomberman Land Wii ...

The Wii is a cute little console that looks pretty nice in both a home theater or a living room, though we've heard some reports about people being a little creeped out by the Wii's all seeing, pulsating blue eye. iPod white is all the rage these days and Nintendo embraced it rather successfully. As Nintendo fans are well aware, however, if the Wii follows in the path of the company's other modern consoles it will only be a year or two before Wiis are launched in a variety of colors.

Some people can't wait for Nintendo to get around to offering new colors, and by some people we mean the team at Xtreme Enterprises. A couple of weeks ago we took a look at the company's first Wiimote and Nunchuck shells (story). Today the team revealed the first pics of the full Wii replacement shell the company has in the works.

More Info ...

Yakuza 2, the sequel to Sega’s sprawling gang-land saga, was just released in Japan. We loved the original so much – seriously, go get it – that we couldn’t wait to rip off the plastic and get back to beating the crap out of henchmen. Too bad the game wouldn’t let us for over a half hour. What!? This isn’t Xenosaga, Sega. We don’t want forty minutes of cutscenes before the game even starts. If every game let us beat up a yakuza henchman on the title screen, then surely the videogame industry would be in a better state. Anyway, we braved the opening “credits” to show you what you’re in for. Grab a sandwich, put down your PS2 controller and hell, even take a nap. Enjoy!

10 seconds
The sequel to Japan’s answer to Grand Theft Auto opens in a seedy Japanese nightclub some time in the 1980s. People dance really badly for a bit, then someone gets shot in an alleyway.

Interesting tidbit
The game comes on two DVDs, so expect a lengthy, time-eating adventure with plenty of cutscenes.

4 mins, 30 seconds
There’s a fire, an evil man slaps a woman, the music swells, then we’re introduced to this grey-haired bad-ass, who points his gun to the camera and fires. Thankfully it isn’t loaded.

Interesting tidbit
In Japan, the ultra-popular Yakuza 2 has managed to outsell the original title by an astonishing margin already.

6 mins, 56 seconds
We meet another nasty, evil crime-lord. We know he’s a nasty, evil crime-lord because: a) he’s smoking, and b) he blows smoke into the camera, and c) he’s got a scar on his face. Obvious, really.

Interesting tidbit
The city streets are far more detailed this time around. Expect more folk going about their business.

via gamesradar ...

While Blue Dragon, Fable 2, and Mass Effect are three strikingly distinct games in style, setting, and execution, they are all considered role-playing games. Microsoft today gathered the men behind these games--Mistwalker's Hironobu Sakaguchi, Lionhead Studios' Peter Molyneux, and BioWare's Raz Muzyka, respectively--to discuss "The Evolution of RPG Development" in a 40-minute panel moderated by GameHead host Geoff Keighley.

With the lines between RPGs and other genres becoming increasingly muddied, Keighley asked each member of the panel what makes a game an RPG. Muyzka broke down the BioWare approach to RPGs as a game resting on four activity pillars: great stories and characters, a sense of exploration and awe, addictive character progression, and combat that evokes feelings like fear--all of which feed into one another.

In just one of many moments of mutual admiration that dotted the panel, Molyneux said he agreed with absolutely everything Muzyka said, adding that he was "completely, 100 percent correct." However, Molyneux's definition of a role-playing game focused less on the mechanics and more on the tone of the game.

"For me, it comes back to this one simple phrase," Molyneux said. "'Role-playing game.' You are playing a role. What I want to experiment with is to say, 'What should it feel like to be a hero? To start off as nothing and end up being a hero? That is an emotional journey you're going through, and that's my real focus."

Speaking through a translator, Sakaguchi said what he is trying to accomplish with his RPGs is "to tell a great storyline and [offer] characters and a world view that players can relate to." He also brought up a sense of exploration and accomplishment as key factors for RPGs.

All three developers brought up telling a story and creating an emotional connection with the player as primary goals, but their approaches to achieve those goals differ in a number of key areas. Sakaguchi's Blue Dragon is a traditional Japanese RPG with turn-based combat, but the developer said he is working on a few other projects (Cry On for the Xbox 360 as well as a pair of unannounced RPGs) that were "based on new, different ideas," suggesting he will be venturing outside of the turn-based realm in the future.

Molyneux said Lionhead committed to real-time combat with Fable simply because the team felt it made for a more immersive experience. Muzyka, meanwhile, said Mass Effect and previous BioWare titles have crafted a flexible merger of turn-based and real-time combat in order to accommodate the individual player's tastes.

Following up on that subject, Keighley asked the developers what the future holds for customizable characters and other player-controlled gameplay experiences. Sakaguchi admitted such customization was fun and expects the trend to continue, but he expressed little interest in using it in his own games. He said that movies can tell great stories and reflect a creator's worldview specifically because their characters and story are set in stone.

Molyneux and Muzyka were both warmer to the idea of player customization and characters that evolve uniquely for each gamer, but the two diverged on the idea of branching storylines. Molyneux said he likes the idea, but had a good deal of concern that players would always worry they had made the wrong choice or missed something because of the path they took through the game. Muzyka countered that it was instead a good thing if two players had several different paths through a game, since that would make them feel as if their choices actually mattered and would make the game more replayable.

Keighley's last question to the panel centered on the incorporation of online multiplayer gameplay into the RPG genre. Sakaguchi said he was fond of the idea, noting his work on Final Fantasy XI, and then said he hoped to do another one with the approval of Microsoft Game Studios Genreal Manager Shane Kim. With Kim watching the panel from the back of the room, Sakaguchi had the opportunity to put him on the spot.

"Please Shane, I want to make it," Sakaguchi said in English.

"Whatever you want," Kim responded as the audience laughed.

Ever the opportunist, Molyneux followed suit, asking, "Could I do one as well, Shane?"

One more "whatever you want" later, Molyneux said he found the potential of online role-playing games enormously exciting and "would love to talk about that in great, enormous detail, but I have been gagged by lots of people."

Muzyka also weighed in on the issue, giving a little insight into a future BioWare offering.

"We're very excited [about] where massively multiplayer games are going, because the story that develops between players--the social interaction--is a different kind of story, something you can't achieve in a single-player game. So what if you fused the concepts that great RPGs have built in terms of a great storyline and the emotional impact on players, and you put that into an MMO? That's what we're building at BioWare Austin." ...