via joystiq

As part of a new series on super-obscure games that should come to the Wii's virtual console, the prototype hounds over at The Lost Levels have unearthed Buzz and Waldog, an unreleased game from Korean company Daou Infosys. The colorful, well-made platformer was to be released by a mail-order publisher without an official license from Nintendo, putting it in rarefied company of those sleek black Tengen cartridges and crappy religious games.

Unfortunately, the game never actually made it to market, though a few review copies did leak out. That's no reason for you not to enjoy it, though --The Lost Levels has released the ROM and a series of YouTube videos showing off the Mario/Sonic/Bonk inspired gameplay. Good stuff.

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Speaking to Pro-G, Square Enix producer Hiromichi Tanaka confirmed that he was working on a new MMORPG bound for Xbox 360 and Windows Vista, adding "PS3 is a possibility." Ten months ago, Tanaka was saying just the opposite about the oft-hinted at MMO -- probably a sequel to Final Fantasy XI; possibly not. In April 2006, Tanaka confirmed the project for PlayStation 3, but made no mention of an Xbox 360 version. Now it would appear that development has shifted away from PS3 and onto Xbox 360.

Since Square Enix has already promised several versions of Final Fantasy XIII for PS3, it's in the company's interest, as a publisher concerned with multi-platform presence, to bring its next MMO to Xbox 360 first; a PS3 version could always come later. The project could also provide an opportunity to make use of Square Enix's recently acquired Unreal Engine 3 license.

via joystiq ...

Three Speech, which may or may not be a mouth piece for Sony, points out that Luke Smith's speculations that Killzone for the PS3 will be shown at GDC have been shot down.

There was some debate yesterday on Three Speech about whether or not Sony has any comment on the current "solid" rumors by Luke Smith from 1UP and CVG regarding Killzone being shown at GDC next month, possibly with a playable demo. The response is:
"No, Killzone won't be at GDC at all," stated SCEA Manager, Ryan Bowling, in a conversation with IGN held yesterday afternoon. "The time for that game is coming and we'll have new information about it in the future, but not at GDC."

Does that still leave room for it to be shown at a private event during, before or right after GDC? I suppose. It's hard to tell if this is about semantics or corrections.

via kotaku ...

Activision's CEO confirmed that the music-emulating Guitar Hero will be making its way to the Nintendo Wii. That is interesting an all, but this brings up further questions about the hardware that will accompany the game on the Wii. Surely Activision has something up their sleeve to incorporate the WiiMote into a guitar similar to Wii Sports accessory pack. Then what kind of crazy motions will the player have to do? Will it be wireless? I can only imagine the awesomeness of Nintendo Wii Guitar Hero.

via gizmodo ...

via gizmodo

One of the biggest things keeping cell phone games from being anything more than a nice distraction while you're on the can at work is the fact that those button layouts flat-out suck for gaming. I once excitedly downloaded Mega Man to my V710 (note to self: get a new phone) only to discover it was basically unplayable and I had just tossed another $5 into the bottomless, ravenous maw of Verizon Wireless.

This concept design looks to make phones a little more game-friendly. By popping the center button out into an analogue joystick, it makes your phone much more capable at controlling games, if stopping substantially short of making it full-out game comfortable. Will we see this design on phones in the future? Who knows (it's tough to trust any design website with a .ru extension), but it certainly looks better than most phone's game controls out there now. ...

Wired has up a very thoughtful article examining the current anti-violent gaming trends in Germany, and reflecting on their connection to WWII. Article author Bruce Gain discusses some of the history of post-Nazi Germany, and points out how violent games rile politics in that country by reminding it of its past. Says Gain:

via /. ...

2006's rumour that ZX Spectrum 2D shoot-'em-up JetPac is heading to Xbox Live Arcade has re-emerged.

The latest word on the revival of the classic is pointing to the website for USK (the German monitoring organisation of entertainment software) where the product JetPac Refuelled is listed, with Microsoft named as publisher. The game's described as an arcade shoot-'em-up.

A call to Microsoft turned up nothing new and no confirmation on JetPac Refuelled, but with JetPac original being developed by Rare - albeit under the developer's former moniker Ultimate - Play the Game - and the recent news that the developer is to focus on Xbox Live Arcade games, things are starting to add up for a Live Arcade outing.

JetPac was released in 1983 and saw a jet-packed space man attempting to construct a spaceship, fill it with fuel and blast off from a planet surface while under assault from a variety of bizarre enemies.

via cvg ...

Right now it seems to be nothing but good news for Nintendo. At the end of January, the company reported record results for fiscal-year 2006, shortly after raising its profit forecast by 20 percent for the year. Not only that, but the Wii is currently outselling the PlayStation 3 in Japan at a rate of four to one.

But it's not only Nintendo that benefits from this success--peripherals companies are reaping the rewards, too. Tokyo-based Mitsumi Electric, a manufacturer of human-interfacing devices, has raised its net profit forecast for the financial year ending March to 10.2 billion yen (approximately $84.54 million), reports Reuters. The 59 percent rise in the forecast is primarily due to the Mario factory, with results "far above market expectations" on sales of key parts for the DS and Wii.

The company expects sales to top 276 billion yen ($2.27 billion), up from its previous forecast by 15 billion yen ($123 million), and approximately 9 billion yen ($74 million) will come from game components.

Mitsumi, which was founded in 1954, is the maker of Nintendo's motion-detecting controller, and it also makes a variety of peripherals including remote controls, mice, keyboards, and other game controllers.

Mitsumi shares gained 96 percent in 2006, and it also enjoyed a 14.9 percent jump on the Nikkei to 3,090 yen ($25.5).

via gamespot ...

via gamespot

Last year, North Carolina legislators pondered giving companies that make games in the state--like Gears of War developer Epic Games--a 15 percent tax credit for equipment and labor costs. This year the state's lawmakers are considering game-centric legislation of a different sort.

As reported by Game Politics, North Carolina State Senator Julia Boseman introduced Senate Bill 87, which would add violent video games--possibly including the sort made by Gears of War developer Epic Games--to the list of material considered harmful to minors. If it became law, the bill would make it illegal for anyone except a parent or legal guardian to sell, rent, or otherwise expose a minor to a game deemed harmful to minors.

Retailers and arcade operators would not be able to advertise that the games are available or display them except in a separate section of their stores labeled "adults only." Also, all retailers and arcade operators, regardless of whether they carried games that qualified as harmful to minors, would be required to post signs explaining the industry's gaming rating systems.

As for what games would be covered, the law would classify as harmful to minors any game featuring "the realistic visual depiction of serious injury to human beings…" if it was found to fail a modified version of the three-pronged obscenity test. The graphic violence in the game would need "a predominant tendency to appeal to a morbid interest of minors in violence," the violence would have to be "patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community concerning what is suitable for minors," and the game would have to lack "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors."

If it comes to a vote, the bill appears to have a good chance of passing the North Carolina Senate; 29 of the state's 50 senators have signed on as co-authors of the bill. If passed by the Senate, the bill would then need to be passed by the House of Representatives and approved by the governor to become law. If it passes all that, it would go into effect December 1. ...