via joystiq

Ed Boon, creator of the venerable Mortal Kombat series, talks with Gamespot about the upcoming Wii release of MK: Armageddon while pitching a promotional video of the same. Boon talks motion-controls, a new endurance mode where you see how many fighters you can take down without replenishing your health bar, and what it's like to develop games on Wii. Basically, he says for gamers (himself included) the Wii is a great console, and for developers, it's "very similar to doing games for the GameCube, with the addition of the Wii's controllers." He also notes that the Wii version won't support online play because online components "were not ready" when Midway would have needed them in the development cycle. Bummer. Armageddon hits Wii May 1.

Video Here--> http://youtube.com/watch?v=xucg0sqwmqc ...

Same bloke who posted a Nes Cart Choccie the other week releases a controller choc now.

For those interested check out Ebay ...

via insert credit

This is pretty nice. A fellow named jas on winters has put together the Picodore 64, a homebrew C64 palmtop computer, complete with mini keyboard, USB slot, and mini joystick port. This is his entry into the DTV hacking scene. If your'e not familiar, a lady named jeri ellisworth created a line of C64 'plug and play' TV games-style products for QVC and wal-mart type institutions. But she essentially put the whole computer on a chip, meaning you can take something like this, basically some driving games in a steering wheel, and make a full-fledged C64 computer out of it.

Jason's work is documented in the first link, but more info can be found here. Apparently the keyboard bit was the toughest, and that gets its own post. Thanks to signofzeta and mike chicago for the links. here's another picture, to demonstrate just how small this is (basically just a bit bigger than two soda cans).

As an interesting aside, jason also runs the world's most successful fishcam. I have to say, it's pretty awesome. Fish swim around, while you control the camera, and open and close treasure chests and things.

Screenshot Via Comments ...

via gamesradar

Some of us here like Jackass. There’s nothing like watching a man take a leech to the eye or drive through a city with a baby carriage on his car. Today we bring the love and shower you (cleanly) with new screens from the upcoming PSP game. Jackass will be a collection of minigames based on stunts from the show. There’ll be upwards of 40 in the final game, including golf kart bang-em-ups, rolling Steve-O down a hill inside a bin and all the usual dangerous capers.

Screens Via Link Above ...

via gamespot

A brand new World War II first-person shooter answering to the suitably heroic sounding name Hour of Victory will be exclusively joining the Xbox 360 ranks this summer.

Recruited by Midway and developed by nFusion, Hour of Victory is promising a few new features to make sure that it's distinguishable from a certain other shooter that serves on the frontlines of the Second World War.

nFusion's not-so-secret weapon is the ability for players to take charge of three different characters - British Commando, US Army Ranger and Covert Ops specialist - within each skirmish.

As well as each soldier type bringing their own strengths to battle, which in-turn affects how objectives are best accomplished; it also affords a trio of different perspectives for every mission.

We'll be jumping the sandbags soon for our own hands-on with this new Call of Duty challenger but, until then, check out some other key Hour of Victory features as revealed in the February issue of the Official Xbox 360 Magazine:

• The British Commando adopts a run-and-gun approach; the US Army Ranger is a sniper specialist and is more mobile, allowing him to reach areas inaccessible to the other characters; the Covert Ops guy can pick locks and move and kill silently
• Each character has its own point of view and is responsible for a subsection of each level
• Players can change characters at rally points
• Open-ended level maps will allow for multiple ways to tackle objectives
• Players will take part in three campaigns, spanning 1942 to 1945
• Campaigns take place in North Africa, the Bavarian Alps and Berlin
• A regenerating health system is used in favour of medi kits
• Players will be able to control vehicles (tanks and jeeps confirmed) and gun emplacements (anti-air guns confirmed)
• The developer hopes that players will be able to control any vehicle they encounter in a level
• AI Allies and enemies will work in teams dynamically (flank, fall back, stand ground), take cover and blind fire
• Enemy squads will all have a commanding officer that issue orders. Eliminate the CO and the group's morale will drop, improving the chances that they will retreat
• Will feature authentic WWII weapons, vehicles, equipment, uniforms and locations ...

via gamespot

Reggie Fils-Aime is quite a guy. Ever since his "kickin' ass and takin' names" opening gambit at E3 2004 we've had a special place in our hearts for the cheeky-faced Nintendo of America pres. But is the Regginator going soft?

In a Q&A on GamePro, Fils-Aime was asked the following not-so-subtly loaded question: "Sony appears to be having difficulties moving a large number of PS3s. What, if anything, do you think is to blame for this? A high price? A lack of must have games?"

Despite setting him up so sweetly for a massive damage dealing, ass kicking response opportunity, the big man from the big N simply replied: "Happily, that's a question you'll have to put to Sony."

So, no kickin' ass from the Fils with the skills for Sony this time - just some good ol' fashioned smugness. Go Reggie. ...

via gamespot

The move from 2D to 3D for platformers was a big step for gamers. However, the resurgence of retro games has proven that there's still enough room for both perspectives.

Now gamers can get the best of both worlds with Crush, a new PlayStation Portable game announced today by Sega. Currently in development at Kuju Brighton, the multi-dimensional puzzle game is expected to hit shelves this summer.

Gamers take the role of Dan, who is forced to undergo hypnosis for his insomnia. While under hypnosis, Dan must navigate a strange, dream-like world in order to resolve his sleeping issues. Gamers will have the ability to "crush" the 3D world and flatten it into a 2D world, and vice versa, bringing distant platforms and objects together in the same plane. The effect of the game mechanic is to introduce puzzle-solving elements into the traditionally dexterity-driven platformer genre.

Crush has not yet been priced or rated. ...

via gamespot

Few publishers have ever embraced a new system with the fervor Ubisoft took to the Wii. Back in August, the French publisher promised to have seven new games ready for the system's launch. Even though some of those titles failed to hit shelves on day one (Open Season, Far Cry Vengeance, and Blazing Angels all slipped), the games that were released sold well enough to make Ubisoft the top third-party publisher on the system in both the US and Europe, according to a financial report released by the company today.

Even beyond the Wii, Ubisoft trumpeted a strong third fiscal quarter (October through December 2006) that saw its sales jump 24 percent over the year before to 311 million euros ($408 million). For the first nine months of its fiscal year, Ubisoft posted 483 million euros ($628 million) in revenue, a 20 percent jump over the 403 million euros ($524 million) it managed in the first nine months of last year.

Xbox 360 games were the biggest driver of the company's sales, accounting for 28 percent of its quarterly revenues thanks to releases like Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent. In the previous year's third quarter, sales of Ubisoft's Xbox 360 game catalog--which contained only Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie--only made up 5 percent of Ubisoft revenues.

Meanwhile, games for the Wii--which wasn't even launched until more than halfway through the quarter--made up 21 percent of Ubisoft's take for the period, with Red Steel being a top seller for the company. The Wii and the Xbox 360 combined accounted for 49 percent of Ubisoft's quarterly revenue. The publisher did not include the PlayStation 3 by name in its sales breakdown for the quarter, but the December release of Blazing Angels on the system is presumably covered by the 1 percent of the company's revenue it attributes to "other" platforms.

Ubisoft also released a few tidbits of game specific news in its filing. First off, the company's first-person shooter Haze, originally scheduled for release on the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC by March 31, has slipped into the next fiscal year. Also, the publisher confirmed that a Blazing Angels follow-up spotted on online retailers is coming to the Xbox 360 and PC by the end of March.

Going forward, Ubisoft looks to continue its support for the Wii in the future, with four new games planned for release by the end of its fiscal year (Blazing Angels, Driver: Parallel Lines, TMNT, Prince of Persia: Rival Swords). Three more had been penciled in for the company's fourth quarter, but were bumped back to the next fiscal year, much like Haze.

Finally, the company increased its revenue projections for the year in light of its third quarter results. For the full fiscal year, Ubisoft now expects sales to be up 16 percent as opposed to its previous 10-12 percent projected range. ...

Engadget has posted part 1 of their how to make a Wii Laptop, its only really for very hardcore modders, check it out here ...