via joystiq

A preliminary autopsy states that a woman died of "water intoxication" following a water drinking contest for a Nintendo Wii. News10 in Sacramento reports Station 107.9 The End's "Hold your wee for a Wii" contest had contestants doing exactly what the title says. The winner was the person who didn't release their bladder the longest. According to the woman's co-worker, after the contest, "She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad ... she was crying and that was the last that anyone had heard from her." The co-workers contacted the woman's mother later on to check up how she was doing and she discovered the body. No word yet on how much water the woman consumed. ...

Via guyfawkes

A new version of the video mixing software Pikix has been released today, changes for this version are:

quite nice speed improvements
You can now edit you playlists by modifiing a simple XML file!!
Possibility to switch from LCD mode to TV mode.
new visual effect "TV lines"
New functions : full speed and slow speed (VOL+/VOL-)
enhanced user interface.

Full online manual: http://www.pikilipita.com/vj/pikix
Visit the homepage at http://www.pikilipita.com/vj/ for more information and the downloads. ...

MoonShell is a multimedia player for Nintendo DS (Lite) consoles. It has support for DPG video files, MP3/NSF audio files and viewing JPG/Jpeg/BMP/PNG (non progressive) files, it also has support for TXT textfiles. MoonShell supports dualscreens and it has full support for the touch screen. MoonShell has plug-in system that allows to add any compatible plug-in just by copying the plug-in files to the appropriate folder. MoonShell also comes with several kind of useful plug-ins.

Heres whats new:


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new release via winnydows

XviD4PSP is one of the best video converting apps you can find for PSP. It has recently been updated (once again) to timv4.048 RC2 . It also requires Windows Vista or Windows XP SP2 and Microsoft Framework 3.0 ffdshow build to run.

Changelog:

* Maximum video bitrate for formats MP4 PSP, MP4 PSP 2.80, MP4 PSP 480 enhanced to 1500.
* Change format don`t reset bitrate anymore.
* Fixed set Delay for DVD with WAV sound.
* Fixed framerate change.
* Fixed many small bugs with VOB and D2V.
* Fully rewritten logic opening AVS and D2V files. Now this files open without help makeAVIS and MediaInfo. This make file opening faster and make program more stable.
* Input aspect look better now.
* Enhanced framerate auto detection.
* x264 updated to 618.
* Updated patches for Athlon and Pentium III.
* To menu Setting added new option - Generate random MAQXXXXX.
* Atocrop now work with all types of video files.
* Now AV synced even on exotic files (MOV, WMV, FLV, ...).

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news/review via totalvideogames



Emerging from a hugely triumphant worldwide launch, many gamers and newcomers are still struggling to get their hands on the Wii as Nintendo attempts to cope with the sheer demand of those tuned into their energetic vision for the future of videogames. For those lucky enough to have their hands upon one, there is just one niggling uncertainty... the need for more games that aren't tired old ports with gimmicky features or merely mini-game compilations.

Suggesting that Nintendo has learnt from its own mistakes about the importance of getting titles to the market early on, Wario and the gang make a swift return in the latest title in the highly irreverent WarioWare series. It may be another mini-game compilation to join the likes of Rayman Raving Rabbids and Wii Play, but you can be sure Wario will always make others seem tame and relatively redundant in comparison.

Initially conceived around the pickup-and-play nature of the GameBoy Advance, the WarioWare series has won over gamers with its intense gameplay, crude presentation, and downright insanity. Featuring a rapid succession of mini-games to test your timing, nerve, and reactions, the WarioWare series highlights Nintendo's philosophy towards targeting wider audiences with simplistic yet nonetheless entertaining concepts and seems a natural fit to continue the early charge behind Wii.

Taking full advantage of the Wii Remote, WarioWare Smooth Moves replaces the sole necessity of pressing buttons at the right time with a variety of 'Forms' to master. Specific ways to hold the Wii Remote (or the 'Form Baton'), Smooth Moves features 19 different Forms that will have you sweeping like a 'Janitor', holding the Remote above your head in tribute to 'The Mohawk' or standing proudly with the Remote by your hip to emulate 'The Big Cheese' - as the game insists from the start, this is one game to play without any inhibitions!

Many of the characters from previous WarioWare titles make a return in Smooth Moves, along with a handful of equally bizarre, new additions to the cast. From the Nintendo fanboys, 9-Volt and 18-Volt, with their collection of classic Nintendo themed mini-games to the Bronx cabbies Dribble and Spitz, each character has their own back-story that does little else but to add to the madness that makes up a WarioWare game. Smooth Moves continues the series trend with a huge number of immensely creative, varied and most importantly fun, games to play. Whether it's guiding a paper plane past obstacles by holding the Wii Remote like a pen, or attempting to pull a tablecloth away without smashing any plates, Smooth Moves features some of the most inventive ways to use the Wii Remote and will hopefully provide inspiration for other developers looking to use the device in imaginative ways. Intelligent System's obsession with the weird and frankly obscene carries on throughout Smooth Moves, the obligatory nose picking games are there, whilst further tasks find you hitting old men and scrubbing the backside of a dirty cow!

One word of caution, Smooth Moves is a game designed to test exactly how strong the connection between the Wii Remote and the strap actually is. Games that challenge you to drop the Wii Remote like a Yo-Yo or throw it to the side seem a little risky given the recent media furore, whilst the intensive twisting and turning that it has to undergo seems destined to test the durability of the safety device.

Like its predecessors, the sheer pace at which Smooth Moves throws games at you overcomes the shallow and repetitive issues that typically affect mini-game compilations, although the increase in different techniques compared to previous titles in the series is both a blessing and a curse. Undeniably a great example of the Wii in action and the possibilities that are impossible on any other format (trying doing the 'Sketch Artist' with a SixAxis), the occasional moment when the Wii Remote wont react properly or you unknowingly complete the game without performing the correct technique, makes it feel slightly more flawed compared to its predecessors. While anybody who refuses to play the game's properly (which includes holding the Wii Remote by your nose to perform 'The Elephant') should be banned from ever playing Wii, it is perhaps a little too easy to cheat the system with some particular Forms which leaves the game feeling a little more gimmicky then previous titles in the series.

With over 200 different mini-games, it's possible to rush through the game in a matter of hours; however, Smooth Moves has genuine long-term appeal because of the score based nature of the games, each getting progressively faster, more insane and as a result more enjoyable, the better that you perform. On top of this, there's an arrangement of slightly more comprehensive mini-games on offer such as ...

via joystiq

Gamestop and EB Games is offering $100 off the purchase of a PS3 by handing over your PS2. The PS3 does play PS2 games, albeit a little jagged, so getting $100 off for trading it in could be construed as a good deal -- especially if you're part of the PS2 sporadic "disc read error" crew. This advertisement and deal is one the first true signs that retailers have stock and want those systems out the door.

We now wait to see if any other retailers begin offering deals to move PS3s. Stores aren't making very much money off of the systems, so moving those puppies out is top priority. The real profit exists in getting customers to buy games and accessories.

So, while the retailer gets rid of their stacks of immovable PS3 consoles with this deal, they also get your old friend who certainly will sell. This deal means Gamestop gets your $400 - $500 from the PS3 purchase, plus whatever accessories and games go with the sale, and then they will sell the traded-in PS2 for another $100 to someone not ready to upgrade. Ding, they break even or profit, and everyone walks away happy. ...

new release via xmOD

We've all forgotten our passwords to some random email account, or locker, or safe, or...the list goes on and on. And while we can't blame password protectors for doing their job well (heck we've seen enough PSP thefts, yes?), this also entails the hassles of retrieving your password in cases when you've forgotten them.

Now, thanks to xmOD, we can easily retrieve our passwords by using his nifty app, PSP Password Retriever. So no longer do you have to restore the default settings of your PSP just to reset the password, just use this app and voila, thy password shall reveal itself. To install, just follow these steps:

* Install PSP Pass Retriever by copying the 2 folders to GAME or GAME150, whichever is your 1.50 homebrew folder.
* Execute PSP Pass Retriever from the XMB and press X after reading the notice.
* The PSP's password will be displayed in front of you!

And in case you're wondering, xmOD assures us that there is NO way that his app can brick your PSP. So go on, just click on the download link and you're all set

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via joystiq

Wedbush-Morgan analyst Michael Pachter decided to kiss and make up with Take-Two interactive about previous statements that there would be no Bully sequel. Seriously, props to Pachter for eating crow and admitting his crystal ball was on the fritz.

"I have been consistently wrong about this title," said Pachter. He admits to being wrong about all his negative predictions about the game relating to fun factor, reviews and sales. Bully received solid reviews and rallied in the fourth quarter selling over a million copies. But, because he is an analyst, Pachter gazed back into the crystal ball and said, "It's premature to guess how much a sequel [to Bully] would cost, but if the compnay thinks it can sell two million units of Bully 2, it will probably produce a sequel." Oh Pachter, you had us at I'm sorry, don't ruin the moment. ...

news via gamingbits

New screenshots for the upcoming balancing-liquid-puzzler Wii game have been released.

From Ignition Entertainment: "Mercury Meltdown Revolution is a brain-teasing puzzle game that challenges players to immerse themselves in a colourful world of sci-fi machines, crazy characters, and bubbling test tubes. Using the Wii Remote, Players guide a liquid mercury ‘blob’, around traps, door switches, spikes, moving floors and other hazardous elements in order to complete the level."

The Mercurcy Meltdown series has been previously released on PSP and PS2 consoles, but the Wii Remote tilt gameplay will bring a new level of experience that compliments the game. Mercury Meltdown Revolution will be coming in Spring '07.

screens via comment ...