SEGA's PlayStation Portable brain training game is heading to Europe this November courtesy of Ubisoft.

Renamed Mind Quiz for us over here, it sounds ostensibly similar in theme and format to Nintendo's Brain Age games - and even builds on the work of the same chap, Dr. Kawashima.

Like the DS game, your calculations, reflexes, judgement and memory are tested, and there's an option to try and solve a daily series of problems, from which the age of your brain is then computed.

Online and challenge modes are among the other bits and pieces that complete the set. ...

Newly added retro games from Play Asia:

Sega Saturn™

3X3 Eyes [pre-owned] JPN N/A
4MB Ram Card [pre-owned] US$ 29.90
All-Japan Pro Wrestling featuring Virtua [pre-owned] JPN US$ 14.90
Assault Suit Leynos 2 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 39.90
Batsugun [pre-owned] JPN US$ 69.90
Blast Wind [pre-owned] JPN US$ 74.90
Blue Seed [pre-owned] JPN US$ 19.90
Bokan to Ippatsu! Doronbo Kanpekihen [pre-owned] JPN US$ 54.90
Bubble Symphony [pre-owned] JPN US$ 59.90
Burning Rangers [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Capcom Generation 1 JPN US$ 49.90
Capcom Generation 2 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 49.90
Capcom Generation 3 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 39.90
Capcom Generation 4 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 44.90
Capcom Generation 5 [pre-owned] JPN N/A
Choaniki: Kyuukyoku Muteki Ginga Saikyou Otoko [pre-owned] JPN US$ 59.90
Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreams [pre-owned] JPN US$ 69.90
Courier Crisis [pre-owned] JPN US$ 79.90
D-Xhird [pre-owned] JPN US$ 14.90
Daytona USA [pre-owned] JPN US$ 9.90
Detana Twinbee Yahho! Deluxe Pack [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Digital Dance Mix: Namie Amuro [pre-owned] JPN US$ 9.90
Digital Pinball: Last Gladiators Ver. 9.7 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 49.90
DoDonPachi [pre-owned] JPN US$ 64.90
DonPachi [pre-owned] JPN US$ 44.90
Dragon Ball Z: Legends [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Dragon Ball Z: Shin Butouden [pre-owned] JPN US$ 64.90
Dungeons & Dragons Collection [pre-owned] JPN US$ 124.90
Dungeons & Dragons Collection (w/4MB RAM Cart) [pre-owned] JPN US$ 169.90
Falcom Classics II (Limited Edition) [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Fantastic Pinball Kyutenkai [pre-owned] JPN US$ 29.90
Farland Saga: Toki no Michi [pre-owned] JPN US$ 29.90
Fighter's History Dynamite [pre-owned] JPN US$ 29.90
Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors [pre-owned] JPN US$ 24.90
Game Tengoku: The Game Paradise! [Special Package] [pre-owned] JPN US$ 59.90
Grandia [pre-owned] JPN US$ 19.90
Groove On Fight (w/ 1MB RAM) [pre-owned] JPN US$ 69.90
Guardian Heroes JPN US$ 59.90
Gun Frontier (Arcade Guys) [pre-owned] JPN US$ 69.90
Haunted Casino [pre-owned] JPN US$ 54.90
Hokuto no Ken [pre-owned] JPN US$ 49.90
Keio Yugekitai [pre-owned] JPN US$ 59.90
Kingdom Grandprix [pre-owned] JPN US$ 49.90
Last Bronx [pre-owned] JPN US$ 14.90
Layer Section [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Layer Section (Saturn Collection) [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Layer Section II [pre-owned] JPN US$ 49.90
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Lunar: Silver Star Story [pre-owned] JPN US$ 29.90
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Magic Knight Rayearth [pre-owned] JPN US$ 19.90
Magical Drop III [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Magical Hoppers [pre-owned] JPN US$ 19.90
Magic Knight Rayearth [Special Edition] [pre-owned] JPN US$ 29.90
Martian Successor Nadesico: Yappari Ai ga Katsu? [pre-owned] JPN US$ 24.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 2nd Impression [pre-owned] JPN US$ 9.90
NiGHTS into dreams... [pre-owned] JPN US$ 9.90
NiGHTS into dreams... JPN US$ 14.90
Policenauts [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Pretty Fighter X [pre-owned] JPN US$ 54.90
Prikura Daisakusen [pre-owned] JPN US$ 59.90
Princess Crown [pre-owned] JPN US$ 109.90
Rabbit [pre-owned] JPN US$ 49.90
Radiant Silvergun [pre-owned] JPN US$ 219.90
Real Bout Fatal Fury (w/ 1MB RAM Cart) [pre-owned] JPN US$ 29.90
Riglord Saga [pre-owned] JPN US$ 24.90
Riglord Saga 2 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 9.90
RockMan 8 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 44.90
Roommate Inoue Ryouko: Complete Box [pre-owned] JPN US$ 59.90
Samurai Spirits III: Zankuro Musouken (w/1MB RAM) [pre-owned] JPN US$ 39.90
Samurai Spirits IV: Amakusa Kourin [pre-owned] JPN US$ 39.90
Saturn Bomberman Fight!! [pre-owned] JPN US$ 29.90
Sega Ages: After Burner II [pre-owned] JPN US$ 29.90
Sega Ages: Galaxy Force II [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Sega Ages: Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Sega Ages: OutRun [pre-owned] JPN US$ 29.90

Sega Ages: Power Drift [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Shienryu [pre-owned] JPN US$ 54.90
Shining Force III Premium Disc [pre-owned] JPN US$ 79.90
Shining Force III Scenario 1 JPN US$ 19.90
Shining Force III Scenario 2 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 59.90
Shining Force III Scenario 3 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 39.90
Shining Wisdom [pre-owned] JPN US$ 9.90
Silhouette Mirage [pre-owned] JPN US$ 64.90
Skullfang ~Ku-u-Ga Gaiden~ [pre-owned] JPN US$ 49.90
Slayers Royal 2 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 9.90
Snatcher [pre-owned] JPN US$ 29.90
Soldnerschild S [pre-owned] JPN US$ 24.90
Sonic R [pre-owned] JPN US$ 24.90
Soukyugurentai [pre-owned] JPN US$ 49.90
Space Harrier [pre-owned] JPN US$ 29.90
Stellar Assault SS [pre-owned] JPN US$ 149.90
Street Fighter Zero [pre-owned] JPN US$ 14.90
Street Fighter Zero 2 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 24.90
Super Tempo [pre-owned] JPN US$ 44.90
Tactics Ogre [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
Teigeki Graph in Sakura Wars [pre-owned] JPN US$ 14.90
Tenchi O Kurau II [pre-owned] JPN US$ 69.90
Terra Phantastica [pre-owned] JPN US$ 14.90
The House of the Dead [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
The King of Fighters '95 (w/ 1MB RAM Cart) [pre-owned] JPN US$ 34.90
The King of Fighters '96 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 19.90
The King of Fighters '96 (w/ 1MB RAM Cart) [pre-owned] JPN US$ 39.90
Thunder Force Gold Pack 1 [pre-owned] JPN US$ 49.90
Tiger II Plus [pre-owned] JPN US$ 64.90
Time Gal & Ninja Hayate [pre-owned] JPN US$ 64.90
Virtua Fighter [pre-owned] JPN US$ 9.90
Virtua Fighter Kids [pre-owned] JPN US$ 9.90
Virtua Racing [pre-owned] JPN US$ 9.90
Wachenröder [pre-owned] JPN US$ 24.90
Waku Waku 7 [pre-owned] ...

Briefing.com reports (subscription only) that, according to UBS, 2 million Wii consoles were completed in Q3 (July-September) to support Nintendo's upcoming Q406 global console launch, beginning November 19th in North America. In addition, "at least 7 mln and potentially as high as 9 mln more units are in the build plan for 4Q06." The report continues, "this production ramp handily exeeds [sic] a publicly announced tgt for 6 mln units to ship by yearend"; however, Nintendo had previously announced plans to ship 6 million units by the end of their fiscal year (ending March 31, 2007) and only 4 million by the end of the calendar year. The language appears to indicate the possibility of building, if not shipping, as many as 11 million Wii consoles by the end of the calendar year!

With production exceeding expectations, why release the console so much later than many anticipated, and right on top of the PlayStation 3's November 17th launch? It all comes down to software. While Nintendo may have warehouses full of Wiis, they need a launch lineup and reliable system software to go along with all that stockpiled hardware. But Zelda has to be done ... we would have been happy with just that, promise. ...

How do celebrate ten years of Pokemon? With an orchestra, that's now. Club Nintendo sends word of a classic concert that features wall-to-wall Pokemon tunes. The event strikes up a tune in Tokyo at the MIELPARQUE on October 28th, at Well City in Kitakyushu City on November 5th, the Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Nishinomiya on November 12th and the Well City in Sapporo on December 10th.

More info ...

We've seen the North American, but where's the Japanese Wii box art? A-squint-and-you'll-miss-it Super Monkey Ball image popped up on Sega's site, and *surprise*, it's all pink and written in Japanese. Granted the Japanese title is different and various box art for games is not really news, but I'm actually a little surprised. I guess all the other early Wii games might have different art, save for Cars, which will look EXACTLY the same.

Boxart Via Comments ...

Heres an excerpt of a long and thought provoking article:


Full Article ...

The Media Arts Plaza, a project of the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, has announced a list of "100 examples of media that represents Japan."

The list was compiled based on questionnaire results to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Japan Media Arts Festival, a yearly event that recognizes creative and technically excellent media. List candidates were selected based on both Web-based polls--some 33,884 people responded--and mailed-in surveys from artists, editors and critics.

The list is broken into four categories--art, entertainment, animation, and manga--of 25 items each. Over half the entertainment category was comprised of game hardware and software: Nintendo's Game Boy, DS, and Famicom (aka the NES), were chosen, along with Sony's PlayStation and PlayStation 2. The games selected were Super Mario Bros., Space Invaders, Final Fantasy VII, Puyo Puyo, Pokemon, Metal Gear Solid, and Dragon Quest(s) I, III, and V.

From January 21, 2007 a special exhibition at the National Art Center Tokyo will showcase the chosen works.

Via Gamestop ...

New commercial PSP game released:



Once again taking control of the liquid Mercury ‘blob’, players must avoid various obstacles and hazards to reach the end goal. The Mercury blob itself has now been given an overhaul and has 4 varying ‘states’ – Normal, Solid, Fast and Slow. These states allow for larger more complex levels, which in turn mean a greater challenge and more enjoyment to be had for the player.

More info / buy here --> http://www.yesasia.com/?/info.php?pro...4&lsaid=219793 ...

EA is making a concerted move into downloadable content delivery on Xbox Live Marketplace with the launch of several premium packages for Madden NFL 07 and NCAA 07, and says we're only going to see more of it from now on.

Vice president of online commerce Chip Lange told GameSpot that downloadable content was "a real creative opportunity that we're now starting to embrace".

EA's first releases include two downloadable stadiums for Madden, for 300 Microsoft points (GBP 2.55) each, along with video strategy guides aimed at teaching advanced techniques in both Madden and NCAA, priced at 160 points (GBP 1.36) per guide.

Lange says EA extensively analysed existing offerings on Marketplace to arrive at those price tags. "I can imagine it's probably one of the more thorough pieces of price analytics that have been done on the Marketplace today," he said. "We worked closely with Microsoft on it." He argues that the stadiums, which might seem expensive to some, will provide authentic experiences that fans of individual teams really want.

Going forward with Madden, EA's looking at new modes, uniforms, stadiums, strategy guides and "there's a bunch of other more out-of-the-box ideas that we're looking at" too - although Lange says they will continue to provide roster updates for free. He also raised the possibility of pay-to-play online tournaments.

In a separate interview with IGN, Lange also mentioned that the new Tiger Woods game would offer players a choice when it came to unlockable golf courses - either unlock them the hard way, in-game, or pay a small fee to grab them immediately.

And expect plenty more where all this is coming from, too - and on PlayStation 3 and Wii as well, providing they go that way. "If post-release content becomes a key component of those platforms' release strategies," said Lange, probably licking his lips, "there's no company in the world better to address it than EA." ...