Via Spong

leading peripheral manufacturer Logitech has confirmed that it will be providing third-party peripherals for Nintendo's Wii. Of course, this wouldn't usually be worthy of note, however, Nintendo's offer to make the Wii motion and position-sensing technology open to publishers, developers and companies like Logitech, means the emerging platform could well be the home of some very weird, very intuitive controllers.

"Logitech is always considering the newest platforms, technologies and opportunities to provide great peripherals," Logitech's Ruben Mookerjee, Director of Product Marketing for Interactive Entertainment told us. "The new Nintendo Wii platform is intriguing and with their innovative controller approach, we think it will be successful in the marketplace. At this time, we cannot comment on any products we are working on or specific platform support; however, given Logitech's history of working with Nintendo, especially with the Logitech Speed Force Wheel, we look forward to supporting the platform."

This comment follows yesterday's news that Nintendo had briefed developers, publishers and third-party peripheral companies that it would be more than happy for them to develop any device they felt fit to best suit the innovative tech employed by the Wii. ...

news from Spong

It is looking highly likely that Square Enix will be remaking the epic and very much beloved Final Fantasy VII for PlayStation 3, as various media outlets stuff fist-fulls of twos together into one big gleaming mush of four.

Building on the murmurings of last year when SE showed a 'next-gen' demo called FFVIIPS3, two US magazines, Game Informer and EGM, are now claiming FFVII for PS3 is now a cert. This adds to speculation in the wake of Square's impressive press conference that the game had been confirmed, off the record, by SE staffers though it wouldn't be appearing on the showfloor.

In related news, it is also expected that Final Fantasy XII will see some sort of PlayStation 3 spin-off, perhaps as an aperitif for the full next-gen outing the RPG masters have planned, the incredible-looking Final Fantasy XIII. Again, these rumours remain unconfirmed, though the possible realisation of the concept of milking the twelfth game in the series has been the gossip fodder of Japanese games journalists in recent weeks.

We contacted Square Enix US today for clarification, though the firm did not respond at time of press. We'll update you as soon as we learn more. ...

News via Spong

As it turns out, the cheap PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's HD-DVD will be able to transmit their Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies in glorious mega-def. You can pull the information from the piece below.

High Definition, the new black of the technology sector. You know that DVD you're watching now? Rubbish. Know why? Because it's in standard definition, like the telly your gran watches. You might as well live in a cave. This problem of watching horrible old pictures is one that can be solved with consummate ease in the coming months. Simply give an electronics manufacturer a large amount of cash and your digital AIDS will be cured.

Thing is, Sony's PlayStation 3 was coming with digital AIDS pre-loaded. Well, the cheap one was certainly going to. You see, it didn't have HDMI output, meaning that instead of playing movies in 1920 by 1080 pixels, it would only put out a prehistoric 960 by 540.

However, you'll be interested to know that the only reason this is the case is the use of a little device called the ITC, or Image Constraint Token. According to Digital Home:

The Image Constraint Token (ICT) is a digital flag within the AACS (Advanced Access Content System) that determines how Blu-ray and HD DVD players output high definition video signals through the player's component outputs.

AACS is the digital rights management (DRM) standard which will be used by Blu-ray and HD DVD to protect movies from unauthorized duplication.

If the ICT token is set on a Blu-ray or HD DVD disc, then the player will down-convert the video resolution through analog outputs from 1920 by 1080 pixels to 960 by 540. The purpose of ICT is to prevent pirates from creating high-resolution copies of HD DVD and Blu-ray discs via the unsecured analog outputs.

The video output through HDMI is unaffected by ICT since the HDMI output is copy protected by High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP).

The Image Constraint Token is set by the movie studio when a disc is mastered therefore whether the player down converts the video signal will be determined by the studio on a title by title basis.


So you see, there you are thinking your TV was last week's model, and therefore unable to play glorious high definition movies because it didn't have the right cables. As things turn out, these cables aren't required at all, they are simply there to trick you into thinking your current non-HDMI HD technology needs updating, while protecting movie studios from the hordes of evil pirates.

Benefit to you, the consumer: Zero. Benefit to the movie industry and technology companies: Billions of dollars. It's a funny old world. Though given the head of Sony Consumer Electronics' wife is currently on double doses of Klonopin since she heard the CEO of Samsung had bath tap knobs made out of fist-sized diamonds installed in his third Tuscan villa, it's understandable really.

Back on point, it's looking likely that both HD movie formats will be able to convince movie studios that they need to loosen policy on HDMI usage, meaning that Hyper Telly will be soon be streaming from your newly-purchased technotrinkets.

We'll update as we learn more. ...

When Rockstar announced their top secret new game, gamers were floored that the San Diego branch of the house that GTA built had traded in their baseball bats for ping pong paddles with Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis. Big question is, how did they do with this smaller-scale, (relatively) budget-priced title?

According to the reviews that are beginning to appear, pretty darned well. The complaints focus on the title's sparse feature set while the praise focuses on the Xbox Live integration and the tight, elegant gameplay. Seriously, read through the reviews if you have a particular affinity for the words "subtle" and "nuanced." According to the reviews, Table Tennis provides a streamlined sports sim that's short on features but full of subtle gameplay, reflected in the (next-gen) budget price of $39.99.
IGN (78/100) - "If you want a table tennis game that's strictly focused on great mechanics and addictive gameplay, but that lacks a reasonable single-player mode and is shockingly sparse, Rockstar Presents Table Tennis is your game."
GamePro (85/100) - "The best thing about the gameplay is that it's all about reflex and intuition -- accessible to all, but hard to master online competitive play. Setting up power shots, killer topspin, and hitting the corners of the table becomes easy in short amount of time. This game is an instant classic and is guaranteed to please the masses."

Eurogamer (90/100) - "It's the sign of a great sports game when you can't think of anything you'd want to change in the next version. It doesn't need another version."

Via Joystiq ...

Despite not being playable at E3, Super Smash Bros Brawl for Wii was the talk of the show thanks to its highly amusing trailer, which revealed the characters due to feature in the cartoony scrapper - including newcomers Pit and Meta Knight who we've managed to dig up the latest screenshots of.

Meta Knight is of course the nemesis of Kirby, the gurning ball, and usually appears as a boss in many of Kirby's games. Meta Knight isn't as evil as his menacing armour might suggest as he's a chivalrous and noble warrior, even offering a sword to the unarmed Kirby at the start of one battle.

Pit is the angelic hero of the Kid Icarus games, who helped the imprisoned Goddess of Light, Palutena, defeat the evil Medusa. Pit's main weapon is his Sacred Bow of Palutena from which he can shoot arrows of light.

Screenshots Here ...

T-Mobile is set to release special edition Nokia mobile phones with 2006 FIFA World Cup content from EA. The Nokia 6280, 6131 and N70 handsets will all come complete with EA's officially licensed video game, the 'Celebrate the Day' anthem by Herbert Grönemeyer, the Nokia football theme, icons and wallpapers, access to World Cup highlights and a set of World Cup stickers.

The promotion is set to start in Austria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK shortly. T-Mobile has also announced that it will be working with EA to bring the company's games to the mobile network. T-Mobile customers who don't buy the Nokia handsets will setill be able to download the EA's 2006 FIFA World Cup game, but they will have to pay for it.

EA has its own dedicated mobile phone division named EA Mobile, and has a number of titles based on The Sims and Lord of the Rings franchises. ...

Ive posted that its available from other stores but for those who like Lik Sang its available here --> http://www.yesasia.com/?/info.php?pro...4&lsaid=219793 ...

New Commercial PSP Game:



The fifth of the RPG series from Never-Land Company is a port of a PlayStation 2 title and features a number of significant changes for the franchise. A new overhead world map divides up the quest, with a grid-based system for moving units across the land. The game takes place in a completely new place called Edith and its separate worlds: the Sky World, the Land World, and the Underground World. The Underground World, where the story begins, is split into two empires founded on technologically-advanced civilizations, and the game will take the adventure out to the Earth-like Land World and the fantastical Sky World (with its split of Heaven and Hell domains).

More info --> http://www.yesasia.com/?/info.php?pro...0&lsaid=219793 ...

Nearly four years after rhythm action title Gitaroo Man arrived on the PS2, Koei has announced that a PSP version is on the way.

Gitaroo Man Lives! will star our hero, who's very much "back and ready to rock", it says here.

The game promises to make clever use of the PSP's control system and will have a wi-fi feature that allows two players to either join forces or battle it out.

There's no details of the playlist yet but apparently it's "worth blowing your speakers for", and you can expect some lovely colourful visuals too.

Gitaroo Man Lives! is due out this autumn.

Via Eurogamer ...