Game Republic is working on another Xbox 360 game, according to charismatic front man and former Capcom type Yoshiki Okamoto.

Sadly though, the cat isn't so much out of the bag as faintly outlined against the exterior - Okamoto's simply said that while the game hasn't been announced yet, "it's safe to say that this game is well worth looking forward to". Sounds excellent!

Game Republic's already worked on Xbox 360, of course, having delivered Japanese launch title Everyparty - something we're still waiting to see over here.

That itself was a bit of a departure though; Game Republic's biggest recent title is PS2 exclusive Genji: Dawn of the Samurai, an action game with an inventive combat system that nearly did the trick for us, but not quite.

There's no word on when we can expect to hear more about Okamoto's project, but given the proximity of E3 it's entirely likely it'll be something Microsoft shouts about during its press conference on 9th May.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=64037 ...

Eidos' World War II title Battlestations: Midway will debut on Xbox 360 and PC this autumn, the publisher's announced, while current-gen console title Urban Chaos: Riot Response has been given a solid release date of May 19th on PS2 and Xbox.

Developed by Eidos Studios, Hungary, Battlestations mixes Pacific air and sea battles - both on and under the surface - and gives players control of dozens of units in a free control environment, allowing players to hop from the deck of a battleship to the controls of a fighter plane or the bridge of a submarine at will. It'll include both single and multiplayer options - the latter including co-op. PS2 and Xbox versions are also planned.

Meanwhile, Urban Chaos, developed by Londoners Rocksteady Studios, puts players into an elite police counter-gang unit called T-Zero as a former US marine. You'll team up with firefighters, paramedics and regular police to take on all sorts of threats, bombs and hostage scenarios.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=64036 ...

Those of you still undecided about Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter have another chance to try it out on Xbox 360.

With a multiplayer demo already available, Ubisoft's released a campaign mission single-player demo to give you an idea of how it all works offline.

It weighs in at 747MB. You pick your loadout, admire your squad-mates' faces and then swoop low over Mexico City in a chopper before landing in the streets and making off with your team.

The full game features a decent-length campaign as well as a large variety of multiplayer options over Xbox Live.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=64032 ...

Datel's announced a pair of Nintendo DS peripherals capable of running homebrew software applications.

The MAX Media Launcher is designed specifically to do this, costs £12.99, and allows you to store homebrew data on a variety of compatible flash cards including M3 and NEO types.

The more expensive MAX Media Player, priced £129.99, goes further. It supports homebrew, but really as a footnote to extensive media playback - as well as viewing JPEGs through a built-in browser application, it will play back MP3 audio and even movies.

Both are due out in late April, available through retail and Codejunkies.com, and Datel says both are compatible with the new DS Lite as well as the old one.

MAX Media Player is a two-part peripheral - the player itself is a simple DS game card that goes in the DS game slot, allowing you to browse a 4GB hard disk that slots into the GBA cartridge slot and hugs the back of the unit as you can see in the photo. The hard disk will draw power directly from the DS.

MAX Media Player also includes a USB 2.0 cable allowing you to transfer data from your PC, as well as a Media Manager PC application for handling these transfers; Media Manager will also convert movies to a format the Player can understand and resize images to fit the DS screen.

Meanwhile, Datel's also got a third peripheral on the way. Called Communicator Headset, it effectively harnesses the microphone and speakers in a headset format, which Datel reckons will be more appropriate for comms in games like Metroid Prime: Hunters, which allows you to chat with other players in the game lobby. Communicator Headset will retail for £9.99.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=64030 ...

Datel's announced a pair of Nintendo DS peripherals capable of running homebrew software applications.

The MAX Media Launcher is designed specifically to do this, costs £12.99, and allows you to store homebrew data on a variety of compatible flash cards including M3 and NEO types.

The more expensive MAX Media Player, priced £129.99, goes further. It supports homebrew, but really as a footnote to extensive media playback - as well as viewing JPEGs through a built-in browser application, it will play back MP3 audio and even movies.

Both are due out in late April, available through retail and Codejunkies.com, and Datel says both are compatible with the new DS Lite as well as the old one.

MAX Media Player is a two-part peripheral - the player itself is a simple DS game card that goes in the DS game slot, allowing you to browse a 4GB hard disk that slots into the GBA cartridge slot and hugs the back of the unit as you can see in the photo. The hard disk will draw power directly from the DS.

MAX Media Player also includes a USB 2.0 cable allowing you to transfer data from your PC, as well as a Media Manager PC application for handling these transfers; Media Manager will also convert movies to a format the Player can understand and resize images to fit the DS screen.

Meanwhile, Datel's also got a third peripheral on the way. Called Communicator Headset, it effectively harnesses the microphone and speakers in a headset format, which Datel reckons will be more appropriate for comms in games like Metroid Prime: Hunters, which allows you to chat with other players in the game lobby. Communicator Headset will retail for £9.99.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=64030 ...

Microsoft is set to move the manufacturing of the Xbox 360's CPUs to a more advanced 65 nanometre process, and has signed a new agreement with Singapore-based Chartered Semiconductor to build the chips using its advanced Silicon-On-Insulator technology.

Chartered Semiconductor is currently manufacturing the CPU using 90nm SOI processes, and the upgrade in technology to 65nm will potentially reduce both heat and power consumption, as well as lowering manufacturing costs for Microsoft's next-generation console. The first consoles incorporating the new CPUs are set to appear in the first quarter of 2007.

Kay Chai Ang, SVP of fab operations at Chartered, commented: "We are excited to expand our manufacturing relationship with Microsoft and leverage the innovative 65nm SOI technology made available to us through our agreement with IBM. By working closely with IBM to enable manufacturing compatibility and dual-sourcing capability, our goal is to continue to be a reliable manufacturing source to Microsoft."

"We look forward to working with Chartered on the production of such an important component of our Xbox 360 system," added Larry Yang, GM of Xbox console development at Microsoft. "We plan to continue with our strategy of dual sourcing from Chartered and IBM's fabs, which are operationally aligned and compatible, to give us the consistent product quality and flexibility we will need."

The move marks another step in Microsoft's concerted efforts to increase its production capacity for the Xbox 360, the company recently doubling Xbox 360 chip orders from several Taiwanese manufacturing partners, with Zhongshan-based Winstron Corp announcing an expansion of its manufacturing facility to meet the demand for 1m Xbox 360 consoles per month.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=64028 ...

Divineo China have a new Modchip for the PS2, heres the details:



AUTOMATIC SELECTION for PS2/PS1/DVD SUPPORTS.
DVD Region Free Incorporated !! ( to play all regions DVD without need of any extra operation.)
Full 512 Kb Flash Memory on board
Compatible with Playstation 2 USA/PAL/Japanese -V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7, V8, V9, V10, V11, V12, V13, V14-V16 7500X
Jumper less (Automatic Version detection)
Easy to Install. (only 18 wires for V1-V8 and 20 wires for V9, V10, V11, V12,V13,V14)
IC based 3.3V for enhanced stability
AUTOMATIC "MACROVISION=OFF" ON ALL PS2 FROM V1 TO V14 WITHOUT ADDITIONAL WIRES !!
AUTOMATIC "GREEN FIX" (No more need to change the cable to see your DVD movies on the PS2!!)
Import Games Fix (All PSX import games are played at FULL SCREEN and FULL COLOR !!)
Sleep-Mode (The Modchip will switch off itself after boot)
100% NO SWAP (Direct boot for all the PS2 and PSX games)
Supports games on DVD-9 media !!
PLAYS ALL THE CD’S and DVD’S Games (both, Import or Backup’s)
SUPPORTS MULTI-DISK GAMES !!
SUPPORTS DVD RL GAMES!!
SUPPORTS ANTI-MOD PS1 GAMES !! (Only for V9 - V14 PS2)
SUPPORTS HD connect and combo.
SUPPORTS Dev1 and Dev2 .
SUPPORTS DATEL 16MB MEMORY CARDS and Neo MEMORY CARD !!
Very Stable (Thanks to the sleep mode the IC will never Overheat)
CD Lens Safe (Avoid CD lens damage by sending un-necessary signal to the Drive Controller)

More info at Divineo China ...

Divineo USA have a new UMD Stand from Dragonplus on their site, heres the details:



Vertical UMD holder for your PSP disks. Holds up to twelve UMD cards at the same time.

More info at Divineo USA ...

It's almost pointless to state that the original God of War was one of our favourite games of the last couple of years, thanks to its finely honed mix of fighting, platforming and astonishing visuals. Pointless, that is, because almost everybody else seems to agree with us on this one.
Needless to say, we're getting pretty excited about Sony's recently announced sequel - the imaginatively monikered God of War 2. Our sneak peek during Phil Harrison's keynote at this year's GDC whet our appetites for more mythology-based destruction, but now Sony has unleashed even more brutal new footage of the game. If possible, the game's looking even more beautiful than before - not to mention bloody.

Sony will be bringing God of War 2 to this year's E3, so expect more frenzied, gushing coverage when we get our hands on it next month. According to that movie, God of War 2 will debut early next year in February 2007 - and don't rule out a PS3 version either.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=138201 ...