Will Wright, the genius (and we try not to use that word flippantly) behind Sim City and The Sims, has expressed his delight at Nintendo's Revolution controller.

"I'm really interested in Revolution and to see how the controller works out. That looks pretty cool," the founder of Maxis revealed during an online interview. "I like the idea of taking the games outside the box and into that close-body kind of space."

Revolution wasn't the only Nintendo innovation to catch Wright's eye as he said that "the handheld space is interesting, and how it's developing with DS in particular."

Commenting on the project he's currently working on, the hugely ambitious Spore, a sim that charts evolution from cell life to full blown civilisation, Wright revealed, "It's going well."

"It's quite a challenging project, but I've got an amazing team on it and I'm actually very satisfied with where it's going. I think we're going to pull it off." ...

Gamers are a passionate bunch. The term "must-have system" rings truer to those who game more than that of any other techie group. Specialty retailer GameStop knows that launch consoles can't get into the hands of hardcore fans soon enough, so it's holding special business hours for the launch of the Xbox 360.

More than 1,600 GameStop outlets will be open at 12:01 a.m. on November 22 to celebrate the launch of the first next-generation systems. Gamers packing up Mountain Dew and beef jerky in preparation of camping out to be the first on the block with one of the systems better have confirmation that their preorders have been filled.

Says GameStop, "Due to exceptional demand, Xbox 360 hardware systems will only be available for purchase to customers who have received confirmation of delivery by GameStop."

Those interested in attending the launch event should call their local GameStop to find out if it is participating.

Owners of Xbox 360s who are also members of the GameFly rental service will be happy to know that the company will have every available Xbox 360 game in its library for the console's launch.

Among the games that are currently in the system are Call of Duty 2, Gun, and Kameo: Elements of Power. GameFly has also released a list of the most requested Xbox 360 games so far, and if it has something to do with shooting, it's near the top of the list. All three of the console's first-person shooters--Call of Duty 2, Perfect Dark Zero, and Quake 4--top the list, followed by Gun. The list is in order as follows:

Title / Publisher
Call of Duty 2 / Activision
Perfect Dark Zero / Microsoft Game Studios
Quake 4 / Activision
Gun / Activision
Need for Speed Most Wanted / Electronic Arts
Dead or Alive 4 / Tecmo
Condemned: Criminal Origins / Sega
Project Gotham Racing 3 / Microsoft
Madden NFL 06 / Electronic Arts
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion / 2K Games ...

News from Lik Sang

A couple of days ahead of Japanese schedule, we have today received our initial batch of Naruto 4 on GameCube. We have started shipping out preorders since this morning but it is likely that the next 48 hours will be necessary to clear it all out. The massive amount of reservations and the fact that we expect a second partial delivery tomorrow, followed by the final balance this Saturday, are the causes for this unusual delay. New orders are of course welcome as well, but please keep in mind that they will start getting shipped out on or before Monday, right after we are done with early adopters, who of course deserve priority treatment.

Gameplay wise the action is hotter and more balanced than ever before with new features like everyone being able to side step while running, new and unique team specific super moves, and the ability for Naruto to unleash his demon fox from within any time he has a full chakra meter. Speaking of which, with an all new 3-man tag team mode, if you're in trouble just switch to one of your partners and while that character is off resting they'll regain their chakra.

While there's no doubt fans of the anime and manga will get more out of Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen! 4 than anyone else, there's also no denying the title can't be beaten as a full on four player fighter with far more unique and individually styled characters than anything else out there. Whether or not you know why Naruto can summon a bunshin clone of himself in battle, or turn into a giant nine tailed fox, doesn't make the moves any less cool. At your credit cards, Cubers, this is the type of megahit that you don't want to miss out on! ...

News From Lik Sang

Nintendo's fresh online service for the NDS performs a perfect start with the release of Mario Kart DS, which we received to stock today. While IGN calls the game the "best of the Mario Kart best" (it scored an incredible 9.5/10), we absolutely agree that this super-fast 3D racing beauty surpasses everything that was done before with this very popular Nintendo franchise. The NDS edition - for the first time in the series - offers online multiplayer via the system's Wi-Fi capability. Use the built-in function whereever a hotspot is near or plug the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector into your computer's USB port to enjoy the service through your own wired internet connection (broadcasted wirelessly to your NDS). What Mario Kart fans over the world have dreamt of for so long is finally here with this version: invite friends from anywhere on the planet and take the Mushroom Kingdom race online! It sure is a genre fan's ultimate gaming experience: a tweaked Mario Kart, with new features and gameplay elements that've been tried and tested in past incarnations of the title, plus the versatility Ninty's latest handheld offers.

Below we serve all the exciting bits and pieces of this remarkable release, you can start off by watching a whacky US TV Commercial (care to throw some pizza into the racing mayhem?) and some Wi-Fied footage of the game in another new trailer for Mario Kart DS:

The game in its US version is in stock now and all pre-orders are being taken care of as we speak. New orders are of course very welcome, Mario Kart DS ships now within 24 hours for only US$ 49.90 (Free Shipping Worldwide!). Nintendo celebrates this milestone release with a system bundle, offering a "Hot Rod Red" NDS edition including the game in one great package, due out on November 28th, shipping for just US$ 169.99. For lovers of Mario Kart, Nintendo fans in general and all videogame toy collectors out there, we would like to mention a couple of dedicated goodies that you shouldn't miss to check out as well.

Online Multiplayer: A Mario Kart Dream Come True

Compete with up to four people online wirelessly on 20 of the 32 tracks using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or race up to eight people using one game cartridge with local wireless connection. Keep a log of people you consider friends, where this list can be obtained by two ways. Either get IDs from people that you play wirelessly in the same room for instance (not by Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection), or trade unique 12 digit "Friend's Codes" with those you'd like to hook up for a match. Here, as soon as your friend is online when connected trough Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, the game offers the appropriate user name for the Code you added manually to your list earlier. Mario Kart DS also links players on your friends list automatically together in the match up, but you can basically play anyone by choosing to compete against rivals, gamers in your region or even worldwide. If a friend is logged in, you will receive an appropriate alert and all win/loss statistics of friends will be saved to the game cartridge. The interface itself is simple and allows for easy navigation. Although there is no chat function to "talk" to other players and a couple of elements have been adjusted for online play (e.g. some power-up useability has been limited), racing opponents online is a fantastic way of bringing Mario Kart players together globally. Are you ready to take on the world? Don't be a shy guy, get connected already!



Gameplay and Features - Fresh Content and Nostalgia Bits

NDS dual-screens come in handy once more, where you can monitor your progress on the bottom one, with the track map getting displayed there and follow the action on the upper screen. Sporting names of Nintendo fame, the cast of characters includes Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Wario, Bowser and Toad, where each shows differences in Acceleration, Top-Speed and Off-Road skills. While for example Mario's younger brother is a well-balanced driver, Mr. Big Ape Donkey Kong shines in the speed category, but is a bit weak in the acceleration department. With the NDS version of Mario Kart you can activate a power-slide boost with the R shoulder button, last seen on N64 and GameCube editions. A bit of extra speed when coming out of a bend can be utilized with the D-pad. The kart-hopping of the SNES original also returns.

Nostalgia doesn't only strike at kart mechanics. As far as racing tracks go, there are all-new ones and re-prints from past Mario Kart games on SNES, N64, GameBoy Advance and GameCube. While replay value focus was definitely put on the (online) multiplayer feature, Mario Kart can be enjoyed in a superbly fleshed out single player experience, with a series of missions. Six worlds of eight missions offer boss battles reminiscent of Super Mario challenges. Summed up, modes include Grand Prix, Time Trials, VS, Battle and Missions, where VS and Battle are also available in Multiplayer ...

News from Lik Sang

The special holiday promotional packs from Sony have arrived to our warehouse yesterday evening. We are in the process of shipping all preorders, but we of course have much more stock for all new purchases. In fact, we have good stock of all things Sony PSP right now, from Standard Pack to Giga Pack, and of course some Value Packs too, be it in Jet Black or Ceramic White.

The PSP Giga Pack is the latest arrival in the family and includes a few additional goodies that were not bundled neither with the Standard Pack nor the Value Pack earlier: you get a Sony 1GB Memory Stick Duo card instead of 32mb, a Sony PSP Stand, a USB Cable, a Cleaning Cloth, plus the PSP Console in either Black or the Japan only White, Headphones, a Remote Control, Soft Carry Case, AC Adapter (100V - 240V, 50/60Hz, works worldwide) and a battery pack. The Giga Packs come with Firmware 2.50

At the same time, Sony has overhauled the software line-up available in Japan, first of all by launching the Talkman (translator between English, Korean, Mandarine and Japanese), but also by re-releasing dozens of the biggest hits from last year at a budget price. From today on, big names like Ridge Racers, Metal Gear Acid, Minna no Golf or Lumines are shipping for only US$ 34.90, under the label "Best Version". ...

hi just woundered if anyone can help me out i have put the cracked firmware on my ds and now trying to boot games
ive got a xg2turbo gba cart
a superpass
and a gba movie player + compact flash card

i dont know how to patch the games, what to have in my ds to run these games ie the superpass and what buttons to press to load them
ive had a go but the ds boots up into gba mode or both screens go white

i am very new to this so any help would be great
and in simple terms please

thanks for any help
simie ...

GP2X UK have shipped out hundreds of GP2x Consoles, have you got yours ?

Heres what GP2X UK Posted today:

Well at the time of writing hundreds of you will be receiving your GP2X console, Each unit has been checked to make sure it works, we have also sent you an email with helpful advice for any problems which may happen.

However this is new hardware and we do expect you to find some bugs, please refer to the gp32x.com forums for solutions before emailing us.

We aim to post firmware updates on a regular basis until every last bug is crushed. There are still many thousands of orders to process - we hope to complete this by monday the 21st of November. People who want to access the hardware directly and bypass linux - we have an update planned, watch this space.
Hardcore devs - #gp2xdev on Efnet. ...

Pota over at GP2 Mania has updated the homebrew game for the GP2X where you line up 5 of the same colour in any direction.



Download Here --> http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/linesx.shtml ...

ok, whats the conversion thing, i saw it here before but lost it. i got a 128mb card so how many bits can i get on it... or in other words, how many bits can i get for all the different SD card sizes

16mb
32mb
64mb
128mb
256mb
512mb
1g
And up ...