Microsoft has announced compatibility between Windows Media Center Edition 2005 and the 360? And they’re saying that the 360 will act as a Media Center Extender and that the 360 can pick up HD and regular content from any PC in the house? That’s crazy talk!

Nope, it’s true. MCE 2005 is fully 360 complaint, which kind of tells you the real reason behind the Xbox in the first place—it’s the perfect foothold into the living rooms and bedrooms of our fair nation. Sure, today it’s all about Halo 2 and Ninja Gaiden. But tomorrow… all kinds of stuff on-demand and on screen. So, in a nutshell, the PS3 is a “gaming” machine and the Xbox is an “entertainment” machine. ...

At the unveiling of the Revolution platform in Los Angeles, Japanese giant Nintendo has given the clearest indication yet that it does not intend to compete directly with Sony and Microsoft's technologically advanced next-gen consoles.

In sharp contrast to the unveiling of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Nintendo declined to discuss the exact specifications of the Revolution, instead focusing on the firm's intention to appeal to the mass market with the system.

Revolution will be the smallest home console Nintendo have ever made, according to company president Satoru Iwata, who presented the system to a packed auditorium in the Hollywood Renaissance hotel this morning.

The unit will be powered by an IBM chip called Broadway and an ATI graphics part called Hollywood, but exact specs of those components have not been announced - with Iwata's only comment on that aspect of the spec being that "when you turn on Revolution and see the graphics, you will say 'wow!'"

Tellingly, one of the key announced features of the Revolution is nothing to do with next-generation games at all, but rather to do with Nintendo's back catalogue - all of which will be playable on the new system, right from the NES through to the N64 and the GameCube.

The console will boast 512MB of on-board flash memory storage which can be expanded by the addition of industry standard SD memory cards. This storage is expected to be used to store NES, SNES and N64 titles which can be downloaded over the internet to the system, as well as for other purposes which the firm has alluded to but not yet revealed.

The controllers - which were not revealed at the event, although Iwata promised that they will be "very unique" - will be wireless, and the system has two USB 2.0 ports and Wi-Fi network connectivity built in.

The presentation of the console couldn't have been more different to the stat- and technology-heavy approach of Microsoft and Sony, with Nintendo going out of its way to describe itself as a content company rather than a technology company and focusing heavily on their efforts to appeal to audiences outside of the core gamer demographic.

"Our goal is to develop a device which is functional and appealing to every member of the household, whether they consider themselves gamers or not," Iwata explained in his presentation.

"Nintendo Revolution shares a common vision with what we outlined for Nintendo DS last year," he continued. "The machine is just a tool; the experience comes from the software."

The company also touted the platform as being by far the most developer-friendly of the next-generation machines, suited to handling both "big-budget, high profile masterpieces" and smaller indie-style games.

"Not everyone sets out to create an expensive masterpiece," Iwata acknowledged, going on to describe Revolution development as "simpler, faster and less expensive than any other next-generation system."

"This is a console where big ideas can prevail over big budgets," he said, reiterating a similar point which he made during his keynote presentation to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco earlier this year.

The fact that Nintendo has chosen to avoid a head-on conflict with Microsoft and Sony's hugely high specification systems is telling. Reports this morning suggested that Revolution will be three to four times more powerful than GameCube, as opposed to the far higher multiples being quoted by its rivals, and the overwhelming feeling from Nintendo's conference was that the new console is designed to be a cheap and highly profitable device rather than a giant and expensive technological land-grab.

In effect, then, the firm seems to be bowing out of the "arms race" which Microsoft and Sony have entered into over next-gen consoles. However, the Revolution still remains the most enigmatic of the forthcoming systems - with the full specification, "unique" controller design and perhaps much of the system's non-games functionality still firmly under wraps even after the long-awaited E3 conference. ...

Nintendo has taken the wraps off a new addition to the Game Boy Advance family of products at its pre-E3 press conference in Los Angeles, revealing the Game Boy Micro - the smallest GBA yet, with a backlit screen and snap-on covers.

The new console, which is based on the same hardware as the existing Game Boy Advance SP, is four inches wide, two inches tall and 0.7 inches deep - around the same size as Apple's iPod Mini, and two thirds of its weight.

It sports a two inch backlit colour screen, which Nintendo describes as the "best Game Boy screen ever", and which has an adjustable brightness control for the first time in a Game Boy product.

One of the other unique features of the diminutive portable is that it can be customised by replacing its front cover with a range of "snap on" covers, much like many popular mobile phones.

Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime was typically full of fighting talk at the announcement of the new system. "If our competitors don't like our two to one advantage, dominating the handheld market with the DS and the GBA, then I've got bad news," he bellowed. "Now it's two and a half to one!"

However, the system doesn't have any of the additional functionality which some commentators had expected it to build in - such as the wireless unit and Play-Yan adapter peripherals.

Game Boy Micro will be launched this autumn. ...

Nintendo today took the wraps off "Nintendo WiFi Connection", the online gaming system set to service Nintendo DS in association with GameSpy.

"It's no secret that we didn't invent the concept of online gaming, but we do intend to reinvent it," Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime told the gathered crowd.

WiFi Connection will allow DS users to play online for free from home or via hotspots and Nintendo not only envisions its system overcoming key problems inherent to online gaming like difficulty levels and connectivity but also intends to offer it all for free.

Although it was ambiguous when it came to the question of whether third-party software makers would charge players to use the service, Nintendo itself will charge no monthly bills for either the service or the software, the company said.

It's about "control, ease and entertainment", according to charismatic Nintendo MC Reggie Fils-Aime, and the company "expects participation rate for Nintendo DS to reflect a clear majority of owners" - as high even as 90 per cent.

Nintendo outlined the key problems in achieving this, identifying and explaining how it would overcome the difficult and cost of connection, and pledging to "overcome the overly macho attitudes" of online gaming by allowing you to choose to find a friend or friends to compete with, or link up with "similarly skilled" unknown opponents.

It will "turn the key for full Mario Kart action" playing against people on multiple continents on your lunch break, Fils-Aime said, so it's "as welcoming as sitting around the living room with friends".

A roll call of 25 games companies working on WiFi titles then appeared on the big screen. Amongst them were Namco, Capcom, Square Enix, Konami, THQ, Bandai, EA, KOEI, SEGA, Hudson, Vivendi-Universal, From Software, Spike, 2K Games and Activision, who will launch a LAN/WiFi Tony Hawk title on DS this year, allowing for players to form online skate crews and perform tricks using the touch screen.

Mario Kart DS and Animal Crossing DS will both launch with WiFi functionality by the end of 2005, Nintendo said, and Mario Kart will, as predicted, be playable via WiFi on the show floor tomorrow. ...

The Nintendo press conference touched on aspects of the Nintendo Revolution, but offered no details on what "the" revolution is. No word on the controllers or when the console will be released. One new tantilizing aspect of the console was announced, though: "The console also will have downloadable access to 20 years of fan-favorite titles originally released for Nintendo® 64, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System® (SNES) and even the Nintendo Entertainment System® (NES)." No word on pricing, of course, but exciting nonetheless.

very smooth ...

The Nintendo press conference this afternoon revealed the new Game Boy Advanced format: the Game boy Micro. The new handheld will play all GBA titles, and is only slightly larger than an iPod. From the article: "The sporty, silver metal Game Boy Micro measures a mere 4 inches wide, 2 inches tall and 0.7 inches deep, allowing it to sit comfortably alongside today's hippest technological gadgets. It weighs an astonishing 2.8 ounces, or about the weight of 80 paper clips. Yet Game Boy Micro has the same processing power and plays the same games as Game Boy Advance SP models, complete with standard face controls and gleaming shoulder and Start/Select buttons that literally shine." Photo available from the AP. ...

Alright, Nintendo intro’d the Revolution just a few minutes ago, here’s what we know so far:

Release is sometime in 2006.
Prototype shown is larger than final unit.
Nintendo is still determining final colors for the console.
All-Access Gaming, which refers to backwards compatibility to 20 years of Nintendo games, NES, SNES, N64. We don’t know particulars of how it’ll be accessed or what, if any, the cost structure might be.

Downloadable to 512MB of flash memory.
SD memory card slot.
Wireless controllers.
Two USB 2.0 ports.
Built-in WiFi.
WiFi used to interface with the DS.
DS likely to enhance future games.
Self-loading optical drive that will play 12cm Revolution discs and smaller GameCube discs
Self-contained attachment for playing media content, including DVDs.
No controller was shown. So even though the box looks a lot like the one leaked over the weekend, the accompanying controllers were not presented. So was it a leak, or a really good guess? ...

Nintendo also unveiled the Game Boy Micro this morning, here’s what we know so far:

Launch is slated for this Fall.
Silver in color for now, expect all sorts of rainbow-flavored variations.
Dimensions: 4 inches wide by 2 inches tall and 0.7 inches thick.
Weight: 2.8 ounces (80 paper clips’ worth of weight).
Processor: Same as GBA SP.
Form factor: “Gleaming shoulder and start/select buttons that literally shine”, removable and customizable face plate.
Screen: 2-inches, backlit and the “best Game Boy screen ever” with adjustable brightness controls for use indoors or outdoors.
Marketing angle: “We’re making the gorgeous Game Boy Micro for image-conscious folks who love video games, the ones who want the look of their system to be as cool as the games they play on it” according to George Harrison, Nintendo of America Sr. VP of marketing. It’s clear that they’re going after the kids who are too cool to carry around an obvious gaming device but who don’t mind carrying something that looks like the cell phone that they’re already carrying.
Accessories: built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery; supports standard headphones.
Software: the Game Boy Advance has nearly 700 titles available, all of which will be playable on the Game Boy Micro. ...

Dream over Nintendos new slimline GBA ...