I'd always wanted my own working copy of the elusive Windows 1.0, and after a few failed attempts I got one working in a virtual machine (I had to downgrade from the latest version of Windows Virtual PC to an earlier version to get it started, but that's another story). With 416K free memory, we were able to cruise through Reversi, take a look at the first version of Notepad, as well as the now-defunct Microsoft Write, and create a 'masterpiece' in Microsoft Paint. Eventually, applications started crashing, but a simple reboot got it working again. All in all, a nice tour through computing history. Anyone have a copy of the first Macintosh OS they want to send me?

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/05...-Tiled-Windows ...

Sony has downgraded the specs of its PSP successor, codenamed NGP, so that it can be priced competitively against the 3DS.


That's according to French site 01.net (via 1Up), which has an uncanny knack for leaking accurate Sony information (particularly regarding the NGP). The site claims that Sony intends to release the NGP in Japan this year and the rest of the world next year. It says the firm aims to price non-3G models of the portable competitively with the 3DS, which launched in UK for £229.99 and in US for (a far more attractive) $249.99.

In its decision to play hard ball with pricing, however, the report claims that Sony's had to make some downgrading revisions to the hardware specifications it originally gave to developers. On board RAM and VRAM have apparently been cut in half to 256MB and 128MB respectively.

The consequences of such a change will apparently not be too significant especially, it says, if the access speed for the machine's external memory card is fast enough, although Sony has apparently had to reduce the size of the console's operating system to save space, and 26MB of RAM will reportedly be available for functions that require quick access.

The site also reports that Sony has scrapped plans to include 16GB of internal storage, instead opting to use external memory cards exclusively for storage. Early NGP dev kits apparently features a memory card slot that suggested a new format of memory card designed to provide mass external storage for the device, similar in architecture to SD cards.

Sony is expected to spill all at E3 in less than two weeks, its press conference set for June 6.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

Sony executives have confirmed that a portion of research and design costs for the fiscal year are set aside for the development of future games platforms.

Also noting that the company is spending on the forthcoming NGP handheld, chief financial officer Masaru Kato said development is already underway on hardware that will succeed the current PlayStation 3.

"We have a portable, NGP, to be launched later this year, so we have development expenses to be incurred for this product. And for the home equipment, the PS3, this still has a product life, but this is a platform business," he said.

"So for the future platform, when we will be introducing what product I cannot discuss that, but our development work is already underway and the costs are incurred there."

It's the first official acknowledgement that Sony is researching and prototyping future hardware, although what format it will take and a timeline to completion is not known at this point.

However, it contradicts Sony boss Kaz Hirai's statements from March, in which he said that the company was not even debating any near-future home console while the PlayStation 3 is still selling so well and only half way through its intended 10 year lifecycle.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ames-platforms ...

The Japanese games market finally has a new number one, although sales for both software and hardware remain in the doldrums.

Acquire's self-published Akiba's Trip involves defeating vampire-like creatures by ripping off their clothes and exposing their body parts to sunlight. Set in Akihabara's busy shopping district the PSP game seems unlikely to enjoy a Western release and sold only 58,150 units to get to number one.

Tecmo's Dead or Alive Dimensions is the highest-charting 3DS game since the system's launch, but it sold only a meagre 23,078 units at number two.

Strategy game Gungnir at number four sold just 16,355 units and while Valve's Portal 2 on PlayStation 3 is a surprise entry at number six it registered only 8,942 unit sales.

The lowest ranked title in the top 10, 3DS title Steel Diver, sold only 4,583 units to ensure its appearance in the chart.

Hardware sales, obtained by website Andriasang, were similarly unimpressive, although the now familiar hierarchy was undisturbed as most formats saw sales decrease by a similar proportion.

The PSP led with 30,463 unit sales, followed by the 3DS on 17,240. The PlayStation 3 was down to 12,935, while the Wii was almost unchanged at 6,269.

Last Week This Week Title Format
New Entry 1 Akiba's Trip PSP
New Entry 2 Dead or Alive Dimensions 3DS
1 3 Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional DS
New Entry 4 Gungnir PSP
5 5 Patapon 3 PSP
New Entry 6 Portal 2 PS3
6 7 Pro Baseball Spirits 2011 PSP
11 8 Wii Party Wii
14 9 Pokémon Black/White DS
3 10 Steel Diver 3DS
Platform This Week Last Week
PSP 30,463 34,655
3DS 17,240 18,324
PlayStation 3 12,935 13,789
Wii 6,269 6,336
Nintendo DSi XL 5,176 5,358
Nintendo DSi 4,938 5,292
Xbox 360 2,186 2,763
PlayStation 2 1,129 1,319
Nintendo DS Lite 158 208
PSPgo 65 171

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...slump-in-japan ...

Sony's Networked Products and Services division, which includes the PlayStation business, recorded an operating profit of ¥35.6 billion ($435.3m / £266.9m) for the 2010 financial year, up from the ¥83.3 billion loss for the previous year.

The company highlighted improved software sales for the system, as well as reduced costs on PlayStation 3 hardware for the increase. Sales in the division only increased marginally to ¥1,572 billion ($19.2 bn / £11.7 bn).

During the year, Sony sold 14.3 million PlayStation 3 units compared to 13 million, 8 million PSPs compared to 9.9 million, and 6.4 million PlayStation 2 consoles, compared to 7.3 million for the 2009 financial year.

Software sales for the PlayStation 3 was up significantly from 115.6 million to 147.9 million, with PSP game sales also up from 44.4 million to 46.6 million. PlayStation 2 game sales dropped from 35.7 million units to 16.4 million.

As warned earlier in the week, the Sony Corporation as a whole made a significant loss during the full financial year of ¥256.9 billion ($3.14bn / £1.92bn) primarily due to deferred tax assets.

Sales were ¥7,181 billion ($87.7bn / £53.8bn) for the full financial year, a drop of 0.5 per cent compared to 2009, with operating income of ¥199.8 billion ($2.4bn / £1.4bn).

The company has warned that in the current fiscal year, it expects the cost of the PSN breach to hit approximately $170 million.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...USD435m-profit ...

Massively multiplayer online developer Funcom has announced that it is to offer a free-to-play option for Age of Conan, in parallel to a traditional subscription package.

The new option will be introduced this summer, as the game attempts to take advantage of the forthcoming new Hollywood movie and undergoes a name change to Age of Conan: Unrated.

"The time is right for Age of Conan now as we recognised the opportunity presented by the increased profile of the license, with the new Conan movie coming out this fall," said executive producer Craig Morrison in an interview with sister site Eurogamer.

The "freemium" option will work similarly to most Asian online models, with basic play being free but users having to pay for extra items and expansions.

"This is done by allowing free players [access] to most of the original content, and having the expanded content as premium content," said Morrison. "So free players will have access to all the original levelling quests and outdoor playfields that take them all the way to level 80."

Although the game will introduce content specifically related to the movie there is no expansion directly related to it.

In a separate interview Morrison explained that, "We wanted to do something for the movie. But we also knew that we couldn't do all the improvements that we wanted alongside a fully-fledged expansion pack on the side."

"We'd have to shut down everything else and only focus on that. And we really didn't want to do that," he said. "We wanted to provide content to tie into the movie and be able to do the constant updates and the tweaks and the fixes the players want."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...to-play-option ...

The Android version of indie hit Minecraft has been confirmed as a timed exclusive for Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play device, as the device prepares for its U.S. launch.

Speaking to website Gamasutra, developer Mojang revealed that the new version of the game will feature customised controls that take advantage of the Xperia Play's DualShock-inspired controls.

Other smartphone versions of the game, including iOS and generic Android SKUs, are also planned - each with variations in content and controls. Regardless of format, the game will continue the PC version's model of "release early and update frequently."

"When playing on smartphones you will have a different screen size compared to PC, different hardware, different attention spans and thus the game needs to be customised to fit the mobile specifications," said the developer.

The length of the exclusivity period has not been announced, nor whether it is valid worldwide. Although released in Europe in April, the Xperia Play launches in the U.S. only this week, where it will be available exclusively on the Verizon Wireless network with six pre-loaded games.

Sony Ericsson is planning a promotional event for Minecraft at E3 next month, where the game is expected to be playable.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...play-exclusive ...

A new PC-based massively multiplayer online (MMO) game named Ghost Recon Online has been announced by publisher Ubisoft, with the game due for release in early 2012.

Like previous titles in the series the game remains a third person, cover-based tactical shooter, developed by the Ubisoft Shanghai studio. However, Ghost Recon Online will be offered free-to-play, with a closed beta program beginning this summer.

Although free-to-play the game will offer premium items for players to purchase, mimicking the business model typical of MMOs in South Korea and China.

A brief trailer of the game at the official website shows visuals and gameplay typical of the franchise, with Ubisoft promising three different classes of characters, customisable weapons and "a rich lobby platform for hosting social and persistent progression features".

The publisher is also planning to "back the game with a full set of services, including regular events and game content updates, customised content based on community feedback, and live support."

"Ghost Recon Online takes the best attributes of the Ghost Recon game franchise and brings them online, making the experience of being a Ghost accessible to millions of new players and fans," said Hugues Ricour, senior producer at Ubisoft. "This game was designed from the start to be a free-to-play experience. Our development teams are dedicated to making Ghost Recon Online a truly unique, top-quality online title." "The online market is an exciting new frontier for video games and for gamers," said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot.

"With Ghost Recon Online, and other major upcoming projects, Ubisoft is creating online experiences that allow our fans to stay connected to their favourite brands and to continually receive new content and gameplay. This direct link with our fans will allow us to create new and ever better experiences for them."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...con-online-mmo ...

Third party iOS developers caught up in a patent infringement case have won the backing of Apple, as the company demands that legal challenges to using in-app upgrades are dropped.

The legal case is being brought by company Lodsys, which has contacted a range of iOS developers with a demand of 0.575 per cent of their U.S. revenues. Lodsys claims that it has patents, filed 19 years ago, which cover in-app upgrades where users pay to access additional content or purchase a full game.

Although the four patents in question are valid, Apple argues that it licensed them from Lodsys and that all developers producing content for iOS are also covered as a result.

As a result Apple has weighed in on the side of the developers and asked Lodsys to withdraw the demands. However, the exact degree to which Apple would be willing to defend developers, if the cases go to court, is unclear.

The letter sent by Apple senior vice president and general counsel Bruce Sewell to Lodsys has been obtained in full by website Macworld, in which he suggests that Lodsys' demands are based on, "a fundamental misapprehension regarding Apple's license and the way Apple's products work".

"I expect that the additional information set out below will be sufficient for you to withdraw your outstanding threats to the App Makers and cease and desist from any further threats to Apple's customers and partners," states Sewell.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ringement-case ...