Amazon's VP for Kindle, Ian Freed, just confirmed to us the little nugget Jeff Bezos mentioned in the Kindle 2 keynote about WhisperSync: Kindle content is coming to cellphones.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5149696/confirm...dle-2-firstest ...

A surefire candidate for most milked series on the PSP, Bleach will be receiving yet another adaptation on the portable. Sony made the announcement today via a newly opened official website.

Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 is, despite the number, actually the seventh Bleach game for the PSP (in addition to the Heat the Soul games, the system saw Soul Carnival late last year). While little is known at the moment, it seems the game will retain the tag-based fighting system that debuted in part 5.

Aside from that, we'll have to wait for Sony to share comment. A short video is available at the official site, so interested parties should check there for now.

Heat the Soul 6 is currently without a final release date.

http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/952/952570p1.html ...

The entry of Sony's PSP-3000 to the enormous Indonesian market has lead to one of those strange price fluctuations only understood by analysts - usually after they've happened.

According to The Jakarta Globe, "Since no one has yet managed to modify the PSP-3000 to play pirated games, the price of secondhand first and second generation PSPs, which can still be modified, has soared. The regular price for used or refurbished second generation PSPs is around Rp (Ruphia) 3 million (£174) in Jakarta now, while the newer version, PSP-3000, only sells for around Rp 1.8 million (£104)."

Sony was wise to this, apparently cutting "the production of the second generation PSP, so the PSP-3000 is their only available new game device on the market now."

This hasn't stopped the retailers from going after bigger margins, with several apparently, "dispatching their agents to buy refurbished units from PSP factories overseas in Hong Kong, Korea and Japan."

So, a piracy protected device is leading to fewer units being sold. There's a turn-up for the books.

http://news.spong.com/article/17109/...rst_Gen?cb=784 ...

Rockstar will be using the Nintendo DS’s Wi-Fi connection features for its upcoming GTA title, Chinatown Wars.

According to fliers in circulation at the recent Comic Con International convention in San Diego, the DS title will feature both “head-to-head” multiplayer via Wi-Fi, as well as a co-op mode.

Details of how both modes will work are unknown. GTA 4 features a wealth of online features, from circuit racing to traditional deathmatches, while San Andreas briefly added co-op functionality that allowed two players to tackle the same mission.

The flier, unearthed by news blog site GoNintendo, also reveals that the game will be adding a replay feature that allows players to, presumably, enter past missions without the fuss of setting them up – an astute move considering the start/stop nature of handheld gaming.

As with previous editions of the series, Chinatown Wars will feature thorough stat tracking, but the flier also mentions “leaderboards”, which may imply that players will be able to compare their heroics through an online ranking system.

No details have yet been confirmed by Rockstar beyond the fact that it is using the DS’s Wi-Fi service. Chinatown Wars, in development at Rockstar Leeds, became the first DS title to receive an 18 certification be the British Board of Film Classification. The BBFC also states that the title features are nearly three hours of cut scenes and non-playable game footage. The game is due for release in March.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/rock...rs-multiplayer ...

If there's any phone in the whole world coupled with any service in the whole world that could benefit from femtocell technology, it's the iPhone on AT&T. Luckily, the iPhone has received an update.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5149717/hallelu...rocell-support ...

Players of the upcoming PSP game “Resistance: Retribution” will be able to unlock several otherwise-inaccessible features in the game if they also own the $60 “Resistance 2.” Is that a fair deal?
***
On Friday morning I went to the basement level of a Manhattan restaurant in order to be shown what the PS3 can do for Sony’s next big PSP game.
“Resistance: Retribution,” a March 17 third-person shooter from Sony Bend, was wired to a PS3 in an alcove that would normally be used to feed a family of four. A flat-screen TV was on the table, and a Sony producer wanted to show me the two ways the PSP and PS3 could connect in order to enhance the handheld game.
A PSP-Plus feature allowed the game to be controlled with a PS3 controller, transferring the controls from the single-stick PSP scheme to a dual-stick via the PS3 controller. The transfer deactivated the game’s aim-assist feature. The game’s controls page changed to display a PS3 schematic instead of a PSP. I was told the game might control more conventionally this way, but would be more challenging to play.

The other feature, Infected Mode, was a lot more involved.
It changed the game’s lead-character, James Grayson, by infecting him with an enemy Chimera virus, turning his eyes orange and changing his outfit.
It dropped the game’s health-pack-oriented health system (and eliminated health packs from the game), replacing it with the “Halo“-style regenerating health seen in the bulk of both “Resistance” PS3 games.
It gave the lead character the ability to breathe underwater.
It armed him with a new weapon from “Resistance 2,” the HE .44 Magnum.
It changed the game’s cut-scenes and dialogue, which now reflected the wariness allied characters have of the infected lead guy.
It pulled a “LEGO Star Wars” and allowed Chimera-locked doors to open and grant access to hidden areas and Intel.
It did a lot.
None of these features is accessible to people who just buy the PSP game. They are all only experienced by anyone who hooks the PSP game to the PS3’s “Resistance 2.” I asked the Sony reps showing the game if, as cool as all this was, it amounted to a $60 cheat code. After all, it’s not like there’s anything on the “Resistance 2″ disc making this possible other than some sort of digital handshake. Their answer was that “Resistance Retribution” is already “a full experience.” They described the game as lasting 12 hours without the Infected mode. The additions earned through connecting the two games? They say it’s a bonus for fans of the series who own multiple copies.
The Infected Mode lingersin the PSP game as long as the system is powered on or asleep. It is removed when the system is powered down, which means players wouldn’t be able to rent a copy of “Resistance 2″ and permanently unlock Infected Mode in “Retribution.” You’d need to own it.
Infected Mode can be used strategically. The PSP game will allow re-Infections at any point throughout its campaign, which will allow some players, if they’re in a bind, to briefly Infect their game if they think the alternate play style is what the need to proceed.
So… fair deal? Is this a welcome reward for those who own both games, one that doesn’t slight purchasers of just the PSP game? Or is it a $60 cheat code? You decide.

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/...de/#more-18949 ...

As the overarching economic conditions continue to bite, much has been said about the plight of original IP - and that it's under threat as consumers spend on what they know best, and publishers look to reduce risks on unknown quantities.

But Microsoft has no intention of sacrificing its "focus on exciting IP" and will continue to invest in innovation in order to emerge from any ongoing recession in a "healthy" state.

That's according to EMEA VP for the corporation's Interactive Entertainment Business, Chris Lewis, speaking in the first part of an interview published on GamesIndustry.biz today.

"I think you'll see some [IP under threat], yes - but I also think, and I can only really speak with authority about our own games development work, be very confident we'll continue to innovate, and focus on exciting IP for the future," he said.

"Be very confident that we see that ultimately as central to our ability to continue to be successful, because I think if you batten down the hatches and simply work where you know you're already strong, that doesn't give you the future growth that we're all hungry for.

"I think all the big, mature companies are thinking that way - because if we're in the eye of the storm right now in terms of the economic situation, then clearly we'll come out. We will come out of this situation, people will start spending money again, banks will start issuing credit in a slightly more flexible way and we'll come out of it.

"The healthy companies will be the ones that have invested sufficiently during that phase that they've got exciting IP and innovative things happening for when that recovery starts to happen. I don't know when that is... I'd love to know, but I tend to think very positively about the opportunities that it subsequently creates."

Among the new titles the company brought to market in the build up to the 2008 Holiday season were Lips, Scene It and You're in the Movies.

The first part of the interview with Chris Lewis, in which he also assesses the performance of the Xbox 360 platform over the past year, is available now.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ce-original-ip ...

As the overarching economic conditions continue to bite, much has been said about the plight of original IP - and that it's under threat as consumers spend on what they know best, and publishers look to reduce risks on unknown quantities.

But Microsoft has no intention of sacrificing its "focus on exciting IP" and will continue to invest in innovation in order to emerge from any ongoing recession in a "healthy" state.

That's according to EMEA VP for the corporation's Interactive Entertainment Business, Chris Lewis, speaking in the first part of an interview published on GamesIndustry.biz today.

"I think you'll see some [IP under threat], yes - but I also think, and I can only really speak with authority about our own games development work, be very confident we'll continue to innovate, and focus on exciting IP for the future," he said.

"Be very confident that we see that ultimately as central to our ability to continue to be successful, because I think if you batten down the hatches and simply work where you know you're already strong, that doesn't give you the future growth that we're all hungry for.

"I think all the big, mature companies are thinking that way - because if we're in the eye of the storm right now in terms of the economic situation, then clearly we'll come out. We will come out of this situation, people will start spending money again, banks will start issuing credit in a slightly more flexible way and we'll come out of it.

"The healthy companies will be the ones that have invested sufficiently during that phase that they've got exciting IP and innovative things happening for when that recovery starts to happen. I don't know when that is... I'd love to know, but I tend to think very positively about the opportunities that it subsequently creates."

Among the new titles the company brought to market in the build up to the 2008 Holiday season were Lips, Scene It and You're in the Movies.

The first part of the interview with Chris Lewis, in which he also assesses the performance of the Xbox 360 platform over the past year, is available now.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ce-original-ip ...

A Sony Japan presentation has revealed a list of 24 publishers and developers that have been given licences to create content for PlayStation Home.

EA and Capcom have already revealed their plans for Home content. Other big publishing names on the list include Activision, Disney, SEGA, Konami, Namco Bandai and Ubisoft.

A number of independent Japanese developers - Q Entertainment, Nippon Ichi, and Game Republic - line up in the list alongside stalwarts of the Japanese game industry like Acquire, Atlus, Hudson and Tecmo.

There's nothing to say that these companies will definitely develop Home content, but acquiring a licence is some kind of statement of intent.

Here's the full list, as revealed by the presentation slide at Watch Impress:

Acquire
Activision
AQ Interactive
Atlus
Capcom
D3 Publisher
Disney Interactive
EA
Game Republic
Genki
Gungho
Hudson
Irem
Koei
Konami
Namco Bandai
Nippon Ichi
Paon
Q Entertainment
Sega
SNK Playmore
Spike
Tecmo
Ubisoft

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ort-for-home_5 ...