via Gizmodo UK


If you've been hotly anticipating the launch of the Nintendo DSi since it was announced last October, then first of all we'd ask you 'why?' and secondly tell you that it has been confirmed for a UK release in the Spring.

This will follow a swathe of new titles including GTA: Chinatown Wars, Mystery Case Files: Millionheir and Rhythm Paradise, though we're yet to hear of a platform-buster that'll make enough use of the DSi's new features to kick-start sales.

Considering it's already been confirmed that the new console will be R4-proof (along with other related homebrew cartridges) we're not convinced it'll get off to a great start.

Despite the fact that the company has appeared all but untouchable in the console market, it might need these sales more than you'd think, as Nintendo has rather surprisingly slashed its full-year profit forecasts by 33%. This has led experts to predict that the 'Wii-boom' may now be over, citing it as a 'baffling and potentially very worrying' sign for the console.

It's not the only one either, with Sony announcing some rather depressing statistics for its own range, whose figures showed a decline of between 15% and 51% for the last three months of 2008.

Will the madness never end? ...

via Joystiq


Eurogamer recently sat down with David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, to discuss his views on the PS3, PSP and where they both stand. With regards to exclusive games, Reeves toed the company line, stating that "you can't live on exclusivity forever; in the end, you've got to be master of your own destiny."

By investing in third-party partnerships -- and first-party acquisitions like Guerrilla Games -- Sony removes the need to rely on publishers for exclusive content. "We don't have to go to Capcom or Take-Two and ask for an exclusive. And I don't think we could afford it anyway. In the cold light of day, I would do exactly as those publishers have done and go multi-platform." When asked about any unannounced PS3 titles for later in the year, he indicated that "there are a couple." Look for those to be announced soon, possibly in "the next four to six weeks."

Reeves goes on to discuss the PSP, saying that the system's need for "better and more original games" has not yet been met, but that "the line-up for PSP in 2009 is two or three times stronger than it was last year." It sounds promising, especially considering the number of great Japanese games that are in development for the system. Hopefully we'll see them heading West this year, too. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Sony's preparing to unleash a massive PlayStation marketing blitz, with a £2 million war chest set aside just for flagship FPS Killzone 2.

The company will spend £4 million on a first quarter marketing campaign designed to combat a recent decline in hardware and software sales.

Half of that budget will go on promoting Killzone 2, so don't expect to turn on the TV, browse the web, go to the cinema or open the paper without seeing those menacing orange Helghan eyes staring back at you.


The rest of the kitty will be spent on advertising Sony's Q1 PSP range, which includes Resistance Retribution and Buzz! Brain, as well as SingStar Queen for PS2 and PS3. ...

via Eurogamer


Bethesda has hinted that the next Fallout game may not have a level cap - and might be playable infinitely.

MTV asked executive producer Todd Howard what the greatest lesson learned from Fallout 3's development was, as an indication of what we might expect from Fallout 4.


There's no way of knowing how serious Howard was being, but it's a mouth-watering thought for Fallout fans all the same.

The developer expressed an intention to make several Fallout games even before Fallout 3 sold like hot cakes last year. There's no indication of a date for Fallout 4, or even confirmation it's in development yet, so sit tight. ...

Newly released today:



features
Ar tonelico II is a fast-paced RPG featuring a music-themed “Song Magic” battle system that’s challenging to master, yet easy to learn.
Craft new items, customize your character, “date” your teammates and help solve their psychological problems to increase their character stats.
Four unique endings and over 100 hours of gameplay- double the amount than the original Ar tonelico.
Premium Pak includes: includes the game, a limited edition artbook, and exclusive soundtrack that fans will cherish.

description
Ar tonelico II will take you on a journey to the planet Ar Ciel and a city above the clouds as Croix, a young knight who must rescue a goddess and unravel the secrets of a song to save a civilization from a deadly epidemic.

Ar Ciel is an artificial land with infertile soil that cannot even produce enough food for the people. The citizens' only hope is the magical song that would bring greenery to the land, however, the use of such magic is banned by the gods.

Under the rule of such gods, people placed hopes and trust on general Alfman who rebelled against the authorities. However, is the new power that is trying to replace the old improving things at all? Or are you the only one who could rescue the land?

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-346b.html ...

Heres the list:

20th Century Boys Episode 1 Owari No Hajimari (~Japanese Movie, Etsushi Toyokawa, ...) JPN US$ 52.90
Any Given Sunday (~Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, ...) US US$ 28.99
Blue Blue Blue JPN US$ 52.90
Blue Streak (~Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, ...) JPN US$ 52.90
Bound (~Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, ...) JPN US$ 52.90
Dead & Buried (~James Farentino, Melody Anderson, ...) US US$ 34.95
Death Race (~Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, ...) HK US$ 32.90
Discipline Kanzen Ban Renewal Mosaic JPN US$ 85.90
Drumline (~Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana, ...) US US$ 29.99
Ef - A Tale Of Melodies 2 (~Yui Horie, Mai Goto, ...) JPN US$ 65.90
Groundhog Day (~Chris Elliott, Andie MacDowell, ...) US US$ 28.95
Hancock Special Edition (~Will Smith, Charlize Theron) JPN US$ 52.90
Hannibal (~Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, ...) US US$ 49.49
Hulk VS (~Hulk vs. Wolverine: Steve Blum, Bryce Johnson, ...) US US$ 29.99
Imax Theater / Lost Worlds Life In The Balance JPN US$ 51.90
Kemeko Deluxe Vol.2 JPN US$ 74.90
Kemeko Deluxe Vol.2 [Blu-ray+CD Limited Edition] (~Chiwa Saitou, Mikako Takahashi, ...) JPN US$ 74.90
L.A. Confidential (~Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, ...) JPN US$ 51.90
Lakeview Terrace (~Jay Hernandez, Samuel L. Jackson, ...) US US$ 39.95
Life Gamble (~Alexander Fu Sheng, Chue Kuo, ...) US US$ 24.98
Napoleon Dynamite (~Jon Heder) JPN US$ 51.90
National Security JPN US$ 52.90
Spice And Wolf / Okami To Koshinryo Blu-ray Disc Box [Limited Pressing] (~Ami Koshimizu, Jun Fukuyama, ...) JPN US$ 351.90
One day In Kyoto - Hi Vision Kyoto Kikou (~Misako Yasuda) JPN US$ 63.90
Open Season 2 (~Joel McHale - Elliot, Mike Epps - Boog, ...) US US$ 39.95
Pride and Glory (~Edward Norton, Colin J. Farrell, ...) US US$ 35.99
RocknRolla (~Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, ...) US US$ 35.99
Sekai No Meisaku Kaiga Spain Hen JPN US$ 63.90
Stomp Live (~Paul Bend, Nathaniel Conroy, ...) US US$ 34.98
The Bourne Trilogy (~Matt Damon, Joan Allen, ...) US US$ 119.98
The Pink Panther (~David Niven, Peter Sellers, ...) US US$ 34.98
The Real Thing (~Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) US US$ 19.98
Tytania 1 (~Daisuke Kishiga, Katsuyuki Konishi, ...) JPN US$ 74.90
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (~Javier Bardem, Penlope Cruz, ...) US US$ 34.99
Walking Tall (~Rock, the, ...) JPN US$ 51.90
XXX The Next Level (~Ice Cube, Samuel L.jackson, ...) JPN US$ 52.90
Zodiac (~Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, ...) US US$ 36.99

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...-1xx-84-n.html ...

Welcome to this week's Movie/Music news roundup, containing new Japanese and Hong Kong Video and Music releases from this week listed at Play-Asia.com. Around 320 new items are covered in this week, including new J-Pop, Anime as well as Japanese, Hong Kong and Western movie releases and much more.

Sonic the Hedgehog has ran over his series and collected the themes that bring out his coolness in this triple CD box. Exhilarating gameplay and the horde of useful and adorable animal characters are the staple of the series.

The music portrays the excitement the characters felt and the friendship between them. Connect yourself with the game through music now by getting your own Planetary Pieces.

Besides Sonic, another cool celebrity has brought you her album this week. Koda Kumi, one of the most popular R&B and Hip hop artist in Japan has selected the songs from singles and compiled it into Trick [A vers. & B vers.].

With a dark seductive voice and a constantly changing image, the young singer and trendsetter uses her works to portray the different sides of a woman, the loneliness in Moon Crying and the strong, determined side with strong beat tunes such as This Ain't Cool.

The popular music simulation game Dance Dance Revolution has a new triple CD album Furu Furu Party. The set contains the game length versions of the hottest pieces and the long versions of the best loved songs. So start stretching and warming up, for the dance party has started.

Here's a summary of all new releases that were published between Saturday, January 24th and Friday, January 30th. If some specific item that you are looking for is missing, please don't hesitate to contact our customer service with your request.


J-Pop Music releases (111)
ENKA Music releases (3)
Anime Soundtracks & Drama CDs (25)
Video Game Soundtracks (13)
Blu-ray Disc Movies (37)
Anime & Animation (74)
Hong Kong Version Movie releases (3)
Japanese Movies (14)
Non-Japanese Movies / Japanese Version (10)
J-Pop DVD releases (15)
ENKA DVD releases (1)
Misc Japanese Movie releases (1)
Idol DVD (10)
UMD™ Video & Music (1)

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...-1xx-84-n.html ...

Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourself: the iPhone cannot play Xbox 360 games. We know, we were surprised too. Wait, no we weren't. That's why the latest YouTube video making the rounds is so hilariously stupid. YouTube vagabond onlywhenpissed claims a crack he created allows gamers to play Halo 3 on a jail-broken iPhone 3G with the aide of 1337pwn's Friends List application. All it'll take for you to learn this secret is a few measly MS Points.

The scammer attempts to showcase his wizardry by playing the game on his iPhone in the video found after the jump. However, even those who require the assistance of a seeing eye dog can tell it's just a video of Halo 3 footage. The truth is the iPhone just doesn't have the horsepower to run any Xbox 360 software. So, you'd have about as much luck getting this trick to work by placing a Halo 3 disc on your pinkie while spinning it and making aircraft noises. Don't be a sucker. Hold onto your points.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/01/29/ps...-360-software/ ...

Analyst Dough Creutz of Cowen Group believes GTA: Chinatown Wars is as much a test for Take-Two as it is for Nintendo. Gamasutra reports on Creutz's bullish investor note, where he expresses that the title will reveal Take-Two's "ability to make inroads" on Nintendo's platforms.

On the flip side, he expresses that Nintendo wants Chinatown Wars to succeed because it appeals to core gamers, whom Creutz apparently thinks Nintendo still gives a Yoshi's turd about.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/01/29/an...-two-nintendo/ ...