via gamespot

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is concerned about the technical divide between the haves and have-nots. In an editorial posted today on News.com, Fils-Aime praised the efforts of people looking to bridge the gap between those who can afford new technology and those who can't, and he explained his company's efforts to reduce the similar gap between those who understand new technology and those who don't.

"I wonder if a similar technical divide exists inside your own home," Fils-Aime wrote. "One person is probably expected to provide solutions when it's time to install the wireless network, redirect the satellite dish, or retrieve a lost document. The have-nots sit and wait."

Fils-Aime said a similar gap surfaced in the world of gaming several years ago, with the same qualities drawing in one valuable segment of the consumer base while alienating another.

"While ardent players reliably responded to ever-advancing technology and complexity, those same attributes consistently chipped off potential new players from the total market, narrowing the consumers into a smaller niche," according to Fils-Aime.

Nintendo's solution to the problem was partly to innovate, Fils-Aime said, following a Harvard professor's idea that introducing a new product that can't compete on a market's established terms for progress leaves room to make something smaller, cheaper, and easier to use.

"Initially, the 'core' of any industry will scoff," Fils-Aime said. "But if the product is right, enough new users will be attracted to form an alternative definition for progress."

The second aspect of Nintendo's solution to its problems was to find a new market. Fils-Aime cited a McKinsey Institute study that described "white spaces," which are unaddressed markets that fall between established product categories.

"They 'fuse consumer benefits' by combining 'brands, technological breakthroughs or insights' in new ways," Fils-Aime explained. "A decidedly non-technical example is the repurposing of traditional breakfast cereal into the 'breakfast bar.' The result? A new, highly profitable category--'on-the-go nutrition.'" ...

via gibiz

Nintendo has flooded the Japanese charts, with the top sixteen best-selling games all exclusive to the Wii or DS.

Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII: Revenent Wings is at the top of the charts with over 274,000 copies sold, followed by new entry Momotarou Dentetsu which makes its charts debut by selling 79,000 units.

There are five Wii titles in the top ten, with new entries from Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree at number five (42,259 units sold) and Namco Bandai's One Piece: Unlimited Adventure at number seven (40,003 units sold).

The most successful PSP title in the Japanese top thirty is Final Fantasy: Anniversary Edition at number seventeen. There are no PlayStation 3 games in the top thirty.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 has two titles in the top thirty – Test Drive Unlimited at number 24 and Rainbow Six: Vegas at 27. ...

via engadget

While iTunes 7.1 claimed to play nicer with Windows Vista, there was still reason for avid iPod users to hold back on upgrading, and now it looks like those final issues have been ironed out. Starting today, Vista users can download a software update that purportedly solves the problems some users were having as their iPod became corrupted when "ejecting them using Windows Explorer or the Safely Remove Hardware function in the system tray." Of course, those of you who got burned by this aren't as apt to become guinea pigs in finding out just how well (or not) the patch actually works, but for those mettlesome folks out there, feel free to hit the read link and commence downloading.

Read ...

Konami has yet to announce a new release date for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops after it failed to launch last Friday.

It was all down a missing BBFC rating stamp, which is supposed to be added before retailers can dish copies out to punters. Konami expects a statement to be made soon.

MGS: Portable Ops has been available in the US since the end of 2006. It marked itself out as one of the best games on the system back then, whetting our Euro appetite for the game.

via eurogamer ...

via eurogamer

Microsoft games boss Peter Moore has indicated that the company would seriously consider running a research project similar to Sony's Folding@home initiative, on the Xbox 360, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

The Folding@home project allows multiple, connected PlayStation 3's to calculate data to aid medical research for Stanford University.

Sony's assistance has been widely praised for bringing attention to such schemes, where idle home consoles are able to simulate the processing power of multiple PCs.

"If we truly believe that we can in some way marshal the resources of a much larger installed base of Xbox 360 owners, with a processor that's of equal power to the PS3, then you have my commitment that we'll look at that," commented Moore, corporate VP of interactive entertainment at Microsoft, to The Mercury News.

"And if we believe we can add value to solving a gnarly problem such as medical problems and the health problems that Folding@home seems to be doing, then we'll certainly look at that very strongly."

So far, over 250,000 registered PlayStation 3 users have signed for the Folding@home project, although Moore is still wary of the actual results

"I'm not quite sure yet whether we're seeing real tangible results from the PlayStation 3 Folding@home initiative. We continue to look at this and see whether there's real value," he added. ...

They've been doing the rounds in Middle-earth (or magazine land) for a while now but finally the first Project Gotham Racing 4 images have made their way on to the internet, and consequently into the fancy CVG screenshot viewer.

As you can see from the screenshots the big feature in PGR4 is the gorgeous weather effects, with water that beads realistically on the paintjobs, sprays from the tires and causes madness in the in-car view.

Also promised for the fourth installment are over 200 racetracks from ten different locations and a broader set of vehicles, ranging from the vintage'63 Corvette Sting Ray all the way to the slick Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.

According to magazine reports we might have to wait until next year before PGR4 races in to the shops, but in the meantime you can always make do with Forza 2 which lands on Xbox 360 next month.

Screens Here ...

The first of three collaborative titles between EA and director Steven Spielberg will debut on Nintendo Wii, the company has confirmed.

The title was described simply as "Wii Spielberg" in an EA conference call this morning, and it will join the recently-announced EA Playground and Boogie as console exclusives on Nintendo's platform.

The Spielberg deal was first announced way back in October 2005 and we haven't seen anything of it since. Thankfully this first Wii title has been slated for release before the end of 2008 fiscal year - so we should be seeing more of it very soon.

EA's support for Nintendo's console has never been questioned but considering the cinematic capabilities of the PS3 and Xbox 360, it's somewhat of a surprise that Spielberg has decided to make his game debut on Wii.

via cvg ...

via cvg

Fire up your Xbox 360s because The Spring dashboard update has finally gone live - and the menus are now running smoother than Bishop's bonce.

As well as the much-touted Live Messenger integration, updates and changes to the dashboard include:


A richer Achievement notification pop-up will showcase the name of the unlocked Achievement and the gamerscore value without needing to leave the game to check the Achievements list.

Enhanced family settings features for Xbox Live communications enable different defaults for video chat and voice chat.

A new Xbox Live Marketplace blade lets Xbox Live members access the content they seek-whether it is game content or TV shows and movies (available in the United States)-from one place on Xbox Live.

Updates to Xbox Live Arcade allow owners to quickly see which games their friends are playing and join in the fun. Members can also compare progress of leaderboard scores and Achievements directly with all friends on their friends list. Expanded "Tell a Friend" capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.

Expanded "Tell a Friend" capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.

A new option in Auto Downloads provides faster access to the entire collection of free, trial-version arcade games.

New progressive download controls provide easy access to optimal viewing options by letting people fast-forward, rewind, pause and resume as their video is downloaded from Marketplace.

Extension of the background download functionality will allow owners to set their Xbox 360 console to turn off automatically after downloads are complete.


So there you have it. Those of us who have non-broken 360s are off to mess around with message windows. We'll let you know how it goes. ...

Alongside today's release of XBLA Double Dragon, Microsoft has detailed the six new download titles heading to Xbox 360 "later this year".

To save our fingers the pain, here's the list (not in chronological order of release) via the magic of cut and paste:

Mad Tracks: This 3D racing party game from Load Inc. and D3Publisher recalls all the fun of playing with toy cars from childhood. Up to four players can race micro cars in a variety of gameplay modes in familiar settings such as a living room, a restaurant and a toy store.

Rush'n Attack: Also known as "Green Beret," from Konami, this is a faithful next-generation update of this classic coin-op arcade title where the player assumes the role of a special forces agent sent behind enemy lines to infiltrate an enemy military complex and free captured prisoners of war. Gav assures us this was awesome back in the day.

Soltrio Solitaire: From Silver Creek Entertainment, this is a collection of 18 different solitaire games, offering co-op and competitive two-player solitaire game modes.

Spyglass Board Games: From Strange Flavour Ltd. and Freeverse, this offers classic versions of the world's most beloved board games, including chess, checkers, mancala and reversi, as well as the ability to enjoy video chat with friends via the Xbox Live Vision camera.

Street Trace: NYC: This is a hover board racing and arena battle game from Gaia Industries Inc. set against the urban wasteland of future New York City. Make your mark on the leaderboards in intense eight-player action over Xbox Live, or battle at home through split-screen or single-player tournaments.

Undertow: This is a fast-paced action shooter from Chair Entertainment Group that thrusts players underwater as they battle for control of the oceans, and features a robust single player/co-op campaign and up to 16-player multiplayer action.

So in summary, Mad Tracks looks brilliant, Soltrio Solitaire isn't Solitaire at all and we're still wondering what happened to Sonic the Hedgehog XBLA.

Looking forward we're also tapping our feet for the arrival of Every Extend Extra Extreme (read our impressions), Alien Hominid spiritual successor Castle Crashers, the Arcade port of Ikaruga and the excellent Arcade version of Tack 'n' Field.

Tell us what you're waiting for in the comments section below. Or else.

via cvg ...