via joystiq

Think you're a hardcore Nintendo fan? Prove it. Book a plane ticket to Osaka, Japan, then beat cheeks to the Hankyu Department Store to see its "Nintendo Museum" exhibit. Also, create a time machine, because it's over.

Don't have the cash for the plane ticket? On the outs with Doc Brown? Thankfully, 1UP was on hand to allow you to vicariously nerd out.

Checking out the piece may also help you build a little geek cred, too. The next time your buddy tries to impress the moderately cute girl in the Zelda T-shirt at Hot Topic by telling her that Nintendo started as a playing card company, imagine referencing "Chiritori, the remote-controlled mini-vacuum cleaner." Oooh ... sick burn.

More Info ...

via gamesradar

Wii has clearly been a massive success, especially with non-gamers, and the launch last Christmas was peppered with stories of whole families enjoying sessions of Wii Sports. Yet, aside from Zelda, it does seem to lack the 'hardcore' appeal that consoles have traditionally thrived on.

Fortunately, Shigeru Miyamoto, director of Nintendo, has promised that "enhancements" are on the way for the Wii's interface that will make "games for hardcore players more fun and interesting", during a recent interview with US site GamePro.

Miyamoto also hints that Wii's online gaming - a clear pull for gamers - won't work "in a way that we have seen online up until now".

So what is Nintendo planning? We can't know for sure, but below we've pulled together a few ideas for enhancements that could give more 'real', dedicated gamers something to shout about.
Above: Virtual Console has arguably been the biggest pull for hardcore gamers

Online gaming
Obvious, but important. Although Miyamoto says Nintendo is more interested in the idea of gamers being constantly connected, and in the possibilities for new types of entertainment, than your average online approach.

So what about a Wii equivalent to DS game-sharing, letting you play online with friends who don't own the full game? Whatever Ninty's ideas are for innovation, though, a good old dose of regular versus or co-op online play is fairly essential for Wii's gamer-appeal.

Mii chatrooms
PS3 has Home, so why can't Wii's Miis have somewhere to hang out? The interest shown in Sony's new virtual space proves that gamers are interested in meeting up online, and being able to form communities and groups is important too.

A Habbo Hotel -esque location, where you can wander around as your Mii and interact with others, would bring a deeper level of gamer interaction to the pretty shallow set-up Wii has at the moment. Merely letting us vote on each other's avatars isn't going to cut it, Nintendo.

Gamer-focused Wii channels
Miyamoto reckons Wii's online plans will see more social-based stuff on the console, so what about a YouTube-style upload channel for user created in-game movies? Or a Spectator channel, which would cover official or sponsor-created tournaments and provide virtual coverage on them?

By appealing to every gamer's lust for bragging rights, Nintendo would help form a community based on the sort of one-upmanship caused by Xbox 360's Achievements system, only more visual and immediate.

Hardcore-friendly motion controls
Rather wave your arms around constantly during every battle in Wii's Zelda, or grab a copy on 'Cube and play with a more traditional style? We know which we prefer. We love Wii's controls, but it's all about the way they are used and presented. Fishing in Zelda on Wii, for instance, is brilliant.

If there were more games that used motion control beneath the surface - for lesser-used abilities or mini-games say - or in a more acceptable, convincing manner, we're sure the more serious gamer would find Wii a more comfortable home over long play sessions. ...

European fans of quirky Japanese role-playing games will be breathing a sigh of relief today because Shadow Hearts: From the New World is officially dated for Europe. After a wait of well over a year since the game released in North America and nearly two years since its debut in Japan, it seemed as if PAL regions might have been forgotten. Not so--the PlayStation 2 game is now penciled in for a May release date, courtesy of publishing company Ghostlight.

The game is the first in the Shadow Hearts series to switch location away from a European setting and into the New World of the Americas. Set in 1929, it focuses on a motley band of characters, including Johnny Garland, a 16-year-old private detective, and Shania, a Native American woman who possesses the ablility to fuse with powerful spirits.

Johnny witnesses an evil demon coming through a "window" whilst working on a missing person's case and becomes determined to discover the truth behind the apparition. His quest takes him to locations including New York, Las Vegas, and Roswell.

Shadow Hearts: From the New World also features the judgment ring system, as used in the previous two series incarnations, and adds the stock system, where characters can build up power to use special attacks and perform powerful combo attacks.

Developed by Azure, the game was originally released on July 23, 2005, in Japan and on March 7, 2006, in the US. It will be arriving in PAL regions in May 2007.

via gamespot ...

Sales of the PlayStation 3 have dropped dramatically on the second week of release in the UK, with official Chart Track figures revealing a fall of 82 per cent, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting.

Chart Track data is gathered from 7000 UK retail outlets representing 90 per cent of the software market, including GAME, Gamestation, Play.com, Asda and HMV.

A spokesperson for Chart Track confirmed the figure to GamesIndustry.biz this afternoon, stating: "Yes, sales of PS3 hardware have dropped by 82 per cent."

Last week, Chart Track revealed that the PlayStation 3 had sold 165,000 units in the first two days following the launch, making it the fastest-selling home console in the UK.

"We publish the first week figures because there's such a clamour for them that we can't keep it a secret," said the spokesperson.

This week's software charts revealed that sales of the top two PlayStation 3 titles, Resistance: Fall of Man and MotorStorm, had dropped by over 60 per cent.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe declined to comment.

via eurogamer ...

Lair was one of the first playable games shown on PS3, with its impressive wide-open and detailed environments, and neat use of the Sixaxis tilt controls.

Here, we have 14 more screens showing off the beautiful water effects and the awesome detail on the dragons. And it looks better in motion on a nice big 1080p-enabled TV, believe us.

But we don't want to look at it no more. We want to play the full game, in which you fly around on huge dragons battling with other giant flying beasts in insanely chaotic battles. We enjoyed it when we got an early look at a playable demo.

It's no surprise that it's cool - it's being developed by Factor 5, the guys responsible for the awesome Rogue Squadron games on GameCube.

So when is it coming out? Not until September, according to the most recent release schedule. Hopefully the time being put into the game will help make sure it's as good as we hope when it finally does land on PS3.

Screens Here ...

" PSPirate´s Alarm Clock V0.1 by:

"MEXICANSNAKE <---------------------------------- Main Coder.
"DEANAW22 <--------- Artist and coding helping.

The vacations started and I was bored so I coded this.



This is a new kind of clock alarm: a video game alarm .
We now that this app its really simple, but its really useful and fun.

It has animations, analog clock, digital clock, date, PSP version spoof, battery level indicator
etc etc etc...

The alarm´s signal is the sigle mode of PSPirates, dont worry the game will start in the
next 10 secs after the alarm is activated (you will listen a song).


You can Turn on / off the alarm.

Controls (Alarm):
- R => Alarm set : minutes
- L => Alarm set : hours
- Start => Turn on / off the alarm
- Select => Extit to the XMB

Controls (In Game):

- X => Shoot
- Start => Return to the main menu

We hope you like it.

Please post your comments!:thumbup:

This ONLY works on the PSP

Please report any bugs. ...

As you may have heard, there have been some updates to Xbox 360 Warranty that you should be aware of. It may be worth checking out if you need any warranty work done.

Warranty is now 1 year instead of 90 days.
Free shipping, new post service warranty and faster service are some of the highlights.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/sy...antyupdate.htm

They updated their warranty today.

...

Ive been following the site DiGG over the last few months and a trend occurs that really puts a downer on these social voting sites.

Whenever big sites such as Engadget, Joystiq, Gizmodo, Kotaku and others post a digg even if the digg post was sourced from another site that had already submitted a Digg they because of their size nearly always get the stories from them made popular.

So the little sites who the story originated from just cant compete with sites who get mega hits each day.

Maybe there should be a source link on each digg post (if one exists)

Am i the only one who thinks its just a case of the big sites winning each time or could i be wrong.

Should sites like Digg/Slashdot and others change to make sure say that the proper site gets the linkages?

I should say that i have nothing against the sites above but maybe a fairer system is needed ?

Give your verdicts via Comments

...

New from SuccessHK



Rayman Raving Rabbids marks the return of the iconic video-game hero, Rayman, in his funniest and zaniest adventure ever. When the world of Rayman is threatened by a devastating invasion of crazed, out-of-control bunnies Rayman must rise up against his furry foes to foil their wicked plans. Utilizing an array of amazing new abilities, and with the help of magical creatures, Rayman must break out all the moves to save his world from these delirious bunnies and their hare-raising antics. ...