via joystiq

More geeky than most of us can handle, musician Herbert Weixelbaum has an in-depth analysis of the sound output for every Game Boy system, including both Nintendo DS models. He even included minor upgrades to the line and tested systems with backlighting both on and off. The guide is aimed squarely at chiptune musicians who want to get the most out of their performances. Everyone else, just smile and nod.

The results? The original Game Boy has a "warm, bassy sound", the Game Boy Color produces a lot of background noise, while the Game Boy Advance SP has the best display. According to Herbert, however, the original Game Boy is the best of the lot with the all-important "retro feel". ...

When it was released in 2002, Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly was panned by critics who accused it of offering a choppy frame rate, buggy gameplay, lengthy load times, and a dull story. Last month, the game received a more serious knock against it, as a New York woman whose infant suffered a grand mal seizure while playing Enter the Dragonfly filed suit against Vivendi Games, Sierra Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment America, and a defunct rental store called Hiawatha Video.

The suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, claims that the defendants were "negligent, careless, and reckless with regard to the design and manufacture" of Spyro, such that the game was dangerous when used in the intended manner, and that they failed to properly warn consumers of that danger. According to the suit, the child suffered severe and permanent disabling injuries that will affect him "in all activities of daily living" and necessitate lifelong medical expenses.

The PS2 edition of Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly came with a notice on the inside front cover of the instruction manual advising consumers that "a very small percentage of individuals may experience epileptic seizures when exposed to certain light patterns or flashing lights." The notice also tells users to stop playing immediately if they experience specific symptoms of epilepsy, and to consult a physician before resuming play.

On behalf of her child, the woman is seeking damages "for such fair and reasonable amount as may be awarded by a jury of his peers," along with whatever other relief the court may deem just and proper. Earlier this week, Sony requested that the woman specify the total amount of damages she's seeking.

As of press time, neither Vivendi nor Sony representatives had returned GameSpot's request for comment.

This is not the first time a gamemaker has faced a lawsuit over epileptic seizures. In August of 2003, Nintendo won a case in Louisiana against a woman whose son died as the result of a seizure he suffered while playing the Nintendo 64. The judge in that case ruled in Nintendo's favor after the woman failed to respond to the publisher's motion for summary judgment.

via gamespot ...

Unfortunately us Europeans will have to sit and watch from the sidelines as US and Japanese gamers enjoy a demo for Ninja Gaiden Sigma next month.

You see, Sony Europe still has no idea when we can expect PS3 taster or full game here, telling Eurogamer this afternoon that it was still waiting for information.

Meanwhile Famitsu has announced the demo will be released across North America and Japan on 27th April, ahead of the title's scheduled launch in June.

It is rumoured to include a specially created chapter that won't be in the full game, which will give you access to many of the game's weapons early on.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma is the PlayStation 3 version of the popular shuriken-slinging game for Xbox, Ninja Gaiden: Black. Creator Tecmo recently shouted at the Internet insisting that it was much more than a port.

Apparently the whole package has had an overhaul, from graphics and performance, to content and bouncy boobs.

via eurogamer ...

Nintendo's European marketing director has responded to criticism that the Wii doesn't have enough first party software support. His response is: we'll release the games when they're finished, and not before.

"I would say that these titles - and this has always been the Nintendo policy - will be on the shelves when the director says so," Laurent Fischer told GamesIndustry.biz. "If the development team says they need one more month or two more months to deliver a unique Wii experience, we're comfortable with that."

"At Nintendo I'm marketing director, but I'm proud to say that the marketing department has the last voice. When the product is out it's exactly as the creator intended," Fischer continued.

"It's the way the development studio dreamt it from the very beginning. Some companies may aim to release games at Christmas or for specific financial times of the year - Nintendo has nothing to do with that, it's never been the case."

Reasserting that both Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Super Mario Galaxy will be out this year, Nintendo's marketing man also said that he felt the Wii had a "strong line-up of titles" already and pointed to the constant trickle of content onto Virtual Console.

He also addressed questions about supply and demand, claiming the company could have "smashed" its 6 million console target by the end of March given greater production capacity. Sadly he didn't go on to call Sonic fat or anything.

Via eurogamer ...

Friendly tipster Evan M wasn't too stoked to see an Xbox 360 Elite headed for store shelves after he'd just purchased a Premium 360, especially considering the fact that his TV has a whole HDMI port twiddling its thumbs, just waiting to get its game on. After informing Microsoft of his displeasure through what we're sure was a politely worded email, Evan claims to have received a slightly encouraging response from a Microsoft support person, promising an upcoming HDMI to component adapter for the 'box to make his situation perhaps a bit more bearable. Unfortunately, the support person also mentioned that "we do not have information as of the moment if the cable will be sold separately," which might mean such an adapter is only destined for sales with some sort of updated Premium SKU, at least for the immediate future. We'll keep our eyes peeled.

via engadget ...

Metal Gear Solid fans will no doubt be pleased to hear that David Hayter will once again be providing Solid Snake's dulcet tones, brought on board for PS3's Metal Gear Solid 4.

Voicing the aging and exhausted hero in the sequel, Hayter will be following a script penned by Hideo Kojima and Shuyo Murata.

Konami has also announced that voice actors Quinton Flynn, Paul Eiding and Christopher Randolph are returning, lending their vocal talents to characters Raiden, Roy Campbell and Hal 'Otacon' Emmerich, respectively.

And completing the reforming of the 'Metal Gear Solid Family Voice' is Kris Zimmerman, who is to direct the voice acting sessions for the game.

"I couldn't be more excited about this game. What I've seen of Metal Gear Solid 4 has absolutely blown me away. To bring the focus of the story back to Solid Snake, and to work with Kris Zimmerman and many of the amazing actors that provided iconic voices for the previous games, is like coming home," said David Hayter.

"I'm so proud and grateful to have been involved with Mr. Kojima on this legendary video game series for nearly a decade. This game is going to plunge players into the ultimate Metal Gear Solid experience. And personally, I can't wait to play it."

via cvg ...

President and chief operating officer of Sega Europe, Mike Hayes, today told CVG that it was the Olympics that inspired the recently-announced Mario and Sonic in the Olympic Games, and that the event "acts as a neutral ground for the two characters".

Discussing the partnership of gaming's two greatest icons, Hayes said: "Coming under the Olympic banner, I think the Olympics acts as a neutral ground for the two characters."

But both characters are very different, so how will Sega balance their abilities? Hayes explains: "We know that Sonic is fast and Mario is strong. Both characters have different strengths. But having the Olympics is the perfect territory to bring them together because they can use their different skills in the events that we're going to have, which include track and field events, table tennis, swimming and more.

"So rather than being in a Sonic or Mario world this is the perfect meeting place where both characters can bring out their own strengths in the different sports."

Discussing the origins of the idea, Hayes explains, "Obviously we were lucky enough to secure the Beijing 2008 Olympic licence about a year ago and so we were thinking about what we could do with that. Speaking to the IOC (International Olympics Committee), they really pushed home the spirit of sport for everyone, and their wanting to get younger people into the Olympics.

"So rather than just doing a simulation we thought that we had some great characters that young people love and are very iconic. The idea started there."

Let's just hope the young Olympic hopefuls don't take on Mario's mushroom-eating habits.

via cvg ...

The creative force behind the design of PS3, Teiyu Goto, has revealed how the Spider-Man font came to be used on PS3 in an interview with the Official PlayStation Magazine.

Goto explained, "Take the PS2 logo - we created it to blend in with the rectangular shape of the console. Personally, I feel very strongly that the logo would not have looked right on PS3.

"If you really look at the PS3 contour carefully, it is rounded when viewing the console in profile. Rather than creating a typography with all the risks that entails, it was wiser to use the one from Spider-Man, for which Sony has the rights.

"It was also the wish of President Kutaragi, who insisted that I use this typography. In fact, the logo was one of the first elements he decided on and the logo may have been the motivating force behind the shape of PS3."

Issue 005 of Official PlayStation Magazine goes on sale tomorrow.

via cvg ...

PS3's version of horror-FPS F.E.A.R., which was originally planned a s a European launched title but missed the boat, will be out on April 20.

The game's already released on PC and Xbox 360, and in a nutshell focuses on the plight of an elite soldier trained to handle the unhandle-able (is that a real word?) who is plunged into a tale of violence and horror. It's got lots of shooting, lots of blood and lots of cool slow-mo action.

In addition to the single-player bloodbath, there's 16-player multiplayer and PS3 F.E.A.R. is enjoying an exclusive level and weapon and Instant Action Mode. The game's publisher, Vivendi, describes this mode as a "new arcade style mode filled with close quarters battles tracking player progress via leader boards via the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system".

Interview at CVG ...