Another story about a newer PSP coming soon this time from gizmodo

It's only been two days since we reported on those PSP 2 rumors and already a Sony exec has made our rumor official by confirming the company's plans to make a PSP2. Sony Computer Entertainment UK managing director Ray Maguire was quoted as saying the new PSP will be more pocket-friendly, thanks to a smaller and lighter design. Maguire also said the PSP2 will have the same screen size as the current PSP. So we're basically looking at a PSP Lite. No word on when it'll launch, though we here at Giz are wondering if Sony will plan on actually making games for the new PSP. ...

via joystiq



There is no truer, geekier homage than reconstructing an object of desire in Lego form, so we weren't surprised to find Brickshelf member, "suu" recreating a Wii with Legos. We especially like how the Lego Wii opens up to reveal scenes from Wii sports, although we don't remember the option of using a gun in Wii Tennis. That could be fun.

Brickshelf hosts submissions representing most consoles, from a fantastic, accurate PS2 by Blue Star Media to more artistic interpretations of the 360 and PS3 by "johnsocal" and "mista-noodles." We wish bricking a console could always be this much fun. ...

via joystiq

Reuters informs that gamers born before the first Bush administration aren't all suffering from Peter Pan syndrome -- game systems are growing up with them. 37 percent of adults own a gaming console and 16 percent own a portable gaming device according to Nielson/NetRatings. Of those, 71 percent are married and 66 percent have at least one child.

According to Reuters, analysts predicted the Wii did well because adult gamers wanted to introduce their children to gaming. These "Nintendads" helped sell a lot of units. Oh please, "Nintendads" wanted the Wii for themselves. The kid was just the add-on peripheral excuse that allowed the wife to let them purchase the console.

Beyond Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are clearly fighting it out for an adult focused media hub. Although neither is succeeding in making that all-in-one unit, we don't really care, as long as they focus on the games. All we know is as this "Nintendad" generation takes control, we'll see a significant decline in silly game legislation. ...

via kotaku

Japanese developers so get the DS. Western ones, it appears, do not. A feature over at Pocket Gamer shows that while a ton of non-Japanese companies are making DS games, most of them just aren't very good. The site took all of Metacritic's 201 DS scores and tried to see where American and Japanese games rated on the review scale. Their results?

...realise that the highest-scoring non-Japanese DS game is Tony Hawk's American Sk8land, in 16th position with (a very respectable) 84 per cent. We then have another Activision title, Ultimate Spiderman, in 34th place, and then another Tony Hawk's title, Downhill Jam, in 40th.
On the whole, the bulk of the top 100 places — 74 of them — are from Japan, while the country is responsible for just 32 of the bottom 101 places.

Tony Hawk, the West's great hope in DS gaming. ...

EA Mobile boss Javier Ferreira has told GamesIndustry.biz that the phone is essential to uniting communities of players and the home consoles they currently play.

After establishing a real presence in the mobile market during 2006, EA Mobile's focus for 2007 centres around using the handset to bring together consumers playing titles over multiple home formats.

"It's about how to take advantage of an evolving platform to deliver better games," said Javier Ferreira, VP of European publishing for EA Mobile.

"There's a lot of work to be done by all the players in this industry towards unleashing the connectivity which mobile can offer us – and from EA's perspective to link franchises and different versions of a game across formats."

"The community focused component is going to be about how the consumer is playing The Sims on mobile, and how they communicate and speak with the people playing The Sims on DS, PC or PlayStation 3," detailed Ferreira.

The publisher is keen to take advantage of mobile's unique strengths rather than simply rely on the basic idea of porting popular franchises to yet another format. Key to this, says Ferreira, are the opportunities provided by community features.

"For Electronic Arts, mobile is a gaming platform but it's also a media channel. And that's an exciting thing," commented Ferreira.

"It's about empowering the base. Historically, especially in the telecomms industry, people have tried to build a community from the top – stating that this is what the community is going to be about, telling them what they are going to do."

"But consumers don't like that. The key to a community is aggregating a number of people around a common interest – something simple like The Sims or Battlefield – these properties that generate a lot of community interest, and then giving those people the tools and ability to build the house that they want."

Ferreira pointed out that providing community support is difficult technically, and that it has to be built from the ground up in order to evolve.

"From a technology and development point of view it's much more complex, because suddenly I don't have to worry about building one house but a number of different people building their own house exactly how they want it."

"But if you look at the communities that are working in the internet space, those are the ones that are successful. It's about building things from the bottom," he concluded.

via gibiz ...

One of the more interesting features debuting later this year is the ability for Vista and Xbox 360 gamers to play online multiplayer sessions together. The first to allow them to do that is Shadowrun, a new first-person shooter from FASA Studio.



Elves have trigger fingers.
Today, Microsoft finally revealed when geeks can settle the age-old "keyboard and mouse or controller" debate. Both the Vista and Xbox 360 versions of Shadowrun will be available in June. Microsoft did not specify when in June Shadowrun would be released.

Online sessions will support up to 16 players, but for Vista owners to play against Xbox 360 gamers, they'll need a Gold-level Games for Windows - Live membership; PC-to-PC online play will be included in the Silver membership. As is the case with all Xbox 360 games, a Gold Xbox Live subscription is required to play multiplayer matches online.

The FPS is based on the Shadowrun universe, which first came to life in the world of pen-and-paper games. The game features various classes, each armed with weapons and magical abilities, such as teleportation.

via gamespot ...

Koei has unveiled a new and original title exclusively for Wii.

It's called Opoona, which also happens to be the name of the main character - who soon finds himself investigating mysterious events that left his parents hospitalised and his brother and sister missing.

Set in a quirky cosmic world, you'll have to venture to other colonies to unravel the tale, choosing to become a rescuer, idol, or detective before you can obtain a licence to travel.

Koei were unavailable to tell us more about the game this morning, but had previously told US sites that movement and combat would be controlled entirely by the nunchuck, with absolutely no use for the Wiimote at all.

Opoona is still firmly in the murky release-date waters of TBC, and we have only a spattering of concept art to go by at the moment, which paints the game in a quirky light.

However, Final Fantasy XII's composer Hitoshi Sakimoto is on board, as is art lead Shintaro Majima and planning director Sachiko Yukimura, who previously worked on the Dragon Quest series.

via eurogamer ...

via engadget

So long as there are fanboys roaming the streets (and electronics aisles), weird fetishes and unashamed overkill will still have their places, but it's not too often that a gaming addiction finds a home on Broadway. In The Game Boy, Matthew Gandolfo and Robin Rothstein's family-friendly musical, a well-taught lad dubbed Chase purportedly falls a bit too head over heels for his dear Game Boy, which presumably leads to all kinds of childhood development issues. According to the production notes, the kiddo is simply consumed in the pixelated universe, and strives to "always being the best," regardless of the real folks he ignores in the process. As predicted, this behavior eventually results in a life of loneliness and dread, probably forcing poor Chase to switch off the Nintendo handheld and seek out his long lost friends. Of course, his parents could have just shipped him over Amsterdam to remedy the issue, but if you're interested in seeing the outcome yourself, be sure to hit up the Vital Theater Company in New York City from now until April 22nd.

More Info ...

via engadget

So long as there are fanboys roaming the streets (and electronics aisles), weird fetishes and unashamed overkill will still have their places, but it's not too often that a gaming addiction finds a home on Broadway. In The Game Boy, Matthew Gandolfo and Robin Rothstein's family-friendly musical, a well-taught lad dubbed Chase purportedly falls a bit too head over heels for his dear Game Boy, which presumably leads to all kinds of childhood development issues. According to the production notes, the kiddo is simply consumed in the pixelated universe, and strives to "always being the best," regardless of the real folks he ignores in the process. As predicted, this behavior eventually results in a life of loneliness and dread, probably forcing poor Chase to switch off the Nintendo handheld and seek out his long lost friends. Of course, his parents could have just shipped him over Amsterdam to remedy the issue, but if you're interested in seeing the outcome yourself, be sure to hit up the Vital Theater Company in New York City from now until April 22nd.

More Info ...