news via aussie-nintendo

In response to recent rumours surrounding a sequel to Wii's bundled-in game, Wii Sports, Nintendo have issued a typically vague statement confirming nothing, but not ruling it out, either.

A Nintendo representative said regarding the rumour, “[It is] pure rumour and speculation. We’re really pleased with the reaction to Wii Sports - from people completely new to gaming to the hardcore fans everyone has taken to it straight away. It might just be the most popular game this Christmas...”

Wii Sports has had nothing short of phenomenonal success around the globe, and it's clearly in Nintendo's interests to grow the franchise. Thanks to the explosively positive response to the title, a sequel seems inevitable. ...

news via aussie-nintendo

In response to recent rumours surrounding a sequel to Wii's bundled-in game, Wii Sports, Nintendo have issued a typically vague statement confirming nothing, but not ruling it out, either.

A Nintendo representative said regarding the rumour, “[It is] pure rumour and speculation. We’re really pleased with the reaction to Wii Sports - from people completely new to gaming to the hardcore fans everyone has taken to it straight away. It might just be the most popular game this Christmas...”

Wii Sports has had nothing short of phenomenonal success around the globe, and it's clearly in Nintendo's interests to grow the franchise. Thanks to the explosively positive response to the title, a sequel seems inevitable. ...

news via smarthouse

How can one be given an Nintendo Wii to review with time up your sleeve over Xmas and not get right into it. The results? Well…..

Does the Nintendo Wii live up to its reputation?

On our very last day in the office a gift arrived in the form of a review copy of the new Nintendo Wii. This is one very cool gaming system which will appeal to families as well as the gaming enthusiast.

This was no more evident than when I showed my wife the new Nintendo Wii. She is the last person one would find on a gaming machine but once shown the capability and the fact that one can actually exercise using the unique motion sensing controller she was interested.

But it was my 21 year old daughter who really bought home to me the appeal of this system when she not only wanted to play games but spend 15 minutes creating her own Mii gaming character for use in the Sporting Wii games.

So be sure to design yourself your own Mii, as it'll represent your player in all the games.

This is a system that is in its infancy and one that Nintendo should be credited for as it has a massive evolutionary path for the creation of new capabilities built around human motion.

This console is a showcase of simplicity which is clearly demonstrated when one first opens the Nintendo Wii. The Wii Sports which came with the pack ensures every gamer that they can witness first hand preciously what Nintendo's white wonder can do.

Wii Sports contains five titles; Baseball, Bowling, Boxing, Golf and Tennis, each one taking full advantage of the Wii-motes motion sensing, some with better result than others.

Although you can dive straight into the game first hand, there are some useful training games to go through first of all to allow yourself to get to grips with the control.

But one big no for me was the characters. Give me real characters not some Japanese Comic Book characters that bow at the end of a game.
The motion sensing include anything from basic manoeuvres to more complicated moves for your chosen sport, with more un-lockable as you progress. Meanwhile, there's also a brain training-style event to take part in, which is used to test and ultimately improve your skills in each game, giving you your Wii-age at the end.

The meat of the game is of course the sports titles themselves, all of which can be chosen from the start of the game to be played in any order you wish. Tennis, probably the most publicised of them all is a fine example of how Wii-mote functionality can be implemented into something this simple, yet feel so rich and detailed at the same time.

Each shot you take can ultimately be manipulated in some form or another, usually by the amount of pressure you apply to each shot or the direction your hand is facing. One thing's for sure, though; you're going to need ample room to get the best out of the Wii's sensor bar, so expect some problems with motion detection otherwise, and this applies to all titles. Tennis is no doubt among the most competent of the Wii Sports catalogue, and one that exhibits the Wii-motes functionality at its best, and the amount of precision is admirable.

Full Swing

The same can be said in Wii Bowling and Boxing. With the former, you are prompted to actually execute a motion as if you were holding a bowling ball, releasing at the right time and letting it fly. While there's the obvious perception its simply about luck from there on out, it's not the case at all; tilting your wrist in the desired direction will cause the ball to subtly turn in motion, which is vital for those much needed curved shots.

Boxing on the other hand is perhaps the most adventurous of all the games, for the simple reason you're endowed with the ability to perform a variety of actions, aside from just standing there punching. You can punch, dodge, uppercut, aim for the body or head provided your execution is on track, which unfortunately, isn't always the case. More than often, the game fails to register your movements and you'll find its probably just best to lay the smacked down with a few simple jabs to the noggin. A shame, as it could have been perhaps the most discerning of all games given the chance in terms of what the Wii-mote can do.

Baseball on the other hand does little to actually challenge the player; batting requires somewhat decent timing on your part, but there's little evidence that that your swing was at all determined by the amount of power you put behind it; for the most part, it's totally random how fast and far the ball travels. The same can be said about pitching, where there's little room for much in the way of precision. After going through a few training sessions, you'll find out that you can actually change the direction the ball ...

news via smarthouse

How can one be given an Nintendo Wii to review with time up your sleeve over Xmas and not get right into it. The results? Well…..

Does the Nintendo Wii live up to its reputation?

On our very last day in the office a gift arrived in the form of a review copy of the new Nintendo Wii. This is one very cool gaming system which will appeal to families as well as the gaming enthusiast.

This was no more evident than when I showed my wife the new Nintendo Wii. She is the last person one would find on a gaming machine but once shown the capability and the fact that one can actually exercise using the unique motion sensing controller she was interested.

But it was my 21 year old daughter who really bought home to me the appeal of this system when she not only wanted to play games but spend 15 minutes creating her own Mii gaming character for use in the Sporting Wii games.

So be sure to design yourself your own Mii, as it'll represent your player in all the games.

This is a system that is in its infancy and one that Nintendo should be credited for as it has a massive evolutionary path for the creation of new capabilities built around human motion.

This console is a showcase of simplicity which is clearly demonstrated when one first opens the Nintendo Wii. The Wii Sports which came with the pack ensures every gamer that they can witness first hand preciously what Nintendo's white wonder can do.

Wii Sports contains five titles; Baseball, Bowling, Boxing, Golf and Tennis, each one taking full advantage of the Wii-motes motion sensing, some with better result than others.

Although you can dive straight into the game first hand, there are some useful training games to go through first of all to allow yourself to get to grips with the control.

But one big no for me was the characters. Give me real characters not some Japanese Comic Book characters that bow at the end of a game.
The motion sensing include anything from basic manoeuvres to more complicated moves for your chosen sport, with more un-lockable as you progress. Meanwhile, there's also a brain training-style event to take part in, which is used to test and ultimately improve your skills in each game, giving you your Wii-age at the end.

The meat of the game is of course the sports titles themselves, all of which can be chosen from the start of the game to be played in any order you wish. Tennis, probably the most publicised of them all is a fine example of how Wii-mote functionality can be implemented into something this simple, yet feel so rich and detailed at the same time.

Each shot you take can ultimately be manipulated in some form or another, usually by the amount of pressure you apply to each shot or the direction your hand is facing. One thing's for sure, though; you're going to need ample room to get the best out of the Wii's sensor bar, so expect some problems with motion detection otherwise, and this applies to all titles. Tennis is no doubt among the most competent of the Wii Sports catalogue, and one that exhibits the Wii-motes functionality at its best, and the amount of precision is admirable.

Full Swing

The same can be said in Wii Bowling and Boxing. With the former, you are prompted to actually execute a motion as if you were holding a bowling ball, releasing at the right time and letting it fly. While there's the obvious perception its simply about luck from there on out, it's not the case at all; tilting your wrist in the desired direction will cause the ball to subtly turn in motion, which is vital for those much needed curved shots.

Boxing on the other hand is perhaps the most adventurous of all the games, for the simple reason you're endowed with the ability to perform a variety of actions, aside from just standing there punching. You can punch, dodge, uppercut, aim for the body or head provided your execution is on track, which unfortunately, isn't always the case. More than often, the game fails to register your movements and you'll find its probably just best to lay the smacked down with a few simple jabs to the noggin. A shame, as it could have been perhaps the most discerning of all games given the chance in terms of what the Wii-mote can do.

Baseball on the other hand does little to actually challenge the player; batting requires somewhat decent timing on your part, but there's little evidence that that your swing was at all determined by the amount of power you put behind it; for the most part, it's totally random how fast and far the ball travels. The same can be said about pitching, where there's little room for much in the way of precision. After going through a few training sessions, you'll find out that you can actually change the direction the ball ...

news via aussie-nintendo

One of the key philosophies Nintendo has implemented when creating Wii has been to make it a console that is both quick and easy to develop for. The same goal was imagined on GameCube, and at heart, the Big N's new generation console is merely an extension of that original product.

Speaking in an interview series with GamesIndustry.biz, the general manager of Microsoft's Game Development Group, Chris Satchell, was quizzed about Nintendo's Wii being a 'developer-friendly' machine.

Satchell responded, "I think [Wii is] a simpler machine. It is a pretty simple architecture to program for." But he was quick to describe Microsoft's development environment, and the tools it has created for developers, and insisted, "To do an equivalent experience to what's possible on Wii actually wouldn't be any harder [on Xbox 360]."

"But remember what's happening on 360 is that the experience people are building are so much more complex," he added. "People are making it hard for themselves, not just because it's a more powerful platform but they want to fill it out. If you look at what they do with their simulations, with their graphics rendering, with their world technologies, they're just more complex games."

Last week, in part one of the same interview, Satchell expressed that he thinks the Wii is "of interest" following its fast start, but questioned its long-term potential. ...

news via aussie-nintendo

One of the key philosophies Nintendo has implemented when creating Wii has been to make it a console that is both quick and easy to develop for. The same goal was imagined on GameCube, and at heart, the Big N's new generation console is merely an extension of that original product.

Speaking in an interview series with GamesIndustry.biz, the general manager of Microsoft's Game Development Group, Chris Satchell, was quizzed about Nintendo's Wii being a 'developer-friendly' machine.

Satchell responded, "I think [Wii is] a simpler machine. It is a pretty simple architecture to program for." But he was quick to describe Microsoft's development environment, and the tools it has created for developers, and insisted, "To do an equivalent experience to what's possible on Wii actually wouldn't be any harder [on Xbox 360]."

"But remember what's happening on 360 is that the experience people are building are so much more complex," he added. "People are making it hard for themselves, not just because it's a more powerful platform but they want to fill it out. If you look at what they do with their simulations, with their graphics rendering, with their world technologies, they're just more complex games."

Last week, in part one of the same interview, Satchell expressed that he thinks the Wii is "of interest" following its fast start, but questioned its long-term potential. ...

news via timesonline

The Nintendo Wii is this year’s must-have games console, and should delight the lucky few who receive one tomorrow morning. But the huge public acclaim for the Wii and its unusual motion-sensing remote control has already ruined Sir Howard Stringer’s Christmas.

Stringer, the Cardiff-born chairman and chief executive of Sony Corporation, is relying on PlayStation 3 to help revive the misfiring Japanese electronics giant that he has run for the past 18 months. This Christmas, however, the Wii is estimated to be outselling the PS3 by more than two to one.

The faltering progress of Sony’s new games machine has been the subject of constant debate, a testament to its commercial importance. Yet the PS3 appears to have been blown away by the early success of a rival that went almost unnoticed before its launch last month.

All the focus has been on Sony’s battle with Microsoft, the software giant that launched its Xbox 360 console a year ago. Nintendo was regarded as a distant No 3 — no longer able to match its rivals’ firepower.

The Wii’s graphics engine is technically less sophisticated. But Nintendo has compensated with the novelty and appeal of its remote control, which allows players to swing at, say, an electronic tennis or golf ball as if playing the game for real. Apart from anything else, the “Wiimote” has generated lots of media coverage.

One report declared the Wii is “the best excuse to get off the couch. Anyone who plays the included Wii Sports will almost certainly come to the same conclusion: this thing is really fun! Seriously, button tapping can’t compete with this system’s intuitive, tactile remote controls that must be swung around”.

Van Baker at Gartner, the research-and-analysis firm, said: “It’s created some excitement around gaming that has not been there in a long time. Nintendo’s titles are more family-friendly and more fun.”

The Wii is also much cheaper, costing $250 (£127) in America, or £179 in Britain. The Sony PS3, which is not yet available in Europe, costs either $500 or $600, depending on the machine’s memory-storage capabilities.

In America, analysts believe Sony is struggling to hit the 1m sales target it has set for the end of the year. In contrast, Nintendo’s Christmas sales look likely to exceed 2m.

Baker said: “My best guess is that Sony has sold 300,000 to 400,000 units. They’ll get about 750,000 units, or a little more. That leaves them with a lot of ground to make up.”

Both firms are struggling with supply shortages, although Sony’s problems are more severe — it was forced to postpone the European launch of PS3 until next year.

“The big challenge for Sony is that PS3s are so hard to get,” said Baker. “To a large degree, many people are buying something else. Sony is going to have to battle to retain the market share that they’ve had historically. They’ve given a two Christmas advantage to Microsoft, and a one Christmas advantage to Nintendo.”

The number of consoles in the market is important because it provides the platform for lucrative game sales, the more profitable end of the $27 billion- a-year industry. Sony and Microsoft both lose money on console sales, but experts believe Nintendo makes a decent profit on the Wii.

The early sales figures tell only part of the story. There is ample evidence that there is more buzz and excitement surrounding the Wii. For example, dedicated gamers have been camping out to queue up for the limited stocks available, and forming online discussion groups to help track them down. In the UK, Hitwise, the internet-data firm, has reported that Nintendo Wii has suddenly become the most searched-for gadget, quickly overtaking Apple’s Ipod.

“Nintendo seems to have stolen the high ground in terms of playability and entertainment value,” said Paul Jackson at Forrester Research. “Nintendo seems to be surfing this wave of public interest and this idea of accessibility that they started with Nintendogs and these brain games.”

Nintendogs, Brain Age and other similar “brain-training” titles are games designed for the Nintendo DS, the hand-held console aimed at a broader audience than just hard-core gamers. They are very different from traditional shooting and racing games.

Dawn Paine, Nintendo UK marketing director, said the Wii followed the DS in trying to offer new types of games and a new interface. Brain- training games brought in older players while Nintendogs attracts young girls. She said Nintendo was trying to do something more than the same old stuff with this year’s technology. “For us the technology is not the main element,” she said. “We felt it was crucial to stir up the market and offer ...

news via timesonline

The Nintendo Wii is this year’s must-have games console, and should delight the lucky few who receive one tomorrow morning. But the huge public acclaim for the Wii and its unusual motion-sensing remote control has already ruined Sir Howard Stringer’s Christmas.

Stringer, the Cardiff-born chairman and chief executive of Sony Corporation, is relying on PlayStation 3 to help revive the misfiring Japanese electronics giant that he has run for the past 18 months. This Christmas, however, the Wii is estimated to be outselling the PS3 by more than two to one.

The faltering progress of Sony’s new games machine has been the subject of constant debate, a testament to its commercial importance. Yet the PS3 appears to have been blown away by the early success of a rival that went almost unnoticed before its launch last month.

All the focus has been on Sony’s battle with Microsoft, the software giant that launched its Xbox 360 console a year ago. Nintendo was regarded as a distant No 3 — no longer able to match its rivals’ firepower.

The Wii’s graphics engine is technically less sophisticated. But Nintendo has compensated with the novelty and appeal of its remote control, which allows players to swing at, say, an electronic tennis or golf ball as if playing the game for real. Apart from anything else, the “Wiimote” has generated lots of media coverage.

One report declared the Wii is “the best excuse to get off the couch. Anyone who plays the included Wii Sports will almost certainly come to the same conclusion: this thing is really fun! Seriously, button tapping can’t compete with this system’s intuitive, tactile remote controls that must be swung around”.

Van Baker at Gartner, the research-and-analysis firm, said: “It’s created some excitement around gaming that has not been there in a long time. Nintendo’s titles are more family-friendly and more fun.”

The Wii is also much cheaper, costing $250 (£127) in America, or £179 in Britain. The Sony PS3, which is not yet available in Europe, costs either $500 or $600, depending on the machine’s memory-storage capabilities.

In America, analysts believe Sony is struggling to hit the 1m sales target it has set for the end of the year. In contrast, Nintendo’s Christmas sales look likely to exceed 2m.

Baker said: “My best guess is that Sony has sold 300,000 to 400,000 units. They’ll get about 750,000 units, or a little more. That leaves them with a lot of ground to make up.”

Both firms are struggling with supply shortages, although Sony’s problems are more severe — it was forced to postpone the European launch of PS3 until next year.

“The big challenge for Sony is that PS3s are so hard to get,” said Baker. “To a large degree, many people are buying something else. Sony is going to have to battle to retain the market share that they’ve had historically. They’ve given a two Christmas advantage to Microsoft, and a one Christmas advantage to Nintendo.”

The number of consoles in the market is important because it provides the platform for lucrative game sales, the more profitable end of the $27 billion- a-year industry. Sony and Microsoft both lose money on console sales, but experts believe Nintendo makes a decent profit on the Wii.

The early sales figures tell only part of the story. There is ample evidence that there is more buzz and excitement surrounding the Wii. For example, dedicated gamers have been camping out to queue up for the limited stocks available, and forming online discussion groups to help track them down. In the UK, Hitwise, the internet-data firm, has reported that Nintendo Wii has suddenly become the most searched-for gadget, quickly overtaking Apple’s Ipod.

“Nintendo seems to have stolen the high ground in terms of playability and entertainment value,” said Paul Jackson at Forrester Research. “Nintendo seems to be surfing this wave of public interest and this idea of accessibility that they started with Nintendogs and these brain games.”

Nintendogs, Brain Age and other similar “brain-training” titles are games designed for the Nintendo DS, the hand-held console aimed at a broader audience than just hard-core gamers. They are very different from traditional shooting and racing games.

Dawn Paine, Nintendo UK marketing director, said the Wii followed the DS in trying to offer new types of games and a new interface. Brain- training games brought in older players while Nintendogs attracts young girls. She said Nintendo was trying to do something more than the same old stuff with this year’s technology. “For us the technology is not the main element,” she said. “We felt it was crucial to stir up the market and offer ...

news via megasource

This is just two part small application written in LUA that allows you to draw and save images onto your psp via the LUA player. PspDraw has the ability to create images and come with the functions of pen, line, solid rectangle, eraser, and color picker. You could even save images onto the Memory Stick.

PspNotepad uses the grid-matrix text input system using the analog stick and the face buttons, while the D-pad is used to move the cursor around.

download and give feedback via comment ...