Article from Xp Max Forums: http://xpmax.cjb.net

Great News: Super Mini Halo Alpha well be released shortly (sometime before thanksgiving), to give you something to play over the break. Traffic is due to increase as well. Im shooting for 5 to 10 levels of gameplay out of the 25 scedualed for the game. This way you get new content but not too much. The very first beta level will appear as the last level in alpha (not counted in the goal for levels of 5-10)

Some of the graphics have been improved, as sell as a new format. The release will be one file that will contain everything for the game. This includes the Eboot Protocall (ICON0 and The AT3 Song), Edit folder that has all the files that can be edited for your pleasure (15 different colored MC and grunts to play as of defeat). Also every build will be in this! There will be the 1.0 version that works on 1.0, and 2.0 to 2.71 se-b''. There will also be the 2 folder 1.5 version as well as the 2 folder version made for 2.71 se for those using the 2.71 kernel. A great release..

Future Plans include More playable characters (Cortana, Brutes, Jackels, etc) As well as those silly secret characters (Loco Rock, Xp Max CD, etc). The secret characters may be released over time as well as through contests so stay posted...and check out our myspace at http://www.myspace.com/xpmax151
-JpX-

Via - SMH Alpha

EDIT:
Another Quick Announcement: We are also working on a second game (if you haven checked the fourms), it plays alot like super smash brothers. But this time its not going to be halo related, tho there will be halo characters =P

this project is under raps till its first beta release scedualed for sometime in december but dont hold me to that =P ...

Just as the long-awaited PlayStation 3 games consoles go on sale in Japan this Saturday, Sony will also be offering the first software update. The firmware update, offered as a free download, adds support for the PlayStation Network online service."
From the article:
"In late November the company also plans to offer a firmware update for its PlayStation Portable (PSP) games device. The update will bump the firmware to version 3.0 and add PlayStation Network support. With the new firmware in both devices the PSP will be able to access contents stored on the PlayStation 3 via a wireless LAN connection using a system Sony has dubbed 'Remote Play.' It will also make it possible to purchase and download PSP games content." ...

Reuters has some last minute discussion on the high price of the PS3, as well as their plans for shipping 2 million units by December. From the article:
"'We are very comfortable with the pricing we have announced and have gotten tremendous support from retailers for that price point,' Hirai said on the sidelines of the Dow Jones VentureWire Consumer Technology Conference. 'So it is full steam ahead with the pricing of $499 and $599.'" ...

With just over a week to go before the PlayStation 3 launches in North America, SCEA boss Kaz Hirai has confirmed that there will be no change to the price point of the system - despite the cut announced to the Japanese price in September.

"We are very comfortable with the pricing we have announced," Hirai told news agency Reuters this week, going on to claim that Sony has had "tremendous support" from retailers regarding the price point.

That means that when the PS3 appears in North America on November 17th - six days after the Japanese launch this weekend - it will be priced at $499 for the 20GB model, and $599 for the 60GB model.

There has been an undercurrent of speculation over the pricing of the 20GB model ever since PlayStation boss Ken Kutaragi announced a significant price cut to the Japanese 20GB model at the Tokyo Game Show in September. In Japan, that version will now retail for 49,980 Yen - around $425.

However, the other change to the 20GB model which was announced by Kutaragi at TGS will benefit US consumers, as the HDMI video connector - which had originally been for the 60GB PS3 only - will be included on the 20GB version of the console in all territories.

The US is also getting a better deal than Japan in terms of availability of the system, with 400,000 units of the PS3 due to ship to US retailers for November 17th, while Japan will see only 80,000 units in stores this Saturday. ...

Speaking at the Montréal Games Summit, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has said that more and more developers are turning their attentions to the Wii - and away from rival consoles.

"We've had a tremendous amount of third party support as we've prepared for the launch. The shift that's been reported in developer focus from those other consoles to Wii truly is happening," Fils-Aime told the audience.

"And Mr Iwata, the entire senior team in Japan, my leadership team in the States - we recognise the tremendous contribution that you have made to the launch of Wii."

Fils-Aime went on to defend Nintendo's decision to bundle the new console with the Wii Sports game, saying, "We talk to business men, we talk to analysts, and they say, 'Why did you do this? You could have easily boosted your bottom line by selling this title.'

"And we say, it would have been off our strategy to sell it - we had to make it available to all of those consumers that'll buy the hardware to have a great first experience."

Fils-Aime believes the arrival of the Wii will herald fundamental shift for games, just as Super Mario 64's 3D graphics did in a previous console cycle. "We believe with the next home console a similar change can happen; and it'll happen week after next, with the launch of Wii," he said, adding, "We don't believe you can expand the market by using a traditional multi-button masher of a controller."

Earlier in his speech, Fils-Aime discussed the success of the Nintendo DS with reference to its performance in the Canadian market. "Looking at monthly sales this year, up until May, we were running about neck and neck with our competition," he observed.

"But since the launch of DS Lite, sales have soared. During [the last six month] period, the advantage in unit sales is about two and a half to one, and DS is the top selling platform so far this year in Canada by a wide margin."

According to Fils-Aime, Nintendo believes it has a mission to "change the central dynamic of this industry", which over the last few years "was becoming consumed by intesifying the game experience along a very narrow path".

"We believe that narrow path was alienating a lot of potential consumers during that time. Almost all publishers and manufacturers were chasing the same class of player; a group that many believe had a seemingly limitless desire for more of the same," he continued.

"We opted for disruption - not ignoring these core players, but looking beyond them; looking for a way to expand the market audience to include new types of players."

The Nintendo Wii will go on sale in North America on November 19, with the European launch to follow on December 8. ...

Speaking at the Montréal Games Summit, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has said that more and more developers are turning their attentions to the Wii - and away from rival consoles.

"We've had a tremendous amount of third party support as we've prepared for the launch. The shift that's been reported in developer focus from those other consoles to Wii truly is happening," Fils-Aime told the audience.

"And Mr Iwata, the entire senior team in Japan, my leadership team in the States - we recognise the tremendous contribution that you have made to the launch of Wii."

Fils-Aime went on to defend Nintendo's decision to bundle the new console with the Wii Sports game, saying, "We talk to business men, we talk to analysts, and they say, 'Why did you do this? You could have easily boosted your bottom line by selling this title.'

"And we say, it would have been off our strategy to sell it - we had to make it available to all of those consumers that'll buy the hardware to have a great first experience."

Fils-Aime believes the arrival of the Wii will herald fundamental shift for games, just as Super Mario 64's 3D graphics did in a previous console cycle. "We believe with the next home console a similar change can happen; and it'll happen week after next, with the launch of Wii," he said, adding, "We don't believe you can expand the market by using a traditional multi-button masher of a controller."

Earlier in his speech, Fils-Aime discussed the success of the Nintendo DS with reference to its performance in the Canadian market. "Looking at monthly sales this year, up until May, we were running about neck and neck with our competition," he observed.

"But since the launch of DS Lite, sales have soared. During [the last six month] period, the advantage in unit sales is about two and a half to one, and DS is the top selling platform so far this year in Canada by a wide margin."

According to Fils-Aime, Nintendo believes it has a mission to "change the central dynamic of this industry", which over the last few years "was becoming consumed by intesifying the game experience along a very narrow path".

"We believe that narrow path was alienating a lot of potential consumers during that time. Almost all publishers and manufacturers were chasing the same class of player; a group that many believe had a seemingly limitless desire for more of the same," he continued.

"We opted for disruption - not ignoring these core players, but looking beyond them; looking for a way to expand the market audience to include new types of players."

The Nintendo Wii will go on sale in North America on November 19, with the European launch to follow on December 8. ...

Speaking at the Montréal Games Summit, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has said that more and more developers are turning their attentions to the Wii - and away from rival consoles.

"We've had a tremendous amount of third party support as we've prepared for the launch. The shift that's been reported in developer focus from those other consoles to Wii truly is happening," Fils-Aime told the audience.

"And Mr Iwata, the entire senior team in Japan, my leadership team in the States - we recognise the tremendous contribution that you have made to the launch of Wii."

Fils-Aime went on to defend Nintendo's decision to bundle the new console with the Wii Sports game, saying, "We talk to business men, we talk to analysts, and they say, 'Why did you do this? You could have easily boosted your bottom line by selling this title.'

"And we say, it would have been off our strategy to sell it - we had to make it available to all of those consumers that'll buy the hardware to have a great first experience."

Fils-Aime believes the arrival of the Wii will herald fundamental shift for games, just as Super Mario 64's 3D graphics did in a previous console cycle. "We believe with the next home console a similar change can happen; and it'll happen week after next, with the launch of Wii," he said, adding, "We don't believe you can expand the market by using a traditional multi-button masher of a controller."

Earlier in his speech, Fils-Aime discussed the success of the Nintendo DS with reference to its performance in the Canadian market. "Looking at monthly sales this year, up until May, we were running about neck and neck with our competition," he observed.

"But since the launch of DS Lite, sales have soared. During [the last six month] period, the advantage in unit sales is about two and a half to one, and DS is the top selling platform so far this year in Canada by a wide margin."

According to Fils-Aime, Nintendo believes it has a mission to "change the central dynamic of this industry", which over the last few years "was becoming consumed by intesifying the game experience along a very narrow path".

"We believe that narrow path was alienating a lot of potential consumers during that time. Almost all publishers and manufacturers were chasing the same class of player; a group that many believe had a seemingly limitless desire for more of the same," he continued.

"We opted for disruption - not ignoring these core players, but looking beyond them; looking for a way to expand the market audience to include new types of players."

The Nintendo Wii will go on sale in North America on November 19, with the European launch to follow on December 8. ...

Electronic Arts has decided not to pursue its plan to port NBA Live 07 to PlayStation 3, deciding instead to focus on the upcoming next-generation version of NBA Street.

That's according to EA Canada PR Manager David Tinson, who told IGN that the developer is "concentrating [its] efforts on creating a spectacular NBA Street: Homecourt". That title is due out on PS3 and 360 "early next year", he added.

In other words, basketball fans will have to wait until the release of NBA Live 08 before the series takes its PS3 bow.

That comes as a bit of a surprise, not least because Sony actually had EA demonstrate the game during its E3 2006 press conference, where Live was one of the few games shown off in playable demo form.

Not that the PS3 will suffer from a dearth of EA titles at launch, with Fight Night Round 3, Need For Speed Carbon, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 and of course Madden NFL 07 down for release in the US on 17th November. ...

Via Eurogamer

Sony has said that PlayStation Portable owners who plan to use the handheld as a remote media player for PlayStation 3, or to use it to play games downloaded from the PS3's online network, will need to download the version 3.0 firmware due out later this month.

In theory that means that Japanese and US gamers won't be able to use this element of the PS3's functionality at launch, but Sony aims to tidy things up pretty quickly judging by reports from the US.

PS3 owners who want to access the PlayStation Network will also be expected to download the version 1.10 firmware for the console as soon as they get it home and plug it in for the first time, with the patch available by visiting the "System Update" area of the system menu in the cross media bar.

Based on our experience with the debug console, that won't be hard to figure out, and reflects Sony's longer term strategy of - much like the PSP - treating the operating system as a work in progress, with a greater range of functionality likely to be introduced in the weeks and months beyond launch. ...