Admittedly, the basic nature of Wii Sports limits the variety of shots you can get, so they all look rather similar.

Still, these look like shots of the final game and, although it's no graphical shocker, you can see in these shots how much Nintendo has polished it's visuals since the E3 version shown in May.

Let's just shut up about graphics on this one though - it's good fun and comes with the machine, so even if you consider yourself too 'hardcore' to like it, your parents and grandparents and little siblings certainly will. December 8 is the big day, guys, and grans.

Screens here ...

Following suit, 0okm appears to have discovered the first, or one of the first, UMDs to require firmware 2.81 — this time it’s Star Trek Tactical Assault!

- source: 0okm ...

I had to update the game. I hated the graphics and it was starting to get to me.

I've made the following improvements:

• Graphics: Lighting, Reflection, Color changes, New menu textures, lots of things...
• Extra sound effects have been added
• New menu option 'View Stats'
• Gameplay slightly more easier
• Camera views edited to give a better perspective

New screenshots:

Menu screen (also demo playing is in the top down view)


Playing game in 3rd person view


Playing game in 1st person view


Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

New press release:

Eidos Interactive, one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, is pleased to announce ZENDOKU, a new puzzle game for PSP and Nintendo DS platforms. Developed by Zoonami Ltd, ZENDOKU blends exciting puzzle battle action with addictive Sudoku gameplay.

Set against a whimsical Far Eastern backdrop with a light-hearted martial arts theme, ZENDOKU offers a variety of colourful characters and a comprehensive range of single-player and wireless multi-player game modes.

Choose your character and use the unique controls of your handheld console to attack or defend against your challenger, or race against the clock, all while completing one of an infinite number of ZENDOKU’s puzzle permutations.

With an intuitive play style, an accessible learning curve, and entertaining character storylines, audiences everywhere can find the path to enlightenment with ZENDOKU.

“ZENDOKU brings a fresh and accessible approach to the enormously popular Sudoku puzzle craze. We look forward to working with Zoonami and take ZENDOKU to a global audience.” said Larry Sparks, Head of Brands Management, Eidos.

“ZENDOKU’s focus is fun and innovation,” said Martin Hollis, CEO, Zoonami. “We’ve turned a familiar paper and pencil game into a puzzling, battling, micro-gaming, fighting extravaganza.”

Screenshots Via Comments ...

New press release:

Eidos Interactive, one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, is pleased to announce ZENDOKU, a new puzzle game for PSP and Nintendo DS platforms. Developed by Zoonami Ltd, ZENDOKU blends exciting puzzle battle action with addictive Sudoku gameplay.

Set against a whimsical Far Eastern backdrop with a light-hearted martial arts theme, ZENDOKU offers a variety of colourful characters and a comprehensive range of single-player and wireless multi-player game modes.

Choose your character and use the unique controls of your handheld console to attack or defend against your challenger, or race against the clock, all while completing one of an infinite number of ZENDOKU’s puzzle permutations.

With an intuitive play style, an accessible learning curve, and entertaining character storylines, audiences everywhere can find the path to enlightenment with ZENDOKU.

“ZENDOKU brings a fresh and accessible approach to the enormously popular Sudoku puzzle craze. We look forward to working with Zoonami and take ZENDOKU to a global audience.” said Larry Sparks, Head of Brands Management, Eidos.

“ZENDOKU’s focus is fun and innovation,” said Martin Hollis, CEO, Zoonami. “We’ve turned a familiar paper and pencil game into a puzzling, battling, micro-gaming, fighting extravaganza.”

Screenshots Via Comments ...

Via Spong

You may remember In2Games for Real World Golf, the golf game where you have to swing a pretend golf club in a realistic simulation of the actual game. SPOnG liked the technology when we first played it earlier last year because it gave a good indication of the possible directions in which proper 3D motion-sensing controlled gaming was likely to go.

Since that time of course, Nintendo has moved into the innovative/quirky motion-controlled gaming market with the soon-to-be-released Wii. So, it was with some interest that SPOnG heard murmurings that the In2Games guys were developing very similar cross-platform controller technology for PS3 and 360.

Is this a potential Wii killer?

According to the blurb on the press release SPOnG just received, this “unique wireless motion sensor system” – codenamed Fusion – is going to allow publishers to develop true cross-platform titles incorporating full motion sensing control.

Unlike the Wii-mote, the Fusion does not involve pointing a controller at a bar on the screen, instead it is based on a combination of patent-pending ultrasonic and RF technologies with three-axis accelerometers that track the precise absolute position and orientation in 3D space of almost any wireless accessory (think golf clubs, baseball bats, tennis racquets, bowling balls) - any small plastic controller item you can imagine really.

Can you see where this is going now? Yes, that’s right. In2Games goes on to claim that games designed specifically for the Wii can now be ported to PS3 and 360 – which is clearly an attractive proposition for publishers, making it far easier for them to recoup their original investment.

“It’s great that the world is waking up to motion sensor gaming,” says Elliott Myers, Managing Director, In2Games (pictured here). “Since we launched the world’s first 3D motion-sensing games back in 2004, we’ve been developing this system for the next generation. Our goal is to allow everyone to enjoy this wholly immersive way of playing games, regardless of which gaming platform they own. We’ve got the best technology, with incredible functionality allowing developers to produce exciting new games specifically for the system – taking advantage of its unique features - or to allow titles which use motion sensing to be published on any platform. It’s an exceptional proposition – for the industry and for consumers. We can’t wait to begin showing it off.”

SPOnG will be getting a hands-on with Fusion in the very near future and we will be catching up with In2Games Elliot Myers for a full, candid interview about his take on the future of motion-controlled gaming.

We spoke to sources at Nintendo in the UK yesterday about In2Games’ Fusion proposition, but they dismissed the technology, saying merely that, “they just won’t have the software support that Nintendo has, end of story.”

Is it really the end of the story? Let us know your thoughts in the forum. ...

Via Kotaku

Last time we posted about the sublime freeware platformer Cave Story and its upcoming migration to the PSP, many of you called me out, claiming that this project by Variant Interactive was widely known to be an unauthorized port. Pixel had apparently decried it. I was so swayed by the collective voice that I urged none of you to buy it.

Christopher Boyer, CEO of Variant Interactive, was wounded to the quick and sent me an email, explaining the situation:

f I might, I'd like to clear up what amounts to speculation from Wikipedia and a couple of folks on Livejournal. The ugliness started with a kid who I suppose is a regular in some Cave Story fan community on Livejournal.com, who sent Pixel an email, or posted on his BBS (one of the two, I'm not sure at this point) about the PSP version. Pixel, who does not speak English, didn't quite catch the gist of what he was saying and told him he didn't know what the kid was talking about. This kid took it to mean that Pixel had never heard of us or what we were doing. Hence the drama bomb.
The truth of the situation is that I've personally been in contact with Pixel, both one-on-one with my mediocre Japanese skills, and through a wonderful translator for the big stuff (and pretty much everything, at this point) since early 2005.

We are clearing each and every step with Pixel before we move forward on just about anything, and are about to wrap up an early build for him to preview and put his OK stamp on.

This is excellent news, and Christopher insisted that they were actually going to be sending Pixel a good chunk of change for the port.

More Info ...

Some of the Playstation 3s we played on at Gamers' Day were just sitting around on tables, like they would be at your house, but others were strapped inside the fancy PS3 kiosks that will be hitting stores in the near future.

At various points throughout the night they needed to revive hot and sweaty consoles. But I only saw them pop one of the kiosks open once. Inside? Another PS3. What the hell? So I'm guessing the one on display is just there for eye candy and to distract wouldbe thieves while the gooey insides of the kiosks actually houses the strapped console.

Screen Via Comments ...

In conjunction with its Gamers' Day event being held in San Francisco today, Sony revealed the first accessories for the PlayStation 3. The initial batch of add-ons for the next-generation console, which launches in the US on November 17, will be relatively modest, consisting of just four devices.

First up is the PS3 HDMI cable, which many high-definition televisions require to display graphics in 1080p resolution. The omission of the cable from the basic PS3 package caused a bit of a stir when it was first revealed in August, and its price probably won't help matters. The PS3 HDMI cable will sell for $49.99, higher than most HDMI cables on eBay (which can go for as low as $9.99), but lower than the "generic" PS3/360 HDMI cable that was listed on GameStop for $99.99. However, since the PS3 has a standard HDMI port, any HDMI cable should work with the console.

Far more affordable is the PS3 Memory Card Adapter, which will retail for $14.99. Though not necessary for saving PS3 games, the adapter is required for loading game saves from old PlayStation 2 and PlayStation memory cards. The PS3 is fully backward compatible with both consoles, and PS2 and PlayStation games will be made available for download Xbox Live Arcade style via the PlayStation Network Platform.

Sony will let gamers purchase extra units of the PS3's Sixaxis controller for $49.99 each. With its built-in Bluetooth wireless connectivity, the PS3 will support up to seven controllers at once, without a next-gen equivalent of a multitap extension.

As it did with the PlayStation 2, Sony is selling the media remote for the PS3 separately. The Blu-ray Disc Remote will go for $29.99 and will provide single-button controls for most of the PS3's media functionality.

Speaking of Blu-ray, Sony is planning to include a single movie on the high-definition format with each PS3 for a limited time, much like it bundled a UMD movie with the PSP in 2005. However, while the UMD film was Spider-Man 2, whose comic-book roots and special effects had undeniable gamer appeal, Sony's choice for the PS3's BD movie--the Will Ferrell NASCAR comedy Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby--will puzzle many. ...