Via Gamasutra

According to the report, the recently redesigned DS Lite took an impressive 60.19 percent of April hardware sales, amounting to 690,000 units and the Nintendo DS made up 12.01 percent of the hardware market share, and 138,000 units. The slimmer and lighter version of the Nintendo DS went on sale in Japan on March 2, 2006 for ¥16,800 ($140). The handhelds' closest competitor was Sony's PSP, which amounted to 11.34 percent of the hardware market (130,000 units).

The best-selling conventional console was the PlayStation 2, with 112,045 units (9.77 percent), the Xbox 360 struggling to break 10,000 units, and the GameCube down at 4,500 units. Interestingly, Nintendo's other portable handhelds, Game Boy Advance SP, Game Boy Micro, and Game Boy Advance, took 2.69 percent, 2.63 percent, and .02 percent of the hardware market respectively, around 61,000 units. ...

Sodr has released a new Homebrew Installer for the PSP which is aimed at new comers, heres the release info:

"What is This ?

This is a tool that you can use if you are unsure where to put your hombrew (it installs it for you automaticlly).

Functions

- Automaticlly install homebrew in the right directories for psps with firwmare version 1.0,1.5,2.0,2.01,2.5 or 2.6.
- Automaticlly install MPH Downgrader 1.0.1 and put all files needed in the right places.
- If you start it and tries to install homebrew on a 1.51/1.52 psp the program will automaticlly ask if you want to update to 2.0
and then install 2.0 update eboot.
- Super user-friendly interface
- Comes bundled with installations of kxploit and eLoader
(patched v0.97 "bock")
- Includes readme's to every program it contains (so it's impossible to fail)
- Every term that can be hard to understand is explained (eg. firmware,
1.5 homebrew format, drive letter etc.)

Installation

Just run the PSPAHI.msi installer and follow the instructions.

--- !!! IMPORTANT: Make sure you install the program to:
--- C:\Program Files\PSPAHI\PSP Automatic Homebrew Installer\
--- Don't install it to somewere else since it will make the program
--- to not work properly. (It should be standard dir while installing)

How to Use it Properly

- On 1.0/2.0/2.01/2.5/2.6:.

Just right click on the eboot.pbp you want to install and choose open with
and choose PSPAHI.exe. (If you like installing homebrew this way you might want to use the "Always use this program to open this filetype"-function.)

Choose your firmware version, select what drive letter your psp have, Enter the name of the homebrew and press "Install the homebrew!". Then you'r ready to rock!

On v1.5

If you have a psp with the 1.5 firmware you got to select the folders containing the eboots manually. To do that just start PSPAHI and follow the instructions you would have used if you were installing homebrew on a 1.0.

But before you click on the "Install the Homebrew!"-button you must select
the two folders manually by browsing for them. Do that by clicking "browse" in the 1.5 window. Then just press "Install the homebrew!" and have fun.

TroubleShooting

If you get an error the problem is almost everytime that the folders on the psp is wrong or the directory on the pc doesn't exist. You can easily fix this by formating you memorystick (everything on it will be deleted so back it up first). Do that by start you psp and go to sttings-->system settings--> format memorystick.

If you get problems on the pc it's probably because you have installed the
program in the wrong directory. Just reinstall it and make sure the install path is C:\Program Files\PSPAHI\PSP Automatic Homebrew Installer\ and nothing else."

The download is a rather hefty 31mb. Heres the Download Link ...

Via Bloomberg

The sales may help Microsoft's Xbox unit turn a profit by March 2007, Sherlund, the top-ranked software analyst by Institutional Investor, said today in a research note. He assumes Microsoft, the No. 2 video-game console maker, will cut prices on the Xbox in a year's time.

The Xbox may outsell the PlayStation 3 because Microsoft's device is cheaper and the games are as good as those on Sony's console, Sherlund said. Losses on the Xbox will also decline as its components become cheaper to produce. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates last week said he expects the Xbox to have a 10 million unit head start by the time the PlayStation 3 debuts in November.

Shares of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft fell 2 cents to $23.15 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. They have fallen 11 percent this year. ...

Agentq has released a new version of ScummVM for the Nintendo DS:

Changes in this version:


Added MP3 compressed speech support (although it can cause the games to slow down)
Fixed save path bug
Improved touchscreen accuracy
Fixed GBA flashcart reading bug
Fixed some graphical glitches
Fixed Loom save bug
Fixed another Loom audio bug
Please note, if you use an SD card, you risk data corruption, as the drivers are not fully stable. Please back up the contents of your SD card before you play.

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

nes6502 has released a new port of the snes emulator Zsnes for the Xbox:

New Features:
-Core switched to the ZSNES WIP 2-28-05 core (big thanks to dohopoki and Consoleman! for help testing this version).

This is much more stable than the code used in 1.2. The result is many games no longer crash (Super Bomberman 2-5, Battletoads/Doubledragon, Super Mario RPG, Blackthorne, and probably others), games that were choppy now run much smoother (Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, Super Mario World, Megaman X, and probably others), Star Fox runs at the correct speed, Chrono Trigger no longer has that annoying screen flash during battles, and all the BS-Zelda hacks now work. Top Gear 3000 does not work very well in this version. Use 1.2 to play this game.

-New logo on ROM browser (courtesy of kiteless)

-Added game Rewind support.

-Changed Direct3D swap effect method from Copy to Discard. This provides a speed increase of about 3-4 FPS.

-Assembled the NASM files with the -09999 switch for more optimized obj files. This should provide a speed increase.

-All new input code. It should be much more stable and hopefully solve all the input problems in the previous releases.

-Player 3/4 support added

-Added option to disable/enable controllers 3 and 4. Disabling controllers 3/4 is necessary for some games to work (example Tetris and Dr. Mario). These games will not run if they detect that a multi-tap (players 3 and 4 enabled) is plugged in.

-Added controller configuration screen (logo courtesy of zenstrom).

-All 4 controller mappings, FPS display, Game Exit, Rewind, Save State, Load State, and Fast forward can be changed. This will allow people not using a controller with analog sticks (i.e. a real SNES controller or the Street Fighter gamepad) to use ZsnexBox.

-Controller hotswapping is now supported. Controllers can now be plugged in/removed/changed at any point during the menu or during emulation

-Added an Options screen (graphics courtesy of Albino and Antiriad)

-Hardware Filters supported:
None
Point
Bilinear (recommended)
Trilinear
Antisotropic
Quincunx
Gaussian Cubic

-Software Filters Added:
HQ2X
Advance MAME 2X (recommended)
Simple 2X

-Flicker Filter can be set to 0 (Off and recommended), 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 (Full Blur)

-Soften display can be turned on or off (Off recommended)

-Sound Frequency can be changed to:
32000 (recommended)
44100
48000

-Added Sound Interpolation option. The choices are:
Gaussian (recommended)
8-Point
Cubic Spline

-Added support for the SNES Low Pass Filter generator. This adds more bass to the game audio. The choices are:
None
Simple
Dynamic
High Quality

-Added option to disable savestates

-Add option to disable menu sound effects.

-All of the above options are dynamic. The changes take affect instantly regardless of whether emulation has started or not.

-Most options (and controller configuration) are saved to the ini file. If the ini is missing it will be created. This is useful to set everything back to the defaults.

-Exiting from a game now goes to the option menu. The user can exit to the ROM browser, change options, and/or resume the game.

-Screen resize uses the blue and red borders if a game is not running. It uses the in game screen if a game is running.

-X, Y, Width, and Height values are displayed on the resize screen.

-Save and Load State can be done from the Options screen. Disable Savestates is the master control for these features. If Save/Load State is assigned to a button, but Disable Savestates is turned on in the options menu, the buttons will do nothing.

-FPS Display can be turned on and off from the options screen. This is the master setting. If FPS Display toggle is assigned to a button, but it is turned off in the options menu, the button will do nothing.

-Directory support. The current path always starts in D:\roms folder

-Rom browsing to all partitions (except X, Y, and Z) on the hard drive and the DVD drive.

-Running from the DVD added. An Xbox compatible image must be made.

-All files saved\loaded from E:\ZsnexBox\sram, E:\ZsnexBox\ini, and E:\ZsnexBox\save. These are created if they do not already exist.

-Rom menu scrolling is much more responsive.

-The in game emulation volume can be adjusted with the right analog stick. Up increases the volume and down decreases it. The current volume level (0-100) will display on the screen during adjustment.

-Set Advance MAME 2x as the default filter. It looks the best (in my opinion) and it is even faster than Super 2XSai.

-Fixed problem where graphics from one game were still displayed along the top and bottom of the screen when a new game was launched.

-Added screenshot support for the following extensions: sfc, swc, fig, mgd, ufo, bin, 058, 078, usa, eur, jap, jma

-Added "Exit ZsnexBox" as an option to the options screen. This will reboot to the dashboard.

-Added PAL video code detection. PAL 60 is used if available, otherwise PAL 50 is used.

...

New Product from SuccessHK
(Preorder thats coming in 10 days)



A portable version of the creature-hunting game by Capcom's Resident Evil Outbreak creators. In Monster Hunter Freedom, challengers take on a variety of quests and conquer larger than life beasts either alone or with the aid of others. Building upon Monster Hunter and Monster Hunter G (both on PS2), Monster Hunter Freedom includes new missions, additional features and content adapted for the PSP system. Adventurers are now free to take their epic battles with them wherever they go, as they explore a unique world inhabited by ferocious monsters and become mighty hunters in this exciting action game. With a multitude of missions, quests, characters, weapons and more, the variety is virtually limitless. The game features both enhanced single player campaigns as well as multiplayer missions via the PSP system's ad hoc mode which allows up to four friends to band together for intense battles.

...

New Product from SuccessHK



This case is a FULL replacement case for the Xbox 360. They include the 360 face plate and a screwdriver to install the case. Easy to install and totally custom design! ...

News from Play Asia:

Weekly Special: Capcom's funky cartoon-style GameCube™ action game Viewtiful Joe at US$ 12.90 only - offer valid for 1 week

From the publisher: Lights! Camera! Action! Welcome to the world of Viewtiful Joe! Capcom's innovative superhero action game that mixes funky cartoon-style visuals with classic side-scrolling gameplay and introduces the world's quirkiest million dollar action hero…Joe! More than just any ordinary dude, Joe must transform into the ultimate superhero. It's up to you to activate the correct view mode like "slow" or "zoom in" in order to clobber your enemies with beautiful style! You can alsospeedupor slowdownyour visual effects for even more "viewtiful" moves. Viewtiful Joe redefines action games by mixing innovative "viewpoint" fighting into an amazing stunt-filled action movie universe!

Capcom's GameCube™ action game Viewtiful Joe is now available at discounted US$ 12.90 only. This is the Japanese first print of the game.

More info --> http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...9-en-84-n.html ...

Via Joystiq

Will Wright confirmed that Spore will be available "on all platforms," including cell phones - and presumably Wii. While Wright did not specifically name-drop "Wii," we must assume that "all platforms" includes Wii. In addition, Wright, by his own admission, is a bit of a Nintendo fanboy: "I'm rooting for Nintendo," he told GameSpy. Despite this statement, Wright was critical of the Wiimote, observing "the way the Wii controller works depends a lot on how close you are to your TV."

Interestingly enough, Wright currently favors the DS as his platform of choice. Any chance Spore will end up on Nintendo's handheld? [Update: Spore has been confirmed for the DS. Thanks, Sense.]

Spore is tentatively set to debut on the PC early next year (April/March 2007). ...