Jeux-France have published some great scans of the new Zelda game for the Nintendo DS, check out the screenshots via the Comments

Post any thoughts on this coming soon release for the DS ...

We have seen the general response from English speakers on Nintendo's console renaming -- from Revolution to Wii -- but how about a foreign market where Wii does not evoke phallic imagery? A friend of ours fluent in Japanese took a gander at the Japanese news site News 19 to gauge the response in the Land of the Rising Sun. Here are the highlights of what he found:
post 39: "Wee is an english baby word for pee or penis according to foreign forums. This might be bad. May be this is why foreigner's response is pretty bad."
posts 47-49: "I think Revolution was a better name."
posts 60, 62: "It is better naming than Revolution."
post 116: "It looks good if you write it, but awkward if you say it."
post 122: "'Can I have Wii.' It's little bit embarrassing to say it."
The other posts are puns "with a drunk noise that Japanese people make (some people say something similar to 'wii' when they are drunk in Japan), associations with the wrestler Stan Hansen (he does not know why, and neither do we), and the "rest are mostly making fun of the fact that it is pronounced the same as 'wee,' or, in Japan when you say yes, you sometimes say 'ui-,' which is similar to 'wii.'" It's fascinating to have some insight as to how other languages are taking to the new name.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/28/fo...sponds-to-wii/ ...

Sony Corporation is expecting substantial first year losses from the launch of its PlayStation 3 console in November, its Q4 financial statement revealing a gloomy forecast for the currently profitable games division.

For the fourth quarter ended March 31st, Sony posted a loss of YEN 66.5 billion (EURO 463 million), 10 million higher than the loss during the same period a year prior. The company attributed the larger loss to changes in taxes paid compared with a year ago, and restructuring expenses of YEN 75.3 billion (EURO 524 million) which were higher than those of the previous year.

The games division remains profitable at present however, and although profits fell by almost 80 per cent to YEN 8.7 billion (EURO 60.5 million), sales rose by 31.4 per cent to YEN 958.6 billion (EURO 6.7 billion). The company recorded sales of 2 million PSP units during the quarter (a slight dip on the 2.5 million a year ago) and 2.32 million PS2s, down from 6.08 million a year earlier.

On a yearly basis, PS2 hardware sales remained relatively static at around 16 million units worldwide, and the increase in PSP units from 3 to fourteen million boosted overall sales significantly, ensuring that the games division remains profitable.

With the launch of the next-generation console in November, which it is widely expected Sony will sell at a loss for at least the first year, the company is expecting to post a loss during the current fiscal year of approximately YEN 100 billion (EURO 697 million), although post-launch costs for the units are expected to be drastically reduced.

According to Reuters, Sony SVP, Takao Yuhara, stated: "We believe that we can lower costs dramatically (on the PS3) through chip shrinkage and by cutting the number of parts but there is no way to avoid high costs in the first year."

The company is expecting to bring the PS3 business to profitability in as short a time frame as possible, focusing on expanding the platform as rapidly as possible following the launch.

Sony plans to sell 6 million PS3 units by March 2007, some four to five months after its global launch, and given the difficulties Microsoft encountered with the ambitious tri-continent launch of its Xbox 360 last year, that target would seem highly optimistic at best - even on the assumption that the component shortage issues that plagued Microsoft's launch are not a factor for Sony.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=16446 ...

I'll let you figure this one out for a change.

I'm exausted from trying to figure out things atm. So now is your turn to figure this picture out.

Enjoy


--edit--
Fixed a missing rdp op in F3DEX, Mario kart now runs. See two screenshots. ...

The latest issue of Famitsu is the last one before E3 kicks off on the 10th (Famitsu is taking next week off for Golden Week). As it does every year, Famitsu has provided a look forward at the show, with a couple of surveys and a few revealing news bits on what we can expect in a couple of weeks.


Famitsu polled gamers and software makers about their interest at E3. Both parties were most interested in Nintendo's new hardware. 47.4% of software makers and 45.3% of gamers expressed interest in Revolution. This topped PlayStation 3, which got 36.8% of the developer vote and 44.8% of the gamer vote. The remaining 15.8% of developers didn't respond to the question. For users, 4.4% selected Xbox 360 with 5.5% selecting "other hardware." The magazine did not reveal the number of participants in the survey.
Developers were also asked to reveal how many secret titles they have planned to unveil at the show. Of the 19 companies polled, 12 revealed that they have undisclosed titles to show, with two listing no secrets for the show and 5 giving no response. Of those with secret titles to show, 5 companies stated that at least one of the secret titles is for Revolution. PS3 and PSP were each listed by 2 companies, with GameCube, PS2 and DS getting one company each. Five companies had secret titles whose hardware they would not confirm with the magazine.

The magazine also provided a list of games set to go on display at the show from some of Japan's biggest publishers. Keep in mind that this list is not complete and only reflects the information the various companies were willing to give Famitsu at the time of its publish.

Of the companies listed in Famitsu, Bandai Namco games had the most titles, with PS2 getting the brunt of the playable offerings. For Xbox 360, Culdecept Saga will appear in video-only, with Gundam seeing its playable debut. PS3 will have Gundam, Tekken 6 and Ridge Racer 7 all shown in video form.

Ubisoft's list of titles includes some big next generation offerings. PS3 will see Assassin and Game V. Xbox 360 will see BIA Hell's Highway, Rainbow Six Vegas and Splinter Cell Double Agent. PS2 and Xbox 360 will see Open Season. Dark Messiah and Red Steel are listed as hardware TBA. Playable/video status of the Ubisoft titles is not listed in the magazine.

Tecmo has revealed to Famitsu just three titles set for the show. Korobot Adventure will appear for the PS2, with Xbox 360 getting Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 and Revolution getting Pangya Revolution. All three titles will be shown in video form.

The magazine lists two Xbox 360 offerings from THQ. Moto GP will appear in playable form, with Saints Row being shown via video.

Koei's next generation efforts are all going the video route. Fatal Inertia and Blade Storm will be shown for the PS2, with Samurai Warriors 2 getting its Xbox 360 debut. The magazine lists Samurai Warriors 2 as playable, but we wouldn't be surprised if this is for the PS2 version.

Capcom has a large lineup of playable titles. Okami, God Hand and Street Fighter Zero Fighters Generation will be available for the PS2. Xbox 360 will have Lost Planet and Dead Rising in playable states. The magazine doesn't list any Capcom PS3 titles.

Square Enix's lineup is current generation only. The company will display Dirge of Cerberus Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XII and Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmeria in playable form for the PS2. Seiken Densetsu 4 for the PS2 will be shown in video form.

IGN expects to see quite a bit more than what was listed in the Famitsu article, so be sure and check back prior to the 10th as E3 2006 kicks off.

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/703/703515p1.html ...

Want to see some PS3 Screenshots of Ridge Racer 7, then head to the comments and check them out:

Give your feedback on them: ...

Bronto has updated his Mail app for the DS:

Today I added SMTP support to NDSMail. This means you can send mails with NDSMail.

Now you can actually send and receive mails on the toilet !!!

I was even able to send mails while I was waiting at the mannheim train station. Thanks T-Com/T-Mobile ! (And, this service is free

For those who want to give it a try (please be aware that it is still an unfinished version, use at your own risk)

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

Bronto has updated his Mail app for the DS:

Today I added SMTP support to NDSMail. This means you can send mails with NDSMail.

Now you can actually send and receive mails on the toilet !!!

I was even able to send mails while I was waiting at the mannheim train station. Thanks T-Com/T-Mobile ! (And, this service is free

For those who want to give it a try (please be aware that it is still an unfinished version, use at your own risk)

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

News from the register

Sony will next month launch its LocationFree TV (LFTV) service in the UK and other key European territories, allowing PlayStation Portable users to receive television programmes transmitted from the home and out across the internet. Mac users are to get access to the service too.

LPTV support is included in the PSP firmware update - version 2.7 - Sony announced this week. The upgrade - due to be posted on the Sony Computer Entertainment Europe website on 25 May - also adds podcast and RSS support, and the ability to handle AAC and WMA music files.

LPTV will be launched in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, where, from next month, consumers will be able to buy Sony's LF-PK1 unit, which streams TV, DVD and other content from AV devices out onto the web. Any LFTV-compatible device can receive the stream and control what's streamed and when.

Already available in the US, the LF-PK1 costs $350 (£196/€281). Sony hasn't said how much the product will cost in Europe.

The unit ships with software for the PSP and PCs. Sony this week said it had licensed the technology to software developer Kaga to port the code to Mac OS X. The software is also expected to be ported to Windows Mobile and other mobile device operating systems, Sony said. In January this year, it said it would offer a software development kit to allow programmers to create LFTV-compatible apps on a variety of platforms.

Again, it's not yet clear how much the software will eventually cost ...