Heres a new console released that will please all retro fans. 20 built in classics from the Master System/Game Gear era, firstly heres the screen of the packaging:
features
Plug & play portable video game system
TV out connection
20 built-in 8-bit SEGA licensed games
Built-in speakers
Function key: start / pause
Direction key: A, B, up, down, left, right
2.4" LCD TFT color screen
Requires 3xAAA size batteries. (battery not included)
The PlayPal Portable is a video game player, which is pre-loaded with 20 classic games from SEGA Master System and Game Gear games. There is no need to buy game cartridges. The high quality 2.4” TFT LCD and built-in speakers allows arcade like playing experience in the palm of your hand. The PlayPal Portable game player has an A/V connector and with the included cable the player can be connected to any TV. The built-in SEGA games provide action adventure while testing your intelligence and skill. Enjoy playing classic SEGA games anytime, anywhere with the new PlayPal Portable video game Player.
Games Include
Ecco Tides of Time
Sonic Triple Trouble
Fantasy Zone
Columns
One of the most famous/entertaining/mind blowing/easy to understand-hard to master game the face of the Earth has ever seen, I'm talking about the Rubik's Cube, is now available for the Nintendo DS.
If you're like me, and could never ever complete it and ended up throwing it away as far as possible...I would like to say, in advance, that I can not be held responsible for any damage done to your Nintendo DS and/or the windows of your neighbours.
Eidos Interactive, one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, is pleased to announce a brand new puzzle title for Nintendo DS, SPY-Q.
Spy-Q is a collaboration between Fighting Fantasy gamebook author Ian Livingstone and award-winning puzzle and game designer Dr. Reiner Knizia who has more than 300 board games and books to his name. Reiner is an expert in algorithmically generated puzzles and has designed some original ones for SPY-Q.
Produced by specialist DS developer Razorback Developments, SPY-Q takes the player on a series of puzzle-solving spy missions, each designed to stretch even the keenest minds to their limit.
n a race against time, players must travel to 16 international cities and solve ingenious puzzles and conundrums to find clues, uncover evidence and unlock secrets to track down the evil Dr. Know. Only when you have completed each mission are you free to jump on your plane to get to the next city to face the next fiendish challenge.
SHE is 89, he is 73 - ages when a gentle game of bingo might seem appropriate.
But Evelyn Robinsonand Harry Callaghan and their pensioner pals are keeping young in heart and mind - competing against each other on Nintendo DS Lite consoles.
Their residential home has just taken delivery of two hand-held consoles. They are now eager fans of games such as Pac-man.
Each of the two consoles - worth about £100 - has been loaded up with the iconic computer game as well as Dr Kawashima's Brain Training game. And all the residents at Sherwood House in Wigan are now taking turns to register top scores on the popular 1980s game as well as boosting their memory and brain power by playing Dr Kawashima's game.
Sherwood House manager Gill Menguy said: "It has gone down really well with residents.
"They really enjoy playing on the Pac-man game and the brain training game is keeping their mind active with questions on maths and other subjects.
Initiative
"We are hoping to get some more games such as murder mysteries, fighting games and football games so there is something for everyone."
The initiative has been introduced by CLS Care Services who run the home.
Harry, who has lived at the home for three years said: "It's brilliant. I could sit here all day and play it. It's quite addictive.
"With Dr Kawashima you are asked all sorts of questions and it helps to keep your brain sharp. The less you use your brain the more it goes." Harry is already is a big fan of PC computer games as he has limited mobility and is particularly keen on interactive detective, adventure and war games.
But after spending a few hours on one of the new Nintendos he is completely converted to the hand held consoles.
Harry, a grandfather-of-six and great grandfather-of-three, who used to live in Kitt Green, Wigan, said: "I wish I had one to myself!"
Mrs Menguy said: "It's something a bit different and makes a change from bingo."
David Yarnton, of Nintendo, said: "No matter what age you are, the simple daily exercises on this console can help to stimulate and reinvigorate your brain."
Sony has scored its second No. 1 in the all-formats software chart with PlayStation 2 exclusive God of War II, says our old friend GamesIndustry.biz.
At No. 2 is the newly released RPG Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, which Chart-Track said is the second fastest-selling online-only PC title after World of Warcraft. Meanwhile the PlayStation 3 version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion re-entered the All Format chart at No. 3 - despite the fact the new PS3 version game isn't being sold by leading high street retailer GAME.
Perennial favourite Wii Play dropped one place to No. 4 while last week's No. 1, Pokémon Ranger, was down in fifth place.
Elsewhere, Sony scored two new first-party new entries with SingStar Pop Hits entering the chart at No. 6, while Buzz!: The Mega Quiz went in at No. 16.
Meanwhile, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dropped from No. 2 to No. 7. Harvest Moon DS was down four places to No. 8, followed by Brain Training in ninth place. Virtua Tennis 3 went up two spots to round out the chart at No. 10.
New entries in this week's top 40 include Diddy Kong Racing DS at No. 13 and Rebellion's Free Running at No. 33. There are several re-entries, such as Sonic and the Secret Rings, Bad Boys II and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
The highest climber is Hotel Dusk: Room 215, which leapt from No. 22 into eleventh place. The week's biggest faller is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time down, from No. 8 to No. 27.
The upcoming DS exclusive Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Sky is looking nothing short of gorgeous. Grainy videos and magazine scans don't do it justice. Looking at these along with the recently released Phantom Hourglass shots makes us wonder if cel-shaded visuals aren't the greatest thing for the DS since the hand crank battery recharger.
We kid, we kid. But it does back up Vicarious Visions' point: the DS isn't a weak system, per se, it just isn't being squeezed for all it's worth.
About 5 years ago I have wrote partial gameboy emulator in C purely for fun, so it never gone public. To try some NDS programming I have just ported it NDS. As there is no DLDI emu realesed for NDS I decided to add support for it and release here. Rom selection menu is based on work done for StellaDS by spathi-wa from r4ds forums.
Some emulator (mis)features:
- no sound emulation
- no or incorrect serial/ir/dma/cpu emulation
- no realtime sync, game will go as fast as it can
- full speed for games that use less than about 50% of GB CPU
However some games are playable anyway.
How to use:
- copy rom files to /lameboy/ dir on your flash card
- run lameboy.nds and select rom
- in game keys:
-- L+R - back to rom select
-- Y - switch fullscreen upscaling on/off
-- X - save persistant ram to .sav file
Note that this is compatible with DLDI, and that the download below is prepatched with just the R4 DLDI file. Patch it for your specific device before loading it onto your card.
Hey, Ive been developing on and off a warlords game for the ds.
Its totally beta, you can move and take over castles and produce units and attack (no animations). the castle stats and production queues are totally random, and the castles are still named castle_1, castle_2 etc... so theres still a bit of work to go
What I was wondering was if anybody had, or could make, some replacement graphics, since atm it its just ripped from my original pc version of the game (like 15+ years old!)
Basic Keys:
L - switch screen to use minimap
R - next unit
X - end turn
drag a unit to move it, or drag the stylus over the stack (right hand side) to split the stack
touch and drag a castle (production units appear on the left hand side) to produce the unit
The DS remake of Final Fantasy III is about to launch across Europe this Friday, but it could have been a different story if Nintendo hadn't stepped in and persuaded Square Enix to go with the DS.
The company's original plan was to release the remake on the old, faithful PlayStation 2. But there seems to have been a bit of a last minute bidding war from Nintendo.
Producer Hiromichi Tanaka told CVG, "Originally we were planning to release the game on PlayStation 2 but Nintendo wanted us to release it on this new platform." Would you rather have it on PS2 or do you think it best suits DS? Let us know your thoughts below.
Shrinking of the least brilliant stars out of zoom 256 and 512 for more legibility (the stars belonging to the lines of the constellations are posted nevertheless if the posting of the lines is on “one”
A ton of optimization of the code
Addition of 9 circumpolar constellations: Small Ourse, Giraffe, Céphée, Coachman, Cassiopée, Dragon, Lizard, Lynx, Small Lion.
Just a little add-on. Completed the routine to enter your name in hall of fame. Only rest to write it into sram (i'm lazy today). But I let here the rom and one shot about how looks it.
In a recent interview, Tetsuya Nomura let slip a few details about the next game in the Kingdom Hearts series. While details about this new project are few and should be viewed skeptically, Nomura did state that it is not Kingdom Hearts III. It is, instead, a side-story to Sora's tale.
Part of the focus of this new story, Nomura stated, will be the events that led to Mickey possessing a keyblade, and what took place in the World of Darkness. Nomura also wants to focus on developing the character of Roxas.
Concerning platform, Nomura mentioned the PlayStation Portable, the Nintendo DS, and cell phones. He also pointed out that the official announcement had not yet occurred, but that it might come in the near future.
Plus people didn't get the actual meaning of this app.
This is a Lucid Dreaming Aid, which tells you words and phrases that your subconsious remembers.
If you're lucky enough, you may see these words inside your dreams!
This is why this is called an aid.
Now, the changelog.
Looping Gif, yey!
Improved the "Stop trying to dream it and dream it" text
Added an animation in the end which was a lot cooler in Flash
Added a replay notice (although it seems to be skipped so quickly)
also, this seems to work on dualis
I'm open to suggestions like adding music that helps you induce LD'ing.
Next version, 1.0, will contain lucid dreaming induced music, so you can leave your ds on the plug and put the headphones so you listen @ night, it will contain more text, the ability to pause the text and music, and more!
Version 0.33: updated drivers (added also G6 v0.19) and corrected drivers name (that prevented installing more drivers if they had the very exact name).
Mollusk has posted new versions of his Sudoku game .
Heres the translation:
My girlfriend is a fanatic of the sudoku, it puts at knee plays DS one after the other, one thus needed enrailler the videoludic haemorrhage… Different sudoku that it tested, only the really intuitive one is a priori that of Dr. MachinTruc. I thus decided to use my competences to make him small a sudoku.
History that it is nevertheless a little interesting to code, it thus reconnait the figures, and one can put small indications if one wants. I began it yesterday, therefore are lenient, it is a first version alpha, I think that all is rather easy to include/understand on the use, therefore I of letting to you test… Moreover, as all sudoku which is respected, it will be based on a system of skins… Still in version alpha, the format will evolve/move thereafter to give more flexibility and possibilities… Here the current format, if ever you want to subject a skin quickly made for next the release Wink
The system of skin uses PAFS since the last version. Put your file png (only format supported, although I could add GIF and JPEG if Ca tries somebody) in the file “Skins”, launch PAFS.bat, and pouf, magic, your skin is included. Attention, that replaces the skins by defect, therefore if you to use this system you will lose the skins by defect: p The limit is with 1Mo for the total of the skins, knowing that a skin takes 100 with 200ko Ca leaves room for manoeuvre I think.
t should be noted that for practical reasons, I could not make test with many people the system of recognition of the figures It bases at 100% on the system of pattern recognition of PAlib. If one of your figures is badly recognized, it is thus enough to come poster here with the figure in question and small the character strings given on the screen from the top… And I will add your figure in the next version. Attention, thank you to subject only true errors of recognition… If your 7 made evil is taken for one 1, it is perhaps “normal” At home the recognition goes perfectly Smiley
Update of May 1, 2007
Correction of the splash on DS
Addition of a dynamic menu/title, I let to you see
More pleasant transitions between the various parts
Update of the recognition of the figures. I could play 2 sudokus of continuation without any concern, then I am content
Addition of arrows to pass from a box to another without having with dézommer/rezoomer… One can also use the pad
Addition of a button of return to the menu
Addition of an effect of zoom for the posting of a new figure
Correction of a bug on DS (posting from small four) when one clicks on a box
Correction of a bug in the checking of end of sudoku, that could plant and erase a figure each time
Posting of a small animation (lack right the sound) when one gains, you will say to me if you like or not
Posting of an error message if the grid is full but false
Addition of the backtracking on the solvor, but it is not dispo since the menu, therefore everyone of fout, But for me it was important, makes it possible to solve the sudokus more than hardcores
Surely of other things which I forgot because I had the flemme to note at the time when I did them…
A Rubik’s Cube Timer, it is created to time time taken to solve the cube (Mine timings are usually between 1 and 3mins so no hours, or milliseconds implemented yet). The idea came after watching speed cubing videos online, we saw they had a special timer which they bang on to mark their completion.
Savsender is a simple EEPROM backup tool for the Nintendo DS. It sends the contents of the EEPROM from a game card to a specified server and IP address over WiFi. This makes it useful for owners of slot-1 devices who wish to backup and restore the EEPROM data from their cards.
In order to use this tool, patch it with the appropriate DLDI driver, install the application, and create a config file on your device
in /data/settings/savsender.conf. This file must contain two lines, as follows:
<server_name>
<server_port>
The app will then send a raw byte stream to that server and port that represents the contents of the EEPROM. Use a tool like netcat to read the data and dump it to a file.
Once you have the data, you'll need to convert it to your card format, and then install it on the device. This I leave as an exercise to the reader, through, for the R4, I can tell you that you must simply pad the file to 512KB and then copy it to your device.
Uwe has released a new version of his app DS Talker which is a talking aid for nonspeaking people.
Heres whats new:
Final Release:
I created several zips to make the download convenient. But ... couldn't upload it because the filesize was to big. Here is the link to the whole package (including source).
Feedback especially on which cards it is running succesfully or not would be nice.
Thanks Uwe
Shash has posted more of his work on the DS Emulator for Windows called DeSmuMe:
Lately I've been quite obsessed with Super Mario 64 DS. First idea to get it rendering more accurately was to fix compressed textures support. I had just finished writing a compressed textures demo when masscat committed fixes to my code compressed handling code on the CVS, so I forgot about compressed textures, as he already fixed them.
After that, I worked on getting transparency and translucency better, so the water and the tree shadows looked as expected. After that, only the holes on some meshes were left, and the sky clipping. The first one was fixed rather easy, as I made a big mistake on my code to change matrices per vertex. I assumed that the matrices were changed at most per primitive, not per vertex! After discussing it with masscat, I just realized my mistake and fixed it in a few minutes (in fact, I had already coded the needed stuff in the past). The second one was just simple depth clipping, so it was easily fixable.
After getting Super Mario 64 DS to render almost perfect (only shadow support missing and some tweaking), I wanted to start the new core. Basically what I call the "new core" is just adding FIFO and Quad Strip reordering support to the current one. The first one is needed to emulate properly the FIFO GFX irq, which are used on almost all advanced 3D games. Without it, games like FF3, New Super Mario Bros, Sonic Rush or Golden Eye:Rogue Agent, would simply freeze. Quad Strip reordering is needed because it uses a different format than the standard PC gfx card one. As I wanted to be sure if the GFX FIFO irq was what made several games freeze (the ones listed above), I just hacked the support, and got some impressive results. In the near future I'll start proper support, but as of now it's fun to see some more games looking perfect.
The launch trailer for Spider-Man 3: The Videogame will have Spidey fans crawling up walls in excitement - look, there it is, running in our video player on the right.
Running for just over a minute and a half, it's wall-to-wall Spidey action with Black Suit Spider-Man on show along with plenty of confrontations with the superhero's arch enemies -Kingpin, Scorpion, The Green Goblin, Sandman, Venom... It's a long list that promises to make this the biggest Spider-Man game yet. Cross fingers it doesn't disappoint.
We'll find out exactly what Activision's achieved with the Spider-Man 3 game when it launches on May 4 (or May 18 on PS3). In the meantime you can read our recent preview for info.
Electronic Arts has lifted the lid on another of its many in-development Wii games, EA Playground (yes, EA is actually in the title); a collection of c-razy mini-games utilising the motion-sensing powers of the Wii Remote.
The Wii version of Playground will sport a roster of frantic remote-waving mini-games such as dodge ball, RC car racing and garden classic swing ball.
There's also a version of Playground pencilled in for DS, with games such as bug hunt and spit balls taking advantage of the DS's stylus and microphone inputs.
"EA Playground is all about capturing the sheer fun of being a kid," exec producer Dave McCarthy told IGN. "We've designed a dream playground full of interesting characters, cool collectables, and most importantly, a mix of easy to pick up and incredibly fun playground games.
"There are some classic favorites in there along with some new twists. It's all packaged together in a meaningful single player "campaign" to play your way through the schoolyard"
It's currently down for a Q3 release in North America and we'll let you know when we hear anything regarding a European release.
80s classic Boulder Dash is making a return to the videogame world in Boulder Dash- Rocks!, which is heading to PSP and DS at the end of the year.
A collaboration between 10Tacle Studios and First Star Software, Rocks! is an action-puzzle game that challenges players with collecting a set amount diamonds while avoiding falling objects, traps and besting enemies in order to open and discover the exit, before time runs out. Not too dissimilar from the original, then.
Helping you out are the likes of bombs and laser guns that can take numerous ammo types which can be used to freeze enemies, blow up boulders and drag diamonds and other distant objects towards you.
Each version of Boulder Dash- Rocks! features five modes of play - including multiplayer - one of these five modes being exclusive to each platform.
Boulder Dash-Rocks! is due for release in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Hironobu Sakaguchi, Final Fantasy creator and founder of Blue Dragon dev Mistwalker, has come out with the quality line regards 'Father of PlayStation' Ken Kutaragi - he says he doesn't like him.
In an interview featuring in EGM magazine's latest issue, Sakaguchi was asked why he had no games in development for PS3. "The machine's architecture is tricky, and I don't like Ken Kutaragi", he replied.
Meanwhile Microsoft, he said, needs to sort out its marketing strategy in Japan, calling the commercial for Windows Vista "terrible".
"There are a lot of excellent games on the 360, far better games than what's on the Wii or PS3. But not a lot of people in Japan have a clear idea what games like Gears of War are all about," Sakaguchi commented.
And as for Wii, he called the system intriguing but explained he has no plans right now to make a game for Nintendo's new console.
IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon has warned that while the success of the Wii and DS will have a positive effect on the games industry as a whole, publishers now face a new set of challenges with regard to producing games.
"Nintendo has always had top shelf first party software, and the Nintendo challenge for third party publishers is to produce titles that can compete with Nintendo's games," He told GamesIndustry.biz.
"The Wii and the DS raise the challenge with alternative interfaces, and publishers with titles that are optimised for those interfaces have the best opportunity to leverage the broader installed base for the DS and for the potentially broader base of the Wii."
Pidgeon's comments came in response to those made earlier this week by Todd Mitchell of Kaufman Bros. Equity Research. He said that the success of Nintendo's consoles "bodes poorly" for publishers, arguing that they now find themselves "in a permanent catch-up mode".
But according to Pidgeon, "Nintendo's success in bringing video games to a wider audience is a strong positive for the entire games industry. On a basic level, more gamers means more sales.
"The idea that Nintendo is bad for third-party publishers is a myth with roots in the 8bit -16bit days when Nintendo and Sega manufactured cartridges and the third party publishers felt they got short shrift in the production line," he continued.
"With N64 and GameCube, Nintendo suffered from a lack of third-party support and most of the third party titles that were published on Nintendo's platforms were slapped together ports of games for other systems."
Now, however, things have changed: "That publishers are eager to seize the opportunities is obvious from the strong third-party support and development investment in Nintendo's platform."
Pidgeon went on to observe that the unique features of the Wii and DS should encourage publishers to develop games specifically for the consoles - and put more pressure on them to ensure the titles are of a high quality.
"With mass market platforms also comes the challenge of more software competition. The publishers that are capable of producing competitive titles taking advantage of the Wii and DS interface will do very well," he stated.
"Publishers that provide quick and careless original and licensed titles or shoehorned ports of games designed for other platforms are going to suffer, as they should."
Amanda Schaffer has written a refreshingly balanced piece about the connection between video games and violence. Instead of regurgitating the typical reactionary voices in this debate, she looks at what scientific studies suggest about the issue. From the article:
'Pathological acts of course have multiple, complex causes and are terribly hard to predict. And clearly, millions of people play Counter-Strike, Halo, and Doom and never commit crimes. But the subtler question is whether exposure to video-game violence is one risk factor for increased aggression: Is it associated with shifts in attitudes or responses that may predispose kids to act out? A large body of evidence suggests that this may be so ... Given this, it makes sense to be specific about which games may be linked to harmful effects and which to neutral or good ones. Better research is also needed to understand whether some kids are more vulnerable to video-game violence, and how exposure interacts with other risk factors for aggression like poverty, psychological disorders, and a history of abuse.
TOMY Corporation and D3Publisher of America, Inc. (D3PA) today announced that NARUTO: Ninja Council 3 for the Nintendo DS™ will ship to retail outlets on May 22, 2007 and that a new NARUTO Nintendo Games Web page (www.NarutoNintendoGames.com) has launched.
NARUTO: Ninja Council 3 is based on episodes from VIZ Media’s hit anime series SHONEN JUMP™ NARUTO™ and features 27 playable characters and mission-based gameplay with more than 60 different missions for up to four players. Available for $29.95 MSRP, the ninja action game utilizes an interchangeable attack system allowing players to combine attack techniques from all available characters to increase their chances of success.
The new Web site will provide NARUTO fans with all the latest information on NARUTO: Ninja Council 3 for the Nintendo DS™ and other Naruto Nintendo games on one website. At this time, users will be able to sign-up for Naruto video game news, pre-order games and view game trailers, with more features to the Web site coming in July.
Philip Corner has posted a release of Maelstrom A game based on "Tempest":
Much of the code for MaelstromDS is the same as that in the original GBA version, the major change being that the DS has 3D hardware built in, and therefore there is no need for the code to transform the scene into 2D lines.
Additionally, the view can be moved by touching and dragging the screen. This is accomplished by capturing the initial touch position, and using this point as the "origin" from which translations are measured. The origin is subtracted from the current touch position, and this value used to determine the rotation (pitch and yaw) to apply to the scene. The value used is actually the average of the last two readings. This avoids shaking of the picture caused by slightly different values being read each frame, which occurs even when not dragging.
Finally, the transparency of the outside of the tunnel is achieved by drawing the tunnel twice. Once with the polygons set to solid and the front faces drawn, then with the polygons set to half transparent and the back faces drawn. This is necessary because the DS cannot correctly handle multiple transparent polygons drawn on top of each other.
Yakumo of Segagaga Domain is releasing the last of his Retro Core retro game show series, Retro Core: Volume 32:
The time has come although I wish it hadn't. Retro Core Volume 32 is the final Retro Core for the foreseeable future. I just no longer have the time to produce the show anymore now that I've become a father. Still, it's been a great 3 years and within that Time Retro Core has covered over 390 games.
In the final volume of Retro Core we take a look at the PC Engine and it's games. There are many PC Engine games that are also featured on the Mega Drive. Retro Core compare 4 of them side by side as well as taking a look at some of my personal favorite PC Engine games from my small collection. As well as that we've got Japanese game adds and the following games.
Dreamcast - Sakura Taisen 3 (Special Promotion movie)
Dreamcast - Shenmue 2 (Special Promotion movie)
Dreamcast - D2
Arcade - Wild Riders
Sega Saturn - Need For Speed
Sega Saturn - Burning Rangers
Sega Saturn - Duke Nukem' 3D
Sega Saturn - NiGHTS into Dreams (Game of the month)
Sega Saturn - Hyper Dual
Mega Drive - Aero Blasters
Mega Drive - Golden Axe
Mega Drive - Valis III
Mega Drive - Zero Wing
PC Engine - Aero Blasters
PC Engine CD - Golden Axe
PC Engine CD - Valis III
PC Engine Super CD - Zero Wing
PC Engine Arcade CD - Garoundensetsu Special (Fatal Fury Special)
PC Engine - Final Soldier
PC Engine - Space Harrier
PC Engine - Download
PC Engine - Paranoia
PC Engine - Ninja Spirits
PC Engine - Pop'n Twinbee
PC Engine Super CD - Psychic Storm
PC Engine Arcade CD - World Heroes 2
PC Engine Super CD - L-DIS
PC Engine Super CD - Shubibiman 3
PC Engine CD - Horror Story
PC Engine Super CD - Ranma 1/2
Mobile Phone - Shutokou Battle Evolution
Mobile Phone - Star Ward mobile Pod Racer
Mobile Phone - Ridge Racer Wide Screen
Mobile Phone - Cotton Magical Night Dreams
History:
* support compress the gba ROM (up to 128Mbit per singal rom) and burn to neo2,when play will unzip it to ram for run.
* support compress the GBA rom (up to 128Mbit per singal rom) and export to SD/MMC/TF through the NEO2 SD ZipTool, then can unzip it on GBA/NDS and play.
* many small improve and debug.
The Supercard firmware has been updated, heres whats new:
Added "SELECT" button to prevent backup save to SD card.
Fixed play DPG black screen problem.
In the cheat code menu, press "SELECT" to Apply/Pause cheat code. (Apply: GREEN text. the same as press L+R+LEFT+START in the game), (Pause: RED text. the same as press L+R+RIGHT+START in the game).
Because some games will display save corrupt message at begin when apply cheat code, so those games should PAUSE cheat code system first, after finish select save slot in the game, player can APPLY cheat code system again.
Such as: 0676 - Castlevania. If cheat code system APPLY at the begin (before select save slot, a save corrupt message will appear, please don't worry about the *.sav file, it's OK, just the message appear). Player should PAUSE cheat code system first, after select save slot and continue play game, player can APPLY the cheat code system again.
It has been a long time i didn’t give any news, so here it is, some news about my progress. I have finally succeeded to improve sound in SNEmulDS. One part has been to work on the sound core (new APU timers, removed speed hacks, put back memory in fast EWRAM) and the other part has been to add a set of emulation hacks that you will be able to play with, thanks to the configuration file.
The way the sound is implemented in SNES emulators for DS bring some synchronisation problems that make sound garbled or make games not boot at all. I found some ways to improve synchronization, but each game need to be tunned differently. For the moment, i have found a way to have good sound with classic Square and Enix games : Chrono Trigger, Secret Of Mana 1, Final Fantasy VI (FFIII in USA/Europe) Terranigma, Illusion Of Gaia. I will let you find the best configuration for other games that have sound problems.
Famitsu.com has put up some new screenshots of the newest Zelda installment for the Nintendo DS, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. With the game due out in Japan next month, there aren't many new revelations, but the new screenshots do confirm what we already know. Phantom Hourglass is going to be a semi-sequel or spin-off of Wind Waker, and for the most part, inherits that game's cartoonish, cel-shaded look.
Being a DS game, Phantom will use the stylus extensively, including drawing arcs for Link's boomerang shots and tracing sailing routes. In addition, the new title will take advantage of the DS's Wi-Fi capabilities as well as offer a head-to-head versus mode.
In the versus mode, players will take turns acting as the attacker or defender. The attacker (pictured left) tries to grab Force Gems and carry them back to his/her base, while the defender (pictured right) uses the stylus to draw patrol routes for three Phantom Guardians in order to corner the attacker.
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is set for a Japanese release on June 23rd, with English versions appearing before the end of the year.
Natsume have revealed some ickle screens and trailers from the upcoming Rune Factory for DS, a fantasy Harvest Moon, where players build a new life for themselves on a farm with the aid of a young woman known as Mist.
After emerging at a mysterious village with absolutely no memory of how you got there, Mist helps you rebuild your life on a far - lovely. Till the land, grow crops, raise animals, catch fish and battle monsters!
Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector (RVLATRS2)
The Wi-Fi USB Connector is a dedicated wireless access point that plugs into a USB port on your PC. It uses your PC to access your existing high-speed internet connection. Multiple systems may be registered to the USB Connector and up to five (5) systems can be connected wirelessly at the same time.
FACT SHEET FOR ALL VERSIONS (Gameplay information based on console and PC versions)
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Based on Hasbro’s TRANSFORMERS property and upcoming live-action feature film from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures due out on July 27th, TRANSFORMERS: The Game lets gamers control the outcome in the battle for Earth as they choose to protect it as AUTOBOTS or destroy it as DECEPTICONS. Players will also experience the unstoppable power and massive scale of their favorite ROBOTS IN DISGUISE such as BUMBLEBEE, BARRICADE and others.
KEY FEATURES:
Protect Or Destroy The Earth – As the TRANSFORMERS robot’s war comes to Earth, gamers make the choice to join the AUTOBOTS in protecting our planet or to join the DECEPTICONS in destroying it. With dual campaigns, the fate of the world is in players’ hands.
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE – Instantly change from a larger than life robot to a high-powered vehicle such as a sports car, fighter jet or helicopter. Seamless transformations leave enemies in the dust or enhance players’ combat strategy with a range of options in both vehicle and robot modes that take full advantage of the characters’ dual forms.
The World Is Your Playground – Players crush, topple and wreck every object, including buildings and vehicles, in their path or use the objects as weapons. It is up to the gamer to decide how best to use their surrounding environment.
Freedom of Choice – An unprecedented line-up lets gamers experience the massive scale, unique abilities and sheer strength of an army of characters from the TRANSFORMERS universe when they choose to play as OPTIMUS PRIME, MEGATRON, IRONHIDE, STARSCREAM, BUMBLEBEE and more.
Variety of Combat – For head-to-head battles, fans engage in melee combat that reflects each TRANSFORMERS robot’s character, scale, weight and power along with melee weapons and special moves unique to each character. The game’s ranged combat offers a wide array of projective weapons designed to take out enemies from afar.
PlayStation® Portable Features – The PSP version features 20 playable AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS, from both the live-action film and previous generations, that battle through an enhanced version of the film’s storyline. Players can customize their character by choosing more than 10 different weapon types in both single and Ad Hoc multiplayer gameplay.
Penny Arcade, creators of the popular online comic strip of the same name, today announced key details about this year's Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), the game- culture celebration to be held Aug. 24-26 at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle.
Providing the PAX 2007 keynote address will be writer, actor and geek icon Wil Wheaton. Best known for his role as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wheaton has gone on to appear in a number of films and become a prolific writer. Wheaton has authored two books, Dancing Barefoot and Just a Geek, maintains a popular blog at www.wilwheaton.net, and is a frequent contributor to a number of game, media and tech Web sites.
One of the highlights of each year's PAX is the Omegathon competition, which pits PAX attendees against each other in a tabletop, videogame and computer game competition that spans all three days of the festival. Twenty "Omeganauts" are chosen at random from pre-registered attendees to compete in the single-elimination tournament, culminating in a final match on stage in front of thousands of their peers. The final game has yet to be revealed (previous final round games were Pong, Atari's Combat, and Tetris), but the grand prize has been announced: a trip for two to the Tokyo Game Show, along with $5,000 in spending cash. The 2007 Tokyo Game Show will be held Sept. 22-23 at the Makuhari Messe convention complex just outside Tokyo.
"PAX has grown by leaps and bounds each year," said Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade, "and the Omegathon grand prize has grown along with it. This year, with a projected attendance of 30,000 and a brand-new venue, we're upping the Omegathon stakes again with the biggest and best prize yet."
Also announced today was PAX 2007 headlining band The Minibosses, known for their instrumental rock covers of videogame music. The Minibosses have covered videogame themes including Ninja Gaiden, Metroid and Super Mario Bros. 2.
Other musical guests at PAX 2007 will include The OneUps, MC Frontalot, Jonathan Coulton, Freezepop, The Neskimos and Optimus Rhyme. Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts/Mythic, Sierra/Vivendi Universal, Wizards of the Coast, NCSoft, Sabertooth Games, Telltale Games, the Behemoth, Namco- Bandai, Upper Deck, Wizkids, ArenaNet, Harmonix and Rockstar top the list of over 50 announced companies exhibiting at PAX 2007.
The World Series of Video Games (WSVG), Presented by Intel, the world circuit of video game tournaments, announced today that a record number of attendees showed up for the kick-off of the 2007 series this week, with more than 25,000 people showing up at the event for yesterday’s matches. This followed on a tremendous first-day turnout of 11,898.
"We were amazed to see such a turnout—there were 2,000 people in line outside who we could not let in,” said Matthew Ringel, president of the World Series of Video Games. “Last year’s event in China was the biggest stop on the 2006 tour with 17,000 over four days, and this year’s attendance numbers offer an incredibly promising beginning for our second season. Next year, we may have to find a stadium!”
The Wuhan event, the first of six events planned for the WSVG’s second season this year, is occurring during China’s “Golden Week” holiday and is one of the official welcome events for the Sixth Intercity Games of the People's Republic of China, the last major sporting event in China leading up to the 2008 Chinese Olympic Games.
Nearly $50,000 in cash prizes will be distributed at this week’s event, which features titles including “World of Warcraft®: The Burning Crusade,” “CounterStrike,” and “Warcraft® III: The Frozen Throne™“
World Series Schedule of Events:
April 30 - May 3 Wuhan, China
June 21 - 24 Louisville, Kentucky
July 5 - 8 Dallas, Texas
Aug. 23 - 26 Orlando, Florida
October TBA Major European city
Nov. 29 - Dec. 2 Jönköping, Sweden
About The World Series of Video Games
The World Series of Video Games is the world’s premier video game tournament circuit, which recently began its second season. In 2006, the World Series of Video Games attracted more than 90,000 attendees, produced 250 hours of broadband video, and 20 hours of programming on CBS, MTV, CSTV and GamePlay HD. Registration for all events, a full list of rules, and all prizing for circuit events is available on the WSVG website at www.thewsvg.com.
iGames, the world’s leading game center organization, is pleased to announce The Gamers Tour, an ongoing series of competitive tournaments and events for gamers who like their summer gameplay hot and fun. Beginning in May and running through the end of the year, the Gamers Tour brings communities of gamers together to experience the excitement of competitive play in the social, fun environments that are iGames LAN centers.
Presented in association with CEVO, who will administer the WAN portion of the competitions, the Gamers Tour finds iGames teaming their elite member LAN centers with a variety of corporate sponsors to offer competitive play opportunities with impressive prize pools for six of today’s top competitive games, including Gears of War™, Halo™ 2, Call of Duty® 2, Counter-Strike™ 1.6, Counter-Strike Source™, and Command & Conquer™ 3: Tiberium Wars.
“With over 600 game centers in the US, Canada and Mexico, we look forward to bringing regional and national tournaments for all gamers to enjoy,” said Robyn Stein, Events Director of iGames. “Just like in traditional sports, localized clubs provide perfect venues for competitors of all skill levels. iGames and the game center industry look forward to supporting the continued development of eSports with the “clubs” of the games industry.”
Prize pools among 3 classifications of tournaments range from $2,000-$20,000. Whether a casual or serious competitor, gamers of all levels can find a tournament that appeals to them.
These classifications include Open Tournaments, which are open to all, on a first-come, first-served basis. Invitational Tournaments, by contrast, are intended for top-placing individuals and teams from previously held Open Tournaments, while Restricted Tournaments are intended for the more casual player and are restricted to teams and players that have placed in a recent Open Tournament.
For the first round of events, the competitions are all open play LAN/WAN events, except for the iZ3D CS 1.6 competition on 7/14-715, which will be online from LAN. For registration and rules, and to get the latest info on the Gamers Tour, visit www.igames.org
2K Sports, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today that Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals All-Star first baseman and power hitter, will be the cover athlete for The BIGS. The BIGS is an innovative, action-packed pick-up-and-play MLB® licensed video game that will be available this summer.
"The BIGS celebrates the heroes of Major League Baseball® and the epic moments of professional baseball," said Erik Whiteford, Vice President of Marketing at 2K Sports. "Throughout his career, Albert Pujols has delivered unforgettable plays at the most amazing times. His larger-than-life abilities and flair for the dramatic embody the spirit we are striving to capture in this game, making Pujols the perfect cover athlete."
"I'm honored to represent this revolutionary new baseball title from 2K Sports," said Albert Pujols. "I've been blessed to have played in some monumental baseball games in my career and it's amazing to see how The BIGS captures the most dramatic plays and brings them to life in a baseball video game."
As the youngest MLB player to hit 250 home runs, Albert Pujols has garnered many accolades in his young career. With three Silver Slugger awards, Pujols added his first Gold Glove in 2006 playing for the 2006 World Series Champions, the St. Louis Cardinals. The bigger the moment, the greater Pujols performs, making him a natural choice as the official representative player for The BIGS.
The BIGS will be available this summer for the Xbox 360TM video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and Nintendo's WiiTM.
It's no secret that several members of the IGN team are big fans of the puzzle/RPG hybrid Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. Released in March for the Nintendo DS and PSP, the game was an overnight success with consumers and media. A version has just been announced for Xbox Live, and the thought of scoring Achievements makes us hungry to start playing the game all over again from level one.
We recently chatted with the game's developer, Infinite Interactive, and publisher, D3, about the success of Puzzle Quest, the future of the franchise, and other projects currently in the pipeline. Infinite was even charitable enough to provide some tips and strategies for Puzzle Quest success. Here we go:
Soccer moms and zombies are big casual gamers.IGN: Were you surprised by the success of Puzzle Quest?
Steve Fawkner, CEO and Lead Designer at Infinite Interactive: Puzzle Quest is actually the 17th game on which I've been Lead Designer, and I find there comes a point usually about halfway through a project when you know if the game you're working on is really good. Puzzle Quest was giving out those vibes very early in development, so we knew we'd stumbled onto something pretty cool, if we could just finish it, polish it and give it all the love it deserved. So, we weren't surprised by its success. What did surprise us though was the lightning quick acceptance and popularity it gained throughout the gaming community within just a few short weeks of launch.
Gamers no longer want to play games that last 60 or 100 hours according to Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack.
"Legacy of Kain had about sixty hours of play, but games have changed. People don't want that any more. I don't care how good the game is, I don't want to play something that's one hundred hours long," Dyack told GamesIndustry.biz in an interview published today.
"If we're going to craft an epic story we decided we had to divide it into manageable chunks for the consumer," he said, referring to Silicon Knights' proposed Too Human trilogy for Xbox 360, the first instalment of which is currently in development. "At the same time we wanted to do a game that it has a chance to evolve and take advantage of development changes.
"We think the future is all about content. By getting our flow of process together for the first game we can then look at it and evolve the way we work for the next games in the series. We didn't want to have to start from scratch again after the first Too Human. Is it gutsy to promise so much? Yes, but making games is hard."
However, Dyack warns that even if you split your story into chunks, you can't expect every player to keep up. "Each game needs to be self contained," he argues. "That was flaw in the The Lord of the Rings movies. Too Human will be self-contained across each game of the trilogy.
"There'll be more background for those that play all three. It's not a hook, it's a promise that if players want something epic, this is where to come. What we're trying to do is create something that moves the industry towards a very content-rich environment. I love trilogy books and series. We've got a lot of things to say in Too Human and we couldn't do it in anything shorter than three games."
Do you agree or disagree with the "Gamers want shorter, better games" comment ?
While it may have trouble prying folks away from their do-it-all GP2Xs, Plezo's new PMG-250 portable media player looks like it could attract the interest of at least a few nostalgic gamers, boasting some game emulation support in addition to the usual audio and video capabilities. Of course, you'll be somewhat limited in your gaming options, with the NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Sega Mega Drive (a.k.a. Genesis) the only consoles supported, although that should still be more than enough to help you re-learn some of those old school skills you may have forgotten. The device itself also looks to be decent enough, with a 2.5-inch LCD, 2GB of internal memory, and an SD slot for some sure-to-be-needed additional expansion. Not surprisingly, this one looks to be exclusive to Korea for the time being, where it'll set you back 169,000 won, or about $180.
We can't say this new DS mod quite gets our hearts racing like the Zelda Wii mod did a couple of months ago, but perhaps that's just because the Phantom Hourglass hasn't hit the DS yet, while Twilight Princess has been epic-ing it up on the Wii since day one. All the same, this new one from Morpheon Mods features a fancy "Zelda gold" paint job, along with a metal sword and shield backlit by a white LED -- hardly pocketable, but sure is fun to look at. The mod is on sale on eBay now, and 15% of the proceeds go towards the Child's Play charity.
Ebay Auction
Impossible Mission will be the first non Virtual Console title to be downloadable from the Wii Shop Channel.
Confirmation came from the pages of the official Nintendo Power magazine, backed up by Nintendo UK.
The remake of the classic Commodore 64 game was announced earlier this year. System 3 will be re-writing the game for today's technology, but will include a retro mode if you wish to lose yourself in gaming's glorious past.
The aim of Impossible Mission is to explore an evil professor's stronghold and put an end to his tampering with national computers. You'll have to race against the clock to search for pieces of a password to gain access to his inner-chambers, whilst avoiding deadly robots and collecting various power-ups.
It's also due out on PS2, PSP, and DS and is expected this summer.
What happens when a butt load of Final Fantasy games start coming out of the Square-Enix hole? Fans want more, even if they are remakes. In a recent interview with CVG, producer Hiromichi Tanaka mostly talked about the remake of Final Fantasy III for the DS, but also revealed what may be sad news for some who wanted this trend to continue:
(CVG): A lot of people are asking whether Final Fantasy VII will ever be available on DS?
Tanaka: The main thing is the timing. If we have time it is possible to do a remake of an original game but because we are at the time where the machines are changing with Wii, 360 and PS3 coming out, the development team tends to work on these games so that's the way things are going at the moment. This is the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy III.
Everyone better hope that Square Enix has a very strict vacation policy or more of these puppies aren't going to be coming out.
I'm sure not all of you share my excitement for Taiko Drum Master for the DS, but it's been a long time since there was a DS game made just for me. The kind of game that no one else in my household will pick and drain my DS battery with.
Now, Namco Bandai have announced that the game will support four players (fantastic for a foreign girl with childish friends). Plus one cartridge can support all the players on DS Download play, so I guess there'll be a DS drum circle every friday in Nieuwmarkt until I get bored of the game (WHICH WILL BE NEVER).
Woe be Nintendo of America today, for Satoru Iwata is very disappointed in them. During an earnings call this week, the head of Nintendo lambasted his American brethren for the red headed stepchildren that they are.
Iwata:
When I received a report from the U.S. that they sold 1 million Pokémon Diamond & Pearl already, I asked them, "why did you sell only 10,000 Brain Age last week, when Europe sold through 30,000?" This is a typical example of how I communicate with our people in the U.S.
NOA, why can't you be more like your brother? The video games industry takes a continual dump on Europe year-over-year, and it still outsells you?
In all fairness however, Iwata is probably just trying to set the table for a crazy DS/Wii 2007 in the U.S. Light a fire under some executives asses, you might say. I assume he smells blood in the water (or the competition hemorrhaging money), and wants to strike sooner rather than later.
Interesting note: Iwata also hints that future Wii Channels could come with a price tag attached. Horse Armor Channel, here we come!
It's becoming a familiar tune, and it's one we really don't mind hearing. Once again, Nintendo is topping the videogame charts in Japan, producing a pinnacle of payload payoff for both Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii. As reported by Japan's Weekly Famitsu magazine (the top source of gaming info in Japan), April 23 - 29 was all about Nintendo once again, as software sales continue to dominate on both the handheld and console fronts. Though specific numbers aren't given, the magazine reported on the top ten list for software sales. The following info is taken directly from that report:
Top Ten Japan Software Sales: 4/23 - 4/29
1. Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS)
2. Super Paper Mario (Wii)
3. Momotarou Dentetsu DS: Tokyo & Japan (DS)
4. Wii Sports (Wii)
5. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Wii)
6. Gyakuten Saiban 4 (DS)
7. One Piece Unlimited Adventure (Wii)
8. Panel de Pon DS (DS)
9. Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (DS)
10. Wii Play (Wii)
So with Nintendo DS currently leading the pack with Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, both systems have five out of ten places on the list, showing an equal dominance of both handheld and console for Japan sales. No specific numbers were given, but we'll have the latest in US and Japan sales as the info becomes available. From the looks of it thus far, Nintendo is starting to take back the industry it's credited for creating, at least in Japan.
Since its release in 2004 there have been more than 40 million DS units sold worldwide. So, while the expected Mario, Metroid, and Zelda titles keep the system in AAA abundance, there's plenty of shelf space to go around, as DS is picking up gamers of all ages and gameplay styles. If you're a fan of mainstream titles, DS has you covered. If you're down with role playing games, again DS has you covered. It seems that while not all gamers enjoy the same type of entertainment, DS has enough style to go around.
Such is the case with Etrian Odyssey. Chances are you either know this game very well, or have never heard of it, as it is one of the most niche titles on DS, and one of the most peculiar - but intriguing - games I've personally played in a long, long time. Atlus is at it again, this time bringing a new RPG hybrid game from the creator of Trauma Center, and though it's tough to give the final verdict right now, we can at least say that Etrian Odyssey is like nothing we've ever played.
Ed Wood appreciation weekend at The Moon Books Project
At The Moon Books Project we are holding an Ed Wood appreciation weekend. In honor of all the underdogs out there who follow their dreams, we have decided to spotlight a specific film maker. Ed Wood, for those of you who are unfamiliar is hailed as one of the worst film makers of all time. He kept on trying, and surprisingly releasing films and following his dreams.
So in honor of Ed Wood, The Moon Books Project has made three of his films available, for watching on the Nintendo DS. Two of these three are 'classics'. Glen or Glenda is a semi-autobiographical film, and Plan 9 From Outer Space holds the distinction of being called the worst film of all time, and has a huge following in the science-fiction genre.
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
As a result of the Japanese Golden Week holiday this week there has been only very few new releases. We did however get a number of interesting Asian & US version games. Also we received a number of interesting new toys and figures.
As usually, here's a summary of all new releases from this week.
Nintendo DS™:
Classic Action: Devilish US US$ 24.90
DS Stand (light blue) US$ 15.90
Headphone DS Lite (black) US$ 9.90
Inner Ear Earphone DS Lite (black) US$ 12.90
Lite Slipon Punching (black) US$ 9.90
Lite Slipon Punching (white) US$ 9.90
Naruto DSLite Silicon Cover & Touch Pen (Black Version) US$ 16.90
Osawari Tantei: Osawa Rina (Good Price) JPN US$ 24.90
SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters DS US US$ 39.90
Touch Pen DS (green) US$ 5.99
Touch Pen DS (orange) US$ 5.99
Touch Pen DS Max (light blue) US$ 5.99
Touch Pen DS Max (pink) US$ 5.99
Touch Pen DS Max (white) US$ 5.99
Sony PSP™:
7 Wonders US US$ 24.90
Face Cover Portable (black) US$ 7.99
Face Cover Portable (blue) US$ 7.99
Face Cover Portable (pink) US$ 7.99
Face Cover Portable (white) US$ 7.99
Generation of Chaos: Aedis Eclipse US US$ 39.90
Lost Regnum: Makutsu no Koutei KOR US$ 49.90
MLB 07: The Show KOR US$ 49.90
Pocket Pool US US$ 34.90
The Cube US US$ 24.90
The Fast and the Furious US US$ 39.90
Xbox360™:
Guitar Hero II with Guitar ASIA N/A
Xbox 360 Faceplate (Forza Motorsport 2) US US$ 24.90
Xbox 360 Memory Unit (512MB) US US$ 49.90
Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit (Black) US US$ 24.90
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (Black) US US$ 49.90
Xbox Live 12-Month Gold Card (Halo 3) US US$ 49.90
F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon US US$ 64.90 PC & Mac™:
Sakura Taisen 4 ASIA US$ 19.90
Sora No Kiseki - The Legend of Heroes VI ASIA US$ 24.90
Sora No Kiseki - The Legend of Heroes VI [Limited Edition] ASIA US$ 34.90
Toys & Misc:
Arcadia Magazine [June 2007] JPN US$ 12.90
Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo Kaze no Ushiro wo Ayumumono - Kazeko (1/10 Scale Painted PVC Figure) JPN N/A
Dragon Ball Mini Big Head Figure Collection JPN US$ 2.90
Famitsu Wave DVD [June 2007] JPN US$ 16.50
Fate/Hollow Ataraxia 1/6 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Rider (Swimsuit Version) JPN N/A
Fate/Stay Night Pre-painted PVC Action Figure - Saber JPN US$ 20.90
Figure Meister Air Gear Feat. Girls Trick Trading Figure JPN US$ 7.90
FineScenery Witchblade 1/7 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Amaha Masane JPN US$ 54.90
He is My Master 1/7 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Sawatari Izumi JPN US$ 59.90
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ Ultimania JPN US$ 25.90
Naruto Ninja Accessories Candy Toy - Strong Wind Transmission JPN US$ 4.49
Nohohon Anniversary (5 Million Sales Achievement Limited Color) N/A
PlayPal Portable Player US US$ 29.90
Sakigake!! Otokojuku Mini Big Head Figure Collection JPN US$ 3.49
Sakura Taisen 1/10 Scale Pre-Painted Heroine Figure Collection : Sakura Shinguji JPN US$ 39.90
Shakugan no Shana 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Shana (Noir Ver.) JPN US$ 50.90
Shining Tears 1/8 Scale Painted PVC Figure - Blanc Neige JPN US$ 54.90
Solid Works Collection DX Gunslinger Girl Figure Collection JPN US$ 7.99
Solid Works Super Robot Taisen Original Generation - 1/8 Scale Pre-painted Figure: Serena Recital JPN US$ 59.90
Super Mario Bros. Plush Doll Gum Candy Toy JPN US$ 3.90
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu 1/6 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Yuki Nagato (Bunny Girl - Black Ver.) JPN US$ 61.90
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu 1/6 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Yuki Nagato (Bunny Girl - White Ver.) JPN US$ 61.90
Sweet Dreams Shunya Yamashita Sakuhinshu 1/7scale PVC Figure - Rosanna JPN N/A
The Art of Shunya Yamashita 1/7 Scale Pre-Painted Figure: Mirei San JPN N/A
Witchblade 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Amaha Masane (Big Blade) JPN US$ 64.90
Witchblade 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Amaha Masane (Pain Clothes Ver.) JPN US$ 48.90
Video Game related Soundtracks:
Boku To Watashi No Renai Jijo - Miwaku No Miracle Ido JPN US$ 27.90
Elvandia Story Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Kirakira Idol Rikachan Sunshine Live Tour JPN US$ 11.90
Persona 3 FES Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 18.90
"Nintendo will take strict legal action against businesses that are earning unfair profits by selling illegal copy machineries and downloading pirated programs," goes the first statement Nintendo's Korean subsidiary has ever made regarding the rampant problem of copyright infringement in their country.
An industry insider asked about the issue by the Korea Herald says an unspecified "machine" can copy DS games, and the titles have been uploaded to websites. It's worth noting that this situation is not specific to Korea; such a setup is also easily obtainable in other territories, including North America. Perhaps less prevalent is Korea's other problem: illegal copies of game software for all three of the big console makers are available below legitimate retail cost in electronics malls.
Nintendo Korea expects to engage in enforcement actions with the help of the police, targeting web sites where illegal copies of Nintendo software is made available. A company official, Sung Hoo-jung, said "On the request of the Korea Game Industry Agency, Nintendo has entered Korea to help the Korean game industry grow into a profitable market. However, increasing software copies and illegal downloads have dampened profitability. This can hamper the development of the game industry."
A report published by market intelligence firm Niko Partners, specialists in the Chinese game industry, states that the country's video game market saw spectacular growth in 2006.
The report found that revenue from the overall video game market jumped by 68% last year, with the online gaming sector generating USD 995 million in revenue, an increase of 74% from the previous year.
Unsurprisingly, the report singled out China's booming internet cafe culture as the main driver for this growth. The introduction of free-to-play massively multiplayer online games - in which players pay for virtual items - has, according to Niko's managing partner Lisa Cosmas Hanson, further stimulated this trend.
"Chinese gamers pour into the cafes every day to play online and LAN games with friends. They spend money in the games on virtual gifts for friends, services for their characters, and virtual items to help with leveling," said Hanson. "The intertwined nature of China's Internet cafes, social gaming culture, and few entertainment alternatives at a low price point, will continue to be the basis for strong growth through 2011."
But the Niko report goes on to paint a picture of overall good health for the Chinese market. Sales of offline PC games, mostly from Taiwan, rose 28.5 per cent to 904,000 units in 2006. And alongside the 20 million PCs in China's 225,000 internet cafes are an increasing number of consoles, although these are all grey imports, console hardware currently being prohibited in China.
Hanson added: "If a game company can get an impressive game or console to market in China, the gamers there will embrace it. That said, getting a product into the market is not easy. The complex regulatory environment in China is still the greatest barrier to entry for foreign game companies."
China added 3.4 million gamers in 2006, reaching a total gaming population of 37.5 million, 90 per cent of whom play online games. Niko projects this number to increase to 71.9 million gamers by 2011.
Respect Picross DS. We know it looks dull but this simple-looking puzzle game is so addictive it will take over your DS-playing life for months, and it's out next Friday, May 11.
It's tough to explain, but the idea is that the grid stages conceal a hidden picture and, using the numbers around the outside of the grid, you have to figure out which blocks to chisel away to reveal the picture. And it's HARD AS NAILS.
Old-school Nintendo fans may remember the original, Mario Picross, which was released on Game Boy in 1995, and is one of our favourite GB games of all time.
Look out for Picross DS on shelves next Friday for £29.99.
Hottest game in Japan? According to Amazon, it's SNK's witch toucher Doki Doki Majo Shinpan. The game was previously known as Doki Doki Majo Saiban ("Throbbing Witch Trial"). A quick summary: Search for witches lurking in a junior high school. When the search is narrowed down, the suspected junior high school witch is examined with the touch pen. Usually, there's a "witch's crest" hidden somewhere on her body which can appear in "Witch Check Mode."
The DS game isn't out until July, but it's already topping Amazon Japan's "Best Seller" list. It's more popular than Final Fantasy Tactics and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. No, really! Over on the Doki Majo blog, the game's producer writes that he can't believe this has happened and gives out a big thank you. This crazy little game could be SNK's biggest hit in like forever.
- A main menu, thereby giving the game a beginning and an end
- A high score (the best my mates can get is 64. Try and beat it )
- A cancel button for holds ('bout time too)
- Some trail minigames
- Updated nudge mechanics for the trail
- A couple of updated graphics
- Everything flashes when you win!!
- Other things, i'm sure.
I updated DS TrimDrop to version 1.1. It has one really nice new feature you could now drop zip files on it. TrimDrop will then decompress the zip to a temporary directory and trim all nds files that are in the zip to the directory where the zip is located.
Jan Kampling has updated DLDI Drop another app for Mac DS Users:
I don’t like to use the terminal for every homebrew I want to test so I decided to develop a little droplet application for Mac OS that could sit in your Dock or your Finder toolbar. You drop the homebrew on it and get a list of devices to patch the homebrew for, choose one and done. You could copy the patched app to your card.
Version 1.5.1
small bufix for PowerPC users
Version 1.5
add preferences
possibility to choose a standard device that should be patched
choose if DLDI Drop should auto quit after patching
X-Blaster has released a Meteorite game for DS, heres the translated info:
The principle: The planet has mana (unlimited for the moment) which one can expel of planet with L or R. the goal is to agglomerate the particles in order to make some of enough large to push back or destroy the meteorites (yes one can just push back them and turn over them against other meteorites).
dSTAR sequencer is a MIDI Music sequencer for the Nintendo DS. It inherits and expands upon functionality from famous x0x style sequencers of the past, and the present including the Elektron Monomachine and the Radikal tehnologies Spectralis. In contrast to these two sequencers, dSTAR is available as free software for your Homebrew Enabled Nintendo DS. For MIDI output it relies on a dserial device (see http://www.natrium42.com) or a wifi connection to a PC using libDSMI (see http://dsmi.tobw.net/).
Nutki has been busy and released a few updates to his Gameboy/Gameboy Colour emulator for the Nintendo DS:
How about this, two releases per day. Now Zelda Oracle of the Ages/Seasons goes ingame.
Pokemon G/S still hangs during save for some reason.
Changelog:
0.4
- fix for Zelda Oracle hang after first screen
- implemented GBC tile in foreground priority attribute
Here comes first lameboy quickfix. It does not help for Zelda Oracle´s nor Pokemon G/S saves though.
Also forgot to mention in the first post, maximum rom size is 2MB (16MBit) because it has to fit in DS RAM. Same applies to roms stored in .zip files.
0.3
- "ADD SP, #xx" instruction fix, (helps many games compatibility including Pokemon Card 2 and DK Land)
- CGB HDMA bug fixed
- MBC type 0x13 correctly recognized (now save works in Pokemon Red/Green/Blue)
- added some powersaving when NDS closed during emulation
0.2
- zipped rom support
Download and Give Feedback and Compatability Reports Via Comments
It's the bank holiday weekend and that means when you're not getting stuck in traffic, complaining about the rubbish weather or stuffing your face with fish and chips at the seaside, you've got a whole THREE days to spend playing games. So, here's hoping there are some decent releases today, eh?
First on the list this week is Spider-Man 3 - which is released on every format under the sun. While our definitive review will appear on IGN later today, from what we've seen previously, Spider-Man 3 isn't too far removed from Spider-Man 2 but with fancier graphics on Xbox 360 and PS3 - and, of course, Peter Parker's floppy new fringe.
Moving away from the more 'emo' Spidey, we come to the extremely cute Eledees on Wii. Originally released in America last year, it was lauded for its inspired use of the Wiimote. However, several months on and the novelty of shooting Pikmin-style creatures and chucking furniture around the room has worn off a bit. As such, we scored it '6.5', concluding that "for all its off-kilter charm, Eledees is simply too shallow an experience to hold attention for extended periods of time".
If you like a little more depth to your games, then you're in luck with Final Fantasy III on Nintendo DS. Technically it's extremely impressive and one of the best-looking games on the system. However, while the graphics have evolved, the gameplay hasn't. IGN US scored it a "good" '7.8' and noted: "Just know that the game definitely has its flaws, lacks a ton of DS presentation, and can be incredibly difficult despite its downright entertaining core".
Another handheld release sneaking to stores this week is Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops on PSP. Once again, Snake stars in an extremely impressive stealth title and IGN US applauded the game, awarding an outstanding '9.0'. "It's been a long time coming, but this is what Metal Gear Solid fans, and indeed PSP fans have been waiting for," roared our US comrades. "A title that demonstrates what the technology of the PSP can actually do, with a solid action title to boot."
Elsewhere this week you can also pick the up PSP version of Tony Hawk's Project 8 which scored a disappointing '6.0' and Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom on PS3, which only managed a passable '6.5'.
Enjoy your bank holiday and try not to get sand in your DS slot for goodness sake.
Earlier this year, Nintendo pegged a June 4 North American release date for its Opera-developed DS Web browser, trailing behind the software's European and Japanese debuts of 2006. As in both of those territories, the software will arrive in two packages: one compatible with the original DS hardware and one with the redesigned DS Lite.
However, North American stores will be stocking only the DS Lite edition of the browser. Web-wanting owners of the original DS will have to order it online. A representative of the company told GameSpot that "a version of the Web browser for the original Nintendo DS will be available online, while a version for Nintendo DS Lite will be available at retail."
The online store of GameStop is currently offering preorders only for the DS Lite edition of the browser, which it has tagged with a $34.99 price. A complete list of sites that will sell the original DS browser is not yet available, but the Nintendo representative did say it would be carried on Nintendo's own Web site.
This is not the first time Nintendo has kept one of its offerings from the aisles of most brick-and-mortar outlets. Last year, Nintendo released the DS music title Electroplankton exclusively through its online store, the Nintendo World Store in New York City, and "major online retailers."
Spider-Man 3 allows players to experience the actions of heroic red suit Spider-Man, and for the first time ever, his darker, more mysterious black suit persona. Set in a 3D side scrolling world and delivering complete touch screen handling, players must draw upon Spider-Man's vast array of moves, attacks and upgrades as they choose their path and embark on a wide variety of city-based missions and multiple movie-based and original story arcs. Additionally, Spider-Man 3 for the Nintendo DS features local wireless multiplayer gameplay featuring with a variety of modes enabling awesome two-player head-to-head challenges like Brawler, Hot Potato, Target Practice, and Combo Challenge.
"Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura recently told Famitsu that the next installment in the Kingdom Hearts franchise won't be gracing consoles and won't even be Kingdom Hearts III. Instead, portable gaming enthusiasts look to be the ones who are lucking out, as he said the next title in the franchise will be another spin-off set to grace handheld platforms. "[It] would be hard to choose if to make the game for the PSP, NDS or the cell phone," he said, leaving us a bit puzzled in the statement's wake.
Why would it be a hard decision? For one, a spin-off title from the franchise already released on the GBA, so there is some familiarity with Nintendo's hardware on his side. Plus, the Nintendo DS is the hottest handheld on the market, so wouldn't it be in his company's best interest to bring it here? Sure, we can understand the difficulty of deciding between the DS and cell phones, but we really don't think the PSP is in the running much, unless it looks to be a graphically-heavy title."
Yeah, the map editor is still in beta, you can edit castle details etc... which is what i used to get the data from the original warlords. Its more to just import a tileset and then import the map to see what the tileset looks like, although i am updating it slowly so you will be able to edit tiles etc...
I will add save game support, Ive added a lot of new things since even the first post and will continue to update the binaries on that website as I go. If you grab the new rom you'll see ive changed the font, added details to the minimap and added text to the production queues etc... It also now has the proper castle data which it didnt have originally.
It also has a title screen and proper menu front end now as I get graphics from Lobo.
Once I finish all the main game functions (its mostly playable i just have to make it more user friendly, fighting animations, add end conditions and save game support) I'll also be adding AI (which ive kinda started on. The computer is really stupid atm, it basically just moves towards castles and attacks units it sees. Needs a lot of tuning.
Electronic Arts (EA), the company behind the Harry Potter video games, set up a "Fan Council" last year to get feedback on what people would most like to see in the upcoming Order of the Phoenix game. The first meeting of the council was in August 2006 and last Thursday the group was invited back to see what had been achieved in the intervening eight months.
Charlotte, HPANA's correspondent in the UK, made the trip and filed the following report.
Our day started at 10 a.m. with all the fansite representatives gathering at EA's new studios in Guildford for breakfast. There were many familiar faces among the EA team but unfortunately no Matt Birch (the extremely enthusiastic game producer was missed by several of us who met him last time).
We were officially welcomed to the studios by Harvey Elliott, the game's executive producer, who emphasized how important the feedback they've received through the Fan Council has been. The team checks the forums on the various fansites regularly and they've been really pleased to see your reactions to the screencaps, interviews and videos as they've been released. Harvey also showed us the opening sequence for the OotP game: A camera follows Hedwig through the courtyard, into the entrance hall and around Hogwarts, before coming to rest on Harry's arm in the Gryffindor Common Room (GCR). When we visited in August, only the GCR had been completed in any detail, so to see that the rest of Hogwarts was now completed to the same high standard was fantastic.
Producer Justin Manning and designer Chris Roberts then told us about what the team had been working on in the last eight months. They have:
Built 70+ Hogwarts locations, Little Whinging, Grimmauld Place and the Ministry of Magic from movie blueprints and set photographs.
Designed and implemented 60 missions (examples include finding a book on healing balms in the Library after a detention with Prof. Umbridge, and playing games such as exploding snap, gobstones and wizarding chess).
Created 90+ characters to meet and interact with. Over 9,600 lines of dialogue have been recorded and 22 actors from the movies are voicing their characters. The dialogue includes a mixture of lines from the book, the movie and some new material written by a professional scriptwriter (which they've tried to ensure is in character).
Made the game on eight platforms in 23 languages.
They also talked about what they've learned from you, the fans:
You want to play more of the story
You want to meet the characters you love from the fiction
Characters should be like they are in fiction
You want Hogwarts to look and sound like it does in the movie
You want to explore Hogwarts and use magic
You want to see the ghosts and talk to the portraits
You want to go to classes
You want to play wizard games
You want elements that the film leaves out
To respond to these concerns the number of characters has been dramatically increased since Goblet of Fire. There are students from various houses, both male and female; and there are ghosts (including Moaning Myrtle who looks after the "Room of Rewards") and portraits to interact with. Dialogue from the book is there including Hermione's famous remark that Ron has the "emotional depth of a teaspoon", and music from the movie soundtrack is ever-present as the rights to Hedwig's Theme were licensed.
DCEmu via its Wii-News and Gamecube Emulation Sites are proud to present the first Dual Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Gamecube Coding Competition. This Coding Competition will hopefully ignite a mass of interest for creating homebrew and emulators on the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Gamecube.
In the Tsutaya store in Shibuya, the worst used Nintendo DS system in Japan -- nay, the world -- was on display in a locked glass showcase. The little sign on it reads:
* No box
* No instruction manual
* No stylus
* No strap
* No AC adapter
* Scratches on case
* Scratches on screen
Which is an understatement. The screen was positively filled with light surface abrasions that spiraled out from the center. ("Oh, so it's been Ouendanned," said a friend when I told him this.) And there are several more deeper scratches in the screen. And that's not even mentioning the clearly visible thick brown dirt and waste products caked inside the hinges. And how much did this complete piece of junk cost?
Ten thousand yen. Literally almost $100.
This is the situation Japan is in right now, where the DS is so popular and desired that your broken garbage can fetch stupidly huge amounts of money.
This question mark block has extended its form into the fabled third dimension! This mysterious realm of depth is unexplored by either 8-bit explorers or Perler bead artists. This bold scientific discovery promises to usher a new age for Super Mario Bros. crafts!
Shown above, an artifact from the third dimension, looking very much like one of our own question mark blocks, but somehow composed of many two-dimensional blocks working in tandem to form a strange array of squares. These squares exist simultaneously in the normal two dimensions and in the newly-discovered third! This is a hypersquare.
This question mark block has extended its form into the fabled third dimension! This mysterious realm of depth is unexplored by either 8-bit explorers or Perler bead artists. This bold scientific discovery promises to usher a new age for Super Mario Bros. crafts!
Shown above, an artifact from the third dimension, looking very much like one of our own question mark blocks, but somehow composed of many two-dimensional blocks working in tandem to form a strange array of squares. These squares exist simultaneously in the normal two dimensions and in the newly-discovered third! This is a hypersquare.
Hello Today, I decided to offer to you the first version of my project Latinus DS which I recall you is an application being useful has to learn Latin with the lessons from M.Arnoux, my Latin teacher since 5th!
It has some debugging code in it to try and get to the bottom of the freezing during thinking bug. On the top screen you should see some numbers progress across the bottom line, e.g. '01234'. If it freezes, make a note of this number and let me know. I've made some changes to fix some possible freezes, so we'll see I guess. I've made a lot of internal changes to the code so I may have inadvertently broken some other things too.
Other things fixed in this version:
In Time Attack A mode, if you unlock the level you are now advanced to the next stage when your time runs out.
In Time Attack modes, you now get some time back depending on the length of word you submitted.
You can now tap a checked out letter to remove it from the current word.
Low time warning sounds weren't being played after you ran out of time and started a new game.
As regards the word list. Well it's not perfect but it does the job. I'm happy to add words that are missing but I don't fancy compiling a new word list. If someone wants to do this then fine. Make sure each word is on separate line, is in lower case and send it to me.
Primetime00 has released a new version of Aim for the DS:
Alright, DSAIM 0.03e is now out. Here are the following changes that I can remember:
* Recompiled with newest devARMkit and dswifi 0.3d
* Compiled for DLDI
* Hitting up or x simulates the shift key
* Hitting left or y simulates backspace
* Hitting right or a simulates the return key.
* Custom network settings are now saved in /DSAIM/DSAIM.CFG
* Accounts are saved in /DSAIM/DSAIM.ACC
* Saved accounts can be scrolled through using the up/down or x/b keys
* Password fields are now hidden.
Make sure you use the correct DLDI file so that writing to the flash device works.
Hopefully it fixes some of the problems you all have been having.
Enjoy
Fixed (thanks to Caydr for reported alot of those) :
* Animated 2D objects were inverted
* Animated 2D objects had artifacts
* infinite turning when not using touchscreen (be sure to select ‘DS Pad only’)
* invisible robots are now see-through
* fixed loadgame menu not displaying all games (removed the savegame’s image)
* fixed end level sequence not using the proper texture for the planet’s surface.
* fixed end level sequence displaying cross hair.
* fixed ‘misaligned twin grate’ problem.
New stuff :
* New menu navigation scheme :
o A - accepts
o B - cancel
* Customized menus for DS (removed joystick options, etc.)
* New in-game menu
o Allows access to options menu, load/save game and abort game
o Enter using Start, freeing Select to be used
* Can now use touchscreen keyboard to name savegames (oops)
* Fully customizable HUD including user defined softkeys (see readme.txt)
* Removed the multiplayer submenu (for now…)
* Substantial speed increase in more visually complex levels.
We knew it was only a matter of time before we had 16GB of SDHC goodness staring us down across the internets, just daring us to make the first move, but we just didn't know it would be so soon -- and so expensive. Apparently MICRODIA is prepping a range of SDHC memory to be launched in Japan this month, including a pair of what sound to be the world's first 16GB cards. They're all aimed pretty squarely at performance, with 4 and 8GB Class 4 52x cards; 4, 8 and 16GB Class 4 82x cards; and 4, 8 and 16GB Class 6 160x cards. The latter will cost you dearly, with the Class 6 16GB SDHC pictured above selling for a whoppin' $3,500. When you put it that way, our collection of 4GB SDHC is treating us just fine, thankyouverymuch.
1up has a feature today asking games industry heavyweights what their 'desert island game' would be. Games from the Civilization series are backed by the likes of Sony's Phil Harrison, David Jaffe, and Bethesda's Todd Howard, while Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has waiting-for-rescue fans among a number of the list respondents. Bioware CEO Ray Muzyka has an interesting answer to the question while talking about his pick: StarCraft.
" It's an unusual choice for me in that I'd normally pick a role-playing game. But StarCraft has a strong campaign editor to make new content (including making either combat-oriented or story-based campaigns), plus you can play both the solid single-player campaign and against the A.I., and -- here's the trick -- you can play on a LAN or WAN (you said no Internet, but didn't mention local or wide area networks...my goal would be to build a WAN -- I'd explain how, but that would be telling -- connecting other folks similarly dropped onto nearby desert islands by other videogame online sites, who are equally eager to play some competitive multiplayer RTS or try out the campaigns I've created to kill time on the long days where there's nothing else to do but collect coconuts and build rafts."
So, assuming that you have everything you need to play, what game would you want to take with you into seclusion?
Give me Command and Conquer Decades, Starcraft and the Theme Park/Hospital/World Games and im happy
Spider-Man 3 allows players to experience the actions of heroic red suit Spider-Man, and for the first time ever, his darker, more mysterious black suit persona. Set in a 3D side scrolling world and delivering complete touch screen handling, players must draw upon Spider-Man's vast array of moves, attacks and upgrades as they choose their path and embark on a wide variety of city-based missions and multiple movie-based and original story arcs. Additionally, Spider-Man 3 for the Nintendo DS features local wireless multiplayer gameplay featuring with a variety of modes enabling awesome two-player head-to-head challenges like Brawler, Hot Potato, Target Practice, and Combo Challenge.
Electronic Arts announced they have three standalone Sims “stories” titles lined up and in Sims: Castaway Stories players explore a tropical island with their Sims. A PC game was announced with a winter 2008 release target and according to Gamefly console versions are coming out too. They have listings for the Sims 2: Castaway for the PS2, Wii and Nintendo DS. This isn’t too hard to believe since the Sims series immensely popular and they released the Sims 2: Pets on most consoles.
Ever wanted to have a glimpse of the development hardware used by game developers of the last generation? Well, today is your lucky day to set your eyes upon these rare gems! Above is the Microsoft XBOX Alpha Development Kit, followed by the Sony Playstation 2 TOOL Development Kit, the Nintendo GameCube Dolphin Development Kit, and last but not least the Sega Dreamcast 'Katana' Development Box. Some of these could sure have one wishing they could not only "look" but also "touch" at the same time.
This version aims to improve in sound and graphics. As the emulation becomes more and more complex, it is more and more difficult to add new features without breaking the emulation overall, so some new feature will not be enabled by default for all games. The configuration file select which features are enabled or not, and becomes very important (so don’t forget to put it in the root directory!).
I tried very hard to improve sound, and i succeeded to get much better musics in some games, but there may still some “pops” or “cracks” sometimes, and the sound can slowdown or goes mad in some rare circumtances (the ARM7 seems not powerful enough).
A new menu has been added : the GFX config menu, this menu offer a simple way to change the GFX behaviour in real time. The emulation is not stopped like in the options menu, you can enable/disable several features and see which ones are better for the game. (See README for more informations)
Here is the list of changes
* Changed the Sound timers, now the timers should be a bit more accurate and removed the timers hacks
* Moved back the Sound RAM in the fast ARM7 RAM, removed unused code from ARM7 codes
* Now support sprite address change during frame (limited to two addresses by frame), this makes Ogre Battle much more playable
* Left handed people can now enjoy the SNES mouse option (right buttons can be used like left joypad).
* Options can now be saved in configuration file
* New SNES config menu
* Fixed some bugs
Optionnal feature (enabled by configuration file):
* Added sound synchronisation fixes, this is a set of flags that make ARM9 slowdown or make ARM9 wait for the ARM7. Those options make Square games (and other games) sound much better, but also break sound in other games. So this option is available through the configuration file. I only changed for the configuraiton file for Chrono Trigger, SOM1 and FFVI. You will have to modify the configuration and test the options for other games.
* Added priority per tile for BG3, by detecting if there are more low or high priority per tile at each line (see README)
* Added priority per tile for BG1 and BG2, by using the fourth DS layer. Low priority tiles go to fourth layer, and high priority per tiles (this idea was taken from SNESAdvance). This option is useful for SOM1 and FFVI (set it to BG2).
* Sprites priorities can now be changed. See configuraiton file for more informations. The default is 1123 but 1223 makes some games look better (like Castlevania IV first level for instance)
Be sure to patch it with DLDI and place the SNEmul.cfg file on the root of your card. A prepatched version for the M3 Simply and R4 is available here, but for other devices DLDI must be applied.
Download and Give Feedback & Compatability Reports Via Comments
What is httpexec? It's basically DS Download Play over HTTP. It combines the work of EyeballKid's HappyHTTP library and GrizzlyAdams' exec_stub from DSChannels with a bit of glue code written by yours truly. It's meant to be used as a development tool to decrease the time spent between when you recompile your project to the time you see it running on your DS with no card swapping in between.
v1.1 fixes some problems with v1.0 that occurred when booting some programs that used the ARM7 for various things (wifi and the touchscreen to name two). Certain programs would work fine even if they did use a bunch of custom ARM7 code, but most programs I tried would not. Since this is what I wanted to use to make development easier for myself (no card swapping! yay!), I naturally wanted to fix this problem. Anyway, GrizzlyAdams' exec_stub proved to solve this problem nicely, so that is one of the changes in this version.
Currently, the only real issue I've experienced is a bit of a delay while the exec_stub is working. I'm 99% sure this is caused by a call to FAT_FreeFiles() in exec_stub.arm9 just before it boots the NDS binary, but haven't really looked into it (currently, I'm just using the same, unmodified, exec_stub binaries from DSChannels beta5).
Anyway, the readme.txt included in the download explains usage, etc. But, to sum it up, basically you just DLDI patch httpexec.nds and exec_stub.arm9 for your slot1/2 cart and modify httpexec.conf as necessary, and you're good to go. This release works perfectly with my DS-X and Supercard MiniSD (scsd_moon.dldi).
Please let me know of any issues if you find any, otherwise... enjoy!
Alex06 has released a collection of games but the project has no name :
This project is a partial port of the Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection on Nintendo DS.
6 puzzles are ported now: Bridges, Dominosa, Light Up, Mines, Patterns and Tents.
Controls on each game:
- Press A to start a new game.
- Press X to undo your last move.
- Press Y to display help on rules or controls, or to display game status.
- Press Start to play another game.
- Press Select to restart current game.
- Press left/right button to switch between left/right click mode.
Levels are generated on the fly, so you can't play twice the same game !
It can take time to generate puzzle (about 5 seconds), so please be patient.
Payk has released NDS-MD2Loader, heres the release info:
I have seen many projects for NDS which are using MD2 in a VERY UNEFFICIENT WAY. Loaders like that one from Ethos which render a mesh directly from a binary stream and do not care that float is very lame for NDS. I decided to release my MD2 loader. It was seperated from my WolveSlayer engine by Smealum. I added normalmapping support and cleaned it a bit up. Smealum provided some sample stuff (example code, texture and md2) and i modified it slighty. You can download it and use it as you like, but do not remove credits.
Smealum has posted a new release of his Game for the DS:
Well well well… After having made a large hunting for the bug during all the afternoon, I succeeded in compiling drinkable a Alpha version of the play, and considering that made a long time since the last release (one month and half it seems me…), I decided to make this version public. This version requires a compatible chart DLDI, to install it, follow the instructions being in the readme. It is a version alpha, therefore very far from being complete; moreover it is very buggée (do not make me ANY remark on the menu, I am well-informed perfectly, do not make any you…: p), but finally… Then, as usual, keys: - D-PAD: to move. (To jump High) (to change object in the menu of equipment) - Stylet: to aim or open the menu of equipment. - R: Only: Kick; With stylet: to draw (it is necessary to be aiming to the stylet and thus to have a weapon equipped) Note: High + Right or left = long jump. High only: high jump. The play turns much more quickly than front, but some decelerations can intervene at the time of “battles of mass”: p Do not make any you, it will be règlé. I believe that I said all… If you have any question or any bug to be deferred (except on the menu…), do not hesitate, post here. Note: It is possible that the play plants by chance when you die or finish a level. (it remains on a black screen)
Nutki has released a new version of his Gameboy / Gameboy Colour Emulator for Nintendo DS:
Hello,
New lameboy release again. Still no sound and some games may run worse than before (I know of Montezumas Revange, reports on other broken comtibalibility comparing with 0.4 welcome). Some games may run too fast now (Bomb Jack runs up to 120 fps).
Sound is somehow tricky as I would have to deal with arm7 programming and there was no sound support in the original PC version of Lameboy.
Changelog follows:
0.5
- changed: new faster display method (with triple buffering), may cause visual
glitches with games using pallette based effects
- added: fps display
- fixed(?): video modes emulation, helps for some games but messes with others
- added: rom selection menu sorting, key repeat and position history
- fixed: inverted GBC sprite priorities
Shigeru Miyamoto, the famed Nintendo game designer who was recently picked as one of Time's 100 most-influential people, says he could have made Halo, had he wanted to. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Miyamoto reveals that he is not interested in making the games people want -- he's trying to make the games people don't even know they want, yet.
"I could make Halo," Miyamoto says. "It's not that I couldn't design that game. It's just that I choose not to. One thing about my game design is that I never try to look for what people want and then try to make that game design. I always try to create new experiences that are fun to play."
Shigeru MiyamotoThe designer also shares his unique approach to market research. Instead of focus groups and demographic analysis, he watches the expression on a gamer's face while his game is being played. "When I show a game to people I don't ask their opinion or give them a survey. I just watch their eyes and their face while they play. Do they smile? Do they look frustrated? So I guess I do test my games -- but it isn't very scientific."
Sometimes his sense of what gamers want to play isn't 100% accurate, as the disappointing sales of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess in Japan show. Miyamoto believes the audience for an epic, hardcore adventure game is shrinking, which could mean we can expect more casual games from Nintendo. The designer says Twilight Princess is selling "okay" in the U.S.
"Rumours are going around the internet that Alone in the Dark 5: Near Death Investigation will be heading to the DS, along with versions for the home consoles and PC. The latest entry in the survival horror series sees Edward Carnby fighting for his life in Central Park. We'll get an episodic story and the chance to hot-wire a car in a minigame.
Atari is also bringing at least five other titles to the DS: Tabaluga 2, Lucky Luke: Go West, Asterix Olympic Games, Cooking and Fashion Academy. Something for everyone then, and a real treat for image conscious chefs who like French cartoons."
D3Publisher of America announced today that it will release Ben 10: Protector of Earth to the Nintendo Wii, DS, PS2, and PSP this fall. In the game, players take on the role of tyke turned hero Ben Tennyson as he uses the power of the Omnitrix to change into one of five alien forms and save the world from arch-enemy Vilgax.
“Ben 10: Protector of Earth authentically portrays characters from the hit animated series, including Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max, evil Kevin 11, the Forever Knights and even Ben’s arch-enemy Vilgax,” said Careen Yapp, vice president of licensing and business development for D3PA. “The Omnitrix’s most popular alien heroes will be accessible as playable characters, and a familiar summer vacation storyline including all-new locations and content for players will immerse gamers in Ben’s world like never before!”
“Taking the action-packed world of Ben 10 to the next level and creating an immersive gaming experience for our fans is really exciting for us,” said Christina Miller, vice president of Consumer Products for Cartoon Network Enterprises. “D3PA has a proven talent for turning Cartoon Network’s popular characters into authentic and well-designed video games. The variety of powerful action play in Ben 10: Protector of Earth will engage players of all levels and keep them coming back.”
The DS version is in development at 1st Playable Productions, while other versions are being handled by High Voltage Software.
We saw the unveiling of Transformers: The Game back in March and weren't too impressed, but Activision promised, with a lengthy response, that the game was early in development and numerous improvements would come.
Looking at this new trailer , some graphical improvements have indeed been made. The robots look detailed and shiny, and the game seems to sport a typically next-gen blurry lighting effect.
Spider-Man 3 hit cinemas last week, alongside the massively disappointing game, but Activision's not stopping there as the firm launches a teaser site for Spider-Man: Friend or Foe.
Activision is holding back on details for now - having given CVG the swift "no comment" when we called - and the official site isn't packing much in the way of info, not even specifying formats for the title.
"A new twist on the Legend. A new take on the movies..." is all the site hints, along with placing the game's release at fall (autumn) 2007. Let's hope its much better than the Spider-Man 3 game, eh?
Legendary Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto has told Entertainment Weekly that he believes Twilight Princess didn't do well in Japan because there are fewer and fewer people interested in playing big RPGs.
When asked his opinion on why Zelda isn't doing well in Japan, Miyamoto replied, "Well, I think a lot of people who bought the Wii are not necessarily the types of people who are interested in playing that kind of game. And a lot of the people who would want to play it [due to chronic shortages of the console] can't find a Wii! But mostly, I think it's that there are fewer and fewer people who are interested in playing a big role-playing game like Zelda."
In the interview Miyamoto also expressed his wish to create a game that makes those darn kids respect their elders: "In Japan, there are a lot of trains that have sections reserved for the elderly or pregnant women. Young people in Japan sometimes sit in them, but if people come up and need them, you are supposed to get up. But most of the kids don't! It really upsets me. If I could build a game that somehow made the young people respect their elders...
"And there is another issue bugging me. In Japan there are a lot of people who freelance or work under the table - people who don't pay any taxes. I look at places in the world where people understand that paying taxes to the government helps society. In Japan there's not that understanding. So [social responsibility] is yet another issue I might address in a game. But I probably sound like an old man when I bring these things up."
Twintale Entertainment (www.twintale.com) has launched a free contest on their Twintale Game Store site (www.twintalestore.com) to win a Sony TV. Everyone signing up for their newsletter is automatically registered for the contest. Participants in the contest can improve their chances of winning by referring friends to the game store.
The Twintale Game Store has a large collection of free game downloads of the latest casual games on the market.
The prize for the contest is a 32" BRAVIATM S-series LCD Flat Panel HDTVKDL-32S2010 worth $1,399 at the contest launch. For each game Twintale Entertainment sells via their game store they add an amount of the revenue to the prize pot. When the prize pot reaches $1,399 the contest ends and a winner is randomly drawn. To start off the contest Twintale Entertainment has put $100 into the prize pot.
Each subscriber to the Twintale Game Store Newsletter automaticlly receives a single ticket to the draw. For each friend the subscriber refers, that also subscribes to the newsletter before the contest ends, the subscriber gains an additional ticket. No purchases are required to participate in the contest and making purchases at the game store does not increase the chances of winning the TV.
To avoid fraud and spam Twintale Entertainment will remove subscribers from the contest that refers owners' of e-mail addresses that are not their friends.
Oxygen Games™ is finally ready to spill the beans about its enigmatic title, King of Clubs. Possibly one of the most eagerly-anticipated games that nobody knows anything about, King of Clubs features a whole lot of brain-engagin’ fun. In fact, it’s the best in the west!
Never the same game twice, this absorbing and addictive, off the wall mini-golf-based puzzler requires players to use their ingenuity to play their way to victory and lucrative rewards, whether strategically, tactically or by being a downright dirty dawg…! Players must collect, unlock, buy or hire rewards to enable them to complete a variety of puzzles across five themes, on more than 95 holes to build up their equipment and skills. Not only that but with seemingly endless ways of completing each puzzle, King of Clubs offers enormously long-lasting playability.
Set in a dilapidated theme park in the middle of the Nevada desert (rumours abound that it is built on the site of an old nuclear waste site…but we can ignore that), King of Clubs looks like a cross between an amateur theatrical production and a kitsch vintage Americana playground paradise for jerky-lovin’ trailer trash! Complete with pteranodons on poles, spaceships on string and wobbly waves (plus so much more!), each themed world comes complete with its own quirky resident pro/boss, whom players must beat in order to advance to the next level before ending up in a showdown with the top guy himself, Big Bubba King.
An excited Big Bubba, entrepreneur and owner of Big Bubba’s Burger Bar and Truck Stop, where King of Clubs is based, enthuses:
“It’s a real darn’ tootin’ thang I tell ya – them there players kin git ‘emselves all kinda groovy stuff by playin’ alla mah games. There’s a shedload ta choose from an’ a ton o’ ways ta complete ‘em too. But ah should warn ya – that King Putt over near them big tranglier things…he kin be a real Bastet, so ya may wanna watch out fer him!
Y’all haul yer asses o’er here this summer an’ I’ll make sure our Britney gits ya somethin’ real hot…! Oh, an’ ah hear tell it’s possible ta git a hole in none too.”
Somewhat more comprehensibly, Oxygen Interactive’s publishing director, Kevin Hassall says:
“We’ve managed to take the mental challenge traditionally associated with puzzle games, and create a fresh, really quirky social experience that’s perfect for the way people play games today.”
With multiple game modes and the choice of matchplay or strokeplay for up to four players using either a multi-tap or sharing two controllers, plus the chance on every hole to score a one-shot win, King of Clubs will be available in August for PC, Wii™ and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Nintendo DS™ and PSP® (PlayStation ®Portable) system versions will follow shortly thereafter.
The ultimate pinball game is about to hit the Nintendo DS and this time it is set in the vivid and exciting sci-fi world of the Metroid franchise. In Metroid Prime Pinball players venture onto exciting Metroid Prime themed tables and take control of Samus Aran in her morph ball form. Whether you are a pinball or Metroid fan you can now enjoy classic pinball in the palm of your hand, all with a sci-fi twist as Metroid Prime Pinball launches itself across Europe on 22nd June 2007.
Inspired by the successful Metroid franchise, which has defined the action game genre for nearly twenty years, Metroid Prime Pinball allow players to experience a whole new pinball sensation, only on the innovative Nintendo DS. With tables spanning across the dual screens, players follow the pinball action whilst controlling numerous flippers to keep the ball in play. Metroid Prime Pinball also allows players to bend the rules and tilt the table using the innovative touch screen. To really make players feel part of the action, the game even comes with a free Rumble Pak, which will vibrate in time with bumps and explosions.
As player’s have come to expect from games in the Metroid series, Metroid Prime Pinball is jam packed full of secrets to uncover. Hitting certain points of a table will allow players to venture into one of many mini games featuring enemies from the Metorid Prime series. Here they must take on Shriekbats in Shriekbat Shootout, battle their way through Beetle Blast and overcome games like Triclops Terror in order to increase their score. Players can collect points and bonuses to improve their scores by defeating enemies, collecting items and guiding the ball into ‘hard-to-get-to’ areas of the table, all while keeping it safely above the flippers. Metroid Prime Pinball also features the all time classic pinball mini game – Multiball! Introducing three balls to the table at once, allowing players to earn jackpot points.
Metroid Prime Pinball features two exciting single player modes for players to experience, with stunning effects like rain environments and water reflections. In Multi Mission mode, players can unlock four bonus tables based on worlds from the franchise, such as Phendrana Drifts. Collecting artefacts and completing challenging objectives in the mode allows players to progress through the game’s tables and ultimately open the final level where the big enemy boss, Metroid Prime, awaits. Players can also select their favourite table and challenge the highest score in Single Mission mode.
If that isn’t enough of a challenge, Metroid Prime Pinball also allows players to compete with up to seven others simultaneously using Nintendo DS’s wireless capability in Wireless Mission mode, and all from just a single game card. Think you have the skills to take on and defeat your friends in a lightening-fast game of pinball? Well now you can prove it by setting a target score, which your friends must beat to take the glory.
Metroid Prime Pinball flips across Europe on the Nintendo DS on 22nd June 2007 for the estimated retail price of around €40 (£30 in the UK).
Spanish publisher Virgin Play’s current game portfolio will be distributed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland by Hamburg-based publisher dtp entertainment. Both companies today announce their co-operation.
The current distribution deal includes Spanish cult game “Torrente 3: El Protector” (PC, PS2), “Final Armada” (PSP, PS2) and “Dead’n’Furious” (Nintendo DS).
“We are glad to co-operate with a new and strong partner who will add innovative games addressing mainstream gamers to the German market. We are continuing to expand our 3rd party distribution services in Germany, Austria and Switzerland”, says Steffen Hippe, Sales Director, dtp entertainment.
“This is an important step in Virgin´s international expansion. We are extremely pleased to be working with dtp and are confident that our products will achieve nothing but success in their hands.” said Virgin´s Managing Director Francisco Encinas.
The Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC), today announced that semiconductor manufacturer, Intel, is once again the main sponsor of Europe's most important platform for developers, the GC Developers Conference 2007. Intel has been supporting the conference since 2004. From August 20-22, 2007, this year's conference brings together the international game development industry for the fifth time, right before Games Convention.
In actively supporting the GCDC for the fourth time, Intel underlines its important role for European developers. "Europe has a tremendous pool of talented game developers," said Arne Peters, segment manager consumer software & solutions Intel EMEA. "Europe deserves its own platform to share experiences, thoughts and views and information. GCDC is an important international conference and its success grows each year."
In talks and workshops, Intel will be presenting new multi-threading techniques and development tools at GCDC 2007. "Our long-term partnership with the GCDC offers us the ability to strengthen our cooperation with game developers and thus makes it possible for us to better respond to their needs and expectations," Peters continued.
"GCDC and Intel have a long history of cooperation, and with Intel we again have a strong partner for the international development community," said Frank Sliwka, project director GCDC
Nintendo's Pokemon Ranger for the DS is still at the top of the charts in Italy and Spain, for the week ended April 29.
Titles for Nintendo's best-selling handheld take up six of the top ten spots in Spain, with Hotel Dusk: Room 215, Dr Kawashima's Brain Training, Horsez and New Super Mario Bros. all performing well in the region.
Ubisoft's release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the PlayStation 3 has seen success in the Italian market, taking the number two spot on it's first week of release, while Atari continues to do well in the region with three Dragon Ball Z titles in the top ten.
Codemasters' MMO The Lord of the Rings Online: The Shadows of Angmar has entered the German charts at number one for the week ended April 22. Other PC titles enjoying success in the market include EA's Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and Blizzard's World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.
The top ten best-selling games for Spain, Italy and Germany follow:
Spain, week ended April 29
1. Pokemon Ranger
2. Hotel Dusk: Room 215
3. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
4. Wii Play
5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
6. Horsez
7. New Super Mario Bros.
8. Animal Crossing: Wild World
9. Metal Gear Solid; Portable Ops
10. Pro Evolution Soccer 6
Italy, week ended April 29
1. Pokemon Ranger
2. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
3. Pro Evolution Soccer 6
4. Who wants to be a Millionaire: Party Edition
5. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
6. Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaiachi 2
7. Grand Theft Auto Vice City Stories
8. UEFA Champions League 2006 – 2007
9. Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 Platinum
10. Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaiachi Platinum
Germany, week ended April 22
1. The Lord of the Rings Online: The Shadows of Angmar
2. Harvest Moon
3. Pokemon Ranger
4. The Lord of the Rings Online: The Shadows of Angmar
Via GameSetWatch, a link to the official blog for the animated film Castlevania: Dracula's Curse. The story for the film is being written by the iconic Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, Planetary), and the blog has tidbits of information from the writer about what we can expect with the film. Encouragingly, the movie is very much not aimed at children, will probably be just the first of a planned trilogy, and is generally based around the story from Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. From the GSW post:
"He explains, grinning: 'To make it work as a film, I had to introduce new backstory, and I went through five drafts of the premise and three of the full outline to get the material where [Koji Igarashi] wanted it. He remains absolutely passionate about Castlevania. After eight rewrites of pre-production material, I remain absolutely passionate about beating the crap out of [Igarashi] in a dark alleyway one day.'"
A while back I mentioned that Square-Enix was coming out with some "practical" games for the DS, and now the screenshots have surfaced for these gems of learning. World Walking series, Why Not Listen to Classical Music on DS?, and Flower Blooming DS: Gardening Life are set to come out, with Flower Blooming with the only semi-confirmed release in Q3 of 2007. These throwbacks to the Nintendo Touch Generation games will unfortunately be released in Japanese, which is predictable, but I often wonder why the only similar game that has been released in English has Brain Age. Not that it is norm, but I know people of my parents' generation who have picked up DSs of their own because they saw it in Costco and now are at a loss for finding other learning games. And, besides going to Costco, their hobbies happen to include travel, gardening, and listening to classical music. I see a market, folks! Let's turn these bad boys into English.
With brain training games being old hat, Japan is craving for something new. Enter comedy training games. Ha. Developer Skip has created Arukime DS, a two to four player game. In fact, it's not possible to play the game alone! (Well, you can play it alone, but you'll need two DSes.) A question is posed, and the other players write funny or witty answers in a certain time limit. Gut busting responses are then selected, and the funniest ones get points in the form of cushions. Game is out in Japan mid-July. Sounds hilarious.
Welcome to GBAX2007, the biggest handheld coding competition on earth, joint run by http://www.gp2x.co.uk and http://www.emuholic.com/. This is our 5th year and we hope it will be the biggest ever! During the last 5 years we have given away thousands of dollars in prizes, have had over 200 entries submitted, some of which went on to become commercial games, others to be developed into excellent free software.
Prizes are:
1st place - A next-gen handheld of your choice (GP2X, PSP or DS) + $250 + accessories
2nd place - A next-gen handheld of your choice (GP2X, PSP or DS) + $100 + accessories
3rd place - A next-gen handheld of your choice (GP2X, PSP or DS) + accessories
And of course you all get tens of thousands of people trying your software, including people from the industry, magazines, online websites and more. If you are looking for a job in the games industry this is the place to show your work. Whether you are planning to enter or are just browsing we are sure you will enjoy the competition and testing out the entries in July.
Some fresh screens for Brothers in Arms have emerged from the trenches, dirty and tired from battling evil dictators abroad, but now they may finally rest. They're home in the loving eyes of fanboys alike. And, these screens offer some more variety than the previous ones on offer, allowing us to get a peek at different aspects of play, which makes us more excited for the title than when it was first announced.
Elite Beat Agents was for all intents and purposes a sequel to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan -- new songs, vastly upgraded features, etc. And Ouendan fans in Japan are so crazy about the game that they're snapping up copies of EBA, even though it was produced for the US market. There are a couple stores in Tokyo that sell import games, but EBA is a special case -- it's being carried by most of the major retailers, none of whom actually carry American games. That they are all making an exception for EBA really says something. Even a tiny little family-run shop that I visit had EBA.
Oddly, even though prices vary a lot from store to store in Akihabara, Elite Beat Agents was exactly 4980 yen everywhere. I wonder where these stores are getting the game?
Well, if you weren't quite convinced that Final Fantasy III DS was worth getting excited over, then try this on for size: rumor has it that the same team has taken on an update of Final Fantasy IV -- one of three Final Fantasy titles heralded as a contender for the title of best game ever.
Whereas the original FFIII was passed over for a U.S. release and featured, prior to update, a nameless band of warriors, the next entry in the series originated many of the qualities that turned the franchise into a global powerhouse. The game debuted the Active Time Battle system and featured an epic storyline that's still held dear in the hearts of RPG gamers everywhere. It's been remade several times -- most recently (and we mean recently) for the GBA -- but a remake using the FFIII engine could give the game new life and improve the only thing that needs to be improved, which is the graphics.
If this is true (and it wouldn't surprise us), we'll most likely hear confirmation on it soon, since the Square Enix Party is this weekend in Japan. According to the rumor, the game is nearly finished as well, so if it's coming, we won't have long to wait.
- Fixed text on the objective screen for Time Attack B.
- Fixed spurious inputting of a space in easy difficulty.
- In Time Attack A, if there are multiple longest words, you only have to find one of these to unlock the next level.
I'm using 2of4brif.txt as my word list from the 12dicts package. I'm only using the 3 to 8 letter words from this list so I've got around 33,000 words.
Again, if people want to play around with the words lists from 12dicts or another source to make a better or more comprehensive word list, then by all means go ahead. If people want to inspect the word list, then PM me and I'll send you a copy.
JimmyL has posted a new version of his bomberman style game for the DS:
Hi all,
Here's another update. I've added teamplay and some stat tracking. The server can choose whether or not to enable team mode on the main menu with the 'X' button, and players can switch teams between rounds with 'Y'.
I don't know if anyone wants this, I made it to make setting up emulators easier (I can never think of a good keyboard layout) and testing buttons on a real nds.
Dragonminded has released a new version of his Web Browser/Personal Organiser for the Nintendo DS:
This is a minor maintenence release. The two big things on this release are dldi auto-patching, and the fix for some mp3s and most mp3 streams skipping.
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has told Entertainment Weekly that Nintendo was disappointed with the results outsourced development on newer Namco and Sega produced Starfox and F-Zero games, saying that the titles failed to live up to expectations.
"In the past we've worked with some outside development houses on titles like F-Zero and Starfox — and let me just say that we were disappointed with the results. Consumers got very excited about the idea of those games, but the games themselves did not deliver."
His comments came during an interview which reiterated many of the points he delivered to the industry during his GDC keynote in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, urging developers to follow their instincts and the reactions to players when making games.
When asked about the risk-averse attitudes of American games publishers, he answered: "With rising budgets, I understand why game companies have a great deal of concern if they don't design games in this way. But you need to create what you want to create! In that sense, I would really like to see people develop games like I do. When I show a game to people I don't ask their opinion or give them a survey. I just watch their eyes and their face while they play. Do they smile? Do they look frustrated? So I guess I do test my games — but it isn't very scientific."
He added: "I could make Halo. It's not that I couldn't design that game. It's just that I choose not to. One thing about my game design is that I never try to look for what people want and then try to make that game design. I always try to create new experiences that are fun to play."
It seems Sony has been the receiver of good news lately, and the latest comes in the form of Australia sales figured for the PlayStation 3. Despite being released three months after the Nintendo Wii, Sony has sold only 1,000 units less. Gaming site, gamer.blorge.com reports that as of last quarter, Sony has sold 27,000 PlayStation 3s down under.
Sony's latest console has also been the largest revenue generator compared to the Nintendo Wii and the Microsoft Xbox 360, pulling in AUS$27 million. However, critics argue that although the PlayStation 3 remains a massive revenue generator, Nintendo is the only console maker which is making a profit on each unit sold.
Given that the PlayStation 3 has only been on Australian shores for a little over a month, it is still too early to predict if it will end up being a success, however, if sales figures are any indication, Sony is off to a good start to dominating the world gaming market once again.
Eidos today announced the development of Glory Days 2, a brand new flight action game for the Nintendo DS that puts intense strategy at the forefront of gameplay tactics.
Players will take on the role of an ace fighter pilot by fusing strategy with shooting tactics in order to deploy units, rescue civilians, capture enemy bunkers amidst unforgettable war battles.
"Glory Days 2 presents a unique blend of strategy and action," said Director of Marketing, Matt Gorman, Eidos, Inc. "The result is a faster and more intelligent gameplay experience unlike anything that is currently out on the Nintendo DS."
Catered exclusively to the Nintendo DS’s unique capabilities, Glory Days 2 will feature three individual gameplay types ranging through 8 environments. An intense and involving multiplayer mode will support of to 8 players simultaneously, allowing for even deeper strategic warfare.
"We are very excited to bring Glory Days 2 to the North American market," said Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Robert Lindsey, Eidos, Inc. "The gameplay is instinctive and fun, and when coupled with a robust multiplayer mode, Glory Days 2 makes one of the best choices for a Nintendo DS game."
In development at Odenis Studios, Glory Days 2 for the Nintendo DS is expected for release sometime this summer. Stay tuned to AMN for complete coverage.
Ok I lied... 1.5 wasn't the last release, I have made a v1.6 and I am sure this is not the last release. This version adds on DS DLDI patching, and a better, cleaner GUI made by Axel. GBA Booting is still being worked on. There are some problems with the PersonalData struct in libnds, which is preventing me from reading which screen the user has set as GBA. I kniw this is a minor release but the one with GBA booting will probably be the last...
1 SPIDER-MAN 3
2 GOD OF WAR II
3 THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION
4 BUZZ! THE MEGA QUIZ
5 TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 07
6 VIRTUA TENNIS 3
7 POKEMON RANGER
8 FIFA 07
9 FINAL FANTASY III
10 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2006-2007
11 TMNT: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
12 HARVEST MOON DS
13 LOTR ONLINE: SHADOWS OF ANGMAR
14 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS.
15 COMMAND & CONQUER 3: TIBERIUM WARS
16 DIDDY KONG RACING DS
17 SONIC AND THE SECRET RINGS
18 CRACKDOWN
19 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 6
20 MEDAL OF HONOR: VANGUARD
Eidos Interactive, one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, is pleased to announce NERVOUS BRICKDOWN, an incredibly fun and highly addictive new puzzle game designed exclusively for the Nintendo DS platform.
NERVOUS BRICKDOWN is the very first bat-and-ball game designed especially for the Nintendo DS. It features eye-catching graphics and takes full advantage of the DS’ dual screens, stylus, microphone and Wi-Fi capability. The game takes the classic bat-and-ball gameplay and turns it on its head by taking it to other retro-game worlds, such as old school shoot-em ups and crazy golf! Do everything from drawing your own bat, saving the drowning people and blowing away the ghosts, all before facing increasingly outrageous end of level baddies – as all classic games should have.
Developed by Arkedo Studios, NERVOUS BRICKDOWN breathes new life into the bat-and-ball genre, featuring 135 challenging levels, a unique visual style and a fantastic soundtrack. Play on your own or with a friend via Wi-Fi mode.
Eidos interactive, one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, can confirm that Pony Friends on Nintendo DS will be released throughout Europe on May 18th 2007.
Developed exclusively for Nintendo DS by Melbourne-based studio Tantalus Interactive, Pony Friends is set to become the must-have title for the summer. Using the touch screen and voice commands you must care for, compete with and create your perfect pony.
Customise your pony by choosing its favourite colour and food, groom and care for it daily. Take your pony out and explore over 15 different trails trekking through mountains, wetlands, farmland, towns, forests, along beaches and more. Daily play will ensure that your pony is the prettiest, healthiest, fastest, most talented, and best pony, scooping you first prize in the prestigious ‘perfect pony competition’.
Pony Friends features an intuitive play style and an accessible learning curve, taking full advantage of the capabilities of the Nintendo DS stylus, microphone and dual screens.
Pony Friends will be available throughout Europe on May 18th.
EA Playground, the publishing giant's pop at appealing to the Wii Sports crowd, will not support online play for either the DS or Wii according to Game Daily.
EA has already confirmed that all of the mini games packed into EA's family-orientated title will be multiplayer-compatible, and that players will earn stickers during their exploits which can be traded with other players.
But you'll be linking up directly to do any of this, if reports turn out to be accurate. EA, however, refrained from confirming either way.
If you've got some mad Yu-Gi-Oh skills or reckon you can shout even louder than the nutty characters in the cartoon then you might want to haul your ass down to the Emirates Football Stadium in London and compete in the Yu-Gi-Oh World Championships.
The UK leg of the tournament, partly hosted by Konami, is taking place this weekend (May 12/13), and is part of a huge Yu-Gi-Oh event held at the stadium.
If you're a ninja at Yu-Gi-Oh World Championship 2007 on DS and fancy a punt, all you have to do is register at Konami's site, and get down there with your DS in hand.
Nintendo has flooded the Japanese charts, with the top sixteen best-selling games all exclusive to the Wii or DS.
Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII: Revenent Wings is at the top of the charts with over 274,000 copies sold, followed by new entry Momotarou Dentetsu which makes its charts debut by selling 79,000 units.
There are five Wii titles in the top ten, with new entries from Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree at number five (42,259 units sold) and Namco Bandai's One Piece: Unlimited Adventure at number seven (40,003 units sold).
The most successful PSP title in the Japanese top thirty is Final Fantasy: Anniversary Edition at number seventeen. There are no PlayStation 3 games in the top thirty.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 has two titles in the top thirty – Test Drive Unlimited at number 24 and Rainbow Six: Vegas at 27.
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is concerned about the technical divide between the haves and have-nots. In an editorial posted today on News.com, Fils-Aime praised the efforts of people looking to bridge the gap between those who can afford new technology and those who can't, and he explained his company's efforts to reduce the similar gap between those who understand new technology and those who don't.
"I wonder if a similar technical divide exists inside your own home," Fils-Aime wrote. "One person is probably expected to provide solutions when it's time to install the wireless network, redirect the satellite dish, or retrieve a lost document. The have-nots sit and wait."
Fils-Aime said a similar gap surfaced in the world of gaming several years ago, with the same qualities drawing in one valuable segment of the consumer base while alienating another.
"While ardent players reliably responded to ever-advancing technology and complexity, those same attributes consistently chipped off potential new players from the total market, narrowing the consumers into a smaller niche," according to Fils-Aime.
Nintendo's solution to the problem was partly to innovate, Fils-Aime said, following a Harvard professor's idea that introducing a new product that can't compete on a market's established terms for progress leaves room to make something smaller, cheaper, and easier to use.
"Initially, the 'core' of any industry will scoff," Fils-Aime said. "But if the product is right, enough new users will be attracted to form an alternative definition for progress."
The second aspect of Nintendo's solution to its problems was to find a new market. Fils-Aime cited a McKinsey Institute study that described "white spaces," which are unaddressed markets that fall between established product categories.
"They 'fuse consumer benefits' by combining 'brands, technological breakthroughs or insights' in new ways," Fils-Aime explained. "A decidedly non-technical example is the repurposing of traditional breakfast cereal into the 'breakfast bar.' The result? A new, highly profitable category--'on-the-go nutrition.'"
Well here's one rumor that got confirmed pretty damn quickly. A reader sent us in a scan from Japanese magazine Shonen Jump, confirming that a Final Fantasy IV (2 stateside) 3D remake is in the works for the DS.
I know I should be impressed by Cecil's new 3D look, but it's giving me this odd sort of Viewtiful Joe vibe. Honestly I don't think this game needed to be remade. It was perfect as it was and this...this just feels wrong. Like meeting a cute young girl who sounds exactly like your grandmother when she talks. Disturbing.
Nerfing usually has a negative connotation in gamer society; however, this is one nerfing we'd be happy to take. Unlike the utterly useless Wii peripherals created by Nerf, this DS Lite case is pure squishy goodness. Sister-site DSFanboy brings us the details on this case that you just want to fit your DS snugly into and drop on the ground to see if it breaks (but seriously, don't do that). The case retails for $12.99 and gives some extra girth to the DS allowing gamers with big hands to reduce those lovely hand cramps some experience.
PDP, the company that makes the product, says that the cases are available in most major electronic store outlets -- including Wal-Mart. If you're a commuter this may be a great case to have when dropping your DS into your bag. It's also probably good for you gamer parents that just can't trust your kid not to break your toy.
Clunky machine-translated rumors circulated yesterday that Square-Enix was working on another 3D remake of a Final Fantasy title for DS: Final Fantasy IV. Today, Japanese magazine Shonen Jump confirmed the speculation with a few grainy images. The game will use the same engine as the FFIII remake with at least one notable addition: skin-tight leather outfits.
The inevitable re-hashing of yet another Final Fantasy game by Square Enix. We would complain, but the thought of FF IV in 3D sooths our inner demons. Gamers who missed the original release can enjoy modern 3D visuals, Square Enix can make loads of cash while expending minimal resources, and veteran gamers can re-visit an old game in an entirely new way.
JSR has posted some info on his upcoming app for the Nintendo DS, basically you can use your Nintendo DS as a phone.
DSiP - VoIP for Nintendo DS
by JSR
_ i n f o
DSiP is a Softphone for the Nintendo DS (Voice-over-IP software). It's based on the standardised SIP protocol which is most commonly used in open VoIP networks.
You need a SIP account, which is generally offered by your ISP, in order to use the softphone. With it the softphone can be used to call friends on any type of line, such as a landline, over WiFi.
This softphone was written from scratch. It's designed as a lightweight softphone, and is fast enough to run on the DS.
_ n o t e s
The softphone is currently in beta stage. The first stable build will be released publically in June.
I'd be grateful for any donations, as a lot of effort was put into this softphone.
You can donate over PayPal to my PayPal account: jsr(_)star(@)hotmail(.)com
Feel free to wait for the stable build before donating, it's all up to you. Thanks a lot!
_ t h a n k s
Paul Toth, Wintermute, Liranuna, Blasty, Strager, TripleAce, GPF and 0xtob for their kind help
libnds,libwifi developper and Neimod / Chris Double for the Microphone "lib"
M3 Team and DS-X Team for their homebrew contribution
DS is taking off, and publishers are getting the memo. While the system - like every before it, and every after it - is getting its fair share of licensed products, movie-to-game tie-ins, and throw-away titles, DS is also becoming a platform where virtually any development team with an inspired concept and semi-aggressive budget can throw their creative hats into the ring. Such is the case with 5th Cell's Drawn to Life, published and presented by THQ.
Our first experience with Drawn to Life for DS was over a year ago, as we had a chance to take a brief look at the conceptual title from a then publisher-less developer 5th Cell. In our preview (found here), the ambitious developer-for-hire outlined the concept and story of its latest adventure. Drawn to Life is part action/adventure, part user-created content. Utilizing both developer-made levels and player-made assets, Drawn to Life looks to utilize the DS in a whole new way, blending creativity with core gameplay in a way that no other game can do, and no other platform can facilitate.
Phillips released several weeks ago a working homebrew translator with fat support for DS with the help of PALib.
He only published it in chinese so it seems that it did not get some notice from the english speaking world. The program, which is using stardict dictionary files, is currently running on R4 (Thanks Phillips!!), M3SD and SCSD!
To get it running you need the appropriate file for your card. Create the folder: "NewDicts" at the root of your card. In the folder "NewDicts" create a subfolder called "Dict".
Copy the downloaded dictionaries in that folder(up to 10 different dics are supported, prefix must be the same per dictionary).
The files with the .dz ending must be deflated, ending with .dict (try 7zip to do that).
Attention the .idx file size is limited to something smaller than 2.5 MB.
Example:
StardictBritannicaConcise consists of:
BritannicaConcise.ifo
BritannicaConcise.idx
BritannicaConcise.dict
in folder root:NewDictsDict
We reported yesterday that Nintendo of Europe had finally gotten off of their bottoms and announced a release date for the long overdue DS title; Metroid Prime Pinball.
With the date set for June 22, math fans got to work doing their ‘thing’ and concluded that the game launched in the US and Australia a staggering 18 months ago in comparison!
Surely then, Nintendo must have at least some kind of explanation as to why a game that needs next to no translating, and was in fact developed in the UK in the first place, took so very long to arrive.
Well no, apparently not. Speaking to Kikizo a spokesperson for the company revealed that:
"Nintendo of Europe simply chose to release the game at this time."
Kikizo speculate that the company was perhaps “mired in European regulations related to the rumble pack, a culprit also reportedly responsible for the delay of tilt-sensing Game Boy Advance game Wario Ware Twisted.”
But as of yet Nintendo have not responded to such claims. We’ll keep you posted.
Handheld GamerZine goes from strength to strength this month with a host of exclusive games coverage. Starting with the cover feature, a hands-on preview with developer interview, the WipEout Pulse details are going to set a few pulses racing. The details of the in-game engine tweaks and new gameplay features will be sure to please fans of the series.
Harvest Moon fans will also want to check out the exclusive interview with creator Yasuhiro Wada in which he reveals a new Harvest Moon game is planned for next year, and that he believes Microsoft has plans for a portable gaming device, which he would welcome.
Team 17 also lets us sneak in for an exclusive look at the upcoming update of Worms, with details of the new online play and new weapons. Find out what the developers think of the highs and low of the series so far.
That’s not all for the issue either, with reviews of Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops, SOCOM 2, Burnout Dominator, FF Chocobo and many more.
“Traditionally portable games have been overlooked by the games press,” says Publishing Director, David Taylor. “However, gone are the days when the DS and PSP simply get ports of cut-down versions of console games. Now we have exciting new properties like the Brothers In Arms game for DS in this issue or WipEout Pulse, where the game has been designed from the ground up for the device and gamers are now looking for ways to keep up to date with their favourite games on these platforms. HGZine is a great way to do this, with professionally written features and pages enhanced with video and multimedia.”
HGZine is a GamerZine, digital magazines for gamers, published in PDF format, and written by a team of professional games journalists from the UK. Readers simply require a copy of the free Adobe Reader ( version 6 or above ) to read the magazines..
Heres the full rundown of import gaming releases this week at Play Asia
PlayStation3™:
Spider-Man 3 US US$ 59.90
Spider-Man 3 (Collector's Edition) US US$ 69.90
Xbox360™:
Burnout Revenge (Platinum Collection) ASIA US$ 24.90
Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars ASIA US$ 44.90
Spider-Man 3 ASIA US$ 49.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Heatseeker US US$ 49.90
Legend of the Dragon US US$ 39.90
Spider-Man 3 US US$ 49.90
PlayStation2™:
Legend of the Dragon US US$ 39.90
Simple 2000 Series Vol. 117: The Zerosen JPN US$ 25.90
Wrestle Kingdom 2: Pro Wrestling Sekai Taisen JPN US$ 64.90
Sony PSP™:
Final Fantasy Tactics: Shishi Sensou JPN US$ 48.90
Final Fantasy Tactics: Shishi Sensou ASIA US$ 42.90
Open Season JPN US$ 31.90
Ultimate Board Game Collection US US$ 34.90
Winx Club: Join the Club US US$ 39.90
Nintendo DS™:
Saikyou Toudai Shougi DS JPN US$ 48.90
Spider-Man 3 US US$ 34.90
"We're not really sure we get the timing, but we'll take the announcement whenever: Crave announced a Napoleon Dynamite game for DS and PSP. While there are no real details yet -- like when it will be out, or what it will involve -- Crave's Mark Burke did promise that fans of the film will probably like it. Gosh!
We fully expect lots of random quotes, as well as drawing and dancing minigames."
Matt Groening's The Simpsons is heading back to the videogame world in the fantastically titled The Simpsons Game (well, that is a working title to be fair).
The game's being developed by EA's Redwood Shores Studio for PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii and DS, and is described as an action-comedy in which "Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa use exciting, all-new powers to save the world from rising chaos."
All the show's voice actors will be reprising their roles in polygon form, and the show's writers have penned the storyline for the game - not a lot has been revealed about the plot, although EA has said that players will journey through all of Springfield and "vast worlds beyond".
We'll also be fighting villains and "parodies of multiple popular games".
Scot Amos, executive producer of the project, has said EA's goal "is to create the most original game ever, which is a lofty goal and only possible given the close collaboration with The Simpsons creative team".
The Simpsons Game - or whatever it's eventually called - is due out at the end of the year.
Building cities is cool, but SimCity has so much more up its sleeve, as these latest screens show.
It may have taken you dozens of hours to create the perfect city but it'll only take King Kong a few minutes to trash it when he turns up with post-Stella-drinking rage.
Then aliens pop down for a visit, only they're not coming in peace either. But look, father Christmas is in there, which is nice (until he whips out a bazooka, we guess).
SimCity DS looks ace. Look out for it on shelves from June 22.
The DS has sold a shocking 10 million units in Japan alone, the latest Famitsu figures has revealed.
Research compiled by the Japanese market research giant revealed that it has taken DS Lite just 61 weeks to reach this milestone. And that blows PS2 out of the water, which took 131 weeks.
The DS Lite continues to dominate the hardware charts in Japan, clocking up an impressive 702,844 units sold in April, with the Wii in a distant second with 287,722 sales, and PSP with 158,291.
Meanwhile, our DS is taking a thrashing with Pokemon Diamond inserted firmly in the cart slot. Anyone got a Machop...?
I hadn't heard any updates on the whole SNK VS Capcom Card Fighters since I posted about it last week, but now a reader named Scott reports that an official statement detailing a replacement plan is now circulating.
After Ka-BoOm, here is my second game on NDS, Setsuzoku no Puzzle, that can be translated by "Puzzle of connections". Yes, I tried to give a "Japanese touch" to my game ;-)
This game is loosely inspired by Match-it, a 1989 arcade game from Tamtex. The rules of this puzzle game are very simple: you have to remove all the tiles on the screen by connecting tiles that have the same color and same symbol. The link between these two tiles must be free and must have at most two corners. Obviously, you play in limited time! Some tiles are special: stars and moons. You can connect stars with stars whatever their colors, same thing for the moons. Moreover, when you remove these special tiles, you stop the time for some seconds.
At each level, the time goes faster and faster. At highest levels, your brain will be strongly solicited to track as fast as possible the tiles to remove! Luckily, if you are stuck, you can use some limited help by pressing button X. This help will automatically remove identical tiles. You begin the game with 3 helps, and you gain one more help at the end of each level if you didn’t use any help during this level.
It is possible that you come up with a puzzle that is impossible to complete when you cannot remove any more tiles. This is rare, but I detect this case. Consequently, if the game doesn’t tell you that there is no more moves, then there remains a solution. If there is no more moves, then this is a game over, but I am working on a better solution.
This is only a early 0.1 version of the game, fully playable, but it lacks some features: highscores management, better graphics, as well as some new entertaining features in the gameplay.
One more thing: play this game on a real DS, and not on an emulator! It would be tooo much slow, with to much graphical bugs.
ttursas has posted a new release of his game for the DS:
v0.2.6 (09-May-2007)
* Updated to inflateTT-DS v1.2, so the data files are compressed
a little better.
* Found a couple of places where C99 style variable allocation was
used, and cleaned them up.
* When a player disconnects from a match all the bullets owned by
him are deleted, so they don't appear as ghost bullets any more.
* Made the interrupts use even less stack.
* If the game server doesn't respond to a join message in 1.5 seconds,
NO RESPONSE will be shown on the game screen.
* The player's plane starts from an airfield when changing the
level, not from the current location.
* Gas is now blue.
* Collectables don't spawn so close to the walls any more.
* Remade the machinegun boost icon.
* Added collectable icons for mines, bombs, missiles, heat seeking
missiles, cluster bombs and invulnerability, and collecting
a weapon icon will grant the player three shots.
* Increased the collision distance for the collectables.
* Increased the rate at which the airports refuel the planes.
* The planes cannot crash to the airports any more.
* Airports don't attract the planes if they are turbo boosting.
* Decreased the amount of ammo the planes have when they spawn.
* Added priority to collectable allocation, so that if there is no
free space in the collectables array and we need to spawn e.g.,
stars, we can overwrite less important collectables.
* Added quick turning.
* The player doesn't lose lives if he isn't engaged in a network match.
* Added a new level: Rome.
* Increased the maximum number of particles.
* Cleaned up MUSTIKKA's level graphics.
* Optimized collision checks.
* It's possible to collect nine bullets to each special weapon.
DS is taking off, and publishers are getting the memo. While the system - like every before it, and every after it - is getting its fair share of licensed products, movie-to-game tie-ins, and throw-away titles, DS is also becoming a platform where virtually any development team with an inspired concept and semi-aggressive budget can throw their creative hats into the ring. Such is the case with 5th Cell's Drawn to Life, published and presented by THQ.
Our first experience with Drawn to Life for DS was over a year ago, as we had a chance to take a brief look at the conceptual title from a then publisher-less developer 5th Cell. In our preview (found here), the ambitious developer-for-hire outlined the concept and story of its latest adventure. Drawn to Life is part action/adventure, part user-created content. Utilizing both developer-made levels and player-made assets, Drawn to Life looks to utilize the DS in a whole new way, blending creativity with core gameplay in a way that no other game can do, and no other platform can facilitate.
It's event time here in San Francisco, and EA's gamer day is first on the list. With a mixture of sports, racing, and Sim titles, the event houses over a dozen upcoming titles spanning nearly every system in circulation. Tucked away in rafters of the warehouse balcony, however, is a title that may in fact become one of the more entertaining sleeper hits of this year for the DS crowd, as SimCity DS makes its event (and US) debut. We had a chance to go hands-on with the game briefly, and from what we've played it may very well be the best Sim title to hit consoles since the days of Super NES.
Taking a ton of inspiration from the original (and famous) SimCity design, SimCity DS is all about creating and exploring a virtual world, and acting as the newfound city's mayor in an attempt to build a bustling metropolis of your dreams. Specifically for DS the game features gameplay on both screens, using the top viewing area as the overall "city view", while the bottom touch screen is used for managing the city, building, and changing view modes to constantly monitor pollution, fire, water, energy, and environmental levels of the dream city.
From the get-go, players can dive into the world of SimCity in a number of ways. Accessible from the title screen is the ability to either start your own SimCity world from scratch, building the terrain, buildings, and establishing every facet of the world on your own. This mode is classic SimCity at its best, as it's a huge mix of economy, environment management, and DS mini-game events to keep the game from becoming mundane. On Christmas, for example, a Santa mini-game will begin without warning, and the player will have a chance to help good ol Saint Nick deliver packages to good little boys and girls of whatever-ville. The better you do, the more cash you earn for your city. Simple, but a nice break-up from playing God.
At EA's Summer Preview event in San Francisco, the company revealed just a snippet of titles in the queue, including a running preview of the upcoming title, MySims for the Nintendo DS. Though it's obviously a title aimed at younger audiences, that doesn't necessarily mean that older gamers should immediately dismiss it. With its slew of mini games, intuitive gameplay and vibrant, friendly visuals and an easy to follow isometric view, it's looking like MySims is shaping up to be a title with something to offer to everyone.
The game has players taking up the role of a citizen newly immigrated to a resort town in need of assistance. The town, as fate would have it, is a bit run down, so players are charged with the task of sprucing up the place, with various tasks to help clean up the area, making it more appealing to the tourist population, setting the stage for the adventure ahead. The game is comprised of several goal-based missions to help create a cleaner, more vibrant paradise for tourists from around the world.
As you progress through the game, players will be able to speak with various inhabitants of the locale who will guide you in the right direction to making things that much more compelling to outsiders. You'll be charged with tasks such as planting trees or feeding local wildlife, all of which has positive effects on the local environments. Say you plant a series of new plantlife, it will create a beautiful forest that vacationers will travel from around the globe to visit. If you feed animals, it will create an interest from different species, encouraging them to visit, adding to the towns appeal to tourists. If you pay particular attention to a certain species, feeding them in abundance, they will grow to love you and will start to inhabit your home.
Atari today announced the forthcoming release of NAMCO BANDAI Games’ DBZ: Goku Densetsu for Nintendo DS. Published by NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe SAS and distributed in Europe by Atari, DBZ: Goku Densetsu is scheduled for European release in August 2007.
DBZ: Goku Densetsu for the Nintendo DS is an all new DBZ experience unlike any other, combining strategic card-based gameplay and role playing elements to deliver a game that is easy to understand but hard to master. Players’ progression is determined through their use of the cards to evolve characters, strengthen moves and create new moves.
In the game, cards are marked with eight types of actions, eight power levels and eight guard levels for a total of 512 possible combinations that will determine progress. Players are dealt five randomly selected cards to play with each card denoting one of eight types of actions. The intensity of special attacks will increase as the game progresses and multiple cards can be played together to power up attacks and enhance guard levels for super combos. While the game will progress even if players do not choose the best cards, strategic players will be able to unlock more surprises and become true masters. DBZ: Goku Densetsu also supports wireless battle for up to 4 players and includes a game sharing mode.
Dragon Ball Z is the gold standard of anime-based video games, with more than 26 different games and over 10 million units sold since May 2002.
BSkyB has launched a new gaming portal offering a range of PC games to download or play online.
Skygames.com is already stocked with over 100 titles, including casual stalwarts like Bejeweled 2 and Zuma and core titles like F.E.A.R. and Star Trek: Legacy.
Games cost between GBP 4.99 and GBP 29.99, with a monthly subscription option for GBP 6.00. A ten-day free trial option currently allows potential users to feel out the service before they commit.
The broad catalogue, which already takes in titles from Eidos and Vivendi, has been put together partly thanks to another division of News Corporation, BSkyB's owner, IGN Direct2Drive, which already offers a similar service.
Accounts created on the Skygames website can also be used to access a range of services on Sky's other web portals including Sky.com.
As well as attracting new customers, Sky hopes the portal will convert a number of its existing subscribers, having identified a large interest in the medium among users of its other services.
We're already excited about Sonic Rush Adventure - the sequel to what is arguably the best Sonic game ever - and these new screens are further proof more 2D platforming glory is on the way.
During action stages you'll uncover artefacts and items that Tails will use to build new vehicles that allow Sonic to explore the seas.
You then take control of a submarine, water bike, or hovercraft with the stylus in 3D stages, before taking on bosses, also in 3D.
There will be 14 missions to speed through, as well as a two-player offline versus mode that lets you race with a friend.
Sonic Rush Adventure is speeding to shops this autumn.
Sega's videogame tie-in with forthcoming movie The Golden Compass has drummed up plenty of interest and today we're getting our latest in-game look via three new screenshots. Go ahead and take a look.
The game and the movie are based on the first book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, Sega's sticking closely to the screenplay adaptation of the novel for its title.
You'll get to play as the trilogy's main character Lyra as well as Iorek Byrnison, a warrior polar bear whom Lyra befriends during her adventure, with events kicking off when Lyra goes in search of a friend kidnapped by a feared and mysterious outfit that children call The Gobblers...
Major environments from the film will feature in the game and the movie's key actors will be reprising their roles in polygon form.
Sega's The Golden Compass game is due out at the end of the year on - deep breath - PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PSP, PS2 and PC.
The biggest news of GDC 2007 was almost certainly the bright future of the PlayStation 3. Home was interesting, to be sure, but the title that captured the imagination of attendees was Little Big Planet. Edge had a thorough look at the game in their April issue, and now it seems like there might be a downloadable version of the four-player game used to demo the community/toybox at the conference. This 'games 3.0' thing has a lot of people sitting up and taking notice, including Flash and Shockwave developers. GameDaily spoke with MTVN's David Williams about the user-generated content possibilities being added to Shockwave.com and the AddictingGames sites.
"In yet another sign of the web 2.0/game 3.0 phenomenon, one of the new features of the site is a game upload feature. User-created content is bound to have an increasingly profound effect on this industry. Already, the company has received 200 new game submissions in the past month, empowered by a game sponsorship program, which pays developers of popular games for integration on AddictingGames and provides them with enhanced distribution and marketing."
An little 11-year-old girl in Inverbervie Scotland and her mother were shocked when one of the colorful characters in the child's Animal Crossing DS game had called her a '****ing cow'. As children these days are taught the 'screenshot or it didn't happen' rule from an early age, they were lucky enough to capture the precious moment for UK's Metro news. Of course it has to be user-input, seeing as the text is in blue, but how on earth did it get in there?
It's boundless speculation time!
This is the modern-day version of acting out your parents' marital problems with Barbie dolls. The girl sits in her room, listening to her parents fighting in muffled voices, and begins to think she isn't good enough to have a good-natured, friendly Animal Crossing town. She begins sending out letters to her 'friends', first calling Tom Nook a bloody wanker (deservedly so), and eventually getting to the point where she's distilling turnips into alcohol and calling Tippy a '****ing cow'. It isn't until Whitney comes to confront her that she realizes she needs help and brings the DS Lite to her mother, who completely misunderstands. Eventually the truth will come out, leading to a dramatic, "YOU, okay!? I learned it from watching you!"
That or it was a used copy, but that's just boring.
Nintendo UK's bossman David Yarnton has revealed to British trade paper MCV some juicy hardware sales figures. And we just know how much you love sales numbers, so here you go. The figures disclosed include total global sales, as well as those in continental Europe and the UK.
Nintendo DS:
Global: 40 million
Europe: 11 million
Britain: 3.1 million
Nintendo Wii:
Global: 5.84 million
Europe: 1.3 million
Britain: 438,000
Says Yarnton:
We've sold close to 438,000 Wiis in the UK in five months. It's really hard to have targets - we have seen unprecedented demand.
Yes, we set targets originally and we have definitely exceeded those. They are continually being re-assessed all the time.
Slight warning: since these come from Nintendo themselves, and don't make the distinction between shipped and sold, take a grain of salt or three. But don't overdo it; after all, since every Wii shipped is being sold, that distinction's probably a touch irrelevant.
The European version of SNK Vs. Capcom Card Fighters DS won't launch with the game-breaking bug that's been crippling American copies.
But when exactly we'll be ale to play the game is still to be determined, with Ignition Entertainment promising us a definitive date "shortly".
Americans ran into problems on the ninth level of the game, when it crashed after an encounter with an opponent called Jon. Unfortunately the card you collect for completing this part was required to complete the adventure, rendering most people's games broken beyond repair.
SNK has since offered to replace copies in the US, but it's going to take up to six weeks for the freshly ordered replacements to arrive from Nintendo.
But then the game is dreadful. So it shouldn't bother you lot anyway.
psychowood has posted a new version of his app for the DS:
v0.5
Now DLDIrc can be associated to .bin and .gba files (to be
used with .ds.gba roms, since Windows doesn't accept double
extensions the association must me done with .gba)
Updated installer: now it checks online the latest version,
and requires uninstallation of previous installations.
There's a bumper batch of handheld releases hitting the shelves today so if you prefer your gaming to be presented in 1080p high definition ,on a screen the size of a shed with 5.1 surround sound booming so loud it could deafen babies, you're likely to be disappointed. But if you like to curl up on the sofa to secretly play your favourite handheld as your other half tries to force you to watch Neighbours then you're in luck.
First up is island adventure Lost in Blue 2 on DS, a game in which you and a female companion try to survive on a desert island with only coconut milk to quench your thirst. Unfortunately the sequel does little to tackle the frustrations of the original, leaving us to score it 5.5 and say: "Lost in Blue 2 does do some things new, but it's just not enough. Its enhancements over its predecessor are walled off, barriered behind the roadblock of frustration in the hours of investment it takes to even get to them."
For those who fancy something with more action there's Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters on PSP. It scored an impressive 9.0 and our US colleagues couldn't withhold their unbridled excitement for this enjoyable action game. "It has everything a triple-A PSP game should have," they enthused. "It's packed with fantastic single-player content, has a strong multiplayer element, boasts a great visual and thematic presentation and excels with razor-sharp gameplay mechanics."
Elsewhere in handheld land, action-puzzler Exit 2 on PSP scored a 'good' 7.5, DS poker simulation World Championship Poker Deluxe Series raised its stakes and got a 7.0 and Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon was blessed with a passable 6.9.
Meanwhile, in the world of home consoles, 505 Games is showing the Wii some love with two new titles. The first, Cooking Mama: Cook Off, is a Wii version of the popular DS title, although some of its ingredients obviously turned mouldy during translation and it only mustered up a 5.8. Bust-a-Move Bash! faired no better, getting a kick in the nuts with a 5.3.
All is not lost though, home console owners! Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars on Xbox 360 was awarded a healthy 8.2 and our US brothers concluded, "The fast paced nature of the game can make things a little bit frustrating in the story mode, especially when you can't quickly reload a mission once things go sour. Even so, the presentation and good mission design work with the decent controls to make for an enjoyable game."
That's it for this week. Be sure to tune in next week when we'll see if handhelds will continue to rule the shop shelves.
What's inside the box of Nintendo DS NDS Lite Console with Winning Eleven Bundle Pack US Version
Nintendo DS Lite (x1)
110V AC Adapter (x1)
Instructions (x1)
Stylus (x1)
Strap (x1)
New Winning Eleven Game card (x1)
New Winning Eleven Game Manual (x1)
TeamCyclops are pleased to announce the completion of the CyclopsDS Evolution, the most advanced media enhancer currently available for NDS!
Product Overview
CycloDS Evolution is a multi-functional Micro SD adapter for NDS and NDS Lite (Slot 1) which allows you to play games, listen to MP3's, view images, read e-books and enjoy the vast collection of homebrew applications for NDS. You can also take advantage of the inbuilt cheat code system to enjoy more freedom with your favourite games.
CycloDS Evolution is the world’s most advanced Media Enhancer for NDS Lite and NDS. Boasting superior functionality, European design and quality components, CycloDS Evolution is unparalleled in its field.
The unique enhanced mode offers powerful, unique features during game play which are activated through an in-game menu. These features include in-game LCD brightness adjustment, SlowMotion mode and in-game reset. The cheat code engine is directly compatible with Action Replay codes and CycloDS Evolution comes bundled with cheat codes for over 300 games so you can get started right away without any fuss.
CycloDS Evolution’s inbuilt OS can run commercial ROM’s and homebrew software without the need for any patching on the users part. ROM loading is fast and trouble free, simply browse to the game you want to play and tap to execute. You don’t even need to apply DLDI patches to your homebrew software; CycloDS Evolution takes care of this for you with its automatic DLDI patching feature.
Evolution loads media from MicroSD cards, which means you’re free to buy more memory at any time, never constrained by the boundaries of onboard flash memory. Transferring games and homebrew software is simple using the supplied MicroSD USB reader. Simply connect to your PC and drag & drop the desired files onto your MicroSD card.
Listen to MP3’s, watch videos or even read e-books via Moonshell. The Moonshell multimedia application will maximize the versatility of your handheld console.
The CycloDS Evolution GUI was designed with user friendliness in mind and can be operated exclusively with the stylus if desired. Skinning is supported which means you’ll always have a fresh view of our product at your fingertips. The user interface is multi-lingual, currently supporting the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Latin American Spanish and Portuguese.
Game sharing is painless with CycloDS Evolution. Unlike most other devices on the market, CycloDS Evolution supports single card download play even with trouble games such as Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario Bros.
CycloDS Evolution comes from the creators of the world renowned CycloWiz - the first ever upgradeable Wii modchip. We surprised many by doing things the critics thought impossible, now we’re back on DS for more firsts.
CycloDS Evolution Features
* Completely plug & play - no FlashMe, PassMe or PC software required
* 100% game compatibility, supports clean ROM's - works on any OS
* Full NDS download play support, including problem games such as Mario Kart DS
* Action Replay compatible cheat code engine, comes bundled with cheat codes for over 300 games!
* Uses MicroSD card, both FAT16 and FAT32 supported
* Save type is automatically detected, no need for a save type database
* Save directly to MicroSD rather than onboard flash
* User friendly, easily skinnable interface. Both touch screen and button operation supported
* Multi-lingual user interface
* "Enhanced Mode" which provides powerful, unique features during game play. Enhanced features are activated through an in-game menu. Enhanced mode features include:
---o Adjust LCD brightness during game play (NDSLite only)
---o SlowMotion mode which can be used to slow down game play to make fast paced action sequences easier to master
---o Return to CycloDS Evolution Menu (aka soft reset)
---o More features to come!
* Excellent homebrew compatibility thanks to the DLDI auto-patcher
* 2 megabytes of onboard flash memory which contains the CycloDS Evolution OS and will be utilised in the future to add exciting new features. A recovery mode is also included.
* Autoboot mode which when activated will directly boot into the last ROM or homebrew application executed
* Moonshell included to provide media playing functionality
* PassMe function (boot from slot 2)
* Supports rumble and memory expansions
Today we’d like to report some additional information about the CycloDS Evolution and CycloDS products.
First of all, the highly anticipated CycloDS Evolution will reach resellers in about 14 days from now. The recommended retail price is US$54.99 or EUR€42.
Now for some additional information on the CycloDS Evolution. We are currently working on a feature where CycloDS Micro and Mini can be used as a slot 2 expansion pack for the CycloDS Evolution. This will allow you to both play GBA games and use the Opera Web Browser (which normally requires a separate RAM expansion pack). The GBA games WILL NOT require patching; this will be handed by the CycloDS Evolution OS automatically.
The CycloDS Micro and Mini are already available. The CycloDS Evolution and Mini or Micro combination will prove invaluable to users because you’ll be able to play NDS games with all the advanced features provided by CycloDS Evolution, as well as playing GBA games and using the Opera Web Browser.
general:
- Added support for *.duc files [cyberwarriorx]
gpu:
- Added support for sprite rotation/scaling [shash]
- Added support for the 3D core (openGL and null plugins) [shash]
windows port:
- A bunch of fixes [Dmitry Krutskih]
- Fixed a bug in sound that was causing it to still not work for some
people [cyberwarriorx]
gtk:
- Added 3D emulation
- Added command line options.
- Added option to use OpenGL to render window (allows resizing).
gtk-glade:
- Added 3D emulation
Confirmation was announced yesterday by Sega that five new titles are currently in the making, which represent a lineup with some very familiar developers attached. By the looks of things, all of the titles promise to make the next year very interesting for the company and the rest of the gaming market. The Japan-based company has set the stage for a very lucrative and refreshing partnership with U.S. developers that will serve to invigorate franchises loved particularly by Western gamers.
Among the lineup is a sequel to the 2005 hit title Condemned: Criminal Origins, which will be released for Xbox 360 and PS3. In addition to the melee survival features of the original, Condemned 2: Bloodshot will also feature a new multiplayer online mode which, as Sega has assured us, will be of a particularly "brutal" variety. The game is currently under development by Monolith Productions, developers of the original game Condemned and the critically acclaimed first-person shooter, F.E.A.R.
Meanwhile, Sega also announced that Universe at War, Petroglyph's new brand of RTS set to be released later this year for PCs, is also currently being developed for the Xbox 360, with numerous new features and customization options that have never before been available to the RTS genre. As stated previously by Scott A. Steinberg, vice president of marketing for Sega of America, "Universe at War: Earth Assault will surpass the limits of what gamers expect to see in an RTS game. It will be the culmination of years and development expertise in creating exciting and innovative RTS titles."
In addition, other popular names in entertainment will receive a new lease on life, thanks to Sega. Ghost Squad, a light-gun arcade game that was released by Sega Chihiro back in 2004, will be made into a port by AM2 for the Nintendo Wii in late 2007. Aside from incorporating Wiimote-based controls into the gameplay, new features such as a four-player mode will also be added.
Next, the unapologetically violent Flash cartoon series Happy Tree Friends will find a new playground on PC and Xbox 360 in time for the Fall 2007 release of the title Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm. The game will come to life (and assuredly, an eventually gory death) through the development efforts of Stainless Games.
Sega has also been reported to be developing an action RPG in collaboration with Gas Powered Games, the same company that designed Supreme Commander. However, no title or release date has been disclosed as of yet. Expect to see more on GamePro regarding this game as soon as more facts become available.
Sega Sammy Holdings, formed by the merger of a game maker and a pinball company, said Friday its profit tumbled 34 percent for the year ended March on the slump at Japanese-style "'pachinko"' pinball parlors.
The Japanese amusement-machine manufacturer, which did not breakdown quarterly earnings, posted a 43.5 billion yen ($363 million) profit for the fiscal year, down from a 66.2 billion yen the previous year.
Quarterly sales slipped 4.5 percent to 528.2 billion yen ($4.4 billion) from 553.2 billion yen.
The results were below the Tokyo-based company's earlier forecasts for a 60 billion yen ($501 million) profit and a market consensus of 58 billion yen ($484 million).
Sega, which makes Sonic the Hedgehog games, and Sammy, which makes a type of upright pinball game called pachinko, merged in October 2004.
Sega Sammy said pachinko machine sales nose-dived 20 percent in the past fiscal year, and times will continue to be tough in that business in coming months, and projected a deteriorating 35 billion yen ($292 million) profit for the fiscal year through March 2008.
Shares of Sega Sammy fell 1.5 percent to 2,895 yen ($24).
In Shrek the Third, players journey as Shrek and his friends to save Far, Far Away in a twisted fairytale adventure from the movie and beyond. Assuming the roles of Shrek, Puss-in-Boots and newcomer Artie, players journey beyond Far Far Away with the help of Merlin’s magic wand. The Nintendo DS game tells the story of how Shrek and friends must work together to solve puzzles and defeat enemies while overcoming the band of villains that Prince Charming has sent out to capture Shrek.
Aksys Games is gearing up for the release of its first Nintendo DS project Hoshigami Remix, the remake of a cult PSone strategy RPG classic, at the end of June and the first English screens have just been released.
Set for 30th June, 2007 in the US, sadly no European date has been revealed. Cubed³ will have an interview with the team very soon. But for now, check out the images in the folder below.
Bandai Namco has revealed that it is working on a new Nintendo DS game called 'One Piece: Gear Spirit', which appears to be a 3D fighter, similar to Smash Bros. or Jump Ultimate Stars, and is set for release in Japan later this year. Check out the first scan of the game.
Aprotective parent has run riot in a bid to stop Nintendo and their evil foul mouth critters in Animal Crossing influencing her daughter with shiny blue-coloured swears.
The latest case of gaming parenting comes from a young 11-year-old lass in Scotland who, whilst enjoying exploring her town in Animal Crossing DS, was called a "****ing cow" by one of the characters, as featured in the London Metro newspaper.
A Nintendo UK representative insisted that none of the company's family friendly titles features any offensive language, adding "It is either a pirate copy or it is user-inputted text." Most likely a used copy or an attention-seeking girl already clued up in the ancient art of le-swear.
We got very excited when the title was announced back in December of last year, and now we can bring you six new screens from the hotly anticipated DS title in development by Square Enix and Level 5. We'll let you make up your own minds as to just how good the game is. Check out the screens
Rockstar vice president of creative Dan Houser has been talking about why the firm decide on New York as the setting for GTA IV.
"We've always wanted to do New York properly," he said in the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine. "With GTA III we were*dealing with so many technical issues that we didn't really think trying to make somewhere like a real place was important at the time and then we discovered later that gave an added element of content to the place."
He added, "We've got a full time team of researchers and photographers in the office in New York who get emails from the artists in Scotland saying, 'hey can you find out that this building's like, or what the traffic flow's like around here?' or the designers want to find out how the law systems work. We wouldn't be as confident doing a next-gen game the way we wanted, somewhere we didn't have a base."
The latest evidence of that comes from Tecmo, which held a press event in Tokyo last night. The publisher used the event to announce three new installments in some of its most familiar franchises: Rygar, Tecmo Bowl, and Monster Rancher.
After hitting it big in the mid-'80s in the arcades and on the NES, Rygar went dark until 2002's PlayStation 2 revival, Rygar: The Legendary Adventure. After five years, Rygar is once again returning from the sidelines, this time with a new adventure on the Wii. Tentatively titled Project Rygar, the next game will see the series' shield-tossing gameplay adapted to take advantage of the Wii Remote.
Tecmo showed Project Rygar with nothing but a few slides of concept art, but it gave even less information about its resurrection of Tecmo Bowl. The publisher confirmed that it was working on a brand new Tecmo Bowl game for 2008, but it wouldn't even name a platform for which the game would appear. A company representative would tell the assembled media only that the game was "not going to be on the platform that you're thinking of right now."
It wasn't all far-off promises and vague hints, however. Tecmo actually showed an introductory video for Monster Rancher DS. While the series has been known for letting players generate their own monsters based on CDs, DVDs, and whatever other discs they have lying around, the DS game will use different creation mechanics.
First of all, players will be able to create new monsters by drawing patterns on the DS touch screen. While the video didn't make it absolutely clear, speaking into the system's microphone will also allow players to expand their monster farms somehow. Additionally, the game will let players generate monsters from Game Boy Advance cartridges, as well as combine monsters to create new offspring.
Monster Rancher DS is set for a July launch in Japan, with no word yet on a North American release. For more on all of these games, check out GameSpot's on-location coverage of Project Rygar, Tecmo Bowl, and Monster Rancher DS.
As it does every week, game-industry research firm Media Create released its chart of the most popular games in Japan. Ever since the release of the DS, a large percentage of top 20 games have been for Nintendo's handheld, thanks to the brain-training game craze in the island nation.
But ever since the Wii was released last year, Nintendo's presence on Media Create's weekly chart has risen steadily. This week, the Mario Factory achieved total dominance, occupying all top 21 slots on the chart. Four of those were Wii titles--Super Paper Mario (2nd), Wii Sports (3rd), Wii Play (5th), and Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (7th). The rest, including top title Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, were all for the DS.
RANK - TITLE - PLATFORM
1) Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS)
2) Super Paper Mario (WII)
3) Wii Sports (WII)
4) Yoshi's Island DS (DS)
5) Wii Play (WII)
6) Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (DS)
7) Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (WII)
8) New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
9) Momotarou Dentetsu DS (DS)
10) Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nou o Kitaeru Otona DS Training (DS)
11) Gyakuten Saiban 4 (DS)
12) Mario Kart DS (DS)
13) Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Motto Eigo (DS) Duke
14) Planet Puzzle League (DS)
15) Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (DS)
16) Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)
17) Layton Kyouju no Fushigi na Machi (DS)
18) Otona no Joushikiryoku Training DS (DS)
19) Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (DS)
20) English Training: Have Fun Improving Your Skills (DS)
21) Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan DS (DS)
The top-rated non-Nintendo game was Monster Hunter Freedom 2 for the PSP, which tracked its prey down in the 22nd slot.
I'm always envious when people show off their really cool game related objects that their partners make for them be it cakes, crafts and other objet d'art. My ex's hatred of video games knew no boundaries and I probably would have received a million dollar check for my birthday before anything game related. So I will sit here and seethe with jealousy over Lauren's sweet Earthbound DS case, lovingly handcrafted in the lost art of needlepoint. The recipient of this awesome gift was her fiancé on the occasion of the Baby Jebus' birthday. Congratulations, man, you've got yourself a keeper.
Square Enix is reviving yet another classic Final Fantasy title on the Nintendo DS. Today at the Square Enix Party 2007, the company revealed it is currently developing a remake of its 1991 SFC/SNES game, Final Fantasy IV.
Similar to the DS version of Final Fantasy III released last year, FFIV DS will be a total overhaul of the original, featuring full 3D graphics, redesigned characters and monsters, and new dramatic cutscenes. Aside from its graphics, FFIV for the DS is said to feature many new elements, including an "evolved" version of its active battle system.
FFIV is being developed by the same staff that brought FFIII back to life on the DS. Takashi Tokita is executive producer and director, Tomoya Asano is producer, Hiroyuki Ito is battle director, Yoshinori Kaneda is storyboard chief, and MATRIX is working on development.
In a statement Tokita and Asano said they are working hard to bring more detail and depth to the game's storyline. In order to do so, one of the things they've done is to redesign the characters with a taller physique than the original SNES game.
While many remakes lose the original's authenticity, Asano is confident that it won't happen with FFVI because the original SNES developers are working together with them. Tokita should know, as he was one of the developers that worked on the original as well.
Square Enix didn't announce any release date for FFIV DS at the Square Enix Party. Although attendees were treated to an impressive full-CG trailer with lifelike characters, it didn't feature any in-game footage. GameSpot will have more information on Final Fantasy IV as it becomes available in the future.
Internet giant Google has drawn up plans to compile psychological profiles of millions of web users by covertly monitoring the way they play online games.
The company thinks it can glean information about an individual's preferences and personality type by tracking their online behaviour, which could then be sold to advertisers. Details such as whether a person is more likely to be aggressive, hostile or dishonest could be obtained and stored for future use, it says.
The move is intended to customise adverts shown to players of online video games by tailoring them to specific tastes and interests. But it has worried privacy campaigners, who said the implications of compiling and storing such detailed information were "alarming".
Sue Charman of online campaign Open Rights Group said: "I can understand why they are interested in this, but I would be deeply disturbed by a company holding a psychological profile.
"Whenever you have large amounts of information it becomes attractive to people - we've already seen the American federal government going to court over data from companies including Google."
The plans are detailed in a patent filed by Google in Europe and the US last month. It says people playing online role playing games such as Second Life and World of Warcraft would be particularly good to target, because they interact with other players and make decisions that probably reflect their behaviour in real life.
The patent says: "User dialogue (eg from role playing games, simulation games, etc) may be used to characterise the user (eg literate, profane, blunt or polite, quiet etc). Also, user play may be used to characterise the user (eg cautious, risk-taker, aggressive, non-confrontational, stealthy, honest, cooperative, uncooperative, etc)."
The information could be used to make adverts that appear inside the game more "relevant to the user", Google says.
Players who spend a lot of time exploring "may be interested in vacations, so the system may show ads for vacations". And those who spend more time talking to other characters will see adverts for mobile phones.
The patent says Google could also monitor people playing on any game console that hooks up to the internet, including the Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft's Xbox. It says information could be retrieved from previous game details saved on memory cards: "Such saved information may be thought of state information, and offers a valuable source of information to the advertisers."
Not all the inferences made by monitoring user activity rely on subtle psychological clues, however. "In a car racing game, after a user crashes his Honda Civic, an announcer could be used to advertise by saying 'if he had a Hummer, he would have gotten the better of that altercation', etc," the patent says. And: "If the user has been playing for over two hours continuously, the system may display ads for Pizza Hut, Coke, coffee."
Some web companies already scan online activity such as internet searches and email for keywords in order to display adverts based on basic attributes and behaviours. But the extensive profiles proposed in the patent go some way beyond existing examples. It would be relatively straightforward to combine information sources to put names and addresses to the anonymous profiles, experts said.
When contacted by the Guardian, Google said it did not have any plans to roll out the technology in the near future, and that it was just one of a large number of patents that it has filed in recent months. A spokesman said: "Google registers different patents irrespective of whether we actually intend to use them."
The company, which has built its success on delivering adverts over the internet, spent $23m (£11.5m) this year acquiring a game advertising company called AdScape. The move was seen as part of a broad expansion of its business into other media, including television and radio.
Although using the proposed profiling techniques would require games publishers to actively incorporate Google's technology, industry experts said that games publishers are increasingly looking for new ways to make money.
"Publishers are becoming more like media companies," said Justin Townsend, the chief executive of IGA, an in-game advertising company. "More games are being optimised for advertising." But he said that privacy concerns should be paramount. "Both consumers, publishers and the advertising industry are very aware of privacy issues," he said. "You cannot afford to be vague in these areas."
Booming market
Experts estimate that around $500m (£250m) will be spent on advertising inside games this year, rising to $2bn by 2010. While more straightforward games such as online poker are already hugely profitable, it is predicted that virtual three-dimensional worlds and role-playing games will soon be among the biggest moneyspinners on the net.
One of the biggest titles is the Lord of the Rings-style fantasy game World of Warcraft, which has more than 8 million subscribers worldwide who each pay around £9 per month to take part in the action.
Second Life, an online virtual community which mimics the real world, has more than 5 million registered users and 1.2 million regular visitors. It is famous for allowing its residents to buy and sell virtual goods, or rent "land" inside the game for up to $300 per month.
A recent report by analysts Screen Digest suggests that the market for virtual worlds in the west already surpasses $1bn per year.
Hiya m8s, i create this application, an easy way to make skins for R4 and M3Simply flashcarts, you can create, delete, rename and apply multiple skins from your computer.
The skins created by the application are in the folder "!:_system_themecatcher".
When you apply a new skin it will be copied to the _system_ folder.
All the selected images all be resized and converted to the compatible BMP files of the flashcart, and you can too select a theme.ini of another skin or create a new theme.ini from a colour selector.
Final Fantasy Tactics for the PlayStation Portable has just hit stores in Japan, but it seems all eyes are on the in-development follow-up to the Game Boy Advance design for the Nintendo DS. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 was one of the major focuses of the Square Enix Party 2007 in Japan this weekend where dozens of systems were at the ready with demo versions for attendees to play. Since I was one of the attendees, I played. Even if it was only for a short few minutes.
Just as the name suggests, Final Fantasy Tactics A2 is the sequel to the Game Boy Advance version of the series. On quick screenshot glance it might appear that the Nintendo DS version is merely a dual-screen rendition of the GBA title, but mere seconds into the game it's clear that the visuals have received a major upgrade in the move from the old to the new portable. It's still a strictly 2D affair with sprite-based characters and backgrounds, but it's hard not to see the much sharper and more vibrant visuals in this sequel.
The early and short playtest didn't, however, show how the game's going to play differently compared to the original GBA title. The story still has a lighthearted, cartoony appeal which contrasted more sharply when played just a few feet from the PlayStation Portable Final Fantasy Tactics demo station. The snowball fight tutorial of the first game is gone in the sequel, replaced with a gargantuan bird attack where you'll learn the initial set of commands, moves, and basic nuances to this turn-based strategy game.
Many of the gameplay elements of the Game Boy Advance title -- from the job system to the judge rulings -- are employed in the Nintendo DS game. Players still have a huge assortment of characters with different attacks and abilities, and at the start of the game you'll have to choose which character in your army would be best used in the fight. Some characters have long distance attacks but stink when it comes to face-to-face encounters. And vice versa -- close range soldiers might be a solid addition to the front lines, but they'll need a few turns to get into the fight.
The Nintendo DS edition might share a few similarities in visual style and in gameplay to the GameCube game of the same name, but ultimately, at least in the short playtime we had with the game at the Square Enix Party in Japan this weekend, the DS "sequel" is pretty much its own game. And that's a good thing.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates opens up with a real-time cutscene that's fully voiced-over in Japanese -- we were hoping the entire game would be spoken dialogue but once the cutscene ends and leads into more interactive environments, characters speak in text exclusively. My lack of Japanese reading ability means that the story nuances were lost in the hands-on play, but I was there mostly for the gameplay and not for the tale that the game weaves. We'll enjoy that when the US version ships later this year with a full localized translation.
After a quick tutorial of the controls from Moogle-like critters that demonstrate the game's item pick-up mechanics and its combat system, it's off to the dungeons where you'll need to strut your stuff. Early on it's nothing more that swiping swords at fox critters, showing them what for with three hit combos with a simple attack-attack-attack pattern, or attacking them from the air with jump-swipes. Holding down the attack button while in the air will activate a powerful downward stab. You can even pick up enemies and attack them from underneath, or leap on their heads and whack them while they're under your feet.
Even though the game's mainly played with the D-pad and action buttons, the touch screen comes into play not just in weapons selection, but also in special attacks. Most of the action takes place on the upper screen...but hold the R button down and the two screens swap places. Then, while this is active, tapping on an enemy that's on the touch screen will activate your special attack that, if connected properly, will knock off a bit more HP from the enemy. You'll need a good amount of special points in reserve to pull off these attacks.
Here's the latest build of GBAMP Multiboot Selector. It is a minor release that fixes a few bugs and adds a new loader, devlauncher by 0xtob. This repleaces MightyMax's Loader. More info is in the included README file. Also please do not mirror the file and link to the offical file on the teendev file server. BTW, GBA booting is still not implimented.
Kirby and all his friends hero of video games find themselves all together to have fun the festival. Unfortunately, malicious (of which the name and the design remains to determine) arrives and thrown an evil spell at all our heroes, except one, Kirby. Our hero thus decides to put himself at the job and of botter the buttocks at the malicious ones. Here is for the history, which is certainly not brilliant but allows me to have with provision a great base of sprites. The play in itself is a play of platform in which one directs Kirby only to the stylet. Moreover, it has faculty to control the wind (Link passed its rod for those to him which want the details scenaristic).
Several Coders have asked me to extend the coding competition to 3 months instead of the 2 original posted, so to honour them i have today extended the competition to 3 Months.
Full DETAILS ON THE COMP BELOW
DCEmu via its Wii-News and Gamecube Emulation Sites are proud to present the first Dual Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Gamecube Coding Competition. This Coding Competition will hopefully ignite a mass of interest for creating homebrew and emulators on the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Gamecube.
The Competition will start on the 6th May 2007 and Entries should be submitted on or before 7th AUGUST 2007 .
Entries for the competition must work on either Nintendo Wii or Nintendo Gamecube or both via SD Load.
All entrys must work with SD Load or with an as yet Unreleased Exploit for Nintendo Wii. Modchip Versions of any releases must have a corresponding SD Load Version.
Entries can be Emulators, Homebrew Games, Demos or Applications that work directly on the Gamecube/Nintendo Wii.
Any submissions must have sources released if theres a GPL on that sourcecode.
All submissions must have DCEmu Forums as the homepage until after the competition ends.
New releases of already released software will be allowed but there must be a good update if thats the case.
All submissions must use either of these splashscreens Here or Here.
Overview : Designed to backup and play anything you can throw at it the G6DS Real is the latest Nintendo DS backup unit offered by the G6 Flash Team.
The G6DS Real does not use SD memory cards, instead it comes with a built in 8Gb (1GB) of NAND memory and offers a simple drag and drop interface via its USB linker with high speed USB 2.0 write speeds. In addition the G6DS Real introduces a new operating system called "TouchPod" which breaks from the many lackluster GUIs and Moonshell systems seen in comparable products.
Features :
The real NDS Clean dump rom compatibilty & support.
Boot clean dump images without the need for any patching.
Same size as an ordinary DS flash cart.
Extreme simple to use: just drag and drop files to the G6 Cart.
Exclusive super "Cheat Code" function.
Software reset function.
No drivers & any software required.
Work as U disk with USB 2.0 ultra fast burning speed .Standard FAT system support.
Built-in 8G bit (1GB) or 16G bit (2GB) NAND Flash memory. No need to use the SD card & worry about the ejection problem of SD card slot.
Perfect preformance. (Runs games without any lag or slow down. You don't need to worry about the compatibility & speed of SD card.)
Auto detect the save type and automatically generate save file. No need to operate manual by yourself.
Upgradeable Firmware (OS/Bios/Kernel)
Includes a fully touch screen & button control operating system/GUI Menu.
Perfect download Play compatibilty. (Single card multiplayer works)
Compatible with DS Rumble Pak, RAM Pack, DS browser.
Compatibile with Wi-Fi Connection.
NDS-GBA Linkage works fine.
Built in PassMe (NO need for any boot cart/passcard etc.)
Homebrew support.
Robust & skinnable GUI.
Ability to boot slot 2 flash carts for GBA/NDS support, with the G6 cart as a passme in slot 1.
Built in Multi-media player.(MP3, OGG music & DPG /DSM/GBM movies). Boots MP3’s and video files via of our media player or Moonshell.
Super E-book function, support Word/TXT file directly.
Super picture viewer function, support *.BMP, *.JPG, *.GIF, *.PNG directly.
Built in PDA (Worldwide Time, Memo, Note, Phone book, Calculator.)
Supports DS sleep mode.
Brightness adjustment within GUI.
Quality/Usability : The G6 Flash Team has finally released their G6DS Real after announcing the product over 4 months ago. The G6DS Real comes in a box with a plastic holder. Item was shipped in a regular envelope so the packaging got squashed during transit. Hopefully, resellers will package the item in a box to prevent damage during transit. In the box are the following items you would get:
G6DS Real 8Gb Flash Cartridge
G6DS Real card reader / writer
USB cable
Mini-CD Software disc
Blue rubber protective case
As listed above, it is suppose to include a mini-cd with G6 Real software but I never received one. It was probably left out during packaging. Its OK though because you dont really need it as you can download it from their site (link further down in review).
The G6DS Real comes in only one color, grey. Like all other Slot-1 flash carts, it is exactly the same size of that of the Nintendo DS cartridges. Only difference is that the bottom back of the cart where it shows the chipset, it doesnt have plastic pin separators like the Nintendo DS cartridges. The plastic pin separators help guide the connections.
Considering the G6DS Real uses NAND memory and does not use any external memory cards, to transfer data to and from the PC, a USB linker is included. One end is the male USB connector and the other end is the female DS slot. On the top of the linker is a blue LED. This will let you know when data is being transferred. Do not remove the DS cart when the light is flashing/on. Since the linker is fairly big, the G6 team has included a USB extension cable for those tight spots where the linker wont be able to fit.
To get the G6DS Real running, like all other flash carts, you'll need the necessary files to run the SLOT-1 card. You can download the latest files from G6 Flash or from linfox. Connect the USB linker which is now black, not blue as pictured, to your PC and insert the G6DS Real. Your computer will now recognize it as a REMOVABLE STORAGE. Once the computer has recognized the G6, extract the latest files to the root of the G6DS (example X:\SYSTEM). This is pretty much the same process for the M3 Simply, R4DS, SuperCard DS One and any other flash carts. Copying of files is a simple drag and drop process. To place your NDS games, they will need to be placed in a folder called "NDS".
Once everything is placed onto the G6DS Real and you boot it up, you are given the TouchPod menu and features. The TouchPod is very responsive and accurate when selecting games and menus. The G6DS Real allows you to have up to five (5) skins. The skins are stored in the "SYSTEM" folder and consists of 22 .BMP images. The skins are selectable under the "SETTINGS" menu.
In the TouchPod, you are given a "NDS Game" tab. This menu tab contains the following
NDS Game – Boot your .NDS games and configure soft-reset and Action Replay cheat options (only files in the “NDS” folder in the root directory).
My Card – Browse files on G6DS Real and boot .NDS files without extra features.
pdaDS – Starts the PDA application, which is the same software from the previous M3/G6 slot 2 devices.
MediaPlay - Extend - A modified version of Moonshell for multimedia playback such as MP3s, videos, read TXT and see images.
Boot – Lets you to boot slot 2 devices in either DS or GBA modes. Can be used to boot older slot 2 flashcarts or play GBA games.
Settings – (2 options available) Allows you to change G6DS Real loader settings such as boot mode (bypass the DS menu) and skin selection (choose from 5 skins).
Every game we loaded onto the G6DS Real and tested it, worked without a problem or any slowdowns. As for homebrew, the G6DS Real has no "official" DLDI driver at the moment. the G6 team has stated that it is being worked on. The G6 team has emailed me and released the G6/M3 DS Real FAT Lib v1.0, which allows homebrew developers to create a DLDI driver for homebrew games and applications. Since there are no DLDI drivers available at the moment, the only homebrew games or applications I was able to run where the ones that did not require FAT access.
Conclusion : Overall, the G6 Flash G6DS Real SLOT-1 (1GB) is a well designed product but has some flaws. With the lack of homebrew support for the moment, this may turn some customers away. Although majority of the games I tested worked great, the claim of "100% Download Play" comes up short. I was unable to get a couple of games to work such as Clubhouse Games, Mario Kart DS and a few others.
Since the G6DS Real does not allow expandable memory such as microSD cards and being limited to only 1GB may not be OK with some customers, while others are fine with it. The G6DS Real also comes in 16Gb (2GB) as well for those who want bigger storage.
If the G6 team can improve on the compatibility of some games and get the DLDI driver for homebrew games and applications, this would definitely be at the top of the list as a MUST get product.
Please note that none of the "upgrade" products listed in this site are endorsed by Nintendo, Sony and/or Microsoft. DCEmu Reviews and DCEmu Network does not condone piracy. The primary functions of a "modchip" and/or "flashcart" are to allow you to play imported games and homebrew software that you legally own or simply just for experimenting with hardware. We in no way endorse piracy, and encourage all users to do the right thing and support the developers/manufacturers that support them. We do not take any responsibilities for any use outside of these parameters or where the use of such a device is illegal.
Following the announcement of a new Pokémon game for DS, CoroCoro magazine in Japan has revealed the first scans of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon sequel from Chunsoft on DS. Check it out below:
According to Nintendo Fanboy, animal lovers are in for a treat with a dog themed puzzle game brought to the DS by Hudson. Kyou no Wanko is based on a Japanese morning TV spot, allowing players to solve some adorable doggy puzzles by touching up their DSs. One to look out for on July 26th.
GBA booting is here. All thanks to everyone at GBAdev and the group on #tod2 on EFnet. This is the exact same release as v1.65 but it has GBA booting. Just press Start to boot to the GBA... same rules apply to the download...
features
Pages: 176
A comprehensive walkthrough of the entire game.
Detailed area maps.
In-depth listing of available items and equipment.
Expert boss strategies to defeat even the toughest boss.
Game secrets revealed!
Platform: PS2, PSP, DS, PS3, Xbox 360, GBA and Wii
A seemingly narked Bungie has responded to comments made by Nintendo legend, Shigeru Miyamoto who claimed he could make Halo.
Last week Miyamoto was quoted saying: "I could make Halo. It's not that I couldn't design that game. It's just that I choose not to."
Taking that as a personal challenge, Bungie's Frank O'Connor told Joystiq: "I just want to go on the record and say that Bungie is hard at work on a side-scrolling platform game featuring some plumbers - I'm not going to say what their ethnicity is, it's none of anyone's business."
He went on to say: "We took [his comments] as a gauntlet, a sort of glove slap, and we're going to respond in 2D scrolling style. That's all I'm saying."
Take-Two is gearing up to unleash the Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer on DS, PS2, PS3, Wii, and 360 next month with these brand new images of the game in action.
RotSS is a third-person action game that will inevitably see the awesome foursome causing all sorts of chaos and destruction.
Although no platform was specified for these screens, they will have come from the high-powered 360 or PS3 versions, by the looks of it. Unless there's a turbo-powered DS Nintendo's keeping from us.
CycloDS Evolution is a multi-functional Micro SD adapter for NDS and NDS Lite (Slot 1) which allows you to play games, listen to MP3's, view images, read e-books and enjoy the vast collection of homebrew applications for NDS. You can also take advantage of the inbuilt cheat code system to enjoy more freedom with your favorite games.
CycloDS Evolution is the world’s most advanced Media Adapter for NDS Lite and NDS. Boasting superior functionality, European design and quality components, CycloDS Evolution is unparalleled in its field.
The unique enhanced mode offers powerful, unique features during game play which are activated through an in-game menu. These features include in-game LCD brightness adjustment, SlowMotion mode and in-game reset. The cheat code engine is directly compatible with Action Replay codes and CycloDS Evolution comes bundled with cheat codes for over 300 games so you can get started right away without any fuss.
CycloDS Evolution’s inbuilt OS can run software and homebrew without the need for any patching on the users part. ROM loading is fast and trouble free, simply browse and tap to execute. You don’t even need to apply DLDI patches to your homebrew software; CycloDS Evolution takes care of this for you with its automatic DLDI patching feature.
Evolution loads media from MicroSD cards, which means you’re free to buy more memory at any time, never constrained by the boundaries of onboard flash memory. Transferring software and homebrew is simple with the supplied MicroSD USB reader. Simply connect to your PC and drag and drop the desired files onto your MicroSD card.
Listen to MP3’s, watch videos or even read e-books via Moonshell. The Moonshell multimedia application will maximize the versatility of your handheld console.
The CycloDS Evolution GUI is user friendly and can be operated exclusively with the stylus if desired. Skinning is supported which means you’ll always have a fresh view of the CycloEvo at your fingertips. The user interface is multi-lingual and is currently supporting the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Latin American Spanish and Portuguese.
The spiralling costs of next-gen games development are embarrassing, unworkable and an ego trip for publishers, according to Blast Entertainment CEO Sean Brennan.
Speaking at last week's Northern Exposure conference, Brennan slammed publishers for embarking on multi-million dollar development projects that he believes are financially unworkable and nothing more than an ego trip in the face of competitors.
"What a joke. What embarrassment. There's no way on a USD 20 million development project that you can break even on a game – not now in the cycle," said Brennan.
"Maybe in two years time when the installed base is high enough, but it's an embarrassment at best. But all the publishers are doing it because it's a copycat mentality."
"Some of the costs are absolutely outrageous. I did a project for THQ about 18 months ago and it's like a big ego trip for publishers," he said.
Brennan noted that US publishers are keeping development internal, so company's outside North America are unlikely to get a slice of the pie.
"With these big budgets, all these big American publishers are looking internally. Because when you're spending USD 15 or USD 20 million you don't want to trust an external developer with that sort of budget," stated Brennan.
"And they want the developer in America, first and foremost. A lot of the reason behind that is cultural. Since 9/11 American publishers have become a lot more insular. That's going to continue to be a key issue, it's a worrying factor."
Offering advice to the UK development community, Brennan said studios should play to their strengths and understand that UK taste doesn't always work on a global scale.
"US culture and taste works globally. You may not like that, but that's how it works. UK tastes don't always work. The world is dominated by the big US players and there's an inherent danger there for the UK development community," offered Brennan.
"Yes, the market is changing, but the consumer base is changing as well. You've got to look to areas where you've got a critical advantage. The UK development community is the most vibrant and creative development community in the world, in terms of implementing new ideas and having great gameplay."
"What the American's do better is the production values, which they can afford to when they're spending USD 20 million on a game - the games look sumptuous but don't particularly play so well. UK developers need to play to their traditional strengths," he concluded.
Balancing budgets, reducing pollution, and addressing traffic congestion sounds about as exciting as watching grass grow. But Will Wright's SimCity proved that building and managing your own city could be both fun and addictive when it released in 1989.
The new version - scheduled to release in June 2007 - injects an assortment of DS-centric gameplay features, adding some flare to this pocket-sized iteration of the PC classic. You'll blow in your microphone to put out fires and kill rampaging monsters by tapping on them with your stylus. We also saw a special event where Santa Claus came to town. Tapping him with the stylus will force the jolly St. Nick to drop gifts for your sim-citizens.
I found this about a month and a half ago, so you may have seen it now - but if not, check out Ecolis, an incredibly appealing RTS for the DS. I am absolutely not an RTS player, but looking at these screens makes me want to buy the game right now. Cute sprite things in isometric 3D backgrounds with a chunky pixel map on the top screen...I'm sold! The character design is really solid too.
This is actually an internally-developed game from Interchannel (I believe it's internal anyway), which is what's left of the NEC gaming legacy. NEC had NEC Avenue for internal development before, and Interchannel for publishing and development...then Avenue disappeared. Then NEC Interchannel started to die as the dreamcast fell...then it got sold, and just became Interchannel. And now here we are, crossing our fingers that Ecolis is the second coming. It's coming at some point in 2007...
North American gamers will have plenty of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest spin-offs to grind through over the next year as Square-Enix has finally announced four vague release dates for four of its upcoming games.
Dragon Quest Monsters Joker for the Nintendo DS will hit over here in the fourth quarter of 2007 with Dragon Quest Swords for the Wii, announced what-seems-like-forever-ago, still without a release date. DQ: Swords is being developed with "casual audiences in mind" so expect a very laid back release schedule.
The PSP-bound Final Fantasy Tactics remake, redubbed The War of the Lions, has an October release window with the Nintendo DS cutesy spin-off Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings coming sometime in the winter. That could mean early 2008, so start tailoring your Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa wishlists with that in mind.
I've got the latter two on my purchase radar, but we'll see how crowded this holiday season gets. You buyin'?
The DS Xtreme Team have posted news that the new DS Xtreme 2GB flash cart is now shipping
Also a New firmware is released:
+ Support for compiled (.cnut) scripts in skinning engine for improved load times
+ Support for compiled media files, textures, and palettes
+ Support for 2GB (16Gb) hardware
+ Preliminary support for X and Y buttons in UI
+ Some additional widget API implemented for upcoming features
+ Support for unicode text in scripts and settings files
- Updated font rendering library to more recent version
- Removed alignment requirement in Libfat/DLDI driver hook
- Changed IRQ handling to support nested interrupts (Internal change, not relevant to end-use at this time)
- Doubled virtual eeprom size to resolve compatibility issues (now 512KB)
* Fixed a known bug in Libfat/DLDI driver hook routines which could potentially cause issues with some homebrew on writes. (Note that we had not seen this issue manifest, but decided to resolve it preemptively)
Cory1492 has posted a new version of his app for the Nintendo DS:
.1 final added, source and all separate sample packages now in one zip. No feature/bug fixes this go.
3in1 version is now essentially discontinued, I no longer see any reason to waste my already limited time competing with someone else on such parallel projects when nearly all the differences are mundane, especially now that EZ team seems much more intent on backing Rudolph's version (their email quoted today here).
The remaining incentive to work with 3in1, for me, can be filled entirely by small and uncomplicated (and generally not public) programs.
Hi, I've made the FS idea I presented in another thread. Basically, it's an appended file system like GBFS, but it has many more features and less limitations:
* use NitroFS via ndstool
* works on slot-1 & 2, via DLDI patch
* autodetection of the NDS file in the card, using unique ID generated by the EFS patcher
* autosaving of the NDS file path in the card inside the NDS file. If the file has moved, then it's searched again
* read/write file support (for writing, space must be already allocated)
* multiple files can be opened at the same time
* directory listing
* can use real FAT instead of EFS with a simple define (useful for debugging, when you need to change files without changing the code)
It works on emulator by using the fcsr method by GPF and including the .nds (or the .ds.gba, it depends of the emu) itself in the FAT image.
History:
12/05/2007 - v1.0:
* Original release
13/05/2007 - v1.1:
* cleaned up code a bit
* corrected problems with nds files with loader
* corrected problems with nds files made with standard libnds makefile
* removed header struct
* optimised variables, now use 505 bytes less in RAM
* added EFS_Flush() function, to ensure data is written
* included ASM code for reserved space in efs_lib.c
Warning:
After a series of writes, make sure you call EFS_Flush(), to ensure data is written. This is due to a libfat limitation (caused by its the cache system, and the way EFS lib use libfat).
Hi everybody !
For my first post, I upload my first PALib made game.
It's a platform game created from various other games sprites and backgrounds
For the moment only the first 2 levels are complete and only 1 type of ennemy is implemented
I'm open to any comments to improve it.
Here’s a new release, alpha 2a. Mostly a bug fix release, and 1 new feature.
Fixed:
* user created level selection behaves erratically
on briefing screen, robot spins too fast when text is written
- maybe fixed, couldn’t test* loading a savedgame crashes on certain cards
* homing missile warning doesn’t show
* buffer overflow possibly causing crash on briefing screen
* select button unusable
* invisible enemies still too visible
* text overflow in briefing screens
* remove quit option in main menu
New features:
* option to disable weapon autoselection
Need more info:
* 2d objects half-stuck in walls
- There’s probably nothing I can do about this because Descent didn’t use a zbuffer so anything that was drawn overwrote everything under it, and so by drawing 2d objects last one could ensure that they wouldn’t get clipped through walls. This is not possible on the DS as one cannot disable the zbuffer (do correct me if I’m wrong). Still, if someone can provide an exact location that this occurs, I’ll check if there’s something to be done.
I work actively on Jetfighter and my 2nd release coded in Lua biensur with DSLua 0.6 proposes to you, it is thus necessary to launch the binary one adapted to your linker support GBFS thus toujour for the slot2, since DSlua toujour not at the point then to return in the repertory gbfs then to launch Jetfighter.lua. I a stable version of DSLua waits to adapt it to the linker slot1.
Innovations in the 0.2b:
- Addition of the shootings for each Jet in their repsectif screen.
- Correction of the bug of the Jet Bottom.
In next the release:
- Change of screen for the shootings.
- Life and Score for each Jet.
- Explosion.
Nintendo is searching for the next great director. Lead by Nintendo's flagship store, Nintendo World, the Nintendo Short Cuts Showcase invites filmmakers from all walks of life to demonstrate their passion and skills by creating a Nintendo-themed short film or video. The top three films will be chosen by a panel that includes a Tribeca senior programmer, an entertainment industry reporter and a Nintendo executive. The final films will premiere as a part of the inaugural short film showcase at the Top of the Rock™ Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center during Rock Center's annual summer film showcase, June 19-22.
The first-place winner will be awarded a $10,000 cash prize along with a lunch meeting with the co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival, Craig Hatkoff, and a trip to New York to see the winning entry shown at the Rock Center's annual summer film showcase. In addition, the top three winners will all receive Nintendo hardware and games.
The short film submissions must be less than five minutes long and Nintendo-themed in some way. The rest is up to the imagination of the filmmakers, who can explore themes using the new Wii™ home video game system, the hand-held Nintendo DS™ or even classic Nintendo characters and systems. The entries can be comedies or dramas, live action or animated – the options for cinematic creativity are almost endless.
"Opening the Nintendo Short Cuts Showcase to the broader filmmaking public reflects our message that video games are fun for everyone," explains George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "We expect to get high-quality entries from film students, indie filmmakers and creative talents of all kinds that spark the imagination the same way our games do."
For an official entry form, a list of approved film formats and a list of the contest rules and regulations, visit nintendoshortcuts.com. Filmmakers must be 18 or older. Entries are due on or before June 6.
The Nintendo Short Cuts screening at Top of the Rock will be a special feature and an addition to the annual summer film series at Rockefeller Center, a unique outdoor event showcasing four nights of independent movies.
While at the Top of the Rock, movie fans can check out a selection of cool Nintendo World merchandise. And once folks head back down to ground level, the full Nintendo World store is just a few steps away at 10 Rockefeller Plaza.
features
The successor to the popular rhythm action game "Ouendan" (aka. Elite Beat Agents)
description
Osu! Everybody's favorite DS rhythm action game is back! Prepare to help people and save the world again with the power of dance and song in Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2. This is a direct sequel to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan and not Elite Beat Agents, which is a remake of sorts of the first game with different songs, characters and stories for the western market.
For those who have never played the game before, the game requires you to touch the screen in rhythm to numbered circles on the screen with some variations to keep things interesting. With licensed music in the background and varying levels of difficulty, it is a very addictive music game.
You can expect all of the original cheer squad, male and female characters back in for the sequel. You'll also see familiar faces from levels in the first game making an appearance. Watch out for the rival Cheer Squad dressed in blue! They're also playable in the game, making this sequel bigger and better in every way.
Wondering about multiplayer? The game supports 4-player wireless play for endless gaming fun. So make sure to pick up a copy and stop helpless people from screaming Ouendan!
The hourglass named in the title of Link's highly-anticipated DS quest will come into play by keeping you alive in a cursed dungeon that constantly drains your health.
According to NEOGAF translations of the latest issue of Famitsu, Link will tackle the caverns of an underwater shrine which is under a curse that slowly drains his health while he's inside.
The only way to survive is to use the Phantom Hourglass, which protects you from the curse for a limited amount of time.
As you progress through the game you will set sail to explore islands marked on your sea chart to find "sands of time" which fill your hourglass and offer you extended protection from the deadly curse.
It sounds like an interesting quest from the usual dungeon-busting of the Zelda series. Phantom Hourglass is expected to hit Japanese stores next month and we'll bring you hands-on impressions.
Telltale executive Kevin Bruner has revealed that his company thinks many games are "too expensive" and too restricted with regard to the choice of content on offer for consumers.
Speaking at the Nordic Game conference Bruner, who is chief technology officer at Telltale, told GamesIndustry.biz: "I think the industry is creating one type of content, which is the thousand-page novel. If you went into a bookstore and every book was a thousand-page novel - not everybody wants that.
"We've gone through five or six years of just one type of game offering - the 50-hour first-person shooter type thing. I think with the Wii and handhelds and the casual games space, we're seeing a lot of consumers who want something different."
Established in 2004, Telltale specialises in producing episodic games such as the Bone and Sam and Max titles. According to Bruner, the company has already beaten financial projections and is seeing a high demand for episodic content.
"All of our games are very story-driven, they're not action games at all, and we think that kind of treatment - that people, if they were offered it, would respond more favourably to that," he said.
"We believe that games are too expensive right now. A lot of not only episodic games but games in general are not priced appropriately. We also think that games are too big."
Telltale Games currently offers individual episodes of Sam and Max at USD 8.95, with all six instalments in the first season available for USD 34.95. Bruner said this model has proved successful, adding, "We think our games are priced correctly."
Tomorrow, Bruner will deliver a speech at Nordic Game titled, 'Why Episodic Gaming is Good for Developers.' He told GI.biz, "I've made a lot of traditional games, and I much prefer to work this way than spend two years making a game that comes out and if you screw something up, there's no opportunity to fix it - you just move on and do something else.
"We really like the [episodic] business model, we like being able to interact with the consumer regularly," he continued.
"I think once you get over the production challenges of creating a game a month then it's a really attractive model to be in."
Activision is enjoying the benefits of cross-promotion with this week's UK All Formats number one, as sales of Spider-Man 3 jump 26 per cent.
PlayStation 2 units account for 73 per cent of sales, while Xbox 360 makes up 25 per cent of sales for the movie tie-in.
Electronic Arts' Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars has leapt back up the charts following release on the Xbox 360, from number 20 to number two, nudging Nintendo's Wii Play down to number three.
Discounting has boosted sales of Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 6, which jumps up the charts from number 35 to number four, with EA's FIFA 07 also climbing to number five.
505 Games break into the top ten with Cooking Mama for the DS at number six, while Square Enix's Final Fantasy III takes the number seven position and Sony's latest SingStar Pop Hits sits at number eight.
Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion falls to number nine this week, while EA's Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is at number ten.
May 15th marks the 40 year anniversary of the first games hooked up to the television. An article on the 1up site tells the story of Ralph Baer, Bill Harrison, and Bill Rusch working at the Sanders Associates company on a little game called Pong. They go into a great deal of detail on the development of the console, going so far as to include a number of the group's original notes on the project.
"Baer kept the tiny lab, a former company library in Sanders' early days, locked at all times. Only two men had keys: Baer and Harrison. The room would remain the base of operations for their controversial video experiments for years to come -- experiments that, had they been known about widely at the time, might have garnered intense ridicule from other employees of the prominent defense contractor. Pursuing them was an utterly audacious move."
Not having chances with my “small” projects, I release the first play which I carried out until his term (or almost). The sources being old, they do not compile a continuation, I will update a put version soon (is just necessary to reconvert BGs with the last pagfx and that should roll). It is good, that compiles While waiting, here how on the basis of a algo of sudoku made at all to make a play, one makes a play by adding 3 ends of strings to him. For the remainder, this code should be used as example with nobody, even if all doipas to be to throw.
At the request/advice of some of the forum members, I have modified my button tester app to test other thing as well.
As you can see I have based its visual style
on that of the Wii menu.
Current features are_
1. Button Test
2. Stylus Test
3. Wifi Test (Not implemented)
4. Boot GBA (Not Implemented)
5. Microphone Test
6. Speaker Test
7. Stuck Pixel Fixer
8. Power Down the DS (No icon yet)
The two blue circles at the bottom will both be used as buttons, one to return to the main menu, the other undecided (perhaps credits?). The current time is also displayed.
The download will be available when the app if finished, sinse I don't know how to boot GBA or Wifi test, it might be some time.
Nintendo is experimenting with “download stations” at three airports where users can wirelessly download free game demos to their Nintendo DS consoles. The free game demos currently available include…
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day
Elite Beat Agents
Cooking Mama
But Nintendo plans to swap in new games periodically. Nintendo also says the demos are “temporary” — meaning, presumably, that they expire at some point.
The game download stations appear at the international airports in New York, Atlanta, and Cincinnati, as part of a partnership with Delta Air Lines. There’s four stations at New York’s JFK airport (near Delta Terminals 2 and 3), plus stations at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International.
Delta had already been trying to distinguish their airline with special services like in-flight HBO shows and on-demand programming. (They bragged the Nintendo download stations were “yet another innovative entertainment offering to our global travelers.”) But the partnership also fits into Nintendo’s relentless quest for new customers, according to a Nintendo spokesman. “Because people typically have a lot of down time, airports are ideal places for people young and old to try out free new game experiences and see what they like.”
Nintendo says the game demos will “build on Nintendo’s goal to expand the world of video games to new audiences,” which seems a little disingenous. (You have to own a Nintendo DS console already, so you’ve probably also experienced the “world of video games”.) What they’re really after is higher game sales, and maybe some brand-building. But Nintendo has found a genuinely new and untapped marketing channel.
When a company is fighting both Microsoft and Sony, they have to be creative!
DCEmu Network has hit the 200,000 user milestone! This is a BIG accomplishment. Although we have hit the 200,000 milestone, we are still growing, getting bigger and stronger everyday with hundreds of new users registering each day.
The staff here at DCEmu Network would like to thank every one of you for the continued support and contributions to DCEmu. Without your support and contributions, we wouldnt be where we are today! Keep up the good work and spread the word!
Break Soul takes us to a fantasy world, to assume the rol of Eryx, with the mission of recover his soul who has been splitted from his body. We must face all kind of challenges in order to recover it, in an adventure between the worlds of the living and the undead to face the Queen of Death and challenge the four Giant of Darkness.
Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced further details of its forthcoming Marvel Trading Card Game for PSP® and PC, and has confirmed a 31st May release for the title. A specially tailored version for the Nintendo DS™ will follow in July.
Based on the popular trading card game from Upper Deck Entertainment™, the Marvel Trading Card Game allows players to collect over 800 cards based on their favorite Marvel characters and compete in cross-platform online play in a variety of different modes.
The Marvel Trading Card Game lets players assemble their own deck and take on different challenges to gain more cards based on legendary Marvel characters such as Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider and more. In the game’s single player story mode, players choose to play as hero or villain, and select a series of enemies to battle. In between each clash, the game’s scenario unfolds via detailed comic book scenes as player moves on to the next adversary.
The game uses Upper Deck Entertainment’s hugely popular Vs. System™ - a complex game engine much-loved by Trading Card fans, and offering a massive challenge to newcomers to the genre. The Vs. System showcases massive Super Hero battles within the established trading card game format. Each player begins the game with their own team of Marvel characters, and tries to defeat the cards of their opponent. The Vs. System is specifically designed to be played at all levels of competition and can be played in a variety of formats.
Utilising a sophisticated online network, the Marvel Trading Card Game lets players interact with an online community to compete across a variety of game modes and tournaments, trade cards with other players and even purchase new cards from the game’s online store. A special community website has already been established at www.marveltcgonline.com, and offers links to tournaments and tips. Dedicated and localised European sites will also go live at launch, while the European games will also include a redemption code allowing players to add new cards to their game on visiting the sites.
The Marvel Trading Card Game also offers several different modes that use each player’s personal decks for an authentic tournament experience for four or more players. Local multiplayer is supported in the Nintendo DS and PSP versions of the game through each system’s wireless link capabilities, while PC users are using a LAN-based mode for multiplayer battles.
Online play will also allow users of the PSP and the PC versions to play the Marvel Trading Card Game via the Internet, while Nintendo DS players can use Nintendo’s Wi-Fi Connection to play online. Players on all platforms will be able to participate in regular sanctioned tournaments for valuable prizes, while every copy of the game will also come with a special Trading Card.
Training your brain became a worldwide activity following the launch of Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? in Europe last summer. This continued into 2007 and now over 10 million people globally are currently including it in their daily lives. But, as with any exercise, continual training is required to help stay active and now you can keep on training your brain with the second instalment in the Brain Training franchise, More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? Featuring all new exercises and DS Brain Age Checks, this is set to challenge even the most trained brains as it launches across Europe on 29th June 2007.
Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? has been enjoyed by people of all ages, including those who would not normally be associated with video games. Inspired by the research of renowned Japanese neuroscientist Dr Kawashima, this original title and the soon to launch More Brain Training are designed to help stimulate your brain and challenge memory, math and perception skills. Users can train their brain by exercising for just a few minutes each day, whether on the go or when relaxing.
More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? uses the same format as its predecessor. Held like a book, you are invited to use the unique and intuitive touch screen and microphone features of the Nintendo DS as you take 5 - 10 minutes a day to help your brain stay active with challenging new exercises. All exercises contained in the software are based on easy to execute mathematical, cognitive and language-based tasks. The DS Brain Age Check measures the speed and accuracy with which you perform simple tasks to establish your DS Brain Age. Once this is established you will be set a regime to help stimulate your brain. The DS Brain Age Check allows you to see your progress on the inbuilt calendar.
The DS Brain Age Checks take on a new form in this title as you’re tested on three randomly selected exercises including old school classic Rock, Paper, Scissors which asks you to name the position to either win or lose against the object shown, Memorising 5x5 which sees you remembering the position of numbers on screen and Speedy Symbols which challenges your memory of symbols associated with specific numbers.
More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? features fun new training exercises including Correct Change which challenges you on an everyday day task - to work out the right amount of money to hand back after a transaction as quickly as possible, Missing Symbols, a twist on the classic ‘20 calculations’ test, and Masterpiece Recital which invites you to follow a music sheet shown on one screen and touch the corresponding piano keys on the touch screen. As your daily training continues, additional new exercises are unlocked, opening up a variety of new activities with varying levels of difficulty.
With More Brain Training you can also play with your family and friends. Using a single game card, two to sixteen players can participate in four different exercises together. Challenge each other to Word Scramble, Memorise 5x5 or Correct Change to see who reigns in the worlds of math, memory and perception. Three to sixteen players can also compete in a picture quiz to test each others artistic skills, where players score the other drawings to find a winner.
Making a welcome return to this new title is the popular numbers game, sudoku. Featuring three difficulty levels from Basic to Intermediate to Advanced, there are over a hundred puzzles to keep you occupied!
More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? launches across Europe on 29th June 2007 at the estimated retail price of around €30 (£19.99 in the UK )
Majesco Entertainment Company, an innovative provider of video games and digital entertainment products for the mass market, today announced the latest addition to its popular line of Nintendo DS™ games, Operation: Vietnam. Developed by Coyote Console and scheduled for worldwide release this autumn, Operation: Vietnam drops players into the war-torn jungles of Vietnam as they try to escape enemy territory.
“Operation: Vietnam packs the run-and-gun action found in popular arcade games into the Nintendo DS™,” said John Merchant, Marketing Manager, Majesco Europe. “The squad-based gameplay and variety of missions create a fast-paced, exciting experience for gamers on the go.”
In Operation: Vietnam, a chopper flight over the thick jungles of worn-torn Vietnam goes horribly wrong as the transport is shot down deep inside Viet Cong territory. Surrounded by the enemy, players must rally their squad and lead them back to safety. Along the way, players must fend off repeated assaults while liberating oppressed villagers.
Exciting features of Operation: Vietnam include:
Use the Touch Screen to issue commands, access inventory, view maps and select which squad member to control;
Utilize your squad to combat multiple enemy types including: soldiers, tanks, turrets, enemy barracks, etc.;
Take advantage of different specialties and weapons per soldier: long range rifle, grenade launcher, automatic weapons, and more;
Flush out enemies with smoke grenades or take them out with fragmentation grenades.
For us, it's hard to not surround ourselves in everything gaming. Posters, figurines and, well ... games. It just comes with the territory, much to the dismay of everyone in our life who isn't appreciative of the art (these people exist, we assure you), so receiving such a gift that pays homage to one of our most favourite games would be excellent on a gift-receiving occasion.
Free Radical's Rob Yescombe, scriptwriter for the upcoming Haze, says next-gen games should focus on "becoming more mature" and reflect real-world issues.
In a rant with Edge Magazine, Yescombe turned to Halo 3 to explain: "While Halo is brilliant, you're a teenager - the next-gen is about becoming more mature."
He continued, "It's about what's happening in the world today - it's ludicrous, and how can you make something that doesn't reflect that? Well, you could bury your head in the sand and make Halo 3, but the fact of the matter is there are more important things at stake."
Well, we'll get home at 6:30pm tonight and the most important thing to us will be getting the Halo 3 beta up and running (providing our 360 doesn't unleash the red lights of death on us... again).
The DS-X (DS-Xtreme) is a revolutionary storage, homebrew and media player flash cart compatible with all DS Lite and original DS consoles.
Offering a SINGLE unified solution which allows you to do the unthinkable and push the limits of Nintendo’s ™ top selling handheld console. The DS-X does NOT require the use of a passme, external memory or any unsightly GBA cart, just one intelligently designed piece of kit, the same size as an ordinary DS cart, giving an unrivalled experience to any DS enthusiast.
Its plug and play in its finest hour, an in-built USB port on the DS-X paves the way for you to communicate easily between the DS-X OS and your computer. Drag ‘n drop all your favourite media and homebrew as you please directly onto the included 16GBit (2-Gbyte) memory with minimal effort as the DS-X will be instantly recognized by your machine.
Good ole james found this curious new product, the Vflash. There's a bit more info here, and a product demo here. Unlike other edutainment efforts, this one actually has a 3D processor. I wonder what kind?
It has a (8 meg) memory card slot, and uses discs for media. You can apparently 'make animation' with it, and save those to the card, as well as three game saves. Two controller ports...the controller looks a bit low rent, but the whole thing costs $99, so what can you ask for really? I do like how self-explanatory the buttons are - 'enter,' 'exit,' 'menu,' etc. Four face buttons, two shoulder buttons. If you check here, you can find the full product suite, including games. Spider-Man, Scooby Doo, Cars, etc. And the graphics don't look too shabby, considering. You get the best sense of that by watching the videos on the main page. This is building off their Vsmile handheld product too (which uses custom carts)... I just can't get enough of weird game technology. Thank goodness people keep making it!
Vtech itself is based in hong kong, and sells this stuff in the chinese market as well. I don't know - somehow I wonder if they didn't get ahold of a bunch of old Dreamcast chips... (actually it's apparently an ARM9 processor...like the GP2X, though there are different speeds of course)
Square-Enix fans and hot beverage afficionados can finally agree on something, as the lovable Final Fantasy fauna mainstay finally makes its way to licensed mugs with the soon to be released Chocobo Magic Book Mug.
Fine importer National Console Support has begun taking pre-orders for these adorable Chocobo mug-bearing cups for the collector-only price of $18 a pop. Typically, I get my mugs for free, but my non-sexual crush on all things Chocobo might make me break.
Thinking about using some Dragon Quest slime silverware to stir my morning coffee in a Chocobo mug just sealed the deal. Consider these birds ordered!
* Added LDRD and STRD opcodes.
* Added HuffUnComp BIOS function.
* Added Square Root BIOS function.
* Added command line options.
* Added zipped rom support (the emulator slows down).
* Added basic frameskip.
* Added support for M3, Supercard CF and Supercard One files.
* Added Run to Cursor(F6) and Step Over(F8) in debugger.
* Added support for Shadow Polygons.
* Added support for .ds.gba and .sc.nds files.
* Added Rotation feature.
* Added Save/Load game capability.
* Fixed unaligned memory access on LDRH opcode.
* Fixed a bug in textures management.
* Fixed a bug in 3D matrices management.
* Fixed a bug in LIGHT_VECTOR register.
* Fixed a bug in NORMAL register.
* Fixed a bug in GXSTAT register.
* Fixed a bug in Extended Draw Mode management.
* Fixed a bug in microphone support.
Just one more continent to jump and then we can all play our DS's in our closets when other people at home. The success of the naughty witch touching game that hasn't even come out yet has convinced SNK to release a translated version (unfortunately, it's probably not the translation you wanted).
Doki Doki Majo Shinpan has finished turning Japanese (didn't think I could slip another 80s tune into a post, did you?) and has now got a Chinese translation version on their website. Why are the Chinese so lucky? Well, it is the year of the Golden Pig, which means double prosperity for everyone. Of course, maybe there are just a lot of perverts in China. Who can say for sure?
When the King falls ill, it’s up to Shrek® to find the true heir and save Far Far Away. Journey with Shrek®, Donkey, and Puss-in-Boots on this all new twisted fairy tale adventure. Along the way, meet new friends, conquer bold enemies, and visit never before seen lands from the movie and beyond.
Here's the thing: the games Atlus USA sees fit to bring over tend to be love-it or hate-it propositions. Don't expect anything different with Etrian Odyssey. The RPG has collected the usual run of mixed reviews so far, but if you were looking forward to it, take heart and remember that the same lead dev behind Trauma Center headed up the Etrian Odyssey team, and if we learned anything from that title, it's that the best of all possible games tend to be brutally punishing.
1UP: 80% -- "Etrian Odyssey is old-school tough, but it's new-school fair. The maps are easy to make thanks to the simple, grid-based layout, and warp items and spells are easily accessible; their use is actively encouraged. The labyrinth is divided into several "strata," and each one has its own teleportation point. So, while it may be easy to get lost in the dungeon, it's almost impossible to get trapped ... Etrian Odyssey will definitely appeal more to the OCD'd than the ADD'd, and its punishing difficulty and very deliberate pacing may turn off younger gamers who grew up on flashier roleplayers. But it offers a real sense of wonder and a sense of accomplishment -- feelings missing from far too many modern games."
GamePro: 60% -- "The first-person gameplay is effective when combined with the shiny new 3D graphics engine that renders the Labyrinth in rich detail, day or night. As you work your way downwards through the twists and turns of the Labyrinth, it really feels like you're lost in a maze. The novelty wears off, though, as you'll find your eyes glued to the 2D map rather than taking in the 3D world to plan your route and avoid roving enemies that pop up. Despite the detailed setting graphics, the character models are anime-styled 2D cutouts and enemies have no attack animations and only one wobble animation and a flash of light indicating that your attack hit them."
This is a patched version of the Beup Live 0.3e DLDI ROM for Nintendo DS by HtheB. Microsoft sometimes changes the IP-address of the MSN Passport server so the ROM can't connect. The problem is that the ROM is using hardcoded IP-adresses instead of looking up the server's DNS. So until a version which supports DNS-lookups has been released I'll patch the ROM with a new IP whenever it changes. Simply put, this fixes the problem with "SSL connect failed". Enjoy
New DS: Display of the folders and sub-folders containing .cbds files, for a better organization.
New DS: Alphabetical Sort of the .cbds files, according to the filename.
New DS: Customizable background image.
3 background images are located in the "nds/ComicBookDSTheme" subdirectory of pictods. Copy them anywhere on your card (but all the 3 in the same directory), and you'll have those backgrounds displayed instead of the black one.
New DS: Magazine (and vertical images) handling : While being on the bottom of the image, pressing the bottom key will move the visible area to the top on the right (of left in manga mode). Same behavior for the top. Page changed may also be triggered.
New DS: Progressive Key scroll : 1 pixel scroll at the beginning, then quicker, until the maximum value is reached (the one defined in the .ini file)
New DS: Animated scroll of the Title/Author/Provider/Image name, when their length exceed the visible area.
New DS: A random book can be selected pressing the dice icon (visible in library mode, when the top-most folder is displayed).
New DS: Changes in the way the right/left hands icons are displayed, reflecting better that the first or final page is reached (mainly in the view modes).
BugFix DS: As usual ... small bug fixes and improvements.
- Press START in game to pause.
- Added some code to let you clear the current submission word quickly. Hold the stylus down in the submission word area and draw a straight line / upwards line from left to right - as if you were crossing the word out and lift the stylus. The word should be cleared away. You'll know if you've done it correctly as you'll see a white line left behind (for debugging). Appreciate some feedback on this.
Sega has signed Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 for use in a selection of titles currently in development.
"Sega is pleased to arm our developers with the sophisticated tools contained in Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3," offered Simon Jeffery, president of Sega America.
"Its versatility and power will help Sega create incredible gaming experiences."
Titles currently in development at Sega include the recently announced Condemned 2: Bloodshot and Universe at War: Earth Assault.
"Epic is extremely excited to be working with Sega," commented Mark Rein, VP of Epic Games.
"Sega has a long history of innovation and leadership in our industry and we're honoured that they've chosen to use Unreal Engine 3."
A financial analysis of EA's bank vaults has let slip that Godfather 2 is in development.
The paper was put together by Nollenberger Capital Partners to help investors make tricky decisions, and was based on going behind the scenes at the publishing giant.
"Interestingly, we learned that EA is leveraging the significant amount of development time and costs that went into The Godfather game," it read. "The open-world engine was built from the ground up for Godfather, and is now being used by five different franchises, including The Simpsons."
"Godfather 2 is also in development currently, though timing is unknown."
Although EA wasn't able to comment on any of this, it shouldn't really come as too much of a surprise, given that executive producer David DeMartini told the BBC last year that it planned to do second and third instalments.
Nothing has been said about platforms or content, but we expect next/current/whatever-you-want-to-call-it generation consoles will be the focus and that the sandbox third-person gameplay will return.
The cat is slowly emerging from the bag, it would seem. We knew that Picross DS was in Gamestop's computers as a July release, and now the ESRB has pretty much confirmed it by rating the game.
Just think, this summer we could be filling in squares and making pictures just like they do in Europe. Well, you could be. Availability isn't the issue for us; being able to buy the game isn't going to magically make us less awful at Picross.
Xbox360™:
Armored Core 4 ASIA US$ 44.90
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (Platinum Collection) ASIA US$ 24.90
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (Platinum Collection) ASIA US$ 24.90
Saints Row (Platinum Hits) US US$ 34.90
Shrek the Third ASIA US$ 44.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Detective Conan: Tsuioku no Gensou (Mirage) JPN US$ 64.90
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance JPN US$ 64.90
Shrek the Third US US$ 49.90
Nintendo DS™:
Custom Beat Battle: Draglade JPN US$ 48.90
Duke Saraie no Kenkou Walking Navi JPN US$ 42.90
Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 JPN US$ 48.90
Shrek the Third US US$ 34.90
Utsukushii Nihongo no Kakikata Hanashikata DS JPN US$ 39.90
Yukkuri Tanoshimu Otona no Jigsaw Puzzle DS: Sekai no Meiga 1: Renaissance, Baroque no Kyoshou JPN US$ 39.90
Yukkuri Tanoshimu Otona no Jigsaw Puzzle DS: Sekai no Meiga 2: Inshou-ha, Kouki Inshou-ha no Kyoshou JPN US$ 39.90
Sony PSP™:
Heatseeker US US$ 39.90
Little Aid Portable JPN US$ 58.90
PC Games & GP2X Accessories:
GP2X Cradle US$ 49.00
GP2X Video Cable (3m) US$ 14.90
Princess Maker 5 KOR US$ 49.90
Guide Books:
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars Prima Official Game Guide (Xbox360 Version) US US$ 19.90
Spider-Man 3 Signature Series Guide US US$ 17.90
Pentavision DJ Max Portable 2 T-Shirt Series:
DJ Max Portable 2 T-Shirt: NB Rangers (Size L) US$ 34.90
DJ Max Portable 2 T-Shirt: NB Rangers (Size XL) US$ 34.90
DJ Max Portable 2 T-Shirt: Syriana (Size L) US$ 34.90
DJ Max Portable 2 T-Shirt: Syriana (Size XL) US$ 34.90
DJ Max Portable 2 T-Shirt: Vintage (Size L) US$ 34.90
DJ Max Portable 2 T-Shirt: Vintage (Size XL) US$ 34.90
Toys & Misc:
Animal Crossing Scene Changes Keychain - Bouquet JPN US$ 6.90
Animal Crossing Scene Changes Keychain - Crazy Redd JPN US$ 6.90
Animal Crossing Scene Changes Keychain - Hopper JPN US$ 6.90
Animal Crossing Scene Changes Keychain - Tom Nook JPN US$ 6.90
Animal Crossing Situation Plush Doll: Bouquet JPN US$ 10.90
Animal Crossing Situation Plush Doll: Crazy Redd JPN US$ 10.90
Animal Crossing Situation Plush Doll: Hooter (Blathers) JPN US$ 10.90
Animal Crossing Situation Plush Doll: Tom Nook JPN US$ 10.90
Animal Crossing Situation Plush Doll: Wendell JPN N/A
Animal Crossing Super DX Plush Doll 2: Bouquet JPN US$ 18.90
Animal Crossing Super DX Plush Doll 2: Celeste JPN US$ 18.90
Animal Crossing Super DX Plush Doll 2: Mr. Resetti JPN US$ 18.90
Animal Crossing Super DX Plush Doll 2: Tanukichi (Tom Nook) JPN US$ 18.90
Dragon Ball Historical Figure 01 JPN US$ 9.49
Dragon Ball Historical Figure 02 JPN US$ 9.49
Dragon Ball Historical Figure 03 JPN US$ 9.49
Dragon Ball Historical Figure 04 JPN US$ 9.49
Figumate Mecha Musume Figure Collection JPN US$ 4.90
He is My Master 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Kurauchi Anna JPN US$ 35.90
He is My Master 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Sawatari Mitsuki JPN US$ 35.90
Ichikitousen: 1/7 Scale Painted Figure - Ryomou Shimei (Blue Nurse Ver.) JPN US$ 47.90
Ikkitousen - Dragon Destiny: 1/8 Scale Painted PVC Figure Collection - Sonsaku Hakufu JPN US$ 39.90
Ikkitousen: 1/6 Scale Painted Figure - Ryomou Shimei Kneeling with Handcuffs JPN US$ 58.90
Mai-Hime 1/10 Scale Pre-Painted Treasure Figure Collection: Tokiha Mai JPN US$ 28.90
Melty Blood Act Cadenza Painted PVC Figure: Arcueid Brunestud JPN US$ 16.90
Melty Blood Act Cadenza Painted PVC Figure: Ciel JPN US$ 16.90
Mon-Sieur Bome Collection Vol.21: Honry Bunny Karen & Rio JPN US$ 59.90
Namco Classics Sound Drops Gashapon JPN US$ 2.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/6 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Sohryu Asuka Langley - Yellow Dress Ver. (Real Action Heroes) JPN N/A
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Rei Ayanami (Party Dress Ver.) JPN US$ 36.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Non-Scale Action Figure - Yamaguchi Series No.26 Mass Production Type (1997 Movie Ver.) JPN US$ 19.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Non-Scale Action Figure - Yamaguchi Series No.27 EVA-02 Production Model (1997 Movie Ver.) JPN US$ 19.90
New Super Mario Bros. Mini Figure Collection Vol. 1 JPN US$ 2.99
Nintendo DS Pop-up Card Case Phone Strap JPN US$ 2.49
Shankugan no Shana Chapter 2 Sultriness / The Burning Pre-painted PVC Figure - Shana JPN US$ 39.90
Spi-Dog (Black) JPN US$ 49.99
Super Mario Bros. Hat Cushion: Luigi JPN N/A
Super Mario Bros. Hat Cushion: Mario JPN N/A
Already riding a streak as America's No. 1 seller of video game consoles, No. 1 seller of portable game systems and No. 1 publisher of video games, Nintendo added more chips to its pile in April-with not just one, but the country's four best-selling games.
According to independent sales data gathered by the NPD Group, the two best-selling games in April were Pokémon® Diamond and Pokémon® Pearl, exclusively for the Nintendo DS™ hand-held game system, followed by Super Paper Mario™ and Wii Play™ for the Wii™ home video game system. Combined sales for the two related Pokémon titles exceeded 1.75 million units in just 14 days of availability during the reporting period.
The DS remained the most popular game system of any kind in April, with projected sales of more than 470,000 units. At the same time, the Wii from Nintendo, despite nearly universal sold-out status, was still purchased by twice as many consumers as any other home game console, according to the NPD data. Unit sales of 360,000 Wii systems in April bring the console's installed base in America to nearly 2.5 million in less than six months on the market.
"Nothing is more valuable in the entertainment world than an evergreen franchise," says Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO, Nintendo of America. "These new Pokémon titles have cemented their place alongside the most enduring intellectual properties of the book, music and movie industries. And that appeal will expand even further with the introduction of Pokémon® Battle Revolution to our Wii home console next month."
The latest NPD sales figures show continuing dominance for Nintendo as the GBA outsells Sony's PS3 - but its predecessor, PlayStation 2, is still doing better than Xbox 360.
NPD data for April reveals that at the Nintendo DS is at the top of the pile with 471,000 units sold. The supply-constrained Wii shifted 360,000 units.
Nearer the bottom of the hardware market is Sony's recently released PlayStation 3 which has sold 82,000 units in the past month, while the ageing Game Boy Advance outsold the next-gen console by 2000 units.
However, Sony's PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable continue to perform well in the market, with sales of 194,000 units and 183,000 respectively.
Which means they're both outselling Microsoft's next-gen console - Xbox 360 recorded 174,000 sales in April, while the GameCube also scored 13,000 sales.
Thanks to the impressive performance of the Wii and DS, overall hardware and software sales were up 20 per cent to USD 839 million (EUR 621m), although overall game sales were down 1 per cent to USD 399 million (EUR 295m).
Nintendo also scored the top four best-selling games for April, with Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl for the DS at the top of the charts, selling 1.045 million and 712,000 units respectively.
Super Paper Mario sold 352,000 copies while Wii Play recorded 249,000 sales in April.
Activision's phenomenon Guitar Hero II enjoyed lead sales on the Xbox 360 in April, with 197,000 units sold, while the PlayStation 2 version racked up 142,000 copies, an impressive number considering the game was released on the format in November last year.
Again, Activision's version of Spider-Man 3 lead on Xbox 360, recording 117,000 sales, with the PS2 version shifting 105,000 units.
PlayStation 2 hit God of War II scored 101,000 sales while Sony's MLB '07: The Show sold 79,000 units.
Portable hardware and software sales for the month of April were both up on the previous year, with hardware rising 43 per cent to USD 99 million (EUR 73m) and software up 61 per cent to USD 141.5 million (EUR 104m).
Console hardware was also up due to higher prices to USD 239.4 million (EUR 177m) or 56 per cent, although software sales were down 19 per cent to USD 248.3 million (EUR 183m).
According to the NPD data, hardware sales to date have reached 38.2 million units in the US, with the GameBoy Advance reaching 35.7 million sales.
Sales of the Nintendo DS have reached 10.9 million while the PlayStation Portable has reached 7.4 million units sold to date.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 has so far sold 5.4 million units, with the Nintendo Wii at 2.5 million and Sony's PlayStation 3 with 1.3 million sales.
Meanwhile, Canadian NPD figures reveal that similar market tastes also centre around Nintendo with the Wii and DS the most popular hardware, recording sales of 42,100 and 34,900 systems sold, respectively.
Again, Canadian software sales were dominated by Nintendo, with Pokemon Diamond, Pokemon Pearl, Wii Play and Super Paper Mario at the top of the charts.
Overall, the Canadian game industry recorded a leap in sales of 64 per cent to CAD 80.7 million (EUR 54m) in April.
Japanese hardware data for the week ended May 13 reveals that sales are down across the board, as the region recovers from the traditionally busy Golden Week holidays.
However, as in other regions, the Nintendo DS is still the best-selling console, managing 163,824 units, with the Wii picking up 52,544 units, according to data from Media Create.
Sales of Sony's PSP amounted to a further 34,433 units, the PlayStation 2 registered 10,414 units and the PlayStation 3 sold 8,839 units.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 only managed 2105 units while the GameCube sold 315 units.
Electronic Arts' international publishing boss, Gerhard Florin, has declared that Europe is key to determining who will win the battle of the next-generation consoles.
Speaking at the Reuters Technology, Media and Telecoms summit, as reported by News.com, Florin said, "I believe the biggest fight will be in Europe. Whoever wins the hardware war in Europe, most likely will be the overall winner."
According to Florin, there will be an increased emphasis on narrative and the emotional experience of playing games once the focus has shifted away from hardware horsepower.
"Everybody gets carried away with the technology. When the technology gets more usable... Then the story tellers get more to the forefront," he said.
"My hope is, but I can't tell you when it will be, that we reach the peak in perfection so that the consumer doesn't see the difference in technology anymore - then it is a pure race for entertainment."
However, Florin said, when it comes to mobile phone gaming there are still technical challenges to overcome - and the amount of money to be made will depend on the audience demographic.
"If new consumers come in, they might not react to new hardware in the same way as the core gamers who go for bits and bytes and have to have the latest processor power," he observed
features
Choose the pony that you want from a range of breeds or create your own Perfect Pony
Accessorise your Pony
Collect over 100 different items including saddles, blankets, bridles, horse shoes as well as rare coins and shells
Brush, shampoo and condition your ponies coat, mane and tail, clean its hooves and give it medicine if it’s sick
Take your pony out and explore over 15 different trails
Trek through mountains, wetlands, farmland, towns, forests, along beaches and more
Try to snap over 100 different creatures – from butterflies to buffalo
Discover hidden paths and rare gifts
Put on your lucky saddle, bridle and shoes for extra help!
description
Choose from 6 breeds and create and customise your very own pony. Make sure it is well groomed, clean and happy. Take it for trail rides to keep it fit and watch out for birds, animals and hidden rare items to collect. Make your pony beautiful with gifts and matching sets of accessories ensuring your pony is the best pony in the whole stables!
I've *finally* gotten around to releasing the wifi build of Quake for you all to play. This supports only infrastructure-mode networking, so you're gonna need an access point to play. There is no support for ad-hoc.
Wifi performance is pretty sluggish, and you may find it not too your liking - I've done the best I can with the wifi library, but I just can't get low-latency performance out of it. Still massive kudos to sgstair though :-D
You'll obviously get better results if a computer with plenty of processing power is hosting though. But you can still host on the DS if you want to (with a max of two players).
An on-screen keyboard has also been added so you can properly play Team Fortress now :-)
You can also type in the IP you want to connect to etc, change your player name, bind buttons, use the console etc...
Today's keyboard has been brought to you by...ScummVM DS!
There are also a few bug fixes for the people who got the 'freeing precaches' crash bug in pre2. There is no fixed game saving for the people who got corrupt saves in pre2 (well I've added code to handle drivers which don't support unaligned saving, but I couldn't fix all corrupt saves - YMMV).
Mod support has also been improved a bit - dodgy QuakeC code no longer crashes (as much), some deathmatch bots are known work (I've been told Reaper and Omicron work), I've had a go with Quake Rally, Quake-done-Quake (with a vengeance), Team Fortress (not single player)... These are only the things that I have personally tested, and I'd just expect most mods to work out of the box, assuming the models are in pak files.
If you're only interested in playing single player I recommend avoiding this build as the addition of the wifi code has greatly reduced the RAM that I fought long and hard for, so some levels may not be playable or may thrash.
The first part of a '10 Years of Tomb Raider - A GameTap Retrospective' has been made available to download.
The TV show profiles the creators, the games, the live-action models, and the fans who love it all. The documentary will be available for free for all fans to view here and new segments will be added each week through June 7th.
"The Retrospectives series explores the most beloved game franchises and their impacts on pop culture. With '10 Years of Tomb Raider,' we show the history of this legendary series of games," said Ricardo Sanchez, GameTap's vice president of content. "Fans of Tomb Raider will get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at one of the industry's most successful game franchises."
Pandemic Studios is famed for the likes of Full Spectrum Warrior, Star Wars: Battlefront, Mercenaries and Destroy All Humans! And we like the thought of Pandemic handling Batman's next-gen videogame debut.
According to a rumour on IGN, sources have said that a videogame sequel to Batman Begins is underway at Pandemic Studios.
Pandemic and likely-publisher EA have yet to comment on the rumour but if it turns out to be true, this could the first Batman game in ages that's actually any good. Pandemic don't make crap games.
The Crash Bandicoot series has changed hands more than Blockbuster DVD, and with Radical Entertainment now heading up development they're reinventing the orange critter for his current-gen debut.
Crash of the Titans will appear on Wii, PS2, DS, PSP and 360, and will follow an action-orientated theme in which he has the power to 'hijack' the minds of others.
Crash himself has learned a few new fighting moves too, now able to string together a selection of punches and kicks into a ninja combo for the first time in the series.
Even better, a second player can join in at any point in the game, taking control of Carbon Crash in co-operation with the first player. Neat.
Check out all the screens below - there are PS2, Wii and DS captures there, all marked up so your can tell them apart.
Crash of the Titans is pencilled in for an Autumn release.
CVG has up a piece noting the fact that not much about Zelda games have changed since the move to 3D. Chalk that up to the greatness of Ocarina of Time if you will, but the same mirror moving, fire-arrow switch activating puzzles have been in the last several titles. Is it time for some kind of radical change to the equation?
"People generally don't like to accept change. But change doesn't always spell disaster. Final Fantasy introduces a totally new cast, setting and theme with each sequel and continues to please fans. Resident Evil 4 completely revolutionised Capcom's horror series and is now viewed as one of the best games ever made ... We still totally adore Zelda but eventually the appeal will tire and the series risks bombing. Nintendo needs to take the bold step and inject something totally new into Zelda. We're not talking about a couple of new items, or a new location - that's been done. We mean a significant change that affects the whole structure and gameplay."
Sony's PlayStation 3 is the best selling console on Amazon.co.uk, topping the superstore website's best sellers list. Nintendo's Wii trails behind in fifth place, Nintendo's DS handheld is at sixth and the Premium Xbox 360 pack at seventh.
Amazon are selling the PS3 at a reduced price of £389.99, 36 quid cheaper than the recommended retail price. In fact, you can get yourself a PS3, HDMI cable and a game for £420, saving you a fiver on the retail price - and the choice of game isn't awful, with MotorStorm and Resistance both on offer.
Another interesting item in the list is Crackdown - which has shot back into the chart at number nine nearly two months after it was released. It's almost as if it gives access to one of Xbox 360's most anticipated games, or something.
The April NPD numbers have finally been released, and it looks like Nintendo has been performing all the right moves.
The company sold a combined 831,000 Nintendo DS and Wii units over the monthly period with an estimated 63% of total Wii games and 79% of all DS games sold developed by Nintendo themselves. Yet Nintendo’s success has come at the expense of many third-party publishers who depend on the younger demographic for a huge chunk of their monthly revenue.
Take for example Electronic Arts, whose sales fell an estimated 44% to $37.9 million in monthly revenue. EA’s Medal of Honor: Vanguard for the PlayStation 2 and Wii sold only 56,000 units combined, while only 53,000 copies of Tiger Woods PGA Tour for the Wii were sold. Indeed, Pacific Crest’s Evan Wilson stated that a recent "shift in interest to Nintendo products has clearly stolen share from third-party games across all platforms." He continued, "This has had the greatest effect on Electronic Arts due to its size."
Other companies that saw a slide in software revenue included Take-Two Interactive, which had a 54.5 percent decrease in sales ending at $19.8 million. THQ suffered a 27.6 percent fall to 13.4 million for the period.
According to UBS analyst Benjamin A. Schachter, “A key to
