Researchers at Kyoto University have developed an ultra slim laser beam that could increase the capactiy of optical discs tenfold.

• Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting may be delayed again.
• Toshiba expects Microsoft to make a 360 with an internal HD-DVD drive, but Microsoft says nuh-uh.
• Hideo Kojima and Tetsuya Nomura back the PS3, but the rest of Japan's development community isn't so sure.
• New Super Mario Bros. is finally pushed off the top spot on the charts in Japan by Valkyrie Profile 2.
• New screens of Reservoir Dogs. I don't remember cars flying through the air in the movie..
• Must.. have.. MORE... LISTS!!! The top 10 worst arcade conversions.
• Some days you wake up and think, "Hey, why don't I make a giant Mario out of cans."
• The full version of a complete recreation of the Last Starfighter video game is now available.
• Ohhh, I get it now. Super Mario Bros. was actually a retelling of the life of Siddartha.
• The Prey 360 demo is finally available.

Posted by Bill at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Gamasutra has a nice interview with Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert on adventure games, games with stories in general, and why no one's making them.

I think that story in games is really way down on the list of people's priorities. It seems like most games that claim to have story really have scenarios. It's the scenario of, you know “aliens try to take over the world and you have to shoot everybody to win.” That's not a story, that's a scenario. Most games are just scenarios. They have opening cut scenes which kind of set everything up and maybe there's some kind of intermittent cut scenes that happen in the middle, but real interactive storytelling is more about the flow. It's the flow of the game around the story or the story flowing around the game. There's such a rigid structure right now in gaming, and I don't think anybody is really exploring what that can mean. It's a little bit disappointing to me.

In response to the idea that cinematics and linear storytelling was becoming obsolete in favor of games in which you can "make your own story", Gilibert had this to say:

I think, you certainly can play Grand Theft Auto and come away from it with a story. But I think most of the time people play games they come away with a really bad, boring story.

You know, a good analogy is something like watching a baseball game. There are baseball games that are just amazing stories, you know, a duel between the pitcher and the batters and the way that the game ebbs and flows and you walk away from watching that baseball game, and you're going “wow, that was a great baseball game. The story worked and it had all the drama, everything was great.” But the fact is, 92% of all baseball games are pretty boring. And I think a lot of this kind of sandbox-style gameplay like Grand Theft Auto and others... I think that's what they're like, they're like baseball games. Yes, you do come away with this incredible story occasionally, but most of the time it's just boring, and I'm more of the belief that the correct way is to really sit down and tell a story.

I could pull another dozen good quotes out of the article, but why don't you just go read it yourself.

Posted by Bill at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Chromehounds demo is out for the 360.. except for the US and Canada. Some people have resorted to making secondary Live accounts registered in different countries to download it.

• Wes Craven is in talks to develop an original video game.
• Nintendo's shareholders have defied the Nintendo board for the first time in history -- but it's over something boring like how dividends are paid.
• Ridger Racer and Exit will recieve sequels on the PSP.
• Prey for the Xbox 360 is expected to only run at 30 FPS.
• Now we have photographic evidence of the Wii flap and it's weird sync button.
• New scans of Tingle's DS game, Star Fox Command, and Mario Hoops. And info, presumably, if you can read Japanese.
• The world is doomed: Even Superman plays World of Warcraft.
• The Wiimote has changed button faces, again.
• WorthPlaying has a preview of FFXII.
• Insane person gets a 360 by redeeming 85,000 Dave and Buster's tickets earned from months of playing Slide Master and Throttle Up.
• Still not enough top ten lists! Quick, do the 10 greatest video game weapons! And make it a video!
• Sony brings Japan's obsession with vending machines to America with "Sony Access" machines that will dispense PSPs, mp3 players and DVDs.

Posted by Bill at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

And it's not all good. The Q&A section of Nintendo's Japanese site for the upcoming DS Opera web browser has details on what you can -- and can't -- expect the software to do when it arrives in Japan next month.

The site's Q&A section reveals a few bits on what we can and cannot expect from the browser. First, the good. The browser supports full stylus-based controls, for scrolling and jumping between pages, and even for inputting characters through direct handwriting or via a software keyboard. The browser keeps track of previously entered phrases so you won't have to enter them again.

The downside: The browser will not display Flash or PDF files, nor will it play video or even sound. Good for those of us who are already sick of that dial tone banner ad (you know the one), but bad for just about everything else. In addition, the browser will allow bookmarks but will not allow actual saving of page content. That's too bad, because it would be really nice to save a GameFAQ on a particular DS title, then take it with you wherever you went so you could always refer back to it, even when you weren't near a hotspot.

The browser will be available on Nintendo's Japanese site on July 24 (there's no plan to sell it at retail). There's currently no information about an American release, but presuming you can find a way to buy it on the Japanese site, it should work on any DS around the world.

Source: IGN

Posted by Bill at 3:55 PM | Permalink

Early today, PS3 Land reported that developer Track7 (yeah, I've never heard of them either) had cancelled development on their upcoming game Theseis (yeah, I've never heard of it either) due to overwhelming production costs. It was immediately jumped on as the first case of a developer officially avoiding the PS3 because of cost.

Later, however, Track7 claimed the article was in error, saying:

PS3land.com wrote an erroneous article on June 29, 2006 regarding track7games and our upcoming game, "Theseis".

track7games would like to clarify that we never cancelled something that did not exist in the first place. We plan to develop "Theseis" for PC and Xbox360 in the near future. As for the PS3, we simply made a strategic decision to not move ahead because we deemed it not probable at this time.

So it turns out the game was never in development for the PS3 to begin with. Yet I think the principle still remains; they avoided the PS3 because it wouldn't have been cost-effective for them. At least, that's the best interpretation I can make out of the odd turn of phrase "deemed it not probable." The only other guess I can manage is that they didn't think the PS3 would have a big enough installed base at the time.

When the original story came out, there were comments from some along the lines of "I've never heard of these people or this game before, so who cares if they can't make games for the PS3." That's really kind of missing the point about the concerns over development costs. The big guys you do know will always be able to soldier on; they've got the cash flow and the established franchises. It's the ones you don't know about, who may be the next big thing if given the opportunity, that you need to watch out for.

Source: IGN

Posted by Bill at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

The official sites for Disgaea 2 and some thing called the Playstation 3 are up. Note that that's a link to the European PS3 site, as for some reason the U.S. site hasn't updated yet.

• Pink DS Lite coming to Japan; no word on a US release.
• Real life t-shirt company American Apparrel opens a virtual store in online game Second Life.
• Xbox's Major Nelson makes excuses for Marketplace content not coming on time.
• The poltical question of the moment: Should prisoners be allowed Playstations?
• How Sega is trying to pump life back into the American arcade.
• The Internet doesn't possibly have enough top 10 lists. Or breasts! We must have more! The top 10 naked moments in gaming.
• Is Loco Roco racist?
• Reggie revealed the purpose of Wii's "secret flap".. but now there's a secret sync button?
• Sony job listing suggests an upcoming Wipeout on the PS3.
• Sony confirms launch titles for PSX emulation on PSP will include Tomb Raider, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Silent Hill. They promise 7000 titles available by the end of 2007. There are 7000 PSX games in existence?

Posted by Bill at 4:18 PM | Permalink

Most people have begrudingly accepted that $60 for new next generation games is here to stay. But in the newest issue of PSM, Sony's Kaz Hirai tries to very delicately dance around the idea of going even higher.

So, what I can say now is, I think it would be a bit of a stretch to think that we could suddenly turn around and say "PS3 games now $99.99" I don't think the consumers expect the software pricing to suddenly be double," he told the magazine. "So, if it becomes a bit higher than fifty-nine bucks don't ding me, but, again, as I said, I don't expect it to be a hundred bucks."

No Kaz, I think $100 for a game would be a little more than a "stretch." It certainly sounds like he's open to the idea of games exceeding $60, and he's trying to ease us into it. We may not see them at launch, but I don't have any doubt they'll come eventually. Whether anyone will buy them, that's the interesting bit. And it provides one more area where Microsoft may try to beat Sony simply on price.

Source: 1up

Posted by Bill at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Can you believe it's been five years since the last "real" single-player Final Fantasy? Japan ended their drought with Final Fantasy XII in March, but the rest of us still have a few months to go.

Square announced today that FFXII would go on sale in the US on October 31, just in time for you to hand copies out to trick or treaters. In addition, they announced a collector's edition of the game that will sell for $59.99 at the EB and Gamestop stores and sites. The package will feature "special packaging and a bonus DVD with Japanese and American trailers, developer interviews, an art gallery and featurettes on the Final Fantasy series."

Source: 1up

Posted by Bill at 2:56 PM | Permalink

The accepted belief about "casual gamers" was that they played simpler games in short bursts, in between the other jobs that occupied their busy lives. This idea has always sounded a little off to anyone who has watched a parent sink the better part of an evening into endless games of Free Cell, and now there's a study that further challenges the preconcieved notions about so-called casual players.

Macromedia, operator of the Trymedia Network digital distribution platform for PC games, reported that 31 percent of casual gamers on its Trygames site play for more than two hours per session, and 37 percent of those observed play nine sessions per week.

Furthermore, two-thirds of the 789 study participants said that their gameplay sessions typically last at least an hour, and nearly three-fourths usually play at night. Over half play on the weekends.

Casual may mean you can pick it up and drop it whenever you want, but that doesn't mean people do. If anything, it can actually be worse than "normal" games, because the smaller and simpler a game is, the more likely it is to introduce that "just one more" mentality that keeps people playing until four in the morning.

Not all of the stats from the survey were a revelation, though. As expected, 65% of casual gamers are over the age of 35, and 71% of the audience is female. Also, puzzle games are still the favorite genre.

Source: Next Generation

Posted by Bill at 2:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A DS Lite will be the spy gadget of choice in the upcoming kids movie Stormbreaker. I'm sure the product's integration into the movie is logical and natural and doesn't at all feel like a cheap marketing ploy.

• Next Generation looks at the 10 best years in gaming.
• Bizarre Creations is planning a new PGR3 pack.
• The New York District Attorney has issued subpoenas to Take Two, requesting documents from as far back as 2001 regarding Hot Coffee.
• And they get sued by one of the actors from The Warriors for royalties. Take Two just can't get a break.
• Australia's ratings board has refused to grant the upcoming Reservoir Dogs game a rating, effectively banning it from sale.
• The Dead or Alive movie has already been green-lit for a sequel.
• If you're really desperate for more God of War, you can watch someone playing the E3 demo all the way through.
• Video: In Japan, they manage to find someone who's never played a Famicom and sit him down with Super Mario Bros.
• An interview with the producer of Disgaea 2 confirms there will be a third game in the series.
• Maxis liked this Spore comic so much, they redid it with actual Spore creatures.
• Somebody comes up with a ridiculous list of the 10 manliest video games, another counters with the 10 girliest.
• A cover to cover PDF scan of the first issue of Nintendo Power.
• A few in-game screens of Fatal Inertia.

Posted by Bill at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Really, that's the only explanation anymore.

PSM: Sony and Microsoft seem to be taking the exact same path...

Kaz Hirai: We seem to. Every time we go down a path, we look behind and they're right there - we just can't shake these guys. I wish that they would come up with some strategies of their own, but they seem to be going down the path of everything we do. If you look at their strategy in other business areas as well, they tend to do that.

If only this comment was followed immediately by "now let's talk about the PS3 system blades, or perhaps our online service", for maximum hypocrisy value.

They can't possibly be ignorant of the facts. They know they've stolen more than they've ever created, and not just recently. What I don't understand is why they act like this anyway. Deliberately antagonizing by speaking in bold oppositon to the obvious truth is something you do on the playground to pester other kids. I don't see how it benefits Sony in any way, unless they've somehow convinced themselves it's true. Hmm...

..Nah, they're just pricks.

Source: Max Console

Posted by Bill at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

• MultiTES4, a multiplayer mod for Oblivion, has gone alpha. It's still very, very early.
• Microsoft says there are "currently no plans" for a holiday price drop.
• The video game based on the Left Behind series will come packed with spyware.
• Reggie confirms Wii will offer publishers the option of micropayments for premium content.
• Teenager caught selling crack in exchange forelectronics and video games.
• Photos of a room painted to look like Super Mario World.
• Sony's CEO says "the price of the PS3 is high, but you're paying for potential."
• Ken Kutaragi confirms the PS3 will use a custom cooling solution, with heat pipes.
• Square attempts to restrict game sites from talking about Valkyrie Profile 2 before its release in America.
• Video: Demonstrating the PS3 controller using 1999 technology.
• Gamer girls relate their experiences dealing with guys who just don't get it. In an unrelated note: "Raychul"? What do people have against spelling names the normal way?
• Jeremy Parish looks back on Metroid.

Posted by Bill at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

And it's nothing thrilling or surprising.

The flap on the front side of the Wii has been the source of all manner of speculation over the past couple months. Suggestions ranged from it being an expansion port to a plug for attachments to some kind of holographic projector. Now Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils Aime has revealed what we've all known for a long time: Nerds should not get hyped about things.

Speaking to US mag Game Informer, Reggie divulged exactly what the Wii's flap was for: "That is where an SD card goes," he said. "That's storable media. And on top are the attachments for the GameCube controllers." According to Reggie though, you won't be limited to just saving Wii content on SD cards: "It will be one of the memory mediums, and it's the only one that we've announced".

Now the rumor mill must progress to what other kinds of memory mediums he may be refering to. hey guys i here u can store wii savegames in UR MIND

Source: CVG

Posted by Bill at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Kitty LUV?! You mean it's finally here?!?! God, I hate summer.

If you can take your mind off cats for a moment, here are the highlights of what's coming out today and tomorrow.

• Titan Quest (PC) - An action RPG set in ancient Greece. $49.99 at EB Games.
• Over G Fighters (360) - Play as one of five women fighting for the affections of rap sensation Warren G. Or it's a dogfighting game. One or the other. $59.99 at EB Games.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (PC, PS2) - And you thought the need for unecessary subtitles was limited just to the movies. Features the voice of Johnny Depp. $39.99 at EB Games for the PS2 version, $29.99 for PC.
• Micro Machines V4 (PC, PS2, PSP) - It's like a racing game, but tinier. $29.99 at EB for the PS2 or PSP.

If you're thinking to yourself "But wait, what I really wanted this week was a new Puffy Ami Yumi game," you can find that and so much more at the full release list.

Posted by Bill at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

A scant three issues in, and Nintendo Power had already gotten goofy. In the November/December 1988 and January/February 1989 issues of NP, they ran a six page origin story for a character they called "Captain Nintendo." Now, that would naturally put you in mind of the Captain N cartoon and comics, with one problem: There's no mention of them in either issue, and he's never refered to as Captain N. They don't actually offer any explanation of the character; The table of contents describes the story with "At last, the long awaited origin of the greatest hero of all!" suggesting that we should already know who this guy is. But the show didn't debut until September of 1989, so no one could've already known.

In short, I have no idea what's going on with this story. They wrote an origin completely different from the cartoon but using (almost) the same name, just eight months before it would go on the air and contradict everything they said. Maybe they figured kids are stupid and wouldn't notice.

Whatever the reason, here's the epic saga of Captain Nintendo Who May Or May Not Be That Other Guy. Thrill! to nationally published writing that barely exceeds fan fiction quality. Chill! to EMERALD's faux-hip slang. Sigh! over obligatory teen romance drama. Question! how many receptionists keep pure silver letter openers in their desks. You purchased the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge.

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Posted by Bill at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)