Gamerz Corner

Free GRAW2 72 Hour Weekend Picture Pack

2007-03-16T15:23:00.001-04:00

Well I don’t have to get to in depth with this one as the title just about sums it up. Basically Ubisoft has released a picture pack for free in an effort to get the hype up for the 72 hour GRAW weekend. But it is only available this weekend, so go turn your Xbox on download it then tell us what you think.

Wii Browser Update

2007-03-16T13:28:00.001-04:00

Opera and Nintendo are planning the release for the final version of
the browser for late March/early April. The browser is said to have the
ability to do software updates, and there are rumors of keyboard
support.

For more information and the full interview, go to play-nintendo.com

Halo 3 launching in September

2007-03-16T12:08:00.001-04:00

Most of us in the gaming industry have grown accustom to

thinking November when we hear a game is coming out in the fall. On that note we may be wrong about Halo 3! Now 1UP has released speculation that Microsoft may drop the Halo 3 bomb as early as September, but that is all speculation... However now IGN is reportedly saying that a "BIG publisher" that is "close to Bungie" has said that we will see Halo 3 in September to avoid the "holiday madness". now take this for what you will, but in my mind it has moved from speculation and onto he said she said...one step

above speculation.

What do you think. Is IGN just pulling for readers or is there some fact behind their claims.

Still Here

2007-03-16T10:11:00.001-04:00

For all of you who have subscribed to my RSS feed, I’m sorry

I have let you down the last few months. I have been very busy with work and just day to day life. I will start publish articles again immediately! Also if any of you out there have a passion for gaming and want some of your words to be read by the world then by all means let me know! any help is welcome. So anyhow, I will be back a better than ever bringing you all the gaming news you

could ever ask for!!!

Long live Gamerz Corner!

This Week in HD-DVD

2007-01-29T15:50:00.001-04:00

First off, news on the HD-DVD front. Last week Universal officially announced they'd be shipping over 100 new HD-DVD titles in 2007. Can you say sweetness? But this week we can look forward to a few pot smoking, alcohol drinking, comedy HD-DVDs. Sorry, that's what you are getting this week, because both Beerfest and Half Baked will be out on Tuesday. Speaking of Half Baked, whatever happened to Dave Chappelle? Last time I checked he ran off to Africa and was complaining that he made too much money ... sounds rough.

HD-DVD Movie Releases: January 30th

Beerfest
Discovery Atlas Series
Half Baked
The Wicker Man

COD3 Valor Map Pack returns to the Marketplace

2007-01-29T15:48:00.001-04:00

The problems people were having with the new CoD3 Valor Map Pack have now been fixed and some bugs
regarding Ranked Lobbies and Ranked Matches have been addressed as well
in an Auto-Update. It's good to see developers taking actions and
keeping the community well informed on issues like this. How do you think the developers handled the situation, and after all is
said and done, are the maps really worth all the trouble?

New Wii Colors - Fact or Fiction

2007-01-29T15:43:00.001-04:00

In the usual form of internet rumor starts, an anonymous Nintendo rep
informed someone over at GameDrift that consumers should expect new Wii
console colors this year. Further details had headed for the hills,
leaving this lone report at GameDrift all on its own to fend for
itself. They do say, however, that red and black are a done deal, with
more to be available, alongside those two, later this year.

So what say you all? Bogus or are you willing to put your faith in this anonymous Nintendo rep?

Oblivion Expansion for 360 Confirmed

2007-01-18T17:16:00.001-04:00

UPDATE: 1UP contacted Bethesda to clear up confusion over the PS3 version, and they confirmed they have Shivering Isles in mind for PS3, but aren't talking about it right now because Oblivion itself has yet to ship. No worries, Sony gamer; the expansion is headed your way, too -- eventually.

ORIGINAL STORY: Exclusivity contracts kept Bethesda Softworks from making news of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Shivering Isles official (sometimes PR tactics are incredibly frustrating), but this morning the studio pulled away the red tape and said the expansion pack is coming to Xbox 360 and PC gamers sometime in the spring -- there was no mention of a PlayStation 3 version, but we're looking into it.

This ain't no fancied up downloadable content, either, as Bethesda promises more than 30 hours of new gameplay in the realm of Sheogorath, where the Daedric Prince of Madness rules a land torn between dementia and mania. Battling through the new dungeons will have you facing more than 12 new monsters, encounter the obligatory new items, ingredients and spells and new forgeable armor and weapons.

"The enthusiastic response we've received to our downloadable content has been overwhelming, and we're excited to bring Oblivion fans a full expansion," said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks, in the announcement. "The world we've created for Shivering Isles is unlike anything you've seen or played in Oblivion and we can't wait for folks to play it."

The press release also notes that Oblivion has sold more than three million copies to date, and the game's yet to be released on PS3, so there's plenty of time for the userbase to expand.

Xbox Live for a Year + Vision Camera $66

2007-01-18T16:34:00.001-04:00

Are you in need of a Xbox Live gold subscription renewal pretty soon? You know, that will set you back roughly $50 for 12 months. But for only $16 more you can get the Xbox 360 Live Camera Bundle instead. We stumbled upon this great Amazon.com deal over the weekend and we must say, it's a good option for those who need to renew their subscription. The bundle includes 12 months of Xbox Live gold access, Vision camera, headset, 200 Microsoft Points, UNO, Robotron and free shipping for $65.95. You just can't beat a $15 savings!

Battle Stations Midway Demo is Here

2007-01-18T16:27:00.001-04:00

The Battlestations: Midway demo that we were promised yesterday is now available (as is a new F.E.A.R. trailer). The demo comes in at just under half a gig and promises to provide players with some WWII multiplayer action in the air and sea around the Island of Solomon. With multiple vehicles like planes, submarines, and boats, Battlestations: Midway looks to give WWII buffs a nice change of pace after the recent spate of WWII FPS games. We're going to give the demo a try and we'll post our impressions later today.

In the meantime, if you've had time to play the demo, tell us what you think. Does it live up to your expectations? Does it fill the void of the missing Crackdown demo?

Heavy Weapon Co-op Is Awesome

2007-01-18T16:25:00.001-04:00

Okay, we just finished a Live co-op survival session on Heavy Weapon. In short, Heavy Weapon co-op is fluid, fast, and a hell of a lot of fun. This is great news considering the recent co-op woes of Assault Heroes. Like any survival game, it starts off slow enough, but soon it escalates to the point of sheer insanity. There are so many things happening on screen that it's impossible to keep track of them all. The air is filled with a solid cloud of bullets, missiles, lasers, aircraft, and general mayhem. And it's 'effing awesome. Some will no doubt deride Heavy Weapon for its simplicity, but we praise it for the same reason (and we dig its retro sensibilities). Oh, and if you like earning achievements, survival co-op offers plenty of them. You could easily earn six in one session. Surviving for twelve minutes is tough, but it's made much easier with three buddies (though to be fair we only made it just past thirteen on our first try). For those of you who have Heavy Weapon, give online co-op a try. It's sure to bring back plenty of arcade memories (hopefully memories without the creepy guy who played way too much Galaga).

Valor Map Pack for COD3

2007-01-18T16:23:00.001-04:00

Good news and bad news...I'll give you the good first...

Hot on the heels of the free bonus map, Champs, comes the Valor map pack for Call of Duty 3. The pack cost 800 points and contains 5 brand new maps. Stalag 13 is an abandoned prison camp, La Bourgade has you fight in a French village, Ironclad sets you in a naval shipyard, the Crossing puts players at a strategic choke point, and Wildwood gives you a chance to fight it out inside a forest setting. Call of Duty fans, be sure to come back here and tell us what you think.

Now for the letdown...THE MAPS DON'T WORK!!!. Devd are aware of this issue and should have the bug fixed by tonight but as of right now the maps are not playable...

Is it worth 800 points?

Best buy will have Wii's this sunday

2007-01-17T18:26:00.001-04:00

One of our favorite anonymous Best Buy tipsters lets us know that the
big blue retailer will have a minimum of fifteen Wiis in stock at each
brick and mortar location this Sunday, January 21st.

Another Flash Game

2007-01-17T17:57:00.001-04:00

I know how much you guys love the flash games i've been posting for you...sooo...here is another one it is a MMO flash game it is not the fanciest game but it is strangely adictive...check it out Fantasy

Make Money Playing CS?!?!

2007-01-17T16:35:00.001-04:00

I'm sure there are quite a few readers out there who actively play Half life 2...well this post is for you. I was browsing around today and found a site that lets you pwn people and make some money doing it. It is called tournament.com, it is not online gambling but a skill based platform giving you the chance to win some $$$. I'm not sure on the specifics but i do know it is in it's beta stage they will be hosting CS:S and HL:2 right out of the gate and expanding onto more tittles as time goes. Neat site and it is definitely worth a look for all you competitive gamers out there.

THQ locks up UFC license

2007-01-17T13:00:00.001-04:00

HQ has long been a purveyor of sweaty, half-naked men grappling with one another, having published numerous wrestling games based on the WWE in the past decade, as well as several WCW titles before that. Today the company announced that it would add to that heritage with an exclusive worldwide licensing deal to publish games based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship brand through 2011.

Unlike THQ's other aforementioned licenses, the UFC is an unscripted competition in which combatants from around the world enter an eight-sided cage known as The Octagon and fight each other with few ground rules. Part of the UFC's attraction is the mixing and matching of different martial arts used by its fighters, including kickboxing, karate, judo, wrestling, boxing, and more.

Under the agreement, THQ is able to create games for all current and next-gen platforms, handhelds, and PCs. The publisher also gets "certain wireless rights" under the deal.

The UFC has been running Pay-Per-View events since 1993, but in recent years has found growing prominence on cable, with the reality TV series "The Ultimate Fighter" entering its fifth season on Spike TV. The UFC is also one of Microsoft's content partners for downloadable shows over Xbox Live Video Marketplace.

Several game companies have taken a swing at the license before, starting with Crave's Ultimate Fighting Championship on the Dreamcast, which was developed by Anchor. While it was critically well received, subsequent UFC games did not fare as well, and the license has been dormant since 2004's UFC: Sudden Impact.

THQ has not yet announced a developer or a release window for the first game.

Crackdown demo pushed back

2007-01-17T12:57:00.001-04:00

Cash-conscious next-gen gamers had January 18 marked off on their
calendars as the day that the Crackdown demo was set for release.
Unfortunately, news out of Microsoft Game Studios today will disappoint
those who were looking for a free go at the game.

Crackdown's demo has been pushed back "by several days" because it is
going through the final steps of Microsoft's certification process. The
trial is still expected to be released this month, but no new date has
been announced.

Halo 3 Legendary Edition Pictures

2007-01-16T14:07:00.001-04:00

Still trying to decide on whitch edition of Halo 3 you'll be purchasing this fall? There's the boring old regular edition, the spiffy collector's edition, or the fanboy's dream $99 legendary edition. To help make your decision easier Walmart.com posted additional pictures of the legendary edition packaging as well as the approximate dimensions. We must say that helmet is down right sexy and the quality looks amazing. It even states that the helmet is "Made from High Impact Polystyrene - similar to a motorcycle helmet". Sweetness! We're thinking the $99 legendary edition is totally worth it, because everyone knows the females love Master Chief's helmet. They can't resist the helmet...

I love Armor Games

2007-01-16T13:45:00.001-04:00

Last week we gave you Warcraft TD now this week we give you Starcraft TD...what more could you ask for.

New Starcraft? by 2008?

2007-01-16T13:40:00.001-04:00

"As a Starcraft player I can tell you that I hope it wouldn't go a decade - we launched Starcraft in '98 - I hope it wouldn't go a decade before we stand here and celebrate the next Starcraft together," Itzik Ben Bassat told crowds gathered at World of Warcraft expansion The Burning Crusade's official launch event in London last night.

"Don't forget that we have two more franchises that we love - Diablo and Starcraft," Bassat had declared.

"We haven't forgotten that we have these two franchises, and what I can tell you is that I look forward to stand here in a few years, or whenever it's going to be, and celebrate with you the launch of the next Starcraft or the next Diablo."

According to our people on the ground, the Blizzard PRs "looked a bit uncomfortable" around this point. So that's welcome to the Internet the hard way, really.

Whether all that means Bassat knows something that we don't though, or whether he's just teasing or speculating, is impossible to say - but Blizzard is notoriously secret and perfectionist about its work, and it wouldn't be a massive surprise to discover a sequel lurking in development somewhere.

Lose weight playing the Wii

2007-01-16T13:19:00.001-04:00

Six weeks ago, the big cheese over at WiiNintendo.net decided to embark on an experiment in becoming a smaller cheese via the playing of Wii Sports. No other changes -- no altering his (holiday) diet, no sneaky extra exercise, just his trusty Wiimote and nunchuk, a dream, and a lot of heart. Oh, and sometimes his lady.

Dramatics aside (the Rocky-inspired picture brings it out), the results of the experiment are in and things are looking good for gamers who like to get in the game with the pack-in. Tennis and boxing are big calorie burners, and playing 30 minutes of Wii Sports per day resulted in a loss of nine pounds, 2% body fat, and a visible reduction in body size.

We would have liked to see a food log along with the experiment; after all, one might subconsciously eat less during such a test, or better yet, begin to eat less as normal day-to-day activity increases. But this is unlikely to be the last such experiment we'll see, so maybe next time. In the meantime, shouldn't you be rocking out with some tennis?

Crysis coming to 360; 2 other new games too

2007-01-16T12:35:00.001-04:00

You’ve all read the heading, so now you have to calm down and read. Crysis has been announced to be coming to the 360 on the 1UP show. A developer talking to the 1UP guys when they were at CES revealed several details about the 360 version. Two other games also announced are Warhound and CrimeCraft.

The big news first is the PC game Crysis is coming to the 360. However, that PC game won’t be the same game as what we will see on the home console. Because Crysis will be running at DirectX10, the game would look inferior since the 360 can only do DirectX9 (as mentioned before). So, the developers are using the same universe that the PC game is set in, with some similar story elements, but the gameplay will be entirely different. The developers told the 1UP guys that they weren’t even going to try and replicate Crysis. This would be because the PC version will be running so much more stuff that the 360 couldn’t handle, and would be disappointing. They stated that the game needs to run deeper, with the physics and world needing to be constructed differently. They admitted that the 360 version may not be as “wow” as the PC version in terms of graphics. It’s not a port in any way, so if you bought both versions, you would still get two different experiences with the game. The developers Crytek are the same developers responsible for FarCry, so we could see a game similar (but hopefully better) to that.
There will be a big debate no doubt between the PC fanboys and the 360 fanboys about this one. Everyone knows that the Crysis on the PC will look stunning on a top end PC. But can the console version be just as good, even if it doesn’t look anywhere near as pretty? Only time will tell, but graphics don’t make everything. This confirms earlier rumblings last year of a possible port, although as already mentioned, it’ll be a different game.

Introducing XBList 3.0 -- XBL on your desktop

2007-01-15T14:05:00.001-04:00

Good news for all the desk bound 360 fanboys out there, the newest version of XBList has just been released. For those unfamiliar with the program, XBList 3.0 puts your Xbox Live friends list right on your desktop in the style of an IM buddy list. It lets you check out what your friends are playing (with their gamer pictures intact), access your incoming messages, see incoming friend requests and game invites, and it will even take you directly to your messages or Live profile page. So, you may be stuck behind a desk all day, but at least you'll know what your buddies are up to. And with game invites
intact, you'll never miss a match because you were checking your ~~porn~~
email. As if all that wasn't enough, the program also supports quick
links to Achievement comparisons, Friends' Live profiles, and Halo 2 stats.

It really is a spiffy little application. We recommend you check it out. Also, the app is supposedly Vista compliant. Anyone with Vista let us know if it works.

Paul Thurrott "confirms" new Xbox 360

2007-01-15T13:59:00.001-04:00

We were a little apprehensive to post this "confirmation" of a new Xbox 360 coming out in late 2007. But we're here to serve up the goods no matter if it is rumor, spec, or official news. On This Week in Tech's (TWiT) weekly Windows podcast they had Windows SuperSite god Paul Thurrott come visit for a little post CES/Macworld chat. And around minute 28 of the podcast he starts to talk about the Xbox 360. Supposedly, he heard through the Microsoft grapevine that there indeed will be a newer Xbox 360 coming out later this fall with enhanced features. IPTV support built in, a bigger hard drive, and all being run by the new 65nm CPU. But Mr. Thurrott is not an official Microsoft spokesman.

Our biggest gripe with all the info released in the podcast is that the knowledgeable Paul Thurrott gets his hardware basics messed up. He says that the crazy loud Xbox 360 will be a lot quieter when the new 65nm chips roll out ... twah? The main reason the Xbox 360 is crazy loud is because the DVD drive is running at full RPM to pull a massive amount of data off the disc quickly. The fans are loud, but not crazy loud. All a 65nm chip is going to do is possibly reduce the number of fans or fan speed, because the CPU die isn't getting as hot. So, smaller CPU isn't going to fix the loud DVD drive.

Now you can take this as "official confirmation" if you wish, as it may be true, but don't bet your life savings on it. Mr. Thurrott does have contacts, but things can (and often do) change in a year. Heck, we may even see the inclusion of the rumored HDMI input this fall ... something Paul didn't even talk about.

Halo not so fiction

2007-01-15T13:56:00.001-04:00

Jumping from svelte science fiction to much clunkier science reality, Halo's famous Mjolnir armor has come to fruition. Troy James Hurtubise, the man behind Project Grizzly (the guy made a bear proof suit, someone call Stephen Colbert), has created a full body protective exoskeleton in the hopes of selling them to the Canadian and American military. Despite the obvious visual similarities, the technical similarities are downright uncanny. The suit is made of a ceramic lined plastic over ballistic foam. Included in the suit: emergency morphine and salt, flashlight, pepper spray gun, recording device, transponder, and clock. In the helmet: solar powered air system, water hose attached to back mounted canteen, laser pointer, and LEDs around the face. The damned thing even has magnetic holsters. Not only that, but Hurtubise even calls it "The Trojan." Come on, man!

The entire suit weights 18 kilograms, and reportedly costs $2000. Okay, we've seen some nice Halo costumes before, but this one wins. Sorry everyone, the contest is over. See a full body pic after the jump.

Woman Dies for a Wii

2007-01-15T13:51:00.001-04:00

A California woman's death is being linked to her participation in a radio contest, the grand prize for which was a Nintendo Wii. Preliminary autopsy results indicate that 28 year old Jennifer Strange died of water intoxication. The contest? "Hold your Wee for a Wii." Contestants were given water at regular intervals in a no-pee-allowed endurance contest, and all to get their hands on a hard-to-find console.

It seems fairly obvious what happened -- though we're not sticking out any pointy fingers of blame -- and the preliminary autopsy report is consistent with what seems as clear as the proverbial bell. Ms. Strange drank too much water too quickly, and she died. Not from "holding it," either. Water poisoning is a very real thing. Ingesting too much water can cause an imbalance in the body's electrolytes; in fact, this is one of the motivating factors behind the existence of the sports drink market.

The death of Ms. Strange is horribly tragic, and it's unfortunate that she will be linked with the Wii by doomsayers to whom no topic is sacred. But there is a real question regarding what measures the radio station took in this case to prevent any problems, and it's been reported that Jennifer Strange spoke of not feeling well before leaving the contest. We have yet to see any comment from Sacremento's KDND 107.9 on the matter.

Konami PS3 games aren't canceled

2007-01-15T11:04:00.001-04:00

You might remember a few days ago our report about Konami cutting more of their PS3 titles. Well this rumor has now been crushed as the Japanese magazine Famitsu admitted it had a printing error.

Gradius, a new title planned for the PS3, and Powerful Pro Baseball, a title set to be released exclusively in Japan are the two titles which where allegedly reported to have been canceled by Konami.

The news should come as a relief for Sony and for PS3 gamers, who have had to suffer an ever decreasing number of PS3-exclusive titles.

Rumour Mill: Microsoft purchase CapCom?

2007-01-15T11:03:00.001-04:00

Several reports across the internet suggest that Microsoft has now completed its purchase of Capcom. This topic has been in discussion for sometime now and many rumors have been started because of it. We’ve yet to hear any official confirmation.

There are many titles which CapCom have announced for the PS3 which leads me to believe that they wouldn’t be looking to be purchased, although we have to look at this from both points of view.

Resident Evil 5 and many other titles would likely become exclusives to the Xbox 360 which would be a disaster for those of you that are dedicated fans of CapCom as they’ve been one of the top publishers/developers for Sony’s PlayStation for many years. Microsoft knows this and in an effort to gain more support for their Xbox 360 it is likely to be a dream for them to take over the company. But will this become a reality?

We can’t give you anything official yet, but we’ll be trying to contact both companies to see if we can get some sort of confirmation on this rumor and put it to an end once and for all. If it becomes reality then look out for a press release on PSU soon but let’s keep our fingers crossed for it being just a rumor.

-James

Rainbow Six Vegas Wii?

2007-01-12T21:38:00.001-04:00

t all started a few days ago when Dutch game and toy retailer, Bart Smit (equivalent to a Toys R Us or KB Toys here in N.America - so fairly reputable), put up a listing for Rainbow Six Las Vegas preorders.

Months back, the game was "mistakenly" listed on one of Ubi's foreign sites as being in development for Wii, only to be taken down shortly after. Here's a shot of the listing:

Since then, everyone seems to have forgotten the mixup, but this recent listing sparked more interest in our community... leading us to search out more Wii RSV preorder pages (even if they aren't the biggest name sites): test.factotus.it, www.1a-dvdshop.ch, www.2xgames.com, www.games.ine.ch, www.toppreise.ch, www.bestelspel.nl, www.dvd.it

The last of those is an Italian site with probably the best credibility, but more than that, it lists "Available: from 30-03-2007". Following this, a few of our members have contacted Bart Smit, garnering two responses to the situation... in Dutch (sorry for the poor babbelfish translations):

Dear lord/Ms,

We have received your e-mail and thank you for this.

The wii have been announced by our supplier, one expects the product January.

Kind regards,

Department customer service

and

Dear lord/Ms,

We have received your e-mail and thank you for this. The release date of the game has been postponed to March. You can reserve these by means of the web hops.

Kind regards,

Department customer service

P.S: Our ' many have already seen asked questions '? There you find the answers on much of your questions

So, if Bart Smit and the rest of these foreign retailers have anything to say on the matter, not to mention a potential slip up from Ubisoft themselves, Rainbow Six Vegas has a good shot of making it to the Wii by the end of this quarter. You can hold off on setting the money aside until the official announcement, but after looking into the matter, it's hard to not be at least a little curious as to why there are so many listings for a Wii version of the game.

Left 4 Dead - Coop Zombie killing

2007-01-12T15:49:00.001-04:00

Let's talk about great game conventions. Let's see, there's guns. Everyone likes those. Zombies, gotta love zombies. What else? Ooh, co-op. There's nothing like good co-op. Turtle Rock Studios, the team behind Counter-Strike, looks to combine all of these things in one glorious package with their latest offering, Left 4 Dead. Left 4 Dead puts players in the middle of a contemporary setting in which an incredibly virulent strain of rabies has overtaken the general populace. So, we're not dealing with zombies per se, but definitely crazed people with a penchant for biting their neighbors. Players will create a group of four different survivors, each with different personalities and backgrounds, and fight for survival. Players will cooperate in a survival horror setting, blasting their way through several different "campaigns" which are essentially a series of connected maps that end in a final standoff as players wait for rescue.

But here's the twist: the enemies (the "infected") are playable as well. Whereas the human survivors have the same basic weapons and skills, the infected are divided into classes. Some enemies can vomit blood to attract other infected, others can reel in survivors with a long tongue, and the "tank" class can even power through concrete walls. Finally, Turtle Rock claims that their next gen AI technology will allow human players to drop in and out of the game without affecting the overall experience or restarting the scenario.

The idea of playing an online enabled, co-op survival horror game with playable enemies is positively dreamy (though not exactly original). If all that wasn't enough, the game is expected to hit the 360 by the end of 2007. Looks like we might have one more to put up on the big board.

51GB HD-DVD...1 more GB than Blu-Ray

2007-01-12T12:42:00.001-04:00

Toshiba has announced a new 51GB HD-DVD Rom disc at this year's CES.

Beating Blu-ray by 1GB, Toshiba today said that they had successfully created a triple layer HD-DVD disc that could contain 51GB worth of data with 17GB on each layer.

"Continued improvement in disc mastering technology has achieved further minimization in the recording pit, supporting a further boost in capacity to 17GB in single layer and a full 51GB on a single-sided triple-layer disc. Toshiba has confirmed the disc structure and its successful operation." said the press release. "This time-tested physical structure offers proven volume manufacturing at little cost increment."

Toshiba has now closed the storage gab with Blu-ray, which can store 50GB on a dual-layered disc. It will be exciting to see if this has any effect on the raging format war. Stay tuned.

Ubisoft announces Enchanted Arms for the PS3

2007-01-12T10:55:00.000-04:00

Ubisoft announced today that Enchanted Arms is being developed for the PlayStation 3 and will be available in stores this March. Enchanted Arms is being created by development studio FromSoftware in Japan and is one of the first next-generation Japanese RPG to be appearing on the PS3.

In Enchanted Arms, players will embark on an epic RPG adventure and escape to a fantasy world filled with unique and bizarre creatures. Taking the role of Atsuma, enchanter-in-training, players will transform from a naïve student into the most powerful savior in a war 1,000 years in the making. In an immersive, deep storyline filled with increasingly difficult challenges, players will meet new allies and master Atsuma’s special fighting and magic abilities.

Key Features Include:

· SIXAXIS™ Wireless Controller Integration Provides an Immersive Experience: Use the motion-sensitive controller to harness weapons, recover your EX power meter, unlock more powerful attacks and solve puzzles.

· Master the SpeedTactics Battle System: Easy-to-navigate interface, the ability to move characters in-battle and distance-dependent attacks combine to create fast-paced, hands-on gameplay.

· More Than 500 Characters, Including 130 Unlockable Creatures You Control: Find and unlock 130 controllable creatures to use in battle as part of your team. Customize your party and learn to harness their unique abilities. Includes 30 all new creatures exclusive to the PLAYSTATION 3 system.

· Includes Both the Original Japanese and an All-New English Language Track: Choose to play the game with either Japanese or English dialogue.

· More Than 50 Hours of Epic Gameplay: Delve deeper as you meet new characters and explore over 75 environments with multiple objectives and branching missions.

· Includes More Than an Hour of Anime Cinematics and Video: Including ten minutes of all-new exclusive video.

It's great to see another Xbox 360 title making it's way to the PS3.

Heavenly Sword release date revealed

2007-01-12T10:53:00.000-04:00

The official US PlayStation 3 site has revealed the release date for one of the most anticipated games of the year.

Heavenly Sword will be exclusively available for PlayStation 3 on March 6th 2007.

The third person action title has amazed gamers ever since E3 with its slick gameplay and fantastic visuals.

Along with games such as MotorStorm and Lair, Heavenly Sword is tipped to be one of the top titles of the year for Sony's PS3.

It's developed by Ninja Theory and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

A release date for Japan is unannounced, but we hope the game will be available when the PS3 is launched in Europe this March.

The Godfather coming to PS3

2007-01-12T10:51:00.000-04:00

The Godfather was released on the PC, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360 and other platforms last year. Many people hoped it would be released for the PS3 but EA didn’t make an official announcement, until now.

The Godfather The Don's Edition, offer brand new ways to go from Soldier to Don as you gain control of the streets of New York. Follow the path of an Enforcer or Operator; each with its own unique perks and abilities to earn. Now you can chat up specific characters to get the skinny on dirty cops, take down two additional revised compounds of rival Families, execute five new contract hits, and call in larger Corleone Hit Squads when the going gets tough. With The Godfather The Don's Edition also having the new Shipyard and Rail yard transportation hubs to explore and exploit; your path to the head of La Cosa Nostra is wrought with all new perils and excitement.

The Godfather The Don's Edition takes full advantage of the SIXAXIS controller for PS3; manhandle your controller to manhandle your opponent.

We’ll be looking forwarding to finding out more about The Godfather The Don's Edition in the near future.

-James

Gran Turismo HD updated to version 1.1

2007-01-12T10:48:00.000-04:00

It appears Sony has released an update for Gran Turismo HD Concept which brings the game to version 1.1. Details are very scarce on what this update does but it comes at a size of 700MB.

The only information that PSU could find within the patch was a fix for the bug that would sometimes cause time to stop before the race was completed. We’ll continue to test it out until we’ve got more details for you.

Downloaders should be warned that this patch will remove your old lap times so proceed with caution.

-James

Two Worlds: The Temptation coming to the PS3?

2007-01-12T10:47:00.001-04:00

South Peak Interactive is currently working on Two Worlds, an upcoming RPG game for the PC and Xbox 360. Gamestop has a product page which reveals that Two Worlds could be coming for the PS3, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Two Worlds combines the extremely dynamic and sophisticated combat system with the meaning and freedom of exploration exceeding the accomplishments of other games of the genre. A top quality Role Playing experience - the ultimate goal of the Two Worlds project is to deliver a superior Role Playing Game to the PC and Xbox 360 market where players have a real chance to shape the game world with their actions - to an extent that has yet to be seen in other productions. This premise will be supported with a strong, non-linear storyline, mind blowing graphics, and stunning combat sequences. To attract the mass audience, the complexity of the game will be achieved mainly through a variety of meaningful choices while the User Interface will be simplified.

If this information is correct, it’ll be nice to see the PS3 gaining some of the Xbox 360’s titles since the console has been capturing a lot of the PS3’s exclusives as of late. In the mean time, we’ll try to contact South Peak Interactive and get a confirmation about this story.

-James

Warcraft TD...Flash Game

2007-01-12T10:41:00.000-04:00

I just had to throw this up. Most of us with computers fell victom to the warcraft 3 and the drug like addiction that comes with it. It's such a simple...almost stupid concept but you just can't stop playing. Well here is a little something to feed the addiction. I would venture to say the best flash game I have ever played by far! Props to David Scott!

http://novelconcepts.co.uk/FlashElementTD/

New Final Fantasy XIII details!

2007-01-12T09:46:00.000-04:00

New details about Final Fantasy XIII have emerged from Jump magazine, via fansite Final-Fantasy-13.com.

According to the magazine the following details were confirmed:

- "Lightning" will be the official codename for the female heroine.
- The name of the ship in which you travel in will be called "Cocoon."
- Shiva has been confirmed as a summon.

Hopefully Square Enix will release the "behind closed doors" trailers seen only at Jump Festa and we can all catch a glimpse at what’s cooking for the PS3.

-James

Gundam Musou coming March 1 2007

2007-01-12T09:44:00.000-04:00

The KOEI/Namco Bandai Group recently announced a new third person shooter for the PS3 called Gundam Musou, a title which features Gundams and has a Dynasty Warriors feel to it.

The release date for this title has now been announced: March 1st 2007 is when you should expect to see it in stores.

There is a shortage of details on Gundam Musou but we do know it’ll feature online modes and large-scale battles that will take place in both land and space. More details will be revealed to you once we’ve learned more about this title.

-James

Blu-ray Decent only watchable on PS3

2007-01-12T09:41:00.000-04:00

There have been reports spreading around the internet that suggest the Blu-ray copy of The Descent is only working on the PS3’s Blu-ray player due to Java based technology.

Viewers are shown a blank screen when trying to run the film on a non-PS3 Blu-ray player.

Lions Gate Entertainment used BD-Java technology for some of the Extras, technology that is currently incompatible with BDP-S1 or Pioneer Elite Sony Blu-ray players. Sony knows about the problems and hopes to offer a fix to consumers early this year.

-James

I'm speachless...

2007-01-11T11:16:00.000-04:00

In perhaps the strangest promotion ever, Roto Rooter is running a contest to win the ultimate toilet. Yeah, you read that right. Like something Tim Taylor would build on Home Improvement, the toilet includes an Xbox 360, flat screen HDTV, iPod with dock, TiVo, DVD player (no HD-DVD?), laptop, bull horn, bike pedals (?), beer tap, and a fridge. As Roto Rooter calls it, it really is a "seat of power." As an added bonus, the crapper comes with a Roto Rooter emergency button, which is kind of like OnStar for plumbing, apparently. Oh, and the toilet itself is a Kohler with a 1.4 gallon flush which is "not weak" according to Roto Rooter.

The promotion is an attempt to bring the Roto Rooter brand to a new generation. Well, it's working guys, because Roto Rooter was the last thing we ever thought we'd mention on the pages of Xbox 360 Fanboy. Congratulations.

The contest begins January 24th on the Roto Rooter website.

New CoD3 Map

2007-01-11T11:08:00.000-04:00

Gears of War is generally the drug of choice for us at Gamerz Corner (well, that and snorting mustard), but for those of you who prefer war games about real wars, a new map is available* for Call of Duty 3. The map is called "Champs" and takes place in Port Royal de Champs, France. The map is well suited for small to medium sized games. The map is free and available now. Go grab it while it's hot.

Sony & Midway Announce PS Store Collaboration

2007-01-11T10:44:00.002-04:00

Sony Online Entertainment announced today that it has licensed the rights from Miday to develop and release six classic Midway games for the PS3. These games will be made available for download from the PlayStation Network.

The six titles which you will be able to download are: Gauntlet II, Mortal Kombat II, Joust, Rampage World Tour, Rampart and Championship Sprint. All of these titles where chosen by Sony because of their multiplayer capability, allowing players to experience each of these classics with their friends in the comfort of their own living room, or anywhere else through an internet connection.

“We knew these titles would be a perfect fit for the PLAYSTATION Network, and based on Sony Online Entertainment’s legacy in the online space as well as their intimate knowledge of the PLAYSTATION Network, it was an obvious decision they would be a top company to work with to bring this project to fruition,” said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway.

In addition to its work on the development of the PLAYSTATION Network, SOE released a PLAYSTATION 3 launch title, Untold Legends™ Dark Kingdom™, in November of 2006.

The first of these titles will be released in early 2007. We’ll let you know which one that is and when it’s made available for download on the PS3 network at a later date.

-James

Sony ships one Million PS3 in US

2007-01-11T10:44:00.001-04:00

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2007 held in Las Vegas, Sony Computer Entertainment America [SCEA] announced today that they have shipped one million PS3 units across North America since launch – breaking the release record previously held by the PS2.

“The fact that we were able to reach the one-million mark faster than our top-selling platform, PS2, further validates the strength of the PlayStation brand and our belief that consumers are ready to experience true high-definition gaming.” said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA.

Due to high consumer demand, the PS3 reached the one-million mark even faster than its predecessors the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the original PlayStation game console, which together have shipped more than 200 million hardware units and over two billion software units worldwide.

“SCEA went to great lengths to help meet demand for PS3, including airlifting systems into North America on a weekly basis to ensure a steady stream of units were available to consumers throughout the holiday season,” said Tretton.

“With three PlayStation platforms now available to users, 2007 will be about software and delivering innovative, new experiences and award-winning franchises to consumers, both through retail and through our online PLAYSTATION®Network.”

Sony have announced the following games to be on show at the Sony booth at CES 2007:

FORMULA ONE™ CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION – PS3
Gran Turismo™ HD Concept – PS3 Downloadable
Heavenly Sword™ – PS3
Killzone™: Liberation – PSP
Lair – PS3
MLB 07 The Show™ – PS3, PSP
MotorStorm™ – PS3
Ratchet & Clank®: Size Matters – PSP
SOCOM: U.S Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2 – PSP
Other features on display will include “Remote Play” for PS3, which allows the consumer to utilize their PSP to access content on their PS3 hard drive, including movies, television shows, videos and music.

-James

Sony: European launch still on track

2007-01-11T10:43:00.001-04:00

In a recent statement Sony Computer Entertainment Chief Executive, Jack Tretton, has again reiterated Sony's commitment to sticking to the European release date of March 2007.

Recent speculation around the possibility of Sony missing the proposed date has caused concern amongst many gamers. Tretton’s comments should allow European gamers to breathe a sigh of relief; however, it is worth reminding readers that similar statements were made prior to the North American delay being announced.

Despite concern, PlayStation 3 unit production is in full swing and PSU expects Sony to meet its European launch commitments.

-James

Konami to scrap two more titles

2007-01-11T10:42:00.000-04:00

Konami to cut more PS3 titles

Konami is to scrap two more titles for the PlayStation 3 according to Japanese magazine Famitsu

Gradius, a new title planned for the PS3, and Powerful Pro Baseball, a title set to be release exclusively in the Japan are the two titles allegedly being dropped from the game developers PS3 line up.

PlayStation enthusiasts can take some comfort in knowing they are not the only ones to miss out – two unannounced titles for the Nintendo Wii are also being dropped.

We have contacted Konami to get official confirmation but haven’t heard back as of yet. We will keep you posted with further developments.

-James

Were Back

2007-01-02T09:55:00.000-04:00

I hope all of our readers had a great holiday and an awesome new years! I know you missed us over here a Gamerz Corner, well some of you anyways. Without any further delay we are back from our holiday events a ready to bring you tons of news!

Halo 3 Beta included with Crackdown?!?!

2006-12-28T17:14:00.000-04:00

ow many copies of Crackdown can Halo 3 sell? Remember the first way to get in to the Halo 3 beta? Well, purchasing "specially marked" copies of the MS-published, Real Time Worlds' developed Crackdown in February will be the second way to get a piece of the Halo 3 beta pie. The "Specially Marked" beta program emerged via an advertisement in Gamepro.

Officially, Microsoft told 1UP "There will be more information coming soon." Will it coincide with a Bungie Weekly Update? Or will it end up surfacing next week after the holidays?

We warned of a potential software pack-in for the Halo 3 beta back when it was announced in November -- now that warning is a reality. Between the registration sweepstakes and the Crackdown pack-in, Microsoft is giving gamers two ways to get into their "public" beta -- though a fleeting beta you're paying $60 to participate in doesn't seem very public.

While the effort to lift other titles in their first-party line-up is admirable, it's easy to read the Halo 3 beta inclusion with Crackdown as the first second (remember the Brute Force Halo bonus disc?) time we've seen Microsoft play "the Halo card" -- using its biggest franchise to lift a new IP. Does that mean that Crackdown is struggling? That's the perception a move like this gives off, even though what we've played points to the opposite.

Including a demo for Metal Gear Solid 2 is a huge part of why so many gamers played Zone of the Enders, but in Microsoft's case with Halo 3, the beta is fleeting and not something that will be playable once the beta period ends.

The third company to consider in all of this is Bungie. In seems unlikely that a company who has been so focused on growing its community (they are still the only guys getting online matchmaking right) doesn't want their fans to pay to participate in the public beta -- that's incongruent with the way Bungie does things. Boosting Crackdown with the Halo IP? That sounds like something Microsoft dreamt up, not Bungie.

Free Godfather Theme on XBLM

2006-12-28T11:59:00.000-04:00

In all Xbox Live regions you can download a The Godfather theme from the XBLM for free. Actually, there was a mild mishap and the theme went on the marketplace for 150 MS points (a ripoff, looking at the quality of this theme), but all has been fixed and it is free once again. Silly EA, it's not even the holidays anymore, your free content wasn't free, and after looking at the theme I don't see why it is labeled as a holiday theme. But no complaining from us, it's free content.

Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection download released in Japan

2006-12-28T11:48:00.000-04:00

Japanese Tekken fans will be pleased & somewhat surprised to have a late Xmas present appearing in their Sony stocking - Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection has now been made available to download from the official PlayStation Store.

A few weeks ago, it was announced that Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection was going to be sold exclusively through the PlayStation Store. Now launched to the Japanese market, the big 830 megabyte downloadable game costs a very reasonable 2,000 yen or $17 USD and is essentially Tekken 5 with some new characters (Jinpachi) and new modes of play running at 1080p.

The game's modes include Arcade battle, Ghost battle, versus battle and a gallery for viewing and downloading images and movies using “Tekken Money”.

It remains unknown whether this game will make its way to the North American or European PlayStation stores, but considering the popularity of the series it would we wouldn't bet against it happening soon.

-James

PS3 and 360 The FULL Report

2006-12-28T11:28:00.000-04:00

Around the same time last year we looked at the 360's weeknesses, what has Microsoft done to impeach these highly critcised flaws? Well Here is the rundown it's a bit long but very imformative.

1. Overheating CPU/GPU

Since our article, Microsoft has extended the warranty of Xbox 360’s. Recently, my Xbox 360 had a display error related to the GPU. I called Microsoft’s tech support and since my system was one of the launch systems, Microsoft replaced my Xbox 360 free-of-charge. I went through regular customer tech support for this, and it went fairly smoothly (although the process took an hour on hold). Reports of defective Xbox 360’s have essentially disappeared with the current production methods.

2. No MSN Music

We were right to think of the Xbox 360 as a platform for online content. At the time, we were focused on MSN Music given that it was Microsoft’s established platform. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense. There was no point in bringing MSN Music to the Xbox 360 while the Zune Marketplace was in development. With the Zune out in the real-world, I’d expect to see more Zune/Xbox 360 features coming together.

We almost predicted the Xbox 360’s high-definition movie rental service. At the time, we were focused on music rather than movies not because of bandwidth or the market, but copy protection. Let me quote something from a year ago:

“...it would not have been difficult for Microsoft to release high-definition movies or TV shows using the Xbox Live infrastructure. The hardware is HD capable and the networking infrastructure is capable of handling large files -- game demos are already topping 1GB. Without HDMI or DVI/HDCP support, Microsoft may find it impossible to convince Hollywood studios to allow users to download high-def, full-length movies for playback on an analog source.”

3. No HDMI/1080p support

The fact that we have HD-DVD and HD Xbox Live Marketplace videos over analog is a real testament to the power that Microsoft wields. They have basically gotten Hollywood manufacturers to sign on. Basically, Hollywood will not allow you to upsample 480p DVDs to high-definition resolutions over analog connections... but you’ll be able to display 720p and 1080i HD source.

Microsoft has recently added 1080p VGA support to the Xbox 360. Although this is currently limited to upsampling 720p games, some of the Flash based games in the Xbox Live Arcade will potentially benefit from the 1080p support.

4. 20GB is too small

We called this, despite having many readers claim that we were simply “bashing” Microsoft. With the new HD movie rental service and TV show download service, the 20GB capacity is clearly an issue. Microsoft recognizes this and has talked about producing larger capacity hard drives although no products have formally been announced.

5. Microtransaction security

In the end, pre-paid Xbox Live Marketplace points make the most sense. Sometimes retailers will sell these below the normal price as part of promotions or special coupons.

6. No internet browser

We’re not sure what’s stopping Microsoft from putting a web browser on the Xbox 360. Both Sony and Nintendo have web browsers in their consoles... Internet Explorer 7 is also an exceptional browser. Maybe it’s an issue of porting IE7 to the PowerPC architecture that’s causing the delay. Politically, there’s no way the Xbox 360 can use any other web browser.

7. No WMV-HD

At the time, we were focused on WMV-HD as it was the only commercially available high-definition disc-based platform. Most of the movies were limited to IMAX, or documentaries like Step Into Liquid, but there was also Terminator 2. With the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray on the market now, it’s no longer an issue.

8. No MPEG4 (H.264)

Once again, we have to deal with the political scenario at Microsoft. The hardware is capable of H.264 decoding, and the HD-DVD add-on proves that. On the other hand, politically, Microsoft only wants to allow streaming from Windows Media Center Edition 2005 and Windows Vista -- both MPEG-2 based.

9. No System Wide Calibration

This is still a problem. Maybe there’s hope for the next generation of system consoles

10. Poor DVD Playback Quality

In the next year or two, this will be less and less important as people begin to move toward HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. With the merging of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray failing due to political issues, the main barrier to entry is going to be the introduction of combo drives. Once HD-DVD/Blu-Ray combo drives are available, you can expect a significant surge in consumer sales of HD playback devices along with a decrease in cost due to economies of scale. In one to two years, the fight between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will be no different from DVD+R and DVD-R.

With Microsoft now selling HD movies on Xbox Live, they have even less incentive to upgrade the DVD features of the Xbox 360. By keeping the DVD playback poor, the benefits of high definition video will be maximized. By the way, isn’t it funny how gamers talk about how great downloaded HD video content looks, while the mainstream press keeps talking about how HD-DVD and Blu-Ray looks no better than regular DVDs? The short answer is that the HD revolution is real and it’s here. This is also the reason why you should read reviews from people who actually know what they’re talking about...

11. No Pressure Sensitive Face Buttons

I keep reading rumors about Metal Gear Solid 4 coming to the Xbox 360, but if MGS4 continues to adopt the gamepad mechanics of MGS2 and MGS3, the ultimate experience won’t be faithfully brought over the Xbox 360 (if the game even does show up on the Xbox 360).

Ego Boosting Comments
With the Xbox 360 in our hands for only one month when we came up with this list, it’s surprising to see how accurate our comments were. Let’s take a look at these 11 issues and see if Sony learned anything from Microsoft’s mistakes.

The PlayStation 3

1. System Stability

So far, the PlayStation 3 has been a fairly reliable system. Sure, you’ll see the broken system our two on YouTube, but our PS3 has been flawless, even with several firmware upgrades along the way!

2. Media Marketplace

Hindsight is 20/20 and even then, the PS3 has not launched with access to Sony Connect or downloadable media. In a way, the integrated Blu-Ray player in every PS3 minimizes the incentive Sony has behind downloadable movies. People always prefer to have something tangible, and clearly Sony would rather have you purchase a Blu-Ray movie in their current war against HD-DVD.

3. HDMI/1080p support?

Standard on the PS3. Kudos, Sony. Kudos.

4. 20GB is too small

60GB on the “high-end” PS3. But what’s even more important is that Sony has made the hard drive user replaceable. Put in any Serial ATA drive you want. Coming from a company that once forced you to use ATRAC for portable music, this is simply amazing.

5. Microtransaction security

So far, Xbox Live Marketplace is superior to the online PlayStation store. Still, we’d prefer to have separate logins for games and for commerce.

6. No internet browser

Not only does Sony include a web browser, it has Flash, and works with websites like YouTube! I wonder if the SIXAXIS controller will blend...

7. No WMV-HD

With Blu-Ray, this really isn’t an issue. Microsoft had WMV-HD discs at retail but they weren’t supporting it. Sony’s only retail HD content is Blu-Ray.

8. No MPEG4 (H.264)

The PlayStation 3 does play H.264 content. Nice.

9. No System Wide Calibration

This is still a problem. Maybe there’s hope for the next generation of system consoles.

10. Poor DVD Playback Quality

I haven’t had a chance to test the PS3’s DVD playback at all. The big difference between Holiday 2005 and Holiday 2006 is the availability of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Turns out, the Blu-Ray player in the PS3 is actually very good. DVD wise, most consumer players pale in comparison to the latest video technology from AMD and NVIDIA. The exception, of course, is a consumer player with a Gennum VXP or Silicon Optix Realta or ReonVX with HQV technology.

11. No Pressure Sensitive Face Buttons

For the PS3, the problem is the lack of vibration feedback. Sigh. Imagine if you had vibration feedback and controller tilt sensations! Guys like EA and Sega Sports could come up with even crazier free throw mechanics…

Comments
In the end, it’s pretty impressive to see how Sony has been able to address some of the mistakes that Microsoft made with the Xbox 360 launch. This has nothing to do with Sony’s intuition -- it’s the advantage of coming in second.

PlayStation 3 vs Xbox 360 strengths

Shortly after our 11 Mistakes of the Xbox 360, we talked about the seven things that the Xbox 360 special. Let’s see how the PlayStation 3 competes on these 7 fronts...

1. Development Environment

The Xbox 360 continues to offer one of the best development environments of any gaming platform today. A look at games like Rainbow Six: Vegas and Gears of War is enough proof of how Microsoft’s design allows them to succeed.

But this is more than just software support. It’s hardware. To understand what I’m talking about, we need to step back in time to the time when Sony launched the PlayStation 2. Although the hype of the “Emotion Engine” proved to offer little substance, the PS2’s atypical system architecture with parallel vector units and a high-fillrate fixed-function 3D pipeline helped it to produce games such as Gran Turismo 4, Final Fantasy XII, and the Metal Gear Solid series. Indeed, it is a true testament to the vision of Sony’s engineers and marketing department that the PS2 established such overwhelming market dominance.

At the time the PS2 launched, it seemed as if the PC had little chance of success in the gaming market. The PS2 technology demos were being showcased at a time when NVIDIA’s flagship graphics chip was the Riva TNT2. The PS2 completely outclassed the comparable PC of the time, and when Metal Gear Solid 2 came out, it truly was a marvel both in terms of gameplay and technology.

In the same way, the launch of the Xbox 360 represented that same scenario. The three-core PowerPC CPU in the Xbox360 and AMD-powered GPU with a unified shader architecture represented hardware capabilities beyond anything that was available for the PC at the time. Indeed, it is only recently with the release of products such as the GeForce 8800 and Intel Core 2 Duo that the PC has regained in dominance in the gaming world.

Along the same lines, the PlayStation 3 has been released to the world with a substantial promise of computational power. Once again, Sony’s insistence on “non-traditional” architecture persists, with the use of the Cell processor. However in this generation, the GPU in the PS3 is a tried-and-true GeForce 7-class GPU.

Xbox 360 CPU

The Xbox360 design architecture is about evolution not revolution. The CPU represents the next logical step in design, and with a clear gaming focus, its performance is exceptional. Though the GPU is the first to implement unified shaders, it is also taking the predicted path of evolution.

Xenon CPU
When the PS2 launched, it was one of the only consumer devices that required developers to explicitly parallelize their code for the vector units. With time, the industry has now adopted the principle of explicit parallelism and multi-core CPUs as the standard approach. The decision places added burden on the developer to formulate their algorithms in a manner that can be solved by multiple processing cores – in return, the developers gain access to what may otherwise have been impossible with existing hardware technology.

The Xenon CPU is a triple-core PowerPC. There are three fully-independent general purpose CPUs with two-way symmetric multitasking. That is, there are three 3.2GHz CPU cores, each of which are “Hyperthreaded.” Unlike a traditional desktop PC CPU, however, the Xenon CPU only does in-order execution (Pentium 1’s have had out of order execution). This means that things such as AI that requires heavy branch prediction will suffer on the Xbox 360 as compared to a high-end desktop PC.

The key point is that the Xbox360 is not intended to compete with a desktop PC. What is considered “unusual” for a desktop CPU (no out-of-order execution), actually works well for a console, where graphics still reign supreme. In addition, the Xenon’s computations have been optimized for single-precision math – perfect for games.

Basically, for the Xenon, Microsoft engineers said: “Let’s take a solid desktop CPU, strip out elements that we don’t need (i.e. high precision math) and elements that will increase the manufacturing cost (i.e. out of order execution) so that we can crank up the clockspeed and have multiple cores.

PlayStation 3 CPU

Cell

Despite the overzealous marketing of the Emotion Engine, the Cell processor is truly an impressive CPU that represents a significant step up in performance. Indeed, IBM is currently building the fastest supercomputer in the world (Road Runner) using a complimentary combination of AMD Opteron and Cell CPUs. The Opterons provide the foundation for the supercomputer while the Cell CPUs are co-processors, not unlike a GPU in a desktop PC.

Whereas the Xbox 360 took a balanced approach with its CPU (from the perspective of a game console; it’s biased toward graphics/media performance when compared to a desktop PC), the Cell CPU takes an even more ambitious approach to parallelism.

The Cell CPU starts off with a standard PowerPC core that’s not unlike one of the cores in the Xbox 360. The next step is adding 8 additional SPEs, 6 of which are accessible to the programmer. These SPEs have a limited feature set and essentially are only useful for accelerating mathematical computations.

In a way, Sony’s vision for the Cell was different. Whereas Microsoft had come to the drawing board with a vision for the best gaming CPU, Sony had come to IBM and Toshiba to try to create something different, the fastest and most powerful processor for streaming data. From an engineering standpoint, the Cell processor is impressive, but the Cell is not purpose built for games. Dollar for dollar, the Xenon CPU is going to offer better overall performance.

In short, Sony continues to be bold with its hardware design choice but Microsoft plays the superior political game. Microsoft asked the developers what they wanted, and gave them more. Sony offers more than Microsoft, but demands that developers join their religion of massive parallel programming.

Who’s right? There are strengths to both approaches. Hands down, the Microsoft approach is right for the industry. It ensures that gamers will get the great games early on in the lifecycle of a product, ensures that the developer can maximize their programming time and monetary investment. You get better games, developers take on fewer risks, and Microsoft makes money. A win-win for everyone.

With Sony, the PS3’s architecture is sure to alienate many developers. Indeed, former PS3 exclusives continue to make their way to the Xbox 360 as developers revolt. Sony is just capitalizing on their brand name and Blu-Ray to make the PS3 work early on. What will keep the PS3 alive is the Holy Trinity of PlayStation: Square-Enix, Konami, and Polyphony Digital.

PS3 Game Developers

Konami and Polyphony Digital

The most sophisticated games for the original PlayStation were Metal Gear Solid and the Gran Turismo line. The most sophisticated games for the PlayStation 2 were the Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo line. The most sophisticated games for the PlayStation 3 will be the Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo line.

You see, Konami and Polyphony Digital represent a special breed of developer. First of all, they know what makes a game fun. Sure, Gran Turismo may not be your cup of tea, but for millions of gamers across the world it is. Finding a developer who knows what feature is fun or not is hard...

What makes Konami and Polyphony Digital special is that they buy into Sony’s vision. They buy into the religion of massively multithreaded games that harness multiple parallel CPUs. Politics and economics aside, the development teams at these two studios fundamentally approach games with the same vision that Sony offers with the PS3. Metal Gear Solid 4 may eventually make its way to the Xbox 360, but it will come with compromises.

Square-Enix
The strength of the Final Fantasy series has always been its story and so it is tempting to believe that the core Final Fantasy series could be made cross-platform. Indeed, Square-Enix has already brought Final Fantasy spin-off games to non-Sony platforms. However, ever since FF7, Square has adopted a storytelling approach that combines real-time and pre-rendered CG graphics. As good as video hardware gets, pre-rendered CGI will always be better in capturing the emotion of the characters. In the HD era, the Xbox 360’s DVD format simply does not provide enough high-res video for a 60-80 hour Final Fantasy game. Blu-Ray does. Most developers have moved toward in-game cut scenes -- Square Enix continues to be more and more ambitious with its pre-rendered CGI…

Only now is it obvious
Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 are developer oriented -- it's a question of who they’re targeting. The Xbox 360 adopts a balanced approach favored by legendary programmers such as John Carmack. It’s fundamentally and academically, the right way to do things when designing a console capable of playing a wide variety of games.

On the other hand, Sony has taken an approach that’s hated by the majority of developers, but is well-liked by Polyphony Digital, Konami, and Square-Enix. It’s clearly a risky-move for Sony, but potentially one that will have significant returns.

The mainstream press says that the PlayStation 3 is doomed: too pricey and too complex. They’re missing the point. The PlayStation 3 will be the platform of choice for the next-gen MGS, Gran Turismo, and Final Fantasy (core) line up.

1. Wireless controller

A year ago, everyone thought I was being silly for writing that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 wireless controller was awesome; Nintendo and Sony were both going to feature wireless controllers. Now, in December 2006, I feel vindicated. I haven’t heard of any Xbox 360 controllers breaking any TVs...

Seriously, the Wii controller may be sophisticated, but it says something when Nintendo has to redesign the strap after-the-fact. This is something that should have been addressed in the pre-release era. Likewise, although the SIXAXIS controller is wireless, it doesn’t use standard replaceable batteries.

2. Free demos

There is no doubt that Microsoft’s embracement of free downloadable demos has been responsible for Sony’s increased

3 Always on Xbox Live

Again, everyone thought I was silly for talking about “always on” Xbox Live when it was simply broadband. It was more than that. It’s the persistent user-logon that spans across worlds – something the PS3 doesn’t have.

4. Online metadata

This was in regard to the Xbox 360’s ability to pull music data from the ‘net based off music CDs. I sent my PS3 back to JCal before I had a chance to compare Sony’s music CD and SACD playback feature set...

5. HD Media MCE

This was a feature I picked up on in 2005. With Windows Vista *finally* coming out, expect this feature to be a major component of the feature showcase.

6. HD Gaming

Overall, the Xbox 360’s 720p graphics continue to be stellar. Even when comparing games like Need for Speed: Carbon, NBA Live 07, and Call of Duty 3, the Xbox 360’s graphics performance is just as good or superior to the PS3 equivalent. Again, the Xbox 360 has been engineered as a balanced development environment. It is unequivocally the superior platform and already has some very impressive games such as Gears of War. That still doesn’t mean that it’ll be able to compete against Gran Turismo, MGS, etc.

Conclusion

Virtually every article I’ve read has called the PS3 the loser, or copped out with the “we’ll have to wait and see.” I think the future of this generation’s consoles is much easier to predict. All you need to do is to take a developer-centric perspective.

Gameplay is always number one, but this has little effect on console wars. That’s because everyone wants a game that’s fun to play, even the most corporate, mega-managed game developer. Tools like the Wii controller help developers expand their creativity in one way, however developers interested in applying novel methods of realistic videos or sophisticated visual effects to improve the game play (think Splinter Cell) will find the Wii somewhat restrictive. Developers will always be looking to make the most entertaining game within the development budget they have been given. In that regard, the development environment is critical. The more time they need to spend troubleshooting something, the less time they can ask themselves is “feature X” actually making the game more entertaining. Along the same lines though, the bigger the console user base, the bigger the budget they’ll get...

Sony will remain number one due to the momentum of the brand-name. As more and more HDTV sets are purchased, Blu-Ray playback will be a more attractive feature, and despite the PS3’s shortcomings, graphics are still “equivalent” or “almost as good” as the Xbox 360. The average consumer who may easily be swayed by graphics will see games like Gran Turismo 5, and see that games like Madden and NBA Live look pretty good too.

Sony will lose market share due to increases in popularity from Microsoft and Nintendo. As a gamer, the Xbox 360 is the clear choice. It’s easily available, relatively cheap, and offers a true next-generation experience. The balanced development environment will ensure a steady stream of releases, and Microsoft’s aggressive Japanese investments (Tecmo, Mistwalker, Capcom) will likely help establish the brand in Asia. Microsoft will always have the price advantage over the PS3, and I would expect some aggressive promotions by E3 2007.

The Wii will do better than the Gamecube but will not be able to compete as effectively as the Xbox 360 and PS3 in the enthusiast market. Yes, the Wii is great, and yes, it’s affordable, and yes, it’s completely sold out. The problem and strength with the Wii is that it’s designed to introduce “non-traditional gamers” to consoles. That’s great and all, but once you’ve gotten them excited about the Wii, these non-traditional gamers are unlikely to be as passionate about games as PS3/Xbox 360 owners will be. In the same way the DDR Revolution and Katamari Damacy eventually fizzled out, so will the Wii. It’s not that the Wii isn’t awesome... it’s that the Xbox 360 and PS3 will still be dominant.

The real wild card in this final third of the decade will be the PC. The PC has quickly reestablished its dominance in hardware superior – faster than any other console product launch cycle. As advanced as the Xenon and Cell processors are, it’s always the GPU that improves the most quickly. As fast as the GeForce 8800 GTX is today, we know that a year from now, AMD and NVIDIA will have even faster flagship products, and cards like the 7950GT will be even cheaper and more mainstream. Likewise, Microsoft will continue to push DX10 gaming in their efforts to maintain a desktop entertainment platform that’s ahead of the MacOS competition.

-James

Goldeneye Source Released

2006-12-27T15:31:00.000-04:00

Goldeneye Source beta has been released the links are below...

Link to .EXE mirrors (intended for client):
http://vaughnsoft.com/goldeneye/?id=4
http://games.internode.on.net/filelist.php?filedetails=5035
ftp://gesource:gesource@87.84.78.3:2132/GoldeneyeSource_0.1.0_Full.exe

Link to .ZIP mirrors (intended for server):
ftp://gesource:gesource@87.84.78.3:2132/GoldeneyeSource_0.1.0_Full.zip
http://games.internode.on.net/filelist.php?filedetails=5034
http://dl.kohf.net/bond/GoldeneyeSource_0.1.0_Full.zip
http://superhero.pimpinjuice.net/ges/mirror/GoldeneyeSource_0.1.0_Full.zip
http://vaughnsoft.com/goldeneye/?id=3

Worms

2006-12-27T15:16:00.000-04:00

Our friends at XBLArcade have informed us that Worms HD -- an Xbox Live Arcade version of the classic series -- is near completion, according to a forum post on the Team17 website (registration required). The post declares that the game is already on Partnernet (a debug and press only version of Xbox Live) and has only one more bug to be worked out. Furthermore, the game should be available "hot on the heels" of CES, which ends January 11. Worms HD will be officially announced during the show.

XBLArcade also reports that Team17 is already working on downloadable content -- free and premium -- and that the game is supposedly easier to "pick up and play" than previous iterations. We share their sentiment that this may or may not be a good thing for Worms, as one of the best parts of the series is its depth of strategy. Hopefully, this will remain intact in the Arcade release. At any rate, we can't wait to get a crack at Worms HD in all its 2D glory. With any luck, it may wash out the sour taste of the recent 3D iterations. Anyone else excited to pick this up?

The importance of Wii Bowling to Nintendo

2006-12-27T15:13:00.000-04:00

Wii Sports, particularly Bowling, may be the most influential game of the year, at least in terms of its potential impact on the industry. Columnist David Thomas opines on yearly blockbusters like Gears of War (360), Elder Scrolls Oblivion (360/PC), and Zelda (Wii/GCN) by saying: "While each of these games remain a worthy distraction from the pressures of the real world, none of them really changes the art or science of video games the way that Wii Bowling does."

In essence, "who would have thought 'electronic bowling' -- despite its simplicity -- could be this fun?" He believes that if Nintendo (or was it Miyamoto who spearheaded the game's development?) can turn the 5,000 year-old game into something this enjoyable with mass appeal, the company may have an even brighter future on its hands. Hardcores on board or not.

Yankee player forms baseball gaming league with fans

2006-12-27T15:10:00.000-04:00

Like professional baseball players? Like video games as well (probably an emphatic "yes" since you're reading this)? Then the newly formed Professional Baseball Video Game League may be right up your alley. The Chicago Tribune has the scoop: "Yankees center fielder Johnny Damon has announced formation of the Professional Baseball Video Game League, in which some of baseball's best players will battle each other and their fans online. Damon will serve as commissioner for the league's inaugural season, which kicks off this week with the first competitions on the league's chosen game, Microsoft's Project Gotham Racing 3 for Xbox 360."

Said Damon in a statement: "The league is bringing together two of my biggest passions -- baseball and video games -- in a way that neither baseball fans nor video gamers have seen before." Here, here! Other notable baseball players/gamers this season include Corey Patterson, Rodrigo Lopez, Derek Lowe, Julian Tavarez, and Matt Holliday

Rally X for XBL Arcade

2006-12-27T14:44:00.001-04:00

Hopes for a brilliant finale have been dashed with Microsoft's last Xbox Live Arcade release of 2006. After a run of indie titles (Small Arms, RoboBlitz, Assault Heroes, and Novadrome), Microsoft is back to 80s rehashes with New Rally-X today; "New" as in the 1981 sequel to 1980's Rally-X. It's Pac-Man on wheels.

Perhaps this dull offering is merely a setup for next week's New Year surprise, but to end '06 on this low note is certainly a disappointment. Imagine if Castle Crashers or Worms had shown up this morning -- or even that original shooter from the Ikaruga team. Or how about Goldeneye? Or Symphony of the Night? Instead, it's New Rally-X. Ugh.

Killzone PS3 To Have 120 Developers

2006-12-27T14:41:00.000-04:00

Guerilla Games have confirmed that Killzone PS3 will cost more to develop than the most expensive file in Dutch history, Black Book. The movie cost $21 million to develop, and Killzone director Arjan Brussee was quoted on saying, ""Our budget tops Black Book. We're working on the biggest multimedia project in Dutch history."

The high cost for the game is due to the labor invested into the graphically demanding next-gen video games. "Work that used to take someone a week now takes him a month" said Brussee. There are 120 developers working on Killzone PS3, which is three times more than the amount of people who work on the first installation for the game. Half of the development team is from outside the Netherlands. The other factor which is making the game expensive to develop is the location of it. Killzone PS3 will be available in twenty different languages. Brussee feels this will pay off in the long run, "You sell 30 to 40 percent more [units] with a translated version."

CREDIT KILLZONEPS3.NET
-James

Sony Confirms PS4

2006-12-27T14:40:00.000-04:00

Vice President of Technology for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Paul Holman confirmed that there will be a PlayStation 4, and that it would be released sometime after 2010 in an interview with SmartHouse.

"To say that there will be no PS4 because of a management change is a bit far fetched" he said.

Until the release of the PlayStation 4, there will be several upgrades for the PS3.

-James

150 developers working on GTAIV

2006-12-27T11:40:00.002-04:00

According to analyst Mike Hickey of Janco Partners, Take-Two Interactive has about 150 developers working on the next gen Grand Theft Auto.

"Rockstar Games is fully capable of ushering in an entertainment experience categorically superior to the prior cycle’s GTA product," Hickery stated.

Although details are slim on GTAIV, we do know that both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions plan to ship on October 16th, 2007. It will also have episodic content available on Xbox Live and PS Store.

-James

PS3 Firmware 1.32 Update

2006-12-27T11:40:00.001-04:00

Apparently Sony has released another firmware update on the PS Network for users to download. This new update dubbed "v 1.32" includes all tweaks from 1.30 and 1.31 and other minor changes including the following:

Settings:
- You can now register the BD remote control in [Register Bluetooth® Device] under [Accessory Settings].

- [BD/DVD Video Output Format (HDMI)] has been added as an option under [BD/DVD Settings].

- [Backup Utility] has been added as a feature under [System Settings].

- You can now select the hard disk format method in [Format Utility] and [Restore PS3™ System] under [System Settings].

- The method of selecting output resolution has been changed in [Video Output Settings] under [Display Settings].

Game:
- New for 1.31: You can now play PlayStation®2 format software titles that must be installed on the hard disk.

Other:
- The compatibility of USB devices with PlayStation®2 format software titles has changed. For details on USB devices that can be used with system software version 1.30, select here.

- New for 1.31: Playability status with the PS3™ system has changed for some PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 format titles. To check on the latest status, visit the search site for compatible titles.

- New for 1.32: The online gaming functionality of the system software has been updated.

You can install the new update on your PS3 using either the network or by going to the official PlayStation website.

-James

Resistance: Fall of Man patched!

2006-12-27T11:36:00.000-04:00

Resistance: Fall of Man has been patched to celebrate the holidays! This patch contains many updates, bug fixes, and goodies that will further enhance the Resistance experience. With the release of comprehensive patches such as these, Insomniac is proving that it is dedicated to keeping Resistance up to date and the multiplayer fan base happy.

Here are the official notes:

Ranked Games

Map size determined by the number of players in the game
All maps available for ranked games
Score limits for team deathmatch adjusted based on the number of players in a match
Time limits added for all game types that were missing them

General
Various bug fixes and formatting issues
Fixed a rare issue where a player would become invisible to all other players in a match
In Human vs Human or Chimera vs Chimera team games, all players on a team will show up as the same model to help distinguish between the teams.
Added a barrier on Manchester, which was previously left out, to prevent players from leaving the playable area.

Character Sheet
“Return a Flag” ribbon now displays properly. All “Return a Flag” ribbons earned prior to this patch will be restored.
“Multi Kill” ribbon will now be tracked. Unfortunately, no “Multi Kill” ribbons earned before this patch can be restored.
“Target Bomber” ribbon can now be achieved with the frag grenade as well as the hedgehog grenade
You will now receive a system message when you earn a new rank.
A player’s rank will not be sometimes misrepresented as lower than it actually is.
Wins/Losses are now displayed on the player stats.
Changed the requirements to earn some of the medals on the character sheet.
We have replaced the Skeleton skin with a new skin, the Mechanic. We've determined that the Skeleton is much smaller and more difficult to see on many levels than any of the other skins. The skins were never meant to give a gameplay advantage, but to offer you the chance to customize your character as you see fit, and we don't want people to be at a disadvantage because they didn't pick any one particular skin. Never fear, the skeleton may make a return at some later date, in some form or other.

Lobby
You can now accept a party invite if you are in a game and the party you are joining is in the same game.
The results screen will now automatically rejoin the game after 30 seconds instead of disconnecting from the game as it previously did.
There is now an option to enabled “Map Vote” for custom games. If this option is enabled, players may press triangle when they are on the results screen to vote on what map they wish to play next. This option is enabled by default.
You can now create a deathmatch game with a time limit as the only end game condition.
Fixed a bug where players joining a game in progress would sometimes be placed on the team that had more players instead of the team with less players.

Voice Chat
Voice chat is now “push-to-talk” by default in team games as well as free-for-all games. The standard button is L3 and it can be remapped. Open mic is active only for squad chat when you choose to join a named squad. In that case you still use the push-to-talk button to broadcast to your entire team. Other places where open mic is active are when observing in a limited lives game and when you are in a party
There is now an indicator in the lower right hand corner to let you know when you are transmitting on the microphone

Interface
Players in a squad will now be given an additional option to spawn near their squad in CTF, Meltdown, and Breach.
Player names that are longer than 11 characters will no longer be truncated if they have a clan tag enabled.
The flag taken message will stay on the screen longer in CTF games
Enemies are now represented as triangles on the radar and map.
Buddies on your team will show up as green dots on the map and radar (if it is enabled)
Squad members will show up as yellow dots on the map and radar (if it is enabled)

Balance and Tuning
Chimeran rage damage multiplier has been reduced.
Chimera at max heat will now only lose health until they are at 50% health instead of going all the way down to 1% health.
Humans will now spawn with 1 frag grenade as well as the M5A2 Carbine
Enemies will now show up on the Human map/radar if they are within radar range of ANYONE ON YOUR TEAM and only in the following circumstances: They are sprinting or in rage mode, they are firing/attacking, they are jumping, or they are within range of node radar (Breach)
The L11-2 Dragon will now do extra damage to Chimeran players as was originally intended
Most weapon damage values have been tweaked in the interest of balance. In general, weapons have been tweaked to deal slightly less damage.
The spawn selection algorithm has been modified to make players spawn next to enemies less often, and to spawn near teammates and squadmates more often
Moved the location of the flag in several CTF maps to help prevent stalemating
Suicide will now increase the waiting time until a player respawns by 10 seconds in team games.

-James

Double Agent ready for Euro PS3 launch

2006-12-27T11:35:00.001-04:00

Ubisoft announced today that a PlayStation 3 version of Splinter Cell: Double Agent will be ready for the March 2007 release of the PlayStation 3 in Europe.

The publisher also confirmed that support for the Sixaxis wireless contoller will be made available in both single and multiplayer modes, which means it’ll take advantage of the tilt-sensing feature.

But it doesn’t end there, Ubisoft plans on releasing some extra multiplayer maps and skins which will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3.

The game has been released on other platforms but this exclusive content should persuade PS3 fans to grab a copy.

-James

Lost Planet On PS3 A Possibility?

2006-12-27T11:29:00.000-04:00

With so many titles nowadays moving from "console exclusive" to multiplatform, it’s getting increasingly hard to say confidently which system has the better exclusives.

Compounding this issue, Jun Takeuchi a producer from Capcom has said that Lost Planet may very well make its way to the PlayStation 3.

"We will try to keep it as a 360 exclusive...But, from the company's point of view, when you think about the business, in the future it's something we might have to do," Takeuchi said.

Basically, if the Japanese want the title enough, Capcom may not be able to pass up the financial benefit of porting the title to the PS3.

-James

Ridge Racer 7

2006-12-27T11:17:00.000-04:00

The Ridge Racer series has long been a foundation of any Sony hardware release, and the debut of the PlayStation 3 is no exception. The series made its lucky 7th appearance on store shelves on November 13th, just in time for the PlayStation 3's launch on the 17th. But did Namco Bandai's 7th iteration of its popular drift racing game live up to the expectations?

Ridge Racer 7 does a great job of accomplishing the main goal of any racing game: making driving fun. While players will be hard pressed to find much realism in the game, it detracts little from the overall experience the title provides. And while cars won't explode or show damage like that of Burnout or the upcoming racer Motorstorm, Ridge Racer 7 stays true to the calling the series has always followed; being a great arcade racer.

As the series has always implied, drifting is the most important aspect of the game. The game does a good job of easing new and even veteran players into the unorthodox style of racing. However, after that gentle hump, tracks stray far from easy. In the latter stages of the game players will find themselves drifting at mind blowing speeds from curve to curve in an effort to stay one step ahead of their relentless computer controlled opponents, who often will show little mercy in passing players toward the finish line.

Nitrous also remains a vital component for players in Ridge Racer 7. Like its predecessor Ridge Racer 6, cars are equipped with three nitrous tanks. Each tank is filled as players drift. Each tank can be used separately, or chained together for double or even triple boosts. The amount of nitrous earned per drift depends on the quality of the drift, thus players will soon discover that a slight miscalculation in a single drift can be the difference between an extra boost near the finish line, or a consolation prize in the form of second place.

Ridge Racer 7 presents players with the standard set of racing modes. Arcade mode offers new players the quickest way to start getting used to the ropes of the game. A menu comes up to pick a car and track, and that's it! Players have their choice of single or split-screen racing. Unfortunately, split screen racing has a noticeable effect on the framerate and graphics of the game.

Ridge Racer 7 also contains a mode titled Ridge State Grand Prix. Players will find they will spend the majority of their time offline in this mode. After a quick introduction movie, players are presented with a huge map filled with various icons. It can be overwhelming at first, but thankfully appearances are deceiving in this case. Players start out penniless and without a ride. Instead, we are challenged by various companies in manufacturer's trials to race a field of cars not only to get their endorsement, but the ability to buy their products.

From this point, players are challenged to earn as many credit and fame points as possible, all in order to win more endorsements and buy better products to outfit their cars with. Ridge Racer 7 offers players the ability to earn both kinds of points through Grand Prix races and UFRA single events, which challenge players to win under certain conditions, such as equipment restrictions and time limits.

A new addition to the series is a Gran Turismo style car customization scheme. Through an option called machine connector, players are able to purchase or make upgrades on their existing rides. While the mode is nowhere as deep as Gran Turismo's upgrade system, basic components are upgradeable, such as the engine tune-up, wheels, suspension, plug-in units, and the ever so vital nitrous. The visual details of each car are equally customizable. Players are given a multitude of options when it comes to the exterior of their machines, including wheels, paint, spoilers, and decals. Upgrades do count in this game, as every edge is needed to stay one step ahead of computer controlled opponents.

Ridge Racer 7 also places a large amount of emphasis on the online portion of the game. The developers did a great job of translating every aspect that shines in offline mode right into the online environment. Tracked statistics include miles driven, fame, global ranking, and OBP ranking. Each player is also given a unique ID, which not only displays many of the stats listed above, but awards such as Winning Streak and Bounty Hunter. A ticker bar sits at the bottom of the screen with up to the minute results of online races, giving players even more incentives to outsmart and outwit their human opponents.

Online mode has a few different options. Along with the standard ranked races, players are given the ability to race cooperatively. Through a rather closed text chat, players can coordinate with their partner to win races by allowing their partner to slingshot past, Talladega Nights style, around their opponents, or make essential blocks to ensure their partner glides across the finish line. Players may also compete in Global Time Attack, and UFRA Special Events, which allows players to race against each other under special conditions.

While Ridge Racer 7 may not be the most innovative of games in the racing genre, it still comes out to be a decent launch racing title. Unfortunately, the game does have a few downsides, including the fact that many of the tracks in Ridge Racer 7 are rehashes from Ridge Racer 6, and that the cooperative mode is a bit buggy. However, the new level of customization, the engaging online system, and the generally enjoyable game play all make up for these flaws, and make Ridge Racer 7 an easy pick to buy at launch with a PlayStation 3 console.

By James

New 360 Processor Delayed...

2006-12-26T13:18:00.000-04:00

Over the past generation, when a new console hits the market, the console manufacturer goes on to shrink the die size of the CPU. The benefits are a cheaper chip -- the smaller the die, the more that fit into a manufacturing run -- and cooler temperatures. The Xbox 360 die shrink is going to have to wait a little bit longer.

Originally slated for Q1 2007, the 65nm processors for the Xbox 360 are being delayed until mid-2007. This means gamers are going to have to wait a little bit longer to get those Xbox 360 units that aren't quite so hot; it also means prospective buyers may be waiting a bit longer to see a price drop.

Reducing the die size on the Xbox 360 CPU is a major step to a price reduction, something Microsoft needs right now. Xbox 360 sales are less than smoking and the PS3 and Wii offering up some competition, Microsoft could have used a price drop as an excellent weapon against them. Maybe Microsoft can get the 65nm chips up and running before the PS3 has a chance to entrench itself in Europe.

Reno 911 Meets 360

2006-12-26T13:09:00.000-04:00

New Video Content at the XBLM. check it out

TV

* 8th and Ocean, Season 1
* Jackass Gumball Rally
* Reno 911, Season 2
* Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2 (4 Episodes in HD)
* UFC, Five New Fights
* UFC's The Ultimate Fighter, Season 1

Movies (All SD)

* Barbarella
* Fighting Temptations
* Ghost and the Darkness
* Joe's Apartment
* Strange Brew

That's a rather... eclectic mix, to say the least.

Extended 360 Warranty

2006-12-26T11:54:00.000-04:00

Microsoft seems to be interested in spreading the holiday cheer this year, as they've announced today that they're doing away with their 90 day warranty in favor of providing a full year of protection for 360 owners. This is also retroactive, as those who have already paid for repairs out of warranty within a year of purchase should be getting a refund check in the mail within 10 weeks.

"Our number one priority for the Xbox 360 is customer satisfaction," said Jeff Bell, Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business. "Now, in addition to Xbox 360 offering features such as jaw-dropping high definition graphics, an amazing variety of more than 160 games, and social online and entertainment experiences found on Xbox Live(r), this warranty upgrade is an exclamation at the end of an already compelling home entertainment offering."

Perhaps the one year warranties offered with the Wii and PS3, along with defective launch units for the 360, spurred this change. Whatever actually changed Microsoft's tune, though, it's only good for the consumer.

Mercenaries 2 for 360

2006-12-26T11:51:00.000-04:00

video blogs reveal a development team working on a 360 version of their game." Or not. Regardless of what the expression should be, it's quite possible that the most recent video blog from the Pandemic development team, currently working on Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, unveiled their dark little secret.

While it had been announced that "there is a possibility of it coming to the 360," there was no substantive proof that this was really the case. However, in the holiday video blog, a few Xbox 360s are spotted, as well as a 360 debug unit. And these aren't just collecting dust. A few of the developers are using 360 controllers in the video.

Pandemic can continue to deny that there are no set plans to bring the game to the Xbox 360, but we're just a little too old for the wool to be pulled over our eyes in such a fashion Come on, Pandemic, spill the beans already. The jig is up!

Shortages Into the New Year

2006-12-26T11:23:00.000-04:00

Though expected by most, games analyst PJ McNealy predicts both PS3 and Wii shortages into early 2007 while speaking with Reuters. But his guestimations are pinned further into the new year than maybe some expected: June for the PS3 and March for the Wii. That reality would be even more troublesome for gamers than the great 360 shortage of '05/'06.

McNealy notes the ridiculous scantiness of the PS3 reminding us of the pending European launch that is sure to keep the console scarce even longer. If that's the case, June doesn't sound too far off for supply to finally catch up with pent up demand. But Wii shortages into March?

GoW and others for $40!

2006-12-26T11:10:00.000-04:00

Well if you have been waiting to pick up your copy of Gears of War, FFXII, THP8, or even season five of 24, then now is the time to end you wait. In an after holiday sale target is offering a number of games for $40 instead of $60. and new DVD's for as low as $14 so if you still don't have you're copy of GoW yet head over to target today and pick it up. I know I'll be there to pick up THP8!

More Free Stuff

2006-12-22T13:29:00.000-04:00

First Saints Row then Oblivion now Wii. Nintendo is allowing users to download the Opera browser for free starting today and extending into June 2007.

I Love Christmas

2006-12-22T13:23:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, THQ got into the holiday spirit by offering up the Ho Ho Ho Pack for Saints Row. The free pack spread some cheer by giving gamers a Santa Claus outfit that could be put on their in-game characters.

It appears that Bethesda is sipping from the same eggnog. The publisher has revealed that it will be giving away a content pack for the Xbox 360 version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for free.

Mehrunes' Razor, originally released in June for 250 Marketplace points ($3.13), will be available as a free download beginning December 22. Gamers had better not dillydally on the offer, as the content pack goes back to its original price on January 1.

Halo Brutes

2006-12-21T18:10:00.000-04:00

Who Says Girls Can't Play

2006-12-21T17:56:00.000-04:00

he battle of the sexes is heating up in the predominantly male sector of gaming. A four-person team from the Frag Dolls--an all-female collective of gamers--took first place at the Rainbow Six Vegas finals at the Dallas stop of the Cyberathlete Professional League.

The team, sponsored by Ubisoft, included Amy "Valkyrie" Brady, Emily "Seppuku" Ong, Alyson "Calyber" Craghead, and Nelly "Psyche" Morel. The squad beat the previously undefeated "The Unknown" team, who made it to the competition through an online ladder.

While Ubisoft touts the victory as "the first time an all-female team has won a tournament at a pro-circuit event," Frag Doll Morgan "Rhoulette" Romine was a bit more cautious. In her blog post about the achievement, she repeats the above statement but precludes it with "as far as we know."

"The team has been playing Rainbow Six Vegas up to 12 hours a day since the game came out," said Rhoulette. "We played as a team, communicated well, stuck to our strategies and won."

-Cindy

It's Good to be The King

2006-12-21T17:53:00.000-04:00

Last week, Microsoft proudly touted the sales figures of its Xbox 360-exclusive shooter Gears of War, mentioning that it had achieved sales of 2 million copies worldwide in just six weeks of release. Microsoft was mildly one-upped by promotional partner Burger King today, as the fast-food chain announced that its trio of games for the Xbox and Xbox 360 had broken the 2 million mark in just four weeks.

That number represents the cumulative sales of Burger King's three games--Pocketbike Racer, Big Bumpin', and Sneak King. All three were developed by Blitz Games, maker of the original Fuzion Frenzy, and are rated E for Everyone. The games sell for $3.99 each with the purchase of a value meal, while supplies last. For more on the Burger King collection, check out GameSpot's reviews of Pocketbike Racer, Big Bumpin', and Sneak King.

Crackdown Release Set

2006-12-21T17:49:00.000-04:00

The holidays aren't over quite yet, but given the current state of release lists, it's understandable that gamers would be planning their purchases for early 2007 already. One title that Microsoft hopes makes the cut is Crackdown, the free-roaming action game where players take control of superhuman crime-stoppers to clean up the streets of the fictional metropolis Pacific City.

Microsoft today gave gamers some guidance on when they could expect Crackdown to roll into retail by announcing an official release date of February 20. What's more, those on the fence about whether or not to pick up the game can download a free demo from the Xbox Live Marketplace starting January 18. The demo version of the game will include online cooperative play as well as single-player action.

It's About Time!!!

2006-12-21T17:46:00.000-04:00

"Medic!"

That was the cry of gamers after being sidelined by some issues found in the multiplayer portion of Call of Duty 3. COD3's developer, Treyarch, has heard the call and has made available a patch for the World War II first-person shooter.

The auto-update is now available over Xbox Live and addresses problems relating to both ranked and player matches in Call of Duty 3's online component. The development team says that the greatest improvement in gameplay comes with searching for and joining multiplayer sessions. Ranked games allegedly come together much faster, and searches for player matches return many more results than before.

Other additions include basic improvements to gameplay, options, and the heads-up display. Among them are consistent brightness settings between single- and multiplayer, the ability to choose between playing as the Axis or Allies in ranked games, and consistent amounts of players per team in rotating-map games. More details on the patch are available on the game's forums at Xbox.com.

For more information on C

Classic PlayStation Games to be Downloadable

2006-12-21T17:33:00.001-04:00

Sony Japan has announced a range of new PlayStation Store downloads for the Japanese market. Launching on the 21st of December are nine PlayStation classics, all priced at 525 yen. (See list below).

Dino Crisis (Capcom, action-adventure)
Gekisou Tomaranna (SCE, racing)
Global Force (SCE, sim)
Maru Oukoku no Ningyou Hime (Nippon Ichi, RPG) Mr. Driller (Bandai Namco Games, action)
R-Types (Irem, shooter)
Taiyo no Shippo (aka Tail of the Sun, Artdink, action)
The Convenie Ano Machi wo Dokusen se yo (Hamster, sim)
U-SA (Artdink, puzzle)

These games must first be downloaded via a PS3, but can only be played on the PSP. Also, you will need to update your PSP firmware to version 3.03 (the latest version) in order to play these games.

-James

Virtua Fighter 5 - release date announced

2006-12-20T16:27:00.000-04:00

Virtua Fighter 5 will ship across North America on February 20th 2007 exclusively for PlayStation 3.

Furthermore, SEGA Europe confirmed that VF5 will be a European launch title (tentatively March 2007).

Scott Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing at SEGA America, summed up the next generation fighter:

"Virtua Fighter 5 will be the first martial arts style fighting game available on the PlayStation 3 system with brand new offensive moves, customizable characters, stunning graphics, and highly detailed 3D fighting environments."

VF5 is one of the most anticipated and best looking titles of 2007. Its developers are also responsible for titles such as OutRun and Space Harrier.

-James

Grand Torismo Japanese Demo

2006-12-20T16:18:00.000-04:00

Gran Turismo demo details

Japanese magazine Famistsu has revealed a number of details about the upcoming Gran Turismo demo.

As a pleasant Christmas gift, Japanese PS3 owners will be able to download Gran Turismo HD Concept from December 24th through PlayStation Store.

The demo will include one course, playable in both directions, and ten cars.

The full list of cars available is as follows:

Suzuki Cappuccino '95
Mazda Eunos Roadster '89
Honda Integra Type R'04
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV GSR'96
Infinity G35 Coupe
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR'05
Lotus Elise 111R'04
Nissan Sky Liner GT-R V Spec II '94
Toyota Celica GT-FOUR Rally Car '95
Ferrari 599'06

You begin the demo with Cappuccino, but unlock the rest by beating a range of times in time attack mode. Once you have beat a certain time, you will have unlocked all cars as well as drift trial mode.

The magazine interviewed Kazunori Yamauchi, who said that plans for Gran Turismo HD were scrapped when fans at TGS cried for a full game. Originally, GTHD was going to be released with almost nothing included, and gamers would then purchase tracks, cars and modes through microtransactions on PlayStation Store.

The change of direction has resulted in Gran Turismo HD Concept. It includes Polyphony's next generation driving simulation engine. Further downloads will be made available before Gran Turismo 5's expect release in 2008. Whether these will be addons to the current demo, or completely new demos, has yet to be determined.

-James

Line Rider for Wii and DS

2006-12-20T10:53:00.000-04:00

Bored members of the cubicle-bound workforce have found a bit of relief with Line Rider, a Web-based application incorporating fun with physics. Developed by a Slovenian student, the game has users draw lines on which an animated sled rider cruises down. The "toy" has inspired some amateur designers to create some impressive backgrounds, many of which have ended up on YouTube. As it is based on drawing, inXile entertainment figured it would be a perfect fit for the Nintendo DS and Wii, and today acquired the rights to develop Line Rider games for the consoles. The games, which will include "new added features," is expected to be released in spring 2007. No other details were mentioned.

For anyone who hasent seen line rider here is a little video...

PS3 Makes Times "Buzz to Bust" top Five

2006-12-20T10:43:00.000-04:00

Some of you will be interested and some will be disappointed to find out that the PS3 sits right next to OJ and Snakes on a Plane on this years top five "Buzz to Bust" but instead of me explaining it here is Time Mag. reason for the ranking...

"The big story in computer games this year was HOW TO BLOW A HUGE LEAD, by Sony. Its PlayStation 2 was the champ in the last round of the console wars. This time Sony bet on a chip called the Cell and a disc format called Blu-ray. They're probably awesome, but how would anybody know? The PS3 is hideously expensive--it goes for up to $600--and Sony manufactured only a piddling few hundred thousand for the U.S., fewer for Japan. Plus it's hard to write games for; the launch titles were lame. You know you're in trouble when you get beat by something called a Wii."

But this is not the first time Time has criticised PS3 here is a bit from a article on the release day of the system...

"Sure, the Playstation 2 was the bestselling machine from the previous generation, and sure, the Playstation3 is powered by a stupendously powerful chip, the "Cell processor." (I'm sorry, but naming a computer chip is like naming your genitals: you're compensating for something.) Patience, young padawan. The time has not yet come."

What do you think? Does Time have a good point or is the PS3 truly worth 600+ bucks to get your hands on?

Wii Forecast Channel in Gameplay!

2006-12-20T10:05:00.000-04:00

This is a great idea! It's a simple concept but so amusing. Ok lets say it's raining out side so you decide to pop in madden, when the game starts it will be raining! Now change you region to somewhere where it's snowing and pop in madden and now it's snowing.

Wii Mote Charging Station...Finlay

2006-12-19T17:34:00.000-04:00

JoyTech's no stranger to the Wii accessory scene, and the firm is hitting us up once more with its Wii PowerStation. As the title implies, this docking unit can house two Wiimotes, and comes stocked with twin rechargeable battery packs to save you those late night trips to the battery department. Additionally, there's a pull-out cradle on each side to place your nunchuck, and while there's nothing to prove (or disprove) the theory, it looks as if the charging station can receive power from any USB port. So if the days on end of Wii Sportin' it are chewing through the Engergizers at an unacceptable rate, you can pick this up in late January for 39 clams.

LCD TV Price Drop!

2006-12-19T14:59:00.000-04:00

If you've been holding out to experience gaming in HD the way it was meant to be, then you may want to wait just a little bit longer. A market research company specializing in flat panel displays creatively named DisplaySearch forecasts that prices for LCD HDTVs could drop as much as 40% in 2007. As more people adopt LCD TVs and parts become cheaper, 32" LCDs could possibly be had for as little as $400 (currently, they run anywhere from $700 to $900). 37" sets could drop to $799 and 42" sets might fall as low as $999 (currently, both 37" and 42" sets can run well over $1000). Frankly, a $400 32" HDTV would be too good to pass up. Let's hope these prices fall sooner rather than later.

Has anyone out there found any killer deals on HDTVs lately?

One Last New Writer!

2006-12-19T14:11:00.000-04:00

Well I would like to introduce everyone to the newest Gamerz Corner addition, Anthony.

He has a Suberu WRX and he is Italian...

Gamerz Corner is no longer looking for anymore staff. However still let me know if you are interested in being a part of Gamerz Corner and I will see if we have a niche for you.

New DS!?!?

2006-12-19T13:59:00.000-04:00

There are rumors of a new DS for 2007 with a larger screen. The rumor is that the screens will jump in size from 3 inches to 3.5 - 3.8 inches. As we all know Nintendo is notorious for udateing their handheld systems every 1 - 2 years. So lets hope that we get a bigger screen in the new year.

-Anthony

A New Approach to Burglary

2006-12-19T13:52:00.001-04:00

A group of thieves broke through the cement wall of a Jacksonville, Fla., Gamestop with a sledgehammer and made off with 13 Xbox 360s within. The thieves cut the store's power, took the security tapes and scattered about a group of empty PS3 boxes, leading store manager Mark King to theorize the thieves "really wanted to get a PlayStation 3." Just goes to show you that Sony's shortages are hurting the criminal element as well.

Wii Web Browser!

2006-12-19T13:32:00.000-04:00

"Opera Software today announces that a trial version of its Web browser for Nintendo's new game console, Wii, will be available on December 22, 2006. The trial version of the Opera browser for Wii is available for download, free of charge from the the Wii Shop Channel."

New Tomb Radier Moive?!?!

2006-12-19T11:54:00.000-04:00

Obviously emboldened from the fact that Tomb Raider: Legend didn't draw a chorus of boos and hisses from the general public, Eidos exec Ian Livingstone has recently announced that Angelina Jolie may be returning to the role of Lara Croft in yet another Tomb Raider movie.

GamesIndustry.biz has that information, transcribed from a video interview with EurogamerTV.

The movie isn't a done deal by any means, though Livingstone did confirm its existence. "There's a possibility. We've been talking to Paramount, who've agreed to assign a scriptwriter. That's nowhere near the green-light process but it's a very healthy start to have a scriptwriter which they're going to pay serious amounts of money to write the first script."

Tomb Raider: Legend is the most recent iteration in what is generally been considered a franchise in decline. Lara's still a big moneymaker however -- the Tomb Raider brand has generated over a billion dollars over the last 10 years. $430 million of that comes from the movies themselves - Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.

Video Downloads for PSP

2006-12-19T11:49:00.000-04:00

Sony has long indicated that it plans to leverage its considerable cross-medium entertainment content to add additional services to its consoles, but the company was beaten to the punch by Microsoft's Video Marketplace for Xbox 360. According to the Financial Times, however, the company has full intention to get into the content download game, with a downloadable video service launching for PSP in the first quarter of next year. Apparently, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment was responsible for developing the service; presumably Sony Computer Entertainment was involved in some capacity as well.

The report indicates that online retailers such as Amazon.com as well as existing download services such as Movielink and CinemaNow are speaking with Sony about offering content through the program, suggesting that it may not be a closed centralized system like iTunes or Xbox Live Video Marketplace. With multiple non-proprietary storage formats, Blu-ray, and standard hard drives being compatible with PlayStation 3, alongside the lackluster sales performance of films sold on the proprietary UMD media format, Sony may be making broader moves away from centralized distribution and storage methods.

Wii Forecast Channel

2006-12-19T11:14:00.001-04:00

The Wii Forecast Channel has been released (well, the official release is December 20 and today is the 19th but you can still access it)! You will need to perform a system update on your Wii before you can use the Forecast Channel.

Ho Ho Hos

2006-12-19T10:22:00.001-04:00

Hos on Saints Row are nothing new, but the new Ho Ho Ho Pack released by THQ today on Xbox Live Marketplace is an entirely different subject matter. The download includes new clothes for in-game thugs that would normally be worn by another famous person known for breaking and entering--Santa Claus. Gamers can get into the spirit with a new Santa Claus ensemble that includes the famous hat, boots, coat, and hair of St. Nick. In the spirit of the holidays, the Ho Ho Ho Pack is free to download.

MGS4 Rummor Smashing

2006-12-18T18:00:00.000-04:00

MGS4 one of the flagship tittles of PS3, and rumor has it that it wont just be strutting it stuff on PS3 but Xbox 360 as well. Well I'm sad to say this as I am both a 360 and MGS fan but the 360 will not will not be seeing MGS at least anytime soon. Konami is worried about the number of PS3 units out their vs. 360 and they did say it was a option but at the moment they are remaining loyal to Sony. I would also like to take this moment to debunk another MGS rumor, I'm sure most of you heard the rumor that touted the power of the PS3 vs the 360, stating that it melted a PS3 and is to much for the 360 to ever be able to process. Well while it was confirmed by Konami that they did not intend on opening up MGS to the 360 at this point in time they did confirm that it is technically possible. That being said the PS3 may be a more powerful system but for the moment at least they are both on equal footing.

It's Just a Game...

2006-12-18T10:11:00.000-04:00

Looks like some people are enjoying the new Guitar Hero II a little bit to much...

New GRAW Screens

2006-12-18T10:06:00.000-04:00

PS3 outsells Xbox360 in Japan

2006-12-18T09:58:00.001-04:00

It has taken Sony only 4 weeks to outsell the Xbox360 in Japan. Recent news from Japan reports that the Sony PlayStation 3 has recently sold over 187,000 units compared to Microsoft's Xbox360 which is sitting pretty at around 178,000 units. Media Create, the Japaneses tracking organization, is responsible for keeping track of the product sales for each major gaming company. They have also reported that it took Microsoft 52 weeks to sell the number of Xbox360s they are currently at.

The news itself shouldn't come as a shock to anyone considering Japan has been ruled by Nintendo and Sony for almost as long as video games have existed. Microsoft will have a hard time making progress as both the Wii and the PS3 are currently selling out as fast as each respective company can make them. Microsoft still has high hopes for its RPG title Blue Dragon which has hit Japanese shores just recently. It will be interesting to see how the game effects Xbox360 sales.

Currently Nintendo is king in Japan with their highly successfully launch of the Wii. The Wii has sold over 350,000 units in Japan, just under all the PS3s and Xbox360s sold combined. With the Wii and Nintendo DS selling so well, it's fair to ask the question, "Does Sony and Microsoft stand a fighting chance in the land of the rising sun?" Either way, the nex-gen war has only begun.

-James

150 developers working on GTAIV

2006-12-18T09:56:00.000-04:00

PS3 Linux runs Wiimote as a mouse

2006-12-18T09:53:00.000-04:00

In a recent public demonstration of the PS3 running Linux, a PS3 spokesperson was showing off the Linux capabilities of the PS3, and used a Wiimote as a mouse. Nintendo's wireless remote/controller was plugged into one of the PS3s spare USB ports, and functioned identically as it would on the Wii itself.

According to www.qj.ps3.net, all that is needed to use the Wiimote on a PS3 is an install of Linux, and the proper drivers. Given this is all functioning in Linux, it is highly unlikely that the Wiimote would work while playing a regular PS3 game.

-James

True Cost of a Wii

2006-12-15T16:32:00.000-04:00

the Wii costs $158 bills to manufacture, not including the Wiimote and nunchuk). These guys take the spotlight to the console, shining its bright light into the various nooks and crannies of the system to find the total value of each of its parts, finally coming up with cost calculations for each component. Turns out, according to their findings, Nintendo is making around $40 bucks a console. Way to go Nintendo ...

Graphics chip: $29.60
CPU: $13.00
DRAM: $7.80
Optical disk drive: $31.00
Power supply: $11.30
Manufacturing cost: $19.50
Cost total: $158.30
Wholesale price: $195.99

And so it turns out that the Wii is the only profitable system out of the box! the 360 costs about 550 to produce and the PS3 cost are about 1k each putting the companies in the red from the get go and expecting to make profit on the games. This is one more reason why I think the Wii has the Best Business model out of the three!