from Joystiq.com:
Not only will the first few months of 2010 play host to the release dates of a squadron of delayed aught-nine blockbusters, it’s also when we can expect to see the recently announced, seriously embiggened DSi XL hit North American and European store shelves. According to a Nintendo spokesperson, the new model of the handheld will be released stateside (and … union-side?) in the first quarter of 2010.
That just leaves us with one final, appropriately oversized question: How much is it going to cost? Don’t get us wrong, we love the idea of buying a bigger version of a smaller version of a smaller version of an originally bulky handheld — but based on the sheer number of titles we’ll be buying in the dawn of next year, we’re probably going to be kinda strapped.
Read more about Xbox 360’s new controller free gaming from Telegraph.co.uk:
Microsoft says the enthusiasm of developers and publishers highlighted the “widespread enthusiasm” for Natal, a gaming system based on the Xbox 360 that enables players to do away with a conventional controller and instead make natural gestures to control on-screen action.
Several major publishers, including Activision, Blizzard, Capcom, Electronic Arts and Sega, will announce at this week’s Tokyo Games Show that they are working on games that will complement the Project Natal platform and work with its gesture-controlled interface.
It has raised speculation that the gaming system could be in shops by the end of next year, sparking a new console war with rival platforms Sony and Nintendo.
“Project Natal could fundamentally change the way players experience sports games,” said Peter Moore, president of EA Sports. “Some of our top development teams are experimenting with these tools with the goal of delivering a completely fresh take on genres like sports and racing.”
Project Natal was unveiled at the E3 games show in Los Angeles in June. It is designed to work with existing Xbox 360 games consoles, and uses a camera, depth-sensor and microphones to track the movement of a player and replicate it on-screen.
“We see enormous opportunities with Project Natal,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive of Ubisoft. “With the 3D camera, your body becomes the interface. Any barrier related to the use of pad controllers that may have existed for potential gamers is now abolished.”
Console makers and game developers have already set their sights on the next generation of gaming and entertainment solutions. Nintendo’s Wii, which uses innovative motion-controlled ‘Wiimotes’, has attracted a new audience to gaming, and other companies are keen to tap in to the casual gaming trend.
Sony is also working on its own gesture-controlled gaming interface, and demonstrated a prototype of the system at E3. Sony emphasised the accuracy of its system, claiming that it could track and replicate the movements of a player in real time, and even understand from their gestures how hard they had hit a ball, and map its flight using the angle of the player’s body.
Although Microsoft has yet to officially announce a launch date for Project Natal, the company’s chief executive, Steve Ballmer, said that a new Xbox 360 with “a natural interface” would be launched in 2010.
Ballmer later back-tracked on his comments, and Microsoft maintains that it is “not even halfway through the current console generation lifestyle”.
“We believe the Xbox 360 will be the entertainment centre in the home for long in to the next decade. Project Natal will be an important part of this platform, but we have not confirmed a launch date at this time.”
Should be interesting to see if PS can capture the same type of audience with this type of gaming that Nintendo did. Read more from Joystiq.com:
We just got our first brief taste of some of the retrofitted PS3 titles which would support Sony’s new, tentatively-named PlayStation Motion Controller during Sony’s TGS 2009 keynote. However, a piping hot press release gave us some of the most detailed info on the peripheral to date — most notable of which is the re-confirmation that the hardware is still on track for a Spring 2010 release.
Equally as titillating is a comprehensive list of first-party “Motion Controller dedicated and compatible titles” which are set to drop (or in the case of the pre-existing titles, receive the new functionality via a patch) throughout 2010:
Software Titles for Motion Controller from SCE Worldwide Studios
Ape Escape (Working Title)
Echochrome 2 (Working Title)
Eccentric Slider (Working Title)
Sing and Draw (Working Title)
Champions of Time (Working Title)
Motion Party (Working Title)
The Shoot (Working Title)
Tower (Working Title)
PAIN*
Flower*
Hustle Kings*
High Velocity Bowling*
EyePet*
Nintendo: Helping you be a better person! Read more from Hexus.net:
The Wii Vitality Sensor, which was announced by President and CEO Satoru Iwata at Nintendo’s E3 2009 media briefing in June, will be available to gamers at some point in 2010.
The vitality sensor is a fingertip pulse oximeter sensor that connects through the Wii Remote. According to Nintendo, the device “will initially sense the user’s pulse and a number of other signals being transmitted by their bodies, and will then provide information to the users about the body’s inner world.”
Speaking in a Q&A session with investors yesterday, Iwata elaborated on what the device could be used for.
“Wii Vitality Sensor has great potential for various applications like measuring how horrified a player is in a horror title. What we are trying to propose first is a videogame with a theme of relaxation, which is completely opposite from traditional ones, to enrich the users’ lives,” he enthused.
He continues:
What if you were able to visualise how to unwind and relax, or check the condition of your automatic nerve by simply inserting your finger in the device once a day?” You have all had an experience where you are not in tune with how your body is doing or aware of how exhausted you body may be in a busy, strained period, but if you can visibly measure your condition every day, you can start to see how you’re doing.”
At first glance the Vitality Sensor seems like a gimmick, but knowing Nintendo, we wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if its new accessory has just as big an impact as Wii Fit.
Eventually it seems everything will just be better and easier on the iPhone… better get one soon or be really out of the loop. Read more from USAToday.com:
Already a winner in the cellphone game, the iPhone is now ringing up success as a game portable to rival Nintendo’s DS and Sony’s PlayStation Portable.
“This next generation of iPhone games” has emerged, says Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat.com, because Apple has “a big market with 40 million iPhones and iPod Touches. That’s big enough to target with a fairly significant game-development effort.”
FUN AND GAMES: Five iPhone apps to download
Among games with amped-up action:
•Doom: Resurrection ($10), just out, makes use of monsters created for Doom 3, developed for PC and Xbox less than five years ago. “What was a $10 million to $15 million game development” has moved to the iPhone with “minimal conversion,” says id Software co-founder John Carmack.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Facebook | Sony | Twitter | Nintendo | Sega | Apple Inc. | John Carmack | ID Software | Dean Takahashi•Players of new sci-fi strategy game Star Defense ($6) can send challenges to one another over the iPhone or via Facebook, Twitter or e-mail, thanks to last week’s update of Apple’s operating software. “People are willing to ’snack’ on games, to experiment a little bit more,” says former Sega executive Simon Jeffery, who joined developer ngmoco last month. “There isn’t the same barrier to entry” as with traditional $60 video games.
•The smooth graphics in aerial combat F.A.S.T. (Fleet Air Superiority Training, $3) from Social Gaming Network put you into the cockpit of a fighter jet. “You are flying around in a 3-D world, shooting down other pilots from all over the world,” says SGN’s CEO Shervin Pishevar. (The game is No. 6 in sales of paid apps on iTunes.)
Apple’s App Store, launched last year with only 500 apps, now has more than 50,000, one-fourth games (some free, others 99 cents to $9.99). In addition to independent developers, top-tier publishers such as EA are bringing high-end versions of games such as The Sims 3 to the iPhone.
With the iPhone, Apple has “something that is potentially a threat” to traditional game systems, says Windsor Holden, an analyst with Juniper Research. “They are not quite console games, but they are not far off.”
iPhone game sales could hit $1 billion in the next three to four years, says SGN’s Pishevar. “This is just the beginning,” he says. “It’s just going to get better and better.”
This is pretty slick… from E3 2009:
From T3.com:
Gone are the days of the console being ‘just’ a games machine. These days, your average console gives you access to everything from the net to the latest movie trailers, not to mention your own virtual world. Indeed, Sony is so pleased with its PlayStation Network for the PS3, that it wants to extend it to other devices.
In an interview with Nikkei, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer said: ‘We will be expanding the PlayStation Network to hardware other than the PS3′ because limiting the Network to PS3 consoles ‘puts a limit on the scale of the network possible.’ It’s hardly surprising. After all, as he rightly points out, the more people use the network, the more money is made by both Sony and its partners. More users could also tempt more companies to sign up with Sony too - video rental company Netflix is just one that’s rumoured to be considering the Sony platform.
How and when this expansion takes place isn’t yet clear, with the company’s CEO suggesting that Sony’s ‘vertical structure for each product line’ doesn’t make expansion easy. But with rumours of a download-friendly PSP2 in the pipeline, that could be the opportunity Sony needs to get the ball rolling.
This is pretty slick:
Here’s some info from T3.com:
Activision’s brand new rhythm game franchise, DJ Hero, is launching this autumn alongside the fifth instalment of Guitar Hero and kiddie-safe Band Hero.
DJ Hero, as the gives away, changes tack from the traditional plastic guitars and drums, giving you a replica turntable to control your games with. Hit the pics on the right to see the first official snaps of the brand new peripheral.
As you can see, there’s a small selection of coloured buttons that are in much the same vein as the other band peripherals in Activision’s Hero line-up. While it’s nice to see it in high detail glory, we can’t help think it looks a little too simple. Of course, we don’t yet know how the gameplay is going to work or what kind of nimble finger athletics you’ll have to perform with those three buttons.
However, it has also been pointed out that Activision is carefully hiding something in there. Notice how you can’t see the bottom right of the controller in either image? Odds are it could be a crossfader. And that could mean hooking up a pair of decks and fading between them. That would clear up our complaint about the lack of buttons.
If Activision is feeling especially cunning, it might even be possible to conncect a mic for some MC action. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.
Activision has revealed that the track list will cover a range of DJ-centric genres including hip-hop, R&B, Motown, electronica and dance. More details and pics as we get ‘em.
Awesome:
More from Kotaku.com:
Harmonix and MTV today announce two new Beatles-themed guitar controllers going on sale when The Beatles: Rock Band hits stores in September - the Rickenbacker 325 and Gretsch Duo Jet.
The Rickenbacker 325 and Gretsch Duo Jet are a pair of full-bodied, classic guitars used extensively by John Lennon and George Harrison throughout their careers. The Rickenbacker was actually one of my suggestions for a Beatles guitar controller back when the box set was first announced, while I figured the Gretsch Duo Jet was a bit too obscure a name to appeal to the more mainstream fans. Goes to show what I know.
Both guitars should be available for purchase when The Beatles: Rock Band launches on September 9th, retailing for $99, €99.99, or £89.99 depe3nding on where your store is located. This brings the price tag for the true Beatles Rock Band experience up to $450, and that’s not counting extra microphones. I’ll probably just use the instruments I’ve already purchased plus Rickenbacker for flavor.
from Electronista.com:
Zeebo this morning unveiled a self-titled console which it says could bring video gaming and other Internet features to countries that previously haven’t had widespread access to the technology. The system combines a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM processor with a free, 3G link over HSPA that lets the console perpetually remain connected to the Internet without requiring a hardwired connection. Users can buy and download games anywhere the console gets coverage; the cellular link will also allow frequent system updates and, eventually, the ability to share the Zeebo’s connection with computers or other devices that might be relegated to dial-up in developing areas.
The hardware will primarily focus on mobile-class 3D games and already has the support of Capcom, EA, Gameloft and other significant developers. About 1GB of flash memory provides the permanent storage, while an SD card slot lets owners add more. Control is more like a traditional TV-attached console with three full-size USB ports and one mini allowing multiple dual-analog gamepads and other peripherals.
Reflecting its attention on the developing world, Zeebo the company says its system will first be available in Brazil when it ships next month. Although early pricing in the South American country is set at the equivalent of $199, other countries should get the system for $179. Zeebo hopes that economies of scale will let it push the system price down to $149 by 2010.
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