Topics

551

General Gaming / Xenon / Xbox 2/360 to incluse eye-toy like camera

« on: March 19, 2005, 09:56:57 AM »

TeamXbox.com

Quote
The camera, mounted on a TV to capture a player's gestures, would rival Sony's EyeToy, told J Allard, Chief XNA Architect, to Bloomberg.

"We're trying to take some learnings from what our competition has done with cameras that let players control games", said Allard at the Games Developers Conference in San Francisco. "We've got a couple of those answers. We're going to turn that into a couple of solutions."

Another possibility could be to allow Xbox 2 owners to attach a digital camera to the console, allowing them to manipulate digital photos. Allard said that might be an “interesting idea”.

"That's the kind of thinking that really does open up the market, opens the door and opens consumers' eyes to the brand," he said.

Microsoft Japan’s Xbox division has released a product called Xbox Video Chat that uses a camera for videoconferencing but it seems Microsoft's plans for the next generation is to take the use of this camera to a totally new level.

Post about xbox video chat 6-16-2004

Nintendo came out an idea (GB Camera)
Sony turned it into a game+ (EyeToy)
Nintendo shows praise for Sony doing it first
Microsoft tries to make it standard  

552

Nintendo Gaming / DS release now breaks records in Europe!!!!!

« on: March 15, 2005, 12:57:22 PM »

Gamesindustry.biz

Quote
The Nintendo DS got off to a flying start last weekend in the UK, becoming the fastest-selling console ever with sales topping some 87,000 units in the first two days at retail, according to Chart-Track data released this morning.

Compared to previous console sales over the years, the DS was well ahead of the original GBA's launch statistics, which managed 67,000 back in June 2001, while the remodelled GBA SP debuted with 47,000 in March 2003.

This is great news for the DS, especially considering it still has about 2-3 months of market exclusivity before PSP is supposed to be released - PSP delay

edit: fixed title

p.s. didn't notice official sales thread, this was already mentioned in there too, so let this thread die, sorry

553

General Gaming / Nokia to announce NGage2 @ E3

« on: March 14, 2005, 09:49:34 PM »

I guess some people just don't know when to quit....

CNN/Money

Quote
Despite rumors it planned to exit the business altogether, the company behind the N-gage gaming phone said it is gearing up for a second round.

"We will be making a significant announcement at E3 regarding our next generation," said Gerard Wiener, general manager of Nokia's games business program.

I can't wait for the new NGage!!!!! its gonna own PSP and DS!!!! /sarcasm

[170 Megabits per second]

554

Nintendo Gaming / Nintendo's FREE Internet plan? - DS/Rev?

« on: March 12, 2005, 12:50:04 PM »

I don't know all the details behind this technology, but I do know that is is made by Matsushita/Panasonic.
They are very well known business partners w/ Nintendo and could be helping them with thier free internet infastructure.

I came across this YAHOO!! article and they talk about internet over powerlines and how it is faster than current wifi.

Sony is a member of Homeplug, who is also working on thier own version, but it was not up to the level of performance of Matsushita's.

Now what I wanted to know was if was plausible for Nintendo or even Sony to use this tech to make a "no-line" connection between handheld units for those that don't have internet connections.  And since powerllines go everywhere would this make it so that technically, if your DS was on, you truly would never be alone. There would always be someone, somewhere, with a powerline near-by and a DS turned on.

Quote
They have developed a system to transfer 170 Megabits per second of data through the power lines of a home, Panasonic researcher Ingo Chmielewski told journalists at the electronics trade fair CeBIT.

Quote
HomePlug's current standard is only 14 Mbps but it is thought to be working on a faster version.

p.s. Current wifi speeds are 56 Mbps iirc    

[EDIT: I meant to put this in Fast Forward but Ian Sane already beat me to it HERE]

555

General Gaming / Game Boy Next due out this year!!??

« on: February 28, 2005, 10:35:03 AM »

http://money.cnn.com

Quote
"We believe it is likely that the next version of the Game Boy Advance SP will ship as early as this holiday, ahead of most expectations of calendar year 2006," wrote P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research.

The new system, he predicts, will launch at a $99 price point, with prices on the Game Boy Advance falling to $49. Nintendo DS prices, he wrote, will likely remain unchanged.

Nintendo representatives were unavailable for comment.

I personally don't find this very likely, and would tread all over the DS (which is actually doing very well).  Even though this is to be an announcement to take the wind out of Sony's sales, I think it is a very 'Capcom --> Resident Evil 4' like announcement, which is just a bad idea.

EDIT: I meant to put this in Fast Forward but Ian Sane already beat me to it HERE

556

Nintendo Gaming / DS launch in AUS is the biggest ever!!??

« on: February 28, 2005, 10:20:42 AM »

source: GamesIndustry.biz

Quote
"The retail and consumer feedback from Thursday's Nintendo DS launch has been astounding," according to Nintendo Australia's sales and marketing director Rose Lappin. "We are eagerly awaiting the official market sales figures this week to fully solidify our place in the Australian marketplace as the most successful current hardware launch ever."

Quote
sales in the first 12 hours have been the highest ever for a new hardware platform in the region - based entirely on retailer feedback.

Quote
The platform is already a huge success despite strong market anticipation for Sony's PlayStation Portable - whose European launch was recently pushed back indefinitely due to stock shortages.

Its looking good for the DS in the Wild West, the Far East & now the Down Under

557

General Gaming / PSP w/ a 50GB internal harddrive!!? iPod killer??

« on: February 25, 2005, 10:13:04 AM »

A rumor posted byJoystiq.com from a conference that they attended..

Quote
One speaker (Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities) at the “Positioning for Profitability in the Video Game Economy” conference we attended yesterday let on that he had heard that Sony is working on a flavor of the PSP that includes an internal, 50-gigabyte hard drive. A prototype of the new portable might be out by year-end, but mass production of the new device probably would not happen until next year, he said.

first a possible battery upgrade and now an internal HD - how much does Sony plan on charging for this thing?

How much would you pay for something like this
-videogames
-movies
-music
-photo
-wireless
-50gb harddrive
-ms access

if they could put this out for less than $600 and increase the batterylife to something way beyond 15hrs in mp3 mode (more like 24hr in mp3 mode) then this could really take off

558

General Gaming / Xbox Power Cord Recall - *Fire Hazard*

« on: February 17, 2005, 01:00:16 PM »

Replace your power cord before it is too late

Quote
As a precautionary measure and out of concern for consumer safety, Microsoft announced today that it will voluntarily replace the power cords on 14.1 million Xbox consoles worldwide.

Quote
However, in 30 consoles worldwide, these failures are reported to have caused minor injury or minor property damage. In seven instances, customers reported sustaining a minor burn to their hand. In 23 instances, customers reported smoke damage, or minor damage to a carpet or entertainment centre.

its not a real threat but............................................. it could happen to you

559

General Gaming / XBox 360 Revealed?

« on: February 17, 2005, 11:22:08 AM »

http://www.kotaku.com

Quote
Our inside source says that the console is a sleek silver device worthy of countertop display, and features an inhaled design that turns the harsh angles of the original Xbox into sweeps and curves. The device will also be able to stand upright or on it’s side, much like the Playstation 2. The side of the 360° is dominated by an oversized, back-lit power button called the ring of light, and the rest of the case can be customized with colorful designer face plates that pop on and off. The 360°s dashboard will also be customizable, making each console a thing totally unique to its owner.

Some of the inner workings of the 360° have also been confirmed. The device will feature high definition audio and video and wireless controllers, and will come in two flavors—one with a hard drive and one without. The biggest shock is that while Microsoft wants to make their 360° backwards compatible, they haven’t yet been able to pull it off.

“They’re working on it,” said our source.

No pictures included, but a mock up is provided if you go to the link.

560

Nintendo Gaming / Wireless Controllers as Standard Next-Gen

« on: February 17, 2005, 10:53:51 AM »

according to GamesIndustry.biz the Xbox 2 is gonna make wireless controllers (like the Wavebird) standard on Xbox 2.

Quote
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz this morning, developers working with prototype Xbox 2 hardware confirmed that while they have not seen final designs for the controller, Microsoft representatives have indicated that the pads will indeed be wireless.

Quote
Microsoft will be the first console manufacturer to ship wireless pads as standard with its hardware, but not the first to ship an official wireless controller; Nintendo has already enjoyed significant success with the WaveBird, its wireless pad for the GameCube.

I have been hoping that since the wavebird works so well that maybe Nintendo would also make that a standard for their next console too.  

The next question is do they do away with cords all together?
-all peripherals would then have to be wireless

Will the batteries be rechargable? (it better be)
-wavebird runs on 2 AAA

What about the rumble feature?
- 3rd party controllers for PS2 have wireless rumble with decent battery life

What about the usb connection and convergence between consoles and computers?
- Microsoft did mention that they want to make the xbox controller a standard PC controller also
-If the wireless controller can still hook up to the system through usb it could also be used to charge the battery while playing

Quote
Dean Lester, general manager for Windows graphics and gaming technologies, said future controllers will connect to the Xbox through a USB port, so that they also can be used on Windows PCs.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/173101_e3side13.html

561

General Gaming / New Controller for PS3?

« on: February 15, 2005, 12:47:08 PM »

according to www.whitefusion.com they have "upgraded" the standard controller and want to make it a new standard.

Quote
We do havee working prototypes for current generation consoles that as Sony has told us, provide an unfair competitive advantage over standard controllers.

They refer to this new "upgrade" as Reflex control

Quote
What is REFLEX Control?
White Fusion is driven to produce solutions
that will benefit both gamers and developers.
That is what REFLEX Control is all about.
No other company has ever done what
White Fusion is about to do.

REFLEX Control is completely unique, but it has a broad impact. It is not another specialized control device intended for a few games. It is an upgrade... an upgrade to the standard control for console games.

Its specualted to be a trackball, but I was curious as to what all of you think this new 'innovation in control' really is

562

General Gaming / 30% MORE Battery for PSP?

« on: February 15, 2005, 12:28:43 PM »

Sony has manufactured a new battery that the call 'Nexelion(TM)' that has 30% more battery life that current rechargeable batteried

Battery Description - press release

And now this may be the battery technology that makes it into PSP as standard or possibly as a upgrade

TotalVideogames.com

Now this could put the PSP on a closer playing level with the DS as far as all the antagonism it has been getting for battery issues when playing a UMD.

[We are reviewing technologies that are in the early stages of development [by other companies]]

563

Nintendo Gaming / Videogames interacting with Real Life!!

« on: February 03, 2005, 10:36:43 AM »

Virtual object interacting with real life in real time - imagine gaming of the future

RTS set up with your backyard or livingroom as the terrain,
the surface area of your dresser/desk being a level for a Mario to complete/navigate
or you can play The Sims in your sisters Barbie house


http://sonix.sdv.fr:8080/ramgen/arte/tracks/20040603/immersion.rm

what do all of you think about this technology and its possibility to be used in a future console (i.e. Revolution)

remember this quote by Iwata - April 11, 2004 - Gamespy.com

Quote
"We are going in a different direction than Sony. We believe that other companies are already investing in state-of-the-art semiconductor development, says Iwata. "Nintendo is not actually trying to create a state-of-the-art technology that is not known to the world. We are reviewing technologies that are in the early stages of development [by other companies]. Nintendo should be able to find the optimal solution to make the best possible hardware by cooperating with several partners."

 

564

General Gaming / PS3 Graphics Indestinguishable from Movies!!

« on: January 25, 2005, 11:53:57 AM »

According to Gerhard Florin of EA in a recent articel on the BBC

Speculation on Next Generation

Simon Gardner - president of Climax's Action Studio

Quote
"We can thrown more polygons around and have better AI but if it doesn't make for a better game then that's not very useful."

At least Climax studio's gets the big picture, EA just wants their games to look more real, 'film quality'.  

565

Nintendo Gaming / What Is This? (Revolution Leak?)

« on: January 25, 2005, 10:51:49 AM »

http://s03.2log.net/home/syoboon1/

Quote
The name"NINTENDO 21"
¥The price is undecided in the sale schedule at the end of 2005 every year.
¥Simultaneous sale software is undecided.
¥The form of a character of the logo is feeling that the form of a character is added the game cube to NINTENDO DS and divided by two.
¥Media are 8cm in both sides disks of 5.4GB or less that entered the husk.
¥The best eyeball is connected with NINTENDO 21 in the vicinity by the system that uses the IEEE protocol, various information is exchanged, and it is said that it will influence it each other. "Home game function (temporary)"
¥"Home game function" is free. It interferes when the AC adaptor is connected, and there is "NINTENDO 21" or "NINTENDO home" to be near and new information is added to the storage medium in the main body without permission. The saving data is basically memorized in the main body when playing a game. The saving data also influences with other NINTENDO 21 each other.
¥The machine that is called "NINTENDO home" using the PHS line is supported and the installation, fighting of a portable game machine, and the home game function are supported to each place. Latest information from Nintendo etc. are sent.
¥Lease line (?) is purchased from the PHS company.
¥"NINTENDO home" jointly develops with Kyocera.
¥"Rub" is possible though the controller is arrangement that looks like the game cube. It is said that it comes to be able to operate the game by rubbing button and controller's each place. Moreover, one slot is installed in the controller.
¥For the controller, the whole is Can'o type. Rubbing is good also in the button and the grip.
¥Equipped with digital terminal(Exclusive use D terminal cable or the DVI cable compatible with the stereo cable etc. of past Nintendo is used. As for this cable, shape is different from a current stereo cable. Terminal D cable of the game cube cannot be used. )

Link to Picture at bottom of page

What is all this about Nintendo 21?
does this make sense to anyone?
joint development w/ Kyocera?

Quote
The best eyeball is connected with NINTENDO 21 in the vicinity

?
5.4gb on each side of disc (according to the picture attached its in a cartridge)

what do you guys think?
Crazy enough to be true? crazed internet speculation?
comment......  

566

Nintendo Gaming / Take Two seeks MLB exclusivity

« on: January 19, 2005, 01:48:49 PM »

http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=6332

Take Two is trying to counter act EA

Quote
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the company is in talks with Major League Baseball for exclusive rights to the brand, in a deal which would act as a counter-move to EA's exclusive signing with the NFL.

p.s. I'm not sure on where this belongs

p.s.s. What baseball games does Take Two publish?

567

General Gaming / GTA: SA coming to Xbox in 2005

« on: December 16, 2004, 09:14:37 PM »

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/7365/Grand-Theft-Auto-San-Andreas-Coming-to-Xbox/

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/041216/165804_1.html

Quote
As announced today, Rockstar is introducing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for Xbox in the third quarter of fiscal 2005, along with a simultaneous release of the PC version of the title.

Additional products planned for fiscal 2005 from Rockstar include a new console title based on a proven brand from Rockstar's internal studios, titles based on two of Rockstar's premier brands for Sony's highly anticipated PlayStation®Portable platform (PSP(TM)) and the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in Japan.

568

Nintendo Gaming / Sony & Nvidia to collaborate on PS3 grafix

« on: December 07, 2004, 10:12:26 AM »

http://watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20041207/scei.htm  <--- Babel fish this for translation (its in japanese )

- Nvidia's Home Page

I don't know how many of you were wondering who was gonna make the grafix chip for PS3, since ATi has both Nintendo & my post is a train wreck, but now its official.

Is it 100% cell based?

What does this mean for Nvidia's next PC card?

569

General Gaming / Half Life 2 to hit the Arcades!!??

« on: November 02, 2004, 01:35:04 PM »

http://watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20041101/hl2.htm

[Translated by 'passerby' of B3D Forums]

Quote
Taito will release the arcade version of 'Half-Life 2' in the summer of 2005. Play cost is still unknown. Taito will use their own 'Type-X' system, which runs on Windows XP Embedded. The game is described as 'based on Windows version, customized for the arcade'. 3 modes of play are availble - 'story mode', 'battle mode', and 'mission mode'. Internet co-op and competition is made possible by Taito's NETSYS.

The arcade machine is described as 'cockpit-style', with 5.1 ch surround and widescreen. The form of the controller is unknown.

what do you guys think of this?  

570

General Gaming / The face of Master Chief is revealed

« on: October 13, 2004, 01:30:24 PM »

and who woulda thought?

Master Chief

571

General Gaming / Keyboard & mouse for PS2 & Xbox

« on: October 04, 2004, 12:33:09 PM »

found in the Liksang Forums there is now gonna be a mouse and keybord setup for Xbox & PS2.

I'm not a 100% sure but didn't Microsoft say that there would never be a mouse  & keyboard setup for the Xbox because they didn't want you to confuse it with a PC?

& it will be compatible with Xbox LIVE!

572

General Gaming / PSTwo to be released this Oct.?

« on: September 16, 2004, 11:25:25 AM »

according to Gamesindustry.biz Sony is releasing thier remodeled PSTwo, which is suppossedly 30% smaller and has a built in network adapter @ a price of $149.99.

They are speculated to release the PSTwo at the same time as GTA:SA this October to help boost sales for thier 4th Quarter, and possibly to also soften the impact of the release of Halo 2.  

573

Nintendo Gaming / DS Exclusive - Inside & Out w/ pics

« on: August 17, 2004, 02:07:17 PM »

Over @ Cube-Europe.com they have an exclusive hands on w/ the DS' insides

for comparison the battery in the DS (which is pre production) is 860 mAH
the battery inside the SP is only 500 mAH and you know how long that last w/ only one screen.

574

Nintendo Gaming / Portable Screen for your GBA................. this is just rediculous.

« on: July 15, 2004, 02:16:23 PM »

I don't know who would want to go through all the trouble to do this, but this has got to eat up a wjhole pack of batteries really quick.

Actually I'm not too sure how portable thiis thing really is, but I wouldn't be travelling with this device strapped to my back.

575

General Gaming / Samsung challenges Nokia and the N-Gage

« on: July 02, 2004, 11:00:48 AM »

It appears that Samsung has decided to go for the mobile 3d market by releasing a new flip phone that looks better than the N-Gage.

Quote
Seoul Korea, July 1, 2004 – Samsung unveils a uniquely designed 3D Game Phone that uses the company's established clamshell design. The game phone (SCH-V450) which comes installed with 3 games, such as ZioGolf (golf game) and Metalion (shooting game), allows users to get a full and enjoyable mobile gaming experience as the games are in three dimensions and can be heard through dual speakers. Also, users can download and enjoy 3D games which are specially designed for Samsung 3D game phone via Samsung Fun Club (SFC: www.samsungmobile.com)

It also comes with a 32MB memory stick, records video, takes pictures, plays MP3s, and has a joystick.