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More PlayStation Phone Hints, Nudges, Winks
Posted by Luke Plunkett at 11:40 PM on August 28, 2007
Back in April, Pocket Gamer did some rumour-scrounging on the possibility of a PlayStation-branded phone. They didn't get much. So come Leipzig, they tried to get more, cornering Sony Ericsson's games division's Peter Ahnegard and asking him about it again. This time, they got a little more. Still nothing concrete, mind, but it's something:
It's obviously something that we're looking at but right now I can't really comment. Before Christmas, certainly... but exactly which Christmas I can't confirm!Can't comment on a comment? Jeez. Still, if the comment's got a deadline, must be something behind it, so lets wait for Christmas, see if they bothered learning from the N-Gage's multitude of mistakes.
Sony Ericsson says definitely maybe to PlayStation phone [Pocket Gamer]
ENOUGH WITH THE SHOWS. E3 ends, and shortly after that, there's Leipzig. Just after that, there is PAX. Then? Then we've got the Tokyo Games Show. But between PAX and TGS, there's GC Asia, which runs from September 6-9 in Singapore. Sony will be in appearance at GCA, showing off PS3 and PSP games, while Nintendo will be using the event to launch the Wii in the region (cue Wii Sports kiosks). Also, Electronic Arts will be showing off 15 titles, including Crysis, FIFA 08 and Rock Band. Expect appearances by Blizzard and Nokia NGage as well! 
Nope, that isn't a homeless cheerleader squad accepting donations. Well, they are accepting denotations, but they're not homeless. That's idol group 
Epic doesn't do demos. They do games. 'Cause when you have a small staff, you don't have time to focus on other things. You can only focus on the game. Epic bossman Mark Rein (above, touching something) lays it all out:
A paper published in Science says videogames were used in a study determining the means with which the brain deals with imminent danger. The study used a "Pac-Man-like" game, where players moved a triangle through a maze, all the while avoiding a "predator". If the predator caught the player, they'd receive an electric shock. What did this teach scientists? It helped show them which areas of the brain react, and how much they react, when someone's confronted with fear. And this helped...how? No idea. Think it was just so the scientists could contribute to the greater body of knowledge by blowing their grant on a Pac-Man clone and frying a few hapless uni students.
Word has it that NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams isn't quite ready to wake up. According to NiGHTS fan site, the game is apparently delayed until Q1 2008. This holiday is jammed packed enough, so this delay could work out best for SEGA. The official NiGHTS 
Years later after Nintendogs first hit, we don't get Nintencats, but a Nintencats clone. Dubbed Love Cat Life, the game lets players raise one of forty cats, dress them up and have them sing karaoke or toss free throws. Yes, karaoke and free throws — stuff that was sorely missed in Nintendogs. That Love Cat Life box art is really trying to capitalise on Nintendogs. Though, as much as I did enjoy Nintendogs, I can't ever see myself playing it again. Like ever. So a cat sim? Eh... I hate cats. 
No More Heroes looks good enough. Suda, lightsabres, motorbikes, all good. Now, though, the game's yummy cake's got some yummy, yummy icing. Similar to later GTA games, Travis will have access to a safehouse. Unlike GTA, however, there's no drugs or designer coffee tables. Instead, you can kit this one out until it's the ultimate in super-nerd hideouts, with figurines, posters, giant robots and what looks like games and manga as well. Also on show is his wardrobe, where you can change into any of the Okama-designed tees you come across in your bloodthirsty, slightly off-centre adventures.
Sure, you sat at your PCs, bleary-eyed, lapping up every goddamned inch of Leipzig coverage we crammed down your yaps. And for that, we thank you! But one thing you probably missed by not being there was a sense of the scale of the event. I should know, I missed it too, and am only coming around to its size by looking at the official numbers provided to us by the organisers. Over the four days 185,000 people wandered in to check out 503 exhibitors. 12,300 registered trade visitors were present, of which 43% were from outside Germany. Other super-fun stats include: 20% of visitors were women, 45% of visitors indicated they were "casual gamers", 52% of attendees were over the age of 20 and the event was covered by over 3300 journalists from 46 countries. Who said numbers weren't fun? They're fun and then some.
Ack! We went from 
Bars used to places where people could get ripped and throw darts at each other. Not these days! Reader meltyman spotted this bar in Hoboken, New Jersey. The sign board says:
California State Senator Leland Yee hates ultra-violent videogames. He doesn't hate you, necessarily, just some of the games you play. Games like Manhunt 2, which became the pin-up boy for his 
Just got word that the Crysis demo will be launching on September 25. I've got a feeling a lot of people may be busy on September 25. Playing some other first-person shooter. Sure, it's on another platform, but you can't help but think less people will be downloading this demo than they would have if they weren't busy playing...something else.
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello's name has popped up in a German Activision brochure as a boss for the upcoming Guitar Hero III. No word if Morello will be penning an original tune or playing something from his back catalogue. The game already features Slash and Poison's Bret Michaels. (Fear not, Michaels won't be playing the guitar, but singing along with your shredding.) And as we previously mentioned, the game also features the Stone Roses' "She Bangs the Drums." With all the Rock Band hype, Guitar Hero III might feel all second fiddle-like. But know, I'm excited — even if it features Tom Morello. 
It may not hit Europe until late October, but Metroid Prime 3: Corruption finally gets its release. Yes! Soon people will be using their Wiis to play an actual game. It's due in stores today, and the title's website has gone live. There's a new MP3 ad with those Wii-mobile dudes as well as other stuff to click on. Anyone picking this up? Personally, my Wii is starved for Something. Anything. 
The silver DS looks lovely. I have one thing on my TGS shopping list, in fact, and it's one of these suckers. Mainly because I imagined they'd be Japan-only for a while, but a Dutch toy store is advertising that the colour scheme's heading to Europe in the fall. Leaves us with two options. One is the retailer's pulling this out their ass. Other is that they weren't meant to advertise this until Nintendo Europe announced it. Knowing how Nintendo Europe roll, my money's on the latter.
PAX isn't exactly brimming with cosplay. Everyone is too busy playing games, grabbing the copious amounts of swag and not showering. But, I did manage to grab a few snaps (along with the help of my friends Chris and Qais) of some of the costumes roaming about. This one here definitely wins my special prize for best cosplay of PAX. When he arrived on the scene, the hall was filled with wolf whistles and catcalls, in fact he may have even been the hottest girl at the show.
Sorry Britain. Sony have just announced that the game won't be releasing on Tuesday 28 August, because that was wrong.
CP Productions have announced that they're working on a Joust movie. You know Joust. Had jousting, flying ostriches. From that simple premise they've announced the film will be "Gladiator meets Mad Max", and is the first in many gaming adaptations CP will be bringing to both the big-screen and turning into comic books. Producer Christine Peters (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days): 
For someone who works in a digital medium, I still quite like the feel of paper. Sure, it's not practical, it ages and it's expensive. But that's what makes it so great! Finally, I got sent two issues of 
In an interview with German site Heise Online, Gabe Newell has professed his undying love for DX10's Vista exclusivity. Or...he would have, if he actually loved it, instead of hating it. Real bad. He says Microsoft's decision to make the latest DirectX Vista-only has harmed the PC games industry, with few companies bothering to use it since few gamers can take advantage of it. Valve's own, albeit always handy, online surveys revealed only 8% of gamers were using Vista, despite it being over nine months old. To the other 92% - you dig those heels in, Gabe's got your back.
Hey, fanboys. You talk too much. You're over-reliant on words, and this being the internet, a word-based community/medium, you're cluttering up the place. What you need is a picture, one that can summarise 17 thread pages worth of round-n-round wrangling in a single snap-shot. A picture like this, handily provided by Gamasutra. 
This week represents a late summer perfect storm of video game release hype. With a series of massive releases hitting store shelves this week, including Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Lair, Blue Dragon and Warhawk, one can hardly believe this is August, not the middle of November.
Today I am a man. I spent a good two years watching Crecente unbox happy things at his palatial mountaintop abode with envy in my heart, and now, thanks to convenient GC 07 scheduling, it is my turn. *opens box, takes picture* There you go! Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, a T-shirt several sizes too small for me, and a lapel pin, to symbolise...I dunno, the guy Samus took to the prom. I'll fool around with the game a bit in my very limited free time this evening, and maybe post some impressions tomorrow when you are all too busy buying the game to read them. 
Maybe mobile gaming isn't that bad. The id Software port of its Orcs & Elves dungeon crawler, born on the mobile platform now on the Nintendo DS, may force me to reevaluate playing games on my mobile phone. After getting what I thought was a second string hands-on assignment from Crecente, I realised that I'm more into first person dungeon crawling RPGs than I had originally thought. Having experienced only a handful over my amateur gaming career—Shining In The Darkness, Phantasy Star, and a handful on Texas Instrument computers whose titles escape me—I realised that a straightforward dungeon hack might be just what I'm looking for next on the Nintendo DS.
As expected, Charlie Oscar Delta, the site where beta tokens for Call of Duty 4 on the Xbox 360 were handed out at 12PM Pacific, was completely swamped and completely unreachable when people slammed into it at the appointed time, hungry for some multiplayer hands-on. Kotakuite Sloopydrew got this message after trying to log in for 33 minutes:
The Simpsons Game
As of this writing I've not seen hide nor hair of Nintendo's weekly Virtual Console update press release, so I got up off my ass, walked into the living room and then got back on my ass to see for myself what had been updated, and it isn't a bad selection this week. Kicking it off we have Breath of Fire II for the Super Nintendo (800 points), one of my favourite games from the SNES era of RPGs. I'd daresay a true classic. Next we have Ghouls 'n Ghosts for the Genesis (800 points), the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins an prequel to Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Finally we have Super C for the NES (500 points). The sequel to Contra, Super C sees Mad Dog and Scorpion fighting against their former comrades in arms, now possessed by aliens and transformed into horrifying creatures by...you know what? You run, you shoot stuff. It's Contra, before it got kinda crappy. Love on it. There you have it - three excellent titles and not one crappy TurboGrafx 16 title. The PR guys must have been so shocked they forgot to send the release!
The PAX floor opened an hour early each day so press could come in and check some of the offerings out before the crowds arrived and I got in early yesterday to check out Folklore and Heavenly Sword. As I was walking towards the Sony booth, I saw this sign advertising a casting call for a new member of the Frag Dolls. Knowing how much the majority of our readers like the ladies, I figured I'd take a snap of the poster and find out a little bit more about it. 
As a long-time fan of the Bomberman franchise as well as one with a deep obsession for all things bunny related (don't ask), it is with great pleasure I bring you the announcement of Bomb-Up Pack 1 for Hudson's Bomberman Live for Xbox Live Arcade. The add-on, which weighs in at a modest 350 Microsoft Points, will feature two new environments (casino and zeppelin), a new game mode called Frag which allows you to set the number of enemies that need to be offed in order to win a match, as well as ten new characters. Among the new characters...Little Bomby Foo Foo. A bunny. With bombs. Y'all need to give me a minute here. Go read a press release or something. 
While my esteemed colleagues were running around Germany boozing it up, eating sausages and ogling girls in various states of consciousness, I was left to wander the halls of PAX alone, taking in as much as I could. I'm sorry to report that there was a distinct lack of hotness, both male and female although there were a few stand outs here and there. 
Nearly a full ten years since the original game was launched in September of 1997, Ultima Online reborn as Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn launches in North America. Much lumber will be gathered this day in celebration of the massive graphical overhaul the game has undergone to keep up with UO's tendency to look 5-7 years old at any given time. On top of the graphics, the game has received an enhanced UI, and an updated new character experience to help ease players into the world. The update is completely free for all, with new players able to try the game for 14 days to see what they've been missing these past ten years. Part of me is tempted to give the game a try, but the other part of me that has gone back to try to find enjoyment in the game multiple times over the past decade took that part out to the woods behind my apartment and beat the shit out of it. For those not as conflicted, hit the jump for download locations.