PlayStation 3 to join Nintendo Wii with BBC iPlayer support

Following last week's news of BBC iPlayer compatibility with the Wii, the PS3 is now set to join the party as well...

The BBC is looking at the best way to bring its iPlayer service to the PS3, adding that it will be officially implemented on the platform "in due course". This follows last week's announcement that the broadcaster's on demand service will come to Nintendo's Wii.

The news comes from the BBC's own Internet Blog, where Anthony Rose commented, "We're investigating the optimal video profile and browser proposition to enable us to officially make iPlayer available on PS3 in due course."

Rose also had a few choice words for the anonymous internet coder(s) who managed to make the iPlayer for Wii available on the PS3. "By the way, if the person who created the ps3iplayer port is looking for a job at the BBC, (s)he's welcome to contact me."

By typing ps3iplayer.com into your PS3 browser you can currently get an unofficial version of the BBC iPlayer for Sony's next-gen system. The coder(s) responsible for this translation provide their mission statement on the ps3iplayer site:

"It's mainly a demonstration of how easily the BBC could support the PS3 with their Wii version. This does nothing more than mask your PS3's user-agent string and makes half a dozen changes to make the JavaScript and CSS function correctly on the PS3. It only took a day to produce, so come on BBC - how about implementing this properly?"

Well, it would appear that their wish will be granted in the not too distant future.

Watch the BBC on Nintendo Wii as the BBC iPlayer announced for Nintendo Wii

BBC snubs Sony, Microsoft for Nintendo Wii deal

Owners of the Nintendo Wii games system will be able to stream the last seven days worth of TV shows with the bBBC's iPlayer online service.

The BBC has announced its iPlayer online TV catch-up service is being made available for the Nintendo Wii.

Wii owners will be able to stream the last seven days of BBC shows on their TVs through the internet channel on the Wii main menu.

Erik Huggers, the BBC's group controller for Future Media and Technology, announced the collaboration with Nintendo UK at the annual MipTV-Milia conference in Cannes.

Huggers said in a statement: "The BBC's catch-up TV service can now be accessed on an increasing number of different platforms—from the web and portable devices to gaming consoles. It will shortly be available on TV."

Once the iPlayer service for Wii is live a message will be sent to all web-connected Wii consoles in the UK.

NOTE: The service is only available to UK licence fee payers.

Nokia launch new mobile gaming system

Nokia has lifted the veil on its revamped mobile gaming service known as N-Gage.
Visitors to the N-Gage website can download software that connects their phone to the handset maker's growing library of games.

Nokia expects to have about 30 games available for playing on its higher end phones by the middle of 2008.
The launch of N-Gage marks one of the biggest moves by a mobile maker into the content market.


The official unveiling of N-Gage is due to take place on 7 April. However, Nokia announced on its N-Gage blog that fans of mobile gaming could get access a few days early.

By visiting the N-Gage site gamers can download the software package that sets up the service on their handset.
The April launch comes after two delays which pushed back its debut from 2007.

Nokia's original plans for N-Gage revolved around a gaming gadget that debuted in late 2003.

Source: BBC

Next generation games review for XBox 360 Playstation and Wii - Gran Turismo 5 - Prologue - Rainbow Six Vegas 2 +

Next generation games review

Screaming down a hairpin, taking out the trash and playing tennis with a hedgehog and a monkey, I have been working my thumbs to bone tracking down some of the best games soon to hit the shelves.

Gran Turismo 5 - Prologue

Decent exclusive PS3 titles have been fairly thin on the ground so far, but finally we are starting to see some of the games we were promised when the machine launched.

Power sliding onto Sony's PlayStation 3 console comes the oft-delayed Gran Turismo 5 - Prologue.


The full version of the game is due out in 2009 in the UK and late 2008 in the US and Japan but a cut-down version is being released in late March to whet the appetite of the franchise's fans.

In the early version there are 71 motors to choose from and high-definition visuals that make previous incarnations of GT look like the crude scrawls of an infant.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2

PS3-exclusive titles might be a bit thin on the ground, but there are plenty of games which are available for both the PS3 and Microsoft's XBox 360.

This game rather explosively falls into this category, and has set its laser sight on Call of Duty 4's crown as top first-person shooter.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six team is back for another pop at taking out the bad guys in Sin City. The plot behind this shooter makes the Die Hard movies seem cerebral, and basically involves dispatching hordes of balaclava-clad bad guys.

But it is the ability to direct your AI-controlled team to do your every spec-ops bidding that makes this title so much fun.

Sega Superstars Tennis

This is another all formats title for those who will be left with a headache after all those screeching tyres and booming guns. Perhaps the cartoonish charms of Sega Superstars Tennis will soothe their aching head.

In this game, classic Sega characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog and the big-eared simian from Monkey Ball limber up for a tennis title with a twist.

Characters can perform special moves, obstacles can be introduced to the court, and the whole thing feels a million miles away from most of the dark and gloomy titles dominating contemporary gaming.

Wii Fit

If Nintendo has its way we will all be cancelling our gym memberships and getting fit with the help of its videogames console and a weird bit of plastic that you stand on.


With the aid of the balance board peripheral, Wii Fit puts the user through a series of exercises in the comfort of their living room.

Stand on the board and the Wii measures how much exercise the user is doing.

These exercises range from Yoga tasks, to weird imaginary hula hoop competitions, to daily fitness tests that can be saved and the progress viewed via the power of onscreen diagrams.

More on this BBC story here

SCI Entertainment announced steep losses and cut 25% of their staff

SCI Entertainment, the owner of the Tomb Raider games, has announced steep losses and a major business revamp.
The computer games maker said losses in the six months to the end of December were £81.4m ($161.6m) compared with a £17.9m loss a year ago.

New chief executive Phil Rogers cancelled 14 projects and announced 260 job losses - 25% of the firm's staff.

He also said the revamp could cost up to £55m and added that it might have to sell shares to cover the cost.

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The future of gaming is on the internet or network say experts

The future of the games industry lies with the internet and content delivered from central servers, a panel of game luminaries has predicted.

"Everything is moving towards the network," said Neil Young, general manager of EA Los Angeles.

Phil Harrison, Sony's head of worldwide studios, said: "Public utility computing is absolutely the future of the games industry."

The panel was assembled by developer Dave Perry to discuss industry issues.

The panel included online gaming pioneer Raph Koster, Fable creator Peter Molyneux and Dungeon Siege creator Chris Taylor.

"A huge game changer for our industry is for there not to be a requirement for there to be a machine in the home," said Mr Young.

More from the BBC

Free XBox live game from Microsoft

Rewards for grumbling Xbox users

Microsoft has apologised for the glitches that hit its Xbox Live online game system during the Christmas break.
The software firm said it was "disappointed" with its performance and promised a free downloadable game to all users as recompense.

It said the problems had been caused by a surge of people signing up and using the gaming service.

Microsoft said the growth in new users had been driven by sales of top titles such as Mass Effect and Halo 3.

Game offer

The Xbox Live service suffered an ongoing series of problems during the holiday season. The discussion boards and forums of many gaming news websites have been filled with gamers complaining that they could not sign up or get on to the service.

More from the BBC...

2007 = Best year in video games history

The BBC reports

The last 12 months have been one of the best years in video game history, both critically and commercially.
Gamers have been able to revel in some of the most exhilarating interactive experiences ever designed.

Sales in the UK are at an all-time high, with more than £1.52bn taken in the last 12 months.

Some video games crossed over into blockbuster entertainment territory. Halo 3, for example, earned £84m in its first 24 hours on sale.

Top three games for 2007 from ...

DAVID AMOR, RELENTLESS GAMES

1. Ratchet and Clank - PlayStation 3
2. Super Mario Galaxy - Nintendo Wii
3. Command and Conquer - PC

DAVID BRABEN, FRONTIER GAMES

1. The Darkness - Xbox 360
2. Bioshock - PC and Xbox 360
3. Halo 3 - Xbox 360

MARGARET ROBERTSON, GAMES CONSULTANT

1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. Final Fantasy XII - PlayStation 2
3. Planet Puzzle League - Nintendo DS

More from the BBC website ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7156701.stm

Cost headache for game developers

Next-generation consoles have wowed gamers with breathtaking graphics, surround sound and stunning gameplay since coming on to the market in the past year.

Halo 3 has been a massive success for Microsoft
Cutting-edge video games might be a dream come true for consumers around the world, but for many companies developing them, it's been a nightmare.

The movie-like productions on Sony's Playstation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 games have meant that the cost of producing them has risen sharply.

Halo 3, an extremely popular game produced by Microsoft, is estimated to have cost $30m (£15m). However, the American software giant was able to recoup that, and the millions more spent on marketing, straight away.

On its first day of sales, it brought in $170m, setting the record for the most money earned in a day by an entertainment product. It far outstripped the money made in a day by Spiderman 3, the biggest-grossing Hollywood film.

More from the BBC

Online games battle for top spot

Challenges to the dominance of World of Warcraft over online games and gamers look set to emerge in 2008.
So say industry watchers looking back on a year in which the field as a whole matured and signs emerged which show how the industry sector is developing.

During the year Blizzard's flagship title consolidated its hold on gamers as its subscriber base kept growing.

But debuts by Age of Conan, Warhammer Online and many others may mean that hold begins to weaken.

More from the BBC

A very real future for virtual worlds

Second Life has long been seen as the bell-wether for the growing interest in virtual spaces. Here, founder Philip Rosedale talks to the BBC News website about the past and future of the parallel world he is helping to create.

These are interesting times for Second Life. In the four short years it has existed, it has seen media coverage go from hysterical to hectoring. It has been hailed as both a harbinger of the next big thing and a brake on the burgeoning development of virtual worlds.

Speculation about its future has intensified as news emerged that chief technology officer Cory Ondrejka, who helped design and build Second Life, has left the company.

But said Philip Rosedale, one of the founders of Linden Lab which oversees the running of Second Life, the departure will not dent the vision all the original engineers had for their creation.

"Cory is a fantastic guy, he's fantastically capable and we will miss him a lot," said Mr Rosedale.

More from the BBC

Gamer jargon becomes word of the year - WOOt!

A word widely used among online gamers has topped an online poll for Word of the Year run by US publishing group Merriam Webster.

The word "W00t" got most votes in the poll looking for the word that best sums up 2007.

It is now included in the Merriam Website open dictionary that exists on the web.

More from the BBC

UK TV videoGaiden Christmas Special

videoGaiden celebrates a very special Christmas with a very special Christmas Special this Christmas, and every gamer is invited.

The blockbuster festive show features a catalogue of legendary icons, and will be available for your viewing pleasure on Sunday 23rd December at 11:30pm, on BBC2 Scotland (Sky Channel 990). There has never been a Christmas special like it.

The videoGaiden party is already rolling at www.bbc.co.uk/videogaiden with two of eighteen webshows already online, and a new one arriving every single weekend. Jump on board.

Good Meeting!

About videoGaiden

videoGaiden began in 2005 with a run of 6 x 10 minute episodes, the second series following a year later with 6 half hour shows. This third season sees the show switch primarily to the internet, with 18 x 15 minute (approx) episodes, and 3 TV specials.

These shows are complimented by the continual release of extra content on our website (www.bbc.co.uk/videogaiden), as demonstrated in the first instance by the advent calendar. Check the calendar – content ranges from the whimsical to the downright unpleasant, dependant on your sensibilities of course.

Specially shot reviews for mobile phones will be going live next week, with further content being continually released until the end of March.

videoGaiden is written and presented by Robert Florence and Ryan Macleod, the brains behind the internet hit, Consolevania.

BBC Radio 4 - games design competition for students

2005 winners
Dare to be Digital Radio Stars set the scene for 2008

Dare to be Digital, the UK’s premier computer games design competition for students, will feature in a documentary on primetime BBC Radio 4 next Friday (14 December).

The University of Abertay Dundee, which organises the annual contest, confirmed today that “Game Academy”, a two-part documentary series revealing the challenges and achievements of the 60 students who took part in the 2007 competition, will be aired in prime morning slots on 14 and 21 December at 11am.

Indie documentary production company Wantok were commissioned by BBC Radio 4 to track the competition from start to finish, and spent more than 10 weeks shadowing the 12 teams competing in three host centres across the UK.

Part one of the documentary focuses on the host centre at Abertay in Dundee, which the producers describe as having “quietly become the Hollywood and Harvard of the UK games industry all rolled into one.” The programme will trace Dundee’s “incredible transition from jute and jam to digital dynamo”, and will feature a rare interview with David Jones, the Dundee genius behind global blockbusters like Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto.

Part two of the documentary looks at the tense round-the-clock work in the final weeks of the competition as the 12 teams prepared to show their games to the public in the Dare ProtoPlay event at the Edinburgh Festival, followed by the final ‘Dragon’s Den’ style judging by a panel of industry experts. The three winning teams are then followed as they prepare to compete for a BAFTA in late October.

Paul Durrant, Dare to be Digital Director, commented “We are delighted that the programme will be broadcast in such a prestigious slot following Women’s Hour and are certain it will open up the games industry to a whole new audience.”

Scots games firms set for jobs explosion?

Scotland's computer software and games industry could employ 5,000 by 2010, says report
A new study by Interactive Tayside has predicted that the Scottish region's computer software industry will grow significantly over the next three years, the BBC reports.

The region of Scotland already plays host to a number of games studios clustered around Dundee - the number of software firms in the city has doubled since 2000.

The region's 350 software and computer animation firms have a combined annual turnover of £185m says the report, predicting that most will see their turnover rise by 10 to 50 per cent in the next year.

3,400 are currently employed by this cluster of companies - but the number is expected to rise past 5,000 by 2010.

Colin Macdonald, studio director of Realtime Worlds - which developed Crackdown (pictured) told the BBC: "We are proud to be based in Dundee - our staff love the cost of living, the proximity to the great outdoors, and the low traffic and pollution problems.

Pushing the PC gaming boundaries

The PC remains a big player in the games market but in recent years its cutting edge has been blunted.
The vast majority of games are still played on PCs rather than consoles; typically casual games played on cheap desktop machines or online games, such as World of Warcraft.

The industry is currently experiencing a renaissance in innovation as the trinity of new hardware, developer ambition and tools come together to improve experiences.

The introduction of chip technology with four cores, effectively quadrupling processing power, graphics cards using DirectX 10 tools and developers keen to push powerful machines to the limit are resulting in games which set new graphical benchmarks.

In some cases these machines are desktop behemoths; near supercomputers in a box that are delivering game experiences beyond the wildest dreams of console owners.

The latest games, like Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3, are taking advantage of quad core processors, and twin graphics cards. These are the play things of hotrod PC gamers - the enthusiasts who see their machines as customisable dragsters delivering the pinnacle of performance.


More from the BBC...

'Virtual theft' leads to arrest

A Dutch teenager has been arrested for allegedly stealing virtual furniture from "rooms" in Habbo Hotel, a 3D social networking website.
The 17-year-old is accused of stealing 4,000 euros (£2,840) worth of virtual furniture, bought with real money.

Five 15-year-olds have also been questioned by police, who were contacted by the website's owners.

The six teenagers are suspected of moving the stolen furniture into their own Habbo rooms.

A spokesman for Sulake, the company that operates Habbo Hotel, said: "The accused lured victims into handing over their Habbo passwords by creating fake Habbo websites.

"In Habbo, as in many other virtual worlds, scamming for other people's personal information such as user names has been problematic for quite a while.

More from the BBC

PS3 network enters record books

A project that harnesses the spare processing power of Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) to help understand the cause of diseases has entered the record books.

Guinness World Records has recognised folding@home (FAH) as the world's most powerful distributed computing network.

FAH has signed up nearly 700,000 PS3s to examine how the shape of proteins affect diseases such as Alzheimer's.

The network has more than one petaflop of computing power - the equivalent of 1,000 trillion calculations per second.

More from the BBC

Dancing with the Stars Ships for Wii + PS2

Cha-Cha, Tango, Mambo and More with Emmitt Smith, Mario Lopez and Stacey Keibler and Others to Claim the Title of America's Favorite Celebrity Dancer

ctivision, in conjunction with Disney-ABC Television Group's ABC Entertainment and BBC Worldwide, announced today that "Dancing with the Stars" for Wii and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system is available in retail stores nationwide. A limited edition party-bundle containing a "Dancing with the Stars" dance pad along with the PlayStation 2 game will release on November 13th.

Join some of the most popular cast members from past seasons, including nine stars such as Joey Lawrence and Laila Ali and nine professional dancers as you compete to impress the judges. Dance to thirty-six licensed songs from the show, including "She's a Lady", "These Boots are for Walking", "The Final Countdown", "I Like The Way You Move", "Put Your Records On", and "Independent Woman Part 1"and strut your best dance moves to all ten different dance styles from the show. The game features single-player, head-to-head and duet modes. On the Wii, players use the Wii RemoteTM and the NunchukTM to physically mimic elegant dance moves while at the same time allowing the player to add his or her own personal flair! The PlayStation®2 version is compatible with the licensed PlayStation®2 system dance mats available on the market.

"The Dancing with the Stars video game is an interactive embodiment of the hit show's fun and excitement," said David Oxford, General Manager, Activision, Inc. "It's a perfect way for people to enjoy the style, grace, and popular appeal of the show in a social or party setting with their family and friends."

"Expanding the success of our top-rated Dancing with the Stars franchise to the world of gaming has always been a part of our long term business strategy," said Bruce Gersh, Senior Vice President, Business Development, ABC Entertainment & ABC Studios. "Working together with Activision and the BBC, we've created an incredible game that our fans can embrace."

The "Dancing with the Stars" video game, which is published by Activision Minneapolis, is currently available for the Wii for $49.99 and PlayStation®2 for $39.99. Both versions have a rating of "E 10+" for Ages 10 and up by the ESRB. The limited-edition "Dancing with the Stars" dance pad bundled with the PlayStation®2 game will ship to retail stores on November 13th, 2007 for $49.99.

The Weakest Link for mobiles

I-play, the mobile entertainment company, today announced the North American and UK launch of the third game in the hugely successful mobile series of the “The Weakest Link™ 2008”, based on BBC Worldwide’s popular trivia quiz game television show format, which has more than three million viewers in the UK each week and six million in the US.

Developed under licence from BBC Worldwide, the mobile version of The Weakest Link brings all the excitement of the hit television show direct to your mobile phone. Packed with sharp-witted phrases and a wealth of challenging questions, this is a single-player quiz game for the seasoned trivia player. You must answer a series of multiple-choice questions on a variety of subject categories all before time runs out. The game challenges players with a range of question categories across topics including entertainment, geography, history, general knowledge, nature and science. Can you answer, from the medical science category, ‘Which infectious disease is known as Kissing Disease?’ Dengue Fever, Scarlet Fever, Typhoid Fever or Glandular Fever?

The third in the series delivers photo-realistic graphics, the biggest number of questions ever packed into a mobile game with more than 1,500 nail biting questions and answers, as well as the ability to personalize contestants with ten different avatars with photo realistic graphics and animated emotion for extra realism. Advanced and improved AI of the opponents. It increases the importance of the strategy during the vote. The game has already received critical acclaim:
“I-play has managed its source material admirably. The Weakest Link 2008 is an impeccable conversion”
8/10 Silver Award, PocketGamer

The show has aired for over six years making it one of the best TV branded shows over the past ten years with high awareness and lasting appeal, with national versions of the game broadcast in over 23 countries. Phrases from the show have entered people’s everyday vocabulary, especially the “You are The Weakest Link. Goodbye!” put-down when a contestant is evicted from the show.

The new mobile version of the Weakest Link is the latest deal for BBC Worldwide’s mobile division and marks a further development of the company’s drive into the space. Alongside branded formats for games applications, the division also offers a broad range of mobile content types such as ringtones, icons and wallpapers based on world-famous content brands.

David Gosen, President, I-play: “This casual, trivia title has had a huge following in Europe and North America already, and successfully combines a stimulating mental challenge with compelling mobile fun, which should make it another hit.”

Peter Mercier, Head of Mobile, BBC Worldwide commented: “We’re constantly looking to leverage our huge archive of formats and content across all possible media channels, and this latest version of Weakest Link is great demonstration of how that process can work at its best.

“I-play has created several fantastic mobile games from our highly popular franchise. Now fans of the show will be able to test their wits and knowledge and by taking on this latest challenge to see if they can escape being ‘The Weakest Link.”