March 23 launch date likely for PS3

The PS3 is still on track to reach Europe in March. But Sony has not yet to reveal an official date and price.

The speculation is that the PS3 launch will be towards the end of March.

Sony are set to announce the final details of the launch within the next fortnight.

Final Fantasy - Celine Dion

Final Fantasy - Celine Dion - My heart will go on



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Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

Vanguard is going into the final stages of beta testing and Sigil has revealed that this new MMORPG will launch on January 30th. "The immersive fantasy world is comprised of three massive, uniquely-themed continents for players to discover new creatures, new items and unlimited adventure. Players have complete freedom to roam the world whether flying dragons to islands in the sky or riding swift steeds to exotic lands." I've posted some screenshots for your perusal.

German law may ban video games

Scarface could be banned!

Developing or even playing video games in Germany could lead to imprisonment if a bill before the parliament there is passed.
The bill under debate, in the wake of a public outcry in Germany about reported links between gaming and violence, would outlaw the depiction of violent acts committed against human characters. It would apply to any video title played or distributed on German soil. The legislation could effectively put a ban on most first-person shooter, action and real-time strategy titles.

The law would mean many Hollywood franchise titles distributed in Europe's largest vidgame market could be banned as well.

Popular movie franchise titles falling under the violent category, such as the "Star-Trek" series, "The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II;" and "Scarface: The World Is Yours," would likely be outlawed.

Already, Germany has some of the world's strictest laws limiting violence in vidgames. Under present statutes, for example, games cannot be distributed unless depictions of blood or bloodletting are switched off.

Ironically, Germany's gaming scene plays host to major video tournaments where "Counter-Strike," "Quake" or other titles are played in arenas attended by thousands of spectators. But the large screens at what is seen as a major spectator sport in Germany cannot depict bloodletting during "Counter-Strike" or other first-person shooter battles.

The bill was introduced late last year after 18-year-old Sebastian Bosse shot up a high school in Emsdetten, Germany, injuring 37 before fatally turning the gun on himself. According to reports and police officials, the shooting was carried out methodically, as if Bosse were trying to advance to the next level in a vidgame. The investigation that followed revealed Bosse spent most his waking hours playing "Counter-Strike."

The incident was followed by a post on a videogame forum in which a death threat was made. According to police officials, a threat was made by someone who said he wanted to murder school pupils. The perpetrator remains at large.

For German politicians who drafted the legislation, the incidents were seen as a last straw. Since Bosse was reportedly addicted to vidgames and spent his waking hours gaming, the violent link is clear, German politicians and officials say.

According to Andreas Fess, a major in the German crime prevention unit of the Bund police department, which is lobbying for the legislation, a public survey found that most Germans feel that violent vidgaming and the school shooting were linked, and support banning the titles.

"It is always young men who commit these kinds of crimes, and it is always young men who play these kinds of games," Fess said. "They play more videogames than they watch TV or films."

So why not outlaw other media, such as violent movies with the German equivalent of R ratings, or gangster hip hop music? The difference, Fess said, is that vidgames cross the line because the player is pulling the trigger.

"In a film, you only watch the scenes," Fess said.

Frank Sliwka, chairman of Deutscher eSport-Bund, a German electronic sports association, claims vidgames are being unjustly singled out.

"Politicians have to do something, so they say ‘Let's have stronger laws for games,' " Sliwka said. "No one asked: ‘Where did Bosse get the gun in the first place?"

Violent vidgames are attracting attention by European politicians outside of Germany's borders as well. The European Commission has begun an investigation of violent videogames and their alleged ill effects. The EC study is backed by British EC parliament member Michael Cashman, who seeks to create a European-wide game rating system.

But Sliwka says politicians are merely playing on voters' fear and ignorance of the gaming genre. While films have existed for over a century, videogames are a comparatively new genre, and are not yet fully understood by the general public, he said.

"Videogames are new and the politicians don't know what they are," Sliwka said. "They have never played the games."

Source: "Variety"

Nintendo Wii Outpaces Sony PlayStation 3

The first results are out in the hotly contested market for video game consoles in Japan, and so far, the results do not look too promising for Sony and its much-promoted PlayStation 3.

Enterbrain, a market research company, released sales estimates showing that Sony fell far short of its goal of selling 1 million PlayStation 3s in Japan last year. Sony sold 534,336 consoles from their Nov. 11 debut in Japan to Jan. 7, Enterbrain said.

By contrast, Enterbrain reported that Nintendo sold 1.14 million units of its less expensive new game console, Wii, from its introduction Dec. 2 until Jan. 7. Xbox 360 from Microsoft, which has had limited success breaking into the Japanese market, has sold 311,053 units since arriving in December 2005, Enterbrain said.

"We can't keep Wiis in our stores," said Naoko Ito, a spokeswoman for Bic Camera, one of Japan's largest electronics retailers. "But we still have plenty of PlayStations." Analysts said these figures offer some of the first hard data on how PlayStation 3, which was introduced here a week before it was in the U.S. was faring.

Need For Speed

i was bored so i made a vid



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After delay, 'Warcraft' video game gets highly anticipated expansion

Every day, millions of people around the world gaze at their computer screens to explore a dangerous fantasy world of treasure-filled dungeons and flame-breathing dragons, a land where mortal enemies lurk around every corner.

It's the "World of Warcraft," the most successful online game ever, and it's a world about to get a whole lot bigger with Tuesday's release of a US$39.99 enhancement called "The Burning Crusade."

More than eight million registered users now pay up to $15 a month to gather with hundreds of other real people who masquerade as digital avatars in the never-ending fantasy world of Azeroth.

"The Burning Crusade" adds new locales such as Karazhan, Hellfire Citadel and Tempest Keep to Azeroth, and presents a spiralling war against demonic forces where the game's two opposing factions - the Alliance and the Horde - will face powerful new enemies.

Players will have access to the new realm of Outland that's nearly as large as the existing game world, and the highest level that characters can achieve has been raised from 60 to 70.

There are two new races to choose from as well: the remnants of an ancient space-faring civilization called the Draenei, and the Blood Elves, who are addicted to arcane magic.

But in a market already overpopulated with dwarves, paladins and trolls, is there room for even more of the same? If fans are any indication, the answer is a definite yes.

Trey Hancock, 26, has been shooting fireballs and frost novas to crush his mortal enemies in the video game "World of Warcraft" since it first launched in 2004. In his years of playing, the Houston resident led a guild of more than 200 people and raised four characters to the current top level of 60 - including his main character, a mage named Oraj.

Like many others, Hancock said he took a break in anticipation of the expansion, where his first goal will be to take Oraj to level 70.

"I haven't played for the last week because I know once it comes out I'm going to be playing it nonstop," he said.

It's just the sort of enthusiasm the company behind the game, Blizzard Entertainment Inc., is banking on.

"We were going to be happy if we got a million worldwide subscribers, we didn't feel like that was shooting the moon," said Rob Pardo, Blizzard's vice-president of game design and the lead designer for "World of Warcraft." "The way it blew up is far beyond our wildest expectations. But now that we are at the mark we are, we feel there's still an ability to grow that customer base even further."

Released in November 2004, "World of Warcraft" brought several new elements to the genre of massive multiplayer online roleplaying games, or MMORPGs. Most significantly, it was simple to play and a had high level of polish, according to Jon Wood, managing editor of the gaming website MMORPG.com.

"I think Blizzard looked at what was out there and found out what worked and what didn't work," he said. "The truth of the matter is, the game is very polished. The fact that it's very smooth and easy to learn has put them out front."

Pardo said polish has always been the mantra for the game's creators.

"It's extremely complicated, all the things we have to get right," he said. "We were on track for a Christmas release but we really felt like we should make sure the product's right for our customers."

"Warcraft's" popularity has transcended video game culture and spawned a series of action figures, comic books, novels and trading cards.

The game was even the focus of a recent "South Park" episode where Eric Cartman and friends balloon into overweight, pimply video addicts bent on defeating a rampaging player who threatens the very existence of the game.

The pop culture references extend into the game world, too. If you type "/dance" as a male Blood Elf, for example, your character will strut around with moves similar to the uber-dorky hero of the movie "Napoleon Dynamite."

"We're all entertainment geeks ourselves," Pardo said. "Part of our design process is having fun and putting in those references. It's kind of our way of giving homage to the things that inspire us."

David Daryani, owner of Tru-Gamerz video gaming centre in Dallas, said his customers regularly queue up to play the game, especially on the weekends. As a longtime "WoW" player himself, Daryani, 38, said he hasn't played much lately but was looking forward to seeing the new content and returning to his favourite activity: player versus player combat.

"If you have a bad day, you get on and say 'I'm just going to kick some Alliance butt,"' he said. "It just relieves some stress."

AX360 GAMING HEADPHONES

TRITTON introduces the Audio Xtreme 360 (AX360), one of the industry’s first high performance Dolby Digital and Pro Logic certified digital gaming headset for Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2, PC and DVD players. The AX360 provides true 5.1 digital, 360-degree surround sound with a removable microphone.

The AX360 connects to the gaming console optical port to deliver optimum Dolby certified 2.1 and 5.1 digital sound separation. For a radical and extreme gaming experience, the unit features eight strategically placed speakers, four in each ear cup. The external 5.1 audio controller amplifies each individual speaker to completely engulf users into the game. The AX360 gives total control with inline adjustments for front, side, rear, and subwoofer to customize the users own audio experience. The integrated rumble effect will blow your mind, giving you a more realistic and immersed game play.

With the AX360, gamers can hear when enemies are sneaking up behind them, the roar of engines as they pass the competition, bullets flying from side to side and explosions emitting from all directions over the battlefield. With the removable microphone that is XBOX Live compatible, gamers can communicate with other gamers directly from the headset. The AX360 sound box can support two headsets to share in the chaos. (Secondary headsets sold separately.) Connect to a PC via an optical port or 5.1 analog inputs through the G9 adapter provided. The AX360 is not only the perfect gaming headset, it is also ideal for enjoying DVD movies in crystal clear 5.1 Dolby Digital certified sound .

Twilight Princess: Watery Air in Zora's Domain

I found a place in Zora's Domain under the water where Link can use all of his terrestrial weapons!

Link walks under water without the Iron Boots, rolls really fast into a wall and bruises his noggin, turns into a wolf, shoots arrows underwater, warps to the surface etc.

I love finding things like this. I bet there's other places in the game where this can happen too.



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Doom + iPod + NES controller

A little side project I have been working on. Playing doom.wad games with a NES controller on my iPod



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Sonic and the Secret Rings - wii

Is Sonic gaming’s forgotten figure? If you saw the wealth of ads over Christmas for the Xbox 360’s Sonic The Hedgehog, you may think that’s a bit of a barmy question, but whether he’s still the industry power player he once was is open for debate. You could say the same for Mario too, of course – they’re both products of early 90’s gaming sensibilities, and in today’s age of Gears of War and Grand Theft Auto, citing a particular niche for these elder statesmen of interactive entertainment proves a little tricky.



Which is why Sonic and the Secret Rings feels like such a perfect fit for the Nintendo Wii. It’s a gaming system that openly ignores the multimedia frenzy offered by its competitors, and instead stays true to an old-school outlook that puts good old fashioned fun firmly at the forefront of the experience.

So, pure gameplay, then… and quite possibly, for the first time in a fair few years, pure Sonic – none of the extra characters, adventure elements or multiple gaming styles from his previous 3D outings. This could finally be the game to make 2D Sonic purists take notice of the ‘hog in three dimensions.

One thing’s for sure; this will certainly be the first Sonic game to feature high-speed motion sensitive control. Intuitively, controlling the titular hero is done by holding the Wii remote sideways like a joypad, and tilting it to make him move. Forwards or backwards momentum causes him to speed up or slow down respectively, jumping is done with the 2 button, and dipping left and right makes him turn – a setup which promises to make for lots of panicked last ditch changes of direction – and possibly not a few falling-off-the-chair moments if you find yourself too eagerly engrossed.

By the looks of things so far, that could easily happen; because this time around Sega have stripped away all of the complications and focused on one single aspect of the Sonic experience: Speed.

Even months before release, Secret Rings is already looking fast and frantic, with level design heavily reminiscent of the best levels from the original Sonic Adventure. Fans can expect lots of speedy on-rails reaction-based platforming gameplay, with a healthy dose of set pieces thrown in for good measure – such as Sonic being boosted miles into the air by an enormous hulking dinosaur, or sprinting through a ruin with pillars collapsing all around him.

This would all appear to be part of the new setting. A general Arabian theme permeates Secret Rings, with the story taking its cue from the pages of Arabian Nights – quite literally, as it turns out. In Secret Rings, the last three pages of said book have gone blank, and it’s central character, the Genie, grants Sonic access to the book’s very pages, hoping the blue dude with attitude can find the missing story strands and put the book back together.

Frankly, it all sounds a little out of place for a Sonic game – but when it all looks as good as this, we can’t say we care too much. Secret Rings is quite possibly the finest looking Wii title going at the moment, boasting some truly spectacular lighting effects, detailed background furniture and simply loads going on on-screen. This even betters Sega’s efforts on the much more powerful Xbox 360.

Helping this along immensely is the new camera perspective, which in no small way reminds us of Gears of War’s ‘roadie run’ viewpoint. Positioning itself low to the ground behind Sonic, it really does convey a frightening amount of momentum, while at the same time allowing you to see far enough into the distance that you can plan for oncoming obstacles.

The camera is also dynamic, too – not averse to panning out for wide shots to convey a sense of scale, or moving to the side for some Sonic Rivals style 2D-esque instances. Even more impressive is that the game engine would appear to handle this without any noticeable break in play; or particularly hard-hitting drops in frame rate. If this proves to be the case for the final build we’ll be very happy indeed.

We’re already very excited, because this could well offer the fine balance of 2D and 3D Sonic conventions that Sega have long been aiming for. For the first time in over a generation Sonic Team seem content to merely focus on the character’s core gameplay, and ignore the other distractions which have become so prevalent in the series. They’ve looked backwards to move forwards, and turned to an old rival in Nintendo to provide the spark that’s been missing from the hog’s outings in recent years. It may just be that act that re-establishes Sonic as a gaming icon

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Several years have passed since the Burning Legion's defeat at Mount Hyjal and the races of Azeroth have continued to rebuild their once shattered lives. With renewed strength, the heroes of the Horde and Alliance have begun to explore new lands and broken through the Dark Portal to investigate the realms beyond the known world. Will these heroes find friends or foes? What dangers and rewards lie in wait beyond the Dark Portal? And what will they do when they discover that the demons they thought vanquished have returned to renew their terrible Burning Crusade?
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade is the exciting new expansion to Blizzard's award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It expands the game by tremendous bounds, adding new races, lands, Battlegrounds, professions and items, and more. Here is just a partial list of what you can expect from the World of Warcraft expansion:

Features
An increase in the level cap to 70
Two new playable races, including the magical Blood Elves
New starting zones in Quel'Thalas and beyond
The entire new continent of Outland, reachable through the Dark Portal
Many new high-level dungeons to explore in Azeroth, Outland, and elsewhere
New flying mounts in Outland
Many new and dangerous monsters, including epic world bosses
Hundreds of new quests
Hundreds of new items
A new profession: Jewelcrafting
Socketed items

Design the new new PS3 advertising campaign

Advertising agency TBWA London has defended a new marketing campaign which invites consumers to come up with ideas about how to promote Sony products.

Titled The Big What Adventure, it's billed as "An experiment whose goal is to both seek out and nourish creativity, wherever it may be." The BWA website invites visitors to "submit ideas for real briefs", and come up with concepts for online ad campaigns, TV ads, posters, events and packaging. Products featured on the site include the PlayStation 3 and the SingStar series of games.

The site promises a "reward" for anyone who comes up with an idea which is used. However, as spotted by Private Eye magazine, the site's terms and conditions section reveals that TBWA will own the intellectual property rights to all content submitted, and will be able use it "without payment" to the creator.

Private Eye described the initiative as "an attempt to get the public to do TBWA's work for them" - but executive planning director Neil Houston told GamesIndustry.biz, "Thebigwhatadventure.com is an experiment in open source creativity - nothing more, nothing less.

"More and more creative ideas and campaigns are non traditional in their form, often relying on what we would conventionally call 'consumers' to at the least participate in - and often construct - the campaign itself.

"Learning how to collaborate and create with people outside of the conventional realms of the advertising community is something that we think is important."

According to Houston, all briefs featured on the site are "being worked on within our creative department with at least as much vigour as any other brief in our system".

"We are not relying on 'outsiders' to crack the brief - we have invited them to participate in the creative process with the full consent of our clients, who incidentally are at least as curious as us about this experiment," he continued.

"If and when an 'outsider' cracks the brief, we will reward them appropriately - in much the same way as we would reward one of the many work experience placements that travel through our creative department on a regular basis - with the right combination of financial reward, personal fame and / or career progression."

Source: Games Industry Biz

US hardware sales hit $12.5 billion

After a lively end to 2006 which saw two new home consoles debuting in North America, December hardware sales were up by 59 per cent to US $1.6 billion (EUR 1.2bn), with software sales reaching US $1.1 billion (EUR 851.9m).

Videogame sales for the entire year totalled US $12.5 billion (EUR 9.6bn), a rise of 19 per cent.

Home Consoles
Sony's PlayStation 2 was still the biggest selling home system, clocking up 1.4 million units for December, and 37.1 million to date in the US.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 added another 1.1 million units in December to a total of 4.5 million units since launch.

Nintendo's Wii sold 604,200 units for the month - with year end sales at 1.1 million.

Sony recently announced it had shipped one million PS3 units to North America, NPD data reveals the new console has only sold 687,000 of those, with 490,700 units sold in December.

Handhelds
Nintendo DS continues to prove its popularity by selling the most, reaching 1.6 million sales and 9.2 million since launch.

Sony's PSP also continues to sell well, 953,200 units during the month, and 6.7 million since it first hit store shelves.

Game Boy Advance has sold 35.1 million units in North America, with 850,700 of those selling in December.

Software
Gears of War, sold 817,700 copies, with Activision's Guitar Hero close behind at 805,200 units. Madden NFL 07 shifted 727,100 units in December.

Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii, actually performed better on the GameCube (532,900 units) compared to its release on the new console (519,200 units).

Other strong performers included WWE Smackdown v RAW, it helped publisher THQ raise its profit forecasts, New Super Mario Bros. for the DS and the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 3.

However, total software sales for 2006, EA will be celebrating the success of Madden NFL 07, which sold 2.8 million units over the year, while Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. reached 2 million units.

For a game that was only released in November, Gears of War's 1.8 million sales is also a figure that will no doubt please developer Epic, also justifying Robbie Bach's comments that it's a "Halo-like franchise".

Peripherals
Official Xbox 360 wireless controller reaching 832,800 units during December.

The Wii remote sold 646,700 units with the nunchuck controller selling 497,100 units.

Sony's Sixaxis controller for the PS3 sold 336,000 units.

The Rub Rabbits! (Nintendo DS) £9.99 Delivered

The Rub Rabbits!

Getting the girl is never easy, especially when competing against 12 other rivals. Players will battle rivals and win the affection of the game's love interest, and that's just the beginning. The Rub Rabbits! offers over 35 chapters in Story Mode, in addition to double the content in the newly expanded Memories Mode, which tests players' skills at clearing all stages for added bonuses; and Maniac Mode, which is packed with character customization options



Features:
Innovative gameplay. Hold the DS sideways, upside down, or hold it with a friend for co-op and battle play.
An all-new "rub comedy" adventure. Double the content with over 35 Chapters in the Story Mode alone.
Seven different gameplay modes. In addition to Story, Memories and Maniac Modes, four brand new modes - Attack, Hullabaloo, "Baby Making" and Connect Modes - will keep players entertained and interacting for a long time!
All new original music, art, and characters. Brand new customization modes allow you to unlock songs and sounds to make your own original music, and customize your girl's hair, dress, and shoes in Maniac Mode.
Multiplayer Wireless function. Compete in six different multiplayer contests with up to four players

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Supreme Commander - Beta version Free - PC

Pre Order Supreme Command for £24.99 and get the beta version for FREE now.

File download required 1.1Gb

Game send weekly email with beta key

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

CPU: 1.8 GHz or greater
RAM: 512 MB or greater
GFX: 128 MB video RAM or greater
OS: Windows XP
HDD: 3GB

Recommended Specifications:

CPU: 3.0 Ghz Dual Core
RAM: 2 GB recommended
GFX: NVidia GeForce 6800 or X800
OS: Windows XP

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Final Fantasy XII Release Date

Final Fantasy XII will be released on 23rd February 2007.

The latest title in one of Square Enix’s most beloved franchises will be released across all territories exclusively on the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system.

The game has already received Edge magazine’s Best Game award 2006, with over 4 million copies already sold in other territories, we are looking forward to launching it to our fans in Europe and around the world.”

Since its debut in 1987, the Final Fantasy series has sold over 70 million units worldwide. With its cutting-edge visuals, unique worlds and intricate narrative, Final Fantasy has defined the role-playing genre and continues to be adored by fans around the globe.

The Story
Enter an age where magic is commonplace and airships fill the skies, crowding out the heavens. A young orphan named Vaan dreams of escaping his life on the streets of

Rabanastre and piloting an airship of his own. Against the backdrop of the war engulfing the kingdom of Dalmasca, Vaan meets Princess Ashe, the sole surviving heir to the Dalmascan throne, long thought dead. Together, they will embark on an incredible journey through Ivalice. The choices they make will determine the very fate of the world.

World of Warcraft - 8 Million Subscribers

Player population in North America now exceeds 2 million, while Europe and China pass the 1.5 million player and 3.5 million player marks, respectively.

World of Warcraft has also achieved new regional subscriber milestones, with more than 2 million players in North America, more than 1.5 million players in Europe, and more than 3.5 million players in China.

World of Warcraft will soon see the launch of its first expansion, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, which will be available in North America and Europe on January 16, 2007. The expansion will be available in Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand the same week, with availability in mainland China and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau to be announced at a later date. The Burning Crusade will add a tremendous amount of new content to the game, including an entire new continent to explore; an increase in the level cap up to 70, complete with new talents and abilities; flying mounts; new quests, creatures, and items; new dungeons; two new playable races; a new profession; and more.

Armed Assault Squad Online Street Team

To celebrate the forthcoming UK release of ArmA: Armed Assault on PC (out on 16th February 2007), 505 Games, Bohemia Interactive and New Media Maze launched the Armed Assault Squad at Armed Assault on Friday 5th January 2006.

Sign up as a new recruit for the chance to win exclusive ArmA: Armed Assault prizes such as the chance to demo the game before anyone else, signed merchandise and much more!

Wii Component Cables 480i v 480p

Side by side comparison of the Nintendo Wii playing Zelda: Twilight Princess on my Sony KDSR60XBR2 HD TV.. One Side is using component cables 480p the other is composite cables 480i.



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