Archive for May, 2006:
Microsoft Provokes Xbox360 Hackers
Andrew “Bunnie” Huang, the MIT graduate who cracked the original Xbox in 2001, and later wrote a book about it, is saying that Microsoft provokes hackers when they say “There are going to be levels of security in this box that the hacker community has never seen before.” According to Huang, that’s provocative, and a challenge. A few months ago Dutch hacker “The Specialist” hacked the Xbox360 console so it would play copied games.
Via Next Generation
Iwata Laughed At The PS3 Controller
We were all caught off-hand by Sony’s blatant rip-off innovative controller when showcased at this year’s E3. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata talks about what he thought of when he saw what Sony was doing:
“Actually before they made the announcement we already anticipated that they might do that, so I had to laugh. Even though I was laughing, it was with a grim face, I should add,” Iwata told the Seattle Times. “Having said that, please know that putting the motion-sensor technology into the classic-style controller is one thing. Putting the motion-sensor technology into the Wii remote as well as the ‘nunchuck’ controller, where you can use both hands freely and independently, this is quite another thing.”
Iwata also commented on the PlayStation 3 price, saying what we’ve all been saying, it’s too expensive:
“That’s not something I should comment on as a corporate president. But as one single person, a potential customer for the PS3, I think it’s a bit expensive. But it depends on how the general public is going to see it. So far, within two days now, a majority of people who have commented on the price point are saying the same thing: It’s expensive.”
I still think Iwata was a bit worried, if Sony managed to make a better motion sensing ability, and price the PS3 competitively, the Wii would definitely have a tough time. But for now, all things are looking in Nintendo’s favor. Recent polls indicate that over 80% of Japanese gamers would buy a Wii instead of a PS3.
Via SPOnG (Thanks, Tim)
New Zelda: Twilight Princes Screens
Latest issue of Danish game magazine GameReactor (which is free in Scandinavia by the way) features some new screenshots of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Aussie-Nintendo has all the scans here.
Xbox360 Camera Coming This September
Xbox Live will soon feature video chat via the new Xbox Live Vision Cam (XLV), available in stores September 19th. It will also allow the users to personalize with their gamertag picture and send photos to each other. The price hasn’t been specified yet, but we assume it’ll be priced as a standard Xbox360 controller.
PS3 Online At Launch
Sony counts on having their online functionality available at day one, including downloadable content, at the PlayStation 3 launch. The recently had a job listing looking for programmers to develop “…an unannounced downloadable title for the PlayStation 3 launch in November.” Perhaps some sort of Live Arcade style games?
Via SPOnG
Xbox To Go Portable in 2007/08
Analysts from The Diffusion Group are predicting that Microsoft will enter the portable gaming market by the end of 2007, with a portable Xbox game system/media player. The portable market is expected to reach $3 Billion annually by 2008, with only Nintendo and Sony playing along. They think that would seem unrealistic if Microsoft didn’t try and get a cut from that pie. But would it make sense for Microsoft to do that? The Xbox and Xbox360 have lost Billions, and to try and fight Nintendo (and Sony for that matter) in the handheld market could cost them Billions as well. The DS outsells the Xbox360 almost everywhere now, even the PS2, PSP, GameCube and GameBoy Micro outsold Xbox360 in Japan the recent months.
Console Size
Size and comaprison of today’s consoles, including PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. The Wii is really small, about the size of a discman. Amazing.
Via Aeropause
Nintendo Not Interested In Wii.com
According to PC Magazine, Nintendo doesn’t own the domain “wii.com”, and they have no plans of buying it from Williamette Industries, who had the domain since 1994. Wii.com isn’t in use because Williamette Industries prefer Weyerhaeuser.com. A Nintendo spokesperson said “to my understanding we are not planning on using that website”. Which seems a bit arrogant, since xbox.com and playstation.com are used by the competitors. The (current) official Wii site is wii.nintendo.com.
Nintendo DS Lite Rumblepack
Nintendo has launched a rumblepack specifically for the DS Lite, meaning there aren’t any bits an pieces sticking out like on the regular DS. The DS Lite rumblepack costs the same as the old one, $15 (or 1,650 Yen). Only avalible in Japan at the moment, but we expect it to hit the U.S. and European stores shortly. Games supporting the rumble feature at the moment;
Metroid Prime Hunters
Magnetica (Shunkan Puzz Loop)
Naruto RPG 2: Chidori versus Rasengan
Mario & Luigi: Partners in TimeMetroid Prime Pinball
Via Siliconera (Thanks, Jon)
Sony Embarrassment #14
[gv data="http://www.youtube.com/v/xiEOBEQlzZc"][/gv]
Featuring:
- Riiiiiiidge Racer!
- Now That’s What I Call A Duck!
- Realtime, ehm, Weaponschange. Ehm.
- And we’re certainly not interested in gimmicks.
Seriously, we can’t stop making fun of Sony. We try, but it’s like those good old Clinton jokes. Ehm.
Halo 2 Won’t Use “Live Anywhere”?
Microsoft’s big surprise at this year’s E3 was Live Anywhere cross platform gaming, where you basically connect your Vista PC with the Xbox360, you can play on a PC vs. someone playing on a Xbox360. Microsoft’s own Vista launch title, Halo2, apparently won’t be using any of those features, according to an article at 1UP.com. They claim it is simply too much work for Bungie, the developer, to do Halo 2 and Halo 3 at the same time.
But would it make sense for Microsoft to launch Live Anywhere without officially supporting it themselves? Even if it does take extra manpower, I still think there will be at least some Live Anywhere Halo 2 content.
Wii Listed At $160
Japanese online retailer PC-Success had listed the Nintendo Wii at 18,000 Yen, or US$160. Moments later the product was taken down, but some one captured a screenshot of the price. $160 seems “too” low even for Nintendo, so this is probably an error from PC-Success.
Cell CPU: More Than Just Gaming
Researchers at US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have played around with the Cell processor, in order to find out if it’s any good for scientific purposes. The Cell CPU, made by IBM, Sony and Toshiba is also suitable for scientific research, mainly because of its great power. Currently only used to power the PlayStation 3, and in the future, IBM’s high-end servers. The Cell version used in the PS3 sports 8 cores running at 3.2 GHz, far more powerful than todays desktop CPUs.
Full article here (TheInquirer.net)
Wii Sports Faces Confirmed + More
Speaking to MTV, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed the rumors about the possibility of having your own face as a character in Wii Sports, just like Miyamoto, Iwata, and Reggie Fils-Aime during the E3 press conference. Shiggy said:
“Wii Sports” series features these little models which you can put your own faces on … and then you may start to see those characters, with faces you’ve created, appearing in different games on the Wii system.”
How this is done is still unclear, and what other games is Miyamoto talking about? It definitley sounds interesting.
Read the MTV interview here.
Guild Wars: 1,000 Accounts Banned
Seems that WoW isn’t the only MMORPG with cheating problems. GuildWars.com reports that over 1,000 accounts have been banned for cheating violations, namely using bots to do various tasks.
In our continuing efforts to preserve a solid game economy and to support the legitimate GuildWars player, we have been actively pursuing those who use “bots” in Guild Wars. In the last week, we have closed more than one thousand accounts of those using third-party programs, and we will continue to take similar action in the future.