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Audiosurf, Project Gotham Racing added to Zune HD

Microsoft’s Zune HD has certainly given the iPod touch a run for its money, and is capable of some serious 3D rendering with a powerful Nvidia Tegra chip running it. However, there haven’t been many games to really test the hardware — or to sell a lot of units — but that should be changed now.

With the latest update, Zune HD adds Audiosurf: Tilt, PGR: Ferrari Edition, Lucky Lane Bowling, Vans Sk8: Pool Service, Piano and Checkers. These are all free game that will be available on the Zune Marketplace. While the games are free, players are forced to watch a short ad before the game starts, which is okay, considering they’re free games.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story review

Mario & Luigi have offered a little diversity (very little, by some accounts) to the never ending Mario based platform games. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story is the third time Mario and his green dressed bro Luigi play as a team on the DS, this time, the story is weirder than ever, as the arch nemesis Bowser swallows the mushroom kingdom, including Mario, Luigi and all their buddies. Actually, the story is a bit more complicated, but we won’t ruin it for you here.

The gameplay is very similar to the last Mario & Luigi DS game, where you basically control both characters at the same time, with one button for Mario and another for Luigi. This time however, you control Bowser as well, and actually, you’ll spend more time in the game playing as Bowser than Mario & Luigi, which might seem odd at first, but it feel quite natural. Yes, quite natural, controlling the antagonist. More »

Scribblenauts review

Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS is a kind of adventure game that you don’t see often — actually, there hasn’t ever been a game like Scribblenauts; an adventure game where your character progresses through the levels by you typing the name of an object, pretty much any object you can think of, from dinosaurs to cars, to monkey to trees, as long as it isn’t vulgar or trademarked, it’s probably in Scribblenauts. The core concept of the game is highly original and extremely entertaining, and if it wasn’t for a few issues, it would’ve been the ultimate must-have game for any DS owner.

The gameplay is simple and follows the standard 2D side scrolling fashion, but to solve puzzles in Scribblenauts, you need to use an object that might fit and help you move forwards. You “scribble” the object (say, a “meteor”) and poof! it appears on the screen. The goal of each level is to secure a Starlite at the end, and accumulate them. On top of that, you have dedicated puzzle levels, which don’t feature as much action but pack plenty of challenge for your imagination. Once you’ve settled in the gameplay and figured out how advance through the levels (maybe you need a club or a crowbar to break something, maybe you need a walking robot), you’ll be troubled by the rather frustrating controls the game has to offer. You control your hero (named Maxwell) via the stylus, where you point to an area on the screen, and he’ll run to it. But it’s far too easy to point a few pixels too far, and see yourself walk into certain death. More »

Apple app store reaches 100,000 apps

Apple has reached a massive milestone with its app store for the iPhone and iPod touch, revealing that the store now features 100,000 applications categorized into 20 categories, and over 125,000 developers have signed up and are actively making apps.

Over 2 billion applications have been downloaded in over 77 countries. Astonishingly, over 19% of those apps are games, meaning there are over 19,000 different games on the platform, which definitely rivals the DS.

PSP Go sells 28,000 units on launch day in Japan

Sony’s PSP refresh console, the PSP Go, was officially released in stores i Japan yesterday, and the first day sales numbers are fairly good: the new handheld device sold 28,275 units. While those are decent first day sales numbers, in comparison to the DSi — which sold 170,000 units during its first two days when it was released a year ago — it’s not that much. The PSP Go was released on October 1 in North America and Europe, and sales numbers for those territories haven’t been released yet.

Sony expecting PS3 shortages

One sure way of hyping any consumer product is to make folks know there’s a shortage, whether it’s true or not. Sony Computer Entertainment America boss Jack Tretton told Reuters that there might be a shortage of PS3 slim consoles, if the sales continue the way they are now. “If things continue at this pace, it is conceivable that there will be product shortages,” Tretton said, after noting the console’s sales are up 300 percent over last year since its price was cut by $100. “We are up significantly versus last year”, he concluded. There’s no doubt that PS3 slim has been very popular, it has topped the charts in all three major territories, for the first time since its release in 2006.

Bust-a-Move, Space Invaders coming to BlackBerrys

Those with a BlackBerry cellphone looking for new games will be happy to hear that both Space Invaders and Bust-a-Move are headed to the platform.

News comes to us from Taito who will be releasing the classic games for the BlackBerry both for $4.99 a peice. What’s better is the games feature 2 control schemes, one for the touchscreen touting BlackBerry Storm and another for use with physical button touting BlackBerrys.

via joystiq

First NBA LIVE 10 trailer hits the web

EA Sports has recently been kind enough to give us the first video insight of their forthcoming basketball title, NBA Live 10.

As you can see from the trailer, NBA Live 10 will feature beautiful graphics, amazing physics and true-to-the-game gameplay.

FIFA 10 dated for October in UK

EA Sports has revealed that the release date for the upcoming soccer game FIFA 10 will be October 2nd. This release date, however, is only confirmed for the United Kingdom. Release dates for everywhere else are still to be announced.

Improved in this installment of FIFA are ball physics, an updated manager mode, and other gameplay improvements.

FIFA 10 will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, PC, Nintendo DS, PSP, N-Gage, iPhone, iPod Touch, and mobile phones. This will be the last FIFA game for the PlayStation 2.

Read (EA Sports)

Modern Warfare 2 coming to cellphones thanks to Glu

Sure, Modern Warfare 2 is going to be one of the biggest console (and PC) launches to date but you didn’t think Activision would just forget about the portable market, did you? OK, good because the publisher has recently anounced that they have contracted Glu to develop a Modern Warfare 2 port for mobile phones.

There is absolutely no details on gameplay but we do know that Modern Warfare 2 will be workfor Blackberrys, the Android OS and Windows Mobile Phones when it is released towards the end of this year.

Activision must have something against Apple as they are missing out on a huge market by not releasing Modern Warfare 2 for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Read (Joystiq)

PSP Go to have similar battery life as PSP

Sony has posted on the official PlayStation site, answering a lot of questions from possible PSP Go owners, among them, battery life, accessories and memory card support.

According to Sony, the battery life will remain the same as in the current PSP (PSP 3000), which offers 3 to 6 hours of gaming and 3 to 5 hours of video playback. Furthermore, the PSP Go will ditch the Memory Stick card in favor of the much smaller M2 card. Sony is also considering an attachment which will make it possible to use original PSP accessories with the PSP Go.

The PSP Go will launch this September for $250 in the US and 250 Euro in Europe.

Apple AppStore Games Not Selling As Claimed

Since the launch of the iPhone and iPod Touch Apple has pointed to the high volume of games and other applications being downloaded as a sign that the devices are the wave of the future. Many Apple spokesmen have come out and claimed that the iPhone is going to drive the DS and PSP off the market altogether.

There’s a wide range of pricing for applications on the digital distribution store; many apps are free while many others charge a mere few dollars. Some games charge more and there are some more functional apps that can cost as much as twenty to thirty dollars. The marketplace is incredibly hyped with stories of people making small fortunes on the sweat of their brow (or fingers) being talked about as if everyone’s doing it.

Unfortunately according to a successful appstore developer, it’s not exactly the gold mine everyone’s hoping for. Developer Rick Strom has several applications that are highly ranked, including one which is #34 on the social networking listing. He points out to the public that there was a general ‘race to the bottom’ as soon as the app store debuted. After all when you’re looking for a tower defense game or movie listing application, why pay five dollars when there’s one for less than a buck, or even better, completely free? Though Apple boasts incredible numbers of downloads, they haven’t said how many of those downloads are of free applications.

While there are some people making money from hard work and successful apps, Strom points out that it’s like winning the lottery: the potential is there for it to happen to anyone, but more likely you’re going to walk away disappointed.

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadrons revealed

LucasArts’ portable Star Wars Battlefront game has been revealed by ESRB ratings, and will be released this Fall on DS and PSP.

This “leak” forced LucasArts to officially announce the game, confirming its Fall 2009 release date. The game is developed by Rebellion Software, the original developers of Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron for the PSP.

Nintendo reveals all time Wii and DS software sales

With the announcement of a huge 2008 year with almost half a billion USD in profits, Nintendo revealed the all time best selling Wii and DS games:

Nintendo Wii Global Software Sales:

1) Wii Sports – 45.7 million
2) Wii Play – 22.9 million
3) Wii Fit – 18.2 million
4) Mario Kart Wii – 15.4 million
5) Super Smash Bros. Brawl – 8.4 million
6) Super Mario Galaxy – 8 million
7) Mario Party 8 – 6.7 million
8 ) Link’s Crossbow Training – 3.76 million
9) Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City – 3.76 million
10) Wii Music – 2.65 million
11) Super Mario Stadium Baseball – 1.2 million

Nintendo DS Global Software Sales:

1) Nintendogs – 22.2 million
2) New Super Mario Bros. – 18.4 million
3) Cooking Guide – 18.4 million
4) Brain Training – 17.4 million units
5) Pokemon Diamond & Pearl – 16.8 million
6) Mario Kart DS – 14.6 million
7) More Brain Training – 13.7 million
8 ) Animal Crossing: Wild World – 10 million
9) Super Mario 64 DS – 7.5 million
10) Mario Party DS – 5.8 million
11) Pokemon Mystery Dungeon – 4.5 million
12) Pokemon Platinum – 3.7 million
13) Kirby Super Star Ultra – 2.3 million
14) Pokemon Ranger – 2 million
15) Rhythm Paradise – 1.9 million
16) Professor Layton And The Curious Village – 1.6 million

EA working on 30 iPhone games

Just yesterday we heard the seemingly ridiculous rumor that Apple was prepping to buy mega-publisher Electronic Arts and now this — Word has recently gotten out that during an investor call EA announced that they were working on an extensive iPhone lineup of 30 games.

Now this may just be an attempt by EA to mend the $1 billion they lost last year or perhaps its a conspiracy between the two companies to keep their newfound alliance under wraps.

Okay I may be jumping the gun a bit but it could happen, right?

Read (Destructoid)