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I just did a google on crystal white DS lite it looks really good. http://ds.ign.com/articles/687/687783p1.html

The new Nintendo DS Lite is smaller (just 133mm x 73.9mm x 21.5mm, compared to 148.7mm x 84.7mm x 28.9mm ) and lighter (weights just 218g instead of 275g) than the previous model. The Start & Select button positions have been changed, they are now located below the four action buttons at the lower right. Also the microphone and power LED indicator are now at a different position. Further the screen backlight can be adjusted in 4 steps. The name "Lite" consists of the words "light" and "bright".

Not to mention that redesign is hot. I am not afraid to admit one reason i didn't buy an original DS is because the silver and shape looked tacky.

To be fair to Sony...

Everquest 2
World of Warcraft
Everquest 2
Lineage 2
Everquest 2
A Tale in the Desert
Another Lineage 2, just because I like the art style.
Everquest 2
Asheron's Call 2
Everquest 2
Everquest 2
Final Fantasy XI Online
Everquest 2
Ragnarok Online

These are hand-picked images from a quick google images search. Hopefully that balances both ways. I'll let you all be the judge of the aesthetic quality of EQ2.

You'll also note that the imagery has gotten much more stylized as the series has progressed into the desert of flames expansion. I suspect this has been a touchy subject within Sony, which is why they had the strong reaction they did to the criticism.

To be fair to Sony...

Everquest 2
World of Warcraft
Everquest 2
Lineage 2
Everquest 2
A Tale in the Desert
Another Lineage 2, just because I like the art style.
Everquest 2
Asheron's Call 2
Everquest 2
Everquest 2
Final Fantasy XI Online
Everquest 2
Ragnarok Online

These are hand-picked images from a quick google images search. Hopefully that balances both ways. I'll let you all be the judge of the aesthetic quality of EQ2.

You'll also note that the imagery has gotten much more stylized as the series has progressed into the desert of flames expansion. I suspect this has been a touchy subject within Sony, which is why they had the strong reaction they did to the criticism.

IGN covered this last year.
The only successful consoles that have debuted at a price point higher than $250 been the Playstations. Nintendo's consoles have always launched at $200, and Sega released a couple at $200-250. Even adjusted for inflation, the vast majority of consoles launched below $400, and those that didn't flopped (i.e. NeoGeo, 3DO, Saturn).

We're fast reaching a point in gaming where real-time rendering can feasably match the quality of pre-rendered graphics. It's not like the days of the Playstation, where characters in FFVII have a few polygons in-game, but are smooth and (somewhat) realistic in the FMV's.

I'm sure most people here have seen trailers for Killzone 2 on the PS3. Even knowledgable people could be led to believe that this can be replicated on a PC game, and it's quite possible on the current-gen XBox 360.

The first delay: "Consequently, we're announcing a new global launch in 2006, after the conclusion of this fiscal year (March 31). We'll provide a specific date at a later point in time. While this may come as a disappointment to many eager fans, it will absolutely enrich the game and make it a multi-million seller." The original statements just said it was going to be released at a date after April. People were hoping that it would be released in April, but a date was never given.

It's not like he single handidly coded the game. All he basically did was come up with some of the dialog for the first half of the game, and then they threw his name on the cover. He didn't come didn't come up with the overall story line or have ANYTHING to do with game play. He talked about all this during an interview at the E3:
http://media.psp.ign.com/media/714/714496/vids_1.h tml

I think he was just getting his feet wet in the gaming industry, but it's difficult to argue that he's fallen "flat on his face" when all he's did was write some fo the game's early dialog.

I just realized why... I think it is time to grow up and have a real job, maybe get a girlfriend...

You should check out the Harvest Moon games.

You get to grow up, get a girlfriend/wife, work as a farmer...

Games just aren't as fun as it used to be.

I just realized why... I think it is time to grow up and have a real job, maybe get a girlfriend...

(*thinks about the future*)

Nah... It can wait PS3 and Nintendo Revolution...

They just announced a new cart that will support user input -> kanji, but it only comes with English to Japanese and Japanese-Japanese dictionaries. See http://ds.ign.com/articles/688/688906p1.html.

I already have their old dictionary, but I'm considering selling it when this one comes out and getting it.

This page specifically says "[The controller] interacts with a sensor bar placed above, below, or near televisions. The bar contains two sensors that communicate with the controller using Bluetooth technology."

Nintendo has been creating new genres for a while.

Nintendo has been creating new genres for a while.

Pliskin : VR, huh.

Raiden : But realistic in every way.

Pliskin : A virtual grunt of the digital age. That's just great.

Raiden : That's far more effective than live exercises.

Pliskin : You don't get injured in VR, do you? Every year, a few soldiers
                          die in field exercises.

Raiden : There's pain sensation in VR, and even a sense of reality and
                          urgency. The only difference is that it isn't actually happening.

Pliskin : That's the way they want you to think, to remove you from the
                          fear that goes with battle situations. War as a video game --
                          what better way to raise the ultimate soldier?

The real killer is that Cameron thought AvP was good.

"Ridley [Scott] and I talked about doing another Alien film, and I said to 20th Century Fox that I would develop a 5th Alien film. I started working on a story, I was working with another writer and Fox came back to me and said, 'We've got this really good script for Alien vs Predator,' and I got pretty upset. I said, 'You do that you're going to kill the validity of the franchise in my mind,' because to me, that was Frankenstein Meets Werewolf. It was Universal just taking their assets and starting to play them off against each other.

"So, I stopped work. Then I saw Alien vs Predator and it was actually pretty good. (laughs) I think of the 5 [sic] Alien films, I'd rate it 3rd."

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/686/686746p1.htm l

If you keep reading and wield a greater attention span than a retarded monkey, you will see the quote "the site remarks that SCE has been telling its partners to expect the PS3 to arrive at below the 40,000 yen mark when it debuts in Japan in spring of 2006". This is down from an earlier estimate of less than 50,000 yen. This is still hinting in that it's not an exact price... but it's an upper bound.

Sony is not entirely stupid. Recall the infamous story where they blew past the Saturn with the $299 US PlayStation release. The Saturn was losing money at $399, and everyone expected the PSX to be $499. Just like they did the PS2. Just like they do the PS3.

Things may change; we won't know until it's released. But the above official statements are the closest thing we have to fact at this point. Everything else is baseless speculation.

That E3 show set Sony back. The trailors were nothing more than CGI movies of what Sony hoped their games would look like.

Then their hopes were pretty realistic. Compare Old Snake from MGS4 which we know to be realtime with the Killzone demo shown, and you'll find that if anything, MGS4 is looking better. (Compare the high polycount, beads of sweat, skin texturing, and hair on Snake to what's in the KZ shot.)

And these are just the first-gen showings of the PS3.

The hardware no where near resembled what will really be in the PS3.

The... hardware? This is assuming you, a chronic Microsoft troll (mods: see poster's history), actually have inside information. Which is doubtful. This also assumes your statement makes any sense. What are you claiming? The specs Sony gave are false? That it won't have a Cell or nvidia GPU? That the box might look different? Seriously. If the games look like what Sony claimed (see Project Offset for some more impressive realtime videos), what else matters?

Also the PS3 will not launch any less than $500 without absolutely massive losses per unit. The 360 at this point will have markdowns to around $250.

You know this for a fact, do you? When it's already been confirmed long ago that the PS3 will launch at the same price-point the PS2 and PS1 did?

The PS3 will win this generation only if they can convince the average family that the PS3 is worth 2x the price. The normal fanboys will buy it no matter what the price, but these sales will be limited.

The PS3 will win this generation because they have all the games. That's what matters.

That E3 show set Sony back. The trailors were nothing more than CGI movies of what Sony hoped their games would look like.

Then their hopes were pretty realistic. Compare Old Snake from MGS4 which we know to be realtime with the Killzone demo shown, and you'll find that if anything, MGS4 is looking better. (Compare the high polycount, beads of sweat, skin texturing, and hair on Snake to what's in the KZ shot.)

And these are just the first-gen showings of the PS3.

The hardware no where near resembled what will really be in the PS3.

The... hardware? This is assuming you, a chronic Microsoft troll (mods: see poster's history), actually have inside information. Which is doubtful. This also assumes your statement makes any sense. What are you claiming? The specs Sony gave are false? That it won't have a Cell or nvidia GPU? That the box might look different? Seriously. If the games look like what Sony claimed (see Project Offset for some more impressive realtime videos), what else matters?

Also the PS3 will not launch any less than $500 without absolutely massive losses per unit. The 360 at this point will have markdowns to around $250.

You know this for a fact, do you? When it's already been confirmed long ago that the PS3 will launch at the same price-point the PS2 and PS1 did?

The PS3 will win this generation only if they can convince the average family that the PS3 is worth 2x the price. The normal fanboys will buy it no matter what the price, but these sales will be limited.

The PS3 will win this generation because they have all the games. That's what matters.

That E3 show set Sony back. The trailors were nothing more than CGI movies of what Sony hoped their games would look like.

Then their hopes were pretty realistic. Compare Old Snake from MGS4 which we know to be realtime with the Killzone demo shown, and you'll find that if anything, MGS4 is looking better. (Compare the high polycount, beads of sweat, skin texturing, and hair on Snake to what's in the KZ shot.)

And these are just the first-gen showings of the PS3.

The hardware no where near resembled what will really be in the PS3.

The... hardware? This is assuming you, a chronic Microsoft troll (mods: see poster's history), actually have inside information. Which is doubtful. This also assumes your statement makes any sense. What are you claiming? The specs Sony gave are false? That it won't have a Cell or nvidia GPU? That the box might look different? Seriously. If the games look like what Sony claimed (see Project Offset for some more impressive realtime videos), what else matters?

Also the PS3 will not launch any less than $500 without absolutely massive losses per unit. The 360 at this point will have markdowns to around $250.

You know this for a fact, do you? When it's already been confirmed long ago that the PS3 will launch at the same price-point the PS2 and PS1 did?

The PS3 will win this generation only if they can convince the average family that the PS3 is worth 2x the price. The normal fanboys will buy it no matter what the price, but these sales will be limited.

The PS3 will win this generation because they have all the games. That's what matters.

That E3 show set Sony back. The trailors were nothing more than CGI movies of what Sony hoped their games would look like.

Then their hopes were pretty realistic. Compare Old Snake from MGS4 which we know to be realtime with the Killzone demo shown, and you'll find that if anything, MGS4 is looking better. (Compare the high polycount, beads of sweat, skin texturing, and hair on Snake to what's in the KZ shot.)

And these are just the first-gen showings of the PS3.

The hardware no where near resembled what will really be in the PS3.

The... hardware? This is assuming you, a chronic Microsoft troll (mods: see poster's history), actually have inside information. Which is doubtful. This also assumes your statement makes any sense. What are you claiming? The specs Sony gave are false? That it won't have a Cell or nvidia GPU? That the box might look different? Seriously. If the games look like what Sony claimed (see Project Offset for some more impressive realtime videos), what else matters?

Also the PS3 will not launch any less than $500 without absolutely massive losses per unit. The 360 at this point will have markdowns to around $250.

You know this for a fact, do you? When it's already been confirmed long ago that the PS3 will launch at the same price-point the PS2 and PS1 did?

The PS3 will win this generation only if they can convince the average family that the PS3 is worth 2x the price. The normal fanboys will buy it no matter what the price, but these sales will be limited.

The PS3 will win this generation because they have all the games. That's what matters.

Your wish is granted

Rocket fits perfectly into the obscure category, but it has a lot going for it, including being the first game produced by Sucker Punch (who went on to produce the outstanding Sly Cooper series), and being one of the first console games to sport a true and convincing physics engine.

It's one of those titles that was not only a fun game, but also a fun environment to run around in and interact with.

My friend, I think you need to try something a bit different.

Tetrisphere for the N64 is one of the greatest spins on the tetris formula, and hands down the best in 3D. It had quick and exciting 2-Player action, as well as a slew of great single-player modes. Not to mention one of the best trance/techno soundtracks in any game, ever.

Tetrisphere alone would justify the price of the Revolution, IMHO.

As for the graphics, looking at games running in realtime there is certainly nothing as impressive as the Killzone trailer, but but MGS4 trailer seems realistic to be ran in realtime

This seems silly, because this shot of Old Snake is far more impressive than this shot from the KZ trailer.

The interesting things about the latter are the 16:9 ratio, the high-res textures, and the hair/fabric. But compare that to Snake's hair in the first one. Or the sweat trickling down his face. Or some of the amazing textures from Shadow of the Colossus... a PS2 game.

Yeah, the Killzone trailer looks really good. Lots of polys, nice texturing, particles, etc. But these people are obviously talking out their ass: just look at the facts. We know MGS4 is "real". Compare it to shots that are claimed "fake"; it looks at least as impressive, often moreso. What is so unbelievable at this point?

One thing to remember is that, while the PS3 may not be able to produce graphics that are substantially nicer looking than on the 360- it does seem to handle many more objects on screen at once.

Actually judging from some of the early shots from Armored Core 4, 360 vs PS3, the immediately-noticeable difference is that the 360 doesn't seem to be pushing the same particle effects, which seem to give a lot of the character to the various PS3 demos. As you said, expect substantially better graphics in mid- to late-generation PS3 games, much like mid- to late-gen PS1 and PS2.

Game developers seem to be targetting 720p as the target resolution. Developers aren't really expecting games to run at 1080p because the system isn't powerful enough to do 1080p at a reasonable resolution

Let's hope you meant reasonable framerate here...

The spring '06 release date isn't looking very likely. Developers are predicting summer 06 for Japan and a fall 06 or winter 07 release for the US and Europe.

We'll see. Spring is right around the corner, and not much news. I doubt they'll let it slip beyond the Revolution release, but we'll see. At this point everything is speculation, and it's working in Sony's favor: every bit of speculation is negative. The PS3 will be late, it'll be expensive, it won't be technically superior, etc. This is anti-hype, and it's great, because the PS3 can come back and win big by beating predictions in any of these areas.

As for the graphics, looking at games running in realtime there is certainly nothing as impressive as the Killzone trailer, but but MGS4 trailer seems realistic to be ran in realtime

This seems silly, because this shot of Old Snake is far more impressive than this shot from the KZ trailer.

The interesting things about the latter are the 16:9 ratio, the high-res textures, and the hair/fabric. But compare that to Snake's hair in the first one. Or the sweat trickling down his face. Or some of the amazing textures from Shadow of the Colossus... a PS2 game.

Yeah, the Killzone trailer looks really good. Lots of polys, nice texturing, particles, etc. But these people are obviously talking out their ass: just look at the facts. We know MGS4 is "real". Compare it to shots that are claimed "fake"; it looks at least as impressive, often moreso. What is so unbelievable at this point?

One thing to remember is that, while the PS3 may not be able to produce graphics that are substantially nicer looking than on the 360- it does seem to handle many more objects on screen at once.

Actually judging from some of the early shots from Armored Core 4, 360 vs PS3, the immediately-noticeable difference is that the 360 doesn't seem to be pushing the same particle effects, which seem to give a lot of the character to the various PS3 demos. As you said, expect substantially better graphics in mid- to late-generation PS3 games, much like mid- to late-gen PS1 and PS2.

Game developers seem to be targetting 720p as the target resolution. Developers aren't really expecting games to run at 1080p because the system isn't powerful enough to do 1080p at a reasonable resolution

Let's hope you meant reasonable framerate here...

The spring '06 release date isn't looking very likely. Developers are predicting summer 06 for Japan and a fall 06 or winter 07 release for the US and Europe.

We'll see. Spring is right around the corner, and not much news. I doubt they'll let it slip beyond the Revolution release, but we'll see. At this point everything is speculation, and it's working in Sony's favor: every bit of speculation is negative. The PS3 will be late, it'll be expensive, it won't be technically superior, etc. This is anti-hype, and it's great, because the PS3 can come back and win big by beating predictions in any of these areas.

As for the graphics, looking at games running in realtime there is certainly nothing as impressive as the Killzone trailer, but but MGS4 trailer seems realistic to be ran in realtime

This seems silly, because this shot of Old Snake is far more impressive than this shot from the KZ trailer.

The interesting things about the latter are the 16:9 ratio, the high-res textures, and the hair/fabric. But compare that to Snake's hair in the first one. Or the sweat trickling down his face. Or some of the amazing textures from Shadow of the Colossus... a PS2 game.

Yeah, the Killzone trailer looks really good. Lots of polys, nice texturing, particles, etc. But these people are obviously talking out their ass: just look at the facts. We know MGS4 is "real". Compare it to shots that are claimed "fake"; it looks at least as impressive, often moreso. What is so unbelievable at this point?

One thing to remember is that, while the PS3 may not be able to produce graphics that are substantially nicer looking than on the 360- it does seem to handle many more objects on screen at once.

Actually judging from some of the early shots from Armored Core 4, 360 vs PS3, the immediately-noticeable difference is that the 360 doesn't seem to be pushing the same particle effects, which seem to give a lot of the character to the various PS3 demos. As you said, expect substantially better graphics in mid- to late-generation PS3 games, much like mid- to late-gen PS1 and PS2.

Game developers seem to be targetting 720p as the target resolution. Developers aren't really expecting games to run at 1080p because the system isn't powerful enough to do 1080p at a reasonable resolution

Let's hope you meant reasonable framerate here...

The spring '06 release date isn't looking very likely. Developers are predicting summer 06 for Japan and a fall 06 or winter 07 release for the US and Europe.

We'll see. Spring is right around the corner, and not much news. I doubt they'll let it slip beyond the Revolution release, but we'll see. At this point everything is speculation, and it's working in Sony's favor: every bit of speculation is negative. The PS3 will be late, it'll be expensive, it won't be technically superior, etc. This is anti-hype, and it's great, because the PS3 can come back and win big by beating predictions in any of these areas.

As for the graphics, looking at games running in realtime there is certainly nothing as impressive as the Killzone trailer, but but MGS4 trailer seems realistic to be ran in realtime

This seems silly, because this shot of Old Snake is far more impressive than this shot from the KZ trailer.

The interesting things about the latter are the 16:9 ratio, the high-res textures, and the hair/fabric. But compare that to Snake's hair in the first one. Or the sweat trickling down his face. Or some of the amazing textures from Shadow of the Colossus... a PS2 game.

Yeah, the Killzone trailer looks really good. Lots of polys, nice texturing, particles, etc. But these people are obviously talking out their ass: just look at the facts. We know MGS4 is "real". Compare it to shots that are claimed "fake"; it looks at least as impressive, often moreso. What is so unbelievable at this point?

One thing to remember is that, while the PS3 may not be able to produce graphics that are substantially nicer looking than on the 360- it does seem to handle many more objects on screen at once.

Actually judging from some of the early shots from Armored Core 4, 360 vs PS3, the immediately-noticeable difference is that the 360 doesn't seem to be pushing the same particle effects, which seem to give a lot of the character to the various PS3 demos. As you said, expect substantially better graphics in mid- to late-generation PS3 games, much like mid- to late-gen PS1 and PS2.

Game developers seem to be targetting 720p as the target resolution. Developers aren't really expecting games to run at 1080p because the system isn't powerful enough to do 1080p at a reasonable resolution

Let's hope you meant reasonable framerate here...

The spring '06 release date isn't looking very likely. Developers are predicting summer 06 for Japan and a fall 06 or winter 07 release for the US and Europe.

We'll see. Spring is right around the corner, and not much news. I doubt they'll let it slip beyond the Revolution release, but we'll see. At this point everything is speculation, and it's working in Sony's favor: every bit of speculation is negative. The PS3 will be late, it'll be expensive, it won't be technically superior, etc. This is anti-hype, and it's great, because the PS3 can come back and win big by beating predictions in any of these areas.

As for the graphics, looking at games running in realtime there is certainly nothing as impressive as the Killzone trailer, but but MGS4 trailer seems realistic to be ran in realtime

This seems silly, because this shot of Old Snake is far more impressive than this shot from the KZ trailer.

The interesting things about the latter are the 16:9 ratio, the high-res textures, and the hair/fabric. But compare that to Snake's hair in the first one. Or the sweat trickling down his face. Or some of the amazing textures from Shadow of the Colossus... a PS2 game.

Yeah, the Killzone trailer looks really good. Lots of polys, nice texturing, particles, etc. But these people are obviously talking out their ass: just look at the facts. We know MGS4 is "real". Compare it to shots that are claimed "fake"; it looks at least as impressive, often moreso. What is so unbelievable at this point?

One thing to remember is that, while the PS3 may not be able to produce graphics that are substantially nicer looking than on the 360- it does seem to handle many more objects on screen at once.

Actually judging from some of the early shots from Armored Core 4, 360 vs PS3, the immediately-noticeable difference is that the 360 doesn't seem to be pushing the same particle effects, which seem to give a lot of the character to the various PS3 demos. As you said, expect substantially better graphics in mid- to late-generation PS3 games, much like mid- to late-gen PS1 and PS2.

Game developers seem to be targetting 720p as the target resolution. Developers aren't really expecting games to run at 1080p because the system isn't powerful enough to do 1080p at a reasonable resolution

Let's hope you meant reasonable framerate here...

The spring '06 release date isn't looking very likely. Developers are predicting summer 06 for Japan and a fall 06 or winter 07 release for the US and Europe.

We'll see. Spring is right around the corner, and not much news. I doubt they'll let it slip beyond the Revolution release, but we'll see. At this point everything is speculation, and it's working in Sony's favor: every bit of speculation is negative. The PS3 will be late, it'll be expensive, it won't be technically superior, etc. This is anti-hype, and it's great, because the PS3 can come back and win big by beating predictions in any of these areas.

So I suppose that's why BioWare suddenly removed the red cross from the healing kits in an early patch to Neverwinter Nights?
Here's one mod that restores them among other things.

And from what I can tell, Gods Of War has "blatant pornography" that isn't hidden.

All their site lists for a "review" is: Description: Players take on the role of a warrior who uses chained blades and a variety of other weapons, meaning the player can create a unique method of vicious attacks. The main character can snap some characters in half and encourages the user find new ways to kill the other characters.

All categories including sex and nudity are rated STOP, yet they say nothing about the nudity and sex. That doesn't seem very informative to me. Not sure if it is another group, but there is one out there I recall seeing that really goes through the games and list lots of stuff.

One way or the other, it looks like Nintendo's going to be fine. They're well on their way to posting profits of over $1 Billion this fiscal year, up from $652 Mil last year. Considering they're just about the only company left that actually makes money from selling consoles, the release of the Revolution should be just one more boost to the company, in addition to their continued advantage over sony in the portable world.

http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/772/772076.html

Two words, Katamari Damacy. Actually, thats's based on some odd drug trip

It's a lot like Super Monkey Ball (which in turn was a lot like Marble Madness), but focusing on the collection aspect rather than the maze solving. In fact the "designers must be on drugs" idea was also mentioned in SMB reviews

Look at the Nintendo DS, it has a really good scratch-resistant screen that has stood up under what the average gamer puts it through. I bought mine used and it had no scratches on it, I wouldn't do that with any other portable system (buy it used)! The PSP's is not too bad either.

PS3 actual development screenshot
PS3 hype "screenshot"
Yes, Sony, of coooourse we believe you.

MS intended System Link (think LAN Party) to be local only, but by running the XLink Kai client on a local PC and tunneling the Xbox's LAN packets across the internet, you get exactly what you asked for: free, online multiplayer with your friends.

If you want it, you can have buddy lists, server arenas a la GameSpy, basic messaging and even voice comms on many games. It works on Xbox and Xbox 360. And best of all, it supports an even wider range of games than Xbox Live does.

Makes a great alternative to Live - and importantly (for me), it works well with XBMC.

Based on this screenshot I'm really looking forward to Medal of Honor: Airborne.

No doubt we'll find out later that that's just from a cutscene and the in-game graphics will end up being the usual low-detail FPS garbage, though.

http://media.cube.ign.com/articles/651/651334/vids _1.html

Ok, I'll save you some grief: the controller isn't one-handed at all. The one-handed base unit has the motion sensors (others are attached to the tv) and a few buttons, that's right. But you can attach an analog stick to the base unit, which you hold with the other hand. Aim right hand/arm, movement left thumb. Nintenod has said they haven't shown all they have, so I expect additional extensions.
See the TGS 2005 teaser video

I wonder if the stock price was affected by the office fire earlier this week? It gives 'burning through cash' a whole different meaning.

Or maybe the stock price had something to do with the office fire...

And was I the only one that was surprised that Hot Coffee didn't result in a huge sales boom?

Looking at Metacritic, not a single game has cracked the 90+ ratings.

If you're looking at numeric ratings to determine what games you get, you're missing out on a lot of great games on every platform.

Contrary to popular opinion, the PSP has a very solid lineup, especially given this is it's first year and it's a first-gen platform. PoPoLoCrois is both cute and RPG. Lord of the Rings Tactics is, well, tactical. Metal Gear: Acid is basically Metal Gear Tactics. Both Legend of Heroes (stupid localized name for "The Garghav") and Kingdom of Paradise are solid RPGs, far better than Untold Legends. Not AAA titles, but solid B or A titles, the likes of which you've probably enjoyed many of on the SNES or GBA.

For upcoming tactics games, check out Generation of Chaos and Field Commander. For puzzle/strategy games, definitely check out Exit, which is very well done (I imported it). For RPGs, there is at very least the Square FF7 spinoff, probably others I've forgotten. For cute, there's the weird Loco Roco, Katamari, and Megaman. Granted, Nintendo will have more in the latter category if past consoles are anything to judge by.

Now the DS definitely has a few games I want (Animal Crossing mostly, Castlevania would be nice. Maybe the new Super Mario Bros.). But that doesn't mean I have to stop liking my PSP just because I got a DS... and for those of you with a DS, the reverse applies. I like my PS2 despite spending hours on Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, and Zelda.

But especially, don't let numbers and idiotic reviewers put you off. This applies to anything. There are some great PS2 and Cube games that got low ratings and didn't deserve them. Same with DS and PSP.

Looking at Metacritic, not a single game has cracked the 90+ ratings.

If you're looking at numeric ratings to determine what games you get, you're missing out on a lot of great games on every platform.

Contrary to popular opinion, the PSP has a very solid lineup, especially given this is it's first year and it's a first-gen platform. PoPoLoCrois is both cute and RPG. Lord of the Rings Tactics is, well, tactical. Metal Gear: Acid is basically Metal Gear Tactics. Both Legend of Heroes (stupid localized name for "The Garghav") and Kingdom of Paradise are solid RPGs, far better than Untold Legends. Not AAA titles, but solid B or A titles, the likes of which you've probably enjoyed many of on the SNES or GBA.

For upcoming tactics games, check out Generation of Chaos and Field Commander. For puzzle/strategy games, definitely check out Exit, which is very well done (I imported it). For RPGs, there is at very least the Square FF7 spinoff, probably others I've forgotten. For cute, there's the weird Loco Roco, Katamari, and Megaman. Granted, Nintendo will have more in the latter category if past consoles are anything to judge by.

Now the DS definitely has a few games I want (Animal Crossing mostly, Castlevania would be nice. Maybe the new Super Mario Bros.). But that doesn't mean I have to stop liking my PSP just because I got a DS... and for those of you with a DS, the reverse applies. I like my PS2 despite spending hours on Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, and Zelda.

But especially, don't let numbers and idiotic reviewers put you off. This applies to anything. There are some great PS2 and Cube games that got low ratings and didn't deserve them. Same with DS and PSP.

Looking at Metacritic, not a single game has cracked the 90+ ratings.

If you're looking at numeric ratings to determine what games you get, you're missing out on a lot of great games on every platform.

Contrary to popular opinion, the PSP has a very solid lineup, especially given this is it's first year and it's a first-gen platform. PoPoLoCrois is both cute and RPG. Lord of the Rings Tactics is, well, tactical. Metal Gear: Acid is basically Metal Gear Tactics. Both Legend of Heroes (stupid localized name for "The Garghav") and Kingdom of Paradise are solid RPGs, far better than Untold Legends. Not AAA titles, but solid B or A titles, the likes of which you've probably enjoyed many of on the SNES or GBA.

For upcoming tactics games, check out Generation of Chaos and Field Commander. For puzzle/strategy games, definitely check out Exit, which is very well done (I imported it). For RPGs, there is at very least the Square FF7 spinoff, probably others I've forgotten. For cute, there's the weird Loco Roco, Katamari, and Megaman. Granted, Nintendo will have more in the latter category if past consoles are anything to judge by.

Now the DS definitely has a few games I want (Animal Crossing mostly, Castlevania would be nice. Maybe the new Super Mario Bros.). But that doesn't mean I have to stop liking my PSP just because I got a DS... and for those of you with a DS, the reverse applies. I like my PS2 despite spending hours on Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, and Zelda.

But especially, don't let numbers and idiotic reviewers put you off. This applies to anything. There are some great PS2 and Cube games that got low ratings and didn't deserve them. Same with DS and PSP.

Looking at Metacritic, not a single game has cracked the 90+ ratings.

If you're looking at numeric ratings to determine what games you get, you're missing out on a lot of great games on every platform.

Contrary to popular opinion, the PSP has a very solid lineup, especially given this is it's first year and it's a first-gen platform. PoPoLoCrois is both cute and RPG. Lord of the Rings Tactics is, well, tactical. Metal Gear: Acid is basically Metal Gear Tactics. Both Legend of Heroes (stupid localized name for "The Garghav") and Kingdom of Paradise are solid RPGs, far better than Untold Legends. Not AAA titles, but solid B or A titles, the likes of which you've probably enjoyed many of on the SNES or GBA.

For upcoming tactics games, check out Generation of Chaos and Field Commander. For puzzle/strategy games, definitely check out Exit, which is very well done (I imported it). For RPGs, there is at very least the Square FF7 spinoff, probably others I've forgotten. For cute, there's the weird Loco Roco, Katamari, and Megaman. Granted, Nintendo will have more in the latter category if past consoles are anything to judge by.

Now the DS definitely has a few games I want (Animal Crossing mostly, Castlevania would be nice. Maybe the new Super Mario Bros.). But that doesn't mean I have to stop liking my PSP just because I got a DS... and for those of you with a DS, the reverse applies. I like my PS2 despite spending hours on Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, and Zelda.

But especially, don't let numbers and idiotic reviewers put you off. This applies to anything. There are some great PS2 and Cube games that got low ratings and didn't deserve them. Same with DS and PSP.

Looking at Metacritic, not a single game has cracked the 90+ ratings.

If you're looking at numeric ratings to determine what games you get, you're missing out on a lot of great games on every platform.

Contrary to popular opinion, the PSP has a very solid lineup, especially given this is it's first year and it's a first-gen platform. PoPoLoCrois is both cute and RPG. Lord of the Rings Tactics is, well, tactical. Metal Gear: Acid is basically Metal Gear Tactics. Both Legend of Heroes (stupid localized name for "The Garghav") and Kingdom of Paradise are solid RPGs, far better than Untold Legends. Not AAA titles, but solid B or A titles, the likes of which you've probably enjoyed many of on the SNES or GBA.

For upcoming tactics games, check out Generation of Chaos and Field Commander. For puzzle/strategy games, definitely check out Exit, which is very well done (I imported it). For RPGs, there is at very least the Square FF7 spinoff, probably others I've forgotten. For cute, there's the weird Loco Roco, Katamari, and Megaman. Granted, Nintendo will have more in the latter category if past consoles are anything to judge by.

Now the DS definitely has a few games I want (Animal Crossing mostly, Castlevania would be nice. Maybe the new Super Mario Bros.). But that doesn't mean I have to stop liking my PSP just because I got a DS... and for those of you with a DS, the reverse applies. I like my PS2 despite spending hours on Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, and Zelda.

But especially, don't let numbers and idiotic reviewers put you off. This applies to anything. There are some great PS2 and Cube games that got low ratings and didn't deserve them. Same with DS and PSP.

What if Microsoft made a handheld gaming machine that only played games from Xbox Live Marketplace? What if they removed in-store purchasing of games alltogether?

Then all the stores who, you know, sell actual consoles and games, would hate them. No more game sales. No more used game sales. If I were EB/Gamestop, I'd be hard pressed to promote such a system. And without that, you just lost a huge portion of the market.

They would use the same business model for the 360 (buy a card at Best Buy, enter the code and download games). They could offer demos of each (same as the 360) and have all of the same competitive high score/leaderboard functions.

Except no one needs Live to do these things. Many PSP games already have highscore tracking functions (Infected, PQ, Twisted Metal, Wipeout, etc.), and I don't have to pay to subscribe to them.

Paying for a console, a game, and then the ability to play it, is nice for Microsoft's bottom line, but it's terrible for the gamer. Especially one on a limited budget. Or a kid's parents.

The only way Microsoft would successfully enter the handheld market would be NOT to clone the PSP (which is a POS anyway).

Ah, parrot the party line. I hope they're paying you well over there to troll like this. The PSP is a beautiful piece of hardware, with a solid and growing lineup (see my collection for a list of many of them, still missing about 5), and some great additional functionality (movies, music, web).

Since the PSP has recently been catching up again, Microsoft could do much worse than have something as successful as the PSP.

Such as the X360.

IGN: http://cube.ign.com/articles/651/651275p1.html

I haven't kept up with the official figures, but a quick google says IGN thinks each Nintendo handheld outsold the PSP in November. Other sources put the DS ahead of the PSP for pretty much the whole year, month by month, but by different margins.

They haven't built anything up

I guess you haven't seen the Tokio Gameshow teaser video?

Its awesome as you do well solving the puzzle character's from street fighter beat the crap out of each other. Its tetris on crack