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That being said though, I wonder what Armored Core PSP is going to be like...

It's going to be Not an FPS, interestingly.

I mean seriously, what are the chances of me seeing Ico 2 in my lifetime?

PSP's highest rated launch game is Ridge Racers (yep, the one with 10 second load times when changing tracks, and a 20 second load time to start the game). Ridge Racer on DS is NOT a port of the N64 game. It features a new control scheme, and is an entirely new Ridge Racer game with tracks from previous games. I don't care enough about Asphalt Urban GT to even bother looking for it, so I'll just give you that one. No wipeout game (to my knowledge... you can try to prove me wrong) has ever sold a million copies. All the games I listed have sold a million copies with each incarnation.

Gran Turismo 4 Mobile is supposed to be an exact port of the PS2 version. (or close to it).

N64 was the big console of the era. Lots of people held off from the Saturn and the Playstation to wait for it (as the N64 was perpetually delayed, and always just around the corner). In the first year of the N64's life, it outsold the PSX by far.

BTW slashdotters love tech, right? I don't understand why so many are against PSP when it clearly surpasses NDS in engineering quality. If you love nice hack and Mario, buy NDS. If you love PlayStation and serious tech, buy PSP. If you love both and afford both, then buy both!

I love this quote though, so I am going to reply to it directly. :) I love tech, it's true. But there's some tech I dislike. Things such as a Divx player, a Sega Game Gear, an N-Gage, an Xbox, etc. Things like that just aren't worth my time or money.

I have no interest in PSP because (as I've repeated already several times), it has no games of interest, the hardware seems fragile, the battery life is absurdly short, and the price is way too high. These are not characteristics of good engineering.

I'm just tired of those misinformed.

lol.

PSP's highest rated launch game is Ridge Racers (yep, the one with 10 second load times when changing tracks, and a 20 second load time to start the game). Ridge Racer on DS is NOT a port of the N64 game. It features a new control scheme, and is an entirely new Ridge Racer game with tracks from previous games. I don't care enough about Asphalt Urban GT to even bother looking for it, so I'll just give you that one. No wipeout game (to my knowledge... you can try to prove me wrong) has ever sold a million copies. All the games I listed have sold a million copies with each incarnation.

Gran Turismo 4 Mobile is supposed to be an exact port of the PS2 version. (or close to it).

N64 was the big console of the era. Lots of people held off from the Saturn and the Playstation to wait for it (as the N64 was perpetually delayed, and always just around the corner). In the first year of the N64's life, it outsold the PSX by far.

BTW slashdotters love tech, right? I don't understand why so many are against PSP when it clearly surpasses NDS in engineering quality. If you love nice hack and Mario, buy NDS. If you love PlayStation and serious tech, buy PSP. If you love both and afford both, then buy both!

I love this quote though, so I am going to reply to it directly. :) I love tech, it's true. But there's some tech I dislike. Things such as a Divx player, a Sega Game Gear, an N-Gage, an Xbox, etc. Things like that just aren't worth my time or money.

I have no interest in PSP because (as I've repeated already several times), it has no games of interest, the hardware seems fragile, the battery life is absurdly short, and the price is way too high. These are not characteristics of good engineering.

I'm just tired of those misinformed.

lol.

Three recent trends lend credibility to the image of those modest studios (indies) developing games: 1) the fact that many such developers are are coming from industry proper; 2) the actual nomenclature "Indie" being a positive term; and 3) small studios' newfound ability to create games that are visually appealing.

First: An interesting but not-well-known fact is that many members of the indie gaming community come from a background of well-known companies. Take, for example, the Moonpod team, which had experience at Gremlin and Infogrames before starting out on their own. Monkeystone is headed by none other than id's John Romero. I would argue that games industry experience is not a prerequisite for the development of a good game; but the recent movement of folks from big gaming companies to their own studios makes independents more credible. Put simply: if folks who have worked on shipped, big-budget games are now part of the indie community, there must be something to the indie community.

Second: The actual term used for smaller studios (Independents or Indies) is an important one. You could call many of the products in this category "Shareware Games," but there's a horribly negative connotation to that term. "Indie Games" evokes the notion of a small, dedicated team of professionals crafting out something new and interesting. By contrast, the term "Shareware Games" evokes the notion of some dude in his basement churning out a buggy arcade clone that looks like it was written for the Intellivision. To parahrase someone, (I want to say Chris Barrie): A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but may be less appealing if it were called "sewage-weed." The adoption of the "Indie" label has helped legitimize games made by smaller studios.

Fifth (20 years from now, we'll be those old farts still making Python references to people born in twenty-oh-one): Independents can make games that look good. It may be because indies now have access to tools that would have made Pixar cry during its formative years. (Maya, for example, can be had for about $2k, and is even free for personal use.) It may also be because there's great talent now available. Either way, I think indie titles, taken as a whole, have become visually appealing. During the '90s, shareware titles had a bad reputation for being ugly, because they lagged so far behind the cutting-edge. These days, titles like Starscape, Dark Horizons: Lore, and Wik & The Fable of Souls are (IMO) looking pretty good. And, while indie titles may not be as spectacular as those developed by a major studio, (our own Inago Rage focuses on bright colors, but doesn't quite outdo Tron 2.0, for example), decent sales suggest that gamers like what Independents are doing.

However, given the dearth of posts in this thread, I still believe we have a long way to go. :) So, if you haven't already, check out the DIY and Game Tunnel coverage of the 81 IGF entrants. You may find that precious diamond in the rough.
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I understand your logic, Michael Flatley, I'm saying an alternate possibility is that Nintendo may tell people the low end of their estimated output. This would keep stores from taking preorders they couldn't fill.

Maybe the 1 million was what they sure that they could bring to market, and the 1.4 million included the increased productiion that they weren't sure would be ready.

Now please go back to being the "Lord of the Dance." You are much better at it.

Having some vague memories of this myself, I went hunting. Here's the trivia:

- Photos of one for sale
- The Sub Dragon's Lair gameplay was actually courtesy of Dragon's Lair's creator (Rick Dyer). Go figure.
- Rather wordy essay about the game. Grainy gameplay pictures included.
- Original Arcade Flyer for the machine. (Translation not included)
- Editorial on Rick Dyer, Don Bluth and the history of Laser-Disc-Based Games. Time Traveler is mentioned under an avalanche of other obscure releases. The bottom line: $18M in sales. Now, I wonder if the arcade ops made anything on it.

Nintendo is rumored to have decided upon continuing their partnership with ATI. A partnership with nVidia is possible, but not likely.

Here are the Accoona results for "Soccer Manager 2005". It seems like a very generic name, so I don't know if it's the same as "Worldwide Soccer Manager". Xinhua is running an article with screenshots. It's quite likely this might be the title by Sports Interactive (or a bootleg of it), but unfortunately you need to be a member of their forums before you can search any information on their message board.

How about Rampage World Tour for the GameCube (also originally on the N64)? No "remembering" needed.....

As a side note there have been "Rampage" titles for:

Commodore 64, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Sega Master System, GameBoy Color, Sony Playstation, Nintendo 64, PC, Sega Saturn, Atari Lynx, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, and Arcade. (I may have missed one or two)

Additionally there have been spin-offs, like Rampage puzzle games, and Jurassic Park-Rampage Edition....

But a great rampage style game in a modern context is Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee

How about Rampage World Tour for the GameCube (also originally on the N64)? No "remembering" needed.....

As a side note there have been "Rampage" titles for:

Commodore 64, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Sega Master System, GameBoy Color, Sony Playstation, Nintendo 64, PC, Sega Saturn, Atari Lynx, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, and Arcade. (I may have missed one or two)

Additionally there have been spin-offs, like Rampage puzzle games, and Jurassic Park-Rampage Edition....

But a great rampage style game in a modern context is Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee

one of the best ones you can do it with is Advance Wars 1 & 2. For a great, full list check out IGN's list of Multiboot Games.

(Of course, if you take that concept to the limit, you'd end-up with a computer game. For the sake of argument, we could call it Doom3)

I have a better idea. Let's call it Resident Evil: Survivor

Sony has already developed a similar polymer and has made use of it already in the new Ericsson P910 Smartphone, making this or a similar scratch-proof coating the likely bodyguard of the PSP's screen.

How powerful is this scratch-proof coating? According to test results, it took a knife to the face to make TDK's formula flinch. The article's author was able to scour the scratch-proofed surface of a CD with a brillo pad, and still was unable to scuff the surface. Permanent marker ink also wiped right off the surface. According to the disc's makers, only by gouging away at the screen with a knife have they been able to damage the surface.

Sorry, here is the article I meant to link in my last comment.

In addition to parent's insight, IGN's review agrees and elaborates on FFII's updates.

This link should probably be in the original subject post, too, methinks.

I think if you chop out the CGI, chop out the voices (if any, I haven't played it yet), downsample the textures and models for a smaller screen, and wait for the cart size to grow, you might just be able to jam VII onto the DS. It'll be close, though, and I think it might not happen until 2006-ish; even cut down I'd guestimate at least ~200-300 MB at a minimum, and we're about two doublings away from that, from what I can see.

Serenity's is firmly slated for release in April of 2005, just a few weeks shy of Star Wars: Episode III. Whedon and crew hope that the slot will get a boost from the eager sci-fi crowd. "It's exactly where I want to be," Whedon says. "We call it the Matrix slot, as opposed to the death slot, which is what the show had. It's a spring movie. It was always a spring movie... I can't compete with the $200 million movies... It's a smaller film. It's like the crew itself, its a little run and gun, it's a little bit underdog... It's that time when people are getting ready. They've got that anticipation, they're excited to get into the summer and be disappointed over and over. (Laughs) I mean, and see the big movies, but it's not going to be swamped by them. So I'm just absolutely thrilled. To me, it's another huge vote of confidence from the studio."

Wow Whedon's own words really seem to contradict his recent statement. My guess is that the producers' faith is shaken and that they are better liars than Whedon is used to.

Several things that I have done:
1. Update Catalyst drivers from ATI (this might be a part of step 2)
http://www.atitech.com/support/driver.html
2. Go through IGN.com's HL2 Optimization guide
http://gear.ign.com/articles/554/554744p1.html?fro mint=1
3. Make sure your OS, mouse, monitor, and sound drivers are all up to date. If I'm not mistaken, there's an AMD CPU driver update for WinXP.
4. Use the following settings (Options -> Video -> Advanced)
- 800 x 600 resolution
- Model Detail - High
- Antialiasing - None
- Texture Detail - High
- Filtering Mode - Trilinear
- Water Detail - Simple Reflection
- Shader Detail - High
- Shadow Detail - High
- Wait for Vertical Sync. - Disabled
5. Turn off any tool bar helpers you're not using (i.e. Gmail Notifier, Weatherbug, Quicktime, Winamp, etc.)

Sure, it won't look as pretty as it would on a P4 3.2 Ghz w/ 1 Gig of Corsair RAM and a Radeon X800 XT (oh, and a SATA drive wouldn't hurt), but it runs just as smoothly (except for the commonly reported "hiccups" that seem to affect people across the board) as it does on most other machines. Hope this helps!

See VE3D and here.

1.) He said up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right
2.) the cheat code for sonic was:

At the title screen, hold A then press Up, Down, Left, Right. When you hear the chime, press Start.

If that doesn't work, try this: at the title screen, press Up, Down, Left, Right, hold A, and press Start. After doing this once, you only need to hold Start + A to enter the level select.

from http://cheats.ign.com/ob2/068/001/001343.html

Summary: "It looks like Ridley Scott, director of Gladiator and Alien is doing it."

Article: "Now the tricky part is, apparently Ridley Scott has seen the materials before. And subsequently passed on doing it. ... Don't know if Ridley's budged."

Tricky on the part of Warner Brothers. They know Halo 2 did well, so they "leak" some baseless information regarding Ridley Scott being attached to the project, hopefully get enough response to trade rags say things like "gaming fans around the globe have already begun wetting themselves with excitement" and then go back to Scott Free and say, "Hey, look, we've got all this support now!"

By the time the movie comes out, it will have 7 writers, star Paul Walker as Master Chief, and be directed by Tony Scott, he of "Top Gun" fame.

Nintendo used weird proprietary optical discs in the Gamecube that aren't used for anything at all except the Gamecube. This turned out to work extremely well; although the Gamecube has the weakest copy protection of any console this generation (bootloader discs are sold legally in stores), it is the only console this generation without a significant piracy problem. Nintendo will probably do the same thing with their next console.

However: The Gamecube optical discs and disc drives, developed by Matsushita/Panasonic, were somewhat similar in nature to DVDs, and Panasonic actually sold a device in Japan which used a single laser to play both DVDs and Gamecube games.

It has been widely speculated that Nintendo will once again ask Matsushita to create the optical drives for the next Nintendo console, since they seem to have done a good job with the Gamecube drives and anyway it has been indicated the N5 will be backward-compatible with the Gamecube. Since Matsushita is firmly in the Blu-ray camp, this would make it likely the N5's optical discs will be technologically closer to Blu-ray than HDDVD, and even make it possible (though maybe not likely, as the Panasonic Q was eventually discontinued) that a Bluray/N5 combination device will be at some point available from Matsushita.

Just a small quibble - Valve didn't build the engine from scratch - note the splash screen at the start talking about the Havok engine. Also referenced here. And considering the high reliance on physics in the game, its not something to overlook. Now, back to watching the clock until home time and getting back in to HL2 ;-).

Read this.

yes the Japanese games are different but there is a good reason. Firstly the system is not capable of running a full blown title as per PS2. So the designers are really forced to rethink their game style (and do they think) to fit the limitations of the hardware format. Take for instance konami with MG. They release MG but not *solid*, but Acid. Same franchise, different game style (with a card twist).

Konami already make a slew of GBA games so they pretty well unersand their market. Its a different market to PS/XB.

Remember Digimon , small animals, monsters fighting, computers and CARDS ... it's a bit like a digital D&D for those old enough /young enough to remember. All appeal to a very specific market.

After attending a ACMI game time symposium in Melbourne this year I had the chance to hear/see Tetsuya Mizuguchi [gamespot interview] ). He talked for about an hour about game design and a bit about some upcoming titles for PSP. I now understand a bit more about *Japanese* game style and take my hat off to true innovators. No cheesy ports of your [insert your top 10 title here] PS2, PC games here. All *new* original ideas.

For the first releases the games are squarely aimed at *kids* and certainly those with a sense for Japanse style (manga, pokemon, digimon, cards, et.-al.) and good taste (read the paul graham article, taste to understand what I mean).I already have a 6 year old drooling over my shoulder wondering how to get one of these.

yes the Japanese games are different but there is a good reason. Firstly the system is not capable of running a full blown title as per PS2. So the designers are really forced to rethink their game style (and do they think) to fit the limitations of the hardware format. Take for instance konami with MG. They release MG but not *solid*, but Acid. Same franchise, different game style (with a card twist).

Konami already make a slew of GBA games so they pretty well unersand their market. Its a different market to PS/XB.

Remember Digimon , small animals, monsters fighting, computers and CARDS ... it's a bit like a digital D&D for those old enough /young enough to remember. All appeal to a very specific market.

After attending a ACMI game time symposium in Melbourne this year I had the chance to hear/see Tetsuya Mizuguchi [gamespot interview] ). He talked for about an hour about game design and a bit about some upcoming titles for PSP. I now understand a bit more about *Japanese* game style and take my hat off to true innovators. No cheesy ports of your [insert your top 10 title here] PS2, PC games here. All *new* original ideas.

For the first releases the games are squarely aimed at *kids* and certainly those with a sense for Japanse style (manga, pokemon, digimon, cards, et.-al.) and good taste (read the paul graham article, taste to understand what I mean).I already have a 6 year old drooling over my shoulder wondering how to get one of these.

yes the Japanese games are different but there is a good reason. Firstly the system is not capable of running a full blown title as per PS2. So the designers are really forced to rethink their game style (and do they think) to fit the limitations of the hardware format. Take for instance konami with MG. They release MG but not *solid*, but Acid. Same franchise, different game style (with a card twist).

Konami already make a slew of GBA games so they pretty well unersand their market. Its a different market to PS/XB.

Remember Digimon , small animals, monsters fighting, computers and CARDS ... it's a bit like a digital D&D for those old enough /young enough to remember. All appeal to a very specific market.

After attending a ACMI game time symposium in Melbourne this year I had the chance to hear/see Tetsuya Mizuguchi [gamespot interview] ). He talked for about an hour about game design and a bit about some upcoming titles for PSP. I now understand a bit more about *Japanese* game style and take my hat off to true innovators. No cheesy ports of your [insert your top 10 title here] PS2, PC games here. All *new* original ideas.

For the first releases the games are squarely aimed at *kids* and certainly those with a sense for Japanse style (manga, pokemon, digimon, cards, et.-al.) and good taste (read the paul graham article, taste to understand what I mean).I already have a 6 year old drooling over my shoulder wondering how to get one of these.

As any good description should have included, here's some reviews
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/metalgearsolid3 /review.html

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/566/566279p1.html?from int=1

http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/metal-gear-so lid-3-snake-eater/566899p1.html

And a final thought: nice movies leave me with a 'the world is fantastic' feeling, but games never do.

There are a lot of problems with the demo kiosks. The biggest problem is the store employees hanging over your shoulders while you try to get a feel for the game, but besides that...

1. The DS has something of a viewing angle issue. You need to look square on a screen to get the best contrast. The unit does have a 180 degree lock, but the kiosks have the unit locked to a lesser angle, and as a result have the top screen at a non-optimal angle for viewing.

2. I'm told by those who have been to events where they had the opportunity that you really need to be able to be holding the system rather than trying to use the stylus on a bolted-down system.

3. The thumb strap control that comes with the DS unit seems to me to be a much more intuitive way to control the look and aiming, rather than the stylus. The stylus seems to me to be more at home with point-control games rather than slide-control games. The thumb strap is unavailable at kiosks (at least right now).

All in all, I'm still kind of wary about Hunters, but based on impressions of those who haven't been to the kiosks, I think it'll probably turn out okay. I'm actually grateful for the demo, so I can decide whether or not I like the game before plunking down money on the full package next year.

unlike other big monopolistic companies

Nintendo isn't a monopoly of much anymore. Handheld consoles, maybe, but that's not much of a monopoly... more like an aspect of a market. Plus, they're about to get some long-overdue competition there, too. Which brings me to your second point:

Let's be honest here, they've got a more rabid fanbase than apple.

Criminy yes. Nintendo fanboys (as opposed to most of us mere loyal fans) will probably mod me down just for linking to "that other console", not to mention 5 comments with FUD, 3 flames, and some excellent trolls. I love Nintendo like anyone else (who really doesn't?), but geesh... they're not perfect, and competition is good for everyone. Having a good product and a large market with lots of nostalgia brings out the crazies though.

Do you mean this realistic Zelda?

Nintendo has been listening to it's fans. If you are interested in the new GameCube Zelda game, you have to check out this trailer, it's completely amazing, but I think it hasn't received enough attention because it was overshadowed by the DS at E3.

Do you mean this realistic Zelda?

Nintendo has been listening to it's fans. If you are interested in the new GameCube Zelda game, you have to check out this trailer, it's completely amazing, but I think it hasn't received enough attention because it was overshadowed by the DS at E3.

Do you mean this realistic Zelda?

Nintendo has been listening to it's fans. If you are interested in the new GameCube Zelda game, you have to check out this trailer, it's completely amazing, but I think it hasn't received enough attention because it was overshadowed by the DS at E3.

Do you mean this realistic Zelda?

Nintendo has been listening to it's fans. If you are interested in the new GameCube Zelda game, you have to check out this trailer, it's completely amazing, but I think it hasn't received enough attention because it was overshadowed by the DS at E3.

Do you mean this realistic Zelda?

Nintendo has been listening to it's fans. If you are interested in the new GameCube Zelda game, you have to check out this trailer, it's completely amazing, but I think it hasn't received enough attention because it was overshadowed by the DS at E3.

Do you mean this realistic Zelda?

Nintendo has been listening to it's fans. If you are interested in the new GameCube Zelda game, you have to check out this trailer, it's completely amazing, but I think it hasn't received enough attention because it was overshadowed by the DS at E3.

Do you mean this realistic Zelda?

Nintendo has been listening to it's fans. If you are interested in the new GameCube Zelda game, you have to check out this trailer, it's completely amazing, but I think it hasn't received enough attention because it was overshadowed by the DS at E3.

I think you meant "Finally, now I can play Doom 3 on my XBOX cluster!" -- although in a a couple of months you'll only need one (see http://xbox.ign.com/objects/482/482119.html?ui=gam efinder)

IGN's PSP FAQ page - http://psp.ign.com/articles/513/513175p1.html?from int=1#release

IGN has addressed users who would use KBM to gain an advantage. Quote:

"Bungie also created Halo 2 so that the cursor tracking is limited by the game, not the peripheral ... the software itself is designed to move at certain speeds and with a particular sense of control."

"Since Bungie has carved Halo 2's speed limits in stone, vertical mouse movement on a mouse and keyboard setup won't multiply the reticule's aim or speed"

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/560/560524p1.html

Okay, a few problems with Firefox: 1.) some ad banners cause it to crash...hard (specifically interactive ads like Intel's new ones with the magnifying glass and Absolut Raspberry ads with the stupid color changing "confetti") 2.) http://www.ign.com/ does not load completely and just gives me broken Quictime logos. Who else has experienced these problems and what have you done to fix them?

Nintendo DS launches November 21st.

Some people already got their hands on one.

Woot!

I haven't tried it myself, but it sounds like A Tale In the Desert 2 is what you might be looking for.

It doesn't have combat, it relies on cooperation to get things done. Basically it is about improving yourself and society. Low level "tests" might be learning how to make bricks, straw, constructing simple artworks and so on. Higher level tests often include coordinating lower level players in helping you do something (say, have a dancing cermony celebrating the rising sun and all 20 dancers have to act in character, or have a couple of hundred people help you build a pyramid).

This is a game where you can go and open the door without risking the death of your character. The first one was NOT a never ending story. It had a clear beginning, middle and end, and a few players who were "winners".

Also, players could vote to change an amazing number of things.

The reviews for the first game were very positive, and the second one looks even better.

And guess what, there are even Linux clients!

This is a game I wish more people had heard of, you can download the demo for Linux or Windows today.

One of the really neat things about the score was that, to record it, Giacchino used the methods they used back in the sixties--all analogue, and all the performers in the same room. Check out this interview and this interview for more details.

Oh, and technically, it wasnt John Barry's version of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, it was the Propellerheads' mix, which combines the title theme from OHMSS with a musical bridge from You Only Live Twice. From the album Decksanddrumsandrockandroll, which also contains "Spybreak" from The Matrix and the Shirley Bassey collab "History Repeating" (which is another track any Bond music fan should appreciate).

There are a lot of amazing games for Xbox. My favorites are Ninja Gaiden, Knights of the Old Republic, and Prince of Persia.

For a list of great games, check out Ign games with a 9+ rating

Actaully, it was stated that Source is built from scratch.

How can you not like a game that has tiny lobsters?

If you need a DS Tetris fix. Look no further than Meteos.
http://ds.ign.com/articles/563/563237p1.html