The once popular portable movie format for the PSP has been on a fast downward spiral. UMD movies jump started the PSP, surpassing game sales at one point. The changes a year can bring. The retail price of UMDs (often more than DVD counterparts), debut of Apple's iPod Video and the higher capacity memory cards were three big strikes to the UMD movie.
Now, mega-retail-consumption giant Walmart is said to be on the verge of completely pulling out on selling UMD movies. From Next Generation, an executived told Reuters, "Sales are near zilch. It's another Sony bomb." Many movie studios are reluctant to publish, or continue publishing, on the UMD. Sony will continue to support its UMD movie format, bundling UMDs with its DVDs in optional Combo Packs. Read more from Next Generation here.
A new multiplayer-only demo has arrived on Live. Battlefield 2, from EA, can be downloaded from your Xbox Live Marketplace. The game supports up to 24 players at a time. Looks like a lot of gamers were trying it out last night, taxing the game's servers to full capacity and locking out gamers. Read more about Battlefield 2 here.
Think you can beat Ubi at its own game? Give it a shot this weekend during the Free Xbox Live Weekend. The following members from the development team of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter will be on Friday night, March 31 from 10:00 PM to midnight EST time: (click on any name in orange to send a Friend's Request!) Geridak Serellan Deleor mic n red d3lux3 Fury81 Braybot
If you want to try another round, try the GR:AW marketing team on Sunday night, April 2 from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM: Ghostown GHOSTNineONe1 DrSwedeLove Ajaeger
If you win, email
with "I beat Ubisoft!" in the subject line. Include your gamertag and the UBI players you rocked and you could win some UBI-schwag! I'll be helping out on the Free Xbox Live Weekend, so team up with us, "rivithed", "OneOrbit" and "Funktronik" if you want a chance at it!
The web site for the upcoming PS3 RPG game has gone live. Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom is one of the first PS3 rpgs, which will also feature multiplayer capability online. Untold Legends 2 was just recently released for the Sony PSP. Read more about Dark Kingdom at the Official Site here.
Its been a while since we've had a game to break to, but thanks to SCEE (Sony Europe), a new B-boy is comin' to the PS2.
"B-boy culture is one of the four core elements of hip-hop, and the team SCEE and FreeStyleGames have managed to put together this game in a way that means the hip-hop community can be sure that the integrity and art of b-boying won't be compromised," said Crazy Legs. "It's great to know that they have actively sought out the real b-boys that make the scene what it is today to make this game happen."
There are only a few days left to register to win our first monthly giveaway contest! Make sure you sign up by Friday, before 4-1-06 (April Fool's Day, but this is no joke!). On April 1, 2006 we'll have our next giveaway contest posted. We'll give you a hint! Next month's contest will require you to login, so you might as well signup today! Its free!
Want to show off your hunting skills? Proud of your flawless chump score? Then flash the world with your Hunter's License from the new DS game, Metroid Prime Hunters. Here are the steps to posting your H-License on your web page, as demonstrated on this site:
- Know your GSPID (find using this)
- Use the URL found from above and look at the number after the "gspid"
- Copy the code into your web page
Nintendo has definitely been on the forefront with pushing new ways to interact with video games. Rob the Robot, The Power Pad and The Nintendo Zapper Light Gun were different interactive peripherals that came during the 8-bit era of video game innovation. Other companies such as Broderbund gave it a shot as well with the U Force and Mattel with The Power Glove. In the end, most of these were short-lived, with only The Light Gun passing on to other consoles for limited gaming.
The most successful interactive gaming peripherals of today have come from rhythm-music related games. From Konami's DDR Dance Pad, Nintendo's DK Bongos, Sega's Samba De Amigo Maracas, Konami's Beatmania Beat Pad and last but not least Harmonix's Guitar Hero's Guitar. All these add-ons were game specific and most are derived from things in the real world that are interactive tools themselves (instruments!). An inconvenience was the bulky add-on device lying around while you played other games with your standard gaming controller.
Nintendo has definitely steered the right way with the DS. The current success of the Touch Screen (and Dual Screen!) on the DS proves that engaging interaction does not need to rely solely on graphic power. The Touch Screen is a standard built-in component of the DS controls. The DS may be a hint of what is to come with the "Revolution" controller. It is there, but transparent and universal for all of its games. Just as it goes for any gaming hardware, its ultimately how creative the developers will push the tool that Nintendo is putting in gamer's hands.
