Bendiboards Flexible Keyboards

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Video Games, USB

Bendiboards are heavy duty, waterproof keyboards. Available in White or Black Space Invaders or the Union Jack, they are lightweight, ultra slim, and can be rolled up to take traveling. The keyboard material makes for silent typing as well as making it more ergonomic than your average plastic. Connectible by PS2 or USB port, the company will place your logo on the retroboards for a minimum order amount. Bendiboards carry a MSRP of £19.99 (~$40.00.)

Read More | BB Shopping

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E3 2008: Sony Media Briefing Highlights

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, High Score, Features, Home Entertainment, Podcasts, Video Games, Videocasts, Videos

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During E3 2008, we hit up the Sony Media Briefing to get a look at all announcements related to the PS3, PS2, and PSP. We bring you the best of the best in this episode, showing off games like Resistance 2, MAG, LittleBigPlanet, DC Universe Online, and others for the PLAYSTATION 3. Of course, there is also a bunch of portable PSP goodness, and even some PS2 love as well. Hit the video for all the details.

Also, if you want all the notes, we’ve got the Sony E3 2008 Media Briefing live coverage, and even a full photo gallery of the highlights as well.

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Live from Sony’s E3 2008 Media Briefing

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Action, Adventure, Corporate News, Downloadable Content, E3, Features, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Portable/Mobile, PSP, Sony, Sports

We’ve got notes galore for you as it pertains to the Sony E3 2008 Media Briefing, and we’ve also got a full gallery from the event for you as well. As if that weren’t enough, we’ve even got E3 2008 Sony Media Briefing video highlights as well. Anyhow, here’s the scoop, live from the Sony event.

Jack Tretton hits the stage after a montage of upcoming games for PS3, PS2, and PSP. He starts joking around and giving a brief history of the Shrine Auditorium. Playstation brand was seeded 15 years ago this week, where Sony decided to create it’s own videogame console. He talks about the long-term 10 year strategies employed into the Playstation and Playstation 2. Says there were marquee games for those titles, but they came out years after teh console debut. Same for the Playstation 3. He gives some props to PS3 as well, talking about Blu-ray and the Cell processor.

“We’re here to talk about genre-defining kick-ass games” - alright, let’s do it. That would be a big change from what Nintendo had to offer us. Games like Metal Gear Solid 4 is the reason why you buy a Playstation 3. Over 75 titles are exclusive to the console. Today Sony has three successful platforms on the market at once. They start with PS3.

Click to continue reading Live from Sony’s E3 2008 Media Briefing

Gallery: Live from Sony’s E3 2008 Media Briefing

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Rez Coming to Xbox Live Arcade

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Music, Third Person Shooters, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade

There once was a game named Rez.  Developed by Tetsuya Mizguchi’s division within Sega, Rez was a hybrid music-shooter for Dreamcast and PS2 that sputtered in sales but turned some heads in the process.  Before long, the game was out of print and new copies were fetching a pretty penny on Ebay.  Many gamers kicked themselves over that twenty-dollar copy that they didn’t pick up at the time, because now the chance to play the game was pretty much gone.

Well now we all get a second chance.  Mizguchi, now of Q Entertainment (who brought us Lumines), has announced that Rez HD is coming to Xbox Live Arcade. 

“We are excited to announce that Rez will be given a new life, this time in digital form. The game will be presented in hi-definition and will be accessible to those who did not have a chance to experience Rez the first time around,“ said Mizuguchi. “Personally, Rez has been and will always be a lifelong concept. I hope to take what I learned from the experience of creating the original game and look forward to taking it to a whole new level in the future.“

Featuring 5.1 sound and the usual HD enhancements, Rez HD will hit XBLA early next year.

Read More | 1UP

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Boogie Heads to DS and PS2, Gets New Trailer

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Casual, Electronic Arts, Music, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Portable/Mobile, Trailers

Ignoring a collective shrug on the part of game reviewers, Electronic Arts has announced that the formerly Wii-exclusive rhythm game, Boogie, is headed to the DS and PS2.  EA tells us that the PS2 version will incorporate a music video creator and allow players to record themselves singing along with their favorite pop songs.  Meanwhile, the DS version jettisons the karaoke element entirely and revs up the minigame factor.  In addition, Boogie DS boasts “the first 3D gameplay on the handheld system,“ thanks to the snazzy (or not) 3D glasses that will come packed in with the game.  Check out the DS trailer above, but only if you can stomach a whole lot of Brickhouse.

Read More | EA

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Kaz Hirai Hits the Interview Circuit

Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: PlayStation 3, Sony

Sony Computer Entertainment President Kaz Hirai has been speaking out about the PlayStation 3 including the reported development troubles some studios have had and Sony‘s commitment to the Japanese market.

Regarding the difficulty in development Hirai said he’s seen this before when the PS2 drew similar criticisms early in its lifecycle and that it doesn’t concern him. He said to The Official PlayStation Magazine that, in fact, he welcomes the news:

If they came back and told me, ‘PS3? We can do this in a heartbeat,‘ that would be worrying because what it is telling me is that we’re not pushing the envelope from a technology standpoint.

In another interview with a Japanese website he said that developers working on cross-platform games ought to take advantage of the PS3’s extra capability to give PlayStation owners extra value. For example, “[W]ith the PS3, you’ve got the Sixaxis controller, or you could utilize the extra capacity provided by Blu-ray to add more levels, put on interviews with the developers or have your videos able to play in 1080p.“ He said he understood why developers were choosing to work cross-platform considering the cost of making modern games.

Later in the same interview he tried to reassure Japanese gamers that they weren’t being overlooked:

Just because the foreign market is bigger than the domestic one, we don’t intend to take strategy of just making what would have been considered previously as ‘Western games’ and saying ‘We’ve got no choice but to do this’ to our Japanese users. If we did that, there’d be no point in having the Japan Studio.

Read More | Develop via Game | Life

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July NPD: Wii Reigns Supreme, Xbox 360 Edges Out PS3

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Portable/Mobile, PSP, Sony, Wii

According to the latest NPD report, the video game industry generated almost a billion dollars of sales in the month of July.  Nintendo’s Wii led the charge with an absolutely astounding 425,000 units sold.  The Wii was followed by the PS2, which sold 220,000 units.  The Xbox 360 sold 170,000 units, once again beating the PS3, which sold 159,000 units.  On the portable side of things, the Nintendo DS sold a whopping 405,000 units, while the PSP moved 214,000 units.  Overall console sales are up almost 43% from this period last year.

All of this begs the question:  Where are people finding the Wii in such great numbers?  I haven’t seen one in a store since the beginning of the year, but somehow Nintendo keeps selling hundreds of thousands of them every month. 

Read More | Next Generation

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Manhunt 2 Gets Green Light for Release in North America

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Corporate News, PlayStation 2, PSP, Release Dates, Survival Horror, Take2, Wii

Rockstar Games found itself in a bit of a pickle earlier this year when the ESRB slapped Manhunt 2 with an Adults Only rating.  Most stores balk at selling AO-rated games, but more importantly, Nintendo and Sony refuse to publish them.  As a result, the game’s original release date of July 10th was scrapped, and much hand-wringing ensued on the part of Rockstar executives wondering just what the hell to do next.

Well, Rockstar’s long nightmare appears to be over, as company PR has revealed that Manhunt 2 has been modified, rated M by the ESRB, and will hit North American store shelves this October 31st on PS2, PSP, and Nintendo Wii.  “Manhunt 2 is important to us, and we’re glad it can finally be appreciated as a gaming experience. We love the horror genre. Manhunt 2 is a powerful piece of interactive story telling that is a unique video game experience. We think horror fans will love it,“ said Sam Houser, founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games.

There has been no word yet on what content changes were made to the game in order to lock down a Mature rating.  And sadly, the game is still banned over in the UK.

Read More | GameDaily

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EA Shutting Down Servers For Madden 06, NBA Live 06, And More

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Action, Driving, Electronic Arts, PC, PlayStation 2, PSP, Sports, Xbox, Xbox 360

People always ask, “Why buy the newest Madden game? They’re all the same.” Well, here’s one very cut-and-dry reason you can use to explain: because, eventually, these game’s servers get taken down. EA is planning to take down 42 games’ servers on September 1 (although many of these are the same game across multiple platforms), and an additional seven on November 1. This isn’t a new trend, as there’s a sizable list of servers for EA games that have gone offline over time.

Apparently there really is a reason to pick up that newest Madden.

September 1, 2007 Online Service Shutdown

• Arena Football for PlayStation 2
• Arena Football for Xbox
• FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox 360
• FIFA Soccer 06 for PC
• FIFA06 for PC
• FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation 2
• FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation Portable
• FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox
• FIFA World Cup 2006 for PC
• FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation 2
• FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation Portable
• FIFA World Cup 2006 for Xbox
• Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation Portable
• Fight Night Round 3 for Xbox

Check out the full list of September and November shutdowns after the break.

Click to continue reading EA Shutting Down Servers For Madden 06, NBA Live 06, And More

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E3 2007: Xbox 360 Price Drop Still Possible This Year?

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Corporate News, E3, Microsoft, Xbox 360

In a truncated interview with 1UP (the full version is coming), Microsoft’s Shane Kim discussed what he believes is a mass-market price. “If you look back in history—again, it’s not just going to follow what’s in history—in some cases, 75 to 80 percent of the business gets done $199 and below. … Maybe $249 will be a mass-market price point—but historically, $199 has been when you’re talking a PlayStation 2-like install base.”

He also went on to say July was an “odd” time to announce a price drop, when referring to the PlayStation 3 price drop. Additionally, Kim even said, “I’m not even sure Sony announced a price reduction, anyway,” referring to the fact that there was initially a $499 PlayStation 3 available, and today there is no cheaper option than $499 if you’re looking for a new PS3.

It’s hinted that a price drop may be in store this year, and to “stay tuned” – Kim acknowledged that this holiday is extremely important for Microsoft to win. So if you’re holding off for a price drop to pick up an Xbox 360, don’t lose hope just yet.

Read More | 1UP

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