Latest News
Velocity Vector
It appears the PS3 will not have the hard drive built in, so storage will remain an extra-cost option for owners of PlayStation hardware. Given that the PS3 is already expected to arrive at a very high price, this could be a problem:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=9265
The creator of "Metal Gear Solid" makes an interesting comparison between next gen game consoles and food:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=9221
Ars Technica details the design of the XBox 360's CPU:
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/cpu/xbox360-2.ars/1
It seems that, contrary to the flops numbers given by Sony, the XBox 360's CPU may be substantially faster than the PS3's Cell processor.
Nintendo reported flat revenue figures for the fiscal year that ended in March. Given fairly hot sales of the Nintendo DS, it would appear that the GameCube and GameCube games are doing poorly, indeed. I wouldn't expect to see many new titles in development from any of the major publishers from here on out:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=9183
Digital Jesters is trying a new tack to promote their latest game, "7 Sins"... They've announced "Super Striptease". "7 Sins" is a life sim set in the hedonistic setting of Apple City, so "Super Striptease" may be right in line with the style of the game it's promoting:
http://www.superstriptease.com/ http://www.7sins-game.com/
Retro-soft.co.uk has acquired distribution rights to the C64 versions of the Scott Adams Graphical Adventures. They're now available at this URL:
http://www.download-trader.com/
Game Initiative has announced the "San Francisco Game Job Conference and Resume Workshop", scheduled for June 4, 2005:
http://www.gameconferences.com/sf/
This looks ideal for folks looking to break into the industry.
Nintendo has announced plans for a free online gaming service for the Nintendo DS:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=8882
"Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories" has been announced for the PSP:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=8900
Nintendo has announced a smaller version of the GBA with a better screen, the Game Boy Micro:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=8881
GamesIndustry.biz has a run-down of the PS3 hardware specs:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=8827
Ars Technica has the first part of a series on the technical details of the XBox 360. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about procedural synthesis:
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/cpu/xbox360-1.ars?19706
Well, here's some bad news. It seems Spong has been able to confirm that the XBox 360 will not be backwards-compatible with the XBox. It won't even include a software-based emulator:
http://spong.com/detail/news.asp?prid=8741
Genesis fans will be glad to hear that SEGA and Treasure have announced "Gunstar Super Heroes", sequel to "Gunstar Heroes" for the Game Boy Advance, due out in the fall of 2005.
It would seem that Microsoft really has opted for the "XBox 360" name... So my condolences to the folks at MS. Maybe they'll find a better name for the next generation.