The age-old fight between man and beast continues on March 9.
Mario Vs Donkey Kong: March of the Minis will finally be making its way to European shops - for those of you who didn't import the American version months ago.
Click here to read the full article
Source: News: Mario Vs Donkey Kong DS this March
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 10:42:00 GMT
PSP owners have been hotly anticipating an official unlock of PSP's full capabilities. The system runs at 222MHz, 1/3 less than what the system is capable of. But, did you know that ever since firmware 3.0, the PSP has been running at 333MHz? Yes, it's true ... but the system only runs at maximum speed for emulated PSone games.
What? Didn't the original PlayStation run at 33MHz? Yes, it's true. So why does the PSP have to run ten times faster to run PSone games? Well, software emulation is pretty complex stuff (ask the people at Microsoft: they know a little something with Xbox 360's backwards compatibility). With Sony having unlocked the PSP's full clock speed, will wee see other games take advantage? I'm sure a studio like Ready at Dawn can do some truly amazing things.
Discuss via comments
via IGN
Source: Did you know? 333MHz is officially unlocked
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 14:08:34 GMT
Source: New Zealand Story Revolution DS screenshot blowout
Originally published on Tue, 16 Jan 2007 01:00:52 GMT
Via PSPfanboy
Sony seems to be having a bit of a problem. They have a portable system that is a success, but not by any means their main product. Then they have a new console that desperately needs games any way it can get them. Obviously they need to compete on the high end next gen game front, but they also need to compete against the Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade. Without the backlog of games like Nintendo or the head start of Microsoft, they seem to be turning to a questionable source for their downloadable games; the PSP.
The obvious issue with PSP games going to PS3 is that it begins to negate the reasons for a consumer to own both. Sure, right now it's a Gripshift and a Tekken, but what happens if the trend just continues? Sure, this would strengthen the PlayStation Network, but at the cost of PSP exclusives. This is just not acceptable when the PSP still has a long way to go to establish itself.
If Sony does insist on continuing to take games from the PSP library to the PS3, than it needs to change how it does so. Microsoft announced Live Anywhere quite some time ago, but we're still waiting for the day when we can play Xbox Live Arcade games on the go. Part of the reason is that Microsoft doesn't yet have a portable gaming system, but Sony does. Why not have it so if I download Gripshift on the PS3 I can download it to my PSP as well free as charge. For games that require progress, it would be great if I was able to share saves between my PSP and PS3. Maybe this is part of Sony's eventual plans anyway, but until I can buy Tekken on my PSP and continue it on my PS3 or vice-versa, it seems like a missed opportunity.
It could just be that this is a temporary solution and as more developers jump on board the PlayStation Network, Sony will stop relying on PSP games as downloadable content. Even if this is the case though, it still seems like a dangerous road for Sony to travel. It could just be that I'm overreacting though. What do fellow PSP owners think of this development?
Source: Do PSP games on PS3 cause a threat?
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:23:24 GMT
It may look a bit fuzzier and a tad more jagged than you remember, but Sega's excavating Crazy Taxi out of its shallow grave and onto the PSP with the help of Sniper Studios. Titled Crazy Taxi: Fare Wares, it's essentially a best-of compilation, including maps and mini-games from Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2 with none of that lackluster Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller nonsense. There's even an ad-hoc multiplayer mode thrown in for good measure.
However, it remains to be seen how the game's frantic pace will translate to the PSP's sometimes meddlesome d-pad and analog stick or if nasty load times will interrupt the action. If nothing else, it certainly sounds like the best portable Crazy Taxi yet, though given the competition that's not really saying much.
Full release after the jump.
The Fare Frenzy Returns With SEGA's Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars For The PSP® System
All-New Multiplayer Modes and Features for Cabbies on the Go
LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (January 11, 2007) – SEGA® Europe Ltd. and SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars coming exclusively to the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. All-new twists have been included in the classic Crazy Taxi experience including for the first time, multiplayer modes that allow two people to play cooperatively or competitively. Now gamers can relive the addictive, action packed gameplay of the original Dreamcast games, Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2, on the go. Hang up those fuzzy dice and register for a cabbie license this Summer with Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars developed by Sniper Studios.
Only skilled cabbies need apply for Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars, where drivers need to be more aggressive than ever to earn the big money by speeding fares to their destination, no matter what the obstacles. Brand new multiplayer gameplay features provide endless entertainment, players can steal passengers from other cabbies by bumping their opponent’s car creating chaotic competition on the road! Navigating through traffic, hills, and obstacles isn’t easy, so it takes a skilled cabbie with no fear to earn the big bucks. Players can drive through the two original maps of Crazy Taxi, the arcade map and the original Dreamcast map, both inspired by the steep hills, trademark cable cars, and breezy waterfront of San Francisco. Then they’ll head for the Small Apple maps in Crazy Taxi 2, which is inspired by New York’s large building fronts, hectic downtown streets, and the city’s famous Central Park and subway system.
“We’ve often thought that the sublime playability of our Crazy Taxi franchise was perfectly suited to the PSP format. Now with new gameplay features and including superb multiplayer modes we’re really confident that gamers will agree” commented Matt Woodley, Creative Director SEGA Europe. “The heady mix of competitive gameplay and vibrant graphics makes this a winner, in my humble opinion!”
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars offers cabbies several single player modes including the mission-based Arcade mode, where skilled drivers earn time bonuses, and Time Trial mode where drivers collect the highest fares possible in the time allowed. In addition, for cabbies to practice their crazy driving skills, two mini-game training modes are available. They include Crazy Box, a collection of 16 original Crazy Taxi mini-games and Crazy Pyramid, mini-games arranged in a pyramid that drivers must complete to unlock more mini-games from Crazy Taxi 2.
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars introduces new multiplayer modes for two cabbies to collaborate or compete wirelessly via Ad Hoc. Drivers can also record and save gameplay replays of their driving performance in Crazy Taxi 2 on the PSP system's memory stick to replay and show off.
Source: Crazy Taxi: Alive and Well on the PSP
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:28:11 GMT
Natsume Inc., a worldwide publisherof interactive entertainment software, today announced plans to publish Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon for the Nintendo DS™ and Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon for the PSP® (PlayStation® Portable). Both titles are expected to ship in North America during the 2nd quarter of 2007.
Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon and Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon are based on the popular series of Harvest Moon, where one must build and cultivate a farm while at the same time build a life with family and friends. However, these two titles offer new and exciting differences from the Harvest Moon franchise with new worlds.
“Natsume is very excited to be releasing these two all-new titles that are part of the Harvest Moon universe, but are very different from past released Harvest Moon games,” remarked Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO of Natsume Inc. “In
addition to our traditional Harvest Moon franchise that fans have come to love, we hope these two new franchises will expand the Harvest Moon universe by offering great stories and top-quality game play!”Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
You awaken to find yourself in an unfamiliar village with no memory of who you are or how you arrived. Mist, a beautiful young woman comes to your aid and helps you start to build a life for yourself…on a farm. Till the land, grow crops, raise animals, catch fish and battle monsters! Battling against fierce beasts is very important for your survival, but making friends with them is essential for your farm life. Your life on the farm slowly starts to reawaken your memories of the past…
Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon
Dr. Hope, an old scholar lives on an island in the southern hemisphere. You are his son and your father has set you on a journey to the ancient ruins to try and run a farm. With technology being as advanced as it is, many have forgotten what it is like to grow something or take care of a living animal. It is your father’s dream that you will unlock the secrets of the ancient ruins and find the meaning of “life”. Grow crops, care for livestock, interact with the many villagers and explore a futuristic world as you try to unlock the many mysterious surrounding you.
Huge thanks to Ryosagi for the heads up!
Link
Source: Rune Factory coming to US
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:37:15 GMT
SuccessHK one of the worlds best importers of Consoles have today announced the sale of Firmware version 1.5 consoles of the new Blue, Pink and Silver colours, the price of them is $221 each.
I wouldnt think that the PSPs come shipped from the factory with v1.5 on but well they are selling version 1.5s, so for those of you who want to try Homebrew on the PSP this is an excellent time to get a brand new PSP that you can either keep at v1.5 or upgrade to the now preffered v2.71.
Buy Pink v1.5 PSP
Buy Blue v1.5 PSP
Buy Silver v1.5 PSP
Source: Pink, Blue and Silver Firmware 1.5 for Sale at SuccessHK
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:32:04 GMT
As you can see from the map above, Hideo Kojima's plan to launch a secret army in Japan is working quite well. A new service uses Google Maps to show you the points of interest you'll want to hit in order to recruit new characters via Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops' unique and innovative GPS mode. Although an English language version of this service is supposedly "coming soon," I wouldn't be surprised if it never saw the light of day: certainly, it would be a far more demanding undertaking to travel across the entirity of America in order to unlock as many characters as possible.
Of course, the true Metal Gear fans have already started their cross-country trek.
Discuss via Comments
via pspfanboy
Source: See where MGS soldiers are hiding
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 21:33:03 GMT
While North Americans get Wario Ware Smooth Moves this week, the Japanese are gearing up for the greedy one's next DS outing, Kaitou Wario the Seven. Coming to the states as Wario: Master of Disguise, the game features traditional Wario-style platforming, but with sexy DS gimmickry. Wario must overcome obstacles using one of seven disguises, including Thief Wario, Bat Wario, Torpedo-riding-pirate Wario and Cosmic Wario. Use the stylus to draw shapes and icons for a quick change.
The official Japanese site has clips of each required stylus technique to put Wario in different outfits, showcasing each costume's powers. You can even watch the rare Nintendo DS non-non-game's commercial here.
The localized version ships in March, so put your pre-orders in now. Is my Wario fanboyism showing yet? Michael McWhertor
Source: Japanese Wario Site Explains It All
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 23:20:18 GMT
Ys: The Ark of Napishtim (PSP)
Ys The Ark of Napishtim, Playstation Portable
Source: Ys: The Ark of Napishtim - Walkthrough
Originally published on Tue, 16 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (DS)
Dragon Quest: Rocket Slime, Nintendo DS
Source: Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime - Walkthrough
Originally published on Tue, 16 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT
via PSPvault
New information has been revealed about the upcoming Final Fantasy Tactics: Lion's War. Balthier, who was also in Final Fantasy XII, will be making a cameo in the game. His role in the game is described (roughly translated by me):
"A liberated man and well-known heretic. Using his abundant knowledge and abilities as an engineer, he seeks the treasures of Glabados. He makes contact with Ramza, who is searching for the Zodiac Stones and Alma." Balthier shares a last name with Mustadio and Besrodio Bunanza, so things could get quite interesting.
Source: Final Fantasy Tactics: Lion's War
Originally published on Tue, 16 Jan 2007 00:39:16 GMT
New release from the nameless:
Features:Download and Give Feedback Via Comments
- Auto Convert Files to the correct format and size
- Image Support for *.png;*.gif;*.cur;*.pcx;* .ani;*.jpg;*.jpeg;*.bmp;* .ico;*.emf;*.wmf
- Text Support for *.txt
- Preview
- Easy GUI
- No page limit anymore!
- Compression level selectable
ToDo:
- Support for .pdf, .doc
- Add option: Split big images
- Small picture: Let user choose resize or not
Guide:
How to create document files?
- Open PSPDocMaker
- Click on Select Files
- Mark File(s) and click on Open (Multi select is enabeld)
- (Enter the Game Code of the game) <- I've tested SCUS99999 and it works on a game with another code, maye it works on all games
- If you have added the file(s) you wan't click on Create
- Wait
- Select the dolder where your game is located
- Click on Save
- Done!
ChangeLog:
v0.21
- Compression level selectable
- Default folders selectable
- Don't writing to the application folder anymore
- No page limit (Thanks to Dark_Alex )
via the namelessAttached Files
docmakerlinux.zip (2.43 MB)
PSPDocMakerGUI.v021.rar (923.6 KB)
Source: PSP DocMaker GUI v0.21 Windows and Linux Versions
Originally published on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 23:00:15 GMT
Via Playstation.com
Are you dying to try out some new games on your PSP® or PlayStation®2 system? Well then here’s what you have to do. Print out the pass below and bring it to any official LRCT event and the crew will redeem it for a free demo disk.*
*Offer expires 1/28/07 or while supplies last. Demo selection is limited to availability at the time of redemption.
More info at link above
Source: Free PSP Demo Discs
Originally published on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:40:25 GMT
Finally, a end-of-year list that doesn't extoll the virtues of Gears of War or Wii Sports. The crew at Cheap Ass Gamer are doing DS owners the service of schooling you on the games that weren't New Super Mario Bros. or Brain Age that were still tons of fun in '06.
That means games like Magnetica and Lost Magic and Contact, titles that didn't burn up the sales charts amid the sea of stellar releases last year, finally make a "best of" list. And, in the Cheap Ass tradition, info on the best deals for each underdog accompanies the write up.
This is one list to hold on to, even for those of us with gaming backlogs, as it will come in handy during the summer gaming doldrums. Michael McWhertor
CAG's Five Most Under Appreciated DS Games of 2006 [Cheap Ass Gamer]
Source: Five Under Appreciated DS Games From 2006
Originally published on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 02:20:26 GMT
OK, so not on this exact guitar - it's SPOnG's, get your own.
The rock and rollocking success of Red Octane's Guitar Hero game
seems to have inspired the guys at Plato studio over in Japan to try to
recreate the rock and roll experience for Nintendo's handheld.
Plato, the team behind the hugely successful English language teaching
software for DS, is developing the handheld guitar game, called Hiite
Utaeru DS Guitar M-06.
According to reports on 1UP, "The game allows anyone to strum out a
few pleasant sounds, while proper guitar players can also feel at home
with the ability to control the sound like a real guitar. 120 chords
are built in, with three plucking variations of each. These are
navigated with the d-pad, while the pen is brushed across the touch
screen to strum."
Plato claims to have demonstrated the game to professional guitarists
who have reacted favourably, particularly liking the fact that the DS
guitar-simulator could be carried around in a pocket.
Hiite Utaeru DS Guitar M-06 goes on sale in Japan at the end of
December.
SPOnG will be looking to get more information on this intriguing little
title, along with details of any plans for a US/European release in
2007.
--
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Checked by AVG Free Edition.
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12:47 PM
Sure -- the Nintendo DS is leagues better than the PSP. But what about us poor schmucks who bought one at launch? Turns out there's lots of reasons why we should be happy we sold our kidneys to buy a PSP, and the best might actually be yet to come.
Source: Five reasons to own a PSP
Originally published on Mon, 01 Jan 2007 07:30:02 GMT
August was an interesting month, especially for PSP news:
$149 PSP coming soon? CNN reports
Then: "The analyst expects that Sony will drop the price of the PSP to a mere $149, $50 less than what it is right now."
Now: While this would be a smart decision, Sony's still not budging from the $199 mark.
Fun = DS, not PSP, says EA exec
Then: "There's no doubt that EA has historically bet more on PSP. I think we were excited by the technology, but the consumers have proven that actually what they want is fun. We must never forget that what we need to focus on is fun and so EA is putting more effort behind DS games."
Now: EA may start supporting Nintendo more in the future, but with titles like Burnout coming in the future, it doesn't seem like Sony fans have to worry.
PSP on Snakes on a Plane
Now: The PSP was prominently featured in the film, which failed to make the impact that the blogosphere had predicted.
Rumor: PSP redesign coming before March 07
Then: "Well, a very believable scan of PlayStation Magazine seem to suggest that Sony's working hard on one, and it's coming very soon: March 2007, two years after the US release of the handheld."
Now: If a redesign is coming in three months, we'd know about it by now, wouldn't we? Or will Sony do a surprise launch? Keep an eye on this one.
New questionable PSP rumors surface
Now: It's interesting to note that all of the rumors came true, including the most specific one about the PSP Entertainment Pack. Guess some rumors are spot-on, huh?
DevHook reeled in by Sony?
Then: "The web host of DevHook has received a cease and desist order."
Now: The homebrew scene is stronger than ever. Many sites are careful about the kinds of files they host, although its not uncommon to find other sites providing some very questionable content.
See entire year in review.
Source: Year in Review: August
Originally published on Sun, 31 Dec 2006 21:15:00 GMT
Apple posted two new iPod games to their iTunes Store today: Sudoku and Royal Solitaire
iLounge provides descriptions and screenshots of the two new iPod games.
Sudoku is a popular logic game and Royal Solitaire includ...
Source: New iPod Games: Sudoku and Royal Solitaire
Originally published on Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:10:25 GMT
