The Games News

“The first five million people are going to buy it, whatever it is, even if it didn’t have games.” These interesting words were spoken by Sony Euro CEO David Reeves during a recent interview. The question, though, seems fit to ask: Would you still buy the PS3 even if it didn’t have games to go with it? I find it a hard question to answer.

Looming in the shadows, the PS3 could lure in some of those 5 million initial buyers with its (somewhat) cheap price considering it has the new Blu-Ray technology. Considering what Blu-Ray could do for the next generation of video games could be another way to grab systems off the shelf. Without games, though, what else is left to imagine for the PS3? If Sony is looking to manufacture for the “social” gamer, then they may lose more than they will gain. If they take the “hardcore” gamers out of the equation, then they are ignoring over 50% of gamers. Gamers don’t buy games because it’s “the cool thing to do,” or because it will increase the appraised value of your home. Gamers buy games because they love video games and the sensation they get when they play video games, whether it is to relieve stress from everyday work, playing together with friends, or just playing in your free time. This, oddly enough, seems to be a fact that some companies seem to be forgetting.

With fans across the world buzzing about the most anticipated Nintendo release in their short history, Nintendo gave their fans a little something to drool over when they announced the first 16 games to be released for the Nintendo Wii. With an official announcement of the games to be released on the launch date, Nintendo flexed their muscles with some big named games on the list.

With titles such as Madden 2007, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid 3, Nintendo brings a lot to the table for fans and skeptics alike. With more and more launch titles to be named soon, all Nintendo can really do is sit back and wait to see what happens. If sales go the way most fans and Nintendo executives think they will, developers will be lined up to show that they believe in Nintendo’s motto: “Playing is Believing”.

The 16 Launch Titles Are: (more…)

Has Sony been stealing Nintendo’s ideas over the past 20 years? With Sony’s new motion sensing controller, Nintendo’s UK president David Yarnton seems to believe so. Yarnton spoke to press recently and suggested that Sony has been copying Nintendo’s ideas since almost day one. Not only does Yarton believe that Sony has been copying Nintendo, but has also gone to bringing up the fact that Sony’s withdrawal of the rumble feature on their controller is also because a forgery by Sony.

If Nintendo has only begun to sense that Sony has been stealing their ideas, they have to wonder if that is the only thing they stole. Over the past 20 years, Sony has not only stole Nintendo’s mannerisms, but also some of the game developers that produced for Nintendo, Squaresoft for instance. It stands to justify that if things continue on their same course, then we may see more of this in the future.

With the console war coming to an explosion in the next few months, the war that everyone seems to be forgetting is the handheld battle between Sony and Nintendo. However, with the PSP and Nintendo DS competing with each other to become the handheld champion, a sleeper system has been released that will slow both systems sales dramatically. The Linux-based GP2X Game System combats with the DS and the PSP by bringing homebrew applications and more to their system, a feat that the DS and the PSP both are trying to stop.

With a dual core processor and its high pixel resolution, the GP2X Game System replays multiple kinds of video and audio formats and supports various codecs to compliment them. You can also enjoy emulation from systems of the past, including the NES, SNES, Genesis, and more. Electronic picture albums, electronic novels, and USB 2.0 support are just a few of the added benefits as well. At a mere $170, the GP2X Game System reasons to become a great addition to the handheld war and may surprise more than believed.

After losing a 90 million dollar suit against Immersion Corporation over the illegal use of their force-feedback and “haptic” technologies, Sony has taken a step in the wrong direction and has removed the vibration feature in their controllers for their upcoming PS3 console. Citing the illegal use of their vibration technology, Immersion President Victor Viegas also had the jury slap an injunction on Sony that would stop them from producing, manufacturing, or even selling anything relating to Immersion’s technology.

This couldn’t come at a worse time for Sony as the battle for video game supremacy continues to grow. With each of the 3 competitors (Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo) introducing bigger and better products for each of their systems, Sony has taken a huge blow with the loss of this lawsuit. Sony’s innovations have saved them in the past and hopefully they will save them in their darkest of times.