matthewgutz's Xanga

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 03:02:21 GMT

The people have spoken -- Nintendo wins!

Posted Nov 1st 2006 8:00PM by Nikki Inderlied
Filed under: News

It is no surprise to see that Nintendo has been kicking ass. The above chart displays Nintendo's progress before the Wii was announced in 2004 and their future estimated stock prices. We think the 105.2% jump should swing you over to our side if you ever doubted us before. We would like to see Sony's estimated stock prices compared to this. Maybe we could get a glimpse by flipping the chart over?

We jest Sony. we jest ....

[Via Go Nintendo]

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 22:26:22 GMT

DS Lite = 72% profit rise in second quarter earnings

Posted Oct 26th 2006 11:55AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

With the tag team duo of New Super Mario Bros. and the DS Lite, Nintendo posted a 72% profit gain during fiscal second quarter. Given the news, Nintendo's net income reached 38.8 billion yen (or $327 million US) and increased their shipping forecast for the DS Lite yet again to 20 million units (from the 17 million previously established). Shipments of games will increase to 82 million from the previously-established 75 million.

[Note: We understand it isn't a DS Lite in the graphic, but we just couldn't help ourselves. That image never gets old ... ]

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 04:50:49 GMT

Konami releasing compilation title for DS

Posted Oct 25th 2006 1:45PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

Konami recently announced they were set to support the DS with a new release in Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits. This compilation title is to feature over 12 games from Konami's past, both in their original form and in remixed versions to take advantage of the dual-screened setup of Nintendo's DS. Even better is that Konami has said that they plan on incorporating wireless multiplayer as well as a feature allowing the player to listen to musical tracks and sound effects from the included titles.

For a listing of games available, you'll have to continue into the post.

[Via Joystiq]

Games to be included in Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits:

Circus Charlie
Contra
Gradius
Roc 'N Rope
Rush 'N Attack
Time Pilot
Track and Field
Yie-Ar Kung Fu

Monday, October 23, 2006

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 21:00:42 GMT

The "correct" Dead 'n' Furious trailer

Posted Oct 23rd 2006 5:02PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News

Are you among the chosen few who laid eyes on the "leaked" footage earlier this year from Dead 'n' Furious? You remember that little debacle, with the hair-raising video. Oh, not hair-raising scary. It was just ... shall we say ... not so good? But Dream On Studio promised a "real" video later this year, and here it is. Tell us what you think. The video is nestled away after the jump.

And here's a question -- if you're a convict and you pick up a buddy (via WiFi coop mode, which does sound like an awesome feature), just what exactly is your friend? A prison guard? Serial molester? Do you get to pick? These questions are totally valid ....

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 05:30:38 GMT

Kirby Squeak Squad gets Japanese commercial treatment

Posted Oct 20th 2006 11:15AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Fan stuff

In this brief 14 second commercial for Kirby Squeak Squad, we get an up-close look at some of Kirby's new abilities available in the game. In getting a glimpse of the pink consumer of all things with his spiffy badger/wolverine/whatever suit, it only helps strengthen our desire to get ahold of the game.

As usual, video is embedded into the post after the break.

[Via Go Nintendo]

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 22:43:02 GMT

Mobilemag Score

88%

92%

83%

90%

86%

88%

Rate this product!

While the PSP can do a heck of a lot more than the Nintendo DS out of the box, the homebrew enthusiasts on the internet have worked hard to give the touching-is-good machine a little more functionality. There are several solutions out there from a number of different manufacturers, but nearly all of them require two and oftentimes three components. For example, when you consider the EZ Flash family of products, you will need to invest in an EZ Flash IV Lite (a flash cartridge that fits into the Game Boy Advance slot), an EZ-Pass 3 NoPass device (a card that goes in the DS slot), and a microSD memory card (which provides the storage space for the aforementioned EZ Flash IV Lite).

However, the folks at DS-X have come up with something uniquely different. It actually is a complete solution, with no need to purchase any additional components or deal with any messy software. The DS-Xtreme is the same size as a standard Nintendo DS game cartridge and will run just about any DS homebrew app you throw at it (let's avoid the legalities of illegal video game ROMs, but I'm sure you can guess what this could be used for... and yes, it does that incredibly well). I received a trial unit to test out, and I have to say that I am quite impressed.

The Complete Solution
The biggest appeal to the DS-Xtreme is that it truly is a complete solution. It fits into "Slot 1" on the Nintendo DS (Lite) and does not stick out whatsoever. When you open up the fairly minute box that it comes in, you will notice that it comes with absolutely no documentation. Instead, on the back of box, they point out a pair of websites where you can receive any sort of support (be it technical, customer service, or otherwise) you'd need, not only from the manufacturers themselves, but from other DS-X users via the online forum.

As you can see, the DS-Xtreme has an integrated USB 2.0 mini-B connector. Using the supplied USB cable, you connect to your computer and send over whatever homebrew apps you'd like to the four gigabits (512 megabytes) of on-board memory. There is no messy client to deal with, no patching necessary. The DS-Xtreme is Mass Storage Device compliant, meaning that it is completely drag-and-drop. Nothing could be easier. By contrast, the EZFlash IV Lite requires client software (which you need to update periodically) which patches the app you are sending. This is a huuuuuge selling point, as this -- theoretically -- makes the DS-Xtreme future-proof.

A Light Show
An added feature to the DS-Xtreme (which I find amusing but totally useless) is a pair of LED lights. You can adjust their relative brightness (on a scale of 0-255) and even their color. In the settings menu, you select varying values for Left Red, Left Green, and Left Blue (with the same for the right). This does draw a little on your battery life, but it certainly is something that sets this homebrew solution apart from the competition. Of course, if you don't want to attract unwanted attention, you may want to shut these off. It's just as annoying as those people who have flashing antennas on their cell phones… it's just irritating for everyone other than the device's owner.

Menu System
The menu system here is quite attractive, complete with some simple animations and a fairly intuitive interface. It can be laggy at times though, making me think that my touchscreen has ceased working. As I only received an early version of the DS-Xtreme, it is somewhat limited in what it currently offers. From the main menu, you can select from Apps, Music Player, Settings, and About (fairly self explanatory). When you select Apps, the device searches for all of the homebrew applications you have loaded on the DS-Xtreme, regardless of how you've organized it. If the program came with a thumbnail icon, it will be displayed in the list along with its name.

The developers reassure me that this early release "only contains the bare backbone of what our device will eventually be able to provide for the user." The hardware is complete, so it's only a matter of time before they upgrade the software to add in some extra functionality. Best of all, because it is plug-and-play, upgrading the firmware/OS should be very straightforward and walk-in-the-park easy. I'd like to see expandable memory in future versions, however.

Music Player
The only integrated application right now is the music player. Here is a brief demonstration of me loading a song by Jin Tha Emcee.

Unlike some homebrew MP3 playing apps out there, the integrated player here can read ID3v1 tags. You don't have to select based on filename, as it will show the song's actual title, artist, album, and so forth. You can even organize your playlist as such. The player also supports Ogg Vorbis files. There is some notable slowdown during navigation though.

Compatibility
Pretty well any NDS "homebrew app" will run like a dream on the DS-Xtreme. It may take a second or two for it to load, but as soon as it does, there doesn't appear to be any slowdown. I found this was true both with BeUp (MSN Messenger) and DS Organize (a PDA-like tool).

The DS-Xtreme, however, will not run any program with a .gba extension. This only makes sense, considering that it doesn't go in the GBA slot, but it is a bit of a pain for those of you who have certain favorite programs. A popular NES emulator is nesDS, which is designed for use with the Nintendo DS but produces GBA files.

Conclusion
At this time, DS-Xtreme is easily one of the easiest homebrew solutions for the Nintendo DS. It's priced right (between US$100 and US$130, depending on the reseller), considering what it brings to the table: it is a complete solution. The plug-and-play functionality is a definite incentive, as is the ability to keep the GBA slot open for any add-ons like a rumble pack or the Opera RAM booster.

Pros
-Ease of use
-Built-in MP3 player
-A complete solution
-Future-proof
-Unique LED lights

Cons (both are fairly significant)
-Relatively small (512MB) storage capacity
-Lack of GBA support

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 22:31:55 GMT

Games a big part of Sony profit woes

Posted Oct 19th 2006 11:55AM by Kyle Orland
Filed under: Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Business

The Japanese PS3 price cut and slower-than-expected sales of the PSP are among the reasons being cited for Sony's announcement yesterday of a 62 percent drop in profit forecasts for the fiscal year ending in March. The revised numbers include a 200 billion yen expected loss for the games unit, nearly double the initial estimate for the fiscal year, and costs incurred during the recent recall of many Sony laptop batteries.

Sony also announced reduced shipment targets for the PSP, down from 12 million units to 9 million units for the fiscal year. The reduction mirrors a recent increase in DS sales expectations from Nintendo from 17 million to 20 million units for the business year.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 22:30:27 GMT

PSP load times analyzed

Posted Oct 19th 2006 2:50PM by Kyle Orland
Filed under: Nintendo DS, Sony PSP

Long load times have been a concern for PSP owners ever since the system was released. But just how bad are those load times exactly? Gamespot decided to find out, measuring the time from system start-up to actual gameplay in more than 80 PSP games.

The results show the average PSP game clocking in at a whopping 103.4 seconds of load time, compared with sub-30-second load times for the average DS and Game Boy Advance game. Sports games were the worst offenders while puzzle games tended to be quicker on the draw. At just over four minutes, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 had the single worst load time in Gamespot's tests, a fact that should be unsurprising to anyone who's seen this video.

Interestingly, PSP games rated 9.0 and above by Gamespot had shorter load times than any other scoring range. Does this show that reviewers appreciate short load times, or just that better games tend to be designed to load faster?

While the tradeoff between loading times and storage space is always a tough one, we have to believe that a wait of close to two minutes is too long for a quick, portable game. What do you think? How long is too long to wait for a game to start?

(Thanks, HaloBreaker)

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 04:19:18 GMT

DS Fanboys point and laugh at PSP blue screen of death

Posted Oct 18th 2006 11:55AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Fan stuff

While attending Digital Life, the folks over at Following Revolution found a PSP succumbed to the dreaded blue screen of death. While we harbor no ill feelings for some of the PSP's supporters, we can't help but rub it in just a little. Hey, we're only human!

Check out the video, embedded into the post after the break.

[Via Following Revolution]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3vGDEGKJQc&eurl=

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 04:16:22 GMT

DS crushing PSP in Europe

Posted Oct 18th 2006 8:57AM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News

Though Nintendo reps don't seem quite as wont to go around making up numbers, we still offer a caution here -- it's Ninty product manager James Honeywell who claims that the DS is outselling the PSP at a 3:1 ratio in Europe. But even if you assume a biased source and maybe a little padding, that's still a major rebound from last year, when the two handhelds were racing neck and neck. Honeywell points to the unique capabilities of the system as the secret to its success. The DS, after all, can just do more -- and in this race, it doesn't seem to be about power, but more about versatility in gaming.

Hey, we're not bragging. We just reserve the right to pull out our special dance of joy whenever Nintendo is doing well.

[Via Nintendojo]