Speculated Pricing is around $200-$300 its a guesstimate do not quote me. its a range from researching the pricing

DIMENSIONS (when closed): 5.3 inches x 2.9 inches x 0.8 inches

WEIGHT: 8 ounces

TOP SCREEN: 3.52 inch widescreen display / 800×240 resolution (400 pixels for each eye during 3D gameplay)

BOTTOM SCREEN: 3.02 inch touch-screen display / 320×240 resolution

CAMERAS: Three cameras, two on outer casing, one above top screen / 640×480 resolution (0.3 megapixel)

STORAGE MEDIUM: Cartridge slot for both 3DS and DS cards (3DS cards have a 2GB capacity “at launch”, suggesting larger sizes to come) / SD memory card slot

WIRELESS: 2.4ghz / 802.11 wi-fi / Can communicate with other consoles or internet when in sleep mode / wireless can be switched off to preserve battery life

CONTROLS / INPUT: Touch-screen / D-pad / 360-degree “Slide Pad” (the analog stick) / motion sensor / gyro sensor / 3D “depth slider” can reduce (or even disable) 3D effects in games

STYLUS: 4-inch stylus (when full extended)

AUDIO: Stereo speakers (includes stereo headphone out jack)

BATTERY: Lithium ion battery (lifespan details TBA)

PARENTAL CONTROLS: The 3DS will include parental controls

Chipset: While Nintendo is normally very closed-mouthed about the actual hardware used in their systems, there has been some news recently about the graphics chipset used in the 3DS. You might be surprised to find out that it’s not your typical NVIDIA Tegra, but instead some new PICA200 chip (yes, PICA, hold your giggles to the end please).

The DMP PICA200 (PICA200, I choose you!) appears to be quite capable to be honest, it’s a 200mhz chip that will put out 15.3 million polygons per second, 800 million pixels, and full screen anti-aliasing. All in all, a most capable graphic chip powering the next generation of portable gaming. Of course, we don’t have much other information about the 3DS (like the CPU), but overall it’s looking positive and should meet expectations.

Sources: Kotaku

In late May, longtime PlayStation developer Insomniac Games announced that they’ve partnered with EA for a multiplatform PS3 and Xbox 360 game. Apparently it wasn’t a quick decision but one that was at least two years in the making.

Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida revealed in an interview with Develop that Insomniac first made their intentions known to Sony back in 2008. Even with the advance knowledge, Yoshida admitted that the studio’s decision personally saddened him.

”We grew up together” said Yoshida. “Insomniac’s first title was on our first platform.

”They want to reach the people they haven’t been able to,” he added, “so it was sad to hear a couple of years ago what their intent was, but as we are growing, Insomniac is growing too.

”And the studio has its own ambition, so I totally understand, and I am very happy how they approached the announcement. They made sure that people know they are still working with us.”

On a more optimistic note, Yoshida believes that Insomniac’s decision will still benefit PlayStation gamers. Moving away from exclusivity will mean more content for Sony’s platforms.

”When you think about it, Insomniac is making multiplatform games. So PS3 owners should be happy because they are getting more Insomniac games as the studio hires more staff to develop more games”, he said.

Source: QJ.net

Talk is starting up again about Sony’s next home console, but according to Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida, they likely won’t be the ones to kick the next generation off.

Speaking to Develop, Yoshida said he believes either Nintendo or Microsoft will release their next generation consoles first.

“Looking from the outside, it was Microsoft that released the first of this generation of consoles. Naturally, in my opinion, Microsoft will make the first move.
“Or, because Nintendo’s approach was not to upgrade much on its basic hardware – Wii doesn’t even support HD resolution – so they might be the first to move.
“Probably the watch should be on these companies, in my opinion. Because PS3 was later than Xbox, and is more powerful, so it has a longer lifespan.”

“Looking from the outside, it was Microsoft that released the first of this generation of consoles,” said Yoshida. “Naturally, in my opinion, Microsoft will make the first move.

“Or, because Nintendo’s approach was not to upgrade much on its basic hardware – Wii doesn’t even support HD resolution – so they might be the first to move.

“Probably the watch should be on these companies, in my opinion. Because PS3 was later than Xbox, and is more powerful, so it has a longer lifespan.”

Source: QJ.net

Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime may be committed to improving the online experience on the Big N’s platforms, but legendary designer and Guy Who Makes Things Happen™ at the company, Shigeru Miyamoto, doesn’t seem inclined to exactly reinvent network play with 3DS. “We look at [online] more in terms of what can we do to provide that Nintendo flavor or magic to that community or connection experience,” he told IGN Australia in an E3 interview the site just now found behind its virtual sofa cushions.

“One of the ways that we’re looking at doing that, is the idea of really strengthening the tag mode functionality,” he explained, referring to an “always on” data-sharing feature most famously employed by Dragon Quest IX on DS. “We think that there will be some unique ideas that come out of that, and that it will have a very unique Nintendo flavor to it.” So, not voice chat or friend code-free multiplayer then?

Speaking of exchanging things with other 3DS owners: what of Miis? Already transferable from Wii to current DS titles such as Tomodachi Collection and Personal Trainer: Walking, Miyamoto commented that the pint-sized avatars moving to-and-fro between future platforms is “something that we’re definitely giving consideration to,” and that there’s a desire to “continue to try to allow people to use their Miis on different Nintendo systems going forward.” We can certainly get down with the idea of 3D Miis — or, as we call them, “3Miis.”

Source: Joystig

At E3, Nintendo revealed one of the worst-kept secrets in gaming: the 3DS. Read on for the full spec rundown. What does this mean for Nintendo and Sony?

The general consensus among game industry-watchers at E3 is that Nintendo presented the best press conference among the “big three,” leaving Microsoft and Sony in the dust. While Microsoft made waves by giving everyone who attended the company’s conference a free new Xbox 360 Slim and Sony got attention with its homegrown character Kevin Butler, the healthy library of new games from the House That Mario Built put Nintendo over the top.

Nintendo also formally presented its new portable gaming console, the 3DS.The 3DS represents the truly major handheld upgrade from Nintendo since the original DS launched back in 2004. In a 12 month period that has been absolutely dominated by 3D news from other areas of the consumer electronics arena, Nintendo is capitalizing on the newest frontier in entertainment, and doing so without a pair of stereoscopic or active-shutter glasses in sight.

Let’s recap the hardware of the 3DS. The handheld is a little bit bigger than a DS Lite, but still smaller than an original DS at 5.3”x2.9”x0.8”, and the 3DS weighs in at eight ounces. As for the insides, Nintendo didn’t reveal much. Many speculate that it may be running on a Tegra platform, but it is safe to say that it’s running on something more power than the sub-100 MHz total clock speed of the original DS. The touchscreen on the bottom of the 3DS is a 3.02-inch screen with a 320×240 resolution. The 3D on the top is much different, coming in at 3.52 inches with an 800×240 resolution. There are three cameras, two on the outside for 3D picture-taking (probably only viewable on the 3DS itself) and one on the inside to use with certain games. The 3DS comes with slots for 3DS and DS games, an SD card slot, integrated wi-fi, rechargeable battery, a new slide pad (analog joystick), and a 4-inch stylus.

Of course, the centerpiece is the 3D screen, which can be turned on and off with the 3D slider to the right of the screen. Not only can you play games and view pictures in 3D, but Nintendo is also promising a great 3D movie watching experience. We are still skeptical on this point, but we will have to wait for Avatar to appear on a 3DS cartridge before we come up with a final verdict. The 3DS also benefits from a graphical update over the DS. From what we saw during the press conference and on the show floor, we think many of the titles look quite a bit like Gamecube games, which is rather impressive for a handheld.

So what does all this mean for Sony’s PSP and PSPgo? Neither Sony handheld is selling well today, and the 3DS won’t help Sony’s standing. Sony has recently added Kevin Butler-like flare to its PSP ads, but we think this is too little, too late. If Sony wants to remain relevant in the handheld space, the company needs to put the same amount of focus it put on 3D for the PS3 into 3D for the next PSP console. Nintendo has done nearly everything right when it comes to its DS line, from backwards compatibility to camera integration to allowing for downloadable content while maintaining physical cartridges. Even if Sony knocks the PSP2 out of the park, the 3DS will remain a formidable competitor with a head start. Analysts expect the 3DS to launch in the first quarter of 2011, though Nintendo has not announced a date.

Source:

TomsGuide

More from Sony’s recent E3 2010 press event, here’s a brand new gameplay footage of God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

Developed by the folks at Ready At Dawn Studios, Kratos latest portable adventure will be available later this year, exclusively on the PSP.

Credit: crait
Source: PlayStation Blog

As cheap and underpowered Android tablets come out in China nearly every day, we are still waiting for the big companies to roll out their real competitive devices. Until now only Dell began selling it’s Dell Streak, which is more a big phone than a tablet. Another well known company, Samsung, had information about a tablet leaked some weeks ago. After appearing on the Twitter feed of the south african Samsung blog, it was known as the Samsung Galaxy P1000 tablet.

This was the picture that was published on that blog:

At left, there is the Samsung Galaxy S Phone and at right, there is that new tablet device, looking like a big Galaxy S.

The last days more specifications of the Samsung P1000 Android tablet leaked. I collected them as usual:

androidpads.com

With E3 2010 now behind us, it’s quite clear that each of the three major players in Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are hoping to evolve the way we play video games. Nintendo made the first effort of this generation with the Wii, a console that has broken sales records around the world and continues to fly off shelves. The argument that it doesn’t have the software is ludicrous, considering many Wii titles continue to make themselves at home on the game sales charts.

Understandably, many of you don’t consider Wii Fit or Wii Sports to be actual games, but the reality is, they are. Perhaps some of us are struggling to comprehend the direction of which games are headed, because they’ve been in their current form for a long, long time. The core experience has stayed intact throughout the years, with the controller acting as our pathway into the virtual world on the screen. But we’ve recently seen the evolution of how we interact with games, firstly with the evolution of the controller as seen with the Wii, and now with the introduction of Kinect from Microsoft for the XBOX 360.

It’s interesting to hear different opinions on the topic, whether or not gamers actually want the way they play games to evolve. It’s not necessarily our decision, as Nintendo has proven time and time again that they know exactly what it is that gamers want. But it would be interesting to see what percentage of Playstation 2 owners own and play a Wii on a frequent basis. The stupendous sales of the Wii could quite possibly go down to the console’s appeal to a broader audience, something Nintendo has quite publicly admitted to wanting to do. While they may have lost the hardcore XBOX 360 gamer, they still give that core Nintendo gamer what they want, with the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and its amazing sequel, and several other great first-party titles. The Wii then expands on that experience, giving the average person an experience they just can’t have on a XBOX 360 or Playstation 3.

As gamers, shouldn’t we want what is right for the industry? That’s not to say that the likes of Move and Kinect are necessarily “right” for the future of gaming, but Microsoft and Sony have introduced these new products for one of two reasons; to either counter Nintendo’s current dominance of the market, or to simply assist in the natural progression of gaming. It could quite possibly be both, but no matter what we think of Kinectimals or Sorcery, they are undoubtedly part of the future of gaming.

Something many gamers don’t know is that Nintendo was the only console manufacturer to come out of last generation having made a profit. The Gamecube wasn’t anywhere near as much of a failure as many think it was, and it’s shame that the standards across the gaming industry are so high as to degrade Nintendo’s fantastic little gaming box. The question that needs to be asked is if Nintendo genuinely care about “finishing” third behind Microsoft and Sony if they’re still bringing in the money. Nintendo have created a product with the Wii that offers a completely different experience to that of the Gamecube, and alongside the well-known efficiency of Nintendo products comes a confidence from within the market that ultimately led to the success of the “innovative” Wii console. Nintendo have bragged for a few years about how they don’t consider the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 as direct competitors to the Wii, although that mentality has probably changed with the introduction of Move and Kinect.

However, considering how different the market was for the Gamecube during its market presence, it’s really no surprise that Nintendo branched off so significantly from the other two heavyweights. People so often concluded that if the Wii didn’t beat the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 that Nintendo would head the way of SEGA and only publish software. That’s actually silly, as SEGA had been through several years or turmoil, which ultimately led to their demise as a hardware maker. Gamecube sales were never abysmal, but they were low, even though the company still managed to make more money than Sony’s gaming division, despite the Playstation 2’s runaway success.

Because patting a virtual tiger has been a dream of mine since, like, forever!

Despite Nintendo’s success with the Wii, gamers are still cautious about the direction games are headed in. The response to Kinect has been relatively cold, especially after Microsoft’s less-than-impressive media briefing at E3 2010. However, there is a reason for that. Nintendo hasn’t only been a trailblazer this generation, as it’s quite often redefined and reinvented the way games are experienced, even through the smallest of changes.

But why are so many PS3 and 360 gamers angry at the current direction? If we look at some of the major Sony and Microsoft franchises, we see characters and settings aimed at either a male teen or young adult demographic, which, as anyone in marketing would probably argue, is a very competitive and aggressive market. The same cannot be said for franchises like Mario and Metroid, which, while still “hardcore” to the core Nintendo fanbase, are games that are normally quite accessible and appealing to a broader audience. Furthermore, Nintendo has proven that it can successfully take the next step with a franchise, as seen with Super Mario 64 (transition to 3D) and Super Mario Galaxy (transition to motion-controls, albeit minimally). It might be hard to admit, but Microsoft and Sony, and many third-party developers, haven’t got the confidence of gamers that is needed to make a successful transition. When Nintendo announced the Wii and what it could do, gamers questioned how it would be done, not why it was being done. With Move and Kinect, it’s the complete opposite.

While the Wii has attracted its fair share of shovelware (due to the simplistic nature of the Wii hardware), first-party titles continue to impress and rank well with critics and gamers alike. Nintendo have continuously made that jump, proving time and time again that it has what it takes to counter transition and make a successful change.

As Microsoft and Sony have offered a near-identical experience for over 10 years, gamers don’t seem to be so sure they have the dedication to provide an exceptionally good product. Much of the Wii’s success has come down to its simplicity and accessibility to a non-gaming crowd, whereas Move and Kinect seem to be simple add-ons for consoles that appeal to gamers and gamers only. A 50-year-old woman is not going to go out and get a Gears of War 3 XBOX 360 bundle, whereas she’s more likely to go out and get a WiiFit Wii bundle with Mario Galaxy, a game and character she can remember and appreciate throughout the years.

It should really come as no surprise that Move and Kinect are about to hit the market. We saw the Rumble Pack for the Nintendo 64 lead to the evolution of the Playstation controller, which is an example of how the simplest of additions can change the way we experience a video game. It’s intriguing how distant Nintendo really is from Microsoft and Sony, which is particularly evident in the company’s stubbornness towards online gaming. Perhaps it’s Nintendo’s obligation to the Japanese market, a market that has been incredibly loyal over the years, even through the company’s rough patches. Online gaming isn’t anywhere near as influential in Japan as it is in the west, and it isn’t the influencing factor when it comes to the success of the Wii. Once again it’s Nintendo ability to change the way we interact with the world we see on the screen, as opposed to simply expanding on what is already offered (which is what they did with the Gamecube). Online gaming isn’t a necessity for a game, but it expands the experience, not necessarily how we interact with the world. The transition from 2D to 3D was enormous, and Nintendo got through it with flying colours. They’ve also succeeded in making the transition from how we actually play the game, which is evidently successful considering the push by Microsoft and Sony into a similar market.

Interracial couple

Where does all of this leave the industry though? The main concern for hardcore XBOX 360 gamers is that Kinect could alter the way we play games like Gears of War or Halo, completely and utterly for the worst. They’re afraid of that because they’re not confident Microsoft can come away with goods, just as Nintendo has. Whether you like the Wii or not is irrelevant, because that’s the direction games are headed it. The Wii is a console that will last for years, much like how the SNES and NES hold such a strong place in many people’s hearts. The unfortunate thing is that, with the shovelware associated with the Wii, we’ve seen publishers taking advantage of the large and broad market the Wii appeals to, releasing games that abuse and corrupt the core functionality of the console. That in-turn has created a bubble of insecurity towards the technology, which is incredibly unfortunate, as this technology is an obvious direction for the industry. However, gamers should not fear, as Move and Kinect, at the moment, are really only stepping stones for a promising future of gaming, whereas the Wii was the entrance.

The evolution will continue, and we’ll continue to see the likes of Halo, God of War and Killzone, just in a different way. It’s the biggest leap in gaming evolution we’ve seen for a while, and with change comes caution. It’s human nature to feel like that, but gamers need only be patient. Nintendo might not ever appeal to your senses, but they’ll continue to be that trailblazer that redefines gaming. It’s up to the likes of Sony and Microsoft to grasp and implement what is on offer, to give gamers the Modern Warfare’s and Gears of War’s they so desperately crave.

Credit: DarkPacman77

Source: ps3.mmgn.com

Verizon took out a full-page ad in the New York Times to flaunt its hot new Android smartphone, Motorola’s Droid X, and stopped along the way to mock the iPhone 4’s notorious antenna problems. The ad took direct aim at Apple, saying consumers can hold the Droid X however they please without obliterating cellular reception. It’s clear that Verizon believes it has a winner on its hands with the Droid X and that, despite persistent rumors about the iPhone coming to Verizon, the cellular provider doesn’t need to play nice with Apple.

The New York Times advertisement ran on June 30 and listed the Droid X’s impressive specs, which rival those of the iPhone 4–a phone that is (unfortunately) still exclusive to AT&T. After the specs, the ad said, “And most importantly, it comes with a double antenna design. The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like and use it just about anywhere to make crystal clear calls.” Ouch!

Apple’s iPhone 4 antennas–which are built on the phone’s exterior; a supposed revolutionary design meant to improve call quality–have been beaten to a pulp by the press. Class action lawsuits have even been filed. Meanwhile, Apple has been in denial, claiming it’s not a hardware concern but rather a software issue that falsely displays the number of signal bars. Reports have suggested that a soon-to-be-released iPhone software update, iOS 4.0.1, will fix the crisis.

So what does this mean for Verizon getting the iPhone? Bloomberg reported that the super-popular smartphone will appear on Verizon’s network in January 2011 (rumors like these go back years). But if Verizon is taking potshots at the iPhone 4, it seems unlikely to me that the network is holding its breath for a partnership with Apple and would rather focus its loyalties on Android-powered phones.

Source: PCWorld

When asked during an interview about the core game experience to expect from the new Zelda game, Skyward Sword, Nintendo’s Eiji Aonuma revealed some interesting tid-bits. He mentioned the game will not be as “big” as Twilight Princess, the current latest installment, but that the franchise will return to the roots of what makes Zelda games, in general, fun to begin with. Skyward Soul is supposed to head “back to basics” which includes “boiling it down” to make the game “compact yet solid” while building it around the fundamental elements of what great Zelda games are made of.

Submitted By: DarkPacMan77

Source: Gamexplain