According to a recent post at PC vs Console Microsoft can boast some more.

According to the site, Xbox live is now "the world's largest platform for high-definition on-demand content, surpassing 24 million downloads following the launch of Xbox 360 in the US on November 22, 2005. "

This is interesting because, now that the other console makers are jumping on the "live" bandwagon it will be fun to watch them battle it out for users.

While M$ has the jump on Sony and Nintendo I think the lower price of the Wii will make it more appealing to those who may not own a console or may otherwise be entering the console market. As long as the Wii service is as good as Live, in that it offers unique content, it should be able to grow its user base to be at least as big, if not bigger, than the Xbox Live community.

That's right, according to an Xbox Live team member's blog, the new camera will be hitting shelves in September. the 19th to be exact (in the US, other countries to follow).

It is interesting that they aren't doing a worldwide launch of the camera eh? Could it be because of the fiasco the launch of the 360 caused?

If you want more details on the camera you're going need to listen to this podcast. Mulitple formats are available.

Check out this sweet little addition for your favorite vehicle. Griffin Technology will next month ship RoadDock, a rig for attaching a Sony PlayStation Portable to the back of a car seat. The $39 accessory provides a 2in-wide elasticated band to strap the dock to the seat. Fitted to the strap is a docking unit for the PSP that allows the handheld console to be rotated through 360° and tilted for the best view. Pretty cool...then again their's really nothing here. No power cord or anything. Is this just a strap for a car??? For $39.00??

- iamlegend

We have come to a decision here at CC.

We've decided to remove the "nofollow" attribute from our comment links. For those who may not know, the nofollow attribute was added about a year ago to many popular blog softwares and sites in general as a means to combat comment spam.

What would happen is that a site like ours would recieve dozens, if not hundreds, of comments per day. Most of these comments were from sites trying to build links. This is because links from sites equate to improved rankings in search engines.

Now you're probably wondering why we'd do that? Why risk our site to the benefit of these bad links?

Continue reading »

That's right, according to MTV Video Games who recently talked to Bill Gates, there will be no motion sensitive controllers for the 360.

In fact Bill hinted that there could be some other form of controller out there in the Xbox's future: “There’s room for innovation here, but moving that controller around — it’s something that’s not mainstream for most games.”

While we here at CC look forward to what the Xbox team can come up with I have to say that from what I've seen I don't know what Bill has been smoking. I think the Wii's controller is very revolutionary and I don't think the average user will have the problems he points out.

In fact I think it will be just the opposite. I think the Wii's controller will revolutionize gameplay. Sure there will be a learning curve, just like when we moved from the analog joystick of the Atari to the multi-button multi-function controllers of consoles like the Amiga and Intellivision back "in the day" but we adjusted then and we'll adjust now.

Wow. What a nice and long weekend. Anyway here in the states we celebrated Memorial Day. I celebrated by drinking my ass off but I did have some time to check this out from the boys over at Infosync. It's their new list of the top-rated Ultra PC's. They cover some of the sweet Fujitsu Siemens' LifeBook P1510's as well as the Toshiba's libretto U100. Some very nice machines and some good reviews showing all the pluses and minuses. Nothing like some F.E.A.R or Call of Duty 2 to go!

We've all heard about it. If you've been watching console gaming for any length of time you have heard of the phantom gaming console. It's supposed to be produced by the company called Infinium.

Well, a recent SEC filing reveals that the company will hold a special stockholder's meeting on July 13 in Tampa, Florida to vote on a name change.

They want to be known as Phantom Entertainment. Does that mean we may soon see the new console?

Hard to say, but you never know, although in today's market with the big 3 it's hard to imagine that a 4th console can make any money.

We aren't sure how legit these pics are, but we've found out that XFM has images of what is supposed to be an external HD-DVD player.

Now we all know that the web is famous for fakies, and these pics could be more fake than Dolly Parton's boobs, but you never know.

That's because they folks at XFM also say they've seen these same pics at other websites. Now that's not to say they all didn't come from the same fake source, but you never know.

In any case, it wouldn't surprise me one way or the other so I'll just leave that up to you.

For all their efforts to hinder modders, the Xbox team has come up with a simple yet effective way at stopping (or least slowing down) those who would try to mod their 360.

By strategically placing a little epoxy in different areas of the console they are able to effectively hamper the hackers efforts.

According to this post over at Xbox-Scene modders where a little surprised to see the substance in the box.

That's right, according to PlayStation chief Ken Kutaragi the PlayStation 3 price is a non-issue. At least in his eyes.

He points to evidence that suggests that when the original PS and the PS2 both came out they were "both 10,000 yen more than their competitors at launch. Yet they both sold to shortages."

This despite the fact that Many analysts feel the price is too high and will likely hurt Sony.

However, Kutaragi goes on to say "if you consider the PlayStation 3 a toy, then yes, it is an expensive toy. However, it is more than a toy. It is a PlayStation 3. And it is the only PlayStation 3. I hope that those who understand this will gladly purchase it."

I don't know. Toy or not, when you do look at the competition, why shell out big bucks to get a glorified Blu-ray player?

According to an article published last week on Next Gen the 360 will see a revamped dashboard by the end of the week.

The focus of the update seems to be on downloading entertainment content via Live. A category called "Media & Entertainment" has been added to Marketplace which separates music, movie trailers and TV content from game data.

There's also a bunch of tweaks meant to fix some long standing problems.

UPDATE!!!

We've come across some screenshots of the anticipated update.

According to a recent post at Kotaku Nintendo has let it slip that Halogen lighting can impair the Wii's ability to recieve signals from the Wiimote.

Apparently Nintendo is concerned that stores which use halogen lighting may have problems selling the console because they may not be able to accurately demonstrate the features of the new wireless controller.

But that's not all. According to the post, anyone who has halogen lighting in their home near where the console will be may also have problems. For example, if you have halogen track lighting above your TV you could be in for some problems.

We have come across two sources that both say the Wii will be under the $250 mark.

This will be a huge blow to both M$ and Sony as their consoles seem to be going up in price. Sure if you want a HD DVD you'll believe Sony's story and pay for it. However the Wii will have some pretty impressive attributes on its own.

So, both Reg Hardware and Next Generation have confirmed that the Wii should come in around the $250 mark.

Depending on the currency exchange rate at the time the console debut's we could see it as low as $220 and as high as $250. This is because Nintendo has said the price of Wii "will not exceed 25,000 yen."

No mention of a firm release date yet though.

In our previous post we asked: Could there be more to the Wii? Well it appears that the rumors have already begun.

According to Joystiq there is a rumor out that the Wiimote could have not only a buit in speaker but perhaps a microphone.

Imagine that - this already incredible remote acting as many other devices. If it does have a speaker and microphone one such possibility would be VOIP.

What better way to sell a gaming console to non-gamers than offer a bnuch of features that work whether you play games or not?

It appears that may be the case.

According to CNN, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto is hinting that there could be more surprises down the road as get closer to the Wii launch date.

So far I gotta say, they've been doing a tremendous job on building the suspense. First they announce the new console, codenamed Revolution, and since then they've released tidbits. Such as the motion sensing controller, Low price point at launch and more.

But, as the article goes on to hint that there may be (or more likely will be) even more announcements about the console and it's games in the future.

It all leads up to what I think wil be the biggest console launch we've seen to date.

There have been rumors floating around for the past couple weeks, since about E3, that the Wii would offer the Opera web browser.

Well, IGN has not only confirmed that fact but also managed to snag an interview with Opera for Devices' executive vice president, Scott Hedrick. In this intereview Mr. Hedrick fills us in on some details of the detail.

For example, it sounds like Opera will be able to take advantage of the features of the controller. Imagine that? Controlling your pointer with gestures - just like you'd control the game.

But that's not all. It sounds like there will be some customization happening for the Wii including fast ROM downloads and more.

Pinpoint Consumer electronics has some great 360 accessories available right now.

The ones I'm most impressed with are from Nyko. they include the Intercooler, a multimedia hub, and an intelligent remote.

You can view all the juicy details on this product page.

I know, summer isn't even here yet and I'm talking about the holidays.

But that's only because Next Gen has a story on Xbox 360 pricing for the holidays.

Apparently there's been a rumor floating around that M$ is going to cut the price of the 360 for the holiday season. but the article published says that M$ exec's have come out quite quickly to say that there are no plans for a price cut.

Of course, with it being so early in the year one never knows. After all, we still have the impending Wii release which will more than likely cause M$ to change their pricing plans I'm sure.

In any case, we'll have to wait a few more months to see.

Ok well maybe not the whole story, but yet more information on just how this startup went from on top of the world to down and out.

We've been focusing a lot on Stefan Eriksson as he was one of the major players in Gizmondo. But he's not the only person responsible for the downfall of the company.

The UK website Timesonline.com has in interesting piece on another player in this saga/conspiracy.

Let me introduce you to Carl Freer. The man behind Gizmondo. The article explains how his company, worth over a billon dollars on the stock exchange, burned through over $300 million (yes million) dollars in just 18 months.

Imagine that - blowing that kind of cash in that short a period? Of course that is raising even more questions.

So there you have it, yet another chapter in the ongoing saga that is Gizmondo.

Looks like there are more people making flash games for the PSP. This dude Shallan has his own website with some games for you to play. So far there's a crossword puzzle game which allows you to make your own clues and words. Then, there's a game called Switch which is like those addicting games you play on MSN or Yahoo. And finally there's Treasure Island Dizzy which is an adventure game. Go check out his site!

Some screen shots!

I know, there aren't many Mac users out there.

But if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you :) No I'm not a Mac user, but I do own a few of them (old ones). But that's beside the point.

If you ever wanted to use your Xbox USB controller on a Mac well today is your lucky day. This site has complete instructions on how to use the controller along with instructions on downloading and installing the USB drivers required.

Who better to get news on the Wii then WiiNintendo.net?

According to this post we will see 16 titles available when the console goes on sale.

There's the usual suspects - Madden, Tony Hawk, and Zelda but there's some new faces. There's a Disney title as well as many tweens favorite - Sponge Bob Square Pants.

One of the titles I think will be big is "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance" where you can build the ultimate team of crime fighters but unlike it's predecessors, the Xmen will be available.

The article also has some info on the different controllers out there. Why not check it out?

This isn't really groundbreaking news but I thought I'd share it anyways.

There's a game being developed for the Wii which, at first glance seems simple enough until you start considering all the implications.

The new game is Hide and Seek and you can Find more details here about it.

At first you'd think "Hide and Seek - Lame." But when you consider that this is like any other MMORPG I'm sure the virtual areas will be HUGE. This means probably hundreds and hundreds of places to hide.

Now you don't go it alone, you have a team. And you can communicate with your team but the ultimate goal is find the other team.

Maybe it's just cause I'm getting old, but I think it's a novel, if simple, idea.

According to Nintendo UK boss David Yarnton that's what happens.

Speaking just days after E3, Yarnton makes some bold claims In this interview. In addition to slamming Sony's apparent copying of the motion sensitive controller, Yarnton also brings up the now famous Dual Shock controversy where Sony had to remove vibration technology from its controllers because it violated patents.

It is interesting how these two companies seem to go at each other. It seems like the two think they are the only console game makers in the world.

But I guess that's how M$ was able to establish a foothold in the market that no one else seems to break into.

According to arstechnica the PS3 will indeed come not only with Linux pre-installed but also an assortment of development tools.

It will be interesting to see how PS enthusiasts use Linux - I'm sure someone will build some homebrew app to load burned games among other things.

But DRM aside, imagine what you could do with your PS3? Think of all the linux based apps currently out there? You could run Mythtv on your PS3 for example and have your own PVR. But that's not all - how about your own webserver via Apache? Or even just a networked fileserver?

The possibilities will be limitless.

Well, folks over at Datel came out with something new. It's called the MAX Media Dock. It allows you to use CompactFlash cards on your PSP!

It's compatible with the CompactFlash cards that are available now. So what that means is that you can now have up to 8GB of memory! I know! That's awesome!

Datel priced the MAX Media Dock at $39.99 for the stand alone version. The package with a 1GB version is $79.99 and the 2GB version is $119.99. So far there are no packages with a higher flash memory card.

What that means is that if you were to get the 8GB of flash memory you'd have to spend around $325 for the 8GB memory and the $40 for the dock for a total of $365. But like all memory cards, the price will eventually drop down in the near future. But if you're not willing to wait, you can purchase the dock here.

For those of us that own a Nintendo DS and are feeling left out don't worry. Datel also has one for the DS. It's called the same thing except is uses memory sticks instead. You can purchase that here.

-iamsiam

First we told you how we may not see many PS3 titles when the console is released.

Now it appears that financial analysts are growing more concerned over Sony's intention to offer the PS3 at around $500 or $600.

According to Next Gen, analysts are saying that "Sony has clearly hamstrung itself with a box that is expensive to manufacture, and these costs are driving a retail pricing strategy that places a high financial burden on the consumer."

This comment is made in light of the already lower price of the 360 and the reported low price of the to-be-released Wii.

Sure, the PS3 will also act as a low end Blu-Ray player, but c'mon - how many people actually own a TV that can take advantage of the HDTV aspects of the Blu-Ray? I mean, there aren't even that many Blu-Ray movies out there?

Sure there may be in the future but considering that more and more movie manufacturers are making less and less movie discs for the PSP I'd have to say that the Blu-Ray could be in for the same future. Which means, what's the point of spending $600 on a console that only plays a handful of movies?

Finally a way to shut up those kids (and adults) on long car rides. Of course back in my day we had the same sort of entertainment. It was called a Book. And guess what instead of watching Wedding Crashers or playing Metroid, reading a book actually helped me do better in school. Okay sorry for the old man walking-barefoot-to-school rant. This is a pretty cool system that let's you play DVD's and your favorite GBA Games on the go in your car. It includes multiplayer ports to hook up three additional Game Boy Advances, a DVD/CD drive, MP3 player, 10.2-inch screen, wireless headphones and a wireless controller. No prices but you know this thing ain't gonna be cheap....

- iamlegend

First it was Tennessee that made it a criminal act to sell potentially violent video games to minors.

Then Illinois followed suit.

Now it appears that Louisiana is going to put the burden of game censorship in the hands fo vendors.

That's right, until this law is challenged in court it will be up to the video game vendors to determine if it is safe to sell certain games to minors.

Now I don't have a problem with controlling who plays what games when it comes to minors but should it be up to store owners to control that? What about the kids parents? Where are they in all this?

I consider myself a responsible parent. I make sure I know what shows my son is watching as well as what games he plays. I have parental software on his computer so he can't get anything bad online as well. So why can't other parents afford the same responsibility? Why does it have to fall on the shoulders of the vendor?

I have a challenge to your parents out there - step up! take control! You are the adult so act like it and don't force video game retailers to have to be the ones to tell your kids they can't buy that violent video game!

That's right. In the near future your PS2 could have motion sensitive controllers just like it's big brother the PS3.

According to Gizmodo, the eDimensional G-Pad Pro Gyroscopic Gamepad will be made available for both the PS2 and PC allowing for motion sensing game play.

The new controller is set to be released in July.

We previously reported how, according to Sony, the PS3 would not support dual shock because of it's interference with the motion senors in the controllers.

And, quite rightly, a reader named Matt comments: "Pfff why dont they just admit it and say they aren't using the force feedback technology because they got sued for ilegally using it."

Well, Gamasutra is also taking that stand but printing an interview with Immersion Corporation boss Victor Viegas. Immersion is the company that successfully sued Sony for illegally using it's technologies.

And while we agree with both Matt and Gamasutra we also feel it is interesting to see what kind of spin companies like Sony can put on their product news.

Well if you believe Merrill Lynch analyst Justin Post then yes, that is the case.

You see, according to Post, Nintendo has lost a lot of ground to M$ and Sony over their console sales. And since the Wii has taken so long to reach the market Post expects Nintendo to lowball the price to recover lost market share.

Another reason for such a move? To get more game publishers on board. You see, if the company can capture more market share with such a ploy then publishers will create more game titles for the console in hopes of greater sales for themselves.

I really hope the console comes in under $200. Even under $250 and I will likely buy one.

Okay so it probably can't be avoided and closing your eyes probably won't help. But do you have to tell people it's working? I am talking about in-game advertising. According to this article Nielson Interactive and Double Fusion, h says that in-game advertising yields significant results in product awareness and purchasing decisions, showing that in-game advertising generates a 60 percent improvement in new product awareness, and that 3D advertising creates nearly twice that of static 2D billboard advertising. Great. You know that by answering their survey's we are just encouraging them to put more ads in our games.....sigh.....

- iamlegend

News has surfaced about "Dokodemo Issho: Let's School".

For those of you who are saying, "Dokowhat?", Dokodemo Issho is similar to those Tamagotchi games. It's sort of like a virtual pet program. In this edition you can teach your pet a new word, and tell them whether it is a noun, verb, adjective and so on. The pet will try to learn more about it by using it in conversations when talking with you. You can even teach it incorrect things like saying food is a "toilet" and the pet will think it's correct and say something like "I'm hungry and would like to have some toilet." Things like that.

I need some toilet!

Anyways, there's news that Sony has teamed up with Rakuten to integrate "Infoseek News" RSS feed into "Dokodemo Issho: Let's School". By using the wireless function, we'll be able to view headlines acquired from the Infoseek News RSS feed. To do this they'll need to attend the "News Class" at the school in the game.

To coincide with the game release, Sony wil