The Console Conspiracy

Nintendo E3 Announcements

2008-07-17T22:26:46Z

For a full recap of the announcements, check out the Nintendo E3 liveblog done by Gizmodo. Some of the highlights:

One of the first announcements had to do with some games - how does a snowboarding game using the Wii fit sound?

There's also "Animal Crossing City Folk." A sims-like game where the world continues even if you don't play the game.

The first accesory announcement is the Wii Speak. A mic that, when placed on top of your sensor bar, allows you to have group chats. You and your buddies can hang out in one room and chat with other groups in other places. It comes with the above mentioned Animal Crossing City Folk game.

The second notable announcement is for the Wii MotionPlus. An accessory that attaches to our Wii to make it more accurate by giving you true 1:1 motion accuracy.

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The last major announcement was for a game called "Wii Music." A new music game that lets you use the Wiimote, Nunchuk and Balance Board to create music.

Unlike Rock Band, where you try to "keep up" with the music playing on the screen, Wii Music allows you to play more original tunes. More like jamming, but with the Wii. There are also apparently a wide variety of instruments, from the Sax, to guitar, to drums to a violin. Expect to see this game in time for Christmas

Sony E3 Announcements

2008-07-17T16:12:27Z

There were a bunch of announcements from Sony recently at E3.

One of the most impressive is a movie and TV show download service, however we are hearing reports that it won't be for everyone.

Sites like Edge Online and the Register are reporting that movie downloads will not be available in Europe until sometime in 2009. When? according to the Register "individual launch dates for specific European countries will be confirmed later this year."

In addition, Gizmodo has just reported that movies will be region locked

That means if you want to watch the latest Japanese horror movie, you may not be able to because it may only be available in Japan.

This is different from supposed region locked games where in the past all you needed to play non-North American games was a non-North American account to play games from that region.

The good news? If you live in the US you can start downloading movies now!

Hack your DS Into a Portable Drawing Tablet

2008-07-12T16:01:22Z

Are you getting tired of gaming on the DS?

Ok so maybe you aren't. But that doesn't mean you couldn't try this hack to turn your DS into something other than a handheld game console.

It actually looks pretty cool. All you need is a flash card, a flash card reader attached to your computer and a free program.

Once you've followed the instructions in Wired's wiki you too can create such masterpieces as this:

360 and DS hooked up? Almost

2008-07-11T19:50:40Z

MTV Multiplayer recently reported thatconnectivity between the 360 and DS almost happened with Viva Pinata.

The question was posed to Justin Cook, designer of the game and he said:

"We got it to work, but it was too late in the development cycle,"

So it was too late for the latest version of the game. But what of future version?

And could other games also use similar technology?

This would be a boon for Microsoft if more of their family games interacted with the handhelds of their competitors.

25 years of "exergaming"

2008-07-10T23:50:57Z

Boingboing has an excellent summary on 25 years of "exergaming."

from the Atari Joyboard released way back in 1982:

to the recently released Wii Fit:

And everything in between.

Now, we at CC remember a lot of these, from the Power Pad for the Nintendo, and the very cool Power Glove, also for the NES.

]]> I think the glove was way cool even if it didn't work properly (too bad). Check out the commercial for it:

And here all you Wii fanboys thought the Wii was the first to have motion sensitive controllers ;)

Nintendo Loses $21 Million Patent Lawsuit

2008-07-10T17:58:48Z

This is old news but we felt we should share it.

Back in May, a federal jury ruled in favor of Anascape, an East Texas gaming company, who claimed that Nintendo had infringed on one of their patents while designing its Wii Classic, WaveBird and Gamecube controllers. Anascape successfully argued their case and won the subsequent $21 million judgement.

Of course Nintendo will appeal, feeling that $21 million is excessive for patent infringement.

Also, according to a Nintendo spokesperson, the company was pleased that no infringement was found with the motion-sensing technology used in its Wiimote and Nunchuk controllers.

Sony forecasts Playstation profits

2008-07-10T04:32:52Z

According to a recent release, Sony is finally expecting the PlayStation division to record a profit at the end of their fiscal year in March 2009.

That "despite an expected decrease in game segment sales as a result of a decline in sales for the PlayStation 2 business."

The reason for the improved outlook is "due to hardware cost reductions and an enhanced line-up of software titles in the PS3 business."

During the year ended March 31, 2008, Sony says they've sold 9.24 million PS3s globally, 13.89 million PSPs and 13.73 million PS2s. On the software front, 57.9 million PS3 games were sold, as were 55.5 million PSP titles and 154 million PS2 games.

The Gizmondo Saga Continues?

2008-07-09T20:24:22Z

There's a famous line in a few Arnold movies - "I'll be back."

It seems that some of the people behind the mostly off again Gizmondo are preaching that very phrase.

According to an interview posted in the Gizmondo forums, expect to see the flexible handheld later this year.

From the forum: "We can tell you that the launch with include more than a relaunch of the same model. There will be many new facets to the launch. We have new products, suites of new games, enhancements to both the hardware and software components. Right now, we are on target for a 4th quarter 2008 launch but will be making a series of announcements shortly especially to the developer community. We want this to be a combined effort."

In the new version there will be "certain updates including a new graphic chip" and Windows CE V6 which apparently "comes with a lot of new goodies."

No doubt Stefan won't be involved.

To find out more about the soap opera that is Gizmondo, check out our Gizmondo section.

Glow in the dark PSP

2008-07-09T08:49:03Z

Wow can't believe how long it's been since a post. For that I must apologize. I've been collecting a bunch of news so I hope to get posting again and get caught up. In the mean time, check this out:

Before:

After some light action (as seen in the dark):

It's a glow in the dark faceplate for your PSP. It comes in a variety of colors. Best of all you can pick one up for under 35 bucks. Check it out at extreme-mods.

Poledancing on the Wii

2008-05-30T05:25:52Z

It seems that there are no possibilities for new Wii game ideas. Did you hear about this one? A UK based company called Peekaboo says it wants to create a pole dancing game for the Nintendo Wii. The company said, "With pole dancing classes springing up in gyms and health clubs across Europe and the USA, the number of women seeking the body-sculpting and fat-burning effects of this aerobic form of exercise has never been greater." They went on to say it is "focused on using Wii friendly hardware to make aerobic pole dancing instantly accessible just as Guitar Hero did for rock'n'roll."

Steven Spielberg to produce Wii game

2008-05-08T04:49:50Z

Did you hear about this? Apparently the all mighty Spielberg is going to get into Wii gaming. Sure he advised on the development of the Medal of Honor series, but this is a fully developed game. He had input into everything from character development to scenery. The idea of the game is to walk around bashing stuff. Sounds kinda fun if you ask me. Apparently he got the idea after playing Wii Tennis. Check out this video for more:

Portable NES that plays regular NES games

2008-05-07T02:39:24Z

So, you have a lot of old NES cartridges around but the old console quit? Or perhaps you're jonesin' for some classic 8 bit entertainment but can't find an NES at your local second hand store or pawn shop. Well, never fear cause here at CC we have you covered. We found this Ebay auction that has some newly minted portable (that's right portable) Nintendo Entertainment Systems:

Rumor mill - Nintendo to increase Wii production?

2008-05-06T04:14:33Z

We've seen/heard this from a few sources so we thought we'd report on it. It first started at Kotaku and has since worked it's way through the web. So here's the details: Nintendo is planning on increasing production of Wii consoles from the current 1.8 million per month to a whopping 2.4 million per month! This should help alleviate some of the supply problems, however you have to admit that Nintendo's current marketing strategy has worked out beautifully for them. After all, there is still such a demand for the Wii that they are always selling out. Can't say that about the 360 or PS3 can you?

We've Moved

2008-04-30T07:23:07Z

Just a quick note to let you know we've moved hosts.

End end of the Gizmondo saga?

2008-01-23T01:06:08Z

We've been watching this story since in first broke in 2003 with the crash of a Ferrari. Shortly after that, former Gizmondo exec Stefan Eriksson got arrested for grand theft and his wife got busted for driving without a license. A year late Eriksson appeared in court and plead not guilty and, despite being considered a flight risk was set free on bail. But wait, there is more to the story...]]> a story came out that the 2 guys claiming to be from homeland security, who showed up just after the crash, really weren't. This all happened just over 2 years ago and soon after, Eriksson pleaded no contest to charges of embezzlement in November 2006 where he was jailed for three years by a Los Angeles court. But guess what? His time behind bars is almost over and he's due to be released and sent to Sweden or to Germany, where his wife and daughter have their home. "Everything was ready before Christmas. It took a while for the Swedish consulate to prepare a new passport. But he's expected to be on his way very soon," wife Nicole Eriksson told Veckans Affärer.