taken from Koraku.com

Relations between Nintendo and Sony are turning into a downright pissing match in the U.K. First Nintendo’s UK boss David Yarnton attacked Sony’s new controller saying Sony “didn’t innovate, they copied.” Now SCEE’s Phil Harrison denies that, saying they’ve been working on motion sensing for “a long time.”

Hit the jump for the full load of Harrison BS.

In a way I understand why people say [we stole Nintendo's idea], but it is a little stupid, if you forgive the remark.”

When we brought the PlayStation to the market in 1994, we introduced real time 3-D graphics for the first time,” he noted. “When Nintendo launched its N64 in 1996 it also had 3D graphics, did we say, “Nintendo stole our idea!”? Obviously not. Such innovations become possible because of a combination of technology, cost and manufacture capacities.

We’ve been working on [motion-sensing technology] for a long time and Nintendo has certainly likewise already been working on something similar. The difference between our strategy and that of our competition is that our controller is still similar to the Dual Shock, the industry standard controller. I estimate that nearly 400 million Dual Shock controllers have been sold worldwide.

Weird, because I’ve been thinking about motion sensing controllers for a long time too. So there you have it, the motion sensing concept was invented by Nintendo, Sony and I.

taken from Koraku.com

What a stupid response from Sony. I could have thought of a better one.

Andrew

Remember everyone who has died in any war/conflict today. Take a moment of silence at 7pm.

Andrew

taken from: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

WWE has been charged with nine violations of Kentucky state law, stemming from some incidents that occured at their Backlash pay-per view on April 30 in Lexington. Kentucky state law prohibits usage of blood or blading in professional wrestling, and even in the case of accidental bleeding during a match the promoters are instructed to end that match immediately. What makes this interesting is that WWE was fully aware of the law as it’s not uncommon, and even had a meeting to ask for special usage of blood since it was a pay-per view show, or at least permission to allow matches to complete if blood accidentally turned up. They were refused on both requests and decided to go ahead and have some color on the pay-per view regardless. The nine violations being charged against them include:

1. During the Vince & Shane McMahon vs. Shawn Michaels match, Michael S. Hickenbottom (Michaels) intentionally cut himself in violation of state law.

2. In the same match, Vince McMahon continued the match instead of haulting the action as required by state law.

3. Shane McMahon continued the match instead of ending it as required by state law.

4. During the Triple H vs. Edge vs. John Cena match, Paul Levesque (HHH) intentionally cut himself, violating state law.

5. In the same match, Adam Copeland (Edge) continued the match instead of ending it as required by state law.

6. John Cena continued the match instead of leaving as required by state law.

7. In the same match, Copeland competed outside the barricade, in violation of state law.

8. Rich Herring, the promoter of record, allowed wrestlers in the two matches to violate state law and failed to end the matches immediately as required by state law.

9. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) continued the event, having a new match before washing the ring mat of blood left from a previous match in the evening, violating state law.

When all is said and done WWE will likely pay about $50,000 in fines (state law is $5,000 per fine), however head wrestling inspector Tim Gonterman is attempted to get WWE banned from promoting events in the state of Kentucky due to the flagorance of their violations.

Andrew

taken from: Gamers First.com

A recent post on the Bungie.net official news blog by resident spokesperson, Frankie, made the rounds on the interwebs last week thanks to a posting on game blog Kotaku. Frankie’s posting is entitled “The Bungie Waaahmbulance”, and in it he posts several letters from users who have been banned from Halo 2. Why would you get permanently banned from Halo 2 Matchmaking? Cheating.

These letters are an absolute hoot to read. Many can be appreciated with little to no knowledge of Halo 2 at all, such as this letter from a turncoat cheater:

Please! I’ll destroy my mods. i’ll snich on some people that r getting away with mods on matchmaking! Just PLEASE appeal my ban. i want to play matchmaking again. i want to be clean for the arrival of Halo 3! c’mon! i didn’t know what i was getting into when i got mods from my friend and from [website censored]! you have to believe me!!! (which i believe got resently shut down.) I’m really not the dirty, xbox live cheater that you probably think i am! im just a weeeee little 13 year old. (and very hansom at that might i add. any waay, it really sucks with no matchmaking and no stats or clan listings. I have learned the errors of my ways and wish to repent. please help me!!!
P.S. I haven’t even turned on my xbox with the mods on it since i sent my first message a few days ago. infact, i unplugged it!

It’s fitting that Frankie begins his catalog of inanities with this letter, since it sums up the stereotype of the Halo 2 cheater: some snotty kid who doesn’t know much about the world. These are the script kiddies of online gaming; the Action Replay is the DDOS Script of the gaming world. Of course, those are the kinds of cheats gamers are used to dealing with, patches and mods often facilitated on home consoles by devices like the Action Replay. The mods and cheats that come from these devices are pretty easy to spot: god-mode, flying vehicles, etc. These and other console modifications are relatively easy to detect, and Bungie does a good job preventing these activities.

But read deeper into Frankie’s gallery of stupid excuses and you notice some new terms coming into play: standby-ing, bridging and boosting. These are techniques, often performed in groups, that are used to help cheaters raise their ranking in Halo 2, and at the same time these methods are extremely destructive to the enjoyment of other gamers.

I dont understand, I admit that I have had cheaters on my team, but Ive never cheated more then 8 times that I can remember, Not even close. Is that a Major Offense? I would like to know Why I have been permanently from Halo 2 Matchmaking when I have Never Manipulated files on my Xbox ( Modding ) Never MYSELF Bridged people out ( 2 times I can remember my Teammate did when I didnt want to ) and have never Standbyed MYSELF ( 1 time Recently when I ALSO said not too. ) I would Like to have my account Unbanned or put onto a Suspension at the most, but Please, I was banned on a “Major Offense” that I did not commit.

To an uninitiated gamer, even a casual Halo 2 player, this letter to Bungie may seem almost unintelligible. “Bridged people out?” “Standbyed?” These are terms that hold little meaning for players, other than the fact that the worst matches on Halo 2 are often accompanied by accusations of such cheating, which is often team-based.

Read on @ :Gamers First.com

Andrew

taken from: Joystiq.com

Nintendo has hinted that there are still Wii functions that have yet to be revealed. One of the latest rumors suggests that one of these functions is built-in microphone support.

We know that the Wiimote houses a speaker, but what if the controller also contains a microphone? And if that should be the case, could the Wiimote also double as a VoIP-supported communication device? Sure. Throw in a voice-activated phonebook and we’re talkin’ universal functionality (i.e. an incentive for “non-gamers” to buy in).

taken from: Joystiq.com

Again Nintendo will rule the market.

Andrew

taken from: Daily Tech.com

The friendly fellows from Team Xecuter thought that those hackers shouldn’t be the only ones to be able to play backup games for the XBOX 360 game console, and has announced that the group is very close to releasing a first generation mod-chip for XBOX 360. The mod chip allows for two separate firmwares to coexist in the system allowing for hacked and non-hacked usage.

Unfortunately for the mod-chippers, there seems to be a major obstacle in the way — epoxy. Epoxy surrounds the firmware chip making it firmly attached to the XBOX, thus hindering the chance to easily access the legs of the firmware IC. This leaves most people with two different options: try to remove the glue (which is next to impossible, short of breaking off the pins) or find alternative solder points. A member of the Xbox-Scene.com forums was able to post one possible guide to these alernate pin-outs, with a mere thirty solder points.

XBOX 360 got its first taste of firmware hacks just last week when the DVD firmware hack for the TS-H943 XBOX 360s was publically announced. The DVD-Firmware hack works by ignoring the non-present media flags on 1:1 game copies.

taken from: Daily Tech.com

Hacked? Right? What the fuck did I say 7 months ago? I thought so.

Andrew

taken from Who Digs.com

In the latest Bungie Weekly Update, Frank O’Connor has revealed that they are already testing the multiplayer mode of Halo 3. Here is the excerpt:

Paul Bertone, one of our lead designers, let us play something that blew our minds. That was single player, and from a mission very early in the game. And one that takes place before the events seen in the E3 trailer, but Lars, one of the new(er) multiplayer designers, has a regular multiplayer test in session now – that happens every day – and with surprisingly polished-looking graphics, although I’m told a lot of the textures and decorator objects are just placeholder at the moment. Could have fooled me.

The multiplayer test lab is still packed full of old-school 4:3 480i NTSC TV sets, which tells you two things. One is that we’re making sure this game looks awesome on non HD sets, and two, that there is always a crazy rush to get to the sets that are HD during those sessions.

taken from Who Digs.com

I hope my brother-in-law gets to beta test Halo 3. I need my fix!

Andrew

taken from : The Observer

Playing computer games may actually be good for children, according to a government study that found no proof that even violent games triggered aggressive behaviour.

The games can improve children’s decision-making and instil ‘positive learning traits’, some research suggests. At least one study argues that make-believe violence helps children ‘conquer fears and develop a sense of identity’, as gruesome fairytales once did.

The review was ordered by ministers over concerns about possible links between bloodthirsty games and real-life violence. The fatal stabbing of 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah, whose attacker was said to have been obsessed with a game called Manhunt, prompted a campaign by his mother to have violent titles banned.

The review concluded fears about violent games reflected deeper social concerns about ‘the changing nature of childhood in a modern world’. Most research suggesting a link came from America and did not take into account the context in which children played.

Ministers have discussed age-labelling of games and are understood to be planning talks with the industry about helping parents choose titles.

taken from : The Observer

I friggin knew it!

Andrew