The last two days have been great. We have been REALLY busy! Today; Not so much. I have been really wondering why Monday and Tuesday? I think that some people get some free time and like to car shop. I noticed more and more people car shop on Mondays and Tuesdays. I always thought those would be the slow days. Who thonk it? This day has been good and bad for us so far. I hope I get more peeps in tomorrow. That would be fuckin kewl!

Andrew

666

Hide!

666

Hide!

That is all…

666

Andrew

taken from: Gamespot.com

Acting on advice of Jack Thompson, sheriff’s deputies search home of suspected Louisiana killer and confiscate M-rated games.

Last week, sheriff’s deputies conducting an investigation into the murder of a 55-year-old Louisiana man seized a number of games rated M for Mature from the home of a 16-year-old suspect, according to a report in the Baton Rouge paper The Advocate. The action was taken at the suggestion of controversial Florida attorney Jack Thompson.

Thompson told The Advocate that he suggested the sheriffs look for violent games in the youth’s house because he felt the killings mirrored a scenario from Grand Theft Auto. The original reports indicated that the victim was beaten to death and shot in the face by the 16-year-old and a 17-year-old accomplice.

“Nobody shoots anybody in the face unless you’re a hit man or a video gamer,” Thompson told the paper.

While the police did seize the games, it’s unclear exactly what role they will play in the investigation. West Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Captain Spence Dilworth told the paper, “I think it goes beyond video games, but who’s to say?”

taken from: Gamespot.com

Fuckin BULLSHIT!

Andrew

taken from Nintendo’s Forums.com

“This article from the upcoming Game Informer magazine focuses on the pros and cons of the development environment of the upcoming Nintendo Wii. As well as revealing the last big secret concerning hardware functionality. Here are some summarizations from that article.

-Pros-

-Inexpensive graphics development.
-Developer-friendly “camera” program
-Will support HDR lighting, normal maps, bump-mapping, nurbs rendering, and panoramically-composted depth-composited cubemappng, ray-tracing.
-Chipsets are very inexpensive although EXTREMELY powerful, WILL incorporate many aspects of the Project Reality study.
-Nintendo is providing extensive documentation to ease the incorporation of the Wii-mote.

-Cons-

-Challenging to program effectively for the Wii-mote, due to it being very new to the industry.
-Marketing to be more challenging for bigger third-party franchises due to nature of the innovative qualities.
-The development cycle to possibly equal the time cycles of PS3 and Xbox360 due to the time needed to be innovative and effectively program for the controller.
-The challenge of marketing the Wii’s controller in ads and commercial may turn third-parties away from exclusivity. (The challenge to display through ads how “playing is believing”)
-The Final Secret/minor surprises also-
-Wii will include a built-in decent resolution camera that can be used to add your face to character models and add innovation to games. These snapshots can be tweaked as well. It is still being decided whether to allow camera to record and stream video. Mention made to have this feature be a strong feature in online play.
-A wireless headset will be made available at launch.
-SD cards will range from 2GB to 7GB and will be priced “within reason”.
-A new router technology is still in development and not yet available to developers. In the final product Nintendo hopes to be able to make every Wii a sort of “Wi-Fi hotspot” with each user connecting to that user and so on. They also want to be able to allow different users to share things and are thinking about setting up a pseudo-P2P network through Connect24, where users can share content and “other things”. This means that even if you have a dial-up connection or no internet, you can still connect to Wii Connect24.

-The Wii will indeed have a PPU included in final hardware. It will have only 32MB though, which will still take a considerable amount of pressure off of other chips.

-A still-in-development simple dev tool will be made available to users through the Connect24 network. It will allow users to create a simple game in 2D or simple 3D and share it with the world. This will hopefully be available on the network by launch.

-The last big secret is the “graphics solution”. It revolves around a whole lot of non-volatile RAM (opting out of HDD support, RAM is much faster than a HDD). And a development interface that centers on a AI-controlled command-line interface. This additional tech only included in final dev kits, while most developers don’t have access to final dev kits.”
________________________________

So, what do you think?

taken from Nintendo’s Forums.com

As I have thought ALL along, Nintendo knows what games want/need. Camera… Video Chat… The possibilities are endless!

Andrew

taken from: Soft Pedia.com

Having numerous advantages over other consoles, one of the most important being the backwards compatibility, Xbox 360 has all the cards to become the most popular gaming platform in the world.

But since good things don’t last forever, Microsoft is about to commit a grave error and cancel their biggest advantage.

The statement made by Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division of Microsoft Corp, has sparked the gamers’ anger, who think they will end up with old titles ‘gathering dust’ on the shelves.

“Nobody is concerned anymore about backwards compatibility. We under promised and over delivered on that. It’s a very complicated thing… very complex work. I’m just stunned that we have hundreds of games that are backwards compatible,”
Peter Moore said in an interview for Kikizo.

The editors at 1up.com, a famous gaming site, remind Moore of a statement made by Xbox PR manager Michael Wolf.

“At launch, Xbox 360 will be backward compatible with the top Xbox games. Our goal is to have every Xbox game work on Xbox 360. You will NOT need to purchase a new ‘version’, your original games will work on Xbox 360,” Wolf told GamesIndustry.biz in 2005.

Most gamers have sold their old Xbox consoles in order to buy the new Xbox 360, and now they are finding out their game collections are almost useless.

Microsoft should also take into consideration Sony’s and Nintendo’s policies towards old titles, the two companies having the ability to rock Xbox 360’s temporary stability.

taken from: Soft Pedia.com

Nice.

Andrew

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

taken from: Computer and Video Games.com

Nintendo UK boss David Yarnton has lashed out at Sony’s new motion sensing controller, suggesting that the PlayStation creator has copied Nintendo’s ideas – past and present.

Speaking to MCV in the wake of Sony’s E3 press conference last week, Yarnton was quick to point out Sony’s change of attitude since Nintendo unveiled their motion sensing Wii Controller late last year. “I’d love to dig up some old Phil Harrison comments and say ‘hang on a second – six months ago when we launched our controller you said one thing, and now why are you doing this?'” Yarnton thundered.

Yarnton also slammed the lack of force feedback in Sony’s redesigned PS3 controller, blaming patent issues for the omission: “Historically we’re always developing new things. We know Sony have had a lot of issues with their rumble feature and they’ve had to withdraw it – because they didn’t innovate, they copied.”

Yarnton went on to suggest that Sony has not only followed Nintendo’s lead, but copied their ideas in the past: “I don’t know what [Sony’s] decision making process is but I think if you look back, any innovation that has come in gameplay has come from us,” he said.

“With Nintendo, I’m trying to think of anything we’ve copied… but I can’t,” concluded Yarnton. We’re sure you’ll let him know if they have and what you think of his assertions in the comment section below.

taken from: Computer and Video Games.com

Wow… I am speechless.

Andrew

taken from: Wii Nintendo.net

The date may not be set and the price may not be known, but Nintendo fans across the globe are already beginning to rally as we near one of the most anticipated system launches our industry has ever seen. E3 was abuzz with activity as gamers rushed to get a first hands-on opportunity with the Wii. Whether you show allegiance to Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo, the Wii brings a new sense of gaming that’s so fresh and entertaining that it really has to be played, and people had a chance to do just that. With record-breaking lines, the Wii was the talk of the show. Now that E3 is over, we’re counting the days until its launch, and to celebrate the countdown we’ve compiled a list of every launch game we know about. Before we kick it off, we’d like to explain a few things. Listed below are the games already confirmed by Nintendo (or other publishers), though we will be adding or subtracting games as details arrive. In addition, there are other titles such as Final Fantasy and Excite Truck that we are simply awaiting official word on before adding. All things considered, this is shaping up to be a very strong launch for Nintendo, and we can’t wait to see how the world responds to the innovative gameplay Wii has to offer.Included with each game are the basic details, as well as a description of the play style. Below we’ve featured a key to the terms we’re using. Enjoy!

Remote:
wii remote
Players hold the Wii-mote with one hand like a remote. These games will use only one hand, often drawing, swinging or pointing the remote to interact.

Nunchuck:
wii nunchuck
This term refers to the nunchuck and Wii-mote combination. Players will make use of the analog stick and accelerometer of the nunchuck unit in addition to the Wii-mote functions.

Classic:
Wii Classic Controller
Wii-mote is turned on its side, used like a classic NES controller. These games make use of the 1 and 2 buttons primarily, as well as the tilt functions of the Wii-mote and D-pad.

Retro:
wii retro
These games will require use of either the GameCube controller or Virtual Console controller that was shown at E3 2006.

Light Gun:
wii light gun
This style of game will require (or best work with) the light gun peripheral announced at E3 2006. Aside from a main trigger button, the light gun also adds an analog stick to the mix.

Now on to the games…

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Wii Sports

Red Steel

Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam

Madden NFL 2007

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

Metal Slug Anthology

Trauma Center: Second Opinion

Elebits

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

Blitz: The League

Rayman Raving Rabbids

SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab

Disney/Pixar’s Cars

Please read the FULL article @ Wii Nintendo.net

Andrew