The Gamer

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Death to the sequel
2007-07-13 03:54:00
Is the video gaming industry becoming over-reliant on franchises, asks Claudine BeaumontAt the E3 games expo in Santa Monica, California, the video games industry is showing its latest wares.This week, John Riccitiello, chief executive of Electronic Arts, one of the biggest game publishers, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that an over-reliance on producing endless sequels to established franchises was "boring people to death". Halo 3 is one of the most-anticipated titles of the year.You can see his point. Nintendo's Wii console, with its novel motion-sensitive controller, is far outselling Sony's PlayStation 3. Where casual gamers have been wooed by the Wii's low price (£179) and fun titles, even dedicated gamers have been reluctant to shell out more than £400 for the PS3, despite its top-notch graphics and high-definition Blu-ray DVD player. Sony has cut the price of its 60GB PS3 by $100 in the US (now $499), with rumours of a similar European reduction to ...
More About: Death , Sequel

Sony Go After Xbox 360 And Wii With New Software & Price Cuts
2007-07-13 02:49:00
Both Nintendo and Sony are now expanding their hardware and software offerings with Sony set to roll out a new 80GB PS3. Nintendo might be the comeback kid in video games, but Sony Computer Entertainment's (SCE) presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) emphasized that it isn't out of the game yet. The big news of the week was broken before the show when Sony announced a new 80GB version of the PlayStation3, which would be packaged with the popular Motor Storm racing simulation.It is expected that the product will be released in Australia either today or early next week along with a price cut of around 17% for the current PS3.Jack Tretton, president of Sony Computer Entertainment stressed that Sony has clear objectives this fiscal year."We have two basic goals," said Tretton. "The first is to broaden the install the base, and the second is to deliver content that offers something for everyone."Since the price reduction was announced Tretton said sales have doubled at ...
More About: Software , Xbox , Xbox 360 , Price

Microsoft Sued Over Scratched Xbox 360 Discs
2007-07-12 02:43:00
"Microsoft has been sued by Jorge Brouwer from the US who claims that Xbox 360s scratched his game discs, making them unusable. 'Some gamers speculate that moving the console between vertical and horizontal positions while a disc is spinning inside could cause the scratching. Microsoft warns against such actions with a sticker placed on new consoles, and Brouwer said in the lawsuit that Microsoft's customer service representatives asked him if he had tilted the console. He said he had not. The lawsuit also cites investigations of similar consumer complaints conducted by a Dutch television program, which found that one of nine consoles tested scratched a disc after five hours of play.'"
More About: Xbox 360 , Disc , Scratch

35 Disney Films Coming to Xbox 360
2007-07-12 02:40:00
Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it struck a deal to make 35 Disney movies, such as the animated hit ``Aladdin'' and the action title ``Armageddon,'' available for download on its online video game service. The high-definition movies will be available to U.S. subscribers of Microsoft's Xbox Live, said Peter Moore, a corporate vice president in Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, which is responsible for the Xbox business. The agreement with Disney-ABC Domestic Television will also allow Xbox 360 owners to rent films on demand as they become available from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films and Hollywood Pictures. Xbox Live already offers movies and television shows from more than two dozen other content providers, the company said. The service has more than 7 million members, a figure that will hit 10 million by June, Moore said a news conference. He used the event on the eve of the E3 Media & Business Summit to tout the system's lineup of holida...
More About: Ming

Where the Xbox 360 went wrong?
2007-07-12 02:23:00
Whoops, there is a problem with the console failing in significant numbers after all, said a reluctant Microsoft this week. So what is the cause? There are seven stages of grief: shock, denial, anger, bargaining depression, testing and acceptance. But with the Xbox 360, which has been giving a significant number of its owners grief, Microsoft last week moved directly from the first stages to the last - from denying any problems with it to admitting a $1bn (£500m) problem that potentially affects all 11.6m consoles sold so far.Three weeks ago Todd Holmdahl, vice-president of the gaming and Xbox products group, said repeated problems where people had to take back up to 11 consoles came from "a vocal minority"and dismissed suggestion of endemic problems.
More About: Xbox 360 , Wrong , Where , Went

Microsoft touts new Halo -- and takes on Wii, too?
2007-07-12 02:19:00
Last night was Microsoft 's night at E3, the big video game convention that takes place in L.A. every year (this time on a more muted basis, sans booth babes). The big news was ... well, was there big news? Perhaps it was that in honor of Halo 3, Microsoft will put out a special-edition Xbox 360 console outfitted in cyborg green and orange. Why anyone would buy a painted-up Xbox is a mystery, but there are a lot of Halo nuts out there who perhaps will never feel at home unless shooting on a pimped-out shooter. Still, are they that nutty? This looks to me like the boxed-set model of sales; sure, it's nice to have a special package in which to house your "Dark Side of the Moon," but all you really care about is the music, yeah? Then there's also a new game-show sort of controller for the upcoming Xbox title "Scene It?" For the uninitiated, this is the popular DVD-based pop-culture trivia board game that's being turned into a Microsoft exclusive. Four of these new controllers will b...

Wii's Success Spurs A Reset On Approach To Casual Players
2007-07-11 04:15:00
The success of Nintendo's Wii video game console has forced game publishers to pay more attention to the underserved market for casual games.The Wii (pronounced "we") has been outselling its more powerful rivals -- Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) MSFT Xbox 360 and Sony's (NYSE:SNE) SNE PlayStation 3. The $250 machine from Nintendo NTDOY has been in short supply in stores since its launch last November.Nintendo designed the Wii so that anybody could pick up the controller and start to play a game. It uses a motion-sensing wand that can be swung like a baseball bat, golf club or sword to guide on-screen action. Other major game consoles require combinations of button taps and joystick movements.The Wii has been a hit with families because it has leveled the playing field for video games. It has attracted nongamers intimidated or put off by how complex video games have become. Wii also has been popular with adults at house parties, says Perrin Kaplan, vice president of marketing for Ninte...
More About: Players , Success , Spurs , Roach , Casual

Steven Spielberg-EA Games for Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 revealed
2007-07-11 04:10:00
In March this year we had reported about Steven Spielberg and his foray into the video game world with Electronic Arts. Now, the ace director’s two secret gaming projects have been revealed, according to Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal’s report.One of these “top secret” projects is an action-puzzle simulator game that has been code named “PQRS”. This game will be exclusive to Nintendo’s Wii console.According to N’Gai Croal, the game is expected to neatly blend the creativity of the building blocks game Jenga with the charm of a Saturday morning cartoon. In simple words, this means that the player will get to use the Wii controller to move around blocks in a physics-based environment to solve puzzles, as he/she progresses through the cartoon world of “PQRS”.The second project that Spielberg is currently working on with EA is exclusively for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. The game can be described as “North by Northwest” meets “E.T.” that is only if E....
More About: Games , Xbox 360

Lawsuit claims Xbox 360 system scratches discs
2007-07-11 04:06:00
SEATTLE: A man who claims Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 scratches game discs has sued the company, saying the consoles are "negligently designed and manufactured."In the lawsuit filed Monday in a Florida federal court, Jorge Brouwer says Microsoft has received thousands of complaints but has not replaced all scratched discs. The lawsuit seeks class-action status.Brouwer said his Xbox 360 scratched two games, "Gears of War" and "Madden NFL 07," and that Microsoft offered to replace them for a $20 (€14.63) fee. He is seeking more than $5 million (€3.66 million) in damages, according to the court filing.Last week, Microsoft extended the warranty for the Xbox 360 consoles that completely stop working due to a vague condition the company calls "general hardware failure." This is a separate issue from the scratched discs, though Brouwer's lawsuit cited it as evidence Microsoft "is well aware that the Xbox 360 console has been defective since its introduction to the marketplace."Microso...
More About: System , Lawsuit , Claims

E3 2007 Games Preview
2007-07-10 02:34:00
It's that time of year again, or wait a minute -- isn't E3 supposed to be gone and done already? It's usually in May, in case you forgot, but since the last few years have seen it devolve into an insight-devoid, cost-exorbitant media circus, company support collapsed, spawning this year's "E3 Media & Business Summit," i.e. media and industry professionals only, for an ostensibly less carnival-esque upcoming products hands-on.Jury's still out on that one, but here's a quick top-of-my-head list of titles that'll be big or at least noteworthy this year, with apologies for the ones I'm no doubt missing.Age of Conan (PC, Xbox 360): Gimme your best Tina Turner, and everyone with me now: "We don't need another MMO-whoa..." Okay, maybe we could almost stand one based loosely on Robert E. Howard's brawny, bare-chested fantasy-verse, and the "real combat" system which lets you target specific body areas (in realtime) plus the option to create battle formations may indeed spruce up o...
More About: Games , Preview , Ames

Spielberg games revealed for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii
2007-07-10 02:19:00
Electronic Arts announced a collaboration in October 2005 with legendary movie director Steven Spielberg to create three "new original franchise properties" and MSNBC are now reporting that they've seen two of these games in action. The first game for Wii will be a puzzle game, currently known as PQRS and is said to be similar to block building game Jenga. "It runs on top of a physics program that lets you manipulate blocks with the Wii remote as if it were an extension of your hand, " states MSNBC. Spielberg believes that PQRS will be a game that all the family will be able to enjoy. "It just seemed like a great thing for the entire family to play together over Christmas. Although you don't need the excuse of a holiday to enjoy it," he said. The second game, for Xbox 360 and PS3, is currently known as LMNO and will see us in the guise of an ex secret agent who boast special powers. It appears that you'll be able to influence the outcome of the game by deciding whether you want y...
More About: Games , Xbox 360 , Ames

New Mx vs ATV title for Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3
2007-07-10 01:52:00
THQ has announced next-gen instalments of the world's best selling off-road racing franchise.MX vs ATV Untamed is the latest instalment in the best selling franchise, for the first time coming to Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and Nintendo DS. PlayStation 2 and PSP versions will also be released making Untamed the largest cross-platform launch in the franchise's history.The game will feature bigger, more populated outdoor open-world environments, an X-cross career mode showcasing all eight vehicles and the all-new EnduroCross mode pitting gamers against logs, rocks, mud-pits and more.The game's physics have also been supercharged with improvements for next-gen versions. Players will now experience throttle-based power-slides, near upside down whips and new scrubs at full speed.In addition to the game's single-player career mode, online play will also be offered, featuring all the game types. Which versions will feature online play is currently unclear, but as a minimum expect the Xbox 360 a...
More About: Title

Midterm Report Card: Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3
2007-07-09 00:29:00
Back in November, we reviewed the three next-generation videogame consoles: Sony's PlayStation 3, Nintendo's Wii, and Microsoft's Xbox 360. The first two systems had just arrived in stores, the latter had just celebrated its first anniversary. As we expected, some of you took grave exception to the grades we awarded each system. Now, as we prepare for next week's E3 convention — look for our on-the-scene reports on EW.com's PopWatch blog — we offer this midterm report card for the three consoles. —Geoff Keighley, Wook Kim, and Gary Eng WalkMICROSOFT XBOX 360($299 to $479)It's earned its lead, but can it keep it? Thanks in part to a one-year head start on the competition, there are more 360s out there than either of the other two next-gen consoles — 12 million units sold worldwide as of the end of June, says Microsoft —. It has the largest and best lineup of games. It sets the standard for online gameplay, and Live Marketplace is bursting with compelling downloadable ...
More About: Card , Xbox 360 , Report , Term

Xbox 360 Failure Rate At 33%, Wii & PS3 at 1%
2007-07-07 03:57:00
According to an EB Games manager it seems that the failure rate of the Xbox 360 is around 33% while the PS3 and Wii are around 1%.The Xbox 360 has long been tarnished with a lot of hardware problems as retailers have stated that the Xbox 360 systems are faulty to say the very least. The Wii and the PS3 though have done a lot better in terms of standing up to ause as the failure rate for the Wii and the PS3 are around 1% which is extremely low.The red ring of death on the Xbox 360 is the thing most feared by console owners as systems often turn up with messages stating "disc unreadable."The former EB Games associate stated that "Failure rates for all other consoles were not high enough for EB to consider revising their policies. Most other console systems have a failure rate of less than one percent, including the PlayStation 3."
More About: Rate , Lure

Xbox Warranty Extension To Cost Microsoft $1B
2007-07-07 03:49:00
Microsoft will set aside approximately $1.15 billion for repairs to Xbox 360 hardware failures under a new warranty program for the gaming console. The company will extend its warranty to three years from the date of purchase for any gamer who experiences the "three flashing lights" error message. All other existing Xbox 360 warranty policies remain in place, the company said. "This problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologize," Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, said in a statement. "We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base." Microsoft said it conducted "extensive investigations" into the hardware failures and has made improvements to the console, and will enhance its Xbox 360 warranty policy for existing and new customers. Microsoft did not detail the hardware failures. The company also said it will retroactively reimburse any customer who has ...
More About: Microsoft , Cost , Extension , Warranty

Microsoft Having Problems With Xbox 360? You Don't Say!
2007-07-06 13:54:00
Roger Ehrenberg submits: The "red ring of death" for Microsoft 's (MSFT) Xbox 360, huh? I guess it is time for those empiricist gaming writers to stand up and take a bow. First, further confirmation that Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) is blowing the doors off with the Wii and putting a hurting on Sony (SNE) and PS3. And then on Thursday, Microsoft comes out and announces a $1.15 billion charge for extended warranty costs associated with Xbox 360 product repairs. I know the Xbox 360 fanboys love their consoles, but let's be clear: this is lousy news for MSFT stock. $1.15 billion is no trifling matter for any company of any size, but this is simply a pattern with Microsoft these days and particularly in the Home & Entertainment Division."We don't think we've been getting the job done," said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, which also makes the Zune digital music player. "In the past few months, we have been having to make Xbox 360 console repairs at a...
More About: Problems , Ving

Sony rules out a PS3 price cut to attack Wii
2007-07-06 13:53:00
Sony said today that it will resist pressure to compete on price with Nintedo's Wii, which costs less than half the PS3Sony has ruled out cutting the price of the PlayStation 3, despite the console struggling badly against Nintendo’s rival Wii. The PS3’s relatively high price — about £400 in the UK — has been cited as one of its key disadvantages against the Wii, which retails for less than half that. The latest industry figures suggest that the Wi is outselling the PS3 by two to one in the UK. In Japan the ratio has been put as high as five to one. Selling consoles at a loss to stoke demand for higher-margin games software is a common tactic. But pressures to keep the price of its next-generation Blu-ray DVD players buoyant may also be playing on Sony’s mind. The incorporation of the initially problematic Blu-ray technology in the PS3 was one cause of the machine’s delay and lofted price. Blu-ray has won greater backing in Hollywood than Toshiba’s rival HD DVD forma...
More About: Sony , Rules , Price , Rule , Attack

Xbox 360 Not Powerful Enough For PS3 SOCOM
2007-07-04 18:02:00
Sony has stated that the only way in which SOCOM could be done on the PS3 is due to the included hard drive.A Sony Computer Entertainment America developer Seth Luisi has been hyping up the power of the PS3 stating that the amount of detail they have packed into SOCOM on the PS3 is absolutely surreal.He continued by stating that the only way in which what this game has could be pulled off is with the power of the PS3. He stated that it simply is not possible on the Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii.He also stated that since all of the PlayStation 3 consoles contain a hard drive, it allows for a lot of data to be accessed much faster.He stated that this game could not be done on other consoles because..."SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation makes full use of the HDD in the PlayStation 3. One of the often overlooked advantages of the PS3 compared to competing platforms is that it contains a 2.5" serial ATA hard drive which allows us to use the Hard Disc Drive for extremely fast data access. Si...
More About: Xbox 360

Exclusives Sony Dropped The Ball On
2007-07-04 18:01:00
Exclusives. They're important and these days, they're rare. Game|Life's Chris Kohler does a nice job of rounding up games that could've been PS3 exclusives, but ultimately ended up on the Xbox 360 because of boneheaded moves by Sony brass. Let's dive in:Grand Theft Auto IV — ...Take Two had wanted to continue its long-standing practice of giving Sony a lengthy timed exclusivity on the game, but they didn't want it.Newsweek says that former Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi's "radio silence" on the issue left Sony's American execs without the authority to make deals, and nothing happened. Same with...Assassin's Creed — Again, Newsweek revealed that Ubisoft had actually gone to Sony with an offer to make the game a PlayStation 3 exclusive. Although Sony did go through the trouble of asking Ubisoft to make it seem as if their multiplatform action game Assassin's Creed was indeed PS3 exclusive , it came out shortly after E3 that it would ship simultaneousl...
More About: Ball , Drop

Wii's first attempt at online gaming falls short
2007-07-04 00:38:00
Nintendo's favorite guinea pig, Pokemon, introduces the Wii to online gaming with Pokemon Battle Revolution. The game itself has almost no depth to it, and it's essentially marketed that way. It's nothing more than a chance for fans of the pocket monsters to take gaming online and connect their Nintendo DS battles to a Wii console.As a first stepping stone for Nintendo's first-party online console gaming, PBR is adequate. Similar to the DS environment, users are given unique "friend codes". Users can then register each other's codes to hook up and compete in a Wi-Fi battle.Even without friend codes, though, users can take on an opponent in an online competition by randomly linking two people waiting for a battle. At the end of the match, if both players agree, friend codes will be swapped. This is actually a big move for Nintendo. Almost all DS online games either require users to register friend codes offline, or lock you into random multiplayer match-ups that offer no for...
More About: Gaming , Online , Short , Fall , Ming

Ratatouille charming but a bit clumsy
2007-07-04 00:35:00
In the world of video game development, too many cooks can spoil the broth.In a medium where the best products are usually created by a tightly knit group of developers — witness Blizzard's WarCraft games, and Valve's Half-Life — the involvement of too many financial or creative interests can be the kiss of death. And the best games are also usually those whose developers stick to one format and push it to its limits.Enter Ratatouille , the video game based on the runaway hit movie. The Ratatouille game's creation involved a handful of production companies, game publishers, distributors and an entertainment empire or two. It was also simultaneously developed and released for a dozen platforms, from Windows to mobile phones.So it's a miracle the game isn't a total disaster. In fact, if you can look past some of its glaring flaws, such as its controller woes, and its lack of innovation in game play, Ratatouille is a pretty entertaining game.It's a hoot to control Remy the rat...
More About: Harm , Charm , Ming , Charmi

PS3 serves as punching bag for Wii, XBOX 360 and media
2007-07-04 00:31:00
The PS3 has taken a lot of heat, for being too expensive, for having a Blu-Ray drive that makes it expensive and the press seems to enjoy bringing Sony and the PS3 down to its knees these days. One man of one company outside of Sony is standing up for the PS3 and defending Sony’s honor. The CEO of Insomniac Games, Ted Price stood up for Sony and its PS3. In a GameDaily interview he said, "I think the PS3 has become the whipping boy for the press, quite honestly.” Not only a “whipping boy” for the press but for everyone else including the competing consoles from Nintendo, which continues to dominate the market and Microsoft which is sitting at the number two spot with the XBOX 360. Price wishes that people had not been so ready to overly criticize Sony and the PS3 because Resistance: Fall of Man was affected but is still the number one title on the PS3. "The fact is that PS3's out there, it's sold well, and we're looking at an upcoming Christmas that should provide a lot o...
More About: Media , Xbox , Xbox 360 , Punch , Serve

Thrillville Coming to Wii, 360
2007-07-04 00:29:00
Lucas Arts announced today that Thrillville: Off the Rails will be coming to an Xbox 360, Wii, DS, and PSP near you soon. Strangely absent from the line-up is a PS3 version. The Xbox 360 version is sure to feature beautiful high-definition environments while the Wii version will allow you to build your theme park with a "flick of the wrist." And that is what the Thrillville franchise is all about: creating your dream park. But this is not your mother's Roller Coaster Tycoon. Real world physics and insurance liability should not bother you too much as you create the ultimate thrill rides: sending customers through rings of fire and roller coasters with gaping holes in the track. With the timing of this announcement, you have to wonder if Lucas Arts is planning to show portions of Off the Rails at E3. Stay tuned to The Game Feed for all the E3 news you could possibly desire.
More About: Ming , Ville

PS3 top in Australia, second in Japan
2007-07-03 02:06:00
MD of Sony Australia Michael Ephraim has said the PlayStation 3 has been outselling the Wii and Xbox 360 almost every week since launch.Quoting figures from research firm GfK, Ephraim revealed the PS3 has sold 50,000 units in Australia since its March 23 launch."Based on GfK since launch, PS3 has been the number one next-gen console, outselling Wii and Xbox 360 every week, except for last week," said Ephraim in an interview with GameSpot."We've now sold 50,000 and we're very excited about the fact that it's being sold in retailers that are gaming retailers as a gaming device and other things, but as you'll notice it's now being sold in Harvey Norman consumer electronics stores as a Blu-ray player," he added.In Japan , however, figures reveal the Nintendo Wii is outselling the PS3 by a ratio of 6 to 1, according to data by Enterbrain.Nintendo sold 270,974 units of the Wii in the four weeks ended June 24, compared with 41,628 units for the PS3 and 17,616 units for the Xbox 360.
More About: Econ

Xbox 360 Beats Wii As Most Hyped Launch
2007-07-03 01:43:00
People with short term memory assume that PS3 or Wii had a more hyped launch than Xbox 360, but those people would be dead wrong.According to CNET, the Xbox 360 was the #3 most-hyped product launch of all time, behind only the Segway (#1) and 1984 Macintosh Computer (#2). Here's how CNET remembers it:When it launched in November 2005, Microsoft's Xbox 360 ushered in the next-generation video game console wars. It began with a 30-hour marathon event in the Southern California desert, where gamers could play their favorite titles all night, even though temperatures dipped to near freezing.
More About: Launch , Beats

Rumor: New Katamari Skips PS3 For Wii
2007-07-02 00:43:00
Earlier this year, Namco Bandai announced that Beautiful Katamari was coming to PS3 and Xbox 360. A Wii version had been rumored for quite a while as well, but supposedly nothing ever came of it.Now comes a rumor from IGN that Beautiful Katamari may be ditching the PS3 altogether in favor of a brand new re-concepted version for Nintendo.According to the report, "...sources close to Namco Bandai tell IGN that the studio ran into some trouble with the port of the game to PlayStation 3 and these issues, coupled with the stalled sales of the system, have led to the project's quiet cancellation. Looking to better-than-expected sales of Wii, the company has, say insiders, re-shifted resources to ready a Wii build of Beautiful Katamari instead. Given that the title cannot be ported from Xbox 360, the game is being re-concepted for Nintendo's console."This would be horrific news, indeed. But hope is still alive, since Namco Bandai hasn't said anything on the record about the rumors.
More About: Rumor , Mari , Tamar , Amar

Week recap: PS3 green; Xbox 360 sales fall; Wii plunge
2007-07-02 00:14:00
Amazon.com this week discounted Sony Corp.'s Playstation 3 Sixaxis wireless controller to $39. The savings represents a discount of 20 percent off the MSRP.Sales for the PS3 stayed green in Japan this week in the latest hardware tally. In addition, the PS3 held three software titles in the top 50 game sales for the week.Sony Style stores in the U.S. have begun offering a free $50 gift card with purchase of a PS3 and two $59 games. The offer is the latest promotion to spur hardware sales.Fry's Electronics this week discounted four PS3 titles to $32 in its latest Fri. circular. Titles include Ridge Racer 7 and NBA 2K7.Sony this week released new offerings to the Playstation Store, including Super Stardust HD, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, and a new Grand Theft Auto IV trailer. Additionally, new movie trailers are available to download.Golf title Everybody's Golf 5 reached the top 25 sales at Amazon Japan this week. It was the top-ranking PS3 title on the charts in mid-week.Sales for Mi...
More About: Xbox , Xbox 360 , Green , Recap

Console Repair Company: Xbox 360 Faults “Endemic”
2007-06-30 03:22:00
Micromart, a company that specialises in repairing games consoles, has said that it will no longer deal with 360s sporting the red ring of death.The company's front page bears the message:“XBOX 360 - Micromart has now withdrawn from offering a Repair Service for the dreaded 3 Red Lights fault. This problem is endemic on the XBox 360 console and the volume has made this repair non-viable. Other repairs to the XBox 360 are still being supported.”Microsoft, as ever, remains evasive on the subject. SPOnG contacted Microsoft to see what its response to Micromart's decision is, but no comment was available at the time of press.Speaking to Mercury News about the substantial anecdotal evidence that the 360 has a high return rate, however, Todd Holmdahl, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Gaming and Xbox Products Group said, “There is a vocal minority out there.”Strangely enough he wouldn't disclose figures on what size a “minority” is in this case. “We don’t disclo...
More About: Company , Xbox 360 , Console , Fault

Sony updates PSP firmware to fight off hackers, again
2007-06-30 03:18:00
Taking its turn in the everlasting war against hackers, Sony has updated the firmware of the PSP to version 3.51 after 3.50 was recently discovered to be hacked. Hackers found a way to exploit firmware version 3.50 using the game Lumines. According to PSPupdates.com and our own users here, if you have a legitimate copy of Lumines then the exploit is very easy. Unzip a few files onto your Memory Stick in a certain directory and then hold Start at a certain point during the first loading screen of the game and that is all. The newest version, 3.51 does not include any other changes helpful to the PSP, so the update was made specifically to block hackers from downgrading using 3.50. In an funny turn, sales of Lumines increased drastically after the exploit was announced just as sales of GTA: Liberty City Stories did when the PSP exploit for the game was discovered.
More About: Firmware , Fight , Updates

Want a Wii? Come Early and Get in Line
2007-06-30 03:14:00
By 9 a.m., the line outside Manhattan's Nintendo World store was snaking down the block.More than 100 hopeful Wii owners came from as far as New Jersey - some as early as 6 a.m. with kids and grandparents in tow - to get their hands on the gaming console best known for its wireless, motion-sensitive controller.It's been more than seven months since Nintendo (other-otc: NTDOY.PK - news - people ) launched the Wii, but the consoles are selling so well that supply still hasn't caught up with demand. You can get one, sure, but be prepared to call around and arrive promptly when the shipments do."I had to get permission from work," said Regina Iannuzzi, 23, in line since 6:20 a.m. on a recent morning. She'd been looking for a Wii, a 25th birthday present for her brother, for two weeks. Every place was sold out.Like sleeping in? Wiis are also available online, but at a hefty premium to the console's $250 retail price. A slightly used one from an Amazon.com (nasdaq: AMZN - news - peop...
More About: Early , Line , Earl