None
The Week in Review news piece summarizes and highlights the most important gaming related news over the past week. This weekly article, in conjunction with the Rumor Round-Up, will keep you plugged in and in-tune. PSP Firmware Update 4.0 was confirmed this week by Eric Lempel, Director of PlayStation Network Operations, on the PlayStation Blog. New support features include a Google Internet search accessible directly from the XMB and the ability to change playback speeds of videos stored on your Memory Stick. Firmware 3.96 is now available for download with 4.0 due out soon. This past Sunday’s update for the Nintendo Wii, v.3.3, disables the ability for gamers to exploit the Twilight Princess’ save file for running the Homebrew Channel. If you have already got said channel up and running, then you won’t be affected by the update. However, anyone who has not already done so, their attempts at hacking the Wii via Twilight will be foiled. Additionally, according to posts at Wiifanboy, it looks as if Freeloader is also affected. Sorry pirates! The Spore Creature Creator released this week for $10 at your favorite shop or you can download a demo version for free. Folks have been creating all kinds of interesting creatures and sending video clips of them to YouTube. As you can imagine, many of the submissions are for mature (immature?) audiences. Nevertheless, they’re all hilarious. Look for a special CheatCC feature soon! NaturalMotion, Ltd., developers of the highly acclaimed euphoria motion synthesis technology, announced that Ninja Theory Ltd., the developer behind flagship PlayStation 3 title Heavenly Sword has licensed morpheme, the company’s animation engine and graphical authoring tool. Does this mean another Heavenly Sword is in the works or will we see a completely new IP? According to an interview with GamesIndustry, Nintendo of Europe’s Laurent Fischer confirms that a storage solution is in fact on its way for the Nintendo Wii. Not much news there. However, this solution will not release in the form of an external hardware. Does that mean we’ll see online storage or SD compatibility? We’ll have to wait and see what it is they actually put forth, and if it can compete with a hard drive. We should know more after E3. According to the Crytek job postings, the developer is now seeking an experienced PSP developer to relocate to their Budapest studio. Any takers? This is good news for the reeling platform. Hopefully it will spell profits for Crytek! Wisconsin’s new 25 percent tax credits for the film and television industry contains an innovative component not found in most state’s incentives packages – incentives for the video gaming industry. That means qualifying game developers can also take advantage of the 25 percent incentives. It looks like Wisconsin may be known for more than just cheese, natural beauty, and The Packers. Since the Wii’s unveiling , people have gushed over the possibility of a Lightsaber Star Wars title to rule them all . This week, LucasArts made the announcement official. By the sound of it, it won’t be nearly as complex as most had hoped. We’ll see how it holds up at launch. Thankfully, the DS is also getting its own Clone Wars title. So if the Wii’s Lightsaber Duels stinks, maybe the DS’ Jedi Alliance can pick up the slack. Click HERE for more details. The PlayStation Patrol and PlayStation Experience Trucks will be heading to a city near you within the next few weeks. The trucks, laden with flatscreens, controllers, and games galore will be going on a cross-country tour as a wondrous marketing tool for the Sony gaming brand. The Patrol will include Metal Gear Solid 4 and Grand Turismo 5, while the Experience will boast Rock Band, Singstar, and Little Big Planet. Click HERE for a complete list of dates and locations. Dragon’s Lair is celebrating its 25 th anniversary. Now everyone can relive their Dragon’s Lair memories with the release of the game as a Blu-Ray or HD PC DVD movie. Additionally, early purchasers will get a signed copy by creators Don Bluth and Rick Dyer and will be eligible for even more prizes. Click HERE for the skinny. The Paris GDC 2008 promises the gaming community a few Easter eggs ahead of E3. The conference starts Monday and will feature the following keynote speakers:
Thanks so much everyone and we will see you next week! |