Filed under: Gaming
Alright Sony, this is just getting ridiculous. It's not like you guys haven't been a featured guest in this series before, but we had no idea it was such an honor. The third "CE-Oh no" moment for Sony this week came out of the mouth of SCE World Europe VP, Jamie MacDonald, who was asked: "What would you say to consumers who like Sony and want to buy your products, but perhaps feel that because they're in Europe they're always last in line?" Apparently Jamie feels little love for his whiny constituency, since his clueless response was thus: "European consumers have shown that historically they don't mind that, because they end up buying as many PlayStations, if not more, than the US and Japan. In Europe, it doesn't seem that the release of our platforms after the US and Japan - in the long run - affects how consumers feel." We're not even sure how to respond to that, so we'll continue with more "CE-Oh no" sound bite gold from our pal Jamie. In response to a q...

From C3 News comes this official statement on the issue of Nintendo's Virtual Console: it will be region locked.  According to the C3 team, they spoke with a Nintendo Japan representative and the final word on the issue is:

"Virtual console games will be region locked. For example a European Wii unit cannot download VC software from the dedicated Japanese site." 

This should clear up the locked again, unlocked again rumors about VC that's been circulating in the Wii gamers' circle. So, sorry folks, but that's the final word about the matter.

The Virtual Console is Nintendo's new video game download service for users of the upcoming Wii. According to Nintendo head honcho Satoru Iwata, VC will be the video game version of Apple s iTunes Store and will support titles from NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Megadrive and TurboGrafx. However, the company is yet to announce the Virtual Console line-up on its launching day.

Filed under: News, Virtual Console
Time for more guessing games -- Square Enix has confirmed that they will be supporting the Wii's Virtual Console, but they're not giving up the goods on what games we might see. The possibilities, considering their long and storied catalogue, are vast. But with their sudden penchant for remaking games for the GBA and the DS, we might not see some of the most beloved titles, like Final Fantasy VI. Perhaps we'll see Chrono Trigger, hailed by many as one of the best RPGs of all time. Anything else you'd like to see from Square Enix? Let us know!Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Remember that scene in Disney's "Lilo and Stitch", where the cuddly blue alien Stitch just couldn't seem to control his urge for destruction and domination so he builds a tiny city in a sandbox and then proceeds to trash it, Godzilla-style? Have you ever wanted to do the same thing (i.e., stomp an entire city to the ground, wreak havoc, and cause utter chaos and destruction to the sounds of screaming citizens and the light of flaming buildings)?

Well, you can't really do that since not only is it possibly illegal, but it's also physically impossible, but the closest thing may possibly be just getting a copy of Rampage: Total Destruction for the Wii once it comes out this winter.

In this game, you'll be controlling one of 40 giant monsters who have been tailor-made to be perfect for wrecking nice little cities. A 3-D game with a 2-D perspective, this game lets you be able to stomp structures, toss cars, and eat people all you want using either George the Ape, Lizz...

Bionicle Heroes, already announced for the DS and the Xbox 360, is also out to conquer the Wii.  This is according to the ESRB games rating table. Bionicle Heroes takes its cue from classical Polynesian Mythology. It is set in Mata Nui island and features Turaga Vakama, leader of the Ta-Koro village.

It is also a line of toys made by Lego. The idea for Bionicle came from Throwbots and Roboriders and the term "Bionicle" comes from the English words "biological" and "chronicle."

Going back to the game, the ESRB gave it a E10 for "Fantasy Violence". It is also set to appear on other platforms including the PS2, PC and GameCube.

Little has been known about the GT Pro Series until the last few months when more details about Wii game releases have been dished out. Basically, we featured interviews as well as bits of news about the game's features. GT Pro Series takes full advantage of the Wiimote and will come out simultaneously with the console on November 19 in Japan and North America and December 8 in Europe.

Ubisoft lets out a bunch of screenshots that's a real testament to the game's fluid controls and smooth physics. We're told that it comes with 80 licensed cars with tons of tuning options. The game hasn't come out just as yet, so we can't fully judge whether it's gonna be real hot or not. But for the meantime, the images can take us a long way to getting acquainted with the game. So go check out the screens here!

Filed under: News, Interviews, Tech stuff
Based on the results of a poll run by Famitsu, one that asked 58 developers at 19 Japanese game companies what next-gen console they prefer, 36% have high expectations for the system, with 63% claiming extremely high expectations. Even more surprising is just 1% weren't expecting all that much from the system.

For comparison's sake, those polled said gave the PS3 some favorable numbers. 48% have extremely high expectations for the system and 32% have just high expectations. A total of 18% said that they don't expect much of the system at all. For the Xbox 360, unsurprisingly, it received less-than-favorable scores. 45% said they're not expecting much of it at all, 40% have high expectations and a small 13% have extremely high expectations.

Moving on to console's games, on the Wii those polled most look forward to Zelda with 26 votes, followed by Mario with 8 votes, Wii Sports with 5 votes, ...

Filed under: Displays, Transportation
Mitsubishi is taking the rear-view mirror into the 21st century, with its new CM-7200 7-inch screen. The screen displays the rear-mounted camera in your truck, which according to Mitsubishi's press release, have been available in Japan since 1970. The CM-7200 ships on November 1 for ¥65,100 ($553) -- even at that somewhat elevated price, we're willing to bet that before the end of the year someone will figure out how to hook up a computer, DVD player, or console to the monitor. So Japan, when truck drivers start causing road accidents because they're putting or batting in Wii Sports, don't say we didn't warn you.

[Via I4U News] 
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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

We all know what fanboys think about the consoles of their choice (as well as their thoughts about the others). The question is what do Japanese game developers think about  the next-gen consoles? Famitsu Mag took it upon themselves to ask 58 game developers (directors, programmers and designers) from 19 game companies about next-gen consoles and here are the results.

Which next-gen console will send cash registers ringing:
Wii (60 )PS3 (37 )Xbox 360's (3 ) Which system they prefer for game development:
Wii (63 ) PS3 (32 ) Xbox 360s (5 )Which next-gen console they want for Christmas:
Wii (49 )PS3 (42 )Xbox 360 (9 )Most anticipated PS3's games:
Metal Gear Solid 4 (12 votes) Final Fantasy XIII (10 votes)The Eye of Judgment (7 votes)Afrika (6 votes) Heavenly Sword (4 votes). Runners up: Bladestorm, Gran Turismo HD, Lair and Resistance: Fall of ManMost anticipated Xbox360 games:
Blue Dragon (18 votes)Lost Odyssey (14 votes)Culdecept Saga (8 votes)Dead Ri...

Ever wondered what the average gamers think of the Wii? Fine, you've heard us speak so much about all these little Wii details: games, channels, Wiimote, and all. But that's us talking. Now we're going to have you do the talking (or at least, some of you who are in the vid).

People over at Destructoid were able to ask some Nintendo Fusion visitors of their opinion of their first-hand experience with the Wii. There's that one guy (the one with glasses) who admits that he's a 360-Wii fan, and gives some substantial arguments about the next-gen consoles. And then there's that other guy with the wacky hair, giving a very animated talk about the Wiimote, Excite Truck, and WarioWare. These guys all gave some different reactions, and when asked about buying the Wii when it came out, they all gave different answers with different reasons.

Just watch the video and listen to what the vox populi has to say. There's a whole deal more of other games which were mentioned,...