Pediatric patients at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children (RMHC) in Denver today received new Xbox 360(TM) kiosks to play with, thanks to a collaboration between Microsoft Corp. and the Companions in Courage Foundation. RMHC is the only Colorado children's hospital to receive the custom-built game units from the program.
The Companions in Courage Foundation, started by hockey great Pat LaFontaine, established the Lion's Den Kiosk program with Microsoft Corp. Microsoft delivers the mobile game units to select children's hospitals to provide interactive, fun entertainment as a respite for children battling life-threatening illness.
"Microsoft is committed to keeping kids entertained in a variety of ways within a safe gaming environment, so partnering with Companions in Courage to offer children in hospitals a way to connect through something as universal as games, is a natural fit for the work we do," said Microsoft President, Entertainment and Devices Division... More »
Yes folks, it's October, which means that the crazy end-of-year games rush has begun. A boggling number of games are due out over the next few months, so let us guide you towards the titles we really think you should be keeping an eye on.
Remember though, most of these recommendations are based on previews, so wait until the final review verdict before picking any of them up.
1. Animal Crossing: City Folk - Wii, 16th Nov US, December EU
It might not be the great hardcore hope Reggie claims it to be, but the Wii version of Animal Crossing certainly promises to be the definitive entry in the series. It's got proper online play, mic and keyboard communications, Mii support, a new city area full of customisable gear to pick up and connectivity between Wii and DS. In other words, it's got everything Animal Crossing always needed. AC is one of those games you either love or just don't get at all, but if you're the former, this will be a must.
More »
Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime has again warned that they may struggle to meet the huge demand for the Nintendo Wii this holiday.
To quote: Fils-Aime was cautious on whether the company would be able to meet demand again this holiday.
“I don’t know if we’ll be able to, but were we to get in a car right now and go to 100 retail locations in the San Francisco area, we would not be able to find a Wii in at least 60 of those stores,” he says. “Our hope is that by next week, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and on Dec. 23, you’ll be able to find a Wii.”
Analysts anticipate strong sales for the Wii despite predictions of a broad decline in spending on consumer electronics. “It will sell well,” said Lazard Capital equity research analyst Colin Sebastian in an e-mail. “The console remain in high demand, and I expect retailers will be using Wii’s to attract store traffic throughout the shopping period.”... More »
And now we come to the final part of our show, wherein you asked questions, and we put them to Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, and he answered.
First up came a question regarding region locks on the Nintendo DSi handhelds. And Reggie's answer? "To be honest I don't know for sure, I will look into it." He added that he thinks that the device will be region locked, purely on the fact that the downloads for the system are region based.
Man, I am going to be so damn disappointed if I can't play my copy of Tingle's Balloon Fight on there. Especially after the trouble I went to to get it!
Nintendo has said they will look into it for us, so we'll keep on it sometime in the coming weeks.
Another question was a simple one: The DSi can play music, so can it play MP3s? And the answer is "no, it plays the AAC format. It's an easy conversion."
That may be true, but let's face it, MP3s have the run of societ... More »
PushingPlay.com (linked above) has shared 7 things consumers should take note of while comparing the new DSi to the 'old' DS Lite. To quote:
Camera - While 2 cameras have been added, only one is visible while playing your games (the other is on the backside). This camera subscribes to the apple webcam mentality that you should ALWAYS have a lens pointed at you.
Finish - The DS Lite had a slightly shiny glossed finish, while the new one seems to be a bit more matte. Maybe this will mean less greasy fingerprints!
Power button - The DS Phat had the power button on the face. The Lite went with the power slider on the side of the system. It looks like the new DS is bringing it back to the old school and putting a power button on the face of the unit. It looks like it doesn’t stick out at all so it is probably pretty hard to hit accidentally.
Screen - Although it’s tough tell in pictures because the systems aren’t to scale, the new DS... More »
Lets face, E3 is only a short while away, 2 weeks today actually it kicks off with Microsoft's press conference. But what can we expect before E3 with the pre-E3 conferences.
First off, there are some pretty big changes. While Reggie Fils-Aime is still at Nintendo, Phil Harrison and Peter Moore have now bitten the dust from Sony and Microsoft and are now at EA Sports and Atari which means no fun with them this year (Especially Peter).
But what can Sony pull out of the bag for their conference this year? Well, we tell you all here what could possibly happen at that conference on July 15th.
Hardware: This will most likely be the PlayStation 2's final appearence at E3 after the short time they had on it last year. There could be one final swansong game for the PS2 unveiled at E3 to send the console off to Videogaming heaven but that is very doubtful sadly.
As for the PSP, it needs a shunt in the back-side. Not since... More »
This year E3 Media & Business Summit is coming back to Los Angeles, and its only a month away. E3 2008 will take place on July 15-17 and the heavy hitters will all be there and ready to blow your mind with the latest news, trailers, announcements, etc.
But what exactly can we expect at E3 2008, well lets take a look at the possibilities from each of the companies, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo.
Microsoft Xbox 360
Microsoft has already revealed their 2008 Fall line up which definitely looks promising with titles such as Gears Of War 2, Fable 2, Banjo and Kazooie, Too Human, etc. But has Microsoft really showed us all, rumors say no, with all the talk of a Wii-mote like controller coming to the Xbox 360, Rare working on Killer Instinct, Lips?, we can definitely say that Microsoft will release the cats out of the bag at E3. But even then what do third party developers have to show off for the Xbox 360, last year Take-Two gave us Bioshock, can we exp... More »
Nothing's official until E3, but that hasn't stopped the Big 3 from showcasing some of their finer wares.
As E3 draws close, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony are surely readying a massive Megaton-style release of Q3 and Q4 games for the storied (albeit shrinking) show. Here's what we know so far.
Sony dropped a few big names last week with its first party exclusives list. The dates are subject to change, as always, and it wouldn't be a surprise given the number of big name delays we've seen in the past six months (the terribly reviewed Haze foremost among them).
- Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 -- PSP (Available June 3, 2008)
- Secret Agent Clank --PSP (Available June 17, 2008)
- wipEout HD --PSN (Available Summer 2008)
- Elefunk -- PSN (Available Summer 2008)
- PixelJunk Eden -- PSN (Available Summer 2008)
- SIREN: Blood Curse --PSN (Available Summer 2008)
- SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation -- PS3 (Avail... More »
(0) 
