Game News: November 13, 2006

PS3's System 1.10 Decoded
   Earlier on in the day, we posted a news story stating that retail units needed to be updated to System software version 1.10 to connect to the Internet. Well, we've now got details about what the software update provided to the retail unit directly from the official Japanese PlayStation 3 website, a...

Play Around in the PS Store
   With the PlayStation 3, Sony has at last brought a unified online experience to the PlayStation platform, with a single login, friend list, and shopping point common to most games. While we already detailed the online gameplay experience through 'Ridge Racer 7' (be sure and check out our 'Ridge' med...

Capcom Splits from THQ
   In what is definitely an interesting shake-up in the local game distribution scene, Activision Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement to become the exclusive distributor of Capcom Co. Ltd. titles in the Australian and New Zealand markets. The commencement of the agreement coinci...

PlayStation's Compatibility Problem
   Japan's Cnet.com reports backwards compatibility problems for over 196 PlayStation 2 titles. This figure counts multiple versions of the same game (budget versions, limited editions, etc.) as a single entity and includes the full range of problems, from simple sound issues to more dramatic freezing ...

Sony Comes in Second at Home
   Weekend numbers are in for the PlayStation 3's Japanese debut, and they aren't pretty at all. Enterbrain, the publisher of Japan's Weekly Famitsu magazine, reports today that Sony managed to sell 88,400 PlayStation 3 units over the system's first two days of retail release. This number breaks down t...

Wii-VD ?
   Even after something is final, is it really "final" ? In regards to specs being released for a gaming console, final isn't always "final". Sonic Solutions, makers of Roxio CD/DVD burning software, has announced that they have been chosen to give users a "high-quality DVD movie viewing to a future version" of the Wii. Sonic Solutions says the new version of the Wii is expected in "the latter half of 2007."

There hasn't been any official announcement from the Nintendo camp.

Test Drive PS3's Video Playback
   For those frustrated with the Xbox 360's limited video playback features (and for those of you angry at PS3 for not upscaling DVDs), here's something to smile about: video playback on Sony's new system seems to have no restrictions of any kind. Barring a lack of support for your chosen format (which...

Report Recognizes Hardcore Gamers
   A report titled 'Next Generation Purchase Intent' recently released by market research firm the NPD Group confirms there is a segment of the gaming population that will buy next-generation systems as soon as they become available, regardless of their cost. Referred to in the report as 'Heavy Gamers,...

Sony's PS3 has problems running PS, PS2 games (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Sony Corp.'s (6758.T) new PlayStation 3 game console has problems when playing about 200 software games from previous versions of the machine, the Sankei daily reported on Tuesday.

IGDA Launches Student Scholarship for GDC
   

The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has launched the 7th annual Student Scholarship Program for full-time students who want to attend the 2007 Game Developers Conference.

Gamasutra Podcast: 'Game Education Roundtable, Pt. 2'
   

Gamasutra's latest instalment of its regular podcast is the second part of our roundtable discussion on the state of game education, with participants including DigiPen's Claude Comair, Parsons School of Design's Katie Salen, Dr. Peter Raad from the Guildhall at SMU, USC's Tracy Fullerton and more.

Hands On with Nintendo Wii (PC Magazine)
   PC Magazine - Editor-in-Chief Jim Louderback takes the Nintendo Wii for a lengthy test drive, and reports back with photos and first impressions.

Sony Sells 88,400 PS3s in Japan in Two Days (PC Magazine)
   PC Magazine - Sony Corp. sold 88,400 units of its PlayStation 3 game console in the first two days after the launch in Japan, leaving most stores without any stock.

Sony's PS3 has problems running PS, PS2 games (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Sony Corp.'s (6758.T) new PlayStation 3 game console has problems when playing about 200 software games from previous versions of the machine, the Sankei daily reported on Tuesday. Sony started selling the latest version of its blockbuster game console in Japan on Saturday, and video game magazine publisher Enterbrain has said it sold 88,400 units of the console in the first two days after the launch, leaving most stores without any stock.

Sony sold 88,400 PS3s in Japan in 2 days: publisher (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Sony Corp. sold 88,400 units of its PlayStation 3 game console in the first two days after the launch in Japan, leaving most stores without any stock, video game magazine publisher Enterbrain said on Monday.

A Real-World Mortal Kombat (BusinessWeek Online)
   BusinessWeek Online - They're both self-made Chinese billionaires and run Nasdaq-listed companies in the world's fastest-growing Internet market. Tiangiao Chen, chairman of Shanda Interactive Entertainment (NASDAQ:SNDA - News), and William Ding, CEO of Netease.com (NASDAQ:NTES - News), are also locked in a real-world Mortal Kombat for supremacy of China's rapidly expanding online gaming space with two radically different business models.

PlayStation 3 buying frenzy moves into cyberspace (AFP)
   

AFP - After its sell-out launch, the PlayStation 3 buying frenzy has jetted into cyberspace with some owners asking up to four times the retail price on Japanese Internet auction sites.

"Scarface" tops U.S. video game chart in October (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Vivendi's "Scarface: The World is Yours," inspired by the 1983 violent crime thriller starring Al Pacino as a Miami drug lord, debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. video game chart for October, market research firm NPD said on Monday.