From IDG News correspondent, J. Mark Lytle, IDG News Service, at this week's Tokyo Game Show:
Although Sony's PlayStation 3 has already been shown in prototype form at various trade events for more than a year now, most sightings have been of development kits only. We finally got a look at the console in action at the Tokyo Game Show today.

In Sony's own booth, about a dozen home-spun games were playable, with several more on display for eye-candy
value alone. The standout titles drawing most attention from the huge first-day crowds of journalists, exhibitors, and assorted hangers-on were "Gran Turismo HD"--a racing game being demoed in mock-ups of sports-car cockpits--and "Minna No Golf 5" (Everybody's Golf 5), a fun golfing game that looked remarkably similar to the versions already available for other platforms.

The game console is due to go on sale in the U.S. on November 17, but Sony has already announced that it expects to ship far fewer PS3s than originally announced due to component shortages.

High-Definition Gaming
Away from the games at the Sony booth, it appears that Sega has the best lineup of PS3 games. The outstanding
title there was clearly "Power Smash 3," a tennis game that is presented in full 1080p high-definition resolution, which makes it appear closer to a simulation than a traditional game.

Hi-def gaming may take some getting used to, however. For example, close-ups of tennis star James Blake's shaven head that were shown between points were more than a little off-putting. Scratch beneath the glossy hi-def surface, though, and actual game play was surprisingly simple and easy to grasp. That caused a traffic jam of players so engaged that they had to be ushered along to keep the line moving and allow someone else a turn.

Other Sega standards were also out in impressive force. These included "Virtua Fighter 5" and "Sega Golf Club." The former game could hardly fail to impress, with detailed renditions of blizzards of sakura cherry blossoms falling from background trees and realistic-looking Japanese temples. Sega's golf title, on the other hand, looked slightly dated, especially when compared with the Sony golf offering.

Finally, not all PS3 games on show were complete. One of the most interesting games still on the drawing board, but available to lust over, was previewed under the working title of "Lair" and is surely the first high-definition fire-breathing dragon-riding game for any console.

PS3 Games
The software title line-up that will be available on November 11 when the PlayStation 3 console launches in Japan became clearer today.

At least six games are expected to be available on the PlayStation 3's launch day. Two games each will come from Sony and Bandai Namco and a title each from Konami and Sega.

One game was also given a price: "Konami's Mahjong Fight Club Online" will cost $43.

Demonstration versions of many of the games are on display at the show, which continues through Sunday.

Here are upcoming PlayStation 3 titles, publishers, and genres, grouped by the date they are projected to launch in Japan.

November 11:

"Resistance: Fall of Man" (SCEI) / First person shooter
"Genji: Days of the Blade" (SCEI) / Action
"Ridge Racer 7" (Namco Bandai) / Racing
"Mobile Suit Gundam: Target In Sight" (Namco Bandai) / 3D action shooting
"MahJong Fight Club Online" (Konami) / Mahjong
"Sega Golf Club featuring Miyazato Family" (Sega) / Golf

November 2006:
"Mahjong Taikai IV" (Koei) / Mahjong
December 2006:

"Gran Turismo HD" (working title) (SCEI) / Real driving simulator
"Armored Core 4" (FromSoftware) / High-speed mech-action
"MotorStorm" (SCEI) / Race
"Formula One Championship" (working title) (SCEI) / F1 simulator
2006:

"Fatal Inertia" (Koei) / Flying combat racing
"Sonic the Hedgehog" (Sega) / Action adventure
"Railfan" (Ongakukan) / Variety
"Need for Speed Carbon" (Electronic Arts) / Street race
"NBA Live 07" (Electronic Arts) / Basketball
"Enchant Arm" (FromSoftware) / Role playing game
Early 2007:

"Heavenly Sword" (SCEI) / Action adventure
"The Eye of Judgment" (SCEI) / 3D card battle
"Virtua Fighter 5" (Sega) / 3D CG battle
"Ninja Gaiden Sigma" (Tecmo) / Action adventure
"Monster Kingdom: Unknown Realms" (working title) (SCEI) / Action adventure
"Lair" (tentative name for Japan) (SCEI) / Flight action adventure
"Virtua Tennis 3" (Sega) / Tennis
"Wangan Midnight" (Genki) / Race game

Midyear 2007:
"Warhawk" (SCEI) / Flight action adventure
"Everybody's Golf 5" (working title) (SCEI) / Golf
Third quarter 2007:

"Dark Sector" (D3 Publisher) / Combat action

2007:
"Afrika" (working title) (SCEI) / no genre given
"Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" (Konami Digital Entertainment) / Tactical espionage action
No date given:

"Shirokishi Monogatari" (SCEI) / Role-playing game
"Devil May Cry 4" (Capcom) / Stylish action
"Final Fantasy XIII" (Square Enix) / Role playing game
"Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War" (Koei) / Action
"Coded Arms: Assault" (Konami Digital Entertainment) / First person shooter
"fl0w" (working title) (SCEI) / no genre given

Posted by Chris Keall at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

New iPods previewed at Apple Expo solve scratch and screen issues, offer high capacities at lower price ... and bring back colour.

Narasu Rebbapragada reports from Apple Expo in San Francisco:
Apple's revamp of the three current members of its iPod line--the iPod, the Nano, and the Shuffle--should address
customer complaints about battery life and scratching; and the players' prices should lure buyers as the holiday season approaches.

Highlights of today's hardware announcements from Apple include a new 80GB iPod that Apple says has an improved display and battery life, Nanos with brightly coloured metallic cases, and a tiny iPod Shuffle that Apple CEO Steve Jobs called "the world's smallest MP3 player."

Larger-capacity iPod
Debuting today, the updated full-size iPods come in two versions: a 30GB model (available in black or white) priced at $489 incl GST, and an 80GB model (available in black only) for $649 incl GST.

The large iPods--and the new Nanos--have brighter screens and longer battery life, according to the company. Apple also announced new earbud headphones that the company says are more comfortable than the previous-generation version.

Both of these types of iPods offer gapless playback, eliminating the pause between digital audio tracks. This feature is popular with audiophiles.

The Return of Colour
The second-generation Nanos sport a new aluminum case available in any of five colours (silver, green, pink, blue, or black). These colours appear to be slightly brighter than the corresponding ones on the old iPod Mini.

"It was a big deal to bring colour back with the Nano because color was a very, very popular [quality] about the Mini, particularly among women who care more about color than men do," says Van Baker, an analyst with Gartner Industry Advisory Services.

New 2GB ($US149, silver only), 4GB ($US199), and 8GB ($US249, black only) models are available now. According to Jobs, they offer twice the storage of the corresponding first-generation Nanos for the same price. Baker points out that the new case and screen address complaints about scratching and cracked screens on the earlier Nanos. Other improvements claimed by Apple include longer battery life, slimmer size, and a brighter screen.

Silvery shuffle
The $NZ149 1GB Shuffle, which ships in October, is half the size of the original model. On first handling, that appears to be perhaps a little too small--it looks easy to lose.

Its silver aluminum case has a built-in clip for attaching it to clothing or a belt. According to Apple, the Shuffle weighs 0.5 ounce and occupies just 0.5 cubic inch of space. The Shuffle comes with a USB 2.0 dock for easily syncing and charging the player; unlike its predecessor, the new model can't be plugged into a USB port.

The new Shuffle, like the original one, lacks a display for viewing tracks and has a toggle switch for listening to tracks sequentially or in random order.

Search songs faster
Both the iPod and iPod Nano have song-search enhancements. Going to the Music menu and scrolling down to Search brings up a keypad where you can scroll and enter the first letters of song titles, artists, and albums on an on-screen keypad. The letter combinations bring up the matching songs in your iPod's song library.

Scrolling quickly through tracks prompts the screen to display the first letter of the tracks you've reached. (For example, fast scrolling through tracks starting with the letter L will bring up a block letter L on the interface.) In an informal hands-on test at the event, this feature worked properly only when I scrolled very quickly on an iPod that contained a large number of tracks.

Apple also announced the immediate availability of nine new iPod video games, priced at $US4.99 each and sold through the new iTunes 7's iTunes Store (still not available for New Zealand).

The games are designed to be played using the large iPod's scroll wheel. Developed by Apple and Electronic Arts, the current selection of mostly parlor and arcade titles includes Tetris, Pac-Man, Texas Hold'em, and Bejeweled.

Posted by Chris Keall at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )