Electronic Arts today announced that Madden NFL 07 and Need for Speed Carbon will both be available for the Nintendo Wii when it is released on 19 November.
Wallop, a new company that was spun off by Microsoft, announced the launch of the beta version of its social networking site that aims to compete with MySpace and Facebook. Wallop will also offer premium features that users will need to pay for.
Electronic Arts today announced that the new installment to its NBA Live series has shipped to retailers nationwide. Continuing EA's partnership with ESPN, the sports network makes a defined appearance in NBA Live 07.
Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) plans to roll out its first 52" LCD TV panels from a 5.5-generation (5.5G) TFT LCD plant in the first quarter of 2007, according to the company.
A report on Japanese website Impress Watch indicates that games for the Playstation 3 may be significantly higher than titles for the Playstation 2 or competing consoles Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. While official pricing has not been announced yet, the site quotes "multiple" sources who put game pricing in the range of 8800 to 9800 Yen - or $75 to $84. The reason for the price hike: Rising development cost, according to Impress Watch.
The average street prices for 40-44" LCD TVs and business displays in North America dropped below those for high-definition (HD) plasma panel display (PDP) TVs of the same size range for the first time in July, according to research firm Pacific Media Associates (PMA).
Tokyo (Japan) - Sony is cutting prices on its upcoming PlayStation 3 even before the 17 November release date. Ken Kutagari, Sony's PlayStation chief, spoke told the audience at the Tokyo Game Show that prices would be cut by 20% and that all models will include HDMI connectors. He also said there will be no further shipment delays.
Microsoft is re-releasing popular older games at a lower price. The so-called 'Platinum line' of games will be phased in over the next year and will vary according by region. Rounding out the American batch are four games, Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo: Elements of Power and Need for Speed Most Wanted.
Joysticks and other controllers often break under the stress of gaming, but X-Arcade claims that it can offer an almost indestructible (and insanely heavy) joystick. The "Tankstick" promises to revive arcade gaming at home and comes with two control sticks, along with several arcade-style buttons. 18 classic games, including Space Invaders, Galaga and Donkey Kong are included.
Agoura Hills (CA) - THQ, the video game publishing company behind the popular online game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, today announced its second expansion pack to the game. "Dark Crusade" has reached the gold master stage, meaning all of the code programming is finished. The game is slated to be shipped nationwide on 9 October.
Logitech has received FCC approval for a new set of wireless "Free Pulse" headphones. The unannounced device is squarely aimed at Ipod owners, as Logitech provides custom wireless adapter fit plates for 4G and 5G Ipods as well as the Ipod nano and Ipod mini. However, according to the manual, the headset should work with any other MP3 player as well.
The headphones transmit audio via Bluetooth 2.0 EDR.
There was no information on availability and pricing of the "Free Pulse"set.
Osaka (Japan) - Panasonic today unveiled what the company is calling the world's first Blu-ray Disc recorders that can play back BD-video discs. The devices can store high-definition video onto the built-in hard drive and burn content onto recordable BD-R and BD-RE media.
Blu-ray Disc players for 2006 ...
Microsoft will be offering an HD DVD upgrade for its Xbox 360 game console that will allow the company to compete with Sony in the HD arena. The new drive will be available on 17 November, the launch date of the Playstation 3.
Redwood City (CA) - Two new Godfather are joining EA's Corleone Family video game lineup. The publisher announced "The Godfather, The Game" for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console and "The Godfather, Mob Wars" for Sony's Playstation Portable (PSP), which almost completes the multi-platform rollout of the game series.
Media reports published late Monday suggested that Microsoft on Tuesday will open the doors to Soapbox, a video sharing service that will compete with the popular YouTube website. Access to the service will be offered on an invite-only basis during the test phase with the final site being scheduled to launch within the next six months, according to an article published by Reuters.
Yokohama (Japan) - At an upcoming electronics expo, JVC will demo sphere-shaped speakers that are supposedly acoustically perfect. Resembling the floating assassin droids in Star Wars, the 12-sided speakers will emit sound from every side, except for the bottom. JVC claims the speaker will "disappear acoustically" to most listeners.
Developer Neversoft has dropped online play from the PlayStation 3 version of Tony Hawk's Project 8, a key third-party launch title for Sony's next-gen console.
Apple is about to get some more serious competition for its most important revenue source. Microsoft just released some details about its soon to be launched Zune portable media player to tackle the dominance most sold MP3 player on the planet. There are some new features. But what's up with that funky design - and brown color? Is Microsoft serious?
