TechRadar: All Handhelds Feeds

WIN! Nintendo DS and Star Wars The Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance

TechRadar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:52:00 +0000

The galaxy far, far away takes on a dazzling new look in the first-ever CG-animated Star Wars feature - Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

It's a major entertainment event that includes a brand new movie, a weekly television series and an exciting videogame.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars introduces generations of fans to brand new characters including Anakin Skywalker's new Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano and promises epic new adventures as well as classic rivalries that delve deeper into the Star Wars saga.

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance takes you into the world of the all-new Star Wars animated feature film and television series set between Episode II and Episode III.

Experience the combined power when two Jedi join forces to fight as one. Choose your favourite Jedi pair at the start of each mission and experience unique moves and combat skills.

With an innovative stylus-based input, controlling the Jedi's movement and lightsaber combat has never felt more immersive.

The lucky winner of our competition will win not only a copy of Star Wars The Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance but a Nintendo DS, too!

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance is out now in the UK through Activision.

To enter the competition click here

Please note that the competition is open to UK residents only. Under 16s must obtain parental consent to enter this competition and be able to demonstrate this to TechRadar's reasonable satisfaction.

More competitions: The Prize Finder * Loquax

PSP and DS sales begin to slow down

Gareth Beavis — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:19:00 +0000

Sales of the flagship handhelds from Nintendo and Sony have shown the consumers are starting to lose interest in the old favourites in the US, while the console market is enjoying happier times.

However, this is more than likely due to the fact the two companies have both got new iterations of the devices coming out soon and the price drops for the older models haven't quite kicked in yet.

Sales of the DS were down from 536,800 to 491,000 and the PSP fell from 238,100 in September to 193,000 in October, which is more of a steady decline than an outright fall.

PS3 problems

Sales of the PS3 weren't that great either, despite the price cuts brought in by some retailers in the build up to Christmas. Sales fell from 232,400 to 190,000 in October, according to Reuters.

However, at the cheaper end of the console scale, things are looking much more rosy. The Wii climbed from 687,000 to 803,210, and the Xbox 360 rose from 347,200 to 371,000.

However, there's no word yet on how things are faring over here in the UK, where the new DSi will take a while to arrive and the PS3 looks likely to fare much better in the build up to Christmas after some decent price cuts.

New firmware update breaks PSP

Adam Hartley — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:01:00 +0000

The week started for Sony Computer Entertainment with the LittleBigPlanet Qu'ran PR debacle, segue-ing into a little firefighting relating to visible lines on the new PSP 3000 screen and now ends with the news that the new PSP update 5.0 effectively breaks your PSP.

We imagine that Sony's PR department is particularly glad that it is Friday this week!

It seems the PSP firmware version 5.00 for the PlayStation Portable creates a storage problem on the handheld.

Semantics, darling

While the update allows users direct access to the PlayStation Store from their PSPs while hooked up to a Wi-Fi network (or while illegally freejacking their neighbours…) Sony has also identified "an issue related to larger capacity Memory Stick Pro Duos".

If you try to download a game or video from the PlayStation Store with an empty 16GB Memory Stick Pro Duo card in your PSP you will receive a message telling you that there is no space on the card.

So understand that when Sony uses the word 'issue' in the above statement, what they mean is 'fault'. Semantics can be such fun!

Sony's promises that PSP update version 5.01 will fix this 'issue'.

New PSP-3000 screen already under fire

J Mark Lytle — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:50:00 +0000

Anyone planning on buying the just-released PSP-3000 from Sony might want to reconsider just how much of an improvement the new screen is, after it emerged complaints are already flooding in.

The upgraded display was supposed to improve a slight problem Sony acknowledged in the past where moving characters exhibited a ghosting effect and appeared blurred.

Horizontal jaggies

Instead, according to numerous online forums, the ghosting has been replaced by jagged horizontal lines stretching out to either side of some game characters.

Sony told one PSP fan site, "On some occasions, scan lines may appear on scenes where brightness changes drastically ... Since this is due to hardware specification, there are no plans for a system software update concerning this issue."

In other words, "Our new, improved screen might not look all that good, but we're happy with it, so you can like it or lump it." Or, perhaps, go buy a PSP-2000?

Sony PSP 2: rollout screen with two joysticks

Gareth Beavis — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:59:00 +0000

Given the slow changes in the design of the PSP, combined with Sony getting on board with downloadable games, means a revolutionary new design could be on the cards, to help it in the battle with Nintendo and the DS.

Designer Tai Chiem has come up with a new idea based on flexible OLEDs, which are moving steadily closer to reality.

Stiffen

The display would roll out of a stick-like device, then an electrical charge would stiffen the screen to give huge display estate for gaming.

It will also feature a camera and stereo speakers, which double as jog dials and controls for the device.

The other idea is to FINALLY put two joysticks on PSP 2, in the manner of the PlayStation. Now that would be something gamers want now, not in 10 years time.

Anyway, check out Yanko Design to see more pictures of the conceptual device.

PSP games to go online via PS3 link

J Mark Lytle — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:52:00 +0000

Among the dozens of minor announcements from Sony at the Tokyo Game Show this week, we almost overlooked a tweak to the PSP that adds considerably to its appeal to hardcore gamers.

Come the end of October, several PSP games whose online aspects are now restricted to local wireless networks only will get the ability to hook up with other players worldwide.

Monster huntin'

The new Adhoc Party for PSP service requires the presence of a PS3 to facilitate the internet connection, which clearly limits its appeal somewhat.

However, the first Adhoc Party title will be Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G – one of the key drivers of the PSP's recent sales uptick in Japan.

Better yet, the new service will support in-game voice chat and will be a free download from the PlayStation Store.

Manhunt 2 gets Halloween release date

Marc Chacksfield — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:02:00 +0000

Manhunt 2, Rockstar's controversial sequel to 2003's Manhunt, has finally been given a UK release date, more than a year after it was released in the US.

The game was suspended from launch in the UK and Ireland by its publisher TakeTwo after it failed to get a rating.

This rejection by the BBFC – and the subsequent court cases to reject the, er, rejection – meant that the game was indefinitely delayed, despite being available to buy in the US since 31 October 2008.

The game will now be released in the UK exactly a year after its US release, hitting British shelves this Halloween.

Decision overturned

The game was finally given a BBFC 18 rating back in March, after the Video Appeals Committee (VAC) overturned the decision to not give the game a rating – this was after some hefty modifications by Rockstar.

Quite why it has taken half a year to get the game into the UK is unknown, but it does mean that Wii, PS2 and PSP owners can finally satisfy their virtual blood-lust on the scariest day of the calendar.

DSi won't be a replacement for DS Lite

Gareth Beavis — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:07:00 +0000

Nintendo of America's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Cammie Dunaway, has said that the new DSi will sit on the shelves next to the current DS Lite as she thinks "there's an opportunity for both of them to coexist for some period of time."

In an interview with Wired.com, she thinks the DS Lite still has a lot of untapped potential, so the two devices, with the new DSi packing a lot more media features, will not compete directly with each other.

Potential

She pointed out that the US was still a big potential market for the DS Lite, as unlike the Japanese, who have one handset for every two households, US consumers are only currently averaging one in five.

She also pointed out that the new DSi devices were likely to continue with the same price premium in Japan compared to the US, though no mention of how the prices will compare in Europe.

"I don't know what the pricing is going to be here [in the US], but certainly it is going to be a premium over what our current DS is priced at," said Dunaway.

Iwata casts doubt on DSi arrival in US/EU

J Mark Lytle — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:30:00 +0000

A day after the launch of the new DSi handheld, Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata has cast some doubt on when the machine will be launched outside Japan.

Speaking to the Nikkei business newspaper, Iwata would say only that, "the DSi will probably [our emphasis] be launched in the US and Europe next year."

Lites in hand

That's not exactly what the press were officially told yesterday when we were led to believe that 2009 was nailed on. Of course, Iwata's words don't necessarily mean much – he has to have one eye on the millions of unsold DS Lites in stock all over the world for now.

As for his goals for the DSi, Iwata wasn't shy, stating, "Now we want each person to have a DS" and, that it "is the result of our desire to have the busy modern-day person recognise the merit of spending time using the unit."

Marketing speak

Quite what that all means beyond "We want to sell lots of these" is unclear, but at least his views on the improved online offerings make more sense:

"Because users can now download and save software, they can personalise the DS. By downloading subway maps and other things, for instance, the DSi can be useful for applications other than playing games. We wanted to create an offering that would fit naturally into people's everyday lives."

So, there you have it – Nintendo doing what it does best by slightly tweaking an existing product and selling it to the masses for a second (or third) time.

Here at last - Nintendo unveils new DSi

J Mark Lytle — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:40:00 +0000

As promised, Nintendo came up with the goods today when it announced its new handheld a few minutes ago and it's calling the device the DSi.

Most of the predictions were on the money, with a 3-megapixel camera on the outside and another 0.3-megapixel number on the inside of the hinge joining a pair of screens that are slightly larger (3.25 inches) than on the current DS Lite.

SD cards in vogue

That camera on the outside of the case makes the DSi look a little like a phone when closed and comes with the usual software for messing with images a la Power Goo of yore.

Additionally, the whole package weighs a little less, at 214g (218g before – no biggie), and the GBA slot has vanished to be replaced by one for SD cards.

Mix it yourself

The projected music player comes in typical Nintendo form, with the ability to play MP3s from an SD card and a host of options for twiddling audio (which can be recorded via the built-in mic).

Looking at the online side of the equation, Nintendo also announced the DSi Shop, which seems at first glance to operate in a similar fashion to the Wii's 'net store, being based on points, with some software available free.

Japan first, of course

Lastly, with just black and white variations available at first, the Japan release date is just over a month away on 1 November and pricing there will be ¥18,900 (£100).

The rest of us will have to wait, but probably only a matter of weeks until early 2009. Check out Nintendo's Japanese site yourself for a brief overview video.