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Video game retailer and importer Lik-Sang will be closing its doors in the wake of the many lawsuits filed against the company by Sony. According to a press release available on Lik-Sang’s website, the company is no longer taking new orders and will begin refunding existing orders and pre-orders immediately. This hasn’t been the only time the company has shut down; in the past, Lik-Sang sold modchips and flash devices intended to play backups of software for consoles from Sony and Nintendo. After this first lawsuit, the online store was resurrected under new ownership, but without the offending products. Now, it appears that the company may be gone for good. With a successful lawsuit against Lik-Sang, Sony may follow up with other retailers of import consoles as well.
The full press release continues below.
Click to continue reading Lik-Sang To Close Shop, Blames Sony
Read More 
| Lik-Sang
Gallery: Lik-Sang To Close Shop, Blames Sony
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Microsoft Dismisses 100 GB, Chip Design Rumors
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Rumors, Xbox 360,
Microsoft has officially denied the latest rumors regarding the release of a 100 GB hard drive add on for the Xbox 360. In addition, the company also clarified their investments in chip design research to GameDaily. Microsoft’s official stance on the 100 GB add-on is that “Microsoft currently has no plans to release a 100 GB HDD.” The spokesperson was unclear about where the image originated.
In addition, the New York Times recently speculated that Microsoft’s investment into chip design research signaled that the company may be seeking to create its own chip for the next iteration of the Xbox. While any research that Microsoft develops may in fact show up in future versions of the console, Microsoft stated that officially, the company is mainly interested in investigating hardware architecture from a research standpoint.
Read More | GameDaily
Gallery: Microsoft Dismisses 100 GB, Chip Design Rumors
Another Special Edition DS Lite
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Culture, Hardware, Nintendo DS,
Japan gets another limited edition Nintendo DS in November, this time the bundle is a special edition pink DS tied with the release of Love and Berry for the console. The limited edition console will hit stores on November 22, and will likely sell out that day. The bundle will sell for 23,730 Yen ($200 US). The arcade game Oshare Majo: Love and Berry and its related collectible cards have been popular in Japan, but the games have not really penetrated the US market. Still, this is one more limited edition Nintendo DS that will drive more sales in Japan, while the US hasn’t yet seen anything beyond the new DS colors.
Read More | Game Watch Japan
Gallery: Another Special Edition DS Lite
More Wii Remote Questions Answered
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Nintendo, Wii,
After ComputerAndVideogames ran down an extended preview of the Wii remote, there were still some lingering questions. Now, a few of those questions are explored. ComputerAndVideogames tackled battery life and power for the Wii controller; Nintendo believes that the remote should last 60 hours without the pointing function, 30 hours with. ComputerAndVideogames also discusses the pointing capabilities of the remote, saying that the remote doesn’t function as a light gun, but instead operates like a virtual mouse. They don’t rule out this functionality, but it was not present in any of the games tested. Other topics raised include calibration of the controller, replication of motion in games, and the sensor bar. While not as detailed as the previous Wii remote preview, at least some new questions are answered.
Read More | ComputerAndVideogames
Gallery: More Wii Remote Questions Answered
Toys ‘R’ Us’ plans for Wii pre-orders have been confirmed online. GoNintendo has managed to secure scans of the upcoming Toys ‘R’ Us Big Toy Book that verify that the company will be offering Wii pre-orders. No deposit information was listed, and the advertisement doesn’t list any pricing for the console or accessories, but other sources have confirmed that a $50 deposit will be required to reserve a system. GoNintendo has detailed (if fuzzy) scans of the ad.
Read More | GoNintendo
Gallery: Toys ‘R’ Us Wii Pre-Orders Confirmed
During Sony’s Gamer’s Day event, IGN was able to take some time and drill down into the features implemented in the Playstation 3’s version of the XMB menu system. IGN examined the User, Photo, Music, Video, Games, Network, and Friends. Some of the interesting things that Sony has implemented on the Playstation 3 include media streaming; according to IGN, the Playstation 3 will support streaming of various media types. Sony demonstrated live streaming of a movie playing on the Playstation 3 to an online connected PSP. Apparently all media types will support streaming, and eventually users will be able to view media stored on their Playstation 3 from anywhere on the Internet. The Playstation 3 will also support MP4 format videos up to 1080p.
IGN was able to touch on backward-compatibility; no Playstation 1 or 2 games were shown running, but Sony did mention that no upscaling or enhancement would take place. In addition, downloadable Playstation 1 games would not initially be supported on the PS3, but will be playable on the PSP. Overall, it seems like Sony has taken the feature set of the PSP and refined and expanded it for the capabilities of the Playstation 3.
Read More | IGN
Gallery: PS3 XMB Up Close
Sony has issued a press release in conjunction with today’s Gamer’s Day event. Sony’s announcements today included the availability of 20 first and third party games to become available during the holiday season; it was not mentioned which of these would be available day and date with the Playstation 3. Sony also apparently confirmed that first party title NBA 07 would support 1080P. While people have seen early shots of the Playstation 3 network interface, the company today officially confirmed that the Playstation 3 GUI would be based around the XMB (Xross Media Bar) found on the PSP.
Sony also discussed their Playstation store; first-party game titles will be priced at less than $15, and they officially introduced their first downloadable game, Blast Factor.
Accessory pricing has also been finalized for the US market, with the SIXAXIS controller retailing for $49.99, the memory card adapter selling for $14.99, and when the BD Remote Control becomes available, it will sell for $24.99.
Sony also announced that they will be offering a special premium in the first 500,000 PS3 systems shipped; much like the first wave of PSP systems included Spider-man, the first 500,000 Playstation 3 systems will come with Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” on the Blu-Ray format.
The full list of launch window titles continues below.
Update: Resistance has been confirmed to be running at 720p.
Click to continue reading Sony’s Gamer’s Day Announcements
Read More | Playstation.com
Gallery: Sony’s Gamer’s Day Announcements
Ubisoft To Charge $19.99 For Big Hunk Of Plastic
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Driving, Hardware, Mods/Hacks, Nintendo, Ubisoft, Wii,
Ubisoft’s steering wheel controller for the Wii, essentially a circular frame for the Wii remote, will be included free with two of its launch titles. However, gamers that would like to buy this big piece of molded plastic separately will have to pay $19.99 as reported by GameSpot. Given that there are no electronics in the wheel “add-on” it seems likely that an enterprising third-party could do something very similar for much cheaper.
Read More | GameSpot
Gallery: Ubisoft To Charge $19.99 For Big Hunk Of Plastic
Playstation 3 Gets Yellow Dog Linux
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Mods/Hacks, PlayStation 3,
Sony Computer Entertainment released a version of Linux for the original Playstation 2 through a hardware and software kit, and now it looks like that Playstation 3 will be getting its own version of the open source operating system. Terra Soft will be providing a version of Yellow Dog Linux for the Playstation 3. While the original Linux kit for the Playstation 2 was clearly targeted at Linux enthusiasts with its command line based installation, the new version from Terra Soft promises to be more user-friendly, with a graphical, single-click installation. While specific hardware and peripheral support has not been announced, Terra Soft has indicated that a number of software packages will be included with the distribution, including FireFox and OpenOffice, making the Playstation 3 potentially a fully functioning computer. This could open up the platform to homebrew developers as well, depending on how much hardware access is allowed by Sony.
Terra Soft’s complete press release continues below.
Click to continue reading Playstation 3 Gets Yellow Dog Linux
Read More | Terra Soft
Gallery: Playstation 3 Gets Yellow Dog Linux
Rumor: Toys ‘R’ Us Pre-orders Start October 29
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Nintendo, Rumors, Wii,
A Toys “R” Us employee who is a member of the Cheap Ass Gamer forums has posted information about what are supposed to be the pre-order plans for the toy retailer. Supposedly $50 down will get you a place in line, and pre-orders are planned to start the new holiday Big Book arrives. According to the post, this should be Sunday, October 29th. Apparently, the store’s relationship with Nintendo continues – the poster says that Toys “R” Us will be the official launch partner for the Wii. Also, each store was reported to be getting a huge allocation; the chain supposedly will have more total consoles for pre-order than GameStop. If the numbers of consoles available for pre-order are true, gamers should be able to hit up their local Toys “R” Us on the day that tickets become available without having to camp out. None of this information has been officially confirmed, of course, but the poster’s history does have some insight into previous Toys “R” Us stores.
Read More | Cheap Ass Gamer
Gallery: Rumor: Toys ‘R’ Us Pre-orders Start October 29
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