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Weekend Deals Roundup - Hooray for Last-Gen!
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Hot Deals, PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360,
Everybody may be talking about this “next-gen” newfangledness, but there’s still some great games to be found for consoles that are older than a year. If you’re looking for some new games to tide you over until Lair or Metroid Prime 3 or GTA IV hits (whatever floats your boat!), then these may help out.
KB Toys is offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal for a variety of PSP titles. Walmart is offering a variety of bundle deals (2 for $20, 3 for $25, or 2 for $30) on select games for the PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox. And for those of you looking for some next-gen games, we’ve also recently seen THAW for Xbox 360 at $19.99, and even Super Paper Mario for Wii, $44.99 at Amazon.
Enjoy the deals! Just try to leave a bit of money in your bank account to pay taxes with…
Gallery: Weekend Deals Roundup - Hooray for Last-Gen!
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Mercury Meltdown Revolution for Wii - A “Steel”?
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Hot Deals, Party Games, PSP, Puzzle, Wii,
Excuse the bad pun at the top, but if Amazon’s price listing is correct, Mercury Meltdown Revolution for the Wii may be a bargain… as the good folks over at GoNintendo noted, the currently listed price for the Wii game (which garnered an 8.5 for the PSP version at IGN) is $19.99. Add to that the fact that most hands-on reports of the game love the addition of tilt-controls, and it’s looking like you’ve got a new no-brainer buy for the Wii.
Mercury Meltdown Revolution is slated to launch around May 1st, and will feature some graphical and gameplay upgrades to the PS2/PSP version, including 480p/widescreen support and added levels.
Read More 
| Amazon.com via GoNintendo.com
Gallery: Mercury Meltdown Revolution for Wii - A “Steel”?
PSP Core System Now $169.99
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Hardware, PSP, Release Dates, Rumors,
Stop the presses! It seems that Sony has finally taken notice that their latest console iterations aren’t selling all that well. While rumors of an impending PS3 price drop are just that, rumors, Joystiq.com has recently uncovered evidence that Sony’s PSP Core Pack will be discounted at Gamestop by $$30 to $169.99, in an effort to boost sales.
Will this price drop be the lift that the ailing handheld needs? Or is this too little too late for Sony’s feature-rich, games-poor handheld? We’ll have to wait to find out, but $169.99 is already sounding to us like a much better impulse-buy price point.
Read More | Joystiq.com
Gallery: PSP Core System Now $169.99
PSP Owners Get Six Months Free Wi-Fi From T-Mobile
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, PSP,
Sony Computer Entertainment America today announced a partnership with T-Mobile to allow PSP users six months free access to T-Mobile’s network of hotspots. Gamers with a PSP can get access to the hotspots by upgrading their PSP firmware to version 3.30 and signing on before March 28, 2008. Given the number of freely accessible hotspots that seem to be cropping up around urban areas, T-Mobile’s pay options often seem a bit steep, but with locations in Starbucks coffee shops all over the nation, PSP owners will definitely have more options when gaming on the go. Specific terms of the access were not announced, but after the six-month trial period expires, T-Mobile is promising a reduced rate for PSP owners.
Sony’s full press release continues below.
Click to continue reading PSP Owners Get Six Months Free Wi-Fi From T-Mobile
Gallery: PSP Owners Get Six Months Free Wi-Fi From T-Mobile
The Ready At Dawn game studio had already made a name for itself with the impressive Daxter release on the PSP when rumors started swirling that the studio would be tasked to develop the portable version of the God of War franchise. Eventually, the rumors proved true, and now Gamasutra has interviewed Didier Malenfant about the company. Malenfant and Gamasutra discuss the ins-and-outs of the PSP platform (Ready at Dawn finds the 222 mhz default CPU speed most limiting), original vs licensed IP, and the Daxter and God of War engines. Gamasutra also covered the recent phenomenon of reverse ports going from the PSP to the PS2; Ready At Dawn left open the possibility of seeing Daxter hitting the PS2.
Read More | Gamasutra
Gallery: Ready At Dawn Talks PSP, Daxter, God of War
NPD: Nintendo DS, Wii Lead Hardware Sales
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360,
February’s NPD data has been released, and things look good for Nintendo. 1up has the details on video game sales for last month, and the Nintendo DS sold 485,000 units, the Wii 335,000. For the rest of the next-generation hardware, Microsoft maintained its sales pace by moving around 228,000 consoles, while the Playstation 3 saw a significant drop to 127,000. The PSP didn’t do much better against the DS, moving 176,000 handhelds.
The only bright spot for Sony would be that in the non-handheld category, the PS2 took second behind the Wii, selling 295,000 units, showing that their now last-generation technology still has plenty of legs at retail. Still, having their PS3 sales drop by nearly half over last month’s sales is a significant change; if new software from Sony can’t change course, the company may have to do something drastic to turn things around.
Microsoft should be pretty happy; while they didn’t lead the pack, the company will surely trumpet their increase in year-over-year sales. That, and having the number one game at retail for the month of February, Crackdown will also help. 1up’s article also further details the rest of the software charts for the month.
Read More | 1up
Gallery: NPD: Nintendo DS, Wii Lead Hardware Sales
God of War PSP Confirmed
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP,
Internet rumors don’t always have the best track record, but it looks like the “accidental” leak of the existence of a God of War game on Ready At Dawn’s website has come true. Sony, of course, played dumb when responding to the rumors, but the God of War 2 packaging for the Playstation 2 confirms the game’s existence, and 1up has a shot of the teaser. At the God of War 2 launch event, game director Cory Barlog also apparently confirmed a version of God of War for the Playstation 3 (like this was in doubt) but also SIXAXIS and rumble support for the new game. It’s hard to tell if Barlog is just spitballing about features that he would like in the PS3 version of God of War 3 or this is an actual feature set, but that rumble is on the radar screen of Sony’s first party development teams is a good thing at this point.
Read More | 1up
Gallery: God of War PSP Confirmed
Lumines II has been out in the United States since November, so it seems a bit surprising that Japan is just getting the game now. The other shock, according to Siliconera, is the vastly depleted number of music tracks and videos for the Japanese release. Siliconera indicates that a number of the US and European songs have been removed in Japan, most likely due to licensing issues, with some Japanese replacements. It appears that for music selection, the US edition is the most complete of the three releases. Luckily for users in other territories, PSP game titles aren’t region locked, so those outside the US willing to spend a little more for an import version can get the most “complete” version of the game.
Read More | Siliconera
Gallery: Licensing Bites Lumines II In Japan
Castlevania to Hit PSP, In Glorious 2.5D!
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Adventure, Portable/Mobile, PSP, Trailers,
1up has the exclusive dirt on a Castlevania remake/port that will be making its way to the PSP (yes, you heard that right, the PSP), presumably in the coming year. For the handheld, which appears to be in a bit of a sales slump, this could be the just kick-in-the-pants it needs. Fans of the Castlevania series are notoriously die-hard, and up until now they’ve been forced to do all their portable vampire slaying on Nintendo’s DS via Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin.
The PSP game, titled Castelvania: Dracula X Chronicles is really 2.5 games in one… the main focus here is a 2.5D remake of Castelvania: Rondo of Blood, a Japan-only release until now. Included on the UMD will also be the original Rondo and the much-lauded Symphony of the Night which introduced the free-roaming Metroid-esque level progression to the series.
Right now, Konami expects to have the game out around 9/15/2007, and the title appears to be looking quite good already! We’ll be looking for more news on this bombshell, and we’ll be sure to bring you all the updated info as soon as we get it!
Read More | 1up.com
Gallery: Castlevania to Hit PSP, In Glorious 2.5D!
Sony Profits Drop 5% On PS3 Launch Costs
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Hardware, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP,
Sony’s 3rd quarter financial results reflect a 5% drop in net profit year-over-year largely due to costs incurred launching the Playstation 3. A BusinessWeek report on the financial results indicates that despite this loss, Sony has raised its guidance for the year due to its successes in the flat-panel TV and digital camera arenas. While the games division used to be a huge profit center for Sony, lately gaming has been dragging the company down. Sony missed its shipment targets for the Playstation 3, but still believes it is on track to ship 6 million consoles worldwide by the end of March. Still, Playstation 2 and PSP unit sales were down. Third quarter sales of the Playstation 2 were down 1.25 million units to 4.11 million sold, a decrease of roughly 30%. Sales of the PSP were down even more; the company moved only 1.76 million handhelds compared to over 6 million sold during the third quarter of 2005, a decrease of nearly 75%. Sony seems to be losing battles on two fronts right now, with lost opportunities on the Playstation 3 side leading to conversions to either Nintendo’s Wii or the Microsoft Xbox 360. The PSP is getting beat up horrendously by the Nintendo DS; while Sony’s handheld had held its ground for quite some time, its popularity now appears to be fading. Sony hopes to get things turned around with the Playstation 3 soon; console availability doesn’t seem to be as much of a problem as a lack of exclusive titles.
Read More 
| Sony Financial Release [PDF]
Read More | BusinessWeek
Gallery: Sony Profits Drop 5% On PS3 Launch Costs
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