I saw this over at Kotaku, and I really wish I had known about it earlier, because I would have scheduled a day off from work around this and joined the party. This wednesday, Barcade is holding their second annual Child's Play charity event, Funde Razor II, which includes a raffle for the truly stunning Guitar Hero compatible guitar shown in this Kotaku article. If you're in the New york area and you have a chance, why not head down to Barcade to have a good time in the name of charity? Think of the children!

Posted by nylatenite at 2:07 AM EST

Updated: Tuesday, 5 December 2006 2:16 AM EST

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The Halo 3 live action/CG teaser video shown during Monday Night Football is now available for download in the Xbox Live Marketplace. As you may well know, I'm usually not a fan of CG rendered trailers, but Bungie has a habit of hiding a lot of information about a game in their ad spots, so this one is more than welcome. By the way, am I the only one who thought that while that shield grenade was nice, it was more thrilling to see further proof that the original battle rifle is making a comeback in the game?

While writing this up, I also just found out that the video is up at YouTube already, so if you don't have Live or can't get to your 360 right now, check it out below.

Let the inevitable countdown to launch begin.

Still no love for video in the archives, so use the above YouTube link to see the video. 

Posted by nylatenite at 1:44 AM EST

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As we reported the other day, Microsoft and Bungie have opened up registration for this spring's beta test of Halo 3's multiplayer mode. Those interested in taking a shot at being selected for what is probably going to be the hottest Xbox 360 title of 2007 should head over to www.halo3.com, read the requirements and then start the process of filling out the application.

As you might well imagine, traffic on that site is extremely high at the moment, so if at first you don't' succeed, try, try again... and again, and again. Rinse, lather, repeat. Remember, signing up is not a guarantee that you'll be selected to participate in the beta, so keep your hopes in check.

Posted by nylatenite at 1:41 AM EST

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Wow, if you thought last week's release list was short, you haven't seen anything yet. While the list may be short this week, that doesn't mean that it's empty. Castlevania fans get the latest Nintendo DS installment of the series with Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, PSP owners get Metal Gear: Portable Ops and PlayStation 3 owners get Fight Night: Round 3.

Beyond those titles, there are a few other potential winners in the pile, but nothing that really jumps out as a potential must have. I've got Castlevania on pre-order at Gamestop, but they seem to be waffling on whether or not I'll be getting my pre-order bonus 20th anniversary kit, and let me tell you this - if they don't come through with the shiny baubles, I'm going to be mighty pissed off.

Here's what should be hitting store shelves this week;

• Barnyard - WII - 12/5/2006
  
• Brothers in Arms: D-Day - PSP - 12/5/2006
  
• Cartoon Network Racing - DS - 12/5/2006
  
• Cartoon Network Racing - PS2 - 12/5/2006
  
• Grand Theft Auto Trilogy - PS2 - 12/5/2006
• Hard Rock Casino - PSP - 12/5/2006
  
• Ice Age 2 - WII - 12/5/2006
  
• Kirby: Squeak Squad - DS - 12/5/2006
  
• Lionel Trains: On Track - DS - 12/5/2006
  
• Mercury Meltdown Remix - PS2 - 12/5/2006
  
• Metal Gear Portable Ops - PSP - 12/5/2006
  
• Star Wars: Lethal Alliance - PSP - 12/5/2006
  
• The Ant Bully - WII - 12/5/2006
  
• WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2007 - PSP - 12/5/2006
  
• Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - DS - 12/6/2006
  
• Fight Night Round 3 - PS3 - 12/6/2006
  
• Rayman - PC - 12/6/2006
  
• Rayman: Raving Rabbids - PS2 - 12/6/2006
  
• Star Trek: Legacy - 360 - 12/6/2006
  
• Star Trek: Legacy - PC - 12/6/2006
  
• Zatchbell: Mamodo Fury - GC - 12/6/2006
  
• DNA - PC - 12/7/2006
  
• SpaceStation Sim - PC - 12/7/2006
  
• X3 Reunion 2.0 - PC - 12/7/2006
  
• Full Auto 2: Battlelines - PS3 - 12/8/2006
  
• 18 Wheels Haulin' - PC - 12/9/2006
  
• Fly the Airbuss A380 V2 - PC - 12/9/2006
  

Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.

Posted by nylatenite at 1:07 AM EST

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I don't know if you've noticed, but Sony did some restructuring this week, where they basically moved Ken Kutaragi up (and somewhat out of the way) and put Kaz Hirai in direct charge of Sony Computer Entertainment. There's a lot of speculation right now about what this move means - If you remember, Microsoft did something similar right after the Xbox 360 launch. Some claim that it's indicative of Sony preparing to move away from manufacturing game consoles and return to being a software developer while others feel that Kutaragi is being groomed to take over for Sir Howard Stringer as head of Sony Corp. at some future date.

My take on it? (none of what follows is official, just my own speculation based on what I've seen and read) - I personally don't buy the "Sony plans on making the PS3 it's last console" speculation, but I do believe that Sony is getting ready to concentrate on software (Hirai's specialty) over the now completed hardware end of the PS3 (Kutaragi's specialty) - Again, this would be very similar to Microsoft moving J Allard out of the way when the 360 launched and moving Peter Moore into the spotlight.

There's been a general sense that while Kutaragi may have pushed the limits on the PS3 hardware, he doesn't grasp just how important the software end of the business is - as indicated by his allowing so many potential exclusives slip away and the generally poor way Sony has been dealing with third party developers.

Hirai supposedly has a much greater understanding of just how important the games are to a system and rumor has it, he plans on trying to repair a lot of the damage that's been done to Sony's rep with third party developers. Only time will tell if it's too late for that.

Again, this is just my twenty-five cents on the situation - your mileage may vary.

Posted by nylatenite at 2:07 PM EST

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MAME32, the Windows GUI version of MAME, has also been updated to incorporate the u4 changes listed below. As with the regular version of MAME, MAME32 110.4 centers around a lot of background updates, so you may want to hold off on upgrading until the next full release - just to be on the safe side.

Check out the official MAME32 page here for more details and the download links.

Posted by nylatenite at 10:19 AM EST

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The third interim update for MAME v.110 is now available. MAME v.110u4 centers around some behind the scenes fixes, so unless you've been having problems with the most recent build or are into testing the changes in each update, you may want to consider holding off for the next full release.

The updated files can be found at the official MAME page at Mamedev.org. You can Click here to see what's new in this update.

Posted by nylatenite at 10:18 AM EST

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The other day I filled you in on how to sign up for the Xbox 360 Shadowrun beta test... well, today I've got one better than that for you. Microsoft will be opening sign-ups for this Spring's multiplayer beta test of Halo 3 on December 4th. Yes, you read that right, Halo-freaking-3.

Those interested in getting into the beta (and let's be honest, who isn't interested in getting into this beta test) should head over to www.halo3.com on December 4th and fill out all the forms required to put your name into consideration for the test. As with the Shadowrun test, just signing up does not guarantee you'll be selected, so be prepared for the possibility of being rejected. Good luck!

Posted by nylatenite at 1:58 AM EST

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Another quick note. Microsoft has fixed the issues they were having with 1080p video playback on the Xbox 360 via a dashboard update that should be available in all regions at the time of this posting. As per Xbox Live's Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb, the dashboard update will correct the following issues;

• Improved support for HD video output over VGA, including 1080p resolution
• Improved plug and play performance for wired headsets when being used with wireless controllers 
• Changes made to recently played games list to improve accuracy

Xbox 360 users should be prompted to download the patch automatically the next time they log onto the Xbox Live service.

Posted by nylatenite at 1:57 AM EST

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Just a quick note here - the much sought after Nintendo Wii Component Cables are back in stock over at the Nintendo Online Store. If you've been looking for them everywhere with no luck, head over there quick and get your order in before they run out! They'll set you back $29.95 + any applicable tax and shipping charges. Here's the linkage - Wii Component Cables

Posted by nylatenite at 1:56 AM EST

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