I just want to tell all of you here (and I won't name names.... no wait yes I will: A BLACK FALCON, GREAT RUMBLER, DARK JAGUAR, and any of you other punks who argued with me for months about how wrong my price predictions were) that you guys were WRONG and I was RIGHT (haha, you wrong people must hate me SO much now)!! I knew that Sony would never sell the PSP for over $300, and the official price is just $35 more than the Nintendo DS!!
And 4-6 hours of rechargeable battery life (for games and movies) is not going to kill the system. The DS's battery life is only 6-10 hours long.
Wow, I hope Nintendo wins this battle, but I think they're in deep shit. I seriously hope this doesn't become a clear victory for Sony... but man, with this insignificant price difference and incredibly large difference in terms of power... we can only hope that the general public sees the two screen thing as more than just a gimmick. And Nintendo's flagship title (mario 64) certainly doesn't do anything to dispell that image of gimmick. Wario Ware, XX/XY, and a few other games use the two screens very effectively, but none of Nintendo's big launch games do. :(
Anyone else get it yet? I've only played it for a couple of hours but I love it (surprise surprise)! I got Paper Mario 2 at the same time but I'm having trouble pulling myself away from GTA....
Quote:The future of the UK developer looked secure when it sealed the deal for the rights to this years Catwoman -the abysmal game based on the abysmal movie, the game was shunned by consumers, mainly because it was terrible and also because the movie was... well, terrible too. Bad game + bad sales = bad news for any developer. It's a simple equation that time and time again has proved the downfall of many a developing studio. This is even more of a sad story as Argonaut were for many yearsconsidered to be at the forefront of the booming UK gaming industry along with much larger studios such as Lionhead.
It's not all doom and gloom though, as it's reported that every effort is being made to keep the individual teams and their projects. Recent crimes against good gaming aside, it would be a shame to lose one of the few UK based developing studios that remain.
And the badness of the Catwoman movie has some far reaching effects...
Quote:October 07, 2004 - The gaming stars came out at yesterday's NDS press conference in Japan, voicing their support for the DS platform and hinting at things to come for the system. One of the big names at the event was Square Enix's Akitoshi Kawazu. The producer of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles spoke on-stage with Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto about upcoming NDS support.
Following a teaser trailer that announced Final Fantasy III's new status as a DS game, Miyamoto commented, "This is the first time that Final Fantasy III has appeared on hardware outside of the Famicom (Japanese NES), isn't it?" Offering up memories of the Wonderswan version of the game, which never surfaced despite a lengthy development time, Kawazu responded with, "Over the past 15 years we've tried numerous times, but as we couldn't get it to work, this time we've decided to make the game for DS."
No actual gameplay footage or screens of Final Fantasy III were shown, but Kawazu gave some hints at what we can expect from the game. "The interface has completely changed," he offered. "Please look forward to seeing how the game has been given a new life."
Steering the conversation towards other games, Miyamoto offered, "Aside from this, Square Enix is also in development with a new Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, right?". Kawazu responded with, "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was played by connecting the GameCube and Game Boy Advance, but for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, that paradigm is gone, with the game played just on the DS. It's easier to get into."
Miyamoto used Awazu's talk of one of GameCube's big connectivity hours to segue into a bit on Nintendo's own plans. "At the time of GameCube and Game Boy Advance connectivity," Miyamoto recalled, "you had to connect the system to four [Game Boy Advance] systems, so the entry was a bit high. However, the DS has two screens and WiFi support, so we feel the threshold is a lot lower. We're thinking of bringing Zelda: Four Swords to the DS, so let's compete!"
Returning to the topic of Square Enix, Miyamoto moved on to the internet side of gaming, asking, "Square Enix brings up thoughts of the internet. We're thinking of doing something where the DS connects to the internet, but what do you have planned?". To this, Kawazu responded with, "Moving the stuff that we currently have running onto the DS would be difficult from a hardware standpoint, but if we were to try our mobile contents on the DS, we feel the network threshold would drop." Miyamoto managed the last word, offering, "Preparing a wireless LAN network can be difficult, but if you just have that, all you have to do is turn on the power and you can instantly play the game."
Kawazu's final comment could hint at another Final Fantasy game for the DS. Currently, Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII is the big-name mobile network-based game from Square Enix. In its cell phone version, the network play is limited to just e-mails, but on the DS this could definitely become something a bit more involved.
Quote:HAVANA - President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) tripped and fell after leaving the stage at a graduation ceremony, but later returned to say that he was "all in one piece."
Castro's off-camera tumble after the Wednesday night speech in the central city of Santa Clara was certain to launch a new round of speculation about the 78-year-old communist leader's health after 45 years of rule.
There was no official word from the government on Castro's condition after he left Santa Clara, about a three-hour drive east of Havana, in his regular black Mercedes Benz.
Speaking live on state television less than a minute after his fall, Castro told television viewers across the island of 11.2 million people that he thought he had broken his knee "and maybe an arm ... but I am all in one piece."
"I will do what is possible to recover as fast as possible, but as you can see I can still talk," he said, sweating profusely into his olive green uniform as he sat in a folding chair. "Even if they put me in a cast, I can continue in my work."
An Associated Press photographer at the scene said Castro tripped on a concrete step after he finished walking down the stairs from the stage, then fell onto the ground on his right side, first hitting his knee and hip, and then his elbow and arm.
He was immediately surrounded by scores of security agents and others who rushed to help him up.
Television viewers could not see what happened after Castro wrapped up the speech at a graduation ceremony for arts instructors. Television viewers only saw several of his security men running off to the side, evidently to assist him.
As he has grown older, Castro's knees have seemed more wobbly, his step less steady. Nevertheless, he maintains a busy schedule that frequently includes all-night meetings with aides and visitors.
Castro's health has long been closely watched — particularly by his political enemies in Miami, home to a large Cuban exile community.
Such speculation was particularly fierce three years ago when he apparently fainted during a speech under a scorching Caribbean summer sun before a crowd of thousands.
Many people burst into tears after watching Cuba's commander in chief start to collapse behind the podium several hours into that speech on June 23, 2001.
Castro returned minutes later to assure people in the audience — and millions more watching it live on television — that he was fine.
But the incident prompted many average Cubans to reflect for the first time on their leader's mortality and the future of their country after he dies.
The Wednesday night incident seemed far less serious.
Castro on Wednesday asked Cubans to forgive him for "any suffering this may have caused."
Castro noted the presence of international photographers and television camera crews at the event.
"The international press has captured it and surely tomorrow it will be on the front pages of the newspapers," said Castro.
He then encouraged those at the event to continue with their televised musical program, which they did.
I have the 4.9 drivers, they do what they should, no complaints. The deal is, they list the latest drivers as the 4.1s. What the heck? Oh wait, they tacked a zero on the end (4.10), freaking brilliant you bunch of idiots. Don't you know adding zeros AFTER decimals does NOTHING to the number's value? Just round it up to version 5!
Just ranting about nothing, go on with your lives. Really though, are they trying to be funny or what?
![[Image: capt.lon80810211433.cuba_castro_lon808.jpg]](http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20041021/capt.lon80810211433.cuba_castro_lon808.jpg)
![[Image: capt.lon80910211433.cuba_castro_lon809.jpg]](http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20041021/capt.lon80910211433.cuba_castro_lon809.jpg)
![[Image: capt.lon80310211131.cuba_castro_lon803.jpg]](http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20041021/capt.lon80310211131.cuba_castro_lon803.jpg)
