Games Industry Wire

The God of War countdown at IslandofRhodes.com will come to an end tonight at midnight eastern. The countdown does not have anything to do with the PSP version of the game but speculation abounds that it may be an announcement on God of War II, already released for the PS2, or an announcement about a PS3 version of the game. That, or something completely different. No matter what the announcement is I’ll cover it here tomorrow.
Tags: playstation, sony, god of war, god of war 2

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This week Sony released a new PSP firmware update, the first in 2 months, that adds some new functionality to the portable console. Here’s the features the update includes:

Thumbnail image support for items and videos
MPEG-4 support for 720X480, 352X480, and 480X272 video sizes
“Use Wireless Hotspot” feature added

Not too many major changes but the added video formats are very much welcome. The wireless hotspot feature was added to coincide with a partnership between  T-Mobile and Sony where PSP users will have free access to T-Mobile hotspots for 6 months.  Some notable places  with T-Mobile hotspots include Starbucks, Borders, and airports.

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What we thought was going to be Girls Gone Wild turns out to just be pool with a dose of nudity for added measure. We first reported the odd partnership back in February but it appears the deal never got signed. The game’s title and references in press releases only ever referred to it as pocket pool making most question whether the deal was done and it turns out it wasn’t.
GameSpot is reporting that it will not be featuring the GGW name. Here’s a quote from the site:
“While I can confirm that the Girls Gone Wild license was in …read more

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Japan has very different sales trends often times than North America or Europe which makes them all the more interesting to look at. japan has a marked slant towards both Nintendo products as well as handhelds. Here’s the numbers for Japan from March 12th-18th courtesy of Joystiq:
- DS Lite: 121,471 12,959 (11.94%)
- Wii: 67,070 22,575 (50.74%)
- PSP: 43,769 12,406 (22.08%)
- PS3: 21,635 10,480 (32.63%)
- PS2: 13,321 1,264 (8.67%)
- Xbox 360: 2,910 423 (12.69%)
- Game Boy Micro: 727 85 (10.47%)
- GBA SP: 557 122 (17.97%)
- Gamecube: 367 127 (52.92%)
- DS (Original): 159 …read more

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GameDailyBiz has the numbers from February and they are inpressive. Here’s a piece from the article:
“On the hardware front the DS sold more than any other platform with 485K units, followed by the Wii with 335K units. The PS2 once again outsold the Xbox 360, 295K vs. 228K. Meanwhile, the PS3 sold a disappointing 127K, far below analysts’ estimate of 200K. In fact, the old GBA even outsold the PS3, with 136K. Sony’s PSP managed to sell 176K. Finally, trailing the pack (essentially on life support) was the GameCube with 24K.”
If Nintendo keeps this up they might find themselves in …read more

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After rumoms about the PSP went from redesign, to no redesign, to redesign again we held off reporting the news until we knew what what was happening. Kotaku is now reporting that a PSP2 will be coming. E3 is being guessed as the location for the announcement of the redesigned console which is said to boast such features as:

An improved screen
Faster load times
Improved buttons
8GB of internal flash memory
Possible touch-screen and camera

I think this redesign will make the PSP more attractive. The DS redesign transformed the DS from the lump of silver plastic I currently own into a hugely popular and …read more

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Here is a complete list of all video games set to be released this week from GamerDeals:
Xbox 360
Call of Duty 3 Gold Edition
PlayStation 3
College Hoops 2K7
Nintendo Wii
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007
PlayStation 2
God of War 2
PSP
Call of Duty 3: Roads to Victory
DS
Mind Quiz: Your Brain Coach
Herbie Resuce Rally DS
Spectrobes

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In perhaps the oddest combination of a game and a trademark Girls Gone Wild, the TV porn DVD franchise, has lent its moniker to a new pool based game for the PlayStation Portable handheld gaming platform from Sony. According to reports from GameSpot the game will feature multiple variants of pool including 8 ball, 9 ball, and snooker.
So where does GGW fit into all of this? Players of the game will square off against beautiful babes and upon winning video clips and galleries will be unlocked. The game is set to be released in April but the deal appears to …read more

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I swear, every quarter Sony’s marketing morons are botching another idea. Where does Sony find them?
Here’s the stupid, fake blog that Sony’s marketing minions have set up.

Read more after the jump.

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Jay over at the Zero Boss is partnering with Lucas Arts to giveaway Thrillville, an amusement park sim for the PS2, PSP and XBox. If you have a Nintendo or PC, sorry… But he says to submit anyway and he’ll think of something to give you.
More on the game and the contest:
Thrillville is rated E for Everybody, making it suitable for kids of all ages. To win a copy for yourself or your family *, simply leave a comment describing either your favorite theme park, or a notable experience – comic or tragic – that you’ve had at …read more

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