Crazy man drops $230k on a flight simulator

SCI FI Tech | SCIFI.COM: "f you really, really want to fly, but the damned FAA won't let you anywhere near a cockpit due to your serious unreliability and the whole not being a licensed pilot thing, don't despair. There are other options. Just ask this crazy Aussie who deemed it financially logical to drop $230,000 on the fanciest flight simulator ever.

It's got 13 quad-core machines hooked up to his 42-inch Philips Ambilight TV, all running a rig sitting on top of a crazy hydraulic setup that moves with the action. Seriously, $230,000 is more than some flying lessons would cost? Seems to me if you have that much cash to toss around and you really want to fly, you can fly. But hey, as long as he's happy, that's what counts. Right? — Adam Frucci"

Sony Pictures making Metal Gear movie

GameSpot: "Sony Pictures making Metal Gear movie
Executive confirms his movie studio is working on the live-action adaptation of the seminal stealth action series; Sony also pondering EverQuest film.

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo last year, Konami revealed that work had begun on a live-action movie based on Metal Gear Solid. The news broke via a pamphlet for Studio Kojima, the Konami-owned development house headed up by Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima.

'I have received many offers to adapt Metal Gear Solid. It has taken a long time, but we have finally settled on an arrangement,' Kojima said in a statement. 'False facts aside, a movie project is underway. I have finalized a Class-A contract with a party in Hollywood.'

For eight months, the identity of the aforementioned 'party' was unknown. That changed this week, when Sony Pictures Entertainment vice chairman Yair Landau revealed his studio is developing the project.

'We're working with the Metal Gear guys,' Landau told GameSpot following his D.I.C.E. summit keynote address in Las Vegas. 'It's a very cinematic game, it really lends itself to movie telling. But the question is, 'How do you translate Snake's experience into a full arc that conforms to wha"

A Wii Phone from Nintendo?

SlipperyBrick: "A Wii Phone from Nintendo? C’mon; this seems a little far fetched, or is it? Recently we’ve seen the iPhone, rumors of a Zune Phone and now this.

According to T3 there is a distinct possibility that Nintendo may be coming out with some type of phone combined with the console remote. There had been some rumors last year about adding a microphone to the controller, and Nintendo has been taking advantage of internet based services with the Wii console, lately. This combination could possibly lend itself nicely to some type of VoIP service.

T3 found this information via the patent office showing plans of a Wii remote looking device with gaming keys and what looks like a dialing keypad. I wonder what kind of damage someone could do with this? We’ll keep watching…

Apple TV to play games, too?

Engadget: "Back last September when Apple introduced the 'iTV' alongside games for the iPod, we had to wonder to ourselves whether Apple would use iTunes and their new casual games relationships to make the device we now know as the Apple TV something of a competitor for Xbox Live Arcade. While there's no way of knowing whether Apple will again dive into living room gaming (remember the Pippin?) short of swiping their 12-month roadmap, we do find it rather interesting that casual games company PopCap (the studio that supplies titles such as Bejeweled and Zuma oh so many platforms -- including the iPod) might have slipped on some Apple TV plans. Greg Canessa, Xbox Live Arcade executive that recently jumped ship to PopCap, told Wired the following about his new job: 'It will be about taking the stable of franchises and games out of PopCap's studio and adapting, customizing it for different platforms -- adding multiplayer, new play modes, HD, customizing the user interface and display for Zune, iPod, Apple TV, Nintendo DS, PSP.' You might think that maybe the Apple TV part was an erroneous slip, but he did mention adding HD support, and none of the other subjects for ports he listed play games in HD -- you do the math. What we really want to know, though, is how they plan to get us to game with the impossibly minimal Apple "

Has AIAS Already Unveiled Award Winners?

Wired.com: Treat this one as pure speculation for now, but the rumor going around is that the DICE official web site might already be listing the winners of some of the major AIAS awards tonight. If you go and look at the lists, they don't seem to be in any discernable order -- not alphabetically, not by publisher, and out of order even when identical games are on some of the lists.

So, as the rumor goes, the winners might be listed first. We'll see if tonight, Gears of War takes Best Console Game and best overall. Or LocoRoco as Best Handheld. Or Wii Sports as Most Innovative."

Crackdown disc required to play Halo 3 Beta

Xbox 360 Fanboy: "On Monday, we showed you a screenshot of the Halo 3 Beta download screen in retail copies of Crackdown. Today, we have a picture of the invite card, which confirms how the process works. In short, you need to have the Crackdown game in your Xbox 360 to play the Halo 3 Beta. It does NOT show up in your 'Demos and More' tab on the dashboard after downloading it through Crackdown. This coincides with the original press release, which stated you had to load the game to download the beta. Check out the invite card after the break"

Activision: 360, PS3, and Wii tie in 2007

During Activision's recent financial results conference call, CEO Robert Kotick announced Activision's projections for 2007 console sales for North America. Griffith noted that the company expects the PS3, Wii, and our beloved 360 will all sell 4 million units. Effectively, this means the Xbox 360 will maintain it's lead over its new gen competition, at least according to Activision. Key titles for Activision's profitable 2006 include popular 360 titles like Call of Duty 3, Tony Hawk's Project 8, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Call of Duty 3, as our readers will know, has been a mainstay on Xbox Live for quite some time.

It's clear that Activision sees a bright future for the 360. We have to wonder if they were looking at the pre-order numbers for Guitar Hero II when they made this prediction. Xbox 360 Fanboy

Virtua Tennis slam dunked by NBA over 1080p

Xboxic: "f you were looking forward to Virtua Tennis 3 because it was going to be the first game to feature native 1080p capabilities, then be excited no more, because EA have announced that NBA Street Homecourt will in fact be the first game to feature native 1080p. This comes after Microsoft allowed the 360 to output at 1080p in the Fall update.

The game will apparently feature a number of resolution capabilities, including 16:9 support, and the aforementioned 1080p support, running at 30fps. Other features in the game that you may not already know about were also mentioned to Gamasutra, including a new animation engine and control system, as well as the ability to create a player and play online via Xbox Live. Rather obvious maybe, but it’s just to make sure you know what you are getting!

1080p is of course something new to the 360, since it required the Fall Update to unlock the potential. It was rumoured that Sam Fisher would be making full use of the 1080p capabilities, but that turned out to be false. Whilst it is true that not many people will immediately benefit from this currently, it is always nice to see developers going that bit further."

New Square-Enix MMO bound for 360, not PS3?

Xbox 360 Fanboy: "Say it with us now: 'whaaaaa?' Coming from our friends at Xboxygen (they're like, totally French), is a dandy of a rumor: Square-Enix is currently developing an MMORPG for the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista. Perhaps the most interesting part of the rumor, the game may not make it to the PS3 at all. Hiromichi Tanaka, director and executive producer of Final Fantasy III for the DS, reportedly made this announcement in a recent interview: 'We're working on a next generation MMORPG for the Xbox 360 and Vista but a version for the PS3 is possible.'

Assuming this is true, we can only guess as to what the MMO will be. Considering that Final Fantasy XI is already available for the 360, it's not too much of a stretch to assume it might get a sequel. Still, the important thing is that Microsoft may be getting more Square-Enix love in the near future. Could a legitimate Final Fantasy be in the works as well? We can dream, can't we?"

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Q&A

Xboxyde: "XCN is back, sending us another great interview - this time with the developers of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, and the great Olivier Dauba, Content Producer. Inside you'll find info about environments, online CO-OP and the usual Ghost tech talk plus much more! You'll see much more of this game in the next Gamersyde Diaries.

Will the graphics in the multiplayer part of the game be as good as the single player in GRAW 2? This was not the case in the previous title.
We've devoted a huge amount of engineering resources to stepping up the graphics in GRAW 2 multiplayer. The biggest upgrade by far is a switch to more advanced lighting effects, including a dynamic lighting and shadowing system. We've also revamped the special effects so you'll see the shimmer of heat from explosions and burning buildings, wind and helicopters effecting smoke and foliage, advanced bullet impact effects, distance blur …the ‘works’.

Will it be possible to superimpose my face onto characters, like in Rainbow Six Vegas?
We won't be supporting face mapping, but we've piled on the character customization options, including female characters and more FFW gear. Fans of other Clancy games might even recognize a few new headgear choices.

How does the multiplayer experience differ from GRAW? " Read Full Story

360 Thief calls tech support, gets busted

Xbox 360 Fanboy: "A 14 year old Kiwi stole an Xbox 360 but neglected to grab the power brick, as it was most likely too heavy for a clean getaway. So, the next day, he called the local tech support, and requested a new one, in the process giving the hot 360's serial number, his name, phone number, and address so that Microsoft New Zealand could mail him a new one. When the victim contacted MS, and gave his stolen console's SN, they informed him it had already been registered and they have the culprit's personal info, but couldn't reveal any information due to their privacy policy. The victim went to the police, who then contacted MS, and found that the only way they could get the information was through a court order. Only then were they able to make an arrest. Although, if we were in his shoes we probably would have just forked over the cash for another adapter."

Researcher: PS3 and Xbox 360 Can Compete with MP3 Players, TV Set-top Boxes and PCs

TeamXbox: "Research and Markets has released a new report, Toys and Games in the United States, in which the research firm concludes that the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 can compete with mp3 players, TV set top boxes, and PCs. An extract from the report says:

2005 also marks the beginning of a technology shakeout as console manufacturers' transition from second to third generation technology. Although the video games sector is growing aggressively, competitive advantage is changing rapidly. Hardware manufacturers, Sony and Microsoft are in a market share war, vying to control the living room"