God of War 3 Confirmed

God of War 3 has been confirmed for the PS3!

Ummm.... And that's all we know so far....
(Can you say, "Shortest Post Ever!")


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Gameboy: A new hope?

Last year, we posted about the GameBoy being official declared as "dead", by Nintendo, but now the little system the could may now have one last huzzah, with the possibility Street Fighter IV being released for the handheld.

Though it wasn't confirmed Yoshinori Ono, the producer of Street Fight, did bring it up as a possibility saying:

"Street Fighter IV, as it stands now, would be well-suited for the higher-level platforms. But the game doesn't have to have these visuals in order to be fun.

So, will the Game Boy have one last swan song to finish off the one of gaming's most respected handhelds? Only time will tell...Get the GamersCast Newsletter! All of the quality news you would find here can be sent directly to your e-mail's inbox or Wii's Message Board the instant news is posted here! Simply send an e-mail to GCnewsletter@gmail.com or register GCnewsletter@gmail.com into your Nintendo Wii's Address Book to subscribe!

iPhone and Touch SDK Dated

At last, the long anticipated Software Development Kit (SDK) for the iPhone and the iPod Touch has been given a final release date. The kit will come out on March 6th, which means it was delayed for one final week, and once the date rolls around new applications will be available to install onto your iPod Touch or iPhone. This, as I have said many times before opens up the capability for gaming on the iPhone and the Touch. So, once this happens, we'll have some reviews ready to go too! So hang tight, the wait is almost over!

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Sony Will Shine This Spring

Today, Sony held an event in Arizona of all places and revealed some pretty big stuff.  The Dualshock 3 will finally make its U.S debut on April 15 for $54.99 alongside Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and a new updated Playstation Store with a graphically improved interface.  If you think that is big, wait until June.  A limited edition red PSP will be bundled with God of War: Chains of Olympus, Superbad on UMD, and a coupon for Syphon Filter: Combat Ops for $199.  Of course the big news is all about the Playstation 3 in June.  Sony announced that Konami will finally release the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on June 12 along with a beta of the online component in April.  As expected, a MGS 4 bundle was also announced.  This new SKU will come with an 80 GB Playstation 3, a Dualshock 3 controller, and a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for $499.  This new SKU will also come out on June 12.  Sony is definitely making a HUGE comeback. 

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Wii Firmware Version 3.2 Released

Wii Firmware version 3.2 was just released about a minute ago. The update is very minor and fixes some glitches with the Disc Channel, or rather, fine tunes what was never broken. You will now find that if a game has a mandatory firmware upgrade on it, the preview window will now tell you such.

And after playing around with the firmware, I have found that nothing else has changed. Except the disc channel preview does look a bit different...

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Official Brawl Tournament in New York

As many of you may or may not know, Nintendo is holding Super Smash Brothers Brawl Tournaments around the country, and some of them have been enforcing a strict 18 or older only age limit. So, I just got off the phone with someone from the New York tournament location, and they said that you can just show up and be "any age".

Also, here's another treat, there is a small chance (not definite, but a chance) that Adam and I could be in attendance for the New York tournament, so if you wanna play Brawl before it comes out, or say Hi, or whatever, then you may be interested in knowing that the tournament is on March 8th and doors open at 5 P.M. Only the 1st 256 people there will be able to compete. Here is the address of the tournament:

622 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Also sign-ups for GamersCast's own Brawl tournament will be opening on March 7th. But don't worry, they'll stay open for a while. I'll have more details once we get closer to that date.




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GDC 08: NIntendo no longer free online

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Nintendo's online service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, launched November 14, 2005 with one game: Mario Kart DS
And since then, the online service has been free. But now, Nintendo has just announced a change in the tide.

Nintendo has just announced Pay to Play games. It's online service that you have to pay for. But it's not like Xbox Live, wher you have to play for online altogether. It's you paying for online for individual games. Usually it'll be a monthly fee (kinda like World of Warcraft). But don't worry, some games will still have free online. Here's how you can tell the difference:

You know that blue Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection logo on the box art of games? Well, if you have to pay for online. That blue logo, will be orange instead. XD

GDC 08: Commodore 64 to the Virtual Console

Yet another console is being added to the Virtual Console. This time, it's the Commodore 64! It's highly regarded as one of the greatest gaming consoles ever made. It ruled to 80s and the 8-bit era. The Commodore 64 is single best selling computer unit of all-time!

The Commodore 64 will first be available in Europe and then quickly become available across other virtual consoles afterwards. Commodore 64 games will cost 500 Wii Points, and will launch with International Karate and Uridium.

So, now here is current list of platforms announced for Virtual Console compatibility: Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64, Sega Mega Drive (Genesis), PC Engine (Turbografix-16), Neo Geo, Master System, Game Gear, and Commodore 64.

GDC 08: Everone's Nintendo Channel Confirmed for US

Last November Nintendo released the Everyone's Nintendo Channel in Japan. It's a Wii Channel the gives you info on games, along videos, demos, etc. And ever since the US, has been patiently waiting.

Well, in a recent interview with IGN, Nintendo confirmed that Everyone's Nintendo Channel was in development for the US. In the interview, it was being said that one could go to the Everyone's Nintendo Channel look up information on a game and download it (in reference to WiiWare). So, not only will it be coming soon, but it will also have information on WiiWare titles!

So, chances are Nintendo will atempt to get the launch of WiiWare somewhere in time with the Everyone's Nintendo Channel. WiiWare launches May 12th. So, I'm predicting the Everyone's Nintendo Channel will release within a month of that date.

GDC 08: Zune Games

Jeez, now I have to add another tag to the long list, because Zune can now play video games! It was revealed today at GDC. And XNA apparently can be used to develop games for it. Oh yeah, you can keep listening to your music while you play...

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GDC 08: Mario Kart Wii News

It has just been announced that Mario Kart Wii will have Mii Channel support, have a 12-player online, has 32 tracks to race on (16 of which are new), and comes with the Wii Wheel for free. But what's interesting is the Wii Wheel, is actually just a hollow shell, like the Wii Zapper is. Fortunately, the game also supports the Wii Remote alone, the Classic Controller, and the Nintendo Gamecube Controller. We also now know that a Mario Kart Wii Channel will be installed when you insert the disc into your console. Just like Wii Fit is going to do. Oh yeah, and there's rumors that Brawl will do this as well for the American release. Though I really can't see how they're going to use it for Brawl and Mario Kart. I mean, for Wii Fit is makes sense, but Brawl and Mario Kart? Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

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GDC 08: Mario Kart Wii Dated

Yeah, it's dated. But the 40% of you guys of who go on this site, who are American, may be a bit disappointed and confused by this post.

But first, let's get straight down to the facts: Mario Kart Wii will be releasing on April 10, 2008 in Japan and April 11, 2008 in Europe. But after the time change, they are both being released at the same time. However, in America Nintendo continues to say Spring 2008. Now, while more info may be revealed in the two press conferences that are left for Nintendo on Friday, right now. It's a bit confusing.

You see, usually Japan gets everything 1st because that's where Nintendo's global headquarters are, and then the US gets it shortly afterwards. Why? Because not only does the US, have one of the biggest gaming population in the world, but it's also a bit easier considering both Japan and the US use NTSC. While the rest of the world uses PAL. So, typically NTSC is made first, as that is what Japan uses, and the US is able to get it quickly afterwards. But now, they're releasing both the NTSC and PAL version at the same time, without an American release in site. So, my guess is, they want to make sure they can meet the demand by having more time to produce more copies (as is the case with Brawl) since Japan is 26 times smaller than the US and some intense localization. But that's just my 2-cents on the matter. For all I know, the American date could be announced on Friday. But I thought that a little food-for-thought would be nice....

GDC 08: Gears of War 2 Trailer

Straight from Microsoft's Gears 2 Press Kit, here's the Teaser Trailer for Gears of War 2!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83oLFcMT1Yk

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GamersCast Videos!

I have told you guys many times before about how I am constantly posting videos to my YouTube account. But now, it's integrated right on the news page! Now, on the right-hand side of the news page, you will see a video bar filled with videos from GamersCast's YouTube account. Click one and an integrated player will appear on the page and play the video you selected. Cool, huh?

The news page is located at: http://www.gamerscastpodcast.com/news

GamersCast's YouTube Account is located at:
http://www.youtube.com/GamersCast

Trailers from GDC will also be posted onto my YouTube account.

GDC 08: Wii Fit pricey!

Reggie-Fils-Amie was once asked what the price of Wii games would be, prior to the Wii's launch, and he replied, "I can't imagine anyone paying more than $50 for a game." And now when asked about Wii Fit, he has this to say:

"In terms of the release, let's start there. We're going to be announcing that Wii Fit will be launching on May 19. Price for the Wii Fit Board and the software is under $100 -- we're still working to finalize the price given currency exchanges, etcetera, but under $100 bucks."

Looks like Nintendo's Wii Board is a bit pricier than we would have expected...

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GDC 08: Gears of War 2 Box Art

The Box Art for Gears of War 2 was just released. Actually, 2 box arts were. One for your normal Gears game. And one for the limited edition game. I dunno what makes the limited edition version so special, but I'll let you all know once I find out. Box Art of both editions are viewable below (click the box art for the full resolution versions):

http://i30.tinypic.com/2h8bx34.jpghttp://i27.tinypic.com/1zldd6w.jpg



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GDC 08: New Brawl Item shown

Today Nintendo released their handy GDC 2008 Press Kit, and in it they gave me loads of high-quality Brawl images. And when I say high quality, I mean it. These are even higher than you usually see on the press site. In fact, Brawl is such a huge part of GDC, one of the press conferences, taking place on Friday, is being dedicated almost entirely to it! But the reason for this post is, a mysterious new item suddenly showed up in one of the screen shots. It wasn't announced before, and it's barely in any of the videos I have seen (but of course, right when someone gets it in those videos they lose it right away). It appears to be a hammer, of some sort..... Hmmm.... Is this even worth posting about?



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GDC 08: DS Downloads

Happen to be at or near GDC? Well, if you're there, or as close to the building as possible, you can boot up your DS and get loads of GDC game downloads. Downloadable demos include: Kung Fu Panda, Disney's High School Musical 2, Wacky Races: Crash & Dash, Ninja Gaiden, Dragon Sword, and Flash Focus.

Game Videos available for download include: Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Mario Party DS,and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2.

Chances are that we will be seeing this downloads at our own local DS Download Station at the store. As these stations, are updated through WiFi, chances are they will be available soon. But that isn't confirmed. That's my speculation.

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GDC 08: Wii Fit Channel News

UPDATE: Wii Fit can support upto 8 users.

In a recently released PDF by Nintendo, it was found out the Wii Fit Channel will be available on May 19th when the game releases. The channel becomes installed when you insert the disc into your Wii, so more than likely, it won't be available to download. The Channel will not only provide you with updates and being able to track your progress, but it will also be able to provide you with new workout, even when you don't have your Wii Fit game disc inserted! So, the channel may have some online features to it, while the game itself, does not.

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GDC 08: Final Fantasy Dated and Confirmed for WiiWare

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as King has just been confirmed for WiiWare. It's an E rated simulation game. Nintendo's helpful little press kit, gave me 5 high-res pics of the game, and from looking at it, it looks pretty good! In fact, it doesn't appear graphics were sacrificed at all by making the game for WiiWare. But whatever, the game releases when WiiWare launches in May.

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GDC 08: Wii Fit Dated

Wii Fit has sold over 1.4 million copies in Japan since it was released, and now it has been dated for the US. No word on the currently mysterious price point, but we need not worry about that now. It releases on May 12, 2008.

Also, when you insert the disc into your Wii, a special Wii Fit Channel will be installed onto your console. Where you can track your progress.

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GDC 08: TellTale Episodic Game

Remember Sam & Max. Remember how they were just brought back recently, with a new episodic adventure? Well, those very same developers of Sam & Max, TellTale Studios, have now confirmed they are working on a new episodic series. There's no word yet, on what exactly it is, but whatever it is. But it's bound to be big, and it's set to launch on the day the WiiWare service launches: May 12, 2008.

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GDC 08: WiiWare Dated

Nintendo is known for delaying products, what was expected to be next week, has turned into the next 3 months. I am talking of course, about WiiWare, Nintendo's service to publish new original games for download on the Wii. We were originally told it would be ready by February, but now we know the truth. WiiWare is slated to launch on May 12, 2008.

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GDC 08: Ninja Gaiden II Dated

Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360 now has a date. It will release at $60 in US on June 3rd, 2008. Dates for other countries are currently unknown.

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GDC 08: Gears of War 2 Confirmed

Ever since I made my post about no more Gears of War downloads being available, I've been getting pilled with e-mails giving theories about why they think the sequel will be announced during GDC. And they were pretty good theories. Because it just happened.

Yes, Gears of War 2 was announced with a trailer and an estimated release date. November 2008 as an Xbox 360 exclusive title. That's all we know. But at least we know it's coming.

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Wii have another problem....

Wii have a problem. Since the Wii launched, many have said this. First, it was the wrist straps being too thin.... but then people demanded thicker wrist straps.... again.... and again. And Nintendo delivered each time. Then, just to make sure people were satisfied, Nintendo made a jacket for the Wii Remote so it would be less likely for it to slip and to cause less damage upon impact.

While some people have gone out as far as buying a shield for their television, Panasonic didn't think this was good enough. So, today they announced what they are calling the "Wii-proof" flat screen. And this new set should be able to take full impact from the Wii Remote, even without its stylish little jacket on. :-P

Personally, I think it's sad that it has come down to this just because people don't know how to hold on to a controller, but what can I say? Panasonic's "Wii-proof" TV will release later this year, with a currently undetermined price....

GDC Begins!

Well, the annual Game Developers Conference has now begun! To see an outline of the events taking place, click here.

And for all the news from the show floor, stick with GamersCast!

Dream On With Guitar Hero Aerosmith

Today, Activision has announced the newest game to the Guitar Hero Franchise.  This new game will show the history of the band through Guitar Hero.  Players will be able to play through their career from their first gig to becoming rock royalty in a way only a game can.  The game will feature songs by the band as well as songs from bands that have toured with Aerosmith and songs from bands that have inspired Aerosmith.  Guitar Hero: Aerosmith will be released this June for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, and Playstation 2.  The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions of the game will be developed by Neversoft, the Wii version by Vicarious Visions, and the Playstation 2 version by Budcat.  But the news does not stop here, if you own Guitar Hero III for the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, you can download Aerosmith's hit song "Dream On" for free from February 16-18.  

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GamersCast Gaming Update: Brawl News!

Here's your weekly GamersCast Gaming Update, surprisingly, almost all the news had to do with Brawl. Oh yeah, and please excuse my stuffy nose. :-P

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Brawl Perfection

The Patriots may not have completed the perfect season, but as of right now, Brawl is perfect. So, far 6 gaming sources have reviewed Brawl, all of which awarded it the perfect score: 10 out of 10. The latest reviewer, Nintendo Power, wrote a very detailed review on why Brawl deserved its score. In the 20 years Nintendo Power was written for, only 2 other games have achieved perfection in the magazine, showing this game is set out to be truly something remarkable. Never before has a game managed to keep a perfect record after its US release, but only time will tell when Brawl gets a less than perfect score.

The good news is, after Nintendo Power writes their review, it only takes another week or so for Nintendo to begin sending out press copies of the game. So, we'll soon see if I managed to get a copy.

And it's also notable to say, that had Brawl not been delayed again in the US, it would have been released today...

Update: The streak of perfection broke after IGN reviewed the game with a 9.5 out of 10.

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Super Smash Brothers Brawl Videos

Now that Brawl is out in Japan, people are going crazy here in anticipation for the game. So, now it's GamersCast job to make the wait a bit easier by quenching your urge for Brawl content. So, I just made a special Brawl YouTube Playlist, filled with dozens upon dozens of video from Super Smash Brothers Brawl. And dozens more are being added each and every day!

And also, I'm still working trying to get an advance copy of Brawl, and if I manage to pull it off, your going to be seeing some insanely in-depth walkthroughs of the game appear, from the moment I get it! So, I would bookmark this post if I were you....

http://www.youtube.com/swf/cps.swf?player_id=4lRswjbEF1k&datatype=playlist&color1=5d1719&color2=cd311b&border=1&data=5419E143A1AA0281&t=KD83gDBiCSEw3PpkDaDKEDwsnw-lLtwk1xQBCVGh-3g=&referrer=&BASE_YT_URL=http://www.gamerscastpodcast.com

And don't worry, episode 27 of GamersCast will soon be recorded as well, which will have some very in-depth discussion and analysis of Super Smash Brothers Brawl. So, stay tuned!

This is GamersCast!



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Brawl News!

Well, there's loads of Super Smash Brothers Brawl news, so I thought I might as well put it all in one convenient post!

First off, the Japanese 24-hour sales record was broken by Super Smash Brothers Brawl selling over 500,000 copies! Now this may not sound like a lot compared to America's record set by Halo 3, but considering Japan is 26 times smaller than the US, and the only reason that many were sold was because most gamers couldn't find a copy... It's A LOT! In fact, over 80% of copies shipped were sold, which is quite insane. It's also notable to mention that many stores sold out of Gamecube controllers as well. So, you might want to buy some before it goes on sale near you!

Actually, the game is so hard to find, that many gamers have no problem spending over $300 for the game on eBay. Of course, some of the bidders in these auctions are Americans, since import sites like Play-Asia, can't even get there hands on a copy, which is charging quite a bit for a copy of Brawl as well, not to mention the shipping rate for the US. Actually, if you order one from Play-Asia now, it would already be released in the States before you got it.

And if you were lucky enough to have both a Japanese Wii and Brawl, then you may still be out of luck. As many Japanese gamers were enraged to find the game didn't work on the their console. Nintendo says because the game is dual-layered, even the least bit of dirt on the drive could cause the game not to function properly. And so Nintendo is now cleaning Wiis for free and paying for shipping. People getting their consoles cleaned should get it back in a week, but they're only doing it for regions Brawl was released in, so importers may be disappointed to find they have a dirty little Wii!

And of course, those who did get Brawl are sacrificing play time to gloat across YouTube, and take a closer look into the game. A nice quick (well, actually not quick at all) file dump shows that eight characters originally intended for the game were scrapped at the last second. The dump also revealed 582 Trophies, 27 assist trophies, and LOADS AND LOADS of music. So much music, in fact, that nobody wants to take the time to count. And with 36 composers and developers they admit they went a bit overboard, we're all in for a hell of a game, once it releases on March 9th in the US!

PS: I'm still trying to get an American copy in advance, but it's proving to be quite the challenge. I'll let you all know how my quest for Brawl goes, as it progresses.