The MySims look is very different from previous sims games, very similar to animal crossing. But the plot of the game much reminded me of The Sims 2 on DS. As this game has a new cute look, it will appeal to more of a younger generation of fun-loving DS players.

The game drops you into the role as the town hero, as you’ll have to get this ruined town back on its feet. Like the Sims 2, you have to work for the mayor and improve the towns rank. It lacks a creative side though, as it only involves dressing your character and furnishing your new home.

Players have a map of the town, showing the villagers living there. Its very similar to animal crossing in that respect, as you have to introduce yourself to villagers, and save up for things. Overall, i can’t wait to buy it for myself. But it does sound like a game i could quickly get bored of!

Brain Age 2, a huge hit in Japan, will be hitting stores on this side of the pond August 20th. With all new challanges that have made it even more popular than the first.

Get our brains on those digital treadmills, August 20th we’re ready to gain a few IQ points.

As Reggie describes it, these are the games of skill intended to reach out to an even further audience and maybe make this audience a little smarter.

The other day when I was at a local department store, I decided to take note of prices and what was in stock. Here is what I saw from each of the three main console companies:

First is Sony. There were plenty of slim PS2’s in stock for the price of around $130. The games had a price of about $20-$30 on average. The PSP’s price was around $180. The games were selling from $20-$40. Finally, the PS3. The store seemed to be overflowing with them, and it’s no wonder with the price of the console at $600 and games selling for upwards of $60.

Next is Nintendo. There was the DS that was selling for about $80 and the game for around $30. There wasn’t anything really special to comment on for the DS but I saw something that was pretty rare. There was a Wii in stock (Though it’s probably gone now) and it was selling for $250 with games selling for $40. And for the Gamecube, I happened to overhear an employee telling another customer that they were trying to get rid of all Gamecube games except for Zelda: Twilight Princess. The console was selling for its usual price of $100 and the games were selling for about $20-$30.

Last but certainly not least is Microsoft. Their XBox 360 appeared to be doing very as there were only a few in stock and I saw a couple people buy a 360. They had both varieties, the $400 and $300 and the games were selling for $50 mainly, though there were plenty of $40 games a few $30 and $60 games.

So in conclusion, PS3s weren’t moving but 360s and Wiis were going off of shelves with the PS2 still attracting a few buyers, and in the handheld side of things PSP and DS had been going at a fairly healthy rate.

Comments are encouraged.

-Unstable

NOTE: All prices are USD.

Nintendo has now picked the top 10 short films from their contest. On June 18 they’ll pick the top 3. You can also vote on what you think is the best film. Here’s the link http://www.nintendoshortcuts.com/launch/

Sony has confirmed to Gamesindustry.biz that the PSP price has been cut.

The core PSP pack retailed for $199.99(US) however it has been cut $30US down to $169.99US. When Gameindustry.biz asked if there were any plans for a price cut in Europe they were told that, “We have no announcements to make about the PSP in the European market at this time.”

This price cut brings the PSP just $40US over the price of the DS in the US.

Ah man! This is sweet. The first ever Mario and Sonic game together. Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games is a full fledged competition you’ve been waiting for since the SNES vs. Genesis days. You’ll be able to play as characters from Mario and Sonic series. It will be coming for the Wii and the DS this Holiday Season 2007. Here’s a few words at the Nintendo Press Release.

TOKYO (March 28, 2007) - SEGA® Corporation and Nintendo Co. Ltd. today made a historical announcement that two of the biggest icons in the entertainment industry, Mario™ and Sonic™, are joining forces to star in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Developed for the Wii™ video game system and the Nintendo DS™ system, this momentous agreement marks the first time these two renowned stars have appeared together in a game.

Published by SEGA across Europe and North America, and published by Nintendo in the Japanese market, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games will be available for Holiday 2007 and is licensed through a worldwide partnership with International Sports Multimedia (ISM), the exclusive interactive entertainment software licensee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, players will compete in events that take place in environments based on the official venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Using a supporting cast of characters from the amazing worlds of both Mario and Sonic, gamers will be able to compete as or against a range of lovable personalities including Mario, Sonic, Luigi™, Knuckles™, Yoshi®, Tails™ and more. Innovative usage of the Wii and DS control systems to maneuver a favorite character will allow players to race the likes of Mario and Sonic down the 100m track, engage in exhilarating rallies in table tennis and churn water in a swimming heat, all while competing for the much sought after gold medal.“We are thrilled to partner with Nintendo and ISM on this groundbreaking title,� said Hisao Oguchi, President and Chief Operating Officer, SEGA Corporation. “For the first time, two of the world’s greatest games’ characters come together to compete in the world’s greatest sporting event and we couldn’t be more excited.�

“Mario and Sonic have been respectful rivals since the early days of video games,� says Shigeru Miyamoto, Senior Managing Director and General Manager, Entertainment Analysis and Development Division, Nintendo Co., Ltd.. “In fact, for a long time they have been discussing the possibility of one day competing against each other. Now that they have been given the perfect opportunity to meet at the Olympic Games, we may finally learn who is actually faster, Mario or Sonic?�

“The Olympic Games represent the true spirit of competition and passion,� said Raymond Goldsmith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ISM. “Bringing together intensely competitive and fun characters like Mario and Sonic in an Olympic setting helps showcase the sports of the Olympic Games in a new and compelling way for all generations.�

This is great news, almost as good as Brawl. I’m getting the Wii and DS versions.

Peace,

- Snid

Oh yeah, here’s the OFFICIAL SITE.

You’re all probably saying about now, “dude, there’s tons of 3rd Party Headsets for the DS and counting so far.”

However, this one is official for Nintendo, it’s mainly advertised for the DS Lite, though I believe it’ll work on the regular DS too. I’m not aware that any other colors of the headset are available other than polar white. It will be arriving in April and even though the DS Has a built in mic (mainly for blowing into and talking), this headset is just for talking.

You can use it with Pokemon Diamond/Pearl and Metroid Prime Hunters, among other games that use voice chat (if any).

MSRP $15, Buy it Here.

- Snid

BBC reports on the entire hacking scene behind the PSP. I was personally rather impressed with this article. It took a very unbiased look into the bigger groups behind PSP hacking such as Nooz, Team C+D and Dark Alex and his crew.

You can read about their “behind the scenes” look by clicking here.

There is also an MP3 of an interview BBC World Service ran with Fanjita, one of the PSP hackers. You can download and listen to the stream by clicking here

(more…)

The numbers are in, all totaled up for this week.

• Nintendo DS Lite- 136, 846
• Wii - 63, 618
• PSP - 34, 505
• Playstation 3 - 20, 676
• PlayStation 2 - 16, 192
• Xbox 360 - 5, 210

While the Wii sales are down it is still leading in sales compared to it’s competition. The PS3 and Xbox 360 sales are slightly up. However the DS Lite took the lead selling just less than all of the other consoles combined.

A contest was run by MTV and Nintendo many months back. The aim of the game? Play your DS in the weirdest place possible, take a picture of yourself, and submit it to the contest. Why bother? The prize is the chance to play a DS maybe not in the weirdest place possible but definitely the coolest. You play your DS in zero gravity on the Zero-G zero gravity plane.

Unfortunately if you are reading about this contest for the first time you might be a little out of luck. The contest is already over and the winner has already taken his trip of a lifetime. You can see the picture of one of the winners above. It sure looks like he was having fun. Unfortunately playing the DS seemed a little more difficult than he had envisioned,

I’m not going to lie, playing a touch screen based game in zero-gravity is extremely difficult (I had to set Elite Beat Agents down to easy in order to get anywhere) and my friend had an equally hard time with Star Fox Command. If anything, the trip should have been a testimony as to how many beatings the DS lite can take, as it was stepped on and knocked out of my hands countless times and still works perfectly.

It looks like the idea of being in Zero-G was more fun than playing the DS in Zero-G. Congratulations to the winners and better luck next time to anyone that found them self in really weird spot hoping to win this contest.