Gary's Blog

Just a place to find out what's on my mind, or what's occupying my time whilst I avoid actual "work."

 

VGN for January 6th, 2005

Video Game News:

Portable gaming plus driving equals GameBoy

Tom Krazit, IDG News Service
Thu Jan 5, 2:00 PM ET
 

LAS VEGAS-- Nintendo has licensed its Game Boy Advance technology to automotive electronics supplier Visteon to use as part of a new portable gaming system for bored passengers, the companies announced Thursday at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show here.

 
Dubbed the "ultimate backseat babysitter" by Visteon's Greg Gyllstrom, vice president and general manager for the company's North American aftermarket business, the Dockable Family Entertainment System will now play game cartridges for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance as well as DVDs, executives said at a press conference.

The system resembles a small laptop computer or portable DVD player, with a 10.2-inch screen. It can sit on the lap or dock into a port on the inside roof of a car. The system hangs upside-down when docked, with the screen folding down as with other portable automotive DVD players.

A wireless controller and wireless headset come standard with the system, Gyllstrom says. Users can play any of their Game Boy Advance titles on the system, or plug in another Game Boy to allow two players to compete against each other for bragging rights or the honor of choosing the restaurant at the next rest area on their journey.

 

MS to ship a lot of 360s, by June?

Wed Jan 4, 11:37 PM ET
 
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. expects to ship as many as 5.5 million units of its Xbox 360 video game console worldwide by the end of June 2006, Chairman and co-founder Bill Gates said on Wednesday.

 
In a speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Gates said the company expects between 4.5 million and 5.5 million units of the game console to ship, according to a company statement.

More than 50 Xbox 360 games geared for high-definition TV will be available by the end of June, Gates said.

Gary's Take:  Yee-Haw.  This should have happened in November.

More on LIVE, get a demo.
Important part...

Xbox boss Peter Moore also announced that a demo of the forthcoming EA Sports title Fight Night Round 3 is now available to download via Xbox Live Marketplace

Link to Revolution?

Reports on the web suggest that the delayed Twilight Princess will utilise Revolutionary controller - sounds familiar...
Posted: 12:48 on 04 Jan 2006
By: Jon Wilcox

TVG has today stumbled across reports that the delayed Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will utilise the revolutionary paddle controller when the game is loaded on Nintendo's next-gen console. Although not confirmed it seems to suggest that the long awaited title (joint top in the TVG Nation's most anticipated list) will take advantage of the Revolution's features despite it being released on GameCube...

Although not confirmed by Nintendo the reports that Twilight Princess may utilise Revolution's features seem a little...old...check out TVG's report from November 2005.

XBOX Live leads to molestation charge!  No extra fee...

Santa Rosa man arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old he met through Microsoft's online service.
In the Northern California community of Santa Rosa, police have arrested Ronnie Brendan Watts, 26, on suspicion of "performing a lewd act on a child and sending harmful matter to seduce a minor," reports the online branch of Santa Rosa's The Press Democrat newspaper.

Last fall, the two met through Xbox Live, an online gaming service which lets players play games together while talking to each other in real time, using headsets. Watts and the unnamed boy eventually swapped e-mail information, and moved on to communicating through instant messaging and video conferencing. The two allegedly exchanged explicit videos of each other before they agreed to meet in person at a local park, where the lewd act may have taken place, says The Press Democrat.

Sexual predation is nothing new to the online community. According to a poll conducted by the Polly Klaas Foundation, an organization with the goal to prevent child abduction, approximately 25 percent of 8- to 18-year-olds surveyed have talked about sex with a stranger online.

Watts is currently out on bail pending further investigation.

What I've been playing:

Indigo Prophecy

My new Samsung HDTV!

Anime news:

Miyazaki film fest!

Thursday, Jan. 5
8 p.m. Spirited Away (2002 – English-language version) – This wondrous fantasy tells the story of Chihiro, a lonely young girl trapped in a strange world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious and frightening transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world. Voices for the English-language track, directed by John Lasseter, include Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, Suzanne Pleshette, Michael Chiklis, Lauren Holly and John Ratzenberger.
10:15 p.m. Princess Mononoke (1997 – English-language version) – Inflicted with a deadly curse, a young warrior named Ashitaka sets out to the westward forests in search of a cure that will save his life. Once there, he becomes inextricably entangled in a bitter battle that matches a proud clan of industrious humans against the forest’s animal gods, led by the brave Princess Mononoke. At the time of its release, this stirring adventure earned more money at the Japanese box office than any other movie in history. The English-language track features the voices of Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett Smith and Billy Bob Thornton.
1 a.m. Spirited Away (2002 – Japanese-language version)
3:15 a.m. Princess Mononoke (1997 – Japanese-language version)

Thursday, Jan. 12
8 p.m. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984 – English-language version) – A thousand years after a global war, a seaside kingdom remains one of the few areas still populated. But the people are engaged in a constant struggle with powerful insects who guard a poisonous jungle that is rapidly spreading across the earth.
10 p.m. Castle in the Sky (1986 – English-language version) – This high-flying journey begins when a young mining apprentice finds a girl wearing a glowing pendant. Together they discover they are both searching for the legendary floating castle Laputa. Standing in their way, however, are air pirates and secret agents.
12:15 a.m. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984 – Japanese-language version)
2:15 a.m. Castle in the Sky (1986 – Japanese-language version)

Thursday, Jan. 19
8 p.m. My Neighbor Totoro (1988 – English-language version) – Two young girls living in rural Japan find befriend Totoro, a giant furry forest spirit, in this gentle and infectious adventure. This was the first Miyazaki film to receive a wide release in the United States.
9:30 p.m. Porco Rosso (1992 – English-language version) – Porco Rossa is a valiant World War I flying ace whose face has been transformed into that of a pig by a mysterious spell. After he infiltrates a band of sky pirates with his aerial heroics, the pirates hire a rival pilot to get rid of him, who also just happens to be Porco’s rival for the affections of the beautiful Gina.
11:15 p.m. Whisper of the Heart (1995 – English-language version) – Miyazaki-san wrote this tale of a young girl who finds that every book she checks out from the library has also been checked out by a mysterious boy. Whisper of the Heart was directed by Yoshifumo Kondo, who served as animator on Princess Mononoke.
1:15 a.m. My Neighbor Totoro (1988 – Japanese-language version)
2:45 a.m. Porco Rosso (1992 – Japanese-language version)
4:30 a.m. Whisper of the Heart (1995 – Japanese-language version)

Thursday, Jan. 26
8 p.m. Only Yesterday* (1991 – Japanese-language version only) – Isao Takahata directed and Miyazaki-san executive-produced this tale of a woman who travels the Japanese countryside reminiscing about her childhood.
10:15 p.m. Pom Poko (1994 – English-language version) – This tale from director Isao Takahta and executive-produced by Miyazaki-san tells the story of a colony of raccoons who are being forced from their homes by local development. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. They practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are able to appear human.
12:30 a.m. Only Yesterday* (1991 – Japanese-language version)
2:45 a.m. Pom Poko (1994 – Japanese-language version)

Turner Classic Movies, currently seen in more than 70 million homes, is a 24-hour cable network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company. Since its launch in 1994, TCM has presented the greatest motion pictures of all time from the largest film library in the world, the combined Time Warner and Turner film libraries, from the ‘20s through the ‘80s, commercial-free and without interruption. More information is available at the TCM website at www.turnerclassicmovies.com.

Con Corner:

FX!

January 27: 6pm-10pm
January 28: 10am-6pm
January 29: 10am-4pm
Central Florida Fairgrounds!

New AIM SN:  VGNOROCK

posted by: Gary1059 at 07:01 | link | comments |