Category: Gaming

Nokia N-Gage Games Possibly Cracked

The world of introducing convergent devices is a tricky one. Following on the heals of their combined music player/mobile phone, Nokia launched their mobile phone/music player/games machine, the N-Gage, in October and its has been a shaky start. Before its launch, lots of people were less than positive, and following it, the reviews have not been great.

Despite Nokia claiming to have shipped 400,000 units to retailers, the number of customer sales is thought to be low. This has lead to some discounting, to the point where it was available for 1 pence in the UK, if you took a particular service contract out with it.

Nokia will be following the business model for other games platforms, sell the box for a minimum margin (or try to minimise your losses), then make your money in the medium to long term on licensing games for the platform. The same theory as razors and razor blades. Clearly this model only works if you sell the games as well.

Nokia will not like the latest news. A Swedish hacking group claim that they have got around the protection system that ensures that N-Gage games only play on the N-Gage. They have showed photos of the some N-Gage games running on a Siemens SX1, it’s not clear if these are mock-ups or real.

If true, the impact is far reaching. Games written for the N-Gage will run on any phone running the Symbian operating system and according to Symbian, over 2.68 million handsets were shipped with their OS in the first half of 2003.

The damage does not stop with them only losing sales of the N-Gage hardware, but that once the games have been extracted from the N-Gage and are stored digitally unprotected, people will be able to download them – not have to buy them for between $35-$40 each.

SX1 playing N-Gage games – Screen shots

Preview: BBC FightBox – Let the Fighting Commence

By Heidi Jacoby-Ackland

Program your Tivo now. Fightbox, the BBC’s new cross-platform interactive programme, is coming to a TV near you.  Robot Wars meets The Sims-on-performance-enhancing-drugs, the BBC publicity machine is very keen to emphasise that Fightbox is a TV first.  What, exactly, is Fightbox though?  Is it the logical future of entertainment?  In development for nearly four years at a reported cost of £3-4 million, Fightbox was conceived from start to finish to cross from the net to television and then into the PC/PlayStation 2/Game Boy Advanced game environments.  Early indications for Fightbox are fairly positive and the promotional trails look fantastic. 

Initially launched online a few months ago, gamers were drawn in their thousands to the Fightbox downloadable kit for creating their own warriors from a variety of different parts: arms, legs, weaponry, hair colour and even tattoos.  Contestants “trained” their self-created warriors on their own PC’s before downloading a set of qualifying battles to practice controlling their creation and gaining a score – the higher the score the stronger the warrior.  Then the best scoring virtual warriors (and their real creators) were invited to take part in the production of a television programme.  According to the BBC, approximately 200,000 people registered their warriors and uploaded scores in the six-week qualifying period.  As a demonstration of the interest in the game, apparently clans have emerged in the online community although they can’t play each other. Yet.  It’s all gone a bit D&D. 

The nay-sayers complain that the PC controls are, well, hard to control.  There’s a rumour that the television production had to be put back a week because the software still had some glitches.  And, although the BBC claims that twenty percent of the gamers were women, there’s a rumour that the Fightbox producers were so desperate to attract women that an online appeal was made especially to female gamers.  Nonetheless, there’s a low hum of anticipation in the gaming community.  Those gamers whose warriors made it to the television round report that the controls are better and the virtual studio experience was wicked.  They claim that, as with all the best computer games, practice was key to their success.  In the 30-minute television programmes, filmed as-live in front of a studio-audience, the virtual warriors have been transformed by the magic of computer graphics and a new type of filming into, um, virtual warriors in a real arena with real hosts (Trevor Nelson and Lisa Snowdon).  The contestant warriors fight the Sentients (the virtual equivalent of the House Robots in Robot Wars) then, finally, go on to fight each other to find a winner.  It’s a knock-out competition until just one of the audience-created warriors is left.  And for those who participated the ultimate prize was on offer.  No, not a million quid record contract for singing out-of-tune but the chance to have their warrior return as a Sentient in the next (yet-to-be-commissioned) series.  The final champion may not get rich from Fightbox but he (or she) will get the satisfaction of directly creating a part of the game’s future.

When we asked, the BBC spokeswoman refused either to anticipate viewing figures for Fightbox or even to elaborate on what would constitute a successful outcome to this cross-platform interactive experiment.  But it is not inconceivable that the programme could bomb as a television show while, at the same time, creating an enormous buzz for the game itself, either online or at the shop.  Then what???  Having already spent the equivalent of some countries’ GDPs on development, it would be imprudent for the BBC to completely bale on the TV programme after just one series even if the ratings are poor.  After all, the most costly and time-consuming bit of creating Fightbox, the development, is already done and dusted.  Aside from the new Sentient, most of the future content will come from the audience who, in true interactive style, are not voting for a winner but creating the characters and altering the outcomes.  The online kit is still available for download at the FightBox site.  Although it is too late to qualify for Series One, now would be a good time to start practicing for Series Two.

BBC FightBox

Amazon – Buy the FightBox game on PC, PS2 or GBA

Fightbox Ltd is a joint-venture between Bomb Productions and Ricochet Digital.  Fightbox, the TV programme, airs on BBC3 at 19.30 from 13-17 October and continues in that slot for three weeks thereafter.  [Episodes will be repeated on BBC3 the following morning at 3.30 and are due to run on BBC2 in November.]  Fightbox, the PC/PS2/GMA games, are due for release on 7 November.

Sony’s PSX – Full Details and Pricing Revealed

After a number of months of speculation, Sony have released the full details the PSX. Combining the ability to play PlayStation games with a television tuner, PVR, ATRAC3/MP3 playback and a DVD player/recorder, the box will also be equipped with a 100Mb Ethernet port – opening the door to the delivery of digital media.

The visually arresting box (312x88x323mm, weighing 5.6kg) will be launching in two guises; the DESR-5000 with a 160GB hard drive (79,800 yen, ~$730, ~£440) and the DESR-7000 with 250GB (~$900); arriving in Japan by the end of year and in Europe and then US in 2004.

Labelled as PlayStation 2.5 by some, it has already received very positive press reaction, mostly for its styling and features, as they have not had extended use of it. In addition of an Ethernet port, interfaces include USB1.1, Memory Stick slot, digital S/PDIF, PlayStation 2 peripheral connectors, composite AV-in/out.

Nearly all reaction to the price has been surprise at how expensive it is, but we feel this is a misguided as they are viewing it in the context of the currently low cost games console – which is just part of it. Just adding up the constituent parts; PS2 (~£100), TiVo (second hand eBay UK price ~£200); DVD burner (~£150) – it appears about right – especially as the PSX is one sleek box rather that three bulky boxes the separate approach would give you.

We feel the Trojan horse feature of the PSX is the combination of a device that connects to the family TV, the Ethernet port and Sony’s significant music and film empires. This would give them total vertical integration enabling the sale of media content direct to the public.

Arcade Game ROMs Finally Available for Legal Download

Arcade game ROMs have long been a popular download from the internet, due to the popularity of arcade cabinet emulators like MAME (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator). The files are basically software images of the games, which used to be stored on hardware chips before files became bigger and other storage mediums (such as optical drives) became popular in arcade cabinets. Many arcade games have not been ported to home consoles, so players have no legal way to acquire games that they may have nostalgic feelings towards, or have kudos for acquiring. These factors, coupled with the fact that some publishers no longer exist, or the games are seen as old and therefore (erroneously) in the public domain, mean that ROM sites spring up all over the internet. Many downloaders don’t think they’re doing anything wrong by downloading these files, but they are still in copyright.

So, just like the music industry promoting legal downloads, StarROMs Inc has released 60 licensed ROM images, from as little as $2 each – and we bet that people will be downloading these classics, just like iTunes. If the StarROMs initiative takes off, gamers will be able to download many more of their old favourites legally.

Sixty titles isn’t much to begin with – but StarROMs has titles ranging from 1978 to 1992: titles like Asteroids, Millipede and – oh my goodness!!! – Crystal Castles and Marble Madness!

Will other publishers follow? We hope so – there are many, many gaps in the collection. Since the ROMs are images of the original software, they are essentially platform independent – but they rely instead on an emulator to provide all of the functions that the arcade cabinet once supplied. Emulators have been developed and ported to many platforms – so you’ll be able to play perfect arcade classics on a wide variety of platforms: PC, Palm, phone and perhaps even set-top box. Given that many set-top boxes and TiVo devices run a modern Linux kernel, and MAME has long been available on Linux, it’s not too far fetched.

StarROMs

Mame

85 classic video games for under $40

We love classic arcade games, so when we heard that the PowerJoy III was being released with 85 of them onboard, we thought we mention it. The joystick has the games loaded into it, so doesn’t need an additional console – it just plugs into the TV set.

This version will also be able to take additional games via the plug in cartridges. We’ve not specifically played the PowerJoy but have played others, but it sounds like good value for under $40.

PowerJoy site

Sony US announce details of PS2 hard drive

Following the long running rumours Sony has just confirmed that in March 2004 they will be releasing an 40Gb hard drive for their PlayStation 2 games console priced at $99. This gives them not just the ability to enhance game play, but to treat the PS2 as a media adaptor.

The hard drive will ship with a customised media player which includes the ability to play MP3’s, copy audio CD’s on to the PS2 and manage digital photos. As yet there is no detail about the handling or the playing of video files.

Since Microsoft announced the Xbox would have a hard disk, Sony has been concerned that the Xbox would be able to access digital media and display it on the connected TV. This, combined with the already available network adaptor, is the start of their response. In their words

“The Hard Disk Drive is a further step toward a new era of digital in-home entertainment, creating a total living room experience that includes games, movies and music.”

On the gaming side, users will be able to save their game progress as well as download new content – levels, missions and characters for their bought games. It will be sold pre-installed with Square Enix’s highly anticipated massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Final Fantasy XI and pre-released demonstration of other upcoming games. One of the first games to utilise the Hard Drive will be the soon-to-be-released SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs and Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain, which probably needs the hard drive just to store its extraordinarily long title.

If you’re really desperate to get your hands of a hard drive for the PS2, one has been available since May 2002 as part of the Linux development bundle. Even though the drive in this kit is also 40Gb, it’s not expected that it will with the games.

PS2 Linux developer kit

Business Week analysis of the video gaming market

Business Week project 10% further growth this year with worldwide sales being $18.5Bn, approximately equivalent to the global sales of film tickets. They predicted that it will remain a hot area for several more years.

Some may be surprised to hear that the average player age is 29 and that 43% of the players are women. Further expansion of the business is predicted with online gaming.

The second half of the piece covers the Cyber gaming competition, where the five hundred Cyber athlete (video game players) can take a shot at the $200k prize money. The winning team, from Sweden, won $60k.

Video Link

Sony UK release PS2 online – 11 June

Following the recent UK trial, Sony is starting to sell the online Network Adaptor kit from 11 June, priced at £24.99.

Sony’s adaptor works both on dialup and broadband, where as the Xbox version is broadband only.

There will only be two titles available initially; SOCOM: US Navy SEALs and Twisted Metal Black Online, but they are both highly rated. In the US Twisted Metal Black Online was given away with the Network Adaptor but Sony UK have not decided to do this.

Reebok CyberRider Review

I went to Brent Cross (Shopping Centre) on Saturday to speak to the people demonstrating the Reebok CyberRider. It was setup in the centre space, which I had remember from my youth as being a fountain. Four CyberRiders, two Playstations enabling riders to compete against each other.

After chatting for a while to one of the Reebok representatives, Grant Miller from The Body Squad, I decided to have a go, I found one of the Burnout games playing and I’ve got to say it was an interesting experience.

You start off thinking you’re turning the peddles a lot to stay up with the pack of other cars, but then you get absorbed in playing the game as you steer the car around the circuit. The two keys I used to steer the car were in a natural position and easy to operate. The other buttons felt a bit fiddly and could be prone to stick.

If you’re interested, I came second (I’ve no idea of the difficulty setting, but I suspect it was pretty lowly). By the time I realised I was doing OK, the first car was well ahead of me and I might have been able to catch it, thrashing silly in my home, but didn’t really feel like doing it in the middle of Brent Cross.

What they’ve come up with is an interesting idea, by combining what would normally be regarded at polar opposites, physical activity and playing video games, they created something where you exercise without thinking you’re exercising.

Of course that was just one title and the experience with other games might be completely different. I would be interested to try Tour de France, as Grant had. I’ve yet to play it at all but I remember some of the press labelled it a bit slow – perfect for the CyberRider. Could the future of the ‘sponsored run’ be sponsoring someone to actually cycle the Tour de France and you pay them according to their position in the race?

I was having a mental flick through of various types of games and I thought a Doomesque game would be fun, where you have to peddle for your life – it would be perfect if you could peddle backwards as well … and have triggers. For a more relaxing session a title like Pilot Wings on the N64, where the controls aren’t too complex but you have to peddle to stay in the sky. On the retro side, save bashing your Track and Field keys into oblivion and replace it with peddling.

The trick that they appear to be currently missing is to have the resistance of the peddling varied by the computer, so you’d have to push hard up hills. This would introduce a lot more variety and would make driving games set in San Francisco a pretty serious workout.

Personally, I’d like to see the ability to change the sensitivity of the peddle sensor, so the ride wouldn’t have to be totally manic to win the race. Or is that defeating the purpose?

If you were wondering about my stress levels at Brent cross – it actually wasn’t that bad at the beginning, but I’m sure there’s something they must put in the air conditioning system that means that you get a growing feeling that you’ve just godda get out of that place.

___The Tech
They altered a standard bike by integrating joypad buttons of differing sizes into the riding handles, fitted a sensor at the peddles and strengthened it slightly – after finding the competition got pretty hot between the testers.

The hardware is modular. Two cables use RJ45 connectors to the box that interfaces to the console/computer, enabling them to connect to any device. They’ve currently connected to PlayStation 2 & 1 and PC. They say that GameCube and XBox are in the works.

___Conclusions
Bearing in mind that I had the limited exposure of one game, I thought it was fun and for a lot of people who don’t exercise this could be the excuse they’re looking for – especially if they like gadgets.

It’s unlikely people are going to buy more than one of these (and console, and TV) so after trying it, I’m even more convinced that the long term future for this type of thing, as I said previously, will be linking them up with broadband – s not something they’d tried.

I also suggested that it would be fun to equip a number of gyms, get them connected together and have people compete against each other. Find the fittest gym.