Nintendo has dated and priced the Wii’s new motion-sensing accessory, Wii MotionPlus, for this June.

The new add-on is said to take the Wii’s motion-sensing to another level, with some developers claiming that moving from the traditional Wii controller to MotionPlus is like jumping straight from VHS to Blu-ray.

Wii MotionPlus will release in the US on June 8th at a price of $19.99, with Europe getting the contraption four days later (prices have yet to be announced outside of the US.)

The Nintendo developed game Wii Sports Resort will be hoping to make the most out of the accessory, coming to the US on July 26th and Europe on July 24th. The game will include a single MotionPlus add-on bundled in for a total price of $49.99

“Everyone who has played the Wii can remember the moment they first discovered its intuitive controls and realised that this was an incredible new way of experiencing video games,” said Nintendo of Europe PR executive, Laurent Fischer.

“Wii MotionPlus will create that feeling again, taking gameplay to a new level of realism. And with Wii Sports Resort, people will get the chance to immerse themselves in a hugely fun set of games that are designed to make the very best of this exciting new technology.”

After being nominated as some of the people in videogaming that need to “shut the fuck up“, Cliff Bleszinski and Mark Rein take it to the ring to decide which of the two of them wins the right to shut up more. Using the photo upload tools in EA’s new game Facebreaker, I was able to poorly reconstruct these two mammoths of mutilating machismo and let them do their thing. Video follows.

Mark came out swinging and really had Cliffy on the ropes, but the Blaznats is no bitch and came back with a vengeance. Too bad there’s a time limit — we’ll have to wait until the game releases in September to see what would happen if they weren’t confined to mere 90-second slap fights.

P.S. Does anyone else get the overwhelming urge to barf all over the place whenever they are subjected to EA Trax, or is that just me?

Industry giant and evil overlord Electronic Arts reported this morning that it had finished its wheeling and dealing with the Federal Trade Commission concerning the takeover of Take Two Interactive.

In its regulatory filing, EA said it would not go through with the previously offered $2 billion deal (because Take Two rejected it), and would instead return to the table, presumably with hired goons, no sooner than August 21 of this year.  The news apparently convinced some people that this deal will happen, as stock prices rose for both companies.  We have just experienced the beginning of the end.

The average gamer knows this to be true.  It was a sad day when EA acquired BioWare, and that’s just one developer.  Take Two represents one of the four legs (along with EA, Ubisoft, and ActiBlizzion) that holds up the bed of videogames that we all sleep in.  Combining two of those legs into one will certainly make the bed unstable, and we will most likely not have as much fun in it any more for fear that it will break and splinters will pierce our fun-parts.

The EA Sports games are a perfect example of what a lack of competition does to the quality of their products.  EA just doesn’t give a shit.  They know that if you want NFL-branded football, you will buy their game, so they have no motivation to make it anything other than passable.  If EA acquires Take Two, all sports games will begin to suck harder.

I know the reality of a Take Two buyout is probably not as doom and gloom as I think it is.  I still have faith that BioWare will continue to make great games despite being under the EA banner of douchebaggery. The point I’m trying to make is that competition breeds innovation.  The more competition EA disposes of through either acquisitions or exclusive licensing, the lower their need to focus on quality, and the shittier the average game will end up being.  Just look at the history of AT&T for a perfect example.

Hopefully, if EA continues its trend of gobbling up every other company, it will actually end up like AT&T — broke into a thousand pieces that end up giving us better choices and service.  If not, I’ll just go back to boring things like spending time with my family.

Source: Reuters via Yahoo News

It’s the elegant, immediate control system of Sensible Soccer that makes it so enduring and influential. To play soccer, you need to kick, so give them a “kick” button. Oh, and we should let them run too. Finished.

Simple, and yet so effective, it makes you question the supposed “evolution” seen in gaming over the past 15 years. It makes you question shiny graphics, dynamic audio, cinematic sequences, and voice acting. It makes you wonder why so much has been added.

Everything you have seen in every football game since Sensible World of Soccer, the series’ pinnacle, is found within that classic’s code. It is possible within its game-space and a testament to the design genius of Sensible Software.

Aftertouch, that hallowed gameplay element most recently seen in Heavenly Sword, allows you to direct the ball onto the most fantastic flight-paths – up, down, and around the opposition with the minimum of intuitive input.

New players will be taken aback by the game’s pace, but will quickly overcome their initial troubles and grasp the game’s tactical underlay. Know your team (who’s talented enough to run with the ball and who kicks like a horse) and you can dart the ball to those able to make a difference.

Before matches, you can bring in, push out, and swap players. Your decisions’ clear impact on play is hugely satisfying when it’s successful, although rather heartbreaking when not. The football league’s structure, in whichever country you elect to play in, is perfect for videogames – the mix of immediate and long-term reward found in the points and ranking promotes a prolonged relationship between you and the game.

A faithfully styled graphical update is the great success of what’s otherwise a rather lazy port. Online play is functional but disappointing, often featuring lag and vulnerable to those quit-early undesirables of online gaming. The ranking system also favours those with the most time to play, ahead of those most talented.

The port’s the problem, though – it’s impossible to harshly criticise what’s a true gaming classic. Even if Kuju Entertainment struggles to pay homage, Sensible Software’s work remains design genius.

It’s my belief that Sensible World of Soccer is one of the most important games of all time. Playing it again today demonstrates that it’s one of the finest, too.

After reporting the revelation that Playstation 1 games could now be played on PSP’s via remote play, they can now be played on Apple’s iPhone, though the touch-screen controls could take some time getting used to.

The emulator is unofficial, but after being under an intensive beta it is now fit for the public on both the iPhone and the iPod Touch. At version 1, psx4iphone already sports impressive controls, a good compatibility rate and save states.

The software is on Installer.app (unofficial website for iPhone software) and can also be downloaded for manual installation here.

For more information please visit the creators of the emulator at ZodTTD and watch this following video demonstration:
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