Posts Tagged ‘console’

Nintendo says the DSi is not there to kill the iPod Touch

By Luke • Mar 4th, 2009 • Category: MP3 Players, Video Games Consoles

There are several stories of the new DSi being a big competition for the iPod Touch. Its music playback function and dual cameras are assumed to be a threat for the mobile phones as well. But before this speculation could go more complex, Satoru Iwata, the Nintendo CEO decided to express a positive opinion. The Nintendo DSi page of the company in which the “Iwata Asks” post communicated that these notions are ridiculous. He added that Nintendo has not designed DSi to kill the iPod Touch or any other existing products. This issue has been exaggerated by the mass media and created an impression that Nintendo DSi wants to compete with iPod or mobile phones. He said that the advanced features like music players and cameras are there to improve the product and not to pose any threat to the existing products.

Iwata further clarified that “I hope those who have such an impression will take an interest in what Nintendo can make when it dedicates itself to pleasing as many people as possible who pick up as DS, and I hope they’ll actually pick one up themselves.”

However, if we scrutinize the situation, we won’t find it difficult to agree with Iwata because a camera of 0.3 mega pixel and a music player are that outstanding features that can actually outshine the Apple iPod. So if you are looking forward to buy a DSi, its better to have balanced expectations from it. Don’t expect it to replace the Apple iPod touch 32 GB and just welcome it as a gaming device , which as per Nintendo is ‘the next generation of handheld gaming’. Get it for what it is!

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Nintendo DS Lite: The KING of Handheld Gaming Consoles

By Audrey • Jan 19th, 2009 • Category: Video Games Consoles

Almost every gamer is aware of the Nintendo DS Lite. It is the most preferred handheld gaming device to date. The DS Lite is the successor of Nintendo’s DS gaming console. It was developed to offer mobile gamers a new sleek and powerful gaming console. DS Lite is much enhanced as compared to original DS and it’s the biggest competitor is Sony’s PlayStation Portable, popularly known as the PSP.

DS Lite is 21 percent lighter and 42 percent slimmer than the DS. It has got a better display with good brightness and colour levels. Like DS, DS Lite also sports dual displays out of which one supports touchscreen and the other responds to the game pad and built-in functional keys. This is the main feature that earns loads of extra points for Nintendo DS Lite over PSP and any other console. Performance wise the DS Lite is a must have gadget. It possesses great capabilities and is powered via top notch processing units. Be it graphics, fluid videos or astonishing acoustics, the DS Lite can offer all of them to the gamers. Since its launch, the DS Lite has attained great success in the mobile gaming market. It has always set new sales records over the years. Recently, the Nintendo has sold over 3 million DS Lite consoles in the U.S. in December 2008 only. This is the first time that any gaming console has touched such a huge sales figure in a single month.

DS Lite is the favourite of loads of mobile gamers all over the world. Now the Nintendo has released an upgraded version of DS Lite called DSi. It is the third gaming handheld in the DS family.

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Nintendo Wii: Offering Fitness, Not Just Games

By Jason • Jan 9th, 2009 • Category: Video Games Consoles

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The Nintendo Wii needs no introduction. This revolutionary gaming console has got millions of fans all over the world. It clearly beats the Sony PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in terms of sales. The simple reason behind this is the Wii’s unique interactive controls, which allow it to offer an experience not with any other next gen gaming console. One of the major issues with home gaming consoles is that they practically make gamers disabled, as many play the games for days on end without moving anything more than their thumbs. This slowly leads to joint related and muscular problems.

However, the Wii completely takes the responsibility of your physical fitness. All you have to do is get a copy of Wii Fit + Balance Board and Wii Sports. The Wii balance board can be used to do loads of physical exercises including yoga, push ups and crunches without getting bored. Of course, you first need to have a Wii Console before you either the Wii Fit or Balance Board will work. The Wii board can also simulate your body posture and moments on the connected screen and provides a step by step tutorial on how to proceed. It also measures your performance at each level and motivates to improve further. Wii Balance board is excellent to keep your body toned up.

Another useful product by Nintendo is the Wii sports. It does not require a balance board and works with the Wii Remote. Wii Sports is basically a pack of five individual games, i.e. tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing. To play these games the gamer has to move his Wii Remote in appropriate direction with accurate speed and intensity. For example, during boxing the gamer has to punch his opponent by holding the Wii Remote in his hands and moving his fists in the proper manner. Ultimately the Wii balance board and Wii sports brings a perfect workout solution for pro gamers.

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PlayStation Portable UMDs Get Cheaper

By Audrey • Jan 1st, 2009 • Category: Video Games Consoles

The Sony PSP remains popular among is the most faithful fans, despite falling behind the Nintendo DS in terms of sales. In addition to providing a superb gaming experience, the PSP offers users also high resolution movies and good quality music to enjoy as well. The new PSP 3000 enhances the overall quality and performance further which is bolstering the handheld’s sales.

But Sony is regularly combating with the problems of piracy and homebrew applications. The company has found that most of the PSP owners prefer pirated content instead of buying original UMDs. The one and only reason for this is that the UMDs are very costly, which in turn makes the games made on UMDs, such as NBA Live 2009, even more expensive. Initially, it was more costly than a standard DVD and due to the poor customer response many studios discontinued the manufacturing and licensing of the game UMD for PSP. This further forced more users to go for the pirated content. But now the Sony entertainment has decided to resolve this issue and cut down the price of the original UMDs t again motivate the users to buy the original content. The company will now take care of licensing, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of movie UMDs itself. The new UMDs are £7 to £17 cheaper than the old ones. So, you don’t have to search for alternatives anymore.

Sony’s director of hardware marketing John Koller commented, “We want to provide a legal offering from the studios, … and it’s an easier conversation to have with them now. There is a lot of positive momentum with the PSP. The biggest issue with UMD was the lack of creating for a targeted demo. When we first launched, it was a difficult sale. I don’t think it’s a big stretch to say that a 16-year-old doesn’t have a lot of discretionary income. … We were offering UMDs that were more expensive than DVDs at the time. And we want content that is in line with what the demo is asking for, action and comedy … not romantic dramas.””

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Nintendo Wii: Reigning on top of the Gaming World

By Audrey • Dec 26th, 2008 • Category: Video Games Consoles

The battle for game console supremacy has been closely fought for over two decades. Currently, the Xbox 360, PS3, and Nintendo Wii are all vying for the top spot among the next generation consoles. Instead of trying to surpass its competitors in the graphics department, with extremely in depth games, the Nintendo Wii took gaming into an entirely different direction with its motion sensing controls; which allow the console to outsell its competitors by a large margin, whilst appealing to traditional non-gamers.

This gaming console is potent enough to get you immersed into the game. All that you can expect from it is outstanding graphics and astonishing acoustics. The most exciting feature of Wii is that it can detect your hand and body movements via a variety of accessories. This gives the gamers an exceptional gaming and more realism in the virtual world. The Nintendo Wii Remote works wirelessly and has sensors, which make it vibrate according to the game sequence. This one single feature alone is the explanation for the Wii’s success, and it can actually enhanced with accessories also such as racing kit, which includes wireless accelerator, brakes and driving wheel for enjoy racing titles in a unique way. Morever, a new development known as Wii Motion Plus is on the horizon and it will make it possible for the Wii Remote to function even better and more accurately.

Technically, the Nintendo Wii is powerful than its predecessor, the Nintendo GameCube. Its processing core is supercharged via two processors out of which one is the high speed CPU and the other one is a GPU dedicated for graphics processing. On the memory part, the Wii has an 88 MB of main memory, 64 MB of external GDDR3 RAM and 3MB of GPU embedded memory that gives it enough power to carry on complex geometry calculations and sound processing. For storage, the Wii has a built in memory of 512 MB and can support up to 2GB via SD card.

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Wanna Experience High Definition Gaming? Then Get a PlayStation 3

By Jason • Dec 23rd, 2008 • Category: Video Games Consoles

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If you are a true gamer then Sony’s new gaming monster called PlayStation 3 is made for you. The PlayStation series brought a revolution in the gaming world over the past decade. The first PlayStation console, the PS1 offered gamers unprecedented 3D gaming for the first time. Then it was followed by an enhanced version of the PlayStation called PlayStation 2 which was a great improvement in terms of picture quality and sound. But the improvement with the next gen PS3 over its predecessor is exponential.

With this issue in mind, Sony Entertainment launched the third version of the PlayStation, the PS3 with aplomb and as expected, this console is the most successful and preferred gaming console as of now. It’s a stupendous blend of art, innovation and technology. This is one gaming console that takes you to the next higher level in terms of technology and offers you the next generation high definition gaming. The Sony Playstation 3 is powered via a high speed Cell Broadband Processing Engine which is ten times faster than the CPU installed in the PS2. In addition to this, a NVIDIA RSX ‘Reality Synthesizer is also embedded for dedicated graphics processing and can output resolutions from 480i/576i SD up to 1080p HD. The two processing units are powered by 256 MB of XDR main memory and 256 MB of GDDR3 VRAM. In PS3 the legacy DVD drive is replaced by a slot-loading Blu-ray drive which can play Blu-ray discs, DVDs and CDs, either containing games or movies.

The PS3 also offers improved gaming by modifying the game controllers. Using motion sensors the new Bluetooth wireless controllers responds to the hand movements which makes the game play more action filled during racing or fighting. Of course, the system includes a huge lineup of excellent games as well to take full advantage of the console’s capabilities. Connectivity options are also in abundance. The PS3 supports Bluetooth 2.0, gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0 and HDMI 1.3a and is available in various models having a HDD up to 160GB.

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