tentang The Flintstones, Nintendo 3DS

no they have nothing to do with each other

today is the 50th anniversary of the classic cartoon the flintstones. thanks to google doodle for this neat info.

i used to love this show. when i was little, i used to think of all the cartoon shows on tv, hanna-barbera makes the best cartoons and the flintstones are the best. well i didn't know flintstones episodes that i was watching then were reruns but hey what do kids care right?

i cant believe the flintstones was a cartoon series from the 60s. wow.

***

and yesterday, nintendo finally announced the release date for their new portable, the 3DS. the portable console that was first introduced during this year's E3 last march. the release date is on 26/02/2011 in Japan, and some time in March for US and Europe. no idea when it will hit australia tho. the 3DS still have lots of similarities to the DS but the major difference is that it has a 3D display (like the stereoscopic 3D TV) but you don't need any kind of weird 3D glasses to view it. that is awesome.

nintendo also gave out the specs of the console and the final design which is impressive.. kinda. it has 2 cameras which can take 3D photos and 3D videos. and the graphics processor is said to be extremely powerful, though from the 1UP video below, a lot of the games looks great but not too huge of an improvement (see them here). maybe later games will use the full capabilities of the GPU. processing power however, is said to be more powerful than the Wii (source wikipedia). whoa







cool? i think it is. but dont think i'd buy it. anyhow.. really cant wait to try out the display units. hope JB hifi will have those when the 3DS comes out. who knows maybe then i'd have loads of extra cash and easily be persuaded into buying it. heh

***

meanwhile, rumours are spreading that some game developers have tried a new portable console by sony which is the PSP2.. and that development kits have been released to studios. no official announcements about the existence of the thing have been made so far.. so it is still just a massive rumour. (source here via 1UP.com)

tentang The Bigger Nintendo DSi

the new DSi, a way bigger model, with larger screen and more mature look, will be available in australia starting April 15th 2010.



however, the bigger screen does not mean better resolution. it will still be the same res with the small DSi. which means the display will look a little pixelated. which is not cool.

the DSI XL (or LL in Japan) is actually bigger than the PSP Slim&Lite. but the screen is not. DSi XL has a 4.2" screen compared to PSP's 4.3". not too much difference huh?

here's a rough console size comparison i made -

roughly, the DSi XL is taller but a little shorter in width. it is definately thicker. but hey this is just a rough comparison. i dont even have the two consoles with me to compare. sometimes things could be small but feels bulky and vice versa

so yeah.. sony's PSP evolves to become smaller and more compact.. but the DSi is getting bigger. i think i still like the PSP better. not that the DSi isn't cool, but yeah.. PSP is just better.. to me at least

^^

tentang Sony Prototype 360° 3D Display

whoa.. this is cool. while i am not sure what Sony is planning to do with it. but Sony have always been creative and create cool stuff. but are we closing in to cool hologram thingy like in sci-fi movies? awesome!

check out the video :


it is still a prototype but they say a 3D tv like this will be available in a year or so. must be freaking expensive. and maybe not as practical as it sounds. but like i said.. sony could surprise us. who knows rite?

tentang PSP Go - Week One

it has only been one week since the release (except Japan)and modders and pirates and copycats have came up with a lot of stuff already.


the PXP-2000
i first read about this on tuesday. the PXP-2000 is a Portable Media Player that is able to emulate NES, Gameboy ans SFC titles. it is not a true gaming console then. and it does not have the 16GB internal memory that PSP go have but it does look a lot like the new sony console. as a media player, i think it does pack a whole lot of features and is able to playback i think all the standard video formats.

read more at ubergizmo.com or engadget.com


the half way crack
blogger "I" the writer, from House of "I" the writer wrote about this on monday. the original article is from another site plaza.rakuten.co.jp (written in a language pack my pc doesnt have.. but i think it's Japanese). apparently a PSP modder found a way to crack the PSP go in just 2 days after the release of the console. doesnt look like sony is winning their battle with the homebrew community.

this is what i understand.. the modder however did not develop any crack. he only found the way. it is like he opened the door but did not enter the room. hence the 'half-way crack'.


the Price Cut.
already? wow.. to those people who pre-ordered (if there were pre-orders) the PSP go.. that would really suck for them huh? but this price drop is only in the UK where some retailers have been selling the PSP go at £199.99.. which the RRP is £224.99.

the price for PSP go here in australia is AUD$398 at BigW and game.com.au


in my opinion however.. i think the PSP go will survive. it may have an early price cut and bad reviews and stuff. there are a lot of sony fanboys out there and considering the size, it may be very appealing to not-so-hard-core gamers to get one and use it more as a media player than gaming console.

but maybe sony will push back the PSP-4000's release to be a bit later to make sure the Go would sell more. thats only my own opinion tho. but it could be possibble right?

tentang Wii Price Cut Rumour

my first ever experience playing a Wii was last week when after Tarawikh in the city, my wife and i dropped by a friend's place and they had just bought a Wii. they offered a game of bowling and i figured since it's not real bowling.. why not. it does not seem like im gonna feel physically tired from a video game.

awkward and feeling a bit silly bowling a weightless and half imaginary (???) bowling ball.. we ended up playing 2 games of bowling. then we tried tennis.. and then golf (my character gave up.. i really suck at it) and finally we tried Rockband. omfg i know Wii is a lot of fun to play with friends.. but having played it myself.. it is more than fun.

if i have some extra cash laying around right now i'd get myself a Wii right away :P. i was seriously considering it but conscience tells me it's not the time. it would cost up to at least $400 (Aussie) for a console set, maybe 2 controllers and extra games. so no thanks.. although i am still tempted :P

The Rumour

i thought i have overcome the temptation.. but now rumours are spreading on the internet that a leaked Toys R' Us ad (a catalog?), expected for end of this month, shows that the price will be USD$50 less than now. people are speculating that this has got to do with the recent xbox360 and ps3 price slash. maybe Wii will want to react to that and with the coming christmas season, maybe it could be true.

Nintendo didnt wanna comment on this issue. they said they dont wanna comment on rumor or speculation.

read the source at IGN.com Wii News and MCVuk.com

tentang Playstation3 Slim - announced

as of yesterday, the rumoured Playstation3 Slim is now a reality as Sony announced the Slimline model of the Playstation 3 will be available by September 2009. those leaked pictures are real. omg i really dont like the box. the console's design i think is allright. but the box.. @_@



the new console will have a 120GB hard drive and functions (mostly) the same as the old 'fat' Playstation3. i dont have a PS3 so i dont really understand all that talk about Linux OS talk. apparently with the new Slim u cant install another OS or something. i hope someone would kindly explain the need of that other OS to me kthx :P

the playstation3 (or PLAYSTATION 3) does not only get a slim model, it is also gets rebranded. the PS3 Slim gets a new logo and gone now the spiderman font. i always thought that was a bit uncool. the body is not shiny like the 'fat' PS3 instead it will have a matte finish like the PS2. i think it kinda makes the PS3 look less sexy and cool. its like being downgraded from a Hummer H3 to a Honda Jazz.. still cool but not as menacing

the price will drop from USD399 to USD299.. a massive 100 bucks cut. that is cool. best news ever. when it first came out it was USD599. good news indeed.

more details on the announcement at GamesCom here (gamespot.com)

update PSPgo - hardware walkthrough video

here is a video from IGN.com.. basically tells you the specs and stuff about the PSPgo (so its PSPgo not PSP Go). but the video shows more details of where all the buttons are. pretty cool.



^_^

EDIT - the 5.70 Firmware update (from PSPextreme.com)

* Network Update is now listed as System Update.
* Video Settings will not have the first four UMD-related toggles.
* System Settings now has a "Your Birth Date" option, and a
"Display Panel Close Option" toggle, which allows you to set
it to either "Standard" (goes to a clock graphic) or "Enter Sleep Mode".
Also "Battery Information" seems to be gone, as do UMD-related options,
but there's a "Format System Storage" option in addition to the usual
Memory Stick format option.
* Power Save Settings loses the "Backlight Auto-Adjust" option.
* New "Bluetooth Device Settings" entry, which consists of a toggle for
switching Bluetooth on and off and a "Manage Bluetooth Devices" entry.

tentang PSP Go

another playstation related post :D. yes i am a big fan of playstation.



anyway, this is almost old news.. but i wanna post it anyway. Sony announced on E3 last June that a new version of PSP will be released in October 2009 (America and Europe). the PSP Go is not the PSP-4000 and is not gonna replace the original PSP. the model will be PSPN-1000 so i guess it's gonna be its own 'subclass'. and it will

what it is is a more compact, lighter version of the PSP. the function seems generally the same.the bottom part slides out (i hate slides and flips >_<) to reveal the controls and it wont have the UMD drive, instead it is equipped with a 16GB internal memory where you store the game you'll have to download. the Memory Stick slot is still there but it will use the M2 (the smaller sized MS).

another difference is the PSP Go will be equipped with Bbluetooth and WiFi. cool? yeah but not so much. you can connect to bluetooth devices like earphones and as another way to connect to another PSP for co-op play. it can connect to the Sixaxis or Dualshock3 PS3 controller but.. i dont know if i would enjoy that. the PSP Go is not that big and besides the PSP already have its own controller right? well if you have a special mounting for the psp maybe that will work




among the specs :-
* Approx. 128 x 16.5 x 69 mm (width x height x depth)
* Weight: 5.6 ounces (including batter)
* CPU: 333MHz
* 64MB memory
* 3.8-inch display (480 x 272 resolution)
* Built-in stereo speakers and microphone
* 802.11b WiFi
* Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
* USB 2.0
* Memory Stick Micro slot
* Analog video out
* 16GB storage

speakers and mic? hmm.. it could almost be a mobile phone huh? :P. and lastly.. the PSP Go will also be available in white


more specs and details here (scei.co.jp)