[Thanks, Mike]

Nintendo giving away gold Game Boy Advance SPs originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 17 Nov 2004 08:32:16 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nintendo adds third DS factory due to demand originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Nov 2004 08:49:45 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It was cold, and it was worth it.  We headed over to the Gamestop at 33rd St. and Broadway last night around 11:00pm and waited until midnight to pick up our copy of Halo 2.  A couple hundred people were in line and things went pretty smoothly until a couple homeless people decided this was their big chance for that audience they had been waiting for.  Other events of note: Young college students pretended to like cigars, teenagers beat up on their younger siblings, and the GameStop staff desperately tried to woo us into buying $15 strategy guides.  We played on Live until about 3am without a hitch.  Without a guide.

Yes, we were there. originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Nov 2004 09:51:46 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The kids over at IGN got their hands on an early-release Nintendo DS handheld gaming machine, and they seem both excited and perplexed.  You see, the DS comes with a thumbstrap to allow players to use the touchscreen without greasing it up.  Interesting, though, that the game that comes with the DS isn't stylus-oriented.  Rather, they're using the touchscreen as a thumb controller, sort of like an analog stick.  Will the DS touchscreen become more of a thumb-screen, like a big joystick, instead of the stylus screen we all imagined?  Based on the game lineup, it seems this may be possible.

Nintendo DS out of the box, one thumb down. On the screen. originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Nov 2004 08:50:16 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dragon Quest Slime PS2 controller from Hori originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Oct 2004 10:31:27 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Videos surface showing Nintendo DS in action originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Oct 2004 13:37:23 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this one in]

Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) launch date and price originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Oct 2004 07:59:25 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

[Thanks, Cameron]

Lego robot plays Super Mario Bros...and wins originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Oct 2004 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

[Via Slashdot]

Namco's new 3-in-1 retro cabinet featuring Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario Bros. originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 15 Oct 2004 09:41:16 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We were just clued in to some new shots and a video of the PlayStation Portable using the Universal Media Disc (UMD). The mechanism appears to be similar that used in many Sony MD units, in that is is both slot-loading and flips open to eject the disk.  The best part of video clip is when the guy demoing it fails to properly remove the UMD on the first go-around.

New images and a video of the PlayStation Portable's UMD in action originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 Oct 2004 11:00:27 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nintendo said yesterday that they expect to have just one million DS units available in the US before Christmas.  Given the hype and timing for the new dual-screen handheld, we fully expect to see some big-time shortages, mom-on-mom catfights, and millions of disappointed kids come December 25th.  Saying that a shortage can be a good thing, senior vice president of Nintendo George Harrison thinks that the "Cabbage Patch Doll syndrome" laced with "consumer interest and fury" is good for business.  We'll be revisiting this in the coming weeks just to see how much the things are going for on eBay as the buy-my-kid-whatever-the-heck-he-wants season approaches.

Nintendo DS Shortage for Christmas could generate this year's bizarre toy store aisle fight videos originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 08 Oct 2004 14:50:45 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Mr. Soundtrack" is selling over 1300 items including more than 300 systems and a massive arsenal of gaming peripherals on Ebay.  Included in the lot are 23 Atari 2600s, 78 Nintendo NES's, 33 PlayStations, 60 SNES's, and tons more (that's probably not a weight exaggeration, either).  If you are the lucky winner, your bounty will be delivered in 21 boxes.  The boatload also includes some harder-to-find systems like the Bally Retrocade System, a Sega Nomad, and a couple 3DO systems.  What we're really interested in, though, is where all this stuff came from.  Did Mr. Sountrack run a store?  He claims that game systems aren't his "specialty," and that he needs to "focus on [other things] at the moment."  We fear the collections of things that are his specialty.

[Thanks, cottonbuds]

Gargantuan gaming collection goes up for auction originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 07 Oct 2004 10:34:18 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We know it sounds weird and that it's based on some seriously sketchy speculation, but now people are beginning to report that Sony's PlayStation Portable will be able to connect to the XBox (as well as a host of other devices).  We are already aware of Sony's plans to allow games to be continued on the handheld device and vice-versa, but if they come up with a way to allow developers to do that on multiple platforms, well, we'd be really impressed (and really, really surprised). As for what other purposes this could serve, we can think of some GBA-like features for party gaming, map and crucial data display, as well as transportation of game saves. Weirder things have happened, but we're officially taking a skeptical stance on this one.

Will PlayStation Portable sport Xbox connectivity? originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Oct 2004 11:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This happens a lot this time of year, so we're going to report this with some serious skepticism. There are some scans making rounds this morning that supposedly come from the Official Playstation Magazine (who are funded, in part, by Sony, which is where they get the "Official" from).  The scans in question report the various packages available for Sony's upcoming PlayStation Portable. What's sort of encouraging is that if true you'll be able to pick up a PSP for as little as $199.99, but they actually list three different packages of varying configuration, and what's confusing is whether or not you will be able to buy the listed accessories after the fact or if the $199.99 model hamstrings you into only playing games unless you fork over another $150 (!!) for a fully-featured model. Click to see the full details on what the reported packages are.

Continue reading PlayStation Portable pricing revealed?

PlayStation Portable pricing revealed? originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 04 Oct 2004 09:54:45 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We couldn't be more psyched (in a somewhat embarrassing way) about this recent update to an already-cool little accessory for the Gameboy Advance. The newer version of the GBA Movie Player is smaller, cooler, and badder than ever. This little cartridge plugs into your Gameboy Advance and uses Compact Flash cards to play movies, audio files, e-books, and game emulation ROMs (legal, legal!). The included PC software will even rip DVDs into GBA Movie Player format. So check it: for $25, you can play MP3s, watch movies, play SNES ROMs, and come up with anything else you and your 31337 friends figure out (the unit promises to work with "homebrew" applications). And if you haven't ordered one yet, wait! There's more! You can also multi-task, meaning it will let you read an e-book while listening to music. It also comes with a CD that's chock-full of movies and all necessary software. Compact Flash cards are not included. So go forth and geek out.  Because, after all, it is a "good and cool device for your GBA."

[Via PortaGame]

Game Boy Advance Movie Player updated originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 28 Sep 2004 01:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the latest speculation regarding Xbox 2 backwards compatibility, Apple Insider is reporting that delays of Virtual PC 7 are due to the fact that the project has been given "exclusively to the Xbox team." Why? In order to ensure Xbox backwards-compatibility on the Xbox 2, that's why. You see, Xbox 2 is slated to run on the PowerPC 970 chip, and current Xbox 2 developer kits are PowerMac G5s. While these rumors haven't been confirmed by Microsoft (like they'd do that), we can't think of any good reason that the Xbox team would be working on Virtual PC graphic emulation other than to guarantee Xbox backwards compatibility for the Xbox 2.

Xbox 2 to use Virtual PC 7 for backwards compatibility. Maybe. originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 27 Sep 2004 12:12:42 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.