Archive (Page 4445)

Microsoft has quietly lent its support to Nintendo's DS handheld, it has been alleged, with wholly owned British studio Rare apparently already working on two titles for the new console.

Electronic Arts' chief executive Larry Probst has told <I>GamesIndustry.biz</I> that he believes that some of the company's competitors will not manage the next console hardware transition - leading to significant industry consolidation.

The two-screen Nintendo DS console is unlikely to be as profitable from the outset as the Game Boy Advance was, company president Satoru Iwata has warned, with the complex design of the handheld presenting both financial and supply problems.

Publisher and peripheral manufacturer Majesco has announced two new wireless products for the GBA - one which allows multiplayer games to be played wirelessly, and another which turns the console into a wireless messaging terminal.

British middleware and developer services specialist Criterion has backed a winner in the Japanese races - with Enterbrain's chart-topping Derby Stallion '04 utilising the company's popular RenderWare architecture.

The newly launched Eurofiles service, which is operated by Eurogamer.net and GamesIndustry.biz publisher Eurogamer Network, has proved a huge success over E3 - with tens of thousands of downloads served in the first two days.

Japanese publisher Square Enix could be on board as a developer for Microsoft's next console, according to company president Yoichi Wada, who says the next-generation Xbox "would fully deserve consideration."

Key US online retailer EBGames has listed the Nintendo DS console on its website with a price tag of $199.99 and a shipping date of November 29th, although the company notes that these figures are not yet officially confirmed.

Gamers will be able to get their hands on Sony's PlayStation Portable device for the first time at the Tokyo Games Show, it has been confirmed - with the first playable software set to be demoed at the Japanese consumer event this autumn.

Monolith's massively multiplayer title The Matrix Online is now to be published worldwide by Sega, the company has announced at E3 - quashing speculation that it would be handled directly by IP holder Warner Bros.

Infinium Labs has announced details of the hardware in its Phantom game console, which has been publicly unveiled for the first time at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles and is set to launch by the end of the year.

One of the least-reported announcements of E3 to date is also one of the most worrying for Microsoft - with Sony and IBM announcing co-development on a Cell-based workstation which is aimed at the content creation market.