Section: Gaming News, Conventions, E3

Thanks to live broadcasts on G4TV and live blogging through outlets such as Gamertell, millions of eyes throughout the world are on the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It’s not just the games and consoles at this industry showcase that are under intense scrutiny, it’s the showcase itself.

Two years ago, the Entertainment Software Association tried to whittle the gargantuan E3 down to a more manageable event and was successful but the result drew much scorn within the industry.

After 2008’s E3, gaming luminary than Will Wright called the show the walking dead.? Activision opted to skip the 2008 event altogether, holding its own press event at a separate locale and sending a clear message that E3 had issues. Entertainment Software Association CEO Michael Gallagher cautioned against calling this event a return to the old E3, but did promise to deliver the show “the industry deserves.”

The show expects to admit 40,000 attendees, a significant increase from the ghost-town like less than 5,000 it was estimated took in E3 2008.

To the delight of the still largely male gaming audience, the famous “booth babes” have returned. They have about as much to do with games as cheerleaders have to do with football but have become a tradition people associate with the show.

E3 is in a state of flux and since the industry it represents is all about rapidly changing technology, perhaps a constantly changing showcase fits it perfectly.

Read [Gamertell: E3 2009] Also Read [Edge Online]

Full Story ? | Written by Brian Allen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article ?

Because of time, and because I basically promised a post today in yesterday’s post, I’m going to have to deliver this post in separate parts. Basically, it’s a rundown of my opinion on the next expansion.

Let me begin by saying that I am completely opposed to the idea that the Emerald Dream will be the focus of the next WoW expansion. Hell, I’m totally against the idea that it’ll even ever have its own expansion. But, that’s the key there. “Have its own expansion.” I’m not saying that the Emerald Dream won’t appear in a future WoW expansion, I’m just saying it won’t be the focal point. By the way, I don’t think that it’ll be a “part” of the next expansion either. Maybe the next expansion after the next, when WoW is probably going to be slowing down (but boy, has that prediction been wrong before), but not for a while.

Now, you might be disappointed to hear my prediction because you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But hey, if you’ve heard it so many times it must be a a good prediction… right? My prediction is… drumroll please… the Maelstrom/South Seas/Great Sea/Whatever the hell body of water with a giant whirlpool-storm thing in it. It’s all the same, and I don’t want to hear otherwise. You know what I mean if I mention one or the other. So, we’re going to go with “The Maelstrom Expansion”. Sound good? Okay.

The areas and zones that would be included in this expansion have been “planned out“, in a small sense, for a while. I just think that it would really only make sense if we saw the Maelstrom expansion next. Because I don’t think that the Emerald Dream will be its own expansion, I just can’t think of of anything else that Blizzard would want to add to the game before something like the Elemental Plane, the Twisting Nether, or other planets having to do with the Burning Legion.

So, changes to Azeroth? Probably. I assume that this would be the best possible expansion for Blizzard to be able to go back and change up a lot of things in Azeroth. Obviously the biggest change would probably be the addition of Gilneas in northern Eastern Kingdoms. That place has just been taunting me for ages. It’s like it was supposed to be in the game at the beginning, but Blizzard forgot about it or something. Oh, wait…

Then, other zones like Kul Tiras, and island not far from Gilneas, Kezan, Tel Abim, Zandalar, the Plunder Isles, and the Broken Isles would be added as well. Obviously, the Maelstrom would be the Icecrown type place of this expansion.

Hero classes, instances, mounts, items, etc. are all discussion being saved for a later date.

-Matt Graham

Section: Gaming News, Features, Live-Blogs, Game-Companies, Developers, Distributors, Publishers, Conventions, E3

Is it pronounced YOU-bee-soft or or OO-bee-soft? However you pronounce it, the company makes some great games and we hope 2009 will prove to be another great year of releases.

The press conference begins at 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Monday, June 1, 2009, and we’re typing away to squeeze out all the goodies the company’s press conference has to offer.

Refresh the page a lot so you get all the updates.

Read [Gamertell: E3 2009]

Full Story ? | Written by PJ Hruschak for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article ?

Section: Gaming News, Features, Live-Blogs, Game-Companies, Developers, Distributors, Publishers, Conventions, E3

Is it pronounced YOU-bee-soft or or OO-bee-soft? However you pronounce it, the company makes some great games and we hope 2009 will prove to be another great year of releases.

The press conference begins at 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Monday, June 1, 2009, and we’re typing away to squeeze out all the goodies the company’s press conference has to offer.

Refresh the page a lot so you get all the updates.

Read [Gamertell: E3 2009]

Full Story ? | Written by PJ Hruschak for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article ?

You know what they say? “Better late than never.”

I really want to post stuff every single day. I really do. There’s just this little thing called “time” that keeps on stopping me from doing so. I’ve finally realized that this beast cannot be defeated. It’s something we all have to live with.

Someone once told me to, “adjust and overcome.” Your environment, or your surroundings, may not always be ideal. But, you don’t just give up on your dreams because of that, do you? No. You adjust and overcome. This is all new to me, and I’m trying. Trust me, I am.

I know I’ve said it before and nothing has come of it, but I’m going to go ahead and say it again. I’m going to attempt to post regularly again. I really do miss it. It’s just that damn “time” issue.

I always have great ideas for posts in my mind while away from the computer, but I never manage to get the time to write them down.

I’d like to say that June 1st, 2009 will be a whole new beginning for World of Blogcraft. You have no reason to believe me, as I’ve let you down before, but I really am going to try. Wish me luck!

-Matt Graham

Section: Gaming News, Handhelds, PSP, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers

The PSP Go isn’t a rumor, it’s a reality. And, thanks to the early arrival of June’s Qore, we don’t have to wait until E3 2009 to hear all about it. Game Console Network was the first to bring up the news, reporting on the new console’s features. PlayStation LifeStyle was next on the scene with pictures of the PSP Go’s box.

It seems that a lot of the information from the rumors is true. The PSP Go is going to come with 16gb of memory, and the rumor stated that the system would have either 8gb or 16gb internal memory. The rumor also said that it would have no UMD drive and be out by September, 2009. The video confirms this and gives a Fall 2009 release window for the handheld.

Also, remember 1Up‘s story on the rumored PSP Go. It stated that PSP Slide and PSP Flip were also code names for the new system. The PSP Go’s screen slides up to reveal a directional pad, X, O, triangle and square action buttons and a single analog stick.

The PSP Go is also going to be smaller than the original PSP models, and is 40% lighter according to the video. You can expand the system’s memory with memory cards.

Let’s take a peek at the Qore segment announcing the PSP Go, which has already been uploaded to YouTube by Game Console Network.

Probably the best news from the video is that the PSP Go isn’t going to replace the PSP 3000 model. A smart move, since many people might not be ready to abandon UMDs and the new model looks incredibly tiny and fragile. The handheld’s size could make extended play uncomfortable for people with large hands. So far, it sounds like the PSP 3000 with some adjustments and design changes.

If you have a PS3 and access to Qore, you may want to check the video and photo gallery out for yourselves!

Read [Game Console Network] Via [Joystiq] Also Read [PlayStation LifeStyle]

Full Story ? | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article ?

Section: Exclusives, Originals, Features, Columns, Japanese Imports, Consoles, Wii, Handhelds, GBA, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 2D, Action, Casual, Music, Puzzle, Racing

Even if you think you know nothing about bit Generations, those who have played the recent Art Style games through WiiWare have already been introduced to the series. Nintendo has taken inspiration from those earlier games and retooled/recycled them as Art Style WiiWare and DSiWare games.

The original bit Generations games were released only in Japan in 2006 for the Game Boy Advance, and sadly never made it to North America. To make things worse, because they were released at the end of the GBA’s life cycle, some of the games are now quite difficult to find.

If you do manage to find one, it may be worth picking up. The GBA was region free, so there’s no need to worry about region protection. Also, the games didn’t have massive amounts of text, and didn’t require knowledge of the Japanese language to play.

bit GenerationsSeries One

• Boundish: Boundish could be considered one of the more simple bit Generations games. It’s an action game where you have to hit a circle back and forth, trying to pass levels by making the circle move a certain way or behave in a certain manner. Boundish hasn’t inspired a WiiWare or DSiWare remake, but if you’re looking for an experience that is somewhat similar its gameplay, check out the WiiWare game Bit.Trip Beat.
• Dialhex: Dialhex is a bit Generations title you can go and experience right now, if you’d like. That’s right, it’s one of the ones turned into a WiiWare game. Art Style: ROTOHEX to be exact. It’s a puzzle game where you try to rotate colored triangles to make a hexagon of one color. Once you do that, the hexagon disappears. It costs 600 Wii Points/$6.
• Dotstream: Oddly enough, Dotstream is a rudimentary racing game. The goal is to guide a dot through various racetracks filled with all kinds of obstacles. The goal is to make it around the tracks to complete the races, trying to collect small pellets and earn additional dots. There aren’t any similar games I can think of to recommend, but perhaps in the future we’ll see Nintendo bring Dotstream to DSiWare or WiiWare. (DSiWare seems like it would be a better fit though.




bit Generations Series Two

• Digidrive: Digidrive is one of the more complicated bit Generations games, and is somewhat difficult to explain. On the right side of the screen there is a circular disk, and there is a flat platform below it. On the left side of the screen are various shapes. The goal is to stack up five similar color shapes in a line on the right side and eliminate them so the disk will move forwards. There’s really no winning or losing, the goal is just to move the disk as far as possible before the platform hits it.
• Coloris: Coloris is your standard puzzle game, and is very easy to play. You’re just trying to turn all the squares on the screen the same color as ones near it so you can make them disappear. One could argue Wiiware game Cubello was inspired by Coloris, since both involve matching colored squares/cubes to eliminate them.
• Orbital: Like Dialhex, Orbital is already immediately available via WiiWare as Art Styles: ORBIENT. (It’s also the same price, 600 points/$6.) The goal of the game is to navigate a star through stages, making it larger by combining with other stars.
• Soundvoyager: Soundvoyager is, quite possibly, the coolest entry in the bit Generations series, and one of the hardest games to find. It’s a game you play based entirely on sound. You’re encouraged to close your eyes, put on headphones and play the game based on where you hear the sound coming from. (As you can probably guess, it isn’t very pretty to look at.) The goal is to keep a dot, the only thing you will see on the screen, in the center of a stage that you can’t see, using sounds to help you decide how to move it.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 2 for GBA.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about M.U.G.E.N..

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story ? | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article ?

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Sure there are plenty of posts out there on the internet covering this same topic.  For some reason there are still not enough sources.  So here is one more.

Favicon = is a small graphic that is associated with a page or Web site. (short for favorite icon, sometimes understood as favorites icon), also known as a website icon, shortcut icon, url icon, or bookmark icon).

1. Get an image

To get that happy little 16 x 16 square associated with your site, you first need an image (16 pixels by 16 pixels of course).  Bear with me and pretend it is a picture of a cake.  So get your cake picture ready in your favorite image editor and save it as a .ico file.   If you cannot do that it is not so bad, you can just save it as a gif, png, or jpg but there may be a few browsers out there that don’t like those options.  There are plenty of favicon generators available so dive into the pool if you need to.  In the example it will just be called cakefavicon, but you can name it whatever you want.

2. Put it somewhere

The second thing you need is somewhere to put the icon. If you host your own site this is not likely to be a problem, but some free hosts might be a wee bit upset about letting you upload a .ico file. This is why the standard was relaxed to include the other formats. So if you run into trouble when you upload the image, then try the next image format on the list.  Make sure wherever you decide to put the image, that you save the full link. You will need this for the last bit.

3. Tell the site what to do with it

This is the fun part.  You need to find the header of the site and add 1 line of information. The hardest part of this step can sometimes be the header since some sites use a CMS and some do not. In both cases this line of information needs to be placed somewhere after

and somewhere before

.

This is the line of information that tells the site what to do with the image:

www.example.com/cakefavicon.ico” />

After you place that in the header (substituting the words in bold for the real address of the image) save and enjoy the favicon. In some cases you may need to clear your cache to see the image appear.

Bonus:

For WordPress users there is a plugin called MaxBlogPress Favicon which appears to just have a bunch of icons and just lets you pick one without having to get your hands dirty with image editing and code.