After all the big news came out of Nintendo’s Media Summit, there was still no mention of the Nintendo DS2. And why would there be? Nintendo DS and DSi sales are still great (being the 2nd best selling gaming machine in history, under the PS2); and with the release of the Nintendo DSi XL forthcoming, we’ll be stuck fishing through rumours for a while longer.

Nintendo is notoriously good at keeping information close to their chest, giving all of the media the old "Nintendo does not comment on rumours or speculation" comment. Hard as they may try however, they can’t completely control those who seem to have their hands on development kits, and therein lies the rub. Apparently “trial” kits having been given to The Pokémon Company, along with a select few other Japanese developers, who have let slip a couple secrets about the inevitably upcoming handheld.

The most predominant rumour is the apparent “tilt” function (a la iPhone), but more advanced than a simple accelerator. Though I doubt Nintendo would ever try to call it an “iPhone killer”, since the iPhone is more a communication and application device, while Nintendo’s primary focus has always been on the games. This type of upgrade could encompass all sorts of features, from shock detection to dual accelerators and multiple axes. We will have to wait for official word from Nintendo (which will probably come in teaser snip-its much like they did before the Wii was launched), or from insider leaks before we can confirm anything. A developer at The Pokémon Company has stated that the Nintendo DS2 is, “Genuinely the best thing I think I’ve ever worked with,” which only makes us salivate for more rumours, or better yet, hard evidence.

I think the system would do well to follow in the Wii’s footsteps by being completely backwards compatible, allowing a slot for DS cartridges (if the media is different), and also a Virtual Console where consumers could download Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games. Frankly I am surprised that this feature is not already available for the DSi, considering the thus far success of the DSiWare. Another feature I would like to see reintroduced by Nintendo is communication between the DS2 and the Wii, much like the promising but failed attempt between the Game Boy Advance and the GameCube.

Looking back at how Nintendo reveals their big news, here is my timeline “guesstimation”. With the announcement of the Nintendo DSi XL just released, don’t expect anything at this year’s GDC. I believe June’s E3 will yield the first announcement by Satoru Iwata, holding up a “shell” of the system, mimicking what he did with the Wii at E3 2005. Then we will get some, but not all, of the system’s features revealed in September at the Tokyo Game Show. Sadly, I doubt we will see anything hit retail shelves this holiday season, and should expect a worldwide release sometime in 2011, sooner rather than later. However, if the only thing we have to look forward to come Christmas time is a new Zelda game, then Big N may have to push the DS2 early to keep a strong financial bottom line.

Sean

Labels: DS, DS2, News, Nintendo, Rumours, Sean, Sean Engemann

Anyone remember Eight Days? That's right, that exceptionally looking shooter which was exclusive to PS3. If you don't remember it, you might want to take a glance at the above video. If you do remember it, you may also remember it was cancelled.

What for? Too little money? Not enough time? Nope, none of those - it was canceled to make way for EyePets. Now, we at GGTL aren't criticising EyePets - it looks awesome - but why cancel a triple-A title for it?

Well, perhaps they didn't after all. It seems to be a day of revelations today, with rumours of a Gran Turismo 5 Beta, and now new Eight Days screenshots have hit the web and lets just say, wow!

It seems to be looking great, with some really nice colours. Anyway, I'll leave them with you to judge. EyePets or this? Your choice.










Jacques

Labels: Eight Days, Jacques Hulme, Rumours, Screens

If we're taking the above image as evidence, then it certainly seems so. Found deep in the caverns of the interweb, the image - which clearly shows a PS3 download screen for the highly anticipated Gran Turismo 5 - seems to point towards the possibility of Polyphony's racing sim being already in the first stages of Beta testing.

A beta for the game, due to release this winter, hasn't been officially mentioned or announced yet. However, GT5 is slated to feature over 1000 vehicles and 20 tracks, of which each has a few different variations. It'd be no surprise that a game on this scale would need some sort of beta testing phase to make sure that the online mode was up-to-scratch.

We'll keep you updated on anything else we get on this exciting story. Needless to say that all of the PlayStation teams' blood levels are at an all-time high with the prospect of racing around London before anyone else.

Linford

PLEASE NOTE: This is purely a rumour - nothing has officially been announced. We have provided the image so you have the information which we enjoy. Please do not take this as official.

Labels: Beta, Gran Turismo, GT5, Linford Butler, Rumours

A listing for the 'PlayStation 3 Konsole slim' has appeared on the German version of Amazon (http://www.amazon.de/), with a notice informing Deutsch users to 'sign up to recieve an email when this item is available'.

Yep, granted, the above image is very blurry, but it most definitely says the words 'PlayStation' and 'slim' in the same listing. Granted, it could just be a mistake on the part of Amazon, or a handy Photoshop user's attempt at fooling the industry, or even an edited HTML page by someone handy at making web pages, but the appearance of such a listing, which corrosponds with rumours flying about for months now, seems a little too coincidental to me.

However, the listing is currently entirely devoid of information; there's no price, no date, no image and even the platform is listed as 'platform independent'. We'll have a word with Sony and see what the 'official line' is on it, but don't be surprised if they issue the standard 'no comment on rumours' gobbledygook.

Linford

Labels: Linford Butler, PlayStation3, PS3 slim, Rumours