By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot – Posted Aug 31, 2010 10:10 am PT

Microsoft addresses oft-made complaint with a new wireless pad due out November 9 with play-and-charge kit for $65.
In the past five years, Microsoft has encountered a number of complaints regarding its Xbox 360 hardware. The most vociferous of those were likely related to critical hardware failures, but not far behind were gripes about the standard Xbox 360 controller’s D pad, which players felt yielded insufficiently precise inputs for some games like Lumines Live or Street Fighter II’ Hyper Fighting.

The former complaint has largely been addressed with extended warranties and newly redesigned Xbox 360 systems. The latter one could also have a solution on the way, as Xbox Live director of programming Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb has revealed that a newly redesigned Xbox 360 controller will be released later this year.

“We’ve heard from the community that you’re not big fans of the D pad, so the engineers went back into the laboratory and came up with this ingenious solution,” Nelson explained in a YouTube video introducing the controller.

The solution is a patented D pad that switches from a disc configuration to a raised plus sign by twisting the pad around. The new pad will also feature a revised color scheme with buttons in shades of gray instead of the candy-colored gems Microsoft has used since the debut of the original Xbox. Hryb said the pad also boasts other improvements, though he didn’t specify what those were.

The pursuit of precision comes with a price, as the new controller will only be available bundled with Microsoft’s play-and-charge controller kit for $65. The new controller will be available in the US November 9, with a European debut expected sometime in February.

By Tom Magrino, GameSpot – Posted Aug 31, 2010 4:05 pm PT

Publisher claims sales victory for the month as gridiron sim sales rise 5% across all platforms; Madden NFL Superstars now available on Facebook.
The NPD Group isn’t expected to release its August game-industry sales breakdown for at least a couple more weeks, but Electronic Arts is already touting Madden NFL 11 as the month’s sales leader. Citing internal figures, EA claims Madden NFL 11 was the No. 1 selling game in North America during August, with sales on all platforms rising about 5 percent year-over-year.

EA did not offer specific sales figures for any of the versions of Madden NFL 11, which launched for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii, and iPhone on August 10. However, Madden NFL 10 sold 1.9 million units in August 2009, a figure that included versions on the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, and Wii.

EA also said that digital revenues for Madden NFL 11 were up 200 percent year-over-year. Examples of downloadable content currently available include the “One More Year” bonus, which keeps an in-game player from retiring for an additional year, and “Skilled Medical Staff,” which confers a 10 percent bonus chance of avoiding injuries and increasing recovery time. EA also announced its Online Pass initiative in May, which requires used-game owners to purchase access to the game’s online mode.

The sales bump is likely a relief for EA, after seeing lackluster results for Madden NFL 10. Last September, EA CEO John Riccitiello expressed disappointment over the game’s performance despite the game’s near-2-million-unit opening. “It is discouraging that one of our highest rated and best marketed Madden titles in years is facing strong headwinds,” he said.

Along with touting Madden NFL 11′s sales, EA also took the opportunity to officially announce Madden NFL Superstars, a new installment in the franchise designed specifically for social-gaming network Facebook. Built in conjunction with recent EA acquisition Playfish, Madden NFL Superstars is a team-management sim in which Facebook users can build a roster from more than 1,500 current players and then match their squad up against friends.

Madden NFL Superstars is available as of today through its Facebook game space.

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot – Posted Aug 30, 2010 9:59 am PT

US annual subscription jumping $10 to $60 as prices go up across North America, UK starting November 1; discounts offered in meantime.

Microsoft gave Xbox Live Gold subscribers some good news and some bad news today. The bad news is that starting November 1, the company is instituting a wave of price hikes in the North American and UK Xbox Live subscription plans. The good news is that until those hikes go through, gamers in the US can sign on to a full year of the program or renew their current subscription at a discount.

Currently, a 12-month subscription to Xbox Live Gold sells for $50 in the US. With the November increase, that same term will cost gamers $60, although Microsoft is offering annual subscriptions for $40 until the new pricing takes effect. The month-by-month plan price is also rising from $8 to $10, with three-month plans going up from $20 to $25.

In the UK and Canada, only the month-by-month plans are being adjusted. Canadians will have to pay $10 a month instead of $9, while their transatlantic counterparts will see the cost of the same term jump from £5 to £6. Finally, Mexico’s full-year subscription fee is also being amended, rising from its current 499 pesos to 599 pesos.

Electronic Entertainment Design and Research analyst Jesse Divnich downplayed the importance of the fee hikes, pointing out that the average price of a new game has also jumped from $50 to $60 since Xbox Live’s debut in 2002. He said the move would likely do little to impact the Xbox 360′s momentum, or even consumers themselves, in the near-term.

“EEDAR does not believe the $10 price increase will fully affect current Xbox Live Gold subscribers until late 2011 and beyond, as Microsoft will likely run numerous promotions allowing users to renew at cheaper rates,” Divnich said.

By Eddie Makuch, GameSpot – Posted Aug 26, 2010 10:00 am PT

Activision announces every song for upcoming turntable rhythm game; artists include Lady Gaga, DeadMau5, Metallica, The Chemical Brothers, 50 Cent, Eminem, Kanye West.

Last week Activision confirmed the leaked 93-song Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock setlist. Today the publisher is taking a more formal approach to announcing the soundtrack for its other music rhythm game due out this holiday season, DJ Hero 2.

Deadmau5 spins two songs in DJ Hero 2.

Set for an October 19 release, DJ Hero 2 will come with 105 songs, remixed in 80 distinct ways. Notable artists featured in the game include Eminem, who lends “Not Afraid” to the game; Deadmau5, who scratches up his iconic beat “Ghosts N Stuff”; and Metallica, offering their eight-minute headbanging hit “The Day That Never Comes” to the game.

The game’s mixes were produced by developer FreeStyle Games as well as DeadMau5, Tiesto, David Guetta, DJ Qbert, and a heap of other mixologists.

As for the game, DJ Hero 2 will come in a variety of bundles, including a “party in a box” set ($149.99) that includes a copy of the game, two turntables, and a microphone, as well as a single-turntable bundle ($99) and a version without accessories ($49.99 for the Wii, $59.99 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3).

For more on the upcoming title, check out GameSpot’s most recent preview. The full DJ Hero 2 song listing is below.

2Pac feat. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman–”California Love Remix”
50 Cent–”In Da Club”
Adamski–”Killer”
Afrika Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force–”Planet Rock”
Armand Van Helden–”I Want Your Soul”
A-Trak–”Say Whoa”
B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars–”Nothin’ On You”
Basement Jaxx–”Where’s Your Head At”
BlakRoc feat. Pharoahe Monch & RZA–”Dollaz & Sense”
Busta Rhymes–”Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See”
Calvin Harris–”I’m Not Alone”
Chamillionaire–”Ridin’”
The Chemical Brothers–”Leave Home”
The Chemical Brothers feat. Q-Tip–”Galvanize”
Chic–”Good Times”
Chic–”Le Freak”
Clinton Sparks, DJ Class, & Jermaine Dupri–”Favorite DJ”
The Crystal Method–”Busy Child (Still Busy After All These Years Remix)”
Daft Punk–”Human After All”
Damian Marley–”Welcome To Jamrock”
David Guetta & Chris Willis–”Love Is Gone”
David Guetta feat. Kid Cudi–”Memories”
David Guetta vs. The Egg–”Love Don’t Let Me Go (Walking Away)”
Deadmau5–”Ghosts N Stuff”
Deadmau5 & Kaskade–”I Remember”
Deee-Lite–”Groove Is in the Heart”
Dillinja and Skibadee–”Twist ‘Em Out”
Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden–”Bonkers”
DJ Qbert–”Super Battle Breaks”
DJ Shadow–”Midnight in a Perfect World”
DJ Shadow feat. Q-Tip and Lateef the Truth Speaker–”Enuff (DJ Fresh Remix)”
Donna Summer–”Bad Girls”
Edwin Starr–”War”
Eminem–”Not Afraid”
Estelle feat. Kanye West–”American Boy”
Flo Rida–”Low”
Flo Rida feat. Will.I.Am–”In the Ayer”
Gorillaz feat. Mos Def & Bobby Womack–”Stylo”
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five feat. Melle Mel & Duke Bootee–”The Message”
Harold Faltermeyer–”Axel F”
House Of Pain–”Jump Around”
Iyaz–”Replay”
The Jackson 5–”ABC”
Janet Jackson–”Nasty”
Justice–”D.A.N.C.E.”
Justice–”Waters of Nazareth”
Kanye West–”Heartless”
Kanye West–”Love Lockdown”
Kaskade & Deadmau5–”Move For Me”
Kelis–”Acapella (David Guetta Extended Mix)”
Kool & The Gang–”Jungle Boogie”
Lady Gaga–”Lovegame”
Lady Gaga–”Bad Romance”
Lady Gaga feat. Colby O’Donis– “Just Dance”
Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz feat. Ying Yang Twins– “Get Low”
Lil’ Wayne–”Go DJ”
Lil’ Wayne feat. Static Major–”Lollipop”
LL Cool J–”I Can’t Live Without My Radio”
M.I.A.–”Galang”
M|A|R|R|S–”Pump Up the Volume”
Major Lazer feat. VYBZ Kartel–”Pon De Floor”
Malcolm McLaren–”Buffalo Gals”
Metallica–”The Day That Never Comes”
Missy Elliott–”Get Ur Freak On”
MSTRKRFT feat. N.O.R.E.– “Bounce”
Nas feat. Keri Hilson–”Hero”
Naughty By Nature–”O.P.P.”
Nelly–”Hot In Herre”
New Boyz–”You’re A Jerk”
New Order–”Blue Monday”
Newcleus–”Jam On It”
Nightcrawlers–”Push the Feeling On (MK Mix 95)”
The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Mase & Diddy–”Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems”
Orbital–”The Box”
Pirate Soundsystem–”Bashy Bashy”
Pitbull–”I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)”
The Prodigy–”Omen”
The Prodigy–”Firestarter”
Pussycat Dolls feat. Busta Rhymes–”Don’t Cha”
Rihanna–”Pon De Replay”
Rihanna–”Rude Boy”
Robin S–”Show Me Love (Stonebridge Radio Edit)”
Salt N Pepa–”Push It”
Sam Cooke–”Chain Gang”
Sam Sparro–”B&G” a/k/a “Black & Gold”
Sean Paul–”Infiltrate”
Sean Paul–”Get Busy”
Snoop Dogg–”Who Am I (What’s My Name)?”
Snow–”Informer”
Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em–”Crank That (Soulja Boy)”
Sparfunk & D-Code–”Apocalypse”
Stevie Wonder–”Superstition”
Talib Kweli–”Get By”
Tiesto–”Speed Rail”
Tiesto & Sneaky Sound System–”I Will Be Here”
Tiesto vs Diplo–”Come On”
Tiga–”You Gonna Want Me”
Timbaland feat. Drake–”Say Something”
Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E.– “The Way I Are”
Tweet feat. Missy Elliott–”Oops (Oh My)”
Walter Murphy–”A Fifth of Beethoven”
Warren G feat. Nate Dogg–”Regulate”
Wayne Smith–”Under Mi Sleng Teng”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs–”Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix )”
Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West–”Put On”

If there’s one thing that has been consistent across Spider-Man’s 48 years in comics, television, movies, and games, it’s that the dude cannot catch a break. While the long-suffering hero tries to lead as normal a life as possible, it just never works out that way. Case in point: Activision’s upcoming Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, a day in the life of the wallcrawler that goes so screwy it winds up bleeding over into four different dimensions (you have to wonder if Iron Man has these kinds of problems). Since dimension hopping isn’t Spidey’s bag, we were understandably curious to see what the deal was with the new game when Activision stopped by to give us a first look.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions takes a new approach to chronicling the webbed hero’s exploits that comes closer to his comic roots than the other media he has appeared in recently. The game’s story, penned by The Amazing Spider-Man comic writer Dan Slott, revolves around a mystical artifact called the Tablet of Order and Chaos. As you can imagine, with a name like that, the tablet is more than just a dusty museum relic. In true comic fashion, it turns out that the thing happens to be an object of immense power that is essential to keeping reality in balance. Naturally, it gets shattered into four pieces while Spider-Man is in the process of thwarting a robbery. Given the relic’s role in balancing reality, this is a pretty time-sensitive problem that requires immediate attention, so Spidey is tapped by one of the many guest stars in the game to set things right. On a side note to comic fans, Spidey’s mystic taskmaster is an inspired choice and isn’t anyone who has been a Sorcerer Supreme.

So how do you go about collecting pieces of a mystic tablet that are spread across different dimensions? It helps if there happen to be versions of you in each of the different dimensions that are all heroic and ready to help. Activision and developer Beenox have taken the opportunity to mix things up and pull four very disparate versions of Spider-Man together for the game. In our demo we were able to see two: the Amazing Spider-Man, which is pretty much the iconic one that should be familiar to everyone, and Spider-Man Noir, a very different incarnation of the wallcrawler that isn’t as widely known.

Our hands-off demo began in the Amazing Spider-Man universe and found the wallcrawler hot on the trail of a tablet fragment. As Spidey’s luck, or lack thereof, would have it, the fragments have fallen into the hands of his foes. To complicate matters, the fragments possess just enough magic in them to supercharge their owners. In the case of our demo, this meant that Kraven the Hunter, hardly a pushover to begin with, and his henchmen were tougher than usual. The level we were shown had Spidey swinging his way through an unnamed jungle dealing with enemies. The action offered a nice change of pace from the most recent games, which confined the action to New York. There was a good mix of webswinging and running on the ground as Spidey bashed his way through the various henchmen who popped up to stop him. The environment was spread out over a mix of traditional jungle areas that feaured trees and ancient ruins. The action culminated in a boss fight with Kraven in a wooden Thunderdome-style arena that pit Spidey against the hunter and waves of henchmen.

The Spider-Man Noir levels offered a stark contrast to the bright and open areas of the Amazing universe. For those who aren’t up to speed on the Noir universe, Spider-Man Noir was introduced in 2009 via a four-issue miniseries that reimagined the character as a hero in the Depression era. While he’s still empowered by a spider bite, this time out the spider is mystic as opposed to irradiated. The result is still a broad range of spiderlike powers, which include organic webshooters in Spidey’s forearms that he uses to fight crime. The costume he winds up using is drastically different from the traditional outfit, reflecting the era and also a hefty dose of creative license. The new approach also reimagined many of the classic Spider-Man villains. As a result, the Noir levels we saw were darker and focused on a more deliberate style of gameplay that relied on keeping to the shadows and stealthily taking out enemies. The first level was set in a train yard and had Spidey slinking around and picking off his foes one by one, since being detected appeared to lead to failure. The second level was the interior of a train switching area. It culminated in a boss fight with Hammerhead, who was manning a massive machine gun on a rotating platform. One thing to note about Hammerhead’s appearance is that the classic villain hasn’t made an appearance in the Noir books yet. Activision and Beenox felt the tough-headed gangster would be a good fit for the Noir levels and got Marvel’s approval to make him over.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions’ gameplay looks to take the solid mechanics that have worked in previous games and mix them up some for variety. The key thing to note is that while the basics of what Spidey does in each universe–running, fighting, wallcrawling, and webshooting–are pretty much the same, there’s a different look and spin to each that is specific to the Spider-Man you’re using. The Amazing Spider-Man obviously pulls from all the iconic Spider-Man material that has come before. His combat style is very acrobatic and flashy, resulting in actions that are right out of a comic panel. There are also some nice nods to the old cartoons, such as being able to use his webbing to enhance his blows. There was also a very slick perspective change during the one-on-one fight with Kraven, where the action shifted to a first-person view, a la Punch-Out, and it appeared that you’ll be controlling each of his fists separately. Spider-Man Noir, on the other hand, offers a more close-quarters style of combat that’s in line with the stealthy gameplay. The action was a mix of stealth and action as Spidey slinked around to come up behind his foes or drop down on them in order to execute a quick takedown. The Hammerhead boss fight we saw didn’t have first-person perspective switch and instead relied on careful sneaking and webswinging to avoid the hail of bullets coming from Hammerhead in order to get behind him. As in previous Spider-Man games, you’ll be able to unlock a variety of different moves that enhance the already formidable move set each Spider-Man starts with.

Continue Reading at Gamespot.com ->

Our hands-on demo covered exactly the same ground as the E3 build–a spectacular 10-minute set piece that sees rogue agent Sam Fisher infiltrating a mansion to hunt down a man connected to the death of his daughter. If you’re unfamiliar with the demo, read our E3 coverage or check out the E3 stage demo to see it in full. There was only one problem with the E3 demo–seeing the game producer effortlessly blast through the game doesn’t really compare to the final experience you’ll have with it. During our play test, we used a number of different playing styles, from stealth to guns blazing, and also tried to do some crazy stuff to test the game engine.

Long-time followers of Splinter Cell: Conviction may remember that when the game was originally unvelied, the developer emphasised the crowd dynamics and how non-player characters will react to your behaviour. The beginning of our demo level contained a crowd of people going about their business–walking around the market and drinking in the coffee shops. We decided to draw our weapon and fire into the air, and sure enough, it resulted in panic spreading through the civilian populace. It also resulted in guards coming to investigate what was going on, which means we were killed shortly after.

Ubisoft production manager Andreane Meunier was also on hand and emphasised that the guiding principle for the team was to avoid frustration. “You should feel like the ultimate predator,” she said, bringing up an image of a panther on her presentation slides. As part of this revised design consideration, dead bodies can no longer be dragged and hidden from other guards because Sam’s just too badass to worry about such trivialities. We tested this new gameplay mechanic out on two guards outside the mansion. We sneaked up and executed the first guard, then got out of sight before the other patrolling guard found him. He approached the dead body and exclaimed, “F***, he’s been killed!” before altering his patrol pattern to scout the rest of the area. In another nice touch, he peeked around corners and became more frustrated as time went on, calling us a “douchebag” to try to tease us out of the shadows.

Continue Reading at Gamespot.com ->

We even found this inspirational World Cup video to get you pumped up for the (other) big dance!

What we heard: Microsoft has sent mixed messages about bringing massively multiplayer role-playing games to the Xbox 360. The announcement that Final Fantasy XI was coming to the console was the centerpiece of its 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference. (The Xbox 360 had been revealed the week before). However, the company quietly killed off its Marvel superhero MMORPG for the console, which developer Cryptic then turned into Champions Online for the PC.

With the console version of Champions Online now canceled, Xbox 360 owners are wondering what the next big MMORPG for the system might be. VG247 appeared to answer that question when it posted what it claimed was European retailer GAME’s internal long-term schedule of Xbox 360 releases. Towards the end, the schedule clearly lists Star Wars: The Old Republic as coming to the console sometime in 2011. EA recently pushed back the PC version of the game to a “spring 2011″ launch window.

The official story: The listing appeared to back up speculation sparked by comments made by Electronic Arts president Frank Gibeau in 2008. Then, he told Eurogamer that his company was “definitely looking at the opportunity to bring the MMO experience to console, without question.”

However, EA subsidiary BioWare, which is developing the game at its Austin studio, quickly shot down the rumor in a post on the official Old Republic forums. “As to why The Old Republic is on that list, we have no idea but to allay any confusion, we should not be on there,” said BioWare community manager Sean Dahlberg.

Continue Reading at Gamespot.com – >

It seems easy enough: go to high school, get your diploma, move on with your life. For some, however, graduating just isn’t as important as being a dick. Sure, getting suspended a time or two never hurt anyone, but these losers got the boot for good, or worse yet just bailed on their own. While they may seem like total failures to the teachers and counselors around them, they almost always go on to lead successful lives as garbage men, janitors, petting zoo helpers, or carnival snack stand attendants. Yes sir, dropouts live it up. Sleeping in their parents’ den, periodically emerging to proclaim ”We don’t need no education.” If all this dropout talk is getting you down then stop reading, because that’s all you’re getting in 2 Cool 4 School.

The gameplay consists of finding a high school building and entering it. Seems easy enough, but remember that the characters are fucking morons because they dropped out of school and therefor can’t read maps or dial phones. Sure, it’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea. You get to play as 1 of 4 different dropouts: Lucy the street mime, D’Angelo the CVS Pharmacy clerk, Clifford the Meals-On-Wheels driver’s co-pilot, or Rupert Beck-De La Santos, the cheap man-whore from your local corner. It’s your job to try and guide these folks to a life of success. In other words, mission: impossible.

The first quitter you can choose is Lucy, the 21 year old street mime. After phoning in a death threat to her global studies teacher at age 16, she fled school and stopped speaking in public for fear of having her voice identified. She was headed down the wrong path in life when she happened to bump into the greatest mime ever, the aptly named Pablo The Greatest Mime Ever. With Pablo acting as her guide and mentor, Lucy quickly lit up the streets with such classic acts as her ”I’m stuck in a box” routine. But she realizes this can’t go on forever. Ever see an old mime on the street? No, because they either get a real job or kill themselves. Alas, she dreams of something more. To achieve her goals she needs an education, something that hand gestures and creepy silences just can’t offer.

D’Angelo the CVS Pharmacy clerk is a 42 year old Cuban defector who lives in Miami. Though he only made it to 10th grade, he lasted way longer than anyone else in the history of his family (the previous record was 5th grade). He quit school in the mid 1980′s to pursue a job making Members Only jackets, a career path that he felt would lead to millions of dollars. When the fad went out of style (around the time people realized that Members Only jackets were retarded), D’Angelo’s chances of getting a real education went out with them. Can he lead a Members Only revolution and finally get out of the register-jockey game?

Clifford the Meals-On-Wheels co-pilot had it all as a sophomore. He has the looks, the ladies, and the brains. Unfortunately, in the summer between 10th and 11th grade, a pasta sauce accident impaired his vision and led to Clifford needing freakishly large glasses. And as everyone knows, the bigger the glasses get, the faster your popularity goes straight to hell. In an effort to fit in with someone, Clifford began hanging out with the only people that would accept him: the Dungeons & Dragons nerds. Homework and hygiene quickly took a back seat to dragons and spells. Eventually Clifford’s GPA was a less-than-impressive zero. Teachers politely asked Cliff to leave the school, and seeing as this would allow him more dice time at the D&D table, he happily obliged. That was 10 years ago. Clifford is now a 27 year old homeless man trying to save up for a lot in a trailer park, and is hoping that Meals-On-Wheels is the answer to his problems. As we all know, Cliff is going nowhere in life with a job like this. It’s up to you to help him out, lest he die an early death (probably involving something that starts with “S” and rhymes with fuicide).

Last and definitely least of the group is Rupert Beck-De La Santos. Rupert is a 46 year old male hooker who hangs around a street corner looking to get it on. Some may say that the saddest part about Rupert is the fact that he’s a fat, balding prostitute, but most will say that the saddest part about him is the fact that he actually believes people would pay money to have sex with him. Where did it all go wrong? It began when Rupert was expelled from high school for shitting in a water fountain 20 minutes shy of his graduation. The whole situation was a heartbreaker for Rupert and the rest of the Beck family. Things got even more confusing later on in life when Rupert woke up in a pool hall after a night of heavy drinking. It turns out he had married a man named Ramon De La Santos, a man he’d never met and has still never met. He doesn’t plan on getting a divorce, however, as he feels being a 46 year old male prostitute is bad enough without adding “divorced” to it. Can Rupert finally hang up his work clothes (a neon green thong and a half-ripped Ultimate Warrior tank top) and get back on track?

In the end, you should walk away from 2 Cool 4 School with at least three lessons:
1) Dropouts always end up in ridiculous jobs that nobody else would dream of pursuing.
2) The last name “Beck-De La Santos” will only occur as the result of a drunken mistake.
3) Dungeons & Dragons hurts more people than it helps.

You’ve got to love an underdog story, though. And really, is there a bigger longshot than these people becoming credible human beings? There’s a better chance Herman Munster is sworn in as Commander-in-Chief. Lastly, to the people who are surely going to write in angry letters saying “I’m a high school dropout and I’m doing pretty well for myself”, here’s our response in advance: Working at Lady Footlocker is not “doing well”, and shame on you for stealing the computer you’re reading this on, because there’s no way you have enough money to buy one yourself.

- Ludlow & Poser

Nintendo has announced a new version of its DS handheld system that will support 3D games. The 3DS will play games with 3D effects “without the need for any special glasses”, according to the Japanese company. It will launch during its coming fiscal year, meaning it could arrive any time between April 2010 and March 2011.

Nintendo describes the system as a successor to the DS series, but it will also play DS and DSi titles. The 3DS is a temporary name according to Nintendo’s perfunctory press release, but more details on the machine will be revealed at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. This year’s show will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 15-17.

[UPDATE] Though Nintendo’s official announcement of the 3DS was light on information, additional details on the upcoming handheld appear to have surfaced from Japanese business daily Nikkei. The newspaper’s online edition reports that the 3DS will feature a thumb stick for controlling movement in a 3D plane as well as rumble functionality. The handheld will also reportedly feature greatly enhanced battery life, improved network connectivity, and a screen size that’s smaller than four inches.

Nikkei also narrowed the release window of the 3DS, saying it will arrive during the back half of 2010. However, it is unclear whether that date holds true for Japan alone or the rest of the globe as well. Notably, Nintendo released the DSi XL last November in Japan (where it is known as the LL), and it went on to sell some 700,000 units by year’s end. The system’s Western rollout, however, hasn’t come until this month.

Continue reading at Gamespot.com ->