While browsing around on the internet, I found a crazy promo video for the failed Nintendo 64 add-on, the 64DD.
[youtube=425,350]EHVkSf_MnSE[/youtube]
The video features previews of Talent Maker, Polygon Maker, and Picture Maker...All of them look like they could be part of the same "game". Talent Maker looks like an early version of the Mii creation tool found on the Wii.
I also found a neat video showing what the 64DD startup sequence is like...and what happens if you don't put a disk in there.
Hot on the heels of a price drop and a new model introduction, a rumor has surfaced of a 6TH Playstation 3 model! Nothing about the new model is known other than the information seen in this picture from the FCC's website, the main piece of information being the model number, CECHH01. Also from this picture, we can derive that the new model has WiFi and Bluetooth. However, this is the only information known about it.
If you ask me what this could be, I think it could be a different color of the 40 GB model which is hitting Japan. Now, I did not report on this one, but Japan is getting a white 40 GB PS3 bundled with the Dual Shock 3 for the price of ¥39,980 ($341 US), and the model number on that is CECHH00. So, my guess is that this CECHH01 model is a Silver or Black version of that model.
What I really hope is that this model is the recently announced chocolate PS3 model. Sony made up a batch of 150 chocolate PS3s and a giant chocolate SIXAXIS controller for Eurochocolate, a festival dedicated to chocolate held in Perugia, Italy.
Hit the jump for more pictures of the festivities.
In a completely unsurprising move, Sony has announced that they are bringing the 40 GB Playstation 3 model to America on November 2, selling for $399.99.
This new model will have a 40 GB hard drive built in instead of 20, 60, or 80, and will include a free copy of Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray Disc (presumably the standard edition Blu-ray release). Unlike the earlier 20 GB model, this one will have built-in WiFi in addition to the standard ethernet port. However, this new model will be eliminating many things that are standard on both the 60 GB and 80 GB models.
First up on the chopping block: USB ports! On the new model, there will only be two ports as compared to four on every other model that has come out. This is not a huge problem for most people, but it could be if you use a USB keyboard and mouse on your PS3 or want to charge your Warhawk headset, a controller, and have your USB external hard drive plugged in.
Next items to be cut: Media Card slots! Just like the earlier 20 GB model, the new one will not have slots for SD/miniSD cards, Compact Flash cards, or Memory Sticks. Not a huge loss, but a loss nonetheless.
Final item to not make the roster, backwards compatibility?! Yes, you read right. On the 40 GB model, there will be ZERO BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY. Yup, you will not be able to play your Playstation 2 or Playstation 1 games on this system. Reason why? It would have to be done with software emulation just like how the Xbox 360 does its Xbox compatibility, and Sony decided that it would not be worth it to make software emulation for each and every game. As SCEA president Jack Tretton stated, "Backward compatibility is a nice secondary consideration, but it's far from the number-one priority." Well, when you have nogoodgamestoplay, it sure is a major consideration.
A new model is not the only thing announced by Mr. Tretton today. He also announced that the 80 GB model with Motorstorm will be receiving a $100 price drop, making it $499.99 instead of $599.99. However, the 60 GB model has not received a price drop, most likely because Sony is disillusioned into believing that they are all sold out. So, now the 80 GB model with limited backwards compatibility and Motorstorm is the same price as the 60 GB model will full backwards compatibility.
Now that you know the details, what's your take on it? Leave a comment here, or in the thread about it in our forums.
[img width=250 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/J-027/bf/J-027-H-00020-A.jpg[/img]Nintendo Co., Ltd. is ending official repairs of the original "Family Computer" on October 31, 2007. Originally released in 1983, the Famicom was Nintendo's first venture into the home console gaming market. While many of us are surprised that they still support a system so long dead (the last game was Adventure Island 4, in 1994), all that can be said is that you can't expect them to support it forever. By comparison Sega of Japan quit servicing Dreamcast units last year, even though they continue to sell new Dreamcast games through Sega Direct. After ten years of discontinuation of a system, the semiconductors required for replacement parts become difficult to find and purchase in quantities that have a guaranteed availability.
The Famicom isn't alone. The Super Famicom, Nintendo64, Game Boy Pocket, and Game Boy Light are also slated to end repair service support in the near future.
It isn't all doom and gloom for gamers. The Wii Virtual Console service offers the same games on the Wii and should free up use on aging hardware for at least the more popular titles.
I'll admit, I really dig the idea of LittleBigPlanet. If Sony wasn't so keen on dicking over consumers with each new iteration of the PS3, I'd almost be tempted to buy one. The game is so damn cute.
Asides from the innovative gameplay and graphical style, the thing I tend to have embedded in my mind is the really catchy theme that plays during the previews. It's mesmerizing. Well, I was listening to my favorite internet radio station when I heard the LittleBigPlanet theme playing, in all it's mesmerizing glory. I thought that was pretty damn cool.
Well, it turns out that the LittleBigPlanet theme is actually Get it Together by The Go! Team, based out of Briton England. I recommend that you check out the theme if you have not done so already. I've embedded it for you listening pleasure.
The Game Boy Advance, and more particularly the Game Boy Advance SP, brought me back into the wonderful world of handheld gaming. With great games like Golden Sun and Metroid Zero Mission, the GBA was a leviathan of its time. Today, we celebrate the GBA with this latest round of features. Truly its sales speak volumes about its popularity, and while the DS may be Nintendo's bread and butter now for the longest time the Game Boy line kept Nintendo happily in the black.
So, let's salute the Game Boy Advance. From the featured game of Game and Watch Gallery 4 to the Featured Image of Metroid Zero Mission, we hope that you enjoy the GBA-centric features. Also, we hope that you will check out the featured collection of TH14Arsenal. He may not have the largest collection on the site, but a collection is still a collection, and we look to feature collections ranging from small to large. Thanks for showing off your collection on our site! We appreciate it.
Stay tuned to RF Generation, more is still to follow when you keep it tuned to channel 3.
As previously reported, the system will include five games from Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service (Boom-Boom Rocket, Pac-man, Uno, Feeding Frenzy, and Luxor 2), a 256MB memory card, and a wireless controller, all for the price of $279.99.
So, the console game has just got even more confusing...
The Saturn Database is slowly being completed. I am putting all of the UPCs, Part #s, and Ratings in, but we still need scans!!!
Check out the Image database and see what scans are missing. We need just a couple Front and Back Scans, Quite a few Manual scans, and some game scans. Let's get the database finished!!!
With more of the database finished, it will be easier to see if you have that ultra rare Mortal Combat variant that you have been wanting. Finishing the database is all good!!!
Also, site appeal will go up, and more members may actually register! The big collection guys such as izret, tan, and nes_rules have done so many scans its not funny, so even if you can't do scans, try putting in part numbers and such, on any game for any system. Give back to the best gaming site there is, RFGeneration!!!!
Edit: Im soooooo sorry i forgot to put you in there Tan! Lets give him a round of applause!!
Here we have it. That game of the century! Well, not quite, but we do have a fairly pleasant little game here to feature.
This game, Dolphin, is a fun concept that uses one of the smartest animals on the planet as it's hero. Well, he would be a hero if the game actually had a story line. In Dolphin you are trying to get away from the evil giant squid that is chasing you. There's even a way to make the chaser become the pursued! Give the game a shot and then post your high score in our Atari 2600 scoring thread!
Our featured image is for Gopher by US Games. I've never played this game, but look at the cute little guy eating a carrot. Precious. If anything, maybe it'll give you a good laugh thinking about Caddyshack or something.
The featured hardware is the Wico Command Control[Ball] for the Atari 2600. Ever use this controller? It was surprisingly easy to use and the metal design of the stick made it very easy to move around. It almost felt like 360 degree motion.
Lastly, our featured collection is of GagaMan. Although he doesn't have Atari 2600 things listed, he at least has a great Sega collection kicking. Check it out!
Well, that's another week of features from us at RFGeneration. Is there something you'd like to see featured? Please send me a message, and maybe you'll get to see it up on the front page! Thanks again for taking a look and remember to keep it tuned in to Channel 3 here at RFG.
After confirming the 40gb PS3 last week, Sony, apparently has another system up its sleeve. That's right. ANOTHER PS3 MODEL! This time, it's 160 GB.
According to a rumor posted on some ineternet forum (reliable isn't it) reposted on Com Net Slash, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan is going to be releasing a new 160gb model of the PS3 this November. Here is what the rumored model of the PS3 will contain...
“The PS3 160gb will have a slightly upgraded Wi-Fi and Bluetooth receiver. Also the PS3 will be available in both Black and Silver, come with an unamed Blu-Ray movie, demos and trailers packed onto the HDD and a voucher for 2 PSN titles for the first number of customers”
“At the moment the unit is only confirmed for release in Japan. A date has not been fully specified but is expected after November”
3 ethernet ports? What are they going to do with those? Is the PS3 going to be a router? 2 HDMI ports? That's what Sony promised back in '05! I do like the sound of the 2 free PSN titles and the HD being loaded with demos and trailers.
Is this real? Well, I kind of want to say it is, but I really think 3 ethernet ports and 2 HDMI ports is a little over the top, however the rest seems very plausible
I know I've knocked Microsoft in the past for having so many models, but goddamn Sony, 5 PS3 models in the course of a year? That's almost one every other month.
As a reminder that small, 17 person teams, can make a game that looks far better than anything ever seen in gaming, I present Project Offset from an independent developer named "Offset Software".
After looking at this video you'll say "Gears of What? Crysis? Killzone Who? Those are *SOOOOOOOOOOOO* last gen."
And the game itself doesn't look like just a gigantic graphicsfest. There seems to be some real substance to it. Check out Project Offset's site to learn more about the game.
Another month, another round of submissions made! This post is intended to thank those members who have helped to grow our database. This last month saw 2992 submissions. Of those submissions, 2295 submissions were for the games database and 697 were for the hardware database. In addition, 391 images were added to the database last month.
We'd like to thank everyone for the submissions that they make. A special thanks goes out to those members who submitted more than 50 pieces of information. Those members are Tan, Tynstar, James, eaglebeak99, Funk_Buddy, Pop Culture Portal, OatBob, ApolloBoy, NES_Rules, and Mezmoron. Tan also had the largest number of submissions made, with 874. Congratulations on taking the top spot! It certainly is appreciated.
Any submission made by a regular member must be approved by a staff member, and this month, Tan also took the top post for approving submissions, with 540 approvals. OatBob and Tynstar round out the top 3 approvers, and we are thankful that they and all other staff members helped to approve your submissions. Thanks!
Lastly, I'd like to thank Tynstar for all the items that he helps to fix in the database. Scott, has been great, fixing errors and inconsistencies that can not be fixed using the edit scripts. We are appreciate for that!
Thanks for the submissions, and let's try to submit many new submissions this month!
On this day ten years ago, Gunpei Yokoi, one of the most important and influential figures in gaming, passed away. For those of you who do not know, Gunpei is the creator of the Game Boy, the system that revolutionized portable gaming, and paved the way for every handheld system to follow.
Game Boy is not the first thing that Mr. Yokoi created. One day, he was riding home on a bullet train from his job at Nintendo. He noticed that the man seated next to him on the train was messing around with an LCD calculator. This event gave birth to Game & Watch, a series of stand alone LCD games. The Game & Watch was very influential on Nintendo's future, especially in modern times. In fact, for Nintendo DS, they pretty much took a two screen Game & Watch game (such as Mario Bros. or Donkey Kong), added modern LCD screens, and turned the bottom part into a touch screen. Also, if you ever play Super Smash Bros. Melee on GameCube, you'll notice that one of the characters you can play as is Mr. Game & Watch, who was the protagonist of many of the Game & Watch games, such as Ball.
After creating Game & Watch, Nintendo appointed him to the head of Nintendo R&D1. While heading up R&D1, he was instrumental in the creation of Kid Icarus, Metroid, and of course R.O.B. for the NES. However, R&D1's most famous creation was to come...
In 1989, Gunpei and his R&D1 team revolutionized the portable gaming market with the original Game Boy, which combined the cartridge based gaming of the NES with the portability of Game & Watch. The Game Boy inspired many of Nintendo's competitors to enter the handheld gaming ring: Sega with the Game Gear, and Atari with the Lynx. While both of them were technically superior and featured a color screen, each of them completely failed in comparison to the Game Boy, due to its very long battery life, small size, and excellent game selection. These factors caused Game Boy held onto the gaming market with an iron grip for 13 years through many variations and revisions, including a color version.
Gunpei's most ambitious project, Virtual Boy, was released in 1995. Virtual Boy was an attempt to create a "portable" system capable of displaying true 3D graphics. However, this system went down as one of the biggest failures in gaming history. Some of the reasons it failed were because it was only able to display red, caused eye strain in most users, ate up 6 AA batteries rather quickly, was not very portable, was fragile, and it cost $180 at launch. The system was discontinued a year later.
The failure of Virtual Boy really brought Gunpei down. He felt horrible, and Nintendo placed the blame on the Virtual Boy failure on him. This pressure led to his resignation from Nintendo on August 15, 1996, mere days after Game Boy Pocket game out in Japan.
After leaving Nintendo, he went to form his own company, Koto Laboratories. They started working on the Wonderswan for Bandai, however, Gunpei would never see the final product...
On October 4, 1997, Gunpei was riding in a car driven by Etsuo Kiso from Nintendo. Kiso's car accidentally rear-ended a truck driving in front of them the Hokuriku Expressway. Gunpei and Kiso got out of the car to examine the situation. While surveying the damage, another vehicle collided with the Kiso's car, killing Gunpei Yokoi.
Fast forward ten years, we can still find Yokoi's legacy still alive. Be it in Nintendo DS's Game & Watch inspired design, the continuation of Metroid, Mr. Game & Watch's appearance in Super Smash Bros, or in the game Gunpey for Wonderswan, PSP, and Nintendo DS. Gunpei Yokoi is an undisputed legend in the industry, and he is missed by all of us.
Check out this article from The Escapist for even more information.
30 years ago this month the first of the Atari VCS systems started rolling off the factory lines in time for the holiday shopping season. The Atari VCS turned out to be the first "popular" cartridge based game system that families could play in the comfort of their own homes. With a lifespan of 14 years and a library of nearly a thousand titles, surely there is something for everyone.
Reviving a dead feature, this is List 'em. I list my favorites and you list yours. Here's my top Atari 2600 games:
Asteroids - An arcade favorite that also hit it it big at home. The gameplay is simple; fly your spaceship in any direction trying to clear out the Asteroid field. Fly too fast and you crash, and shooting larger asteroids makes them break into multiple smaller ones. I think most people will find this one to be fun with an easy difficulty level.
Space Invaders - Fortunately in the 1980s there were two "baddies" in gaming, film, and comic books that were impossible to be politically incorrect as the arbiters of leading world faiths hadn't covered them... Aliens and Zombies. Well, here's another mindless alien blaster that needs little introduction. Move your ship along the base of the screen shooting vertically, and taking cover as needed behind destructible shields. The invading ships are arranged in a grid with the higher ones being worth more points for scoring. Occasionally, a bonus ship will chirp and fly across the top of the screen for big points and maybe extra life. The sprites are not the same as the arcade, but the spirit is there and it feels much alive. "INCREASE SPEED, DROP DOWN, AND REVERSE DIRECTION!" -Lrr (Futurama)
Pitfall! - Play as a jungle explorer, Pitfall Harry, in search of untold fortune. Obstacles along the way include scorpions, crocodiles, and quicksand, so you better be ready to jump into action or else you'll fall short. Activision (the first "third-party" developer) really nailed it with this one. Unfortunately the difficulty level eventually plateaus, and the only world records to be had are timed "perfect play" runs.
Adventure - Wander the world from a top-down viewpoint through mazes and castles. Find keys to unlock newer areas to explore and slay dragons that stand in the way of progress. This game was truly revolutionary in terms of mechanics and general scope and size. A similar but far more refined game titled The Legend of Zelda came out on the NES a few years later and blew the world away. To this date I still enjoy playing both games.
Missile Command - Move the cursor to trigger a mid-air explosion. Use this to destroy all incoming missiles heading towards your bases. This game gets to be tough after a while, with a fair, but gradually increasing difficulty with each wave.
Wow, five is too short for listing all the great games for such a classic system. There's always other goodies like Q*Bert, Pole Position, Breakout, , Yars' Revenge, Frogger, Combat, and multiplayer sports games like Basketball. Expect simple gameplay and don't forget the RF switch. Stay tuned on channel 3.
This week we're shifting gears and cutting into the fast lane.
OutRun 2019 takes the lead this week as our featured game. Easily one of the fastest racing games on the Sega Genesis, it still plays like the other games from the outrun series. Of course, with these fast speeds come big crashes. If you like any of the F-Zero or Burnout games, you'ld certainly get some fun out of this one.
The featured image this week is a real bargain bin gem, but don't let the cover fool you. R: Racing Evolution looks to be another Ridge Racer game as it was made by Namco and features a shiny car and young Japanese female on the cover. At least thats what I thought when I picked it up. It turns out to be a racing simulation (that isn't Ridge Racer) with more simplified tuning options and a storyline. This game features a lot of real cars with upgrade options where all can be obtained in a reasonable time period. Stock cars, F1, offroad circuit, and drag racing are all represented here. My favorite cars here are the DeLorean (yeah it was really intended to be a luxury sports car) and the Hummer. The Xbox version of this game has a special Hummer with an Xbox paint job, adding in a touch of humor due to its ridiculous size, unplayable slow acceleration and speed. This game is fun to play, and the variety of races keep it fresh. The other drivers taunts are a little corny though, so try and keep the lead so you don't have to hear them as much.
The Gran Turismo 3 PlayStation 2 console bundle closes the gap for hardware. The Gran Turismo series has always been the leading car simulation with high attention to detail and realism. GT3 also helped give the early PS2 the big push for which Sony was hoping, contributing to the largest juggernaut in gaming history. While there are millions and millions of PS2s out there, this bundle proves to have some collector's value as its the only real box variant or bundle for the early model PlayStation 2.
Speeding his way to higher collection numbers is Reps911. He claims to have rekindled his collection habit after meeting his (approving) significant other. Over the past couple years he's shown a fast accumulation of games and systems, and shows no signs of slowing down.
So next time you're rounding the channel circuit, don't forget to stop by channel 3.
Hot on the heels of a price drop and a new model introduction, a rumor has surfaced of a 6TH Playstation 3 model! Nothing about the new model is known other than the information seen in this picture from the FCC's website, the main piece of information being the model number, CECHH01. Also from this picture, we can derive that the new model has WiFi and Bluetooth. However, this is the only information known about it.
In a completely unsurprising move, Sony has announced that they are bringing the 
An update on 
After confirming the 40gb PS3 last week, Sony, apparently has another system up its sleeve. That's right. ANOTHER PS3 MODEL! This time, it's 160 GB.
On this day ten years ago, Gunpei Yokoi, one of the most important and influential figures in gaming, passed away. For those of you who do not know, Gunpei is the creator of the Game Boy, the system that revolutionized portable gaming, and paved the way for every handheld system to follow.
30 years ago this month the first of the Atari VCS systems started rolling off the factory lines in time for the holiday shopping season. The Atari VCS turned out to be the first "popular" cartridge based game system that families could play in the comfort of their own homes. With a lifespan of 14 years and a library of nearly a thousand titles, surely there is something for everyone.
This week we're shifting gears and cutting into the fast lane.
