Nintendo Wii 2. Wii the second. The Nintendo "Us". Whatever the name will be, it is surely quite far off, given Nintendo's tremendously successful Wii console is seeing no signs of slowing down.

But regardless of that fact, Nintendo, like all first-party manufacturers, is already in the early stages of development on the Wii's successor. Although next to zero solid details are known on the project, Nintendo at least openly admits that the Wii 2 is in development, something that Microsoft denies regarding the Xbox 720 (yes, these are logical / made up "code names"). And Sony has made it's intentions clear regarding their desire for the PS3 to have a 10-year (or longer) shelf-life, which means the Playstation 4 is very far off indeed.

For reference, analyst Evan Wilson of Pacific Crest Securities has said to expect the Wii 2 will be released in 2010. I would expect the Wii 2 console in 2010 at the earliest, but most likely later since Nintendo tends to extend the lifecycle of a very popular system, such as the Wii that already 29.62 sold million units by June 2008.

Even though it's so early to be talking about this, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently had quite a bit to say on the subject when speaking to Forbes. To quote him: "We are always preparing for the next hardware. We are under development. But the hardware is a kind of box that consumers reluctantly buy in order to play our games. - Every hardware needs some revolutionary features. This time around, it happened to be we had a revolutionary user interface. Will it be the same for the next generation? I really can't tell. It's natural for the current customer to expect Nintendo is going to once again do something different... If the people are expecting so many different things from Nintendo, it's going to be difficult for us to go beyond that expectation again."

As a result, Nintendo is never one to shy away from different technologies. As a new joint research agreement between Nintendo and InPhase Technologies has surfaced, and it suggests a radical new approach to digital storage space.

So what exactly is this technology? The technical title is "Miniature flexure based scanners for angle multiplexing" from inventor Bradley J Sissom and it is a solution to increasing the capacity of holographic data storage. What's interesting to us gamers, is that Nintendo appears on said patent as a joint applicant.

So how does this technology work? Well, holographic storage requires a laser to be split into two beams. Data to be stored is encoded onto the signal beam via the special light modulator, before converging with the reference beam and stored onto a photosensitive medium. Reading the data from the medium relies upon a beam being emitted onto the medium at precisely the same angle, wavelength, and position of the reference beam.

Unlocking the greater capacity offered by holographic storage relies upon adjusting the reference beam during the recording/writing phase. Altering the beam allows multiple holograms to be stored in the same volume on the holographic storage medium, which is where the patent comes into play.

The patent reads: "... disclosure is herein made that the claimed invention was made pursuant to a Joint Research Agreement as defined in 35 U.S.C. 103 (c)(3), that was in effect on or before the date the claimed invention was made, and as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of the Joint Research Agreement, by or on the behalf of Nintendo Co., and InPhase Technologies, Inc." - And a Joint Research Agreement is, "... a written contract, grant, or cooperative agreement entered into by two or more persons or entities for the performance of experimental, developmental, or research work in the field of the claimed invention."

So as you can see, this technology is for storing information in a drastically new and better way, by way of holographic data storage. And due to all the flak Nintendo has received because of the Wii's lack of a hard drive or means to store data, it's no stretch to imagine that Nintendo will not make the same mistake twice. At least, when it comes to the future-gen Wii HD, whether that means hard drive or high definition.

Could this be what Reggie meant when he said Nintendo was serious about the Wii storage problem? Possibly so. Who knows. It'll be interesting to see what future product(s) this patent brings.

With estimated unit sales approaching 100 million worldwide, Nintendo has proven itself time and time again as the industry ruler of the portable console market. With the DSi--the second refresh of the Nintendo DS--we're starting to see the company move in an evolutionary direction with its flagship handheld.

The DSi takes with it most of the features the DS Lite had to offer, but adds new multimedia capabilities. The DSi has been on sale in Japan since November 1 of last year and has already sold well over an astonishing 1 million units. Now that Nintendo has announced that the DSi will go on sale April 5 in North America, it certainly leaves everyone asking one big question, "Should I buy one?"

First, let's look at what exactly separates the new DSi from the DS Lite. In terms of actual form-factor, the difference between the two portables is negligible. The DSi is slightly slimmer, but you're not going to see the massive change in ****like we saw when Nintendo upgraded the original DS to the DS Lite. What you may notice is that both screens are a quarter of an inch larger. The DSi hardware also actually eliminates the Game Boy Advance slot found on the Lite, so you won't be able to play older Game Boy Advance games or DS titles that make use of the port, such as "Guitar Hero: On Tour."

Up close with the Nintendo DSi

What the DSi does introduce is an SD card slot, two 0.3 megapixel cameras, and a brand new menu system. The new upgradeable firmware will be exclusive to the DSi and offers a DSi Shop online store, photo editor, music player (sorry MP3 fans, it only supports AAC files), audio recorder, and PictoChat. The DSi Shop is basically the portable equivalent of WiiWare, the online store found on the Nintendo Wii. From the DSi Shop you'll be able to download applications and games directly to the device's internal 256 MB of storage or an SD card. The DSi also features speedier hardware than its predecessors--its main processor doubles the speed of the DS Lite's and has four times the RAM, as well. Whether or not this will make a drastic change in performance remains to be seen. What we do know is that the DSi's battery life won't last as long as the DS Lite's.

The much awaited expansion pack for Grand Theft Auto 4 "The Lost and Damned" has been out for a few days now on the Xbox store and we can safely say that the 12 hour campaign has set a new benchmark for other downloadable content to achieve. Xbox owners rejoice!

The Lost and Damned is based on the same setting as the original title but the action has been moved to Alderney State -- the left side landmass that mirrors a section of New Jersey. Rockstar have created not just a mere mission pack but a strong standalone title within the theme of their massively successful franchise.

To play the game you need a copy of GTA IV in your DVD drive and 1600 Microsoft points with a Live Gold Membership. This translates to around $20 and it offers around 12 hours of game time, 54 new music tracks, 20 new vehicles, 6 new weapons as well as new side missions, new TV shows and support for new multiplayer options. Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me.


Alderney State was not accessed much in the main Niko Bellic game and the industrial environment proves to be a compelling location for the additional series of missions. It is a marvelous setting for the rundown depravity of Johnny Klebitz's story, a guy who ascends in the ranks of the Lost Motorcycle club and finds himself at odds with the gangs returning president Billy Grey. Johnny is searching for peace with the various criminal factions throughout Liberty City, whereas Billy is more interested in violence and drugs. What follows is a story based on the same rags to riches climb to fame as the Niko script delivered. Obviously the setting and details are wildly different but the underlying story follows the same lines.

Many will be disappointed to hear that Johnny is not as strong a characterization as Niko however I had just as much fun with him in the single player campaign even if his persona is a little weaker. To be fair, the Johnny character did grow on me after a while and it is clear that Rockstar invested a lot of time putting in detail with the various settings and missions. Johnny and Niko's stories intersect both directly and indirectly throughout. Johnny gets partnered up with Niko during the game, which is tied into two of the GTA IV missions and they seem to get along just great. Later on however there are some missions which show the darker side of Johnny and it is possible that some of the more sensitive audience might be slightly upset with this (I won't ruin what it is). At least Johnny doesn't spend most of the game time trying to make friends in Liberty City, he was born and raised here so most people know him already.


Graphically the game uses the same engine as before with the rather unusual addition of a grain filter which has been included to add a realistic gritty overtone to the environments. Perhaps Rockstar feel that by doing this it will add a different take to the environments but thankfully you can turn it off in the settings as I think it is distracting. Of the five or so people who played the game with me during the review time, only one actually liked it so it will be interesting to see more views about this on our forums.

The voice acting is just as attractive and polished as ever and there are many moments when I laughed out loud at the sharp dialogue and wacky scripting. Rockstar are the pioneers at this kind of game and it really is just everything you would expect them to deliver.

The Lost and Damned is focused on a group of bikers with a new gang mechanic in place. Fellow riders can be called in for backup now in the middle of combat and by entering into the various secondary missions outside the main storyline it is possible to boost every members statistics. Cards and Arm Wrestling are two new activities available in The Lost Clubhouse and Air Hockey is another fun experience, even if the whole idea of leading your gang of violent bikers to a bowling alley is silly (but amusing!).


There are numerous gangs and wars that break out across Liberty City's map and they are played out over 25 skirmishes with a plethora of rival factions. That said it is unfortunate that your allies are so shockingly bad in the heat of battle, if you get into a random turf war then members of The Lost will help you out but in dangerous exchanges within a full-on gang war then your colleagues are pretty much incompetent.

Obviously as this is a story based on bikers there are a new selection of bikes available. They have also been fine tuned to be more stable and manageable and they don't lose their grip as easily (yay!). Collisions with cars mean you are more likely to be able to keep riding whereas before you would suffer a lot of damage and would spend time recovering from the damage. Cleverly you could assume that a hardened and skilled bunch of bikers would be more proficient on two wheeled machinery which explains the differences between the titles, but at the end of the day it works, and it works well.

The weaponry also gets overhauled with shotguns and pistols now available in automatic versions and they are joined by the grenade launcher which is still a devastating weapon in action. These are particularly useful in multiplayer modes which also receive a significant improve in this expansion.


There are online race modes, which are virtually identical to the offline single player race modes and herald to the days of Road Rash with players being able to hold a baseball bat while riding on their bikes. Maximum carnage ensues! Turf War and Team Mafiya return in a slightly adjusted state in Own the City and Witness Protection, so fans of the previous escapades will be happy to see them still present and thriving. Lone Wolf Biker also deserves a mention because it is a complex game of tag in which a player must flee from a pursuing mob. This mode has been the most fun I have had online in a long time and is a great platform for intense and frenetic multiplayer mayhem.

The Lost and Damned has not only reached the goals I had set out for it months ago but surpassed them comfortably. The ****of the expansion is not to be underestimated and there is a great variety of action on offer both offline and online. The new story is entertaining and very different from Niko's previous exploits and offers a new take on Liberty City that fans of this genre will fall in love with. The only problem now is that all the downloadable content will be measured against this, and there really is nothing even to come close.

The Grand Theft Auto series has long been known for its massive landscapes, over the top violence and immersive presentation, all of which would be very hard to accomplish on the aging DS. While Nintendo's touchscreen wonder machine is still able to light up the sales charts, it isn't necessarily the ideal platform for an open-world experience like GTA. Unfazed by this, Rockstar will be releasing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars exclusively on the Nintendo DS on March 17th, and I recently scored some hands-on time with the title to see if it is worthy of the series legacy.

Chinatown Wars is a unique take on the franchise that utilizes many of the same gameplay mechanics associated with the console series but condenses them into a much smaller package. The first thing that you will notice about Chinatown Wars is that the in-game camera is at an overhead angle, harkening back to the first two titles in the Grand Theft Auto series. The problem with this perspective in those titles was that it made driving very difficult, as you often couldn't see far enough ahead of your car to avoid obstacles. Rockstar alleviated that problem here by providing a more isometric viewpoint, allowing you to see a bit more of the area. The difference was instantly noticeable, as I was soaring down the streets of Liberty City with ease and never once crashed because I couldn't see what was about to slam into me.

Almost all of Liberty City from GTAIV is included in this title, providing an enormous environment for you to explore while on the go. To make up for a low polygon count, the game uses simplistic 3D graphics with a cartoonish cel-shaded tint that makes them similar in ****to the illustrations used in past GTA advertisements and box arts. The end result is an aesthetically pleasing visual ****that looks quite good in motion. Thankfully, this motion stays smooth during gameplay as the frame rate didn't seem to falter despite the overwhelming chaos that I was bringing about.

While the visuals are surprisingly good, the same can also be said about the gameplay mechanics, which offer a mesh of elements from the first two GTA titles and some of the complexities of more recent entries. The d-pad moves your character as well as the camera, and face buttons execute similar functions as they do in GTAIV. You character's default attack is a flurry of punches, which tends to be a bit difficult to hit things with. After several minutes of greeting innocents with my fists, I ran out into the street and jacked my first car from a grumpy cab driver. Just as in the console versions, the drivers will occasionally try and steal the car back from you, so you can't expect for an easier time just because you are playing on a handheld.

The driving is fast and easy to control, and causing a ruckus to raise your wanted level is just as entertaining as in other GTA titles. Much to my delight, citizens still roll up your window and go flying through the air when they are hit, cars still get flung out of your way as you barrel through them and the police are just as significant a threat as they always have been in this series. In short, Rockstar has managed to transport all of the key elements of a Grand Theft Auto title to the Nintendo DS, and despite the cartoony graphics and different camera angle, you are still getting the complete GTA experience.

I wasn't all that excited for Chinatown Wars before playing it. I have grown tired of the series over the years, and the thought of another watered-down iteration-like the GBA version from several years back, and even the PSP entries to some extent-left me wary of what could be done on the DS. However, I can honestly say now that I am very excited at the potential of this soon-to-be blockbuster. If the mission design and story are as well done as the core gameplay mechanics, DS owners and fans of the series will find a lot to love in GTA: Chinatown Wars when it ships next month.

While Sony already admitted to be thinking about the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo are no doubt developing a Wii 2... In an interview with the head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division, Peter Moore, EGM magazine asked him when their next video game console would come out, and also asked if they'd drop support for the Xbox 360 like they did with the original Xbox. He said that they were going to support it "as long as it sold." Possibly because they saw the Xbox sell well into 2007 despite not producing the console after October 2005.

He said the production team from the Xbox 360 is working on the next Xbox 720 [our pet name], and their looking into what kind of CPUs will be available on the market in 2011-2012. That would put the Xbox 360 at a lifespan of 6 or 7 years, a far cry from the Xbox's 4 years. After spending $1.26 billion in losses launching the Xbox 360, they'll want to get the most out of the system by lengthening its lifespan. As the longer you get into the cycle, the more profit you can make due to stopping being a loss leader, analysts always remark.

On June 13th, 2008, Robbie Bach - the President of Entertainment & Devices Division at Microsoft - mentioned the next Xbox by saying: "Our view is we will be selling Xbox 360 for a long time. We are always working on new technologies. We have people working on those. People ask me how many people I have working on the next generation. On the one hand, it's everybody. On the other, it's nobody. People are continuously working on new technology.

We started thinking about the next generation before we shipped the Xbox 360. It doesn't start with a date. It starts way upstream with silicon development. From that comes a series of data points. You start making early technology choices. It's an evolving thing. Stuff doesn't become concrete until you get inside a window of when you have to ship, more than 18 months or so out."