Basic Fun had a little bit of help from their friends at Activision and Red Octane for their miniature version of Guitar Hero. Measuring just 3 x 7.5 inches, the guitar neck folds down so you really can whip it out of your shirt pocket and thrill commuters with your ax licks. Of course, it's got a pared-down version of the whammy bar, as well as an LCD screen so you know what you should be playing. It's out at the beginning of March, but I'm still waiting for Keytar Hero to hit in the hope that Basic Fun will develop a mini version of that.

Thank: [Technabob]

Sony has been rumored to be working in partnership with Ericsson to develop a phone with PSP gaming capabilities for a long while now. These images, scanned from an Italian gadget magazine, purporse to show a final protoype of the device. If these images are in fact to be believed, the planned partnership has yielded one sexy-looking communicator. If this turns out to be a fake bullshot, will you be disappointed? If it turns out to be real, would you buy one?

Resource: [Kris @ PVG.com]

We might be in luck - a recent issue of Sony Magazine has stoked the fires of a finely aged rumor that a PSP phone is currently in the works, possibly under Sony Ericsson. One article briefly mentions that a "PSP phone is apparently in development," and that the device could hit retail "as early as February." While it wouldn't be the first time Sony released a handheld upon an unsuspecting public with little to no fanfare, we would think we'd hear about something like this more than a month before it hits store shelves. But few details on it have been given at this time. The existence of the new N-Gage-gone-Sony will remain rumor for now, but is looking all the more likely to happen..

Thanks: [JoyStiq.com]

Check this link out. This site is really cool. GamerZines offers free magazines for XBox 360, Playstation 3, PC gaming, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS and MMORPG gamers. This free video games magazine is written by professional games journalists and you won't find any of the content anywhere else. Inside you'll find previews, reviews and interviews on all the biggest XBox 360 games, Playstation 3 games, PC gaming, Sony PSP games & Nintendo DS games. They are available for free download as PDFs - Absolutely FREE & NO REGISTRATION.

GamerZines.com

RPG masters Bioware are hard at work on a DS role-playing game & Sega's mascot Sonic the Hedgehog would be the star of this title. The latest issue of Nintendo Power sums up the plot of the game thusly: After defeating Eggman, Sonic takes a short vacation, only to be notified that Knuckles has been kidnapped and that several Chaos Emeralds are missing. This marks the start of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Turn-based, fast-paced battles make up the biggest chunk of the game's battle system, with some rhythm-based special attacks thrown in for good measure. Controls will be all stylus-based and very similar to those in Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

The game promises to extend th elimits of the DS hardware: Hand-drawn, colorful graphics bring the 3D world to life, as you and three other members of your party travel through the game's main plot and side-quests. Characters include Sonic, Amy, Tails and Shadow, among others, all with unique abilities and commands. As you fight and level up, you can increase your character's attributes and gain Rings to use as currency, allowing you to purchase more special attacks. Apparently the game will be broken into two parts; the first set on Sonic areas, while the second takes place on a darker world. All this, plus remixed Sonic tunes and fully animated cut-scenes should make for a great game, both in gameplay and aesthetics & this could very well be one of 2008's best DS games.

Thanks: [NeoGAF]

Although both males and females posses an equal level of motor skills when interacting with video games, males were quicker to understand the object of the tested games, and thus performed better initially, the study found

"The part of the brain that generates rewarding feelings is more active in men than women during video game play," said Dr. Fumiko Hayft, professor at Stanford. As a result, the added stimulus encourages males to take greater interest in video games.

Dr. Hayft also finds that the addiction and reward sections of the brain overlap, making it easier for us (men) to become addicted to video games.

p/s: Well that explains it: why male brains like video games more than female brains on average.

Thanks to: [gamepro.com]

In game industry parlance we call these titles vapourware: games that were announced and hyped by their respective developers but never managed to see the light of day. Every system has its fair share of these games (nobody even knows what system Duke Nukem Forever is supposed to appear on) but it seems as though the PSP has had a disproportionate amount of disappointing cancellations. It could be because the system was hyped way beyond developers´ abilities to deliver, or it could simply be because some publishers eyes were bigger than their stomachs and they have not yet caught on to the notion that handheld titles can be extremey profitable. Luckily for PSP gamers, there are almost too many quality releases piling up for their beloved handheld. Otherwise some of these cancellations might hurt more than they already do. Brace yourselves for the list of games that might have been, if only…

1) Myst

Like so many gorillas in the mist, this game keeps disappearing into the… Oh, nevermind, you get the idea. Midway announced that they were working on this game in 2005 and slated its release for 2006. To their credit, the company did manage to get a version of the game out in one territory: Australia. Probably as a result of mediocre reviews and the company´s recent financial troubles, the game has been put on the shelf indefinitely for North America and Europe. Since the game was a straight-up port and therefore available on a multitude of other systems (including the popluar CD-i) it is doubtful that this news will be lamented by too many Myst fans, although if done correctly a game like this could be quite successful on the PSP.

2) Gekido: The Dark Angel

A Devil May Cry look-alike that was in development by an Italian game studio called NAPS team. Although development had progressed far enough to produce some pretty impressive (and blood-splattered) screenshots, the game was unceremoniously canned sometime in late 2006. Billed as ´a fully-interactive 3d action/adventure game´, Gekido seemed to owe a lot of design cues to that other gothic action franchise, right down to the clothing and badass weapon of the protagonist. It is disappointing that this title has been put on hold, particularly since the rumored Devil May Cry PSP project has either been cancelled or never existedin the first place.

3) Earthworm Jim

Shiny Entertainment was well into development of this title for the PSP, even releasing a few tantalizing screensots that purported to show the game in action. From the looks of things, the title was shaping up to be a 2D platformer with 3D characters, similar to Capcom´s successful (and released!) Maverick Hunter X. Fans of the original 16-bit Earthworm Jim were probably heartbroken at the news that the title would not be making its way to the PSP, a platform that wold have suited this ****of gameplay very well. The game was probably lost in the shuffle when Shiny left the beleaguered publisher Atari to join Foundation 9 in 2007.

4) Advent Shadow

A spinoff from the Advent Trilogy, a series of action games that were themselves adapted from the science fiction novels of Orson Scott Card, Advent Shadow appeared to be a highbrow shooter with a dystopic futuristic setting. Despite the gankiness (is that even a word?) of the very early screenshots, the game´s premise showed a lot of potential. Sporting a kickass female heroine named Marin Steel and a variety of aforementioned futuristic environments to explore, drive around in, and shoot at, the game could have been a pretty good substitute for Perfect Dark on the PSP. The publishers even released some snazzy boxart for the uncompleted game, to extract as much hype from the interwebs as possible. With a feature list a mile long (destructable environments, dozens of vehicles) and an ambitious production budget (the game´s designers comissioned a 70-piece orchestra for the soundtrack) it is no wonder that the game´s development collapsed under its own pretensions.

5) Landstalker

A PSP port of the isometric RPG was promised by Climax Entertainment (what a tease!), but never made it out of the early development phase. For those that don´t remember, the original game had players guiding the intrepid treasure-hunting protagonist Nigel through a series of hazard-filled dungeons in search of fortune. The action-oriented gameplay appealed to a core group of fans, and the game even spawned a 3D follow-up called Time Stalkers on the Dreamcast. It is difficult to ascertain much abut the PSP version from the few screenshots of this game that are floating around on the web. This one was taken from a Spanish website, and seems to show an updated, 3D graphical overhaul in the same tradition as the Legend of Heroes remakes. Fans of the original Genesis title will be understandably upset that this cult favorite is a no-show, but luckily there is a surplus of great RPGs available for the system.

6) Oblivion: Travels

In their secret bid to take over the world, Bethesda Entertainment has announced a port of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for every game system known to human kind. Even the humble Nokia N-gage got its own version of The Elder Scrolls back in 2004. The PSP, not so much. Officially cancelled on the Gamestop catalogue but still pending official news from Bethesda, Oblivion: Travels is floating somewhere in vapourware limbo. My advice is to just let it go, folks. Sure, Oblivion was a great game, back in 2006, but can the title really sustain yet another release? The PSP is still waiting for a blockbuster Western RPG, but perhaps an original title would be preferable to a well-worn port.

7) Gran Turismo: Sad Panda Edition

Of course, the big daddy of vapourware titles on the PSP remains Gran Turismo Portable. If the final game managed to deliver on even a portion of the blurry, the title would have been astonishing.

While the game´s producer Kazunori Yamauchi continues to promise that the company will get around to completing the game eventually (It is supposed to receive full priority once GT5 is completed). This seems like a case of Sony executives wishing really, really hard that the system-selling game actually existed, and Yamauchi not having the heart to disappoint them.

Thanks: [Game Culture]

Since its November 21st, 2004 launch, the Nintendo DS – and its sexier, lighter, brighter redesign – has outperformed just about everyone's expectations and predictions. Nintendo's latest portable gaming system has sold million of units worldwide and continues to perform extraordinarily well. That's especially true in Japan, where used DSs were recently considered more valuable than a new Sony PSP or Microsoft Xbox 360. The recently released DS Lite, which features a smaller form-factor and brighter screens, is also proving hugely popular world wide. With killer apps such as Brain Age, Phantom Hourglass and Pokémon Diamond / Pearl selling millions of copies as well (much to the delight of publishers). Many of us were skeptical of the system's innovative features; two screens, a touch screen, and a built-in microphone seemed weird to some, but Nintendo and many other developers have shown what the system is capable of, and millions of players around the world couldn't be happier with the results. Let's take a look at some interesting sales numbers and facts that the Nintendo DS have produced:

1. Nintendogs is the best-selling DS game series, with more than 14 million copies sold worldwide. The dog-sim game is the most popular casual game available for the system; many new gamers entered the market because of the simplicity of play and, well, everyone loves puppies.

2. New Super Mario Bros. is the best-selling single DS game to date, with at least 9.5 million copies sold worldwide. The game was first shown at E3 2004 and released almost two years after.

3. On January of 2006, Nintendo issued an official apology to Japan; the Nintendo DS was completely sold out in the Land of the Rising Sun, and potential customers were losing patience, so Nintendo apologized and did their best to keep people happy. As it turns out, Nintendo was hard at work producing DS Lites!

4. Pokémon Diamond / Pearl sold a million copies in the United States during their first five days of availability. Both games sold a combined total of five million copies after three months of their Japanese release, making them the fastest-selling Pokémon games ever.

5. Majesco announces that it has sold upwards of 1.6 million Cooking Mama games. This total figure includes the sales of the original title (which comprises of 1 million of the total number of games sold).

Brain Age, Nintendogs, Phantom Hourglass and New Super Mario Bros. continue to sell well and remain atop sales charts worldwide. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl are also doing extremely well, and upcoming titles such as FF: Ring of Fates and Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword are sure to feature similar results. So you see, the Nintendo DS really does print money! :D

Sony has openly touted the PSP as a media player, games machine, web browser, and mp3 player. However, through the proliferation of self-published magazines and podcasts, the PSP is rapidly becoming the medium of choice for street-level digital broadcasting. Most magazines for the PSP focus on video gaming, film, and music reviews, but a growing number of publications deal with with issues of wider social relevance.

"The Raise" is a new magazine published by the Cyberjaya Multimedia University in Malaysia, which provides information and news of interest to Muslim PSP users worldwide. The first issue of the magazine, which is available in English, features a video documentary about the effects of 9/11 on the Muslim population, as well as commentary and articles about religious Islam. Whether or not you are a Muslim it is worth checking out this magazine, just to see what other people are doing with the PSP as an artistic medium. It might even insipre you to start your own PSP 'zine…

Video game players and makers have fought vigorously to have their work taken seriously by the mainstream media and the academic community as a form of art and social commentary. Sadly, much of the current debate focuses only on the negative effects of video games on society. Examples like"The Raise"show that video gamers are not only a diverse bunch, but also that we care about issues like religion and politics, and that we have meaningful things to say about these topics. Someday the mainstream press will take video games and gamers seriously, but until then,we have to keep finding new and creative ways to use the technologies we have and emphasize the positive aspects of gaming.

Thanks To: [The Raise, PVG.com]

Apparently English-language gaming forum Neogaf is reporting that French gaming blog Wiiz.fr is reporting that Japanese gaming mags are saying that maybe, just maybe, Mario will be making an appearance on the DS in RPG form sometime in the future. Whew. Oh, and if this gigantic internet game of telephone is to be believed, Nintendo is also working on versions of Golden Sun and Ogre Battle for the Wii. Direct from (French) source:

"To start, it seems that Square Enix is considering a new DS title featuring the mustachioed plumber. Following up on its original release for the Super famicom, this game would see Super Mario RPG return on the DS. It is even hinted that during gameplay, the player will encounter various famous characters from the Final Fantasy universe."

There is not a whole lot to lend credibility to this rumor, but its really sounds intriguing. Given the stratospheric popularity of the Nintendo DS, it seems like a pretty good fit for this type of game. What's more, the series is due for a revival.

Thanks: [Wiiz.fr]