Masahiro Sakurai the Director of Kid Icarus: Uprising has confirmed that the Circle Pad Pro will be compatible with the game. However instead of utilising a contrived control system that would ultimately be unnecessarily tacked on, the peripheral is intended to support left handed players.
While the game requires players to aim using the touch screen, they use the thumb pad to move. Since left handed players will not be able to use this control system accurately, the Circle Pad Pro solves this problem.
Sakurai went on to confirm that this addition was added late into the game’s development when the details of Circle Pad Pro were revealed. Perhaps this is why the game was delayed? It’s likely, but still speculation.
What do you think of this intelligent use of the Circle Pad Pro in Kid Icarus: Uprising? Let us know in the shoubox and comments section.
Gamings favorite peripheral manufacturer, Razer, is coming along with their own entry into the PC gaming machine market with their upcoming Tablet, Project Fiona, which looks like a promising device. With a sleek design and running on Intel processing hardware, this should be a very nice addition to any gaming array.
It’s a tablet. It’s a pc.
Project Fiona Concept Tablet runs a PC environment on a powerful next generation Intel processor ready to play all of your favorite PC games. This tablet concept is running advanced applications on an ultra portable form factor, bringing hardcore PC gaming on the go.
The device also features dual controllers which promise to have force feedback, so that you can feel the vibrations of each moce you do. While I’m not entirely sure it’s wise having a vibrating PC in your hands, as you may drop it, this is a feature that some gamers will surely find interesting.
Razer on the Audio –
Audio on tablets sucks today but gaming audio on Project Fiona has never been better with Dolby 7.1 surround sound and it’s the only tablet today to be certified by world renowned audio specialists THX.
The following is a list of currently propesed specifications on the device (keep in mind it is still a concept and these may change over development) –
Tech Specs
Hybrid user interface for PC gaming
Intel® Core™ i7
10.1″ 1280×800 display
Full-screen user interface supporting multi-touch
3-axis gyro, magnetometer, accelerometer
Force feedback
Dolby® 7.1 surround sound
WiFi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth® 3.0
The Project Fiona is looking like a promising device so far and I can’t wait to see what the final product is capable of delivering. As for my estimated price-point? Based on current specs, I’d wager around $2-2.5k. Be sure to check out the official site for more info.
**UPDATE**
Razer have gotten back to us on what they would estimate the price-point as being, which is around the $1000 mark. So the device is a little more affordable than my own predictions. They are also looking at a Quarter 4 release this year.
A demo for EA Sports’ upcoming Grand Slam Tennis 2 is now available on Xbox LIVE and Playstation Network. The demo includes Practices Court where you can develop your shots as the world’s number 1# ranked player Novak Djokovic, and a Play Now match at Wimbledon’s Centre Court between Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Grand Slam Tennis 2 features an all new control scheme total racquet control, whereby every shot in the game is done with the right analog stick. And for anyone with PlayStation Move the game also fully supports motion controls.
Grand Slam Tennis 2 is set to be released on February 9 and February 10 in Australia and New Zealand respectively for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
At the Consumer Electronics Show this year, Nintendo will be showcasing their E3 build of the Wii U to members of the media and press to demo. This will allow members of both the press and media to have a go with the Wii U and get a feel for the direction that Nintendo are taking with the device.
The Wii U is the upcoming console from Nintendo that they promise will innovate the way we play games. It features a main controller tablet and is compatible with the Wii-remote devices. The console also looks like it will be backwards compatible with Wii game discs and the like.
To quote Nintendo –
“Nintendo of America, working with the 2012 International CES management, will offer demos of the upcoming Wii U console to members of the media who did not see the system at the 2011 E3 Expo. However, Nintendo will not have a booth at CES, nor does it plan to include any games, experiences or information beyond what was available at the 2011 E3 Expo. Production and development efforts remain on track for the Wii U launch, which will take place between the start of the 2012 E3 Expo in June, and the end of 2012.”
In a strange turn of events, the upcoming isometric action role playing game and sequel to one of the greatest games of all time, Diablo III, is coming to consoles everywhere. This was announced on a certain developers twitter feed which read thus –
This will be an interesting turn of events for players, particularly PC players who will need to sign into battle.net to play the game over the console gamers who may not have an everlasting internet connection. There will be more news on this in the future.
While it has already been revealed that a co-op mode will be unlocked once players finish Resident Evil: Revelations the first time, apparently another bonus will unlock once the game has been completed. This bonus however may be one that a lot of people will not even try to attempt.
The bonus will be a new difficulty level which is being called “Hell Mode” which will up the difficulty level of the title above normal. Considering Resident Evil: Revelations is meant to return back to the original feel of the series, with small spaces and limited ammo this could be quite a challenge. Still, this is a good challenge for those who will pick up the title when it is released on February 7th in North America and January 27th in Europe.
Earlier today ANN reported word from John Sirrabella, CEO of Media Blasters a North American anime distributor, that 60% of there staff has been layed off. There staff previously consisted of 15 regulars and is now cut to 5 or 6 regular staff members.
The writing has been on the wall for a long time now with Media Blasters and one quick trip over to their official website is enough of a sign that they have seen better days.
Sirrabella insists that this is not a problem with the anime industry but simply a transition all industries are eventually going to take. That transition being to more heavy use of freelance workers over regular employees.
He goes on to state that none of Media Blasters releases will be affected by the staff cuts. They still intend to release Kite on DVD and Blu-Ray on the 28th of February and the entire first season of Squid Girl on March 13th.
With the release of Final Fantasy XIII-2 at the end of this month in North America, Square Enix has prepared a demo for the title and has made it available on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 today. The demo is quite large in size and will take 1.29GB of space so one can imagine that the demo is quite expansive.
In the demo players will enter the Bresha Ruins where Noel and Serah will fight against Atlas, a giant monster that will appear often throughout parts of the title. In this area players will be able to test out all of the new features added into FFXIII-2 such as the Live Trigger events and conversation system, sub-quest system and even the ability to capture and use monsters in your party.
Sentai Filmworks has revealed today that they have acquired the license rights to Zero no Tsukaima F, also known as The Familiar of zero F. They are currently planning on releasing the series on DVD later this year but have already revealed that the title will only be given a subtitled release and not a full English dub. This news comes after Friday’s announcement from Crunchyroll saying that they would stream the series for North American viewers.
Zero no Tsukaima F is the fourth and final anime series of Zero no Tsukaima which is based off of Noboru Yamaguchi’s light novel series. While it is disappointing to see that Zero no Tsukaima F is only going to be given a subtitled release, it is not unexpected. FUNimation previously held the rights to the first few seasons of the anime but let their licensing rights expire due to poor franchise sales.
In what can be seen as a bit of a surprising move, THQ has announced that they will be releasing a Homefront Ultimate Edition sometime in the first quarter of 2012. There currently is no word as to what this special collection will contain but one can assume that it will contain the two DLC packs “The Rock” and “Fire Sale” will be included.
It appears that the latest trend in the video game world is to release Complete Editions as this is now the second announcement for a special re-release of a title in nearly as many days, with the announcement of the Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition yesterday and the L.A. Noire Complete Edition released just a short while ago perhaps waiting a few months before picking up certain titles is the best deal now.
