Samsung Launches Industry's First Blu-ray Player

Samsung today announced that the industry's first Blu-ray player has been shipped to retailers in the U.S. market for availability on June 25th. The Samsung BD-P1000 plays Blu-ray software titles at the highest resolution available via a native 1080p HDMI output for films digitally mastered in 1920×1080p. The BD-P1000 also up-converts conventional DVDs to 1080p through the HDMI digital interface so the picture quality of any traditional DVD will look noticeably more detailed when used with the disc player. The BD-P1000 is backwards compatible and plays both standard DVDs and CDs in addition to supporting all DVD formats including, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, and DVD+R. Connectivity includes HDMI, Component, S-video and composite outputs. Supported audio formats include Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, MP3 and 192KHz LPCM. The BD-P1000 will be available in stores on June 25, 2006 at a MAP of $999.99.

Sony Delays First Blu-ray Player until August

Sony's Blu-ray player: delayed until August
The player, the BDP-S1, was originally due out in June. It was recently delayed until July before this most recent delay to mid-August. Sony has given no reason for the delay. Samsung still has a Blu-ray player scheduled for release in late June, but it remains to be seen whether that unit will suffer a similar delay.

The delay is significant because it gives the rival format HD-DVD another few months to gain a foothold.

Product Description
The new BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc home player from Sony offers a host of new high-definition entertainment possibilities. The BDP-S1 features 1920 x 1080p output, the highest HD signal output currently available through a HDMI™ connection. If your HD-capable television does not have an HDMI connection, you can still get the Blu-ray experience - the 1080i analog output allows for HD-capable televisions without HDMI to enjoy Blu-ray Disc features. The BDP-S1 is also compatible with standard DVDs with the added feature of 1080p upscaling through HDMI, which gives new life to existing DVDs libraries3. BD-Java interactivity will further enhance the BD entertainment experience, allowing for development of advanced interactive features. Its sophisticated design, with blue glass front, will compliment any decor. Bring your home entertainment experience to a new level with the BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc home player.

More FFXIII news and PS3 update!!!

Square Enix revealed more tidbits for the PS3 RPG Final Fantasy XIII in the latest issue of Gemaga magazine:

The scenario is currently 80% completed, the game will have a number of usable vehicles
The developer is researching whether or not to use the 6-axis technology in the PS3 controller, which may be applied on the vehicles controls.
In the E3 trailer, the two yellow insignias the lead woman's left shoulder express a rank or social status.
The social status affects the type of conversation with characters in the cities
The woman in the E3 trailer is not necessary the protagonist of the game. However the developers mentioned that they want to give the leading role to a strong, independent woman.

Sony has confirmed that the horror adventure game Siren 3 [Forbidden Siren 3] is under development for PlayStation 3.

SCE's president Phi Harrison expressed his opinions about the PS3 controller in a recent interview in the Der Spiegel magazine:

He disagrees that SCE appropriated the motion sensing idea from Nintendo, as it has been in works for some time. "It is perfectly naturally for two companies to work on nearly identical devices. It is like that with technology."
He reiterated that the PS2 Dual Shock controller is "de facto industry standard" for video games. Sony defined the standard for man-to-machine interface for playing videogames
Also, he thinks that PS3 will have enough processing power for non-gaming functionalities to render traditional PCs, people can do most of the things just like a computer.
Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot mentioned that he is delighted with the PS3 controller, the company plans to pledge strong support for the PS3 motion-sensing functionality.

Capcom sales!

Capcom revealed its software sales for the 2005 financial year (Jan4, 2005 - Mar 31, 2006):

Biohazard 4 / Resident Evil 4 (PS2)- Japan - 490,000 units- North America - 610,000 units- Europe - 710,000 units
Onimusha 3: Dawn of Dreams (PS2)- Japan - 340,000 units- North America - 160,000 units- Europe - 140,000 units
Monster Hunter Portable / Freedom (PSP)- Japan - 610,000 units
Rockman EXE 6 / Megaman Battle Network 6 (GBA)- Japan - 610,000 units
Monster Hunter 2 (PS2)- Japan - 540,000 units
Sengoku Basara / Devil Kings (PS2)- Japan - 190,000 units- North America - 80,000 units- Europe - 40,000 units
Dark Watch (PS2/XB)- North America - 340,000 units
Rockman / Megaman series- Worldwide - 1,700,000 units

Meanwhile, the Japanese retailers have begin to accept reservation of the Nintendo Wii console, while an official price hasn't been announced, some Japanese retailers are expecting the price of Wii to be 18,000 yen (US$160).

Six projects surrounding the Final Fantasy XIII!

Square Enix revealed that there will be a total of 6 projects surrounding the Final Fantasy XIII theme Fabula Nova Crystallis. So far 3 titles have been announced: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus III and Final Fantasy XIII Agito. Furthermore, Square Enix views both Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy XIII as 20-year projects, both franchises will continue to expand and be remembered by players.



They also announced its earning for 2005 fiscal year. The company's profit increased by 14% from 14.9 billion yen to 17.1 billion yen (US$151.2 million), thanks to strong sales of both Kingdom Hearts II, Final Fantasy XII and FFVII Advent Children. Total sales increased by 68.5% from 73.9 billion yen to 124.5 billion yen. Square Enix expects a net income of 5.5 million yen and net sales of 53 million yen for 2006 fiscal year.

Wii price revealed!!!

Famitsu reported that Nintendo's senior management director Yoshihiro Mori has confirmed the price of Wii, the console will cost 25000 yen (US$222) in Japan. The price is about 1/3 of PS3 and less than half of Xbox 360.

Nintendo plans to ship 6 million units of Nintendo Wii worldwide by the end of financial year of 2006, and they expect to ship 17 million units of software.

Nintendo revealed its worldwide shipment of the various systems in 2005 financial year (Apr 05 - Mar 06):
GameBoy Advance - 8.33 million units
GameBoy Advance SP - 6.44 million units
GameBoy Micro - 1.83 million units
Nintendo DS - 11.46 million units
Nintendo DS Lite - 0.58 million unit
GameCube - 2.35 million units

Here are the worldwide shipment of Nintendo software in 2005:
GameBoy Advance - 59.36 million units
Nintendo DS - 49.95 million units
GameCube - 32.79 million units

Here are the forecasts for the 2006 financial year:
GameBoy Advance - 2.5 million units hardware / 30 million units software
Nintendo DS - 16 million units hardware / 70 million units software
GameCube - hardware forecast not available / 15 million units software
Wii - 6 million units hardware / 17 million units software

E3 Impression!!! - Nintendo Wii -

As you guys already know, Nintendo has named their upcoming console and they called it Wii. The Wii is a unique console because it comes with its new revolutionary controller which operates pretty 'virtually' cool with the motion sensing technology. It fits well in your hands and comes with nunchucku. As was previously announced, the nunchucku addition also has motion-sensing capabilities, and it shows up in several games. It was a bit awkward to hold the two parts of the controller in each hand, but as long as you keep your hands together, it is workable.



As for the games, it can vary greatly. Some games felt right at home with the Wii controller. Super Mario Galaxy comes to mind. The gameplay was simple and seemed extremely intuitive. By contrast, Twilight Princess was not intuitive and has a steep learning curve.



Nintendo also announced a "Classic Controller" that will be able to be used for the Virtual Console and GameCube games. It will be useful for those that do not have Wavebird controllers, but unless you don't have one, I see little use for the Classic Controller.

E3 has ended

Every year, the ESA presents the highly acclaimed Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the world's most important show dedicated exclusively to the interactive entertainment industry. Wholly owned by the ESA, E3 attracts tens of thousands of industry professionals from around the world to see the latest in interactive entertainment software and related products, and to participate in three days of thought-provoking workshops and seminars. Information regarding access to E3Expo, conference sessions, or any other information relating to the expo itself can be found at www.e3expo.com.

Here are Top 10 E3 news gamers are most interested:

- Impression and presentation of PlayStation 3 Controller
- Square Enix's announcement of Final Fantasy XIII
- Price and Launch date of PlayStation 3
- Announcement of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Snake as a new character
- PlayStation 3 menu and user interface
- Details of the PlayStation 3 Network Platform
- Images of PlayStation 3 games
- Three versions of Final Fantasy XIII
- Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen & The Tower of Mirrors for Wii
- Images of Square Enix games

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