Late Night Consoling

Sony has confirmed the existence of DevStation 2006, the company annual conference for PlayStation developers. This year it will be entirely focused on PlayStation 3. Don't get your hopes up of crashing the thing for any kind of sneak peeks, though; it's open only to registered Sony developers and publishers. This also means it probably isn't going to spawn any big announcements, since it's intended purely for the education of developers looking to learn the ins and outs of game programming on Sony's upcoming system. But hey, it's concrete evidence that despite "not being a game game machine,"* people are making games on it.

For actual PS3 news, there's always E3. There has also been a lot of rumor floating around that there might be some interesting PS3 announcements at the upcoming Game Developers Conference in March, so look out for that as well.

*Ken Kutaragi, 5/23/2005

Popular video game importer Lik Sang has received a rumor about a possible DS redesign to be announced by Nintendo as soon as January 16. Various news outlets are citing as evidence statements made by Nintendo Reggie Fils-Aime last year that Nintendo is already planning a redesign of the machine.

In reality, Fils-Aime said that the company has been "looking at ways to tweak it visually," which is a rather vague statement. However, GamesIndustry.biz also claims to have spoken to the same source, which indicated that Nintendo has a "major announcement" related to its DS shortage. GI.biz also spoke with UK retailers, some of whom believe a new model is to be on store shelves "by E3 at the latest."

Personally, I don't think that would be the best idea. With the holiday season just having past, there are a lot of consumers who would feel pretty burned by the announcement of a brand new version of the gaming hardware they just purchased. For reference, Game Boy Advance SP took about two years to be introduced after the original Game Boy Advance. There are definitely some aspects of the DS that cry out for a redesign, but it seems a bit soon.

Ubisoft has made a couple announcements regarding two of its Tom Clancy franchises. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Critical Hour (PS2, Xbox), developed by Ubisoft's Quebec studio, will be a new chapter of the long running strategic action series featuring seven single-player missions and 16 multiplayer maps. There will also be seven classic single-player missions from past Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six games, "chosen by fans." Ubisoft claims the game will be a throwback to the original tone of the series, with a slower more tactical pace and better combat.

The publisher also announced Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials, giving Sam Fisher his first appearance on Sony's handheld. The press release seems to imply that the game will feature a blend of old and new content from various chronological periods in the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series. The game will feature new material from before the events of the first Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell game, when Fisher was a Navy SEAL, as well as from events starting at the end of the upcoming Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, PS3, PC). There will also be "flashbacks" to levels from past Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell games.

Both games should ship some time this Spring.

Sony Computer Entertainment of America has revealed the first quarter offering for its PSP console, with six games lined up. Next week sees the release of Ape Escape Academy, a minigame compilation based on Sony's Ape Escape franchise. At the end of February, we'll see Neopets Petpet Adventures: The Wand of Wishing, an action/adventure title featuring four playable characters. March is where the bulk of the titles lie. That month will see Pursuit Force, a vehicular police chase game (expect a preview soon); Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, a new iteration of the PS2 stealth action series; MLB 06: The Show (also PS2), which is, well, major league baseball; and Daxter, a 3D platformer starring half of the popular PS2 duo Jak & Daxter.

Have you ever wondered how Mega Man feels when he charges shot on the DS? Does that question even make sense? Regardless, it seems that the blue bomber is making his way to Nintendo's portable in the form of Mega Man ZX, what seems to be yet another new Mega Man spin-off series. There are no solid details available about the game, other than that it will most likely let you choose either a male or female character.

Sony, Toshiba, and IBM have astonishingly announced that PS3 will continue to use the Cell processor for at least the next five years. "This is a winning combination," said Masashi Muromachi, CEO of Toshiba's Semiconductor Company.

Now it's Rachel Weisz.