Late Night Consoling

It's one of those days, you know, the ones with a big roundup of PS3 semi-news. Fortunately, there's at least a bit of information that's more conclusive than usual, or at least indicative that more conclusive news will be coming eventually.

- This first item, however, is a bit more typical. The latest entity to chime in with doubts that PS3 will make its long-professed spring deadline is Japanese publisher Namco Bandai. Speaking to Bloomberg Japan, company president Takeo Takasu stated that "the spring release [is] impossible." After the merger of major publishers Namco and Bandai, the resultant Namco Bandai Holdings has become Japan's second-biggest video game and toy manufacturer. Namco Bandai is of course developing games for PS3, but Takasu states that "the release of the games depends on the timing of the hardware," and Sony has not given developers any indication of their marketing strategy. However, analyst Hiromu Takada explains, game makers have expected this gradual unveiling of the new consoles, so he does not expect it to significantly impact the industry. For its part, Sony has stated that while no changes to its official "spring 2006" release date have yet been announced, there may be a possibility of a delay.
- In an interview conducted by GameDaily BIZ, Game Developers Conference director Jamil Moledina suggested that Sony will in fact have information to present about PS3 during its GDC keynote. The keynote, entitled "PS3: Beyond the Box," will be presented by SCE Worldwide Studios president Phil Harrison. Moledina also noted that Nintendo's keynote by president Satoru Iwata should have interesting information as well: "With that in mind, this [Sony] GDC keynote, along with the Nintendo keynote by Satoru Iwata, have both been in development for several months, and contain significant editorial value and developer takeaway. I strongly encourage you to attend both platform keynotes."
- Chinese language website MyDrivers.com, with translation by The Inquirer, claims to have an inside source with Taiwanese manufacturer Compeq. Compeq, which manufactured parts for PSP, recently announced that it will be producing circuit boards for PS3, and MyDrivers alleges that mass production of those boards will begin by June or July. If true, it certainly rules out a spring release, but does suggest that PS3 is getting finalized and will be arriving this year rather than, as some have speculated, 2007.

French language site Gamekult.com reports that three game design luminaries have been granted knighthoods within France's Order of Arts and Letters. Two of the recipients of the honor are French: Frederick Raynal, creator of Alone in the Dark and and the Twinsen series (known as Little Big Adventure in various territories), and Michel Ancel, creator of Rayman and the excellent Beyond Good & Evil (PS2, Xbox, GCN, PC). The Order also accepts non-French contributors to the arts, however, and this year Nintendo design head Shigeru Miyamoto is also being knighted. He has the distinguished honor of sharing the rank with past non-French recipients such as James Joyce, Jackson Pollock, William Faulkner, and Oscar Peterson, as well as the slightly more suspicious Danielle Steele and Celine Dion.

Orbital Media sent word today that its 2D GBA and DS action title Scurge: Hive, which has undergone long delays, is currently slated for a release in "early June." Orbital also included a render of the game's main character.

Namco Bandai today announced One Piece: Pirates' Carnival for PS2. Based on the comic series and TV series, Pirates' Carnival is an "over-the-top party game" with over 30 mini-games. It supports up to four players competing on a game board to become King of the Pirates. Few details were revealed, but the game should ship this spring. - Press release.

Publisher Success has announced a DS entry in the Metal Saga series, alongside the previously announced PS2 game. The DS game's title translates to Metal Saga: Season of Steel, and is being designed by series creator Hiroshi Miyaoka. The game is entirely 2D in an isometric perspective.

Publisher THQ announced today that it has signed a three-game deal with in-game advertising firm Double Fusion to facilitate marketing campaigns within the games. THQ's Kelly Flock said, "In-game advertising opens up new revenue opportunities for the company, and helps us deliver an exceptionally strong communications channel to our brand and marketing partners." It was not stated which games would be affected by the deal, though they include "new, original properties for next-gen and licensed properties scheduled for release this fall." - Press release.

In-game advertising has been a hot topic recently, with various agencies recently signing deals with major publishers. Last month, Double Fusion entered into a similar agreemenet with publisher Midway.

Game Informer chats with Clover Studio president about The Game You Will Buy (PS2).

GameSpot has a developer interview on EA's The Godfather (PS2, Xbox, PSP, PC).

EA sends over a target render for Superman Returns: The Videogame (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, PC), also explaining what's going on in the scene and what exactly a "target render" is.