Sony Psp Downloads Possibilities Including Psp Video Tutorial

Writen by Lee McKenzie

If you ever loved the Sony Playstation consoles, then your definitely going to love the Sony PSP. With its portability and data storage capability Sony have really outdone themselves when it comes to the portable gaming experience. With features that include being able to play UMD music, movies and games and surf the world wide web, who wouldn't be eager to get their hands on one? As many people know these are the key points that the PSP has sold on. BUT! did you know you can also install games directly onto the memory sticks that come with it without the need for the UMD disk that the game was originally on? What a lot of people don't know about the PSP is that there are limitless possibilities to what you can make it do. Heck I've even seen someone use their PSP as a remote control. Possible because of its wireless setup and it's vulnerability to hackers.

There are numerous amounts of hacks available that can really transform your PSP into an extremely useful tool. If you look hard enough there is so much information on the net about the PSP hacks mainly tools and tutorials that can help you gain more from your PSP. The only problem you may have is with downloading content for your PSP. Sure there are a lot of download sites out there but they usually don't have what you looking for or are so complicated it makes your browsing process a nightmare. And even if you've downloaded the content there's no real way to know how to install it without having to search the net again for tutorials. However, there are sites out there that make this easy for you and you only have to do a quick search on any search engine to find them. Websites like this are a breeze to download content from because they have millions of files, tutorials and even have technical support areas in case you really get stuck. These sites usually come with a fee to begin using their content and are well worth the money. Everything you need for downloading is compiled into one website. Frustration is no longer a problem. If you really feel the need to expand your PSP experience having a look at some of these sites will really get you excited.

But for the beginners, here's a tutorial I compiled myself that describes how to put video onto your PSP. To see this tutorial visit the website: www.pspconnectonline.com Hopefully your eyes have been opened to the Sony PSP's amazing capability. So what are you waiting for get out there and start downloading.

Lee-Mckenzie www.pspconnectonline.com

Sudoku For Children Teach Them Early

Writen by Kathleen Frassrand

Teaching a child how to solve sudoku is more than just teaching them a new game. Sudoku is all about logic. Start early with your children. Allow their brains to learn logic, for it is indeed a learned skill. I firmly believe that children who learn logic early in life will excel in logic later. They will have a head start, and the logic section of their brains will develop more fully.

Now, that being said, how do you teach a child sudoku? The first step is to choose and easy puzzle. Start them with a 4x4 grid. You will need to make sure they understand the different between rows, columns, and mini-grids.

Once they understand these three components, you can begin to show them the logic. Start by locating a row that only needs one number. This should be easy in a 4x4 grid. Your child should be able to easily figure out which number is missing.

Work together on rows, then move on to columns. Again, look for columns that are only missing one number. Once your child has mastered working with rows and columns, you can work with mini-grids.

The second step is to work on rows, columns, and mini-grids that are missing two numbers. This is an important step. This is where logic really comes into play. If a row is missing a 5 and a 6, then show your child WHY a 5 must go in this spot, and a 6 must go in the other.

Also, it is important to note that when your child states that a number "must go here", it is your job to ask why. They may be guessing, and you won't know until they start guessing wrong. A child must understand the rules of sudoku in order to apply them, and it is your job to teach those rules in a methodical manner.

Once your child can routinely do a 4x4 grid, move on to a 6x6. For quite some time, you will need to stay with your child and show them where to go next. I recommend that you show your child which row or column to work on next (or which number to look for).

Before long, your child will be able to successfully complete a 6x6 with no help from you at all. That is when you move to a 9x9, and then on to harder solving techniques.

The most important thing you can do is START!

Good luck, and enjoy this special time with your child.

Ms. Frassrand is an avid Sudoku player who also loves spending time with her children. For more sudoku information, please visit http://sudoku.info-for-you-online.com

Alien Species Design And Organic Success Models

Writen by Lance Winslow

Have you ever considered what alien species might look like? Some of us have and many of our thoughts perhaps are based on those things we see on the silver screen in Hollywood. Indeed the Sci Fi authors, screen writers, graphic artists and illustrators of the present and recent past periods have gripped movie goes and captured our imaginations. But how accurate are these depictions; I mean are they viable considering some of the tight parameters necessary for life on other planets. Living on the surface of the planet or in an ocean of H20 leaves a species with lots of options indeed.

For instance let us consider here on Earth the incredible diversity of living organisms both on land and in our water oceans. Some of the creatures we have on Earth could certainly pass for our ideas of alien creatures. However on a Planet with seas of Methane life would be much different and on a planet with an atmosphere of CO2, the species would not be soft shell like skin and bones, but perhaps hard shell like lobsters, beetles and such?

Recently in an online think tank this subject was brought up and a fellow think tanker Marv, had considered what he believed could be universal rules which would apply to species living in the realm throughout out Universe. His ideas were predicated on "survivability and adaptability" and he came up with a few thoughts of what species would be the most successful and their basic make up specifically; "Bi-lateral symmetry, Carbon based, Endo-skeletal, at least bi-sexual and ability to exploit the environment to some degree."

Indeed many of these thoughts do make sense and on the subject of an "Intelligent Alien Species" he had this to say on the matter and stated;

"The ability to deliberately manufacture and manipulate fine things like tools to manufacture other tools is necessary to achieve a culture worthy of the label "intelligent."

Of course all this would be predicated on the type of environment available on the planet although these are interesting ideas and concepts of what alien life may look like on other planets. Perhaps you have such thought on these things and if not, perhaps you might consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Role Playing Games Builders Guide 8

Writen by Dustin Schwerman

The Challenge: Above all other things, a role playing game is just that—a game. And games, beyond everything else, are supposed to be fun. Where RPGs are concerned, there are a number of things that increase the entertaining value of the game. Random chance, cunning strategy, detailed character development, and so on.

But even to a group who likes die rolling, having to roll three different types of checks for every action and compare the results will get very boring very fast. Even to a strategic group, five minutes of prep work for every combat turn is excessive. Even for descriptive players, not every little action warrants a paragraph worth of detail. And to players who care less about these parts of the game, such factors will quickly leech all the fun from game play. As such, you must consider the eighth challenge of building a versatile role playing game: the challenge of promoting simplicity.

Although players like to have opportunities to use their favorite rules and styles, they should be able to do so quickly and efficiently, and with plenty of accessible support from the game rules. Players who like to come up with their own descriptions for what their characters are doing should still be able to look at their character sheets and know exactly what their characters can do. Players who like to strategize should be able to pick out their strategies swiftly and efficiently, and while they might occasionally spend significant time deliberating over a particularly crucial action, they should have easy and yet effective staples to fall back on in a staple battle. Players who like die rolls should be able to get to the die rolling faster; they shouldn't be forced to roll check after check for individual actions.

The Risk: It's easy to devise rules for a situation, and not even that difficult to come up with a detailed combination rule to handle multiple similar situations. If you have five different measures of character ability—lets say physical power, reaction time, stealth, magic, and items—you could very easily incorporate plenty of rules to emphasize die rolling, description, strategy, or whatever other aspect of the game you wanted to emphasize. And you could probably do so in a balanced manner, simply by making each one useful for every action in its own way.

And the result would be disastrous. Would players roll a check for each attribute? Or maybe they roll a single check and add up modifiers gained from all five attributes? To maintain character value, each attribute would have to apply its modifier in a different way, indicating more calculation than die rolling. Forgetting checks, would the player have to describe how it uses each attribute in the action? How much description would be necessary? Do this, and every player will be coming up with an entire paragraph to describe every action—and it would have to, or else it's taking a penalty due to not having as many bonuses. Does each attribute give a bonus? Now players have to remember five possible bonuses for every action.

Again, a balanced role playing game is good, but it still has to be fun. While these rules, abilities, and options are nice to have, there has to be a balancing factor. If players don't have a reason not to use every option they have available, every encounter becomes the battle of sumo bonuses. However, where choices are required, the danger comes about that each action could take excessive time as the player runs through (and tries to remember) the abilities it has, the advantages of combining certain ones, and the results of using such combinations in the given situation.

However, as with most of these challenges, focusing too much on simplicity is no help to a role playing game. Too much simplification means that there is little character variety. Take the same attribute example from above, and simplify it to what seems a happy medium. The player can choose one attribute when performing an action (incorporating it into its description, if the group has a descriptive style), and it gets a bonus on its action dependent on how high the attribute is, modified based on the attribute's merit in the situation. This seems ideal; there is potential for description and strategy, a direct correlation between stats and action success, and very little time required to get to the check and then on with the game.

The only problem is that there are really only five available character types. There is no real point in focusing on two or more attributes. It may sometimes seem so, since such a focus has a better chance of getting a situational bonus, but the fact is that one very high score is probably more useful than two medium scores. The players might be able to describe each character's actions differently, which is a good way to create stylistic customization, but there is only scant possibility for valuable statistical customization. Worse still, regardless of what your choice is, the stats are the same. Although situation may change bonuses, for a standard-fare action, choosing strength is no different from choosing speed.

Clearly, this example is an extreme—as a half-page role playing game, it just about has to be!—but it provides a necessary warning. Oversimplification can be just as bad as complexity.

The Solution: Of all the challenges I've dealt with in the creation of QoTR, simplicity may be the hardest I've faced. I'm still not entirely sure I've overcome it. My preference system offers a lot of abilities, and playtesting has shown that a battle between two high-level characters can drag on for quite some time. However, I've managed to make some headway against this difficulty.

The best tactic I've used is keeping things optional. Description is always optional, and the check system keeps generally to one check per action, so there is no difficulty there. Strategy is the trick, so the first thing I did was make sure that every preference has a nice, easy-to-use ability that that help out directly but decisively in combat.

Next, many abilities don't add new bonuses as much as they make it easier or more efficient to obtain existing ones. The majority of abilities in QoTR either make things easier to use or offer a different option rather than a bonus. Most bonuses also carry a corresponding cost, so at the very least players don't have to spend several minutes plotting out every action.

I have one sure-fire way to simplify combat. It requires players to put in a bit of extra effort on character creation, and honestly, some html experience is nice, but I have the character sheets set up to auto-update on power gains. Players can go into the sheet and use the variables given to add their abilities and strategies into the quicky combat options provided. Once they do so, they can simply select from their preset tactics, allowing quick strategy. This doesn't prevent them from designing an elaborate action piecemeal if the situation warrants, but can cut down significantly on time spent during standard battles.

Simplicity is an important aspect of a role playing game. If players have to jump through hoops to perform their actions, it quickly cuts down on fun. However, oversimplifying leads to stagnation. Keep different game factors optional, and give players as much accessible support as possible so they can perform their actions quickly and keep the game going at an exciting speed.

Copyright © 2006 Dustin Schwerman.

Dustin Schwerman has been playing RPGs for over a decade, using an analytical approach to critically evaluate the game systems (and so to create the most powerful characters he could get away with). He used the extensive experience gained doing so to create his own game, Quests of the Realm. QoTR focuses on unlimited character customization, relying on its author's understanding to detect and counter game-breaking power plays. Though balanced, QoTR still allows players to create highly effective characters and run them through heroic story lines. To contact Dustin, read more of his writings, or learn more about Quests of the Realm, visit his web site, Quellian-dyrae.

The Doubling Cube

Writen by Levente Galambosi

In backgammon the doubling cube is used to increase the stakes during the game. The doubling cube is a relatively new addition to backgammon but it elevates the game to a new level in terms of strategy. It is important that you know the concept and strategy elements related to the doubling cube because it might be your key to great success.

Using the doubling cube

You normally play backgammon in Match play, i.e. the winner is the player who first reaches a predetermined number of points. Every game is worth one point in the beginning of the game, so in a normal win the winner gets one point.

So, every straigth game win is worth one point in the beginning of the game. At certain point during the game a player can offer the doubling cube to the opponent. If the opponent accepts the cube it is turned on the board so that number 2 is facing upwards and the game now is worth two points. The next doubling can be initiated only by the player who accepted the doubling before. If he decides to double and the opponent accepts the cube will now show 4 and the game is worth four points, etc.

Should a player to whom the doubling is offered feel that he is a real underdog in the game, he can resign. Resigning means the end of the game and the winner gets as many points as the game was worth before the doubling cube was offered to the opponent.

The doubling cube has the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 on its six sides. In theory the players could be doubling also beyond the 64 to 128, 256, etc. but experienced players don't normally accept doublings beyond 4.

Beavers and other rules

Beaver is an optional, but commonly used rule with the doubling cube. It means that the player to whom the doubling was offered can immediately re-double to 4 and keep doubling cube in his possession! This may occur if a player has made a bad judgement of the situation and e.g. prematurely offered the doubling cube to the opponent. The opponent, however, sees the bad judgement and punishes the opponent of it by re-doubling (beaver). A little later he might offer a doubling to 8 if the situation allows, in which case the opponent might want to resign with a 4-point loss..

The Crawford rule is another optional rule that states that if either player gets to one point of winning the match (say the situation is 8-6 in a nine point match) the next game is played without the doubling cube. If the match is still not over after the game the doubling cube is again in use. This rule aims at giving value to the player being one point from victory but at the same time doesn't eliminate the chances of winning for the player behind in points.

Single win, gammon and backgammon

In backgammon a single win is worth one point, a gammon 2 points and a backgammon 3 points. This is multiplied by the number shown on the doubling cube. In other words if a player scored a gammon win and the doubling cube had been used once he scores 2 x 2 = 4 points.

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Backgammon is experiencing a comeback after nearly three decades of low profile. WinningBackgammon.info is a website targeted at beginners and intermediate backgammon players, offering online backgammon tips and backgammon strategy articles.

Need For Speed Most Wanted The Most Wanted Game Of The Year

Writen by Coenraad De Beer

Most Need For Speed fans will know what I'm talking about when I refer to the most wanted game of 2005. The Need For Speed franchise has been reborn with the release of Need For Speed Most Wanted (NFSMW) on the 15th of November this year in the U.S. Fans could not stop talking about all the fantastic features of this game and the Internet was swarmed with headlines about this great title. But what is the buzz all about? What makes this title so exceptional? Take a quick tour with me and you will find out.

The main attraction of Need For Speed Most Wanted, is the return of the high speed, police chases that was introduced in the very first instalment of the series and perfected in Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit. But the police chases is far more complicated that fans had become accustomed to in previous versions of the game. The cops are much more aggressive, more skilled and better equipped. Don't think you can tune your ride to be the fastest and beat the police with speed, they have some serious stuff under the hood and skilled drivers behind the wheel.

Damage models also make a return. You can completely destroy a cop's car while your own car can only be damaged visually by means of broken windows and damaged paint. Almost everything in the free roaming world can be destroyed and used to your advantage during a cop chase. Drive through a gas station, or remove the pillars of a shop's roof and see what happens to the cops. The traffic models have also been improved and they are still as annoying as in all the other Need For Speed titles, but the game will not be so much fun without this annoyance factor. The surrounding world detail has also received huge attention. HDRR (High Dynamic Range Rendering) pushes the graphics to new heights and that is one of the main reasons why the game plays off during the day and not at night like in the Underground series.

The speed-breaker is a nice innovation of EA to help players control their cars during the high-speed chases. The speed-breaker is much like the bullet-time feature of games like Max Payne and Total Overdose. One thing that may disappoint fans is the fact that the customisation of the cars is much more limited than in the Underground series. You can only modify your spoiler, hood, roof scoops and window tinting. You can purchase complete body kits that will adjust your muffler tips, headlights, etc. automatically to fit in with the specific kit you chose. You can still paint your car, add vinyls, put decals on your ride and paint your rims (but not your brake callipers). Painting your car and changing its visual appearance is vital to your success in the game. This will help you evade the cops by bringing your heat level down after each visual upgrade, or change you make to your ride.

All your performance upgrades are still available in the game and you unlock more powerful upgrades as you progress through the game. The only limitation with performance upgrades is that you no longer can choose the brands of your parts, they are pre-selected with each upgrade. EA also dropped the fairly complicated tuning of Underground 2 and brought back the simple slider tuning that was introduced in earlier titles. You only move the relevant slider to the left or right to modify your car's handling, steering speed, height, acceleration, down-force, top speed, braking, turbo and nitrous booster. This should be welcomed by gamers because they are no longer frustrated by hours complicated tuning to get the most out of their rides. The emphasis of this game is becoming the most notorious street racer and that is why EA shifted from the tuner theme to the cop-chase theme.

There are over 30 cars to choose from, including tuners, street-cars, muscle cars, sport models and exotics. Each and every car can be tuned and upgraded for maximum performance. You will find that cash is a limited resource and you need to upgrade and buy strategically. You also get the chance to win your rival's car by winning his pink slip after each challenge. But before you can challenge a blacklist member you first need to achieve a number of race wins and milestones to build respect among the racers and prove you are worthy of racing against them.

The music continues the Underground attitude, but the high-speed cop-chases introduce a brand new innovation: interactive music. The interactive music gives the game a cinematic feel. The closer the cops get, the more dramatic the music becomes. When you evade the cops the music reaches a climax but returns to a dramatic tone as soon as a cop spots you again. The changes in music are very accurate and EA has done a great job in creating the right atmosphere during these lightning-speed chases.

There are so many other great features in this game, but mentioning them all in one article is just not practical. Need For Speed Most Wanted is a blend of all the great features of previous titles and more. Great graphics, a great storyline with great actors like Josie Maran, great music and great cars. All these factors make the game the Most Wanted game of the year.

Born on 27 February 1982 in small town called Lichtenburg in the North West (Formerly known as Transvaal) province of South Africa. He graduated High school in 2000 and started doing computer programming on his own for 2 years using the C++ programming language. In 2003 he started a career in Accounting and he is currently studying BCompt at the University of South Africa.

The author is a very dedicated person in whatever he takes on in life and believes that success only comes from hard work and believing in your own abilities, the abilities God gave to you.

Coenraad is the Webmaster of LIAFIN. Pay them a visit and see what they have in store for you. LIAFIN - Your one stop Online Shop http://www.liafin.co.za

You can also visit his homepage at http://www.cplusplusgenius.wagoo2.com

The Future Of Submarine Games

Writen by Neal Stevens

In the last six months, the demise of sims has been pronounced in abundance. Print mags and sim webzines have been telling you sims are being cancelled left and right Jane's A-10: Cancelled. Wolfpack II: Cancelled. Silent Steel II: MIA. M1Tank Platoon 3: Cancelled. Fighting Steel Deluxe: Cancelled. Jane's Attack Squadron: MIA. Thunder Over Europe: MIA. The list goes on.

We all know that this is a down cycle for sims and we believe there is hope that in a couple of years, things will turn around and sims will be hot stuff again. Hey, I remember in 1973 when the EPA and OPEC throttled the life out of the muscle car scene. I had a 1970 Cobra Torino that had 450 hp and ran the quarter in the high 13s. In less than three years every car out of Detroit was a smog controlled, gas economizing slug. They even started making them as ugly as they were slow! It was heartbreaking.

But over time, things change. Now you can get a high performance machine that handles and has luxuries like front/rear AC. My '99 Riviera has a supercharged V-6 that would make my old Torino proud.

So, keep the faith. Things will improve, even if no one knows when. Silent Hunter II and Destroyer Command are showing signs of life. Harpoon 4 is still under development. There are stirrings from the Sonalysts camp.

When a new subsim does hit the shore, try to remember, the developers and game producers are our friends. They make the kind of games we like because they like them too. Why would they labor over armor thickness tables, ship model physics, and torpedo trajectories for a niche market? I know a few developers and they all love the genre.

Try to keep your criticism balanced. Should you blast a sim you had trouble with or didn't enjoy with all the invective and animosity you would normally reserve for someone who stole your car or used your toothbrush? I was told by one producer that high-level executives frequently ask him about hard-core negative postings on newsgroups and forums. The industry sees us as demanding, unappreciative, and impossible to satisfy. It's much easier and more lucrative to crank out Deer Hunter and Barbie games and their users rarely flame the game company to a crisp.

I work with a CPA accountant who likes computer games and is pretty good at them. He can play a mean Age of Empires warrior. I tried to interest him in learning Jane's 688(I) for some multiplay. He took one look at the hefty manual and waved it off. He assumed he would need to learn all the material to play competitive. The blessing and the curse of a good sim is its complexity. You want to command a battle fleet or do TMA on a Los Angeles class submarine? You need to learn skills and study. And this restricts the popularity of the sim. Mass market games generally do not carry the steep learning curve a sim does. So while we hard core sim players are delighting in the minutia of seven different stations and all their controls, casual gamers are passing up the sim at a 20 to 1 ratio. Sims truly are a niche market.

Niche market games have limited budgets. This mean a small number of programmers and artists must concentrate on the basics. Don't expect to see everything you want and imagine in a sim. Oh yeah, I'm with you--I wish a subsim could have full motion crews and other fun stuff. But as one producer told me, "We don't have the money to design and integrate these features into the product. I wish we could, too."

We should be finding out the status of Silent Hunter II soon. Either Mattel Interactive is going to sign someone to complete it or it will be canned. I went through the "we are planning to do this" stage with the fabled Jane's Ice Pack add-on for 688(I), Crusader Studios' Akula: Red Hunter, Silent Steel 2, and the interoperability between Jane's Fleet Command and 688(I). I'm not passing judgment here, just stating that when the momentum dies, so does the objective. For whatever reasons, the product champions behind those sims were unable to secure the financing to start work. To get a better feel for the whole process, read my friend John Sponauer's analysis of the life and death of a sim, M1 Tank Platoon 2, from its early development as an upgrade all the way through its last couple of weeks.

Despite my previous experiences with other sim companies, I am optimistic that Carl Norman and Rick Martinez mean what they say and SSI will continue to raise the banner of the Digital Combat Series while the Jane's, NovaLogics, and Microproses around them fall like unfortunate tin soldiers. This is not to say SH2 is a done deal--that moment will come when you hold the box in your hand. We look to the next rumored subsim as our best hope for advanced underwater warfare. All we can do is stay positive, supportive, and if it's decent, buy four copies when it comes out.

About The Author

Neal Stevens is the editor of Subsim.com and contributing author of the coffee table book United States Submarines.

What Will Be The Fate Of The Upcoming Playstation 3

Writen by Matthew Evers

The playstation 3 is going to be a machine of machines. One that no other video game console can possibly match. It will have the Blue-ray drive, and have the ability to watch and burn DVD movies.

Even more, the Playstation 3 will be a mini computer, and have the ability to process information much much faster then the playstation 2 does, or even the XBox 360. All of this is great for Sony in theory, but when one sits back and analyzes the situation, it can become a bit more confusing.

When the Playstation 2 was released 7 years ago, the average number of games sold per unit sold was 5. Fastforward to the PSP; it released and has only sold about 2 games per PSP sold. This is mainly because of the multimedia aspect of the game. People are buying it to watch movies just as much as they are to play the games.

This doesn't sound so bad, but it can cause problems for Sony. A lot of Sony's income from video game consoles are the licensing fees they charge video game companies to create games on any of Sony's console platforms. Thus, when less games are being sold, less money is being paid for the rights to make games since not as many games are being bought compared to the past.

Another possible problem with the Playstation 3 is the complexity of the interface. Since the Playstation 3 is so powerful, crtics are speculating that the console may confuse consumers and give the PS3 the reputation of being complicated.

Whatever the case may be, the Playstation 3 will prove to be the biggest release in video game history.

This article is by Matthew Evers, the owner of Playstation 3 People.

Online Video Game Rentals

Writen by Daniel Boyd

In this article I will explain what online game renting entails, why it's better, and best place to use for renting video games on the Internet.

What's the deal with online game rentals anyways?

Basically it's a website you can go onto pick out the game you want to rent and they will mail it to your home. Its great in theory and even better in real live, no you can sit at home read about the game and then select the tile and next day its in your mail box. When you're done with it plop it back in envelope and put in the mailbox – easy as that!

Why is it better?

That's the most common question but the answer is very simple. By renting video games off the Internet you get a better selection, no late fees, no hassle, and you don't have to drive anywhere. Its by far the best means of getting games for any real gamer.

What's the best place?

So things to watch out for…

1. Bad looking website, if they aren't able to put money into a good website probably not a company you want be paying monthly for a service.

2. Check and see how fast the games actual are shipped out and if you have to pay for return postage.

3. See what their policy if you lose a game, we're all human and sometimes that happens but you don't want to be stuck paying 50-100 bucks for a game.

We review places that provide online video game rental services at: Subscription Review

Xbox Bundles Could Save You Money

Writen by Desmond Owens

You know when I first got my xbox there really wasnt to much of a selection of games avaliable. Now the way they package an xbox bundle these days, will make you want to hurry up an purchase an xbox.

What is an xbox bundle you say? Well...think of it as a Value meal for xbox.

What I mean is not only are you recieving the xbox gaming console you are getting different incentives that give you more bang for your buck.

You know when I first got my xbox there really wasnt to much of a selection of games avaliable. Now the way they package an xbox bundle these days, will make you want to hurry up an purchase an xbox.

Here are some of the current xbox bundle packages I found on the net.

Overstock.com

This Console Bundle from Xbox contains 2 free months of Xbox Live Online service, 2 free games, Star Wars Clones & Tetris, and of course, an Xbox console, controller and AC power cord.

Amazon.com

You get the console, Xbox Live 2 Months free all the power accessories and cords, and 2 free games NCAA 2006 and Top Spin. Amazon also have diffent xbox bundle packages that offer different games.

* SIDENOTE * I love NCAA 2006 thats one of my favorite games out there, I've only logged in 30+ hrs and many difficult seasons....ok just thought I would put that in there *

During my search I've found one more site that I think you may find valuable.

EBGAMES.com

Not only do they offer more variety of xbox bundle combos they offer refurbished systems. I dont know about you but I dont mind saving a buck or two but hey thats me.

I hope this page has given you some ideas on the different xbox bundle systems you can find out there. Depending on the store or site the combinations could vary. Might have even change at the time of this writing.

One last thing before I finish...

I didnt buy my xbox bundle for a while due to the fact that the controllers were just to big...It felt like I had to almost take my hand off the trigger to reach the left and right triggers on the controlls. I recommend a MadCatz controller if you want that great look and feel...not to mention it has a nice grip that you may need in an intesence fire-fight online. So keep that in mind when purchasing an xbox bundle.

Desmond Owens is a successful Webmaster and publisher. For more information on Xbox visit Xbox.com

3 Must Have Nintendo Wii Accessories Reviewed And Explained

Writen by Aaron Brooks

Gaming is a multi-pronged world with consoles, accessories and more crowding the market. apart from gaming consoles there have developed over the years a great many gaming accessories that take gaming to new never before explored levels.

With Wii Nintendo brings to the fiercely competitive market a product that has family appeal, is affordable, and encompasses great technology. Nintendo intends with the release of Wii to retain its market presence and bring to its consumers new delights in gaming.

The much awaited Nintendo Wii comes with its own batch of must have accessories:

• The Wii remote is slotted for release in the US on November 19th and is priced at USD 39.99. According to pre-release information the Wii remote has a one-handed remote control design and so is more sensitive to pointing, movements, and user friendly. The remote has wireless functions and works using a short-range Bluetooth radio. One can use a maximum of four controllers at a distance of 5 meters from the Wii sensor bar. The Wii remote is multi functional and allows ambidextrous use, can be used horizontally, or like a steering wheel. According to expert gamers the design is such that experienced players will be able to hold a remote in each hand or a Nunchuk in one and a remote in the other. Technically advanced the Wii remote can sense movement and orientation. The remote can identify linear motion along three axes. The optical sensor can determine the direction. According to experts reviewers at CNET the pointer can get jerky or twitchy. And, the tilt control requires a light and subtle touch. The remote controls cannot be calibrated manually and gamers have to make do with Wii's calibrations.

• The Nunchuk is also slotted for release on Nov 19th and is priced at Us 19.99. This is a device that can be plugged into the Wii remote. It has an analog stick and two buttons and can be used in games like Red Steel and Twilight Princess. Since the nunchuk has motion sensors it permits gamers to perform specific character actions, like a spinning slash attack. According to industry reports this is all set to become the most popular and "must have" accessory.

• The Nintendo Classic Controller will also be released in the US on Nov 19th and is priced at USD 19.99. This is the classic-style expansion controller which can be used with the Wii remote slotted in to play games using a traditional game pad. It is to be used to play existing games, virtual console games, and multiplatform games. It connects to the Wii remote through a cord. Aimed at gaming being fun the Nintendo Wii will disappoint if graphics and special effects are what are required. The biggest draws are supposed to be the motion-sensing remote , pseudo-reality controls, and internet capabilities. The Wii in its present form will not play CDs or DVDs although this feature is in the offing.

Aaron Brooks is a freelance writer for http://www.1888freeonlinegames.com, the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more. He also freelances for Free Software Downloads Site http://www.1888softwaredownloads.com

Mobile Phone Users In Uk Mobile Games

Writen by Judith Earl

Today, the mobile gaming industry has gone much ahead from the earlier times, when it had only simple and ordinary games.

The games once created for PC's are coming up in mobile phones and a large number of people are enjoying playing those games on the move. Mobile handsets are coming up with the latest technology and they are able to cope with the latest java games with 3D graphics. With the latest handsets having 3G technologies, you can now play with real people rather than competing against "ghost opponents".

On second-generation networks, the data transfer rate is too slow to play with real people. However, after 3G networks came into the picture, data transfer rates increased incredibly and now you can have multi-player gaming and real time racing.

Although playing latest technology games became relatively easier, people had to pay for the data they consumed while playing games. Most operators currently charge users for the megabytes they use. Because of high prices charged for downloading games and browsing the web, people don't spend much time online.

However, the flat rate pricing has completely altered the Internet industry and the number of people going online and mobile gamers has increased widely.

The user no longer has to restrict himself/herself to games that fit into the size of the memory of his/her handset. You can now add memory if you want to store games that require large memory. So now game makers can think about making games that need a huge storage capacity.

Without the introduction of 3G, these games wouldn't have been possible. With the games going big, mobiles are also receiving a make over. The mobile version of NFSU2 has about 40 hours of game play in it. Another big game is Sims 2 mobile, which could not have been made without 3G. PC games can now be loaded to a handset. The experience is as good as the full version even after changing the different modes for exploring and interacting.

To bring these complex games on a mobile phone is a big challenge. But a lot of progress is being made in this direction.

webmaster
UK Mobile Phone

The Truth About Wow Power Leveling And What Our Competitors Wont Tell You

Writen by Rob Bartlett

A Dishonest History
I am writing this article because I am tired of the utter dishonesty that rules many of the companies in the secondary MMORPG market today. This industry is run by anonymous companies who have to answer to nobody. You are giving your prized game account to a stranger (who is usually overseas), with the promise/hope that nothing bad will happen to it during the power leveling process. When this promise is not met, you have absolutely no recourse, and in most cases, no effective way to communicate with the company. This article will explain to you how this industry works and what you might expect from it.

In the past, placing trust in an anonymous company was a small risk. The chance of something happening to your game account was relatively small. However, with the huge success of World of Warcraft (WoW), this is no longer the case. Scamming/hacking WoW game accounts is now big business. With millions of game accounts ripe for the picking, it is far easier for deviants to target WoW accounts than it is for them to target a high security bank account. Hackers specifically write malware including viruses and spyware to target WoW accounts, which they will then completely strip in a matter of minutes, to sell on their website(s). To add insult to injury, they will then DELETE ALL OF THE CHARACTERS when they are done!

The reason I discuss anonymous companies and hackers in the same section is because it is anonymous companies who are responsible for all of the hacking in the first place. These hackers know exactly how the industry works; they have insiders who help them to distribute their malware. They can also effectively target packet sniffing to fish for account information because they know exactly where the Internet bottlenecks are for overseas power leveling operations. Once they steal account information, they can quickly sell all the gold/gear on their anonymous website and delete all the characters. In the process of doing this, they harm the reputation of the MMORPG services company that the client most recently purchased from, because they will be blamed for the action. In essence, if you buy from an anonymous company who is not accountable for their actions, you are supporting this vicious steal-strip-delete-sell-repeat cycle.

How to Research A Power Leveling Company
The easiest way to protect yourself is to research the company you are planning to place your order with:
1. Avoid websites that go out of their way to remain anonymous. If you are only given an e-mail address or an instant messenger ID, you should think twice about dealing with them.
2. Use WHOIS info to get additional information about the website, there are several different WHOIS providers. Try doing a WHOIS search for AAAInternet.com (the website of the Canadian company that founded PGMx.com) and you will see that we have been registered since 1998. If the registrar you try does not give you the contact details, it may give a link to the registrar who does when you do your search. If they are registered anonymously, that is another red flag:

a. http://who.godaddy.com/whoischeck.aspx

b. http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp

c. http://resellers.tucows.com/whois/index_html

If you do your research, you may be able to catch the company in a lie. Do they claim to be a US business? Do they claim to be in business for several years? If they are going to lie about this, why would you trust them with your game account?

Hacking Cases are on the Rise
Hacking cases are on the rise due to Blizzard's attempts to curb the secondary market for World of Warcraft. By doing so, they are creating their own worst enemy. Instead of allowing busy players the opportunity to get help advancing their characters and/or purchasing in-game gold, they are taking the strong arm approach and suspending or banning accounts that they feel are cheating the game. Blizzard is doing far more harm for World of Warcraft than they are doing good.

While power leveling or buying gold is in fact cheating, it is a service that is allowing busy players to have fun playing a game that they otherwise would not have the time to play. The reality is that Blizzard should be embracing the secondary market and regulating it. Without the secondary market, there are literally thousands of good players who would not play their game otherwise. By not supporting these players, Blizzard is in fact alienating them, and giving them good reason to leave the game because they cannot compete with people playing 12+ hours per day.

The largest impact Blizzard has is with banning gold accounts; this is the easiest for them to track. Blizzard often bans gold farming accounts in the hundreds or even thousands. By doing mass bans of farming accounts like this, Blizzard is actually ENCOURAGING hackers. It is not easy for gold farmers to collect and deliver their gold inventory to clients, especially if all of that inventory can be erased in a single day. Instead of farming gold to sell to buyers, hackers are now stealing gold from players. Considering the time required to steal gold versus farming it, it does not take a genius to realize why hacking is such a growing problem for World of Warcraft. Many of these hackers are probably players who are bitter and angry at Blizzard for "deleting" their new online job.

Account Sharing Means Risk of Account Cancellation
If you give your account info to ANYONE, you are breaking the rules for the game, period. If you place an order for power leveling, you are putting your account at risk. If you read the terms of service, in most cases, you will find that you are not allowed to give your password to anyone. The security of your account is your responsibility.

We take significant proprietary precautions to help protect your game account. We are gamers too, the last thing we want to do is put your game account in jeopardy. We stand to gain a lot more by keeping you as a faithful client as opposed to making a quick buck. But, with that being said, you must understand that you should consider the possibility that your prized game account could be the ultimate price you pay for cheating the game. If you are not prepared to take this risk, then you should consider using a second/new account instead. Of course this also gives you the opportunity to still play while your order is being fulfilled.

PGMx has the experience, the insider knowledge, the English communication skills and the close relationship with our clients required to offer superior protection for your account. Our proprietary precautions are unrivaled by any of our competitors. If Blizzard implements changes that will put your game account at risk, we can quickly adapt to the situation to ensure that our clients will be protected for the future. None of our competitors can come even close to us.

How to Protect Your Game Account
Ensuring that your game account is protected is our top priority. We are here to help you have fun, hopefully for months or even years to come. Here are my recommendations to help protect your game account:

1. We do take significant proprietary precautions to protect your game account, but consider the possibility that the account could be suspended or banned if our services are detected. If you are not prepared to take this risk, consider using a 2nd game account to reduce your risks. This will also allow you to play while we work on your order.

2. Restrict our services to about 12 hours per day. We have the capacity to work on your order 24/7 upon request, but we do not recommend it. By playing on the account 24/7, it is possible that our services may be detected. We encourage and recommend you to play your character in between sessions so you can check out the progress or just play like you normally would.

3. Learn to use the password recovery tool before you place your order (i.e. http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/loginsupport/password.html - a new window will open). If you ever suspect that there is a security issue with your account, immediately use the tool to change the password for your account. Contrary to what some websites might claim, every single leveling service operates overseas, this is the ONLY way to offer these services at such a low price. By exposing your game account information to overseas Internet connections, you are increasing the possibility that hackers might get into your account. While the probability is still small, it is greater because the hackers are able to target Internet bottlenecks accessed by overseas power leveling offices.

Accountability, Honesty And Trust
Our ultimate goal at PGMx is to change the way people think about MMORPGs and the secondary market, game publishers especially. We are living in a global economy and we constantly outsource tasks/jobs overseas that we do not want to do. Why do our games have to be any different? Not everyone has the desire to commit the huge amount of time that is required to advance in MMORPGs. What is ironic is that the game publishers themselves outsource work for their games, and yet they don't want players to do it in their game.

What is even more ironic is that policing the game to prevent this from happening is completely unnecessary. Of course going after players who use hacks, etc. is important, but how does a player who keeps to himself and doesn't say much hurt the game? It doesn't. If anything, a player who outsources services will have to deal with the social consequences with in-game friends. Of course services can be discreet, but it is impossible for an overseas worker to act exactly how the player would. The players actually police themselves.

We want to use our years of experience as the Internet's original professional power leveling company to provide accountability, honesty and trust for the secondary MMORPG market. I hope that you have found this article informative. If you have any related questions or concerns, please direct them to rob@pgmx.com. I would be glad to address any questions, and I may consider a future article based on these questions.

Rob Bartlett CEO & President PGMx, Inc. http://www.PGMx.com

A Flashback From Way Back

Writen by Zed Hayden

Relax. You're not having a flashback. Retro video game systems have made a massive resurgence in recent years, likely due to the fact that some kids never grow up. There seems to be a real affection among the techno-geeks out there for the original gaming systems. A cursory search of the internet will yield hundreds of results for websites dedicated to retro gaming. These systems were all the rage back in the day, and it appears that their time has come again.

Back when I was a young boy, these gaming systems were like a gift from the heavens. The only way I was able to play video games was to go downtown to the arcade. This posed a significant problem, as my parents were not too keen on the idea of letting me go downtown by myself. Furthermore, the local arcade tended to attract some shady characters. I skipped school one afternoon and went down to play Ms. Pac-Man, but I got caught by a truant officer. After that incident, my parents were only too eager to buy me the new Atari.

Man, I loved that system. The Atari 2600 had all the best games. Asteroids was, by far, my favorite game. Dude, I could play that game forever. Or so it seemed. What about Pitfall? I loved that game, too. Then, Kung-Fu Master came out! I don't think I left my bedroom for a month. At the time, I swore I wouldn't sleep until I rescued the fair Princess Victoria. Damn those knife throwers! To this day, my parents still blame that game for the decline in my grades that semester.

By the time the home video game market bottomed out in 1984, I had amassed a rather large collection of games. I sort of lost interest in video games around that time. I ended up giving my Atari and all of the games to my kid brother. I didn't play it much anymore, and I was too busy trying to get a girlfriend. In retrospect, I wish I had kept that system. I would love to spend an evening playing Space Invaders! Maybe I'll see if that arcade is still open. I wonder if girls ever go there……

Zed Hayden held the all-time high score for Tetris at his junior high school. Nobody ever came close to beating him, except for that kid in the chess club. When he is not playing video games or working on his 1984 Trans Am, he writes for GizmoCafe.com – an online consumer electronics guide that is the home of the Gizmo Guy, with the latest buzz in consumer electronics, retro video game systems and more.

Role Playing Games Builders Guide 2

Writen by Dustin Schwerman

The Challenge: The term is role playing game, not roll playing game. As one can deduce, then, a large part of what makes these sorts of games different from others is that the players are taking on the roles of others. In an RPG, each player has a character that it plays the role of. Although a large part of character design lies in stats—the character's ability to solve challenges in the game world—the very name of the game genre indicates that at least as important are the specifics of the character. Thus we have the second challenge in creating a balanced role playing game: the challenge of character detail.

This is to say, to get the most out of any role playing game, players have to be able to know who their characters are as much as what they can do. Physical appearance. Personality. History. Nature. These are all aspects of the character that the player can choose to help make his or her character more real.

But there is more to it than that. What happens when the character uses its abilities? Does it wield paired swords in a complex series of katas? Does it work long-forgotten spells it picked out of musty tomes? Does it utilize incredibly advanced alien technology?

Detail also plays a role in stats. How great is the warrior's strength, the wizard's knowledge, the cleric's insight, or the rogue's wisdom? What about the alien's will, the robot's items, or the pilot's accuracy? How much can the barbarian lift? How far can the psychic teleport? How many soldiers make up the warlord's army?

A role playing game that focuses only on the combat stats and abilities is leaving out much of what it means to be an RPG. Some might say that these things should be the player's to decide. Well, yes, every bit as much as a player should be able to decide its skills and powers. However, this does not mean the player has free reign over every little detail. These things can matter in the game world. The designer, then, must take them into account and establish a firm base of rules for them.

The Risk: A slipshod job of details can lead to significant delays during the game as players try to figure out exactly what their characters can do. Sometimes it is important—even critically important—to know if your character can climb a certain wall, figure out a bit of lore, or teleport a given distance. If the referee of the game has to handle all these questions with ad hoc rulings, it will create an inconsistent world, which weakens the game.

However, it is also important not to put too much into your miscellaneous rules. This leads to complicated referencing for every action a character might need to take, and may also cause contradictory rules. Also, you want to avoid situations where it takes a long time to build every character. Some players may like to spend hours thinking about every little skill and ability their characters possess. Others do not.

The Solution: In QoTR, I found that the best way to go was with a rules base that can be easily applied to any situation, and that dovetails with the core creation process. I didn't want to add extra steps to character creation unless they could be in a sense optional. The result is a broad-based system that can fit into a variety of situations, but relies on generally the same core rules for each, much as with the combat rules. It also opens up a number of possibilities for future supplements.

I use three main systems to classify details. For most of the truly miscellaneous details, there is a simple rule: describe your character how you want, provided it reflects your stats. Just because a player describes its character a certain way does not mean the character gets any advantages (or suffers any penalties, for that matter). So if a player makes a thirty-foot-tall, heavily muscled giant with a greatsword, for example, it had better select some offensive abilities.

For most non-combat actions, I use a system of attributes. Each preference (a group of related abilities) has two attributes tied to it, which the player can switch on character creation. The character's attributes determine how effectively it handles non-combat challenges. This system allows for precise character details, but doesn't require that the player spend extra time on attributes if it does not wish to, since it can just leave them tied to their nominal abilities.

However, most role playing games offer more than mere attributes and imaginative details. Special powers such as flight, telepathy, and water breathing are all common in many role playing game genres. QoTR uses a system of special ability groups much like (and tied to) preferences, with an ability point system for customization if the player doesn't want to use the default selection. These abilities are broad-based, like much of the QoTR system, so players can tweak or fit them to any character type or genre.

Non-combat actions are an important part of role playing games, and no RPG is truly complete unless players are able to describe their characters. Any RPG designer would do well to focus intently on this part of the game design process. The best tactic I have found is to design a system detailed enough to cover any situation, but simple enough that it won't bog down the game.

Copyright © 2006 Dustin Schwerman.

Dustin Schwerman has been playing RPGs for over a decade, using an analytical approach to critically evaluate the game systems (and so to create the most powerful characters he could get away with). He used the extensive experience gained doing so to create his own game, Quests of the Realm. QoTR focuses on unlimited character customization, relying on its author's understanding to detect and counter game-breaking power plays. Though balanced, QoTR still allows players to create highly effective characters and run them through heroic story lines. To contact Dustin, read more of his writings, or learn more about Quests of the Realm, visit his web site, Quellian-dyrae.

How To Play Games On Your Psp From The Memory Stick

Writen by Dean Saunders

I have to admit the PSP is a very nice piece of kit but the games are just way too exspensive so let me explain just how easy it is to play free games from your memory stick in the PSP.

1. First you are going to need a iso file of the game you want to play, i am not going to get into what an iso file is all you need to know is that it must be an iso file to play on your PSP. You can download all the latest games from many sites, most will charge you a one time fee and then you can download as many as you wish forever. Take a look at the bottom of this article and you will find a link to my web page where you can see the site i use for all my game downloads.

2. Right now you need a small program that will run the game from your memory stick, you can download it from http://www.psp-hacks.com/category/13 it is called PSP RunUMD UMD Emulator v0.8C. Download it and put it onto your memory stick. Follow the instructions that came with the file and put it in the exact folder it says.

3. In the instructions that came with PSP RunUMD UMD Emulator v0.8C it will have said to cret a folder called ISO this is where your psp games will go. Connect your PSP to your PC and drag and drop the files into the ISO folder. Now switch on the PSP and selct the PSP RunUMD UMD Emulator v0.8C from the memory stick. Once the program is running you should see the games you have in the ISO folder, select which one you wish to play and thats it you are playing PSP games from you memory stick!

If you buy a 2GB stick then you will be able to fit 3-4 games on it and still have room for other files.

To find out more about PSP Games Please Visit download free game for psp

How To Put Music On The Psp

Writen by Bryan Super

Are you trying to put music on the PSP? It can be difficult to do if you don't know how. Here is the simple answer in 5 easy steps.

The following is an easy way to take all of the music on your pc and put it on the PSP. Just follow the steps and you will be on your way to the joys of listening to all the music you want on your new PSP.

1. You will need a PSP video converter or cd ripper. This will allow your PSP to play music and videos. It really is pretty cool that your PSP is able to do this.

2. You will need to convert music to mp3s so you load your cd ripper of choice and extract the files.

3. To go cd to PSP MP3, use a psp video converter, load the files by clicking add button.

4. Highlight the files and select PSP Audio Format.

5. How to put music on the PSP? Just Connect your psp to your pc and copy the mp3s to the H drive on your PSP.

There you have it. You may want to try just one song the first time you do it and then convert the rest over when you know exactly how to do it. Enjoy downloading your favorite music to your PSP so you can get it off your computer and listen on the go!

How to Put Music on the PSP

Fun Fishing Games For Playstation 2

Writen by Landreau Donovan

The weather, lack of resources, and proper venue should not be seen as immovable obstacles to your fishing goals. If you truly desire to bait, hook and catch fishes today, then so you should! But this time, you'll be doing it on TV.

Wear your favorite fishing outfit if it makes you comfortable then take the best seat in the house. Choose one from the fishing games reviewed below, hook up your Playstation 2 to the TV, and you're all set to have one of the most exciting fishing challenges in your life!

Reel Fishing III
Nowadays, individuals with busy careers and hectic lives are forced to spend only a few minutes fishing and do so in artificial settings. With Reel Fishing III, however, you can fish anytime, and feel like it's the real thing. Reel Fishing III provides its users with an incomparable experience of nature fishing; a few minutes into the game, and you might forget you're not really out enjoying the beauty and peace that only Mother Nature can provides us.

There are several great features to look forward to with Reel Fishing III:
User-Friendly - Even if you're not an expert fisherman, you still won't have problems playing Reel Fishing III. But fishing veterans need not fear that playing Reel Fishing III would be a piece of cake; it won't be!

Choice of Settings - The game provides players with a variety of nature settings to choose from, so you won't get bored fishing in the same scene over and over.

Amazing Sounds - Dolby Surround Sound Pro Logic II was used in this game to give players the most realistic fishing experience.

Freshwater Fish Variety - Look forward to catching all 25 freshwater fish used in the game.

Rapala Pro Fishing
If nature fishing is too tame, then you'll probably love to join the fishing tournament brought by Rapala Pro Fishing. This is, however, a one-player game so any team efforts will be restricted to the background.

Features to Look Forward to:
Choice of Settings - If you want a virtual taste of how it is to go salmon fishing in Alaska and win the tournament, this game will provide you the means to experience it.

Fish and Lure Variety - Lots of fish to catch in this game; some are easy to bait while some will challenge every fishing trick you have

Boat Driving - Unlike some fishing games, Rapala Pro Fishing will allow you to steer the boat

Ease of Play - Even your five-year-old grandson will have no great difficulties playing Rapala Pro Fishing, which makes it a great way to bond with your family. Kids may opt for an auto-cast function if they find manual baiting too hard.

Viewpoint Options - You can choose to see how you bait those beautiful fishes with the underwater or top water lure camera mode.

Fisherman's Bass Club
If none of the previous games have whetted your appetite, then maybe you'll enjoy the tough lake challenges provided by Fisherman's Bass Club. The 3D realistic fishing experience brought by this game will make catching the toughest freshwater sport fish even more rewarding.

Features to Look Forward to:
Quiz - Are you ready to put your fishing knowledge to test? You have 10 seconds to read and answer the questions.

Tutorial Mode - Beginners can hone their skills in the tutorial mode until they're sufficiently able to join a tournament and become a winner.

Customize Settings - You can choose what type of weather and time of the day you wish to compete

Try these games out, and you may realize indoor virtual fishing is not as bad as you thought it would be!

Fishing-games.blogspot.com provide fishing games reviews. If you want to play or download free fishing games, please visit http://fishing-games.blogspot.com/

Rumors On Ps3 Games

Writen by Carver Tate

Rumors have been spreading around the internet about PS3 Games having copyrights. This means that consumers cannot re-sell the games that they already own, ergo, they cannot buy cheaper second hand games. It's really no surprise that rumors with this kind of nature spread around quickly. But the fact that it did spread around and that people talked about it, only tells something about the possible reaction of people, in case the issues are true. To even things out however, Sony has denied the rumors about the illegal re-selling of PS3 Games.

Aside from the fact that the retail price of the game console itself has been stirring up consumers who are anxiously waiting for its release, price issues about the PS3 Games itself are also being talked about.

Critiques are expecting that since Japanese released PS2 games have been selling for around $75, they are expecting that PS3 Games would come at a higher price. It would only be natural to expect that this would be the case. Sony has made a lot of efforts to raise the quality of the new product. This is of course, only their natural response to the upcoming competition from Microsoft. However, they would also have to make a lot of consideration as regard the pricing of the games. If PS2 games have been selling for about $75, should consumers expect that PS3 Games would be sold at least around $80-85. In addition to this, high-end games would definitely be a little more over that.

Another rumor surrounding the release of this new gaming console is that hard drives would not be included in some models of the PlayStation 3. This means that people would not be able to play high-end PS3 Games that feature HD quality. This has also been one of the key issues regarding the upcoming release.

High-end PS3 Games require a 60Gb hard drive to be able to function. Estimates have been predicted that the hard drive itself could easily cost around $100. With rumors that Sony would be struggling with the $400 pricing of the game console, an additional $100 dollars to the price could prove to be detrimental. Past game consoles that exceeded the $400 range did not perform as well in the market, compared to those which stayed below this mark. It seems people would not want to spend higher than 400 on the video games. The bigger question is that with the introduction of HDTV these days, would people who are familiar with the difference in viewing they would get from it, pay another $100 just to get better video quality?

Oh well! We could all be certain that rumors about PS3 Games and the console itself would continue to be around until it is actually released. I wonder why people cannot have enough patience to just wait and see how much these things would cost, and whether PS3 Games would be copyright protected. It's also good though, that people are able to talk about something while they're not doing anything and are still waiting for the upcoming release.

For more valuable information on ps3 games please visit http://www.ps3-game.com

Release Date Of The Xbox 360

Writen by Ron Swerdfiger

According to a recent news article at CNN, the Xbox 360 will be going on sale on November 22, 2005 in North America. There is a lot of speculation that the shipments of the new next generation console will be lower then expected. The expected first shipment was allegdly said to be 2-Million units, but Bank of America's Gary Cooper says that number maybe be even lower at anywhere from 1.4 to 1.6 Million units. What does this mean? It means that getting a new Xbox 360 will be even harder then you think and the price is more then likely going to be more then what it was first said to be.

Here is quote fromt he CNN article regarding this issue:

"Complicating matters is Microsoft's plan for a worldwide launch of the 360. That means those initial shipments, whatever they turn out to be, will be split between North America, Europe and Japan. McNealy said he expects Microsoft to send roughly 900,000 to 1 million units to North American retailers, 600,000-800,000 to Europe and another 100,000-200,000 to Japan."

Retail Stores in Canada such as EB and Wal-Mart are both taking pre-orders for the new consoles well into the new year. Most premium bundles which include the larger hard-drivers are sold out. However, some locations still have the core bundle available for pre-order.

For more great gaming information, check out this great Xbox 360 News site or check out this great Nintendo Revolution resources http://www.nintendorevolution.ca

Violent Video Games Do They Lead To Aggressive Behavior Or Not

Writen by Brian Vaszily

Video games for children, teens and young adults bring in $10 billion a year in the United States. Certainly some of the games offer harmless entertainment and maybe even some educational value. But the games that seem to be the most eagerly anticipated, the games that major retailer Zany Brainy says "the industry is focusing on," and the games that fly off the shelves as soon as they're released are those rated "M" for mature and "AO" for adults only.

To garner an "M" rating, the content is intended for people aged 17 and older, and may contain sexual themes and intense violence or language. An "AO"-rated game is suitable only for adults 18 and over, and may include graphic depictions of sex and/or violence.

The popularity of the games is astounding. According to a 2004 report by the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, a 2001 review found that 49 percent of the 70 top-selling video games contained serious violence. Out of all games, 41 percent required violence for the protagonists to achieve their goals. And in 17 percent of the games, violence was the primary focus of the game itself.

The violence is often brutal and degrading to women. In the game "Duke Nukem," for instance, a player can enter a room with naked women saying "Kill me," while tied to posts. In the Grand Theft Auto series, one of the most popular and also most violent and controversial of the games, a player is rewarded if he has sex with a prostitute and then murders her (the most recent of the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, was the best-selling title in 2004).

Whether or not these games contribute to violent "real-life" behavior among their primary users (pre-teen and teen boys) has spurred major controversy. And, as with most hot-button issues, there are strong proponents and opponents on either side.

Yes, Video Games Cause Violence

Much attention was brought to video game violence after it was realized that the two teenagers behind the Columbine High School shootings played (and even created their own levels of) DOOM, one of the first "first-person shooter" video games (attesting to its popularity, a movie version of DOOM was just released on October 21).

The most recent study on the topic, to be published in the January 2006 edition of Media Psychology, found that playing violent video games does indeed cause violent thought patterns in the brain.

A team of international researchers observed 13 males, aged 18 to 26, for the study. It was found that, after playing a mature-rated game, 11 out of the 13 participants showed significant effects from the games.

"There is a causal link between playing the first-person shooting game in our experiment and brain-activity pattern that are considered as characteristic for aggressive cognitions and affects," said René Weber, assistant professor of communication and telecommunication at Michigan State University (MSU) and a researcher on the project. "There is a neurological link and there is a short-term causal relationship.

"Violent video games frequently have been criticized for enhancing aggressive reactions such as aggressive cognitions, aggressive affects or aggressive behavior. On a neurobiological level we have shown the link exists," he says.

Previous studies have also found such links. Said psychologist Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D.:

"Violent video games provide a forum for learning and practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations. In the short run, playing a violent video game appears to affect aggression by priming aggressive thoughts. Longer-term effects are likely to be longer lasting as well, as the player learns and practices new aggression-related scripts that can become more and more accessible for use when real-life conflict situations arise."

Some researchers say that violent video games are worse than watching similarly violent TV programs or movies because the interactive nature of the game makes the player become involved and learn to identify with the aggressive game character.

No, Video Games and Violence are Not Related

On the other side of the coin are those who argue that no such link exists. One recent study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign supports this case. After playing a violent video game called Asheron's Call 2 (AC2) for an average of 56 hours in a month, no link between the game and real-world aggression was found in the 75 players (average age 28).

Said lead author Dmitri Williams, "Players were not statistically different from the non-playing control group in their beliefs on aggression after playing the game than they were before playing. Nor was game play a predictor of aggressive behaviors. Compared with the control group, the players neither increased their argumentative behaviors after game play nor were significantly more likely to argue with their friends and partners."

Another study of 35 8- to 12-year olds, in which the children played a non-violent and a violent video game for 15 minutes each, found the game playing did not alter the children's previous tendencies toward aggressiveness or empathy.

Are the Game Ratings Enough?

Just as controversial as the violence issue is whether or not the game ratings go far enough. While some contend that it's up to parents to monitor the game ratings and their children's exposure to them, a study found that many parents, though aware of the ratings and of their meanings, do not take them seriously.

"Most parents think their child is mature enough so that these games will not influence them," said Jurgen Freund, chief executive with the Swiss research firm Modulum.

According to the study of over 1,000 UK adults, parents were more concerned with the number of hours their children were playing video games than with what game they were playing.

"Parents perceive age ratings as a guide but not as a definite prohibition," said Freund. "Some may have not liked the content but they did not prohibit the game."

And while the debate is likely to continue on a large scale in years to come (California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed into law Assembly Bill 1179, which prohibits selling or renting violent video games to Californians under 18), one thing's for sure -- kids will continue to be drawn to them, if for no other reason than because they're not supposed to have them.

"We called it Magic 18," said Freund. "The 18+ label was seen as promoting the content, promising adult content rather than saying 'my parents will stop me playing this.'"

This article was provided by the world's #1 most popular and trusted holistic living e-newsletter -- FREE to you right now at http://www.SixWise.com! The old way of thinking: "holistic living" pertains only to personal health. The new way of thinking: "holistic living" means prevention of the negative and adherence to the positive in all SIX practical areas of life: relationships, finances, career, home environment, safety and health. With the SixWise.com e-newsletter, you will get holistic wisdom from the world's top experts in all six of these areas -- completely FREE with a simple sign-up (and a guaranteed no-spam policy!) at http://www.SixWise.com

Sms Gaming Text Paging Games That Can Be Played By Anyone

Writen by Robert Lett

Using the Physical World as a Game Board: This is not a Kinky game! SMS stands for Short Message Service.

Just like our last article, this can be fun for teens and adults. You just have to do it on a different scale.

Pick a location approximately 4 square city blocks of a favorite area where your teen group or friends like to be. Spend an afternoon picking locations from that area and creating hints that can be text paged easily. Pick at least ten locations if not more and three to five hints for each location. Put the hints in order of hardest to figure out to the simplest, which will almost tell them where it is.

You can mix the Location Hunt game with a Scavenger Hunt! Once they find the correct location they now have to find something else at that location. Either physically getting something to bring back, taking a digital photo or taking a video to bring back as proof. And this can make for a fun experience at the end of the game when everyone involved shows back up at the starting point. The best way to play it is only send one hint at a time, this way they don't know the next location or what they are supposed to do when they get there. You can give a list out at the beginning of the game, but there is a little more mystery if they have no way to plan ahead.

If you have 15 or more people, set them up in groups. Only one page to one of the phones in each group. Send the groups in different directions, i.e.: One group might start with hint number 10, another group starts at hint 7, and so on. If everyone starts at 1 and goes straight through, they will end up following each other. This only keeps it fair. And if you have one location that's hard to find, and you give the first group that looks for it the easiest hint, when the next group is trying to find that location, you must give them the easiest from the beginning. That's really the only way to keep it fair.

You need to come up with a small prize for the first group to make it to the final location. For teens, you might come up with movie tickets for that night. For the adults, hmmm, a free round at the final location would be nice! Just about anything will do, it will give them something to fight for.

Depending on the age and ability of the individuals, they may begin to getting tired, if so you can always skip to the last location where the prize might be or just end the game when they find the next location. You might want to be ready with as many locations as you can think of. You can always use them on the next hunt.

Email me with any new or better ideas on "Creating your own breaks". Thank you.

This document is under Copyright through Infinite Data. You have permission to copy this document in its' entirety and make duplicates. You may not change, add, or edit anything within the document. Thank you for your help.

Robert Lett
http://www.robertlett.com

Let me ask you a question: How much is your computer worth when you or your employees are sitting in front of it? Now, how much is that same computer worth when you or your employees aren't sitting in front of it?

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Beware Wholesale Playstation 3 Price Scams

Writen by Joaquin Reveron

It is impossible to get a brand new and virtually not touched PlayStation 3 at a real wholesale price, despite what many scams would have you believe- if wholesale is to be consider 50-90% of the current retail value of the first 2 years of life of the item. If you try to get a PlayStation 3 in this way, the best scenario is that you will most likely get it slightly cheaper than the retail price, but with a lot more hassle and worry.

The worst case is that you might not get your PlayStation 3, and some unscrupulous crook will get your money the easy way. Beware of early sign of supposed wholesale for Playstation 3.

Why? The first answer is simple market economics. The reason wholesale prices get to be low is because of the cost of dealing with individual customers. Any company, which is selling to individuals, will have to encounter these higher costs, and so will not be able to offer wholesale prices in the most likely events. The why of that is simple? Yes indeed, the majority of the wholesalers and distributors play the game of bulk, and only a few get to do business in single these days. These are the facts, but such kind of distributors and wholesalers are still available.

The second reason is the shortage of units of the PlayStation 3. Sony manufacturing center in Japan and China have been unable to produce enough units to flood the market at launch. Anybody who does have access to a wholesale PlayStation 3 has a strong incentive to sell on to a retailer, who will be able to get a good price for them. Finally, Sony exerts control over the pricing of the PlayStation 3 in the US market, as things are slightly different in Japan, where retailers are allowed to set their own prices. They have the legal and economic power to ensure that the PlayStation 3 is sold only for the official prices - that is, $499 for the standard version, and $599 for the premium version.

So, what are all these outlets offering the PlayStation 3 at wholesale prices? Mostly, it is just a marketing gimmick. Some of them may really be wholesalers who are trying to break their agreement with Sony and sell the PlayStation 3 direct to customers. If that is the case, they are likely to be in legal trouble fairly soon, and they are not good people to be trusted with your money as you could also be in headaches as a buyer of such possible scam.

Where do you go if you cannot get the PlayStation 3 at wholesale prices? Look for hidden distributors like most eBay power sellers and online powerhouses do. People who devote their time to wholesale businesses spend countless hours searching for such hidden distributors and single unit sales with such sources. Their prices might seem a lot higher than those of the wholesalers, but in fact some will probably be offering bundles that give you good value for your money most of the time.

You will probably be looking to get extra games and controllers anyway, so why not let shops include them in the package for you? That is the way to get your PlayStation 3, not through the wholesale 50-80% discount scam. For people who breathe and live the wholesale tangible sell- at least for now, it would be impossible to find real wholesale Playstation 3 in brand new conditions and definitely in my 7 years of experience online and with my disclaimer point of view that is, importantly.

Getting Wholesale Playstation 3 is one of the business components Joaquin discusses for wholesale purchases online. His focus today is on helping people create wealth by Starting A Wholesale Business today

New To Gaming All You Need To Know About Flash Gaming Sites

Writen by Paul W Wilson

Interested in gaming, there are sites that let you play for no cost. All you need to have is Macromedia's Free Flash Player. Whew! According to Computer Gaming World, there are 80 gazillion free Flash games sites in the cyber world.

Popular sites are:

• www.games.yahoo.com -- this has card games, word games, arcade games, as well as puzzles. The number of violent games is limited so the site appeals to the "old-young" –those who are young at heart.
• www.shockwave.com -- a popular site with original games as well as PopCap ones. One can do a jigsaw here everyday.
• www.addictinggames.com – has free games that are updated every week—Friday. The site has action, arcade, puzzle, as well as sports games.
• www.arcadetown.com -- has Flash games, java games, downloads and more.

Since Flash offers many advantages to developers as well as players, many games are designed using Macromedia Flash. It is by far the best game platform and has incredible features.

In an industry that's evincing exponential growth, Flash has become the universal and popular choice for multimedia intensive web sites. Flash, singly crosses most barriers—

• It supports complicated and wonderful graphics.
• Allows download of files via the Internet.
• And is compatible with playback devices.

In the world of Flash enabled games the hosting system is the web server itself. Flash enables web sites to host animated as well as interactive movies and games. There is no paraphernalia required. All that is needed is to download the game itself. The costs are minimal and not recurring.

To play on the web all that is required is: a web browser, a Flash player, and the Internet. Flash is the universal plug in needed to play games. It is installed on every PC with Windows XP and Mac.

Playing online can be fun and most games can now be played by many players from all round the world. Just keep in mind:

• That there are players who cheat at games. Look for PunkBuster software on the server, this detects cheats who try and gain unfair advantages.
• Play with others who have credibility and are accountable for their actions. Many online sites need verified log ins, they are actively managed gaming environments. This is a better choice for safe gaming.
• Create a select group of friends and use the broadband server to host a private gaming server.
• Do your research thoroughly. Seek safe and high quality gaming sites.

Gaming is in its golden phase and is set to reach new heights. Innovation, new business models, and unprecedented growth is expected to open new avenues in gaming.

Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for http://www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com, the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more. He also freelances for http://www.1888SoftwareDownloads.com.

10 Reasons Why Sony Playstation 3 Will Beat Out Xbox

Writen by Aaron Brooks

In the techie world the race for supremacy just got hotter with Sony computer Entertainment President Phil Harrison stating, "The Playstation 3 is a computer. We do not need a PC." And, the news is that the PS3 has reached for new horizons it is not just a game console. Although many tech gurus are rooting for the Xbox360 here are a few reasons why the PS3 may gain an edge.

According to analyst Shawn Milne, even though Xbox360 will get a head start, the PS3 will outsell the Xbox every year after 2006. Bu 2010 the PS3 will according to predictions have sold 23.3 million copies in the US.

1. The PS3 can be used to see movies, play music, and surf the web.

2. The GPU is powerful and fast. The downside is that it is bound to be hard to program.

3. The memory is 256 MB XRD for the cell and 256 MB DDR3 for the GPU.

4. The PS3 has a dual Ethernet, built in wi-fi, Bluetooth, flash memory slots, and blue ray.

5. The PS3 has hardware that is more powerful than that of the Xbox 360 and will be able to produce real to life visuals.

6. The games in PS3 will be stored on Bluray discs which store 54 gigs while game space in the Xbox360 is just 9 gigs.

7. The PS3 will have international appeal and be popular with both foreign game developers and consumers. According to market whispers games on the PS3 are all set to be exciting and different.

8. The PS3 has immense expandability and connectivity options. The compact flash, SD card, memory stick, Bluetooth, USB you name it and the PS3 will say yes please. Designed to accommodate just about everything in the universe.

9. Visionary the PS3 aims for dual screen and 1080p support. The display technology is an eon ahead of any gizmo man has even dreamed of. Imagery will be synonymous with PS3. Imagine playing games like formula 1 racing and Killzone in panoramic splendor.

10. The HD IP camera peripheral or the EyeToy 2 will transmit crystal clear images over the internet as well as feeds over the Intraweb.

What is more the PS3 is designed to be backwards compatible and so you will be able to play games old and new. The PS3 will allow playing of games on the PS1 and PS2 libraries so, even with the latest console you can boot up old favorites like Tobal or Shattered Soldier are relive old times. According to CBSNews.com Tech Analyst, Larry Magid, "The graphics processor in the new Sony PlayStation is pretty impressive. It rendered images during the game that looked almost as if they came from a movie studio."

PS3 is all set to make dreams reality. Imagine Metal Gear, Warhawk, Tekken, i-8, Gran Turismo, Killzone, and Dante among zillion other mind blowing games all coming alive! Whatever the whispers are about the reality will surface when the PS3 is launched and consumers get first hand experience.

Aaron Brooks is a freelance writer for http://www.1888freeonlinegames.com, the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more. He also freelances for the premier REVENUE SHARING discussion forum site http://www.1888discuss.com.

Useful Information About Pinball

Writen by Ross Bainbridge

What is pinball? It's an arcade game that is all about manipulating a couple of metal balls in a glass case. What you have to do is score as many points as you can. And then the danger begins, because you're hooked. And, in no time at all, you start getting withdrawal symptoms if you don't get your daily dose of "pinball high."

The game is played on a "field" encased in glass. The surface is tilted at an angle of three to seven degrees. A plunger, which is actually a spring-loaded rod, puts the ball into play and propels it upward onto the field. Thanks to the tilt, the ball keeps coming back towards the player, and the objective of the game is to use the flippers (levers that are mechanically or electro-mechanically controlled) to push the ball back onto the field. On its journey up, the ball could encounter different objects that change its course and win the player points. Sometimes, players physically nudge the cabinet in order to manipulate the ball. This is known as tilting and can be penalized when it is excessive. A violent form of this is called slam tilting.

The end of the game is signaled when all the balls allotted to the player have been "drained" or escaped the player at the bottom of the field.

When did the game originate? The first pinball game appeared in the 1930s. It was a board with pins stuck all over to direct the ball into certain scoring sections. Once the ball was pushed off, it just went and found its resting place, and where it rested determined how much the player scored. There were no flippers to push it back into play.

In 1947, Gottlieb introduced mechanical flippers in his game, Humpty Dumpty, and there was no looking back. By the 1950s, the familiar 2-flipper norm was set. Today, pinball games can be based on a sport, a character, a film, or a toy. And it's an eye-catching piece with lights, color, action.

Pinball provides detailed information on Pinball, Pinball Machines, Pinball Games, Pinball Parts and more. Pinball is affiliated with Online Bingo Games.

Building A Webgame Putting The Chrome On A Stock Simulator Part 2

Writen by Tim Morrison

Last article we detailed the first list of functions we wanted the stock simulator to do...

• Buy and sell stocks in TV shows, TV channels, Studios, and stars
• Short sell and cover the same stocks (Short selling and covering is the opposite of a buy or sell, if you short a stock, you hope the price drops so you can gain money on the fall.)
• Rate or vote for popular TV shows
• offer easy to use registration that is seamless
• design the market system for extreme modularity so we can add in new features as we develop them without interrupting the market itself.

That list has now significantly expanded - this is the current list of functions and capabilities for the Stocks Online application...

• buy and sell stocks
• Short and cover stocks
• Rate or vote for a random list of 10 stocks
• easy registration process
• retain modular market system for additional modules without extensive recoding or rebuilding
• Display stocks not yet released so players can see upcoming stock listings or IPO's
• Allow players to pre-buy IPO stocks before they go live at the IPO price
• Flash-based stock ticker pulling information off of a cron-built data file that is updated every 15 minutes
• hot-links in the stock ticker so players can go to individual stocks as they stream across
• Generate a top 10 list of stocks so players can see what stocks are moving
• A function to make a stock featured
• Put a hotlink on the main page that shows a random pick of an IPO stock released that day, a featured stock that is being promoted, and the top moving stock in regards to share volume
• Different stock types so there can be easy separation between categories such as shows, people, and studios or channels
• cross-link stocks so if one stock goes up or down in price, all associated stocks also feel the adjustment to a smaller degree.
• An admin function for stock price adjustment that allows for all cross-linked stock to be effected by the price adjustment without the cron cycle
• a stock hold function with cash out ability so we can put a stock on hold and cash it out if it delists or go's onto a hiatus
• Allow a player to rate individual stocks for a reward
• Allow a player to write a review of a stock for a reward

We are currently finishing up the last two items on the list, at which time the application will be completed and we will begin branching out the stock sim to different niche market applications.

As the entire application is php based, we can put functions into php includes and as such modularise the system to create custom pages for Reality TV or for specific studios or shows as events occur, such as the Emmy awards.

Once the base system was completed, the real work began , putting in all the data for current television shows, the actors involved, producers, directors, creators, the studios and the channels that air the shows. Everything had to be put into the system, cross-referenced, and checked to ensure it all worked seamlessly.

That data entry took most of two months to do - but by the end, the market system had been seeded with all of the current run prime-time shows and their related actors and production studios. The market was brought out of Beta status on September 2nd and went live later that day.

We then began tracking neilson ratings so we could revalue the market as we realised the arbitrary values we had put into the stocks were far too low. Tracking neilsons back to early august, I began to compile a spreadsheet showing the neilson trends and the growth in viewership as new shows premiered and then either faded or survived.

In the last week of September, we put a hold onto the primary channel stocks, freezing and cashing out ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and The CW - and then neilson adjusted each one up to it's corrected levels based on the neilson ratings that had been accumulated. The reaction to the linked stocks was dramatic. CBS which linked to every CBS aired show gained ground rapidly. By the time the next Cron cycle had run after all neilsons had been put in, CBS stood at over $100 a share in game currency. It had started at about $2.

We examined the transaction history that had been generated as well as the link history and found that CBS's initial adjustment up to +56 had caused a cascade within it's linked stocks - they had all adjusted by about $10-$15. This backflowed and upped CBS even higher, up to around $70 a share. Then the neilson adjustments for each show went in and those also backflowed through the link bringing CBS even higher.

Since then, all stock ratios have stabilised at corrected levels and the market is stable. We don't see the need for future adjustments on the level of the first major price readjust, but if so, the market software seems more than able to cope with it. PHP is a remarkably stable application framework, and with the mysql backend, the Stocks Online application looks to be very solid and stable.

Tim Morrison is the designer of TV Stocks Online The world's first fully developed television stock market simulator. totally functional with live data from nielson figures and user interactions. Join the growing fantasy market, share your opinions on current TV and see if you can pick the winners and losers out of the current Primetime television lineups