It’s been a while since we last heard anything about the Wii U, Nintendo’s next generation Wii console, but the company today confirmed that the console won’t be release until at least April 2012.

When Nintendo unveiled the Wii U at E3 this past June, the company was clear about its intentions to wait until next year to release the console. However, ’2012′ is pretty vague for a release date, and up until today, we still had no idea as to when Nintendo’s new console would hit the market.

Now, the company narrowed things down considerably with the revelation that the Wii U won’t launch until its next fiscal year begins, in April 2012. What’s more, the company said that the finished product will be on display at E3 2012. This would suggest that we’re looking at either a summer launch or, at the latest, a fall launch in time for the holiday shopping season.

Speaking during the company’s financial results for the first half of FY2011, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said that the company was taking its time with the Wii U launch because it didn’t want a repeat of the 3DS launch.

“Based on the bitter experiences we have had with the Nintendo 3DS, we are making every effort to prepare so that the Wii U will not stumble during its launch,” PC World quotes Iwata as saying.

Nintendo was earlier this year forced to cut the price of the 3DS just a few months after it launched following disappointing sales of the handheld console.

Last week Sony revealed the launch date of the upcoming PS Vita handheld gaming platform to be February 22, 2012. But now the company claims that gamers can get their hands on the device a week early in the United States and Canada with the launch of the PS Vita First Edition bundle. For a limited time, this bundle will be pre-sold at select retail locations starting today.

According to Sony, the U.S. bundle includes a PS Vita 3G + Wi-Fi model, a limited edition case, a 4 GB PS Vita Memory Card, and the Little Deviants game for $349.99. The Canadian bundle includes a Wi-Fi model, a limited edition case, a 4 GB PS Vita Memory Card, and the Little Deviants game for $299.99. These bundles will be ready to pick up on February 15, 2012.

“Included with the PS Vita First Edition bundle is a copy of Little Deviants, which is a series of madcap adventures that allow you to have fun discovering and experimenting with the new PS Vita functions including rear touch and front touch, six-axis motion sensors, front and rear cameras and microphone,” Sony said in a blog Thursday. “Little Deviants also offers an augmented reality shooter experience that lets players move around the real world firing shots and dodging enemies.”

According to the spec list, Sony’s PS Vita will feature a four-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor and a SGX543MP4+ GPU, a 5-inch OLED capacitive multi-touch screen with a default resolution of 960 x 544, a multi-touch capacitive pad mounted on the back, built-in GPS, 802.11b/g/n connectivity (and 3G on the 3G + Wi-Fi model), a front-mounted camera and a rear-mounted camera, a six-axis motion sensing system, a three-axis electronic compass and more. If it weren’t for the gaming controls, you’d swear we were talking about a 5-inch smartphone!

SOURCE via PlayStation Blog

In June at the E3 2011 trade show in Las Vegas, Nintendo proved that the console sector isn’t dead after all, revealing the upcoming launch of the tablet-themed Wii U. Now there are reports that Microsoft plans to follow suit with a revelation of its own two years later.

Unnamed sources speaking to Develop are claiming that Microsoft’s next-generation console, codenamed Xbox Next, will actually launch in 2013 — probably during the holiday season — but it won’t make its first appearance until the E3 show that same year, just months before the retail launch across all main regions. There’s even speculation that it may see an early 2014 release.

“Few in the games business expect Xbox Next to be in stores before the holiday side of 2013 – this Christmas and the next will likely see Microsoft marketing software for Xbox 360, Windows Phone and its Kinect motion controller,” Develop reports.

There are also rumors that Lionhead Studios is working on the next installment in the Fable series called Fable Next which will be a launch title for the next-generation console. There’s also talk that EA already has its hands on an early build of Xbox Next but the publisher has flatly denied the claim (much like studios did with the PSVita – must be common practice to deny everything like the government).

Last week brought reports that a handful of resumes and documents pointed to Microsoft’s next-generation console currently in development, one of which included a LinkedIn profile of Jeff Faulkner, an “Xbox Nex Gen Creative Director.” Although the profile has since been altered, it described him as “Creative Director for Xbox Next Generation, where he guides the vision for Xbox’s User Experience Design across Social Media, User Experience, Entertainment, Gesture and Voice Input, Information Design and Brand and Visual design.”

Cover up the evidence and deny everything.

Still, it probably should come as no surprise that Microsoft is currently hammering away on a new console. But what would be a surprise is if the console is more of the same but with beefier hardware rather than a game-changing device intent on altering how we perceive console gaming. Oh wait that’s Apple’s job, according to Valve.

Sony’s already got the PlayStation Suite on its own Xperia Play smartphone and Sony tablets but the company has said that it is currently ‘in discussions’ to bring the suite to other, third party devices.

Engadget cites Sony’s Kazuo Hirai as saying that the company’s PlayStation division is working to expand the PlayStation Suite platform to a wider range of non-Sony devices. Speaking at the All Things D conference in Hong Kong, Hirai said he wasn’t interested in keeping everything within Sony.

“This isn’t an ecosystem where we want to keep everything within the Sony family,” said Mr. Hirai. “This is not just for Sony devices.”

Though Hirai didn’t mention any specific partners or manufacturers, we’re hoping that this means we’ll be seeing the PlayStation suite on a whole mess of Android smartphones and, more importantly, tablets.

SOURCE via Engadget

Twitter fanatic that has a gamer in heart, keep your eyes open, because the upcoming Sony PS Vita will arrive with an integrated Twitter app! Say what? Yes, Twitter app is being worked on right now in Sony’s lab, and although the app is still incomplete, it will most certainly ship with the console solidly.

The overall design feels very much in line with Twitter’s standard ID: the same shade of blue, the usual tabs on the left column, slick elastic scrolling in the timelines, and support for geotagging, hash tags plus photo attachment while tweeting.

The app wasn’t quite finished yet, and Sony still couldn’t confirm whether this — along with the other dedicated apps like Skype, Foursquare and Facebook — will be ready for download by the time the Vita launches in Hong Kong on December 23rd (just a tad later than Japan’s launch on the 17th).

In case you’re wondering, the Vita there will cost HK$2,280 (US$290) for the WiFi version and HK$2,780 (US$360) for the 3G flavor, both unsubsidized but cheaper than their Japanese counterparts. Of course, given that the console isn’t region-locked, feel free to go for some shopping in Hong Kong then – and good luck getting your hands on one though.

SOURCE via Engadget

Tuesday during the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, SCEA President and CEO Jack Tretton said that the PlayStation Vita handheld gaming unit will finally arrive in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Europe on February 22, 2012. The vanila Wi-Fi version will cost a hefty $249 USD whereas the Wi-Fi/3G combo model will be a dollar shy of a full $300 USD.

“Our first-party studios and army of publishing partners have been extremely hard at work to ensure that PS Vita launches with a vast library of titles that deliver unique gameplay experiences that go beyond any handheld or mobile device on the market,” Tretton said Tuesday in a blog. “We have more than 100 games currently in development globally that span many different genres, including Sound Shapes, Resistance: Burning Skies, Uncharted Golden Abyss, Capcom’s Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed, EA Sports’ FIFA, Activision’s Call of Duty, and numerous others that you’ll hear about in the months ahead.”

As previously reported, the device will sport a 4-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU coupled with an SGX543MP4+ GPU. It will also have a 5-inch capacitive OLED multi-touch screen (960 x 544) and a multi-touch pad mounted on the back. Other features will include 512 MB of RAM, 128 MB of VRAM, a front-facing camera, a rear-facing camera, built-in GPS, a six-axis motion sensing system and more.

“With its vibrant 5-inch OLED screen, dual analog sticks, dual cameras, and front and rear touch panel, PS Vita will deliver rich, immersive games with stunning graphics, which simply can’t be found anywhere else,” Tretton said. “Now you’ll be able to play shooters and action titles on-the-go with controls that are familiar, and you won’t have to block out the gorgeous screen to interact with the games.”

Back in September, Sony said that as many as 500 to 600 PlayStation Portable games will be available to purchase and download to the device via the PlayStation Network. The company is also reportedly working on a solution for current customers to bring their UMD-based games to the new portable console (which Sony failed to do for the doomed PSPgo) using some kind of “special download plan.” Sony said it will reveal more information on this at a later date although it’s likely to happen in December when the console lands in Japan.

In addition to serving as a portable gaming console, the PS Vita will also support apps for Facebook, foursquare, Skype and Twitter. The applications will be downloadable to PS Vita directly from the PlayStation Store at no charge. Users will be able to activate the application just by selecting the icon which will appear on the PS Vita home screen.

“With PS Vita, you can enjoy the best handheld gaming experience available and stay connected to the people and interests you care about,” Tretton said. “It’s never been a better time to be a part of PlayStation Nation and I can’t wait for you to experience this revolutionary handheld system. Stay tuned for more exciting updates as we near the February 22, 2012 launch!”

In related news, Irrational Games head Ken Levine reports that Bioshock Vita is still in its “paper stage” because the studio is still heavily wrapped up in Bioshock: Infinite. Levine said that the Vita game may be outsourced if push comes to shove, but finding the right studio will be difficult if that happens.

“To keep the quality level, I wish I could say it was easy, it just tends to be more time consuming,” he said. “It’s just hard to find the right partners or the right people to hire. I’d rather do something that’s an experiment and that’s a little different and is unique for the franchise.”

SOURCE via PlayStation

Since its introduction, Microsoft’s second generation Xbox 360 has had nary a stand-alone HDD option aside from the company’s proprietary 250GB drive, priced at a spendy $130 — this despite those occasional limited edition consoles packing a massive 320GBs of space. That’s soon to change, however, as Major Nelson’s announced a new 320GB HDD for the 360, set to be available this month. Possibly in an attempt to sweeten the deal, this platter maintains the 250GB’s $130 cost of adoption, and comes pre-loaded with Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (sadly though, no Lego love for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Slovakia or Japan, where the game won’t be available). Notably, rather than dropping the 250GB drive’s price, it’s now curiously absent from the Xbox website (and we won’t hold our breath waiting for it to pop up again either). Nothing like a good ol’ fashioned pricing premium for official Xbox storage, right?

SOURCE via Joystiq

Microsoft is prepping another update to the Xbox 360 dashboard and, as usual, that means some folks will be able to get an early peek courtesy of the company’s preview program. While there’s still no date set for a roll-out, those interested in participating this time around can now put their name in for consideration in the program, which is said to be a more automated process than before. As for the dashboard update itself, it boasts a new design for “integrated Kinect and controller navigation,” new “Beacons” for playing online with friends, deeper Facebook integration, and cloud storage for your saved games and Xbox Live profile. According to Microsoft’s Major Nelson, “other features and entertainment partner apps” may also become available during the program period. Hit the source link below for the complete details.

SOURCE via Joystiq

Sony has locked the PSN and SOE accounts of 93,000 users following a hacking attempt that saw hackers try to test a ‘massive set of log-in IDs and passwords.’ The company revealed the attempted breach in a blog post published last night. Philip Reitinger, SVP & Chief Information Security Officer at Sony Group, said that the data likely came from another source, and not from Sony’s own networks.

“These attempts appear to include a large amount of data obtained from one or more compromised lists from other companies, sites or other sources,” he said. “In this case, given that the data tested against our network consisted of sign-in ID-password pairs, and that the overwhelming majority of the pairs resulted in failed matching attempts, it is likely the data came from another source and not from our Networks. We have taken steps to mitigate the activity.”

However, the hackers weren’t totally unsuccessful. Reitinger said that there were roughly 93,000 accounts (60K on PSN/SEN and 33K on SOE) where the attackers succeeded in verifying valid sign-in IDs and passwords. Sony has locked those accounts and is reviewing them for unauthorized access. The company assured affected users that credit card numbers associated with their accounts are not at risk. He also explained that users will need to change their passwords.

“As a preventative measure, we are requiring secure password resets for those PSN/SEN accounts that had both a sign-in ID and password match through this attempt,” Retinger said. “If you are in the small group of PSN/SEN users who may have been affected, you will receive an email from us at the address associated with your account that will prompt you to reset your password.”

Affected SOE account holders will receive an email advising them on steps to take that will validate their account and switch it back on.

Read the full post from Sony here.

Last week brought us a glimpse of an Xbox 720 logo in Real Steel, and now it seems staffs at Redmond are getting a little bit loose-lipped regarding the project. Despite the fact that it was yet to be made official by Microsoft, several Microsoft staff have listed the next-gen Xbox console as part of their responsibilities on resume and professional networking site LinkedIn.

Gematsu reports that Twitter user @supererogatory recently came across several Microsoft employees working on ‘next generation’ stuff at Microsoft’s Xbox division in LinkedIn listings dating back to 2010. There’s Jeff Faulkner, who describes his position as “Xbox Next Gen Creative Director.” Along with Faulkner, there’s “Senior Creative Director for Xbox,” Jonathan Harris, who is currently “designing the next generation of entertainment.” They’re joined by  Patrick Corrigan, tasked with “providing groundwork and integration for branding elements for next-gen Xbox on all forms of media. Ranging from print to UI across future releases of the Xbox platform,” and Joe Langevin, an “Xbox Hardware Intern at Microsoft,” who says he’s working on “high speed data buses to prevent electromagnetic interference in next-gen devices.” Of these four, Faulkner, Harris and Langevin are all still at Microsoft’s Xbox division, Corrigan moved on to another opportunity in June of this year.

Of course, news that Microsoft is working on a next generation console should come as no surprise to game fans. However, staffs are clearly getting a bit sloppy in their efforts to keep the new Xbox under wraps. Let’s hope this means we’ll hear something official on it in the coming months.