Nintendo of America retiring several Wii online services on June 28th

Earlier today, Nintendo announced that several of the original Wii's online services will fade to black in the console's homeland. Adding to the carnage, the company confirmed that us yankees are far from exempt. Starting on June 28th, the Forecast Channel, News Channel, Everybody Votes Channel, the Check Mii Out Channel and the Nintendo Channel will all be taken offline. Wii Message Board and data exchange between friends are scheduled to get the axe as well. Now before you start contemplating trading in your system for its leaner, disconnected successor, we should note that the Wii Shop Channel will remain online. So there's still time to snag a copy of Super Mario 64 from the Virtual Console for nostalgia's sake.

[Source: Engadget]

GTA radio hits Spotify and iTunes

The company has now re-created a massive array of its iconic in-game radio stations as playlists for both Spotify and iTunes.

Eight different Grand Theft Auto titles are represented, from GTA III to Liberty City Stories, Vice City and, of course, GTA IV. Sadly, you won't get the fake in-game advertising, but Rockstar suggests people check out its Advertising Council Repository if you need that particular trip down nostalgia lane.

However, Rockstar noted: "This is all the music from these stations that's currently available on each service — some songs don't yet exist on either Spotify or iTunes, but we're hoping to be able to add the original songs within our control where possible, soon."

For a full list of all stations broken down by game, click here. The page also has direct links for the playlists in both Spotify and iTunes.

[Source: CNET]

5 of the Best Online Games

With the online gambling market continuing to offer a variety of great deals (largely due to the substantial amount of competitor sites), there’s never been a better time to enjoy a few games yourself.  But how should you go about deciding which of the many games available are worthy of your attention?  Well, hopefully this list of the best five should help,

Poker.   It might be seen as a bit of a cliche in the betting world, but poker is a classic for good reason: it’s great fun!  Unlike some card games, poker’s learning curve is reasonably easy for a beginner to negotiate the web’s world of usernames means that you can play with complete anonymity, so you don’t have to worry about pressure.    There are a huge amount of different websites that offer poker from low levels to get you started up to the big stakes for whenyou’ve got used to playing.  888 Poker, Full Tilt Poker and Party Poker are all good websites to start with.

Bingo.  In the last few years, online bingo has absolutely taken off, with new websites springing up almost every week to offer their own versions of this popular game.  Because competition is so high, it’s actually a good time to get involved, with sites outbidding each other to attract custom.  Different companies are offering some great deals such as more than doubling your first initial stake, so if you put £10 into your site account, they will double it to £20 (and on some occasions more than that).  There are usually a range of different games that can be played for both low and high stakes.

Blackjack.  An absolute Vegas classic, blackjack been a part of the gaming industry for years.  Gloriously simple to pick up and play, it’ll take you less than five minutes to learn how the game works (if you don’t already) and get going.  If you’ve got a good memory for remembering which cards have already been dealt, you might find yourself playing at quite an advanced level quite quickly.  Incredibly addictive, Blackjack makes for a really good introduction to casino gaming.

Roulette.  Another classic that’s synonymous with Vegas, roulette has its own sense of theatre, and offers a lot of potential for strategic play.   If you want to get started on roulette, it’s important to remember that the European version will actually give you better odds due to it having one less 0 square.  It also has one fewer green square, which also drops the house odds. Like blackjack, Roulette is quite simple to start off with but has its own learning curve for those looking to play for bigger stakes.

Casino games.  The other main group of games that are popular online are the virtual equivalent of the old fruit and slot machines, with almost all modern casino sites offering their own versions.  Some of the games originated in Egypt, such as the popular Cleopatra’s Pyramids, and others are simply based on the classic ‘3 lemons’ style fruities.   Whatever the design, thesegames never go out of fashion, and are beloved by those who love the ‘classic’ pub feel they get from playing them.

PS3 controller set to work with new Sony Xperia phones

Using a proper controller, while perhaps making you look slightly odd on the bus, means you're not obscuring the screen with your fingers. For console-style action and racing games -- of which there are a great wealth on the Google Play Store, not to mention (ahem) emulators -- this is a huge improvement. You also get the tactile feedback of knowing you've definitely pressed a button, which is sadly lacking when you're just poking a screen.

If you want to play with your PS3 controller on any Android device, you can already do so. It's a little more complicated, and involves downloading an app, but you needn't do anything drastic like root your phone. You can read how to do it in our full guide here, which also explains how to configure games and emulators to work with the controller.

It's taken a very long time for Sony to integrate such an obvious bit of functionality into its phones. It bought out Ericsson to take full control of its smart phone business over two years ago, and its previous gaming effort the Xperia Play, one of its last with Ericsson, was half-baked and very clunky. It's not until this year's waterproof Xperia Z that we've seen a genuinely brilliant mobile from Sony alone.

[Source: CNET]

SimCity Mac out on 11 June, as 'Cheetah Speed' returns

Owners of Apple's aluminium computers won't be denied their urban-planning kicks, as EA has confirmed its recent SimCity game is headed to Mac on 11 June.

SimCity for Mac will only be available to download, via EA's Origin service. Although you don't get the disc for your collection, you'll still be paying £45 for the digital download -- the same price as the PC version, although if you've already bought it for PC you're entitled to download it again for Mac for nothing. 

June is a long time to wait, but with any luck EA will have ironed out the technical kinks thatruined SimCity when it launched in March. EA told me that, "The team has been working round the clock to smooth out the launch issues," so fingers crossed.

SimCity's insistence on a constant Internet connection was to blame, as gamers piled in to the new title, putting strain on EA's unprepared servers. Days later, an anonymous developerreportedly claimed that the always-on system wasn't even necessary to keep a single-player mode up and running.

The disastrous debut prompted us to ask whether gamers could claim a refund, while EA's response was to offer disgruntled customers a free game.

One feature EA powered down in order to keep SimCity afloat was 'Cheetah Mode', which lets you speed up time to ignore the boring bits of building a metropolis.

EA has confirmed via Facebook that Cheetah Mode is now back in play -- surely a relief to would-be mayors bored of watching virtual skyscrapers creep slowly toward the sky.

[Source: CNET]

Costly DRAM is Driving Up Graphics Card Prices

Are you planning to build a gaming PC for the summer? If so, you might want to get started early in order to get the most bang for your buck. Yesterday we told you that desktop DRAM pricing is on the rise as contract chip prices have already jumped 50 percent in 2013, spiking 20 percent in March alone, and now we’re hearing that graphics cards are getting more expensive.

Once again, you can blame memory chip makers. According to Digitimes and its sources within the graphics card business, several video card vendors have increased retail prices for products made with DDR3 memory in the DIY market. Prices are up 10-15 percent, the news and rumor site says.

Those same sources say it’s unlikely graphics card pricing will drop in the next six months, though it’s not all bad news. To help offset the rising retail costs, vendors are getting more aggressive in their promotions, some of which we’ve already seen. AMD, for example, has given away some sweet triple AAA titles as part of its ongoing Never Settle bundles. It’s been rumored that the next Never Settle bundle will include Battlefield 4.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Wii U Sales Jump 125% in UK

Here’s some good news for Nintendo’s offices in the European region: the Wii U enjoyed a 125 percent sales jump in UK during its most recent week at retail.

The cause for the upshot in sales? Blame it on Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and a price cut by retailers in the region. The new software and the adjusted cost pushed consumers to head out to shops and pick up the Wii U.

While 125 percent sounds like an awesome figure for Nintendo’s brand new console, it’s important to consider that the Wii U has been performing horribly in the UK. A more than double jump in sales still doesn’t make the machine as popular as the big N needs it to be.

Still, a positive is a positive, and hopefully this sales boost is a sign of things to come for Nintendo’s hardware. I’ll stick by my original perception of the Wii U: give it great games and it will sell.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

55 EA Games for iOS Are Currently Only $0.99

To gear up for Easter Weekend, EA is slashing prices on some of its most well known games on iOS, with some prices up to 90 percent off. If you’re going to grandma’s house on Sunday—I am—you might want to stock up to make the visit more endurable. Or, if anything, to finally try out Mirror’s Edge for iPad even though it’s been out for years.

CultOfMac has graciously compiled 55 of EA’s iOS games that are currently only a buck, which is a steal for many of the titles listed. Really, it’s about time we gave Angry Birds a rest. Find a new addiction; NBA Jam for iPad, or Dead Space for iPad, or even Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for iPad. There are iPhone/iPod touch counterparts, too, so don’t feel left out here.

See something you like? My wallet doesn’t, but I certainly do. Time to take Bop It! for iPad The Sims 3 for a spin.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Temple Run Finally Available On Windows Phone

Temple Run, one of the most popular endless runners around, is finally arriving for Windows Phone—months after Microsoft promised the game would launch. Better late than never, even though Temple Run 2 is already available for iOS and Android.

It may not seem like a huge deal, but getting a big title like this will do well to push theWindows Phone platform forward. However, it certainly doesn’t do fans of devices running WP8 any favors when big name titles—Temple Run 2, for instance—don’t launch simultaneously, or shortly after, for Microsoft’s mobile OS. Temple Run will have to tide WP owners over for now.

Windows Phone is getting a handful of other titles as well, including Gravity Guy 2, Chaos Rings, 6th Planet, Propel Man, Orcs Must Survive, Ruzzle, Fling Theory and Drift Mania Championship 2. Microsoft said the games will roll out during the week, so if any of them tickle your fancy, keep checking the marketplace to see if they’re live.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Havok introduces free 3D game development engine

Havok has announced that their 3D gaming Vision engine, Physics and Animation suites, and their award winning AI tools will now be free for "leading" mobile platforms under their new Project Anarchy initiative. If you play games, you already know about Havok. They're the folks who make the tools behind games like the Assassin's Creed, Halo, and Skyrim franchises, and are used by some of the biggest names in gaming, like EA, Bethesda, and Bungie.

The download also includes game samples and tutorials for mobile developers, and there will be a complete online community to "encourage free sharing and collaborative development of extensions and customizations by the community." Ross O’Dwyer, head of developer relations at Havok, says:

We’re really delighted to be able to offer these professional grade tools to mobile developers for free and we look forward to supporting the mobile game development community to make some stunning games with the technology over the next few years.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

Nintendo 3DS update moves your saves from retail games to downloads

Let's say you bought a pair of cartridge-based games to go with your Nintendo 3DS, but you're embracing our all-digital future and want to replace them with downloadable copies. You won't have to toss all your game progress at the same time: a newly available 3DS firmware update includes a tool to move save files from a retail copy to its downloadable version. The transfer is strictly one-way, though, so there's no falling back for gaming Luddites. Nintendo offers a bonus if you're fully in step with the online world, though -- background downloads can now start just by closing the lid while the eShop is running. Both elements of the update are simple on the surface, but they could go a long way in helping us ditch a legacy of plastic game libraries.

[Source: Engadget]

The Walking Dead Coming to the PS Vita Sometime This Year

TellTale’s award winning spin on The Walking Dead will arrive on the PlayStation Vita sometime this year. According to PlayStation’s Director of Product and Platform Software Innovation, Don Mesa, the game will definitely make the jump over to Sony’s strugglinghandheld, though no release date has been determined.

Mesa mused on the thrills of Telltale’s successful adventure game, and admitted getting a series like The Walking Dead is a huge boon for the platform. Mesa believes the Vita in particular will provide a special experience, calling Vita’s portability important.

Sony’s Vita has seen a slight resurgence in Japan over the past month thanks to a price dropbut, overall, it hasn’t quite been the runaway success Sony would have liked—so far. The Walking Dead will surely be a big incentive to dust the old Vita off, even if you’ve already taken Lee and Clementine for a spin.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]