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Afternoon Discussion

Sorry to leave you guys hanging in that crowded old chatty, this morning's piece on developers fighting against used game sales took a bit longer than I anticipated.

But hey, it's Friday! A weekend full of leisure and video games await, that is, assuming your Xbox 360 didn't red-ring last night like mine. And here I was looking forward to more LEGO Batman, Duke Nukem 3D and Rock Band 2.

On the plus side, I found that the Xbox website makes it really easy to file a repair order--quite handy when your Xbox dies at 3:00 AM and you don't feel like talking.

Fortunately, my DVR held a few surprises for me--new episodes of Pushing Daisies and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia--so the night wasn't a total waste. Oh Charlie, you are such a wild card.

Industry Response to Nintendo DSi: All Wrong

Today's announcement of the Nintendo DSi brought a lot of opinions out of the woodwork about why Nintendo introduced the face-lifted handheld. But they've all missed the mark.

Some, like Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew J. Fassler, see the DSi's digital marketplace as the new linchpin of digital distribution. BusinessWeek reports that Fassler called the DSi's downloadable games a "tangible early threat" to traditional handhelds. "While content will be limited at first, we believe it will likely ramp very quickly," he added, making much more sense that time. And he has a good point, but he's not entirely on the mark.

Doublesix Games head James Brooksby agreed with Fassler. "The most appealing aspect for [us] is the downloading of games direct to the platform," said the leader of the UK studio currently working on South Park (360) on <...

New Halo Movie Script Goes to Microsoft

Former Gears of War film screenwriter Stuart Beattie is back at it with a Halo script, and this time he has the support of Microsoft and Bungie, the publisher and developer of the hit shooter.

"The Halo movie in its initial incarnation is dead. No one is pursuing it any more," said Beattie to GameDaily. Beattie's script, written during the Hollywood writers' strike, got Bungie's attention and the writer is now in talks with Microsoft. "I'm just a fan and I desperately want to see a Halo movie out there," he added.

Nintendo DSi and DS Lite Compared

Nintendo posted a side-by-side comparison of its new DSi with its predecessor, the DS Lite, on its Japanese website.

While many changes to the hardware have been subtle, a slightly bigger pair of screens are immediately noticeable.

The DS Lite's light panel showing power and battery status has been moved to the left side of the console and has gained a third light to show the status of the handheld's newly emphasized Wi-Fi connection.

The speaker holes have been reduced to one large hole, possibly hiding revised audio hardware underneath. The power button has also been moved inside the folding device. The center hole, which once housed the microphone, has been ...

PlayStation Store Update: Brothers in Arms, BioShock, Eternal Sonata Demos

Following up Wipeout HD and Mega Man 9 is a tough thing to do if you're a PlayStation 3 digital marketplace. Thankfully, five demos including Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, BioShock, and Eternal Sonata have stepped in to do their thing.

Other notables include add-ons for two EA Sports games and the relaxing PixelJunk Eden soundtrack. For the full list, read on:

Game Demos (Free)

Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway Demo
Check out the free demo for the game that IGN.com praised as "A World War II the likes of which you've ne...