Hacking the PSP Blog

Ready at Dawn licenses Daxter engine

When the 3D platformer Daxter saw release on the PSP, it earned high marks for its visual prowess and gameplay that retained much of the appeal of the game's PlayStation 2 parent series, Jak and Daxter. Now the engine that powered Daxter has been licensed to other companies, Ready at Dawn president and cofounder Didier Malenfant has confirmed for GameSpot. However, exactly how many companies are working with the Daxter engine is unclear at the moment.

"Unfortunately the list of our licensees is confidential and it will be up to them to announce their titles when they see fit," Malenfant said.

Ready at Dawn isn't about to abandon the engine it built, as Malenfant said the developers will use it for their next title. That doesn't necessarily mean the studio's next game will be more of the same, as the engine is supposedly quite versatile.

"The engine could be used to do a wide variety of third and first person games," Malenfant noted, "and it would actually produce quite awesome racing games too."

Brendan Sinclair
July 31, 2006

Source: Gamespot

SanDisk 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo for $104.99

Buy.com has the SanDisk 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo listed for $104.99. As of the time of this post thepage says they are currently unavailable but keep checking back! In the mean time there are some pretty good deals on these memory sticks if you snoop around with Froogle.

Via AntiRebate

Lowenstein reveals name, date and venue change for E3

Entertainment Software Association president Doug Lowenstein has revealed the first details of what visitors can expect from next year's E3 - including a new name, a new venue and a new date.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Lowenstein said that the event will be known as the E3 Media Festival from now on. He did not discuss whether this means other types of media will also be on show.

Around 5000 people are expected to attend, a dramatic drop from the 60,000 visitors who were at this year's E3. According to Lowenstein, this is in a bid to meet the needs of exhibitors who felt the event had become too big: "Some companies were frustrated because E3 was such a huge, sweeping event it became increasingly difficult to get their messages out."

Next year's show will be held in July, rather than May as is traditional. It appears that the date change is designed to give publishers more time to work on products slated for a Christmas release.

And finally, E3 will no longer take place in the Los Angeles Convention Center - instead, the ESA plans to use two hotels, holding press events and meetings in suites and conference rooms.

Ellie Gibson
August 1, 2006

Source: GamesIndustry.biz