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We think that the timing of a new product introduction will depend upon the sales profile for the DS, and believe that lower than expected DS hardware sales could trigger an earlier launch for the new device. DS sales are solid worldwide, but are weak in Japan, leading us to expect an introduction of a new device in Japan before the end of the calendar year. We think that Nintendo has a new handheld device ready for launch in [Japan] before the end of the calendar year.

Unlike most mobile platforms where gaming is largely brand-driven due to smaller screens, storage constrains and limited marketing flexibility, the iPhone offers a rare opportunity for game publishers to deliver graphics rich titles supported by detailed textual descriptions on the App Store, he said during a press conference.

The gaming icon admitted that he's disappointed id has yet to ship a game for the iPhone, but said two tentative titles are now well in the works. One was described as a 'conventional mobile game,' while the second was said to be more ambitious in that it will test the limits of the iPhone's graphics capabilities.

While Carmack sees graphics memory as a potential limiting factor on the iPhone, he's stoked about the intuitiveness of the iPhone SDK. He also described the handset's hardware as equivalent to that of the Sega Dreamcast living room console, and almost on par with Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's original Xbox.

When it comes to portable gaming systems, the iPhone is 'more powerful than a Nintendo DS and PSP combined,' he added. Apple's revenue sharing deal that offers developers 70 percent of the sale price was also cited as a plus.

The only way to get your hands on id Software's Rage and Doom 4 will be through traditional means, according to a report from Maximum PC. The id co-founder said at today's QuakeCon keynote that it would shy away from digital distribution with its next two id Tech 5-powered titles. An odd move, considering EA is publishing Rage and has its own digital distribution method, not to mention the availability of id's catalog through its official web store and Steam.

Maximum PC also reports that the Xbox 360 version of Rage may wind up shipping on up to three DVDs — or suffer some serious compression compared to the Blu-ray version — a move that could cost millions in per-disc royalty fees. And think of the paper sleeve costs!

QuakeCon 08: No Digital Distribution for Rage or Doom 4; Rage will be on Multiple DVDs for Xbox 360 [Maximum PC]

John Carmack revealed at the opening day of QuakeCon today that "the next Doom", which we'll just call Doom 4 for now, will surpass the already announced Rage, running on id Tech 5, in visual quality.

"The next DOOM game will look like it's built on another engine, as it uses three times the horsepower," Carmack said, according to a 1UP report.

That visual fidelity will come at a price though, as Carmack says that Doom 4 will run at 30 frames per second, compared to Rage's 60 frames per second. The only other details provided by Carmack on Doom 4 was that the game would feature "guns, blood, demons, and gibs." Should've sent a poet...

Quake Con Keynote — Live Blog [1UP]

PCGH: Are there game developers that already want to work with Raytracing?

Dr. Michael Vollmer: We keep in touch with companies all over the world - I dare say that in two to three years time we will see something. There already are some individual approaches, especially in the science sector, which show that Raytracing algorithms are scaling very well with the numbers of cores. But the migration to a new programming technology takes years; Raytracing is still in an early stage.

Uncharted 2 at Leipzig?

Ever since it was first announced a couple of years ago, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune has won the hearts of many Playstation gamers; it was the sole reason for me personally buying a Playstation 3. The game centers around Nathan Drake on his action-packed adventure, searching for the fabled treasure of El Dorado, and since its launch in November 2007, it’s been an instant hit with sales reaching nearly 2 million worldwide.

With Naughty Dog creating such a rich, vast world with interesting characters, it comes to no surprise that a sequel could well be in the works. Videogaming247 picked up on a French interview in which Christophe Balestra, Vice-President of Naughty Dog, “confirms” that Uncharted 2 is in fact in development. The interview originates from French website Gamekyo.com with a translation below:

“One expected it and Christophe Balestra, Vice-President of Naughty Dog, officially confirms it at the time of an interview with LCI: very good Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune will have right to its continuation, of course better according to statements’ of the creators. One awaits the first images and information.”

Now before you say, "Hey, TGR, this is old," we do know that the interview is from January, 2008. So why bring it up now?

Because of this: a certain David Reeves saying that there will be twelve announcements at Leizpig, and we will put money down that Uncharted 2 will make an appearance in trailer form during the Sony press conference. How do we know? Just trust us.

TGR Verdict: Very Likely

A joint research agreement between Nintendo and InPhase Technologies suggests a radical future storage approach...

Since the beginning of Wii, Nintendo's loyal followers have voiced their unanimous opinion; recently even Nintendo's top brass have admitted to it becoming an issue. The simple fact of the matter is the Wii just doesn't have enough storage space to encourage Nintendo's plans for WiiWare, Virtual Console and future expansions.

However, it seems that the problem, once notoriously labelled as solely for "nerds and otakus", could possibly draw upon a revolutionary approach if a patent that was issued earlier in the year is anything to go by.

"Miniature flexure based scanners for angle multiplexing" from inventor Bradley J Sissom, is the complicated sounding title for a solution to increasing the capacity of holographic data storage. Intriguingly Nintendo appear on the patent as joint applicants.

A brief education courtesy of Wikipedia reveals that holographic storage requires a laser to be split into two beams. Data to be stored is encoded onto the signal beam via the special light modulator, before converging with the reference beam and stored onto a photosensitive medium. Reading the data from the medium relies upon a beam being emitted onto the medium at precisely the same angle, wavelength, and position of the reference beam.

Unlocking the greater capacity offered by holographic storage relies upon adjusting the reference beam during the recording/writing phase. Altering the beam allows multiple holograms to be stored in the same volume on the holographic storage medium, which is where the patent comes into play.

Ubisoft embraces Wii MotionPlus for Red Steel sequel

Ubisoft is one of the first publishers to confirm the use of the Wii MotionPlus peripheral to improve the execution of its core Wii titles.

Adopting the tech for the sequel to Red Steel, Alain Corre, Ubisoft's executive director, has said the improvement of 3D motions will help the sequel achieve the ambitious gameplay attempted in the first game.

"Red Steel 2 has been in development for many months now, and this new device will help us be even more precise in what we do with the product," said Corre, speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz.

The original Red Steel was released on the same day the Wii launched in Europe, and attempted to mimic the users' movements for gunplay and hand-to-hand combat, but was criticised for a lack of sensitivity.

Corre believes that the Wii technology wasn't finished at the time of launch, but the recent announcement by Nintendo that the MotionPlus add-on will track true 1:1 responsive movement will allow the development team to realise its ambitions.

"The Red Steel brand is strong - I think we released it on year one, and that people understood that it was a first try on new technology, technology that wasn't completely finished. And our game tried to grab the best out of it, and was a bit rushed to be sure to offer something in year one to Wii consumers," he added.

"So Red Steel is a brand, and as with every brand we have, we now have to reach the top quality possible. What was missing was the preciseness of the sabre - and with this new device I think it will change the experience."

Ubisoft is one of the few third-party publishers to see considerable sales success on the Wii, and Corre puts that success down to the amount of time spent on developing games for the unique home console, compared to competitors.

"When you make a great game, you need more than one year of development," offered Corre.

"A lot of games are made in less than a year, but they're not great products and they're not selling at all. So it takes some time to develop good games. This year we're coming with Shaun White, which we've developed over 18 months, and the same for Rayman 3.

"I think these two games can be in the top ten of the Wii charts at Christmas again, and there will also be new Wii games announced soon - more games dedicated to capturing this new audience," he concluded.

Not confirmed, but Nintendo-centric Japanese blog Rambing Man has a street date for Wii Music: The game will apparently be released on October 16th for ¥5,800 (US$54) as part of the Touch Generation Series and will have Wi-Fi. Other details floating include a Japanese release date for Captain Rainbow (August 28th for ¥6,800 or $63) and Valkyrie Profile DS (October 2nd for ¥5040 or $47). Oh, new Wii-mote straps, too. Make that new, colored Wii-mote straps. Priced at ¥300 a piece, they'll come in white, pink, blue and green. All four will be available for ¥1,000. Those will be out this September, says Rambling Man.

Quick show of hands: Who's interested in picking up Wii Music? Who's keen for new strap colors?

Wii Music 発売日決定 [Rambling Man via Jonnyram@GAF] [Pic]

Epic president Mike Capps guesses the next console generation will begin anywhere between 2012 and 2018 — and when it does, Unreal Engine 4 will be already waiting for it. At least, that's what Capps told an audience Microsoft's Gamefest 2008 in Seattle this week, according to a Gamasutra report.

Said Capps:

"We've got Unreal [Engine] 4 in production right now... it's going to be in the next console generation - our rough guess is 2012 [to] 2018."

Tim Sweeney also has a guess about what the platforms will be at that time, and in what order Epic will address them:

"Version 4 will exclusively target the next console generation, Microsoft's successor for the Xbox 360, Sony's successor for the Playstation 3 - and if Nintendo ships a machine with similar hardware specs, then that also. PCs will follow after that."

Epic's Capps: Unreal Engine 4 Due For 'Next Console Generation'[Gamasutra]

Eagle eyes at the Nintendo Everything blog noticed a new "features" area within the Wii Shop channel in Japan that looks like it'll let you enter codes for free Wii Shop software goodies. After getting some translation help with Japanese Wii Shop manuals, Nintendo Everything learned that certain retail titles will somehow offer these codes.

Will certain games have codes along with them for extra DLC? Or will they offer vouchers for, say, Virtual Console titles? That could be cool — for example, buy Mario Galaxy, get a freebie code for the original Super Mario Bros. on VC, something of the sort?

Puzzled Nintendo Everything:

I’m assuming that this could end up being free content for some games, but the specifics of this newest addition haven’t been exactly pinpointed. Still, I’m hoping that such a feature would eventually be considered for North America, but its anyone’s guess at the moment!

Who knows? We've contacted Nintendo of America to try and see if we can figure out what this is, and will update with any comment we receive.