Andrew “Bunnie” Huang, the MIT graduate who cracked the original Xbox in 2001, and later wrote a book about it, is saying that Microsoft provokes hackers when they say “There are going to be levels of security in this box that the hacker community has never seen before.” According to Huang, that’s provocative, and a challenge. A few months ago Dutch hacker “The Specialist” hacked the Xbox360 console so it would play copied games.

Via Next Generation

We were all caught off-hand by Sony’s blatant rip-off innovative controller when showcased at this year’s E3. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata talks about what he thought of when he saw what Sony was doing:

“Actually before they made the announcement we already anticipated that they might do that, so I had to laugh. Even though I was laughing, it was with a grim face, I should add,” Iwata told the Seattle Times. “Having said that, please know that putting the motion-sensor technology into the classic-style controller is one thing. Putting the motion-sensor technology into the Wii remote as well as the ‘nunchuck’ controller, where you can use both hands freely and independently, this is quite another thing.”

Iwata also commented on the PlayStation 3 price, saying what we’ve all been saying, it’s too expensive:

“That’s not something I should comment on as a corporate president. But as one single person, a potential customer for the PS3, I think it’s a bit expensive. But it depends on how the general public is going to see it. So far, within two days now, a majority of people who have commented on the price point are saying the same thing: It’s expensive.”

I still think Iwata was a bit worried, if Sony managed to make a better motion sensing ability, and price the PS3 competitively, the Wii would definitely have a tough time. But for now, all things are looking in Nintendo’s favor. Recent polls indicate that over 80% of Japanese gamers would buy a Wii instead of a PS3.

Via SPOnG (Thanks, Tim)

Latest issue of Danish game magazine GameReactor (which is free in Scandinavia by the way) features some new screenshots of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Aussie-Nintendo has all the scans here.

Xbox Live will soon feature video chat via the new Xbox Live Vision Cam (XLV), available in stores September 19th. It will also allow the users to personalize with their gamertag picture and send photos to each other. The price hasn’t been specified yet, but we assume it’ll be priced as a standard Xbox360 controller.

Sony counts on having their online functionality available at day one, including downloadable content, at the PlayStation 3 launch. The recently had a job listing looking for programmers to develop “…an unannounced downloadable title for the PlayStation 3 launch in November.” Perhaps some sort of Live Arcade style games?

Via SPOnG

Analysts from The Diffusion Group are predicting that Microsoft will enter the portable gaming market by the end of 2007, with a portable Xbox game system/media player. The portable market is expected to reach $3 Billion annually by 2008, with only Nintendo and Sony playing along. They think that would seem unrealistic if Microsoft didn’t try and get a cut from that pie. But would it make sense for Microsoft to do that? The Xbox and Xbox360 have lost Billions, and to try and fight Nintendo (and Sony for that matter) in the handheld market could cost them Billions as well. The DS outsells the Xbox360 almost everywhere now, even the PS2, PSP, GameCube and GameBoy Micro outsold Xbox360 in Japan the recent months.

Size and comaprison of today’s consoles, including PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. The Wii is really small, about the size of a discman. Amazing.

Via Aeropause

According to PC Magazine, Nintendo doesn’t own the domain “wii.com”, and they have no plans of buying it from Williamette Industries, who had the domain since 1994. Wii.com isn’t in use because Williamette Industries prefer Weyerhaeuser.com. A Nintendo spokesperson said “to my understanding we are not planning on using that website”. Which seems a bit arrogant, since xbox.com and playstation.com are used by the competitors. The (current) official Wii site is wii.nintendo.com.

Nintendo has launched a rumblepack specifically for the DS Lite, meaning there aren’t any bits an pieces sticking out like on the regular DS. The DS Lite rumblepack costs the same as the old one, $15 (or 1,650 Yen). Only avalible in Japan at the moment, but we expect it to hit the U.S. and European stores shortly. Games supporting the rumble feature at the moment;

Metroid Prime Hunters
Magnetica (Shunkan Puzz Loop)
Naruto RPG 2: Chidori versus Rasengan
Mario & Luigi: Partners in TimeMetroid Prime Pinball

Via Siliconera (Thanks, Jon)

[gv data="http://www.youtube.com/v/xiEOBEQlzZc"][/gv]

Featuring:

1. Riiiiiiidge Racer!
2. Now That’s What I Call A Duck!
3. Realtime, ehm, Weaponschange. Ehm.
4. And we’re certainly not interested in gimmicks.

Seriously, we can’t stop making fun of Sony. We try, but it’s like those good old Clinton jokes. Ehm.