The title doesn't strike you, does it? But if you're familiar with Streets of Rage and King of Fighters, then OpenBOR isn't something you should let pass. From the engine that allowed Beats of Rage (BOR) to debut on the PC comes the open source version for multiple platforms. Homebrew coder SamuraiX released OpenBOR version 2.1933 for the PSP the day before yesterday, along with Linux (PC, PS3), GamePark, GP2X, DreamCast, Xbox, and Windows versions as well. All you need to know is at the full story.


Download: OpenBOR v2.1933 (Linux on PC and PS3, PSP, GP2X, DreamCast, Xbox, and Windows)

In a few months it'll be a year since Peter Moore left Microsoft to become the head of EA Sports. As he looks back, Moore relates that it broke his heart to leave Microsoft. Full story after the "read more" link below.

The classic Dreamcast game Rez HD is coming to Xbox Live Arcade. The original game made use of the Trance Vibrator: a device that pulses in time with the music. To bring the concept up to speed with the Xbox 360, the game will instead be using the console's controllers to substitute for the Trance Vibrator peripheral. What's more - the game could soon appear in the PlayStation 3 too. Details in the full article.

Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft recently got a hold of Randy Pitchford, Gearbox Software's head honcho, as he talked about the various games the company was planning to release across the various platforms. Pitchford looked back on the company's Brothers in Arms series, as well as their upcoming shooter Borderlands. Also, he talked about their unprecedented adaptation of the Wii port to Dreamcast's rhythm game Samba de Amigo.

Check out what else Randy Pitchford had to say after the jump!

There's an interesting survey conducted by small online research firm WhatJapanThinks regarding the preferred consoles by Japanese kids. The population consisted of around 1,165 elementary school students and the results are quite intriguing and interesting:

• Nintendo DS 82.2%
• Nintendo Gameboy Advance 39.8%
• Sony PlayStation 1, 2 or 3 37.4%
• Nintendo Wii 35.3%
• Nintendo Gamecube 31.4%
• Nintendo Gameboy, Gameboy Micro 19.8%
• Nintendo 64 15.2%
• Nintendo Super Famicom (SNES) 15.1%
• Nintendo Famicom (NES) 11.9%
• Sony PlayStation Portable 10.5%
• Microsoft Xbox 5.8%
• Sega Saturn 5.1%
• Sega Dreamcast 4.8%
• Other 16.4%

Take note that this survey is not reflective of the whole Japanese market and is just true on a certain market segment. Nonetheless, like we said, the results are quite interesting.

SPOnG recently scored an exclusive interview with Sony's big boss Kazuo Hirai to talk about the company's current standing in the market. In the interview, Hirai talked about Sony's past and future stratagems and how it's holding up now in the console wars, particularly the ever debatably hefty price of the PlayStation 3.

Sony seems to be sticking with their tried and tested strategy with the PS2. In its generation, the PS2 had to compete with the Dreamcast which had a head start; now the PS2 is still thriving in hardware and software sales. Hirai explains that the same can be said for the PS3:

The PS3 has been on the market less than a year in the US and Japan and, what is it, less than that in Europe? It's difficult right now to say who's where. [...] Clearly we've never started from a position of strength and we've always had to catch up with every generation of hardware that we've brought into the market.

And on that note the conversation continues to the pricing of the PS3. Hirai expressed that the original price of the PS3 - US$ 599 for the 60 GB version - was just right and the issue wasn't one of price but of supply. When the PS3 was first released, the market didn't have enough supplies to meet the demand in the US and Japanese markets.

Although this isn't a very encouraging comment if you're looking forward to a price cut, it's not to say that it won't happen; we won't know for sure until the holiday announcements come in. One thing we can anticipate in the future though:

We're very excited about this holiday season, moving into the new fiscal year. We'll have 200 titles worldwide, 120 of which will be available in the North American market. I almost wish the holiday season was here now so we can really get in there.

  

There was a time when Sega had 65% of the gaming industry's market share in North America - the time when Sonic the Hedgehog was a lot cooler than an Italian plumber, the time when Yu Suzuki was comparable to Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto. Arcade fans spent countless hours getting the fastest time in Hang-On, perfecting the act of not killing civilians in Virtua Cop, and trying to beat in Virtua Fighter.

It's sad to see one of the most influential companies in video game history struggle in today's tough competition, but we have to admit that Sega's presence is not as strong as it was before - not as strong as it should be. Some credit this to the losses that came with Dreamcast's fall, while some point fingers at lackluster games in recent years. What we can be certain about is that fans want to see Sega in its former glory.

A quick look at Sega's upcoming and recent games line-up reveal familiar titles for young and old, most on multiple platforms. Where's the problem, then? Pretty much every gamer is part of their target market, especially since most of Sega's established franchises are aimed at the biggest audience possible, so why is the company not doing as well as other publishers?

Without having to nitpick on quality of particular titles that didn't experience warm reception, let's just put up a battle plan that would rile up Sega fans while giving the former champ a good chance of propelling to the top. In other words, a Sega fan's wish list.

Read the entire article right after the jump!

Back in the 8-bit and 16-bit era, Sega was a prominent name just beside Nintendo. Some of us grew up with Sonic and other arcade hits under Sega's banner. Unfortunately, the gaming giant took massive damage when Sony's PlayStation 2 left the Dreamcast in the dust. After learning some important things, the company is now aiming to be in the top five third-party publishers.

Sega isn't an old horse just yet, with hot titles such as the NiGHTS Journey of Dreams and the Condemned series. According to the report on Business Week, they're also aggressively pushing for movie licenses to develop tie-in games. Another strategy is to work hand-in-hand with other development companies.

That may sound good and all, but the company that used to ride our favorite hedgehog's fame isn't doing too well. Current Sega of America President Simon Jeffery admitted, "It only takes a couple of US$ 20 million games to fail at market, and we're out of business."

Due to next-gen development costs, that much money is just enough to make a solid game. Looks like Sega needs to be very careful in choosing which to invest on, or Sonic and his friends won't be seeing the light of day again.

 

Power ups aren't there just to make the game easier. Poor titles use power ups as an excuse to have "progressive gameplay." Scratch that. Getting stronger shouldn't be tossed aside because the game got difficult enough, that it doesn't even matter. Power ups are supposed to give players an edge, making the task at hand much easier.

In this list are power ups that, while not broken or imbalanced, make players think "Now, I'm gonna own!" Acquiring these offer significant advantage over your adversaries. In other words, purely bad ass power-ups that make games fun.

Jehuty v2 (Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner)
Matching the power of the dreaded Anubis, Jehuty in its full glory can destroy anything. The Vector Cannon can sink gigantic battle airships with a single shot. For everything else, there are subweapons - the most powerful only available to v2. If delicate kills are required, v2 can simply zero in on the opponent using Zero Shift, before disposing the target with lightning fast strikes using its blade, homing lasers that can destroy multiple targets, or a fully charged energy ball of death. Jehuty v2 is the ultimate mech, period.

The full list awaits after the jump!

Sega fans in the know are shaking their legs in anticipation for this year's Tokyo Game Show, and they have a pretty good reason why. Korean website Ruliweb dished out what is supposedly Sega's TGS 2007 lineup which seems to be more of a Sega fan wishlist.

Said to have cost US$ 70 million, Shenmue and its sequel easily became the biggest and most expensive series at the time. No thanks to the Dreamcast's early demise, many have missed the epic tale of Ryo in his quest to avenge his father. Still, Yu Suzuki's masterpiece created a following of zealous fans. Rumors have come and gone, and all hope is almost lost, but the list posted Shenmue 3 for the Xbox 360.

Other noteworthy titles coming from the classic archives include Fighters Megamix 2 and Virtua Fighter Kids 2. Some Dreamcast hits are also said to make a return, like ChuChu Rocket!, Skies of Arcadia 2, and Jet Set Radio Next.

Before this blogger throws fits, we'll have to say that the list is yet to be confirmed. Down to the rumor mill we go, but our ears are open for any official word.

Find the list after the jump!