sgGamers

Your Singapore Gaming Community

Venue and Time set for Video Games Live Singapore!

More updates on Video Games Live: the website now states the venue and time. It’ll be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, on the 19th of June 2009, at 8.30pm.

Given the date and stuff, I thought that it’d be part of the Singapore Arts Festival 2009 lineup (the guys who brought in the PLAY! concert in 2007) – but it’s not. It looks like it’s presented by the CG Overdrive people.

Tickets will be available in March! That’s some four months to get the hype up!

Remember to join the Facebook event for updates, and to show your love and support for the concert!

Video Games Live in Singapore: June 19, 2009

Mark Friday, June 19, 2009 on your calendars, and take leave while you still can, for Video Games Live is coming to Singapore!

Oh, hello world. This is such exciting news that I had to revive this place to post it.

Here’s a YouTube video of them performing just for kicks.

Edit: Since I’m incredibly hyped up over this concert, I’ve created a Facebook event you can join to get updates about it. I’ll update it as more details are released, I promise!

And We Get Lite-d

I’ve been following the DS Lite news for a couple of weeks now, so it’s only fitting to round it all up…

The DS Lite has been launched in Singapore!

Available in the standard Japanese colours of Pure White, Ice Blue and Enamel Navy. It comes with a 220V adaptor so you don’t have to lug around a stepdown transformer to prevent your DS Lite from exploding, and the usual stuff. And three months warranty, which by the way does not cover screen defects.

Oh, and it has to be bundled with a Capcom game – Resident Evil Deadly Silence, Viewtiful Joe Double Trouble, Mega Man Battle Network or FIFA World Cup Germany 2006.

I’m not going to make recommendations or judge whether it’s worth buying though. You’ll just have to hope the shop you go to has alternative stock for the DS Lite, so that you can make a fair comparison between getting a local set and a parallel-import one.

I’ll just wait around for my precious black set.

Still Solid And Going

It’s been a long time for updates, but hey, busy weeks and a general lack-of-gaming mood do take their toll on people. And of course, the World Cup.

I don’t watch the World Cup, but I’ve been drawn into its whirlpool by having to do stuff about it. Soccer video games anyone?

Winning Eleven, FIFA, Football Manager… And hey, try the newly-released Sensible Soccer for something different.

In other news, it seems like the PlayStation 2 is still outselling the Xbox 360 over in the United States. Not surprising, considering the different price points. Perhaps when the PlayStation 3 is launched with that crazy-insane price point of theirs that we’ll have a more accurate comparison on how many hardcore gamers buy either console.

And then there is the DS Lite, which has been released in the US. Heads up, people. It’s selling for less than $250 here if I got my prices right, which means that unless you really, really want your local warranty (which incidentally doesn’t cover dead pixels these days) and local power adapter, it’s time to move into the Lite era.

In fact, with my speculation of the local launch price, go get the US set anyway. Or wait another twelve days for the local set to be launched. Yes baby, 25 June.

I’m still going to wait for my preciousss black.

Black Is The New… Black

Something not altogether gaming-related, but one of my interests nevertheless – the MacBook was released in black just four days ago.

Alright, that’s enough Mac-whoring for now. Back to business.

The DS Lite’s coming out in black! Finally, a complement to the really hot Crystal White we’re all used to. It’s also launching in what’s known as Polar White, though whether it’s any different or just a simple rename is still up for speculation.

Black or white? Well, I guess it’ll depend on my mood when I finally buy one. My normal, fat DS is black, by the way.

Alas, only announced in Europe for now, though I’ll expect Japan and US to bring the colours in too. Check out the pictures, yeah?

And here’s hoping Maxsoft (exclusive distributor for Nintendo in Singapore) brings black in too. Consider this one vote for it.

Man Make, Man Can Break

Back in those days, the PlayStation 2 was, and still is, a notoriously secure console, while the Xbox, with its PC-based architecture, was easy to crack.

I’ve been following news of this for a couple of months now, so I wasn’t all that surprised when the people of the scene announced that an Xbox 360 crack is now in the wild.

We don’t condone piracy, so let’s just say that unless you’re willing to relinquish use of Xbox Live, which many Xbox 360 games depend on, performing any form of hanky-panky on your console isn’t a good idea.

Still, this is big news. Big enough for Microsoft to respond. And there you have it.

Watch out for something on ways to cut costs while staying clean. I’m sure a couple of you are lost on that issue.

Slow Weeks, Funny Stuff

It’s been a really busy period for me lately, so here’s something funny to quell the boredom. Yes, it’s old. But I’m pretty sure many of you haven’t caught it yet!

Have fun watching, and share the joy!

Lite Price Speculation

A couple of days ago, Nintendo issued a press release announcing the DS Lite’s launch in the United States.

The price? US$129.99, or a rough S$215 after conversion. It’s currently selling in Japan for 16,800 yen, or S$240.

A quote I’ve received from a game shop in Singapore was S$329. That’s expensive, but altogether reasonable considering how high the DS Lite’s demand is. Factor in markups by middlemen here and there, and by the game shop itself, and S$329 is actually considered quite reasonable by Singapore standards.

But hey, I’m the silly one who rushed out to get a normal DS after hearing rumours that the local distributor could price it as high as S$400. After hearing about the US release price though, I highly doubt so.

Then again, it was supposed to be launched in mid-April, and it’s already May.

My take on the DS Lite’s price in Singapore? Up to S$299, to be launched in mid to late June. That’s from the distributor’s track record, a quick analysis of international launch dates, and throwing in a bit of price differentiation into the factor. People do need to clear out their normal DS’es, you know.

For those of you looking to jump into the fray now and get a DS, I’ll say hold your horses unless you really, really have to play a game. Or you could consider one of the many normal DS’es available on the second-hand market for as low as S$100.