Waiting for the oft-delayed Home service has been frustrating for PlayStation fans worldwide. However, we were surprised to hear comments from former Xbox boxx Peter Moore, echoing the sentiments that many PS3 owners have. Currently president of EA Sports, Moore told Eurogamer.net "I just wish [Home] would ship ... I [previously] questioned it a little bit, whether I'd want to wander around there. Phil Harrison showed me a demo – it's very cool, but let's go already. And so I'm disappointed that it's been pushed back a little bit again."

via ps3fanboy.com

Online dynasty. Those are the two words that have been ringing in our ears since the moment we found out about the feature that looks to be the focal point of EA Sports' upcoming college football game, NCAA Football 09. Of course, the game is going to feature plenty of gameplay and visual tweaks that will present a more atmospheric and, well, collegiate atmosphere to the college game; and, yes, EA Sports did talk about all of those features and more during its unveiling of the game at tonight's press event in New York City. However, the details that have our ears perked are those that deal with the online dynasty mode, so let's just start there, shall we?

via gamespot.com

And no, we're not even talking about Deca Sports, which features kart racing as one of its ten activities. Rather, Conspiracy Entertainment is making another Wii game in their Cocoto series, called Cocoto Kart Racer (which is already out for the DS, GameCube, PC and PS2). The title should be coming out soon (the press release said Q2 2008), and will probably break the hearts of children everywhere. We're not saying it will necessarily be a bad game (even though the other versions got poor reviews, so let's be realistic), but the point is, it's not Mario Kart.

via nintendowiifanboy.com

One of the games Microsoft and Namco Bandai Games showed off at last year's Tokyo Game Show was Smash Court Tennis 3. Released for the Xbox 360 in Japan last December, the game will now apparently be getting a North American release as well. Atari said today that it would be importing Smash Court Tennis 3 to Microsoft's console this August.

Not to be confused with the upcoming Top Spin 3 or Virtua Tennis 3, Smash Court Tennis 3 is Namco Bandai's latest realistic sim tennis title, and features 16 top performers on the pro circuit, including Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Martina Hingis, Andreas Seppi, and Nicole Vaidisova. The game packs an extensive suite of customization options that will let players create their own personalized superstars.

via gamespot.com

Online dynasty. Those are the two words that have been ringing in our heads since the moment we found out about the feature that looks to be the focal point of EA Sports' upcoming college football game, NCAA Football 09. Of course, the game is going to feature plenty of gameplay and visual tweaks that will present a more atmospheric and, well, collegiate atmosphere to the college game; and, yes, EA Sports did talk about all of those features and more during their unveiling of the game at tonight's press event in New York City. However, the details that have our ears considerably perked are those that deal with the online dynasty mode, so let's just start there, shall we?

via gamespot.com

Fantasy All-Stars' handful of goofball power-ups mark it as not-quite-a-simulation: You'll find a ball that clucks like a chicken and hurries away from fielders, players frozen in a block of ice after making contact, and a wall that shoots out of the ground to knock down a sure home run. Better yet, all of the power-ups -- usable before you throw a pitch, swing at one, or while the ball's in play -- come with harebrained sound effects that'll get a giggle out of slapstick-lovers.

The power-ups are matched by an outrageous art style that features stick-thin slap hitters and meaty-topped sluggers with chopsticks for legs. The player models work great, but the zany fields -- set everywhere but a baseball stadium -- don't work nearly as well. Some, including Area 51 and Moonbase, are downright dark, making it tough to see the pitched ball.

via 1up.com

Are you a fan of the professional golfing scene, but wish that Tiger Woods' head was a tad more hydrocephalitic? Feel disappointed when your long drives aren't punctuated with high-pitched squeals and rainbow trails? Whether you're a soon to be fan or a returning wedge-wielder, we're sure the news of a North American release date for the sequel to the PSP's premier anime-inspired golf simulator, Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee, will bring tears of joy to your dinner plate-sized, sparkle-filled eyes.

via joystiq.com

Aside from the fact that your racer is riding a four-wheeler instead of a watercraft, Kawasaki Quad Bikes is virtually indistinguishable from Kawasaki Jet Ski. It boasts the same interface, the same annoying announcer, and the same terrible tilt controls. In honor of this copy-and-paste effort, I considered copying and pasting my Jet Ski review and replacing the applicable words with Quad Bikes. Of course, you, our valued reader, deserve better. But the gist of this review will be: Kawasaki Quad Bikes is every bit as terrible as Kawasaki Jet Ski.

Here we have an ugly, bare bones racing game with poorly-implemented tilt controls. There are four different vehicles, with two available from the beginning. Tracks are unlocked linearly as you win races. There is a decent variety of locations like indoor arenas, seaside runs, and snowy mountains. But maneuvering around them is a chore no one should have to endure.

via wii.ign.com

Previously revealed as "Super Mario Stadium Baseball" last October, and now apparently dubbed, Mario Super Sluggers, the Wii sequel to Mario Superstar Baseball has been confirmed for US release, likely later this year. Nintendo briefly demonstrated the game today at a media summit in San Francisco, IGN reports. As expected, the majority of gameplay is controlled by flicks and waggles (think: Wii Sports' baseball with shaky fielding), but some of the demonstrator's motions were "unrecognized by the game," IGN observed. "Not a very good sign."

In addition to the known cast of playable characters, IGN confirms that Sluggers will feature Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Waluigi, Toad, Toadette, and Boo.

via joystiq.com

At this point, the Backyard series is becoming an expected yearly addition to the interactive sports scene. Like a miniaturized version of Madden or MLB, each year Atari makes use of official licenses, shrinks the packages down to kid-friendly form, and offers a simplistic cross-section of the sport. If you aren't familiar with he series, the Backyard franchises often make use of generic (but useable) control mechanics that are already tried and true, and then sprinkle in a small amount of over-the-top gameplay around some power-ups, create-a-player, and the mix of official MLB players and fantasy characters as well, all in kid form.

Usually we'd take one look a game like Backyard Baseball '09 for DS, play it for a few minutes, and the expected result would take place: We'd grow bored almost instantly, and add it to the "pass" pile. This isn't the case this year. With Backyard making its way to DS after finding a home on GBA, GameCube, and PS2, the design actually works pretty well with the touch integration, lower graphical expectations all around (compared to PS2 and GCN, DS is obviously simpler), and some intuitive controls. It isn't a must-play game by any means, but it certainly has the core sport of baseball down, and it's the first Backyard offering out there that's sure to satisfy; at least for the younger crowd.

via ds.ign.com

Hudson is being smart about the company's new sports game, Deca Sports, which will hit North American Wiis on May 13th. Since the little white console already comes bundled with Nintendo's game, the bigwigs at Hudson probably knew they couldn't price Deca Sports too highly. That's why we were pleased to hear of the title's $29.99 price tag. Just ten dollars higher and we would have been a lot more hesitant about this game, but $30 hits our sweet spot.

via nintendowiifanboy.com

For a football series that's trying to play catch-up with FIFA on the Nintendo DS, Pro Evolution Soccer is sure taking its sweet time. The original Pro Evolution Soccer on the handheld, Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007, released last year to lukewarm critical reception, and you'd think that be enough to light a fire under Konami's butt to get cooking on something a lot more significant for portable gamers. The second game, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, contains slight tweaks here and there, but the core soccer's still pretty weak compared to the EA Sports offering.

The 2007 version featured a solid foundation for the 2008 team to build off of. Though the visuals were a step backwards in quality especially compared to what the console teams were doing, the actual soccer engine had potential. It was pretty rigid in spots but it at least played solidly on its own. Compared to the FIFA DS series, the game had a lot of catch-up to do, so the promise of another year in development could only be seen as a good thing for this rendition.

via ds.ign.com

It's pretty obvious that, with SEGA Superstar Tennis, SEGA's trying to do the self-celebratory "Hooray for us!" thing that Nintendo's been doing with its Super Smash Bros. franchise. SEGA has all the rights to do it – it's one of the few companies out there that has such a huge gaming history, a large assortment of intellectual properties and a vast library of memorable, trademarked characters. The big difference: Nintendo's game – a four player fighting design -- is something unique and extraordinary, and SEGA's game is nothing more than a stripped down rendition of Virtua Tennis.

Naturally, if you're going to do a character-based tennis game, Virtua Tennis is a fantastic foundation to build off of. And in the three-plus years of life the Nintendo DS has been without that property, the appearance of SEGA Superstars Tennis is, at the very least, something noteworthy on a system that hasn't really excelled in the sports department.

via ds.ign.com

Sony showed off a work-in-progress version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for the PlayStation 3. The near-final version of the game didn't differ much from the preview version we recently saw, but the press event gave Sony reps a chance to reveal some updates to the game. In particular, they explained the differences between the game that will ship to stores on a Blu-ray disc and the version that will show up on the PlayStation Network store.

For those who haven't followed it, GT5 Prologue is a meaty tidbit that Polyphony Digital is dropping for fans of the Gran Turismo series to tide them over until Gran Turismo 5 hits. The game has a respectable selection of gameplay modes, including online multiplayer, and a selection of cars for fans to hone their skills on in anticipation of GT5.

As in Japan, the game will come in two flavors: one you can download from the PlayStation Network and one you can pick up in a store on Blu-ray. The key difference is a documentary-style movie that offers a history of the series and follows the team as they go about their business working on the game. The behind-the-scenes flick will be exclusive to the Blu-ray version of the game, which will feature the same content as the PSN game without taking up the hard-drive space. In addition, GT5 Prologue will contain content not seen in the Japanese release, which hit late last year. Fans can look forward to 70 cars, exclusive music tracks, six racing tracks, 16-player online support, GT-TV mode content updates, and two-player split-screen play.

via gamespot.com

Electronic Arts today announced details to this year's special collector's edition of Madden. Titled Madden NFL 09 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition, this version of the game will feature full versions of both Madden NFL 09 and NFL Head Coach 09 along with "bonus video content." The collector's edition of Madden, along with the regular version of the game, will ship on August 12 for the suggested retail price of $89.99 on both PS3 and Xbox 360.

"The Madden NFL franchise has a rich history, and we're proud to be celebrating it with this definitive video game package," says Peter Moore, president of EA Sports. "Featuring two deep and innovative new standalone games, as well as a host of exclusive bonus content, the Madden NFL 09 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition is the ultimate interactive offering for both long-time Madden NFL fans and anyone who enjoys football on Sundays. I can't think of a better way to get your NFL fix than to enjoy everything that's unique about both Madden NFL 09 and NFL Head Coach 09, and then connecting and sharing content from both."

via gamedaily.com