Nintendo DS, Sony PSP Banned From Japanese Airplanes

Wi-Fi-enabled gaming consoles banned from flying

Handheld systems such as the Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation Portable are very commonly seen on Japan’s mass transit systems. You won’t be seeing those portable consoles on Japanese airlines, however. They have been banned for airplane use according to the Hollywood Reporter.

It is now against the law to use onboard aircraft any device that is capable of any wireless transmission, which includes the latest handheld gaming systems and cordless computer accessories such as wireless mice.

DailyTech - Nintendo DS, Sony PSP Banned From Japanese Airplanes

More Evidence Surfaces of 40GB PlayStation 3

UPC numbers and retail inventory documents point to 40GB PS3 incoming

According to Sony’s original estimates, stock of the 60GB PlayStation 3 should be nearly depleted from North American store shelves. With the $499 machine soon gone from retail, the effective cost to buy a PlayStation 3 would be the $599 charged for the 80GB model – that is, unless Sony changes its pricing model.

In addition to analysts expecting the price drop of the $599 model, stronger evidence of an even cheaper PS3 SKU with a 40GB hard drive is now surfacing from various sources. The UPC database lists product codes specifically for a “SONY PLAYSTATION 3 40GB.”

DailyTech - More Evidence Surfaces of 40GB PlayStation 3

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 preview

The original Final Fantasy Tactics on the PlayStation has proven to be more popular than perhaps anyone could have predicted. Though it's been almost 10 years since the original game was released in North America, the Tactics series is picking up more steam than ever. The sequel of sorts to the original, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, was released in 2003 in North America; a remake of the original game for the PSP was just released this week in Japan; and now, with Final Fantasy Tactics A2, the series is making its debut on the Nintendo DS. Gamespot had a chance to try the game out at the 2007 Square Enix Party in a stage setup that was utterly unique. Instead of a line of kiosks, the demo for A2 took place in a room constructed to look like a small schoolroom, complete with brick walls, a library of books on the back wall, and school desks and chairs.

Tactics A2 is the sequel to the Game Boy Advance's FF Tactics Advance, and though the game plays similarly to the original, the setting isn't exactly the same. In Tactics Advance, the characters began in the town of St. Ivalice, only to be transported to the magical realm of Ivalice (setting of other FF games such as Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings) after discovering a magical book. By contrast, A2 seems to start out immediately in Ivalice, where a small party is exploring a forest, only to run into a monstrous-looking Chocobo.

GameSpot: FF A2 | UPDATE:GameSpot: FF A2 tested in Tokyo