Super Eagles Live Again!!

I did say yesterday that if the Super Eagles of Nigeria qualify for the last 8 of the ongoing nations cup in Ghana,then God is a Nigerian,well it turned out that the Nigerians did just enough to qualify for the quarter finals,with more than a helping hand from Drogba and Co.
As a Nigerian myself,i am pretty happy that the embarrassment that would have followed our non qualification passed us by like the plaque.
Okay so we have qualified,then what? The Black Stars of Ghana await us in the last 8.I know that the Nigerian team has suddenly found goal scoring a big problem,but are the Ghanians themselves good enough to beat the Super Eagles? I have seen them play and i don't think they can win against a Nigerian side that will fine confidence with this win and qualification, Africa waits.
You can read more about the Nigerian team and their nation cup sojourn so far at www.nigeria.worldcupblog.org
Viva Super Eagles

PS3 'out of the woods', Says Sony CEO

On January 17, the NPD Group reported its final US game-industry sales figures for 2007, which provided more ammunition for console-war partisans in the form of hard numbers. For the year, the Nintendo Wii sold 6.29 million units (7.38 million lifetime to date[LTD]), the Xbox 360 sold 4.62 million units, (9.15 million LTD), the PlayStation 2 sold 3.97 million units, (41.12 million LTD), and the PlayStation 3 sold 2.56 million units (3.25 million LTD).

While Sony disparagers took the figures as evidence that the PS3's fate was sealed, NPD's December figures showed the console's sales jump. The $100 October price cut of the 80GB PS3 and the November introduction of the $399 40GB PS3 helped holiday sales of the console shoot up to 797,600 units domestically--331,600 more than the month before.

Following NPD's report, analysts debated how much the PS3's rise could be attributed to frustrated Wii-seekers going with plan B and how much was rising enthusiasm for the console. Unsurprisingly, Sony Corp. CEO Sir Howard Stringer thinks it's the latter and talked up the console's fortunes to the Reuters news service while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"PS3 has now gone past Xbox [360] on the Christmas market," he said, referring to the console's robust European sales. "It's moving into its own as it gets into higher bandwidth...PS3 is out of the woods and beginning to hold its own."

Kratos raging on PS3 in late 2009, maybe too far off for gamers.

With God of War II occupying the history books for nearly a year, fervor is building for God of War III, the next console iteration of Sony's series that is as popular as it is brutal. However, aside from former God of War II director Cory Barlog's wagging tongue in March mentioning the game would feature 1080p resolution and rumble support, followed nearly nine months later by an official Sony Computer Entertainment America confirmation of its existence, God of War III remains little more than just a name.

Be that as it may, PlayStation World UK, via CVG and GamesRadar, reports God of War III will surface for the PlayStation 3 no sooner than late 2009. Citing "reliable Sony sources," the mag gives no other pertinent details on the game, saying only that "we shouldn't expect to see Kratos blowing his fuse until around Christmas 2009 at the earliest."

So how does the report stack up? Taking into account the dearth of information or assets currently available for GOWIII, a 2008 release seems doubtful. At issue, then, seems to be the "late" portion of the 2009 equation. Traditionally, Kratos has staked his claim on the first half of the year, with the original God of War, its sequel, and the soon-to-be-released PSP prequel God of War: Chains of Olympus all surfacing in March. A March 2009 release would also line up nicely with the two-year interlude between GOW and GOWII.

However, as has been seen time and time again in recent months, developing for the PS3 has proven to be a far more involved affair than crafting games for the seven-year-old PlayStation 2. Combine that with the series' cinematic approach to creating epic moments and boss fights--events that require countless hours of development to get a comparatively minute section of gameplay just right--and the series' debut on the PS3 could very well require more development time than its PS2 predecessors. Thus, an announced March 2009 release date, followed by a delay to late 2009, seems like an entirely plausible hypothetical.

Another factor to take into consideration is the marketing effort Sony will undoubtedly pour into the game. Being an established franchise that has received high aggregate review scores, GOWIII has the potential to sell systems on a level similar to Bungie's Halo 3 for Microsoft. As such, in light of the PS3's lagging position in the console race, Sony does have motivation to release the game as early as possible. Of course, rushing a game to market tends to yield disastrous results, a risk Sony is unlikely to take with the coveted franchise.

Recommended sources for more news and latest stories;
www.ign.com
www.gamedaily.com
www.gamespot.com

Happy gaming!!!!

DualShock For Sony's New 120-160GB PS3

2007 was quite a bumpy year for the PlayStation 3,it began with the console in scarce supply post-launch, and progressed with month after month of disappointing sales reports. In an effort to jump-start the platform, Sony began a shakeup in its game division's management, which culminated in Ken "Father of the PlayStation" Kutaragi's retirement in June. The electronics giant also tweaked the PS3's configuration, discontinuing the 20GB and 60GB models in favor of 40GB and 80GB editions.

Last week, reports surfaced that the 80GB PS3 may be next on Sony's chopping block. This week, Opposable Thumbs reported that it had learned what would fill its slot in Sony's two-model PS3 strategy. The blog reported that Sony is phasing out the 80GB version and will replace it with a new configuration with a larger hard drive--either 120GB or 160GB. The new console will come with the new rumble-enabled Dual Shock 3 controller, which Sony said would be available in North America and Europe this spring. (The controller is already available in Japan.)

For more gaming news and lots more,visit the following recommended sites;
www.gamespot.com
www.n4g.com
www.ign.com
www.gamedaily.com

Can Super Eagles Salvage Any Pride?

Nigeria comes face to face with history today for all the wrong reasons, and fear grips an entire nation for what will be an unprecedented event in the history of Nigerian football.
Against the Squirrels of Benin, all expect the Super Eagles to win convincingly, and then at the same time pray that the Elephants of Cote d Ivoire beat the Eagles of Mali to give them any sort of hope of making the quarter final line up at the ongoing nations cup in Ghana.
Not ever has the Nigerian team failed to make it through the group stage of the nations cup, and now with this woeful performance, Nigerians have their hearts in their mouths. How i wish that the God soccer will be a Nigerian today.
This is a tragedy of Greek proportions.

Patriots Set For History

We all know by now that the New England Patriots have been undefeated all season on their way to the Superbowl. If they win,and it seems very likely,then they would have become only the second team in NFL History to go through the entire season with an unblemish record.
After coming from behind to win 38-35 against the Giants to complete a 100% regular season,the patriots will erase the Miami Dolphins record of 1972 when they went all the way to win the Superbowl and end the season with a 17-0 record.
With their ace quarterback Tom Brady who missed training with an ankle injury confirming that he will line up against the Giants, who will bet against the Patriots winning and making history.

Bad Start For Nigeria

Nigeria kicked start her Nations Cup campaign yesterday with a disastrous 1-0 loss to the Ivorians in an evenly matched game.
One would have expected the Nigerian attackers to bury the numerous chances they had to end the match in Nigeria's favour. The other group match between Mali and Benin also ended 1-0 in favour of Mali.
So as things stand now,Nigeria is at the bottom of the table with Benin.I hope they pick in the coming two matches they still have to play.

We Are Underway,The Nations Cup Has Started

So we have had the first match of the African Nations Cup with host Ghana pipping Guinea 2-1 to win the opening match.It was an interesting match with both teams at times playing some very exciting football,but at the end,it was Ghana who held their nerves to snatch a late winner off Muntari.
Attention turns today to the group of death with Nigeria squaring up against Cote d Ivoire,it promises to be a cracker and any team that wins today's encounter will likely go all the way and win the win the cup itself.
This is a big one to savour.

Video Games Live 08 Tour Dates Announced

The acclaimed gaming concert series is back. Played up and down the U.S. and including mutliple tour dates in Canada, Taiwan and other international locations, VGL is looking to make 2008 a banner year.

Video Games Live announced today its lineup for its 2008 tour. The gaming concert series produced by Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall will give 40 performances across the globe. VGL combines popular gaming music with top orchestras and choirs, combining game footage with stage production to give a unique experience.

Confirmed tour dates and locations

January 24, 2008 - Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live - 7:30 PM

January 26, 2008 - St. Louis, MO Fox Theater - 7:30 PM

February 7, 2008 - Montreal, QC St. Denis Theatre - 8 PM

February 8, 2008 - Montreal, QC St. Denis Theatre - 8 PM

February 9, 2008 - Toronto, ON Massey Hall - 8 PM

February 15, 2008 - Ft. Wayne, IN Embassy Theatre - 8 PM

February 17, 2008 - Edmonton, Canada Alberta Jubilee Auditorium - 8 PM

February 22, 2008 - San Francisco, CA Nob Hill Masonic Center - 8 PM

March 1, 2008 - Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theater - 8 PM

March 7, 2008 - Phoenix, AZ Maricopa Events Center - 8 PM

March 15, 2008 - Mexicali, Mexico Plaza Calafia Bullring - TBA

March 27, 2008 - Ogden, UT Browning Fine Arts Center - 8 PM

March 28, 2008 - Salt Lake City, UT Abravanel Hall - 8 PM

March 29, 2008 - Salt Lake City, UT Abravanel Hall - 8 PM

April 26, 2008 - New York City, NY Beacon Theatre - 8 PM

June 14, 2008 - Las Vegas/Henderson Henderson Pavilion - 8 PM

July 11, 2008 - Austin, TX Long Center - TBA

July 12, 2008 - Austin, TX Long Center - TBA

July 18, 2008 - Louisville, KY Kentucky Center for Arts - 8 PM

July 24, 2008 - San Diego, CA Embarcadero Marina Park - 7:30 PM

August 9, 2008 - Taipei, Taiwan Pan-Chiao Stadium - 7:30 PM

August 10, 2008 - Taipei, Taiwan Pan-Chiao Stadium - 7:30 PM

August 20, 2008 - Leipzig, Germany ARENA Leipzig - 8 PM

October 9, 2008 - Birmingham, Alabama Jefferson Conv. Complex - 8 PM

October 29, 2008 - Vancouver, BC Orpheum Theatre - 7:30 PM

Eagles Can Win

So the African Nations Cup is only days away,and a lot of people including pundits have already tipped the team they think will win the cup.So many people think the Elephants of Cote 'D' Ivoire will win the cup as they currently have the most in-formed teams in the tournament.
Ghana,the host team also have got a good team and ofcourse they are playing at home with thousands of vociferous fans that will be chanting their course each and every match throughout their stay in the actual competition.
They are also a few countries including Mali,who are considered as ranked outsiders or dark horses.With players such as Kanoute who can score a lot of goals,they can cause an upset.
Let us not forget perennial campaigners the Indomitable Lions of Cameroun,they performed below expectations last time out and they are wounded.They will be hard to beat.
And then the Super Eagles of Nigeria,to me underachievers in the nations cup with only two triumphs in 1980 and 1994.The players will not tell you how they feel,but i did sports and i know how bad a sportsman feels when he is written off.The Eagles are written by many and i think this is when they are more than dangerous.Well write them off at your own peril.
I personally think the Super Eagles will do very well at the tournament,group of death or not,the Nigerians have all the arsenals to wreck harvoc on any team,so beware.