Dragon Quest IX on Nintendo DS!!

Dragon Quest IX Announced for Nintendo DS

The famed RPG series goes handheld in a surprise announcement.
Square-Enix held a press conference today in Japan to discuss the future of their twenty year old Dragon Quest franchise. Subtitled "Hoshizora no Mamori Hito," which translates to "One Who Protects the Starry Sky," the game was speculated to be released on PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii. It turns out that the next Dragon Quest game, number nine in the main series, is under development for Nintendo DS.

The company released some tidbits about the game as well as showing off some 3D screenshots. Development is being handled by Level 5, developer of the previous Dragon Quest VIII for PlayStation 2. Koichi Sugiyama is once again composing music for the game, while series creator Yuuji Horii and character designer Akira Toriyama are also deeply involved in production.

Notably departing from the standard J-RPG formula, gameplay in Dragon Quest IX will be more action oriented and will feature four-player online cooperative play. The top screen is used as a map, while the bottom screen contains the action.

Dragon Quest IX is currently planned for a 2007 release in Japan. No price has yet been decided.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/

Wow wow wow! Dragon Quest, one of my favourite series, returning to Nintendo finally! I can't wait for this title.

What a surprise announcement, came out of no where!

Popular gadgets make painful gifts

By Miral Fahmy in Singapore

December 21, 2006 12:00
Article from: Reuters
TELEGRAPH

HOPING Santa will send you an iPod, a Nintendo Wii or the latest mobile phone this Christmas?

Be careful what you wish for: it could come painfully true.

Sore thumbs, inflamed elbows and stiff shoulders are among the musco-skeletal injuries linked to excessive use of the popular high-tech games and gadgets that could be under the tree.

"This is a pretty big issue, especially as more and more people are using gadgets a lot more," said William Lenihan from Singapore's Osteopathic Pain Relief Centre.

"These repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) are in the long term very detrimental to the whole body and once RSI comes on, its very difficult to get rid of," he said.

"The secret to avoiding this is knowing when to stop."

A few years ago, RSI only used to strike computer and jackhammer operators, who spent hours performing the same movement over and over again.

While the majority of IT users remain RSI-free, more and more people were becoming afflicted, with some children as young as seven developing symptoms, the British awareness group RSI Action said on its website.

According to the group, RSI was on the rise because more people were "using more computers for more tasks, workplace stress is increasing, mobile communications are increasing and leisure use of games and iPods are increasing".

It appears too that the gadgets have the potential to become more hazardous as the technology advances.

As mobile phones get smaller, their keypads also shrink, requiring finer finger movements that could aggravate joints. Some users of Apple's iPod music player have also complained about the intensive thumb movement, according to leading British-based online IT magazine.

"Hospitals have reported an increase in RSIs of the thumb from usage of gadgets and mobile phones, primarily from sending sms (text messages)," said D. Er Beng Siong of Singapore's Physiotherapy Associates.

"It's a disease of modern times."

Video game consoles can also contribute to RSI.

While sitting for hours on a sofa, clutching a joystick and staring at a television are the ideal way to unwind for many people, it could also be risky.

Daisuke Ito, the head doctor at Senzoku Orthopedic Plastic Surgery in Tokyo and who often treats RSI, said he expected to see more game-related cases in the future.

"Once you do suffer from tenosynovitis," he said, referring to a type of inflammation of the wrist and hand tendons, "we can treat it with shots. There's also medicine to ease the pain and braces to wear on the wrist.

"Of course, the most obvious way to treat it is to stop playing the game."

Popular game consoles, such as Nintendo's Wii - which has been flying off shelves worldwide - come with health warnings.

The Wii website urges players to take a break every 15 minutes. Sony's Playstation manual also asks users to take breaks and be aware of their posture while playing.

Experts say moderation, proper posture and stretching are key to preventing high-tech presents becoming painful.

"People who work at a computer eight hours a day are already doing a lot of damage," said Mr Lenihan.

"Then they go home and do some more. Prevention is always better than cure."

- Additional reporting by Chisa Fujioka in Tokyo