Author: by Staff

[UPDATED: 3:30pm PST] Today's regularly updated newsbriefs include a first look at the portable version of Sony's chart-topping franchise God of War, the imminent release of PS3-playable PS1 titles for Japan, and the retail release of SNK Playmore's SNK Vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS. - SCEA has quietly revealed the first media for the portable debut of its chart-topping franchise God of War. Now known to be fully titled God of War: Chains of Olympus and in development by Daxter developers Ready At Dawn, a short 30 second teaser video has surfaced on the internet (currently easily accessible via YouTube), as well as an official teaser site which promises more information soon. The site is currently offering, though, a sign-up page to receive via mail a free UMD demo of the game when it's released. A quick look at the video shows off an impressive downsizing of the hit franchise, no surprise given the company's technical pedigree first shown in Daxter -- a game studio head Didier Malenfant talked at length about in a recent GDC lecture podcast, and an engine which he noted in a recent Gamasutra interview is being licensed out for official PSP development. - Sony has also announced that starting April 26th, it will be rolling out the first batch of downloadable PlayStation games through its PlayStation Network that will be fully playable on the PS3 itself, rather than simply supporting portable play on the PSP. A number of already-released titles, including R-TYPES, Arc the Lad, and Bio Hazard Director's Cut will be supported, as well as a selection of new titles, including SNK's Metal Slug X. Sony also notes that with the update, the price of downloadable PlayStation titles will increase slightly from 525 yen ($4.43) to 600 yen ($5.06). No such announcement has yet been made concerning a concurrent rollout of PS3-playable titles for North America. - SNK Playmore USA has announced that its latest DS title, SNK Vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS has now been released. An upgraded version of the original SNK Vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash for SNK's now defunct bespoke handheld, the game pits players against each other in card-battle gameplay, each featuring one of both company's popular characters, and also includes two full single-player RPG campaigns -- one for each starter deck, either Capcom or SNK. The DS version also features newly updated graphics, an expanded card library on the NGPC original, and touch-screen options, as well as an ad-hoc wireless mode for multiplayer play. - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister alt.gaming weblog GameSetWatch include a discussion on game development quality versus scope, an interview with Stanley Adrianus from Gamenauts, and a satirical interview with Sumo Digital about Virtua Tennis 3. - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister site Serious Games Source include 3Dsolve's new advisory board member, who will help guide the company's newest serious training project. - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister site Game Career Guide include a partnership between The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Nvidia for a new class. - Also updated today: the latest Gamasutra job postings, including openings from Big Huge Games, Budcat Creations, Day 1 Studios, Destineer, Iron Lore Entertainment, Massive Entertainment, Midway Games, Pandemic Studios Brisbane, Radical Entertainment, Riot Games, Super-Ego Games, and WXP3D.