Homebrew coder Tantric has released a new update for Snes9x GX, a Super Nintendo emulator for the Wii based on the PC emulator SNES9x 1.51. The latest update has added new features and fixed some bugs from the earlier release.

Version  4.0.7 changelog:

• Fixed auto-update
• Increased file browser listing to 10 entries, decreased font size
• Added text scrolling on file browser
• Added reset button for controller mappings
• Settings are now loaded from USB when loading the app from USB on HBC
• Fixed menu crashes caused by ogg player bugs
• Fixed memory card saving verification bug
• Fixed game savebrowser bugs
• Miscellaneous code cleanup/corrections 

Download: Snes9x GX v4.0.7

• Wii homebrew - Snes9x GX v4.0.3

Despite lukewarm initial reactions to The House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld, publisher Sega believes that the Nintendo Wii is still a viable platform for putting out M-rated games.

“Whilst [Overkill] had a rather sharp tail at full price, they do bubble away at a lower price point for a long time,” Gary Dunn, MD of European development for Sega, told GamesIndustry. “You get your money back and a bit on full price, but over the years, if we do the final product return on investment, profits come from the lower price point.”

MadWorld, another of Sega’s M-rated Wii titles, similarly didn’t sell all that well, but Dunn says they’re still willing to take the risk of putting out another M-rated game on the squeaky-clean Nintendo console.

“You have to push boundaries and explore. I think whilst MadWorld commercially didn’t sell what we were expecting I wouldn’t say it’s game over for mature Wii titles from Sega,” said Dunn. “We’re taking a look at the resources we have now. We’ve got money to invest in development, we’re just considering where to invest it next.”

• Heavy Rain boss defends mature video games: no worse than 8 o’clock TV
• The House of the Dead: OVERKILL Collector’s Edition for adults only

Analyst Michael Pachter expects that by 2015, 7th-gen console sales will end up like this: Wii on top, the PS3 in second, and the Xbox 360 in third place. The Wii’s first-place position seems like a foregone conclusion, but what about the other two?

We think that the PS3 will capture significant market share, primarily due to Sony s victory in the high definition DVD format war, and will end up in second place by 2015, he explained. Although Microsoft s Xbox 360 enjoyed a first mover advantage, we think that its market position will fade to third place due to lack of penetration in Japan.

Pachter also noted that by the end of 2009, he expects the Wii to have a 49 per cent share of the US and European markets, followed by the Xbox 360 at 29 per cent and the PS3 at 22 per cent. In two years’ time, he expects the Wii to have slipped down to 48 per cent market share while the PS3 and Xbox 360 will be tied at 26 per cent each.

• Wii HD could damage PS3 comeback, says Wedbush Morgan
• Pachter: Natal, PS3 MC won’t topple Wii

Wedbush Morgan’s exhaustive report on the effects of ancillary revenues on the console cycle contains a little nugget that suggests a Wii HD could convince consumers that it’s “the last console they will ever need.”

The analyst firm suggests that the HD-capable Wii, which is referred to in the paper as “Wii Plus”, would also come with a redesigned WIimote that incorporates Motion Plus technology, 1080p output at 60 FPS, and full backwards compatibility with current Wii titles. Oh, and a hard drive too. And all that for close to the US 199.99 price point.

So what does this mean for the other consoles? The report says that the advent of the “Wii Plus” could seriously damage Sony’s chances for a PS3 comeback for the current console cycle:

In our view, if Nintendo can offer such a device by year-end 2010, it will be in a position to seriously damage Sony s chances of a comeback this cycle. We would expect publishers to support such a move, given that the cost of porting an Xbox 360 game to the new Wii Plus HD format would likely be lower than the cost of building a ground up Wii game (we estimate under US 5 million). Should Nintendo be able to convince publishers like EA and Take-Two that the Wii Plus should be supported by the entire EA Sports catalog and by the next installment of Grand Theft Auto, it should be in a position to successfully convince consumers that the Wii Plus is the last console they will ever need to purchase.

Lots of ifs and shoulds, there. Earlier this month, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated that he sees no reason to make a Wii HD, but hey, maybe by next year they’ll finally have that reason.

• Iwata finds no “significant reason” to make a Wii HD

Seems like 2K Sports is rolling out the red carpet for the 10th anniversary of the NBA 2K franchise. Team Xbox reports that a special limited collector’s edition of NBA 2K10 is in the works. The CE will reportedly have the following:

• a numbered 2K Sports game storage locker with combination lock that can store up to 20 games
• an exclusive figurine from McFarlane Toys featuring NBA 2K10 cover athlete and spokesman Kobe Bryant
• a 16″x36″ 2K Sports Kobe Bryant poster designed by Shepard Fairey’s Studio N 1
• a NBA 2K10 10th anniversary video that explores the history of the NBA 2K franchise
• access to the Gold Room, NBA 2K10’s VIP online lobby

As noted in the pic above, the locker will also come with one copy of NBA 2K10. All of this is still unverified, but the CE will supposedly be announced today. The suggested retail price is US 99.99.

NBA 2K10 will be out this fall on Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, and PC.

• 2K Sports unveils the first NBA 2K10 screenshot - Shaq as a Cavalier
• Kobe stars as the NBA 2K10 coverboy

When publishers whip out screenshots, they usually come in groups. Today, however, says different. What we have now is the first screenshot of NBA 2K10 from 2K Sports, and yes, that’s in singular. But what the release lacks in quantity, it definitely makes up for with substance. Presenting the first NBA 2K10 screenshot - Shaquille O’Neal is now a Cavalier. Talk about updated.

If you’ve been following the NBA news, you’d know that Shaq will be in his fourth tag-team with a prolific scorer. The first would be with Penny, then his ring-winning stint with Kobe, the one with Dwyane, and now he’s going to see if he and LeBron can nail the cup in the next season. I’m hoping the next batch of screens will have the rookie class in it. Ricky Rubio in a T-wolves jersey, anyone?

Release info is still the same - fall of this year for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, and the PC versions.

• Kobe stars as the NBA 2K10 coverboy

Paul Theroux of the Telegraph could not forget the conversation that he had with Michael Jackson. Now that MJ has gone to that big Neverland in the sky, the journalist takes us back to the old interview, which revealed that eccentric as he was, Michael Jackson too was a sucker for video games. Not just any video game too - MJ loved MK.

In the interview, Michael Jackson revealed that he turned to video games, among other things, to help him cope with the intoxication that comes after a concert:

It makes people do strange things. A lot of our famous luminaries become intoxicated because of it they can’t handle it. And your adrenaline is at the zenith of the universe after a concert you can’t sleep. It’s maybe two in the morning and you’re wide awake. After coming off stage, you’re floating.

How do you handle that?

I watch cartoons. I love cartoons. I play video games. Sometimes I read.

You mean you read books?

Yeah. I love to read short stories and everything.

Any in particular?

Somerset Maugham, he said quickly, and then, pausing at each name: “Whitman. Hemingway. Twain.”

What about those video games?

I love X-Man. Pinball. Jurassic Park. The martial arts ones Mortal Kombat.

I played some of the video games at Neverland, [Theroux] said. There was an amazing one called Beast Buster.

Oh, yeah, that’s great. I pick each game. That one’s maybe too violent, though. I usually take some with me on tour.

When asked how he manages to bring the then big video games with him on tour, Jackson simply replied that they travel with two cargo planes. I don’t imagine Jacko doing fatalities though, maybe he’s more the Friendship type of finisher.

For the rest of the interview, check out the source link below.

• LittleBigJacko struts his stuff

After 12 years, Sony is about to pull the plug on its Yaroze program, which made console development available to aspiring non-professionals. Through this service, subscribers received access to an online community, development software, as well as a very rare black PlayStation One console that allowed devs to run their own code on the system.

But all is not lost. “We plan to make a copy of the site available for our original members,” said SCEE’s Paul Holman, adding that a get-together of sorts will be held for the development community.

The Net Yaroze project will effectively be canceled in July at a still unspecified date. At any rate, that black PSOne makes a very, very good souvenir.

• Wii homebrew - WiiBuilder v1.2

This year, fans of point-and-click adventure games will be treated to a revamped version of LucasArts‘ The Secret of Monkey Island which which will be released as a digital download on Xbox 360 and PC.

Craig Derrick, the producer of The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, intimated to the Guardian that PS3 and Wii owners may get the game as well. When asked why Xbox Live and not WiiWare or PSN, Derrick said,

Well, we never said we wouldn’t be on Wiiware or PSN now did we? … We may have another platform announcement to make very, very soon.

The possibility of similar special edition re-releases for other LucasArts adventure games also exists, but it all ultimately hinges on how well The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition does.

…The special edition is really a great big experiment to see what interest there is for these types of games and if people are interested in playing them on a console. If the fans really respond well, then I think it will be tough to say no to another one.

Long story short, if you want to see more of these games then make sure to buy the special edition. Get your friends to buy it too, for that matter.

• LucasArts producer: digital distribution is increasing interest in retro gaming

Good news for PAL gamers. Tri-Crescendo’s fantasy-adventure game Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon is coming your way thanks to Rising Star Games. Thing is, you’ll have to wait until next year for it.

Fragile follows the story of Seto, a boy trying to discover the truth behind the disappearance of most of the population in a near-future world. As Seto, players will also have to deal with ghosts who appear in the ruins of his world’s abandoned cities by using the Wiimote as a flashlight and as a proximity sensor.

Rising Star will release Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon in PAL territories in Q1 2010. Xseed will handle the game’s US launch, which is slated for Winter 2009.

• E3 2009: XSEED lineup includes Yuusha 30, Fragile, more
• Japanese trailer: Farewell Ruins of the Moon