Wii Video Games News

The next Legend of Zelda will herald a bunch of surprises beyond MotionPlus compatibility according to the series supervisor Eiji Aonuma.

"It is something we used to talk about with Mr Miyamoto," Aonuma-san told the Official Nintendo Magazine.  "He and I agree that if we are following the same structure again and again, we might not be able to give long time Zelda fans a fresh surprise."

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In a press release announcing the availability of a specific BBC iPlayer Wii Channel, Nintendo has confirmed that sales data from Chart-Track reveals that the Wii is nearing six million sales across the UK.  

Such figures suggest that the UK sales account for approximately 9% of combined Wii worldwide sales; or viewed in another way, in the region of one in 10 of the UK population own a Nintendo Wii.

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The English translation to Nintendo's Q&A session following the company's recent six month financial results has finally arrived.  Much of the information has already been revealed via hasty Google translations of the original Japanese transcript; however, like my mother always says, the devil is in the detail.

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Despite the fact that some of Warren Spector's most celebrated games (such as Deus Ex) won acclaim for breaking the shackles of game design in terms of storytelling and player choice, the Junction Point Studios boss has nonetheless revealed that he won't make a sandbox game and is a big believer in linear game design.

"I've never done the 'Grand Theft Warren' game, you know?" Spector said at an Epic Mickey event in London earlier this week. "I don't make sandboxes; I'm a big believer in linear narrative. So every player's going to accomplish the same big mission goals, but it's how you get to that goal that's unique to you..."  

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A lack of key Wii releases and the recent price drop were cited as determining factors in Nintendo posting a 52% drop in net income for the six months ended September 30th 2009 compared to the same period last year.

Net sales for the six month period ended September 30th 2009 amounted to 548.06 billion yen, which represents a 34.5% drop compared to the same period last year and 21.7% below forecasts issued earlier in the year.

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At an event held in the UK, Disney Interactive Studios today unveiled Epic Mickey.  Currently in development at Warren Spector's Junction Point Studios exclusively for the Nintendo Wii, Epic Mickey's story focuses upon a mistake by Mickey Mouse that devastates a world where forgotten Disney characters dwell.  

Yen Sid, a nickname given by the animators to the unnamed sorcerer in Fantasia (and 'Disney' spelt backwards), is the creator of the game's whimsically-twisted world where forgotten and retried Disney characters dwell.  One of the earliest inhabitants is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the first cartoon star from Walt Disney in 1927.  Over the years, Oswald grows resentful of Mickey's rising fame, and when Mickey stumbles upon a map of Yen Sid's world he makes an innocent yet terrible mistake that devastates .  The mistake pulls Mickey into the world to face the destruction he unknowingly created, where only Oswald can help him, but only if he helps Oswald.

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According to a job posting on Gamasutra, EA and Steven Spielberg's collaborative game series, Boom Blox could be set to make the jump from its Wii spawning grounds to the higher tech. surroundings of Sony and Microsoft's current-gen consoles.

"Our last two titles were Wii-based, but our next titles will be for the next generation," reads this job ad for work at Electronic Arts' LA studio (thanks, Superannuation). The ad also specifies that successful applicants will be working on, "The BAFTA-winning Boom Blox team".

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Compared to its rivals the Wii is already a relatively small piece of hardware; it may be sitting there as a slab of plastic for some people, but that's another matter.

Still it seems that Shigeru Miyamoto envisions Nintendo's next piece of hardware being even more compact and possibly even cheaper, according to an interview he gave to Popular Mechanics.

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Scans and details from Game Informer's first look at Epic Mickey have hit the net, ahead of the Wii exclusive's official unveiling later in the month.

As previously suspected, Epic Mickey finds players taking control of the iconic character in a world inspired by an earlier style and filled with long forgotten Disney characters.

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Rumours of a Wii HD refuse to die, even if Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is the only person that's circulating them.  But it seems that the chatter received a considerable boost, with Shigeru Miyamoto recently confirming that Nintendo is open to the idea.

Speaking to IndustryGamers at a New York event, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that the increase in HDTV sales will see Nintendo move along in step with the progression.

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The latest Epic Mickey update over on Game Informer's website has revealed a new enemy, the robotic Beetleworx. You can see a concept artist drawing Mickey and the Beetleworx in a time lapse video below.

Enjoy...

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Watching Ryo Hazuki race alongside Sonic, Eggman and Ai-Ai in Sonic and SEGA All Stars Racing may not be the return that Shenmue fans hoped for, but at least it signals the first time we've seen him in over eight years.

On the plus side it does have Ryo racing around in a forklift truck - and for that we're very, very happy SEGA.  What used to be mild curiosity over a fanboy kart-racer has now turned into something we're genuinely craving over, simply to see Ryo in action once again.

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Nintendo may have unleashed global price cuts for its Wii console only days ago but Nintendo of America's President, Reggie Fils-Aime is already being asked whether the price will come down even further in future, to which he's answered an unequivocal "absolutely not".

"We lasted 34 months without having to cut the price," explained Fils-Aime. "We were able to reach over 20 million consumers here in the US at $249. The next group of consumers we will get at this $199 price point, and we've already seen very strong results after just one week on the marketplace."

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Budding superstar DJs will have to move aside the plastic guitars and drum kits for the release of DJ Hero on October 30th.  

Featuring a considerable array of talent including DJ AM, Cut Chemist, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, J. Period, DJ Shadow and DJ Z-Trip, Activision-Blizzard today revealed the final set list featuring 93 mixes that appear in the game.

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In the wake of a $50 price cut for Nintendo's Wii in the US, Nintendo of America's President has stated that while it's too early to release precise sales figures, the response from consumers to the reduction has been "very strong".

"The consumer response has been very strong to the price reduction," Fils-Aime told the Financial Times before adding, "There are literally millions of consumers out there who want a Wii and had been on the sidelines."

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Previously teased and already generating more enthusiasm than the entire Wii's slate of forthcoming titles combined, Disney Interactive Studio and Junction Point Studios have finally confirmed the existence of Epic Mickey.

Game Informer has the lowdown on the title, which puts the iconic Disney character into new territory under the watchful eye of Warren Spector.

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EA Sports' FIFA 10 has become the fastest selling FIFA game in UK history and the second biggest game launch ever, with only Rockstar's GTA IV selling more copies during its launch week.

This is according to official Chart Track figures, which place FIFA atop the UK charts following its release on Friday. FIFA 10's sales at launch were 48% higher than its predecessor, while the format spread was 2% higher on the Xbox 360 than they were on PS3 (Xbox 360 - 48%, PS3 - 46%, other formats - 6%).

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EA discovered the perils of releasing unfinished features in a finished game across the launch weekend of FIFA 10.  Attempts to use the Game Face technology or Live Season 2.0 failed abjectly, with servers allegedly struggling to keep up with the sheer demand.

Players struggled to log-in to the website www.easportsfootball.co.uk, and on the rare occasion when the editor was actually available, problems such as editing or saving meant that a lot of disgruntled customers were intensifying the heat in EA's official forums across the weekend.

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Codemasters has announced a UK release date of 20th November for F1 2009 on PSP and Wii ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend (where Jenson Button could seal the deal). The game will release across the rest of Europe on November 19th and the US on November 17th.

That's about it really, apart from this snazzy new trailer for the Wii version showing footage from F1 2009's Suzuka circuit...

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UK Supermarket Tesco is currently offering EA's FIFA 10 at £24.97, which is a markdown of 50% from the game's RRP of £49.99, while other retailers have attempted to follow suit with similar price reductions.

We purchased our copies at the store this morning from a promotional display that was setup front and centre at our local Tesco Direct but, if you can't be bothered to make the journey, then there's always the online option via the TVG Store.

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Things started to look questionable this morning when a Nintendo schedule listed Tony Hawk: Ride as a December 4th release, and now publisher Activision has confirmed a two week delay for the title in the UK.

The game, which was originally scheduled to release on November 20th for Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii, will now come to market on December 4th across all three platforms and alongside the all-new skateboard peripheral that Activision and developer Robomodo have crafted.

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Nintendo has announced a UK release date of December 11th for The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Link's latest adventure on Nintendo's DS platform.

Judging from our hands-on with the E3 build of the game earlier this year, Spirit Tracks is very similar in format to 2007's Phantom Hourglass. The major new additions include a steam train instead of a boat in the exploration sections, while Link now has control of a Phantom companion for the puzzles.

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Nintendo fans will be pleased to hear that the next Super Mario adventure, New Super Mario Bros Wii, will arrive in the UK on November 20th according to a release we've just received from Nintendo.

The game, which introduces 4 player co-op into the classic Super Mario formula, also brings a variety of new toys to the fore, such as a propeller hat for the usual aerial high-jinx and a penguin suit in the ice levels that allows players to freeze opponents with projectile ice pellets.

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True to the many rumours that have been floating around in recent weeks, Nintendo has confirmed a UK price cut to its Wii console and introduced a new bundle including Wii Sports Resort and the MotionPlus accessory as of October 2nd.

"We will be reducing the trade price of Wii to retailers from 2nd October 2009. In the UK and Republic of Ireland we are also introducing a new configuration of Wii hardware from 2nd October 2009 which will replace the current offering and will include the Wii console and Wii Sports with the new Wii Sports Resort game and Wii MotionPlus accessory," Nintendo said in a statement. "This will be available to retailers at the newly reduced trade price. The ultimate price to consumers is, of course, determined by the retailers. Our aim has always been to expand the gaming population and there are still many more people out there who have not yet experienced the fun of video games. This compelling offer will hopefully make Wii more accessible to everyone."

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Square Enix (and now overseer of all Eidos) has gone on the record in the Financial Times to suggest Nintendo will release a new Wii by 2011.  Yoichi Wada suggests the Wii successor will have more functionality and could feature a new controller.

Wada-san also suggests that Sony and Microsoft's attempts to offer motion-sensitive controllers may only have a "limited effect", but seems to be impressed with Microsoft's Project Natal.  "As a user interface it's fantastic and I think it will become standard," he said.

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Major Nelson has just confirmed the arrival of a PES 2010 demo onto Xbox Live. Demos for PS3 and PC are also scheduled for release today as the game prepares for its full retail launch on October 23rd.

According to Nelson's blog, the demo supports multiplayer and allows players to sample PES 2010's new tactical slider settings, which you can have a good look at in the trailer below.

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Following recent price cuts from both Microsoft and Sony it was surely only a question of when Nintendo would follow suit and attempt to reverse flagging Wii sales.

Although we still wait for an official confirmation, Kotaku has recently spotted an alleged Toys 'R' Us advert which suggests the American price will be reduced to $199.99 (£120.58) from $249.99 (£150.72).

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Warren Spector's eagerly awaited first title for Disney Interactive Studios is set to be finally unveiled next month, according to the latest issue of Game Informer.

Scans from neoGAF highlighting next month's issue lead with the tease, "Something EPIC is brewing."  

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It's not often that Courtney Love makes a great deal of sense, but we'll agree with her recent Twitter outburst surrounding the appearance of Kurt Cobain in Guitar Hero 5.

Going beyond the realms of taste and exploitation for many, the fact that Kurt Cobain is even in the game is bad enough for Nirvana fans, but watching the purveyor of all things plaid sing along to other band's songs is nothing short of tragic.

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The impact of the release of GTA IV in 2008, saw Take-Two Interactive post a 68% drop in net revenues of $138.6 million for the third quarter ended July 31st 2009, compared to the $433.8 million posted in the same quarter last year.  

As a result, the US publisher recorded a net loss of $55.5 million compared to a net income of $51.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2008.  Although this loss was slightly smaller than analysts were previously expecting.

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We've just received word from Guitar Hero's UK reps that GH5 will release over here on September 11th, 10 days after its US release and a mere three days after Harmonix's The Beatles: Rock Band launches worldwide on September 9th.

Both the standalone game and guitar bundle packages will be available on September 11th for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PS2, although there's still no word on when GH5's new drum kit will arrive in the UK and whether a 'band-in-a-box' bundle (comprising of drums, guitar,  microphone, and game) will be made available as it was last year.

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Capcom today announced that Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles will launch across Europe on November 27th, and to celebrate the release has teamed up with Nintendo to offer a Zapper bundle pack.

The announcement of a Zapper pack marks the first time that Nintendo has allowed a third-party publisher to bundle the peripheral with a game in Europe.

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Konami has announced from GamesCom that PES 2010 will be released on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on October 22nd, which is a mere three weeks after the currently slated release date for FIFA 10.

October 22nd is a Thursday though, so we'd expect that date to be for continental Europe with the UK receiving it one day later on the Friday. PSP and PS2 versions will then arrive shortly after this on November 5th and, true to Konami's promise, the Wii version will launch this side of Christmas on November 19th (both dates are also Thursdays).

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FIFA 10's Producer, David Rutter has just revealed a new mode for FIFA 10 at EA's GamesCom keynote address in Germany. The new Virtual Pro feature will incorporate EA's Photo Game Face technology into FIFA for the first time.

The technology, which allows a user to upload a photo of their face into the game and paste their likeness onto an in-game avatar, has been previously used in EA Sports' Tiger Woods series.

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Eidos has announced that a demo for IO Interactive's next opus, Mini Ninjas, will be released for Xbox and PC on Wednesday of this week (via Live and the official Mini Ninjas website respectively), while a PS3 demo will surface on PSN a day later on August 20th.

The cartoon styled action adventure follows the story of Mini Ninjas Hiro, Futo, and Suzume as they travel through feudal Japan and try to restore a harmonius equilibrium back into the world by eliminating the chaotic dark forces that have overpowered it.

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All but one track of The Beatles: Rock Band's 45 track set-list have seemingly been revealed in the latest issue of Stateside magazine Game Informer prior to the game's worldwide release on September 9th.

Although almost all of the tracks have been on wiki for a while (having been pasted together from various online reports), this is the first time we've seen them all in one place, so here they are broken down by album (thanks, Joystiq):

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Nintendo's President, Satoru Iwata has confirmed that the Wii Vitality Sensor will be arriving sooner rather than later on the market by stating that the company is eyeing a release date, "not too late in the year next year".

Iwata also went into some detail about possible applications for the enigmatic peripheral: "Wii Vitality Sensor has great potential for various applications like measuring how horrified a player is in a horror title. What we are trying to propose first is a video game with a theme of relaxation, which is completely opposite from traditional ones, to enrich the users' lives."

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Activision has revealed that all of the disc-based tracks on 2008's Guitar Hero World Tour will be forward compatible with Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero when they launch this autumn, although gamers will have to pay a price for the functionality.

The publisher hasn't landed on an exact fee for the service at this stage, which will be available on all three current-gen consoles. Activision has also promised that tracks from Guitar Hero Smash Hits will have the same forward compatibility as World Tour.

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Activision Blizzard's overlord, Bobby Kotick earned a credit crunch busting $15 million (£9 million) in 2008 according to a Forbes online profile for the President, Director, and CEO of the world's biggest games publisher.

This is the same man who wants UK gamers to pay an extra £5 for Modern Warfare 2, who filed a lawsuit against Double Fine Productions in an attempt to delay Brutal Legend's release, and who has allegedly used questionable business practices to hinder the development of Genius Products' Scratch: The Ultimate DJ.

Kotick also recently stated, "you know if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further," in reference to Activision's numerous peripherals for some of its most successful game series (e.g. Tony Hawk: RIDE, Guitar Hero, and the incoming DJ Hero).

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The usual heavyweights of World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero, and Call of Duty fuelled Activision-Blizzard's results beyond expectations for the fiscal second quarter ended June 30th 2009.

For the period, the world's largest third-party publisher posted GAAP net revenues of $1.04 billion and a GAAP operating income of $218 million.  On a non-GAAP basis, the publisher recorded net revenues of $801 million and an operating income of $156 million for the period.

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Although we’re still some time away from day one releases on Games on Demand, Microsoft today released the list of titles that we can expect when the service launches with the Xbox 360 dash update on August 11th.

The full list includes:

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Speaking during an earnings call following the release of its Q1 09/10 financial results, John Riccitiello EA CEO has issued the publisher's stance on the reported price cuts, but refused to reveal anything specific.

"... we try not to comment too much on plans that others get to decide and implement," claimed Riccitiello.  "It's our view that we're at a pretty particularly interesting point in the cycle. We've got approximately 75 million consolidated installed base against the major platforms in western markets where the total installed base on last gen is about 125 -- in other words, we sold a lot more at high prices than we did in the last cycle."

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According to reports that have surfaced overnight, a Wii version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward's 2007 original) will be released alongside the series' highly anticipated sequel this November 10th.

This news comes from a Kotaku report, which states that Activision will officially announce the game today and, with Activision's Q1 financials incoming tonight, it wouldn't surprise us one little bit if the report is accurate.

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Although Nintendo is hard at work on new Mario and Zelda titles, it seems the next big thing to emerge from the mind of Shigeru Miyamoto will follow in a similar line to recent titles such as Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Wii Music.

In an interview with MercuryNews, Miyamoto-san's beliefs about rival motion controllers, fears over the Vitality Sensor and concerns surrounding downloadable content have been widely reported; however, it's his thoughts on the recession that piqued our interest.

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Capcom may not have been too pleased with the reception given to its latest attempt to recreate Monster Hunter's popularity in Japan across the west with the release of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on PSP, but it seems the Japanese publisher is gearing up for another attempt with the release of Monster Hunter Tri.

Having recently released the title across Japan where day one shipments exceed 1 million units, Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Tri will be making an appearance on the Wii in Europe and North America in early 2010 - and no doubt hopes this title will finally convince us to find the same joy as countless millions of Japanese gamers.

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The final portion of tracks for Activision's Guitar Hero 5 set-list have been revealed, which includes 15 new tunes and brings together some absolute classics like Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition', Queen and David Bowie's 'Under Pressure', and Johnny Cash's 'Ring of Fire'.

Here are the 15 new tracks that have been revealed today:

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Plunging worldwide Wii sales and a lack of software releases has led to Nintendo posting decreases in net sales, operating income, and net income for the fiscal first quarter ended June 30th 2009.

Nintendo's net sales for the period dropped by 40.1% to 253.50 billion yen compared with 423.38 billion yen in the previous year.  As a result operating income for the period plunged to 40.40 billion yen, representing a 66.1% decrease on 119.19 billion yen for the same period in the prior year.  Net income for the period dropped by 60.6% to 42.32 billion yen compared with 107.27 billion yen in the previous year.

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If you're a developer/publisher considering a core title on Wii or even just a core gamer who picked up a Wii in the hope of some classic gaming experiences, "I don't know", is probably not the response you'd want to hear from a Nintendo exec when grilled as to why titles such as MadWorld and The Conduit don't sell on the format.

Speaking to Wired, Denise Kaigler Nintendo of America's Vice President of Corporate Affairs claimed, "You know, I don't know. It's hard to say" when asked about the lack of commercial success faced by such titles.

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Activision, rather predictably, confirmed that DJ Hero will be getting the Special Edition treatment when it launches later in the year.

Featuring a premium Renegade turntable controller with lavish metal controls and finish, the Renegade Edition also contains a hard-shell carrying case to transport your decks that also transforms into a handy performance-ready DJ stand.  The Renegade Edition also features an exclusive 2-CD pack featuring unreleased tracks from Jay-Z and Eminem with artwork by Shepard Fairey.

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A batch of concept art sketches have recently come to light, providing a glimpse at Warren Spector's secretive title for Disney Interactive Studios.

The sketches correspond to a Gamasutra piece from late last year that suggested Spector's title would be a Steampunk themed adaptation starring the world's most famous mouse.

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Reporting a decline in sales for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30th 2009, Ubisoft today announced that a number of titles have been delayed.

Both 'Splinter Cell: Conviction' and 'Red Steel 2' were originally due in the third quarter have now been pushed into the fourth quarter, meaning a delay into 2010 that will see both titles missing out on the lucrative Christmas market.  In addition, both 'Ghost Recon' and the troubled 'I Am Alive' have been pushed into the next fiscal year, beginning April 1st 2010.

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Sony's exclusivity period in Europe for Terminal Reality's Ghostbusters will end on October 23rd of this year when the game will release on the Xbox 360, Wii, DS, and PC according to Namco Bandai Partners' latest release schedule.

Up until May of this year, Namco Bandai Partners (then Atari) was poised to release the game across all of its originally slated formats until Sony swooped in and purchased an exclusivity deal for the title, which then released for PS3 and PS2 in June (a PSP version is still planned for a later date).

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Dead Space is set to join Dante's Inferno, Army of Two, The Sims, and Mass Effect as EA Games that are being developed into movies, with news that D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye, Disturbia) has been attached to direct the film adaptation.

This is according to a Variety report, which specifies that EA will produce the title alongside Temple Hill. The two companies are currently vetting scriptwriters and, once EA are pleased with the project's creative direction, it will be auctioned to studios.

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Codemasters has announced that a demo for Ashes Cricket 2009 is now available for Xbox Live Gold members, while Silver members can download the demo from July 30th onwards (to coincide with the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston).

The demo includes a six oval sample of Ashes Cricket between England and Australia at Lords, which will no doubt be music to the ears of some of our more avid Ashes Cricket 2009 followers on TVG (check the comments).

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Disney Interactive has announced the development of an Alice In Wonderland game that will release in conjunction with Tim Burton's upcoming film starring Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, and Anne Hathaway. The game is being released in the same week as the film's release (March 5th 2010) for the DS, Wii, and PC.

As with the film, the game's story is set after the events of Lewis Carroll's original stories when Alice returns to Wonderland in her late teens. Alice must find her way through Underland by solving puzzles and unravelling mysteries, before ultimately defeating the Red Queen and Jabberwocky to restore Underland back into Wondelrand.

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True to our word (check the comments board), we've been feverishly trying to track down some info on Ashes Cricket 2009's release dates in regions outside of the UK and have finally had some luck.

As well as the previously announced UK release date of August 7th, a source at Codemasters has now confirmed an August 13th release date for Australia. PAL versions of the game will also come to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh a few weeks later, with Codies suggesting a late August launch in the three countries.

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This year's PES certainly looks the biz judging by the screens and footage we've seen so far, but Konami isn't limiting itself to aesthetics this year as the publisher has today detailed a range of new features for the game's Master League mode.

It looks like the biggest addition will be a new youth team feature, which allows gamers to develop youngsters by investing in them at a young age and fast-tracking their skills before introducing them into the first team.

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The first game didn't exactly set our pulses racing but still managed to sell relatively well, so the fact that a sequel is on the cards is hardly surprising;  but then again, a superhero movie adaptation timed alongside a Hollywood blockbuster is never really a hard thing to push. 

"Renowned" comic-book author Matt Fraction will pen an entirely new script for the game (in between moving to the coast), which borrows elements from the forthcoming motion picture and the Iron Man comic-book universe.  The game promises to offer fans characters and elements that are not in the movie sequel, including new enemies such as Crimson Dynamo.

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Remember that lottery machine teaser site that SEGA put up? Well, it turns out it was for Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll, the latest adventure for AiAi on Nintendo's Wii following Banana Blitz in 2006.

It's due out at the beginning of next year and it's balance board compatible. That's about all we know at this stage. Oh, and SEGA has released this teaser trailer for the game:

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When The Beatles: Rock Band launches worldwide on September 9th, it'll be joined at retail by the re-release of all the band's albums as digitally remastered versions of the originals. There have also been indications that The Beatles' back catalogue of music could be made available via digital download at some point in the not too distant future.

With this in mind, what are the chances of the entire Beatles back catalogue eventually being made available via DLC for The Beatles: Rock Band? Slim, according to Harmonix's John Drake:

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The initial reveal of tracks for The Beatles: Rock Band was announced at E3 earlier this year alongside Paul and Ringo's appearance at the event, but now Harmonix has added more tracks to the set-list at a recent event in London (stay tuned for a TVG Q&A and hands on preview from the event later today).

Here's the complete list of announced tracks so far, of which there are now 25:

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The third portion of DLC for Call of Duty: World at War, imaginatively titled Map Pack 3, will be coming to PSN and Xbox Live this August according to an Activision announcement this afternoon.

Four new maps will be included in the DLC, three of which will be for the adversarial multiplayer ('Battery', 'Breach', and 'Revolution') as well as one entitled 'Der Riese' for the Nazi zombie co-op mode.

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Ashes Cricket 2009 will arrive in the UK on August 7th and, to celebrate this announcement, Codemasters has revealed the first trailer for the game featuring a full toss of in-game footage.

The game, which features all the official stadia and players from The Ashes series, will deliver frenetic action in full tests, one day internationals, and 20-20 match-ups. However, Codemasters still hasn't revealed how many additional teams will be in the game or whether these teams will be fully licensed.

While the HD versions of Ashes Cricket will feature online multiplayer, the Wii version is confined to local bouts, although the Wii Remote has been taken advantage of for bowling and batting gestures.

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Following the announcement that Colin McRae DiRT 2 would see a slight delay on PC in order to gain fancy DirectX 11 powered visuals, Codemasters today confirmed that the sequel will be appearing on the Xbox 360, PlayStation3, Wii, DS and PSP on September 11th.

Based around the third-generation of the EGO engine, DiRT 2 promises to "take racing games to a new level".  Featuring over 100 different events set across diverse and demanding real-world locations, from the muddy tracks of the Malaysian rainforest to spectator-packed stadiums of London and Los Angeles, players compete in "contemporary off-road race disciplines" such as Rallycross, Trailblazer, Raid, Landrush, and Rally.

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SEGA quite enjoys its teaser websites.  Just days after this emerged, suggesting another bizarre meta-platformer from Sega of Japan, another teaser website has appeared, this time from SEGA America/Europe.

Is SEGA teaming up with The National Lottery?  We don't know at this stage, but what we do know is that SEGA's UK PR actually sent a link over.  Usually they're far too busy to be teasing at teaser websites, so is this something bigger than its lotto theme infers?

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The next 22 tracks for Guitar Hero 5's set-list have been announced by Activision, which now brings the total list of announced tracks to 46 following the publisher's initial 24 track reveal last week. Here are the new tunes:

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FIFA 10's Producer, David Rutter isn't one to mix his words and he's also quite the perfectionist. This is one of the major reasons why FIFA 09 (the first FIFA game that Rutter produced) was such a huge improvement over its predecessors.

Like all perfectionists though, Rutter is never happy with his previous achievements and wants to keep making things better. Perhaps this is why he admitted to hating FIFA 09 now that his EA Canada team is improving the formula so much with FIFA 10:

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We suspected that this was the case but never expected an EA Producer to admit that he already knows the major new features for the next three iterations of an EA Sports series. Nonetheless, that's exactly what FIFA 10's Producer, David Rutter has revealed to TVG in a recent interview:

"I know already what the major new features will be for FIFA 11 and 12," explained Rutter at a recent FIFA 10 preview event. However, before you get all hot under the collar and start petitioning EA for all the new features to appear in this year's game, Rutter went on to explain why it's not that simple:

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EA has just announced that this year's FIFA will be reaching European shop shelves on October 2nd when it will release across all formats.

Be sure to check out our freshly posted Q&A with FIFA 10's Producer, David Rutter and a hands on preview that reveals a number of new features including the Create-a-Set-Piece mode.

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It would be fair to say that the gaming community's reaction to Nintendo's Wii Vitality Sensor has been mixed at best. The peripheral, which fits over a player's index finger and monitors their breathing rate and blood flow, was revealed at E3 earlier this year.

Leave it to Nintendo of America's President and CEO, Reggie Fils-Aime to remind us of how gamers and journalists have doubted Nintendo's innovations in the past and then been proven well and truly wrong when that product eventually comes to market.

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While Activision has already unveiled the full list of artists for Guitar Hero 5, we didn't know a whole lot about the tracks that would feature in the game until this list of 24 tracks was press released by the publisher this afternoon:

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PES fans with a Wii won't have the traditional months to wait after PES 2010 turns up on the other consoles, with confirmation that the Wii version will follow shortly after during the Autumn.

Boasting the same improvements to the Master League mode as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 versions with closer integration of the UEFA Champions League, PES 2010 also boasts a number of notable gameplay improvements currently being implemented by Akiyoshi 'Greyhound' Chosogabe and his dedicated Wii PES team.

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Further to its Twitter based teasing over the weekend, LucasArts has now revealed that it's bringing a number of its classic titles including Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis, LOOM, and Star Wars: Battlefront II to Steam.
 
The games will arrive on Valve's digital download service this Wednesday, July 8th. Here's the full list of titles:

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Colin McRae DiRT 2 will look a little bit better on the PC thanks to the game gaining DirectX 11 support.

The latest version of the API isn't scheduled to arrive until October 2009 alongside Windows 7, making this one of the first games to confirm support.  Key improvements include the addition of Shader Model 5.0, providing enhanced depth of field, ambient occlusion and shadows, while hardware tessellation results in improved water appearance and crown animations.

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Beyond an outstanding piece of artwork and the suggestion that it could feature MotionPlus features, we don't know a great deal about the next Legend of Zelda title currently in development under the watchful eye of Shigeru Miyamoto.

There has been some suggestion that the game could be significantly different to previous titles, given the fact that this would be the first title specifically developed for Wii.

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Online retailer ShopTo has stated openly that Activision has issued a £107.99 RRP for DJ Hero in the UK, which will include the game itself as well as its much-talked-about turntable peripheral.

Eurogamer has the scoop from ShopTo, although the retailer has taken the decision to reduce its pricing to £94.85 for the bundle. The only other UK retailer to register a price-tag for the product so far has been HMV, which is apparently "going with its own price on this" at £99.99.

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Comments: (11)

EA's decision to introduce critically acclaimed yet commercially weak titles based around new IPs last year is well documented; the simple fact is neither Mirror's Edge or Dead Space sold as well as EA originally expected.

In an interview with Gamasutra, EA's Game Label president Frank Gibeau has revealed the lessons that the world's second largest publisher has learnt from the exercise and pledged support to continue the faith behind quality.

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Move over Lionel Messi, Liverpool's golden boy, Fernando Torres, is set for equal billing on the PES 2010 box art.  But more important then that is the release of new details, as Konami attempts to wrestle back its crown from last year's resurgent FIFA.

Promising enhanced realism that focuses on the "triangulation" of passes and off-the-ball movement, Konami promises an end to "soft goals" with players needing to work the flanks and use the precision play of great players to make the difference.

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A number of former Factor 5 employees have issued a lawsuit against the bankrupt developer, alleging that the company fraudulently transferred assets and intellectual property to another company before filing for bankruptcy to avoid paying wages and its debtors.

The Marin Independent Journal suggests that Factor 5 had between $50,000 and $100,000 in assets, along with $1 million to $10 million in debts including a $4 million loan from LucasArts issued back in 2003.  The bankruptcy filing further includes 69 claims for unpaid wages totalling more than $900,000. 

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Harold Ramis, who co-wrote and starred in the Ghostbusters movies, has been talking about some of the challenges that game writers face when they're trying to pen a funny script.

Ramis explained that because game scripts are so long, the challenge of writing enough comic alternatives to make the dialogue funny is like producing three hit movie scripts.

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The pressures related to the costs of developing AAA Xbox 360 or PlayStation3 title are widely known, with suggestions that such a title can cost anywhere between $20-30 million.  Such figures mean that games have to shift considerably more then before just to break even, which coupled by the fact that the vast majority of sales occur in the first couple of weeks leads to a higher risk of titles failing commercially. 

Speaking to CNBC, Ubisoft's Chairman and CEO Yves Guillemot has talked about the next-generation of consoles and claimed that the development costs of top-tier titles are likely to double to $60 million.  Naturally this means that such games will have to shift even more copies to break even, or could result in higher prices to the consumer or lower profit margins for the publisher.

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Comments: (437)

Activision and Treyarch have announced that last year's Call of Duty: World at War has now passed through the 11 million unit sales mark, making it one of the most commercially successful games released in 2008.

World at War has reached this milestone in approximately half a year, while its predecessor (Infinity Ward's original Modern Warfare title) has totalled 13 million unit sales according to Activision figures announced earlier in the year.

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When details on a new Nintendo patent emerged earlier in the year, suggesting that the game would play itself in times of difficulty, we all looked at ourselves and questioned exactly what Nintendo was on.

In (an admittedly old) article from the beginning of the month, USA Today has confirmed that the 'Help' feature will be making an appearance in Super Mario Bros Wii.  The feature allows the game to take over when the user pauses the action, effectively allowing you to overcome challenging areas in the game without having to lift a finger.

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Nintendo's Vitality Sensor is due to ship next year according to reports, when it will make everyone calmer apparently. We would suggest that the human race might collectively reach nirvana as a result but, then again, Wii Fit has sold bucket loads in the West and there are still lots of fat people around.

This news comes from a Times Online report, which also details how the peripheral actually works. A light sensor apparently measures the blood flow in a user's forefinger, from which it can extrapolate information on their breathing.

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If you're a European Xbox 360 owner and a little peeved that there's going to be no Ghostbusters action (for a little while at least), there could be a solution to ensure you're busting ghosts and getting slimed with Venkman, Ray, Egon and Winston.

Destructoid reports that the North American version of Ghostbusters on the Xbox 360 is region-free, meaning that if you're desperate to play the game then you simply need to check out your local game importer or scour the web for a copy.

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The announcement of Microsoft' Project Natal and Sony's demonstration of the PS Eye's evolution may have surprised some people, but not it seems Nintendo's President Satoru Iwata.

Speaking in an interview with The Times, Iwata-san remarks that he'd expected motion-sensitive competition a lot earlier form the rival hardware manufacturers.

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Since the industry veteran, Warren Spector, left Ion Storm to establish Junction Point Studios (before quickly selling it to Disney Interactive Studios), we haven't seen or heard a lot from him.

His mysterious first title for Disney has been kept under wraps for a long time and failed to make an appearance at last week's E3 event.  Speaking to Gamasutra, Graham Hopper Disney Interactive's General Manager provided an update on the elusive title.

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Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has revealed details about Nintendo's plans to succeed the Wii, but in a manner that doesn't entirely disclose too many specific details.

Speaking to VentureBeat, Iwata-san reveals an insight that suggests Nintendo is quite happy to continue distancing itself from the norm, suggesting the company could come to the market earlier than its rivals - or maybe after.  Both Microsoft and Sony have expressed their intention to ensure the current generation lasts longer then the traditional 4-5 year cycle, with come claims that we won't see a new format until 2012 at the earliest.

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An update to the official Super Smash Bros Brawl website has revealed Nintendo's plans to switch off support for user-generated content.

A statement on the site claims:

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Although Link and Zelda failed to make an appearance at E3, artwork from the next Legend of Zelda title has surfaced onto the internet.

The imagery provides a hint of what to expect, particularly the character behind Link who some are suggesting could be the living manifestation of the Master Sword.

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Comments: (52)

Activision and FreeStyleGames' DJ Hero will receive its first portion of DLC at launch, with FreeStyleGames' Studio Manager, Kevin McSherry confirming to TVG that the there are plans for "Day 1 DLC".

When asked whether FreeStyleGames is going to hit the ground running with DLC for DJ Hero or hold-off on any DLC plans until after release, McSherry told us, "At FreeStyleGames, we've been heavily involved with Neversoft on DLC, so we've been creating Guitar Hero DLC for quite some time now."

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EA today outlined the big new features that are set to ensure FIFA 10 continues the improvements laid down by its predecessor.

More sophisticated ball control and enhanced physical interactions between players are top of the list, along with the "first ever-true" 360 degree dribbling system allowing skilled dribblers to face the defender and use highly responsive dribbling to skip past him. 

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Comments: (90)

Nintendo's E3 conference may not have brought the Zelda Wii announcement that fans were hoping for, but at least we've got two Mario titles on the way.

Despite the no-show, Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed that the title is in development back at Nintendo's HQ.  Speaking during a roundtable interview, Miyamoto-san revealed that the title is at a fairly advanced stage of development and could be released as early as next year.

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This one should help hardcore Nintendo fans sleep easy tonight: Nintendo has just announced Super Mario Galaxy 2 at its E3 presentation.

The gameplay style of the original has been retained judging from the trailer, although there was some pretty awesome looking Yoshi riding being done by Mario.

Super Mario Galaxy 2's announcement joins the reveal of New Super Mario Bros. Wii earlier in the event.

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As part of its E3 presentation, Nintendo has just announced Metroid: Other M, the next instalment in the Metroid Prime series.

The game is being co-produced by Team Ninja and Nintendo under the name 'Project M' and is currently scheduled for release in 2010 on the Wii.

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Everybody thought Nintendo had gone a bit loopy when the Wii's balance board peripheral was originally revealed a couple of years back, and just look at how wrong Nintendo has proven everyone since. Now the company is taking this one step further with a finger sensor that measures a user's state of calm.

The Vitality Sensor was unveiled at Nintendo's E3 presentation and it's a peripheral that sits on the end of a gamer's finger and appears to be attached to the Wii remote. From here, the Wii can apparently sense how calm the Vitality Sensor's user is.

We're guessing that it can take a measurement of its subject's heart rate or something, although Satoru Iwata was more keen to talk about how it can detect a gamer's sense of calm and wellness - it all sounded a bit too Nintendo Utilitarian.

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Comments: (343)

Nintendo has officially announced Wii Fit Plus at its E3 presentation, detailing how the sequel will extend the scope of its predecessor to offer tailor-made exercise routines for each user.

Gamers will be able to choose from six new strength and Yoga activities and 16 new balance routines such as skating and a Mario-esque mini-game where you have to dodge cannon balls and jump over obstacles. In another new feature for the series, Wii Fit Plus will keep track of the calories you burn from exercise.

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Nintendo has supercharged its E3 presentation by announcing New Super Mario Bros. Wii straight off the bat, which is due out on the home console at the end of the year.

The focus is on multiplayer gaming, with up to 4 players being able to get involved at one time and a gameplay choice of either co-operating with other players or just trying to steal all the coins for yourself.

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Nintendo has been showing off Wii Sports Resort at its E3 presentation, showcasing how the Motion Plus controller add-on will bolster the gaming experience of this sequel.

Mini-games such as archery, skydiving, and basketball were shown-off at the presentation, demonstrating a much greater degree of fidelity on the Wii Remote thanks to the Motion Plus add-on.

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LucasArts has announced the Tales of Monkey Island, a set of new adventures in the Monkey Island universe that will be released for Nintendo's Wii (via WiiWare) and PC "in just a few short weeks".

Development of the series has been handed over to episodic game specialists and creators of Sam & Max, Telltale Games, which will release a total of five, monthly Monkey Island episodes this year with the first adventure to debut in the coming weeks.

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The full list of artists and bands that are set to grace the hallowed stages of Guitar Hero 5 has been revealed by Activision and the selection suggests a more refined look at the annals of rock music than we've seen from Guitar Hero in previous iterations.

Here's the roster in full:

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The Nihon Keizai Shimbun has put its weight behind rumours that Nintendo will announce a new Mario title for Wii at this week's E3. 

The publication also revealed further details on the all-but-confirmed Wii Fit Plus, which should add online features to allow players to compete in weight loss battles.

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Embattled publisher Atari signalled a statement of intent last year with the appointment of Phil Harrison, formerly President of SCE Worldwide Studios.

However it appears that the recent announcement that Atari Europe will fall under the Namco-Bandai family has ruffled a few feathers, with confirmation that Harrison will no longer serve as President of the publisher.  Instead Harrison's new role is the slightly less significant position of non-executive director of the group.  Atari adds that he will continue to assist, support and guide the company's strategy.

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Sonic's quite a versatile hedgehog.  Not merely content with running from left-t-right (and occasionally loop the loop) at supersonic speeds, we've also seen him spin around pinball tables, hit a few slices at the tennis court, and sprint around the Olympic running track.

Having recently taken a step into Arthurian legend and restored some pride in the occasionally brilliant Sonic Unleashed, it seems the blue hedgehog and chums will be taking a break by burning some rubber on the track with the announcement of Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing.

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Hook up your balance board once again as Ubisoft is heading back to the slopes with Shaun White exclusively on Wii with Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage.

Following the 3million sales of last year's outing, World Stage challenges you to hit the slopes with Shaun White and his crew by competing in the world's top competitions including a half-pipe in the middle of New York's Times Square to prestigious competitions in France, Canada and Japan.

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Leading up to a likely announcement at next week's E3 event, Nintendo has been busy down the Japanese Trademark Office securing trademarks for Wii Fit Plus and Art Academy.

Since being rumoured earlier in the year, Wii Fit Plus has appeared so many times that it's all but officially confirmed - the fact that there's over 17 million balance boards out there in desperate need of some action is further proof that Nintendo surely has more in store.

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Activision and Red Octane are planning to launch the next Guitar Hero iteration a couple of months earlier than usual, with Guitar Hero 5 being pegged for a September 1st release on the official Guitar Hero website.

This means that the game will release in the US nine days before The Beatles: Rock Band is scheduled to launch across all territories, which will no doubt spoil MTV Games and Harmonix's launch party plans for The Beatles: Rock Band.

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Comments: (19)

Macquarie Research, a leading financial analyst firm, has today posted a list of its expectations for next week's E3 event, suggesting that Mario and Zelda could both make the party for Nintendo.

Top of the list is the all-but confirmed PSP Go!, featuring the sliding screen and removal of the UMD drive.  Macquerie Research makes their concerns over its possible pricing known, and suggests there will not be a PS3 price cut.

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For most people skateboarding is a relatively cheap pastime; sure there are trucks and bearings to occasionally replace, but once you've forked out for the basics you're good to go - a well looked after skateboard can last you for years.

However it seems that Activision doesn't necessarily believe so, with a GameStop listing suggesting that all of those motion sensors and accelerometers are going to cost a small fortune.

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The first game announcement from E3 has dropped a fortnight before the expo is due to begin, as an Entertainment Software Association (ESA) promotional list for the event has unveiled The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest.

Warner Bros. Interactive is heading-up the project in what will be the publisher's first Lord of the Rings title since the game rights were dropped by EA. And what are they doing with the license? Making a LOTR game for kids, it would seem:

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Despite an announcement from Activision earlier today, which stated that Tony Hawk's Ride will be an Xbox 360 exclusive title in the UK, we've just received the following climb-down from the publisher:

"Further to the erroneous information which was distributed this morning regarding Tony Hawk: RIDE, we would like to clarify that the game is due to be released on the following platforms: Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Wii home video game system."

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The first details on DJ Hero have surfaced, revealing everything from a mixing desk for the turntable peripheral to the first handful of mixes for the game, as well as some info on how the gameplay will bind everything together.

This news comes from the latest issue of Game Informer, which unveils an as yet unseen part of DJ Hero's turntable peripheral: a mixing desk. Well, less of a desk and more of an attachment to the turntable that brings a crossfader, effects dial, and euphoria button into the mix.

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Comments: (11)

When Activision releases its touted "reinvention" of the Tony Hawk series later in the year, only Xbox 360 gamers in the UK will be able to experience the thrill of the game's motion sensing skateboard peripheral.

This is because the publisher has just announced that the game will be shipping as an Xbox 360 exclusive title for the UK market when it's released later in the year, leaving PS3 and Wii gamers beached without a skateboard peripheral or game to play it with.

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Comments: (19)

Bethesda's European Managing Director, Sean Brennan, has revealed that the publisher has a Wii title in the pipeline and that it will be announcing more details on the game later in the year.

"We are going to make an announcement on a really big Wii game this year, we've got a couple of other things in the pipeline, and it's a format we're really looking at with the right approach," Brennan told gi.biz.

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Activision has announced that Bob Dylan will be a featured artist in Guitar Hero 5, which will not only be the first time that a Dylan track has featured in the game series, but one of the few times that the iconic folk singer has licensed his music for promotional use by a third party.

A watershed was passed earlier this year when Dylan approved the use of his track 'Blowin' In The Wind' in a advertising spot for the Co-operative Group, which was the first time he had approved the use of his music in an advert for the UK market.

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Following last week's sighting, Activision today officially confirmed the release of Tony Hawk's Ride and in the words of the birdman himself it's "... the game I've always wanted to make."

Featuring an array of accelerometers and motion sensors, the skateboard peripheral allows gamers to control the action by performing movements and gestures on the board, thus negating the need for "complex button combinations".  Now forgive us for being slightly cynical, but wasn't it the skill and dexterity that made Tony Hawk's in the first place?

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Comments: (19)

Activision love their peripherals; what money-obsessed executive wouldn't crave the opportunity to charge gamers even more?  So it seems, we'll be kickflipping without buttons later in the year in Tony Hawk's Ride.

We've known that the Tony Hawk's franchise is heading in a new direction under the control of RoboModo, following TreyArch's defection to all things Call of Duty.  Still, the skateboard peripheral could be what the series needs.  Attempting to recreate the thrill of earlier Tony Hawk's has never really succeeded post Tony Hawk 4, and with EA's Skate series gaining momentum, Activision needs to do something to reinvigorate the phenomenally successful series.

TVG recently took an early look at Tony Hawk's Ride and will be bringing you our first impressions once the embargo lifts.

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Comments: (19)

SEGA Sammy is reporting net losses of 23 billion yen (£158 million) for the fiscal year ending 31st March 2009, which more than halves its losses for the previous year of 52 billion yen (£362 million).

Despite these improvements, the company is actually reporting slightly lower revenues for fiscal '09, with net sales figures coming in at 429 billion yen (£2.96 billion) compared to 459 billion yen (£3.17 billion) for the previous year.

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Atari's global operations will soon be narrowed down to the US only as Namco Bandai is reportedly set to acquire Atari Europe from parent company Infogrames next month.

Having already acquired a 34 percent stake in Atari Europe last year, Namco Bandai is now expected to purchase the remaining 66% of the company next month (reports MCV), when it will be swallowed up by the newly formed Distribution Partners (a.k.a. Namco Bandai Partners).

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Are you a core Wii owners dissatisfied by the dearth of titles?  Well it seems that's the way Nintendo wants it; a "fun" relationship with core gamers described by Denise Kaigler Nintendo of America's Vice President of Corporate Affairs in an interview featured on www.bitmob.com.

When put under the grill over the subject, Kaigler states:

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The original Red Steel was born out of a strong creative collaboration between Ubisoft and Nintendo, a relationship Ubisoft is putting a lot of faith behind if

In a Nintendo Power article, Ubisoft's Jason Vandenberghe reveals that the forthcoming sequel will only be playable with the MotionPlus peripheral.

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Having been toppled from the s with the release of the outstandingly brilliant FIFA 09, it appears that Seabass and his team at Konami are taking things slightly more serious this season if the first screen from PES 2010 is anything to go by.

Showcasing Lionel Messi, it certainly seems as though the graphics engine has been given a complete overhaul to bring it closer to FIFA's level of visual prowess.  The game now supports dynamic lighting effects, along with player expressions, individual skin textures and different fabric weaves for the various shirts featured in the game.

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Comments: (101)

Two publishers have provided us with cricket games in recent years: there have been EA games, imaginatively titled 'Cricket', and then the Codemasters series, branded under the name of cricketing legend Brian Lara.

Codemasters has now seemingly decided to do away with the Brian Lara name (sure, they'll drop him once he's retired but retain the Colin McRae name after he tragically dies) and simply replace it with Ashes Cricket 2009.

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Comments: (147)

Activision Blizzard has announced its earnings for the first quarter of its 2009 financial year (January 1st - March 31st 2009) and is reporting net revenues of $981 million (£651 million) for the quarter, which is $121 million (£80 million) up on its previous predictions.

That equates to a net income of $189 million (£125 million) for the company during Q1, $146 million (£97 million) more than its net income for the same period last year. As a result of these figures, Activision Blizzard is raising its year-long predictions for calendar 2009 by $100 million (£66 million) to $4.3 billion (£2.6 billion) in net revenues.

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Comments: (90)

This titbit of DJ Hero info appears to have slipped through the net of most reports on Activision Blizzard's Q1 financials, but we've spotted that the publisher may be planning to integrate guitar peripherals in its upcoming DJ Hero game.

In the post-earnings report conference call for the company's Q1 financials (via a Seeking Alpha transcription), Activision Blizzard's President and CEO Michael J. Griffith said, "First, we will launch DJ Hero, which uses a turntable and can be optionally supplemented with a guitar."

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Comments: (11)

Publisher Activision has officially announced its 2009 autumn line-up of music/rhythm games, including the long known about DJ Hero, a fully expected Guitar Hero 5, and the previously rumoured Band Hero.

As far as details surrounding DJ Hero are concerned, there was no more information than we've already gleamed from various rumours and Twitters. Perhaps a genre list of "hip-hop, R&B, Motown, electronica and dance," is bordering on new info though.

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Defying recent pessimism and suggestions the Wii had lost some of its steam, Nintendo today reported an increase in net sales, operating income, and net income for the fiscal year ended March 31st 2009.

Record breaking net sales for the period increased year-on-year by 9.9% to 1.84 trillion yen (£12.29 billion).  Operating income for the year stood at 555.26 billion yen (£3.71 billion), leading to a further record breaking net income of 279.09 billion yen (£1.86 billion).

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Comments: (343)

Guitar Hero megalodon Activision has unveiled the first pictures of the turntable peripheral that will drive its upcoming rhythm game DJ Hero, which is due out later this year.

One of the images (shown below right), which has been distributed via Twitter, appears to be more on the prototypical than final side of things at this stage, although the Guitar Hero style buttons on the turntable and the platter itself are in line with previous rumours about the peripheral.

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Comments: (11)

Ghostbusters has now gone through three separate publishers in its bid to reach the market following a deal between Sony and Atari that will bring the title to PS2 and PS3 initially, with a PSP version to follow.

This is according to gi.biz, which reports that Terminal Reality's game will now come to Sony's PS2 and PS3 exclusively on June 19th alongside the Blu-ray launch of the original films, while a PSP version of Ghostbusters is now planned for release several months later.

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If you're one of the few people not inspired by the change in the forthcoming Need for Speed: Shift, then news of two new DLC packages for Need for Speed: Undercover is likely to be

The first package, Challenge Series, is available for free and introduces 60 new challenges across two new game modes:  Highway Wars promises to blend Highway Battles and Sprint Racing, with players racing through congested highways against three AI opponents to become first across the line.  Highway Checkpoint is a race against time to make the next checkpoint before the timer runs out.

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Comments: (141)

War is set to continue waging across the world in June with confirmation of the second Call of Duty: World at War DLC, featuring three new multiplayer maps and a brand new zombie map.

World at Wars fans can fight to gain control of a tall river bridge deep within enemy territory on the Banzai map, come face to face in a ruined Russian train yard, or fight to gain control of a bombed out submarine base in the constrained Sub pens map.

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Comments: (313)

In an update to Nintendo's recently announced Wii video service, the Dokodemo Wii-no Ma Channel, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has recently talked about the service and we've got a translation

Despite Nintendo of Europe insisting to TVG previously that the service would only be available in Japan, it seems that the channel will be rolled out across other territories, so this could well be worth a read despite its considerable length.

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Comments: (343)

Despite fourth quarter sales of 2008-09 dipping to 206 million euros (£184.54 million) from 217 million euros (£194.39 million) for the same period last year, Ubisoft managed to post full year sales of 1.06 billion euros (£949.56 million), representing an increase of 14% year-on-year.

A strong showing of Wii titles during Q4 ensured sales were inline with previous predictions for the French publisher, with sales of Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X also passing the million milestone during the period.

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The next instalment in the Red Steel series has been revealed, with early indications being that the title is set to retain the Wii exclusivity of its predecessor but will include Motion Plus support this time around for added sword swiping responsiveness.

This news comes from the incoming issue of Nintendo Power in the US, the cover pages and contents of which have been splurged all over internet forums with a tagline to the cover story that reads: "Finally, wielding a sword in a Wii game feels as real as you'd always dreamed!"

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Following yesterday's news regarding the Wii's video service available via the Wii Room Channel, a Nintendo Europe spokesperson has confirmed to TVG that there are currently no plans to introduce the service in Europe.

Whether or not Nintendo has something different planned for the territory remains to be seen, though we're not exactly holding our breath on this one.

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Comments: (343)

The Wii sequel to the adventures of Ashley Robbins in the unique DS title Another Code: Two Memories has been confirmed for a June 26th release across Europe.

The puzzle based mystery promises to use the Wii Remote in inventive ways, as Ashely receives yet another invitation from her distant father to spend a weekend at Lake Juliet.  But as the story begins to unfold, Ashely discovers a series of mysteries surrounding the camping resort, in particular the realisation that she's been to the lake before.

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Since Codemasters picked up the F1 rights we've had very little to go on.  However a report in motoring publication, AutoSport, has unleashed further details, confirming the fact that two games are actually in the pipeline.

Due for release later in the year, F1 2009 is currently in development for Wii and PSP.  This title will be followed next year with a version appearing on Xbox 360, PlayStation3, and PC.

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Nintendo's move into the media maelstrom took a step further today, with confirmation of a partnership with Dentsu on a brand new Wii channel labelled the Wii Room which will arrive in Japan on May 1st.

Depicting a virtual room where Mii's can hang out around a table and watch various videos on the nearby TV set.  Nintendo's announcement video (viewed here) appears to suggest plenty of wildlife and technical documentaries at this stage.

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Comments: (343)

Following a record breaking year in both revenue and profit, UK retailer GAME has released details on the lifetime sales of the major formats in the country

It makes for a largely unsurprising read, with Wii leading the charge at 4.9 million units to-date since its launch back in December 2006.  Despite making an appearance beforehand, the Xbox 360 is in second spot with 3.2 million units, while the PlayStation3 has sold 1.9 million since March 2007.

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We already knew of its existence, but MTV Games and Harmonix have today confirmed that Lego Rock Band is being developed by TT Games and is scheduled for release later this year on PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii (a DS version is also being developed by Foundation 9 Entertainment).

As you might expect, the title will be aimed at a more casual audience, with the press blurb stating that Lego Rock Band "will allow families, tweens and teens to experience a wild journey to rock stardom".

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Following last week's legal controversy surrounding the Scratch: The Ultimate DJ game, the opposing parties in the ongoing lawsuit have now published statements that directly contradict each other and the findings of the Los Angeles Superior Court. 

Genius Products and Numark (the companies behind the Scratch: The Ultimate DJ venture), announced the following in a press release yesterday: "the Los Angeles County Superior Court has granted it a temporary restraining order in its lawsuit against Activision Publishing, Inc."

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It seems the fact that Mature themed video games just don't do well on Nintendo has been cemented, with NPD sales figures for March 2009 alarmingly revealing that both GTA: Chinatown Wars and MadWorld fared pretty poorly.

Rockstar's foray onto the DS, widely considered a test bed for future GTA iterations on Nintendo formats, only managed to shift 89,000 units for the period.  The figure represents a considerably poorer performance than the 200,000 - 400,000 sales that analysts had previously predicted.

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Comments: (21)

Publisher Activision has been exonerated from the charges brought against it by Genius Products relating to its Scratch: The Ultimate DJ Game. During legal proceedings yesterday (an Activision statement reads), the LA Superior Court cleared Activision from any wrongdoing while refusing to enforce a restraining order on the publisher.

According to reports that surfaced earlier this week, Genius Products alleged that Activision had conspired with Scratch: The Ultimate DJ's developers, 7 Studio, to hold back the game's development and pass on trade secrets to Activision.

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Satoru Iwata and the naysayers of doom and gloom appeared to be right, as the release of March's NPD figures revealed a 17% drop in Wii sales for the month compared to last year.

Sales of Wii dropped to 601,000 units, representing the first decline in 14 months since supply issues hampered sales back in January 2008.  As a result of the drop, Nintendo's share price dropped by 6.6% to close at 26,180 yen, representing the biggest decline since February 2nd.

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MTV Games has officially announced the peripherals for The Beatles: Rock Band's Limited Edition Premium Bundle, while also announcing a UK pricing for the bundle of £179.99.

This is slightly less than we'd first feared. The US bundle will go on sale for $249.99, which translates with today's exchange rate to approximately £170. Given the tendency for US electronics products to be considerably cheaper than their European counterparts, the relative UK price tag of £179.99 is at least mildly reasonable.

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The CEO of American retailer GameStop, Dan DeMatteo, has suggested that Nintendo may have a "key property" in the works that's due for release later this year.

Speaking to CNBC, DeMatteo said, "We think there will be a Nintendo key property coming out by the end of the year. They haven't given us any insight, but they have told us to reserve [shelf] space."

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We thought this might happen. No sooner have the first details of The Beatles: Rock Band's peripherals been exposed than the rumour mill starts grinding away wildly, with the first portion of dubious grist being multiple microphone support for the title.

According to Destructoid, this rumour appears in the latest issue of Game Informer, which explains that this support for multiple microphones will allow gamers to perform vocal harmonies with each other, just the way John, Paul, George, and Ringo would've wanted it/do want it.

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Following the confirmation that SEGA's Virtua Tennis 2009 is the latest title to gain MotionPlus compatibility, SEGA

sent along details of the Championship Pack version heading exclusively to Wii.

Rather than the customary 'Making Of...' DVD or artbook, the Championship Pack offers two plastic racquet shaped holsters to plug in a Wii Remote and simulate the real thing... the only problem is you won't be able to enjoy the MotionPlus enhancements if you do so.

Small print on the packaging for the keen-eyed states:

"Racquet accessory not compatible with Wii MotionPlus controller add-on."

With no space in the racquet for where the MotionPlus attachment plugs in, you have to ask yourself the question:

Is swinging around a plastic racquet more authentic than the improved simulation of movement that MotionPlus promises to bring?

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Genius Products, the company behind an upcoming game entitled Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, is suing publisher Activision over its alleged attempts to conspire with the game's developer, 7 Studios, to deliberately hold back its development and pass on trade secrets.

The press release announcing Genius Products' lawsuit states that Activision first attempted to buy-out the game project - an offer that was refused by Genius - and then proceeded to acquire 7 Studios instead.

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According to a product e-mail from US retailer GameStop, The Beatles: Rock Band will include a drum kit and bass guitar that mirror the tastes and brand preferences of the Fab Four, as well as "additional special content" and a microphone complete with stand.

Kotaku is reporting that the guitar peripheral in The Beatles: Rock Band's Limited Edition Premium Bundle will be a Höfner branded bass controller, while the drum kit will be based on Ludwig designs with a classic pearl finish, vintage replica drumhead, and a metal kick pedal (sounds plush).

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Comments: (33)

Nintendo today confirmed that the Wii MotionPlus peripheral will be available across the UK from June 12th... however the debut title Wii Sports Resort won't hit these shores until July 24th.

When plugged into a Wii Remote the MotionPlus peripheral provides a greater sense of motion sensing capabilities with compatible titles, of which only Wii Sports Resort, Virtua Tennis 2009, Grand Slam Tennis, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 have been announced so far. 

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Those crazy rabbids have finally usurped Rayman with confirmation that the forthcoming Raving Rabbids Break Out will be the first standalone title for the creatures that have shifted over 6.5 million copies to-date.

Currently in development at Ubisoft Montpellier, Raving Rabbids Break Out boasts an all-new game engine created specifically for Wii as the Rabbids unleash their insanity on Earth in an attempt to return their home world.

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Since its launch the Wii has been heralded for its successes, quickly shifting over 50 million units and becoming the top selling home console in the process with its family-friendly image.

However, cracks have begun to surface and it seems all is not well at the Japanese hardware giant.  There has always been the issue that Nintendo has ditched its hardcore faithful in favour of a casual audience, however the fact that sales have been dropping across Japan and were recently overtaken by the PlayStation3, appears to be troubling Nintendo the most.

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Following some uncertainty surrounding Wii Sports Resort not appearing on recent Nintendo release schedules, it seems the Wii Sports sequel and MotionPlus peripheral will be launched across Japan in June, followed by a worldwide release in July.

The game will be bundled with the MotionPlus accessory, which improves the motion sensing capabilities of the Wii Remote, to accurately simulate activities such as Jet Ski racing and Frisbee tossing.

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In an IGN interview, Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America VP sales and marketing, confirmed that we can expect to see plenty of her at Nintendo's E3 conference following the infamous appearance at last year's event.

Promising there will be no snowboarding or mother's day cards on show this year, Dunaway maintains that all she'll talk about this year is the games (although we're not entirely sure that's necessarily an improvement).

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Japanese publisher Konami has officially announced PES 2010, which will be released on PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PSP, and PS2 this coming autumn and is set to improve on a number of the features in last year's title.

By making some new additions to PES Productions' backroom staff in Tokyo, Konami is now able to promise a greater commitment to providing downloadable content for PES 2010, a strategy that has been introduced this year with team license and transfer updates for PES 2009.

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Following the Wii's recent adoption of high capacity SD cards it seemed almost inevitable that Nintendo would look towards video services on the format.

Today, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has provided the first official confirmation that the Japanese hardware giant is looking into the opportunity, although expectedly it will be with a slightly different slant.

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Comments: (343)

News from the financial world has sparked speculation that Nintendo still has a few cards left to play where the Wii is concerned, with an analyst suggesting that the cost of producing a Wii is down 45% since the console’s launch.

This news comes from a Financial Times article on Japanese hardware sales, which notes that Wii sales have recently dropped below the PS3 in the region, and goes on to state that Koya Tabata, a Credit Suisse Financial Analyst, recently reported the Wii’s production cost drop in a note to clients.

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We've been slightly dismayed by the inability of SEGA's MadWorld to make a dent in the UK charts.  Sure the game charted at No.34, but then sank quicker than a signpost through the head, i.e. it didn't stay around for very long.  The House of the Dead: Overkill faired slightly better in the UK, debuting at No.15 and spending nearly a month in the UK All Format Top 40.

Still it would be hard to describe either title as a runaway success, and it does pose the question: Do Wii owners really want core video games?

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Following recent sightings, Konami today officially lifted the wraps on Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, confirming a PS2 version in the process alongside the reported Wii and PSP titles.

A "re-imagining" of the original shares the twisting plot of the PSone title, .  Familiar characters will offer different responses and can be found in different locations, along with new clues and paths to be found through the adventure as Harry Mason attempts to find his missing daughter.

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A follow-up title to last year's Wii Fit, More Brain Trainingly titled Wii Fit Plus, is scheduled for release this November, while Nintendo also has an August window pencilled in for the Motion Plus controller and Wii Sports 2.

That's what a Dutch retailer's release schedule (posted by GoNintendo) is suggesting and, while the information should be processed with a hefty pinch of salt (perhaps even a fistful), it certainly makes a lot of sense.

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It appears that confirmation of LEGO Rock Band took a step further during the weekend, with the title appearing on a GDC presentation slide recently taken from Harmonix' designer Dan Teasdale's blog.

TVG discovered from an inside source earlier in the year that LEGO Rock Band was very much on the cards alongside other LEGO themed titles - we're just hopeful that the brick-based music peripheral does actually make it as well.

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Microsoft finally gave Xbox 360 gamers a reason to own Lips, its SingStar clone, with confirmation that the wireless microphones can be used with Guitar Hero: Metallica and Rock Band 2.

Initially the mics will be compatible with Guitar Hero: Metallica, though a later system update (due in the summer) will expand the support to Rock Band 2.  Microsoft also promises that further compatibility with additional titles will occur later in the year.

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Comments: (20)

It all seemed so plausible: a PSP version gets added to an ESRB rating for Atari's upcoming Ghostbusters: The Video Game, thereby handing the publisher a clean sweeping all platform title for one of its biggest releases of the year.

Not so fast, though, as the PSP listing has since been pulled from the ESRB's website and Atari has now told Eurogamer that any claims of a PSP version being in the works are just "not true".

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A string of new titles from THQ and rough release dates were recently spotted from a sheet during an investor's presentation, courtesy of Gamespot.

New titles slated to arrive during the current fiscal year (01/04/09 - 31/03/10) that we didn't know about are an untitled Marvel Superhero Squad title (with a follow up in the following fiscal year, and the year after that), a new Drawn to Life title along with SpongeBob's Tenth - presumably to celebrate his tenth anniversary.

Confirmed for fiscal year 2011 (01/04/10 - 31/03/11) are Saints Row 3, an untitled action title from Relic Entertainment, and a racing title, alongside the customary WWE, UFC, Drawn To Life and SpongeBob titles.  WWE Online could end up being focussed on the Asian markets like Company of Heroes Online.

During fiscal 2012 (01/04/11 - 31/03/12) we'll see the follow-up to the as-of-yet unreleased Red Faction: Guerrilla with the release of Red Faction 4, along with a Darksiders sequel and the long rumoured Warhammer 40k MMO.

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Rumours of a Silent Hill remake appear to have been spot on, with confirmation coming in the latest issue of Nintendo Power - well the Wii version at least, it's not like they're going to talk about the previously sighted PSP version.

Described as a "re-imagining" of the original, Nintendo Power suggests that although you'll still play as the original protagonist, Harry Mason, things will be significantly different to the 1999 Psone original.

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A listing on the ESRB website, the ratings board for games in the US, has added the PSP to its list of platforms for the upcoming Ghostbusters: The Video Game title from publisher Atari.

The PSP title is listed with the PlayStation 2 and Wii games, so we assume it must be the version under development at Red Fly Studio. Different versions of the game are also being developed by Zen Studios for DS, and Terminal Reality for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

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Comments: (18)

It seems pressure from Greenpeace to clean up its act still hasn't convinced Nintendo to change its stance, as the Japanese hardware giant once again comes last of the pile in the pressure group's list of electrical manufacturers.

Receiving a pretty feeble score of 0.8 on the list, Nintendo's manufacturing policies and use of materials appears to put it a considerable way below the other companies featured on the list.  Microsoft fares slightly better with a score of 2.7 but is still very much dwelling in the 'Bad' end of the spectrum.  Sony, however, moves up two places from the previous list with a score of 5.5.

Shame on you Nintendo.

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An article from The New York Times highlights the potential perils facing the video games industry, citing the typical risks of rising development costs and increased competition; publishers selling more titles but unable to turn a profit.

Nestled within the piece is the suggestion from Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime that Wii titles need to shift over a million copies to turn a profit for the publisher.  The New York Times cites NPD figures that suggest only 16 out of 468 Wii titles have achieved this landmark, though TVG points to the fact that Fils-Aime is likely to have been referring to worldwide sales and that substantially more Wii titles would have passed this figure when taking this into account.

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Nintendo's Wii Fit may still be charging up the UK charts, however, The Telegraph today brings word of the first reported Wii Fit casualty.

Tim Eves, a fit and healthy 25 year-old, was engaging in a little Wii Fit activity when he suddenly collapsed and died despite efforts from friends and paramedics to revive him. 

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Comments: (26)

Contrasting the typical controversies and negative headlines usually associated with video games, a report featured in the journal Nature Neuroscience by a team of scientists has highlighted the benefits that playing video games bring to a person's night vision.

Scientists at the University of Rochester in New York, found that playing action games can significantly enhance people's ability to see objects in the twilight hours, when colours gradually diminish into shades of grey.

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Comments: (58)

The proposed takeover of Eidos by Japanese publisher Square-Enix is set to go ahead as planned next month after Eidos shareholders voted in favour of the bid by a majority of 85%.

Once Eidos' shares are delisted, which is estimated to happen next month according to gi.biz, Square-Enix will takeover the company at a rate of 32 pence per share.

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Comments: (39)

As widely expected, Satoru Iwata came to the rescue of Wii owners' storage problems with confirmation that the Wii can now download and store WiiWare, Virtual Console titles, and Channels to High Capacity SD cards.  The new compatibility is available via today's system update, but does require that games launched from the SD card will require an equivalent amount of internal Wii memory – so plenty of swapping around awaits it seems.

In addition Iwata-san used his keynote speech to announce a new Legend of Zelda title currently in development for the DS.  The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks employs the same control setup as Phantom Hourglass, while the early information centres around concept travelling across the world via a steam locomotive.

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Nintendo's Wii could reach 50 million sales worldwide in just over two years on the market, placing the console way ahead of the curve of PlayStation 2 sales in its first three years on the market.

According to Nikkei.net sales figures (via Kotaku), Nintendo's casual gaming juggernaut could pass through the 50 million worldwide sales barrier before the end of this month, which would be just over two years and four months after it was first released.

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A splash page has appeared for Activsion Blizzard's DJ Hero, with the site suggesting that the game will come out on Xbox 360, Wii, and at least one PlayStation console (presumably the PS3, but possibly the PS2 as well).

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With Guitar Hero: Metallica gearing up for release in just over a month and Rock Band's The Beatles game scheduled for release in September, it seems that Mötley Crüe may be the next band to get its very own rhythm game spin-off.

An MTV article charting the band's upcoming tour also notes, "Aside from gearing up for the tour, the band is also working on side projects, a new album and a possible Mötley Crüe-inspired edition of Guitar Hero."

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Comments: (90)

It'll be no huge surprise to most gamers that Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 10 has been confirmed by EA, with the game preparing for its 12th round of golf since its inception in 1998.

As with last year, Tiger Woods 10 will be released on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, and PSP. Once again, the DS and PC have not been included in the list, so we can only assume that EA has withdrawn the series from those two platforms.

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As well as Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, which was revealed in a Famitsu scan earlier this week, Capcom is also planning two further Resi games for Nintendo's Wii that will be remakes of Gamecube classics.

The Gamecube exclusive Resident Evil Zero, as well as the remake of the original Resident Evil for Nintendo's ill-fated previous-gen system, will both appear under a 'Classics' banner for the Wii.

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With an arsenal of "evergreen" titles and an ability to sell virtually anything, it's fair to say Nintendo is doing pretty well at the present time despite continued global financial insecurities.  However it wasn't that long ago when their fortunes weren't so rosy, the GameCube was languishing in third place in a three horse console race, and wild rumours suggesting that Nintendo might pull off a 'SEGA' and ditch the hardware race began to circulate.

In a recent interview with Famitsu (translated by 1UP), Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has spoken of the sadness that this period, most notably the GameCube era, instilled in him and the initiative it provided to shift Nintendo's philosophy.

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The trade price retailers and distributors pay for the Nintendo Wii is set to increase, according to a report from MCV, leading to smaller profit margins on the popular console.

Nintendo attributes the decision due to the continuing depreciation of the pound, but has suggested that the move will not increase the Wii's RRP of £179.99.

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Following Capcom's hints that a new Resident Evil game may be coming to Nintendo's Wii, Famitsu has now confirmed the title as Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, a successor to 2007's Umbrella Chronicles.

Darkside Chronicles will utilise the same on-rails style shooting of Umbrella Chronicles according to Kotaku's translation of the Japanese mag, while the Resident Evil 2 timeframe will also remain the same for this next instalment (which makes sense, given Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield's appearance in the scans shown right).

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A recent listing on the BBFC website has added to the rumours that a Silent Hill remake is heading to Wii and PSP.

The listing of the game's cut-scenes references characters from the PSone original, including Harry, Alessa, Lisa and Cybil, leading us to believe this is a remake of the iconic 1999 survival/horror.

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Speaking to Reuters, Activision Blizzard's Bobby Kotick has called on the hardware manufacturers to cut prices to reach a mass-market adoption point, but acknowledged that it's unlikely to happen anytime soon.

"The price on platforms today has still not gotten down to mass-market price points and I think when you're in the economic circumstances that the world has found itself in, there really is a difference between a $199 game system and a $299 game system."

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Rumours of a possible delay to Nintendo's MotionPlus peripheral have recently come to light, courtesy of a report from IGN.

Alleging that the device is facing a "few hiccups", the device which extends the Wii Remote's motion-sensing capabilities was originally scheduled for a June 2009 release alongside Wii Sports Resort.  However the title recently disappeared from Nintendo's recently confirmed US release schedule for the next few months, perhaps a suggestion that we've still got a little while to wait.

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The Executive Producer on EA's Dead Space series, Glen Schofield, has revealed the first raft of information about the series' spin-off for Wii, Dead Space: Extraction.

It seems that Dead Space: Extraction will be a prequel to last year's Dead Space, with the story starting two weeks before Isaac Clarke boards the Ishimura. As a result, Clarke will not feature in the game and players will take on the role of two new characters instead.

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Apple Corps., MTV Games, and Harmonix have announced that The Beatles: Rock Band will be released simultaneously around the world on September 9th 2009 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii, with new Beatles themed Rock Band peripherals being released on the same day.

The three pronged publishing and development team behind the game has announced the following game and instrument bundles, complete with US pricings for each product (price tags for other regions have not been detailed at this time):

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On March 26th, Guitar Hero World Tour will be graced by the silky sounds of Brian May's fretboard for the first time when a track pack of Queen songs is released for Xbox 360 and PS3 on March 26th.

Additionally, a second Jimi Hendrix track pack will be released on March 19th and will add 'Angel', 'Freedom', and a live 'Foxey Lady' recording from Hendrix's iconic Woodstock performance to the four Hendrix tracks that are already available for GHWT.

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Comments: (90)

EA Partner, MTV Games, has today confirmed the UK release dates for Rock Band 2 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Wii.

Due on the two Sony home platforms from 23rd March and Wii on 24th April, the sequel includes over 100 tracks from the likes of AC/DC, Pearl Jam, and Guns 'n' Roses, with the added functionality to import songs from the original Rock Band, and downloadable tracks on the online store.

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The corridors of Telltale Games must be virtually manic with all the work currently going on at the Californian studio, as the outfit today confirmed that the first two seasons of Sam & Max will be heading to Xbox Live Arcade.

Both seasons, which had previously seen digital releases on PC, have undergone a little name change with Season One and Two now known as Sam & Max Save the World and Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space respectively.

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EA Sports has today confirmed two titles compatible with Nintendo's upcoming Wii MotionPlus dongle, which allows for 1:1 motion control.

The first, Tiger Woods PGA World Tour 10, is perhaps no surprise.  Featuring some of the world's greatest golfers and courses, World Tour 10's MotionPlus functionality will now mean that players won't be able to blame the restrictions of the Wii-remote.

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We're not quite sure what happened planets one to fifty, but the video game tie-in to upcoming indie animation Planet 51 has found a publisher in SEGA.

The CGI animation, currently in production at Ilion Animation Studios in Spain, is due for release this winter.  The video game adaptation is being developed by Ilion's sister-company, Pyro Studios, which previous worked on Commandos.

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Disney Interactive Studios has today confirmed that the Nintendo DS franchise Spectrobes will be jumping onto Wii this Autumn.

The game, which will make strong use of the console's nifty accelerometers, once again mixes virtual fossil hunting with battles, only this time the fight will be in real-time.  It's unclear whether this will mean a return for the Krawl, though with a storyline told with flashbacks, Origins may uncover the beginnings of the conflict.

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News from Codemasters' Gamers Day event in San Francisco has percolated through to TVG, revealing launch windows for FUEL, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, Colin McRae: DiRT 2, Jumpgate Evolution, and the publisher's second wave of Overlord games.

On the driving game side of things, FUEL and DiRT 2 are scheduled for releases in May and September respectively, with both games being pinned down for release on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC (as well as handheld outings for DiRT 2 on PSP and Nintendo DS).

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One of the highlights for the first quarter of 2009, MadWorld, has today been slated for a UK release on March 20th.  The heavily-stylised title, developed by Platinum Games and published by SEGA Europe, is one of only a few 'hardcore' video games targeted for Wii during the early part of the year.

News of MadWorld's release comes in an interview between producer Atsushi Inaba and UK trade mag MCV, in which Ianaba-san spoke about some of the notoriety surrounding the content of the game:

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Comments: (6)

Electronic Arts has today released initial details of Dead Space Extraction, a prequel to the 2008 action-horror, due to arrive on Wii this Autumn.

The game, which was first confirmed during a recent conference call held by the EA board, has been built from the ground up for the Nintendo home console to include a motion-based control system and a first-person perspective.  Charting the events of a new protagonist as she and a band of survivors try to escape the Necromorphs on the deep space mining colony of Aegis VII, Dead Space Extraction unveils some of the events that lead to Issac Clarke's fight for survival on the USG Ishimura.

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Coming hot on the heals of SEGA's reveal of Virtua Tennis 2009 on Wii earlier today, is an online rumour that suggests the title will be compatible with Wii Motion Plus, the dongle that allows 1:1 motion control for the Wii-remote.

Citing an anonymous source, UK-based Techradar reports that the game will be amongst the first title with Motion Plus functionality.  Motion Plus was unveiled at Nintendo's infamous E3 2008 press conference, which focused almost entirely on casual gaming, something was negatively received by the hardcore fan base.

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Comments: (7)

SEGA Europe has confirmed that Virtua Tennis 2009, which has already been announced for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, will also be heading to Wii this May.

The latest iteration in the long-running tennis franchise, Virtua Tennis 2009 on Wii will feature a whole raft of modes, including online multiplayer, famous players such as Rafael Nadal, Rodger Federer, and Andy Murray.  The title also includes the Davis Cup license, which will at least give UK gamers the chance to do better than the real Great Britiain Davis Cup team...

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Comments: (7)

Last week, Square Enix revealed that a bid to acquire UK publisher Eidos had been made, which would see Lara Croft, Agent 47, and augmented humans fall under the House of Cloud Strife.

Although the deal had the strong backing of the Eidos board, there were two potential banana skins: a vote by Eidos shareholders, and the opinion of Warner Bros, which currently has a 20% in the publisher.

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