Games News for Games Heroes

PlayStation 3 in Europe will play fewer old games

2007-02-23T04:42:00.000-08:00

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The European version of PlayStation 3 will play fewer PlayStation 2 video games when it launches on March 23 compared with models launched earlier in Japan and America, Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (6758.T) said on Friday.

"The backwards compatibility is not going to be as good as the U.S. and Japan models," a Sony spokesman said.

PlayStation 3 (PS3) was first launched in Japan and North America in November and the model that will be introduced in Europe will be designed differently.

Software will take over some of the functionality that was originally taken care of by dedicated chips, which means far fewer PlayStation 2 (PS2) games can be played on a European PS3 compared with the Japanese and American PS3 models which play 98 percent of old games.

"Sony is managing expectations by saying now that the new console will play fewer of the old games, and that's a good thing," said analyst Alex Kwiatowski at British market research group Vertical Market Technologies.

Over the last 18 months Sony has had a series of public relations disasters, including a recall of nearly 10 million of its computer batteries, PS3 delays and a software program on Sony Entertainment music CDs that breached computer security.

Kwiatowski said gamers with a PS2 would have to hold onto their device to play their current collection.

"I'm as disappointed as the next game player about the reduced backward compatibility, but even the most nostalgic, misty-eyed gamers will have their steely hearts impressed by the new features that PS3 games provide," Kwiatowski said.

The PS3's graphics and sound capabilities are much improved over the PS2.

"Rather than concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility, in the future, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3," Sony Computer Entertainment said in a statement.

About one million units will be available at the European launch next month, as many as were made available in the United States during the first six weeks after the launch last year.

Sony loses money at first on each PS3 sale due to high production costs.

But Nobuyuki Oneda, Sony's chief financial officer, said in January the company aims to bring the negative PS3 margin to break even toward the second half of the next business year, which starts in April, by component cost savings on chips driving the PS3.

www.reuters.com

Forget reality TV. In Korea, online gaming is it

2007-02-23T04:37:00.000-08:00

Keun Bae’s wife, Heejung, was worried. At midnight, her husband got a call that roused him from sleep. Keun Bae had stepped into the hallway and closed the bedroom door behind him, but she still heard him speaking angrily into his cell phone: "Sell. Do as I say. Sell."

Heejung fretted for the next couple of days, and finally broke down. "What was that call all about?" she asked tearfully. "Are you in trouble?"

Keun Bae assured his wife that he wasn’t about to lose his shirt on the stock market. Although Keun Bae is an average guy — 32, father of two, Internet café worker — he’s also a high-ranking feudal lord in “Lineage,” a massively multiplayer online game. And when you’re a high-ranking feudal lord, you’ve got to expect the occasional late-night phone call.

Online gaming is to South Korea what reality TV is to the United States: Huge. Really huge. An estimated 17 million people in the country of 48 million play games regularly. Consoles, so popular in the United States and Japan, have barely made the radar in South Korea. There, online gaming is it.

Hit hard by the Asian financial crisis, the South Korean government invested much of its IMF bailout package on building a national broadband network. These are no ordinary pipes: Korean’s wires can transfer data at speeds of up to 50 megabits per second (Mbps). The “elite” package from AT&T Yahoo! promises download speeds up to 6.0 Mbps.

The investment paid off. Close to 70 percent of South Korean households have broadband. And the “fat pipes” mean that it’s easier for these households to access media-rich content like games and video-on-demand, says Allison Luong, principal and managing director of San Francisco’s Pearl Research.

As such, young people in the technology-obsessed culture have grown up online — but not in the same way that the MySpacers have here in the United States. In South Korea, the home PC is as ubiquitous as a refrigerator.

South Korea also has a consumer culture that rivals the United States and Japan. And keeping up with new trends and technology is considered important to social status.

“If you want to move up, you have to have access to the Internet and a PC,” says Luong. “And that means to access online games.”

And there’s no place more popular to access online games than the Internet cafés. Called PC bangs, some of these joints are swanky hotspots with fancy drinks. Some are just smoke-filled urban dives. But there are approximately 28,000 of them in South Korea. They’re everywhere. Think Starbucks. Think Wal-Mart.

The term “online gamer” may conjure up images of a lone teenager playing “EverQuest” in his parents’ basement, but that’s not how it goes in South Korea. Group interaction is as strong a cultural more in that country as studying and shopping. Young people go to the PC bangs to blow off steam and to hang out.

“Community within games is really popular, as well as the ability to form groups, or guilds,” says Luong. “These social aspects are a big reason why people keep playing games [in South Korea.]”

Fame and fortune...maybe

Another is the prospect of fame and fortune — albeit slim. Professional gaming, or e-sports, draw millions of spectators in South Korea. The country has several cable channels dedicated to tournaments and gaming news. And pro gamers can pull down six-figure salaries playing “StarCraft” and “Warhammer.”

Every year, the best of the best gather for the World Cyber Games, a sort of online-game Olympics. A field of about a million gamers is gradually winnowed down over the course of a year, with a fall finale.

In 2006, 700 players from 70 countries battled for dominance in Monza, Italy. South Korea, which lost its best overall title in 2003, recaptured their “Grand Champion” glory, winning two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. South Korean players also dominated the “StarCraft” tournament.

“StarCraft,” Blizzard Entertainment’s real-time strategy game is a favorite of professional and recreational gamers in South Korea. All of the company’s games are popular, including the click-happy “Diablo” franchise and the quest-driven “Warcraft” series. But the nearly 10 year-old “StarCraft” is a phenomenon.

“’StarCraft’ is one of the main things that helped to spawn the PC bang business,” says Blizzard chief operating officer Paul Sams. “It was also a big part of what spawned professional gaming and game broadcasting.”

But even though bellwether titles like “StarCraft” and “Lineage” remain popular in Korea, game content has grown more diverse as the gamer population has grown. Casual games are the fastest growing genre in the country, says Luong. Nexon Entertainment says that one quarter of South Korea’s population has played its “Kart Rider” game.

While that claim is as disputed in the blogosphere as the results of the 2000 presidential election, there’s no doubt the cute little racing game has earned millions of fans — many of them young women and girls.

The gamer population is indeed getting much younger in South Korea. A survey by the South Korean Ministry of Information and Communication shows that nearly 64 percent of five-year-olds use the Internet. And 93 percent of preschoolers selected online games as the reason for going online.

“The popularity of gaming at such a young age helps to drive South Korea’s gaming-oriented culture.” says Luong.

But as important as gaming is to South Korea’s economy and way of life, the dizzying growth is bound to slow. Luong predicts that intense competition and increasing market saturation will slow growth by 2008.

And as in other industrialized countries, the birth rate is falling in South Korea, and the core-gamer market is aging. As gamers age, other responsibilities like jobs and family intrude on game-playing.

“My wife especially does not understand [my game-playing,]” says Keun Bae. “This causes friction on many occasions.”

But even so, he admits to sneaking an hour or two while at work or in the evenings. It is a necessary stress-reliever, he says. And it makes him feel good.

“It takes me to a different world,” he says. “One that allows me to have powers and do things I cannot do in my normal life.”

www.msnbc.msn.com

Sony giving away freebies to PS3 buyers

2007-02-23T04:25:00.000-08:00

TOKYO - Sony is giving away freebies to woo buyers to the new PlayStation 3 video game machine whose hefty price appears to be scaring away shoppers.

The latest giveaway from the Japanese electronics and entertainment company is being promised for the Australia launch for the PlayStation 3 set for March 23 — a Blu-ray Disc version of the Sony Pictures James Bond movie "Casino Royale," for the first 20,000 Australian PS3 buyers.

The PlayStation 3 costs a hefty 999.95 Australian dollars, ($790), for the 60 gigabyte hard drive version.

The console, the successor to industry leader PlayStation 2 that went on sale in November last year in the U.S. and Japan, costs $600 in the U.S.

Tokyo-based Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news). has long had a proprietary reputation, and the flurry of free entertainment content doled out with the PlayStation 3 seems a bit out of character, perhaps designed to counter the perception of an overpriced product.

"They have to sweeten the deal a little bit," said Hiroshi Kamide, director of research and game expert at KBC Securities Japan in Tokyo. "The problem with the product so far is that no one has fully understood why it's so expensive."

Nintendo Co.'s surprise hit Wii is being snatched up and has been out of stock at some stores, and at $250 is widely welcomed by families as a bargain.

Free downloads of the "GranTurismo" PlayStation 3 software game — out since December for American and Japanese PS3 owners — will be available for the Australia launch, Sony said this week.

The U.S. launch also came with a free Sony movie. The first half million PS3 shipments in the U.S. included "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" in Blu-ray Disc format.

On Friday, Sony Computer Entertainment said shorter free trial downloads of a golfing game for the Japanese market will also be available next month.

Such free playable demos, intended as previews, are also available in the U.S.

In the latest Japan demo, players can try three holes of a golf game, worth about 10 minutes of playing, said company spokesman Norio Chiba.

Although Sony officials say PlayStation 3 sales are going on schedule, the machine is still a money-loser.

Sony blamed the losses in its video game operations for its faltering profits in the October-December quarter, when Sony profits slipped 5 percent to 160 billion yen ($1.3 billion), largely because of PS3 startup costs.

Sony said it shipped 1.84 million PS3 machines worldwide through Dec. 31, and is sticking to its earlier target of shipping 6 million PS3 consoles by March 31. It shipped 2 million PS3 machines worldwide by mid-January, falling about two weeks behind its initial shipment targets in Japan.

Nintendo sold 3.19 million Wii machines worldwide by the end of the year, 1.25 million in the Americas, and 1.14 million in Japan.

The Kyoto-based maker of "Super Mario" and "Pokemon" games said earlier this year that it's well on its way to reaching its target of global shipment of 6 million Wii machines by March 31, the end of the current fiscal year.

Kamide, the gaming industry expert, said the PS3 needs a fuller lineup of new, attractive games to make the purchase seem worth the price.

"It's the least they can do," he said of the freebies. "If you're paying a head above everybody else for a similar product, a game machine, you want to be able to categorically say the reason why it's so expensive."

www.ap.org

Surgeons who play video games more skilled

2007-02-23T04:19:00.000-08:00

Playing video games appears to help surgeons with skills that truly count: how well they operate using a precise technique, a study said on Monday. There was a strong correlation between video game skills and a surgeon’s capabilities performing laparoscopic surgery in the study published in the February issue of Archives of Surgery.

Laparoscopy and related surgeries involve manipulating instruments through a small incision or body opening where the surgeon’s movements are guided by watching a television screen.

Video game skills translated into higher scores on a day-and-half-long surgical skills test, and the correlation was much higher than the surgeon’s length of training or prior experience in laparoscopic surgery, the study said.

Out of 33 surgeons from Beth Israel Medical Center in New York that participated in the study, the nine doctors who had at some point played video games at least three hours per week made 37 percent fewer errors, performed 27 percent faster, and scored 42 percent better in the test of surgical skills than the 15 surgeons who had never played video games before.

“It was surprising that past commercial video game play was such a strong predictor of advanced surgical skills,” said Iowa State University psychology professor Douglas Gentile, one of the study’s authors.

It supports previous research that video games can improve “fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, visual attention, depth perception and computer competency,” the study said.

“Video games may be a practical teaching tool to help train surgeons,” senior author James Rosser of Beth Israel said.

While surgeons may benefit from playing video games, the study did not give parents a pass if their children play the games for hours on end.

A 2004 survey by Gentile found 94 percent of U.S. adolescents play video games for an average of nine hours a week. Game-playing has been linked to aggressiveness, poor school grades and can become a substitute for exercise.

“Parents should not see this study as beneficial if their child is playing video games for over an hour a day,” Gentile said. “Spending that much time playing video games is not going to help their child’s chances of getting into medical school.”

www.reuters.com

New video game targets childhood obesity

2007-02-23T03:53:00.000-08:00

ORLANDO, Fla. - Obesity may be a growing epidemic, but it's Obeez City that is spreading out of control in a new DVD game.

The game, "Body Mechanics," teaches youngsters how to avoid the ravages of being overweight.

Gamers join a team of superheroes called Body Mechanics and war against the Evil Coalition of Harm and Disease, battling villains with names like Col Estorol and Betes II.

The fighting takes place inside the body of Jack Decayd. If Obeez City is not contained, "Jack will die soon," says Neuro, the Yoda-like wise one who narrates the action.

"I remember how it started. A few snacks here, a soft drink there," Neuro says in an ominous tone during the opening. "And before we knew it, the Evil Coalition of Harm and Disease was threatening us all."

Neuro then makes his plea: "You must join the team of heroic Body Mechanics. They need your help in order to gain the knowledge necessary to save Jack's life. Only you can change how this story ends."

The game's real-life target: The fact that about 16 percent of U.S. children ages 6 to 19 are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is an 80 percent chance that overweight children will become obese adults and be at risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

www.ap.org

Sweden to open first virtual embassy

2007-02-09T01:25:00.000-08:00

STOCKHOLM - Sweden plans to be the first country to open an embassy in popular virtual world Second Life. “It will have answers to questions on all aspects of Sweden,” Olle Wastberg, general director of the Swedish Institute, an organization which promotes the country’s image abroad, said on Tuesday.

The embassy will be called House of Sweden and modeled on the country’s new embassy in Washington. It will open in a couple of weeks.

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world built and owned by its residents. It was created by Linden Lab and opened to the public in 2003. It says it now has more than 3 million inhabitants from around the globe.

There is no charge for a basic account but a one-time $9.95 fee is charged for additional basic account. Premium accounts start at $9.95 a month and allow you to own land on which you can build, entertain and live.

Reuters operates a virtual news bureau in Second Life.

www.msnbc.msn.com

Singapore to host Sept. game convention

2007-02-09T01:01:00.000-08:00

SINGAPORE - Video-game developers, manufacturers, publishers and players from around the world will gather in Singapore in September for a convention expected to be the region's largest. Games Convention Asia, which starts Sept. 6, will address the development needs of Asia's rapidly growing digital interactive gaming industry, which is expected to triple in value to $7.5 billion by 2008, according to the convention's organizers.

Western companies must adapt to differences in the Asian market to take advantage of the potential business here, said Chris Thompson, Asia vice president of Electronic Arts Inc., one of the advisers to the convention. Thompson said Asian gamers tend to value being online and being mobile — the social aspects of gaming.

Several other heavyweight game developers — including Xbox maker Microsoft Corp., Atari Inc. and Nokia Corp. — have also endorsed the event.

Games Convention Asia is a sister event of the Leipzig Games Convention held in Germany. The Asian event will also consist of an international cyber-games tournament.

www.ap.org

'Burning Crusade' was worth the wait

2007-02-06T01:45:00.000-08:00

I’m standing knee-deep in bodies amid a bone-strewn hellish landscape. In front of me stands the demonic menace Highlord Kruul, who is only too happy to devour me in one gulp. The Dark Portal has opened, and my beloved Azeroth will never be the same.

Welcome to the "World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade."

"Burning Crusade," by Blizzard Entertainment, is the company’s first expansion pack to “World of Warcraft.” In case you’ve been imprisoned in a magical tower for the past two years, here’s the rundown: “World of Warcraft,” or “WoW” in game parlance, is the staggeringly popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game responsible for countless lost hours, strained marriages, forgotten homework, and sleepless nights.

“WoW” recently tallied its 8 millionth subscriber, making its population close to that of New York City. It’s even earned its place in pop culture by being skewered by the “South Park” gang.

With numbers and notoriety like that, the stakes are high for this next installation of the “WoW” franchise. Blizzard has to knock this sucker out of the park, or face the wrath — and possible exodus — of millions of fans paying upwards of $15 a month. Do the math. That’s a gravy train Blizzard has no intention of derailing.

So does this $39.99 expansion pack (available for Mac and PC) have what it takes to please hardcore fans while still attracting new adventurers? At the risk of sounding like an unabashed fanboy — yes. “Burning Crusade” strikes that hard-to-achieve balance beautifully, offering plenty of fresh content for high-end players and a nice, friendly learning curve for newcomers. And, as with the original “WoW,” the opportunities for exploration and immersion are virtually unlimited. So find a comfy chair: That’s where you’ll be sitting for countless hours as you get addicted all over again.

Veteran “WoW” players will be comforted to hear that all the elements that made the original so great are still in place. To start, you create a character from eight races, which will put you on either the Horde or Alliance side, and then you choose from a variety of classes. Every race and class has its strengths and weaknesses, and there’s near-limitless ways to play your character. And if you don’t like what you’ve chosen, you can always roll again.

Like swinging a sword? Try out the warrior or paladin class. Want to get all Gandalf on someone? Check out the mage or warlock class. No matter which direction you choose, you start off in a safe homezone, gaining skills and riches as you take on bigger and more challenging quests.

New features in “Burning Crusade” include Outland, a massive new continent geared for experienced players. This virtual playground is loaded with bigger, badder monsters like the carnivorous Ravagers and juicier rewards, like powerful armor and weapons.

Speaking of rewards: Players who capped out at level 60 in the original “WoW” get to continue up to level 70 in “Burning Crusade.” This means players have new opportunities to invest dozens of hours amassing new talents and spells. And at the end of the level 70? Hop on a personal flying creature to cruise over the countryside — a nice perk.

Next to Outland, the heftiest “Burning Crusade” addition is the introduction of two new playable races: The interstellar-refugee Draenei and the magic-addicted Blood Elves. The supermodel-vain Blood Elves have the edge here, thanks to their magic-draining powers, and the Draenei handle more like an afterthought. They’re solid, but more generic characters, and play like an excuse for the Alliance to be able to play as the formerly Horde-exclusive Shaman class (the Horde, in return, now get access to the Alliance’s Paladin class).

In addition to the new races, this fantasy adventure contains plenty of new dungeons — and difficulty settings to make gameplay more challenging for advanced players. Meanwhile, the high-level dungeon raids have been capped at 25 players, down from 40 in the original "WoW." This is more challenging, forcing players to choose their teams with greater care.

If you prefer smack downs to dungeons, you’re in luck: “Burning Crusade” features a new player-versus-player Arena, where teams of two, three or five do battle for fortune and glory. You can also try out a new battleground, called Eye of the Storm, that mixes Capture the Flag and domination.

But “WoW” isn’t just about battles and exploring. It’s also wise to pick up a trade. And in this new installation, jewelcrafting is the newest profession. Don’t snicker. The gems here can bolster your armor and weapons. And judging by the monsters who roam Outland, you’re gonna need all the help you can get.

Here’s the rub with “WoW:” Players don’t really have much of a choice but to pony up for the new expansion. Existing “WoW” players can’t really enjoy everything the original game now has to offer without installing “Burning Crusade.” And on the flip side, you can’t play “Burning Crusade” without having invested in the original “World of Warcraft.”

If you can afford the cost of the expansion plus the $15 monthly online fees (as well as giving up every waking hour), “Burning Crusade” will extend your Azeroth adventures for a long time to come. Just look out for Kruul. Seriously.

John Ryan
MSNBC contributor
msnbc.msn.com

Nintendo's Wii to provide AP news

2007-02-06T01:39:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE -Two-year contract for wire services in seven languages. Rabid video gamers could get some help keeping in touch with the outside world this weekend as Nintendo Co. launches an online news service through its popular Wii console. The Wii News Channel, scheduled to debut Saturday, will primarily feature top news stories and photographs from The Associated Press.

Consoles with a broadband Internet connection and the Opera Web browser will be able to access the free news channel, which will offer AP news in multiple languages. Japanese-language news will come from a separate agency.

There were no immediate plans to sell advertising space, said Perrin Kaplan, vice president for marketing at Nintendo's U.S. headquarters in Redmond.

News will be displayed through an interactive map, which users can navigate with the Wii's wireless controller, Kaplan said.

"The beauty of it is it zooms in and out of areas of the world," she said. "So if you really want to focus on regional news or national news versus international, you just blow up the map of the U.S."

The AP has a two-year contract to provide news and photos to Nintendo and would like to provide multimedia in the future, said Jane Seagrave, vice president of new media markets for the New York-based news cooperative.

"It's a very innovative new application of what we're doing generally, which is to try to get our content to new audiences on new platforms," Seagrave said.

The AP will supply news for the Wii in English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, and Swiss-German, Seagrave said. The Japanese news company Goo will supply Nintendo's Japanese-language news, Kaplan said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Wii has been a surprise hit for Nintendo as it competes with Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 consoles.

A recent report from the market research firm NPD Group said the Wii has sold 1.1 million units since it was released in the U.S. on Nov. 19, with 604,200 of those units sold in December.

"The Nintendo Wii demographic is definitely a wider demographic than your traditional hardcore gamer," said Billy Pidgeon, a video game industry analyst at IDC in New York. "It kind of makes sense for other types of content to be made available on the Wii."

Nintendo isn't the only company hoping to offer more from video game consoles with online connections. The Xbox scored an early hit with its Xbox Live online gameplay system and has since begun offering more perks to Internet-connected users.

www.ap.org

And the winner of the console wars is...

2007-02-06T01:34:00.000-08:00

Much ink has been spilled over the so-called “console wars” between the new Nintendo Wii, the PlayStation 3 and the year-old Xbox 360. So now that 2006 is over and the numbers have been tallied, who won the home-console slugfest?

The PlayStation 2.

That’s right. The PlayStation 2 outsold all next-gen consoles by a fairly wide margin. Sony moved 1.4 million of the six year-old systems in the month of December, according to year-end sales data from the N.Y.-based NPD Group.

The PlayStation 3 sold a respectable 490,700 units in the U.S. in December, and 687,300 since its November launch. And Nintendo moved 604,200 Wiis in December, and 1.1 million since its November release. But still — the PS2 continues to dominate the console scene.

A key factor? Well, price for one. At $129 brand-new, the PS2 is roughly one-fifth the price of its tricked-out younger sibling.

“The price point means it’s easy for those who are less actively involved in gaming to pick one up,” says NPD analyst Anita Frazier. “Or, pick it up as a second system.”

Another issue? Games. And that’s a big one: The PlayStation 3 shipped with just 12 titles when it launched on Nov. 17. It added a few more for the holiday season, but the numbers pale in comparison to the 1,319 games out there for the PS2 in North America.

OK. Cheap and lots of games. Did we mention that the thing was actually on store shelves, unlike the Wii and PlayStation 3? That was a big factor in the legacy system’s success this year, too.

It’s definitely a chicken-and-egg situation for new consoles, though: Buyers aren’t going to pick up a new system — particularly not one with a base-model price of $500 — unless there are games to play. But developers are leery of putting millions behind game-development for a system that doesn’t move lots of units.

“There’s more risk in newer platforms,” says Frazier. “If you publish for the PS2, you’ve got a nice base.”

Brian Lam, from Red Octane, the company that publishes the “Guitar Hero” series, echoes that sentiment.

“We’ll be on the next-generation systems — it’s a natural progression,” he says. “But you need to go where your fans are.”

Now, lest you think the “console wars” were a total bust, consider this: Sony and Nintendo would have undoubtedly sold far more systems if not for manufacturing shortages.

It’s those shortages that weigh heavily on the minds of game developers. Even though teams salivate at the thought of creating games for the latest and greatest hardware, it’s not always a good business decision.

“With [game] budgets in excess of $18 million, if you don’t have enough hardware in the market, you’re not going to make money in software,” says Capcom’s Chris Kramer. “It’s like making tires for cars that don’t exist yet.”

From a bean counter’s perspective, the PS2 is a slam-dunk. It boasts a monster installed base: 32 million in the U.S. alone, and an estimated 111 million worldwide. Sell to just 1 percent of that audience, and you’ve moved over a million games. That’s a hit from anyone’s perspective.

But it isn’t only the third-party developers that keep going back to the PlayStation 2 well: The money generated by the cash-cow enabled Sony to plow resources into the creation of the PS3 — and numbers like the ones in December will help float the newer system for a good long while.

“We’ve got a full plate of games through the end of the year for the PS2,” says Sony’s PR chief Dave Karakker. “There’s still a lot of life left in this console.”

That said, don’t look for game studios to create marquee titles for legacy systems at this stage. While PS2 games may still sell well — two of the best-selling games this holiday season were, in fact, PS2 titles: Activision’s "Guitar Hero II" and Electronic Arts’ sports juggernaut "Madden NFL 07” — at some point, gamers and studios need to move on.

Rockstar Games, makers of the iconic PS2 franchise “Grand Theft Auto” released a PS2 game, “Bully,” late last year. But according to company spokesperson Rodney Walker, all development heretofore will be for next-gen systems.

Capcom isn’t pulling back that quickly, with PS2 titles slated until the end of 2008. “But after 2008? Not so much,” says Kramer. “As more PS3s and 360s come out into the wild, it’ll be easier for Capcom to get a return on its investment.”

Sometimes, a great game can move consoles, like “Halo” did for the original Xbox. But the notion of console-exclusivity is increasingly rare these days, unless, as Karakker puts it, the hardware company has a bag of money to give over to the developer. (Xbox and Halo are products of Microsoft Corp. and MSNBC.com is a Microsoft-NBC Universal joint venture.)

“Gears of War,” the best-selling game of December, didn’t ship with the Xbox 360 when it launched in November 2005 — it hit shelves almost a year later. But its popularity and critical acclaim netted it a whopping 815,700 units sold in one month. It wasn’t “Halo,” but it was darn close, and probably had a good deal to do with the 360’s banner year-end sales of 1.1 million units.

Again, availability probably also played a part in the Xbox 360s popularity this holiday season. Microsoft definitely played up the fact that the Xbox 360 was well-stocked on store shelves — while the newer Wii and PS3 were as scarce as hen’s teeth.

But what could explain the other top-selling system of the season, the Nintendo DS? Yep, this pocket-sized handheld actually trumped all the home consoles this holiday, selling 1.6 million units domestically, and a whopping 10 million since its 2004 launch. That’s a lot of “Nintendogs.”

The success of the DS can largely be attributed to quirky little titles like “Nintendogs” and “Brain Age.” Frazier says that Nintendo was smart to focus not only on their established audience, but on a market that doesn’t necessarily characterize themselves as gamers. “Nintendo created innovative content that wasn’t necessarily core-gamer focused,” she says. “But at the same time, they didn’t abandon their current audience.”

Clearly, the audience for games is bigger than ever — and that’s not just evidenced by the console and software sales in December. Overall, the game industry saw a record year, with revenues of $12.5 billion, up 20 percent from 2005.

Will 2007 be another banner year? Or was the excitement of the console launches the high tide that lifted all boats? Too soon to tell. But one thing’s for sure: It’s a good time to be in games. And to be a gamer.

www.msnbc.msn.com

Manning, Colts will win, simulation shows

2007-02-06T00:50:00.000-08:00

Peyton Manning will make sure his Super Bowl experience is worth the wait, according to a Super Bowl simulation on Madden NFL 07, powered by EA SPORTS. Manning will throw for 383 yards and three touchdowns as the Colts beat the Chicago Bears 38-27 in Super Bowl XLI on Sunday, the automated simulation shows.

The performance will make Tony Dungy the first African-American coach to win the Super Bowl.

In the first Super Bowl of his nine-year NFL career, Manning will deliver in the clutch, throwing two second-half touchdowns to rally Indianapolis, the EA SPORTS simulation shows.

Manning's performance will overcome a big day by Bears running back Thomas Jones, who will have 24 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown, and wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad, who will catch four passes for 72 yards and a touchdown, according to the simulation.

Embattled Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman will have a solid day, too, throwing for 231 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, the simulation shows.

The Super Bowl will be a classic, the simulation shows. Grossman will throw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian to cut the Colts' lead to 31-27 with 12:07 left in the fourth quarter, the EA SPORTS simulation shows.

But Joseph Addai's 8-yard touchdown run with 4:44 left will give Indianapolis some breathing room, and the party will be on in Indy, the simulation shows.

Manning and the Colts will start off hot, throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison and using a 42-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri to take a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, the simulation shows.

Harrison will have a big day at the Super Bowl, finishing with nine catches for 102 yards, the simulation shows.

The Bears will respond when Jones rushes 12 yards for a touchdown just 21 seconds into the second half, the EA SPORTS simulation shows.

After a 4-yard touchdown run by Addai, the Bears will use two field goals by Robbie Gould, including one with 3 seconds left in the half, to make the score 17-13 at halftime, according to the simulation.

Grossman's 23-yard touchdown pass to Muhammad will give the Bears their only lead of the game, 20-17, with 13:32 left in the third quarter, the simulation shows.

But the Colts will respond quickly, scoring on a 36-yard touchdown catch by Dallas Clark just three minutes later, the simulation shows. A 32-yard TD pass from Manning to Reggie Wayne will give the Colts a 31-20 lead entering the fourth quarter.

msnbc.msn.com

Nintendo storms the gaming world

2007-02-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata and top execs at the gaming company's headquarters in Kyoto have every reason to be shouting the Japanese congratulatory cheer of "banzai" these days. For one thing, Nintendo's DS and DS Lite portable gaming system is enjoying light-speed growth.

On top of that, Nintendo's Wii console has blown away Sony's PlayStation 3 in the early stages of the hotly contested battle for next-gen gaming consoles. Aided by a shortfall of PS3s in the critical U.S. market, Nintendo sold 1.1 million units of the Wii since the product's launch date last November, vs. 687,000 PS3s during roughly the same period. Sales of popular Nintendo game titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and New Super Mario Bros. are also quick.

The Wii has outperformed the initial rollout phase of the high-powered Microsoft Xbox 360, which was released in November, 2005. Microsoft managed to sell only 607,000 units in the U.S. by the end of 2005.

As a result, says Standard & Poor's equity analyst Clyde Montevirgen, "Nintendo Wii won the launch phase." S&P, like BusinessWeek, is a unit of the McGraw Hill Companies.

Mass Market Potential Of course, Nintendo still has a ways to go before it can claim industry dominance. Sony's PlayStation 2 holds the all-time sales record, with more than 100 million sold. Also, in the next-gen console category, the leader in terms of units sold is the Xbox 360, with 10.4 million units sold as of the end of 2006.

Still, Nintendo executives, and some game analysts, believe the Wii's mass market potential could make it a breakthrough product for the $30 billion video game industry. Worldwide, Nintendo has sold 3 million units and is confident that figure will double by the end of March. Sony has set a similar global sales goal for PS3 by the end of the first quarter and has set a Mar. 23 launch date for Europe, where the rollout of its critical game console was delayed late last year because of a parts shortage.

Unlike Sony and Microsoft, which spent lavishly on blisteringly fast chips, graphics, and cutting edge disk technology, Iwata insisted Nintendo designers use energy-saving chips and a standard optical disk player to lower product costs. That enabled Nintendo to set the Wii's retail price at about $250, several hundred dollars less than the Xbox 360 and PS3.What's more, unlike Sony and Microsoft with their new consoles, Nintendo makes a profit on every Wii sold.

Older-Gen Gamers But it's the Wii's playability that's had the biggest impact on gamers. Iwata pushed his team to come up with a radically new controller design that would make the Wii a quality experience for sophisticated gamers and novices alike. The result was a wireless, wand-shaped gadget with built-in motion sensors and a gyro-meter to translate action directly onto a TV screen.

Nintendo is also working hard to woo new types of gamers. Figuring the hardcore crowd would need little motivation to check out the Wii, the company devoted about 70% of its $40 million TV, print, and online launch marketing campaign in the U.S. last fall to older and less experienced gamers. "We have been able to satisfy existing gamers and add the expanded audience of adults older than 25," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice-president for marketing.

The only negative publicity the product has received so far has been that avid gamers tend to lose control of their controllers. Nintendo responded to stories about renegade Wii controllers accidentally smashing through TV screens by offering consumers stronger wrist straps.

Mario, Come Home A more serious issue Nintendo faces is avoiding the kind of parts shortages and production delays that have plagued Sony. Nintendo has been working with suppliers such as Matsushita Electric, whose Panasonic unit makes disk drives for the unit, and IBM and ATI Technologies, which make the core processor and graphic chips.

Right now, meeting demand is a bit of a struggle, says Harrison. "We are shipping the Wii, and they are generally selling out in a day or two," he says.

Of course, the serious cash made in this business is on the game software side, where operating margins can run 35% to 40% on games Nintendo has developed over the years that are compatible with the Wii. This is a company, after all, that created icons such as Mario, Donkey Kong, and Pokémon.

In the first quarter of 2007, third-party game developers such as Electronic Arts will release Wii-compatible games titles such as Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07. Other companies such as Buena Vista, Majesco, and Ubisoft are launching new ones, too.

Macquarie Securities analyst David Gibson reckons the average Wii owner will buy more than three games a year — and the bulk of the games will be made in-house by Nintendo.

None of this has been lost on investors. On Jan. 25 the company reported a 40% jump in third-quarter profits of $644 million, and its stock touched a 52-week high of $27.60 in trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Nintendo shares have more than doubled since early February, 2006 — and so have its U.S. depositary receipts, which now trade at about $35.75.

Investors have also been cheered by the success of the DS portable lineup at Nintendo. Since its launch in November, 2004, the line has sold 10 million units in the U.S. and enjoys a global user base of 35 million, powered by popular gaming titles such as Brain Age and Nintendogs.

In a category once dominated by Sony's PSP portable, the Nintendo DS has been a hit with women and gaming novices. Its dual touch screen design, voice recognition capability, and easy-to-use stylus have connected with consumers. To keep the momentum going, some 20 new DS games are expected to roll out in the first quarter of 2007.

Video games in the Classroom?

2007-01-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

A new report finds surprising parallels between learning techniques and killing aliens. If the Federation of American Scientists made a list of educational videogames, you might expect to find Oregon Trail, the story of Conestoga wagons trekking into the American West, or the geography favorite

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? And don’t forget Half-Life 2. That’s the one where you burn alien zombies to death with exploding barrels of fuel.

OK, that’s exaggerating—but only a little. Where parents see hours wasted in front of a screen, these scientists see potential. An FAS study released this week, titled “Harnessing the power of video games for learning,” reports that best-selling games are built in surprisingly pedagogical ways. Players improve at their own pace. Beating a level requires experimentation, failure and learning from mistakes. Most new games can be played online, requiring collaboration and leadership. Game play is precisely calibrated to balance challenge and progress. It’s a stark contrast to a typical classroom in which one teacher tries to engage 30 students with printed information. “It’s like hiring an individual tutor for every student,” says FAS president Henry Kelly of using videogames to teach. “There’s a big argument going on now about whether kids are being tested too much or too little. In a game, you’re continuously being tested and you don’t mind it.”

Some commercial games are already being used in the classroom. The Civilization series lets users build empires in ancient Persia and other historical periods, and RollerCoaster Tycoon, where players construct a theme park, combines physics and business management. And the U.S. military makes extensive use of video simulations: the Army reports 7.6 million users have registered for America’s Army, a training and recruiting game.

The report calls for a new generation of educational games that are as immersive and graphics-intensive as megabudget titles like Madden NFL 07 and Battlefield 2142. “When you show a child a traditional educational game, they’ll roll their eyes,” says Kay Howell, a coauthor of the study. “But I don’t think they roll their eyes because it’s learning; I think it’s because there’s such a huge and obvious gap in quality compared to what they play at home.” The federal government, she says, should close that gap by underwriting new game-publishing houses.

But some educational observers find the videogame recommendations too unorthodox. “This is really silly,” says Chester E. Finn, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a K-12 education research group in Washington. “Are they next going to propose government-funded studies of the educational value of comic books, reality TV shows and instant messaging?” Other critics contend the report’s recommendations shouldn’t be seen as a cure-all. “We think it’s a good idea that this stuff is being explored,” says Chad Colby, a spokesman for the Department of Education. “People do tend to look at these things as silver bullets, or a fix in themselves, when it’s really one tool out of many.” The larger problem with the federation’s ideas, Colby says, is a lack of familiarity with how education funding works: only 8.3 percent of the country’s total education budget comes from the federal government, and most of that is targeted toward students in poverty.

The study’s recommendations might be hard to implement: not all school districts have computers and networks capable of running high-end games. The FAS report calls for the production of games that can be Web-based and downloadable to PCs, but it might be less expensive to design games for the established consoles that many families already have at home. “These are technologies that kids and young adults are living with every day of their lives,” says Howell. “Why do we expect them to leave that behind when they go into a learning environment?”

Nick Summers
Newsweek

It's violent video games art?

2007-01-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

After a gaming festival drops Super Columbine Massacre RPG! (yes, it’s what you think) from consideration, other videogame makers drop out in protest. Is it art, or just offensive?

For independent videogame makers like Jonathan Blow, getting noticed in a market dominated by giants like Sony and Nintendo isn’t easy. So when he was chosen as a finalist in Utah’s Slamdance Guerrilla Gamemaker Competition for his game, Braid—which took nearly two years to develop—he was thrilled. It was a chance for his work to be seen and to enjoy the company of other indie gamemakers, and he promptly laid out about $1,400 in hotel and plane reservations for the festival, set to begin Jan. 18.

Last week, however, he withdrew his game from consideration after a fellow finalist’s game was axed for its subject matter. Since then, five other finalists have followed suit, one sponsor has dropped out and now, with half of the 14 finalists out of consideration, the festival appears imperiled.

At its heart, this is a dispute over the limits of artistic expression and the boundaries of good taste. The protests are a reaction to a decision last week by festival president Peter Baxter, who pulled the game Super Columbine Massacre RPG! from the list of finalists. The game is just what it sounds like: players traverse a 2-D world taking on the roles of Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold as they shoot up their high school. After committing suicide, the characters then journey to hell, where they battles demons. The free PC game has been downloaded more than 250,000 times since its release in April 2005, according to game creator Danny Ledonne, and has sparked outrage from victims’ families and media watchdog groups, as well as mixed reviews from gamemakers. It has also been accused of inspiring a September 2006 college shooting in Montreal, after which it was discovered that the perpetrator mentioned playing SCMRPG! on his blog.

But that’s not the point, Slamdance finalists say. "If this was a film instead of a game, it wouldn't even really be a question," Blow says, noting that movies relating to Columbine—such as Gus Van Sant's "Elephant"—have been featured at indie festivals. "As long as we persist in believing that games are just for kids ... we're not going to get where we need to go." Baxter disputes that. "There's only a certain point you go into role-playing with [films],” he says. “Obviously when you sit down in a game, you're actively involved."

Tuesday, seven finalist teams sent a letter to Slamdance officials calling for the game’s reinstatement. In response to the dropouts and complaints, officials have added a forum on the expulsion of SCMRPG!, and Baxter says he expects a successful festival. “We’ve got some great games,” he says. For now, at least.

Jonathan Mummolo
Newsweek

Role-playing game has an economic bent

2007-01-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK - "Entropia Universe," an online role-playing game with a distinctly economic bent, will soon let players start up banks with the authority to lend money that's convertible to real-world dollars.

Entropia's parent company, Sweden-based MindArk PE AB, said it would auction five banking licenses, each valid for two years. The holders will be able to set up bank buildings on the science-fiction-themed planet of Calypso, charge interest on loans and advertise on in-game billboards.

Previous auctions by MindArk for virtual "real estate" have yielded bids of up to $100,000.

The Project Entropia Dollar is convertible to U.S. dollars at a fixed rate: 10 to 1. This makes it unique among virtual currencies, since most game companies shun links to the real-world economy.

MindArk, going the other way, last year made ATM cards available to players so they could withdraw game funds. However, its payment-processing company has run into difficulties, and it's no longer possible to transfer money to the card accounts from the game.

There was no word from MindArk on the legal implications of a game company giving out licenses for banking, which is highly regulated in most countries. A representative did not return an e-mail message Wednesday.

In another sign of the increasing economic sophistication of online games, players in "EVE Online," a science-fiction game published by an Icelandic company, in 2005 financed a virtual space station through an "initial public offering" of stock.

In November 2006, Ailin Graef claimed to own virtual property worth more than $1 million in "Second Life," a world whose currency is convertible to the dollar at a fluctuating rate.

Peter Svensson
www.ap.org

Give a child a video game -- and maybe a job

2007-01-11T19:35:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES, Jan 11 (Reuters Life!) - Mathematics, science and video games? A U.S. university professor is urging schools to consider using video games as tools to better prepare children for the work force.

For although many educators scoff at the idea of video games in schools, the U.S. military has titles that train soldiers, teenagers with cancer use a game to battle their illness virtually and physically and some surgeons use video games to keep their hands nimble.

David Williamson Shaffer, an education science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says schools should use games to prepare children to compete in the work force, where juggling technology is a daily requirement.

"People think that the way we teach kids in schools is the natural way we should learn," said Shaffer, author of the book "How Computer Games Help Children Learn."

"But young people in the United States today are being prepared for standardized jobs in a world that will, very soon, punish those who can't innovate. We simply can't 'skill and drill' our way to innovation."

Shaffer argues that youngsters heading into the work force will, from day one, have to compete with skilled workers from around the world with years of technological experience.

For this reason, children should be given the chance to use their innate skills of simultaneously listening to music while playing games, watching videos, surfing the Web and messaging friends from computers or cell phones, while learning about things like biology, history or physics.

He said the current educational system was designed in the late 1800s to prepare people for life in industrial America not today's technologically-steeped world.

Shaffer said this new approach might also help the United States compete against fast-developing countries like India and China which are turning out engineers and scientists at a faster rate.

Governments in Britain and Singapore have already backed efforts that use video games and other technology to develop new teaching methods.

Proponents of such efforts say video games engage kids in a way that is relevant to their lives, allowing them to learn by doing as they experiment with new social and cultural worlds.

Like the U.S. military, some large U.S. corporations have already adapted and use video games to train workers.

Shaffer and his team have developed a range of games that help students learn to think like engineers, urban planners, journalists, architects and other professionals. A list of their games is at http://www.epistemicgames.com/eg/?cat=5.

In March, Shaffer and his team will start working with a school in Madison, Wisconsin, and later this year with a Chicago school.

"There are bad games out there, just as there are bad books. So adults who care about what children learn have to educate themselves about games -- and, more important, start to think about learning in new ways for the digital age of global competition," he said.

Lisa Baertlein
www.reuters.com

New 'Metal Gear' thrives on PSP

2007-01-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

'Portable Ops' bucks weak game trend on Sony's handheld machine. With a few exceptions, Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Portable hasn't had many good games since it was released a few years ago.

The new "Metal Gear Solid: Portal Ops," (Rated M, $39.99) is one of those rare titles to buck that trend. This latest in a long series of spy-action thrillers from Hideo Kojima is about as good as gaming gets on the PSP.

I've always been enamored with the "Metal Gear" series and its blend of Cold War intrigue, calculated action and oddball humor. This successful mix continues with "Portable Ops."

Despite a few glitches that mar an otherwise perfect game, this new edition adds many enhancements that make it worth considering.

Technologically, "Portable Ops" is a huge leap over previous PSP versions in the series such as "Metal Gear Acid 2."

Previous games were turn-based, but this time the world of espionage and infiltration plays out in real-time 3D graphics that look superb on the PSP's dazzling screen.

It's one of the few games that seems to have harnessed the true potential of the PSP.

The single-player story finds the gruff, eye-patch wearing Naked Snake in a South American prison in 1970. Inexorably, he is sucked into the vortex of a military conspiracy involving the CIA, the Soviet Union and a host of mysterious military operatives and organizations that fans of the series will find familiar.

There are some excellent additions to the usual tasks, such as sneaking around guards to snag secret documents and crawling through underground tunnels.

What's most engaging are the role-playing elements: you can take out enemy soldiers, drag their sleeping bodies back to a waiting troop transport vehicle and then recruit them to your cause.

Eventually, you'll be controlling squads of converted troops with special abilities such as medical skills, sniper accuracy and stealthiness. These abilities are more than just a stat sheet: you'll need to deploy the right mix of abilities to successfully perform missions.

There's an incredible array of online modes beyond the single-player story, which neatly ties together other games in the series.

You can even recruit characters from other "Portable Ops" gamers who are within reach of the PSP's ad-hoc and infrastructure wireless capabilities.

Once you've organized these characters into squads, you can put them to work in various online multiplayer modes, such as death match and recovery missions.

Though "Portable Ops" offers plenty to do, the doing part sometimes gets bogged down by weird controls that had me switching between first-person and third-person perspectives.

Switching between the two can be frustrating, especially if you get caught in a sudden firefight. And as good as the graphics are overall, some of the textures when I was crawling in a ventilation shaft were bland and ugly when viewed up close.

These are relatively minor complaints, however, in a game that really combines the best elements of the "Metal Gear" series into one portable game.

Matt Slagle
www.ap.org

Second Life opens its source code

2007-01-08T23:46:00.000-08:00

The virtual world of Second Life is going open source. Linden Lab, the company behind the game, said it is making the software blueprint of its PC program available to developers to modify for their personal use and to share with others. It's the same model that's used to build the Linux operating system and the Firefox Web browser.

Philip Rosedale, Linden Lab's co-founder and chief executive officer, said he hopes the developer community will help his relatively small staff — 50 programmers or so — fix bugs in the code and optimize the software for use on older computers. He also expects some cool tools to emerge.

"There are lots of handicapped people using Second Life. It's one of the really inspiring things about it," Rosedale said. "There are a lot of ways of connecting people to their computers, not just mice and keyboards but gaze detection and neuromuscular stuff" that Linden Lab doesn't have the manpower to address, but he hopes outside programmers will.

Someone also could "hook up an exercise bike and fly around Second Life while exercising," he said, or write a program for accessing the world from a smart phone.

"All that becomes extremely easy to do," said Rosedale, who will speak tomorrow at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Second Life users create avatars of themselves and move about the virtual world, chatting with others, buying land, building homes and businesses. It has its own currency that's tied to the U.S. dollar. Numerous real-world businesses, including Circuit City Stores Inc. and American Apparel Inc., are setting up shop in the virtual space.

The code will be available under the GNU Public License, a widely used agreement among open-source developers that allows them to legally modify and share software. Linden Lab will review and test some add-ons, modifications and bug fixes, and incorporate them into the official version of the viewer, which can be downloaded for free.

Monday's announcement doesn't cover all the software behind Second Life. The program that controls the underlying infrastructure will remain proprietary, though Rosedale said open-source "is absolutely our direction."

The shift toward open source isn't expected to hurt the company's business model, which relies on charging residents for their use of land — also known as server space on one of Linden Lab's computers.

Jessica Mintz
msnbc.msn.com

'Elebits' allows the Wii to really shine

2007-01-08T23:29:00.000-08:00

As everyone knows by now, it's the motion-sensing controllers that make Nintendo's new Wii the standout gaming machine that it is. What this little white box lacks in the way of visual oomph and processing kapow it vows to make up for by providing innovative game play through the use of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.

But the question remains: Will game developers be able to create titles that fully capitalize on the machine's unique controllers and, more importantly, use them in truly ground-breaking and gratifying ways? One thing's for sure, if they don't, the Wii will go down in history as something of a novelty toy rather than a serious console contender.

Thankfully, Konami's first offering for the Wii — "Elebits" — is a sure sign that developers and publishers are, in fact, rising to the challenge. This whimsical, original and surprisingly addictive game has players on a mad hunt for tiny, colorful creatures known as Elebits, and has them utilizing both the Remote and the Nunchuk functionality in some truly creative and entertaining ways.

In this game, Elebits give the game world (one that's a lot like our own) the clean energy it needs to run pretty much everything that, in our world, we use electricity, gas and nuclear energy to run.

The story goes that Elebits have lived in harmony with humans for a long time until, one day, lightning strikes, the lights go out and the little devils start acting rather peculiar. (Speaking of the story, you'll have to wade through an opening fairy tale sequence that's cheesily executed and unnecessarily long, but after that the game immediately kicks into gear.)

Once the action gets under way, you play a 10-year-old boy named Kai who's decided to collect as many Elebits as he can using a Capture Gun that not only zaps Elebits but also picks up and manipulates objects around him.

Using the Wii's controls, it feels as though you can physically reach into and manipulate the world itself as you try to find Elebits hiding in drawers, under beds, in closets and outside on city streets, too. They're tricky things, and so you must use the Remote (which controls the boy's gravity-defying gun) to push, pull, lift, turn, twist and shake various objects on the screen and thus uncover the Elebits' secret hiding places and zap them back to where they belong.

Need to open a door? Just turn the Remote in your hand as you would a door knob. Want to pull books off a shelf? Grab hold of them with a click of a button and then yank the Remote backwards as if yanking the books with your hand.

Capture certain Elebits and your gun levels up, becoming more powerful and enabling you to lift ever larger items (a table, a bookshelf, a car) and toss them aside with ease. You quickly find that there's something terribly satisfying about the way in which you can totally ransack a room with a few flicks of the Remote.

And that's the great thing about this game — the controllers feel remarkably good in the hands as you move about and interact with this world, all of it seeming immediately intuitive. For those who do struggle to find their footing with the unusual controls, "Elebits" offers a tutorial, and a rather in-depth one at that. You won't have any trouble playing the game after you've walked through this extensive how-to.

Meanwhile, "Elebits" offers both a single-player story mode, a multiplayer mode (up to four people can compete against each other at one time) and, in a nice bit of added depth, an edit mode that allows you to create and customize your own game levels to play.

Here you can fill a room with objects to search and hidden Elebits to find and then share your creation with other players via Nintendo's online WiiConnect24 service.

No, the game's graphics are not exactly stunning. But again, that's not what the Wii is all about. Instead, thanks to the way "Elebits" incorporates the functionality of the controllers, the game is hugely fun to play, a truly unique offering and one of those titles that manages to keep you wrapped up in it for hours longer than you ever intended.

In short, it's exactly the kind of game that allows the Wii to shine.

Winda Benedetti
msnbc.msn.com

Sony ships 1 million PS3s in North America

2007-01-08T23:19:00.001-08:00

In an important early look at the pivotal holiday sales season, Sony Corp. said it met its goal of shipping 1 million PlayStation 3 consoles to North America in 2006 despite ongoing production problems with the still hard-to-find video game system.

The figure is about half of Sony's stated goal of 2 million PS3s globally by the end of 2006. The company did not disclose a global tally in the announcement, made at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Sony has dominated previous rounds of the console wars with the PlayStation 1 and 2, but it is still undecided who will grab the lead this time around — the PS3, or its two chief rivals: Nintendo Co.'s Wii and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft Corp.

The PS3's launch had been delayed in the United States from the spring to November, yet supply problems were still evident when it went for sale on Nov. 17.

The company ended up selling 197,000 PS3s on launch day, less than half of the 400,000 it had initially forecast. The market research company NPD Group estimated that U.S. consumers bought 476,000 Wiis in the two weeks following its Nov. 19 launch.

Sony officials have attributed the limited supply to manufacturing glitches with blue laser diodes, the technological heart of the system's high-capacity, high-definition Blu-ray disk drive.

Sony spokesman Dave Karraker said the company has been airlifting additional PS3s each week and will continue to do so through spring, if necessary.

Though updated figures were not available, a Nintendo spokeswoman said the company's earlier prediction to ship 4 million units by the end of the year was still on target.

Microsoft said Sunday it had sold 10.4 million Xbox 360s through the end of 2006. That narrowly beat the company's earlier stated goal of 10 million. The company expects to sell 13-15 million Xbox 360s by the end of its fiscal year in June, Microsoft spokesman David Hufford said.

Both Sony and Nintendo are projecting selling 6 million consoles by the end of March. Sony expects to start shipping the PS3 to Europe sometime that month as well.

Selling machines in large numbers is crucial in the gaming business because it encourages software companies to make more games, which in turn boosts console sales.

Sony controlled the previous generation with 70 percent of the global market, including 35 million PlayStation 2 consoles in the United States. The original Xbox was second with nearly 15 million sold, followed by 11 million Nintendo GameCubes.

At this early stage with the next-generation consoles, Sony isn't concerned if rivals Microsoft or Nintendo end up selling more units because the overall industry is benefiting from very strong demand, Karraker said.

"Are we worried about strong sales of the Wii or Xbox 360? Not really," he said. "It was a great year for the industry overall. With the tide all ships rise."

Matt Slagle
msnbc.msn.com

Fool your eyes with two new casual games

2007-01-08T23:11:00.000-08:00

Internet games challenge players to kick up observational skills. Perception is a funny thing. No matter how hard we look, sometimes we just can't see what's right in front of us.

Big Fish Games, a top casual game developer, knows this better than anyone. It has a reputation for creating high-quality downloadable computer games that force players to kick up their visual and observational skills. And the company's two latest releases definitely uphold these high standards.

Last month, Big Fish released "Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst," the third installment in its much-lauded "Mystery Case Files" franchise, a series of visual puzzlers that have gone on to become best sellers. Big Fish also released "Travelogue 360: Paris," a game that puts a new twist on the company's renowned perception puzzles.

And while the flashy new gaming consoles (Wii and PS3) and their flashy new titles have been stealing the spotlight for the last month or so, both of Big Fish Games' new titles can be played by anyone with a computer, an Internet connection and a bit of spare time.

The thrust of the "Mystery Case Files" game play sounds simple: Players must look at an image on their computer screen and try to find a list of objects within that image before the time runs out. But as with all casual games, the seemingly simplest of tasks is significantly more difficult than it appears on the surface.

In "Ravenhearst," players assume the role of a master detective charged with unlocking the hundred-year-old mystery that surrounds Ravenhearst Manor. To do that, you'll have to search 32 rooms, scouring each one for a list of cleverly hidden items. In the kitchen, for example, you'll look for a door knocker, a woman's sandal and a candle snuffer, among other objects. In the garden you'll hunt for a skull, a spade and a cane.

It's a bit like playing an advanced game of "Where's Waldo." The items are all right there in the beautifully rendered illustration on your screen…right in front of your very eyes…but these visual teasers are designed so smartly, the objects you seek seem to be camouflaged to the point of invisibility.

You might sit there hunting for an hourglass or a pistol or a camera for minutes on end only to discover later that you've been looking right at these items from the very beginning without realizing it. The folks at Big Fish designed their game images so that the objects on your list blend in with the hundreds of other curios and knick-knacks that also clutter the picture.

Meanwhile, your list may call for you to find the soldier hidden in the picture, but it's up to you to realize that it's actually a nutcracker dressed like a soldier that you're looking for. The visual trickery is so simple, but you'll find yourself pleasantly stumped time and time again.

At various points throughout the game, you'll have to piece together missing diary pages that slowly reveal the house's history and help you unlock a mystery surrounding a young woman's visit there in 1894. And in a brand new tweak to the "Mystery Case Files" series, you'll also have to figure your way through several shrewdly designed chain-reaction-style puzzles in order to get into the manor's locked rooms.

You're still after hidden items in Big Fish's other release, "Travelogue 360: Paris." But this time, the pictures you must search through are 360-degree panoramic photographs of famous places around Paris.

Given a list of souvenirs to find, you'll have to spin all the way around, look all the way up at the sky and down at your feet to find the objects you need before your time runs out. The game is designed to make you feel as though you're standing right in the middle of the city's most famous locations — the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysees, Saint Sulpice Church. At the Eiffel Tower, you'll hunt for a ballerina, an easel and a bulldozer. At the Bois de Vincennes, you'll search for a rubber duck, a chandelier and a hobby horse.

Though both games offer high production values with excellent sound design and music to set the mood, "Ravenhearst" is the more appealing (not to mention addicting) of the two. The new multi-part puzzles are an engrossing addition to the playing style and "Ravenhearst" offers at least the threads of a story to keep players interested. The immersive nature of "Travelogue 360's" panoramic photos is a great idea and a fun way to take a quick trip over seas, but the game feels like it lacks the depth and variety of its sibling.

Of course, the nice thing about both games is, you can test them out before you decide whether you want to buy them. Download free trial versions at www.bigfishgames.com. The full version of each costs $19.95.

Winda Benedetti
msnbc.msn.com

New mouse reacts to onscreen game action

2007-01-08T22:59:00.000-08:00

LAS VEGAS - A new mouse expands on technology found in some video game controllers: It reacts to game action on the screen. The $189 Novint Falcon looks like a floating doorknob attached to a three-way axis that resembles a miniature alien space pod.

A demo at the International Consumer Electronics Show allows users to "feel" around a bumpy sphere or pick up a set of balls with a rubber band. Swinging around the balls creates a strange sensation of weight, before the rubber band snaps.

A first-person shooting game makes one feel the impact when the character whacks a crowbar against a wall, or the recoil from a shotgun when firing at an enemy. It's so real, it's hard not to feel a pang of guilt when splattering foes.

The presale version of the mouse, which costs $189 online, comes with a simple game pack. Shipments start June 18.

Novint Technologies Inc. aims to have standard PC games work with the controller in the future.

"The goal is to work with developers so you can make enablers for games that are on the market," said Novint spokeswoman Sabrina Cook.

Ryan Nakashima msnbc.msn.com

'Gears of War' breaks out for Xbox

2007-01-04T01:18:00.000-08:00

In what is expected to be another record-breaking year for the more than $10-billion-a-year video game industry, the breakout hit is a science-fiction action game called Gears of War.The game didn't sneak up on anyone - developer Epic Games and Microsoft hyped it for nearly a year and a half leading up to its release Nov. 12 - but the futuristic sci-fi combat game has overcome an industry hurdle in establishing a new intellectual property as a hit.

It's not easy to compete in the marketplace with Mario, Madden and other established franchises.

Gears of War has sold more than 1 million copies in the USA and an estimated 2 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling game for Microsoft's year-old

Xbox 360 video game system.

Well reviewed by critics, the game is reaping year-end awards. GameSpot named Gears of War the game of the year, along with best shooter game, best multiplayer game and best graphics (technical).

Last month, it lost game of the year to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion at the Spike TV Game Awards but won studio of the year (for Epic Games), best graphics, best shooter and best multiplayer game.

"Gears of War is certainly one of the best games of the year," says Geoff Keighley, video game journalist and host of Spike TV's Game Head. "It's beautiful, engrossing and features very polished gameplay. It's the kind of game you want to show off to the friends. I dare say it's one of the first true next-generation games on the market."

More important, Gears of War (Microsoft, $60 and $70 for a collector's edition with an art book and DVD) provided a boost for Microsoft's game system at a time when much of the industry attention was focused on the launch of the competing Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii systems.

"It's no doubt sold a lot of Xbox 360s and has made existing 360 owners feel very good about their investment," says John Davison, editorial director of Ziff Davis Media's game group, including Electronic Gaming Monthly.

"It came at exactly the right time and has proved to be a great counter to the launch of the PS3."

At Newsweek, general editor for technology N'Gai Croal is withholding his verdict on whether Gears of War can be a "system seller" that significantly increases the base of Xbox 360 owners, which rose about 511,000 in November to 3.4 million.

But he will say, "Microsoft can hold up Gears of War and say, 'Sony says their machine is more powerful than ours, yet we have this game that looks better (than any PS3 games).' "

Mike Snider, USA TODAY

Racing games offer different ways to speed

2006-12-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

Three new video games let you put the virtual pedal to the metal

Racing video games have come a long way since “Pole Position” was considered cutting-edge back in the 1980s.

Three recent titles — “Need for Speed Carbon,” “Test Drive Unlimited” and “Full Auto 2: Battlelines” — show off the power of the newest consoles with blistering graphics that’ll make you reach for a seat belt, even if you’re sitting on the sofa.

“Full Auto 2: Battlelines” (Rated T, $59.99) for the shiny new PlayStation3 is by far the best-looking of the bunch. It’s less of a sequel than it is an enhanced version of the original “Full Auto,” which was released for the Xbox 360 in early 2006.

The biggest changes to the original are improved graphics and new game modes. Notably, Arena mode blends gas-guzzlers with shooting, like in “Twisted Metal.” Crossing the finish line isn’t the goal here — blowing up your enemies is.

The game’s regular racing modes are intense and the sensation of speed is practically overwhelming as you blur through various city districts with hood-mounted machine guns, missile launchers and smoke screens.

But like the original, the focus is on arcade-style action. The gameplay is about as simple as driving around in a bumper car.

You can still play off-line, but clearly this game was meant to be enjoyed with others. So what does one do here? Like most open-ended online games, that’s really up to you. You can drive around, soup up your vehicles, win prize money from various races and even move into nicer dwellings eventually. Customizing and exploring are key draws here.

If your idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon involves motoring around curvy country roads in some exotic sports car, this could be your game. If not, you might get car sick from all the driving around.

If you thought “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” was, like, the coolest movie ever, then “Need For Speed Carbon” (Rated T, $29.99-$59.99) for all the platforms is your video game.

“Carbon” is the latest in a long line of street-racing games from Electronic Arts Inc. where “drifting” along curvy canyon roads is just as important as stomping on the gas and brake pedals.

The sensation of speed is impressive, especially on the graphically tweaked Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions I tested.

Yet, sadly, EA seems intent on cranking out a new sequel every year, regardless of innovation.
What this means is there’s not much new from last year’s “Need for Speed: Most Wanted,” so if you already have that game there’s not a whole lot of new stuff to check out.

One of the best features — high speed police chases — is missing this time around.
The new “Autosculpt” feature lets you customize your hot rods in numerous ways, yet the end result doesn’t seem to affect performance much.

But of these three racers, “Carbon” definitely strikes the best balance between simulator and arcade game.

Matt Slagle
msnbc.msn.com

Despite its age, PlayStation 2 still rocks

2006-12-31T18:47:00.000-08:00

In December video game maker Square Enix Co. began running prime-time TV ads in Japan featuring battle scenes from its new adventure game "Seiken Densetsu 4," or "Legend of the Sacred Sword." Every 30-second spot ended with a familiar logo: PlayStation. But the game isn't played on Sony Corp.'s new PlayStation 3 console. It's for the PlayStation 2.

This might seem an odd time to launch an ad blitz for a game designed for the PS2, which has been around since 2000. The PS3, after all, was just introduced this fall and offers richer graphics with more lifelike action. But despite all the hype surrounding the PS3, its predecessor is likely to outsell it for two more years.

"The PS2 will have legs well into 2008," says Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles.

And while Nintendo Co.'s Wii console is getting most of the industry buzz, and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft Corp. has racked up big sales in its year on the market, some say the PS2 might even beat out each of those offerings in 2007.

"The PS2 probably has the capacity to sell more than any other gaming" console, says Simon Jeffrey, chief operating officer at game maker Sega of America.

The PS2 already owns the industry's all-time sales record. As of last March, Sony had shipped more than 103 million units worldwide. In the year ending in March, 2007, Sony expects to sell an additional 11 million — and just 6 million PS3s. In the following year, Sony will likely ship another 11 million PS2s versus 7 million PS3s, according to research by rating agency Standard & Poor's.

The PS2's direct rivals, Microsoft's original Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube, are no longer in production. So why is the PS2 doing so well this late in life? For starters, it's cheap. Sony has cut the PS2's price to about $130, down from a high of $300, to entice casual gamers and kids. And with continuing sales and so many PS2 consoles in living rooms worldwide, there's plenty of demand for new titles.

"All the media focus is on next-gen consoles and games, but a lot of the software companies will make a substantial portion of their earnings by selling (older) games," says Erik Whiteford, marketing director at California game maker 2K Sports.

Family fare
To keep sales growing, software makers are tweaking their PS2 efforts. In the console's early days, hard-core gamers were its main audience, but those diehards are now moving on to the PS3. So makers are beefing up offerings of family-oriented titles, kids' games, and movie tie-ins.

Square Enix next spring plans to sell "Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix Plus," a collaboration with Walt Disney Co. Around the same time, Paris-based Ubisoft will unveil "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" to coincide with the release of a film in that series. And Sega is working on a game based on a film from Philip Pullman's story "The Golden Compass," due before the holidays in late 2007. While some of these will be available for other platforms as well, game makers have no plans to discontinue PS2 titles.

Nor is Sony in any hurry to kill the PS2. The launch of a new console always puts game makers in the red, and the PS3 is no exception. With delays and production snafus for the machine, Sony's game unit is expecting a $1.7 billion loss this fiscal year.

The PS2, meanwhile, long ago turned profitable as component prices have plunged and development costs have been written off. Even at $130 a pop, Sony earns about $8 on each PS2 it sells, compared with an estimated loss of $250 per PS3. (Nintendo is believed to break even on the Wii, while Microsoft takes a loss on the Xbox 360.)

And Sony will rake in some $1.4 billion this year from license fees paid by game makers and sales of its own game titles for the PS2 and its predecessor, the PSOne, Goldman, Sachs & Co. estimates. So it's clear Sony will want to milk the PS2 for all it's worth.

Kenji Hall
msnbc.msn.com

Video game console shortage could linger into '07

2006-12-24T02:45:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Shoppers are standing in lines to snap up Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii video game consoles as they become available, and some analysts do not expect shortages to ease until March or later.

Shoppers are finding lots of PlayStation 2s and Microsoft
Xbox 360s, expected to do well as substitutes for the newest machines that are in short supply.

One employee at a Target store said the retailer issues a memo a couple of days in advance of Wii and PS3 shipments and passes the information on to shoppers, who sometimes stand in line to secure their booty.

As he spoke, shoppers snapped up PlayStation Portables and Apple Computer Inc.(Nasdaq:AAPL - news) iPods.

American Technology Research analyst Paul-Jon McNealy said that since Sony (6758.T)(NYSE:SNE - news) shipment numbers include units in transit or in warehouses, the company's target of 1 million could translate to 600,000 to 800,000 units at retail by year end.

McNealy said investors and game makers tempered their forecasts for the PS3s since initial numbers fell short. He added that the PS3 will likely remain scarce through the June quarter.

"They have to launch in Europe, and they're stretched," said McNealy.

Wii shortages could ease in the March quarter, he said.

Workers at a dozen Southern California stores, including Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - news), GameStop (NYSE:GME - news) and Target (NYSE:TGT - news) outlets, said PS3 shipments were small and sporadic this shopping season, ranging from as few as 1 or 2 to 25, and that shoppers snapped up consoles as they arrived.

"We get 1 or 2 every week to week and a half," said a weary Los Angeles GameStop employee.

Nintendo's (7974.OS) Wii was selling out fast but reaching stores in greater numbers than the PS3, store clerks said.

The $250 Wii, known for its motion-sensitive controller that can be swung like a tennis racquet or a sword, and the high-end $600 PS3 both launched in the United States in mid-November and take on the year-old Microsoft Xbox 360 in the new generation video game console battle.

Sony's PS2, which has sold more than 106 million units globally, is expected to be a top seller this season.

Toys "R" Us said its 587 U.S. stores expected more than 6,000 PS3s, thousands of Wiis and over 30,000 Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Xbox 360s in the week leading up to Christmas.

Lisa Baertlein
reuters.com

Microsoft Offers One-Year Warranty for Xbox 360

2006-12-24T02:27:00.000-08:00

When a new video game platform comes out, there are problems. Whether the issue is games freezing, sound problems, Internet connection or compatibility issues, gamers and consumers can spend hours sorting out these difficulties.

Now, Microsoft appears to have taken a step in the right direction to lessen these issues for users of its
Xbox 360. On Dec. 22, the Redmond, Wash., company announced that it will change the Xbox 360's warranty from 90 days to one year from the date of purchase in the U.S. and Canada.

By expanding its warranty offer from 90 days to one year, Microsoft will give its North American customers the same guarantees and hardware protection the company already offers to Xbox 360 users in other parts of the world.

Microsoft officials could not be immediately reached for comment about the announcement. The company has said that there have been ongoing issues and problems with some of the hardware used in the Xbox 360.

In September, Microsoft told IGN Entertainment online that there were problems with many of the consoles that were made before Jan. 1, 2006. As a result, the company offered refunds to customers who had already paid for repairs.

With the new warranty extension, Microsoft has promised customers who have already paid out-of-warranty repair charges within the first year of owning an Xbox 360 that they will receive reimbursements within 10 weeks.

Microsoft is not the only console maker experiencing problems with hardware. PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii are also having issues with their platforms such as sound, compatibility and Internet connections. As a result, Sony and Nintendo have also offered expanded warranties as way to address the concerns of their own customers.

IGN reported in November that the PS3 was having compatibility issues when it comes to running select
PlayStation 2 titles such as Tekken 5, Devil May Cry and Gran Turismo.

Click here to read more about the Xbox 360.

IGN has also reported that there have been hardware problems with PS3, such as physical memory cards, multitaps and USB specifications, which have created problems when trying to use PS2 games on the PS3.

In order to fix these problems, IGN reports that Sony plans to make hard disk-based PS2 games compatible in a future system software update.

Users of the Nintendo Wii have also been reporting issues with their platforms on the Nintendo Wii Chat Web site, such as the Wiimote disconnecting, problems with the Internet connection, sound issues and the system freezing on the screen.

One Wii user wrote of problems with the console's sound.

"After playing for a bit, the audio goes full FUZZ. Static if you will," the user, who goes by the name CasopoliS, wrote on the site.

Check out eWEEK.com's Desktops & Notebooks Center for the latest news in desktop and notebook computing.

Patrick Hoffman - eWEEK

Xbox Live challenge is to reach masses

2006-12-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES, Dec 21 (Reuters Life!) - Letting video game players compete against others online has distinguished Microsoft Corp's (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Xbox 360 console from Nintendo and Sony Corp.(6758.T) rivals, but casual gamers have yet to embrace the service in droves.

Xbox Live allows free game downloads, video chat sessions and more, but its main success is allowing gamers to play competitively against others online, often in violent games. Some 4 million subscribers pay $50 per year for the service.

But the runaway success of Nintendo's (7974.OS) new Wii, a game console that openly caters to the mass market, has underlined the importance of more casual gamers to the industry. The console debuted mid-November and is expected to sell 4 million consoles worldwide by the end of the year.

"Microsoft has gotten a solid base of hardcore gamers who are drawn to its first person shooters," said video game analyst David Cole, president of DFC Intelligence. "But that is one small segment of the game market."

Even games with heralded online features are often played alone.

Cole says that even though 6 million copies of the hit alien-killing game Halo 2 were sold, only 2 million of those users took the game online, despite online being heralded as its most important feature.

"A lot of casual gamers are intimidated by online in general, both in terms of the technology and the human competition," said Cole. "That's changing, but it still has a ways to go."

SOCIAL NETWORK IN THE LIVING ROOM

Xbox Live's subscribers are spread across 24 million original Xboxes as well as Xbox 360s, which Microsoft says should have 10 million units shipped by the end of December.

The most popular games on Live are usually shooters such as Halo 2, Gears of War, Call of Duty 2 & 3 and Rainbow Six Vegas, and so the online environment is often full of aggressive and sometime verbally abusive players, which can make even experienced gamers uncomfortable at times.

"You kind of gravitate toward playing with your friends and co-workers," said Bryan Intihar, the reviews editor at Electronic Gaming Monthly, a video game magazine. "There's a lot of immature people playing online, but that's a problem that's been there since day one."

Microsoft hopes to counter any perception of Live as a service for the hardcore only. The company recently launched a video download service that allows users to download movies and television shows to their Xbox 360 consoles for a fee.

"We're building a social network in the living room," said Aaron Greenberg, the group product manager for Xbox Live. "I believe it's delivering on being something your mom, dad and kids can use.

Greenberg said that only 10 percent of original Xboxes were connected to the Internet, while more than 50 percent of all Xbox 360s are taken online, proving that the Live community is becoming more inclusive.

But Cole said new features like Xbox Live video are more enhancements for existing users, and not a huge attraction for mass market casual gamers.

Games that do not depend on Web play -- such as some roll-playing games -- are most important, he added.

"The key to the 360's overall success is what they'll offer consumers who don't go online," Cole said.

Kemp Powers
www.reuters.com

Is that shooter suitable for junior?

2006-12-21T18:23:00.000-08:00

Entertainment Software Rating Board says its system is widely used. Ever sneak into an R-rated movie as a kid? Of course you did. It’s a rite of passage, like skipping school or sneaking a smoke behind the cafeteria.

But if you’re a 13 year-old with a hankering to play "Halo," you’d better get your older brother to buy it for you. That game is rated M, for mature. And virtually no retailer — major or independent — will sell it to you.

But do parents really use these ratings when they buy games for their kids? Or is the ratings system little more than an olive branch from the video game industry to its most vocal, hand-wringing critics?

The answer is yes, and…sort of. It’s true that the Entertainment Software Rating Board was created by the video game industry as a way to get society off the industry’s back. But ESRB president Patricia Vance insists that the ratings system, now 12 years old, is relevant, useful — and widely used.

“We have very high awareness, and very high use,” says Vance. “Three-quarters of parents use the system all the time, or most of the time.”

Public service campaign
Despite this high level of awareness, the ESRB has launched, just in time for the holiday season, a new public service campaign. Earlier this month, the organization sent four spots featuring executives from GameStop and Best Buy to more than 800 broadcast and cable stations nationwide.

The ESRB’s game rating system is, like the film industry’s rating system, totally voluntary. So while game developers and publishers don’t have to submit to the organization’s rating process, they’ll be hard-pressed to find a retailer willing to carry their unrated game.

“At Wal-Mart we make every effort to be a responsible retailer and this includes the sale of video games,” says Wal-Mart spokesperson Karen A. Burk. “All of the items we carry are rated by the ESRB.”

Kristin Kalning
msnbc.msn.com

Dragons to disco: Choice of youth video games widens

2006-12-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES, Dec 21 (Reuters Life!) - This holiday season offers a mother lode of games for children and teens, starring flying dragons, adventurous Santas, dancing Disney characters, colourful blobs and rhythm agents.Players ride fire-breathing dragons in the movie-inspired "Eragon" game for Sony's PlayStation Portable. (Stormfront Studios/Vivendi Games, Rated T, $40).

In "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" for the Game Boy Advance, they fight Jack Frost's evil plan to wreck Christmas. (1st Playable Productions/Buena Vista Games, Rated E, $20)

Not ready to invest in hardware? "Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Mix" plugs directly into a television so users can boogie down to Disney songs with Disney characters. (Majesco/Konami, Ages 4 and up, $30)

Following is an expanded list based on game store clerk interviews and video game fan site ratings and recommendations:

Nintendo DS

Sure bets for the pet lovers on your list: "Nintendogs" -- Dachshunds, Dalmatians, Labradors or Chihuahuas. (Nintendo, Rated E, $30-35) MTO and Ubisoft offer "Catz," "Dogz," "Hamsterz Life," and "Horsez" (Rated E, $30)

"Elite Beat Agents" -- In this highly rated game, players help members of a super-secret agency groove the world to safety by tracing and tapping to the rhythm and beat. (Inis/Nintendo, Rated E10+, $30)

Anything starring Nintendo plumber/hero Super Mario is destined to bring a smile. Titles include "New Super Mario Bros." and "Yoshi's Island DS." (Nintendo, Rated E, $25-$35)

PlayStation Portable (PSP)

"Gitaroo Man Lives!" -- A rocking remake of the cult rhythm game. (KOEI, Rated E, $40)

"LocoRoco" -- Save the LocoRoco blobs from the attacking Moja. (Sony Computer Entertainment, Rated E, $40)

PlayStation II

Last Christmas belonged to "Guitar Hero I" and this holiday's crowd-pleaser promises to be "Guitar Hero II," featuring a new playlist and a red guitar for the rockstar in everyone. (RedOctane/Activision, Rated T, $80) Wii

"Elebits" -- This interactive hide-and-seek game takes full advantage of the Wii's motion sensitive controller. (Konami, Rated E, $50)

Xbox 360

Microsoft is reaching out to the kids market with "Viva Pinata," a fun, colourful game based on the animated television show for kids. (Rare/Microsoft, Rated E, $50)

For most consoles, handhelds and personal computers:

"Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy" - Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Darth Vader duel it out in a world made of Legos. (Traveller's Tales or Amaze/LucasArts, Rated E or E10+,

$30-$50)

"Rayman Raving Rabbids" - Rayman has been enslaved by out-of-control bunnies and must navigate a world of bizarre minigames that include throwing cows, shooting plungers and milking pigs. (Ubisoft, Rated E, $20-$50)

Lisa Baertlein
www.reuters.com

Need for Speed: Carbon

2006-12-19T23:56:00.000-08:00

“Need for Speed” is another yearly franchise, for better or for worse. This year ditches most of the high-speed cop-chase thrills of 2006's “Most Wanted” and replaces them with big underground rallies between rival racing teams. The goal is to control as much of the city as possible, earning real estate by winning a series of races — often with the help of an artificial intelligence-controlled teammate.

For once, there is an immediate, noticeable difference between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 visuals. When hurtling down the nighttime straightaway in the Xbox 360, the blurring effects look stunning. The PS3 is plagued with a lower frame rate that dampens high-speed situations. Car models don't look quite as nice as the Xbox 360 vehicles, too.

This isn't to say that the PS3 version is ugly by any stretch, but the Xbox 360 version definitely has the edge, especially since it has a photo mode for grabbing in-game shots of your tuned-up rides.

“Carbon” on the Wii is a different animal. Yes, the visuals are significantly downshifted, and that includes a frame-rate hit that doesn't make racing as smooth as the other versions. But the control mechanism — using the Wii remote with or without the extra nunchuk attachment — makes “Carbon” feel like an entirely fresh game. Whether you're tilting the remote to steer, or steering with the nunchuk and using the remote as a virtual gas pedal, Wii Carbon features pitch-perfect steering that will please race fans.

In many ways, comparing the Nintendo Wii to the PS3 and Xbox 360 is an apples-to-oranges scenario. The visuals on Wii games just aren't as strong, but the game mechanics are usually so different that you really have to make up your mind based on controls. Do you want to play these games as you have for the last 20 years? Or take a walk on the Wii side?

The Xbox 360 had a significant head start on its closest rival, the PS3, and the games available for both systems demonstrate that pretty clearly. But even though Xbox 360 has won the immediate battle, Sony’s not giving up on the war — not by a long shot. The PS3 games planned for the back half of 2007 are not likely to have the same problems as these earlier titles. If you can wait it out, you’ll probably be richly rewarded.

"Need for Speed: Carbon"
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rated: Teen

Levi Buchanan
msnbc.msn.com

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

2006-12-19T23:37:00.000-08:00

“Marvel: Ultimate Alliance” is the equivalent to video game junk food – glorious fluff. Players command up to four superheroes from an impressive roster that includes major leaguers like Spider-Man, Wolverine and Captain America, as well as fan favorites like Ghost Rider and Deadpool. Marvel fans –and our reviewer, Winda Benedetti, have lavished praise on the game — but which which version should you pick?

Again, the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions are nearly identical. Nearly. At its highest high-def setting, 1080p, the PS3 version features a slightly overall sharper look. The game also employs some neat lighting effects that trump the Xbox 360 version, too.

However, the Xbox 360 version boasts a better frame rate, and in an action game like “Marvel,” smoother gameplay is more important than cool special effects. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 version feature online multiplayer.

The Wii version of “Marvel” does not feature online multiplayer, and it takes a steep graphical hit. Attacks and maneuvers normally triggered to controller buttons are assigned to motions with the Wii remote, such as swiping downward to perform a slam attack. (The motion-sensitive PS3 controller sports a few similar features.)

Hardcore gamers, the type normally attracted to beat-'em-ups like “Marvel,” will likely prefer the traditional controls of the Xbox 360 and PS3 -- and enjoy the extra visual polish, as well.

“Marvel: Ultimate Alliance"
Publisher: Activision
Rated: Teen

Levi Buchanan
msnbc.msn.com

Call of Duty 3

2006-12-19T23:29:00.000-08:00

“Call of Duty 3” is a first-person shooter set in war-torn, World War II Europe. “Call of Duty 2,” a launch title for the Xbox 360, was a monster bestseller, and this sequel replicates as much of the thrill as possible with a meager one-year window. Authenticity is a major selling point for the “Call of Duty” series, and the third installation delivers accurate weapons and battles ripped from history books.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 editions look remarkably similar — a thread that extends through all cross-platform releases currently on shelves. It's obvious, however, that the Xbox 360 edition was the lead product. The stunning high-def visuals suffer from slight frame-rate issues on the PS3, which means you might experience a slight hiccup in gameplay. The 360 edition is much smoother, and the colors actually appear a little richer, too. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 version have online multiplayer, but only the Xbox 360 version supports voice chat.

“Call of Duty 3” takes a dramatic visual hit on the Wii, but that’s to be expected — Nintendo’s new console doesn’t pretend to have the horsepower of the Xbox 360 or the PS3.

If you pony up for component cables — which bump up the resolution to 480p — “Call of Duty 3” looks somewhat better on the Wii. But the Wii version of the game lacks multiplayer gameplay. On the plus side, the Wii remote offers offers excellent control — especially with targeting. Using the remote as a gun allows you to pull off some pinpoint headshots on Nazi thugs.

"Call of Duty 3"
Publisher: Activision
Rated: Teen

Levi Buchanan
msnbc.msn.com

Wii Opera trial goes live December 22nd

2006-12-19T20:54:00.000-08:00

Nintendo has revealed that the Opera web browser will be available from this Friday, December 22nd, for Wii users to download and sample the service ahead of the official release scheduled for March 2007.

Wii owners already have access to the Wii Shop for buying downloadable games, and the Forecast Channel which launched earlier today, but this is the first time the user will be able to browse websites via the console.

"Our software brings the power and reach of the Internet to the hottest videogame system available," commented Scott Hedrick, executive VP of devices at opera Software.

"Wii's unique interface adds a new dimension to our browser, making it a useful tool that the whole family will enjoy operating with ease."

The full version of the Opera browser will be available for Wii users from March next year, and will be free until the end of June. After June, users can purchase the software from the Wii Shop for 500 Wii Points (around GBP 3.50).

"In addition to providing innovative and exciting new ways to play, Wii also offers further services and entertainment for all the family," said Laurent Fischer, marketing director for Nintendo of Europe.

"Wii is the perfect console for everyone to enjoy and this is being reflected in the phenomenal sales across Europe," he added.

Matt Martin

gamesindustry.biz

Valve and IGA ink Counter-Strike ad deal

2006-12-19T20:51:00.000-08:00

Five billion player minutes per month rival top TV shows, says Lombardi. In-game ad firm IGA Worldwide has signed an agreement with developer Valve to provide adverts in online shooter Counter-Strike. The companies believe the deal is one of the largest in-game ad deals of its kind, which hopes to take advantage of Counter-Strike's five billion player minutes per month.

"This exclusive agreement between IGA Worldwide and Valve adds significant value to our network and provides brands with a sure-fire way to reach millions of consumers with high impact advertising, and with highly measurable results," said Justin Townsend, CEO of IGA.

"We have created a new mass-reach advertising channel where we can deliver targeted 'above the line' advertising creatives to the living rooms of highly engaged, hard to reach demographics, yet with the measurability of below the line mediums such as online," he added.

"As the world's premier online action game, Counter-Strike's player minutes exceed its closest competitor by more than 100 per cent," said Doug Lombardi, marketing director for Valve.

"Additionally, Counter-Strike rivals many of the current top ten watched shows on American televisions. For instance, a top ranked, one hour, weekly program garners 20 million viewers and results in approximately 4.8 billion viewer minutes per month.

Conversely, Counter-Strike generates over 5 billion player minutes in the same period of time. And, nobody fast-forwards through any part of Counter-Strike," added Lombardi.

Matt Martin

gamesindustry.biz

Lost Planet reaches 1 million downloads

2006-12-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

Clocks up more than 300,000 hours through online multiplayer. Capcom has revealed that demos for Lost Planet: Extreme Condition have been downloaded over one million times over Xbox Live. The figure includes both single and multiplayer demos, and is a vote of confidence in the title, due for release early next year.

The publisher claims the multiplayer demo has clocked up over 300,000 hours of play time online since release last month.

The single-player demo was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace back in May as part of Microsoft's synchronised E3 showing, which also included playable demos for Test Drive Unlimited and Moto GP.

"Since we made the multiplayer demo available through Xbox Live Marketplace, there have been hundreds of thousands of hours spent playing the game, which is a great testament to the quality of Lost Planet," said Hiroshi Tobisawa, president of Capcom Europe.

"This latest demo has completely energized the Xbox community, giving them something to look forward to in the New Year, when the next big hit Xbox 360 title hits retail."

Matt Martin
gamesindustry.biz

Konami offers free game demos for mobile

2006-12-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

Konami has launched a download service for US consumers, allowing them to access free mobile game demos and other content for hit titles such as Contra, Castlevania, Frogger and Dance Dance Revolution.

The Konami Mobile Portal is a free download which the publisher hopes will make the process of choosing and buying mobile games a simple and efficient experience.

"Our customers appreciate being able to browse and sample the wide variety of products," said Joe Morris, vice president of mobile content for Konami.

"Once they do decide to buy, the speed of our store is unparalleled, with most customers receiving the content an average of 90 seconds after choosing it."

"Additionally the Konami Mobile Portal allows us to develop an ongoing relationship with our customers. We're committed to developing new ways of making the mobile experience easier and more enjoyable, and other companies are finding ways to use our technologies for a variety of applications beyond gaming," he added.

Matt Martin
gamesindustry.biz

Games hub at varsity

2006-12-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

Jadavpur University (JU) is set to become the first academic institution in the country to have a centre for development of computer games. The increasing preference of young engineers for a career in the rapidly-growing gaming industry has prompted the university’s decision to set up Games Valley.

Two reputed foreign institutions will collaborate with JU in the project. The university will soon tie up with Digipen, in Washington DC, which conducts programmes in design and computer games. An agreement will also be signed with Algon Quin University in Canada, which is known for producing quality game developers, said JU officials.

“A team of four senior teachers will visit the US in January to finalise the agreement with Digipen. The team will also visit Ottawa for inking the pact with Algon Quin University,” said Parthapratim Biswas, a member of the university’s executive council. Biswas is part of the team that is going to the US.

The JU authorities have plans to seek faculty support from Digipen.

At the national level, the university has decided to collaborate with IBM and Institute of Toy Making Technology for developing the infrastructure of Games Valley.

“Games Valley will open an avenue for young graduates to pursue careers in entertainment technology, which is much in demand in both the national and global markets,” stated Biswas.

JU officials said one of the attractions of Games Valley will be its well-equipped workshops. The team going abroad will interact with experts to finalise the design of the workshops, laboratories and other facilities at the centre.

“We will engage experts in various fields to offer inputs on games. For instance, there are going to be experts on arts and literature,” said Biswas.

The university had announced in January this year postgraduate courses in gaming for graduates in computer science and engineering and electronic science and engineering.

MITA MUKHERJEE
www.telegraphindia.com

Cancer Video Game

2006-12-19T19:15:00.000-08:00

Like many kids his age, 17-year-old David Kossow can often be found in front of the television. "I've been playing video games all my life," he says. David is also taking it easy because of his health. Three years ago he was diagnosed with leukemia. The news meant dozens of trips to the hospital and 36 months of chemotherapy.

Cancer is the number one cause of death in kids and teens in the United States. Treatment regimens are improving, but getting patients to follow them can be a challenge.

Mike Kossow, David's dad, says, "It's been a rough three years." But a nice distraction came when David was able to test a new computer video game through a study at Washington University School of Medicine.

The game is called "Re-Mission." Roxxi, the main character, is a robot who seeks and destroys the enemy, "cancer."

"It kind of gives a whole new perspective on fighting cancer," David says. "I mean you can't really do it physically, so you can do it virtually."

Kids in the study played this game or a regular video game for three months. Researchers found the teens who played Re-Mission felt better overall, knew more about their cancer, and were more likely to take their medications properly.

Jeanne Harvey, N.P., of Washington University School of Medicine, tells Ivanhoe, "We always have to try to be creative with teenagers, especially to come up with ways to engage them in the process because a lot of times, their reaction to all of this is to just shut down."

The Re-Mission game is free to young adults with cancer and rated "T" for Teen.

David's beaten all 20 levels of Re-Mission. He's found it so inspiring he plans to one day design video games himself.

"He knows that that chemo treatment is kind of like going to the next video game level and beating that level," Mike says.

Now that David is done with treatment, his final mission is to destroy the cancer in his body for good.

abclocal.go.com

Group advocates game-rating system

2006-12-19T01:12:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON - With the holiday shopping season underway, an industry group for video games is trying to encourage parents to use its voluntary ratings to protect children from graphic images of sex and violence.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board said Thursday it would distribute four public-service television spots to more than 800 broadcast and cable stations nationwide.

“Just like movies and TV shows, video games are created for a diverse audience of all ages, and some are simply not intended for children,” ESRB president Patricia Vance said.

Sens. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., lent their support at a Capitol Hill news conference. Both have been active in the fight to protect children from sexually explicit and graphically violent videos, music and movies.

Lieberman said parents must play a central role in learning about the ratings and what games their children should be playing.

“Ultimately, this is about parents exercising some responsibility,” Lieberman said.

Vance said about 12 percent of the games the ESRB rates each year are M-rated, intended for those aged 17 and over. She said parents should take such ratings seriously in deciding if the content of the game is appropriate for their child.

Executives from retailers Best Buy Co. and GameStop Corp. appear in the ads, stressing their support for ratings and their store policies not to sell M-rated games to children under 17 without parental permission.

The ESRB rating system was created in 1994 by the entertainment software industry. Use of the ESRB seal and rating is voluntary, though virtually all games do so.

Andrew Miga
www.msnbc.msn.com

Ubisoft MD predicts bright future for gaming websites

2006-12-19T01:09:00.000-08:00

Ubisoft UK managing director Rob Cooper has confirmed that the publisher plans to devote more of its marketing spend to online advertising as gaming websites become ever more popular.

Speaking in the latest edition of the Games Central podcast, Cooper said that "a lot, lot more" of Ubisoft's money is now being spent online.

"Only last week we were looking at ways and means we should further our spend in sites generally, because it is so active. You see such a big result on a website," he stated.

According to Cooper, it's access to instant information which makes gaming sites so popular with consumers.

"[Gamers] like to read it when they want to read it, rather than actually sit for a certain time or read when a magazine comes out," he observed.

"Certainly, if I'm looking on the Internet, I've tended to look at things because it's instant. Rather than wait for something to read it, I can read it there and then, which to me is much more important."

gamesindustry.biz

UK Charts: FIFA is Christmas number one

2006-12-19T01:03:00.000-08:00

Electronic Arts has claimed the Christmas number one spot for the fourth consecutive year, with FIFA 07 staying at the top of the All Formats charts. Need for Speed: Carbon also remains at number two in the charts, proving EA has some of the most popular franchises during the busiest retail period of the year.

THQ's WWE Smackdown Vs RAW 2007 has climbed up the top ten to number three, boosted by the release of the PSP version of the game, while Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 6 slips one place to four.

Also dropping down the charts is Activision's Call of Duty 3 at number five, with the third EA title in the top ten, The Sims 2: Pets holding at six.

Climbing one place is Epic and Microsoft's Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War, with Midway's seasonal movie tie-in Happy Feet breaking into the top ten at number eight.

Two charts stalwarts round out the top ten, with LucasArts' Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy at number nine, and THQ's Cars at ten.

Matt Martin
gameindustry.biz

America victorious in virtual war on terror

2006-12-18T01:33:00.000-08:00

Whatever your opinion of the war in Iraq (and I don’t want to get too political in a game-review column), one thing is clear: These are tough times for U.S. forces, with debate raging about the uses of military might in the 21st century.

There’s no such debate in the virtual world. The conflicts being waged on video-game consoles can get ugly, but there’s no question who’s in charge: the good ol’ U.S.A. In video games, ruthless terrorists and nuke-wielding despots are no match for American firepower, technology and guts.

It’s easy to get caught up in this gung-ho approach to warfare, and games about U.S. troops fighting terrorists are popular worldwide. The global nature of the video-game industry has led to some strange bedfellows; most famously, the games sporting Tom Clancy’s superpatriotic brand name are published by a French company, Ubisoft.

Ubisoft and Clancy are back this fall with new installments of two of their most popular franchises, and they’re both addictive enough to compel even the most pacifistic of gamers to pick up an assault rifle.

Like many a fading star — Celine Dion, Elton John, Prince — the aging “Rainbow Six” (Ubisoft, for the Xbox 360, $59.99) series has taken refuge in Las Vegas. But the desert air has done wonders for the creaky old war horse, which delivers its most exciting episode yet. D

uring a mission in Mexico, your commando team discovers that terrorists are about to mount an assault on Vegas, and it’s a quick trip from the border town’s sun-baked squalor to Sin City’s flashier brand of decadence.

The 360 does a terrific job capturing Vegas glitz, from crowded casino floors to breathtaking panoramas of the neon-lit Strip. You have to use smart strategy to outflank your enemies, but this game makes it easy to give orders to your three-man unit, making it the most accessible “R6” yet.

As usual, you get to fight with an impressive assortment of high-tech weapons and explosives, and it’s undeniably thrilling to watch a bank of slot machines explode in a burst of AK-47 fire. Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman may not like it, but “Rainbow Six Vegas” is a blast.

The latest “SOCOM” (Sony, for the PlayStation 2, $34.99) visits a more familiar setting, a former Soviet state called Adjikistan that’s become a terrorist hotbed.

“Combined Assault” doesn’t offer any surprising twists on that tired scenario, but it’s a serviceable simulation of squad-based tactical fighting. You control the leader of a four-man unit, and you have a wide range of commands you can issue to the other three guys.

Most of the missions require some degree of planning and stealth: You’re better off taking out enemies one-by-one than rushing in and starting a massive firefight. “Combined Assault” is an involving and well-executed PS2 shooter, but it doesn’t bring much new to the series and it pales in comparison to the next-generation competition.

Lou Kesten
www.ap.org

SCi obtains 11 new licences as part of GBP 44m deal with Warner Bros.

2006-12-18T00:52:00.000-08:00

SCi Entertainment has picked up 11 new licenses, including Looney-Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and The OC, as part of a new deal with Warner Bros. worth GBP 44.5 million (Euro 66.4 million). The deal sees WB acquiring a ten per cent stake in the company, subscribing at GBP 5.02 (7.49 Euro) per share.

"We continue to build a broad portfolio with a very strong focus on original IPs supported by strong licences," SCi CFO Rob Murphy told GamesIndustry.biz.

"The WB licences reflect the broadening demographics of games buyers and should be particularly well suited to new platforms such as the Wii and DS."

Under the terms of the deal, SCi's publishing label, Eidos, will create games based on Looney Tunes characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales for handheld consoles.

SCi also has the right to produce up to ten games based on Hanna-Barbera characters including Tom and Jerry, the Flintstones, Wacky Races and Yogi Bear, plus titles based on DC Comics's Batman character and hit TV show The OC.

In addition, SCi has acquired the licenses for animated TV programmes Loonatics Unleashed and Legion of Super Heroes.

SCi will produce up to 20 games in total across current and next-gen platforms, and Warner Bros. will provide primary distribution and media buying services to Eidos in the US. The games will be developed at both internal and third-party studios, and will be released from 2008 onwards.

"These agreements represent a further step in SCi's development as one of the world's leading publishers of interactive entertainment," SCi chief executive Jane Cavanagh said in a statement.

"The share subscription will provide SCi with the firepower to accelerate growth initiatives such as increasing our development capacity and our new media and online strategies."

Ellie Gibson
www.gamesindustry.biz

Nintendo Wii breaks records in Australia

2006-12-18T00:31:00.000-08:00

First it was announced that the Nintendo Wii had become the fastest-selling home console in the UK, then Europe - and now it's breaking records in Australia, too. GfK Australia has published new figures showing that 32,901 Wii units were sold in the four days following the console's launch on December 7. During launch week, the Wii made up 43 per cent of all videogame hardware sales in the territory.

That means it sold faster than any other home or handheld console, edging past the Xbox 360 - which shifted 30,241 units during its opening weekend - and the PSP, next in line with a figure of 27,055 units.

The software attach rate for Wii stood at 1.5 units per console - so towards the lower end of the scale, GfK conceded. But, the company observed, Nintendo's machine does come bundled with the Wii Sports game, which wasn't accounted for when calculating the attach rate.

Earlier this week, Microsoft published Xbox 360 sales figures for the same period, with regional director David McLean stating that the launch of the Wii had not had a negative impact.
Related Articles

Ellie Gibson
www.gamesindustry.biz

SEGA enlists heavyweight support for Alien games

2006-12-17T23:21:00.000-08:00

SEGA has enlisted seasoned PC and console developer Gearbox Software to create a first-person shooter based on the Alien film franchise.

The news comes hot on the heels of an announcement that Neverwinter Nights 2 developer Obsidian Entertainment will be producing a role-playing game based on the films.

Earlier this week SEGA revealed it had secured the rights to create next-generation games based on the enduring sci-fi favourite.

The fact that developers of the stature of Gearbox and Obsidian are involved will be considered a significant show of strength from the one-time platform holder, which appears determined to buck the industry trend of producing low-expectation licensed properties under the assumption that the brand will carry the content.

"Gearbox Software has a storied history of bringing innovative and compelling design to the FPS category," said SEGA of America president and COO Simon Jeffery.

"Combining their design talents with the intense action of the Alien franchise ensures that gamers will have an immersive and action-packed experience."

Gearbox president Randy Pitchford said that the Alien series had been "a tremendous influence" on the developer and the games industry at large.

"The opportunity to work with the amazing people at SEGA and Fox to build a next generation videogame in the Alien universe is one of those dream projects that is a perfect fit for our capability and our passion."

Platforms have yet to be specified, but SEGA has previously said that both the RPG and FPS titles are in pre-production, with one due out in 2009.

Ellie Gibson
gamesindustry.biz

China tightening control of online games

2006-12-17T23:04:00.000-08:00

BEIJING - China is tightening controls on its booming online game industry, requiring distributors to closely monitor game contents after some were found that included forbidden religious or political material, a state news agency said Tuesday.

The announcement adds to government efforts to tighten controls over Chinese newspapers, television and other media.

Distributors must obtain approval to release new games and submit monthly monitoring reports confirming that operators haven't added forbidden content, the Xinhua News Agency said. It cited a notice by the Press and Publication Administration.

China has 23 million online game players, up from 13.8 million in 2003, according to Xinhua. It said revenues this year are expected to reach $850 million.

The latest crackdown was prompted by "a rash of problems with imported online games, some of which contain sensitive religious material or refer to territorial disputes," Xinhua said. It said some were criticized as pornographic or too violent.

The report gave no details about the religious and territorial issues, but the government is sensitive to references to Islam and Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own territory.

Regulators said distributors concealed the content of the games when applying for approval, and operators sometimes upgraded games with improper content, Xinhua said.

msn_news

The Nintendo Difference

2006-12-17T20:40:00.000-08:00

No company frustrates the soothsayers quite as much as Nintendo. Across the land, divining rods are being snapped, crystal balls are being smashed and tea leaves are being stamped on in fury - as the firm whose death has been predicted countless times reveals itself once again to be in rude good health and ready to take on the world.

I refer, of course, to the launch of the Wii in Europe, which saw the firm clocking up a record breaking 325,000 sales over the weekend; but even more astonishing, and more laudable, is the stunning success of the Nintendo DS in the same week. Over half a million units of the handheld were sold in Europe last week, and the installed base now tops 8.5 million units in this territory alone. If this is an indication of how the Wii's sales will go, then Nintendo's risky gamble with the motion sensing Wiimote could actually turn out to be the stroke of genius which hands dominance of the console space back to its one-time master.

As the Kyoto-based firm continues to confound the doom-mongers who have gleefully predicted its demise for the best part of a decade, it's worth pausing for a moment to think about the other common prediction which is associated with Nintendo - namely that the company will (or at least, should) abandon the hardware market entirely, and instead focus on bringing its unique range of IPs and franchises to other platforms. Going third-party - or "doing a Sega", as industry slang would have it.

The most common argument for this strategy is that while Nintendo may be hugely profitable, the company's home consoles are in distant second or even third place behind those of the market leader - so in theory, by moving franchises like Mario and Zelda to the PlayStation and the Xbox, the firm would have a much larger target market, would sell more units, and would ultimately be much more successful. This is particularly relevant now, proponents of this model argue, because the astonishing cost of the new generation of consoles has forced Nintendo out of the arms race, leaving its games confined to an innovative but underpowered system.

On the face of it, it's a compelling argument - and it certainly worked for Sega, which has turned around its fortunes since bailing out of the Dreamcast (aided, admittedly, by being acquired by wealthy Japanese gambling firm Sammy) and is now one of the most influential third-party publishers in the industry. Why shouldn't Nintendo follow Sega's example, then, and leave the CPU and GPU arms race to the multinational giants with cash to burn?

The simple answer is because "The Nintendo Difference" isn't just a cunning marketing slogan; Nintendo genuinely is different. Its structure and business model are a radical departure from how every other company in the interactive entertainment industry works, and the comparisons between Nintendo and Sega are merely skin deep. Sega left hardware because it had no choice; the failure of the Dreamcast was a nail in the coffin, and the structure of its internal studios was perfect for transplanting into a third party publisher. Nintendo stays in hardware because it, too, has no choice in the matter.

Of course, on a very simple level, if Nintendo was to leave hardware then it would lose a major revenue stream, because the company notoriously designs and prices its consoles such that hardware is a profit-making enterprise. Making up for that lost revenue would also be tougher than it looks, because as a third-party publisher, Nintendo would be forced to pay a significant license fee on each game it sold, so its profit margin from software would be reduced. As such, the company would have to vastly increase its software sales in order to make up both for reduced margins and for the loss of the hardware revenue stream - an incredibly daunting task, even for a firm with franchises like Mario and Zelda. Bear in mind that those franchises already sell millions of copies, and have an astonishingly high attach rate with Nintendo hardware - even on a system with five times the installed base, achieving higher sales would be a challenge.

Even more important, though, is the change which would have to be made to Nintendo's entire culture, to its business and creative models, if it were to abandon the hardware market. Considering this gives an insight into the workings of one of the most fascinating companies in the videogames market - a firm which is quite unlike its competitors, with an approach which owes more to that of a toy company than to the videogame publishing model.

Nintendo's entire philosophy is focused on the platform - not on hardware or software as separate entities or businesses, but as the platform as a whole. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, where it's apparent that Chinese walls have been erected between the designers of the hardware and the creators of first-party software, Nintendo actually places its top software designers at the helm of hardware design. Consoles are designed to suit the game concepts which will run on them - a working model which is apparent in the design of both the Nintendo DS and the Wii, and which allows the company to create early first-party titles which really showcase the hardware.

This top-down approach, which creates consoles based on the games which will run on them, is the antithesis of Microsoft and Sony's approach, which designs from the bottom up - first creating a console and then worrying about what games will run on it. It gives Nintendo an enormous competitive advantage which would not be evident if it were a third-party publisher, and allows its top first-party software to innovate and evolve in ways which would be impossible on another company's hardware. It's also the approach which has informed the decision to restrain the specifications of the Wii - and indeed the DS - to a manageable level, which allows development to take place faster and less expensively than on rival consoles.

These factors combine to make Nintendo into the company it is today - a company whose low development costs, tight integration between hardware and software and enormous profit margins allow it to take creative risks, drive forward innovation and promote the growth of the gaming market as a whole. Without Nintendo's unique business model and first-party status, games like Nintendogs, Brain Age, Animal Crossing and Wario Ware simply could not exist; they either rely heavily on the hardware which supports them, or are so far off the beaten track that creating them on a system with higher development costs and lower profit margins would be commercially untenable.

That's why Nintendo will remain in the hardware business - because its consoles are more than just a platform to run its software on. They are part of a platform strategy which defines the entire company's approach to the market, and which means Nintendo is more than just one of the world's leading videogame companies - it is also, and arguably more importantly, one of the world's leading toy companies, and remains a powerhouse of innovation and development which is a driving force for the entire games sector. "Doing a Sega" is not on the cards for this firm, and probably never will be - especially not when it's still in the enviable position of being able to shift the better part of a million units in Europe in a single week.

Rob Fahey
gamesindutry.biz

Technology changing way fans see game

2006-12-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

The San Francisco Giants were in the thick of the pennant race in August 2002. And Blake Krikorian and his brother, Jason, were stuck at their office with no way to watch.

The afternoon game was being shown on a local TV station, but their office didn't have a TV feed. They signed up for an Internet service that showed games live — only to discover local teams were blacked out.

"We thought, 'There's got to be a way we can watch and control our living room television,'" Blake Krikorian said. "Whether I'm in my backyard on my laptop, or sitting in an office on my desktop, or traveling in Shanghai with my mobile phone, it shouldn't really matter. All I want is my familiar, living room TV programming."

Thus, Slingbox was born.

The product, which lets people watch their home TV anywhere, anytime using an Internet-connected computer or handheld device, is one of the many ways the view of games we love are changing.

No matter how many channels on a cable system or state-of-the-art satellite dish, there isn't enough room for everything. The networks have little choice but to stick with the programming they know sells — baseball, the NFL,
NASCAR,
NCAA basketball and football, plus the golf and tennis majors. Viewers have turned elsewhere for what they want and are using the latest in technology to get it on their terms.

"Television is still king of the hill," said David Raith, executive director of U.S. Figure Skating, which launched IceNetwork.com this fall. "(But the Web) brings out great opportunities for further exposure, for marketing opportunities. ... There are no time or space limits. It's wide open. It's endless. It's as much as you want to put in there.

"And it's 24-7."

Teams and leagues are scrambling to adapt, turning the Web into an interactive playground to capitalize on that all-important "fan experience." Or better yet, the athletes' experience. NASCAR, for example, will take DirecTV customers behind the wheel next year, showing races from a driver's vantage point.

Sports that have been largely shut out of the mainstream media are using Webcasts to stake out their spot. The NHL even is putting full-length games on delay on Google Video in hopes of attracting new fans or luring back those turned off by the season-long lockout. It also has highlight packages on YouTube.

Not home to see the Super Bowl? Get it live on a mobile phone. Didn't get enough of this year's Michigan-Ohio State matchup? Download it to a video iPod. Want to see if Daisuke Matsuzaka is really worth all those millions the Red Sox are shelling out? A couple clicks of the mouse gets his career stats and clips of him pitching. A hardcore badminton fan? Pay a subscription fee and watch matches on the Internet.

"This is all about more and more choices," said Eddy Cue, vice president of Apple's iTunes. "Watching a game live on a 50-inch plasma TV is a tough thing to beat. But when you're not in that position, having other choices is going to be something that people want."

For fans, there's nothing better than seeing their favorite sport, team or athlete up close and in person. The next-best thing is watching the game from the comfort of their living room, preferably on a really big TV.

That's not always possible. As advances in technology have made everything more portable and more user-friendly, fans are expecting the same thing from their sports. The further technology goes, the more fans want.

Indeed, it's that combination of Web and wireless technology that's been such a boon for fans.

Even in its infancy, the Web gave sports an immediacy previously limited to ballparks and arenas. Instead of waiting for the next day's paper or even the next sportscast, fans got up-to-the-minute scores and could see how their favorite players were doing.

Fans' reach was expanded, too. Now, they easily tracked teams and athletes that would be mere blurbs in local newspapers.

As wireless technology improved, the Web went portable. Those same scores once found on office computers now were accessible on mobile phones. It wasn't long before fans were looking for ways to bring the games with them.

TiVo has come up with TiVoToGo, which can transfer recorded shows to PCs, iPods and some handheld devices, including mobile phones. iTunes offers highlight packages for the NFL, NBA, NASCAR and golf, as well as college football and basketball. The downloads include clips showing the progression of the game or race, as well as interviews with athletes and coaches.

To take advantage of the hype surrounding this year's Michigan-Ohio State game, iTunes put together a collector's edition type of package. For $5.99, customers got the full-length 1973, 1997 and 2002 games, as well as commercials touting the rivalry. After Ohio State beat Michigan, they got this year's matchup.

NASCAR's Internet "TrackPass" allows subscribers to customize video highlights and eavesdrop on in-race conversations between drivers and their crews.

"There's more and more opportunities in the future, giving people access to the game," Cue said. "The other piece is also access to new things, whether it's the press conference or the interview.

"You need to offer more as customers want more."

For some sports, the Web has become the only way to offer anything.

Before cable, networks occasionally would show lesser-known or fringe sports. ABC's "Wide World of Sports" gave viewers regular doses of sports such as cliff diving and ski jumping.

That's simply not possible anymore, said Rick Gentile, a former senior vice president of CBS Sports who is now a professor at Seton Hall.

"The networks have to pay such exorbitant rights fees for the staples, their sales forces have to charge advertisers big dollars to support those. And they really don't have the appetite to sell the little sports," Gentile said.

"Alpine skiing, you never see alpine skiing on television anymore."

Actually, you do. Just not that often.

You can, though, get your fill on the Web.

The World Championship Sports Network has acquired rights from 35 Olympic sports federations, allowing it to stream coverage of world championships and other major events on its WCSN.com Web site, co-founder Claude Ruibal said. For $4.95 a month or $49.95 a year, subscribers can watch everything from the Asian Games to the world gymnastics championships to table tennis' World Cup events. And, of course, skiing.

Other content on the site — news, features, athlete blogs — is free.

"(Getting attention) is a really big challenge," said Teodor Gheorghe, the executive director of USA Table Tennis, which has only 8,500 members even though nearly every American who's been to a family reunion has played the game.

"People don't have a clue what the sport means if they can't see it. If we can get this out, we will get more fans, more support."

Or capitalize on interest generated at a big event.

Ruibal said he was captivated during the Turin Olympics by the story of Lindsey Jacobellis, the American who hot-dogged her way out of a gold medal in snowboardcross. He wanted to see how she'd do in her first post-Olympics race — but it wasn't going to be on TV.

"There wasn't a place to see that," said Ruibal, WCSN's chairman and CEO. "There is now.

"We really are trying to build more of a community online," he added. "You need to somehow be able to touch better those people who have a core passion for sport and grow from there. You need to somehow have the excitement the content gives you, the excitement that interacting with these athletes through photographs and blogs gives you."

Even glamour sports like figure skating are relying on the Web.

Figure skating is one of the few sports with a TV presence outside the Olympics, but ratings are nowhere near what they were in the aftermath of the
Nancy Kerrigan-
Tonya Harding debacle. It doesn't help that
Michelle Kwan, the sport's biggest star for the last decade, has traded her skates for school books.

With the launch this fall of its Ice Network, U.S. Figure Skating is hoping to target die-hard loyalists and casual fans alike with sneak previews of who might be the next big thing. There will be Webcasts from lower-level competitions, as well as editorial content to showcase lesser-known skaters.

That a Web site like this could pique the curiosity of tomorrow's consumers isn't lost on Raith.

"For the younger demographic, the Web is much more relevant than watching a network at a specific time," Raith said.

Consumers of all ages are demanding information at their fingertips today. They want to replay whatever they've just seen and skip through the boring parts. They want to watch it at 11 a.m. or 11 p.m., in the living room or while riding the bus. They want information — lots of it. And they're talking about all of it on IM or with text messages.

Leagues, athletes and teams had better adapt, or they risk becoming as obsolete as that old Betamax.

"We have to increase fan interest in the game however we can," said Keith Ritter, president of NHL Interactive Cyber Enterprises. "What we need to do is take advantage of places where fans and potential fans are spending their time. Obviously, they're spending their time on YouTube, Google Video, AOL. They're not necessarily looking for hockey, but they're looking for interesting video.

"It's the old joke about chicken soup," Ritter added. "Is this the thing that's the cure? No, but it couldn't hurt."

NANCY ARMOUR, AP National Writer
www.ap.org

Guitar hero? Pitcher hurt playing video game

2006-12-17T20:06:00.000-08:00

When the Detroit Tigers lost flame-throwing relief pitcher Joel Zumaya for three games of the American League Championship Series this past October, it hurt his team. The reason for the injury, however, is even more painful.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Zumaya was hurt playing a PlayStation 2 video game called "Guitar Hero", in which the player simulates playing an electric guitar for popular rock bands. Zumaya, a 22-year-old rookie, suffered inflammation in his right (throwing) wrist and forearm from playing the game.

When Zumaya went to the Tigers training staff about his injury, they noticed his pain was more consistent with a guitar player than a baseball pitcher, according to the Free Press. Since Zumaya was known to play the game, the team asked him to stop, and he pitched pain-free in the World Series.

The Tigers are certain that Zumaya's injury will not recur. Team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski told the newspaper that he was pretty certain the injury came from the game, and not from pitching.

"That was probably what was taking place," he said.

"He felt fine in the World Series, to tell you the truth," Steve Springer, one of Zumaya's representatives, told the Free Press. "I didn't even think twice about it."

www.msnbc.msn.com

Gears of War hits 2 million mark

2006-12-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

It's already been well established that Epic Games' Xbox 360 shooter Gears of War is a hit. In the first two weeks after the game's November release, Microsoft confirmed that it had already sold a million copies worldwide and that it had surpassed Halo 2 as the most-played game on the Xbox Live service. There was even speculation about a fourth installment in the series, when a sequel of any kind has yet to be announced.

Today, less than six weeks after Gears of War's "Emergence Day" launch, Microsoft announced that sales had tallied up to more than 2 million copies worldwide. The game has also gone platinum in the US, reaching the 1 million mark. Since the game went on sale November 7, the daily rate of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, which are required for online play, has increased more than 50 percent.

In a statement, Epic Games president Michael Capps said the development team was "stoked" at the news, and said fans can count on the company delivering "new gameplay" through Xbox Live. Previously, Capps assured fans that his company would provide free downloadable content for all its games.

Brendan Sinclair
GameSpot.com

Critics: 'Left Behind' game glorifies violence

2006-12-16T03:46:00.000-08:00

Talk about warfare. A Christmas season turf war is underway over whether a new computer game, laced with violent virtual battles and spiritual messages stressing the urgent need for salvation, is authentically Christian.

An alliance of Christian progressive groups fired first, calling for Wal-Mart to stop selling Left Behind: Eternal Forces, a $39.99 real-time military strategy game based on the best-selling Left Behind Apocalyptic novels. Players battling the Anti-christ, the ultimate in evil, can pray to increase their strength, recruit converts to the Christian cause, even conduct exorcisms.

YOUR OPINION: Do you think the game should be pulled?

"It's faith-based killing that teaches God wants people dead if they don't see Christ as you do," says the Rev. Tim Simpson, head of Christian Alliance for Progress, who has played the game. "Jesus would turn the other cheek."

Shooting back in self-defense, conservative Christians and the game's producers say the computer game battles are all between good and evil, with no explosive blood or gore. They say it takes spiritual weaponry, not firepower, to win.

"These groups don't attack other violent video games. Their real attack is on our theology," says Tim LaHaye, co-author of the novels, who endorsed the game.

SEE THE GAME: The 'Eternal Forces' website | CEO's statement on the controversy

And the game isn't about mindless violence, says Jeffrey Frichner, president and co-founder of Left Behind Games. True, he says, "Players can engage in battle, fire guns, even kill innocents in the game, but there will be severe consequences. In fact, you can win this game without ever firing a shot, using weapons of spiritual means, such as prayer and worship."

If a player increases his force's spiritual strength, angels will even come to his assistance. But it's the action, not the angels, that has put the game in 10,000 locations, including Wal-Mart and Circuit City, since its November release, he says.

Spokeswomen for both chains said Wednesday they have no plans to discontinue sales.

"It's selling like crazy here," says Brian Bridges, a clerk at the Manassas, Va., branch of Family Christian Stores, where a $59.99 collector's version includes a Bible.

The Campaign to Defend the Constitution, an alliance of groups including Simpson's, launched its attack on the game this week. Simpson calls Frichner's descriptions "weasel words."

Simpson says it's true that "once you do a kill, it causes your 'spiritual points' in the game to go down, but all you need to do is pray and you're good to go again, as if nothing else happened," says Simpson.

He adds that the bad guys are non-Christians and that a stand-in for the
United Nations is portrayed as the army of the Anti-christ, the embodiment of evil.

Alliance co-founder Clark Stevens says they've rallied 26,000 e-mails so far to Wal-Mart, because the game "advocates intolerance toward other religions."

New Testament scholars have long objected to a literal reading of Revelation, the Bible's final book.

A violent video game for Jesus is ironic, says Craig Hill, professor of New Testament at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. "Jesus saw the great enemy as evil, which is in all of us, not something at which we can fire bullets."

Ultimately, the battle over the game may be a win for both sides, "in the real war, the one for attention," says Nancy Ammerman, a sociologist of religion at Boston University. Now's the time of year, she says, when people try to score points for their religious views.

Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY.COM
Contributing: Mike Snider

Video games ease sick kids', parents' pain

2006-12-16T03:39:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When 11-year-old Gus Luna was able to play one of his favorite video games while recovering from exploratory brain cancer surgery in intensive care, his mother breathed a big sigh of relief.

"It was brain surgery... it was so scary. That made me feel like things seemed OK," said Marcela Luna, whose son has been undergoing chemotherapy since last year, when surgeons were unable to remove his tumor.

Gus, an all-star soccer player and tae kwon do green belt, was president of his fifth-grade class before falling ill. Now being home schooled, he cannot imagine getting through his treatments without video games: "It would be really hard without this ... You never know what's going to happen next."

Games let him focus on something other than the illness, doctors and hospital visits that dominate his life.

Gus is being treated at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which is among 1,000 hospitals worldwide with video game Fun Centers that roll from bed to bed, just like regular hospital equipment.

"You're like a regular kid," he said. "You forget about needles, you forget about what's all around you."

NOT JUST KIDS STUFF

Over the last decade, researchers around the world have done hundreds of studies probing the value of video games and other forms of virtual reality to help children, and their parents, cope with medical-related anxiety and pain.

Results have been mostly positive and continue rolling in.

The University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine earlier this year published details from a study of 20 children having an intravenous line inserted.

Half of them underwent the procedure while playing "Street Luge," a fully-immersive virtual reality game in which players control characters who race downhill while reclining on a big skateboard. The children wore a helmet fitted with headphones and glasses that delivered game sounds and images. They also used a rumbling joystick.

Children who did not play the game reported a four-fold increase in pain intensity from the procedure, while those who used virtual reality distraction reported no change in pain intensity.

The University of South Australia's Center of Allied Health Evidence did a study of children with serious burn injuries and found "strong evidence" supporting the use of virtual reality-based games in pain management.

In similar fashion, doctors at
Israel's Chaim Sheba Medical Center used Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news).'s (6758.T) PlayStation II EyeToy -- a camera that connects to a video game console allowing users to see themselves on TV -- as a rehabilitation tool for patients with severe burns. In a published article they said it proved to be an efficient and affordable alternative.

GAMING FOR GOOD

Nintendo Co. Ltd. (7974.OS) executive Don James designed the current Fun Center and said the company will start shipping units that include its new Wii video game console in mid-2007.

The Japanese game giant sponsors more than 3,500 of the 5,000-plus Fun Centers in hospitals through a program created and run by Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation, whose aim is to combat the isolation and fear experienced by hospitalized kids.

A donation of $3,250 covers a current-generation Fun Center with a GameCube console, flat-screen monitor and DVD player, as well as its lifetime upkeep, a Starlight spokeswoman said.

Jeffrey Gold, program psychologist for the pediatric pain management clinic at USC-affiliated Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, was on the team that did the university's virtual reality pain study and continues to research the subject.

Hospitalized children are in a foreign environment with none of the familiar comforts of home, he said.

"There is no normalcy. When you roll in a video game, there is some normalcy," Gold said.

Parents also benefit, he added. "If you have children and you see them in distress, then you're in distress. If they're more calm, you're more calm."

That's something all moms -- from Marcela Luna to movie star and author Jamie Lee Curtis, a Starlight proponent -- know first-hand.

Five years ago, Curtis' son was hospitalized with a ruptured spleen and nurses wheeled in a Fun Center.

"It made him forget he was in the hospital ... It changed our experience," she said.

Lisa Baertlein
www.reuters.com

Nintendo to replace broken straps on new Wii console

2006-12-16T03:31:00.000-08:00

TOKYO (AFP) - The Japanese electronic game maker Nintendo said it would replace wrist straps on its new Wii console with a "newer version" after reports of controllers crashing into users' television screens. But the company denied it was recalling the equipment, saying there was "no problem with the current wrist strap if it is used reasonably and instructions furnished by Nintendo in user manuals included with the game are followed."

"Nintendo is offering to replace the original version of the wrist straps for the Wii Remote with a newer version," the company said in a statement posted on its website.

"We have received some reports that when consumers swing the Wii Remote with the original version of the wrist-strap using excessive force and accidentally let go, the cord connecting the controller to the wrist strap can break, potentially causing the Wii Remote to strike bystanders or objects."
Earlier Friday, Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said the first version of the controller strap "turned out to be insufficient in its strength for some customers" and would be replaced with a thicker one.

"The decision comes after reports that some users in the United States threw their controllers when playing with Wii sports software," he said.

The new Wii features a controller that can be used as a sword, tennis racket or car steering wheel in the games shown on screen.

Wii set itself apart from Microsoft's
Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 consoles by designing a system that got players moving and encouraged family or friends to join in the activity.

But websites dubbed "Wii have a problem" and "Wii damage" have chronicled injuries and wreckage reportedly inflicted by Nintendo game controllers sent awry in the heat of play by wild swipes, loose grips or snapped wrist straps.

Wii controllers have been hurled or thrust into television and computer screens, according to online accounts, breaking windows, glasses, dishes, stereos, walls and ceiling fans.

The official Wii website warns users to "hold the Wii Remote firmly and do not let go" when playing, while taking a moment to dry perspiring hands to prevent injury to people or damage to objects.

Nintendo, which launched the Wii in the United States last month and in Japan on Saturday, has been getting rave reviews for its new controller and games that shy away from blood-and-guts action.

The Wii outsold the rival PlayStation 3 by more than double in the United States in November, according to industry tracking group NPD, which estimates that Nintendo sold 476,140 of its Wii consoles against Sony's 196,580 PS3s.

Consoles shipped from early December already have the thicker strap.

Nintendo also said Friday that it would recall 200,000 AC/DC power adaptors for Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite portable game machines.

Nintendo said some adaptors supplied by Nagano Japan Radio Co Ltd (JRC) between January and October this year could generate excessive heat and possibly cause burn injury during charging.

Nintendo said to date, it had recorded nine such incidents of overheating. One such incident burned a hole in the body of the portable game machine but no injuries have been reported.

The Kyoto-based company said models with defective AC/DC adaptors were sold only in Japan.

Cumulative sales of Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite have so far reached 13 million units.

Kyoko Hasegawa
www.afp.com

MLB.com Games Available on Set-tops In Dec.

2006-12-07T02:08:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Interactive Television Networks Inc. on Wednesday said it signed a distribution deal with Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P., which includes next-day condensed games, daily highlights and full-length classic games. Irvine, California-based ITVN said the MLB.com programming will be available in December, but declined to give a specific date.

ITVN is an Internet Protocol Television provider that delivers content to TVs through a set-top box linked to a broadband Internet connection. Rather than paying a flat fee for the service, ITVN users are on an a la carte system and pay only for the programs they view.

ITVN, which offers 150 on-demand movies that refresh weekly, also has content deals with providers such as General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures, Starz Entertainment and Setanta Sports.

yahoo news

Microsoft to ship over 10 million Xbox 360 units

2006-12-07T01:49:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) on Wednesday said it expects to have shipped more than 10 million. Xbox 360 video game consoles to retailers by the end of calendar 2006. "This holiday, we expect to have sold in excess of 10 million units worldwide," a Microsoft spokeswoman said.

That "sold" number refers to units "sold into retail," which refers to units in transit, units sitting in store inventories and machines sold to consumers.

The Xbox 360 debuted in November 2005, roughly a year ahead of machines from rivals Sony Corp. (6758.T)(NYSE:SNE - news) and Nintendo Co. Ltd. (7974.OS), whose PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles went on sale in the United States last month.

Microsoft has previously forecast global shipments of 10 million by the end of 2006, as well as shipments of 13 million by 15 million by the end of its 2007 fiscal year that ends June 30. The company's latest Xbox 360 shipment count stands at around 6 million units.

Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell spoke at a Nasdaq investor conference in London on Tuesday and his accompanying power point presentation included a slide showing the Xbox 360 outpacing the original Xbox, which launched in November 2001.

That presentation, at http://www.microsoft.com/msft/events/default.mspx, showed Microsoft had shipped more than 5.7 million Xbox 360 units in the three quarters following the launch period, compared with 4.7 million Xbox units in the same post-debut time frame.

The world's biggest software maker offered no further updates.

Microsoft shares were off 21 cents to $28.92 in late Nasdaq trade.

Lisa Baertlein
reuters

The first batch of PSone games available on the PS3... but you can't actually play them on the system

2006-12-05T16:50:00.000-08:00

Sony has released the first round of PSone games for download on the PS3. What titles did they launch with? It's a solid—if slightly obvious—lineup. Right now you can get Cool Boarders, Crash Bandicoot, Hot Shots Golf 2, Syphon Filter, and Tekken 2. Each of these games is a good buy at $5.99, but I'm going to hold off before I buy any of them.

The reason is simple: I'd like to play them on the PS3. I don't want to have to upgrade my PSP's firmware and move the games over there, which right now is the only way to actually play the games. That's right, there is no way at the moment to play these titles you've downloaded onto your PS3's hard drive on the system itself. The idea of Tekken 2 on the big screen with a wireless controller is pretty tempting, but the idea of playing it on the PSP doesn't do much for me.

What the hell is wrong with Sony? Keep in mind that the PS3 is backwards compatible with the PSone—I was playing Colony Wars (AWESOME GAME) on the machine not five minutes ago. So why can't they get the downloadable PSone games to work? Why can I put my Tekken 2 disc in and play it perfectly, but the downloaded game won't run at all?

I know the point has always been to play these games on the PSP, and that's cool and all, but why can't I download the games via my PSP then? Why does this setup require both a PS3 and a PSP, except I can only play the games on the PSP?

Hopefully one day I'll be able to download these games onto my PSP directly, without using the PS3. Hopefully one day I'll be able to play the games I have downloaded on my PS3... on the PS3. Until then, this is just another unfinished feature that we're hoping for Sony to fix at some future date.

Ben Kuchera
arstechnica.com

Bully

2006-12-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

What Jack Thompson really did for Bully was make sure that everyone talked about it for months before its release. Sure, brand-new IP from Rockstar is always going to be a big story, but Thompson and the rest of the talking heads who tried to make a name for themselves by calling the game a "Columbine Simulator" and saying it advocated bullying and various other nefarious activities only gave the game more buzz.

If someone is trying this hard to keep something from me, I feel like it's almost a moral obligation to try to track down whatever it is and find out what's so terrible that I can't be trusted with it. Bully even scored a Teen rating, which means anyone can go into any retail establishment and buy it. That's why I enjoyed this review so much.

While I had a good time with the game at Rockstar's New York offices, being able to strip away the hype surrounding the game and spend hours on hours playing it in my own home has been a joy. It's doesn't hurt that the game is really, really good. That's right: I'm not holding back on my judgment for the end of the review. This is a great game and you're wondering if you should buy it, the answer is yes. It's only $40, it has many hours of game play and much to see and do. This is one of those games that make game design look easy, and makes me wonder why everyone can't make games of this quality.

This isn't a game set in space, the future, or in the criminal underworld. You're just a kid going to school, and that may be one of the scariest premises and recent history. Jimmy Hopkins isn't a very good-looking boy. He looks like the kid who always has scabs on his knuckles and is usually up to no good. The truth is that he just wants to be left alone; he's not looking to control anything. Of course, he's also the type of guy who doesn't have a lot of patience for other people's nastiness.

His mother has dropped him off at Bullworth Academy for the year, and it's up to him to either sink or swim. Bullworth's motto is Canis Canem Edit, which is Latin for dog eat dog. You get the picture. You have the greasers, the jocks, the rich kids, the nerds, and a lot of students just trying to get by and stay out of the way of everyone else. Where does Jimmy fit in? Nowhere, and he seems to know it. So does everyone else.

This isn't going to be a very pleasant school year. Rockstar wanted to talk about going to school in the same way movies like School Ties or Heathers treat the subject. When you're 15, school is a huge, scary, violent, hilarious, and surreal place. Bullworth Academy is all these things—and a little more. If you don't think kids go through this kind of madness at that age, you don't remember what it was like.

Bullworth feels like every school, or maybe none of them. It's all the things that are broken about putting a lot of kids together and trying to teach them something. Violence is described by Bullworth's principal as "spirit," and the people tasked with keeping the peace don't seem very interested in actually doing that. This is your playground, this is your hell.

Ben Kuchera
arstechnica.com

Apple moving into gaming?

2006-12-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

Via AppleInsider, a six-figure analyst at Prudential ruminates on the possibility of Apple Computer entering into the hotly contested console market. Jesse Tortora writes in a research note that the hiring of game developers may have larger implications for the "digital hub" strategy Apple has been pursuing, most recently with the iTV product.

"The game console device could be morphed out of some combination of the MacMini and iTV, while the handheld player could be developed as an enhancement to a future version of the widescreen iPod," the analyst explained.

Okay, right there you can pretty much ignore this. Anyone who knows anything about the Mac Mini knows that making it into a gaming "ecosystem" competitive with today's consoles would require something like the discovery of super-futuristic alien technology buried for a million years beneath the The Campus in Cupertino. Setting aside technical hurdles, Tortora's logic comes down to the need for Apple to compete for the box that goes by the TV. Presumably, Microsoft and Sony have an advantage because their consoles can be used for games and movies. Of course, Apple has done quite well ignoring the need for convergence with the iPod, the ubiquitous device predominatly being a media player, but this brings us to the obvious.

Apple is making games for the iPod.

Having introduced nine games, two of which were made by Apple, it only makes sense that the company wants a larger piece of the potentially lucrative market. Also, consider the fact that longtime Mac game makers have been shut out of the iPod game market, as Macworld reports.

“It was lame of Apple to ignore the guys that have been loyal to them,” said a developer who asked not to be named. “We were ready, willing and able to create anything they wanted.”

While one could argue that shunning third-party developers is unfair, business is not about being fair, and eight million iPods a quarter is a lot of gaming business to ignore. Still, it would be nice if Apple could get Dark Castle on an iPod.

Charles Jade
arstechnica.com

Online gaming titles coming to Wii

2006-12-05T15:24:00.000-08:00

The Nintendo Wii's launch has been a smash success, with stores all over North America continuing to sell out every time they receive new stock. However, the launch of the Wii's online service has been somewhat less stellar, with few titles available to take advantage of multiplayer action. Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime promises that is all about to change.

Speaking on Spike TV's Game Head television program, the amiable Fils-Aime mentioned that the first round of multiplayer-enabled Wii titles would be coming out in the second quarter of 2007.

Japanese Wii gamers have already sampled a taste of online goodness with the launch title Pokemon Battle Revolution, but North American Wii owners are still waiting for titles to properly utilize the Wii's online connection. Many games still in development for the Wii are designed around playing with people who are physically present: a recent preview of a new anime-themed golf game for the Wii on Electric Playground revealed that the developers had not included online multiplayer modes.

Fils-Aime also indicated that new multiplayer channels were on their way for the Wii's online service, but declined to give any details about what new features might be enabled on them. The Wii's "always-online" feature, which maintains background downloads and other Internet connections even when in sleep mode, could potentially enable all sorts of interesting online community features, but Nintendo has been reticent to give out any details.

The new online-enabled titles and Wii channels are expected to launch around March or April of next year.

Jeremy Reimer
arstechnica.com

Roboblitz to hit 360 Arcade this Wednesday

2006-12-05T15:06:00.000-08:00

It has just been announced by Microsoft that Roboblitz will be the 360 Arcade game to be released this Wednesday, and I can't be happier. I loved the game when I reviewed it for the PC, and the idea of playing it with even better graphics than my computer can provide and with a controllers gives me the joy joy joy joy deep in my heart. Where? Deep in my heart. And if Nintendo doesn't like it they can sit on the tack.

OUCH!

Be sure to at least download the demo this Wednesday. I think you'll be very impressed with what you play. From Microsoft:

Experience the power of the Unreal Engine 3 for the first time in an Xbox Live Arcade game in “RoboBlitz,” this week’s Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday’s release. This independently developed breakthrough game will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, December 6, after 0800 GMT (1:00 a.m. PST).

Independent developer Naked Sky Entertainment created “RoboBlitz” using the latest in game technology to deliver an innovative, high definition experience. “RoboBlitz” is a fast-paced, 3D action game with unique physics, inventive gizmos, creative weapons, and robotic characters. Players take on the role of Blitz, a multi-talented robot who must activate an aging space cannon to save his world from a band of maladjusted space pirates. Set in seven distinct environments, RoboBlitz features 19 levels of puzzle-solving and high-intensity action.

“RoboBlitz” will be available worldwide for 1200 Microsoft Points.

1200 Microsoft points translates into $15, which is on the upper limits of Arcade pricing, but this game is worth it. I'm happy about this finally getting a 360 release.

Ben Kuchera
arstechnica.com

Nintendo's Wii hits Japanese stores

2006-12-03T04:33:00.000-08:00

TOKYO - Nintendo's Wii video game system hit Japanese stores Saturday with long lineups and shortages, following its sellout U.S. launch last month. More than 3,000 people braved frosty weather to line up at downtown Tokyo electronics retailer Bic Camera, hoping to get their hands on the console, said store spokeswoman Naoko Ito.

The store started turning people away at 5:40 a.m. local time — more than an hour before doors opened — and Wiis were sold out "for the foreseeable future," Ito said.

Earlier, crowd-control staff at the store, trying to avoid a stampede, used megaphones to urge shoppers to stop pushing.

Short supplies were reported elsewhere in the capital.

With the Wii, Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. — which brought the world the mustachioed plumber Super Mario, and Game Boy hand-held game machines — hopes to challenge the dominance of Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news). and Microsoft Corp. in the game console market.

Unlike its rivals' high-powered consoles, Nintendo's Wii puts simplicity above fancy graphics and computing horsepower.

Wii's remote-control wand can be swung like a tennis racket, fishing pole, or orchestra baton in easy-to-play games the company hopes will appeal to a wider audience than the traditional young male demographic.

That will be especially crucial in Japan, where a graying population has made the game industry's growth sluggish in recent years.

Wii has a price advantage at US$250 — about half of PlayStation 3 at roughly US$500 or US$600, depending on the model.

The
Xbox 360, which launched last year, sells for US$300 to US$400.

Nintendo also has more machines for sale. Nearly 400,000 Wiis were available for the Japan launch date. U.S. shoppers snapped up more than 600,000 of its Wii video game systems in the week after its launch there on Nov. 19.

Sony had just 100,000 PS3s in Japan and 400,000 consoles in the U.S. when they debuted last month.

Production problems have pushed PlayStation's European launch back to March.

Analysts expect Wii to mount a serious challenge to Sony's 70 percent market share, which it built with previous PlayStation consoles.

Sony has sold more than 200 million PlayStation series machines over the years.

Nomura Securities Co. analyst Yuta Sakurai said last month he expected Nintendo to sell 40 million machines, compared with 70 million PlayStation 3 consoles in the next five years.

More critically, the profit is also likely to be better for Nintendo, while Sony is losing money for every PS3 console it sells until it gets a return on its huge investments.

Sony is expecting to rack up 200 billion yen (US$1.7 billion) in red ink in its game unit for the fiscal year ending March 2007, much of it in startup costs for PlayStation 3. By contrast, Nintendo is forecasting profit of 100 billion yen (US$845 million) for the fiscal year, as Wii buoys earnings in the second half.

yahoo news
By HIROKO TABUCHI, Associated Press