CHANNEL 4 INVESTS IN GAMES WITH ELECTRONIC ARTS AND THE GOLDEN JOYSTICK AWARDS

Channel 4's 4Talent has partnered with the Oscars of the gaming world, the Golden Joystick Awards, and Electronic Arts (EA), the world's leading interactive entertainment software company, to offer budding games developers the chance to pitch their mobile gaming ideas to a panel of industry experts and gaming gurus. The panel will include Channel 4 Education's Commissioning Editor, Matt Locke; EA Mobile's European Marketing Director, Tim Harrison and UK Executive Producer, Chris Gibbs; and O2 UK's Head of Games, Despina Kaparaki. One lucky winner will be announced at the Golden Joystick Awards and receive a cash prize of £2500 from Channel 4 and the chance for a short hothouse placement within EA's mobile game division.

"4Talent is committed to helping emerging content producers maximise their creative potential", says James Estill, Senior Producer, 4Talent, "and these days it's not just about TV. This partnership with EA provides the perfect opportunity to support the gaming industry and nurture the next generation of games developers."

Full details can be found at www.channel4.com/4talent. Closing date for submissions is 17th October 2007.

The initiative is an extension of 4Talent's recent media partnership of the Mobile Game of the Year award at the 25th annual Golden Joystick Awards. Hosted by Peep Show's David Mitchell, the awards will take place on Friday 26 October, on the last day of the London Games Festival, at London's Park Lane Hilton Hotel. Gamers across the world will be able to watch the awards via a live web-cast through computerandvideogames.com and gamesradar.com.

Officially the world's oldest and most respected games award ceremony, the Golden Joystick Awards this year celebrates its 25th anniversary. Held for the first time in 1982, the Awards have been honouring innovation in gaming since the days when Atari, Commodore and Spectrum ruled the earth.

Once considered the pursuit of bedroom geeks and younger kids, video gaming has broken through to the mainstream and is now one of the biggest entertainment industries in the UK, equalling the UK film industry in economic value.

To vote, visit channel4

Official US PlayStation Magazine returns

Future US to begin publication in November

Future US has announced that it will be publishing PlayStation: The Official Magazine under an agreement with SCEA.

The new magazine will debut in November, with former PSM editor-in-chief Rob Smith at the helm.

Future plc currently publishes the Official Sony PlayStation Magazine in the UK and licenses it in other countries. It expects an initial circulation of 300,000 copies, with 13 issues printed each year.

"We're very excited to be working with a group that is nearly as passionate about our brand as we are ourselves and we look forward to working with Future on many innovative ideas they have to create a best in class enthusiast publication," said Peter Dille, SCEA's senior VP of marketing and PlayStation Network.

The original Official PlayStation Magazine was published in the US by Ziff-Davis from September 1997 until January 2007. It was the first gaming magazine to include a demo disk.

Wii outselling PS3 more than 4 to 1 in Japan

Xbox 360 still struggling

The Nintendo Wii has outsold the Sony PlayStation 3 by more than four to one in Japan during the past six months.

According to Enterbrain data, as cited by a Reuters report, from April to September of 2007, Nintendo sold approximately 1.6 million Wii consoles.

Sony, meanwhile, sold 385,492 PS3 consoles in Japan during the same period.

Both the PS3 and the Wii were released in Japan within a few weeks of each other in November and December of 2006. Microsoft's Xbox 360, released a year earlier, has continued to struggle. In the first half of 2007, only 122,565 Xbox 360 consoles were sold in Japan.

The demand for the Wii continues to be so high that spokesperson Reggie Fils-Aime claims that Nintendo won't be able to meet the demand for the upcoming Christmas season.

Halo 3 tops UK charts, but GTA's still has record

FIFA 08 takes second, 360 sales double

Halo 3 has claimed the number one spot in the UK all-format charts, in a strong week for new releases.

However, it is not the fastest-selling game in UK history, as many had expected. According to Chart Track, that record still belongs to Rockstar's 2004 release Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, with Halo 3 second.

Chart Track also stated that Halo 3 had doubled sales of 360 hardware to the highest level this year.

EA Sports' multiformat football update, FIFA 08, entered the chart in second place behind Microsoft's Xbox 360 blockbuster. Last week's top two - Tiger Woods 08 and MySims - claimed fourth and third places respectively for EA.

Other new entries in the top 10 were Juiced 2 at 5, and Sega Rally at 7. EA's new skateboarding franchise Skate just missed out, debuting at number 11. Activision's Enemy Territory: Quake Wars also failed to make the top 10, entering at 16.

The remainder of places in the top 10 were taken by Nintendo (with More Brain Training, Super Paper Mario and Wii Play) and Activision's Transformers licence.

THQ's Ratatouille did not fare so well, entering the chart at 39. However, the Pixar film on which it is based has yet to be released in the UK.

As well as the 360 itself, there was one other notable beneficiary of the Halo effect: Microsoft's racing sim Forza Motorsport 2, which soared 22 places, from 35 to 13.

Microsoft responds to Bungie split rumours

Software giant denies any announcement

Microsoft has distanced itself from rumours that it will be relinquishing control of wholly-owned Halo developer Bungie, but stopped short of a categorical denial.

"There's been no such announcement," a spokesperson told Eurogamer.net. "We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3."

The claim came from a reader blog linked to the Seattle Post-Intelligence. The author claims to have heard from a friend with links inside Bungie that an announcement on the separation was imminent.

The author of the blog post, Jacob Metcalf, is not employed by the Seattle Post-Intelligence newspaper, which has consistently distanced itself from user-posted information in blogs.

The reasons cited for the split were Microsoft's expectation that Bungie dedicate itself to making further Halo games, and Bungie's frustration at Microsoft's interference in its practices.

However, in an interview with Edge magazine last year, Bungie executives stated their intention to expand the studio into multiple teams. This would allow it to develop new intellectual property alongside Halo.

The story suggests that Bungie will become an independent studio, and may continue to work for Microsoft as well as create games for other platforms. But it offers no explanation of the financial details of such a buyout - as it stands, Bungie is owned 100 per cent by Microsoft.

Source: Games Industry

Microsoft responds to Bungie split rumours

Software giant denies any announcement

Microsoft has distanced itself from rumours that it will be relinquishing control of wholly-owned Halo developer Bungie, but stopped short of a categorical denial.

"There's been no such announcement," a spokesperson told Eurogamer.net. "We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3."

The claim came from a reader blog linked to the Seattle Post-Intelligence. The author claims to have heard from a friend with links inside Bungie that an announcement on the separation was imminent.

The author of the blog post, Jacob Metcalf, is not employed by the Seattle Post-Intelligence newspaper, which has consistently distanced itself from user-posted information in blogs.

The reasons cited for the split were Microsoft's expectation that Bungie dedicate itself to making further Halo games, and Bungie's frustration at Microsoft's interference in its practices.

However, in an interview with Edge magazine last year, Bungie executives stated their intention to expand the studio into multiple teams. This would allow it to develop new intellectual property alongside Halo.

The story suggests that Bungie will become an independent studio, and may continue to work for Microsoft as well as create games for other platforms. But it offers no explanation of the financial details of such a buyout - as it stands, Bungie is owned 100 per cent by Microsoft.

Source: Games Industry

Guitar Hero 2007 Competition

Guitar Player's Guitar Hero 2007 Competition to Feature "Riff Off" Between Actual vs. Virtual Guitarist and Demos of Guitar Hero III

Ten finalists have been selected from among hundreds of entries posted on SonicBids.com to battle for the international title of “Guitar Hero” at Guitar Player’s Guitar Hero 2007 competition to be held Friday, October 12 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

Activision, Microsoft and Digidesign are partnering to present the 3rd annual Guitar Player’s Guitar Hero competition. Activision produces the red-hot video game Guitar Hero and will be on hand with pre-launch demos of their new release, Guitar Hero III on Xbox XBox 360-outfitted kiosks on the show floor. The event will be webcast using Microsoft’s “Silverlight” medium on http://www.GuitarPlayer.com.

“This guitar gala brings together legendary musicians, aspiring guitarists, and phenomenally talented unknowns in an “American Idol-style competition ” for guitarists,” says Guitar Player Eeditor in Cchief Michael Molenda. “And for guitarist-gamers it’s an opportunity to experience the world’s best players live and in person!”

The premier premiere Guitar Player’s Guitar Hero competition was held in 2005 at Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where New York’s Dominic Frasca was crowned with the Guitar Hero title. Last year’s champion was Trey Alexander of Pennsylvania.

The ten finalists – representing a wide range of guitar styles including Latin Shred, Rockabilly, Country and Rock – are: Jamie Robinson (Toronto, Ontario), Juan Coronado (Whitby, Ontario) Tony Smotherman (Jacksonville, Florida), Taka Minamino (Hollywood, CA ), Danny B. Harvey (Canyon County, CA), Curtis Fornadley (Playa Del Rey, CA), Casey Harshbarger (Indianapolis, Indiana), Ladd Smith (Nashville, Tennessee) , Les Robot (real name: Cory Melnychuk) (Edmonton, Alberta), and Chris Peters (Orlando, Florida).

All ten contestants receive an all expenses paid trip to San Francisco. The Winner, First Runner Up, and Second Runner Up of the event will receive custom trophies and gear packages from the event sponsors. The Winner will receive a Digidesign 003 Factory Pro Tools LE system (value: $2,495), a Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate software package, a Guitar Hero II XBox 360 bundle from Activision, an Epiphone Elitist Tak Matsumoto Signature Guitar With Hard Case AND an Epiphone Masterbilt EF-500RCCE Acoustic Guitar With Hard Gigbag, choice of a Mesa/Boogie Stiletto or Lone Star amp, a Jimi Hendrix Wah and MXR Distortion III guitar f/x pedal from Dunlop Manufacturing, and much more.

Celebrity judges including San Francisco’s legendary Joe Satriani, Toto axeman Steve Lukather, Elliot Easton of the Cars, prog-rock icon Greg Howe, Shrapnel Records’ Mike Varney, and a surprise guest willvirtuoso Nuno Bettencourt will evaluate each five-minute original performance and select the Winner and First and Second Runner-up finalists. Brendon Small, co-creator of Adult Swim’s Metalocalypse cartoon will emcee.

The contestants will perform with the house band Thud Ffactor, comprised of editors from music magazines Guitar Player, Bass Player and Keyboard.

Guitar Player’s Guitar Hero is sponsored by Activision, Digidesign, and Microsoft with additional sponsorship from Epiphone Guitars, Mesa/Boogie amps, Jodavi ZZYZX Snapjackk Cables, Dunlop Manufacturing, Moody Leather, Planet Waves, and Sonicbids. The competition takes place Friday, October 12, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. at Great American Music Hall, 859 O’Farrell Street, San Francisco, CA. Admission $15.00 in advance, $20.00 at the door. Tickets can be ordered online at www.gamh.com; www.tickets.com, or call 1-800-225-2277.

GuitarStar Goes Global With Player X

Player X Ready to Rock With Next-Gen GuitarStar

AdME today announced that award-winning mobile media company, Player X, will distribute its next-generation advertainment application, GuitarStar, worldwide. First released on the AT&T Wireless network, GuitarStar brings two new features to the mobile entertainment arena: beat-matching technology and unique advertising capabilities.

GuitarStar's revolutionary "beat-matching" technology synchronizes visual movements with the beat of the underlying musical soundtrack, allowing mobile gamers to "play by feel" rather than taking their cues solely from what they see.

But GuitarStar is not just a game. It also serves as a highly-versatile promotional platform, providing entertainment and consumer brands with an entirely new mobile medium to promote their products. GuitarStar currently includes emerging musical artists in the rock, pop and hip hop arenas.

Recently named the 4th fastest-growing venture-funded company in the U.K., Player X has been a leader in mobile content distribution since the inception of mobile data services and instrumental in the launch of some of the biggest mobile brands and games in the world. Today, the company champions a variety of media-led genres, including mobile music games and innovative mobile entertainment.

"Player X is extremely excited about partnering with AdME to bring this versatile new entertainment vehicle to a worldwide audience," said Tony Pearce, Player X CEO.

Peter Eggleston, AdME CEO added: "GuitarStar’s unique combination of gaming, music and branding capability makes it one of the most compelling mobile products available for both user and advertising communities alike.”

Xbox 360: The Official Xbox magazine gets new look

Changes at UK's bestselling videogames magazine

Future’s Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine unveils a cracking new look this month and gives gamers a real treat with an exclusive review of Halo 3 and a gigantic double-sided poster.

Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine has been given a comprehensive redesign as the UK’s best selling videogames magazine enters its third action-packed festive season.

The new look issue arrives at the same time as the launch of the long-awaited Halo 3, the final part in Microsoft’s record-breaking series. The team have been working hard to complete the game to bring OXM fans the first UK print review to hit the newsstands.

It’s all change for the magazine as editor Steve Brown leaves after two years. During his tenure he edited both PC Gamer and Future’s original Official Xbox title and will be still making appearances in OXM as he goes freelance.

“Future’s Group Senior Editor, Steve Jarratt will be taking the reins of the magazine until a full-time replacement is found. Jarratt has masterminded the redesign and brings an incredible range of experience to the project having been involved in the industry since Sonic was but a twinkle. He’s been responsible for some of the most iconic brands in the videogame magazine business including Edge and Total!”

Associate Publisher Emma Parkinson said:

“With Official Xbox Magazine about to spend its third Christmas in the market, we decided it was time for UK’s best-selling games magazine to get a new look. The console’s matured over this period, and we wanted to make sure that the magazine reflected this. Our readers have different demands now, especially since the range of games available is so vast, so the challenge was to meet the demands of these gamers while still ensuring that the magazine remains welcoming to people who have only just bought their 360, or who will be buying their first Xbox this Christmas.”

Also in issue 26 of OXM readers can read the verdict on Project Gotham Racing 4, Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 4, check out a huge stack of previews and indulge in an eight-page open-world gaming feature looking at the shape of things to come. There are tips for Take 2’s masterpiece, Bioshock, a revamped news section and a packed disc that contains ten playable demos, loads of great trailers and previews and a special access code that unlocks Readers’ Only content on www.oxm.co.uk.

Nintendo Announces New Wii Remote Jacket Accessory

Nintendo announces the Wii Remote Jacket, a durable, silicone cover for the Wii Remote that provides a variety of benefits for the player. Nintendo will include the Wii Remote Jacket with all Wii hardware systems and with all Wii Remotes sold separately or packaged with Wii Play. Hardware featuring the Wii Remote Jacket will begin shipping to retailers on Oct. 2 and is expected to be on retail shelves the week of Oct. 15.

The Wii Remote Jacket provides cushioning for the Wii Remote for people who might accidentally throw or drop their Wii Remotes while playing games. Use of the Wii Remote Jacket is meant to supplement, not replace, the basic game-play instructions: keep a firm grip, don't let go of the controller, use the wrist strap and make sure your play area is free of people or objects. The Wii Remote Jacket also serves as a cover for the Wii Remote. Nintendo recommends players use the new Wii Remote Jacket as a cushiony shield, though the current Wii Remote is a safe product when used properly.

"We're always looking for ways to improve our products and make sure everyone has a safe and fun experience," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Many electronics manufacturers provide similar protective covers for products like cell phones, PDAs and MP3 players."

Current Wii owners who want to equip their Wii Remotes with the new Wii Remote Jacket free of charge can go to Wii.com or nintendo.com, or call 1-866-431-8367 to place an order. Nintendo will begin taking orders on Oct. 2, and Wii Remote Jackets will begin shipping the week of Oct. 15.

The Wii Remote Jacket is designed to be added and removed easily, in case users want to slip their Wii Remote into an accessory like the upcoming Wii Zapper™.

The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™, Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.4 billion video games and more than 420 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario™, Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.