Update - Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy hitting retailers in the next four weeks or so, the creative brains behind the project recently discussed the game in the Creator's Voice bringing with them new videos and an orgasmic orchestrated theme.



Game Orchestral Music Recording



Source: Wii japan site

SmackDown v Raw 08 Advert

Nintendo's Wii - remote is the perfect toy for bikini-clad women in promoting the upcoming SmackDown! Vs. RAW 08

Super Smash update: Little Mac joins the Brawl

Nintendo have released a minor update today on the Official Smash Bros. website, revealing a return of one of the classic Punch Out! characters, Little Mac, as an assist trophy.

Once there was a legendary man. He knocked heavyweight boxers many times his own size to the mat en route to a W.V.B.A. title.

Little Mac appears from Punch Out!

PDC World Championship Darts 2008

Mere Mortals is not a name that you hear everyday in the games industry. As such, it might surprise you that they have had their fingers in the pies of hundreds of games, from conversions and ports, to being subcontracted to work on other developers’ franchises, and of course working on their own original titles. PDC World Championship Darts 2008 is their latest original game, and we got to play a preview build exclusively, as detailed in our feature. What do we actually think of the game, though?

PDC World Championship Darts on Playstation 2 was somewhat of a surprise hit when it first appeared. Unexpectedly, in the run up to Christmas 2006 it became a big seller, reaching into the upper end of the best seller charts with online retailers such as Play.com – the official PDC licence being attached no doubt helping out. With this success in hand, it was perhaps inevitable that a sequel would rear its head to capitalise on the clear interest that the market displayed in darts games. Luckily for us, Wii has also appeared since then, and so as well as a Playstation 2 sequel, PDC 2008 is also coming to Nintendo’s console. Unlike many other PS2/Wii multiplatform titles, however, the Wii offering is not a mere port – it is in fact the primary version that is in development.

You only have to look at the presentation of the game to see that PDC 2008 is intended to best the original in every way. Immediately seeming bigger and better, the overall quality of the menus, the in-game visuals, and the whole presentation has been obviously polished up. Whereas the first game was passable on this front, it pales in comparison to the new version. The most impressive visual feature of PDC was the faces of the darts players, which were pretty close to real life, but they had their restrictions – little movement, for example. Now, though, with a whole new engine, the rest of the visuals have been beefed up. The faces are now even more impressive and have more expressions (maybe also thanks to the team being allowed more access to the players themselves, rather than hunting around the Internet for images they could use as sources). The character models in general have been spruced up so that they resemble the players more accurately, and everything has a cleaner look. The animation is more natural too, thanks to hours of study of the professional players’ mannerisms and postures with footage of matches, as well as more use of motion capturing. It’s still not the prettiest game you’ll ever see, but it’s safe to say that quite a lot of work has gone into making things look hugely better over the first PDC title.

This isn’t the only area of improvement, though. The modes that existed in the first game have been expanded to include more – the party games mode, for example, now looks to be more of a focused area than before, geared towards casual multiplayer gaming, ideally for after you tumble in from the pub. The career mode now includes more tournaments than before and allows you to start out either as a professional player who must keep his stature, or as a newbie who must make their way through the ranks and prove themselves to be worthy of matching up to the (literal) big boys. What tournaments you qualify for, and your ranking, is determined by how much money you are able to earn by winning matches – lose too much, and your bank account is going to take a hit and send you plummeting down the ranks. If you choose to start out as a new player, you can create your own in the expanded Create-A-Character mode. Whereas in the original PDC you could only do some basic customisation, the 2008 edition gives you many more options to consider, from the appearance of the character, to their favoured dart types, to even setting a signature technique (i.e. the numbers they prefer to hit to finish a match). You can also now choose the gender of your created beasts, just in case you really want to be a female darts player this time around.

Source: Cubed 3

London Wishes 'Good luck' To Lewis Hamilton With Giant Message Made Of Car Skid Marks

Battersea Power Station was engulfed with engine noise and screeching tyre smoke this morning, as a special message of good luck was embezzled onto the ground for Lewis Hamilton ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, which could see him walk away as Formula One World Champion.

As these pictures show, the message was created entirely by the skid marks of a sports car and a motorbike, using blistering wheelspins and breakneck handbrake turns to lay rubber onto the tarmac to produce the words 'Go Lewis!' in giant 50-foot lettering.

And while bemused onlookers assumed the stunt was related to the filming of the new Batman movie, currently taking place at the iconic Battersea landmark, it was in fact nothing to do with the the caped hero of Gotham City - but a very different type of Gotham. The message was created for the launch of the biggest racing game yet on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, 'Project Gotham Racing 4' (Bizarre Creations/Microsoft Games Studio), a high-adrenalin arcade racing title which rewards players with death-defying slides and sideways driving. The concept of 'Skid Art' is also the theme of the Project Gotham Racing 4 TV advertisement currently being aired.

Driving the Caterham sports car in the pictures was the UK's top stunt driver, Russ Swift, who got through three sets of tyres to create the image.

Xbox wishes Lewis Hamilton the very best of luck in Brazil this weekend!

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core for Wii

505 Games today shifted up the pace of their release schedule with the announcement of Guilty Gear XX Accent Core for Nintendo Wii in February 2008.

Developed by Yokohama-based Arc System Works, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core is the third instalment in the series and is widely cited as one of the most carefully balanced fighting games in existence, thanks to a refined combat system with three new gameplay modes.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core features over 20 deadly combatants and includes an alternate EX version of all the existing characters. On top of all this, the game also introduces two reinvented fighters, A.B.A. and Order-Sol, who have never been seen outside of Japan.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core delivers a range of all-new moves, including the ‘Force Break’, a special move which consumes 25 per cent of the Tension Gauge when used; ‘Slashback’, a form of parrying with reduced block stun; ‘Slip Throws’; and moves which make opponents stick briefly to walls or slide across the floor of a stage.

In addition to major gameplay changes, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core features the first major aesthetic change for the series since the original release. All voices, including that of the announcer, have been re-recorded or replaced with previously unused samples, in some cases with different actors.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core makes maximum use of the Wii controller, allowing players to move characters with the control pad on the Nunchuk and use the Wii Remote for both simple and special attacks. Some of the less powerful attacks are mapped on the Wii Remote buttons and the special attacks are executed through both button and movement with the Nunchuk or the Wii Remote.

The final layers of polish on Guilty Gear XX Accent Core come with redesigned playable character artwork and two new music tracks, Launch Out and Keep The Flag Flying.

The final mix is a fighting masterpiece.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core will be published by 505 Games for Nintendo Wii in February 2008.

Google AdSense and video games

Bafta 195, Piccadily, London - 23rd October - 8.30 - 5pm

Tiga is pleased to announce that Eva Woo Product Marketing Manager of Google Adsense will be flying over from the US to be a keynote speaker at Tiga’s Cross Media Conference ‘Working with Games’ on the 23rd October.

Eva will give the general audience an idea of where Google are headed with games content. She will also describe how publishers and developers can monetize even further their game property in areas such as ‘Gadgets’.

Other speakers from TV, film, advertising and games include Endemol, BBC, 19 Agency, Ubisoft, TT Games and advertising agency BBH.

This event is kindly supported with funding from the London Development Agency. Other partners include PACT, BAFTA and Scottish Enterprise.

Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe on Xbox LIVE

Arcade - Legendary Combat Sports Game in HD

Empire Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of Silverstar Holdings, today announced that the eagerly awaited, classic combat sports game “Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe,” is available on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft via Xbox LIVE Arcade starting today.

Regarded as a break-though title that took the sports genre to a new level, “Speedball,” the Bitmap Brothers classic, was first released for the Amiga in 1990 and quickly became a huge success. However it wasn’t until the release of its sequel, “Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe” that the title reached new gaming heights and sold over 2 million units. It is still considered by many to be one of the best games of all time.

As of today, players can get the Xbox LIVE Arcade version of “Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe,” a perfect conversion of original game will all the classic elements that have made it a firm favorite amongst gamers, but with the addition of an all-new High Definition version, more teams and downloadable content.

Empire Interactive has recently enjoyed great success with the release of arcade classic “Double Dragon,” one of the most popular full game downloads on Xbox LIVE Arcade (400MP). The highly anticipated release of this legendary game should further cement Empire’s position as a leading provider of casual games in the online marketplace.

Ian Higgins, CEO Empire Interactive said, “Xbox LIVE Arcade is the ideal environment for this exciting new High Definition version of ‘Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe.’ With the addition of extra content packs and downloadable content, gamers will at last have the ultimate version of the game.”

Clive Kabatznik, CEO of Silverstar Holdings commented, “Speedball II will undoubtedly add to our earlier successes on Xbox LIVE Arcade and further demonstrates our ability to cost effectively redeploy classic titles on all major formats and a multitude of distribution channels.”

Mike Montgomery, of developers Bitmap Brothers said, “The team is as passionate about “Speedball” today as they were back in the day. The evolution of the game to Xbox LIVE Arcade will provide renewed interest and excitement for “Speedball” fans old and new”.

At a cost of 800MP, its arrival will please both hard-core fans and new generations of gamers who have yet to experience what some believe is the finest combat sports game ever made.

Xbox LIVE Arcade is the central destination for Xbox 360 gamers to find, download, try, and buy smaller games on the Xbox 360 console. Xbox LIVE Arcade offers a large catalogue of fun, broad-appeal games that can be downloaded via Xbox LIVE.

Pokémon Pandemonium is Back

now ranked in Top 5 action figure brands, total Pokémon sales in Canada are expected to almost triple this year

Pokémon, the global pop culture phenomenon that created a frenzy when it hit Canada in 1998, is back, and it's resurging with significant speed with a new generation of fans. With the new broadcast of the 10th television season entitled Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl on YTV this fall, Canadian sales of new Pokémon merchandise are expected to escalate even further.

The Pokémon brand in Canada is expected to reach $30-million in retail sales in 2007 which represents double and, in some categories, triple the business it did in 2006 - including sales of video games, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, toys, home décor, and apparel. This resurgence was fuelled by this spring's launch of the Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl video games for the Nintendo DS, featuring more than 100 new Pokémon characters, and the introduction of a new expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game in May.

Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl are the fastest-selling video games in the history of the series, with worldwide sales in excess of 10 million games, and Pokémon Trading Card Game sales up an astounding 300 per cent.

"Pokémon is a classic in the world of video games - since it launched the brand has always been among our top selling video games," said Nintendo of Canada vice-president and general manager Ron Bertram. "The two key drivers behind the wild success of the Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl video games are the renewed popularity of the brand, and the extraordinary nature of game play that is enjoyed by longtime fans of Pokémon, plus a whole new generation of kids." According to NPD, Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl video games are the top two selling portable video games in 2007 to date.

Already a top-rated program on Cartoon Network in the U.S., the Canadian debut on YTV of the 10th season of the animated TV series called Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl, is generating impressive ratings since its start on September 28.

"Pokémon toys started the year off within the top 10 most popular action figures, and then the momentum of the launch of the Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl video games nearly tripled sales of toys and catapulted Pokémon into the top five action figure brands," said Eddie Hayden, Director Marketing, JAKKS Pacific, Inc., a multi-brand company that designs and markets a broad range of toys and consumer products including Pokémon products. "As a result of this new wave of Poké-mania, we're working around-the-clock to make sure we have enough toys to fill the influx of Holiday 2007 orders from Canadian retailers."

Pokémon is the collective name for the 490 characters that one can find, catch, train, trade, collect and use in battle against rivals in the quest to become a Pokémon Master. After launching in Japan in 1996, Pokémon came to North America in 1998. Its arrival spurred a shopping frenzy that is still remembered by an entire generation of kids and their parents.

"The new Pokémon entertainment and toy products coming to market are fresh and compelling to kids."

Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl introduce a new generation of fans to a new generation of Pokémon, featuring over 100 new characters hailing from the region of Sinnoh - a new land of blue lakes, mysterious forests and snowy hills.

Pokémon merchandise is available at major retailers.

Wii get fit together

As temperatures cool across the country, kids will be spending even more time indoors playing video games. But if you can’t beat 'em, why not join 'em?

That’s what I did. One of my sons got a Wii console for his birthday. In addition to all the superhero games and Pokemon, he also got a slew of sports games.

Intrigued, I decided to challenge him to boxing. Wow, was that a workout! My arms were burning, my heart rate was up and I was loving it.

I’ve recently started playing the tennis game myself. And my son and I really get going on the bowling.

So next time you feel like you’re about to pull your hair out from all the video games, think about joining in on one of the latest fitness trends: exergaming. Besides Wii, you also can check out the offerings from PlayStation and Xbox.

A few sessions a week of exergaming can help you get in shape right in your living room. And it’s a fun way to reconnect with the kids and get them moving, too.

Just tell the youngsters to hand over the controls. Mama (or Papa) is ready for a workout!

Source: MSNBC