OG Planet Scares Up Some Halloween Fun

Special Holiday Events Planned for Albatross 18 and Rumble Fighter

OGPlanet, an innovative provider of multiplayer online games, today announced a variety of Halloween-themed in-game events continuing through the end of October.

In Rumble Fighter, OGPlanet's multiplayer online fighting game, players can customize their fighters with fun Halloween items including jack-o'-lantern masks and the intimidating "Slasher Mask." A jack-o'-lantern hunt is also in full swing, and the players who gather the most jack-o'-lanterns by the end of the month will be rewarded with unique prizes.

Albatross 18, OGPlanet's golf role-playing game, is also getting into the swing of Halloween with a colorful Hallow's Eve Clubset and a special golf ball called the Phantom Phoenix. Players can also purchase limited-edition Halloween costumes for their Albatross18 characters.

"Halloween has always been our favorite holiday because it allows our production teams to really get creative with festive in-game items and events," said Jack Liu, Chief Creative Officer of OGPlanet. "More than anything, we enjoy celebrating Halloween with our community with these specially catered seasonal offerings."

Huddle Up, Football Fans: NaturalMotion Releases New Screenshots From Backbreaker

NaturalMotion today released new Backbreaker screenshots featuring the line of scrimmage, close-ups and unique camera angles of the quarterback making a pass. Premiering on next-generation consoles in 2008, Backbreaker incorporates NaturalMotion's motion synthesis engine, euphoria.

About NaturalMotion

NaturalMotion Ltd. is the first company to create 3D character animation software based on Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS), a technology that utilizes adaptive behaviors and artificial intelligence to simulate the human-nervous system. Based on Oxford University research, NaturalMotion's euphoria synthesizes 3D character animation in real time on Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, thus creating unique game moments and previously unachievable interactivity. It will debut in 2008 in Rockstar's hotly awaited Grand Theft Auto IV and LucasArts' ground-breaking Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. In addition to licensing its technology, NaturalMotion is developing Backbreaker, an American football title for release in 2008.

For further information please visit NaturalMotion's website www.naturalmotion.com.

RISING STAR GAMES TO PUBLISH NO MORE HEROES

Rising Star Games is pleased to announce that it will publish No More Heroes, the highly anticipated action game by Tokyo-based acclaimed game designer, Goichi Suda, (Suda 51). The project has been developed by Suda 51’s development studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, Inc. and Rising Star Games’ parent company, Marvelous Entertainment. No More Heroes is set to arrive in Europe in February 2008 exclusively for Nintendo Wii.

No More Heroes tells the story of Travis Touchdown, an animé fan who lives in the fictional town of Santa Destroy, California. After an unexpected turn of events, Travis finds himself being approached by the head hunter of an assassins’ organisation. Travis is challenged to prove himself worthy by defeating ten other bloodthirsty killers – all with deep stories of their own – to make his way to the top of the assassins’ league.

“Rising Star Games is very excited to be bringing this latest project from Suda 51 to the European market,” commented Martin Defries, Managing Director, Rising Star Games. “He is without doubt a legendary creative powerhouse within the gaming industry. No More Heroes is shaping up to be a widely anticipated Q1 title for both the trade and consumers alike. It’s a massively engaging and immersive gaming experience for the Wii. This is exactly the right product to broaden the format’s appeal to a wider, more serious gaming audience."

No More Heroes realises the dream of Wii players everywhere as they can wield the Wii Remote to swing the beam katana and perform spectacular wrestling moves. Suda 51’s creation features avant-garde graphics which will thrust players into a stylised world filled with edgier gameplay. Taking its lead from the silver screen, the storyline is riddled with laugh-out-loud violence, black humour and irony-filled dialogue. No More Heroes is a multi-sense video game experience: dark, engaging and pure entertainment!

“With No More Heroes, we wanted to create a game that allows players to be able to jump right in and play,” said Suda 51, president of Grasshopper Manufacture. “The Wii allows us to create an open world where movement and gameplay feel very natural.”

About Rising Star Games:

Rising Star Games Limited is a video games publisher for Sony PSP, Nintendo DS and Wii plus PlayStation 2 in the PAL territory. The firm will be publishing its first Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 titles during 2008. A joint venture between Japanese publisher/developer Marvelous Interactive and long standing Nintendo Nordic distributor Bergsala AB, the company introduces new games alongside enhanced and updated versions of some of interactive entertainment’s most successful franchises.
www.risingstargames.com

Students Create Slinky Bomb, Win $25,000 in Computer Game Contest

Three Pomona College students created a new computer game that “secretly” teaches physics concepts to middle school students and captured the $25,000 first prize in the national Hidden Agenda computer game design contest.

The goal of the contest, now in its fifth year, is to inspire college students to build entertaining games that teach middle school subjects. Final judging was based on 70 percent entertainment and 30 percent educational value.

This year two Pomona entries made the final five. The winning entry, Slinky Bomb, was built by Alexander Haro, Class of ’08; Tim Brown, ’07; and Kurt Ude, ’09. The game teaches physics through a series of ball-in-the-cup puzzles that demonstrate properties such as motion, acceleration, energy and angular momentum. Among the creators’ motivations, according to Haro, were both the prize money and the fact that Pomona teams had finished in the finals three times but never won.

The team estimates that development took about 400 hours with most of that packed into a three-week period. Brown notes that, “The last night of work was pretty crazy. We decided to add in voice-overs at roughly midnight and had them in by 6 a.m., while adding the hints features and sounds. We were hyped up on caffeine and throwing tennis balls against different surfaces to record sound effects while trying to add as many cool features to the game as we could before submitting. It was hectic, but fun!”

“The three of us had already been up for basically three days straight,” explained Haro. “Yet, somehow, we managed to have one of our most productive nights then. During that time we were able to implement the hint interface, record the voice overlays, and fix a lot of long-standing bugs.”

More than two dozen teams entered the contest, and the five finalists were invited to Austin, TX for the final judging, which included testing by middle school students.“The first day was awesome, said Brown. “Hearing and seeing the kids' excitement with the game was incredibly rewarding but it was also great to see the teachers really enjoying it. It was nice to see that our game was actually fun to play and appreciated by teachers, learning experts, and professional game developers at the same time.”

For Haro, “The memory that sticks out most was when we first arrived to the contest playing area. All of the kids were playing the games on the computers and most of them were playing Slinky Bomb…. A boy stood up and asked us, ‘How did you make Slinky Bomb so awesome?’ The fact we had built a game was an accomplishment, the fact that the kids enjoyed it so much took that sense of accomplishment to a whole other level.”

The contest judges were: NCsoft, a game development company; a team of instructional designers from the University of Texas and Enspire Learning; Marc Prensky, a digital game-based learning consultant; and the teachers and students from the Camp Wired program in Austin, TX, which teaches middle school students how to create video games.

The second Pomona College team making the Hidden Agenda finals consisted of Charles Zhou ‘08 and Edward (Ed) Burns ’08, who created CheMeteor in which players create chemical-based missiles to defend the planet.

The Hidden Agenda contest is sponsored by the Liemandt Foundation, a nonprofit family foundation dedicated to furthering education through technology. Among their goals is the hope that winners will go on to devote their talents to developing educational games when they graduate.

Slinky Bomb has already been installed on over 4500 computers, which have been given to underprivileged middle school kids in urban areas through a partnership between the Liemandt Foundation and the nonprofit Computers for Youth.

The Top 4: Worst video games

TURKEYS: Remember some of these? They were a waste of time.

1. "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (Atari 2600): Rush-released for the holidays to capitalize on the success of Steven Spielberg's magical movie, this jaw-dropping stinker isn't just the worst game ever; it defines what a bad game truly is.

The slow, choppy gameplay consists mostly of a green, pixilated E.T. climbing out of pits, dodging an awkwardly programmed detective, and ... getting out of more pits. E.T. himself would trade in stashes of Reese's Pieces to ensure no curious gamer touches this monstrosity.

2. "Survival Arts" (Arcade): When "Mortal Kombat" revolutionized fighting games, piles of imitators followed, but none as bad as this.

From the cheap, garish costumes and overly dramatic death cries to the horrible controls and character actors, "Survival Arts" will make one burst into fits of laughter with its ineptitude. Did I mention the old guy with a limitless supply of weapons and the boss who looks like Richard Simmons?

3. "Superman 64" (Nintendo 64): People love Superman because he represents absolute good and can do no wrong -- except when he flies on your home console. This N64 turkey defaces the good name of Superman in every way, forcing the Man of Steel to fly through hoops as a mission.


The gameplay is extremely buggy, with unresponsive controls and limited superpowers. You may find yourself giving up when Lex Luthor challenges, "Solve my maze." Difficult, as there is no maze.

4. "Gods and Generals" (PC): A tie-in for a hated Civil War movie that can't get basic game programming right.

The low artificial intelligence has soldiers shooting randomly and running through fire until they die; the landscaping has more polygons than a geometry book; there are hardly any game physics; and nearly every troop looks exactly the same. Had the Civil War itself been like this game, it'd probably be known as the Clone Wars long before George Lucas made movies -- if either side even won.

NFL Challenge to play for $100,000 in prizes

Players hit a different kind of gridiron yesterday for a chance to compete in an international tournament.

Football fans put their skills to the test in the EA Sports Madden NFL Challenge, which saw video game players going head-to-head yesterday.

"The tournament allows you to know how good you are and gives a scale to build on," said Madden fan Mike Iwankow, 25.

Iwankow came in second in last year's Madden regional tournament in Winnipeg and was eager to compete again this year.

"To be the best in a city is quite an accomplishment," said Anthony Francisco, manager of the St. James Best Buy store, where the competition was held.

The latest version of the Madden game features more realistic action, with certain National Football League players having stronger skills than others, said Iwankow.

"It's almost bang-on," he said.

About 40 players had signed up yesterday morning to participate in the Winnipeg tournament, playing the Madden NFL 08 game on Xbox 360 systems.

"They treat it like a real game. They're as fanatical about it as fans at Bombers' games," said James Deighton, one of the tourney's organizers.

PLAYS RELIGIOUSLY

One of the competitors, Clint Armstrong, 31, said the event brought more excitement to the gameplay and he looked forward to competing again next year.

"He plays the game religiously," said Armstrong's sister, Katrina Paquin, who came out to cheer him on.

Other Madden enthusiasts said they enjoy the popular video game series because of their fondness for the NFL.

"I'm a huge football fan and it's the closest you can get (in a video game)," said Nigel Russell, 18, adding he's been playing the game for about five years.

The top three players in Winnipeg walk off with televisions as prizes while the overall winner gets a paid trip to Toronto to compete in the national championship. The winner of that event will be sent to Los Angeles in December for the international final, worth about $100,000 in prizes, said Deighton.

UK government video games review

In her first interview as head of a government review of video games' effect on children, TV psychologist Tanya Byron tells David Smith that being a mother will help in her new role.

She told The Observer why she believes portable games devices should be part of daily schooling, suggests a likely link between violent games and violent behaviour in certain cases, and stresses the need for parents and children to balance virtual world risks as they would real world dangers such as crossing a road or talking to strangers.

Pilot schemes in schools, which have seen hand-held devices such as the Nintendo DS used by pupils to practise mental arithmetic, will be applauded. Asked if she thinks these should become part of the daily curriculum, Byron says: 'Yes I do. These are the technologies that children are using and will continue to use more and more as they grow into the next workforce, the next thinking generation.

While their educational merits are seldom noted, video games tend to become news only when gory or violent content is blamed for copycat behaviour in the real world. Is there a causal link? Byron is no fan of censorship but admits it's 'the big question'. 'I think the fact that currently there exists no concrete evidence of harm does not mean evidence of no harm.

Byron's consultation with the games and internet industries will include a mission to America and a meeting with YouTube, the video sharing site, to discuss its policy for taking down inappropriate content. She has also thrown open the process to children themselves, with blogs on MySpace and Bebo .

'Balance' is possibly Byron's favourite word, and the government can expect a nuanced report sensitive to both sides of an argument. That doesn't mean it will be bland. As visitors to her MySpace page now know, her star sign is Aries, also known as the ram.

More from The Observer

Quirky video games in Japan

When it comes to quirky games nothing can beat the Japanese. They have practically invented the genre and the market for games that are so out of this world in concept and gameplay that you wouldn’t even think that it is playable, much less marketable. And yet, the Japanese have proven time and time again that their formula actually succeeds in capturing the imaginations (and the wallets) of gamers.

Of course, most of these quirky games would really cater more or less exclusively to the Japanese domestic market itself. Take for example the popularity of “dating” simulators. These dating games are one of the biggest game genres in Japan but it has yet to really penetrate the market abroad. But thent there are games that are soo out there in concept and gameplay mechnics but still manages to get a worldwide audience.

Katamari Damacy is a puzzle/adventure game. You play the role of an alien who needs to replace “lost” stars in the sky and the only way you can do that is by accumulating all types of things on earth by rolling a “sticky” ball until you reach a desired diameter. It’s a really crazy concept but it became a really huge game when it was released and even spawned a sequel.

I think we should try to imitate the Japanese people’s ability to become open about new changes and ideas.

Burnout Paradise Official Trailer (Burnout 5)

Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Fans of “Super Smash Brothers Brawl” for the Wii, I apologize now.

Back when I studied at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism I was taught the importance of recognizing important news and bringing hard-won information to the public.

And yet, despite my schooling, I have failed. I went to a Nintendo summit two weeks ago. I played at least a half-hour of “SSBB.” I asked questions. Filmed videos that explain the game’s controls. I tried a host of characters.
But I did not snap a photo of Meta Knight’s Final Smash.

Like I said, I failed.

Apparently the torrent of information released about “SSBB” via the game’s official blog has not been enough to satisfy “SSBB” fans. Screenshots of 15 announced stages, 22 announced characters, descriptions of multiple modes and even the revelation that each character in the new game will be able to grab an item that lets them deliver a special devastating move called the Final Smash … nothing is enough for the “SSBB” fan.

No, they want to know what Meta Knight’s Final Smash move is. At least one “Smash” fan out there suggests that such a scoop would be huge news.

And all I have is a sentence of notes describing it.

Bear in mind that this was written down in my notebook two weeks ago, in the midst of some furious battling. My mental image of the Final Smash is faint. But the ink of my pen is not. My notes read: “Meta Knight Final Smash: wraps enemy in cape and wails on him.”

That’s all I got. No photo.

But maybe I can make things better with a trio of facts that Multiplayer’s resident “Smash Bros.” expert tells me are, in fact, news:

The character Pit, from “Kid Icarus,” can jump four times. Even using this ability I was getting trounced by better players.
If you get trounced too much the game gives you a break, re-spawning the player in fully-charged and ready to deliver a Final Smash, a mercy-Final-Smash, as it were. If being bad at a game is what it takes for me to get the big scoop, then so be it.
The game’s assist trophies — Nintendo-themed bonus characters that can be used to supplement your attacks — include the girl from “Sin & Punishment.” I know this because I threw an assist trophy capsule and out she jumped, gunning down the enemy characters.

That much I know. But I’m sure I missed something else that was important. Sorry, “Smash” fans.

Source: MTV

Exclusive: Nintendo Gives Us “Battalion Wars 2″

There are times when the mighty Nintendo company actually reacts to little old me.

That includes today, because I have here on my desk a finished, retail copy of “Battalion Wars 2.”

I have it a day before Nintendo is sending it to other reporters, probably because I wrote an article last week questioning the lack of promotion for the game. The game is shipping to stores on October 29.

Do I have power over Nintendo? Well, not really. For the record, other times that Nintendo may have reacted to me: There was a time during a speech from Reggie Fils-Aime two years ago, when he announced that he wasn’t going to put “Brain Age” commercials on MTV, and having chatted with me before the speech, ad-libbed: “Sorry Stephen.” Oh, and 1up.com apparently thinks the makers of “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” do my bidding.

But that’s not why you’re reading this post.

You’re probably reading because you want to know about “Battalion Wars 2.” Is it a the next great hardcore Wii game after “Metroid Prime 3” or a dud? Did I find whatever fatal flaw that may have kept Nintendo from marketing the game more aggressively?

I’ve played the game for three hours so far and am ready to spill the beans…



The Basics

To get everyone up to speed, “Battalion Wars 2″ is published by Nintendo and developed by Kuju London, the same outfit that created the first game in the series, which was released for GameCube in 2005. Both games are third-person action games that put the player on a battlefield where they can both directly and indirectly control a small battalion in skirmishes against enemy military forces.

Many action games might give you a single super-soldier to control. Tthe “Battalion Wars” games let you control, say, a single machine gun soldier, while six guys with flamethrowers, five guys with bazookas, three assault commandos, two tanks, a recon buggy and an attack helicopter — all marching, rolling and swooping in concert with you soldier’s steps. On the fly, you can tell each of your units to attack different enemy units, stand guard, or capture bases. Or you can take immediate control of any of the other allied units yourself and control the battle from thier point of view.

More from: MTV Multiplayer

Crysis demo free download

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE
"Crysis is a next-generation PC first-person shooter from Crytek, the award-winning developers of Far Cry. A stunning technical achievement, Crysis combines incredible visuals, cunning gameplay and an epic story that challenges gamers to adapt to survive.

Powered by CryENGINE 2, Crysis delivers the ultimate DX10 gaming experience for the PC, including unparalleled graphics, special effects and artificial intelligence. The game is also scaleable to deliver a breath-taking FPS experience for older DX9 PCs.

Earth, 2019. A team of US scientists makes a frightening discovery on an island in the South China Sea. All contact with the team is lost when the North Korean Government quickly seals off the area. The United States responds by dispatching an elite team of Delta Force Operators to recon the situation. As tension rises between the two nations, a massive alien ship reveals itself in the middle of the island. The ship generates an immense force sphere that freezes a vast portion of the island and drastically alters the global weather system. Now the US and North Korea must join forces to battle the alien menace. With hope rapidly fading, you must fight epic battles through tropical jungle, frozen landscapes, and finally into the heart of the alien ship itself for the ultimate Zero G showdown.



FEATURES:

A unique three-act structure forces the player to use real-time armor and weapons customization to adapt constantly to an ever-changing world.

Encounter a frightening and totally origina

l alien species—they use their senses intelligently and work together to present the most challenging enemy yet in an FPS.

Control of a variety of land, sea, and air vehicles including trucks, tanks, boats, and helicopters.

Explore a living, dynamic world where earthquakes, breaking ice, landslides, and tornados pose an ever-present threat.

32-player multiplayer with real-time armor and weapons customization, plus an all-new multiplayer mode that combines player modification and tactical objectives.

Emergent gameplay means that in-game actions affect future outcomes and give each player a unique experience.

Highly robust and easy-to-use mod toolset allows players to create their own expansive levels for both multiplayer and single-player modes.

The CryENGINE 2 engine delivers the most realistic environments, spectacular special effects, physics game engine, lighting system, and enemy Al.

Recommended System Requirements
OS: Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO @ 2.2GHz
RAM: 2.0 GB RAM
Hard Drive: 12GB
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS/640 or similar
Soundcard: DirectX 9.0c compatible

Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista
Processor: 2.8 GHz or faster (XP); 3.2 GHz or faster (Vista)
RAM: 1.0 GB RAM or 1.5 GB RAM (Vista)
Hard Drive: 12GB
Video Card: 256 MB
Soundcard: DirectX 9.0c compatible"

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE

Exploiting Online Games: Cheating Massively Distributed Systems

If you are a gamer, a game developer, a software security professional, or an interested bystander, this book exposes the inner workings of online-game security for all to see.

From the authors of the best-selling Exploiting Software, Exploiting Online Games takes a frank look at controversial security issues surrounding MMORPGs, such as World of Warcraft and Second Life. This no-holds-barred book comes fully loaded with code examples, debuggers, bots, and hacks.

This book covers

Why online games are a harbinger of software security issues to come

How millions of gamers have created billion-dollar virtual economies

How game companies invade personal privacy

Why some gamers cheat

Techniques for breaking online game security

How to build a bot to play a game for you

Methods for total conversion and advanced mods

Written by the world's foremost software security experts, this book takes a close look at security problems associated with advanced, massively distributed software. With hundreds of thousands of interacting users, today's online games are a bellwether of modern software. The kinds of attack and defense techniques described in Exploiting Online Games are tomorrow's security techniques on display today.

Read online at SAFARI

Resident Evil: UC - Gameplay Trailer (+18)

Get a taste of some of the exciting situations and weaponry waiting for you in Umbrella Chronicles.

Sims creator backs Wii

The Sims and Spore creator Will Wright has labelled Wii the only true next-generation console out of the three new console platforms on the market.

"Somebody asked me what I thought next generation meant and what about the PlayStation 3 was next generation. The only next gen system I've seen is the Wii - the PS3 and the Xbox 360 feel like better versions of the last, but pretty much the same game with incremental improvement", Wright told Guardian Unlimited.

Wii, Wright continued, feels like a major jump, "not that the graphics are more powerful, but that it hits a completely different demographic".

He said in some sense he sees Nintendo's console as the most significant thing that's happened in the console space in quite a while.

Wright went on to reveal that he has an Xbox 360 at home "collecting dust in the background", with a Wii hooked up that "we use quite a bit". He doesn't own a PS3, apparently.

"I still, for the most part, prefer playing games on the computer - to me the mouse is the best input device ever", he added.

"Every generation it's like 'the PC's dead! The PC's dead!'. But it carries on growing when consoles are flat for five years. At the moment I can get better graphics on my PC than I can on the PS3."

Source: CVG

Metroid Prime 3

The best console FPS controls ever; that's what gamers in the States are saying about Metroid Prime 3: Corruption's innovative Wii controls. For the first few hours of the final code we didn't quite see what they were on about; it was all a bit familiar to Ubisoft's launch shooter effort Red Steel. Then we found the "advanced" control mode. Ooohhh...

Return of Samus
The Metroid series has always been about aiming and shooting and less about which weapon Samus is packing in her orange space holster. That's why the Wii's new accurate method of shooting fits in to the series so well; the difficulty's ramped up even further and beaming a critter requires far more skill than the first two Prime's simple lock-on system.

It should be noted that while the 'normal' mode works well enough - especially for beginners - 'advanced' is far more sensitive and allows you to play more skilfully than on the other mode.

Retro Studios proves that a Nunchuk and Wii Remote are the perfect armchair alternative to a mouse and keyboard; with short, simple Remote movements you can aim Samus's weapon with awesome precision, and thanks to some excellent tuning at Retro Studios, vision movement is accurate and feels tight - unlike the loose aiming circle of Red Steel.

Because of this fire fights are a notch above anything possible in previous Prime games; instead of darting from baddie to baddie with an instant lock-on, Corruption's system allows you to track targets as they dash and dive away from your cursor, as you can see from our captured videos below.

Aiming for specific areas of the body is also played around with; certain enemies will require you to aim at chinks in their armour, which you can do quickly and easily with the Wii Remote, and swarms of drones test your reaction speed with shields and teleports. It's the breath of fresh air that, after the second Prime, first-person Metroid really needed.

The first Prime game could be classed as one of the visceral shooters of it's time; gorgeous visor effects, subtle HUD delay and a teasing glimpse of Samus's girlish reflection made you feel like you were actually stuck inside the helmet. Corruption takes this even further with an abundance of levers and switches you actually reach out and pull with the bounty hunter's Wii Remote-controlled hand.

You're given your first glimpse of these satisfying switch moments in Samus's orbiting space ship at the very beginning; pushing levers forward and twisting dials feels solid thanks to the Remote's sturdy force feedback, and you thrust her ship into by your own hand - which beats pressing the A-button any day.

You can see Samus's new grapple toy in action below which puts you even more in control of the on-screen bounty-hunter, whipping and lassoing rubble - and even enemy shields - out of the way. It plays a big part in Corruption's puzzles and combat later on in the game and, although there are sometimes issues locking on properly at first, it works very well and adds a completely different feel to the straight-forward point-and-click shooting we're used to.

Source: CVG

Nintendo to Sell Wii In China

Nintendo Co Ltd said it aims to launch its Wii game console in China and South Korea next year, helping accelerate its break-neck growth and cement its recent lead over Sony Corp and Microsoft Corp.

One day after the three game makers' earnings announcements, Japan-based analysts said Nintendo looks well positioned to win the race for top spot in the current-generation videogame console market due to a strong software line-up and low hardware price.

"New game hardware comes around once in every five, six years. So, making a good start is crucial," Daiwa Institute of Research analyst Koki Shiraishi said.

"Since the Xbox 360 was launched one year ahead, it is roughly on par with the Wii in total sales. But if you take a look at current momentum in net growth, the Wii is well ahead."

In July-September Nintendo sold 3.9 million units of the Wii, which features a motion-sensing controller that allows users to direct on-screen play by swinging it like a racket, three times as many as Sony's PlayStation 3 sales and twice as many as Microsoft's Xbox 360 sold during the same period.

"We suffer a global shortage of the Wii. Our responsibility now is to deliver as many consoles as we can to existing markets," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told a news conference.

"But next year, I think we can bring the Wii (to China)."

Iwata also said on Friday he has no plan to cut the Wii price in response to recent console price cuts by Sony and Microsoft.

"We are in a situation where we need to focus our effort on satisfying demand. I am not at all thinking about price cuts."

Sony recently announced PS3 price cuts and the launch of a low-priced model to ignite demand and win back game maker support in the run-up to the critical holiday season.

However, the lowest-priced PS3, which goes on sale on November 11 in Japan for 39,980 yen ($350), will still cost 60 percent more for buyers than the Wii.

Sony loaded the PS3 with its cutting-edge technology such as a Blu-ray high-definition DVD recorder. But advanced components have driven up the price for buyers and made it difficult and time-consuming for game creators to develop PS3 software.

In a major coup, Nintendo said earlier this month software publisher Capcom Co Ltd would develop the latest version of its blockbuster "Monster Hunter" action game for the Wii.

The game had previously been developed for Sony's consoles and the switch to Nintendo has fed speculation that support for the PlayStation franchise may be slipping.

CASH PILE

As a key software for this holiday season, Nintendo will launch a "Wii Fit" home fitness game on December 1 in Japan featuring a pressure-sensitive mat that allows players to "head" virtual soccer balls and imitate ski jumping.

"'Wii Fit' is probably going to appeal to light gamers and it will be helping Nintendo to win more users," Mizuho Investors Securities analyst Etsuko Tamura said.

Nintendo's strategy to offer innovative but easy-to-play games to expand gaming population has been a smashing success.

Nintendo shares have risen more than fivefold in the past two years to make the game maker Japan's third-most valuable company.

Asked what Nintendo plans to do with its growing cash pile, Iwata said the company may carry out a new capital policy in the near future, but did not elaborate.

"Nintendo has ample cash for sure and you may say we have strong cash-generating power," Iwata said.

"There is a chance that we will need to do something we haven't done or we haven't said in the not-so-distant future in terms of capital policy, if cash keeps accumulating. But it is too early to say what it would be."

Nintendo's cash and deposits totaled 912.7 billion yen as of September 30.

Shares in Nintendo closed up 2 percent at 67,700 yen, outperforming the Nikkei average's 1.4 percent gain.

Source: Reuters/New York Times

A Game Seeks Success Through Random Rewards

That some online games are addictive is no secret to anyone who has played a good one. They are the golf of electronic sports. The game designer Bill Roper, whose new project, Hellgate: London, is to be released next Wednesday, knows just why that is.

“It’s because of the power of what psychologists call intermittent rewards,” Mr. Roper said here recently at the offices of Flagship Studios, where he is chief executive. “When you’re playing golf and you have that one great drive, you’re excited at the end of the round even if the other 17 holes were horrible. But it’s the feeling of that one perfect shot that keeps you coming back, and when you get home you can’t stop talking about that one shot. That’s the kind of feeling we want in Hellgate: London.”

So, on Halloween, gamers will get to experience the fruits of the four years the Flagship team has spent refining its seductive “Just five more minutes” style of gameplay. That will inevitably lead to bleary eyes at 4 a.m., irate spouses and neglected schoolwork around the world. (The game is being released in 17 languages.)

More from: The New York Times

Is it a game, or is it real?

"Shall we play a game?"

For those of us who grew up playing videogames in arcades, hearing that computerized voice in WarGames was the moment when gaming became more than a frantic quest for quarters. That voice — tempting Matthew Broderick into nearly setting off a global thermonuclear war — signaled a new epoch: Reaching the next level in Donkey Kong wasn't enough anymore. Games could be serious.

Two decades on, that revelation is now conventional wisdom. From the military's use of America's Army for recruiting to quarterbacks researching tactics via Madden NFL, we've gone from games representing life to becoming life. Ask yourself: Do you believe that your club moves have improved from playing Dance Dance Revolution? Have your driving skills matured because of Gran Turismo? Does cleaning out your RSS reader remind you of playing Pac-Man? Does the action of the iPhone's bouncing icons recall Mario Bros.? Have you tried to convince your friends that the invasion of Sudoku and Tetris into your dreams is proof of high-level brain activity? Welcome to the arcade called you.

Of course, the basics of gameplay — competing against opponents, setting records, winning prizes — are as old as human civilization. But the gaming mindset has now become pervasive. We use game models to motivate ourselves, to answer questions, to find creative solutions. For many, life itself has turned into a game. Our online lives are just twists on the videogame leaderboards, where we jockey to get our blog a higher rank on Technorati and compete to acquire more friend-adds on MySpace than the next guy.

More from: WIRED

Driving the boundaries of realism

Driving through the rain-drenched streets of Shanghai in an Aston Martin DB4 at breakneck speeds, with the neon signs of shops blurring as you pass by, is one of the great thrills in life - even if it is only virtual.
Video game development has made tremendous graphical strides in the last four decades and nowhere is this more pronounced than in driving simulations.

In the 1970s a driving game was a simple mix of black and white pixels that were manoeuvred between two moving lines to represent the road's edge.

One of the first such games, Night Driver, had a plastic representation of the car that was laid under the screen of the arcade machine.

Games such as Project Gotham Racing 4, Ferrari Challenge and Gran Turismo 5 offer photo-real cars with simulated handling physics, being thrown about in high-definition worlds, which often recreate real cities in astonishing detail.

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