TOKYO (AFP) — Nintendo Co. said Thursday it will start offering videos through its blockbuster Wii game console, the latest new feature for the Japanese entertainment giant.
Nintendo said it would develop original programming which Wii users could access via the Internet and watch on their television. It is considering videos for both free and fees.
The game giant teamed up with Japan's leading advertising firm Dentsu Inc. to develop the service, which will begin in Japan next year, with an eye on future expansion into foreign markets.
Japanese rival Sony Corp. has already started using its popular PlayStation series for online movie sales and advertising by placing corporate messages inside games, which often have highly niche audiences.
One prominent advertiser was US president-elect Barack Obama, who placed campaign commercials inside a video game produced by Electronic Arts for Microsoft's XBox 360 console.
Nintendo and Dentsu said they were soliciting businesses to take part in the project to develop original Wii videos.
"Nintendo and Dentsu shall use the environment surrounding the Wii so that living rooms with Wii-ready TVs would become more of a fun area for communication among families and friends," the firms said in a joint statement.
Nintendo has shipped 34.55 million Wii consoles around the world, 80 percent of which are sitting near televisions in living rooms, the company said, adding that 40 percent of Wii consoles are linked to the Internet.
The Wii, launched ahead of the holiday season in 2006, is known for its innovative motion-sensitive controller which has appealed to people buying a video-game machine for the first time.
Nintendo already enables Wii players to use the game consoles to surf the Internet, shop online, organise digital photos and to communicate with Wii-using friends.
Nintendo in November launched in Japan the DSi, which comes with a built-in camera that lets allows the user to alter people's facial expressions.

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Nintendo is to launch a new version of its popular DS handheld game console in Japan next month.
The DSi will have a built-in camera and a music player. It will have a bigger screen than the current DS Lite but is fully compatible with the existing machine. Equipped with a camera, internet browsing software, a larger screen than its predecessors and a variety of “lifestyle” accessories, the DSi is aimed at further expanding Nintendo’s four-year attempt to convert more adults into customers for its consoles.
For the first time in the company’s history, Nintendo has designed its new handheld machine to accept a standard piece of hardware — a removable SD memory chip of the sort used in digital cameras and PCs.

LG has launched what is reputed to be the world’s fastest combined Blu-ray rewriter and HD DVD-ROM drive, the GGW-H20L, in the UK. It offers integrated support for standard-definition media such as CD and DVD, Along with both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs.
In addition, it comes with the ability to record to Blu-Ray at speeds of up to 6X and, following the decision by Hollywood to adopt this as its single standard for movie distribution, this standard is set to become very popular in the entertainment market.
A dual-layer Blu-Ray disc has a capacity of 50GB capable of holding more than 11,000 MP3 files or about 14.50 million A4 pages. This makes the technology ideal for storing electronic music and video libraries or as an archiving device in business. With the increased volume of data available today, the need for alternative storage options is rising rapidly, says LG marketing manager Fiona Lansberg. Not “Not only are we choosing to store more data, such as digital images, music files and video but we also continue to be bound by record keeping regulations, all of which take up precious space”. In addition, LG has launched the GGC-H20L an optical storage drive that reads Blu-Ray at 6X, HD-DVD media at 3X and reads and writes CDs and DVDs, but it does not have the ability to write to Blu-Ray.

Aaron Greenberg claims that Sony’s format is not part of firm’s Xbox 360 strategy
In the latest instalment of this confusing saga, Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg has now said that there are no plans for Xbox 360 to support Blu-Ray.
The news comes not long after Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer claimed that the company was indeed in discussions with Sony concerning Blu-Ray support.
However, speaking to Reuters Greenberg stated: "Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-Ray Association to integrate Blu-Ray into the Xbox experience."

Hacked machines will be prevented from accessing Xbox Live
Leading platform holder Microsoft has launched an assault on users who have chosen to modify their Xbox 360s – by banning the machines from accessing the Xbox Live network.

By hacking the firmware used by Xbox 360’s DVD drive, hackers have been able to circumnavigate copy protection, allowing their machines to run both imported, and more importantly, copied or third party software.

However, Microsoft’s new security measures can detect any modifications to a machine’s firmware. Once detected, the console is permanently prevented from accessing Xbox Live, meaning players are no longer able to play multiplayer games or download Marketplace content such as demos or software updates.

These measures differ from Microsoft’s past efforts with Xbox in that it is the actual hardware, rather than simply an Xbox Live account, that is prevented from accessing Live.

“These users will not have their account automatically banned from Live, but they will no longer be able to access the service from the console they modified," Microsoft stated.

“Microsoft has a no tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour like hacking or cheating. This topic is more important than ever given the recent release of the Halo 3 beta."

The original Xbox is a big favourite in the modding community, with hacks available that allow for the playing of emulation software, or even to transform the machines into fully functional media centres.

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Video games history is made as Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games is unveiled.
It would have been unthinkable ten years ago, but two of the greatest video game icons are set to star together in a new title for Wii and DS.
Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games will be released this Christmas, published by Sega in Europe and North America and by Nintendo in Japan. It has been licensed through a worldwide partnership with International Sports Multimedia (ISM), the exclusive interactive entertainment software licensee of the International Olympic Committee.
"We are thrilled to partner with Nintendo and ISM on this groundbreaking title," said Sega's president and COO Hisai Oguchi. "For the first time, two of the world's greatest games characters come together to compete in the world's greatest sporting event and we couldn't be more excited."
Nintendo's senior managing director and general manager Shigeru Miyamoto offered: "Mario and Sonic have been respectful rivals since the early days of video games. In fact, for a long time they have been discussing the possibility of one day competing against each other. Now they have been given the perfect opportunity to meet at the Olympic Games, we can finally learn who is the faster, Mario or Sonic?"
"The Olympic Games represent the true spirit of competition and passion," added ISM's chairman and COO Raymond Goldsmith. "Bringing together intensely competitive and fun characters like Mario and Sonic in an Olympic setting helps showcase the sports of the Olympic Games in a new and compelling way for all generations."

Ambitious publisher becomes biggest selling third party publisher on new Sony format.
Sega’s five launch titles claimed an impressive 13 per cent share of the UK software market on PS3 this week, with three titles breaking into the all formats top ten.
Virtua Fighter 5, Virtua Tennis 3, Sonic the Hedgehog, Full Auto 2 and World Snooker Championship 2007 all contributed to the week one blitz.
“We are very pleased to have achieved the status of the number one third party publisher at the launch of the PS3,” commented Alan Pritchard, managing director of Sega UK.
“Sega has continued to increase its market share considerably over the last 18 months, and this is indicative of the investment that the company continues to put toward next generation development. We look forward to further success on PS3 in 2007, with Sega Rally, The Club and The Golden Compass also due for release later this year.”

Mario Strikers: Charged Football to offer full online Wii multiplayer.
Nintendo has confirmed that Mario will finally be arriving on Wii at the end of next month when Mario Strikers: Charged Football is released on May 25th. And despite earlier reports that the upcoming Pokemon Battle Revolution would be the first Wii title to feature online multiplayer gameplay, it will be Mario that leads this charge.
Mario has further outings planned on the Wii later this year, including 2D-3D hybrid platformer Super Paper Mario and the highly anticipated Super Mario Galaxy. There’s also the joint outing Mario & Sonic At The Olympics planned for release alongside the Bejing Olympics in 2008.
Nintendo’s online service does not currently allow for open friends lists in the way that Xbox Live and PlayStation Network Platform do. Instead, it requires users to exchange friends codes -  a system that is seen by Nintendo as being more secure but that has been criticised by some for being too complicated.

Electronic Arts announces Boogie, a new rhythm game for Wii.
An original IP named Boogie is currently in development by EA Montreal – the studio behind SSX Blur and upcoming PS3 epic Army Of Two.
Boogie, which sees gamers dancing, singing and starring in their own music videos, is due for a global release in 2007.
The combined singing and dancing game takes advantage of the Wii’s Remote and Nunchuck controllers.
According to EA, Boogie will also have gamers starring in their own music videos. Players can choose and customise characters to best show off their skills.
“We’re creating something new and different for gamers of all ages to enjoy; the complete party package where gamers can dance as well as sing,” said VP and general manage at EA Montreal Alain Tascan.
“Nintendo’s Wii is an amazing console that really gives us a platform to be creative and to re-think traditional game development.”

DFC Intelligence has forecast that Nintendo’s DS can be the best-selling platform in history.
Next Generation reports that the US firm also predicts that the overall portable games market is set to grow to over USD10 billion (EUR7.5bn) in 2007.
In a preview of new report, The Market For Portable Video Games, DFC analyst David Cole says: “The DS has the potential to be the best-selling interactive entertainment platform ever.”
The report adds that DFC “expects the Sony PSP to establish a solid position in the marketplace” depending on the amount of promotion Sony gives the console in future, and that some console game publishers have managed to generate over USD100 million (EUR75m) in revenue from a single PSP game based on well-suited franchises.
Cole goes on to argue that casual games, RPG, MMO and turn-based strategy publishers can particularly benefit from the growth of both consoles.
Cole added: “Under the right scenario, by 2011 the combined installed base of the DS and PSP could exceed that for the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360.”

Neil Thompson says that if Blu-Ray wins format war, Microsoft will back it.
In an interview with the BBC, Xbox UK boss Neil Thompson has claimed that if Sony’s Blu-Ray format emerges triumphant in the high definition DVD war, Microsoft would consider backing the format.
Blu-Ray is currently in the middle of a fierce retail battle with rival format HD-DVD as both strive to become the high definition movie standard of choice. Whilst PS3 comes with Blu-Ray functionality included in the machine, Microsoft has to date only offered an HD-DVD add-on for its Xbox 360.
However, this could change, according to Thompson: "Whatever format wins it is highly likely we will offer a solution. The only debate is if you want to watch Blu-ray movies and pay the extra money for that feature. We prefer to offer the consumer choice."

The Wait is over
It’s official: PLAYSTATION® will be launched in the UK on the 23rd March.
Responding to retail and consumer demand, SCEE confirmed that initially only the 60GB model would be available, with the 20GB model to follow later in the year dependent on demand.
An expected one million PS3 units will be made available during the initial launch period to all SCEE territories.
The launch line-up consist of over 30 games titles for PS3, including eagerly awaited titles publisher by SCEE such as Resistance: Fall of Man™ 7. An exceptional range of titles in every genre will also be available at launch from the world’s leading third party publishers, including Electronic Arts, Activision, Namco Bandai, Sega, Take 2, Ubisoft, Vivendi Universal, and Sony Online Entertainment.

In addition, the games on disc, an exciting range of fully featured downloadable games will debut on the PLAYSTATION® Network.
These will includes gaming icons such as Tekken®: Dark Resurrection and Grand Turismo® HD.
Also available on the PLAYSTATION® Network will be brainteasers such as Go! Sudoku and Go! Puzzle, and innovate games such as Blaster Factor™ and flOw™, designed exclusively for Playstation® 3 and delivering on the promise to provide original content created by non-traditional developers and publishers
Concurrent with the European launch, a new system update to further enhance the entertainment potential of PS3 will be issued.

Peripherals Available at launch includes:

-SIXAXIS™ Wireless Controller
-Blu-ray Disc Remote Control
-HDMI Cable
-AV cable
Component AV Cable
-S Video Cable

If you purchase one of the Microsoft Office 2003 or a qualifying Windows retail products between 26th October 2006 and 28th February 2007 you may be eligible for an upgrade to Office 2007 retail product or Windows Vista.
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Question
What should I do if I have a problem with my Nintendo Wii, Wrist Strap?

Answer
We have been advised by Nintendo, it is not recalling any of the Wii wrist straps for its motion sensitive Wii Remote. There is no problem with the existing wrist strap as long as the Wii Remote is used sensibly and properly in accordance with the guidelines provided by Nintendo. All parts of the wrist strap have passed product testing and quality control.

The following tips are advised for safe play:
• Always wear the wrist strap while playing.
• Keep a firm grip on the Wii Remote at all times.
• Make sure people and objects are out of the range of movement before play begins.
• Players should keep at least three feet/ one meter from their televisions and dry their hands if they become sweaty or wet for any other reason.
• Remember that the Wii Remote is responsive enough to detect minor movements – so excessive and forceful actions are not necessary. Therefore we recommend not to use excessively rapid, violent or wide swinging motions while using the Wii Remote during game play.

Consumers who break their wrist straps through excess usage or who are worried about their wrist strap should contact their nearest Nintendo Service Centre voluntary exchange programme has been provided where consumers can replace wrist straps free of charge upon request.

Email: wiiwriststrap@codestorm.co.uk

Address:

Wii Wrist Strap,
Nintendo Service Centre,
CoDEStorm House
Walton Road
Farlington
PO6 1TR

Telephone: 0870 60 60 247 (Calls are charged at the National Rate to the caller for UK customers and International rates for Irish customers.)

21st November 2006- Are you ready to play? No matter what your gaming experience Nintendo has just the game for you to play with your friends and family. Wii Play consists of a selection of nine very different mini-games on one game, which are designed to help you master the unique Wii Remote, whilst also providing hours of entertainment. To ensure you can enjoy Wii Play with your friends, the game comes bundled with a free Wii Remote. Wii Play launches on Nintendo’s new Wii console on the 8th December 2006.
Wii Play consists of a variety of quirky games that can be played either alone or with a friend. This includes Shooting Range, which is the first game unlocked and is reminiscent of the classic Duck Hunt (released on the NES). In order to unlock the next game the player simply needs to complete the previous one (this sequence continues throughout). When all of the games have been unlocked players can start earning medals for their performance.
Find Mii involves picking the right face out of a crowd in an environment that constantly changes - it’s a race against the clock and each other! Pose Mii requires players to make their Mii characters fit into the shapes in the Wii bubbles. To do this they must swing the remote to the right angle to make it fit inside. The psychedelic colours and quirky graphics involved in this puzzle make it instantly addictive.

21st NOVEMBER 2006 – Since its launch in March 2005 the Nintendo DS has enjoyed meteoric success with a staggering seven million consoles sold across Europe and six Nintendo DS games breaking the coveted one million sales mark with ease.
Nintendo’s Touch! Generations range has sparked the imagination of people around the world. Sales of the innovative software continue to soar across Europe with Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training: How old is your brain? shattering the one million mark. Animal Crossing: Wild World, which lets you experience a joyful and exciting second life, has also attracted over a million people to its world and puppy phenomenon Nintendogs has sold over 4 million copies in Europe.
Nintendo’s gaming titles have seen similar success with the portly plumber, Mario, enjoying three huge hits with New Super Mario Bros., and Super Mario 64 both breaking the one million sales mark and Mario Kart DS selling over 1.5 million copies.

- Nintendo reveals 27 Wii games and 31 Virtual Console games available in Europe this Christmas -
1st November 2006- Wii will launch with a bang this winter alongside a selection of 27 fantastic Wii games that will have gamers and non-gamers waving their Wii Remote with joy. With a selection of games for everyone ranging from the brilliant Wii Sports to fan favourites like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

European Sales of the Nintendo DS reach 6 million 15th September 2006 The Nintendo DS hit the shelves back in March 2005 and has now gone on to conquer the handheld market in Europe, with a staggering 6 million consoles sold and a series of hit games from Nintendo’s Touch! Generations range ensuring that this success continues.
Following the successful launch of the sleek Nintendo DS Lite, the Nintendo DS has secured Nintendo’s lead in the handheld market, maintaining an impressive 70% share of the market for eleven consecutive weeks. What’s more the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite has captivated the female gaming audience with 44% of all consoles being sold to women.

Tokyo, March 15, 2006 – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) announced today that it
would launch PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3) in early November 2006 in Japan, North America and
Europe simultaneously. With a monthly production capacity of one million units, SCEI will
push forward a powerful product launch to spread the platform rapidly throughout the world,
together with a strong and attractive lineup of PS3 game titles.
PS3 incorporates the final specifications of BD (Blu-ray Disc), and with the
overwhelming computing power of PS3, it enables to playback BD software at a high bit rate.
With a maximum storage capacity of 50 GB (dual layer) and robust security, BD is a highly
anticipated storage medium that delivers digital entertainment content such as games and
movies at an unparalleled level of image quality.
PS3 is compatible with a vast lineup of television sets currently out in the market,
from standard-definition TV to full high-definition TV.
Users can also connect PS3 to high-speed broadband network through Gigabit
Ethernet and comfortably enjoy a wide-range of rich and exciting content and services over the
network.
SCEI, together with the support and cooperation of game content creators around
the world, will strongly promote the creation of a new world of computer entertainment
available on PS3.
PS3 Launched Worldwide in Early November 2006

15th September 2006 - Today at a press conference held in London’s Docklands, Mr Iwata, Global President of Nintendo Co., Ltd. unveiled a new dimension in home entertainment. Nintendo announced ways to involve every member of the family in gaming via the new Wii console, as well as the much-anticipated price, date and software line-up for the console’s European launch.
Wii is set to revolutionise the face of gaming when it launches in Europe on 8th December 2006 at an estimated retail price of £179 (249 Euros), bundled with Wii Sports. Accompanying the console launch will be around 20 software titles including Wii Play and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and from third party publishers launch games include: Ubisoft’s RED STEEL, EA’s Need for Speed: Carbon, Activision’s Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, THQ’s Disney/ Pixar’s Cars and Sega’s Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz.
Included with every Wii console is one wireless Wii Remote, one Nunchuk, and the groundbreaking collection of five different Wii Sports games on one disk which anyone can play using simple physical movements.
Nintendo today set a new direction for the video games industry by using state of the art technology not just for enhancing graphics and processing power but to introduce new people to the world of video games by creating brand new entertainment that is fresh and accessible to everyone.
Mr Iwata, Nintendo’s President, outlined how the Wii would build on Nintendo’s learnings and existing success with DS and continue this expansion of the gaming audience in unique and unprecedented ways.
With Wii, Nintendo aims to create a console that can be enjoyed by every member of the family. Every Wii console will include a series of on-screen "channels" that make up the Wii Channel Menu. The Wii Channel Menu is the starting point for all of the console’s functions. The "channels" offer a gateway to a rich variety of entertainment options. When connected to a TV, the Wii Channel Menu offers a simple interface letting users pick games to play, get news or weather, view and send photos or even create playable caricatures of themselves to use in actual games. Additional functions allow users to download classic games to Wii’s Virtual Console.
Nintendo believe that encouraging users to pick up the controller to access the internet quickly, check the news or see tomorrow's weather is one way of ensuring that everyone in the household can use, interact and ultimately engage with Wii. And once users have picked up the controller to perform these basic functions, it’s a small step to get involved in some more fun game play action.
Wii launches across Europe on 8th December 2006 at the estimated retail price of 249 Euros (£179 in the UK). Nintendo first party games will retail at the estimated retail price of between 49 Euros and 59 Euros (£34 to £39 in the UK).
Additional controllers will also be available from launch at the estimated retail prices of: Wii Remote - 39 Euros (£29 in UK), Nunchuk – 19 Euros (£14 in UK) and the Classic Controller – 19 Euros (£14 in UK)

Gamers in Europe will have to wait a bit longer than expected to get their hands on the PlayStation 3, with Sony announcing that production glitches have pushed back the launch of its next-generation console until March 2007.
At the  same time, the company said it remains on schedule to make the PS3 available in the US and Japan in November, when it was supposed to debut worldwide.
The revised launch date for Europe, Africa and the Middle East was attributed to problems obtaining critical Blu-ray high-definition video components in the PS3.
Sony also cited difficulties in delivering consoles that can communicate in the wide array of languages used in this region.

09:15, May 9th
Sony’s PS3 will be released in Europe and the US on November 17th and will come in two versions, priced £499 and £599.
Arriving less than a week after its Japanese release date of November 11th, the cheaper version will boast an integrated 20GB hard drive and the more expensive version a 60GB drive.

The system will initially launch in a colour Sony describes as ‘clear black’.
The machine will come Internet ready, support 1080p hi-def output and include an in-built HD Blu-Ray disc drive.

Lionhead’s hit franchise “Fable” surpasses 2 million unit sales milestone.
London, UK — 6th April, 2006 — Microsoft Game Studios (MGS) today announced it has purchased U.K.-based Lionhead Studios, one of the world’s leading and most innovative video game developers and creators of “Fable®,” the hit Xbox® and Windows® franchise.
Lionhead Studios will immediately begin creating content exclusively for the Xbox 360™ and Microsoft® Windows platforms. The companies previously worked together on the popular role-playing games “Fable” for Xbox and “Fable: The Lost Chapters” for Xbox and Windows, which have collectively surpassed the 2 million global unit sales milestone, making “Fable” the best-selling role-playing franchise on the Xbox platform. “Fable” and “Fable: The Lost Chapters” enable players to make decisions that affect their character’s skills, appearances and morality and the world around them.
“At Microsoft Game Studios we have worked hard to become the best partner for the best creative talent in our industry, and this acquisition underscores our commitment to excellence,” said Shane Kim, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios. “Peter Molyneux is one of the few true visionaries in our industry, and his joining us is incredibly important to the future of both interactive entertainment and MGS. Lionhead is a shining example of the innovative and creative talent that has delivered some of the most influential and unique games experiences to date, and I am honored to welcome Peter and the incredible people at Lionhead Studios.”
“We could not be more excited about being part of MGS. They have long supported our creative vision, and this teamwork resulted in the hugely successful ‘Fable’ franchise,” said Molyneux, managing director of Lionhead Studios. “This acquisition gives Lionhead the stability and opportunity to focus on creating world-class next-generation titles. We are joining some of the most incredible game creators in the industry, the combined talent of which will truly take next-generation gaming to a new level.”
With today’s announcement, Lionhead Studios becomes the latest member of MGS, joining such prestigious and globally recognised game creators as Bungie Studios, Ensemble Studios, FASA Studio and Rare Ltd. on a team whose charter is to create exclusive entertainment experiences that differentiate Xbox 360 and Windows from other gaming platforms.

Windows Vista, previously code-named 'Longhorn', is the next version of Windows and will be available to businesses in November 2006 and to consumers in January 2007. Windows Vista will provide the foundation for new industry innovations, enabling businesses to use technology more effectively, and helping customers to get more from technology.
Whether it's home networking, entertainment devices, mobile devices, new PCs, or productivity software, Partners worldwide have built successful businesses with Microsoft Windows-enabled products. Offering significant investments in security, reliability, performance, mobility, and connectivity, Windows Vista will help provide you with even more opportunities for you and your customers.

Security software specialist McAfee has joined forces with a leading provider of mobile devices management services to develop a more integrated and sophisticated approach to protection of mobile devices, such as PDAs and smart phones.