June 4 (Bloomberg) — Nintendo Co., the world’s third- biggest maker of video-game players, widened its lead in Japan last month after its Wii consoles and DS portable players outsold products from Sony Corp., a research firm said.

Nintendo sold 251,794 of its newest game machines in May, outselling Sony’s PlayStation 3 consoles five to one, Tokyo- based research firm Enterbrain Inc. said today in a faxed statement. The PS3 trailed the Wii by four to one in April.

The PS3, equipped with the industry’s most powerful gaming chip, is falling further behind the cheaper Wii, undermining Sony’s ability to recoup investments into the machine. Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo has forecast sales of the new consoles, where gamers swing motion-sensor controllers to play games such as bowling and tennis, will triple this fiscal year.

Microsoft Corp.’s game-player sales trailed Sony’s in Japan last month, with the U.S. company selling 11,082 of its Xbox 360 machines, the Enterbrain report said.

Nintendo’s handheld DS player outsold Sony’s PlayStation Portable five to one in May, Enterbrain said. The company sold 620,670 of the touch-screen players, compared with 123,673 PSPs.

Source

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NARUTO: Clash of NinjaTM Revolution official fact sheet

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

NARUTO: Clash of Ninja Revolution is an original Nintendo Wii game exclusive to the North American Market. Based on the hit series currently airing on Cartoon Network, this first game for the Nintendo Wii released in North America will include characters that have never been featured in the Clash of Ninja game series. The game will follow the storyline of the television series and will take advantage of the Wii Remote in fast-paced ninja action for up to four players in nine different gameplay modes. The next generation in NARUTO games will also include all new character animations, new interactive environments and special mini-games created exclusively for the Wii Remote.

KEY FEATURES:

• 14+ available characters – Among the available characters will be original characters such as Naruto, Sasuke or Sakura, but other characters will include some never seen before in the Clash of Ninja series. Plus, the characters will have all new animations for the Wii!

• Battle it out in one of six stages – Each of the six stages will have two distinct combat zones that allow players to beat their opponent in one stage and then continue to pile on the punches as they transition to the next combat zone.

• Exclusive content for North America – This game will include all new game effects, new interactive environments and an all new special attack animations which will deliver exclusive content for North America.

• Various game modes - Game modes include: story mode, score attack, timed attack, survival, 2P Versus, 2P Score Attack, 2P Survival and 1-4 Multiplayer Versus.

• Three special mini-games created especially for the Wii Remote – Shuriken Throw, Rasengan Training and Shadow Clone Trick.

Publisher: TOMY Corporation
Distributed by: D3Publisher of America
Developer: Eighting
Release Date: Fall 2007
Platform: Nintendo Wii™
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

More About: NARUTO: Clash of Ninja Revolution, Nintendo Wii

Nintendo WFC Online Activity - Week ending June 3rd:

1. Pokémon Diamond - 1,574,962 connections
2. Pokémon Pearl - 1,076,439 connections
3. Mario Strikers Charged Football - 490,130 connections
4. Animal Crossing: Wild World - 396,816 connections
5. Mario Kart DS - 310,590 connections
6. Metroid Prime Hunters - 215,103 connections
7. Jump! Ultimate Stars - 124,141 connections
8. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker - 114,609 connections
9. Tetris DS - 65,501 connections
10. Pokémon Battle Revolution - 50,815 connections

More Details

More About: Nintendo, Online Activity

The Wiimote Audio Translator:

Source 

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Wii listed as #3 of 100 of the best products of 2007 by PC World. An excerpt from the article:

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This is an excerpt from a Gamasutra interview with Christian Svensson, Sr. Director of Strategic Planning & Research for Capcom:

GS: Resident Evil seems very Wii-focused right now.

CS: It is in the near term. Resident Evil 4 has been very well received and has gotten good feedback from retail, in response to our pricing strategy [of $29.99 in North America].

GS: Some people said that it was under-served by being on the GameCube, in terms of the market that it could reach. Do you think that that’s going to finally be realized now?

CS: I think that anytime you can sell another copy to another new user, it expands the brand. A lot of people knock the decision to put it on GameCube, but at the same time, Resident Evil 4 was the number-one selling title for the GameCube in 2005, which is hard for a third-party. So it’s hard to say that that was really a bad decision. It’s gone on to sell very, very well on PS2.

On PC, when it gets released by Ubisoft a little later this month, I’m sure it will do well. It’s already out in Europe and Asia, and a new patch fixes a lot of the criticisms that people had. I’m glad that it’s coming at a time when it’s a bit more polished than it was initially for some of the other territory releases. And I think the Wii version is going to be the best version of the four.

GS: Do you know anything yet about downloadable original content on the Wii?

CS: We know a lot about that. There are some file size limitations that don’t dovetail well with what we’ve currently got on PS3 and Xbox 360. I would love to put the content that we have on the Wii, and I think it’s a great audience for the type of content, especially for Street Fighter and Puzzle Fighter. We’re still thinking about ways that we can get that content to them, perhaps not downloaded, but perhaps with a consolidated retail SKU. We’re still just tossing around ideas in our head.

GS: But downloadable original content is possible? It’s been hinted that it’s possible, but it’s still not coming yet.

CS: It’s possible. I think you’ll have to talk more to Nintendo about that. It’s not a technical limitation thing, though. We’re certainly going to be able to deliver. It’s really more of them getting their process in place for approvals and their pipeline in place.

I know they have loads of people who want to make content, but I think it’s a matter of some people turning on the spigot. We’ve been asked about bringing our stuff over. It’s going to happen. Once that spigot is opened and the floodgates are unleashed, I’m sure you’ll see loads of it.

Full Interview 

Confirmed/Unconfirmed Euro release dates:

Italics = unconfirmed

May 25th - Mario Strikers Charged Football - Wii
May 25th - Custom Robo Arena
June 1st - Wario: Master of Disguise
June 8th - Pangya! Golf with Style - Wii
June 22nd - Metroid Prime: Pinball (incl. Rumble Pak, the same that comes with Actionloop)
June 22nd - Mario Party 8 - Wii
June 22nd - Kirby Mouse Attack
June 29th - Resident Evil 4 - Wii
June 29th - More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain?
June 29th - Wii Remote (Silver, Blue, Pearl Pink)
June 29th - Wii NunChuk (Silver, Blue, Pearl Pink)
June 29th - Puzzle League DS
June 29th - Final Fantasy VI ADVANCE
June 29th - Big Brain Academy - Wii
July 13th - Elite Beat Agents
July 13th - Trauma Center: Second Opinion - Wii

Shrek the Third heads to retailers

Santa Monica, CA – May 14, 2007 – The wait is Ogre with the announcement that the ShrekÒ the Third™ video game from Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) has shipped to retail stores nationwide. The fate of Far Far Away is in gamer’s hands as they assume the role of their favorite characters from the film – Shrek®, Donkey, Fiona, Puss-in-Boots, Artie and Sleeping Beauty – and embark on an all-new adventure to save the land from the clutches of the evil Prince Charming. The Shrek the Third video game is based on DreamWorks Animation’s highly anticipated feature film, which opens on May 18.

“Activision’s Shrek the Third game captures the film’s signature humor as it takes gamers on a grand journey featuring original characters and storylines created exclusively for the game,” said Kim Salzer, Vice President of Global Brand Management, Activision Publishing. “Players will enjoy hours of fun and engaging gameplay as they travel through the Shrek universe in 20 action-filled levels and encounter a cast of twisted fairy tale characters such as Pinocchio, Prince Charming and a dim-witted Cyclops.”

Shrek the Third the video game takes players on an epic journey through magical worlds while mastering each character’s special moves and abilities, battling villains, gathering collectibles and joining friends to complete challenging mini-games in either single-player or two-player multiplayer modes. The game also introduces two new playable characters from the movie – Fiona’s rebellious cousin Artie and her fellow fairy tale princess Sleeping Beauty.

The Nintendo DS™ and Game BoyÒ Advance versions of the Shrek the Third video game offer players unique gameplay experiences. The Nintendo DS version is the first DS game to offer wireless cooperative multiplayer gameplay through all levels. Told from Donkey’s point of view, the Nintendo DS game allows players to assume the roles of Shrek, Puss-in-Boots and newcomer Artie, and journey beyond Far Far Away with the help of Merlin’s magic wand. Shrek and friends must work together to solve puzzles and defeat enemies while overcoming a band of Prince Charming’s henchmen.

The Game Boy Advance version closely follows the storyline of the movie as the characters complete great quests that end with them saving Far Far Away from the villainous Prince Charming.

Additionally, the game features a bonus sneak peek at Bee Movie Game, based on the upcoming animated feature from DreamWorks Animation which releases in November 2007.

The Shrek the Third video game is available now for the Xbox 360™ video game system from Microsoft and the WiiÔ for a suggested retail price of $49.99, the PlayStationÒ2 computer entertainment system for the suggested retail price of $39.99, the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS for a suggested retail price of $29.99 and the PC version for a suggested retail price of $19.99. The PSPÒ (PlayStationÒ Portable) system version will be available in early June for a suggested retail price of $39.99. The console, PSP system and PC games have been rated “E10+” (“Everyone 10 and older” – cartoon violence, crude humor), the Nintendo DS has been rated “E” (“Everyone” – cartoon violence, comic mischief) and the Game Boy Advanced has been rated “E” (“Everyone” – cartoon violence) by the ESRB.

The Article:

Press release email

Now you can enjoy your RSS feeds through your Wii. Google updated their Google Reader service with a Wii compatible version. Bigger text, and all sorts of Wiimote functionality.

•  up/down: scroll up/down
•  right/left: next/previous item
•  1 button: show subscriptions
•  2 button: show links

When showing subscriptions:

•  up/down: previous/next subscription
•  right: select current subscription
•  left: close
•  -/+: collapse/expand folder

Google Reader for Wii

More About: RSS feeds, Wii, Google Reader

Nintendo in the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies at number 39:

39. Nintendo
2006 rank: not ranked
Think video games are only for misfits and geeks? The designers of the Wii video game console came up with a revolutionary motion-sensing wireless controller that shatters the stereotype, targeting consumers of all ages. Its best brains have called on game creators to go beyond game sequels.

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