Activision Got the Global rights to develop console, handheld and PC games based on Hasbro’s renowned TRANSFORMERS brand, and in the press release states that a Transformer Game will be Released in July 2007.

“The first game will be tied to the much-anticipated July 4, 2007 movie release of the live action TRANSFORMERS film from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures.”

So maeby we can Expect a new Transformers WII game for the next year.

Press Release:

PAWTUCKET, R.I., Feb 13, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The Hasbro Properties Group, the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS) and Activision, Inc, (NASDAQ: ATVI), a leading publisher of interactive entertainment software products, announced today a license that grants Activision the global rights, excluding Japan, to develop console, handheld and PC games based on Hasbro’s renowned TRANSFORMERS brand. The first game will be tied to the much-anticipated July 4, 2007 movie release of the live action TRANSFORMERS film from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures.

The TRANSFORMERS brand has been one of the best-selling boys’ action brands in a wide-range of categories, from toys to publishing to apparel, since its launch as a global property in 1984. Hasbro is currently gearing up to activate one of the Company’s most ambitious worldwide marketing and merchandising programs yet to coincide with the live action movie in 2007.

“We are thrilled to work with Activision to bring the widely popular TRANSFORMERS brand to the world of digital entertainment and introduce millions of consumers to our best-known TRANSFORMER and biggest hero of all time–OPTIMUS PRIME,” said Jane Ritson-Parsons, president of the Hasbro Properties Group (HPG). “As the leading developer of video games, Activision shares our passion and excitement for the TRANSFORMERS story line. We know this world-class and creative team will bring TRANSFORMERS to life in powerful and exciting ways as we immerse a broad audience in this pop-culture phenomenon.”

“TRANSFORMERS has all of the elements necessary to translate incredibly well into video games,” said Mike Griffith, president and CEO, Activision Publishing, Inc. “We look forward to bringing the TRANSFORMERS robots to life with the latest interactive technology and graphics.”

The announcement of Activision as the global game publisher for the TRANSFORMERS brand marks the beginning of Hasbro’s commitment to bring its well-known toy and game brands further into the digital media space. This effort follows the reacquisition of its video gaming rights from Infogrames Entertainment SA in June 2005.

“Video gaming is a natural next step for our classic properties as children and adults alike live more of their lives around technology,” said Ritson-Parsons. “We see the digital arena as a great complement to the lifestyle experiences that we’re providing to consumers in a variety of categories.”

In addition to console, handheld and PC-based games, Hasbro plans to expand the TRANSFORMERS brand’s reach through ring tones, mobile gaming and a host of other products for gaming fans of all ages.

Tags: Activision, Hasbro, TRANSFORMERS, Game, WII

    

Konami first Nintendo WII title will be Elebits.

In Elebits, players move around a game world, attempting to find and collect Elebit creatures. Elebits are small and cute like Pikmin, but they actually serve as the energy source that makes the game’s world move. The “Ele” in the name appears to stand for Electricity, with the “Bits” reflecting that the characters are tiny. The game will offer a feel of “hunting,” suggesting that perhaps the Elebits won’t just be sitting around waiting to get caught.

So get ready to get thuis great game for the Nintendo Wii

Tags: Konami, Nintendo WII, Elebits, Wii

    

Ubisift Gets public their Next-Gen Game titles that will present during the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) May 10–12, 2006, For the Nintendo Wii they will present RedSteel.

Press Release:
SAN FRANCISCO – MAY 3, 2006 – Today Ubisoft announced its lineup of titles for the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) May 10–12, 2006 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Ubisoft will showcase its titles at booth #924 in the South Hall.

“Our E3 lineup demonstrates Ubisoft’s profound commitment to the next-generation of video games,” said Yves Guillemot, president and chief executive officer of Ubisoft. “Ubisoft is very excited to be introducing ground-breaking new intellectual property and showcasing how we bring innovation to our best-selling franchises. Our award-winning development teams are pushing the limits of what can be achieved and leading the industry into the future.”

Ubisoft lineup for E3 2006:

1. Assassin’s Creed™: Experience the power of a feared Assassin in the game that will redefine the action adventure genre for the next generation. Players’ actions will throw the immediate environment into chaos and shape events in this pivotal moment during the Third Crusade.
2. Brothers In Arms Hell’s Highway™: Gearbox Software’s critically acclaimed squad-based WWII shooter launches into the next generation of gaming with amazing graphics and cutting-edge game play features powered by Unreal Engine 3 and a completely redesigned online component. As Matt Baker, lead a squad of real soldiers who think, relate and fight together through the brutal trials of the dramatic Operation Market Garden.
3. Dark Messiah™ of Might & Magic®: Discover a new breed of PC game that will redefine the Action-RPG genre. Powered by an enhanced version of the Source engine from Valve, the second chapter in the new Might & Magic® franchise allows players to experience ferocious combat as an expert warrior, mage, or assassin using a vast array of devastating weapons against vicious creatures in a captivating fantasy environment.
4. Enchanted Arms™: The first RPG developed exclusively for Xbox 360™, this epic adventure created by FromSoftware in Japan is arriving for the first time in North America and Europe. Enchanted Arms allows players to escape to a fantasy world filled with beautiful cinema-quality graphics, unique characters and bizarre creatures.
5. Game to be Unveiled: Experience the next-generation project from Ubisoft and Free Radical, the developers of the critically-acclaimed Timesplitters® series for the first time at E3.
6. Open Season™: Team up with the cast of characters from Sony Pictures Animation’s feature-length CGI film Open Season coming in September. It’s a riotous romp in the great outdoors for kids of all ages when a rowdy brood of forest animals turn the tables on unsuspecting hunters.
7. Rayman Raving Rabbids™: Developed by famed creative director Michel Ancel, this new installment of the Rayman franchise will be the funniest and zaniest yet. Rayman’s world is threatened by a devastating invasion by the most unexpected creatures and Rayman must battle to save his world and its inhabitants.
8. Red Steel™: The only original first-person game built from the ground up and exclusively for the Wii™ launch. Red Steel takes full advantage of Nintendo’s innovative controller and provides the unique experience of combined gunplay and swordplay.
9. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent™: The best-selling Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® saga is taking an entirely new direction. In the highly anticipated next chapter, play as a double agent spy for the first time. Take on dual roles of covert operative and ruthless terrorist, where choices of whom to betray and whom to protect affect the outcome of the game.
10. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Vegas: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® makes its dramatic next-generation debut. Rainbow operatives take to the chaotic streets of Las Vegas as an escalating terrorist siege in “Sin City” threatens to take world terrorism to new heights.

Tags: Electronic Entertainment Expo, Nintendo Wii, RedSteel, Ubisoft

    

David Yarnton, in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz about the new Nintendo WII name, and this is what David told to GamesIndustry.biz.

“I think there are a lot of words out there like that that are used for other brands, companies and things like that - words that have different connotations and so on,” he said. “I really think that if we get out of the gutter and the juvenile side of things, it’s just a word. It’s Wii. Actually, it’s not even a word, because it’s something that we’ve created from zero.”

Tags: David Yarnton, Nintendo WII, Wii

    

Nintendo Wii console Image

The new Nintendo Wii is the smallest stationary console Nintendo has ever manufactured, described by Nintendo as being “about the thickness of three standard DVD cases and only slightly longer”. The console will have the ability to stand either horizontally or vertically. The front of the console features a self loading media drive which is illuminated by a blue light and will accept 12 cm Wii game discs and 8 cm GameCube game discs.

When the Wii (revolution in that time) console was unveiled at E3 2005 the console was colored black. However, at the Tokyo Game Show 2005 when the controller was revealed, promotional material depicted a white console. Nintendo has since revealed three additional colors (platinum, lime green, and red).

    

Controller

The Wii controller sets aside the traditional controller seen in other mainstream consoles in an attempt to appeal to a larger audience. The controller is shaped like a television remote control and is held with one hand. Due to its symmetrical nature, the Wii’s controller is able to be used by either hand, unlike other controllers. The controller can also be rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise and used like the NES controller.

he controller is also able to sense motion; a sensor placed near the television allows the computer to sense the controller’s position in three-dimensional space. Other sensors in the controller itself allow it to sense its tilt and yaw. This allows players to mimic actual game actions, such as swinging a sword or using a flashlight, instead of simply pushing buttons. An early marketing video showed actors miming such actions as fishing, cooking, drumming, conducting an orchestra, shooting a gun, sword fighting, performing dental surgery, and what seems to be, a game of Super Mario Bros. with one handed play.[9]

The controller also features an expansion port at the bottom which will allow various attachments to be added to the controller. Nintendo has revealed one of these attachments to be a unit which features an analog stick and 2 trigger buttons. It will connect to the main Wii controller via a short cord, and its appearance while connected to the main controller has led it to become dubbed “The Nunchaku”. Nintendo has stated the aforementioned “Nunchaku” add-on may be bundled with the Wii console.

Nintendo has also announced a controller “shell” which will resemble a traditional game controller called the “Classic-Style Expansion Controller”. The Wii “remote” will fit inside this shell which will allow gamers to play games using a traditional controller while retaining the “remote”’s motion sensitivity. According to Satoru Iwata, it is meant for playing “the existing games, virtual console games, and multi-platform games”.[2]

Despite the controller’s similarity to lightguns which are only compatible with standard-definition cathode ray tube televisions, Nintendo has stated the Wii and its controller will be compatible with all televisions including digital projectors.

    

The Nintendo Wii will feature parental controls, prohibiting young viewers from viewing inappropriate content. This allows parents to set the age level of the system, and when a disc is inserted, it will read the content rating encoded on the game discs; if this rating is greater than the system’s age level setting, the game will not load unless the user correctly enters a password to override the setting.
For instance, a game carrying an ESRB rating of M for Mature, which is intended for those over the age of 17, will not play on a system that is set to only allow games rated E for Everyone (six and older) and EC for Early Childhood (three and under).

This will be found in all systems released around the world; it is confirmed that the European units will use the PEGI rating system, North American units will use the ESRB rating system, units for the Japanese market will presumably use the CERO rating system, German units will use the USK system, and Australian units will use the OFLC system.