ACTIVISION PUBLISHING RETURNS TO THE
BATTER’S BOX THIS SUMMER WITH LITTLE
LEAGUE® WORLD SERIES BASEBALL 2009

SANTA
MONICA, CA – MARCH 10, 2009 – Activision
Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI)
announced today that Little League® World Series Baseball 2009,
the sequel to 2008’s acclaimed hit baseball game, will be released this
June for Wii™ and Nintendo DS™. The title is a natural progression
for the franchise, offering Little Leaguers and their families more features
and refined, accessible gameplay.

“We are very proud of the warm reception
our first Little League baseball video game received last year,” said
David Oxford, Activision Publishing. “Little League® World Series Baseball 2009 aims
to broaden the franchise’s appeal even wider, giving experienced gamers a sense
of depth and to feel more challenged while still making it easy for parents or
grandparents to pick up and play!”

Little League® World Series Baseball 2009 is the
second officially licensed Little League® video game for next-generation
consoles, and once again it is being developed by world renowned Japanese
studio NOW Production. Players will
have the chance to become a Little League World® Series baseball Champion,
or play with up to three other friends in a variety of exhibition modes. New
features include a full team editor, regional tournaments, all new stadiums,
new skills challenges, an expanded set of collectible content and much more.
Both versions improve upon the popular motion and stylus controls,
respectively, for batting and pitching.

“The response to last year’s game was phenomenal,
and Little League fans have been enthusiastic in giving us ideas for the 2009
version,” Jud Rogers, Sr. Marketing Executive, Little League
International. “Activision and NOW Production are the best partners
imaginable and we look forward to creating the best family-friendly baseball
game of all time.”

For more information, visit www.activision.com.

Mario Strikers Charged updated fact sheet

Mario Strikers™ Charged
Format: Wii™
Launch Date: 07/30/07
ESRB: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and older)
Game Type: Sports
Players: 1-4
Developer: Next Level Games
Game Information

KEY INFORMATION

* The captains from Super Mario® Strikers are back, joined by four new ones, and now players can create their own original teams by mixing and matching their captain with a new cast of sidekicks. All characters have their own sets of special abilities, making each one play completely differently from the others. New captain super-abilities and sidekick skill-shots add a new level of depth to already crazy soccer battles on the most unpredictable and hazard-filled pitches in the Mario™ universe. Each field features its own set of interactive hazards that alter game play during the course of the game.

* There are tons of new single-player modes, from tournaments to challenges to tutorials, but the game truly shines in multiplayer. The game features a robust multiplayer mode: Up to four players can battle locally, or they can go on Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection for one-on-one matches.

* Building on the frantic fun of Super Mario Strikers, this game gets players into action only possible on Wii. Primary game-play controls use both the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers. Players use the Nunchuk to control their characters and deploy items. Flick the Wii Remote to perform the defensive “Big Hit” move and flatten foes. To defend against a “Mega Strike” goal attempt, use the Wii Remote to point at the screen and manually defend against multiple balls as they rocket toward the screen.

Game storyline: Characters from the Mario universe clash in a sensational battle-sport based on Super Mario Strikers. In the Road to the Striker Cup mode, players take their favorite captain and compete through a set of tournaments. Players must first battle their way through the Fire Cup and the Crystal Cup, eventually reaching their goal of competing for the Striker Cup. The competition is fierce, and the difficulty grows as they battle their way through the tournament ladders on their way to the Striker Cup.

How to progress through the game: There is tons of fun to be had just playing a single match in single-player or multiplayer modes, but players also can settle into tournament play in the Road to the Striker Cup. Or they can try to finish 12 of the toughest game situations in Striker Challenges. Beating either of these modes will unlock new stadiums, new captains and player cards useful for game cheats.

Characters: Mario Strikers Charged welcomes eight new characters to the field of play: Petey Piranha, Diddy Kong®, Bowser Jr. and Bowser are the new captains, and Dry Bones, Boo, Monty Mole and Shy Guy join the roster as sidekicks. Back from the first Strikers are Mario, Luigi, Peach, Wario™, Donkey Kong®, Waluigi, Yoshi®, Daisy, Koopa, Toad, Birdo and the Hammer Bros.

Stadiums: Mario Strikers Charged features 17 total stadiums. Nine of them are new, each with its own terrain and set of perils that affect the game play. New stadiums include the Sand Tomb, Thunder Island, the Vice, the Lava Pit, Galactic Stadium, the Wastelands, Crystal Canyon, Storm Ship Stadium and the Dump. Also included are the classic stadiums updated from Super Mario Strikers and a new Strikers 101 field.

Special powers/weapons/moves/features: Mario Strikers Charged is all about maximizing the abilities of the different characters, as each character has a unique set of abilities and skills, not to mention super-abilities like Donkey Kong”s Thunder Wham or Bowser”s Fire Storm. Charging a ball provides a more powerful shot for both the captain and sidekick characters. A fully charged captain shot will result in a devastating Mega Strike goal shot. A successful Mega Strike can split into six different balls, all of which must be blocked by the defensive players by using the Wii Remote to point at the screen. Practice passing and charging the ball to increase the chance of scoring. The player can charge the ball by completing a series of successful passes and avoiding steals, or by holding the B button to charge the ball quickly. The interactive stadiums, each with its own pitfalls, make each game an exercise in chaos.

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Play: Players climb the rankings boards as they compete on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection specific to the region they are playing in. They earn ranking points by scoring goals, posting game wins and even just competing. Players can earn up to 20 points total: 10 points for a win, 1 point for a loss and 1 point per goal, to a maximum of 10 points. With a positive structured rankings system, players are rewarded for playing games in their entirety, creating better online experiences for all participants. The ultimate reward is watching a player”s rank climb the leader board. Players are matched up with opponents of similar skill levels through a rankings-based matchmaking system. The player who has earned the most points for that day will be rewarded the title of Striker of the Day. To keep the ranking system honest, players earn points only when competing in ranked games, not when playing against friends.

Community: Mario Strikers Charged will offer a strong sense of Wii community, as players will be able to create Mario Strikers Charged profiles using Mii™ characters for their online identity and create Friend Roster to manage their social community. Using their Mii profiles, players can track their progress on the ranking leader board and their performance against their friends specifically. The goal is to build a community that is accessible and friendly to new players, yet also rewarding for more advanced players.

The Article:

Nintendo press room

More About: Mario Strikers Charged, Wii

This is the Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 Official Press Release:

London, United Kingdom – 24 MAY 2007 – Yesterday, Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced Rayman Raving Rabbids™ 2 exclusively for the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ systems. Those mischievous bunnies are back in a hilarious sequel, a party comedy game that is guaranteed to be even crazier and funnier than the first with even more insane games to play. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 will push the envelope of the Wii gameplay experience by continuing to make innovative use of the Wii Remote™. It will deliver fun, intuitive games that feature the wacky humor that Rayman and the Rabbids are known for. In development at Ubisoft’s Paris studio, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 is scheduled for a fall 2007 release.

“The first Rayman Raving Rabbids was a huge critical and commercial success worldwide,” said John Parkes, director of marketing for Ubisoft. “Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 is poised to continue that success, as gamers can’t seem to get enough of those crazy bunnies; they’re just so popular!”

About Rayman Raving Rabbids 2

After invading the world of Rayman, the insane Rabbids have a new objective: THE INVASION OF PLANET EARTH! Setting their home base at a shopping mall, the Rabbids try to study human behavior and mimic everything humans do in funny, illogical ways. As part of their training, the Rabbids must carry out several missions around the globe to prepare themselves for world domination. Rayman will attempt to infiltrate the Rabbids, disguised as one of them, in a mission to foil their crazy plans and save Earth. Game features include:

• New wacky games - 60 brand-new games that spoof popular culture and are even wackier than those featured in the first Rayman Raving Rabbids.

• Unique use of the Wii Remote – Discover new, innovative ways to play, with eight types of gameplay, including shaking, precision, dexterity and balance.

• Travel around the world - Take Rayman on a world tour to defend Earth from the Rabbids invasion. Travel to five different regions such as the USA, Europe and Asia, where players will challenge the Rabbids in the local environments.

• Customize Rayman and the Rabbids - Use more than 110 items (skins, hats, accessories and clothes) to dress Rayman and create your own Rabbids. Unleash your creativity with over 540K customization combinations.

• Multiplayer experience – Play co-op or battle up to three friends in all the games unlocked in the single-player campaign.

The Article:

GamesPress

This is  a video of a guy trying out a US Zelda game in his Japanese Nintendo Wii machine. Wii is Definitely Region Locked

More About: Nintendo, Wii, Region Locked

This is an excerpt of an article where they states that the but the hardware will not support a different TV format:

I have just checked with Nintendo’s customer support whether the Wii is, in fact, region locked or not. The Nintendo support team sent the following reply:

The Wii will not play games from Japan or America as their TV system, NTSC, is not compatible with ours. This has always been the case with Nintendo consoles and has nothing to do the accepted term of ‘Region Locking’.

This sounded promising, but I decided to ask them to clarify:

So besides the TV standard, the consoles are compatible?

What if I do not hook the Wii console up to a non-TV screen, for example to a computer’s LCD screen? Mine has composite and svideo-in. Or does this actually depend on differences in the hardware and/or software? I surely would hope this is not the case.

The Nintendo Wii Support team promptly replied to this:

The Wii will be built to play the games from the area which it will be used in. So a UK Wii will only play European games oh and Australian games as they are on PAL as well. The USA Wii will play their games and Japanese games as they are NTSC.

So it’s the official answer: Wii is not region locked, but the hardware will not support a different TV format. They did evade my question whether or not output to a non-tv would make any difference, but I seriously doubt this is the case.

Full Article